In C. S. Lewis' Mere Christianity he talks about "not feeling it" in regards to the Christian life with God. His basic point is that Christian discipline is a virtue of action regardless of feeling. It is obedience, not to be confused with obedience to the Law, but obedience to Christ with Whom we are to be in relationship and in Whom we are to remain even on the days we "don't feel it." Because we cannot always stay on the Mount of Transfiguration (pitching tents and hanging out as Peter desired), we must accept that most of our time will be spent in the valley. Of course, we have the Holy Spirit of God that Jesus the Son sent to be with us in the in-between time - the time after His ascension in the body but before His returning in the body at the final Resurrection Day. In summary, on a Saturday that I'm lacking motivation I'm having to remind myself that "going through the motions" has been given a bad rap by my generation of church-goers, but going through the motions is exactly what we're supposed to do when we are "not feeling it."
May we read the words on the page even when it doesn't seem like the "Word of God" that it might have yesterday (the Holy Spirit will still indwell the words to make them Word if we are obedient...and if we ask Him).
May we pray when we do not know what to say or frankly don't feel like conversing (Jesus has already been praying for us at the right hand of the Father before we begin and the Holy Spirit interprets are prayers even when they do not consist of words).
May we worship out of thanksgiving even if we are feeling other "lesser" emotions or attitudes. He has done great things for us even when other circumstances or experiences seem to take more space in our memory and attention.
And may we love Him and others in every way we know how.
So...here I go...
made for life with God in community
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Monday, January 12, 2009
Thinking of Easter after Christmas...
When Liz and I visited her family for Christmas in Slidell, Louisiana, we attended her home church, Grace Memorial Baptist. What impacted me most during the service was not the intended message of the sermon, but rather something that the pastor said toward the end that was thought provoking to me. I would like to think it out in this blog post.
"This world will fall. We have two options: either be raised with Christ or destroyed with the world."
Revelation chapter 13 speaks of "fallen Babylon". This is John's way of referring to the world of man-made empires that will not last. Throughout history, sinful man has tried to glorify himself by boasting of crowning achievements and gaining what he perceives to be control. Babylon is such an example. Rome is such an example, but at the time that Revelation was being written John's audience had yet to see this proven. The Kingdom of God, however was established before the foundation of the earth. This Kingdom is not one of trivial pursuit, perverted desire for control, or a temporary illusion of power. It is eternal and unavoidable. It is here and will come. "This world" as it refers to such godless grasps for power and control "will fall" as we have seen happen throughout history with the tower of Babel, with Babylon, and with Rome.
Believers who take part in the resurrection of Christ are raised from death and saved from the world. It is interesting to me to think about the similarity, and yet the difference between these two. Death is permanent. If you die and are not raised, life ceases for you. This is an unfortunate reality for all of us. The world is temporary in the sense that the material will pass away, and that is something that we would naturally need saving from. At least that's what we've been taught. Though one thing I've been wrestling with for a while now is how God's plan of restoration and redemption will take place, what it will look like. Will God rapture us away to heaven up there and beyond? Or will God actually salvage, no, completely restore, "set to rights" (N.T. Wright) the fallen world that we have known. Will the dying trees be given everlasting life? Will faded grass, suddenly project a hue that we have never known? Might Heaven actually come to earth instead of the earth being destroyed? Could the New Jerusalem that John wrote about in Revelation in fact be an Old Jerusalem transformed? Could rapture mean something that happens to the heart of the sinful person who allows Christ to change him or her, a spiritual relocation from being in and of the world to being "in the world but not of the world"? What if instead of being raised with Christ to ascend from this broken world into a heaven far away, we are raised from death and the sinful world (not earth itself) that will be destroyed in a way that actually brings heaven to earth? Even more amazing, what if the church, believers, the body of Christ as it were, are literally meant to embody heaven on earth until the day the two are combined permanently?
Of course, Heaven could not contain the present evil of this age. It could not be a place where God and sin dwell simultaneously, not without barriers anyway. John describes the New Jerusalem as a place with no barriers. So, when the New Jerusalem does "arrive," when the Kingdom is fully consummated on earth, something will be destroyed. Sin, evil, brokenness, hurt, and all other results of the Original Lie will be no more.
"This world will fall. We have two options: either be raised with Christ or destroyed with the world." This world will fall, but we must make sure we know what is meant by "world". I'm not sure I fully understand yet. But one thing I am coming to understand - it is all about resurrection. This is what makes Jesus different from all other central figures of religion or faith. In Him, through Him, and after His example we are to be raised from death to life.
The pastor at Grace Memorial said, "If you are not raised with Christ, when the world falls, you will not be left standing." This may sound harsh or maybe even arrogant, but there is a humbling truth in it. It reminds me of a verse that most Christians know - "For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" ~ Philippians 2:10-11. There is no hope for withstanding the fall of world (perhaps better termed "the remaking of the world") apart from Christ. The world will not crumble around the one who is not in Christ. Paul said of himself and other believers in Christ, "For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing; to the one an aroma from death to death, to the other an aroma from life to life..." ~ 2 Corinthians 2:15-16.
My prayer for you today is that wherever you are, you will realize that God's grace is sufficient for you, for His power is made perfect in weakness (Cor 12:9a). God bless.
"This world will fall. We have two options: either be raised with Christ or destroyed with the world."
Revelation chapter 13 speaks of "fallen Babylon". This is John's way of referring to the world of man-made empires that will not last. Throughout history, sinful man has tried to glorify himself by boasting of crowning achievements and gaining what he perceives to be control. Babylon is such an example. Rome is such an example, but at the time that Revelation was being written John's audience had yet to see this proven. The Kingdom of God, however was established before the foundation of the earth. This Kingdom is not one of trivial pursuit, perverted desire for control, or a temporary illusion of power. It is eternal and unavoidable. It is here and will come. "This world" as it refers to such godless grasps for power and control "will fall" as we have seen happen throughout history with the tower of Babel, with Babylon, and with Rome.
Believers who take part in the resurrection of Christ are raised from death and saved from the world. It is interesting to me to think about the similarity, and yet the difference between these two. Death is permanent. If you die and are not raised, life ceases for you. This is an unfortunate reality for all of us. The world is temporary in the sense that the material will pass away, and that is something that we would naturally need saving from. At least that's what we've been taught. Though one thing I've been wrestling with for a while now is how God's plan of restoration and redemption will take place, what it will look like. Will God rapture us away to heaven up there and beyond? Or will God actually salvage, no, completely restore, "set to rights" (N.T. Wright) the fallen world that we have known. Will the dying trees be given everlasting life? Will faded grass, suddenly project a hue that we have never known? Might Heaven actually come to earth instead of the earth being destroyed? Could the New Jerusalem that John wrote about in Revelation in fact be an Old Jerusalem transformed? Could rapture mean something that happens to the heart of the sinful person who allows Christ to change him or her, a spiritual relocation from being in and of the world to being "in the world but not of the world"? What if instead of being raised with Christ to ascend from this broken world into a heaven far away, we are raised from death and the sinful world (not earth itself) that will be destroyed in a way that actually brings heaven to earth? Even more amazing, what if the church, believers, the body of Christ as it were, are literally meant to embody heaven on earth until the day the two are combined permanently?
Of course, Heaven could not contain the present evil of this age. It could not be a place where God and sin dwell simultaneously, not without barriers anyway. John describes the New Jerusalem as a place with no barriers. So, when the New Jerusalem does "arrive," when the Kingdom is fully consummated on earth, something will be destroyed. Sin, evil, brokenness, hurt, and all other results of the Original Lie will be no more.
"This world will fall. We have two options: either be raised with Christ or destroyed with the world." This world will fall, but we must make sure we know what is meant by "world". I'm not sure I fully understand yet. But one thing I am coming to understand - it is all about resurrection. This is what makes Jesus different from all other central figures of religion or faith. In Him, through Him, and after His example we are to be raised from death to life.
The pastor at Grace Memorial said, "If you are not raised with Christ, when the world falls, you will not be left standing." This may sound harsh or maybe even arrogant, but there is a humbling truth in it. It reminds me of a verse that most Christians know - "For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" ~ Philippians 2:10-11. There is no hope for withstanding the fall of world (perhaps better termed "the remaking of the world") apart from Christ. The world will not crumble around the one who is not in Christ. Paul said of himself and other believers in Christ, "For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing; to the one an aroma from death to death, to the other an aroma from life to life..." ~ 2 Corinthians 2:15-16.
My prayer for you today is that wherever you are, you will realize that God's grace is sufficient for you, for His power is made perfect in weakness (Cor 12:9a). God bless.
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