Grace in Vain and This Fair Land

The following links are brief writings that have been  printed annually at Thanksgiving in the Wall Street Journal since 1961. Be warned, they may cause you to think of the United States in a positive light. You might even be tempted to think of American exceptionalism which is clearly out of vogue.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204482304574216002146998902.html

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204482304574216001051255042.html

Paul encouraged the people in Corinth not to receive God's grace in vain. As broken humans, we continually under-appreciate those things that are readily given to us. In particular is the liberty we enjoy as Americans and the opportunities available because of it.

I do not want to equate my Christian citizenship with my USA citizenship. I also don't want to err in thinking things of government and society are minor in light of my Christianity. The first error takes Christ out of His rightful spot as King of kings and sets Him equal to our man-made efforts. The second error misses the biblical cultural mandate and embraces a division between this world and and the next that renders much of this world's activities meaningless. In the light of this second error evangelism becomes the only worthwhile activity even though we spend very little if any time doing it; however, the Christ-follower knows all of life has meaning.

God's extension of grace through faith in Jesus Christ is the center of all meaning. Consequently, the lesser things of life are not meaningless in light of the cross, but quite the opposite. Those things gain true meaning. The establishment of a free and just society isn't meaningless because God is in control. Instead, it is abundantly meaningful. It is to be cherished and protected. It erodes easily which is the purpose for my related post on the Manhattan Declaration.

Do not receive God's grace in vain. Be people of gratitude and receive the fruits of God's grace that come to us as freedom and liberty. May your gratitude for the cross fill all you do over this week.

Standing Together Against the Fall

Recently, a group of Roman Catholic, Orthodox, and Evangelical church leaders crafted a document called the Manhattan Declaration to take a stand against the erosion of religious liberty and human dignity in this country. Chuck Colson's write up on it can be found at http://www.breakpoint.org/commentaries/13626-just-the-beginning.

The actual document can be found at http://manhattandeclaration.org/decdocs/ManhattanDeclaration.pdf .

I would encourage you to follow the link and read the declaration and if so moved to follow the links to sign it.

Reconciled: Tall, Grande, or Venti?

Paul reminded the Corinthians that God is reconciling creation back to Himself. Reconciliation means to re-establish friendship, or to make whole what was broken. In this one idea Paul gives us a comprehensive view of life. The world is broken. Our sin broke it. It is like a beautiful crystal statue smashed into infinite fragments. You can look at the debris and see it was once remarkable. However, it is now impossible to mend, attempts at repair result in more fragments. Daily, the mess gets more complex, frustrating, heart-wrenching, overwhelming, depressing, fatiguing, and confusing.This disaster is most clear in our own hearts. Our words, actions, and thoughts reveal people who love themselves above all others. We continually attempt to build a life that advances our desires while keeping others at bay or moves them like chess pieces to our advantage. Consequently, discord and demandingness define our relationships. The darkness of the world flows out of our dark hearts.

Fortunately, we are not abandoned to our malice. In the midst of the darkness stands the man who made this place and its people in their original beauty, Jesus Christ. Nobody grieves more about what we've done to ourselves than Him. Instead of discarding His stained creation, He came into the wreckage. He modeled who we were meant to be. He lived perfectly compassionate and obedient knowing we were so vile we would execute Him for it.  Oddly, this was the remedy we needed. He used our hatred of Him to cure our hatred.Through Him, hatred cured hatred and death defeated death.

Now the world is being reconciled back to God through Him. Our friendship with God is re-made because of the cross. All the fragments, every little smashed shard of our hearts, and this world are being gathered back and made whole. We are reconciled to God through Jesus because of our faith. This is not the end of it. Reconciliation is not just something we do with God; it is something we extend to others. We are no longer a people of demand and discord. The community of Christ is a people of reconciliation. I must pursue reconciliation daily. Discord usually starts small. All it takes is a misunderstanding, a dropped ball, a mis-spoken word, a failure to communicate clearly, a missed thank-you, a forgotten appointment, a hurtful joke, an unpaid debt, a hurtful tone, being late....again, a broken promise, etc.....

Discord events in my life  are smalls, mediums, and larges. (For the coffee crowd think: talls, grandes, and ventis. As a counter-culture warrior, I intentionally never use this terminology at the coffee shop. We are not Europe. We defeated the metric system, and we will defeat soccer and coffee size nomenclature.) Left unattended they grow to the next size. I must move into them. They may be my fault or the others', but I can't let them sit. Here's how to move:

1. Pray to release your demand that the other be wrong.

2. Once demands are released look for what you must own as your part no matter how small.

3. Bring your part to the other for forgiveness and reconciliation.

4. When the other does not respond the way you want them too, which they won't, remember step 1.

5. When step 1 becomes too difficult, which it will, remember the cross and your own wretchedness.

There you go. Piece of cake, right? Not really, yet it is the essence of how we are to relate to each other. It pales in comparison to what Christ did for us. Where is there discord in your life that you need to mend? What are your smalls, mediums, and larges? Douse them in light today. Meet people today, or make appointments to meet asap. Why live in darkness when we can be light?

The Groaning that Defines Us

I hate suffering. I hate when things don't go my way. I hate that when things do go my way they won't last. I don't want to suffer. I don't fear dying; I fear suffering. Yet, how we suffer is what defines us. A Christ-follower must live the way He lived, care the way He cared, and ultimately, suffer the way He suffered. Christ didn't complain or whine.

He groaned.

The Jesus-follower must learn to groan. Paul gave the Corinthians a word picture of this reality: We live in tents, but our future on the New Earth is a house that will never be destroyed because God is its builder.  Between a tattered tent and an indestructible mansion, our life goes on....and we groan waiting for our God-made house.

Groaning is difficult and unnatural. It's hard and we'd rather avoid it. It can't be put into a fun slogan. "Got Groaning?". "Just Groan It". "Groaning, it's what's for breakfast".

There are many sufferings we must groan. We groan the realities of global despair we cannot solve. Sudan, Iran, Cambodia, North Korea, China, Venezuela etc.... are the places. Genocide, sex slave trade, starvation, institutionalized abuse, abortion, oppressive governments, etc.... are the miseries. We must groan these as we become aware and pray for justice.

We groan national tragedies like Ft. Hood and pray for the families left permanently scarred.

We groan fallen "heroes" like Michael Jackson and Ted Kennedy, because of their loss and what could've been if Christ was their center.

We groan a nation that calls abortion "justice" and Christianity "oppression" as a million children die each year without seeing the light of day.

We groan family, friends and ourselves as disease, age, accidents, self-destructive behavior and economic downturns rob our joy and bring despair and decay.

We groan the consequences of our past choices.

We must even groan having our desires blocked. This might be the most difficult groaning because it happens so frequently, and we have lived a life of screaming and demanding  fairness on our terms. This type of groaning does not  fire back at a spouse who overcomplains, or a boss who overlooks, or a driver who edges over, or a sibling who oversteps, or a parent who overreminds. Instead, groaning rests on the One who overcomes and builds awesome houses for His followers.

Cracked Pots

Who views themselves as a cracked pot? We have a slang expression, "crackpot" to describe someone who is mentally incompetent. Paul, yes that Paul, has little care for giving us compliments we want.  Instead he gives us truth we need. He certainly hasn't bought into the modern, self esteem movement. You won't see him running around at youth soccer leagues telling everyone that they are all winners.  Paul wants us to know, just like the Corinthians, that we are all cracked pots. We are broken, sinful, selfish people. However, as we become Christ-followers a treasure fills us that is truly valuable - the gospel.

How does the image of a cracked pot filled with a treasure not of our own making become our self image? This is especially difficult in a culture that makes self esteem and self promotion our national past-time. All our athletes, entertainers, business people, politicians are idolized as self-made people who through their own efforts rose above the masses. If you don't think you're prone, just let someone "less deserving" get ahead in an area you hold dear. A self image of a cracked pot is a self image of humility. It does not think too highly of ourselves  - we're above God and we are not cracked. Nor does it think too lowly of ourselves - we're too lowly for Christ's redemption and we're too cracked to hold the treasure. How do we get here?

The road to humility is probably the most difficult and least traveled roads in existence. You will know you're on it when you are virtually alone. Scripture, prayer, and wise counsel used in concert with the Spirit are how we walk the road. It is not just the quantity of these ingredients but their ability to mix in a heart open to letting go of its demands. A heart not fighting to get ahead. At the moment of presumption we must allow truth to prevail. Unless we are immersed in word, prayer, and inspection, we cave at the moments we feel slighted and become demanding.

We must become comfortable with a most uncomfortable thought. A thought that feels like death. To be a Christian is to become obscure. By becoming obscure Christ is seen through us. "Go out and be obscure" is not a battle cry that moves us to action, other than running away. However, we must embrace the ultimate truth that our obscurity magnifies Christ to the world. Welcome your personal obscurity so Christ may be made known. That is what the church is called to. Be the Church!

Reaching Into Reality

We've all been there. We're talking with a friend, co-worker, person on a plane or camping next to us, waiter, waitress, cashier, etc..... Gradually, the horrid thought creeps into our mind that we should witness to them. We appear calm and normal on the outside but in us rages a war. Jesus or no Jesus? We have a million reasons not to do it, but only one reason to do it. John Calvin said that our hearts are idol factories. I would add that our minds are rationalization factories. In less than a second we can come up with a multitude of rationalizations why God's call on our life does not apply in a given moment.

Behind it all is fear and unbelief. Fear that we might be rejected, that we don't know enough, that our life isn't good enough, that we won't say the right thing, etc..... The unbelief that God doesn't mean all He says about Himself, us and the universe around us. Our fear shapes our beliefs scaring us into inaction. We think reality is us with all our shortcomings vs. a heavily armed skeptic.

But, reality is different than our perception. Someone is much more afraid than us - demons.  Demons are real and they are terrified of one thing - Jesus Christ. When we share the truth of Jesus with someone who hasn't given their life to Him, demons are terrified. Why? Demons know something that many of us forget, the light is far more powerful than darkness. They know our weakness is overcome by the power of the Spirit if we will act despite our fear. So the demons tremble hoping we remain silent.

As the horrid thought of sharing our faith enters our mind and we feel weak remember where the real fear and weakness are and where the real power is, then speak. We only have one reason to do it - love. We do it because God loves them just as He loves us. Consequently, out of gratitude we love what God loves and bring His love to others. Pray - Act - Speak.