You are currently browsing the tag archive for the 'faith' tag.
The power does not lie in the formula; the power lies in following.
When I look back at and see those people, churches, and ideas that really had the power and energy of God behind them, I see a common thread: a person or group of people were following Jesus’ lead within their specific context and time, the result of which ended up looking quite different than what others were doing. They really wrestled with and answered the questions, Where are we seeing Jesus around us? and, Where and to what is he leading us? They weren’t following a formula of success, they were following Jesus.
And then a funny and ironic thing happens. People see their success and clamor for the “secret” formula of which they are willing to travel great distances and pay lots of money to get it. Instead of asking, What is Jesus doing here and how is he asking us to participate?, they ask, What is Jesus doing over there and how can I bottle and duplicate it? We see this happening all over the place, don’t we. But Jesus isn’t interested in making clones, he is interested in creating new life.
But following Jesus rather than a formula causes our fears to surface. Our thoughts betray us: It’s unknown. What if it fails? There’s no proven track record. Will it be successful? How do I do it? What if God leads me to where I do not want to go or do? What if I loose my position or job? Will others follow as well or will I be alone? Perhaps I’ll misread God’s leading . . . and on and on our fears bob to the surface. Yet when we follow Jesus he has a way of loosening our fears and freeing us from them as well.
So I offer that the power lies in following Jesus’ lead in our lives and communities. It does lie not in a formula created by others regardless how successful it may seem to be. But which is easier, personally following Jesus or applying a formula? We all know the answer to that, don’t we. Hence the pervasiveness of formula marketing and purchasing. But which is better, formula or following Jesus? We know that answer too.
I pray that the hope and possible fruit of “answer two” begins to outweigh the temptation of “answer one”. When it does, I believe it is then that great power, creative energy and influence will be unleashed.
Lord, grant us the courage to follow you regardless the cost.
I was looking in my backyard today and noticed all the weeds that have been popping up. I sighed at the thought of going out there and uprooting them. What a pain. Seeing all those weeds got me thinking about Jesus’ words where he taught us not to pull up the “weeds”, but to instead let them grow and leave it to him. [See Matthew 13]
How bizarre and backwards is that? Ignore the weeds growing among us? Don’t pull them, chop them, poison them, kill them … but simply let them grow next to the flowers, in the grass, in the garden, in our yard? Absurd! To a gardener, such a suggestion would be foolishness. I offer that it is foolishness to religious people as well. So why would Jesus say such a thing?
A few reasons came to my mind…perhaps you have others.
The first is that we, as humans, have a very poor track record of recognizing weeds. Our perspective seems to be that anyone who looks or believes differently than we do is a weed. Certain prophets and Jesus come to mind in the Jewish history. Certain reformers (among many others) come to mind in our Christian history. In hindsight we see that the “weeds” we got rid of were perhaps not weeds at all. Our historical tendency has been to label weeds, “wheat”, and wheat, “weeds” and we have acted accordingly, praising the wheat-weeds and getting rid of the weed-wheats. Jesus, aware our proven biases and natural tendencies as human beings, said he’d handle the weeds and gave us the job of loving and serving them. Ugh…don’t you hate that?
Another reason is that it is not our place to pull, poison, chop and kill weeds. Even if we were able to judge correctly as humans (which we aren’t, but let’s pretend) who was a weed and who wasn’t, it is not our job to uproot them — it is Gods. Much like when my son feels it is his role to correct and boss around his younger sister. We simply tell him that she is not his concern and to leave his sister to us, her parents. It is not his role as a sibling to be a parent! But oh how he likes to take the parent-role anyhow.
We’re the same, aren’t we? We feel as if weed-control is our role. Jesus simply tells us that it is not our concern and to leave it to him. It is not our role as created humans to be God. And oh how we like to try to be God (we’ll of course never admit this, but if we were honest, it’s true…at least it is in me). We like to play judge and determine who is and who isn’t a weed and treat them according to their human-given label (which never works out to well for the “weeds”).
The last reason is our lack of trust, or even not wanting to really trust, in God. Our desire to exercise weed-control on our fellow humans reveals our lack of trust in God (again, something we’d never admit). We really don’t want to let go of judgment and give it to God (not that we ever really had it in the first place). What if God declares someone a “flower” who we think is a “weed”? (Funny thing is that our State Flower, the Golden Poppy, is in fact a weed). What if God really loves weeds and tells us to trust him because he knows we’ll get it wrong and raise havoc on his creation? What if God gets it wrong — that is, according to our thinking (theology) — and God lets all sorts of “weeds” into his presence? Do you see the problems trust creates in us? Do you see the questions and fears trust-in-God raises? At least, that is, for some.
For me, I have found great freedom in trying to relax my ingrown human need to judge and take on the task of weed-control. It’s not up to me. My job is to love and to serve everyone — everyone! — even my enemies (whom I tend to declare to be weeds). It is such a relief to let go of a burden I have self-imposed on myself and give it back to God. I was never designed to carry it. And God knew that, hence Jesus’ words.
So now that I no longer have to worry about labeling and pulling weeds, I need to get busy learning from God how to love and serve them.
- It was clear from the beginning that this should be my role. God blessed Abraham to be a blessing to others, not to simply enjoy his blessing.
- Jesus said, come follow me. Jesus was clearly all about his Daddy’s mission. His life and death modeled a missional life that did what the Father did, said what the Father said. As an follower of Jesus, Daddy’s mission is my mission.
- I have seen missional living heal and restore people. When people believe they are loved and forgiven by their Daddy, it changes their life. My mission is simply to communicate the “you’re loved and forgiven” good news message with every joint, muscle and ligament of my being.
So that’s it. That’s why I am missional. It was clear from the beginning I was designed to be, Jesus was and so should I, and it has life-altering healing potential in other’s lives.
DISCLAIMER: Sorry for such a long post. I hope its massive length did not confuse or conceal my reasons for being missional. I tried to keep it short and simple, but I fear I let my long-windedness get the best of me once more. Please forgive my self-indulgence and lack of self control. 
———————————————————–
This was part of a missional synchroblog started by Jonathan. Here are the other participants:
Ben Wheatley—WWSBD What Would Shepherd Book Do?
Bryan Riley—Jesus is the Way and He Was Missional
Jonathan Brink—Why I Am Missional
Blake Huggins—Missional Synchroblog: Why Am I Missional
Jen and I have been married for 10 years, this June. So when I was asked to synchroblog about keeping it real and the latest chapter of our story, I thought I’d do just that. So here is chapter 10 of our ongoing story:
Our last anniversary was spent camping on the banks of the American River just outside of Coloma, CA. Just before leaving, we were informed by the church where I was Youth Minister that, due to budget restraints, my position was being cut and they were going to have to let us go. That put a slight damper on our camping trip and 9 year anniversary.
We finished out our commitment at the church in July. As we left, their generosity and grace was abundant. Not only did they love us and cry with us, but they offered severance pay that would provide for us until December 1st. We stepped away knowing we were loved and would be missed.
Almost immediately we began applying and interviewing with churches. We had a certain “box” in mind that we felt God wanted us in and so we pursued it. One church showed real interest in us as their small group pastor. We went through the 1st, 2nd, 3rd interview and the door closed. Another church showed real interest in us as their senior pastor. We went through the initial interviews and a weekend extravaganza of meetings and the door closed.
Perplexed, we did some real soul searching. What we noticed was that God was building some great friendships in Folsom (where we live) and sensed that God was asking us to stay put—to trust. But God, there is nothing here. What are we going to do for income? He simply said, Trust. So we stayed and continued developing our friendships and trusted.
But he also convicted me in a very gentle manner. You see, for the past six years God has been doing some real soul shaping in me. He was guiding me and leading me in some new directions (new for me at least) but I kept his leading and re-shaping rather hidden from others. I was afraid what people might think and what their reactions might be. I was like the guy who was given some money by his master and all he did was bury and hide his master’s gift. That was me. God had been doing something in me, but I simply buried it. I cared more about what others would think than about what God thought. In fact, I had been blogging for some time about these changes, but I did so in “private mode” (not available for public viewing). God simply asked me if I was willing to trust him and lean fully into what he was doing in my heart. ‘Cause I realized that no matter what I believed, there were going to be those who agreed and those who didn’t, those who thought I was right and those who thought I was wrong. So the real question became, Am I being faithful to God—where he was leading me and how he was shaping me? Realizing my answer was “no”, I said, “Yes…I will.” As an act of that commitment, I took my blog off “private” and went “public” with my thoughts. That was in October. Some think that was a good thing. Others think it was a bad thing. For me, it was the right and healing thing. Oh, and I almost forgot, Jen got pregnant with #3, girl #2.
Shortly afterwards I got a “regular” 3-month contract job. In the mean time, God began gathering a group of like-minded people who were asking similar questions and feeling similar longings. God began cultivating the dream about a different type of Christian community that he had been individually forming in our hearts for years . We found ourselves colliding with each other on the same road, emerging from different paths. We found friendship and camaraderie. As we dreamed together, God began bringing others to travel with us—all from different backgrounds, with different gifts, longing for the same type of community.
Then my three-month contract job ended.
Trust, he said. We did and he proved faithful. This has been, circumstantially speaking, one of the most difficult chapters in 10 years. But it has also been the most rich, fruitful, freeing, faith-building, soul-shaping, character-building, love-experiencing, friendship-full thrill rides with God we have ever been on. Our marriage is the strongest it has ever been. Our joy is the deepest we’ve known. Our peace passes understanding. We find ourself more patient and loving with those around us. We are more in love with and in awe of God than EVER before. Jesus has never meant more to us. We have deep friendships. God is using us as regular run-of-the-mill human beings. We have been healed from some junk and freed from some baggage. And I got another job.
The dream that he is birthing around us is simply awe inspiring. He has brought about 7 leaders to help dream the dream together. But it feels more like we are just trying to pay attention to what he is doing and wanting to join along. What will it look like? We have an idea, but we are dreaming as we build. When will the dream begin to be fleshed out? It has been for the past 30+ years, has led us to this place today, and will continue to unfold in the future. And the dream-scent we are smelling is phenomenal. May his kingdom come…
So this June, Jen and I celebrate 10 years of marriage. We are celebrating in Napa, CA, for a weekend bed-and-breakfast get away. We thought, “Let’s celebrate what God has done!” And celebrate we will!! I’ll leave the rest to your imagination…
___________________________________________________________________
Others Synchroblogging This Topic:
Mike with “Lost or Found (Depends on your view)“
Erin with “My Turn“
Lyn with “Your Turn“
Sarah with “Glenn’s May Synchroblog“
Jane with “Part 1“, “Part 2“, “Part 3“, & “Part 4“
Alan with “You Are Here“
Barb with “One Year Checkup“
Kathy with “It stinks down here, but I really love the smell“
Heidi with “May Synchroblog“
Instead of asking God to cultivate something, may I see, hear and be in-tune to what God is already cultivating around me. May I have the courage to trust and join God’s cultivation regardless how unknown, mysterious, distant or “in-the-dark” it may presently seem.
May I strive less to do for the sake of doing, and instead, pause more to listen in order to become aware of what he is doing.
God is cultivating all around me. Am I noticing? Do I care?
This is a shout out to my good buddy Dave who reminded me of this song today. My wife and I used to listen to it all the time but it has sat idle in the “non-played” cellar of my iPod. So I cranked it up again today on my way home from work and the words resonated with me, especially the line “But the places that used to fit me cannot hold the things I’ve learned.” What resonates with you?
Painting Pictures Of Egypt by Sara Groves
I don’t want to leave here
I don’t want to stay
It feels like pinching to me either way
The places I long for the most
Are the places where I’ve been
They are calling after me like a long lost friend
It’s not about losing faith
It’s not about trust
It’s all about comfortable
When you move so much
The place I was wasn’t perfect
But I had found a way to live
It wasn’t milk or honey
But then neither is this
CHORUS:
I’ve been painting pictures of Egypt
Leaving out what it lacked
The future seems so hard
And I want to go back
But the places that used to fit me
Cannot hold the things I”ve learned
And those roads closed off to me
While my back was turned
The past is so tangible
I know it by heart
Familiar things are never easy to discard
I was dying for some freedom
But now I hesitate to go
Caught between the promise
And the things I know
BRIDGE:
If it comes too quick
I may not recognize it
Is that the reason behind all this time and sand?
If it comes too quick
I may not appreciate it
Is that the reason behind all this time and sand?
You have been telling people that this is the Eleventh Hour.
Now you must go back and tell the people that this is the Hour.
And there are things that need to be considered:
Where are you living?
What are you doing?
What are your relationships?
Are you in right relation?
Where is your water?
Know your garden.
It is time to speak your truth.
Create your community.
Be good to each other.
And do not look outside yourself for the leader.
This could be a good time!
There is a river flowing now very fast.
It is so great and swift that there are those who will be afraid.
They will try to hold on to the shore.
They will feel they are being torn apart, and they will suffer greatly.
Know the river has a destination.
The elders say we must let go of the shore, push off into the middle of the river, keep our eyes open, and our heads above the water.
See who is in there with you and celebrate!
At this time is history, we are to take nothing personally, least of all ourselves.
For the moment that we do, our spiritual health and journey comes to a halt.
The time of the lone wolf is over. Gather yourselves!
Banish the word struggle from your attitude and vocabulary.
All that we do now must be done in a sacred manner and in celebration!
[Source: Elders of the Hopi Nation]
The imagery from this poem really spoke to me, as well as its questions. The similarity in what these Native American Elders were saying and what is emerging in our culture and church was striking. There are some that are leaving the dangers of clinging to the shore for the dangers of riding the river. Those who have let go of the shore indeed are finding others who are faith-traveling the river with them—they are not alone.
The two phrases (it was hard to choose, there were so many) that jumped off the page for me were these:
“All that we do now must be done in a sacred manner and in celebration!”
” See who is in there with you and celebrate!”
The line I personally struggled with was this one:
“At this time is history, we are to take nothing personally, least of all ourselves.
What from the poem resonated with you? What did you struggle with or made you uncomfortable reading?
Spring time is here. That means one thing—my top comes off. See, as a Jeep owner, the months of September through March carry with them a shadowy depression because the weather forces the sane person to keep their Jeep top on. But then Spring arrives. The top comes off and the whole world seems brighter and cheerier. Fresh air, sunlight, stretching skies and a sense of open-air freedom attack the soul. Oh, if only all year could be Spring.
It also means that my kids love riding in Daddy’s Jeep. My 7-year old son never uses the door, but instead climbs onto the back wheel and up and over the roll cage to get into the front seat. And my 3-year old daughter says every day, “Ride Daddy’s Jeep?” She didn’t always like to however. At first the wind and sun really bothered her (she was used to a domesticated van). But after the first few trips around town, she began to anticipate and love the wind and sun. Now she loves it. She’ll say the magic words, “Ride Daddy’s Jeep?”, and we’ll load up into the Jeep—strapping her into her car seat—heading off on our four-mile trek somewhere at 30 miles an hour. She smiles and laughs and says, “Windy!” and “Bumpy!” To her, a ride in Daddy’s Jeep means an adventure with dad. She has no idea where I am taking her, but the ride with dad in his Jeep is the reward. And she loves it!
My ride with my Daddy has been very similar. At first, the newly experienced wind and the sun and the bumpy ride were bothersome. I was used to a domesticated journey with him; quiet, predictable, climate controlled. But when he asked me to hop into his “Jeep” and go for a ride, I was apprehensive. Where are we going? What will it be like when I get there? But there’s no top!? And he said, “I know, that is part of the experience.” So he picked me up, set me in my seat and strapped me in. The wind, the noise, the sun, the bumpiness were all there, as expected. But as we rode, those very things became the joy of the journey. I find myself feeling freer. I can’t seem to get rid of my giddy smile. The sense of open-air adventure with Dad is exhilarating. I have no clear idea where we are going, but that seems to matter less and less. Just the joy of being on a faith-adventure with Daddy in his Jeep, seeing him look back reacting to my joy, is becoming—more and more—enough for me.
And when he invites some of my friends to join the ride, the journey becomes even more enjoyable. It is indeed a ride of a lifetime. Thanks for letting us ride in your Jeep, Dad! I love it!
Jen and I have been married for 10 years this June. As we look back over our decade together a few themes have surfaced. One is that our life has been anything but predictable or stale, but rather fun and adventurous with a mix of fear-of -the-unknown. Another theme that has arisen is that of God’s provision. In ten years we have never been without food on our table or a roof over our head. God has indeed been faithful to the promise to us to care for us more that the birds of the air or the lilies of the fields. That indeed, God provides.
Since being laid off last July, God—despite our lack of trust at times—has provided EVERY single time we have needed it. Our last 8 months has been like one of those miraculous (interesting how God’s provision is viewed as extra-ordinary or miraculous) stories you read about in Guideposts or hear someone share during the 3-minute testimony time of a church service. We never would have thought that God would weave such a story into our lives. But God has. Here’s how:
- Our rent was due in a week and we were $200 short. An anonymous envelope appeared in our mailbox. There was money inside. Guess how much? Yep, $200.
- My severance pay was within weeks to coming to an end. A friend called a friend and I was hired by Franklin Templeton Investments for a 3-month contract job at a pay rate that was just enough to provide for our needs.
- The contract position ended and I was not able to get a job. We had some money in savings. We quickly ate through that. We were denied unemployment benefits (long story) but were given food stamps.
- We filed our tax return and found out that we were getting $5,000 back within the next few weeks. A week or so passed and we had no money. It was Friday and bills were due on Monday. We checked our online bank statement and there was a $5,000 deposit that just cleared.
- My birthday came and we didn’t do a whole lot. The typical B-day cards came in the mail, but in three of them, there was a total of $500 that came in from extended family.
- Due to the career change and job-search time requirements, Jen and I made a decision to drop the class I was taking with Fuller Seminary. We filed some paperwork and were simply expecting the class to be dropped from my record due to “hardship circumstances”. They dropped the class and refunded us 100% of tuition for the class—nearly $1200.
- After making a decision to focus on a career in Graphic Design (the thing that “Lights Me Up”), two months of resume-sending-silence was broken and I have had multiple companies interested in possibly hiring me. I just had a very positive phone and in-person interview with one company.
- Our church approached me to design (for hire) some materials for their new dedication service coming up. They paid me $200.
I share these $ figures so that God would be praised and you might be encouraged. God indeed provides and is true to his promise. It has been very humbling to receive God’s provisions in these non-traditional ways, but our trust in God and in the generosity of those surrounding us has increased exponentially.
Ron, my spiritual director, has reminded me time after time to view this in-between time as a gift from God. Indeed it has been. Though trying every day to find work, it has not yet come. What has come is that I have been able to spend a lot of time with my wife, Jen, and our kids, Caleb and Ashlyn. In fact, we just did the math and God has given me about six months to be home all day, every day. Just ask my kids—that indeed has been a gift.
And if you were to ask my wife, our marriage has never been better than it is now—I would have to agree.
Thanks Daddy! I love you.
Your little boy, Jeromy.
Lately, God has been teaching me to trust him and I find that it is a lesson I resist—sometimes with a vengeance. I want to be in control. I want things done in my timing. I do not want to let go, because letting go means, well, letting go and I want to hold on. Yet when I came across this poem (that I adapted slightly) it really spoke to my heart. In fact, I found myself reading it over and over and over and over again. Its words were what my spirit was thirsting for and God used them to bring a measure of his quenching. Here are those words:
To “let go” means not to worry about the future, but look forward to what might happen.
To “let go” is not to cut myself off, it’s the realization I can’t control another.
To “let go” is to admit powerlessness, which means the outcome is not in my hands.
To “let go” is not to try to change or blame another, it’s to make the most of myself.
To “let go” is not to judge, but to allow another to be a human being.
To “let go” is not to be in the middle arranging the outcomes, but to trust God.
To “let go” is not to deny, but to accept.
To “let go” is not to intrude, worry or argue, but instead to search out my own shortcomings, and correct them.
To “let go” is not to regret the past, but to grow and live in today.
To “let go” is to fear less, and love more.
To “let go” is to cling to him who will never let go.
[adapted from here]
Trust comes when we accept his love and acknowledge we’re powerless.
I had a very disturbing dream last night. Not frightening, disturbing. Disturbing in the sense that the personal ramifications of the dream could be great.
I dreamt I went through each of the Gospels of Jesus and saw a common theme regarding good deeds and spiritual faith. The shift this created was paradigmatic. I then turned to one of my fiends and posed them the very question that disturbed me: “If one person has ALL, or a lot of, CHRISTIAN FAITH (i.e. correct Christian/Biblical doctrine, proper church involvement, etc.), but NO DEEDS (as defined by the Jesus and the Bible), and another person had NO, or little, CHRISTIAN FAITH but ALL DEEDS; which of these would be ushered into heaven, by Jesus? Which one, according to Jesus and the gospels? Which one, according to the current church theology adopted from the Reformation?” The look on his face was one of bewilderment. “Well, according to Jesus and the Gospels, the second person. According to us, the first.”
In other words, my friend was saying this:We believe a person can “come to faith” in Jesus, then never lift a finger to bring God’s goodness and grace to Earth and Jesus will usher them into heaven by the skin of their teeth (all be it without any heavenly treasure or jewels). But someone who has never “come to faith”, but devoted and sacrifices his life to bring God’s goodness and grace (after all, isn’t all goodness and grace is God’s?) to a hurting and unjust world will be condemned to Hell by Jesus. In essence, a person who identifies with the “name” of Jesus but does not follow the “way” (deeds, example, teachings) of Jesus is saved. A saved person can be a person who is ALL faith and NO deeds….or all TALK and no WALK. For, after all, it is by faith you are saved and not by works. But it is impossible for someone with ALL deeds and NO faith (as we define it) to be saved. The “prayer of faith” and proper belief is all that matters when it comes to entrance in heaven…so we believe. But Jesus seemed to teach and live differently.
But as you listen to Jesus and read the gospels looking for this theme, you see a completely different picture. In fact, the picture seems reversed. I am still in process with this issue and will be for some time, but a few unresolved questions popped to my mind as a result to this dream (after all, I just had the dream last night).
Have we, to a fault, idolized the “theology of faith” that was born out of the Reformation over the life and teachings of Jesus?
Do we interpret the life and teachings of Jesus through the words of Paul, John, Peter and the like, rather than interpreting Paul, John, and Peter through Jesus’s words and example?
Have we created a church culture based on “cheap grace” and/or election, where faith is all that matters?
Have we created a bar-code faith, where, come judgment, all humanity is put on a conveyer belt and God scans our brains looking for the “bar-code of faith”, those who have it are in, those who do not are out––regardless of their life lived?
Do we dismiss Jesus’ obvious teachings about obedience, deeds, and justice being paramount criteria for entrance into the Kingdom because they do not mesh with OUR theology?
Is the cost of discipleship too high or uncomfortable that we have created a system where “correct” faith and belief trump discipleship and justice?
I cannot get over this.A “faith” that does nothing literally DOES NOTHING.But a “non-faith” that does something literally DOES SOMETHING.So based on Jesus’ parables, teachings and the Gospels, which does Jesus seem to indicate God values more?
Revisit the Gospels with me and lets dialogue together…
NOTE: This is an excerpt from a journal written two years ago…YOU is referring to God/Jesus, except in the last few paragraphs. It is basically one continuous, unedited, strain of thought.
You said that you spoke and did what you saw and heard from your father in heaven saying and doing. So you came and spoke very harsh words to the church (for lack of a better word) using their language of hell against them, yet spoke words of grace, healing, and redemption to the very people they were condemning to hell. You gave blessings to the least of people, and spoke curses to those who had you nailed (no pun) down…to those who held the power of “right doctrine”. You said that there would be people who confessed with their mouth that you are “Lord, Lord” yet you would tell them to depart from you because their works, their deeds did very little, if nothing to bring your kingdom to earth (feed, cloth, visit, etc…these are your words, not the liberal’s) and that there would be people who were shocked at your judgment on them as they shake their heads saying who are you and when did we do your kingdom work, yet you would welcome them?
You told a story of a son who said the right words yet did no works (verbal confession without correct lifestyle) and another son who said all the wrong words yet did what you asked (no confession of faith, in fact, anti-confession with correct lifestyle) and you asked, which one did as his father asked? You mentioned time and time again the connection between fruit and fire. That if you do not bear fruit (right living) you will be cast away to be burned (again, interpreted as hell though it does not mention hell and might be speaking of just a life going up in smoke…there is nothing left in the end), yet we teach belief and fire, or words and fire, that if you do not believe the right thing or confess the right thing, you will be cast away to be burned (taught as eternal [eternal, never ending] suffering that of which no one, not even the worst earthly evil, would be capable of doing…even the cruelest of human inflicted suffering has an end to it). You heal, mend, forgive, grace, reconcile all who are willing and some who are not.If death’s door does bring an end to your forgiveness and mercy (meaning it is only valid to correct believe and confession before you die) then did you truly overcome death? Wouldn’t death still have a stinger? Wouldn’t death in fact have more power than even you and your mercy (which we sing about having no end)? “Sorry, I would offer you mercy because I can see your heart, your tears, your repentance, your sorrow, but bummer, you died, nothing I can do, I am powerless at this point…so off you go lad into an eternal suffering that even Hitler could not have brought you. But by the way, I love you like no other…in fact, I AM love.” Don’t you even tell us that it is your mercy that triumphs over judgment and that it is your mercy that leads to repentance? Isn’t your aim to bring reconciliation? Yet death still is taught as the final word? If judgment (interpreted as who goes to heaven and hell) was the final word to those who believed the wrong doctrine, then wouldn’t your message while on earth be a bit different? Why all the talk about right living, fruit, actions? Why all the embracement and forgiveness of “sinners”…those who haven’t a clue about right thinking (at least as far as we are concerned)? Or are you so cruel as to teach and live one thing and then in the end, flip it on its head and change what you came teaching what the father taught and did? It seems that is the message to the world that we give. God loves you, he accepts you, Jesus is awesome he hanged with sinners, forgave sinners, embraced sinners, yet don’t you dare die because that will be the end of his love, forgiveness, embrace.
Belief vs. Action. So if someone never hears about the mathematical gospel (your sins must be cancelled out by Jesus’ sacrifice, which can only happen when you believe in Him and give him your life) and yet devotes their entire life to feeding the poor, clothing the naked, caring for the sick, loving the orphan, housing the widow, speaking for those with no power or voice, saving the suffering during ethnic cleansing (you get the picture) and dies, Jesus is going to send them to eternal damnation and suffering? What’s good about that news? On the flip side, if someone hears about the gospel as professed by the majority of Christendom and believes, confesses, and gives “lordship of their life” to Jesus, they go to church, sing wonderful songs, study the Bible, memorize it, teach it, tithe, yet ignore the poor, the naked, the sick, the orphan, the widow, the powerless, the suffering…don’t lift a finger to help them (to bring God’s Kingdom to earth) and even sometimes, be part of the cause, that Jesus is going to build a mansion, bless them, open the pearly gates for eternal bliss, laughter and communion with himself simply because of their believe and lip service? Again, I ask, what is good about that news? An even more frightening question, which better describes me?As I re-read the gospels, and interpret the epistles through Jesus words and actions, not visa-versa, it paints a much different gospel. In one sense a narrower gospel, because it DOES require action, not just believe or words, yet at the same time a broader and more inclusive gospel that seems to extend much further beyond the protected realm of modern Christendom. Try this, reread the gospels and whenever Jesus mentions religious people (Pharisees, Sadducees, scribes, etc.) take the benefit of the doubt and read it humbly as if it is referring to current religious people (you and me included). Whenever he mentions sinners, read it as if it is referring to whom we/you would consider sinners (for this practice, exclude yourself from this list, though theologically we believe we are sinners, just sinners who believe the right thing). What do you see? What changes?
Most Recent Comments