Religion? Or Faith and Way of Life?

     During Shabbat this past Friday we got to talking about how open Americans seem to be with their political opinions/standings as compared to Australians. They mentioned how in Australia you usually don't talk about politics, religion, or sex. Shortly after, we ended up just brushing the topic of religion and then Daniel said, "You know what, let's have an American discussion about this". From that point on, God was the focus of the conversation for the rest of the night.
     Throughout the discussion Daniel asked some seriously tough questions like, "If God is a loving God, how can he allow massacres to take place?" and "How can the death of someone good and Christ following be part of His will?" I answered these to the best of my ability, and everyone seemed to think the answers were good enough, but I didn't have a solid answer for them. Things like this are even hard for some committed Christ followers to wrap their heads around and understand entirely.
     At some point I had mentioned how we have no idea what God's plan is. For instance, when I totaled my car (after a funeral) I was seriously upset and frustrated, but who's to say that God didn't have that occur at that moment because he knew 2 months from then my car was going to break down when I was 3 hours from home with my little sisters and Hope in the car with me, so I needed my current car to be totaled to get a new one to keep from the more frustrating event taking place OR it could have just been accident with no other purpose. After I said this Daniel had this look of confusion and surprise on his face and asked, "Wow. Do you really think God is that involved?" I told him matter of factly, "Oh yes! Of course! I know He is! I see His hand on my life and the world around me every day! There are things I've dealt with in life that could only be handled and healed by Him!" All Daniel said was, "Hm..." with an inquisitive look on his face.
     Towards the end of the discussion I realized I was sitting at a table with about 5 people of the Jewish faith and not a one of them seemed to have the same belief as the other... 1 believed there is a God who has a plan, 1 believed there is a God who has a plan but also believes a lot of what we do is psychological, 1 believes there is no higher being whatsoever, and 2 seem to have thought there was a God at one point but are not sure anymore, etc. Once I realized this I said to Daniel, "So wait, do you believe there is a God who exists and is active?" He told me that he'd have to put that question on the back burner. I then said, "It seems like none of you believe the same thing." No one really said anything. So I said, "Wait, so do you guys not believe in God but yet you still do all of this traditional and cultural stuff?" Again, there wasn't much reply, but there was some "well kindas". Then Jen said to me, "Nikki, the saying goes, get 15 Jews in a room together and ask them what they believe and you'll get 25 different responses."
     Everyone then asked me if everyone in my faith believes the same thing I do. I said, "For the most part, yes. You get your extremists like the Westboro Baptist Church (they know this group) and you get your people who call themselves Christians but don't change anything. You also have different denominations that believe slightly different things, but in general yes, we believe the same thing. If nothing else, the people in my churches (my 2 back home and the one here in Australia) all believe close to the same thing." They then asked me what that was. I said, "We believe God created heaven and earth. He sent His Son Jesus who was born to Mary to die on the cross to forgive us of our sins and allow us to have a relationship with God. We believe the only to heaven is to accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior and follow Him. We believe in the Trinity of God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. We believe that Jesus died and He rose. We believe that He is alive and active and that He will return again one day." More or less, this was the end of the conversation.
     I was beyond shocked to find out that they go through all of this celebration of Jewish holidays, following through with traditions, saying prayers, and such and yet they don't even have the faith that goes along with it. They are simply going through the motions and following a law. I mean, part of me finds it interesting that they seem to have more devotion to a faith they don't even have while many Christians have the faith but don't change their lifestyle or do anything about it. Because this is how they operate (following traditions but not having faith) I think they thought that is how I was operating as a Christian as well. They've seen me read my Bible, go to church, and go to small group, but I don't think they understood that it is so much more than just going through the motions or doing it because I feel obligated. When I read my Bible I'm not just reading, I am actually spending time with Him, listening for Him, learning about Him. When I go to church I'm not just standing or sitting because that's what society says to do, I am fellowshipping with other believers, I am praising Him, I am spending time in His presence, I am studying His Word. When I go to small group it isn't just an excuse to hang out with my friends, it is a time to grow together by getting in His Word and discussing it and praying. I have also said things like, "God really blessed me by..." or "I'm so thankful that God.....", but I guess based on their own way of doing things they thought I was just saying it because that's what people said, not because they really and truly believe that God arranged things so you could be blessed or that people literally took the time out to thank Him.
     Finding out that they aren't really following the Jewish faith helped clear up some things I've noticed in the past. They always ask how church or small group was. They want to know what we talked about. They seem very curious and interested... and open. I'm hoping that by continuing to listen to my Christian music in the house, read my Bible around them, take every opportunity to talk about Him and His blessings and comfort and my relationship with Him that their hearts will continue to open towards Him. I don't know what God's plan is for my "family" here, but all I can do is live the way I am called to and let the light of God shine through my actions, attitude, and words. I will plant as many seeds as I can and water them with prayer as Father God tends to them with His healing, comforting, heart changing hands.

ADDITION: When Skyping with my mom this morning (9/10) and telling her the above story, she pointed out something very interesting to me. She asked me, "So what made you decide to go to Shabbat?" It was then that I remembered, earlier that day (9/7) when talking with her, I had decided to actually stay home from Shabbat and order delivery so I could have the house to myself. Other than the fact that Challah was going to be at Shabbat I couldn't pinpoint an exact moment or reason that I decided to go... Just to think that if I hadn't of gone then I wouldn't have had the opportunity to have this discussion with the family... See, God really is that involved. =D