There is a new picture* at the top of my blog Crossing Border Stories. A group of valiant geese cross the road, risking their very lives for who knows what reason. Oh, so many parables to be told about these lovable, courageous, dumb-witted geese!
Crossing Border Stories birthed when someone asked me to write down my thoughts on overseas cultures and ethnic groups.
Instead, I started writing these short, spiritual essays. I write them primarily because I love to write them. Second, I write them as an act of service to friends and acquaintances which is very cool.
I kept the name Crossing Border Stories to indicate the spiritual borders we all must cross in life if we wish to go through the spiritual healing process.
Aren't these geese cool looking? Strutting their stuff and all that.
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*Winnipeg Free Press. I hope "free" means I can use it.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
The Reason Behind Crossing Border Stories
There is a new picture at the top of this blog called Crossing Border Stories. A group of geese valiantly cross the road, risking their very lives for who knows what reason. Oh, so many parables to be told about these lovable, courageous, dumb-witted geese!
Crossing Border Stories birthed when someone asked me to write down my thoughts on traveling overseas and the people I had encountered. Frankly, I didn't have much to write for some reason.
Shortly after creating the blog's name, God set me free from many of the legalistic attitudes* of my heart and I began writing the short, spiritual essays that you see here today. I had never believed I had permission from anyone to do so. I thought those things were reserved for pastors, theologians, or any one of the elevated "spiritual sages" I had esteemed.
Then, something happened. First, I began to see these ideas and experiences swirling around in my head and life as being something I could give to others as some sort of act of service. Wow. Me. I might be able to give something to someone. But, there was a problem. I still didn't think I had permission so for some reason. I still wasn't a pastor, theologian, or spiritual sage. It was preventing me from this act of service. Imagine! The rule I had in my head was preventing me from this act of service. This is the very thing that Jesus Himself dealt with every day of His life. The religious leaders kept saying He wasn't following the rules, so He couldn't be from God, or He would follow the rules. Some people said things like, "Isn't he just a carpenter?" What right does a carpenter or an ESL teacher (like me) have to say about the Kingdom of God? Do you see? These were all the thoughts working against me. Funny thing is these were all thoughts. All the religious hypocrites were simply thoughts in my own head.
Then, something happened. I crossed a border. An invisible border, to be sure, but a border nevertheless. I woke up one morning and the following popped into my head, "I want to make my own decisions instead of the right decisions." Crazy, huh? But, this was a defining moment in my past year or two of spiritual healing.
So, what did I do? I started writing. I started writing these spiritual essays, and I waited to see if lighting would strike. I hadn't asked permission. No seminary, no pastor, no spiritual sage gave me permission. I had crossed a border inside my soul called legalism*.
There is a web of accountability associated with my writings that I want you to know about, however, because I also want you to know that any time we venture out to publicly announce any learnings we have in our spiritual adventures, we must have a network of trusted others who keep us grounded.
First, I generally wait for the Holy Spirit to prompt me in my writing. I try never to write unless I feel like an idea has come to me that is grounded in my experience. If I write about things I've never experienced then I write about things I know nothing about. A clear example of that right now is the issue of forgiving others. I feel like I have a very small glimpse into this spiritual category. I don't have much to write about on it currently, but wait expectantly for the time that I can write about it.
Second, I have a network of grace-oriented friends primarily through my church who love me in the middle of anything. They completely accept everything about me even though they challenge me, as well. So, I live in grace and truth with them as much as possible, even when my insecurities are riding high.
Third, I have a list of about a dozen or half-dozen books that I point back to in my writings of authors who have inspired me and whose ideas or counseling suggestions have been proven over time through others and through experience. Examples are: Boundaries by Cloud and Townsend. True Faced by McNicholl, Thrall, and Lynch. Wild at Heart and Captivating by John Eldridge and John & Stasi Eldridge. The Beloved by Nouwen. The Chronicles of Narnia and Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis.
In the end, however, I must emulate these geese who are crossing the street in front of these cars. They are cute and courageous, but if they knew any better, they'd probably never have crossed in front of those cars in the first place. When we cross the borders in our own hearts that free us from legalism* we are like these little geese.
In our lives, cars are on the approach, yet we step out in faith. We take risks. We stop waiting for permission. We believe in God's protection. We cross borders. We write Crossing Border Stories.
______________________________
*For my purposes, I define legalism as the written or unwritten rules imposed on individuals within a given sub-culture that point us away from authentic relationships with God and others.
Crossing Border Stories birthed when someone asked me to write down my thoughts on traveling overseas and the people I had encountered. Frankly, I didn't have much to write for some reason.
Shortly after creating the blog's name, God set me free from many of the legalistic attitudes* of my heart and I began writing the short, spiritual essays that you see here today. I had never believed I had permission from anyone to do so. I thought those things were reserved for pastors, theologians, or any one of the elevated "spiritual sages" I had esteemed.
Then, something happened. First, I began to see these ideas and experiences swirling around in my head and life as being something I could give to others as some sort of act of service. Wow. Me. I might be able to give something to someone. But, there was a problem. I still didn't think I had permission so for some reason. I still wasn't a pastor, theologian, or spiritual sage. It was preventing me from this act of service. Imagine! The rule I had in my head was preventing me from this act of service. This is the very thing that Jesus Himself dealt with every day of His life. The religious leaders kept saying He wasn't following the rules, so He couldn't be from God, or He would follow the rules. Some people said things like, "Isn't he just a carpenter?" What right does a carpenter or an ESL teacher (like me) have to say about the Kingdom of God? Do you see? These were all the thoughts working against me. Funny thing is these were all thoughts. All the religious hypocrites were simply thoughts in my own head.
Then, something happened. I crossed a border. An invisible border, to be sure, but a border nevertheless. I woke up one morning and the following popped into my head, "I want to make my own decisions instead of the right decisions." Crazy, huh? But, this was a defining moment in my past year or two of spiritual healing.
So, what did I do? I started writing. I started writing these spiritual essays, and I waited to see if lighting would strike. I hadn't asked permission. No seminary, no pastor, no spiritual sage gave me permission. I had crossed a border inside my soul called legalism*.
There is a web of accountability associated with my writings that I want you to know about, however, because I also want you to know that any time we venture out to publicly announce any learnings we have in our spiritual adventures, we must have a network of trusted others who keep us grounded.
First, I generally wait for the Holy Spirit to prompt me in my writing. I try never to write unless I feel like an idea has come to me that is grounded in my experience. If I write about things I've never experienced then I write about things I know nothing about. A clear example of that right now is the issue of forgiving others. I feel like I have a very small glimpse into this spiritual category. I don't have much to write about on it currently, but wait expectantly for the time that I can write about it.
Second, I have a network of grace-oriented friends primarily through my church who love me in the middle of anything. They completely accept everything about me even though they challenge me, as well. So, I live in grace and truth with them as much as possible, even when my insecurities are riding high.
Third, I have a list of about a dozen or half-dozen books that I point back to in my writings of authors who have inspired me and whose ideas or counseling suggestions have been proven over time through others and through experience. Examples are: Boundaries by Cloud and Townsend. True Faced by McNicholl, Thrall, and Lynch. Wild at Heart and Captivating by John Eldridge and John & Stasi Eldridge. The Beloved by Nouwen. The Chronicles of Narnia and Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis.
In the end, however, I must emulate these geese who are crossing the street in front of these cars. They are cute and courageous, but if they knew any better, they'd probably never have crossed in front of those cars in the first place. When we cross the borders in our own hearts that free us from legalism* we are like these little geese.
In our lives, cars are on the approach, yet we step out in faith. We take risks. We stop waiting for permission. We believe in God's protection. We cross borders. We write Crossing Border Stories.
______________________________
*For my purposes, I define legalism as the written or unwritten rules imposed on individuals within a given sub-culture that point us away from authentic relationships with God and others.
Monday, August 10, 2009
God is My Judge
There are all sorts of circumstances, ideologies, sub-cultures, people, and even my own mind who wish to judge me incorrectly. If I believe all these things judge me for who I really am, then I am doomed to a lifetime of frustration and self-rejection. This is why I believe in Christ. He judges me correctly. He judges me totally lovable because He has made me totally lovable. It is so counter-intuitive because so often I base my self-perception on my outward behavior instead of who God has declared me to be. He has put Himself inside of me. What kind of a God would willingly put Himself into one of His creatures and then put on a big frown that was dependent on anything other than His declaration of my righteousness? Christ doesn’t declare me righteous because of anything I’ve ever done to earn it. He simply declares I am righteous, lovable, delightful, fun, and enjoyable because He has declared me to be these adjectives when I came to my senses and saw that only He could make me this way in the first place. Then, He entered me in some sort of mysterious way and declared me to be all these things. Essentially, He declared me to be like-God, because by putting Himself into me, He had made me like-Him.
Now, when all sorts of things, people, and my own mind want to judge me, I pray to God as it is happening and say, “God, these things, people, and especially my own self can’t be my judge. God, you are my judge. I know You judge me correctly. Lovable. Righteous. Satisfying. I am not a mistake. Once I get centered back on who God declares me to be, then I can get on to maturity and living life to the fullest.
Now, when all sorts of things, people, and my own mind want to judge me, I pray to God as it is happening and say, “God, these things, people, and especially my own self can’t be my judge. God, you are my judge. I know You judge me correctly. Lovable. Righteous. Satisfying. I am not a mistake. Once I get centered back on who God declares me to be, then I can get on to maturity and living life to the fullest.
Saturday, August 8, 2009
God Incarnate
The reason I believe Jesus is truly God-In-Human-Form is because of all the portrayals of God in the major religions and secularized spiritualities, I find He is the only one who fights and dies for us. In any of my objections I raise towards God sometimes, it is hard for me to get over this fact that He thinks I'm worth fighting for simply because He thinks I'm worth fighting for.
"God demonstrates His love for us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." ~Romans 5:8
"God demonstrates His love for us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." ~Romans 5:8
God's Assessment
Sometimes I ask God, "God, what is your assessment of me?" God says, "Steven, I live inside you. I like it in here. THIS is my assessment." Okay. Enough said. God's nickname might as well be something like "Affirmation". The "face" of God are those who tell me these things on His behalf.
~1 Peter 4:11
~1 Peter 4:11
God's Glory in Others
The more I heal, the more I see God in other people. It might be just a sliver of something glorious, but it IS a sliver of something GLORIOUS. It is still very intermittent because I'm a very judgmental person, which distorts my view of the image of God in others. Good thing He doesn't define me by this. Still, I see little glimpses of Him inside of people more and more. Pretty awesome when it happens!
"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." ~Jesus
"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." ~Jesus
Thursday, August 6, 2009
The Adventures God Longs to Take Us On
Our desire to go on adventures is fueled by God’s desire to take us on adventures in the first place. We live in a fallen world where people hurt and are hurt by one another. God longs to take us into this pain and suffering in order to be part of the solution for repairing such damage that has been done. We experience feelings of joy and exhilaration when we go through stories of survival and rejuvenation. We feel ourselves coming to life. We feel ourselves coming to the rescue of those around us by being resources* for their adventures, as well. Adventures call upon our sense for the heroic and for the romantic. It is in our design to emulate Christ in this respect. He fought for us. He died for us. He loved us. He raised us to new life. God longs to send us on adventures which raise us and those around us to new life.
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*We are unable to force those around us to be rescued. We offer ourselves as resources with healthy boundaries. If I think I can save you, then I am falling into a certain level of co-dependency which is unable to save you in the first place. Boundaries by Cloud and Townsend is a good book to help spell out the difference.
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*We are unable to force those around us to be rescued. We offer ourselves as resources with healthy boundaries. If I think I can save you, then I am falling into a certain level of co-dependency which is unable to save you in the first place. Boundaries by Cloud and Townsend is a good book to help spell out the difference.
Monday, August 3, 2009
God's Hug-Collar vs. God's Electric-Dog-Collar
During a sermon yesterday, my teaching pastor expressed how we often wish God would put an electric collar around our neck, like the kind some people put on their dog in order to control them and keep bystanders safe. When we are tempted to sin, God could simply shock us and get our attention. “No sin. Bad human!”
My pastor's assertion (and mine as well) is that God is not one to work in this way. His love endorses our personhood and individual decision making. He is not going to use the physical pain of an electric-dog-collar to prevent us from committing sin. This would make us robots. However, I do believe there is something that God does do when we are about to sin that is similar to the electric-dog-collar, yet worlds apart in its nature. I believe it is worlds apart because it is the kind of help He offers that appeals to our identity in Christ rather than our performanced-based-old-nature. I think my teaching pastor would also agree. Let me explain.
I find that when I am tempted to sin, there is this part of me that knows I need to share it with someone else in my life that I trust. This part of me (I believe) is God telling me which direction is the way out. In 1 John it says, “7But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all[b] sin. 8If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
One part of the way out (i.e. what purifies us from all unrighteousness) is to find a few trusted others with whom I can be transparent and vulnerable when I face temptation. For example, when I feel like going off on my spouse because I’m feeling resentful to them, this is a good time to call a trusted friend and say, “Friend, I’m ready to go off on my spouse right now.” This exposure and vulnerability breaks a lot of the power in the temptation to retaliate in such a situation. Also, a close friend who knows our sin patterns is able to help us see the situation a little more objectively and remind us that we are doing such a great job by trusting God in the situation and living out our true nature in Christ. Then, once we cool down, we can move towards our spouse in a much more healthy way (i.e. from who we really are in Christ), rather than being so reactionary. Of course, there are lots of other examples of sin, but I mention the above as a general example.
When we let a mature, trusted other into our lives in such a way, we are literally letting God into our lives. This is humility. This is the power to break sin. Making ourselves transparent and vulnerable with a mature, trusted other is the electric-dog-collar of another nature that God offers to us when we are tempted to sin. He won’t shock us, so as to force us into not sinning. Rather, He will give us a loving hug-reminder (usually a thought in our head) that we are a phone call or coffee rendezvous away from bringing our temptation into the light with a brother or sister in the faith. This faith-based and freedom-of-choice based hug-and-affirmation-collar is one of the major ways God is working with us to resolve the things (i.e. sin) that prevent us from really enjoying life to its fullest.
And, finally, there is one other amazing benefit to letting others into our lives. It isn’t just about us, this vulnerability stuff. It isn’t just about us feeling better about ourselves, although this is huge. When I make myself vulnerable to someone I can trust, I do two things that are others-centered and a huge blessing to them. First, I’m giving the person I’m being vulnerable with permission to act on behalf of the God of the universe (1 Peter 4:11). This is a huge way to actually give to the person we are asking help from. This might sound counter-intuitive, but by asking for their help, we are actually giving to them. In this way, it isn’t just for me, but for them. This is awesome. Second, I’m giving to the person I’m tempted to sin against. I’m not just calling a friend of mine to help me stop from going off on my spouse so that I don’t have to reap the consequences for such an action. I’m making myself vulnerable so that I can go back to my spouse in a loving way even though there is conflict that needs to be resolved and relationship that needs to be restored. This is also others-centered and also awesome.
Therefore, exposing ourselves to the light and being vulnerable as discussed in 1 John is not just about making my life more satisfying, but it is about giving to others as well. In fact, we might say that in giving to others that this is what makes our lives more satisfying in the first place.
_____________________________________
A reminder: For those who place their faith in Christ, we must remember that no matter how we perform, God's love and approval of us is constant and a never-changing 100%. There are a bizzillion amount of times that we will fail to live in the light according to 1 John, chapter 1. The point in following the wisdom of 1 John, chapter 1 isn't to gain God's approval, rather it is to mature and enjoy the lives God has given us and those around us. Also, because Christ lived in the light with the Father 100% of the time, then when I live in the light as well, I'm living out of who God says I am, "Christ-in-so-in-so". This identification is a huge joy.
My pastor's assertion (and mine as well) is that God is not one to work in this way. His love endorses our personhood and individual decision making. He is not going to use the physical pain of an electric-dog-collar to prevent us from committing sin. This would make us robots. However, I do believe there is something that God does do when we are about to sin that is similar to the electric-dog-collar, yet worlds apart in its nature. I believe it is worlds apart because it is the kind of help He offers that appeals to our identity in Christ rather than our performanced-based-old-nature. I think my teaching pastor would also agree. Let me explain.
I find that when I am tempted to sin, there is this part of me that knows I need to share it with someone else in my life that I trust. This part of me (I believe) is God telling me which direction is the way out. In 1 John it says, “7But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all[b] sin. 8If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
One part of the way out (i.e. what purifies us from all unrighteousness) is to find a few trusted others with whom I can be transparent and vulnerable when I face temptation. For example, when I feel like going off on my spouse because I’m feeling resentful to them, this is a good time to call a trusted friend and say, “Friend, I’m ready to go off on my spouse right now.” This exposure and vulnerability breaks a lot of the power in the temptation to retaliate in such a situation. Also, a close friend who knows our sin patterns is able to help us see the situation a little more objectively and remind us that we are doing such a great job by trusting God in the situation and living out our true nature in Christ. Then, once we cool down, we can move towards our spouse in a much more healthy way (i.e. from who we really are in Christ), rather than being so reactionary. Of course, there are lots of other examples of sin, but I mention the above as a general example.
When we let a mature, trusted other into our lives in such a way, we are literally letting God into our lives. This is humility. This is the power to break sin. Making ourselves transparent and vulnerable with a mature, trusted other is the electric-dog-collar of another nature that God offers to us when we are tempted to sin. He won’t shock us, so as to force us into not sinning. Rather, He will give us a loving hug-reminder (usually a thought in our head) that we are a phone call or coffee rendezvous away from bringing our temptation into the light with a brother or sister in the faith. This faith-based and freedom-of-choice based hug-and-affirmation-collar is one of the major ways God is working with us to resolve the things (i.e. sin) that prevent us from really enjoying life to its fullest.
And, finally, there is one other amazing benefit to letting others into our lives. It isn’t just about us, this vulnerability stuff. It isn’t just about us feeling better about ourselves, although this is huge. When I make myself vulnerable to someone I can trust, I do two things that are others-centered and a huge blessing to them. First, I’m giving the person I’m being vulnerable with permission to act on behalf of the God of the universe (1 Peter 4:11). This is a huge way to actually give to the person we are asking help from. This might sound counter-intuitive, but by asking for their help, we are actually giving to them. In this way, it isn’t just for me, but for them. This is awesome. Second, I’m giving to the person I’m tempted to sin against. I’m not just calling a friend of mine to help me stop from going off on my spouse so that I don’t have to reap the consequences for such an action. I’m making myself vulnerable so that I can go back to my spouse in a loving way even though there is conflict that needs to be resolved and relationship that needs to be restored. This is also others-centered and also awesome.
Therefore, exposing ourselves to the light and being vulnerable as discussed in 1 John is not just about making my life more satisfying, but it is about giving to others as well. In fact, we might say that in giving to others that this is what makes our lives more satisfying in the first place.
_____________________________________
A reminder: For those who place their faith in Christ, we must remember that no matter how we perform, God's love and approval of us is constant and a never-changing 100%. There are a bizzillion amount of times that we will fail to live in the light according to 1 John, chapter 1. The point in following the wisdom of 1 John, chapter 1 isn't to gain God's approval, rather it is to mature and enjoy the lives God has given us and those around us. Also, because Christ lived in the light with the Father 100% of the time, then when I live in the light as well, I'm living out of who God says I am, "Christ-in-so-in-so". This identification is a huge joy.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Why would anyone in their right mind want to resolve sin?
Sin shuts down our hearts. It is the by-product of isolation and self-protection. It is the master of broken relationships. It is a simple turning away from God which turns into a complex and warped sense of reality, which God never intended for us to live. Sin is something that causes us and others deep pain and horrible scars that affect the entire storyline of our lives.
Yet, like the apostle Paul, I must admit that there is this great inertia or part of me that wants to continue to sin. I find myself falling into the old sin patterns and I begin to ask myself, “Why do I continue to do these things and why don’t I want to resolve these sin patterns?”
In all reality, the effects of sin are so devastating that in our heart of hearts, we desperately want to be rid of this negative side—this old nature. The problem is we face a part of us that includes incorrect motivations to resolve sin in the first place. Some of these are: looking good in front of others, getting what I want from God, getting what I want from my husband or wife or children, a desire to avoid shame or embarrassment, proving myself to me or God or others, avoiding the negative so I don’t have to feel bad any longer, and appeasing God to keep Him off my back.
Recently, it has occurred to me that as I’ve trusted God and we’ve begun working on my sin together, that I’ve found myself affirming others more often in my conversations. I’ve begun to see the image of God reflected in them or even seen Christ in them, and I’ve begun to tell them that I see Him inside of them or that they reflect the image of God. I’ve been able to see the risks in relationships that friends are taking, the leadership that they’ve demonstrated with their spouses or children, or pointed out the compassion I see that they have for others. It’s as if by my trusting God to work on my sin that I now see Him more clearly in the lives of those around me. The process of resolving sin slowly takes away this dullness which clouds my ability to see the good in others and affirm them with complements that I believe are truly from God Himself.
Bottom line: I want to come into the light, take off my masks of control and self-protection, receive love, stop trying to manage my sin, allow others to help me with my sin and weaknesses, forgive and be forgiven, and allow God to work alongside of me in the process of resolving sin because it transforms me into a man who can give, serve, love, protect, affirm, and tell others who they really are. For me, this has been so much fun and I’ve been able to have little spurts of joy when these things happen.
Before, I was so wrapped up in my own self-based motives for resolving sin that I could never see that the process of resolving my sin is primarily so that I can enter the lives of others and infect them with the kind of “Good Infection” that C.S. Lewis talks about. Christ in me stirs up Christ in those around me. He reaches out to those who are lost. He does acts of service, words of encouragement, hugs those who need to be hugged, and spends time quality time with others.
I myself oscillate between these two motives—self-based and others based. His dreams for me are that I would believe who He says I am already in-Christ and that I would see that the end-goal is for me to rub that belief off onto others. Jesus says in the Beatitudes, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” Resolving sin in the here-and-now is motivated by my desire to see God in others and in my circumstances, whereby I see His glory. Without resolving sin, I have no ability to rub off His nature onto those around me in any way that might be called effective, because I have a hard time seeing Him inside of or reflected off of them in the first place.
One thing I want to be very clear about is that I haven't come very far yet. I still have lots of sin issues that need healing. The time line isn't what matters to God. What matters is that I've begun to get into the process of trusting God with my sin and that has allowed me to see Him in those around me. In conclusion, my joy to tell others who they really are (through word and deed) is one major reason I ask God to take me through the process of resolving my sin in the here-and-now. It is like taking off blinders that allows me more and more to see the reality of God in His true light.
Yet, like the apostle Paul, I must admit that there is this great inertia or part of me that wants to continue to sin. I find myself falling into the old sin patterns and I begin to ask myself, “Why do I continue to do these things and why don’t I want to resolve these sin patterns?”
In all reality, the effects of sin are so devastating that in our heart of hearts, we desperately want to be rid of this negative side—this old nature. The problem is we face a part of us that includes incorrect motivations to resolve sin in the first place. Some of these are: looking good in front of others, getting what I want from God, getting what I want from my husband or wife or children, a desire to avoid shame or embarrassment, proving myself to me or God or others, avoiding the negative so I don’t have to feel bad any longer, and appeasing God to keep Him off my back.
Recently, it has occurred to me that as I’ve trusted God and we’ve begun working on my sin together, that I’ve found myself affirming others more often in my conversations. I’ve begun to see the image of God reflected in them or even seen Christ in them, and I’ve begun to tell them that I see Him inside of them or that they reflect the image of God. I’ve been able to see the risks in relationships that friends are taking, the leadership that they’ve demonstrated with their spouses or children, or pointed out the compassion I see that they have for others. It’s as if by my trusting God to work on my sin that I now see Him more clearly in the lives of those around me. The process of resolving sin slowly takes away this dullness which clouds my ability to see the good in others and affirm them with complements that I believe are truly from God Himself.
Bottom line: I want to come into the light, take off my masks of control and self-protection, receive love, stop trying to manage my sin, allow others to help me with my sin and weaknesses, forgive and be forgiven, and allow God to work alongside of me in the process of resolving sin because it transforms me into a man who can give, serve, love, protect, affirm, and tell others who they really are. For me, this has been so much fun and I’ve been able to have little spurts of joy when these things happen.
Before, I was so wrapped up in my own self-based motives for resolving sin that I could never see that the process of resolving my sin is primarily so that I can enter the lives of others and infect them with the kind of “Good Infection” that C.S. Lewis talks about. Christ in me stirs up Christ in those around me. He reaches out to those who are lost. He does acts of service, words of encouragement, hugs those who need to be hugged, and spends time quality time with others.
I myself oscillate between these two motives—self-based and others based. His dreams for me are that I would believe who He says I am already in-Christ and that I would see that the end-goal is for me to rub that belief off onto others. Jesus says in the Beatitudes, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” Resolving sin in the here-and-now is motivated by my desire to see God in others and in my circumstances, whereby I see His glory. Without resolving sin, I have no ability to rub off His nature onto those around me in any way that might be called effective, because I have a hard time seeing Him inside of or reflected off of them in the first place.
One thing I want to be very clear about is that I haven't come very far yet. I still have lots of sin issues that need healing. The time line isn't what matters to God. What matters is that I've begun to get into the process of trusting God with my sin and that has allowed me to see Him in those around me. In conclusion, my joy to tell others who they really are (through word and deed) is one major reason I ask God to take me through the process of resolving my sin in the here-and-now. It is like taking off blinders that allows me more and more to see the reality of God in His true light.
Friday, July 24, 2009
I had Coffee with God the other Day. His Name was Chris.
I had coffee with God the other day. His name was Chris. Chris is a fellow believer in Christ and for some reason that evening, I realized that because he carries Christ inside of him that I was literally sitting in the presence of God. Low and behold, we had a great evening.
Seriously, think about it. If those of us who trust God’s heart (to rescue us through the cross) really do have the God of the universe living inside of us, then isn’t it true that every time I meet with someone for coffee, for example, like my friend Chris the other night, that I am literally sitting next to God and having a conversation with Him? Now, let’s not get all uptight with the language I’m using here. I don’t mean that my friend Chris “is” God, but rather that God, through Christ, lives inside of him. His new name is Christ-in-Chris. My new name is Christ-in-Steven. This means that Christ lives inside of me (and also anyone else who cares to call Him the God of the universe). Take this to its logical conclusion and we have to admit that in a certain sense, anyone who comes into contact with me or Chris or any other believer is literally standing in the presence of God. We simply put a face to His presence.
Of course, God is omnipresent. This means that he is everywhere all at one time or at least He is able to be everywhere all at one time, or something like this. I don’t really know how it works. But, in addition to that, for some reason we also must acknowledge that there is a special way in which He is reconciling the world to Himself through those of us who carry Him in us as believers. Those who stand in our presence, therefore, stand in the presence of God in a particular and a unique way. They stand in the presence of Christ-in-Steven or Christ-in-Chris.
This is completely and unequivocally lacking pride in any way. When I think about the fact that anyone around me stands in the presence of Christ-inside-of-me, it actually creates a separation between me and God and this gives Him total credit for any positive influence I bring to the other person. This profound influence I have on others is based on Him. Yet, it must also be said that my understanding that God lives inside of me and is influencing those around me also brings a profound sense of affirmation that the God of the universe is pleased to dwell within me. He has no reservations for doing so. He is pleased with me as I trust Him to live His life through me and proud of the influence I have on those around me. In this sense, I feel a stronger connection to God, despite the increased understanding of His separateness, as well. Tricky, isn't it?
Therefore, let us remember that we carry Christ everywhere we go and that even on our worst day, those around us stand in His presence in a unique way. God chooses to put on our face in reaching out to those around us.
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Some of these ideas from the next to last paragraph are lightly taken from a sermon last weekend, but the main idea of this blog entry is something I've stumbled upon over the past couple weeks in reflecting on my meetings with other believers.
Seriously, think about it. If those of us who trust God’s heart (to rescue us through the cross) really do have the God of the universe living inside of us, then isn’t it true that every time I meet with someone for coffee, for example, like my friend Chris the other night, that I am literally sitting next to God and having a conversation with Him? Now, let’s not get all uptight with the language I’m using here. I don’t mean that my friend Chris “is” God, but rather that God, through Christ, lives inside of him. His new name is Christ-in-Chris. My new name is Christ-in-Steven. This means that Christ lives inside of me (and also anyone else who cares to call Him the God of the universe). Take this to its logical conclusion and we have to admit that in a certain sense, anyone who comes into contact with me or Chris or any other believer is literally standing in the presence of God. We simply put a face to His presence.
Of course, God is omnipresent. This means that he is everywhere all at one time or at least He is able to be everywhere all at one time, or something like this. I don’t really know how it works. But, in addition to that, for some reason we also must acknowledge that there is a special way in which He is reconciling the world to Himself through those of us who carry Him in us as believers. Those who stand in our presence, therefore, stand in the presence of God in a particular and a unique way. They stand in the presence of Christ-in-Steven or Christ-in-Chris.
This is completely and unequivocally lacking pride in any way. When I think about the fact that anyone around me stands in the presence of Christ-inside-of-me, it actually creates a separation between me and God and this gives Him total credit for any positive influence I bring to the other person. This profound influence I have on others is based on Him. Yet, it must also be said that my understanding that God lives inside of me and is influencing those around me also brings a profound sense of affirmation that the God of the universe is pleased to dwell within me. He has no reservations for doing so. He is pleased with me as I trust Him to live His life through me and proud of the influence I have on those around me. In this sense, I feel a stronger connection to God, despite the increased understanding of His separateness, as well. Tricky, isn't it?
Therefore, let us remember that we carry Christ everywhere we go and that even on our worst day, those around us stand in His presence in a unique way. God chooses to put on our face in reaching out to those around us.
________________________________________
Some of these ideas from the next to last paragraph are lightly taken from a sermon last weekend, but the main idea of this blog entry is something I've stumbled upon over the past couple weeks in reflecting on my meetings with other believers.
Thursday, July 9, 2009
The Misunderstanding of Romans 12:2
In Romans 12:2 it says, “2Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind."
I used to think this verse meant “get your act together and stop sinning.” I spent years trying to apply the verse in this way. But what if getting our acts together and stopping sin wasn't even the point behind this verse? What if the point wasn't to stop sinning, but to transform our minds? And, what is it that leads to the transforming of our minds in the first place? Is it that we stop sinning? No. We will always do that. No amount of keeping the moral law will transform our minds. In fact, it is just the opposite. The more I focus on trying to keep the moral law, the more I will break it. Try to stop thinking about a pink elephant and see what happens.
The opposite of focusing on keeping the moral law is that I find myself turning to God and realizing who He says I am. He says I'm 100% forgiven already. He says I'm a saint. He says I'm His chosen one. He puts His arm around me in my deepest, darkest moment and says, "Son (or daughter), I'm here with you. You are in the middle of sin this very moment, but I'm here with you because I no longer count it against you. In fact, I stripped it away from you. Now, we are onto the process of healing you from the damage you have done and will do to yourself and others. This is now about healing now."
The world (and even more often the church) tells us that the pattern we must follow in order to be transformed into godliness is by sinning less and getting our act together. God tells us that the pattern we must follow in order to be transformed into godliness is truly recognizing that we have already been transformed into a godly creature by Him.* In this way our underlying beliefs about God's character and His value in us is what must be transformed, not our behavior. We must know that God thinks we are worth everything. The extent to which we know this about His character is the extent to which we see how glorious He is.
Over time, when we look in hindsight, we will periodically recognize how our behavior has changed as well. The changed behavior, however, only reflects the transformation that has already occurred by the renewing of our minds.
The world (and even more often the church) tells us that the pattern we must follow in order to be transformed into godliness is by sinning less and getting our act together. God tells us that the pattern we must follow in order to be transformed into godliness is truly recognizing that we have already been transformed into a godly creature by Him.* In this way our underlying beliefs about God's character and His value in us is what must be transformed, not our behavior. We must know that God thinks we are worth everything. The extent to which we know this about His character is the extent to which we see how glorious He is.
Over time, when we look in hindsight, we will periodically recognize how our behavior has changed as well. The changed behavior, however, only reflects the transformation that has already occurred by the renewing of our minds.
2011 addendum: About 6 months ago, I began to think of transforming my behavior in light of a transformed mind. What does this look like? One thing I have begun to do is to try to do good instead of eliminating sin. I can't defeat sin. But, I can focus on doing good. Thus, we don't break out of sin patterns and cycles by stopping them. We break out of them by doing good in the middle of them. We focus on the good. Then, I believe, the sin patterns begin to change over time. Currently, I'm making better decisions than ever before. Why? I'm focusing on doing good instead of trying to eliminate sin. This is a mindset that lives under grace.
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*This is the pattern of grace versus the pattern of legalism. I might as well summarize the whole blog entry by simply saying Romans 12:2 could be translated/interpreted as saying, "Do not conform to legalism, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind."
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*This is the pattern of grace versus the pattern of legalism. I might as well summarize the whole blog entry by simply saying Romans 12:2 could be translated/interpreted as saying, "Do not conform to legalism, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind."
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Risk Taking is a Risky Business, Especially in Pakistan. Or, is it?
About 120 men* and I got on some airplanes and headed off to Pakistan in December 2006. An earthquake had killed 80,000 people (and destroyed the homes of so many) both in the cities and mountainous regions. Our assignment was to build as many shelters as possible in the mountains before the winter snow came. It was truly a “Wild at Heart” experience for those of you who are familiar with that book by John Eldridge.
I was on what we called the “third wave” or third group out of the 120. The first risk we encountered (even before our departure) was not one I'd anticipated ahead of time. We were getting reports that men on the first two waves were arriving without their gear and without their clothing. It sort of got lost in the airline-baggage-shuffle. Guys were out there, bumming clothes and food off others, sort of like soldiers in D-Day who lost weapons and ammo on the drop (Not nearly the desperation of D-Day, by any means, of course). We all got on the plane and prayed we’d receive our luggage on the other side.
The second risk was more personal. My knee had been severely bothering me. I didn't know the source of the pain, but it was real and it was freaking me out, thinking about hiking and working at four to eight thousand feet. I’d procrastinated seeing a doctor and this shelter building trip came up too quickly to see a doctor before we left. I was fully funded and ready to go, but I was afraid I might tear an ACL or something hiking up those mountains. I confided in two friends of mine (also on the trip) for their advice. They encouraged me to go as far as I could. Get me at least to the base camp, even if I couldn't work. Or, if was working and something snapped, they told me they'd carry me back down if they needed to. Talk about a couple of guys who had my back; or, my knee, for that matter.
The other risks were sickness, fatigue, radical religious people who might not like us, and finally all of the mysteriousness of residing among the mountain people of Pakistan for a week. The most difficult risk for married men was being away from their loved ones for such an extended period of time and the strain that meant to their relationships.
To tell you the truth, we all fell victim to every single one of these risks, at one point or another. Several lost their luggage, a number of us (including myself) got sick, men who missed their wives looked like sick dogs, and everyone was physically strained. One of the men from a previous group had a heart attack and died on the mountain.
What happened to my knee? All along the plane flight it had been hurting even more than before and I thought for sure I had committed some sort of wrong doing by bringing my hurt knee out there to get me into a jam that others would have to care for. Not to mention either that others had funded me for this humanitarian aid action and I thought maybe I was even morally wrong for taking my bad knee and their money.
I've had this weird/irrational sense of moral "wrongness" too in pursuing relationships, as if I'd be morally wrong in pursing them because I might hurt the other person. Or, what if we never had children because we thought we might hurt them? The human race would vanish.
Getting back to the story, I couldn't help but think of my two friends who had encouraged me to go, volunteered to haul me out of there, and thought that it was better for me to go than not to go. Thank God I listened to their advice. Not so much for the results, but because I let them help me, protect me, and meet my need in that moment. Essentially, I had let them love me.
What happened to my knee? It got better. The more I hiked up the mountain, the better it got. The more I worked, the better it got. I checked my knee out later with a doctor and X-ray results showed a minor case of arthritis in my left knee. The mountain essentially rehabilitated my knee.
Risk taking. It's a risky business, especially in Pakistan.
Or, is it? What is the riskier thing to do--build shelters in Pakistan and risk physical harm, or the risks we take in relationships with husbands, wives, children, church, business, and our own hearts? When I trust someone enough to risk letting them help me in an area of my life that I cannot, then that is some serious risk taking. I risk getting taken advantage of, betrayed, or at best, misunderstood or finding someone who doesn't know how to help me. The old patterns want to take over. I want to run, hide, and protect myself from a violation of such trust in the future. I won't risk relationships with others, the very thing that I need the most.
Finally, there is a payoff. When I find others I can trust with who I really am, then I can begin to heal by receiving their love. Just like I allowed my friends to encourage me to get on the plane with my hurting knee (which was then rehabilitated) so too I must take the risk of finding those who I can trust to help me with my "spiritually broken knees". This is the greatest risk taking of all.
Do you have a couple others who can help you get on the plane with your huring knee or your hurting spirit? If not, then you gotta find them.**
______________________________________
*I can't actually remember the exact number.
**For help on how to do this, read "True Faced: Trusting God and others with who you really are" by Thrall, McNichol, & Lynch. Also, "Making Small Groups Work" by Cloud and Townsend is a huge help.
I was on what we called the “third wave” or third group out of the 120. The first risk we encountered (even before our departure) was not one I'd anticipated ahead of time. We were getting reports that men on the first two waves were arriving without their gear and without their clothing. It sort of got lost in the airline-baggage-shuffle. Guys were out there, bumming clothes and food off others, sort of like soldiers in D-Day who lost weapons and ammo on the drop (Not nearly the desperation of D-Day, by any means, of course). We all got on the plane and prayed we’d receive our luggage on the other side.
The second risk was more personal. My knee had been severely bothering me. I didn't know the source of the pain, but it was real and it was freaking me out, thinking about hiking and working at four to eight thousand feet. I’d procrastinated seeing a doctor and this shelter building trip came up too quickly to see a doctor before we left. I was fully funded and ready to go, but I was afraid I might tear an ACL or something hiking up those mountains. I confided in two friends of mine (also on the trip) for their advice. They encouraged me to go as far as I could. Get me at least to the base camp, even if I couldn't work. Or, if was working and something snapped, they told me they'd carry me back down if they needed to. Talk about a couple of guys who had my back; or, my knee, for that matter.
The other risks were sickness, fatigue, radical religious people who might not like us, and finally all of the mysteriousness of residing among the mountain people of Pakistan for a week. The most difficult risk for married men was being away from their loved ones for such an extended period of time and the strain that meant to their relationships.
To tell you the truth, we all fell victim to every single one of these risks, at one point or another. Several lost their luggage, a number of us (including myself) got sick, men who missed their wives looked like sick dogs, and everyone was physically strained. One of the men from a previous group had a heart attack and died on the mountain.
What happened to my knee? All along the plane flight it had been hurting even more than before and I thought for sure I had committed some sort of wrong doing by bringing my hurt knee out there to get me into a jam that others would have to care for. Not to mention either that others had funded me for this humanitarian aid action and I thought maybe I was even morally wrong for taking my bad knee and their money.
I've had this weird/irrational sense of moral "wrongness" too in pursuing relationships, as if I'd be morally wrong in pursing them because I might hurt the other person. Or, what if we never had children because we thought we might hurt them? The human race would vanish.
Getting back to the story, I couldn't help but think of my two friends who had encouraged me to go, volunteered to haul me out of there, and thought that it was better for me to go than not to go. Thank God I listened to their advice. Not so much for the results, but because I let them help me, protect me, and meet my need in that moment. Essentially, I had let them love me.
What happened to my knee? It got better. The more I hiked up the mountain, the better it got. The more I worked, the better it got. I checked my knee out later with a doctor and X-ray results showed a minor case of arthritis in my left knee. The mountain essentially rehabilitated my knee.
Risk taking. It's a risky business, especially in Pakistan.
Or, is it? What is the riskier thing to do--build shelters in Pakistan and risk physical harm, or the risks we take in relationships with husbands, wives, children, church, business, and our own hearts? When I trust someone enough to risk letting them help me in an area of my life that I cannot, then that is some serious risk taking. I risk getting taken advantage of, betrayed, or at best, misunderstood or finding someone who doesn't know how to help me. The old patterns want to take over. I want to run, hide, and protect myself from a violation of such trust in the future. I won't risk relationships with others, the very thing that I need the most.
Finally, there is a payoff. When I find others I can trust with who I really am, then I can begin to heal by receiving their love. Just like I allowed my friends to encourage me to get on the plane with my hurting knee (which was then rehabilitated) so too I must take the risk of finding those who I can trust to help me with my "spiritually broken knees". This is the greatest risk taking of all.
Do you have a couple others who can help you get on the plane with your huring knee or your hurting spirit? If not, then you gotta find them.**
______________________________________
*I can't actually remember the exact number.
**For help on how to do this, read "True Faced: Trusting God and others with who you really are" by Thrall, McNichol, & Lynch. Also, "Making Small Groups Work" by Cloud and Townsend is a huge help.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Friendship is Something Valuable
[The following is a 3 page paper that one of my tutoring students wrote for her English 101 class. She's trying to communicate her ideas to us in her second language. I think it is a great story!]
During my life I have been learning that friendship is when you share your experiences, talk about everything with someone important in your life and express your love for that person in many ways. Until now I did not notice that I have to take care of my relationships. Sometimes there are obstacles in the way that can affect relationships and this is how many problems between friends begin. Generally speaking, in life, when people feel embarrassed from conflicts with each other they want to run away. Sometimes they need help from another to take that big step and resolve what one cannot do on their own. This is an example of how my friend helps me to get over big obstacles, in some conflicts I was having.
I met Sonia couple semesters ago. We have been friends for almost three years. Our relationship is very good. I am proud of her and pleased that I have her as a friend. But not everything is sweet in this life.
Last year Sonia went to Mexico and she stayed there six months. During that semester I made some friends and it was a nice group. She had a good relationship with one of my friends, Luz. She was pregnant and she had her baby three months ago. This is how the problem started. A friend of us named Luz had her baby. She called me after and she sent me a picture of her little boy. Sonia felt bad because Luz did not send her a picture of her baby. The next day, Sonia called and invited me to go to the hospital to visit Luz. I was really busy that day so I told her that I would give her a call back if I had time. My father and my mother took me to the hospital for half an hour, so that I would not have to go the next day.
At night, I chatted with Sonia as I did every day. Then, I told her that I was in the hospital with Luz for a half an hour. She started saying that she waited for my call all day. I did not think that it was a big problem and I ignored all of her words saying that it was not my problem that she did not have a good day. In her words, she said that the people she thought were her friends were not.
In that moment, I shut down my computer because it was not the best moment to talk. I thought that we could talk later. But the later never came. Time passed and we did not talk anymore. She ignored me all the time and I did the same thing. During this time, I went through a lot of emotions. I felt sad because I missed her as a friend. I felt angry for having this trouble with her. But also, I had the hope that we would talk again.
Days later, I was talking to my friend Rosa. She is my coworker and we have good relationship. I told her that Sonia was my friend and how nice our relationship was. Also, in the conversation I told her about the problem we had experienced. She asked me why I did not talk to her. I said, “why me?” She was the one that decided to stop talking. She was the person that has to talk to me to apologize Rosa said, “If you think that Sonia is a good friend then talk to her about what happened. You have nothing to lose”. Rosa’s advice touched me. It seemed that Rosa had knowledge in her words. She told me some similar experiences that she had before.
My birthday was coming and I decided to call Sonia because I wanted her to spend the day with me. I was afraid. The next day, I saw her online. I decided to say “Hi!” She did reply and we have a long conversation about what happened. Also we fixed that problem talking. She accepted that she was the one that made this problem bigger. We both agreed that something that ridiculous we should not end our friendship. Our relationship is more valuable than these little problems which then become bigger and bigger. After that we started talking about what happened with each other during that time. I saw her the next week and we acted as if nothing ever happened.
We are still friends and I feel happy. It does not matter if I was the one that decided to take the first step. The important thing is that everything is fine. Now we know that if we have any kind of problems we had to talk about it in that moment and not to wait because we can lose moments and experiences together. We both learned that friendship cannot end for something absurd. Friendship is built on trust, love, patience and tolerance. In a larger sense, people help to see another person’s problems from a different point of view. They help open each other’s eyes when necessary. Fear, shame, and embarrassment are feeling that sometimes we cannot get over by ourselves, and we need each other. This goes for conflict as well as other problems we face.
During my life I have been learning that friendship is when you share your experiences, talk about everything with someone important in your life and express your love for that person in many ways. Until now I did not notice that I have to take care of my relationships. Sometimes there are obstacles in the way that can affect relationships and this is how many problems between friends begin. Generally speaking, in life, when people feel embarrassed from conflicts with each other they want to run away. Sometimes they need help from another to take that big step and resolve what one cannot do on their own. This is an example of how my friend helps me to get over big obstacles, in some conflicts I was having.
I met Sonia couple semesters ago. We have been friends for almost three years. Our relationship is very good. I am proud of her and pleased that I have her as a friend. But not everything is sweet in this life.
Last year Sonia went to Mexico and she stayed there six months. During that semester I made some friends and it was a nice group. She had a good relationship with one of my friends, Luz. She was pregnant and she had her baby three months ago. This is how the problem started. A friend of us named Luz had her baby. She called me after and she sent me a picture of her little boy. Sonia felt bad because Luz did not send her a picture of her baby. The next day, Sonia called and invited me to go to the hospital to visit Luz. I was really busy that day so I told her that I would give her a call back if I had time. My father and my mother took me to the hospital for half an hour, so that I would not have to go the next day.
At night, I chatted with Sonia as I did every day. Then, I told her that I was in the hospital with Luz for a half an hour. She started saying that she waited for my call all day. I did not think that it was a big problem and I ignored all of her words saying that it was not my problem that she did not have a good day. In her words, she said that the people she thought were her friends were not.
In that moment, I shut down my computer because it was not the best moment to talk. I thought that we could talk later. But the later never came. Time passed and we did not talk anymore. She ignored me all the time and I did the same thing. During this time, I went through a lot of emotions. I felt sad because I missed her as a friend. I felt angry for having this trouble with her. But also, I had the hope that we would talk again.
Days later, I was talking to my friend Rosa. She is my coworker and we have good relationship. I told her that Sonia was my friend and how nice our relationship was. Also, in the conversation I told her about the problem we had experienced. She asked me why I did not talk to her. I said, “why me?” She was the one that decided to stop talking. She was the person that has to talk to me to apologize Rosa said, “If you think that Sonia is a good friend then talk to her about what happened. You have nothing to lose”. Rosa’s advice touched me. It seemed that Rosa had knowledge in her words. She told me some similar experiences that she had before.
My birthday was coming and I decided to call Sonia because I wanted her to spend the day with me. I was afraid. The next day, I saw her online. I decided to say “Hi!” She did reply and we have a long conversation about what happened. Also we fixed that problem talking. She accepted that she was the one that made this problem bigger. We both agreed that something that ridiculous we should not end our friendship. Our relationship is more valuable than these little problems which then become bigger and bigger. After that we started talking about what happened with each other during that time. I saw her the next week and we acted as if nothing ever happened.
We are still friends and I feel happy. It does not matter if I was the one that decided to take the first step. The important thing is that everything is fine. Now we know that if we have any kind of problems we had to talk about it in that moment and not to wait because we can lose moments and experiences together. We both learned that friendship cannot end for something absurd. Friendship is built on trust, love, patience and tolerance. In a larger sense, people help to see another person’s problems from a different point of view. They help open each other’s eyes when necessary. Fear, shame, and embarrassment are feeling that sometimes we cannot get over by ourselves, and we need each other. This goes for conflict as well as other problems we face.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Young Lucy Takes on a Life and Death Assignment
[You may not be interested in this blog entry unless you've read Voyage of the Dawn Treader. You may not be interested anyway, since this entry is rather long.]
Young Lucy took on an assignment, in Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis, in order to save the lives of her friends. Invisible creatures threatened to kill her, Edmund, Prince Caspian, Reepicheep, and the other members of their party if she did not march up the stairs of a two story house, locate a book of magic, and find the spell to make all invisible things visible. A magician who lived in the house was also invisible and so it was believed that Lucy would be risking her life to save the others, because he could attack her without any warning. The invisible creatures were tired of being invisible, were afraid to go into the house for fear of the magician, and for various reasons required a young girl, who happened to be Lucy, to go in and read the spell to make them visible once again. They threatened to kill all of the crew, if she failed to do this task. We find out later that the magician is a good person and wouldn’t harm Lucy, but that doesn’t matter because it was the fear she had to face before knowing this that made it such a heroic and terrifying act.
On a side note, it is important here to see the distinction between the tension in the plot and the underlying story that is being told. The plot obstacles are the fears she faces and the fact that she needs to find and read the spell to make all invisible things visible, or she and her friends die. This is the overt conflict in the story between Lucy (and her friends) versus the invisible creatures they can’t fight against.
There is an underlying story or metaphor that is occurring here, however, and it has to do with the following question: Why is Lewis using this idea of making all invisible things visible? Is there a second layer? The answer is yes and we’ll see this as I tread through the rest of the story.
Lucy enters the house, goes upstairs, and locates the magic book. She turns the pages but there is no table of contents. There are no words for that matter. They simply begin to appear as she turns each page, one by one. She can’t skip to the spell she needs to recite. Thus, she must read through all these other spells. In fact, these spells are very tempting. She learns how to cure people of all sorts of ailments, how to see what other people think about her, how to make her the most beautiful woman in the world (at least more beautiful than her older sister, Susan), and even reads the most wonderful story ever written, which she then forgets. Unfortunately, she does read the spell that allows her to see what her friends think of her and it is horrible. She misunderstands what one of her friends says about her and she feels shame, anger, and pain. The face of Aslan the Lion (the Christ-like figure in this book) seems to jump out from the page at her after she forces herself to fall victim to the temptation to read this spell and she quickly turns the page.
What I find so amazing and true to the human condition at this point in the story is that Lucy is distracted by these other pleasures or abilities in the magic book when, in reality, the lives of her and her friends are at stake. I think of the many addictions we face in life (both physical and psychological addictions) and how we risk our very spiritual, physical, and emotional lives in satisfying our pleasures in these distractions. Lewis is dead on in describing the human inclination towards sabotage. No pun intended.
Finally, Lucy locates and reads the spell which makes all invisible things visible. After reading it, she turns around to walk out the door and Aslan the Lion (the Christ-like figure) is standing in the doorway. She runs into his mane and they embrace. She says, “Why didn’t you appear before?” He says, “You made all things visible and I was always here with you.”
If it were just this simple that Lewis was trying to show us through Lucy that we often think God is not present when he is invisible, then it would still be a good story. But, the metaphor goes a little further, I believe. Not only is God present always even though He is invisible, but there is a lesson here to be learned about how the reasons for doing things are so often invisible, but once we go on with doing them that these reasons become visible afterwards.
Lucy, for example, probably faced all sorts of fears, second guessing, and analyzing of her situation as she walked through the house and up the stairs, in order to find the magical book. In fact, we know this from Lewis's description of her journey up those stairs. At any time, she might have freaked out and left. Had she done so, she would have felt embarrassed, ashamed, and afraid to return to her friends, especially since she knew it meant their deaths. Most likely, she would have run away into the forest in an attempt to hide her shame and escape her fate. Thank goodness, Lucy didn't do this and pressed forward, trusting that all would work out for the better. In the end, when all things became visible, she found not only that Aslan was there with her all along, but she also discovered many of the reasons why the other creatures were invisible, along with the good nature of the magician, and she also discovered the horrible things she was capable of while reading through the book.
What I'm trying to say here, is that Lucy never knew exactly why she had to go through this particular assignment until after it was over. Once she actually went through with it, ALL THINGS BECAME VISIBLE, EVEN THE REASONS SHE HAD TO GO THROUGH IT IN THE FIRST PLACE.
In our own lives, we often hear the expression hindsight is 20/20. I myself have taken many personal risks in this past year that have gone against the internal, dysfunctional, and unbiblical rules of my heart. Each time I have taken such a risk, it feels like I've been asked to do what Lucy was asked to do. I feel like I might die, especially because I don't know what the consequences will be. God is odd to me because He sets tasks before us that we have to accomplish without telling us the results, ahead of time. In the end, I actually have to trust Him, walk into the house, go up the stairs, risk being killed by a magician I'm unacquainted with, and find the magical book. Then, once I have done so and read the spell, I find that things invisible have now been made visible. The more I try to calculate the results, the less I learn about what is really happening. This is a trust issue.
Young Lucy took on an assignment, in Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis, in order to save the lives of her friends. Invisible creatures threatened to kill her, Edmund, Prince Caspian, Reepicheep, and the other members of their party if she did not march up the stairs of a two story house, locate a book of magic, and find the spell to make all invisible things visible. A magician who lived in the house was also invisible and so it was believed that Lucy would be risking her life to save the others, because he could attack her without any warning. The invisible creatures were tired of being invisible, were afraid to go into the house for fear of the magician, and for various reasons required a young girl, who happened to be Lucy, to go in and read the spell to make them visible once again. They threatened to kill all of the crew, if she failed to do this task. We find out later that the magician is a good person and wouldn’t harm Lucy, but that doesn’t matter because it was the fear she had to face before knowing this that made it such a heroic and terrifying act.
On a side note, it is important here to see the distinction between the tension in the plot and the underlying story that is being told. The plot obstacles are the fears she faces and the fact that she needs to find and read the spell to make all invisible things visible, or she and her friends die. This is the overt conflict in the story between Lucy (and her friends) versus the invisible creatures they can’t fight against.
There is an underlying story or metaphor that is occurring here, however, and it has to do with the following question: Why is Lewis using this idea of making all invisible things visible? Is there a second layer? The answer is yes and we’ll see this as I tread through the rest of the story.
Lucy enters the house, goes upstairs, and locates the magic book. She turns the pages but there is no table of contents. There are no words for that matter. They simply begin to appear as she turns each page, one by one. She can’t skip to the spell she needs to recite. Thus, she must read through all these other spells. In fact, these spells are very tempting. She learns how to cure people of all sorts of ailments, how to see what other people think about her, how to make her the most beautiful woman in the world (at least more beautiful than her older sister, Susan), and even reads the most wonderful story ever written, which she then forgets. Unfortunately, she does read the spell that allows her to see what her friends think of her and it is horrible. She misunderstands what one of her friends says about her and she feels shame, anger, and pain. The face of Aslan the Lion (the Christ-like figure in this book) seems to jump out from the page at her after she forces herself to fall victim to the temptation to read this spell and she quickly turns the page.
What I find so amazing and true to the human condition at this point in the story is that Lucy is distracted by these other pleasures or abilities in the magic book when, in reality, the lives of her and her friends are at stake. I think of the many addictions we face in life (both physical and psychological addictions) and how we risk our very spiritual, physical, and emotional lives in satisfying our pleasures in these distractions. Lewis is dead on in describing the human inclination towards sabotage. No pun intended.
Finally, Lucy locates and reads the spell which makes all invisible things visible. After reading it, she turns around to walk out the door and Aslan the Lion (the Christ-like figure) is standing in the doorway. She runs into his mane and they embrace. She says, “Why didn’t you appear before?” He says, “You made all things visible and I was always here with you.”
If it were just this simple that Lewis was trying to show us through Lucy that we often think God is not present when he is invisible, then it would still be a good story. But, the metaphor goes a little further, I believe. Not only is God present always even though He is invisible, but there is a lesson here to be learned about how the reasons for doing things are so often invisible, but once we go on with doing them that these reasons become visible afterwards.
Lucy, for example, probably faced all sorts of fears, second guessing, and analyzing of her situation as she walked through the house and up the stairs, in order to find the magical book. In fact, we know this from Lewis's description of her journey up those stairs. At any time, she might have freaked out and left. Had she done so, she would have felt embarrassed, ashamed, and afraid to return to her friends, especially since she knew it meant their deaths. Most likely, she would have run away into the forest in an attempt to hide her shame and escape her fate. Thank goodness, Lucy didn't do this and pressed forward, trusting that all would work out for the better. In the end, when all things became visible, she found not only that Aslan was there with her all along, but she also discovered many of the reasons why the other creatures were invisible, along with the good nature of the magician, and she also discovered the horrible things she was capable of while reading through the book.
What I'm trying to say here, is that Lucy never knew exactly why she had to go through this particular assignment until after it was over. Once she actually went through with it, ALL THINGS BECAME VISIBLE, EVEN THE REASONS SHE HAD TO GO THROUGH IT IN THE FIRST PLACE.
In our own lives, we often hear the expression hindsight is 20/20. I myself have taken many personal risks in this past year that have gone against the internal, dysfunctional, and unbiblical rules of my heart. Each time I have taken such a risk, it feels like I've been asked to do what Lucy was asked to do. I feel like I might die, especially because I don't know what the consequences will be. God is odd to me because He sets tasks before us that we have to accomplish without telling us the results, ahead of time. In the end, I actually have to trust Him, walk into the house, go up the stairs, risk being killed by a magician I'm unacquainted with, and find the magical book. Then, once I have done so and read the spell, I find that things invisible have now been made visible. The more I try to calculate the results, the less I learn about what is really happening. This is a trust issue.
Monday, June 22, 2009
Your Scandalous Identity
If you believe in Jesus then there’s something that seems almost scandalous about your identity.1 There’s something that's too good to be true. Your new identity seems to be, almost as if you’re getting away with something, like robbing a bank or cheating on Wall Street, without any consequences. In reality, your new identity is completely and morally legitimate, even though you are sort of getting away with something.1 This seemingly scandalous something, however, is most often covered up by your inclination towards shame and self-rejection.2 Self-rejection is something you and I both are capable of struggling with on a day-to-day basis.6 The question is: What are we gonna do about it?3
One thing to do is to remind each other about who we really are in the eyes of God.4 If you believe that God lived among us as the person of Jesus, fought and died for you at the hands of the religious leaders, took on all of your sin, rose from the dead, and literally put Himself inside of you, then there is something that has dramatically changed about who you are. What God did for you is that He turned you into someone else. He literally turned you into someone else with a new core, a new inner-being.1 Maybe it might be even better to say that He has turned you into the real you or the person you were always meant to be. The only problem is that on your own, apart from others who can remind you daily about who you really are,4 you’ll fall back into self-rejection which is the main thing that is working against you.2
The reality is that you have been given a new name to reflect the new inner-being that God has put into you. He has literally put Himself into your heart. Therefore, part of your new name includes the prefix “Christ” or “Jesus” or “God” for that matter. If Jose Garcia believes in the romantic and heroic act of God dying for him on the cross, rescuing Him from all sin, and that God has put Himself into Jose, then his new name is “Christ-in-Jose Garcia” or “Jesus-in-Jose-Garcia” or “God-in-Jose-Garcia”.
If you believe that God had the guts to stick it out for you at the cross and to turn you into a new person, then you have a new identity. You have a new name. Your new prefix is "Christ". You are "Christ-in-So-in-So".5 You are no longer just "So-in-So". That person no longer exists.
____________________________________
1Leadership Catalyst and 2 Corinthians 5:17
2Henri Nouwen, Life of the Beloved
3Bill Thrall, Sermon
4This idea of affirmation through telling each other who we really are, is most concretely lived out among a small group of men whom I spend time with each week.
5I want to clarify that I'm not saying we are one with God in the same way that Jesus is one with the Father. We are completely distinct and separate from Him, yet He lives inside of us and is working through us. We are interconnected, yet separate somehow. I'm not sure how all this works, but I just want to clarify I'm not talking about anything resembling Pan-theism or that we are able to become gods of some sort. All I know is that our new name is "Christ-in-So-in-So" and that this radically changes everything when we believe this about ourselves.
6I still do. Maybe I struggle with self-rejection less than a couple years ago (I'm adding this in 2011), but it still comes to tempt me. Self-rejection is the opposite of the gospel. The question is What am I going to do with it?
One thing to do is to remind each other about who we really are in the eyes of God.4 If you believe that God lived among us as the person of Jesus, fought and died for you at the hands of the religious leaders, took on all of your sin, rose from the dead, and literally put Himself inside of you, then there is something that has dramatically changed about who you are. What God did for you is that He turned you into someone else. He literally turned you into someone else with a new core, a new inner-being.1 Maybe it might be even better to say that He has turned you into the real you or the person you were always meant to be. The only problem is that on your own, apart from others who can remind you daily about who you really are,4 you’ll fall back into self-rejection which is the main thing that is working against you.2
The reality is that you have been given a new name to reflect the new inner-being that God has put into you. He has literally put Himself into your heart. Therefore, part of your new name includes the prefix “Christ” or “Jesus” or “God” for that matter. If Jose Garcia believes in the romantic and heroic act of God dying for him on the cross, rescuing Him from all sin, and that God has put Himself into Jose, then his new name is “Christ-in-Jose Garcia” or “Jesus-in-Jose-Garcia” or “God-in-Jose-Garcia”.
If you believe that God had the guts to stick it out for you at the cross and to turn you into a new person, then you have a new identity. You have a new name. Your new prefix is "Christ". You are "Christ-in-So-in-So".5 You are no longer just "So-in-So". That person no longer exists.
____________________________________
1Leadership Catalyst and 2 Corinthians 5:17
2Henri Nouwen, Life of the Beloved
3Bill Thrall, Sermon
4This idea of affirmation through telling each other who we really are, is most concretely lived out among a small group of men whom I spend time with each week.
5I want to clarify that I'm not saying we are one with God in the same way that Jesus is one with the Father. We are completely distinct and separate from Him, yet He lives inside of us and is working through us. We are interconnected, yet separate somehow. I'm not sure how all this works, but I just want to clarify I'm not talking about anything resembling Pan-theism or that we are able to become gods of some sort. All I know is that our new name is "Christ-in-So-in-So" and that this radically changes everything when we believe this about ourselves.
6I still do. Maybe I struggle with self-rejection less than a couple years ago (I'm adding this in 2011), but it still comes to tempt me. Self-rejection is the opposite of the gospel. The question is What am I going to do with it?
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Addressing Legalism (Part IX): Fighting Legalism is the Second Greatest Battle
I called myself “stupid” three times in front of my friend the other day. She said, “Steven, now you have to say three good things about yourself.”* This was tough, but one of the three I came up with was, “I hate legalism.”** Her reply was, “And, you love grace.”
Wow. She was right, but it clued me into something new I’ve learned about myself. I realized that I hate legalism more than I love grace. Where do I want to be? I want to love grace more than I hate legalism. Or, maybe I could say that I love grace more than anything, but that I fear it for reasons I will list below. Nevertheless, I’ve realized that the fight against legalism*** is the second greatest battle I will fight in my lifetime. The greatest battle I will ever fight is to live out grace.
The reason grace is so hard is because it involves forgiveness. The reason forgiveness is so hard is because it requires giving up a whole lot that I really don’t like giving up. When someone has hurt me or I have hurt someone else, the single most difficult thing for you and I to do is to ask for, give, or receive forgiveness from the other person. For God, it required so much that He literally died to give us His forgiveness. The scripture says we were enemies and yet He died for us. When Jesus says “Love your enemies” (Matt 5:44), He really meant it and lived it out. This is grace.
Grace as a concept sounds great, but put it into a real life situation and grace might be the very thing you hate or fear the most. When someone sins against you (even someone you love) it can feel like they are your very enemy. You want to lash out at them or go into hiding. Either way you want to try to eliminate the sin out of your shame rather than out of forgiveness. Forgiveness requires truly acknowledging what happened (offender or victim) and eliminating it through your own death (letting go of holding it against the other person****). It is literally the hardest thing in life for us to do, I believe.
When Jesus tells us to love our enemies (Matt 5:44), I don’t think we get the full scope of what He is saying. We instantly think of people we hate or dislike, but we forget that loving our enemies includes loving those closest to us when they feel like an enemy to us. We have to come out of hiding, go to them and ask for, receive and/or give forgiveness. This is the greatest battle.
_______________________________
*I wasn't in total self-pity mode, but she was giving me an opportunity to aid me in getting out of any self-pity I might have been dealing with in the moment.
**I also told her I have cool looking skater shoes and that I am creative. It was all I could come up with. I was playing false modesty at first.
***Legalism is the various sets of unwritten, unbiblical rules we place on each other in various sub-cultures that point us away from God and away from each other. They point us away from God and each other because they promote our hiding in sin and shame, rather than coming out into the light and dealing with our conflict; which promotes the opportunity to forgive.
****This doesn’t mean you don’t set certain, healthy boundaries, especially when the person has become unsafe. For more on this topic read “Unsafe People” and/or “Boundaries” by Cloud and Townsend.
Wow. She was right, but it clued me into something new I’ve learned about myself. I realized that I hate legalism more than I love grace. Where do I want to be? I want to love grace more than I hate legalism. Or, maybe I could say that I love grace more than anything, but that I fear it for reasons I will list below. Nevertheless, I’ve realized that the fight against legalism*** is the second greatest battle I will fight in my lifetime. The greatest battle I will ever fight is to live out grace.
The reason grace is so hard is because it involves forgiveness. The reason forgiveness is so hard is because it requires giving up a whole lot that I really don’t like giving up. When someone has hurt me or I have hurt someone else, the single most difficult thing for you and I to do is to ask for, give, or receive forgiveness from the other person. For God, it required so much that He literally died to give us His forgiveness. The scripture says we were enemies and yet He died for us. When Jesus says “Love your enemies” (Matt 5:44), He really meant it and lived it out. This is grace.
Grace as a concept sounds great, but put it into a real life situation and grace might be the very thing you hate or fear the most. When someone sins against you (even someone you love) it can feel like they are your very enemy. You want to lash out at them or go into hiding. Either way you want to try to eliminate the sin out of your shame rather than out of forgiveness. Forgiveness requires truly acknowledging what happened (offender or victim) and eliminating it through your own death (letting go of holding it against the other person****). It is literally the hardest thing in life for us to do, I believe.
When Jesus tells us to love our enemies (Matt 5:44), I don’t think we get the full scope of what He is saying. We instantly think of people we hate or dislike, but we forget that loving our enemies includes loving those closest to us when they feel like an enemy to us. We have to come out of hiding, go to them and ask for, receive and/or give forgiveness. This is the greatest battle.
_______________________________
*I wasn't in total self-pity mode, but she was giving me an opportunity to aid me in getting out of any self-pity I might have been dealing with in the moment.
**I also told her I have cool looking skater shoes and that I am creative. It was all I could come up with. I was playing false modesty at first.
***Legalism is the various sets of unwritten, unbiblical rules we place on each other in various sub-cultures that point us away from God and away from each other. They point us away from God and each other because they promote our hiding in sin and shame, rather than coming out into the light and dealing with our conflict; which promotes the opportunity to forgive.
****This doesn’t mean you don’t set certain, healthy boundaries, especially when the person has become unsafe. For more on this topic read “Unsafe People” and/or “Boundaries” by Cloud and Townsend.
Friday, June 5, 2009
God is Like an Ice Cream Truck*
Do you remember the feeling that drew you in when the music of the ice cream truck touched your ears? It was intoxicating. You might have been scrambling all over the house for loose change or frantically asking mom for 35 cents. Do you remember Bullets, Bomb Pops, Ice Cream Push-Ups, Strawberry Shortcake Ice Cream Bars, and candy of all kinds? How about something salty like chips or a pickle? They had those too.
God is like an ice cream truck. He turns the music on and you are instantly drawn to find Him. Now, you might think this isn’t true, but think a little more indirectly, through your relationships. For example, I remember in college having this same feeling of anticipation when I’d meet up with my friends. I couldn’t wait to be with them at Applebee’s on a Friday night or on campus somewhere for lunch during a weekday. More recently, I remember having this same feeling meeting up with a house church I was a part of a few years ago. A friend of mine says he has this sense of anticipation about a men’s church group I’m a part of each week. It is one of his favorite things to look forward to during the week. Another man describes to me how when he and his wife each get home from work, they can’t wait to be together for an hour or so, before they venture out for the evening’s activities; with each other or on their own. They’ve been married for 10 years. In the end, only God can satisfy this deep longing, but our safe and healthy relationships can point us in the right direction.
God is like an ice cream truck. He turns on the music and we’re instantly drawn to Him. Where is it? Where is it coming from? Gotta find it. Keep an eye out in your weekly experiences for those safe and healthy relationships you anticipate the most.** That’s the music coming from God’s heart. You gotta go find it. It’s awesome.
_________________________________
*This title concept is directly taken from Captivating by John and Stasi Eldridge p. 131. The writing by me in this blog entry is completely my own extrapolation from this concept.
**Some forms of anticipation aren’t actually good, because they are addictions. There is a difference between a deep longing for the safety that a relationship provides or the compulsive desire to get whatever rush you can get out of it. A gentle longing vs. a compulsive desire. You’ll know the difference because those sorts of relationships never satisfy. In this sense, maybe the ice cream truck analogy isn’t totally accurate.
God is like an ice cream truck. He turns the music on and you are instantly drawn to find Him. Now, you might think this isn’t true, but think a little more indirectly, through your relationships. For example, I remember in college having this same feeling of anticipation when I’d meet up with my friends. I couldn’t wait to be with them at Applebee’s on a Friday night or on campus somewhere for lunch during a weekday. More recently, I remember having this same feeling meeting up with a house church I was a part of a few years ago. A friend of mine says he has this sense of anticipation about a men’s church group I’m a part of each week. It is one of his favorite things to look forward to during the week. Another man describes to me how when he and his wife each get home from work, they can’t wait to be together for an hour or so, before they venture out for the evening’s activities; with each other or on their own. They’ve been married for 10 years. In the end, only God can satisfy this deep longing, but our safe and healthy relationships can point us in the right direction.
God is like an ice cream truck. He turns on the music and we’re instantly drawn to Him. Where is it? Where is it coming from? Gotta find it. Keep an eye out in your weekly experiences for those safe and healthy relationships you anticipate the most.** That’s the music coming from God’s heart. You gotta go find it. It’s awesome.
_________________________________
*This title concept is directly taken from Captivating by John and Stasi Eldridge p. 131. The writing by me in this blog entry is completely my own extrapolation from this concept.
**Some forms of anticipation aren’t actually good, because they are addictions. There is a difference between a deep longing for the safety that a relationship provides or the compulsive desire to get whatever rush you can get out of it. A gentle longing vs. a compulsive desire. You’ll know the difference because those sorts of relationships never satisfy. In this sense, maybe the ice cream truck analogy isn’t totally accurate.
Thursday, June 4, 2009
The Reflection of God in Our Joys
Your personality and joy reflects part of the personality of God in the way you perceive and interact with the world around you. The degree to which you express this portion of your personality without inhibition (apart from the forms of addiction) is the degree to which you declare the glory of God.
The Incarnate God Himself, Jesus, displayed lots of interests and things He liked to do for fun, work, purpose, and experience. Think about it. He was a carpenter; a wood worker of sorts. I have a friend named Scott who does interior/exterior remodeling. I helped him build an interior, half-sized wall used as a partition in a restaurant bar and grill. We loaded an amazing array of detailed and meticulously purchased sets of materials into a U Haul we brought to the restaurant. I watched him as he measured out all the lengths and we used nuts and bolts and nail gun this and nail gun that. We even got to shoot bolts into the cement with a gun that used real gun powder. When I watched Scott at times doing his work, I could see he was in a mental zone. He was using his body, expertise, and knowledge of tools to make things work together to create a masterpiece. The partition-wall was intricate with a ledge for drinks and different types of cool looking things all over it. Watching him work, I got to see inside of Scott something that literally came from God. It was his heart’s desire to use his mind and body in the way God had created Him. In a certain way, it was like I got to see God at work. I look back and think about how Jesus was probably in the same zone with his mind and body when He was doing His wood work and carpentry back in Galilee.
On my part, I could care less about wood working, tools, gadgets, and building stuff. I love to watch people like Scott do their stuff, because I see God inside of them, but that isn’t what makes me tick. I’m living in the world of ideas all the time. I hear people tell me stories about their lives and I’m thinking about their lives as part of a grand story being told. I’m thinking about what words I can use to affirm them, so they can know who they really are. I’m thinking about the next blog entry I can write to express what I’ve seen in them. In addition to my world of stories, I also like to teach because it is another avenue to express my creativity in the activities I put together for my ESL students. A simple lecture isn’t enough. I have to help them get into contact with one another relationally, talking to each other in English and accomplishing some sort of task. Whether I’m teaching or storytelling, the intertwining thread is always the beauty I see in relationships and their interconnections. Jesus, of course, also had this same desire. He gathered a band of disciples, taught them lots of things, put them into relationships with one another, and sent them out to connect in even more relationships outside of their group. This all became part of a grand story that has been told for centuries.
You on the other hand, might not identify with either me or my friend Scott. You might get in the zone when you’re doing an act of service, setting appointments, or organizing things. Maybe you feel alive when you’re swimming, cycling, running, rock climbing, or hiking. Running a business, supporting visionaries, hanging out with friends, painting, or decorating/interior design might resonate with you. Whatever it is that you love to do (apart from addictions), make sure you do it often, do it well, and do it without reservation.
Do it because when we see you doing your thing, we get to see a piece of you that God made inside of you. Moreover, we get to see God inside of you. We get to connect with Him in this way. Do you see that it isn’t just for you?
The Incarnate God Himself, Jesus, displayed lots of interests and things He liked to do for fun, work, purpose, and experience. Think about it. He was a carpenter; a wood worker of sorts. I have a friend named Scott who does interior/exterior remodeling. I helped him build an interior, half-sized wall used as a partition in a restaurant bar and grill. We loaded an amazing array of detailed and meticulously purchased sets of materials into a U Haul we brought to the restaurant. I watched him as he measured out all the lengths and we used nuts and bolts and nail gun this and nail gun that. We even got to shoot bolts into the cement with a gun that used real gun powder. When I watched Scott at times doing his work, I could see he was in a mental zone. He was using his body, expertise, and knowledge of tools to make things work together to create a masterpiece. The partition-wall was intricate with a ledge for drinks and different types of cool looking things all over it. Watching him work, I got to see inside of Scott something that literally came from God. It was his heart’s desire to use his mind and body in the way God had created Him. In a certain way, it was like I got to see God at work. I look back and think about how Jesus was probably in the same zone with his mind and body when He was doing His wood work and carpentry back in Galilee.
On my part, I could care less about wood working, tools, gadgets, and building stuff. I love to watch people like Scott do their stuff, because I see God inside of them, but that isn’t what makes me tick. I’m living in the world of ideas all the time. I hear people tell me stories about their lives and I’m thinking about their lives as part of a grand story being told. I’m thinking about what words I can use to affirm them, so they can know who they really are. I’m thinking about the next blog entry I can write to express what I’ve seen in them. In addition to my world of stories, I also like to teach because it is another avenue to express my creativity in the activities I put together for my ESL students. A simple lecture isn’t enough. I have to help them get into contact with one another relationally, talking to each other in English and accomplishing some sort of task. Whether I’m teaching or storytelling, the intertwining thread is always the beauty I see in relationships and their interconnections. Jesus, of course, also had this same desire. He gathered a band of disciples, taught them lots of things, put them into relationships with one another, and sent them out to connect in even more relationships outside of their group. This all became part of a grand story that has been told for centuries.
You on the other hand, might not identify with either me or my friend Scott. You might get in the zone when you’re doing an act of service, setting appointments, or organizing things. Maybe you feel alive when you’re swimming, cycling, running, rock climbing, or hiking. Running a business, supporting visionaries, hanging out with friends, painting, or decorating/interior design might resonate with you. Whatever it is that you love to do (apart from addictions), make sure you do it often, do it well, and do it without reservation.
Do it because when we see you doing your thing, we get to see a piece of you that God made inside of you. Moreover, we get to see God inside of you. We get to connect with Him in this way. Do you see that it isn’t just for you?
Monday, June 1, 2009
Addressing Legalism (Part VIII): Forsaking Legalism and Finding the Truth Tellers
Your life is dramatic because you probably ask one of two questions: (1) Do I have what takes?* Or, (2) Will I be abandoned?** These two questions dramatize your life because there are voices (real and imagined) that tell you the outcome is in question. Because your sanity and very eternal life is at stake, your life is truly dramatic in a way that movies and novels can never compare. There is a resolution, but it is the exact opposite of what movies and novels often portray.
The problem with movies and novels is they never tell stories that ring true in real life. They are idealized. Real life is messy and often resolutions to conflict and human needs never seem to come, or at least they don't according to our desired outcomes. This is primarily because we don’t know how to move forward in our real life stories. We have so many self-destructive patterns growing up in our families, schools, churches, mosques, and synagogues; not to mention media and marketing which is part of the whole mix. All of these negative coping mechanisms, both religious and non-religious, are human made behavior-rules which forms a concept that we call legalism. The written and unwritten rules of legalism in various sub-cultures most often oppose God instead of pointing us towards Him.
There are two primary things Jesus did in his life that we should also follow. First, he forsook legalism. This means He condemned it. We should do the same. Sometimes this means actively fighting against the rules of legalists and sometimes it means leaving the legalists behind. Jesus called out the outlandish thinking of the Pharasees and the Teachers of the Law right in front of groups of people. They were embarrassed. I don’t propose always doing this, nor does it work all that often. But, sometimes, Jesus was so angry and wanted those around Him to know how stupid these rules for human behavior were that He confonted the Teachers of the Law right in front of everyone else. I don’t think He really did this because He thought it most effective to convince the Teachers of the Law to come over to His side of love and acceptance (although some did); it was more so those around Him could see how ridiculous their ideas were in the light of love. He was protecting the crowds, His followers, and those Pharasees and Teachers of the Law who did hear His voice from rules which would destroy their souls. I also think it was just a response of His anger and He wasn’t the sort of person to with-hold His feelings. He wore no masks. To the legalists, this exposure was unsafe. To the repentent person, this exposure was scary but liberating.
Most often, Jesus actually left the legalists alone and moved to places where He could provide safe zones for his friends and followers. He wanted them to come into His Room of Grace*** (i.e. the Kingdom of God) where He could speak tenderly and frankly to them about God's rules. Basically, God’s rules are that we love each other, which primarily means meeting other’s needs (in a healthy, boundary setting way) while also resolving conflict, which is also a need. It requires vulnerabilty and allowing others to meet our needs, as well. Legalists, on the other hand, create human defined rules which deny our needs and sweep conflict underneath the carpet, instead of dealing with it. These are the kinds of people we need to avoid for our primary sources of support.
There is also a strange sense in which we have to divorce ourselves from the legalism in our own hearts. This is actually the main problem. We can point fingers at the legalists or we can acknowledge we are the very ones who are part of the problem. What I'm trying to say is that at some level, we really are the legalists we are trying to run away from. We grow up with the unwritten rules of human behavior which point us away from God and we perpetuate these rules in our heart. Trying to break free of the legalism in our own hearts is like a dog trying to teach itself new tricks. It just doesn’t work. That brings us to the next part.
In addition to forsaking legalism by confronting it or leaving it, we must also find those who can offer us Rooms of Grace (i.e. The Kingdom of God) where we can find healing. These are people who tell us the truth about who we really are. They tell us that God has chosen us as His beloved children and that He isn’t going anywhere. They tell us that God fought for us, died for us, and has put a new nature in us. They affirm us. They speak the words of God to us. They tell us they love us. It is literally impossible to pull ourselves out of legalism and affirm ourselves from our own hearts. It has to come from others who tell us the truth about who God declares us to be--His beloved child.****
This morning a friend of mine ran into me at Starbucks before church. I didn’t see him because he came up to me from behind. He surprised me by grabbing hold of my shoulders from behind, giving me a guy style shoulder massage (whatever that means) for five or six seconds and then revealing who he was. We smiled at each other. We were excited to see each other, and he re-introduced his wife to me. After talking a minute or two, he said, “Steven, I’m blessed. I’m blessed to have seen you and run into you this morning.” Because I feel no judgment from this person and feel safe with him, I was able to easily accept his affirmation. In that moment, there was an emotional connection we experienced together as human beings, a kind that men don’t experience very often. Additionally, he did something else even deeper in that moment. He conveyed to me a sense of my identity. It was as if God Himself had said, “Steven, I’m blessed. I’m blessed to have seen you and run into you this morning.” Is that not the deepest desire of our hearts? To hear God say “I’m glad I ran into you this morning.” It sounds ludicrous, but that’s exactly what God did do to me.
What happened this morning to me illustrates the rule of God, which is to love one another. There was no judgment. There were no human-made rules. There was simple affirmation and a connection. This is ultimately the way to fight legalism, and to eradicate it. When we follow Jesus into heaven upon our deaths, we will see the ultimate destruction of all human-made rules and we will love each other without inhibition. The legalists, including my old nature, will not be there. You’ll get to know the real me, and I will get to know the real you. The main question is: Have you left legalism (especially that in your own heart) and have you found others who deeply desire to tell you who God declares you to be? If not, you gotta go find them.
This is how the dramatic questions to your life are resolved. (1) Do you have what it takes? Yes. (2) Will you be abandoned? No. Why? God already declares you to be the one He wants for eternity. You already have what it takes. You are wanted and will never be abandoned. He fought for you and died for you at the cross. Do you believe this? If so, then you can finally begin living. If you don't believe this, then it is your responsibility to find those who can tell you these truths.
__________________________________
*Question taken from Wild at Heart by John Eldridge
**Question taken from Captivating by John and Staci Eldridge
***The Room of Grace is a term used at Open Door Fellowship in Phoenix. I like to use this term, because the Kingdom of God brings up so many images from our past that are incorrect and never the way God intended the Kingdom to be portrayed. Talking about the Room of Grace sounds more refreshing, I think.
****Idea taken from Life of the Beloved by Henri Nouwen
The problem with movies and novels is they never tell stories that ring true in real life. They are idealized. Real life is messy and often resolutions to conflict and human needs never seem to come, or at least they don't according to our desired outcomes. This is primarily because we don’t know how to move forward in our real life stories. We have so many self-destructive patterns growing up in our families, schools, churches, mosques, and synagogues; not to mention media and marketing which is part of the whole mix. All of these negative coping mechanisms, both religious and non-religious, are human made behavior-rules which forms a concept that we call legalism. The written and unwritten rules of legalism in various sub-cultures most often oppose God instead of pointing us towards Him.
There are two primary things Jesus did in his life that we should also follow. First, he forsook legalism. This means He condemned it. We should do the same. Sometimes this means actively fighting against the rules of legalists and sometimes it means leaving the legalists behind. Jesus called out the outlandish thinking of the Pharasees and the Teachers of the Law right in front of groups of people. They were embarrassed. I don’t propose always doing this, nor does it work all that often. But, sometimes, Jesus was so angry and wanted those around Him to know how stupid these rules for human behavior were that He confonted the Teachers of the Law right in front of everyone else. I don’t think He really did this because He thought it most effective to convince the Teachers of the Law to come over to His side of love and acceptance (although some did); it was more so those around Him could see how ridiculous their ideas were in the light of love. He was protecting the crowds, His followers, and those Pharasees and Teachers of the Law who did hear His voice from rules which would destroy their souls. I also think it was just a response of His anger and He wasn’t the sort of person to with-hold His feelings. He wore no masks. To the legalists, this exposure was unsafe. To the repentent person, this exposure was scary but liberating.
Most often, Jesus actually left the legalists alone and moved to places where He could provide safe zones for his friends and followers. He wanted them to come into His Room of Grace*** (i.e. the Kingdom of God) where He could speak tenderly and frankly to them about God's rules. Basically, God’s rules are that we love each other, which primarily means meeting other’s needs (in a healthy, boundary setting way) while also resolving conflict, which is also a need. It requires vulnerabilty and allowing others to meet our needs, as well. Legalists, on the other hand, create human defined rules which deny our needs and sweep conflict underneath the carpet, instead of dealing with it. These are the kinds of people we need to avoid for our primary sources of support.
There is also a strange sense in which we have to divorce ourselves from the legalism in our own hearts. This is actually the main problem. We can point fingers at the legalists or we can acknowledge we are the very ones who are part of the problem. What I'm trying to say is that at some level, we really are the legalists we are trying to run away from. We grow up with the unwritten rules of human behavior which point us away from God and we perpetuate these rules in our heart. Trying to break free of the legalism in our own hearts is like a dog trying to teach itself new tricks. It just doesn’t work. That brings us to the next part.
In addition to forsaking legalism by confronting it or leaving it, we must also find those who can offer us Rooms of Grace (i.e. The Kingdom of God) where we can find healing. These are people who tell us the truth about who we really are. They tell us that God has chosen us as His beloved children and that He isn’t going anywhere. They tell us that God fought for us, died for us, and has put a new nature in us. They affirm us. They speak the words of God to us. They tell us they love us. It is literally impossible to pull ourselves out of legalism and affirm ourselves from our own hearts. It has to come from others who tell us the truth about who God declares us to be--His beloved child.****
This morning a friend of mine ran into me at Starbucks before church. I didn’t see him because he came up to me from behind. He surprised me by grabbing hold of my shoulders from behind, giving me a guy style shoulder massage (whatever that means) for five or six seconds and then revealing who he was. We smiled at each other. We were excited to see each other, and he re-introduced his wife to me. After talking a minute or two, he said, “Steven, I’m blessed. I’m blessed to have seen you and run into you this morning.” Because I feel no judgment from this person and feel safe with him, I was able to easily accept his affirmation. In that moment, there was an emotional connection we experienced together as human beings, a kind that men don’t experience very often. Additionally, he did something else even deeper in that moment. He conveyed to me a sense of my identity. It was as if God Himself had said, “Steven, I’m blessed. I’m blessed to have seen you and run into you this morning.” Is that not the deepest desire of our hearts? To hear God say “I’m glad I ran into you this morning.” It sounds ludicrous, but that’s exactly what God did do to me.
What happened this morning to me illustrates the rule of God, which is to love one another. There was no judgment. There were no human-made rules. There was simple affirmation and a connection. This is ultimately the way to fight legalism, and to eradicate it. When we follow Jesus into heaven upon our deaths, we will see the ultimate destruction of all human-made rules and we will love each other without inhibition. The legalists, including my old nature, will not be there. You’ll get to know the real me, and I will get to know the real you. The main question is: Have you left legalism (especially that in your own heart) and have you found others who deeply desire to tell you who God declares you to be? If not, you gotta go find them.
This is how the dramatic questions to your life are resolved. (1) Do you have what it takes? Yes. (2) Will you be abandoned? No. Why? God already declares you to be the one He wants for eternity. You already have what it takes. You are wanted and will never be abandoned. He fought for you and died for you at the cross. Do you believe this? If so, then you can finally begin living. If you don't believe this, then it is your responsibility to find those who can tell you these truths.
__________________________________
*Question taken from Wild at Heart by John Eldridge
**Question taken from Captivating by John and Staci Eldridge
***The Room of Grace is a term used at Open Door Fellowship in Phoenix. I like to use this term, because the Kingdom of God brings up so many images from our past that are incorrect and never the way God intended the Kingdom to be portrayed. Talking about the Room of Grace sounds more refreshing, I think.
****Idea taken from Life of the Beloved by Henri Nouwen
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Self-Affirmation Isn't Enough
I can identify with Stuart Smalley, a fictional character from Saturday Night Live during the 1990’s. He spent a lot of time trying to affirm himself in order to fight self-condemnation. I spend a lot of time trying to do the same thing. His famous line is, “I’m good enough, I’m smart enough, and doggone it, people like me.” This type of self-talk, however, doesn’t work given enough time, and I know this from experience. In the end, it is never enough. It is the opposite of the gospel which says that God and others must (as a beautiful act of grace) affirm us for the sake of our survival. It is others who have to tell us who we really are—God’s treasured ones. Our responsibility is to put ourselves in communities where this is regularly occurring.
Henri Nouwen states in “Life of the Beloved” that the greatest temptation we face in life is that of self-condemnation. Our natural tendency is to condemn ourselves because we are full of shame. We have no inherent ability to affirm ourselves. Therefore, trying to tell myself a whole bunch of affirming statements and expecting this to solve my problems is like a dog trying to train itself how to lay-down and roll-over on command. It just doesn’t happen. No dog can teach itself new tricks.
Hebrews 3:3 says, “13But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness.”
For the sake of our survival, God has told us that we need to encourage one another daily. And, don’t go down this line of thinking which says “I’m okay now. I can go longer periods of time without affirmation because I feel more confident than I used to. God seems to indicate that once we have received affirmation from others that we will come to realize that we actually need it all the more.
Hebrews 10:24 says, “…let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”
Do you have people in your life who affirm you often? Do you have a group, community, or a few trusted friends you can go to where they know all your sin, immaturity, and irresponsibility, yet they tell you who you really are? God and others are the only ones who can tell us who we really are—God’s treasured ones, His beloved. Only He and they can give us words and actions that will transform our lives. Apart from them, we can do nothing to fight self-condemnation and shame. In turn, we also learn to affirm others, just as we have been affirmed.
Finding others who can affirm us is our first responsibility. Have you found them yet?
Henri Nouwen states in “Life of the Beloved” that the greatest temptation we face in life is that of self-condemnation. Our natural tendency is to condemn ourselves because we are full of shame. We have no inherent ability to affirm ourselves. Therefore, trying to tell myself a whole bunch of affirming statements and expecting this to solve my problems is like a dog trying to train itself how to lay-down and roll-over on command. It just doesn’t happen. No dog can teach itself new tricks.
Hebrews 3:3 says, “13But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness.”
For the sake of our survival, God has told us that we need to encourage one another daily. And, don’t go down this line of thinking which says “I’m okay now. I can go longer periods of time without affirmation because I feel more confident than I used to. God seems to indicate that once we have received affirmation from others that we will come to realize that we actually need it all the more.
Hebrews 10:24 says, “…let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”
Do you have people in your life who affirm you often? Do you have a group, community, or a few trusted friends you can go to where they know all your sin, immaturity, and irresponsibility, yet they tell you who you really are? God and others are the only ones who can tell us who we really are—God’s treasured ones, His beloved. Only He and they can give us words and actions that will transform our lives. Apart from them, we can do nothing to fight self-condemnation and shame. In turn, we also learn to affirm others, just as we have been affirmed.
Finding others who can affirm us is our first responsibility. Have you found them yet?
Monday, May 4, 2009
Reckless Communion
I’m reckless when I take communion. I used to spend a lot of time trying to clear my mind or get my heart right with God in the moments before I took communion. I didn’t want to have sin in my mind while taking communion, or God forbid I should have some sort of unconfessed sin I couldn't remember. I stopped doing this, however, when I realized it was completely disobedient and destructive to the core.* I hope this essay helps you to feel free with God while taking communion and maybe to unwind some dangerous misinterpretations of scripture that I believe we often use to condemn ourselves, rather than to uplift us.
The moment I start analyzing things just before communion is the moment I have misunderstood grace and have plunged right back into performance-based thinking, opposing God's very rescue of us. I think this is supported by scripture in 1 Corinthians 11:25-26. It says, “25In the same way, after supper [Jesus] took the cup, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.’ 26For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. 27Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord.” The moment I try to get my thoughts together or make sure I don’t have any sin in my mind I subtly deny the Lord’s death and his provision for me. I am proclaiming that He hasn’t died for me. I’m eating the bread and drinking the cup with a performance based mind-set which is, in my opinion, being done in an unworthy manner and is sinful, per the bold typed font above. I also perpetuate a cycle of control in my mind that is unhealthy, the very thing Christ has freed me from (more later in this essay).
The awesome thing is that even though taking communion in a performance-based mindset is sinful, even this sin of performance or pride has been completely settled by the blood of Christ. He’s rescued us without reservation, even when we drink the cup or eat the bread in an unworthy, performance-based manner. It’s seems ridiculous, but it’s true. All He requires is the mustard seed of faith. An entire tree of performance-based thinking (i.e. keeping the law) has been chopped down by Christ’s death.
There has been an increased pleasure I’ve been experiencing while taking communion each Sunday at church. Frankly, as a preface, I commit a lot of sin during sermons. I often find myself analyzing what the preacher is saying and pinning it up against what I’d say instead. Or, the sermon might point me to a particular situation in my life and I think “oh, if so-and-so could hear this then he or she would figure things out.” I have experienced more listening-to-the-sermon over analyzing-the-sermon lately; however, my pride is still often at its highest, smack in the middle of the sermon.
When communion comes, however, I don’t wait. Get it to me and get it to me as quickly as possible. I imagine Christ Himself trying to get to me as quickly as possible, too. I think about how wonderful it is--Christ’s desire to rescue me, even from the effects of the sin I’m right in the middle of in the moment. I remember he didn’t die for me grudgingly. On the contrary, His rescue is the core of our relationship. It is the very theme of his love for us. He isn’t like anyone we've ever met. He is the definition of Romance.
So, when that communion comes. I don’t wait. I exercise the obedience of trusting in God with my sin (Romans 1:5) and I take it recklessly. The more I know I am forgiven, loved, accepted, and cherished by God, the less grip sin has on me over time, anyways. This is actually the power of the gospel, over the law, the very thing I find myself falling into. Therefore, during communion, as a way to practice undersatnding grace, I let my heart and my mind be as open as possible to all of the sin and shame I bear in the moment and I don’t make any effort to do anything about it. I simply try to remain as transparent with God as possible, living in the light according to 1 John 1:5-10, which I believe can be cross-referenced with 1 Corinthians 11:28-32 which says, “28A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. 29For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself.” Those of us who are obsessive turn these verses into something God never intended. We get wrapped up in making sure we have confessed all of our sin, but in reality we are trying to make sure we are following some sort of a rule to get all of our sin confessed and swept under the rug so that God doesn't see it any more. Frankly, examining ourselves is exposing our minds to who we really are, knowing we aren't condemned. The more we condemn ourselves, the more we fail to recognize the death of the one who rescued us in the first place. We drink unhealthy judgment on ourselves, and the source of that unhealthy judgment is our own hearts, not God. If it were not for the joy that I feel in His recue of my very own performance-based mindset in these moments, then I would be tempted to feel condemned for condemning myself through performance-based thinking. Do you see how neurotic this can get? But, let us remember 1 John 3:19-20 which says “19This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence 20whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.” This scripture is very helpful in helping me to act recklessly when taking communion. He is greater than our hearts which are often full of condemnation.
Finally, there is a great consequence for taking communion while trying to get sin or even shame out of our mind during the last moment. It isn’t the Lord’s desire to deliver this consequence, except to bring us back to a much more gentle understanding of grace. The consequence he delivers us into is our own unhealthiness. The higher our performance-based thinking (not just during communion) results in our spiritual, emotional, and psychological health deteriorating and we feel sick or like we have died. In some extreme cases, we might even die (i.e. too much stress turns into a heart attack, or we commit suicide—even these I believe are fully covered by grace for those who believe; it is that amazing). This mental deterioration is supported I believe by 1 Corinthians 11:30-31 which says, “30That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep. 31But if we judged ourselves, we would not come under judgment. 32When we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned with the world.” The discipline God is speaking of here is not punishment. To disciple means to train or mentor a child or student into a better student. In this case, it means to bring the person back to life emotionally, spiritually, and psychologically. The language is explicit. It says we are disciplined so we will not be condemned by the world. The world is performance-based. The gospel is grace based. This is the discipline God speaks of. It feels counter-intuitive. Sometimes, years of putrid, performance-based thinking and acting out is what is needed to bring us around to letting go and allowing God to bathe us in the waters of grace or experiencing the waters of grace we are already bathing in. It isn’t a fun path, and I’m still on that path in many ways. You can pray not only for your own performance-based mindset, but mine, as well. I feel like I have an entire tree of performance-based thinking that needs to be knocked down, much less be pruned.
One type of antidote is a good dose of reckless communions. When it comes around next time, take it as quickly as possible. He is running towards you. Feel free to run towards Him. Don't think so much about it, except that He doesn't care at all about anything else, except coming to you. Leave all of your sin wide open before God without trying to cover it up before taking the bread and the cup. Just try. You might not feel like you got it right the first time, but that isn't really all that important. I don't know if getting it right is even the right language to use here. Just remember there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. He has set us free, free to take communion without reservation (Romans 8:1-2). Therefore, proclaim the Lord's death and take a chance on grace. He offers you His full protection.
_________________________________________
*At the top of this essay, I used the words "disobedient" and "destructive" to describe an overly analytical type of communion mentality. I want to clarify something. I don't mean that being contemplative or even convicted during communion is off base. There is a difference between conviction and condemnation. This essay was written against self-condemnation. I just believe most people operate under condemnation and don't really understand what healthy conviction is, in the first place. This comes from my own experience, even my own current experience. The nice thing is He can even take self-condemnation, which is transparent, and transform it into grace-based conviction, over time. And frankly, I am currently experiencing a contemplative mindset, but I'm enjoying this contemplation after taking the bread and cup rather than before. This is simply chronological. Feel free to contemplate and enjoy Christ's rescue of you before you take the bread and the cup, if you prefer. Enjoy it as much as possible!
The moment I start analyzing things just before communion is the moment I have misunderstood grace and have plunged right back into performance-based thinking, opposing God's very rescue of us. I think this is supported by scripture in 1 Corinthians 11:25-26. It says, “25In the same way, after supper [Jesus] took the cup, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.’ 26For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. 27Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord.” The moment I try to get my thoughts together or make sure I don’t have any sin in my mind I subtly deny the Lord’s death and his provision for me. I am proclaiming that He hasn’t died for me. I’m eating the bread and drinking the cup with a performance based mind-set which is, in my opinion, being done in an unworthy manner and is sinful, per the bold typed font above. I also perpetuate a cycle of control in my mind that is unhealthy, the very thing Christ has freed me from (more later in this essay).
The awesome thing is that even though taking communion in a performance-based mindset is sinful, even this sin of performance or pride has been completely settled by the blood of Christ. He’s rescued us without reservation, even when we drink the cup or eat the bread in an unworthy, performance-based manner. It’s seems ridiculous, but it’s true. All He requires is the mustard seed of faith. An entire tree of performance-based thinking (i.e. keeping the law) has been chopped down by Christ’s death.
There has been an increased pleasure I’ve been experiencing while taking communion each Sunday at church. Frankly, as a preface, I commit a lot of sin during sermons. I often find myself analyzing what the preacher is saying and pinning it up against what I’d say instead. Or, the sermon might point me to a particular situation in my life and I think “oh, if so-and-so could hear this then he or she would figure things out.” I have experienced more listening-to-the-sermon over analyzing-the-sermon lately; however, my pride is still often at its highest, smack in the middle of the sermon.
When communion comes, however, I don’t wait. Get it to me and get it to me as quickly as possible. I imagine Christ Himself trying to get to me as quickly as possible, too. I think about how wonderful it is--Christ’s desire to rescue me, even from the effects of the sin I’m right in the middle of in the moment. I remember he didn’t die for me grudgingly. On the contrary, His rescue is the core of our relationship. It is the very theme of his love for us. He isn’t like anyone we've ever met. He is the definition of Romance.
So, when that communion comes. I don’t wait. I exercise the obedience of trusting in God with my sin (Romans 1:5) and I take it recklessly. The more I know I am forgiven, loved, accepted, and cherished by God, the less grip sin has on me over time, anyways. This is actually the power of the gospel, over the law, the very thing I find myself falling into. Therefore, during communion, as a way to practice undersatnding grace, I let my heart and my mind be as open as possible to all of the sin and shame I bear in the moment and I don’t make any effort to do anything about it. I simply try to remain as transparent with God as possible, living in the light according to 1 John 1:5-10, which I believe can be cross-referenced with 1 Corinthians 11:28-32 which says, “28A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. 29For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself.” Those of us who are obsessive turn these verses into something God never intended. We get wrapped up in making sure we have confessed all of our sin, but in reality we are trying to make sure we are following some sort of a rule to get all of our sin confessed and swept under the rug so that God doesn't see it any more. Frankly, examining ourselves is exposing our minds to who we really are, knowing we aren't condemned. The more we condemn ourselves, the more we fail to recognize the death of the one who rescued us in the first place. We drink unhealthy judgment on ourselves, and the source of that unhealthy judgment is our own hearts, not God. If it were not for the joy that I feel in His recue of my very own performance-based mindset in these moments, then I would be tempted to feel condemned for condemning myself through performance-based thinking. Do you see how neurotic this can get? But, let us remember 1 John 3:19-20 which says “19This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence 20whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.” This scripture is very helpful in helping me to act recklessly when taking communion. He is greater than our hearts which are often full of condemnation.
Finally, there is a great consequence for taking communion while trying to get sin or even shame out of our mind during the last moment. It isn’t the Lord’s desire to deliver this consequence, except to bring us back to a much more gentle understanding of grace. The consequence he delivers us into is our own unhealthiness. The higher our performance-based thinking (not just during communion) results in our spiritual, emotional, and psychological health deteriorating and we feel sick or like we have died. In some extreme cases, we might even die (i.e. too much stress turns into a heart attack, or we commit suicide—even these I believe are fully covered by grace for those who believe; it is that amazing). This mental deterioration is supported I believe by 1 Corinthians 11:30-31 which says, “30That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep. 31But if we judged ourselves, we would not come under judgment. 32When we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned with the world.” The discipline God is speaking of here is not punishment. To disciple means to train or mentor a child or student into a better student. In this case, it means to bring the person back to life emotionally, spiritually, and psychologically. The language is explicit. It says we are disciplined so we will not be condemned by the world. The world is performance-based. The gospel is grace based. This is the discipline God speaks of. It feels counter-intuitive. Sometimes, years of putrid, performance-based thinking and acting out is what is needed to bring us around to letting go and allowing God to bathe us in the waters of grace or experiencing the waters of grace we are already bathing in. It isn’t a fun path, and I’m still on that path in many ways. You can pray not only for your own performance-based mindset, but mine, as well. I feel like I have an entire tree of performance-based thinking that needs to be knocked down, much less be pruned.
One type of antidote is a good dose of reckless communions. When it comes around next time, take it as quickly as possible. He is running towards you. Feel free to run towards Him. Don't think so much about it, except that He doesn't care at all about anything else, except coming to you. Leave all of your sin wide open before God without trying to cover it up before taking the bread and the cup. Just try. You might not feel like you got it right the first time, but that isn't really all that important. I don't know if getting it right is even the right language to use here. Just remember there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. He has set us free, free to take communion without reservation (Romans 8:1-2). Therefore, proclaim the Lord's death and take a chance on grace. He offers you His full protection.
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*At the top of this essay, I used the words "disobedient" and "destructive" to describe an overly analytical type of communion mentality. I want to clarify something. I don't mean that being contemplative or even convicted during communion is off base. There is a difference between conviction and condemnation. This essay was written against self-condemnation. I just believe most people operate under condemnation and don't really understand what healthy conviction is, in the first place. This comes from my own experience, even my own current experience. The nice thing is He can even take self-condemnation, which is transparent, and transform it into grace-based conviction, over time. And frankly, I am currently experiencing a contemplative mindset, but I'm enjoying this contemplation after taking the bread and cup rather than before. This is simply chronological. Feel free to contemplate and enjoy Christ's rescue of you before you take the bread and the cup, if you prefer. Enjoy it as much as possible!
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Flat Tires and Impending Doom
My friends and I drove through Armarillo, Texas last week on our way to Tulsa. After a heavy breakfast at Cracker Barrel, a concerned woman rapped on our window in the parking lot, just as we were about to drive away. Our driver side, rear tire had lost most of its air during breakfast. My roommate drove us to a Shell gas station. After filling up the tire, he determined we had a leak in the valve stem. Another friend got on his GPS and found a Firestone nearby. We inched over to the shop only to find it unstaffed for the lunch hour. The remaining employee thought about it for a moment, then decided to fix the valve stem on his own time. He did the task in a short 20 minutes and the bill was only $12.50. He would’a been great in a nascar pit stop. Within 30 minutes of the original diagnosis, we were back on the racetrack.... I mean we were on the freeway, and on our way to Tulsa.
The woman who knocked on the door to warn us of our near-flat tire could have chosen to ignore the situation, hoping we’d discover the problem on our own, before it was too late. Likewise, in our day-to-day lives there are times when we can warn someone quickly that what they’re doing might end up hurting them or others in the long run. In return, shouldn’t we desire to be lovingly warned (without condemnation) of our own self-destructive behaviors before it was too late?
Unfortunately, there’s a variety of reasons we don’t warn each other or receive each others’ warnings very well. We’re afraid. We’re embarrassed. We’re defensive. We don’t know what to say. It’s amazing because we can say, “Yes, please tell me that my tire is flat on the highway, but don’t tell me that I’m not being emotionally attentive to you when we’re together. Don’t tell me I’m treating my employees or co-workers unequally. Don’t tell me I often say yes to your requests, but that I don’t follow through on them very often.”
Failure to warn someone about something small, like a broken valve stem on their tire can lead to a quick and disastrous outcome within minutes. Failure to warn someone of their dysfunctional habits can lead to a slow and disastrous outcome that might take place over years or even decades. Let’s remember that love never tries to force anyone to do anything, but that it warns others about the things that are hurting us, those around them, or even themselves.
The woman who knocked on the door to warn us of our near-flat tire could have chosen to ignore the situation, hoping we’d discover the problem on our own, before it was too late. Likewise, in our day-to-day lives there are times when we can warn someone quickly that what they’re doing might end up hurting them or others in the long run. In return, shouldn’t we desire to be lovingly warned (without condemnation) of our own self-destructive behaviors before it was too late?
Unfortunately, there’s a variety of reasons we don’t warn each other or receive each others’ warnings very well. We’re afraid. We’re embarrassed. We’re defensive. We don’t know what to say. It’s amazing because we can say, “Yes, please tell me that my tire is flat on the highway, but don’t tell me that I’m not being emotionally attentive to you when we’re together. Don’t tell me I’m treating my employees or co-workers unequally. Don’t tell me I often say yes to your requests, but that I don’t follow through on them very often.”
Failure to warn someone about something small, like a broken valve stem on their tire can lead to a quick and disastrous outcome within minutes. Failure to warn someone of their dysfunctional habits can lead to a slow and disastrous outcome that might take place over years or even decades. Let’s remember that love never tries to force anyone to do anything, but that it warns others about the things that are hurting us, those around them, or even themselves.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Healthy Conflict is the Entry Point to New Life
This blog entry is a follow-up to the previous one called Healthy Relationships Kill Us in the End. I recommend you read that one first.
Conflict is often the entry point into healthy relationships. The main thing that prevents positive, healthy relationships is a failure to deal with the conflict. And, I know this might sound way out there, but the only way to get reconnected to the person we love or work with is to enter back into the relationship through the thing we fear most. We’ll have to re-enter the relationship through the very conflict we are avoiding.* In the end, however, if we deal with it, we will often feel like we’ve become more alive and more connected to the other person. In fact, I’ve noticed that some of my most intimate experiences with others has been through confronting one another and conversations about our conflicts.
Let’s remember that by lovingly confronting one another on our sin, we might initially feel like we’re dying, but in the end, we will help each other be raised to new life.
“For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it.” ~Jesus in Matthew 9:24
______________________________________
*For more help with how to confront one another in a healthy way, please read a book called Face to Face by Cloud and Townsend.
Conflict is often the entry point into healthy relationships. The main thing that prevents positive, healthy relationships is a failure to deal with the conflict. And, I know this might sound way out there, but the only way to get reconnected to the person we love or work with is to enter back into the relationship through the thing we fear most. We’ll have to re-enter the relationship through the very conflict we are avoiding.* In the end, however, if we deal with it, we will often feel like we’ve become more alive and more connected to the other person. In fact, I’ve noticed that some of my most intimate experiences with others has been through confronting one another and conversations about our conflicts.
Let’s remember that by lovingly confronting one another on our sin, we might initially feel like we’re dying, but in the end, we will help each other be raised to new life.
“For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it.” ~Jesus in Matthew 9:24
______________________________________
*For more help with how to confront one another in a healthy way, please read a book called Face to Face by Cloud and Townsend.
Healthy Relationships Kill Us in the End
Living in grace and truth with one another requires transparency, vulnerability, and loving confrontation. Without them, real sin cannot be truly forgiven, real weaknesses cannot be truly strengthened or supported, and non-moral preferences cannot be recognized for what they are either.
Many of us don’t lovingly confront one another because we incorrectly believe that we fear hurting those around us. The truth is that most of the time, we fear the repercussions that we might face. We fear rejection. We fear ridicule. We fear the other person will ignore us or become defensive. We fear being wrong. These things feel like death to us.
Many of us don’t lovingly confront one another because we incorrectly believe that we fear hurting those around us. The truth is that most of the time, we fear the repercussions that we might face. We fear rejection. We fear ridicule. We fear the other person will ignore us or become defensive. We fear being wrong. These things feel like death to us.
As I have become more relationally healthy over the past couple years, I've tried to practice the act of communicating prior to deciding if I'm right or wrong. I simply put it out on the table. My feelings aren't right or wrong, so I often start there. Just get it out on the table and see what happens. Often it seems more important to be known than to be right.*
Let’s remember that in grace and truth, we do not overlook sin, weaknesses, or non-moral preferences. We deal with it. We deal with it in the most loving way. We die for one another.
"If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” ~Jesus in Matthew 9:23
Let’s remember that in grace and truth, we do not overlook sin, weaknesses, or non-moral preferences. We deal with it. We deal with it in the most loving way. We die for one another.
"If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” ~Jesus in Matthew 9:23
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*A good book to help husbands and wives deal with this issue is called "Love and Respect".
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Jesus was Probably a Resentful, Insane, and Blubbering Idiot
Jesus was probably a resentful, insane, and blubbering idiot. The title should scare you, but not for the reason you think. Ironically, it should also bathe you in deep feelings of affirmation and love. Deep love that maybe you’ve never explored before.
Picture the following. I’m sure you’ve seen it before. A homeless drug user, with mental health issues, is walking along the sidewalk talking to himself. No, he’s not talking to himself. He’s talking to someone you can’t see. He’s yelling at him. In fact, he’s fuming and spouting off a bizarre array of cuss words, unintelligible sentences, and repetitive phrases. His skin is red, his hair is uncombed, and his winter jacket contradicts the summer weather.
You might try to talk to him if you were an unusually caring person. It’s of no use. You speak to him, he acknowledges you for a moment, but soon he boomerangs back into his hurricane of resentments and recycled arguments. He’s still arguing with his father who abandoned him 35 years ago.
This picture probably gives us a good glimpse of the rotten, resentful heart and mind of Jesus. It was full of garbage--years of pent up anger and murderous thoughts towards a random variety of family, friends, the government, the system, and many people he didn’t even know. If you’d have met him, you wouldn’t have even sensed he had a soul, but that it had been destroyed, disintegrated, had rotten away, or at least that it was lost somewhere deep down inside of him in a way that no one could ever rejuvinate.
This is my view of what Jesus might have been like during his three days in hell. These are the three days between his death and resurrection when Jesus (God the Son) died on the cross, bore our real sin, and was cast out of his father’s presence (God the Father). God had damned him. Jesus cried out on the cross, “My God, why have you deserted me?” (Matthew 27:46)
And that was it. Complete separation from his own father. His own father abandoned him and left him to his own selfish insanity. No, Jesus had done this himself. Actually, I'm not sure how it works, but as Jesus died, he turned his back on God and walked away. After being separated from His dear, loving father he might have begun to grieve. Shortly thereafter, he might have flip-flopped and hurled insults at God and began an incessant series of arguments with all of the people in his life who had wronged him or looked at him strangely.
Then came deep loneliness, fear, anxiety, and all in one moment he’s back into a fury of disillusions and antagonisms towards his father (God the Father) once again. He might have said something like this, “How did I ever let You convince Me to do this? How dare you Father have manipulated Me into carrying their burdens, their sin, their very lives on my back! They’re horrible, disgusting pieces of trash. They’re unworthy of any help whatsoever and deserve this place more than me. How did I ever let You convince Me to do this for them! You dare call yourself God! You’re like the devil himself. You’re manipulative. You’re detestable. You are a coward. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. How could have I been so stupid!? How could you be so evil? How could you betray me like this Father!? Raise me back to life in three days!? Are you kidding me? Oh God, how could I have been so stupid!? You tricked me! You tricked me! You tricked me! You are no longer my father. Never ever ever ever ever again will I ever call You my father. I will never, ever let myself ever trust you again. This relationship is over! I will never ever ever ever talk to you again. Ever.”
In order to get the full grasp of the judgement Jesus endured for us, I’m speculating that Jesus Himself might have literally lost sight of why He had even died for us or even that it was going to work at all. Of course, I’m only speculating and I don’t have a clue as to the real intensity, but I think He may have broken down into a full-blown case of rage towards His Father. He might have even thought God tricked Him into being cast into hell with no hope of ever being restored. He probably had lost all hope. This is the full weight of judgement.
Now you might be thinking to yourself, "No matter how bad a place hell might be, I'd never turn into anything so crazy as this portrait you are making Jesus out to be during His time away from God the Father." The reality is that we've already been there to a certain extent in our limited lifetime today. Think about someone you've had a mental argument with and it has lasted for days. You've been surprised at yourself for having let it go on so long, but you can't seem to get out of it. It could be as simple as someone cutting you off on the freeway or as hurtful as someone cheating on you. Either way, you retaliate, either in real life or in your own mind. You want to isolate rather than resolve the issue or you get offensive and attack the other person. Hell is an eternal extension of this sort of hell we experience here on earth, minus the presence of God, minus the presence of any loving human beings, plus the addition of it going on for thousands, millions, and billions of years into forever. In fact, it could be you're still arguing with the same driver that cut you off and that was a couple million years ago. When Jesus was rejected by God the Father, he might have went off on millions and billions of all of our arguments, resentments, and furies at at one time. Of course, I can only speculate and I'm treading down uncharted waters, but if I'm theologically incorrect, then I bank on the very hope and rescue that I'm proposing.
Here's the silver lining. On the third day, when He might have been least expecting it, when He was at his most destitute and cynical moment, when He had absolutely no hope, the Father did raise Him from the dead! It was glorious! Having been raised from the pit of hell, everything returned. All the reasons He had trusted the Father. All the reasons He wanted to do it for us. All the reasons He and the Father went in on the deal in the first place.
The silver lining is that Jesus rescued us from this pit of hell. This could be us. This should be us. This is naturally what we gravitate towards--resentment, bitterness, isolation, and separation from God. This is what it is like for those who say “I have no need to be rescued.” In the end, He won’t deny our choice and this will be His conscious choice to both condemn and affirm our personhood all at the same time. He’ll simply let us go our own way. We either let Him rescue us, or we resist any notion of rescue forever.
For those who say, “Yes God, please rescue me!” these people will feel bathed in the deep love and affirmation He has for us. He went into this whole thing knowing full well that He’d turn out to be a shriveled up little piece of junk, wound up in a fetal position, uttering hopeless insults towards the Father or anyone who could hear Him. He knew He’d loose all sense of reality, and this is what He wanted to do for us. This is the silver lining. He’s a Romantic at heart. He’s done it willingly.
Now, there’s a tendency for those who follow Him to have a belief like this, “Oh, yes, I understand He died for my sins and that’s why I need to try my best to keep my act together and be a really good kind of Christian now that I know what He’s really done for me. I better straighten things out. I’m gonna start reading my Bible, I’m gonna start praying and doing devotions every day. I’m gonna prove I really love Him. I’m gonna do this thing now!” This is a bunch of hogwash. I’d use worse terms to describe how awful it is to believe in such a way. It’s a horrible way for a follower of Jesus to live--to deny His rescue which had no regrets.
The opposite of this gotta-make-up-for-what-He’s-done mentality is what’s true. He’s the Great Rescuer. He’s done it willingly. He’s done it without any reservation. When we see the way in which He’s rescued us without any reservations for having done so, we can finally begin to rest.
Let’s remember that this whole non-fiction story of love and romance is about His character, about His love, and about the great lengths that He went to in order to enjoy us forever, so that we could enjoy Him forever. He probably turned into a resentful, insane, and blubbering idiot so that we didn't have to become resentful, insane, and blubbering idiots for eternity. For such a love as this, we should never hesitate.
(I want to thank Tim Keller for some of the theological underpinnings to this blog entry. His article called "The Importance of Hell" can be found at http://www.redeemer.com/news_and_events/articles/the_importance_of_hell.html)
Picture the following. I’m sure you’ve seen it before. A homeless drug user, with mental health issues, is walking along the sidewalk talking to himself. No, he’s not talking to himself. He’s talking to someone you can’t see. He’s yelling at him. In fact, he’s fuming and spouting off a bizarre array of cuss words, unintelligible sentences, and repetitive phrases. His skin is red, his hair is uncombed, and his winter jacket contradicts the summer weather.
You might try to talk to him if you were an unusually caring person. It’s of no use. You speak to him, he acknowledges you for a moment, but soon he boomerangs back into his hurricane of resentments and recycled arguments. He’s still arguing with his father who abandoned him 35 years ago.
This picture probably gives us a good glimpse of the rotten, resentful heart and mind of Jesus. It was full of garbage--years of pent up anger and murderous thoughts towards a random variety of family, friends, the government, the system, and many people he didn’t even know. If you’d have met him, you wouldn’t have even sensed he had a soul, but that it had been destroyed, disintegrated, had rotten away, or at least that it was lost somewhere deep down inside of him in a way that no one could ever rejuvinate.
This is my view of what Jesus might have been like during his three days in hell. These are the three days between his death and resurrection when Jesus (God the Son) died on the cross, bore our real sin, and was cast out of his father’s presence (God the Father). God had damned him. Jesus cried out on the cross, “My God, why have you deserted me?” (Matthew 27:46)
And that was it. Complete separation from his own father. His own father abandoned him and left him to his own selfish insanity. No, Jesus had done this himself. Actually, I'm not sure how it works, but as Jesus died, he turned his back on God and walked away. After being separated from His dear, loving father he might have begun to grieve. Shortly thereafter, he might have flip-flopped and hurled insults at God and began an incessant series of arguments with all of the people in his life who had wronged him or looked at him strangely.
Then came deep loneliness, fear, anxiety, and all in one moment he’s back into a fury of disillusions and antagonisms towards his father (God the Father) once again. He might have said something like this, “How did I ever let You convince Me to do this? How dare you Father have manipulated Me into carrying their burdens, their sin, their very lives on my back! They’re horrible, disgusting pieces of trash. They’re unworthy of any help whatsoever and deserve this place more than me. How did I ever let You convince Me to do this for them! You dare call yourself God! You’re like the devil himself. You’re manipulative. You’re detestable. You are a coward. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. How could have I been so stupid!? How could you be so evil? How could you betray me like this Father!? Raise me back to life in three days!? Are you kidding me? Oh God, how could I have been so stupid!? You tricked me! You tricked me! You tricked me! You are no longer my father. Never ever ever ever ever again will I ever call You my father. I will never, ever let myself ever trust you again. This relationship is over! I will never ever ever ever talk to you again. Ever.”
In order to get the full grasp of the judgement Jesus endured for us, I’m speculating that Jesus Himself might have literally lost sight of why He had even died for us or even that it was going to work at all. Of course, I’m only speculating and I don’t have a clue as to the real intensity, but I think He may have broken down into a full-blown case of rage towards His Father. He might have even thought God tricked Him into being cast into hell with no hope of ever being restored. He probably had lost all hope. This is the full weight of judgement.
Now you might be thinking to yourself, "No matter how bad a place hell might be, I'd never turn into anything so crazy as this portrait you are making Jesus out to be during His time away from God the Father." The reality is that we've already been there to a certain extent in our limited lifetime today. Think about someone you've had a mental argument with and it has lasted for days. You've been surprised at yourself for having let it go on so long, but you can't seem to get out of it. It could be as simple as someone cutting you off on the freeway or as hurtful as someone cheating on you. Either way, you retaliate, either in real life or in your own mind. You want to isolate rather than resolve the issue or you get offensive and attack the other person. Hell is an eternal extension of this sort of hell we experience here on earth, minus the presence of God, minus the presence of any loving human beings, plus the addition of it going on for thousands, millions, and billions of years into forever. In fact, it could be you're still arguing with the same driver that cut you off and that was a couple million years ago. When Jesus was rejected by God the Father, he might have went off on millions and billions of all of our arguments, resentments, and furies at at one time. Of course, I can only speculate and I'm treading down uncharted waters, but if I'm theologically incorrect, then I bank on the very hope and rescue that I'm proposing.
Here's the silver lining. On the third day, when He might have been least expecting it, when He was at his most destitute and cynical moment, when He had absolutely no hope, the Father did raise Him from the dead! It was glorious! Having been raised from the pit of hell, everything returned. All the reasons He had trusted the Father. All the reasons He wanted to do it for us. All the reasons He and the Father went in on the deal in the first place.
The silver lining is that Jesus rescued us from this pit of hell. This could be us. This should be us. This is naturally what we gravitate towards--resentment, bitterness, isolation, and separation from God. This is what it is like for those who say “I have no need to be rescued.” In the end, He won’t deny our choice and this will be His conscious choice to both condemn and affirm our personhood all at the same time. He’ll simply let us go our own way. We either let Him rescue us, or we resist any notion of rescue forever.
For those who say, “Yes God, please rescue me!” these people will feel bathed in the deep love and affirmation He has for us. He went into this whole thing knowing full well that He’d turn out to be a shriveled up little piece of junk, wound up in a fetal position, uttering hopeless insults towards the Father or anyone who could hear Him. He knew He’d loose all sense of reality, and this is what He wanted to do for us. This is the silver lining. He’s a Romantic at heart. He’s done it willingly.
Now, there’s a tendency for those who follow Him to have a belief like this, “Oh, yes, I understand He died for my sins and that’s why I need to try my best to keep my act together and be a really good kind of Christian now that I know what He’s really done for me. I better straighten things out. I’m gonna start reading my Bible, I’m gonna start praying and doing devotions every day. I’m gonna prove I really love Him. I’m gonna do this thing now!” This is a bunch of hogwash. I’d use worse terms to describe how awful it is to believe in such a way. It’s a horrible way for a follower of Jesus to live--to deny His rescue which had no regrets.
The opposite of this gotta-make-up-for-what-He’s-done mentality is what’s true. He’s the Great Rescuer. He’s done it willingly. He’s done it without any reservation. When we see the way in which He’s rescued us without any reservations for having done so, we can finally begin to rest.
Let’s remember that this whole non-fiction story of love and romance is about His character, about His love, and about the great lengths that He went to in order to enjoy us forever, so that we could enjoy Him forever. He probably turned into a resentful, insane, and blubbering idiot so that we didn't have to become resentful, insane, and blubbering idiots for eternity. For such a love as this, we should never hesitate.
(I want to thank Tim Keller for some of the theological underpinnings to this blog entry. His article called "The Importance of Hell" can be found at http://www.redeemer.com/news_and_events/articles/the_importance_of_hell.html)
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