Some Things Never Change

Brokenness began with but a simple command, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die." There was nothing to misunderstand. God had spoken in black and white, in a time when there were no shades of gray.

But then came the seduction. The fruit was alluring. The serpent assured they wouldn’t die. And who wouldn’t want to be like God? Usually we chalk it up to a simple case of disobedience. God told them one thing, they did another. But more than a sin of rebellion, it may have most essentially been an issue of unbelief. In the light of all that seduced them, they lost their trust. In that moment when they reached out to grasp the forbidden fruit, they no longer believed God knew best and had their best interests at heart.

God has been clear on many things; sex is His gift to the marriage covenant; forgiveness must never be withheld; pornography will never satisfy (because it hasn't the capacity to); our lives are not measured by what we have or by how high we climb (these can’t satisfy either). There's an old saying, 'Curiosity killed the cat.' The cat just had to know for himself. He couldn't trust that what had been forbidden was done so for his own good. There are times when the root of sin is old fashioned rebellion. At other times, sin's origin lies in unbelief; we stop trusting God.

It’s interesting to me that it was when Abraham believed the Lord, righteousness was imparted. God brought things full circle. Though the context was completely different, the Lord offered Abraham the same essential choice He did Adam and Eve, ‘Will you trust Me?’ Trust abandoned first broke the relationship. Trust embraced renewed it.

Still today God has made trust the catalyst for our relationship with Him. Ro11 makes clear faith grafts in, unbelief cuts off. Faith is what activates Grace. It’s what is credited to us as righteousness. Not just an idle belief in a creed. But, a trust that actually inspires one to embrace Jesus as Savior and Lord; to obey, if only because God says so; to leave behind everything the world values to pursue what only God could have birthed in the heart. Some things never change.

Worship's Rhythm

Karl Barth makes the point that before the fall, man was in the naïve state of not fully realizing the difference between himself and God. The Lord walked in the garden in the cool of the day. Adam and Eve didn't behold God in His Glory, but in human likeness. They may well have thought that God was even one of them, not unlike a human parent.

But after the fall, the chasm between man and God became fully evident. Fellowshipping was out. If God was to be encountered, it would be in such a way so as to inspire awe; as when the Lord thundered from Mt. Sinai, Elijah cowered in the cleft of the rock, and Isaiah cried openly of his sinfulness upon seeing a vision of but the train of the Lord’s robe.

Rev21 points to the ultimate restoration of the Edenic Paradise. There will be no more sin or pain or death – this entire order will pass away. But, one thing that will not be restored will be man’s original naiveté. In the garden, Adam and Eve fellowshipped with the Lord. In eternity, more than fellowship, we will worship the Lord in all of His Glory.

There’s always a tension between God revealing Himself in intimacy (as in the garden) and in Glory (as in Isaiah's vision). Jesus brings the two together. He calls us friends, inviting us to walk, eat, and follow as if he were but a kindly rabbi. All the while, He is the Creator and Sustainer of all that is, moment by moment holding all of creation together.

In our finiteness, we cannot always focus completely on all things. Consequently, we tend to emphasize one aspect of the Lord at the expense of the other. Many focus on intimacy, He is the one true Lover of their souls. Others focus on His Glory, He is the One who was with God in the beginning. On the Mount of Transfiguration, the two were manifest together. Peter, John and James beheld His Glory as a radiant light shone forth. All thoughts of Jesus as the familiar Friend they had joked with fled as they fell to the ground in awe and wonder. Coming down from the mount, He was the One who would one day soon wash their feet.

My sense is the Lord is calling us to a healthy balance, a rhythmical movement between the two poles. There are moments God would have us be in awe of His Glory. At other times, He invites us to crawl into His lap to feel Abba’s embrace. Always when we are most aware of the one, there is to be an accompanying understanding of the other.

The 'So What?' of Grace

Years ago, when I was sharing with my wife some theological nuance I had learned that day in seminary, she looked at me and said, “So what? I’ve got three children, two of whom are in diapers. If your theology can’t help me on Tuesday morning when I’m changing diapers while you’re off at seminary, then I don’t have any use for it."

I tire of theology for theology’s sake. Deep down I want to please God and the older I get the more convinced I am that God is far more pleased with people who live well than with correct theology. He keeps reminding me of Paul’s words in 1Co13:2, “…if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.”

So what do we do with the theological treatise we know as the first 11 chapters of Paul’s letter to the Romans? (Which I’m spending the first part of the summer studying). What’s the relevance of Paul’s concept of Grace (his central tenet)? How does it impact the one changing diapers on a Tuesday morning?

When it comes to Grace, Paul is trying to say essentially two things. First, by his own definition, Grace is God doing what only God can do in order to make/declare people to be righteous. Grace is God giving us right standing before Him; making people whole and free; doing for us what we cannot do for ourselves. Which is what distinguishes Grace from works and from anything we might do to try to accomplish these things for ourselves. Paul’s primary premise is that righteousness has to be something God accomplishes and imparts.

Secondly, if Grace is God doing for us what we cannot, then Grace is received when we come to the end of ourselves. We experience Grace when we abandon any effort to somehow make ourselves acceptable to God; when we confess our helplessness and ask Him to do for us what we have come to realize we can never do for ourselves.

This is where Paul most completely echoes the Lord Jesus. Jesus was adamant that it was the poor in spirit, the one who beats his chest and cries out ‘Lord, have mercy on me a sinner,’ the repentant prodigal who has rehearsed his confession of unworthiness - who experience mercy and forgiveness.

Often God will orchestrate our lives for the express purpose of bringing us to the end of ourselves. A bankruptcy, a personal failure, a marriage in crisis, a ministry that seems to be going nowhere, all can be used by God to bring us to our own “Bruce Almighty moment.” (Jim Carrey kneeling in the street, crying out to God.) Which means that blessing a cash strapped seminary couple with three children, two in diapers, may have purposes beyond simply the building of the Kingdom. It could be that through all of that they abandon all confidence of handling things themselves, and for the first time cry out in a sustained dependence on God, opening themselves up to the 'much more' of God.

Those who experience God do in them the most, have always somehow, someway, first come to the place where they have abandoned all hope of ever doing those things for themselves. Which may be the most relevant ‘So what?’ of Grace.

Mary and Martha Revisited

"As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!"
"Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her." Luke 10:38-41

Mary and Martha are often trivialized. Mary is portrayed as the one who seeks to be still, contemplating the Lord; Martha as the one who gets things done. As it often the case today, Martha resents Mary’s idleness.

Rather than focusing on Martha's complaint, listen instead to the Lord's response. “…you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed.” Martha complained about the surface issue, the visible tension of the moment. But, Jesus addressed the heart.

Martha needed many things. There were many things that had to be just so, before she would allow herself to abandon her worry and upset. And even then she would have been anxious knowing how short lived are the moments when life’s circumstances favorably align.

"Lord, why am I not yet married? My spouse isn’t who I thought he was. Why won’t you help us get pregnant? My children are out of control, they have no heart for you or me. Why can’t I get a good job? I’m so tired of this run down house. We never have enough money. Why is everyone else’s ministry growing and larger than mine?"

Jesus said, “you are worried about many things, but only one thing is needed.” Anything beyond our reach or that can be lost isn’t absolutely necessary. We are Martha when our joy and peace are dependent upon a host of things that are not promised. That’s why we’re upset and afraid. The many things we’ve told ourselves we have to have, are either beyond or reach or only precariously within our grasp.

Janis Joplin sang, "Freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose." That doesn't mean we need to lose it all in order to be free. It simply voices the call to reduce our 'have to have' list to the one thing needed. At that moment, we will be truly free.

Learning To Feed Ourselves

One of the critiques of America’s welfare system is that it has created a new dependent class. Rather than standing in the gap to help people through a crisis, it is accused of having caused many to lose all initiative to provide for themselves. Many now see themselves as being wards of the state, entirely dependent upon the federal government for their well being.

I was watching Clay feed Fields (he's 9 months old) earlier today. Fields is totally dependent on Clay and Deborah for everything he eats. To put a spiritual spin to this, one of the most common statements I hear from people is, "I’m looking for a place where I can be fed.” I really don’t have a problem with that. When I gave up preaching on Sunday mornings to come to UGA Wesley, my wife and I brought that same mentality into our search for a church. But, I am concerned whenever I encounter the mindset that, as believers, we are dependent upon others to feed us. God never intended us to be spiritual 9 month olds.

Ps119:15 says, “I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways. I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word.” Notice the pronoun “I”. Verse 105 adds, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” Again, the psalmist speaks in the first person. God has set apart some to be pastors and teachers, to help explain and apply His Word to others. But never has it been God’s intent that we would be completely dependent on others for our knowledge of Him.

Believers need to learn how to feed themselves - and that includes college students and those young in their faith. What I receive on a Sunday morning can never substitute for what God speaks to me as I pursue Him on my own. I’ve yet to meet a mature Christian who hasn’t learned to feed for himself on the Word of God.

Many students, who have learned to walk with the Lord during their time on campus, dread summer. They fear going home to old friends and old ways. They are unhappy with the prospect of losing the worship and teaching to which they’ve become accustomed. But in Ro8, Paul assures us that, “God works through all things for the good of those who love Him…” A season in which there is no one to feed us can force us, if we will take advantage of it, to get into the Word for ourselves. In the absence of a shepherd, we can learn to feed and grow and fend for ourselves.

I always want every student to have relationships with other believers for encouragement and accountability. And likewise, I hope each one will always have available a worship setting that leaves them inspired. But even when these things are hard to find, summer can still be a time of tremendous growth. The one who has learned to feed himself has often learned the most valuable lesson of all.

Most of us would never passively sit back and leave our physical provision to another. Why would we do any different when it comes to our spiritual well being?

God's Sovereign Choice

God’s perspective is the only one that matters. His has the weight of eternity and transcendence behind it. All others are like dust in the wind.

Which brings us to righteousness. Righteousness is the thing we need most. To be righteous is to be right with God; to be able to stand before Him, share in His life, abide in His Glory. Abraham was one of the most noble and godly men who ever lived. And yet from God's perspective, nothing he ever did or didn’t do was able to make him righteous. It had nothing to do with how he compared to other people or what a great man we think of him as being.

Ge15:6 tells us, “Abraham believed the Lord and it was credited to him as righteousness.” God alone can declare someone righteous. He has to impart it. There is no other way. That's His decision, not ours. And paradoxically, God has chosen to declare to be right those who have absolutely no confidence in their own goodness, i.e., the tax collector who could only cry out "Lord have mercy on me a sinner" and the prodigal who had rehearsed how he would confess to his father how unworthy he was.

It’s when we find nothing in ourselves in which to hope, that we are finally positioned to fully receive Grace and be declared right. Many believers take most of their lives to really get there. Some who struggle most are those who have accomplished the most, sacrificed the most, and served the most. These are the ones who are often lulled into believing there is now something in them that can make them acceptable to God. It wasn't only in Jesus’ day that prostitutes were often better positioned to embrace Grace than the religious elite or the rich and powerful.

God could have opted for any standard when it comes to what makes someone acceptable to Him. But beginning with Abraham, and later affirmed by the Apostle Paul, He Sovereignly chose faith. Twenty seven years into my Christian walk I’m still learning what that means. The good news is, the more I abandon any pretense of righteousness deep within myself, the more the Lord seems to see fit to enable me to experience His Grace and Life here and now.

Burning Sticks Snatched From The Fire

Karl Barth tells the story of a man who, in the midst of a blizzard, wandered unknowingly across a frozen lake. There were places where the ice was thin. One misstep and he would have fallen through. But he was unaware. It was only after the storm had subsided that he was able to look back and realize how perilous his state had been.

'God is as serious about wrath as He is about salvation.' That's the thought resonating in me as I work through the early chapters of a summer long study of Romans. Normally, I would skim over references to wrath, reasoning God has already dealt with that. But I'm trying to let Paul speak what he intended to say rather than simply endorse long held views. Ro1:18 says, "The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the ungodliness and wickedness of men..." Ro2:5 refers to "the day of God's wrath." And Ro2:12 reminds us, "All who sin apart from the law will also perish apart from the law, and all who sin under the law will also be judged by the law."

The typical Christian today seems oblivious to what we have been saved from and how perilously we have each wandered. God's love does not negate His wrath. To borrow from Zechariah, we are all as 'burning sticks snatched from the fire.' Which means that to the extent I lack for joy or gratitude, I have lost sight of all that God in His grace has saved me from and even now by His grace is working to lead me into.