Life As a "Truster"

Of all the mental disorders, hearing voices is perhaps the most unsettling. Yet it seems that our lives are rendered dysfunctional by all the real voices we hear trying to direct, counsel, and control life. From the time we were kids we have heard voices telling us to do this and to do that, to go here and not to go there, this is important and that is not. Growing up doesn't solve the problem – it only makes it worse. During adolescence, the voices of our peers often conflict with the parental voices heard at home. Then there are the religious voices, professor's voices, voices from the media and entertainment, and even voices from within that leave us dizzy with an attack of contradictory input and advice.
Life is a search for a voice we can trust - a single voice that puts all other voices into quiet perspective, a voice that settles the loudness around us and speaks peacefully yet clearly and confidently. A voice of leadership that we can trust.
Jesus Christ is the Voice. He affirmed, "My sheep listen to My voice; I know them, and they follow Me" (John 10:27).
Those who have set their hearts to hear His voice and trust in His leadership have been liberated from the din and frustration of the seductive voices that threaten their destinies.
Unfortunately, to look at most of us who call ourselves by His name, it would be hard to tell that we hear His voice alone and trust to follow it. Our lives are more often than not dictated by our soul and body functional voices within and by the most pressing and influential voices around us.
Freeing ourselves from the voices that haunt us and which are not from God is the primary pursuit and the most privileged identity of the Christian life. It is about becoming what God intended us to be as His children. It is about experiencing Life – the Life of Christ – the way it was meant to be.
Christians are to have a relationship with Jesus Christ, and relating successfully begins by trusting in His leadership. He doesn't relate to us on any other level than trusting on His strength in our weakness.
Yet in sermons, we may hear little about trust. Oh, we hear about trusting that Christ paid the penalty for our sins on the Cross. But day to day trust in Christ is another message. For most of us, Christianity has been formed as a system in which earthly leadership is paramount. We are led to believe that if we relate successfully to the structure, we are doing well in our Christianity – especially if we serve well enough to become leaders. If we have heard about trusting in leadership at all, it is usually in terms of earthly persons, codes, and institutions. Christianity has become more of a ritual and less of a relationship, more of a system and less of a Savior who like a shepherd, LEADS US!
Those who trust in Christ know that Christianity is different. They know that it is Christ and Christ alone. And those who grow into a good awareness of and trust in the leadership of Christ within them experience the liberating joy of simplifying their lives by simply following Christ.
We are never to say to ourselves, "I think I'll make something of my life – and, oh yes, I'll try to trust Him as well." Instead, we are to embrace the reality that Jesus said, "Follow Me and let ME make something of your life."
Those who rise to the Voice and set their minds on non-negotiated, uncompromised trust in Christ's leadership will also get, as a side-effect, His glorious PEACE.
Something significant has happened since Christ issued the challenge nearly two thousand years ago. We have become quite happy to call ourselves Christians with little or no thought of trust in His leadership. As a result, we are paying dearly through a loss of fulfillment, personal satisfaction, and our impact on the world.
It is not that we have denied Christ or even that we have done seriously wrong things. In fact, most of us have mastered the codes of conduct and rituals of our religion. The problem is, we have masqueraded Christ to our own little world with our own little ways. When non-Christians see us, they see more of our distorted portrayal of Christianity than they do a clear reflection of the character and quality of Christ. And they often conclude, "If this is what Christ means in a person's life, then forget it!"
Living in a metropolitan area, I am aware of what graffiti can do to an otherwise attractive façade. Throughout history, vandals have destroyed masterpieces of art by wanton strokes of a brush, adding glasses, a mustache, a sinister smile, a beard, or a distorted nose.
Too often we have graffitied the face of Christ. His image becomes clouded by our prejudices and preferences. Apart from our activities on Sunday and our conformity to external codes of dos and don'ts, the world doesn't notice much difference between us and people who don't claim to be Christian. All they see in Christianity is the loss of a day of leisure on the weekend and the denial of common pleasures. Nor does it go unnoticed that many professing Christians manifest as much greed, self-centeredness, materialism, anger, aggressiveness, and physical appetites as the average pagan on the street.
Few will be drawn to Christianity as a system, especially in its graffitied form. Yet those who find their way through the distortion discover Christ as a compelling leader who can be trusted. Christianity is a relationship, an adventure, a passionate pursuit of trust in Christ. This trust then escapes the boredom and drudgery of a system of rituals and regulations in the discovery of this intriguing Person.
As children of God through Christ, we are liberated from all that does not reflect the perspective, character, and conduct of Christ. Although we may hear a multiplicity of voices from both within and outside the church, we really focus on only one. It is the voice of Christ, who simply said, "Trust ME!" In our modern world, any other voice that says, "Trust me" should be met with a good solid dose of skepticism. But Christ knows what He is talking about, and He means it. No conditions. No negotiations. No particulars. No contractual exceptions. Just trust! It was the first and last thing Jesus required of Peter (Mark 1:17; John 21:19,22). It is the beginning and the end of what it means to be a Christian. Everything in between is measured by it.
Unfortunately when we identify ourselves, our terms of identification don't readily indicate our trust in Chris's daily leadership. To say, "I am a Christian," may focus our attention on our privileges and entitlements. Or, perhaps it is simply a way to differentiate ourselves from other kind of people. For some it means little more than not being a Muslim, Hindu, or Buddhist. The title itself does little to forge a sense of calling to trust action.
Some of us have understood the vagueness of the title "Christian" and have opted for "believer". But this only focuses on a time or season when we confirmed the fact that we had chosen to believe in Christ and His gospel. Again, this fails to define or delineate what it actually means to live as a believer. What does a believer DO apart from giving mental assent to a system of belief?
Then there is the identity of "brother" or "sister". The problem here is that these terms focus our attention horizontally, in terms of relationship to one another, not primarily on our relationship in union with Christ.
Others of us think of our relationship with Christ in terms of "I am a Catholic" or Lutheran, Baptist, Presbyterian, Methodist, or some other denominational or group label.
As good and important as these identities may be, at some point we have to get beyond these labels to a self-perception that will demand the right stuff of our lifestyle.
"In God we trust." Our money says it. We are TRUSTERS – and Jesus Christ is the great TRUSTEE! As strange as the word sounds, identifying ourselves as "TRUSTERS", even though the word is not in the dictionary, captures the essence of what it means to be in union with Christ. Think of the difference it would make if we answered questions about who we are by saying, "I am a TRUSTER OF CHRIST." Calling one another "TRUSTER" would draw out encouragement and accountability. Thinking of ourselves as trusting in Christ keeps our focus on Christ and holds us accountable for how we live.
Yet, in a strange, twisted sort of way, many of us live out our faith in Christ as though He exists to trust us in our demands – to satisfy our wishes. Distorted perceptions of Christianity present the power of faith and prayer as instruments designed to get Christ to serve our impulses for peace and prosperity. This disguised form of self-serving religion sets Christ up as just one more commodity in life that will enhance and empower our dreams and destinations.
An informed perspective of a TRUSTER cancels that notion. Of course, Christ wishes to grant good things to us because He IS generous. But He gives us good things out of His pleasure, in His time and His way, not out of any authority that we supposedly have over Him.
We must not forget that all of life suffers when we fail to trust in Christ's leadership. WE WERE CREATED TO TRUST. In the very beginning, God created us so that we could connect with Him as our transcendent guide who would lead us to the reality of the life He desires for us.
It is not that we have not heard that intriguing call, "Trust Me!" It is not even that we don't believe in and admire the One who calls. Our struggle is that it is just plain difficult to be a TRUSTER. In a world consumed with leadership, independence, and self-led living, it is tough to find volunteers who will even admit that they want to be TRUSTERS. We get and give the impression that TRUSTERS are limp, vulnerable, weak, controlled by others, and lacking in initiative.
Kids used to play "Follow the leader". I don't know whether kids still do, but I know that I always wanted to be the leader. In fact, so did just about everyone else. The reason? The leader was always right, never caught off guard, and never embarrassed by having to imitate others. The leader always looks good, and the followers are the ones who stumble and can't quite keep up.
Growing up hasn't changed our perception of the difference between leading and following – only now it's not a game, and the stakes are high. All of life and its outcomes rise and fall on whether or not we will choose to be the leader of our own destiny or a TRUSTER of someone wiser and better fit to lead. Unfortunately, when it comes to the life choices that matter most, we resist yielding control. We don't want to give the impression that we are unable to figure out life for ourselves.
In the face of our resistance to being vulnerable, Christ calls us to TRUST Him. He calls us to count ourselves wholly, and without compromise, fully devoted TRUSTERS in the great TRUSTEE. And He wants it not as a part-time expression of, or add-on to, our Christianity, but as the all-consuming center point of our existence – THE LIFE AS A
TRUSTER

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