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● When you hear Jesus speak throughout “the story”, it’s almost as if you
hear him saying, “I have so much more
to teach you, so much more to offer you if you are willing to learn”.
● It may be an over-simplification, but it seems that every one of us is
presented with essentially (2) approaches to life. Either:
1.
We’ve already decided what we want out of life and
have formulated a plan to achieve it.
2.
We’ve realized that we’re not even sure what we
want, but we know that what we have is not satisfying.
● In the first approach, we may
even gladly acknowledge that there is a god, but only to the extent that
he/it is willing to assist us in achieving our goals: the
“Oh, I tried that and it didn’t work”
(we most often use impersonal terms to describe him/it--- ‘higher
power’, ‘supreme being’, ‘the force’, etc.) Somehow if we don’t attach a
name to him, the de-personalization allows us to feel less responsible.
Such a life gives the ‘illusion’ of submission, but allows us to
remain in control or our own life, and even God.
● The latter approach is
dependent upon ‘repentance’; a re-thinking of life and our pursuits. In this
way of life, you want something more than ‘blessings’ (something more than
exceptional S.A.T. scores, an extensive portfolio, compliant children,
healthy marriage) because even those don’t prove to be enough.
In life according-to-God, we consent that we are not “sovereign” (in
control). And, if we were honest, we never really wanted to be because we
know, deep down, we can’t be trusted.
● This re-thinking of life (repentance), initially, is really ‘cathartic’;
this realization that I might actually get to start again is liberating…
freeing. But rightly understood, repentance is not an ‘event’, but a daily
re-ordering of our lives around God and his version of reality.
Re-thinking life and choosing a new way to live can be ‘disturbing’,
because it’s not just to admit that, along the way, we have made a few
mistakes; it’s to come to terms with the fact that you’re on the wrong way.
● We begin to realize that at every intersection, life allows us to choose
and every choice creates momentum. Every decision is either fortifying our
determination to pursue life independent of God or demonstrating our
willingness to find life in and learn life from him.
“until Christ is formed in you”
[fully developed in your lives”]. Galatians 4:19
Paul is saying that our hope for life is somehow connected with this
pursuit of the very life of Jesus being ‘formed in us’ and ‘forming us’.
~Grace is not just a great place to start, but our only hope for life.
But, grace is not our ‘default mode’. It starts as we revel in the wonder of
grace and accept the miracle of new life, admitting that we don’t know how
God produces his life in us and we’re not sure how God’s love will ever
trump our insecurities and godless passions--- we can’t imagine denying
ourselves and loving God more than life itself.
● And, although we celebrate ‘grace’, we still want to believe that blessing
is somehow compensation for good behavior. Even our sincere desire for God
and transformation can quickly revert to lifeless strategies (Gal.3).
● Honestly, my life seemed much easier before grace. There were the good
people and the bad people (democrats and republicans)--- us and them;
everyone was measured and inspected so that we might know how to ‘classify’
them. There were pad answers and scripted responses to all of life. God
loved the confident and the compliant and had little patience for those who
wrestled with doubt and seemed to be stumbling toward him.
I guess I was beginning to discover that…
~Religion always works best if we can ‘standardize’ everything.
That allows us to monitor each other’s progress, right?
It makes sure that we are all in the same place, all agreeing on the same
things, all voting the same way, all “filling in the same circles”, whether
we really believe it or not. But, there is something inside all of us that
somehow resists that [it’s why you drew patterns on your S.A.T.s].
● If your pursuit of God seems more burdensome than life-sustaining, rest
assured that God is equally frustrated. And, know that this type of rigid,
self-demanding pursuit will usually cause you to be increasingly
self-righteous, less tolerant and more demanding of others [“… they tie up
heavy loads and put them on men’s shoulders”, or, “… they crush people with
impossible religious demands…” Matthew 23:4]
Paul is reminding us that the objective is to become “like Christ”, not just
“better than everyone else”!
~Grace requires that I feel the depth of my pain; that I reach the
end of myself.
Until that time comes, we are virtually “un-teachable”. We will live with
the delusion that we know what’s best for us and will attempt to manipulate,
not only God, but others in an attempt to ensure that life works out
accordingly.
This insufficiency strangely creates, not only the potential to experience
grace, but the tendency to hold even more stubbornly to my own devices!
~Grace can only be truly appreciated within the context of truth (John
1:14)… reality; that way things are [more on that later]
● In order to be grace, it has to come to us in the most unexpected times---
the times we’re sure that our conduct has not warranted such a confusing
response. So, God’s unpredictable response of love catches us ‘off guard’;
it always makes us suspicious (like your kids clearing the dishes or folding
the clothes without being told). But, it’s what makes grace so memorable!
~Remember, transformation is not about being without sin, but being without
pretense.
It’s about being able to honestly admit that we are not yet the
people we are becoming, but we are recognizing glimpses of grace which
evidence that we are in the process.
● When it comes to the transformation that your heart desires, intelligence,
influence and pedigree will not suffice; what is necessary is humility (1
Cor.1:26-)
~Humility requires that we come to God with no agenda other than knowing
him.
If you’re still negotiating with God, it’s self-imposed worship; if
you still think that life is within your reach apart from God, it’s still
false humility; if your pursuit of transformation is more self-restraint
than self-denial, it’s about accuracy, not grace.
~Don’t wait around for God to make you humble.
Don’t bother asking for ‘brokenness’--- life will present you with
plenty of opportunity for you to come face to face with your determination
to make life work on your own and your obvious failure to do so.
2 Chron.7:14 “If my people will
humble themselves…”
Matthew 18:4 “Whoever humbles himself
like this child is the greatest in the Kingdom”.
Eph.4:2 “Be humble and gentle…”
James 4:10 “Humble yourselves before
the Lord…”
1 Peter 5:6 “Humble yourselves under
God’s mighty hand…”
“… the love of Christ constrains me…”
2 Cor.5
Never expect guilt, fear, obligation or pressure to serve as ‘allies’
in your pursuit of life and godliness. In fact, they will prove to be
significant obstacles.
We are too often motivated by ‘oughts’ and ‘shoulds’. It allows us to
‘check it off the list’, but never allows us to enjoy the possibility of the
moment and has little to do with love.
The issue is that we are most often more familiar with ‘guilt’ than
we are love; it’s easier to be identified by what’s wrong with us; it’s why
you can feel so good about yourself until your next ‘relapse’.
“Being rooted and established in love” (Eph.3) allows you to realize that
you are the pursued, not God!
Christianity is, first and foremost, about God’s pursuit of humanity.
Which is more formidable: light or darkness? Which is
stronger: death or resurrection? Which do you feel is more
powerful: human depravity or the transforming power
of God?
John 1 “… the light shines in the
darkness and the darkness can never extinguish it”. Light always wins!
Galatians 2:20-21a “My old self has
been crucified with Christ. It’s no longer I who live, but Christ who lives
in me. So, I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who
loved me and gave himself for me.”
Ephesians 2:1-4 [read from the Message] |
