Sunday, February 27, 2011

The Transcending One

Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor? Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid? For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. - From Romans Ch. 11

Lately, I've been amazed at how God transcends mankind. Our attempts to pin him down are futile.

I do not mean to deny that we can have a relationship with God. Just the opposite - I believe that we can, but I think that a necessary first step to having a real relationship with him is to realize how unique he is. It's similar to how I have to understand that my wife is different from me in order for me to enjoy a relationship with her.

In particular, one must realize that it is impossible to judge God. Under what standard would you judge him? Would you rely on your experience as an expert on how gods are required to behave? Impossible. We don't even have an analogy that comes close.

The best we've got is the concept of ownership - generally, a property owner has the right to do what he wants with his property, provided that he doesn't violate the law that he is subject to. But who ever heard of a man owning the entire universe, including the very concepts of law, justice, and goodness? Similarly, we might consider how parents generally have the right to control their kids as long as they don't do anything that most decent parents wouldn't do. But how do you determine how a decent creator should control his creation?

I always have to laugh a little when I hear someone try to limit God with an absurd hypothesis like, "If God exists, he should..." The moment you assume that there is a God, even if only for the sake of argument, you have to realize that nothing can logically follow the word "should" because it is coming from your mouth. Last time I checked, you and I were not qualified to explain what an omnicompetent being should be doing.

It doesn't sound like a fair debate, does it? Well, it isn't. Not if we assume that there is a God. But by God's grace, we can know him and enjoy his company.

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Where Do You Abide?

So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:31-32

I had a conversation recently with Ryan Conlon where we talked about what it means to "abide" in the word of Christ. It caused me to think of other things in my life that I would claim to abide in. The most common example I thought of is where I live. My home. And I realized that this is a very important aspect of life today. When we meet someone for the first time one of the first questions we ask is usually about where they live. It is something that we use to define a person. Were do they live? Where is it that they call home? Where do they remain or dwell? Where do they continue to return to? Where do they "abide." And ideally, this place that we abide in is a place of comfort, a place of safety, a place where we start almost every single single day. It is no wonder that having someone break into your home is such a traumatizing experience for some. Their source of comfort and security was broken in to. The place they abide in was compromised.

But Jesus tells us to abide in his word. His word should be the place of comfort, the place of peace, the place where the rest of our life is based out of. It should be the foundation of our lives, the place we can rest from the outside world and the place where we can gain strength and courage to take on the challenges of each day. I often wonder how often I abide somewhere other then the word of Christ. How often do I base my life on something else and only look to the word of Christ when I absolutely need to or when it is convenient to do so? Jesus wants us to completely base our life on his word. He wants i to be the source of our lives. The question we have to ask is what stands in the way of this happening and how do we deal with it?

But one thing is certain, if we abide in the word of Christ it will change our lives and give us a foundation on life that will never be broken. How do we know this? Because Jesus says so.

"Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock." Matthew 7:24-25

Sunday, February 13, 2011

Where's the fun in being the new man?

17 This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest ofd]">[d] the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, 18 having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart; 19 who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.
20 But you have not so learned Christ, 21 if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: 22 that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, 2324 and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.
and be renewed in the spirit of your mind,
A week ago, we had a discussion in our bible study regarding the significance of 'putting off the old man' and 'putting on our new selves'. Paul is quite obvious as to the meaning of these phrases; we should no longer indulge in the sinful lives we inhabited before Christ, but should strive to live in holiness and Godliness. As Christians then, we are called by God to live a different lifestyle than many of our un-Christian friends. And undoubtedly, as those friends see our different behavior and mannerisms, they inquire as to the cause and purpose of such a lifestyle. Undoubtedly, it is good that they see the difference Christ has made in our lives, but do they understand why?

To Christians, the reward for living without these indulgences and sinful passions is inherently obvious. Our continued fellowship with God and Christ, and the benefits that come from such should far outweigh the fleeting pleasure gained from sinful activities. However, for the non-Christian, a life without the joys of partying, sex, drugs and other vices seems empty, hollow, devoid of life and fun. And for many, the idea of sacrificing such 'pleasures' for the intangible promise of eternity seems a bit far-fetched. However, when non-Christians survey the benefits and sacrifices of faith in Christ, what they notice is those sacrifices, not the benefits.

The challenge then, in presenting the gospel to someone, is showing them why the new man is much more appealing. When asked by a non-Christian why we don't partake in certain behaviors, do we simply answer with a, "Because I'm a Christian," or do we explain that our fellowship with God makes those things seem joyless and fruitless to us? The Christian faith is not a legalist one, or something based on works, but is about a relationship with Christ, a relationship that changes our wants and desires. And if we expect that the people we talk to will find value in that relationship, we need to explain that our abstinence from certain things isn't based on an arbitrary set of rights and wrongs, but because we have a direct connection to the God who gave everything for us. The 'fun' in being the new man is that we have contact with the God of the universe, who loves us and cares for us unconditionally. And compared to that, what could bring more joy?

Now, we simply must find a way to show that joy to those who have yet to find it.

Saturday, February 5, 2011

A Frightening Relationship?

"Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure." -Philippians 2:12-13

A recent conversation I had with Seth Evans on this passage brought me to a different understanding of these verses than what I had before. Although I don't actually remember if I ever had a good understanding of these verses in the first place. I always wondered why I should be afraid and trembling as I looked to "work out my salvation" by developing a deeper relationship with Christ. What is frightening about getting to know Christ, my Savior and Lord, better than I did before? Shouldn't this be a wonderful, joyous experience? And if so, could it be both joyous and frightening?

The answer is yes, it can be both. And I realized that in order to really feel the full extent of the joy that is possible in a relationship with Christ that I must experience the fightening apsects of the relationship as well. How does this work? The Lord wants to be at the center of our lives every day, behind every decision that we make. However, we still have to make the choice to give him control, look to do his will, and put our trust in him. This is why pursuing a relationship with Christ can produce so much "fear and trembling." Giving someone else control over our lives can be a very difficult and frightening experience but it is a necessary step to deepen our relationship with Christ. And the more faith we have in Christ the easier it becomes to trust him with our lives.

Finally, Paul makes it clear in this passage that this is a personal process. He says to "work out your OWN salvation" and he urges them to do this when he is no longer there. Why is this important? Paul wants them to look to Christ and trust in him first and foremost. Sometimes I know that when I finally do give up control of one aspect of my life that I immediately look to others to copy their behavior. Obviously, the examples of others can be very helpful in our walk with Christ but it can only take us so far. Eventually, we need to look to Christ and put our trust in him instead of ourselves or our fellow believers. Eventually, we need to obey Christ because we our close enough to him to KNOW that it is what he wants, instead of obeying simply because it is the "right" thing to do or because someone else is doing it. Only then will we truly start to experience the most wonderful and joyous life possible on this earth, the experience of a true relationship with Jesus Christ.