Reflections on a Sunday Afternoon

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.