“Dyslexia is actually about information processing. Dyslexic people may have difficulty processing and remembering information they see and hear, which can affect learning and the acquisition of literacy skills. Dyslexia can also impact on other areas such as organizational skills.”
People with dyslexia tend to read things backwards or not in order. They tend to understand things differently than the majority. I have had a few loved ones who are afflicted with this condition and it affects how quickly or easily they can learn true things.
When it comes to the Christian Gospel, many believers have a reverse way of thinking about God and His plan. Many of us put more emphasis on OUR works and plans than on the works and plans of God almighty. Many think the Christian walk is about what WE do and where WE go instead of where God leads and where we follow.
It came to me yesterday that a number of Christian brothers and sisters may have a form of dyslexia when it comes to the Gospel of Christ. There is often a disconnect between religious teachings and what the Bible really says is the Gospel. The simplest expression of the Gospel is found in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life”. There is not much there about what WE do, but about what God has done. We are simply “to believe”.
Many people I have been trying to share the Gospel with seem to think they cannot accept or be accepted by Christ until they “clean themselves up” from sin. They somehow have been told that sinners can’t go to Heaven and so until THEY decide and clean up their act, they might as well forget about it. Nothing could be further from the true Gospel of Christ. Scriptures are clear that we ALL are sinners, saved by grace. He came “while we were yet sinners” to die on the cross and pay the price for our sins because otherwise we all would die in sin and be separated from God forever. God knew that fallen man would never be able to overcome their sinful natures by their own wills and be reunited in relationship to His holiness. By sacrificing Himself on the cross in our place for the sins we all commit and then raising from the dead, HE is the one who has conquered sin and death in our place. HIS power and HIS decision is what has saved us from eternal damnation and separation from God. He paid the price so we would not have to and simply offers us this free gift of redemptive grace for the human natures we always carry with us. We cannot and will not be saved by “good works” or cleaning ourselves up. We are saved by His mercy and redemptive powers to forgive us and give us the power and will to obey Him. Don’t put that process in reverse because you will always fail.
Some new gospels push the idea that once we are in faith that we can start making demands on God to meet our desires and have everything in this life we need to be “blessed” and prosper. While some of us prosper by His grace and mercy, nowhere do I see in the scriptures that our relationship with God is based on His giving us riches in this life. He has promised to provide for our NEEDS. He has promised “His riches in glory” which is not of this earth. He has promised to be with us in times of suffering and loss, but He has not promised that we would not suffer or experience want or loss in this life. He HAS told us that we should find contentment in whatever circumstances we find ourselves in. He HAS told us to be thankful in ALL things…in abundance or want, in suffering or health, in good times and bad. Christianity was never meant to be a recipe for pain free living. Quite the opposite. Jesus told us that to follow Him means taking up our cross daily and follow Him. Carrying crosses is not “fun”. He said to “share in His sufferings”. He said we would have heartaches and challenges but that when these things happen to us to rejoice because He has overcome this world of pain and suffering and thus provides the strength for us to do so also.
As Christians we are instructed to read and understand God’s revelation through the Bible. This is our authority and blueprint for how to understand and live life. Unfortunately, some of us read it a bit out of order or backwards. Some people start with the promises of God without reading the parts of how we discern or earn those promises. Some people read only the parts they like and use their own interpretations to name and claim what THEY want in this life…not truly understanding what God requires of them in this life. Our Christian walk is supposed to be about loving God and others before ourselves…yet so many think the Gospel is only about them or the love THEY want to RECEIVE. Obviously we need to receive Gods love in order to have any to give to ourselves or others, but this “bless me bless me” Gospel needs to be confronted. So many scriptures point to the principle that we receive in order to give…not hoard for ourselves. God is love…therefore we must have Him in our lives in order to truly love others. Life is about God’s plan, not OUR plan of how we want to live it. Yet, so many believers interpret faith in Christ as endless receiving of blessings and simply waiting for the rapture so we can escape the realities of this world. I would suggest we need to understand God’s revelation from its beginning in Genesis. You can’t understand any book by simply reading the last chapter and thinking you know what the book was all about.
Finally, we come to the gospel of legalism or works. Many religious people think if they do enough good things for enough people that surely God will not bar them from His presence in Heaven. If we are holy enough and better than others, we somehow have a special dispensational relationship with God that grants us privileges or favor. If we are more obedient than the next person, we somehow will be special in this life and in Heaven. Again, I don’t see how anyone can read the scriptures orderly and get this impression.
Good works or obeying laws will never be good enough to help us see God. No matter how “good” or “spiritual” we get, we will never be good enough before a holy God to merit His favor. If we could have done this, there would be no reason or purpose in Christ’s death and resurrection. It is HIS work that has saved us. It is HIS choice to reveal Himself to us. In the flesh we are unable to be pure and stand before Him. We are justified by His works, not our own. Any good that we do in this life should be in return and thanksgiving for what He has already done for us. Any power we have to obey and overcome sin comes from HIM…not within ourselves. We are totally dependent on God even to receive faith to believe which is clearly stated as a gift from God not conjured up by any good in us.
While it is not a sin to be “dyslexic”, it can truly be a frustrating life misunderstanding the Gospel of Christ. If we are spiritually prideful in thinking faith and Christ’s sacrifice is something we deserve and earn, we will be living a distorted life regarding ourselves and our outlook on others. If we simply live and love with the grace and mercy we have been shown, we will have lived as well as we can in the service of others because God first loved and served us with so great a salvation…without merit. That is the straight reading of a Biblical gospel.