A God Like Jesus

I can never get over the “otherness” of the Gospel.  It is so improbable that there would be a God this kind.  Even the most wishful of thinkers wouldn’t have had the gall to assume that there was a God like Jesus.  It’s like a Hollywood actor, snot-covered and crying his eyes out on the street corner, desperate to win the heart of a wasted drug addict.  Like a courtroom judge, begging that he could be sentenced to prison, instead of the hardened criminal on trial.

The God proclaimed by Jesus on the cross has no sense of dignity.  He doesn’t seem to understand the superiority that belongs to his title.  He is so out of touch as to not even feel embarrassed to suffer at the hands of the humanity he loves so much.  Doesn’t he have any self-respect?  Can’t he see that the people he love just aren’t that into him?

What a beautiful revelation!  In Jesus, we discover that the primary attributes of God are not his bigness or his strength, but his undying devotion to his wandering children.  HE IS steadfast love that penetrates every barrier.  HE IS relentless passion that would rather drown in our sorrows with us than leave us to fight alone.  HE IS undying hope because if love is willing to be crushed for his beloved, what possible danger could ever tear us apart?

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“Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.  But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.”

Isaiah 53:4-5

King in the Mud

It never gets old.  A King who acts like a Servant.  A God who loves the weakest.  A Saviour who welcomes children. 

An earthly person of importance thinks that they deserve to be treated with extra respect because they are important.  God lives out his importance by refusing the pedestal and staying down in the mud with his beloved.  The world thinks that the strong deserve control and dominance.  God uses his strength to empower the weak.

We could go around telling people, “God is really important!  He is worthy of your worship.  You must worship him because he is glorious!”  But our God’s glory is so humble!  His importance so practical!  He doesn’t mean for us to get caught up in abstractions and worship him because we know he is the biggest and the best.  He is too busy living out his nature by loving his children.  He is a comfort to the brokenhearted, hope to those in despair, a light to those who have lost their way.  Absolutely he is glorious, but it is his nearness and humility that display his glory better than a crown!

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“You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them.  It shall not be so among you.  But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”  Matthew 20:25-28

Always Food

I’m back!  I haven’t written in a long time…not since the birth of my youngest son who is now almost 10 months old!  The addition of my son has added a lot of joy, but also taken a lot of energy and focus away from writing.  I have been waiting for a return to normalcy (whatever that is) so that I can start writing again, but it finally dawned on me that that isn’t going to happen.  Instead, I’m going to embrace the new normal.  I’m going to write what I can as often as I can, and I’m going to give up my perfectionism and click the “publish” button whether I think it’s good enough for public consumption or not.  I don’t know what will come of it, but hopefully something real and beneficial to my readers.  I hope you enjoy!

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There is always nourishment in Jesus. I forget that sometimes. Especially when I let my mind wander for too long on theological problems and abstract questions. I will start getting bored of the technicalities spinning through my head and will project that boredom onto the underlying truth that all those words are trying to express. “Jesus loves me”.  I know. “He is always with me”.  I know that.  Blah, blah, blah.

What a beautiful escape it is to surrender the mental toil, the attempts to explain, the questions and paradoxes, and simply breathe the truth. Let it in. Let it out. This isn’t a mind game. The gospel is not a psychological theory. It isn’t a self-improvement seminar. It is a living, breathing reality. It is the image of the invisible God, made known to man. It is the revelation of Emanuel, God with us.

Something births in my soul every time I remember. Every time I drink of mercy. Every time I taste that He is here. Truly here. When I awaken to his realness, his invasive goodness. Jesus is good food. Jesus is good drink. He is hope. He is purpose. He is life.

Where Sin Abounds

“but where sin increased, grace was carefully balanced with teachings of God’s judgment and fear of condemnation in order to ensure that repentance was genuine” – Romans 5:20…oh wait, that’s not what it says!

 

Romans 5:20 actually says, “…but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more…”

 

This is confusing to our way of thinking. As humans, most of us have learned to use whatever power we have in order to manipulate other people’s behavior. Parents withhold privileges from children, bosses threaten to fire employees, and friends threaten the relationship itself (“If you don’t _______ I’ll never talk to you again.”) all in the name of changing the other person’s behavior. And since God has all the power, we would assume that he would know how to use it to get what he wants. But that’s not God’s way!

 

John 13:3-5 (ESV) says,

 

“Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him.” (emphasis my own)

 

It is exactly in the place of knowing who he is and how much power he has that Jesus chooses to be a servant. Rather than using his position to control our behavior, he loves us in our frailty. He humbly approaches even our most embarrassing weaknesses, not to condemn, but to wash away our shame.

 

This type of love offends. This type of love confuses. This type of love draws all of God’s children back to their loving Father — a Father who will never leverage their relationship in order to control, but who will always give of himself until you are made whole.

Risen!

We must embrace what the resurrection communicates. It is not an event that is best memorialized by a special Sunday service. It is an event that is best honored through lives that have internalized its message.

In the resurrection we learn that;

a) Even our worst sin (killing God in the flesh) can not derail God from his redemptive purpose.  In the crucifixion, we discovered that God loves us to death (see Romans 5:6-8)…but what hope is there in a kind but dead God?  While the cross revealed his love, the resurrection reveals his power.  Even a dead God cannot be stopped from returning to life and accomplishing his purposes!

b) The death of the body is not the end of hope, but only the beginning.  Everybody fears death.  Everybody!  But in the resurrection, we discover God’s mastery over death.  It proves that the eventual loss of our own lives is not the conclusion that it appears to be.  It shows that even the darkest of circumstances are no match for the power of God to work all things together for our good!

c) There is no need to fight evil with evil. Jesus chose the weak way of “not resisting those who are evil” (Matthew 5:39). When his more pragmatic disciple, Peter, attacked one of Jesus’ captors (no doubt hoping a little bit of force could salvage God’s failing plan) Jesus rebuked him and healed the soldier’s wound. Jesus chose goodness even when it proved impossibly weak; even when it meant surrendering all of the territory that could have been his. He trusted God to breathe new life into all of the things that his own unbending goodness required him to lay down. In the resurrection, Jesus proves all of our “necessary” evils to be utterly unnecessary. It turns out that we do not need swords and violence in order to build or maintain our foothold in the world. We only need hearts that trust our good, good Father to pick up all of the pieces that our love requires us to lay down.

Jesus finished work declares to us that we are loved, we are chosen, and we are in the care of the God for whom death is no match. What reason is there to remain in fear?  Let’s open our hearts to trust in his love, trust in his power, and trust in his ability to resurrect all of the good that has been left for dead.

He is risen!

Why the Cross?

 

It doesn’t matter what culture you are from; the cross is strange and offensive. To those accustomed to the rigors of advancement under a religious hierarchy, the cross is offensive because it allows the people who DON’T EVEN CARE about holiness to have immediate access to God.

To those whose brand of spirituality is more abstract or philosophical, it is offensive for its violence and extreme measures. I mean, is it really necessary for God to suffer a violent death in order to redeem us? Surely we weren’t in such a terrible place as to warrant such extreme action! And surely the real God would have more self-respect than to humble himself to death on a cross…especially for people so ignorant as to hate him!

While the cross doesn’t cease to offend the thought patterns that dominate the world, it is only in the painful death of God that one thing could be made abundantly clear. God loves us.

He could have just let his voice boom from heaven and tell us that he loves us…but is that really enough for us to go on? Does humanity have a good track record for taking God at his word?  What if we miss heard him? What if he really loved only the people who were present to hear him? What if his love was just for a certain period of time? I’m sure you’ve seen enough debates over scripture to agree with me; when our faith is defined by words in human language, any number of scenarios could pop up to unravel our faith. Even if God made the perfect sermon to explain his heart towards us, in the process of time the meaning would be muddied enough to make room for doubt.

But while words can never be clear enough to erase all doubt, there is a language in which God speaks that does prove strong enough for our faith. It is the language of love. The fact remains, there is no scenario that is more disgusting or damning for mankind than for us to murder God in the flesh.  I know some people today are pretty disturbed by what they perceive to be the downward spiral of our society — but do we honestly think that sexual confusion and irreverent attitudes are a worse evil than killing God?

Jesus came giving us God’s best, healing the sick, welcoming the outcasts, and forgiving the wicked.  Then we murdered him!  There can be no greater crime, and therefore no better time for God to reveal his righteous judgment.  And reveal it he did.  He said, “forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing”.  And when he finally breathed his last and the earth began to quake, it was not his murderers that were torn in two, but the temple curtains that were intended to keep God separate from a sinful world.  Our greatest crime ended in forgiveness and an outpouring of God’s presence.

If he could forgive the people who murdered God, what possible barrier could stop him from forgiving you?

The cross is God’s Good News to a confused world. It is not a theologically sophisticated act, but a declaration that there is no limit to his love for us. He is absolutely determined to absolve us of guilt. How offensive! But oh, how wonderful!

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For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.  For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. –Romans 5:6-8 (ESV)

Can The World Be Saved?

Take it from someone who has struggled with depression and anxiety for much of his life: There is SO MUCH HOPE!

The madness of our age is the blindness of our own eyes to see the potential in humanity. It is fashionable in Christian circles to look out on the masses and be overwhelmed by the sin and confusion and pain. Sad headshakes and weary “if only” statements are as commonplace as saying “amen” to end a prayer. Though rarely expressed in words, our pessimism would suggest that the victory of the cross is a loss-reduction strategy at best. As if the cross has no power to redeem and rescue, but merely to forestall the inevitable disappointment and destruction of all but a few. In our neutered gospel it would seem that the first Adam has retained his right to define humanity, while the second Adam has been commissioned to make a big show but little difference. This is a far cry from Romans 5, which portrays the new Adam as being of far greater consequence than the first Adam. In verses 17-18 it proclaims,

“For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, MUCH MORE will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.

Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for ALL MEN, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for ALL MEN.” (emphasis my own)

2 Corinthians 5:14-16a says,

“For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for ALL, therefore ALL have died; and he died for ALL, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.

From now on, therefore, we regard NO ONE according to the flesh…”

It’s time for us to stop predicting what only our natural eyes can see. Yes, there are dangers and there is darkness, but there is also something greater.

When the Israelites saw only a harsh desert, God saw the place where he would give water, food, provision, and direction to his people. When Jesus’ disciples saw only two small fish and five loaves of bread, God saw a feast that would feed the multitudes.

So today when we look at the challenges of our age, let’s see them through the lens of redemption. Let’s look at the world around us not as hopelessly lost, but as already found and included. Let’s learn to declare these unseen realities to our own souls, and let’s learn to declare them to the world. Redemption is not finished with us yet. Not by a long shot!

Hope for the New Year

It’s almost the new year! This is a time where many of us set goals for our lives. You may anticipate this to be the year where you finally achieve success (however you may define that word). Maybe this is the year where you finally get in shape, finally kick that bad habit, or finally learn how to enjoy life to the fullest. As seductive as it may be to idealize next year as a year of fulfillment, I have a better declaration for you for the new year.

Your new year is not about achieving a goal. You are not a factory with a quota to fill. It is not about changing yourself into someone better. The God who created you didn’t make a mistake. No, this is a year for two words.

The first word is Today, because the promises of God are not about some far off event. They are about right now. In the midst of the mundane and the exciting, the frustrating and the interesting, today is the day that God loves you. Today is the day that goodness and mercy pursue you (Psalm 23:6). Today is the day that God’s Spirit is pleased to dwell in you. Today is the day that you are his beloved child. Today is the day that He will not leave you or forsake you. God is not waiting for you in the future. He is habitating your today. Let Him find you here!

The second word is Growth. You are not a factory, and there is no quota. You are a tree, planted by the Lord. However hectic the life of farmers may be, the life of a tree is simple. Drink up the water from your roots. Enjoy the sun on your leaves. Grow. It’s not yours to figure out what sort of tree you are, or what direction you should grow in. God already built into you everything he intends you to be. If you grow slowly, enjoy it! If you grow rapidly, enjoy it! In this year you get to drink from the subterranean river of God, which your roots can taste no matter what storm or drought may mar the surface. Drink from his goodness in every season, and enjoy the days of sunshine too! Let his wisdom, his love, and his peace saturate your roots, spread through your branches and leaves, and produce fruit for the nourishment of others!

Let God find you and breathe life into your todays, and drink up his love. You will grow!

Counterintuitive

 

Many important truths are the opposite of what would seem logical. Our logic puts confidence in what it can control and distrusts freedom. Our reasoning finds comfort in what it can understand and avoids the naked wonder of the unknown. Our values see the sacrifice of a few (soldiers, refugees, the generic “others”) as being necessary for the benefit of the many.

Then a child was born. A hope dawned. And our logic was exposed for its folly. When the Son of God laid down his control in order to free those that religion and respectable society oppressed. When Jesus preached in such a way that many left confused and with more questions than they had ever had…but also found their diseases healed and their hearts touched by love. And when the One for whom and through whom all things were made chose to die at the hands of violent men rather than forge a human kingdom in the necessary sacrifice of others. At this time, all that humanity had discarded as too weak, too sentimental, too emotional, too unrealistic turned out to be the very force that overcame the darkness of the human condition.

It turns out that when love is killed, it grows. When grace is given, purity is born. Now those of us who never sought God have been found by him, and those of us who fought against him have been given the place of honor at his victory feast! Only the logic of God would benefit the vanquished as much as the victor!

So cheers to the counterintuitive hope that is ours! Today we celebrate a child that was born. Today we rejoice in the son that was given!

“…and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end.” -Isaiah 9:6b-7

Peel Back The Layers

When you peel away all of the layers, what do you find? The reality we experience seems to be an endless good/bad sandwich. We have good experiences that are tainted with bad moments, and we have bad experiences that have a redemptive twist. But what is the meaning of it all? If you could pierce through all of the pleasures and pains, all hope and despair, all achievements and failures, what would you find? Is it something good, or is it bad?

At the genesis of humanity, Good was there. It breathed life into dust, and our lungs filled with this Goodness. Then in an evil turn of fate, man tore himself from union with his Creator! He became distant in his mind from friendship with God, and began to distrust his maker. Surely this divorce was mutual? Surely man had fallen from favour with God?

In the darkest moment, after many words of life had been shared and many bodies healed, when the Light was about to be extinguished by those who so needed illumination…at this point the very roots of reality, the fabric of time and space, and the depths of the human soul paused to listen. Truly in this approaching moment the deepest truth would finally be revealed.

And sure enough, a spear plunged into the very heart of Goodness, and from it’s wound flowed blood and water. But this blood was not like any other. It was not like the blood of the first murder victim, which called out for vengeance. No, this crimson fountain made tangible what the Voice had just uttered.

“IT IS FINISHED!”

When the very heart of Goodness was pierced, the bedrock of creation was finally exposed….and it did not release a message of judgement, but from it’s wound flowed mercy for the nations! This darkest moment became the hope for all mankind! Not a hope that perhaps someday things may be made right again, or that through some sort of effort we could make our way back to Him….but a hope that declares, “TODAY IS THE DAY OF SALVATION!”

We do not look into the future, hoping to one day bridge the divide between man and God. The bridge has been built, and his name is Jesus! The same breath that first filled our lungs has never left us! He refused to abandon mankind through our ages of doubt and self-inflicted distance. He is now, as He has always been, for us! We were made in His very image, and his cross declares that His image bearers we remain!

So what happens when you pierce through all of the good and bad, and come to the very root of our existence? Goodness that knows no boundaries or limitations!