The Grace / Truth Paradox

I have recently begun to type in "Jesus" and seeing what comes up in Google News.  You'd be surprised at what shows up sometimes.  From a Comic book reinterpretation of Christ's life and death, to the construction of a 33m statue of Him in Poland, Jesus is a controversial and popular figure in today's culture.  However, one story caught my eye today.  It was an editorial on a politically left-leaning website.  The author insisted that military chaplains were not "emulating Jesus" when they "distance themselves" from homosexuals.  But, what interested me was not the author's complaint with the chaplains or the government policy, but his (or her) idea of who Jesus Christ was.  (you can find the original article here)

The author begins his piece by observing, that "Jesus dined with prostitutes and far, far, far worse sinners."  An interesting place to begin for a political commentary.  Further in the article, the author asserts, "most denominations of Christianity teach that same-sex sexual activity is sinful."  The article continues to get interesting when the author wraps up by concluding: 

"Christian ministers are supposed to worship and emulate Jesus. Can anyone imagine Jesus telling taxpayers and prostitutes, let alone a gay soldier serving his or her country, to shut up and pretend?" 

There was much more in this article referring to behavior of chaplains and Christian denominations, but like I said, I'd really like to examine the authors understanding of who Jesus was, and why He behaved the way He did.


The author is right in saying Jesus dined with sinners.  He did do that multiple times.  But, what the author fails to remember about those instances is that, though Jesus showed His love and forgiveness to the sinners he was with, He also requested they change their lives, stop sinning, and follow Him.  When he defended the adulteress from stoning He told her "neither do I condemn you... Go now and leave your life of sin."(John 8)  Furthermore, Jesus Himself declared, "I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance."(Luke 5)  Jesus also proclaimed Zacchaeus' salvation after he has given everything to the poor and paid back 4x as much of which he had defrauded people.(Luke 19)  


Jesus doesn't hang out with sinners because He doesn't mind tolerating their sin, He does it because He loves them and wishes them to receive His gift of salvation.  In Act 16 the prison guard asks Paul and Silas what he must do to be saved.  Paul tells him to believe in Christ... but that believe isn't a passive thing.  Belief in Jesus requires action, it requires repentance, it requires love, it requires humility.  We all know the John 3:16 verse, That God loved man so much He died for him.  That's fantastic.  But, if we don't read further, we miss half the point.  

¹⁶ For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷ For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. ¹⁸Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. ¹⁹ This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. ²⁰ Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. ²¹ But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God. (John 3)

The author of the article I read had the idea of Christ's love and grace down really well.  But, please, please, please don't forget about the Truth: we stand to be punished for our sin if we don't accept Him as the Way, the Truth, and the Life.  Sinners loved being around Jesus because they felt loved.  But, Jesus did not make sinners comfortable by never talking about sin.  Yes, JESUS DIED TO BRING GRACE... but He had to because of our sin.  It's like a paradox.  A Grace and Truth Paradox.  To wrap up, I'd like to recommend a book by Randy Alcorn by the title of "The Grace and Truth Paradox."  It talks about this very thing.  If you're a non-christian, 1. I'm glad you made it this far through my post, 2. If you'd like to know more about grace and truth, or would like to read Mr. Alcorn's book, contact me, I'll send you my own copy.

Blessings

Surf's Up

Our lives are full of distractions.  Every minute of every day of every month of every year there are dozens of events, people, things, etc. that can distract us from that which is most important in our life... our relationship with our Saviour, Jesus the Messiah.  The disciples, those who were closest to Christ, who saw Him on a daily basis, struggled with the very same thing.

One day Christ needed to Speak with His Heavenly Father, and he told his disciples to meet him on the other side of the sea.  The story goes something like this:

After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone, ²⁴ and the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.

 ²⁵ Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. ²⁶ When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear.

Stopping there for a moment.  Our lives are full of big waves that buffet (to strike/thrash) us.  The disciples experienced this in a very literal way, but we all know we struggle with things that frustrate, confound, and disappoint us.  This story shows the very human side of the disciples.  First we see them in a very scary situation, they are likely not calm at this point... but when Jesus shows up, they don't rejoice.  These are the men closest to Him.  They've seen him perform miracle after miracle, and suddenly, when they need Him most they get scared because they seem him working a miracle in the midst of their turmoil.

 ²⁷ But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”

 ²⁸ “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”

   ²⁹ “Come,” he said.

   Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. ³⁰ But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”

Again, pausing for a moment.  Peter made a great choice here, to give up the false safety of the boat and run to his God.  But, he's distracted isn't he.   He sees the storm all around him.  The wind and the waves are thrashing about, and he takes his eyes off Jesus.  We do this daily.  We try to do the right thing by running to God when bad things happen, yet we are quickly distracted once again.  It's incredibly challenging to keep focused on God, even in the midst of miracles.  But, God is full of Forgiveness and Love and Patience.  Jesus portrays this when Peter messed up.

 ³¹ Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,”he said, “why did you doubt?”

 ³² And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down.    -Matthew 14

It's not easy to live a life of faithfulness, especially during tough times.  However, there will be tough times, Jesus promised us times of difficulty... but he also promises hope:

I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.   -John 16:33 

What a beautiful promise.  So, even when things get unbelievably hard.  When the waves are crashing down on you.  Don't look away from your Saviour, don't be distracted by the world's troubles.  Keep your eyes on Him.

"I Would Rather Preach Jesus"

A few weeks ago I posted a quotation from a gentleman named Rev. Isaac McCoy.  Mr. McCoy was one of the early missionaries to the Native Americans in the Midwest.  As I continue to read his journal and autobiography, I am challenged to live my life more radically.  Here, once again, is a quote from his manuscripts.  This quote is out of a letter McCoy wrote to a man named Samuel Dedman.  Mr. Dedman had been attempting to convince McCoy of the madness of his ways.

"I have patiently heard the advice you gave us to relinquish our missionary pursuits, and have weighed the arguments by which you have enforced it, and must say that what you have said is among the many things which are calculated to make us doubt the correctness of our present and intended movements..... If I live among them I must bear with their uncouth manners and insults, I must be exposed to hunger, wet, and cold.   I must, with small exception, be denied the luxuries of life, the comforts of society, the aid of physicans, and the consoling voice of friends  I shall never herafter lay up, by personal service, a shilling for the widow and orphans which I shall probably in a few years, leave in the wilds of Wabash, or Arkansas, and lastly I must probably die without seeing much fruit of my labours, only that I have prepared the way for others to follow..... I assure you, my brother, that every opposing difficulty, the opposition of the assn. not excepted, has only tended to increase my missionary ardour.  May my merciful God forgive me if I be wrong, and set me right.  I would rather be a missionary to the Indians, than fill the President's chair, or sit on the throne of Alexander, emperour of Russia.  I would rather preach Jesus to the poor Indians in a bark camp, than address the thousands who assemble in Sansom Street meeting house, Philadelphia.  Something has turned my attention towards the Indians, and every feeling of my soul is enlisted in their cause, yet still I may be wrong.  But I feel not the least inclination to turn back, but would drive on with the vehemence of Peter, the meekness of Moses, and the wisdom of Solomon."  -Isaac McCoy, The McCoy Manuscripts, (Kansas State Historical Society), draft of a letter from McCoy to Samuel Dedman, January 12, 1820.

I am continually amazed at Mr. McCoy's dedication to serving his Saviour, and I hope that in some way myself and others will have the courage and faith to follow in his footsteps, preaching Jesus with intense Love.

Blessings,

MN

It's Not About Me

I think about myself often.  Admittedly more often and more highly than I ought.  Most of us have this problem.  Our surroundings don't help us.  Everywhere we look we see advertisements and people telling us that our lives are about us.  Perhaps you would agree with me when I say we are a bit conceited in this day and age.  And perhaps you might agree that God has much more of which to be proud than we do.  However, somewhat ironically, Jesus did not act as He had right to act, drawing glory to himself at every moment while on this earth.  Instead, we see in Him a very different attitude, an attitude of a servant.

When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. "Do you understand what I have done for you?" he asked them. "You call me 'Teacher' and 'Lord,' and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them. -John 13:12-17

"Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:  Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant." -Philippians 2:3-7

 How often do we wake up in the morning and think to ourselves, "how can I serve everyone I see today?"  I have never done that, yet we are all called to a humble life of servanthood.  My life isn't about me and your life isn't about you, it's about the way Christ gave you life, it's about His Love and Grace.  So, let's go serve... everyone (even those who hate us and those we hate).  Let's go love with everything in us.

"By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." -John 13:35

So, what are we waiting for?  Go serve someone today.

love with a capital "L"

My Bible is over 1,000 pages... my guess is yours is as well (if you don't have one, call the nearest church and they should get you one for free... if they won't stay away from that church!).  So, let's try an experiment together.  Summarize the entire Bible in two sentences.  Can you do it?  Does it seem like a trick question?  Believe it or not, the answer to both those questions is "yes."  

About 2,000 years ago, some very intelligent men well versed in religious law asked a new teacher that same trick question.  That teacher's response went something like this:  

'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' And 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'  - Matthew 22:35-40 (paraphrase)

Turns out that the teacher was no ordinary man, but the Messiah.  The love He spoke of was not ordinary either.  Strong's Concordance describes love as:

A word to which Christianity gave new meaning. Outside of the NT, it rarely occurs in existing Greek manuscripts of the period. Agape denotes an undefeatable benevolence and unconquerable goodwill that always seeks the highest of the other , no matter what he does. It is the self-giving love that gives freely without asking anything in return, and does not consider the worth of its object. 

What does undefeatable benevolence, unconquerable goodwill, and self-giving look like?  Jesus tells us in Matthew 5

"You have heard that it was said, 'Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.' ³⁹But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. ⁴⁰And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. ⁴¹If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. ⁴²Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.   ⁴³"You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' ⁴⁴But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, ⁴⁵that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. ⁴⁶If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? ⁴⁷And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? ⁴⁸Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

 Jesus tells we should have perfect love.  How?  When we love it should a love from God; love with capital "L".  Our love is imperfect, for as humans we are inclined to love only those who are good to us. But with Love from God we are empowered to Love those who we hate and who hate us.  There are no exceptions or exemptions to this Love.

The best display of that Love was Christ (you probably saw that coming).  He was not recognized by His own disciples as the Love of the world.

"He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him." -John 1:10

Not only that, he was hated, abhorred, anathematized, execrated, abused, despised, beaten, spat upon, kicked, bruised, vilified, reviled, loathed, betrayed, detested, cursed, mocked, convicted, and crucified.  And yet.......... and yet what did He do?  If you are mocked what do you say?  If you are cursed at, what do you respond with?  If you are vilified, what do you do?  If you are despised, what do you think?

He was mocked, He said nothing.  He was cursed, He stood there.  He was vilified, He had mercy.  He was despised and he forgave.  What is this, but the most outrageous Love of which you have ever heard?  THAT Love is given to us, so that we may in turn Love those around us.  No matter what.  Even when we're hated, and even when were are tempted to hate back.   If someone wants to destroy your world, your country, your family, your life, you can respond with that same Love.

But, do we?  Do I still hold grudges?  Do I still protest when I'm offended?  Do I feel entitled to fairness?  Do I ever consider revenge?            Do I?           Do you?

Let us not fail to love with a capital "L."