There is a game called "Life", but life is not a game.
We have one run. We better not be wrong.
Once we have "found it", (or shouldn't we more accurately say that "it found us"?) we must remember that coming to grips with the fact that we were lost, and ADMITTING it openly, was not a lot of fun and was in fact extremely humbling.
Who wants to admit that they were:
1. Wrong
2. Lost
3. Blind
4. Evil
5. Trapped
6. Ignorant (maybe even willfully)
NO ONE!
When God finally gets a hold of us, and we accept that we are not God (nor are any type of god), and we can not save ourselves, and our own works are nothing more than soiled rags, we have turned a corner in life that many... er, rather most of us will never do.
If we are fortunate enough to come to this realization, we must never forget this, because it is nothing more than Christ in us after that. When we share this with others, we must avoid the SNL characterization of the "church lady" who is a "little bit better than you!!" We are NOT a little bit better than anyone else. We are simply sinners, just like everyone else.
I am fond of the word picture presented by the concept of being "One hungry beggar, showing other hungry beggars where to find bread!"
1 Corinthians 4:20-21 (New Living Translation)
20 For the Kingdom of God is not just a lot of talk; it is living by God’s power. 21 Which do you choose? Should I come with a rod to punish you, or should I come with love and a gentle spirit?
Hebrews 5:2 (New Living Translation)
2 And he is able to deal gently with ignorant and wayward people because he himself is subject to the same weaknesses.
Are we able to deal GENTLY with those who are not where we are at, in our walk with Christ?
Do we come across as angry and vile people, or people of Galatians 5:
Galatians 5:22-23 (New International Version)
22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness and self-control.
Who are we to blast others? Even if we are to reproof and rebuke someone in error, or in sin, we must do it as God has done it to us, if not gentler.
Even if we have come to saving faith, we are still subject to:
1 Corinthians 13:9 (New International Version)
9For we know in part and we prophesy in part,
I watch and observe many discussions between different factions in the church such as:
Catholic v Protestant, Calvinism v Arminianism, etc...
God does not need defending, too often we want to have a good fight about Jesus, and forget to share Jesus. If we have been entrusted with truth, then preach it louder and more often than that which we disagree with, rather than fall into battles on words, for we are warned:
2 Timothy 2:14 (New International Version)
14... Warn them before God against quarreling about words; it is of no value, and only ruins those who listen.In the wise words of a professor of mine in Bible College, Dr. Don Meyer,
"Reading books other than the Bible on theology is a lot like eating chicken. You must always learn to pick the meat from the bones, so you eat the meat, but don't choke on the bones!"
Especially in regard to Calvinism v Arminianism, I recently came across:
"The Bible gives us a theology which is more human than Calvinism, and more divine than Arminianism, and more Christian than either of them"
- Dr. David J. Hesselgrave
Rather than entirely dismiss an author's work, pick up on what we can learn. This does not dismiss the importance of discernment, and knowing what to and what not to "eat" as we read!
When we have truly submitted to the fact that in this life it is only Christ in me that counts, and NOT me, then we can face ANYTHING that comes our way.
ReplyDeleteI know there is a a lot of controversy around Rob Bell, but this statement from his facebook profile on suffering was enlightening:
"We plot, we plan, we assume things are going to go a certain way, and then they don’t, and we find ourselves in a new place, a place we haven’t been before, a place we never would have imagined on our own.
And so it was difficult and unexpected and maybe even tragic and yet it opened us up and freed us to see things in a whole new way.
Suffering does that— It hurts, But it also creates.
How many of the most significant moments in your life came not because it all went right, but because it all fell apart?
It’s strange how there can be art in the agony…"
Psalm 33:18, "But the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love..."
ReplyDeleteHow can we "hope" in God's unfailing love? That is a question that many people ask.
This is especially the case after a painful loss of a loved one, or other difficult situation in life that either makes us "bitter" or "better".
I know it can be cliche, but if we really trust Christ, if we really understand who we are, and who we are not in this life, we can graduate from asking, "Why me?" to asking "Why not me?"
The second question can sound crazy, especially in the face of the toughest of life circumstances. However, no matter what the cost, we must count HIM worthy even if what is going on in our lives doesn't seem to make sense at any given moment.
When we look at characters like Joseph in the Old Testament, Paul and Silas in the New Testament and people who were martyred or just imprisoned and treated unfairly due to their faith, we are not alone in our suffering. Take Job, God allowed him to be tested, and I can only trust in the grace and mercy of God that I would be able to withstand the pain and agony of his losses and afflictions without losing faith. Only God in me could withstand that, because in and of myself, I know I couldn't.