Not My Life

The answer to the first question in the Heidelberg Catechism is this:

"That I am not my own, but belong - body and soul, in life and in death - to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ.

He has fully paid for all my sins with His precious blood, and has set me free from the tyranny of the devil. He also watches over me in such a way that not a hair can fall from my head without the will of my Father in heaven: in fact, all things must work together for my salvation.

Because I belong to Him, Christ, by his Holy Spirit, assures me of eternal life and makes me wholeheartedly willing and ready from now on live for Him."

Is this true of us? Is this how we are living? Are our lives now being lived for Him? Are we not only living for Him, but also living as though we truly believe in eternal life with Him? It is the opinion of this individual that in general my "christian" peers are not living this way. Maybe it's about time we start.

it's okay to cry.

"He did not go to see Saul again, though Samuel mourned for him." - 1 Samuel 15:35

When was the last time you spent tears to mourn over another's sin?
It seems that men in scripture who spent much time with God, who heard from God, who walked with God, tended to be pretty emotional people. David flooded his bed with tears. Paul had unceasing anguish in his heart. Moses sang. They rejoiced, they delighted, they mourned, they cried, they begged. These and others were emotionally invested in God's glory and God's kingdom. And so anything pertaining in some way to God's glory (either affirming it or ignoring it), pertained to them.

What is our spiritual condition that we have so little emotion reserved for God? It seems like for most people--even the relatively calm--emotions are usually triggered in connection with the things most important to them. So what's the deal with us?

I'm not suggesting that we need to heighten emotionality to enhance our spirituality. I'm merely concerned that, in some cases, complete lack of emotion may indicate complete lack of investment.

When was the last time you spent tears to mourn over another's sin?
When was the last time you spent tears over your own sin--and God's mercy?

because the time is short.

"What I mean, brothers, is that the time is short. From now on, those who have wives should live as if they had none; those who mourn, as if they did not; those who are happy, as if they were not; those who buy something as if it were not theirs to keep; those who use the things of the world as if not engrossed in them. For this world in its present form is passing away."

1 Corinthians 7:29-31

Dear friends! What will it take to awaken us to the raw fact of our mortality? You may not survive the decade, the year, the month! Your life is not your own, whether you can say that for you to live is Christ or not.

If the thought that tomorrow is not guaranteed does not inspire us, doesn't the knowledge that neither are the lives of those around us guaranteed? If we knew the hour of Christ's return, or the times set for their deaths, what kind of people would we be? Would we wait? Do we really know so little of the joy of life in Christ that we can't be bothered to see it embraced by others until the time is "more appropriate" or more desperate? Do we not already see the glaring signs of desperation and death and depression and disease and defeat and defiance all around us? What are we waiting for?

Dear friends, what will it take to awaken us to the glorious fact of our immortality? This present world is passing away, and do we prostitute ourselves to a vapor? Already our souls have outlived so many things--clothing, furniture, homes...We are not made for this place.

"Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness. So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him. Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation" (2 Peter 3:11-15).

Does God's patience, for us, merely mean more time to relax?

"How shall I feel at the judgment, if multitudes of missed opportunities pass before me in full review, and all my excuses prove to be disguises of my cowardice and pride?" ~ Dr. W.E. Sangster

But what to do with that cowardice and pride? We cannot shake them on our own, "But the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say 'no' to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives..." (Titus 2:11,12)

May we ever look back to Christ on the cross as we move forward towards Christ on his throne."

A Note on Music

"The music we listen to often carries the message of the world, and the world uses the medium of music to squeeze us into its mold. And a Christian cannot help being gradually influenced if he continually listens to the world's music"

~Jerry Bridges, The Pursuit of Holiness

I don't like this quote. I don't think many Christians my age would be prone to defend its reasoning. I do wonder, though, how Christians who don't actually listen to worldly music would respond. They have less at stake, and so perhaps slightly less bias.

I am challenged, and I challenge you: what are you allowing to shape you? Scripture? Then how? Is your decision to engage secular culture by buying its music and memorizing its lyrics a part of your pursuit of godliness? Have you filtered your CD collection through the grid of God's revelation?

The attitudes expressed in much music--about love, about revenge, about the meaning(lessness) of life--are we really immune to subtle persuasion?

1 John 2:1 says "My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin." Will not sin. Do we live like that's what we want? Jerry Bridges, at one point in his life, realized that all he wanted was "not to sin very much." Do we settle for this unbiblical standard?

James 1:26 says, "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."

In both of these passages, we are addressed as children as we are exhorted to pursue, or desire, holiness. I do not recommend that we publish a list of acceptable bands, or promote an all out ban on any music not labeled CCM. But I do think we should ask ourselves...would we obey if that's what God wanted? Do we even want to keep ourselves from being polluted by the world? Is that desire on our emotional radar screen? Is our father's standard of holiness important to us?

I have to say that often, for me, it is not.

One final thought--the other day the parable of the talents from Matthew 25 came to my mind. In the parable, the master returns and finds that the servant to whom he entrusted one talent has done nothing with it...he has merely buried it. The master's reaction is harsh: "you wicked, lazy servant!" That servant was wicked. He didn't lose what he'd been given. He didn't waste it, or squander it. He merely saved it. And he was wicked.

Many of those privileged to grow up in "sheltered" Christian homes have been blessed with innocence and instruction. And I'm scared--I'm scared that, worse even than the wicked servant, we aren't even protecting those gifts. I'm scared that we're throwing them away.

"Jesus loves us regardless"

Tonight, a lesbian couple walked by while I was passing out tracts…routinely, with my trademarked awkwardness, I handed them a “Ten Reasons Jesus Came to Die” pamphlet.

“What, you gave us it just ‘cause we’re lesbian?” one of them laughed back.

“I’m giving them to everyone,” I said.

“Jesus loves us regardless,” she said dismissively, and they walked on.

In a way, she was right, but I wish she was more aware of what that really means. Christ loved his children regardless. He died for sinners. But he desires, requires, and affects a process of dying to sin in his children, and this does not appeal to the lover of sin. To his enemies, to those who reject him, the real Jesus poses a terrible threat. I wonder what the significance is of people feeling more intimidated by Jesus’ followers than by Jesus himself. The push-over Jesus is easy to dismiss. But he wasn’t a push-over, and that’s part of what makes his sacrifice so incredible. He laid his life down willingly. But his wrath-bearing sacrifice implies the existence of wrath-incurring sin. And that bothers people.

“Jesus loves us regardless.”

She was right, in the sense that he offers his love regardless, but I wish she was more aware of what that really means. Because then maybe she would love him back.

Bits of Folly and Fear

"Will you not revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you?" ~Psalm 85:6

Maybe he will. I'm sure he will. God will be faithful, even when we are faithless. But do you notice this psalmist's intended goal? "That your people may rejoice in you." Restoration of peace, of joy, of faith--to what end do we desire these things?

"I will listen to what God the Lord will say, he promises peace to his people, his saints--but let them not return to folly" (vs 8). How often i return to folly. Today I am sinful, today I am selfish, today I am deaf to the promises of God. I will resolve to listen to what the Lord says:

"Salvation is near those who fear him" (vs 9).

Fear of God...an elusive concept. I think of the "good" thief, crucified with Christ, and aware that he was no good at all:

"Don't you fear God? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong" (Luke 23:41)

The gospel is crucial to remember, as the most intense demonstration of the glory of God--the rupturing of his very unity in the display of his indescribable nature: love. This is the love that should make us tremble.

So fear. Let us not return to folly. May love and faithfulness meet together in our hearts. May righteousness and peace kiss each other in our daily conduct. Let us not return to folly, that his glory may dwell in our land.

A Thought On Prayer

Prayer is often such a self-centered, self-indulgent activity, stimulated by personal desires, trials, or failures. The impulse to ask others to pray for things far removed is often hindered by a strong sense of reluctance. Usually we reserve such requests—about that cousin of ours, or this village in China we heard about, or the economy—for the gatherings when we’re all fishing around for prayer suggestions that deflect attention from any of our real needs.

Why should we pray about people we’ve never met? About places we’ve never been, about individuals we don’t care about because we don’t have the slightest connection to them? Well, if prayer is just about us, then we shouldn’t. But when prayer becomes about expressing to the Father a desire to see him glorified in our lives, the lives of others, and the world at large; when we have a vested interest in the advancement of the Truth because we love the Truth, because we have a vested interest in the glory of God being manifested in the world, then it seems it could be easier to see the point of speaking to God—petitioning him regarding any situation we become aware of where the glory of God is “at stake.” Somehow, it seems to make it worth it. And much more personal.