The world tries to convince us that living your life for God is boring. The media is filled with stereotypes of lifeless dry Christians who often ruin parties and are slaves to the rules God gives you. This image of a Christian's life is what causes many people to be "circular Christians."
Circular Christians are people who love God, but in cycles. They enjoy the best of both worlds. One moment they are spending every second with God, and a few days later they are completely back to their old ways. Or perhaps they give their all to God on Sunday and live in their old ways Monday through Saturday. Circular Christians are a disciple of Jesus one day and then they are back to being a fisherman the next day.
Jesus describes circular Christians in this parable:
Matthew 13:3-8 “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.
He later on describes it in more detail:
Matthew 13:18-23 “Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path. The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful. But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”
Hey there's no judgment here. I was a circular Christian for years! I simply enjoyed both lifestyles. I loved God and I wanted to do right by Him. But I also loved the clubbing, the secular music, and to be completely honest, I loved giving into my lusts. I enjoyed the lack of restraints on my anger and temper. I would curse someone out Monday through Saturday and praise God on Sunday. I loved the convenience. So I would spend weeks at a time partying, drowning myself in secular music, and I would let my lusts fester. When I began to experience the consequences for my lifestyle, then I would come crying and running to God. I danced in-between two lines. I took what I wanted from Satan's side and I took what I wanted from God's side.
Picture yourself spinning around in a circle. We used to do this silly stuff all the time as a child. We would spin ourselves around or run in a circle really fast. Although we had a ball during that moment, remember how awful we used to feel afterwards! Our heads would be throbbing, and we would feel dizzy and even nauseous. For many of you, this is how being a circular Christian makes you feel. You feel unfulfilled, empty, and stuck, and that's a good thing. It's great to feel that way because that means you know you can do better.
Quick clarification: What deciphers a disciple of Jesus from a circular Christian is comfort. We all struggle with letting go the things of our past. But disciples know that feeling when your spirit is telling you, "you know good and well you shouldn't be...." However circular Christians are comfortable with their old lives and instead of picking up one or two pieces of their past, they pick up the whole thing. When it becomes too heavy, they come to God for Him to take the burden away from them. Being a circular Christian doesn't mean you don't love God, and it doesn't mean you don't desire Him. You are dipping your toes in the pool of God, getting a little wet, then running back out to your comfort zone.
This is how you break the cycle, and it's quite simple--have fun with God. Enjoy having a relationship with Him. If you don't discover Him in that deeper way, then you will get bored with Him and turn to the world for entertainment.
God is your best friend
Not to diss your friends, but man God's friendship tops it all! You can tell God any and everything, and you don't have to worry about Him gossiping or spreading your business to everyone. God has seen me at my darkest moments and He hasn't exposed me as I deserve. When I feel like reminiscing, God is the best one to speak with. I was just laughing with God the other night thinking about how I used to pray back in my preteen years.
God you remember right? I used to say,
"Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray my lord my soul to keep. If I die before I wake, I pray my Lord my soul to take. Please bless (then I would go on forever listing names). Then I would close the prayer listing the boys I had crushes on, and I would ask God to make them like me.
I had a good laugh with God thinking about that one.
You and God will come up with your own ways of communication. Your thing. For me, whenever I'm depressed God cheers me up with animals because He knows I love them. One day I was walking my dog and I was near tears and completely depressed. Out of the blue, a turkey came out of the bushes. Now where I live, turkeys are the last thing you expect to see. I've never seen a turkey before until that day. It gobbled at me and walked right up to me. I laughed so much that I forgot about my worries. I immediately looked up at the sky and smiled because I knew what my father was doing. Think about it, what is your thing with God?
Back in high school, I used to always hear older folks tell me, "why are you sitting in the back of the bus? Don't you know there were people who fought and even died so that you can have the right to sit in the front of the bus?" I would always think, who cares? But when you think about it from their prospective, they knew everything that the previous generations had to go through. So it baffles them when they see that we are not taking advantage of the privilege we now have.
Jesus Christ died so the veil between us and God could be torn. Right before He was arrested He told His disciples,
John 15:15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.
Knowing all that Jesus went through so that we can be reconciled with God, who are we to not take advantage of it? Through Jesus Christ we have the ear of God, waiting to hear our voices. Start out by talking to God at least ten minutes a day. It can be about anything. I talk to God in the same way I would talk to my friend. Doing this will expose you to another side of God you haven't discovered before. I find this to be true every time I talk to God.
The more you talk to Him, the more He shows Himself to you. The more He shows Himself to you, the more you crave Him. The more you crave Him, the more you will seek Him. The more you seek Him, the more rooted you become. The more rooted you become, the more you will abandon the ways of this world. Then your relationship with God will be less like a circle and more like a wave. Once your relationship is like a wave you will understand that even though you have ups and downs, you are still a part of the body of water, the body of Christ.
God will give you progress
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