Wednesday, May 14: Check out my review of Finding Purpose in Narnia: Journey with Prince Caspian. The Prince Caspian movie trailer is awesome. Click on the link at the end of the review.
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10:48 a.m. PT: Becoming a Christian produced profound changes in me. One of them was seeing people clearly for the first time, especially fellow believers.
As I read about the lives of the disciples and the apostles, I experienced a transcendent awe that words can’t describe. I, La Shawn Barber, born 2,000 years after the fact, worshiped the same God as those men and women. They shared the same Gospel and tried to impart the same truths about the person of Jesus Christ, his sinlessness, his sacrifice, and his deity. And they, too, struggled to live a life that glorifies him.
I was so amazed by the extent that Christ changed my heart. Strangers who professed Christ suddenly seemed familiar. No matter where they were from or what color their skin or what they did for a living or…whatever, what we had in common dwarfed the differences between us. I’m getting the same feeling all over again as I listen to Christian music, which comes in many forms. There’s traditional gospel, country, acoustic, punk, rock, alternative rock, hard rock — every genre and style imaginable. People are sharing the Gospel and setting it to music. They’re signed to major labels, independent labels, and no labels.
The body of Christ is huge. As I said, mere words can’t describe the spiritual awakening of becoming part of a body that believes in the living God. The Apostle Paul wrote in Galatians: “You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”
It’s profoundly simple, isn’t it? We are Abraham’s spiritual seed, and our race, sex, or nationality does not set us apart from one another or from Christ spiritually. It’s one thing to read and write about that passage. It’s quite another to see it in the context of the whole planet and to live it every day in our own corner of the world.
Christians, what, if anything, amazed or surprised you (about yourself and/or others) when you first became a believer?
Addendum: One person answered the question on my Facebook wall. You may do so as well, but I think you have to “friend” me first.
I must reproduce Jacqueline Harvey’s Facebook comment:
“I was surprised at how everything I thought I was giving up in surrendering my life to Christ was instead returned to me 100 fold. I thought I was giving up my freedom, my dreams. Instead I found more freedom that I knew existed and that the dreams I thought I had were so small compared to what God had for me. :)”
Part of my problem (which has a lot to do with my excessive pride) is that I’m holding on to I-don’t-know-what because I’m afaid I’ll have to give it up. Let go! I’m almost certain my rag-tag dreams pale compared to what God has in mind.
By the way, my updates on Twitter ain’t all that exciting, but if you want to follow…
“We are Abraham’s spiritual seed, and our race, sex, or nationality does not set us apart from one another or from Christ spiritually.”
You hit the nail on the head, for me, with this statement. My God is not only the same yesterday, today and tomorrow, He is the same across all nations, races and sexes.
What I love is just being able to tell - simply knowing - that someone is a brother or sister in Christ, even though we’ve not yet gotten around to declaring ourselves. Our souls recognize the connection without a word being said.
Comment by Diane — 05.13.08 @ 2:55 pm
That shared belief is exciting to me. Walking into a room full of strangers, knowing we share something profound is…amazing.
Comment by La Shawn — 05.13.08 @ 3:03 pm
“It’s profoundly simple isn’t it?”
That’s what appeals to me, the simplicity of it all. And yet there’s a lot of depth to keep one busy, if desired.
All you really need is a basic belief. You don’t have to go anywhere, or listen to anyone, or do anything. And, I’m so lazy anyway! —Unless I’ve been doing it completely wrong, and you really are supposed to show up somewhere on Sunday, or else ….
Uh-oh.
Comment by Glamchild — 05.13.08 @ 3:38 pm
Also, in the beginning, I was very surprised at how much fun The Body of Christ actually was. Granted it wasn’t, “Let’s all dance half naked at an underground alternative bar!” kind of fun (what I was used to before becoming a Christian) but they were full of joy and always doing something cool or hanging out. They taught me joy instead of instant gratification. I had not known that instant gratification more often than not short circuits joy
Pingback by ETC: Everyday Thoughts Collected — 05.13.08 @ 3:56 pm
Good post and ?, La Shawn.
I became a Christian when I was a child. So it’s a difficult question for me to think about. It was rather a long time ago.
So bear with me as I try to squeeze the gray matter.
Along with a sense of freedom and release, I remember a sense of fear of God during my conversion and for a little bit afterward. Not necessarily the fear of Him disciplining me for my sins, though I think that was probably part of the fear as my young mind grappled with sin and a desire to please my Savior (my adult mind still grapples with that
), but there was this greater feeling of my smallness and His immensity. I always knew there was something bigger than me out there, a Creator of the universe, but when I came face to face with Him it struck me to the core. You know what I mean? Fear and reverence and desire all mixed together.
As a young believer, I think one of the things that so surprised me, particularly in the public school system, was that so many people hated that He is and would openly challenge my faith in God again and again from students to teachers.
Comment by Hal — 05.13.08 @ 3:58 pm
My wife were in the process of changing our life styles when we (unexpectedly) moved to Wyoming. We had just given up tobacco, and had decided to give up hangin in bars. We joined a church and suddenly we were in the midst of a large group of the kind of people we wanted to be. Following Christ is not because of the future it leads to, following Christ makes life better right now.
Comment by Ted Moore — 05.13.08 @ 7:18 pm
See what happens when you do not proofread? That would be my wife and I . . . and again. Following Christ is not just because of the future it leads us to, following Christ makes our lives better right now.
Comment by Ted Moore — 05.13.08 @ 7:22 pm
I found that I could not stop being a Jew; the pull of history was too strong, and I went back.
Comment by suzi — 05.13.08 @ 10:26 pm
Yeah, I had that same “not alone” experience. Realizing that the deepest connection of all is the ones I have with people who are my brothers and sisters in the faith. It’s cool. There are truly pieces of Jesus walking around this Earth. Now if only we could get ourselves together.
Comment by SolShine7 — 05.14.08 @ 2:17 pm
What amazed me most was the realization that without a personal connection to Him I was on my way to hell. I had convinced myself that I was a “good person” and that is all that was required to not go to Hell. Until I actually read His Word, I had no clue that I didn’t know Him or what saves us from eternal separation to a burning hell. As humble and as “good” as I thought I was, I came to realize I was none of those things.
Comment by zipla — 05.14.08 @ 4:09 pm
I was amazed at how clean I felt, as though I had lived my life infected. It was almost a physical thing, the way when you have a sinus infection you can smell/feel it. It was that sensation, only inside my chest cavity, and suddenly the infection was gone because the Lord had hold of me. I even felt taller.
Comment by SkyePuppy — 05.15.08 @ 1:14 pm
I was a teenager when I was saved. Initially I got that sense of belonging, which has matured into a feeling of never being alone (which I chalk up to the presence of the Holy Spirit). I have also have a feeling of not being afraid, no matter what happens. I’m not fearless, I just have learned to trust the Lord to get me through the situations I am in (especially the ones I get myself into), and I try very hard to leave the future to him.
The hardest thing I’ve done as a Christian is to turn my children’s safety and well being over to the Lord. I have found that sometimes the only thing I can do as a Father is to let the Lord watch over them and stop trying to do it myself.
Comment by Matt — 05.15.08 @ 4:24 pm
LaShawn,
Your interest in music might cause you to be interested in the conversion of Jonny Lang. I mention it here, because it is the only experience that I’ve known that is somewhat similar to mine.
I was a well-read, vocal atheist the morning I walked out of my apartment, and as I crossed the street, God’s glory passed by. In what was probably less than two minutes, I repented of sin and became a stumbling (almost literally) follower of the Lord.
Since then, I’ve had a host of struggles, but, when I look back, I can see nothing but the transforming power of a risen Lord in my life.
By the way, the great story of Jonny Lang’s “vomiting Jesus” conversion can be found here:
http://www.christianitytoday.com/music/interviews/2006/jonnylang-0906.html
Comment by Xdpaul — 05.16.08 @ 1:03 pm
Indeed! I heard about young Mr. Lang’s conversion. I remember when I first saw him years ago when he was still a teen: blond, long-haired white dude playing the blues and sounding like a black guy. Quite a sight!
Comment by La Shawn — 05.16.08 @ 1:10 pm
Kudos to you LaShawn for sharing your testimony. I think you could do well in a niche of digital media with that sensibility, although of course media is just an instrument or vehicle. As one option, I can see you getting a Talk Show, not as clone of Limbaugh or any of the others, but a unique blend of sympathetic female voice and sensibilities. Yet at the same time you would present strong, forthright moral views, along with commonsense conservative ones.
I know this sounds a bit like Dr. Laura, but what you could bring to the table would be unique. On many topics specifically, you could argue or reference an earlier time when black folk were not a watchword for massive out-of-wedlock rates. A time when education was valued, when discipline was enforced etc.. The past was no “golden age” but black folks on several counts did a lot better back then, than they are doing now. Such references do not just relate to “black” topics but are actually universal. There WAS a time when 14 year olds did not pose for nude photos and have it thought to be “cute”.
Another area that needs a strong female voice is Christian testimony as well- hard nosed common sense talk that is not combative in the Limbaugh mode, that blends female sensibilities with fortright common sense. I can’t think of many female media personalties like this.
One idea for a book I think maybe is staring you in the face- yourself, or you plus some close friends. Yes, you have a base of people who know you. I think a book that for example- takes you and say 2 other friends, and discusses how you each came to the place you are now at in your lives would attract attention and numerous sympathetic readers. You have seen hard knocks so you ran relate to some of the challenges people out there face. Lace it with practical advice and humor and you just might have a bestseller. You could make it different than the typical text heavy thing on the shelves. Throw in some inspirational pictures, throw in some quirky questionaires, throw in recipies. Intersperse the personal stories of triumphs, transformations and tragedies with short blocs where you lay out some conservative common sense. Recount humorous stories of when you showed up for a press activity and they found out you were black, a woman AND conservative. Include quiet reflections and prayers. Shucks, even reproduce excerpts of various “hate mail” that come via your blog. In other words, you could put together a book that would look and “sound” different.
You could organize it thematically. In William Manchester’s bio of Douglas MacArthur which I read recently he organized it around the theme of an army post- there was the start- reville, then the other bugle calls for later chapters then the closeout called “Sunset Gun”. At the end of the book Manchester evokes the metaphor of flickering movie reel being rewound- very effective I thought. If you had a theme to weave around the book’s strands and threads, it would look also give it a different look than many others who just go with straight narrative. Methinks you have all the info you need, right a hand to knock out a dynamite book, broad based enough to attract readers from all sides of the aisle.
Oh well. I am out of time. That’s my 2-cents for what its worth. Keep up the good work!
Comment by Enrique Cardova — 05.18.08 @ 12:06 am