Surprised

December 10, 2008 in Life,Mission,Spiritual Growth with 8 Comments

Discussed a great question last night at our group that grabbed me: what surprised you most about the Christian faith?  What aspect of your faith did you have no idea was coming down the pipe?

Here are some things that still catch me off guard:

  • Had no idea that following Jesus would be a battle of sorts.  I thought things would more easily resolve and that staying true to God would be easier than it is. 
  • Really still discovering the upside down nature of the Gospel – that when you try to keep your life you lose it, that power and influence are not given for your benefit but the benefit of others.
  • I'm surprised that God loves us enough to humbly suffer the way He suffered in Christ.  There are days I wonder whether we (humanity) is actually worth that, given our response to God so far (and my personal response to that kind of devotion). 
  • I'm surprised at how unredeemed parts of my character still feel. This following Jesus thing is a life-time process of constant work by God.
  • I'm surprised that God can love such a wide variety of people, including the weird ones that I don't love.  Of course, I realize I am one of the weird ones to others….

How about you – what surprises or surprised you about Christianity?  Or, if you haven't decided to follow Jesus, what keeps you from it?

I think there's a lot of gold in the answer to this question.  Post away. 

About Carey Nieuwhof: Carey Nieuwhof is lead pastor of Connexus Community Church and author of the best selling books, Leading Change Without Losing It and Parenting Beyond Your Capacity. Carey speaks to North American and global church leaders about change, leadership, and parenting.

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  • http://danscottblog.com dan scott

    I am still surprised that people use their faith as an excuse to make poor decisions. The quote, "We're stepping out in faith," can be one to both admire and fear. This phrase can either make famous or defame the name of Jesus, and people take it so lightly it seems.

  • Doris Schuster

    I'm more and more surprised at how present God is in our lives and how He loves to answer prayers as we draw nearer and nearer to Him and just trust Him. In my recent experiences "stepping out in faith", as Dan quoted, has produced some awesome results.

  • http://blog.hafchurch.org/peter Peter P

    I'm surprised at how difficult the bible is to understand…. and then at other times how easy it is!

  • http://www.stlukesoshawa.com Rebekah

    I'm often surprised by God's grace – how deep it is, how often it pops up in my life. And then I'm surprised by the fact that I'm surprised by His grace…I mean, he promised it, so I should just trust that it will be there, right?

  • http://www.careynieuwhof.com Carey Nieuwhof

    Great surprises.

    Dan – thanks man…that's an angle I need to pursue in a series next year on God's will. SO true. Sad. But SO true.

  • Laurie

    I am constantly surprised by the mystery of God. That so many minds have tried to understand him and been profoundly moved by what we can not see. that I can be almost at the same time totally believing and thinking, this can't be real…

  • Allen Forget

    I am surprised by how hard it is to truly accept God's grace. As humans you would think that accepting a gift would be easy but rather, it is hard to accept the amazing grace God gives without believing something in return is required.

    I am surprised that HE chooses me, a simple man, to do things for Him. I know that I only need to read the Bible to support this by looking at who Jesus chose to be his messengers at that time but I feel so insignificant and unqualified to do these things.

    I am surprised that God is using all of the life experiences He planned for me, good and bad, to strengthen me in my walk with Him.

    I am surprised by the fact that so many Christians do not understand the depth of Love that God has for us.

    I am surprised that I came from a Sunday morning worshipper background and have come to a place where I am now a daily worshipper of God.

    I am surprised that He left the door open for me to walk back in when I was ready.

    Peace to you all at this amazing time of year.

  • Jen

    Wow, Allen. I'm just gonna copy and paste your response. :o)

    So true. Every word is exactly how I feel. And most of all my surprise is that I'm chosen, too.

    This is my first 'real' Christmas as a believer and I'm surprised that I want to surround myself only with other followers. To truly spend the day celebrating the most important birthday of all mankind. Without Jesus none of us would be here. I'm surprised I'm even saying this when not so long ago I would have said you were nuts if you told me where I'd be today. :o)