Jesus the Solution?

I've been doing some thinking and reading and think that I have come up with one reason that so many people accept Christ and then do nothing else with their lives. I think it may, in part, be due to the manner in which we present the Gospel. We have, historically, just presented Jesus as the Solution to our 'problem' as humans. So people accept Christ and then their 'problem' is solved and He is filed away in some box. Please don't get me wrong, I believe that Christ did come to earth to die for our salvation. But is Christ not so much more than that? He desires to live with us on a daily basis...to hear our worries and desires...to hold us when are upset or celebrate when we achieve success. I heard someone recently speak about how when the church first began it was not known as Christianity, it was simply The Way. Christ came to show us the way to live.

When the woman in Scripture with the bleeding problem touched the edge of Jesus' robe, she was healed. But Jesus was not content to stop there. He told her to, "Go in peace." But the Hebrew understanding of peace was not just the absence of strife or conflict. It was a filling of God's presence. So not only did Jesus heal her, He told her to be filled with the presence of God and live that way. How would the world look differently if every Christ follower were to live as if filled with the presence of God? In my last post, I rethought the meaning of the Ten Commandments that God gave Moses and it seems to me that they echo what Christ taught...love God and love people. If we follow these two goals, I believe that it is impossible for us to disobey God.

The Ten Commandments?

I think oftentimes we struggle with aligning our lives to Christ because all we typically see is a big list of don'ts. But what if we examine Scripture in a slightly different way and try to see what God was really saying to us through those 'rules'?

1. Love God with your thoughts.
2. Love God with your eyes.
3. Love God with your words.
4. Love God with your time.
5. Love your parents.
6. Love other people and cherish life.
7. Love your spouse and cherish them.
8. Respect OPP.
9. Love your neighbor.
10. Respect your neighbor.

I mean, honestly, is that such an exhaustive list of things that we need to do? But therein lies the beauty of it. We don't have to. It's a choice. All God is trying to do, it seems like to me, is show us how best to live together with Him and others. Just my thoughts.

I wonder...

For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.

Matthew 11:30

When Jesus refers to his yoke being easy and his burden light, he was referring to the things that he did not permit.

During the Old Testament a Jewish rabbi's list of rules and his interpretation of how to live out the Torah were called his yoke.

So Jesus' list of rules is easy? Love God and love people. Period.

I wonder sometimes if we aren't more in love with the Bible and the idea of being a 'perfect' Christian than we are living out the call to love people. I wonder what this world would look like if we would begin to walk the road that Christ did and become servants to those around us. How the world react if it saw us like that? I remember when I was in high school and so fanatical in my beliefs that I would seek out arguments to 'prove' my point and 'prove' that Christ was who he said he was rather than show others the love that I had been shown. I wonder if that would not have gotten my point across more clearly. I wonder if its odd that we never see Christ get mad at 'sinners'. It's only the religious leaders that try to oppress the 'sinners' and use their faith to benefit themselves that we see Christ show true anger. I wonder why so many Christians in the church fear questions and don't attempt to figure out their faith. After all, scripture is, for the most part, open ended and free to our interpretation. It is when we look at the whole of scripture as being concrete that we begin to brow beat our brothers and sisters that have not yet been redeemed. I wonder if we should not ask God to see them as he does and give us the compassion to love them as he does. I wonder what that would look like?

Unfair Love

All the persons of faith I know are sinners, doubters, uneven performers. We are secure not because we are sure of ourselves but because we trust that God is sure of us.

"...I know Christ loves me, but I'm not sure he likes me..."

God's love and grace is not fair...so our love and grace should not be fair. Right? God loved us while we were still sinners (Rom 5:8). Christ continued to pray for those who were hanging him even while they jeered at and spit on him. I have lived much of my life surrounded by the walls of my pain and never allowing anyone inside. It took the best man I know to tear those walls down and help me to live completely open to the storms, but I was also open to the sun and the beauty that surrounds us.

It pains me to see so many people in this world living behind their walls because they are afraid of being hurt again. I don't know what it would take to tear those walls down except for them to see someone living the life unhindered and free. Authentic lives as E put it. Because we all are hurt in some way, it doesn't matter how or to what extreme. The simple fact that we all hurt places us all on equal footing. We all are broken and we all need each other. I hope that I can continue to live my life free with arms wide open no matter what may come.

The Christian Life?

And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common; and they began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need.

Acts 2:44-45

Why is it that in America Socialism seems to be a blacklisted word? I'm not talking about government owning everything. I'm talking we each have what we have and freely give it to one another. I wonder if sometimes we don't give to one another because we don't think that person/group deserves it. Or do we worry that if we give freely that we'll be taken advantage of? We were talking in our small group tonight about this passage of Scripture and just reflecting on the fact that it's so rare to see true community anymore. I wonder if it's because we are so caught up on our own importance that we fail to see the needs of our brothers and sisters surrounding us. What if we were to look at each other from the perspective that we are all undeserving anyway? Could we not then freely give to one another without a single thought of what we can get out of it or if they will ever repay us? What if we were to give without reservation to one another? How much would the love of Christ be displayed in our day to day lives?

I wish that our lives were not so dependent on financial ties and that we could be free to just live our lives in love and freedom. That we could experience the wonder of who God is on a daily basis without having to live with the stresses of this world. Chad spoke this morning about whether or not we were ready for Christ to come. I have many things that I would like to do (be the father I never had, climb a mountain, love again) but my heart still yearns to be with God for eternity with no other purpose than to live in His glory and worship the One. I wonder what is keeping each of us from being ready? If Christ were to come tonight, would your heart be filled with joy or sadness?

I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 3:16

Faithfulness, Not Success

"The spiritual life is not a life of success, it is a life of faithfulness, and it's not easy."

We are talking about temptation at REMIX for our ending series and we touched on the fact last night that temptation is unavoidable. And the messy truth is that we ARE going to fail sometimes. But this does not mean that we should just give up because we are going to fail. Spiritual growth happens when we fail and continue trying to live the life we are called by Christ to live. Jesus didn't live among the successful to heal them. He got down with the normal people in society to call them up. They still failed throughout their lifetimes, but their general direction was pointed to Christ. I think so many times, we as Christians, put the majority of the burden on ourselves or on others (to make ourselves feel better) rather than accepting that we are FREE in Christ...to sin or not to sin. "You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free." What an awesome statement to know that we are free to live our lives HOWEVER we want. We are free to choose the life of service and worship. We are free to choose the life of messing up and stumbling. I know the life that I want, but I am not forced into it. I can choose it even when it seems like I have nothing else to give.

God, I think, lets us fail because it is in these times that we give up and turn to Him. It is in these moments that we realize our own insignificance and can sit in wonder at how awesome our God is. I wonder, when is the last time that you took the time to just rest? I think that the greatest hindrance to spiritual growth is busyness. Sure you're involved in every ministry that your church has to offer, but when was the last time that you just stepped back and let God wash over you?

Awesome Day

I am so glad it rained today!!! I woke up this morning and laid in bed thinking about the people that I had hurt and wondering why it is often harder to forgive yourself than someone else (at least I think it is). I got up and set on with my day and while at church it started pouring down rain. I went out and starting helping people inside with my umbrella and got soaked. As I was walking into the service a few songs came to mind (Imagine Me, Washed by the Water), and I began to think how often we look at a rainy day as dreary and depressing. Yet I think that we forget that the water is there to wash away the junk on the earth. That God can use the storms in our lives to wash away our false selves and help us to see who we are underneath, loved and cherished children of the God in heaven.

I was speaking with a good friend of mine over the weekend at Rivers & Spires and he asked me how I was. Not the kind that you make to people in passing and don't really want a true answer. He was genuinely interested in how I was doing. Praise God that I could answer fantastic. I truly have been washed by the water of the last year and I can see now that I have been able to come out clean on the other side and have a hunger and passion for God that I have not felt in a very, very long time.

Think about it the next time that it rains, think about what you need washed away and praise God that He is giving us the opportunity to be cleansed everyday.