Chapter 12 - Living in Grace
Ahh...procrastination. We completed our book study almost a month ago and I'm just no getting to my final entry. No excuse. I apologize. The others in the group have decided to continue meeting weekly and are studying Frank Viola's & George Barna's Pagan Christianity. A Biblical study of the origin on religious practices and traditions and whether they are Biblical. I expect we will start another book study in late spring/early summer.
So...where have these 8 weeks left us? Hopefully with a new understanding of who we are in Christ and a revelation of what the Bible says about what McVey has labeled, "exchanged life." It is so very much to grasp and at the same time so simple. Those of us with a church history have to unlearn an awful lot of law-based teaching about the kind of life we are called into. But even someone with the most basic understanding of exchanged life will see that truth jumping off the pages of the Bible. It is so clear! I think the authors of the New Testament took it for granted the readers would understand exchanged life, and for much of the history of the church that was true. But somewhere in the recent past (1930's or so) we lost touch with those truths and salvation and evangalism become the all-in-all of the church. As I've said before, salvation is absolutely vital and true, but it is not complete. We are saved from our sins by Jesus' death on the cross -- but the story does not stop there. We are given new life through His resurrection. So many believers completely miss the other side of the cross. We get stuck on the front side and live a life focused on sin-management and the hope of eternity with God somewhere in the future. "Eternity" in itself cannot start somewhere in the future. It has no starting point. We are invited in and accepted and start living eternal life the minute we become believers.
The struggle for all of the group is that this freedom in Christ that flows out of exchanged life is so different than what we have heard our whole lives from Christian leaders and the pulpit. It is counter-intuitive to what we have been taught God expects. And it is very difficult to talk about with others who are still eating off the wrong tree. I have shared this book and others with new believers and they soak it up like a sponge -- it makes perfect sense and so obviously flows throughout the whole story of God. THIS TRANSFORMING LIFE IS SOMETHING I CAN SHOUT FROM THE ROOFTOPS, SHARE WITH OTHERS, CELEBRATE, SACRIFICE FOR, ACCEPT, BELIEVE IN -- THIS IS A TIP OF THE "GOOD NEWS" THAT IS THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST!! This transforming life cannot be understood in its fullness, nor does it make "sense" in traditional Christian circles. So what! As we did thoughout the study, I urge anyone to challenge this teaching Biblically. This is not a fad or a human invention -- it is truly revelation from God in book form. And if it is hard to understand, that's okay. Can't we pray, "God, I don't understand how this works, but I do believe what your Word says. Please make this visible in my life." God is not hampered by our inability to understand. And He has no desire to keep Himself from us.
In our journey to know Jesus more intimately the most powerful tool we have is faith. Experience has shown me that the mysteries of life fall into place when we accept God's word as true. All of it. The difficult parts. The amazing parts. The to-good-to-be-true parts. "Okay, God, I don't get this and it doesn't make any sense to me with my limited understand. But if you said its true...I am going to believe you. And I am going to live in the faith of that truth." God will do the work after that. We're often much too rational thinkers for our own good. If we can easily accept that a dead person came back to life, why should we struggle with anything God says?
We can trust that God's word is true. We can trust that we are accepted and loved beyond belief. We can trust that NOTHING can separate us from God's love. We can trust that God has chosen to not see our sins anymore. We can trust that Jesus lives in us and desires to live His live through us, as us, by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. We can trust that we each are an irreplaceable piece of the Body of Christ. We can trust that we are called to experience this Jesus-in-us in a community of believers -- this is not a solo journey we are called to. We can trust that there is no condemnation toward us. We can trust our eternal life has already begun. We can trust that in the midst of the ups and downs of life that God will stand true to His promise to use ALL things for good. And we can trust that all God asks of us is to believe in the one He sent -- Jesus. Amazing as it sounds -- He IS your life and ALL things in all of creation were created by Him, in Him, for Him, and He holds ALL things together. Through His death on the cross and resurrection He invites us into this wonderful, magical, mystical, unknowable dance with Father, Son & Holy Spirit -- for all eternity. And He invites us into a new life here, now, today. The prayer I find myself praying constantly is, "Jesus, please do whatever You want in me, with me, to me, through me," because I know whatever His life entails it is more exciting, fulfilling, challenging, and blessed than anything I can think up. Go for it Jesus! I want your life fully alive in me!
Want to keep going? Lots of suggestions on the right hand side of this page.
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Salvation...true, but not complete
Chapter 11 - People Who Need People
It often seems like we read the first part of the story of Jesus and liked it so much that we just got stuck there and never read the rest of it. We have become so enamored and focused on salvation that we have missed much of God's purpose. Yes, salvation is wonderful and it is important and it is true and it is inviting, but, it is not the whole story.
The story of man does not begin at the fall. It begins at creation. God did not create people in order to save them. If that was His intention, He would have created us as sinners in the first place. We only become sinful through Adam's choice. God had much more planned for creation in the first place and Adam's mistake has not slowed down His plan. That's the rest of the story...
Yes, salvation and the forgiveness of sins in true, but it isn't complete. Forgiveness of sins was accomplished through Jesus' sacrifice; His death on the cross. But what was accomplished by His resurrection? Many of us have missed that part. If salvation is all there is to the story, wouldn't Jesus' death have been enough? Jesus' death reconciled us to God and from there creation continues on to His conclusion.
Scripture is full of references to the reason Jesus came for reasons above and beyond the forgiveness of sins.
"I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of." John 10:10 (Msg)
"That everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life." John 3:15
"For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." John 6:33
"For you died and your life is now hidden with Christ in God." Col 3:3
"Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God according to the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus." 2 Timothy 1:1
"He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son does not have life." 1 John 5:12
"...I no longer live but Christ lives in me." Gal 2:20
"To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory." Colossians 1:27
These can go on and on from so many different angles. And this is probably not the proper place to go into an in-depth study of God's eternal purpose. But doesn't it appear there is something going on beyond only salvation? Even these few scriptures paint a picture of something that is happening now. Not after we die. Not somewhere in the future. (Doesn't something "eternal" have to have already started?) The picture is so clear that God speaks of a transformation today. That we are transformed in Christ the moment we believe. That His purpose is that Jesus will live in every believer and Christ will be multiplied many, many times over. "...that He might be the firstborn among many brothers." Romans 8:29 Doesn't this say that He is the first and there will be many others? That's us! Christ in us! And together we form the church; the ekklesia; the bride of Christ (but that's another story). Its not about later, its about now! Jesus in us, with us, through us, to us now! Wow!
As we begin to realize and accept that exchanged life and God's eternal purpose are so much larger than our minds can even comprehend and we move to simply accept, rest in, and believe what the Bible tells us in plain black-and-white we begin to know grace. And isn't our response simply, "Thank you Lord!" Kind of like Mary after hearing from Gabriel, I don't understand what's happening but, "Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word." Luke 1:38 Watchman Nee writes that maybe our whole outlook in life should be like Mary's, "Maybe I do not understand how the death of Your dear Son and the precious blood He shed can cleanse my heart from sin and clear the record -- but this is what you have said! Be it unto me according to Your Word! Maybe I do not fully understand how You can come by your Holy Spirit to live in me, making me a partaker of the very life of Jesus Chrsit Himself, so that He through me can reveal the invisible God to a visible world, but this is what you have said! Be it unto me, O God! -- be it unto me according to Your Word! Do that and the onus is on God to keep the promise He has made and to do what He has said! You can't -- but He can!"
The free and undeserved gift of Jesus. The exciting, invigorating, challenging, looking-forward-to life that Jesus desires to live through us today! When we grasp the enormity of this grace-gift we can hardly keep our mouths shut about it! Evangelism is simply contagious excitement about Jesus. He invites into a life-transformation that begins today -- and He accomplishes it too!
It often seems like we read the first part of the story of Jesus and liked it so much that we just got stuck there and never read the rest of it. We have become so enamored and focused on salvation that we have missed much of God's purpose. Yes, salvation is wonderful and it is important and it is true and it is inviting, but, it is not the whole story.
The story of man does not begin at the fall. It begins at creation. God did not create people in order to save them. If that was His intention, He would have created us as sinners in the first place. We only become sinful through Adam's choice. God had much more planned for creation in the first place and Adam's mistake has not slowed down His plan. That's the rest of the story...
Yes, salvation and the forgiveness of sins in true, but it isn't complete. Forgiveness of sins was accomplished through Jesus' sacrifice; His death on the cross. But what was accomplished by His resurrection? Many of us have missed that part. If salvation is all there is to the story, wouldn't Jesus' death have been enough? Jesus' death reconciled us to God and from there creation continues on to His conclusion.
Scripture is full of references to the reason Jesus came for reasons above and beyond the forgiveness of sins.
"I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of." John 10:10 (Msg)
"That everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life." John 3:15
"For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." John 6:33
"For you died and your life is now hidden with Christ in God." Col 3:3
"Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God according to the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus." 2 Timothy 1:1
"He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son does not have life." 1 John 5:12
"...I no longer live but Christ lives in me." Gal 2:20
"To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory." Colossians 1:27
These can go on and on from so many different angles. And this is probably not the proper place to go into an in-depth study of God's eternal purpose. But doesn't it appear there is something going on beyond only salvation? Even these few scriptures paint a picture of something that is happening now. Not after we die. Not somewhere in the future. (Doesn't something "eternal" have to have already started?) The picture is so clear that God speaks of a transformation today. That we are transformed in Christ the moment we believe. That His purpose is that Jesus will live in every believer and Christ will be multiplied many, many times over. "...that He might be the firstborn among many brothers." Romans 8:29 Doesn't this say that He is the first and there will be many others? That's us! Christ in us! And together we form the church; the ekklesia; the bride of Christ (but that's another story). Its not about later, its about now! Jesus in us, with us, through us, to us now! Wow!
As we begin to realize and accept that exchanged life and God's eternal purpose are so much larger than our minds can even comprehend and we move to simply accept, rest in, and believe what the Bible tells us in plain black-and-white we begin to know grace. And isn't our response simply, "Thank you Lord!" Kind of like Mary after hearing from Gabriel, I don't understand what's happening but, "Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word." Luke 1:38 Watchman Nee writes that maybe our whole outlook in life should be like Mary's, "Maybe I do not understand how the death of Your dear Son and the precious blood He shed can cleanse my heart from sin and clear the record -- but this is what you have said! Be it unto me according to Your Word! Maybe I do not fully understand how You can come by your Holy Spirit to live in me, making me a partaker of the very life of Jesus Chrsit Himself, so that He through me can reveal the invisible God to a visible world, but this is what you have said! Be it unto me, O God! -- be it unto me according to Your Word! Do that and the onus is on God to keep the promise He has made and to do what He has said! You can't -- but He can!"
The free and undeserved gift of Jesus. The exciting, invigorating, challenging, looking-forward-to life that Jesus desires to live through us today! When we grasp the enormity of this grace-gift we can hardly keep our mouths shut about it! Evangelism is simply contagious excitement about Jesus. He invites into a life-transformation that begins today -- and He accomplishes it too!
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Why Do We Think It's Such Hard Work?
Chapter 10 - From Duty to Delight
The more I dig into this exchanged life truth, the more my understanding of Christianity is turned on its head. So much of what we think we are supposed to do (prayer, Bible study, service, missions, tithing, etc) we do with the attitude that by doing these things we will grow deeper in our relationship with Jesus. Often what develops is a life of duty, expectation, and flesh-driven efforts, with no change in our relationship with Jesus at all. Oh, we may see Him more often in those efforts, but seeing Jesus is a lot different than knowing Jesus.
What the Bible does is turn the whole idea of human effort & service upside down! If our entire focus is on knowing Jesus; on a relationship with Jesus; and allowing Him to live His live in us, through us, as us, everything else will follow. If our focus is on "believing the one He sent," as I have mentioned before, all of the doing will take care of itself. Instead of our actions being the yeast in our lives that draws us closer to God, the realization and acceptance of Jesus-in-us becomes the yeast that grows and expands His actions through us. I think it is the switch from a "me" focused relationship with God to a Jesus-focused relationship with me. That we focus on the gift; on the grace; on the utter simplicity, magnanimity, majesty, wonder, and freedom available to us through the death and resurrection of Jesus. That we accept what the Bible says about Jesus and live in a life that is so much different than the life many Christians understand they are called to.
One of the people in our book study keeps saying how easy this is. But how hard they think it is supposed to be. (Because we have been taught it is supposed to be hard) And we continue to return to Matt 11:29-30, "Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." We have been taught that a relationship with Jesus is hard work. I think we have been taught wrong. Rob Bell explains that we hear the word "yoke" far differently than Jesus' listeners would. To study under a rabbi and to learn to be like him was called, "taking his yoke." It could be very hard work as some rabbis were severe taskmasters. But it meant those studying under him were working to become just like him. We read "yoke" and think of lumbering water buffalo struggling through the mud and pulling against a load, harnessed to a heavy collar; a yoke. So when we read this passage where Jesus is telling us that following Him and becoming like Him is light work; and that anything we are called to carry or pull is light; and that this "yoke" of His will give us rest -- we have difficulty because we already have a picture in our mind of how hard it is. But that comes from human teaching, not from Jesus. Let's take Him at His word and trust that what He says is true regardless of what we have been taught.
When we open a gift from a friend, do we sit and look at it and think about how hard it is going to be to open and wonder if we'll open it properly? If we think about hard work at all, we think about all the effort and love and energy that went into getting and giving the gift to us. We are grateful and humble and joyful and called only to accept and enjoy the gift. The work was all done before we received the gift and whatever the gift is, it will function as it should in our lives if we let it -- a jacket will keep us warm; a can opener will make opening cans easier; a cheesecake will give us (and maybe our friends) pleasure...Our joy at giving and receiving gift is a pale shadow of God's joy in the gift of forgiveness and new life He gives us in Jesus.
When we recognize this gift for what is is, that we are only called to surrender and let Jesus live in us, through us, as us. The "do's" of life fade away. Oh, we will still pray, and read our Bible, and do things (Jesus is never inactive) but they will come as a response, not as a method or responsibility. Our struggle to live a "godly" life will change to simply the desire to know Jesus more. As we do, He will flow out of us and live the "Christian" life that only He can life.
Our struggle with making the right choices and staying in the "will" of God will fade away as we live day-by-day in Christ. If we believe Paul in 1 Cor. 2:16, "But we have the mind of Christ," we can live confidently that Satan is only a spectator in our lives and that "I have been born of God and the evil one cannot touch me," 1 John 5:18. Our beliefs can once again be turned on their heads and we can recognize that the power of Christ in us is stronger than the power of Satan outside us. Why is it that we so often maximize the power of Satan to cause us to sin and completely downplay the power of Jesus Christ in us to prevent exactly that!?
McVey has a great sentence near the end of this chapter, "Grace allows abiding believers to act in confidence that a sovereign God above is directing our circumstances, that a supernatural Spirit within is directing our thoughts, and that an omniscient Christ is expressing His life through us." His yoke is easy, easier than we thought. Put it on. Follow Him. The "burden" of being a Christian is light. And a relationship with Him will give you rest.
The more I dig into this exchanged life truth, the more my understanding of Christianity is turned on its head. So much of what we think we are supposed to do (prayer, Bible study, service, missions, tithing, etc) we do with the attitude that by doing these things we will grow deeper in our relationship with Jesus. Often what develops is a life of duty, expectation, and flesh-driven efforts, with no change in our relationship with Jesus at all. Oh, we may see Him more often in those efforts, but seeing Jesus is a lot different than knowing Jesus.
What the Bible does is turn the whole idea of human effort & service upside down! If our entire focus is on knowing Jesus; on a relationship with Jesus; and allowing Him to live His live in us, through us, as us, everything else will follow. If our focus is on "believing the one He sent," as I have mentioned before, all of the doing will take care of itself. Instead of our actions being the yeast in our lives that draws us closer to God, the realization and acceptance of Jesus-in-us becomes the yeast that grows and expands His actions through us. I think it is the switch from a "me" focused relationship with God to a Jesus-focused relationship with me. That we focus on the gift; on the grace; on the utter simplicity, magnanimity, majesty, wonder, and freedom available to us through the death and resurrection of Jesus. That we accept what the Bible says about Jesus and live in a life that is so much different than the life many Christians understand they are called to.
One of the people in our book study keeps saying how easy this is. But how hard they think it is supposed to be. (Because we have been taught it is supposed to be hard) And we continue to return to Matt 11:29-30, "Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." We have been taught that a relationship with Jesus is hard work. I think we have been taught wrong. Rob Bell explains that we hear the word "yoke" far differently than Jesus' listeners would. To study under a rabbi and to learn to be like him was called, "taking his yoke." It could be very hard work as some rabbis were severe taskmasters. But it meant those studying under him were working to become just like him. We read "yoke" and think of lumbering water buffalo struggling through the mud and pulling against a load, harnessed to a heavy collar; a yoke. So when we read this passage where Jesus is telling us that following Him and becoming like Him is light work; and that anything we are called to carry or pull is light; and that this "yoke" of His will give us rest -- we have difficulty because we already have a picture in our mind of how hard it is. But that comes from human teaching, not from Jesus. Let's take Him at His word and trust that what He says is true regardless of what we have been taught.
When we open a gift from a friend, do we sit and look at it and think about how hard it is going to be to open and wonder if we'll open it properly? If we think about hard work at all, we think about all the effort and love and energy that went into getting and giving the gift to us. We are grateful and humble and joyful and called only to accept and enjoy the gift. The work was all done before we received the gift and whatever the gift is, it will function as it should in our lives if we let it -- a jacket will keep us warm; a can opener will make opening cans easier; a cheesecake will give us (and maybe our friends) pleasure...Our joy at giving and receiving gift is a pale shadow of God's joy in the gift of forgiveness and new life He gives us in Jesus.
When we recognize this gift for what is is, that we are only called to surrender and let Jesus live in us, through us, as us. The "do's" of life fade away. Oh, we will still pray, and read our Bible, and do things (Jesus is never inactive) but they will come as a response, not as a method or responsibility. Our struggle to live a "godly" life will change to simply the desire to know Jesus more. As we do, He will flow out of us and live the "Christian" life that only He can life.
Our struggle with making the right choices and staying in the "will" of God will fade away as we live day-by-day in Christ. If we believe Paul in 1 Cor. 2:16, "But we have the mind of Christ," we can live confidently that Satan is only a spectator in our lives and that "I have been born of God and the evil one cannot touch me," 1 John 5:18. Our beliefs can once again be turned on their heads and we can recognize that the power of Christ in us is stronger than the power of Satan outside us. Why is it that we so often maximize the power of Satan to cause us to sin and completely downplay the power of Jesus Christ in us to prevent exactly that!?
McVey has a great sentence near the end of this chapter, "Grace allows abiding believers to act in confidence that a sovereign God above is directing our circumstances, that a supernatural Spirit within is directing our thoughts, and that an omniscient Christ is expressing His life through us." His yoke is easy, easier than we thought. Put it on. Follow Him. The "burden" of being a Christian is light. And a relationship with Him will give you rest.
Friday, March 4, 2011
Do "intimacy" and God belong in the same sentence?
Chapter 9 - All You Need is Love
Sometime the concept of "falling in love" with God seems strange. Or combining "intimacy" with our understanding of a relationship with Jesus. Maybe its a new idea, or maybe we really don't have the language to talk about this new life; this new relationship we are called into. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 13:12, "Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known." Even our language is limited to a "poor reflection" of this relationship we are called into.
At the same time, "love" and "intimacy" are perfectly appropriate terms to use in trying to paint a picture of God's desire for us and our relationship with Him. If Song of Songs is painting a picture of not only earthly love but of our love for God; and if the church is constantly described as the "bride of Christ," and if the "oneness" of a husband and wife is the picture of Christ and the church, then the closeness we are called to in Christ goes far beyond even "intimacy."
Regardless of the language we use (and don't let whatever we use, put us off) it is important to realize how deeply and longingly God desires us to know Him, spend time with Him, and accept Jesus as the Lord of our lives. He can cause instantaneous changes in any part of all of creation yet He chooses to woo us and give us free choice as to whether or not to know Him. Jesus loves us so deeply that His desire is not to live "with" us, but to live "in" us. This holy love is so unfathomable and all-consuming that we are invited to have as deep of a relationship with persons of the Trinity (Father, Son, & Holy Spirit) as they have with each other. Wow! To begin to get even a minute handle on the immensity of that makes it is easy to see even "intimacy" doesn't begin to describe this relationship. How could we not desire to just immerse our full being in such an invitation?
In spite of this cosmic relationship we are part of in Christ, we often just continue "doing." We're still being Martha -- doing, doing, doing and complaining that our Christian life isn't what it is supposed to be. God doesn't need us to do things for Him. He just wants us to be in Him. HE is the doer! From Him through us, not to Him from us. Make sense? If you've read Gary Chapman's The Five Love Languages (and if you haven't, you should), God's love language is quality time. He speaks them all, but He receives love best in quality time.
Earlier in our married life, my wife and I had two young children at home and at times, Barb was a stay-at-home Mom and some days life was pretty frazzled. One day I came home from work and proceeded to clean, wash dishes, do laundry...to do things for her...all the things I thought she would appreciate. Instead, she saw my efforts as pointing out how inadequate she was at taking care of the house. I thought I was speaking love. It meant absolutely nothing to her. Barb's love language is words of affirmation. Acts of service don't mean anything to her. I'm a quality time person. Any expression of love cloaked in anything other than quality time often floats right past me unrecognized. Isn't God telling us He is exactly the same? Over and over and over He asks us to rest in Him; to let Jesus live His life through us; that sacrifices and efforts mean nothing to Him; "Sacrifice and offering You did not desire...with burnt offerings and sin offerings You were not pleased." Hebrews 10:5-6. Just be.
God's desire is that we recognize, accept, and live in how fully and completely we are loved and accepted by Him and realize how human efforts play no part in any of that. Our relationship with God comes about completely through the death and resurrection of Jesus. His love for us is because, "Your life is now hidden with Christ in God." Colossians 3:3 At this time, and in this place in our lives, God sees us in eternity. He is not ruled by time and space. He sees you as you are and as you will be. All that was required for the complete overwhelming bounty of His love and acceptance to flow over us, in us, and through us was accomplished in Christ-on-the-cross-and-out-of-the-grave and became an unchangeable truth in our lives when we accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior.
All He wants is deeper and deeper love and intimacy. Once we realize that, it is all we will want too.
Sometime the concept of "falling in love" with God seems strange. Or combining "intimacy" with our understanding of a relationship with Jesus. Maybe its a new idea, or maybe we really don't have the language to talk about this new life; this new relationship we are called into. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 13:12, "Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known." Even our language is limited to a "poor reflection" of this relationship we are called into.
At the same time, "love" and "intimacy" are perfectly appropriate terms to use in trying to paint a picture of God's desire for us and our relationship with Him. If Song of Songs is painting a picture of not only earthly love but of our love for God; and if the church is constantly described as the "bride of Christ," and if the "oneness" of a husband and wife is the picture of Christ and the church, then the closeness we are called to in Christ goes far beyond even "intimacy."
Regardless of the language we use (and don't let whatever we use, put us off) it is important to realize how deeply and longingly God desires us to know Him, spend time with Him, and accept Jesus as the Lord of our lives. He can cause instantaneous changes in any part of all of creation yet He chooses to woo us and give us free choice as to whether or not to know Him. Jesus loves us so deeply that His desire is not to live "with" us, but to live "in" us. This holy love is so unfathomable and all-consuming that we are invited to have as deep of a relationship with persons of the Trinity (Father, Son, & Holy Spirit) as they have with each other. Wow! To begin to get even a minute handle on the immensity of that makes it is easy to see even "intimacy" doesn't begin to describe this relationship. How could we not desire to just immerse our full being in such an invitation?
In spite of this cosmic relationship we are part of in Christ, we often just continue "doing." We're still being Martha -- doing, doing, doing and complaining that our Christian life isn't what it is supposed to be. God doesn't need us to do things for Him. He just wants us to be in Him. HE is the doer! From Him through us, not to Him from us. Make sense? If you've read Gary Chapman's The Five Love Languages (and if you haven't, you should), God's love language is quality time. He speaks them all, but He receives love best in quality time.
Earlier in our married life, my wife and I had two young children at home and at times, Barb was a stay-at-home Mom and some days life was pretty frazzled. One day I came home from work and proceeded to clean, wash dishes, do laundry...to do things for her...all the things I thought she would appreciate. Instead, she saw my efforts as pointing out how inadequate she was at taking care of the house. I thought I was speaking love. It meant absolutely nothing to her. Barb's love language is words of affirmation. Acts of service don't mean anything to her. I'm a quality time person. Any expression of love cloaked in anything other than quality time often floats right past me unrecognized. Isn't God telling us He is exactly the same? Over and over and over He asks us to rest in Him; to let Jesus live His life through us; that sacrifices and efforts mean nothing to Him; "Sacrifice and offering You did not desire...with burnt offerings and sin offerings You were not pleased." Hebrews 10:5-6. Just be.
God's desire is that we recognize, accept, and live in how fully and completely we are loved and accepted by Him and realize how human efforts play no part in any of that. Our relationship with God comes about completely through the death and resurrection of Jesus. His love for us is because, "Your life is now hidden with Christ in God." Colossians 3:3 At this time, and in this place in our lives, God sees us in eternity. He is not ruled by time and space. He sees you as you are and as you will be. All that was required for the complete overwhelming bounty of His love and acceptance to flow over us, in us, and through us was accomplished in Christ-on-the-cross-and-out-of-the-grave and became an unchangeable truth in our lives when we accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior.
All He wants is deeper and deeper love and intimacy. Once we realize that, it is all we will want too.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
How hard does that peach work anyways...?
Chapter 8 - The Vice of Values
It is a hard adjustment to switch from seeing our relationship with the world and with God as one of values/deeds/doing/effort, etc to one based on relationship. It is equally hard to get our minds around the reality that the answer to life's most profound questions is a person. The answer is not knowledge, or insight, or understanding, or dedication, or commitment. The answer is Jesus. A relationship with Jesus. That revelation turns everything upside down.
Our world is filled with the idea of the importance of having the right values. Family values. Christian values. As if anything existing outside of Jesus Christ has any value anyway. We seem to have gotten it all backwards -- if we have the right values and practice them in the right way we will grow closer to God and hopefully live a Christian life. Agghhh! God carved His values in stone tablets and gave them to the Israelites, knowing full well that no one could live them. History proved Him right. What has changed that we think we can!?
Only Jesus can live a Christian life. By accepting His offer to live His life though us, all the values and doing and efforts originate from Him and play out through us. The relationship comes first. The results come from our recognition of God's call to rest; abide; surrender; give up all efforts to "do." The "doing" starts with Jesus. If we are not abiding in Christ; resting in Christ; allowing Him to live His Life in us, through us, as us, then everything we do is wrong! There is no value in God's economy for anything originating anywhere than through Jesus.
Growing up in the church I don't ever remember any talk about the other tree in the garden -- The Tree of Life. Everything was focused on the tree-of-the-knowledge-of-good-and-evil. It was almost as if the whole story started when Adam ate the fruit from that tree. Adam had a choice. He chose wrong. Humanity has paid the price for his choice throughout history. God fixed everything in Jesus. We can accept His invitation to erase our sins and live His life through us, or we can continue to live lives focused on a corrupt version of good and evil. We are offered the same choice Adam had -- eat from the tree of good and evil or eat from the Tree of Life -- self or Jesus. God has given us free choice from creation and He continues to do so.
The eternal question is not about right and wrong. It is about Jesus. The wrong tree (self) cannot product the right fruit. But because of our natural affinity for the wrong tree, we continue to struggle and wrestle and strive to accomplish the impossible. All that work is worth nothing.
Gardens and growing and plants and trees flow throughout Scripture as metaphors for our relationship with God. In John 15:5 Jesus tell us, "I am the vine and you are the branches. If a man abides in Me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." Does fruit struggle to grow on the branch? McVey tells a story at his conferences of going out into the Georgia peach orchards at night to see if he could hear the branches grunting and groaning and straining to grow preaches. Does the branch make any effort to grow fruit? No. It just grows naturally off the branch, fed by the vine. If this is a picture Jesus uses of how Christian fruit is produced, why have we turned it into such an effort? The vine can exist without either the fruit or the branch, but neither of them can exist without the vine. The vital component here is the vine. Everything else flows/grows because of the vine. Pinch, squeeze, flex...the branch cannot grow a peach disconnected from the vine. Squirm, struggle, groan, moan...the peach cannot create itself without the vine. Without the vine there is nothing! Without Jesus we can do nothing! And anything we do = nothing! So where did we get the idea that the question revolves around whether we are doing right or wrong? Many of us are still eating off the wrong tree! The question at any given time is, "Are we abiding in Christ right now?" or "Is Jesus living His Life through me in this moment?"
Those questions take care of the right and wrong issues. If we rest in Christ and He is living His Life though us -- isn't the question of right and wrong almost irrelevant? How did Jesus describe His life? In John 5:19 & 8:28 He explains that He only does what the Father tells Him. In John 18:21 He expands on the relationship we are invited into, "I pray that they will all be one, just as You and I are one -- as You are in Me, Father, and I am in you. And my they be in Us so that the world will believe You sent Me." Jesus' vine was God. Our vine is Jesus. Did Jesus ever have to wrestle with right and wrong? As Graham Cooke says, "Could it be that this so close to fantasy that we can hardly believe it?" I think that is part of our struggle -- it does sound too good to be true. So we ignore it; modify it; explain it away; give it human (tree of good and evil) characteristics instead of seeing it for the GOOD NEWS that it is!
It is time to switch trees. Accept Jesus' invitation for what it is. Believe what He says about how it works. Trust Him. Fade-out the emphasis on right and wrong. Fade-up your relationship with Jesus.
It is a hard adjustment to switch from seeing our relationship with the world and with God as one of values/deeds/doing/effort, etc to one based on relationship. It is equally hard to get our minds around the reality that the answer to life's most profound questions is a person. The answer is not knowledge, or insight, or understanding, or dedication, or commitment. The answer is Jesus. A relationship with Jesus. That revelation turns everything upside down.
Our world is filled with the idea of the importance of having the right values. Family values. Christian values. As if anything existing outside of Jesus Christ has any value anyway. We seem to have gotten it all backwards -- if we have the right values and practice them in the right way we will grow closer to God and hopefully live a Christian life. Agghhh! God carved His values in stone tablets and gave them to the Israelites, knowing full well that no one could live them. History proved Him right. What has changed that we think we can!?
Only Jesus can live a Christian life. By accepting His offer to live His life though us, all the values and doing and efforts originate from Him and play out through us. The relationship comes first. The results come from our recognition of God's call to rest; abide; surrender; give up all efforts to "do." The "doing" starts with Jesus. If we are not abiding in Christ; resting in Christ; allowing Him to live His Life in us, through us, as us, then everything we do is wrong! There is no value in God's economy for anything originating anywhere than through Jesus.
Growing up in the church I don't ever remember any talk about the other tree in the garden -- The Tree of Life. Everything was focused on the tree-of-the-knowledge-of-good-and-evil. It was almost as if the whole story started when Adam ate the fruit from that tree. Adam had a choice. He chose wrong. Humanity has paid the price for his choice throughout history. God fixed everything in Jesus. We can accept His invitation to erase our sins and live His life through us, or we can continue to live lives focused on a corrupt version of good and evil. We are offered the same choice Adam had -- eat from the tree of good and evil or eat from the Tree of Life -- self or Jesus. God has given us free choice from creation and He continues to do so.
The eternal question is not about right and wrong. It is about Jesus. The wrong tree (self) cannot product the right fruit. But because of our natural affinity for the wrong tree, we continue to struggle and wrestle and strive to accomplish the impossible. All that work is worth nothing.
Gardens and growing and plants and trees flow throughout Scripture as metaphors for our relationship with God. In John 15:5 Jesus tell us, "I am the vine and you are the branches. If a man abides in Me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." Does fruit struggle to grow on the branch? McVey tells a story at his conferences of going out into the Georgia peach orchards at night to see if he could hear the branches grunting and groaning and straining to grow preaches. Does the branch make any effort to grow fruit? No. It just grows naturally off the branch, fed by the vine. If this is a picture Jesus uses of how Christian fruit is produced, why have we turned it into such an effort? The vine can exist without either the fruit or the branch, but neither of them can exist without the vine. The vital component here is the vine. Everything else flows/grows because of the vine. Pinch, squeeze, flex...the branch cannot grow a peach disconnected from the vine. Squirm, struggle, groan, moan...the peach cannot create itself without the vine. Without the vine there is nothing! Without Jesus we can do nothing! And anything we do = nothing! So where did we get the idea that the question revolves around whether we are doing right or wrong? Many of us are still eating off the wrong tree! The question at any given time is, "Are we abiding in Christ right now?" or "Is Jesus living His Life through me in this moment?"
Those questions take care of the right and wrong issues. If we rest in Christ and He is living His Life though us -- isn't the question of right and wrong almost irrelevant? How did Jesus describe His life? In John 5:19 & 8:28 He explains that He only does what the Father tells Him. In John 18:21 He expands on the relationship we are invited into, "I pray that they will all be one, just as You and I are one -- as You are in Me, Father, and I am in you. And my they be in Us so that the world will believe You sent Me." Jesus' vine was God. Our vine is Jesus. Did Jesus ever have to wrestle with right and wrong? As Graham Cooke says, "Could it be that this so close to fantasy that we can hardly believe it?" I think that is part of our struggle -- it does sound too good to be true. So we ignore it; modify it; explain it away; give it human (tree of good and evil) characteristics instead of seeing it for the GOOD NEWS that it is!
It is time to switch trees. Accept Jesus' invitation for what it is. Believe what He says about how it works. Trust Him. Fade-out the emphasis on right and wrong. Fade-up your relationship with Jesus.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Open the whole package...
Chapter 7 - Victory is a Gift
A classic line from the chapter, referring to someone who came to McVey for counseling reads, "He confessed greater confidence in Satan's ability to cause him to fall than in the ability of the Holy Spirit to keep him from falling" Ha! Isn't that pretty typical of many Christian's experiences? We are so focused on the pitfalls of the tree-of-good-and-evil that we completely miss the Tree of Life. Its almost as if we have surrendered to the power of enemy and are hoping God can/will pull us back, rather than living in the truth that our lives are in Christ and "the evil one cannot harm us." 1 John 5:18 For all the "power" we give to Satan, remember, as Graham Cooke so eloquently puts it, speaking as God, "Satan is my sheepdog; he leads you to Me."
I think God is yearning for us to accept the gift of Life (Jesus in us) and get on with it! It is not a question of how -- it is a question of Who. Worried about victory? Read Galatians 5:16: "Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh." Or Romans 5:10: "For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life." These Scriptures are not "hopes" they are certainties. They are promises. We are invited to live in them. Did Jesus die on the cross for our sins so we could continue to wrestle with sin every day of our lives?
And again I return to, "You foolish Galatians..." Why do we take God at His Word that the death of Jesus freed us from the penalties of sin, but ignore His Word telling us that His resurrection freed us from the power of sin? Wrong tree! Wrong tree! Wrong tree! Why are we so willing to accept the free gift of God's grace in regards to salvation, but so reluctant to accept His free gift of victorious new life through Jesus-in-us? Why do we think salvation is "free" and the "Christian life" must be earned? If we could life a Christian life we wouldn't need Jesus in the first place. It is not Jesus + something else -- the whole story is Jesus alone. "He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together." Colossians 1:17. If all things hold together in Him, why would we even remotely imagine anything done outside of Him would have any value? Why would any aspect of life outside of Jesus make any sense? Have any relevance? Might it be a good idea to accept how He says things work and expectantly wait to see how He plays out the story in us?
A classic line from the chapter, referring to someone who came to McVey for counseling reads, "He confessed greater confidence in Satan's ability to cause him to fall than in the ability of the Holy Spirit to keep him from falling" Ha! Isn't that pretty typical of many Christian's experiences? We are so focused on the pitfalls of the tree-of-good-and-evil that we completely miss the Tree of Life. Its almost as if we have surrendered to the power of enemy and are hoping God can/will pull us back, rather than living in the truth that our lives are in Christ and "the evil one cannot harm us." 1 John 5:18 For all the "power" we give to Satan, remember, as Graham Cooke so eloquently puts it, speaking as God, "Satan is my sheepdog; he leads you to Me."
I think God is yearning for us to accept the gift of Life (Jesus in us) and get on with it! It is not a question of how -- it is a question of Who. Worried about victory? Read Galatians 5:16: "Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh." Or Romans 5:10: "For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life." These Scriptures are not "hopes" they are certainties. They are promises. We are invited to live in them. Did Jesus die on the cross for our sins so we could continue to wrestle with sin every day of our lives?
And again I return to, "You foolish Galatians..." Why do we take God at His Word that the death of Jesus freed us from the penalties of sin, but ignore His Word telling us that His resurrection freed us from the power of sin? Wrong tree! Wrong tree! Wrong tree! Why are we so willing to accept the free gift of God's grace in regards to salvation, but so reluctant to accept His free gift of victorious new life through Jesus-in-us? Why do we think salvation is "free" and the "Christian life" must be earned? If we could life a Christian life we wouldn't need Jesus in the first place. It is not Jesus + something else -- the whole story is Jesus alone. "He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together." Colossians 1:17. If all things hold together in Him, why would we even remotely imagine anything done outside of Him would have any value? Why would any aspect of life outside of Jesus make any sense? Have any relevance? Might it be a good idea to accept how He says things work and expectantly wait to see how He plays out the story in us?
Remember, if we don't ask the right questions, we won't get the right answers.
The question is not about "doing." It is about being. It is about accepting God's gift of salvation and sanctification and accepting His Word as truth. Jesus tells us in John 8:32, "Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free. He then follow in John 14:6 with "I am the way and the truth and the life..." The truth will set you free. Jesus is the truth. Truth is a Person. Freedom through a Person. We are now free from the law; from rules and regulations; from working for a victorious life; from striving to live the life we think we are supposed to live. (Isn't that what the Jewish law was trying to define the the first place?) Free from the power of sin; the mastery of sin. All accomplished not through our doing, but through Jesus' doing. All God asks of us is that we believe in the Truth.
Friday, February 25, 2011
As You are in Me...
Chapter 6 - Free from the Law
It seems that as we dig deeper and deeper into this idea of "exchanged life" we continually return to the same contradictions. Kind of reminds me of the phrase about, "continuing to do the same thing, but expecting different results." That's where a lot of Christians are stuck. McVey has a great question near the start of this chapter: "Is your concept of the Christian life one which suggests that God's primary concern with you is your behavior?" If God's primary concern were my behavior, and I could change it to satisfy Him, I wouldn't need Jesus in the first place. (Have we heard this before?) If I cannot change it to satisfy God (which the Bible clearly says I can't) does that mean God has invited me into a relationship doomed to failure? (Have we heard this before?)
To the original audience the "law" meant either the Jewish law or new rules some believers were trying to impose on other believers. Today I think we tend to hear it as referring to the Old Testament laws. It not only refers to those, but to much, much more; to any legalistic requirement imposed on, or practiced by believers. In no uncertain terms, Paul repeats over and over that we are free from the law. How much of the law? ALL of it! We are free from the Old Testament law and from the requirements to read the Bible, pray, attend church, witness, tithe...the list goes on and on. We are free from the law of no dancing, playing cards, going to movies, working on Sunday...the list goes on and on. Not that these things are bad -- but the motivation to do (or not do) must come from a desire to glorify God and be a manifestation of Christ in us. They must not come from obligation or expectation or a desire to serve, do for, or influence God's view of us. I am as equally free to do these things as I am not to do these things. As McVey says, "When we understand that Christ is our life, we are motivated by His desires within us. We want to do the things that glorify God."
We always, always need to remember that the Scriptures are not a list of rules of how to live. Their only purpose is to reveal Jesus to us and draw us to Him. What does Jesus say in John 5:39-40 about the Pharisees (non-believers) who were so filled with Biblical knowledge? "You search the Scriptures because you think they give you eternal life. But the Scriptures point to me! Yet you refuse to come to me to receive life." There is no purpose for the Scriptures other than Jesus. Its not about knowledge; its not about understanding; it is not about figuring out what God wants us to do -- it is about a relationship.
So often the life of a Christian is all tied up in doing. Doing "good" things. Doing "for" God. Now, what exactly is it that God needs us to do for Him? He is the creator of the universe, and He needs me to do what? Where did we get so off track and start thinking it isabout behavior? Remember Paul's comments to the Galatians in 3:1-4? He would say the same thing to so many of us: "Oh, you foolish..."
The discussion so often comes around to, "I just can't sit around and do nothing." I will grant that "doing for God" is the opposite of "abiding." But I will not grant that "abiding" is the equivalent of "inactivity." It is the move from "us" doing to "God" doing. Was Jesus inactive? Did He sit around and do nothing? What did He say about the things He did? Jesus gave them this answer: "I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. John 5:19 Is the logical progression in our understanding of and living in, exchange life that we can say, "I can do nothing by myself, I can only do what I see Jesus doing?" I think it is. Because if we move into John 15:1-5 and John 17:21 we see Jesus drawing a picture of His relationship with the Father and our relationship to Him. They are the same. WOW! Just like we left Sunday school behind...this is way beyond a behavior issue.
It seems that as we dig deeper and deeper into this idea of "exchanged life" we continually return to the same contradictions. Kind of reminds me of the phrase about, "continuing to do the same thing, but expecting different results." That's where a lot of Christians are stuck. McVey has a great question near the start of this chapter: "Is your concept of the Christian life one which suggests that God's primary concern with you is your behavior?" If God's primary concern were my behavior, and I could change it to satisfy Him, I wouldn't need Jesus in the first place. (Have we heard this before?) If I cannot change it to satisfy God (which the Bible clearly says I can't) does that mean God has invited me into a relationship doomed to failure? (Have we heard this before?)
To the original audience the "law" meant either the Jewish law or new rules some believers were trying to impose on other believers. Today I think we tend to hear it as referring to the Old Testament laws. It not only refers to those, but to much, much more; to any legalistic requirement imposed on, or practiced by believers. In no uncertain terms, Paul repeats over and over that we are free from the law. How much of the law? ALL of it! We are free from the Old Testament law and from the requirements to read the Bible, pray, attend church, witness, tithe...the list goes on and on. We are free from the law of no dancing, playing cards, going to movies, working on Sunday...the list goes on and on. Not that these things are bad -- but the motivation to do (or not do) must come from a desire to glorify God and be a manifestation of Christ in us. They must not come from obligation or expectation or a desire to serve, do for, or influence God's view of us. I am as equally free to do these things as I am not to do these things. As McVey says, "When we understand that Christ is our life, we are motivated by His desires within us. We want to do the things that glorify God."
We always, always need to remember that the Scriptures are not a list of rules of how to live. Their only purpose is to reveal Jesus to us and draw us to Him. What does Jesus say in John 5:39-40 about the Pharisees (non-believers) who were so filled with Biblical knowledge? "You search the Scriptures because you think they give you eternal life. But the Scriptures point to me! Yet you refuse to come to me to receive life." There is no purpose for the Scriptures other than Jesus. Its not about knowledge; its not about understanding; it is not about figuring out what God wants us to do -- it is about a relationship.
So often the life of a Christian is all tied up in doing. Doing "good" things. Doing "for" God. Now, what exactly is it that God needs us to do for Him? He is the creator of the universe, and He needs me to do what? Where did we get so off track and start thinking it isabout behavior? Remember Paul's comments to the Galatians in 3:1-4? He would say the same thing to so many of us: "Oh, you foolish..."
The discussion so often comes around to, "I just can't sit around and do nothing." I will grant that "doing for God" is the opposite of "abiding." But I will not grant that "abiding" is the equivalent of "inactivity." It is the move from "us" doing to "God" doing. Was Jesus inactive? Did He sit around and do nothing? What did He say about the things He did? Jesus gave them this answer: "I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. John 5:19 Is the logical progression in our understanding of and living in, exchange life that we can say, "I can do nothing by myself, I can only do what I see Jesus doing?" I think it is. Because if we move into John 15:1-5 and John 17:21 we see Jesus drawing a picture of His relationship with the Father and our relationship to Him. They are the same. WOW! Just like we left Sunday school behind...this is way beyond a behavior issue.
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