I Believe in Evolution

OK, I know. That’s a controversial blog title. You say “evolution” and it just sets people off. Before you check out or ask for my head, let me clarify. The evolution which I believe in is not the Darwinian attempt to explain the origins of life apart from God’s involvement. It is, however, the primary definition for the word “evolution,” namely “any process of formation or growth; development.”

When I first placed all my hope and trust in Christ, I called myself “Christian.” It was where I was at the time. That’s what I was becoming, changing from what I was into one of “those” people. And I started doing the Christian things like going to church and a few of the disciplines.

Then came the day (or series of days) where I began to realize that there was an entire group of people who called themselves “Christian” but who didn’t represent the beliefs which I held. They were attending church nearly every week, but they didn’t appear to have faith. Church was something they did, not something they were. And I wanted to identify myself in a way which set me apart from them. So, I evolved. I became a “believer.” I wanted to communicate that I believed upon the Lord and that I believed His Word. And belief creates a change in me, how I handle stress and pain, how I treat people and where I ascribe value.

And I was a “believer” for quite a long time. In tough seasons, I reminded myself that I was a believer and it helped me to lean hard into the Lord for strength and comfort. But, as I spent more time listening to solid preaching and in personal and corporate Bible study, I grew in my understanding that my salvation and adoption by the Lord weren’t so much about me as they were about Him. My redemption from enslavement to the enemy was so that I would become part of God’s army, not just His family. I realized that I was being sent into the world even as the Father had sent the Son, with a mission! And I realized that “believer” wasn’t adequate to reflect my understanding of my place in God’s Kingdom. So, I evolved again. I became a “Christ-follower.” This suited my deeper appreciation of the implications of our gospel. God had called me out of darkness into light in order to follow in His ways, to be like Him. And being like Him certainly meant becoming more holy in my words, thoughts, and deeds. However it primarily meant that I would be like Him in setting my selfish desires aside and serving others for the sake of the Kingdom. Again, I was pleased with my new moniker (that word is for you, Jeff) because it explained better where I was in my relationship with the Lord.

I recently evolved again. This time, I was completely happy with my identification as a “Christ-follower” but I found that there was a subtle distinction that I needed to make, for myself more than for anyone else. You see, I have a tendency to do things in order to feel good. Don’t read into that statement. I would find myself doing good things so that I could feel the satisfaction of having done the right thing. That’s not bad, right? But I wanted to look beyond the classifications “good thing” and “bad thing” and get to a motivation that transcended the actual circumstances. I wanted to be at a place where I could rise above the extenuating circumstances and see the bigger picture. Frankly, I wanted to get to a place that an apparently neutral discussion became clearly “good” or “bad,” to use primal classifications. So, I recently evolved again. I now try to see myself as a “God-worshipper.” Please don’t think that is a step backwards. I know that changing “Christ” to “God” seems like a watering down to some. Trust me; it isn’t. And the change to being a worshipper of God is a move toward reverence for me. I want to see every situation presented each day as an opportunity to worship the Lord or to worship myself. This is just where my journey of faith has me today.

So, are you evolving? I guess that the way to ask that which would be more widely approved in Christian circles is, “Are you maturing?” If you have been a Christian for a while, are you in a different place today than you were a year ago? 5 years? 10? Have to settled down in your journey, maybe even stopped growing altogether? As CONNECT and Grace Church move forward, we are going to talk a lot about discipleship. After all, our commission from the Lord is not to make “converts” but to make “disciples.” So, are you evolving?