Did you know...

Christians have their own vernacular? In this case, I am using the following definition for vernacular, "the language or vocabulary peculiar to a class or profession" (dictionary.reference.com). 
As always, for believers in Christ, this is probably common knowledge. However, as a non-believer or a "prodigal," I was unaware that Christians had their own language and as a consequence I was completely turned off to any religious conversations because I couldn't relate. Especially since some words have two meanings, one in the "worldly" context and one in the Christian vernacular. Perhaps a brief anecdote would help. 

There was once a child who thought she knew it all. That is, she realized the world was vast and was completely undiscovered and she hungered to learn all that she could. With absolute naivety she set out to do this and lost herself along the way. How does one lose oneself? Simple. You must first believe all things are good. In this, simple Christiandom becomes dangerous. And by simple Christiandom I mean the belief in Jesus Christ as a savior, a friend, a forgiver of all deeds and an utter avoidance of the discussion of Satan and all that he hopes to accomplish. See when that little girl set off to explore the world she was already enveloped in sin. As subtle as that sin might have been at first, it was present and it is said, "once the door is opened, a thief's job is made that much easier." Was there a thief? Absolutely. 

Let me pull back here as your narrator to explain that Satan does indeed exist. Have you not noticed that there is even a whole religion devoted to praise Satanic beliefs? We, Christians that is, refer to Satan as a thief for two main reasons, two that I will address and that suffice for support. It says so in the Bible. And do Christians believe everything we read? No. If it is in the Bible do we? Yes. Why? Because we base our life on the principles in the Bible and after we do that we begin to see the "fruit" in our lives. I'll come back to that another time. 
The second reason we label Satan as a thief is because we have seen his efforts result in an extreme case of loss. Loss of joy; this through a loss of a loved one, loss of finances, loss of confidence, loss of a job, etc. There are many comforts which humans might lose and we blame it (accurately) on an enemy, namely, Satan. 
Now, it is not a vague sort of blame or a childish whine. We, Christians, accept complete responsibility for avoiding large "pit-falls." For example, we cannot rightly blame an enemy if we wind up in a terrible relationship, in which the baby's father wants nothing to do with the child and finances are so tight we are barely able to afford our groceries, if we were the ones in the first place who chose to go out and contradict the word (The Bible) through sleeping around and not tithing. All things are tied together as the girl from our story eventually figures out. The good news, and there is ALWAYS good news while living as a Christian, is that God accepts us. Yes, we must first admit that we do indeed sin* but beyond that, God loves us and will help us restore our faith and therefore restore what it is the devil set out to destroy, our lives. See, everything is so intricately overlapped that God's mercy and grace are more fully explored in the moments when one knows that the devil seeks to destroy joy but in an instant when we kneel and pray, to ask God's help in overcoming the "thief," our joy is restored, our energy resumed, and the loss is turned into a life-giving instance. It's miraculous and it does take a Christian's vernacular, an understanding of the language, to understand what it is all these Christians are talking about. Otherwise it doesn't sound far different from voo-doo or some other mystical development. The difference is, God's love isn't selective. At the place where one enters the conversation, there one will be met with understanding and the ability to expand, as with any other avenue of learning. It is as searchable as the universe and it's no wonder, given that the creator created creation and therefore the mystery of it all is there to be explored and enjoyed and it is so joyous to recognize that your hopes are all as valid as the exploration of galaxies that we will most likely never thoroughly explore but find it amazing all the same. God's glory is like that, except with the promise that once you die you will see heaven! If heaven seems far-stretched for you, I'll have to write another essay because this one obviously only scratches the surface! I'd be happy to actually :)

*what is sin? Any activity that draws one further away from the love of God. Why? Because if we participate in such or such activity and we begin to feel as if God loves us less and less, we will be unable to express to the next person we encounter how good God is, how much He has done for us, and in return how much God loves that person too! That is also a definition of what it means to feel convicted. Let's save that one for another time too! Just know that to sin is to be human (or you might have heard it as "to err?") Well, either way, it's true. However, with Jesus Christ and God, Christians say we have a savior who rescues us from the enemy who sets up traps. Think of it as the original Western or ultimate RPG. Except it's real life. And it's your life. And it's mine. We live it out, we talk it out. We have a vernacular because we need one. There's no other way to communicate how much God does for us with out expressing it in a unique way. 

Back to our story:

See, the girl went off into her own little world and as the door was open to the enemy, she began sinning more and more. At first it was one party here and another there, until it was almost every night and the things she used to love most no longer appeared on her stage and she was lost in a very tragic story. She played her friends and her cards and eventually lost it all, but it was partly her fault, but partly a language barrier to blame. She had been warned, you should know. That a thief was out there, to kill, damage and destroy, but she thought that was silly since she couldn't see him, not really. He was clothed up in bottles and songs at the club, but he was harmful all the same and he confused her ideas on a thing the world* calls love. In the Bible it's defined as the ultimate sacrifice, no questions on whether what we do is wrong or right. In the world, as she saw it, love was the same as acceptance. If she was accepted, then who else wasn't? Not the sinners around her, they were all the same, but the people who loved her because they were part of her pain. They didn't love her because they weren't as accepting, not as desirous of change. What type of change though did she want to see? She looked for answers, all the while not seeing that her attention was divided. She looked for wisdom, but her heart went into hiding. So lost and confused, she never felt whole. Happiness she felt, but she also felt old. Tired and weary from nights full of sinning, or drinking and sleeping and going back to the same old thing. And so she decided a change finally needed to be made and she did something she was so glad that she did. She stopped listening to lies and sought a real answer. What in this world offers lasting joy? Offers peace? Well, she remembered that something called God did and as she sought Him with her whole heart, do you know what He did? He turned her around and away from the pain, He presented her with a heart that was open and healing. He reintroduced her to the ones who had loved her, who never stopped all along and to the friends she had wronged, He gave her hope in heart that she would never again feel so all alone. It was good and long, the journey was hard but as most journeys are, she never once thought it wrong that she took the chance to take a journey with God. So, the story goes that she began to understand what it was others had told her, or His love and His wisdom and even the fruits of the Spirit, but all of those words were initially, very confusing, so if you need any help as you try to figure it out, just ask a friend and please don't be shy. Christians understand that they come off as different, that we draw your attention. We desire the chance to tell you our story so you'll know we were once as confused and bewildered as that strange little girl who grew up to be a very nice woman. 
The End.

*When I write about the "world," I am using a Christian word to define a place with a unique set of words, ideas and behaviors that are almost in direct contradiction to those of the religious world.

God bless you and keep you and thank you for reading! And I thank God for the opportunity to share His love and grace and mercy in the way I feel comfortable,  and enjoy, doing!! He's so good!!