There is perhaps not a better time to reflect on life than a Sunday afternoon. So here we are.
Jesus never takes from us anything we do not freely give. If we think we have given him something, but do it unwillingly, out of our guilt, he does not recieve it. He cannot. Nothing given in such a sense has been given at all. If I, for example, know I must submit to Him when it comes to how I spend my money, but I initially do so religiously rather than cheerfully (as a Pharisee, not a widow), it does no good for my relationship to God. And whatever committment I make under such a pretense will inevitably fizzle out, knowing it was not from my heart.
My point is this - we can keep our lives, or any part of our lives, and run them how we would like. We can choose to make choices to benefit ourselves, and ignore what God may ask of us. We can choose to make our own path to happiness. But we make a mistake in thinking that we have avoided selling out to religion or loosing ourselves in the process. For any part of our life that we jealously grasp, unwilling to change or release, we forfeit the possibility of having that part of ourselves made whole by the One who created it.
If there is one misconception of knowing Jesus that I would desperately like to shatter, it is this: that being a Christian is the same as being religious and following rules - that it is another way to hamper freedom and enjoyment to appease guilt. It is in fact simply learning from Jesus who we are as humans, and how to order ourselves - our thoughts, feelings, body, social dynamics, and souls - so that our relationship with reality as a whole - who we are, our human condition, how to relate to ourselves and eachother - can be harmonious. When Jesus asks us to follow Him, when He stands at the door of our hearts and knocks, He does so knowing our desparate condition apart from Him. He also knocks, possessing in Himself the absolute ability and desire to make us whole.
If we really believe as Christians should according to scripture, that our lives are lost causes until we find our rest in our Creator, then we will not view our relationship to God as a burden. In fact, our relationship to God will no longer be confined to "Bible reading and prayer". It will in fact be life, and all of it.
If submission and relationship to our Creator is the path to life, then life apart from Him, and actions against His divine commands will inevitably spell woundedness and death for us. How could souls cut themselves off from their Creator, the source of all life, and expect to flourish? ("For with You is the fountain of life"-Psalm 36, "...those who seek the Lord lack no good thing."-Psalm 34)
Listen to the words of Dallas Willard:
"We think we are 'big enough' to take our life into our own hands and disobey, instead of 'humbling ourselves under the mighty hand of God.' And this will certainly be driven by the thought that if we do not take things into our own hands, we will not get what we want - another blow to our pride. Our attitude should be, to the contrary, that there is no particular reason why I should get what I want, because I am not in charge of the universe.
The understanding of all this no doubt lies back of the warning from Peter: 'abstain from fleshly lusts, which wage war against the soul' (1 Peter 2:11). How do fleshly lusts war against the soul? Very simply, by enticing us to uproot our dependent life, pulling it away from God, which will deprive our soul of what it needs to function correctly in the enlivening and regulation of our whole being."
I wonder as I write this, how many people are interested in their soul? How many people care about God - whether He exists, what He might require...(perhaps the first question is often ignored in fear of the second question.) It occurrs to me, however, that although many people would consider themselves to be very unreligious, and uninterested in said religion, they daily partake in the process of feeding, soothing, trying to care for and prop up their wounded soul. It is life itself - we get up every day and pursue that which we believe gives us the best chance of feeling good, of prospering and flourshing, of becoming well and whole.
That is the misconception I wish could be broken - that God does not desire something good for you, only for you to follow rules and avoid His wrath. Indeed God's law - His ideals for us, are life giving:
Psalm 19:
7 The law of the LORD is perfect,
refreshing the soul.
The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy,
making wise the simple.
8 The precepts of the LORD are right,
giving joy to the heart.
The commands of the LORD are radiant,
giving light to the eyes.
9 The fear of the LORD is pure,
enduring forever.
The decrees of the LORD are firm,
and all of them are righteous.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Friday, January 7, 2011
Puddle Water and Poison
Here I am for the first entry in 2011! I fully intended for this to happen sooner. In fact, I wanted to do an entry before New Years. But alas, time slips away.
So here I sit, listening to Haste the Day, my new favorite band.
So, what have I been thinking about lately? Always, too much to list. Everyday life has so much to teach us, if we will listen, if we don't resist every hard thing but see them as God does.
I watched the newest Chronicles of Narnia installment, Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Purely from a movie standpoint, it was good, not great. But from the perspective of my faith, and understanding the pictures put into the story by C.S. Lewis, it was intense and meaningful. There are so many aspects of his storytelling that cut right to the heart, not only of the human condition but of Christ and the gospel.
Perhaps the most vivid image I took away is the changed face of Eustace. For those that don't know the story, he is a stuck up, selfish, confused boy to begin with. But after coming face to face with the weight of his own sin and also being given a second chance from Aslan, he is utterly changed. Near the end of the movie, he gives a shy grin to one of his cousins, and it speaks volumes of the change in his heart. You must understand the person he was before though. He was dominated by his own pride and ignorant self-importance. He is one of the most distasteful portrayals of human personality and character I've ever seen. It is what makes his transformation all the more compelling. It is clear Eustace will never be the same - it would be impossible.
That is the sign of meeting Christ - a countenance of humility, openness, and love. He is truly "the light that gives light to every man". (John 1:9) As David puts it, "In Your light we see light." (Psalm 36) It is in this light we understand the necessity of denying ourselves for our own good - the one who wants to have their cake and eat it too (a phrase becoming increasingly fitting to describe the shift in modern thinking regarding right and wrong) is doomed to the same unhappy fate as the rich young ruler - we must leave, possessions in hand, and misery in our hearts knowing that we do not possess the one treasure worth giving up everything to have.
"Wisdom is supreme; therefore get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding." (Proverbs 4:7) "The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field." (Matthew 13:44)
Eustace's vice was wealth. He stumbled on a cursed stash of hidden treasure, and became poisoned by it - it possessed him, and turned him into a beast. Ironically, that is really how our treasures here affect us! We cannot possess them for very long, in very great an amount, without them beginning to possess and poison us! They are equally decieving and equally damaging as in Narnia, and they turn us into equally ugly beasts when the dark transformation is complete.
Listen to the words of Isaiah, and consider whether releasing some of that treasure could even be called a loss.
Isaiah 55
Invitation to the Thirsty
1 “Come, all you who are thirsty,
come to the waters;
and you who have no money,
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without cost.
2 Why spend money on what is not bread,
and your labor on what does not satisfy?
Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good,
and you will delight in the richest of fare.
3 Give ear and come to me;
listen, that you may live.
Our Creator has given us the choice. As Matthew Henry put it, "we must part with our puddle-water, nay, with our poison, that we may procure this wine and milk." We cannot have both. But we can have what is by far the best.
So here I sit, listening to Haste the Day, my new favorite band.
So, what have I been thinking about lately? Always, too much to list. Everyday life has so much to teach us, if we will listen, if we don't resist every hard thing but see them as God does.
I watched the newest Chronicles of Narnia installment, Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Purely from a movie standpoint, it was good, not great. But from the perspective of my faith, and understanding the pictures put into the story by C.S. Lewis, it was intense and meaningful. There are so many aspects of his storytelling that cut right to the heart, not only of the human condition but of Christ and the gospel.
Perhaps the most vivid image I took away is the changed face of Eustace. For those that don't know the story, he is a stuck up, selfish, confused boy to begin with. But after coming face to face with the weight of his own sin and also being given a second chance from Aslan, he is utterly changed. Near the end of the movie, he gives a shy grin to one of his cousins, and it speaks volumes of the change in his heart. You must understand the person he was before though. He was dominated by his own pride and ignorant self-importance. He is one of the most distasteful portrayals of human personality and character I've ever seen. It is what makes his transformation all the more compelling. It is clear Eustace will never be the same - it would be impossible.
That is the sign of meeting Christ - a countenance of humility, openness, and love. He is truly "the light that gives light to every man". (John 1:9) As David puts it, "In Your light we see light." (Psalm 36) It is in this light we understand the necessity of denying ourselves for our own good - the one who wants to have their cake and eat it too (a phrase becoming increasingly fitting to describe the shift in modern thinking regarding right and wrong) is doomed to the same unhappy fate as the rich young ruler - we must leave, possessions in hand, and misery in our hearts knowing that we do not possess the one treasure worth giving up everything to have.
"Wisdom is supreme; therefore get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding." (Proverbs 4:7) "The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field." (Matthew 13:44)
Eustace's vice was wealth. He stumbled on a cursed stash of hidden treasure, and became poisoned by it - it possessed him, and turned him into a beast. Ironically, that is really how our treasures here affect us! We cannot possess them for very long, in very great an amount, without them beginning to possess and poison us! They are equally decieving and equally damaging as in Narnia, and they turn us into equally ugly beasts when the dark transformation is complete.
Listen to the words of Isaiah, and consider whether releasing some of that treasure could even be called a loss.
Isaiah 55
Invitation to the Thirsty
1 “Come, all you who are thirsty,
come to the waters;
and you who have no money,
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without cost.
2 Why spend money on what is not bread,
and your labor on what does not satisfy?
Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good,
and you will delight in the richest of fare.
3 Give ear and come to me;
listen, that you may live.
Our Creator has given us the choice. As Matthew Henry put it, "we must part with our puddle-water, nay, with our poison, that we may procure this wine and milk." We cannot have both. But we can have what is by far the best.
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