Love is not a 401k

I have seen a lot of different perspectives in christianity, but one of the more disturbing ones is the idea that likens christianity to santa claus. There's this belief that once you become a christian, life would be easy, that you will be rich. And this is where i think i used, or maybe others as well, stumble. That if we, suffer from any ailment, or find ourselves in a financial crisis, that there must be something wrong, and then we begin to doubt God and his love for us.

Did Christ die so that we could ultimately get a porsche?

No he promised us a totally different life. He even called us to be totally out of this world. Aliens. Ambasaddors. I am not saying that to be poor is to be godly, nor am i saying that to be rich is worldly. But i am wanting to probe on this - what is christianity really about? Is it about a bunch of self help advice? Is it a bunch of giving your income and doing good to the poor and feeling good about it? When big J called Peter, he said follow me. He didnt say pete, from now on, you will live the rich life... Wine... Fish... Banquet hallls... In fact peter died, crucified as well. Paul, who wrote about joy, spent most of his christian life in prison, and john, died an exile, still proclaiming big J's love. And it embarasses me to no end. Because i want to have what they have ... They knew what being a christian is ... Its being in love with Christ, that you go through the valleys and the mountains because this love is worth it. for them, heaven was not so much a place where the streets are made of gold, it is the place where they would see face to face their one true love.

Christianity is about being in love. Madly, truly, deeply like those corny love songs. It's waking up in the morning and knowing God is in the details. I mean think about the time that you fell in love with another person. Of randomly smiling, of wanting to hear his voice, of telling your friends how your stomach knots every time you hear or see your loved one. Now multiply that a gazillion times, and this is how God loves us, and he wants us to know this love, its a different love than what hollywood portrays love to be. And as much as we think that great characters , like meg ryan and tom hanks, do make for a great love story, this story is more like prince charming falling in love with the evil stepsister. It pains me to tell you that unfortunately, we are not goody two shoes cinderella. I am the ugly stepsister, and the prince choose to love me.

It is an unfathomable love story. The beauty loving the beast, and because of that love we are tranformed into something great. It all boils down to love. Not what you can get out of God, but us, delighting in him.

Crazy in love. Just sty with Him, delight in him, and if he chooses to give you a porsche, why not? But if he doesnt give you one, his love is not lessened by that. It's about him. Never about What we can get out of him. We are not to be gold diggers, but God seekers.

May we live to be salt and light of this earth.