Do Jews and Christians Worship the Same God?

**Disclaimer: I feel like this is an appetizer platter of an answer to this question. There is lots more to it, and I am by no means an expert!**

 

I've heard people, people of various religious affiliations, inquire about if Muslims & Christians worship the same God before. To me, that's not really a big question that fills my mind with crazy thoughts - Allah's character is altogether different from God's character. Boom. Done.

Since my freshman year of college, however, I've been thinking about the more puzzling question of whether Jews and Christians worship the same God. It all started when I heard a Christian woman talking about "a nice Jewish lady she worked with." According to this Christian, herself and her nice lady co-worker definitely, hands-down worshipped the same God. I wasn't so sure though. I mean where did the Trinity come in? What about Jesus?!

This concept popped up in my small group last night and got me, once again, thinking about it. Since my fiance is super smart and has, like, 18 books on systematic theology, I asked him what he thought. I think he came up with a pretty good analogy (which, like all analogies will break down at some point, but I think it still helps!). And since I'm pretty much the best artist ever (of stick figures that is), I've illustrated it for you :)

A Jew telling a Christian that they worship the same God is kind of like two guys who have the "same car." Guy 1 (the metaphorical Jew in this situation) pulls up to Guy 2 (the Christian) and says, "Hey man, we have the same car! Cool!" Guy 2: "Uhh, no we don't. Your car is just a shell of my car. It's not going to get you very far because it doesn't even have an engine or wheels or lights."

 (Obvi Guy 2 is headed down the right path because he's jamming out to Carrie Underwood.)

Okay, cheesy, I know. But to an extent it totally works. While Jews recognize the God of the Old Testament, they vehemently neglect Jesus. Because the Trinity is God in three persons, but wholly one, they are in essence rejecting God.

In Romans, Paul talks about the "remnant" of Israel that will come to salvation. In order to come to this salvation, they must ultimately accept Jesus as their Messiah, Savior, and Lord. As Gentiles, we're grafted into God's family if we accept Jesus' sacrifice and triumph over sin and death. Romans 11 says that Jews too can remain on this metaphorical tree of salvation if they accept Jesus or, if they reject Jesus then can turn from their sin and accept him and be grafted back in. 

The question of Jews & Christians worshipping the same God ultimately boils down to salvation and thoughts about the Trinity. Jesus said he was the only way, the only truth, and the only life, and that no one can come to the Father except through him (John 14:6)! While God's covenant with the Jews is still in tact, and he desires all peoples, especially his chosen people, to come to salvific knowledge of him, Jews must ultimately accept Jesus to receive salvation. God the Father, God the Holy Spirit, and God the Son are a one-package-deal. Rejection of one means rejection of all.

Recipe Review: Homemade Coffee Creamer

I've loved coffee since I was six years old. Maybe that explains why I'm 5'1". I'd probably be in the WNBA if it weren't for my young-aged coffee addiction. You win some, you lose some.

I digress...

My hatred for flavored creamers is almost as strong as my love for the deliciously caffeinated drink. I mean flavored creamer lasts for an ungodly amount of time. There's no telling the amount of preservatives in any given bottle. I recently tried out a flavored cream that was natural (no preservatives or weird, unpronounceable ingredients) - Coffee Mate Natural Bliss in Sweet Cream. It is delicious - so delicious it doesn't take me long to go through a bottle. So, thanks to Pinterest, I can now make my own creamer in less than 10 minutes and use as much as I want! Or as much as I feel like I can without my hips doubling sizes.

I modified this recipe from Deliciously Organic:

• 1 cup skim milk
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 4 tsp. maple syrup
• Some cinnamon, for kicks & giggles

Heat this mixture (sans vanilla) in a saucepan over medium heat until it steams. Remove from heat & stir in vanilla. Allow the liquid to cool for about 30 minutes. Strain the mixture through a fine mesh sieve into a pourable bottle (I just used the empty container from my store bought creamer).

The website says it lasts up to 10 days in the refrigerator, which is way less scary than 10 months!

Verdict: not bad. It didn't quite match my preferred ratio of cream to sugar, so I'd definitely add more maple syrup next time (maybe 5-6 teaspoons).

You could make lots of flavored creamers with this recipe, so don't be afraid to get creative!

Wordless Wednesday: A House Divided

In honor of March Madness, ridiculously beautiful weather, and having only six more weeks left in my last spring semester at UNC...

 

The Proposal!

*Drum roll*

This past Friday my mom came into town for us to spend the day together and look at reception venues. Since Miles & I were (slash are) courting, I wasn't afraid to start planning without a ring. Plusss I may or may not have seen a confirmation email regarding a certain engagement ring so I knew it was in the works :)

We went to multiple places in Durham and were scheduled to see one of Summit's venues (BC South) last. I was somewhat suspicious because my mom made me freshen up before going to BC South by using not one, but two oil absorbing wipes. Thanks for looking out for me, Mom. We walked down to BC South from the church office and as soon as I went in I saw the TVs in the lobby projecting Psalm 34:3 (Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together!), which is the verse I've prayed over my future husband since middle school. I was so surprised & excited and at that point knew exactly what was happening.

I went inside the main sanctuary to find this:

A table full of Easter lilies and daisies (my favorites!), candles, and the Valentine's Day card I made for Miles on the screen.

And I saw this handsome man waiting on me!  

 

He started off by talking about why he chose BC South to propose - it's where we met, where we fell in love during Kid's Week, and where he fasted and prayed for me throughout the summer. Then he read Proverbs 31:10-31, explaining that he had prayed over that passage for over two years, praying with expectation that God would bring him a woman that lined up with those verses.

Next, he read a poem he wrote me this summer. I wish I could remember all the wonderful things in it, but I was just too excited to remember my name, let alone a long string of beautiful words. The coolest, nerdiest part of the night was the fact that the Proverbs 31 passage and the poem Miles wrote were both acrostics!

The last line of the poem was about never being apart in this life and then he, fittingly, asked me to marry him!

I, of course, said yes! About 0.35 seconds after screaming "yes," I shoved the ring on my finger. No waiting around on Miles. Whoops.

He picked me up, gave me a bear hug, and prayed for our new life together!

After everything went down, I noticed that TJ, Miles' friend, had been taking pictures the entire time! Thanks for capturing these sweet moments, TJ! 

We went out and my mom was so relieved because she could finally come clean about being suspicious all day. Then Miles said his family and my brother & my dad were all on their way to celebrate with us!

It was so incredibly perfect and sweet! I'm so excited to marry this godly man!

Are the 5 Love Languages Gospel-Centered?

I really like the 5 love languages. I think it's a wonderful concept and a good book for any type of relationship, be that romantic, friendship, or familial in nature. I vividly remember my godmother telling me my love language was gifts as if it were a cold hard fact. I immediately rejected the idea; I was sure I had to have a holier love language - I mean gifts are so shallow! I knew mine was something pious like acts of service or quality time. That self-righteous thought lasted all of 14 minutes until I read the descriptions of the various languages and was immediately humbled. My primary love language is hands down gifts. I love getting gifts and feel incredibly loved when I receive them. I also love giving them! And, for the record, my second love language is clearly physical touch (once again, a previously dubbed "shallow" love language).

When I first heard about the 5 love languages I thought they were super biblical. I mean after all they were promoting spouses to love and sacrifice for one another and parents to dote upon their children in a loving and receivable way. It wasn't until recently when I thought about the Gospel-centeredness of the 5 love languages. Are the 5 love languages even scripturally sound and Gospel-centered?

The answer: yes! :) and no! :(

The 5 love languages (which are gifts, physical touch, words of affirmation, quality time, and acts of service) teach individuals to love those they're in relationship with well in a way in which the other person feels loved. This includes sacrifice and humility. Generally people "speak" the language they like to receive. For example, I feel most loved by receiving gifts, no matter the size. While I enjoy words of affirmation every once in a while, they often make me feel uncomfortable. Miles on the other hand really values and loves words of affirmation, so I've had to be conscious of that in freely speaking that to him, as well as uncomfortably receiving that language too. The Gospel in and of itself screams sacrifice and discomfort. Jesus Christ, Son of the Creator, supreme Lord who holds the world together by his word, came into the world he created, as a baby to die an incredibly excruciating death. Talk about sacrifice. In comparison, me feeling a little uncomfortable with words of affirmation seems stupidly silly and insignificant. The 5 love languages are Gospel-centered in that they promote sacrificial love, a dim shadow of the love with which Christ loves the church, his bride. 

The problem comes when people take the 5 love languages as a self-help book, void of the Gospel, which I admittedly did for years after reading the book. These principles are ridiculously easy to twist to become self-serving and self-centered, not Gospel-centered. Quickly the languages are turned inward, rather than the intended outward service, to serve selfish and sinful desires that neatly fall under one of 5 categories. At multiple points throughout my life, I vividly remember feeling unloved because of others lack of service to my own love languages. Is that Gospel-centered? Absolutely not. I used the love languages as a cop-out for my own disbelief in the Gospel. I didn't truly believe that in Christ there was nothing more than I needed and that God was abundantly sufficient for my joy. I threw a pretty spectacular pity party for myself because my love languages weren't being spoken to me (a.k.a. my idolatrous heart yearned for something more than God - something in the form of a gift or touch - because I didn't believe his gracious gift of righteousness was enough).

So, go ahead, read the 5 Love Languages. It's a good book that will undoubtedly help you love your significant other, your siblings, your parents, your roommates, and your friends better. But more importantly, deepen your understanding of the Gospel, your understanding of what you've been given in Christ, and by the Spirit's grace, live that out. Even a measly fraction of Christ's sacrificial and tender love for the church trumps a weak reflection of an easily mangled, categorized love any day of the week.