Monday, October 11, 2010

The Road to Reality

I read this book because my Psych Professor recommended it. I would have to say it was pretty great and eye-opening. My report on it.



The Road to Reality is an inspirational book which poses many philosophical questions, concerns, and thoughts for the Christian life-style in America. The author of The Road to Reality, Dr. K.P Yohannan, is the founder and international director of Gospel for Asia. It is an organization which makes it possible for the Gospel of the Bible to be shared with those in hard to reach areas of the globe. Yohannan’s sole purpose for writing such a book is to depict the problems which many Christian Americans are not fully aware of. Among the issues of how a follower of Christ should life their life, include concerns such as materialism, freedom not being appreciated, division, evidential confusion between reality and media, misuse of currency, arrogance, preaching a “candy-coated religion”, corrupted minds of society, a dead prayer life, and a major problem of self-sufficient living.


It is evident that the human mind is never fulfilled over ownership of materials. People today, who have less access to material goods, for example those in Third World countries, have little or nothing at all. Every day is a struggle for them to survive. They are not standing in front of a mirror for hours on end to make sure their appearance fits the standards of America’s society today. They are not indulging in food every two hours, or even under stress, because they do not have the access to. When someone does not have something, they are more likely to be grateful for something that is free and eternal. This gift would consist of the free eternal gift of Christ in their life. Yet, even in his book, Yohannah could see the ignorance in America’s religious leaders. He said of one circumstance while explaining to the leaders about a dying world in need of Jesus, “Consumed by the bountiful provisions of their culture, it was difficult for them to comprehend the situation in the sin-blighted countries of the Third World.” These leaders had no idea that what they had in their life, as far as necessities go, was far more than a large population of the world would ever experience.

American Christians so often take for granted the freedom of just knowing that Jesus Christ came to the earth to save lost souls. They also take for granted the wealth in America; being blind to the sight that with all the money they consume on unnecessary materials, they could be saving a lost soul as the perfect alternative. In America we distort and pervert circumstances which were made to be holy. An example of this would be Christmas, or as Yohannah puts it, “Christmas Irony.” A question Yohannah poses on the subject of the irrationality America portrays this once holy celebration of Christmas, “Why did these people who had everything, still want more?” He said this about consumer products. The question reveals rationality and truth; the answer was simply put, Americans can be selfish people. America can easily be described as “Me Nation.” Though many citizens have been raised in a Christian environment, they still hide in their comfort or “safety zones”. But God did not create Christians so that they could create their own view of Christianity and what it looks like to follow the Creator God. God already had in mind what a Christian was to look and act like, and how their lives were to be lived. Followers of Christ were not created for the earth, they were created to carry out the Gospel, no matter how uncomfortable certain situations could get. They were not created to be served by the world, but to go out and serve the world in complete and utter humility. In order to do so, one must put their “comfort” aside and allow Christ to work through their lives.

The next problem posed in many Christians of today is the spiritual dichotomy, or division, as opposed to unity Christians are called by Christ to encompass. What has been divided is what one does, contrasted to who they are; their identity. Christians have unintentionally deserted their identity in Christ in exchange for a meaningless, worldly identity. Yohannah described what America portrays being “born again” as opposed to what exactly it truly means to be born again, saying, “Thus, the false religion of popular Christianity does not ask us to internalize the passion and mind of Christ, to surrender our egos, to lay aside our flesh, take up the cross and begin a lifestyle marked by submission to the will of the Father as He did.” It is apparent that there are problems in the realm of Christianity in America if believers have so many gateways to draw nearer to Christ, yet there is obvious disregard towards a God so loving.

The mass media consumes so many lives at an exceeding rate. Along with the media controlling the majority of America, comes poor time-management and prioritizing skills. It is merely pathetic to witness the access Christians have in America, yet do not even make the slightest attempt towards appreciation in this fact. America has a vast amount of knowledge of God, yet knowledge without works is meaningless. If one does not make their knowledge of something useful then there is no rational point to retaining that knowledge to begin with. Christians are called by a loving God to go out and make an influence on the world, instead of letting the world influence them.

Conferences and church events are put on to raise money for church wants, not necessities. Some leaders in the church have missed the point entirely. There is no importance of investing in the appearance of a church, when there are billions of dying souls in the world who need Jesus. The point is not to raise money for an improved church building; the point is to raise Christians for eternity. It is crucial that Christians do not lose sight of the Savior when getting wrapped up in dollars-and-cents decisions which make no spiritual difference in a person’s life. On the contrary, God is not necessarily interested in people giving money to missions, but instead, He is more interested in Christians living the life of missions. This means living to share the Gospel with lost souls; this is the purpose of life.

The next misconception of Christianity is simple: arrogance. Many Christians practice “infant” Christianity, where they are always seeking comfort in the world, but do not take the opportunity to go out and be uncomfortable to spread the truth of God to surrounding neighbors. Yohannah is spot on when he discusses this problem, “A look at our church activity calendars reveals not a body of givers, but a society of receivers.” He emphasizes the “Me” dilemma that is revealed throughout the American nation.

Many Christian pastors and leaders of today in America preach in hopes that they do not say the “wrong thing”, or something that has the potential of offending someone sitting in the pews. This satanic way of teaching God can easily cause severe spiritual deceits in a person’s heart. When teaching the truth in God’s written word, those who hear and are offended and usually those who are living in defiance of the truth; this is a very frightening place to be at in life. If one denies Christ, he too shall be denied. In fear of people experiencing discomfort from the truth, many pastors candy-coat the truth so that they will not offend anyone. The bible was written as a whole, and no part of it was meant to be disregarded. This is one reason why it is so difficult for some people to go out and enlighten lost souls of life after death, because they are afraid they will make that person uncomfortable. But Christ was meant to be shared, no matter how uncomfortable one’s flesh may become.

A crucial component of spreading Christianity is through the youth of today. Though sadly, America has spoiled the youth of today which is dragging them away from the big picture. There is an immense need of God, and the sharing of Him throughout society. The focus should not always be on what an adolescent wants to hear. Sometimes it is important for them to hear something that is accommodating to their walk with Christ, no matter badly one wants to stay ignorant. Americans consult other Christians for support and advice when they should be consulting God, the One who is in control of everything. Christians sometimes wonder why God is not showing up in their lives, it is merely because they are not including God in their lives. Often times Christians are so out of touch from God, that they no longer can conceive that they are wrong about something in their life. The easy solution to proving if God is evident in one’s life is to take a step back and realize all the blessings that have come from Him above.

Prayer in the Christian life was not meant for one to manipulate God into getting what they wanted. Many Christians want to know why God is not “answering their prayers” and this is simply because they have perverted the true meaning of prayer. It is a divine communication between the Christian and God. Without prayer, the relationship a Christian shares with their Savior, struggles to survive. It is very crucial to hold onto a close bond with God in order to know His will, which results in obedience to His will. They are to respond to God’s will and purpose for their lives, and not waiting for God to respond to what they want. One might ask themselves, how could people live a life with blessings and not look to God as the true giver? Christians are not being reminded enough that they were not created to live a happy, wealthy, healthy, painless life here on earth. Instead, they were created to be the body of Christ, while He is the head. The head controls and guides what the body does, meaning they are to fulfill the desires of God. The image of this obedience would look like this: to live as Christ in this world. 1 John 4:17 reads, “Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the Day of Judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world.” Christians were created to love so that others will be able to taste the even slightest amount of perfection in Jesus.

In order to live as Christ lived, believers need to follow the guidelines written in Galatians 2:20 which reads, "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” In order to live an authentic life for Christ, Christians need to die to self. This means to lay aside all fleshly desires in exchange for God’s desires for their lives. God desires a relationship with His people; He desires for His people to grow in spirit and then go out into the world and share all that He has provided. For many Christians in America, this would be considered an inconvenience. Yohannah used an example of abortion in America: When a couple “is not ready” for a baby, or “it would be inconvenient” for them, they simply cut it out of their lives by killing it. It is this kind of selfishness that thrives among many Americans today, which makes it difficult for so many to receive the selfless in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” In order to live an authentic life for Christ, Christians need to die to self. This means to lay aside all fleshly desires in exchange for God’s desires for their lives. God desires a relationship with His people; He desires for His people to grow in spirit and then go out into the world and share all that He has provided. For many Christians in America, this would be considered an inconvenience. Yohannah used an example of abortion in America: When a couple “is not ready” for a baby, or “it would be inconvenient” for them, they simply cut it out of their lives by killing it. It is this kind of selfishness that thrives among many Americans today, which makes it difficult for so many to receive the selfless life in Christ. Suffering under Christ’s name is promised; it is promised that the Christian walk is not an easy one; it cannot be walked alone. Christ is needed every step of the way. This would be to deny the flesh and drop all that one has, in order to follow the life God has in mind. In this scenario, the Christian gives up their life in exchange for new life in God. The desire of wanting God more than anything this world has to offer plays an important role. There is victory over the world when one is living for Christ, and living to please Him. Everything apart from God should be counted as loss for there is no lasting confidence in the flesh, 1 John 4:4 reads, “You are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world.”

Christians in American society allows themselves to have a psychological mid-set that they can achieve anything great without God. They achieve things that may appear great to the world, but the purpose is not to do great things for the world, but for the Creator. Americans pose a desperate need for World Evangelization with the Gospel. God commanded His people in the bible to go out and share with all who have an ear. It also obvious that a Christian must live separated from the world; to live in the world, yet not of the world. To live a life in God’s standards, believers need to reverse their modern day process of thinking in order to experience spiritual reality. They also should take some time off from the worries of the world to wait upon the Lord; not just to pray to God, but to pray with Him; to go out and live the will of the Savior, in hopes of building a strong, healthy, and eternal relationship with God.

3 comments:

Kaitlin said...

"Knowledge without works is meaningless." Amen.

ray-chill said...

I wrote that on my Vans. Love it.

Anonymous said...

Hi Rachel,
My name is Cari and I work with Gospel for Asia. Thanks for the great book review! Road to Reality changed my life. KP has also written several other great books that can be downloaded for free from our website. www.gfa.org

I also wanted to tell you about a new video/website we have created to help people think about Christmas. Please check it out:
www.forgottenchristmas.org

If you like it, will you consider doing a blog post about it?

Thanks!

Cari
caripoweziak@gfa.org