What a Jesus-Follower is Like

That phrase in I John 2:5-6 has always been more than a bit intimidating: By this we know that we are in Him: the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.

Are you kidding me??? is a very common reaction. Jesus walked in the closest communion with His Father, experiencing temptation but never committing sin – His heart and mind were pure. And I’m supposed to walk like him? I’m a cesspool of foul desires, evil thoughts, and guilty actions.

But there it is. The expectation is that Christians will reflect Jesus. The Holy Spirit comes, not as some mystical theory, but as a living Presence, changing the heart of the believer and pouring, daily, the life of Jesus in our souls. Slowly, we are becoming like Him. In my case, there are extra o’s: sloooooowly.

Sometimes it feels like we’re actually becoming worse, but that is because as God gives light progressively into our minds and hearts, we simply see more of the reality of our fallenness. Yet, that same light is also purifying us, in the most consequential and sequential daily miracle the world will ever see. Sinners transformed.

I see 5 words that can sum up what I John teaches us about a growing-into-the-image-of-Christ disciple:

1. Authentic – a formerly dishonest heart is becoming truthful, leaving behind hypocrisy and embracing – before God and men – spiritual reality.
2. Believing – the one who despised Jesus Christ and took His name in vain now gladly acknowledges Him as the only Savior – his/her only Savior.
3. Holy – once running in the ways of the world, and delighting in sinful pursuits, the follower of Jesus has now broken with worldly patterns, even while still loving those yet trapped in their sin.
4. Loving – the hallmark of Jesus’ presence in the heart is love – a formerly self-centered soul now increasingly acts on the impulses of love vertically (God-ward) and horizontally (with other men).
5. Obedient – God’s commands now take precedence over the expectations of others; and, even at great cost, over our own preferences and desires.

Every one of these things is a miracle. We don’t need to divide the sea or multiply loaves of bread to prove the existence of God. We just need to follow Jesus and give Him the reins in our lives.

No disciple of Christ walks perfectly in these things – none of us can come close to living in the perfect holiness of Jesus. It will be a source of utter futility to read the text as if it meant, “the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk perfectly in the same manner as He walked.” That interpretation is the fastest way into the pit of despair.

Nonetheless, the evidence of the work of the Holy Spirit is clear – when these five traits increasingly fill our lives, even starting in small measures, we are walking with Jesus. And, the converse is true – no matter what we say with our lips, if we are not practicing authentic, believing, holy, loving obedience, then (as John so bluntly phrases it) we are liars.

A Jesus-follower looks like Jesus. It’s gradual, slow, step-by-step, and discolored by the power of remaining sin in the heart of the believer. But now, the true disciple grieves over that sin and consistently turns away from it. The Jesus-follower brings his/her foulness to God and receives pardon and fresh power. The believer falls six times and gets up seven times, and keeps moving forward.

That, too, is a miracle of grace.

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Satisfied

We all want to be satisfied (in the most common use of the term). I made some (smoked) pulled pork last night – and believe me, we were all satisfied at meal’s end!

But, our temporary feelings of satisfaction pale into insignificance when we consider this question: Can God be satisfied? Clearly, we’re going to need to consider a variant meaning of the word compared to, say, the appeasing of our fleeting appetites!

“If anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and He Himself is the propitiation (satisfaction) for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for the whole world.” I John 2:1-2

For God to be satisfied, in this case, means that His wrath is fully appeased through an effective, once-for-all-time sacrifice to take away the guilt of sin – healing the breach caused by our rebellion.

Yes, God IS satisfied – utterly, totally, and universally satisfied – and it has something to do with an advocate for sinners, Jesus Christ.

Satisfied here implies complete, without flaw – when Jesus said, “It is finished!” as He perished on the cross, it meant that satisfaction for sin was now reaching a whole new level. One sacrifice for all sin, for all peoples. A satisfaction that anyone in the entire world could enter into, at any time, and be reconciled with God.

We don’t sacrifice a lamb for our daily sins – that is to go backwards into the time when God was instructing the human race through types and symbols. All those temporary sacrifices were like brush strokes, painting the portrait of the Lamb of God to come who would fully satisfy the wrath of a just God with a perfect sacrifice.

We need no Mass to crucify afresh the body and blood of Christ. We can do no good works to appease God when He has already satisfied His perfect requirements through the giving up of His Son. Our acts of devotion are to be from a wellspring of gratitude and joy that God is satisfied with those who embrace His Son.

We cannot earn favor. We cannot cancel our guilt. We cannot cleanse our own stains. We cannot appease our offended consciences or obey a law that we already despise; and we certainly cannot satisfy a holy God. Our feeble efforts at reconciling ourselves to God through ANY religious observances or good works are like sitting on the beach digging through sand with a bent spoon to try to find a bit of water, when the whole ocean is in front of us. That’s the bad news.

The good news is that God is satisfied – with Jesus Christ. Embracing and following Him, we enter into a rest that nothing else can give: the smile of a satisfied God.

If I put a heaping plate of nourishing food in front of you, and you decide instead to scratch around on the floor looking for crumbs – would that satisfy either of us? So, when God makes abundant provision and we embark on a do-it-yourself project, we stiff-arm the only One who can satisfy.

We can be washed in the ocean of God’s grace. Bent spoons and crumbs don’t bring a smile to God’s heart. Anything that has the trappings of Christianity without the satisfaction of God as its constant heartbeat is simply missing the point.

It is vanity to think that we could satisfy a God who has already satisfied every requirement of His holiness. We can, however, bow to worship and humbly receive His gracious kindness.

“If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from ALL unrighteousness.” I John 1:8,9

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The Balance of Freedom and Form in Personal Devotions

When I became a believer in Jesus, I was taught early on to have very regular daily personal devotions. It was a valuable discipline, which carries through to this day. However…

Form – - – Freedom

I have also learned that there is a balance of freedom and form in the life of worshipper.

This lesson came home to me most powerfully when we were about to have our first son. Babies have an odd habit of thoroughly disrupting anything resembling a schedule, and my wife was concerned about how the sleep/feeding cycles were going to impact her (very regular) schedule of Bible-reading and prayer. Turns out that God is perfectly capable of sustaining His people in the midst of unpredictability and relative chaos.

Most believers find benefit from a disciplined and regular schedule, and most believers also find, over time, that rigidity can be unproductive and a period of less-structured free-form devotions can be exactly what is needed. Liberating ourselves from the mentality that there is one “right” method to personal devotions is important in experiencing the freedom of grace, and giving God room to work in new ways.

Also, a word about fixed notions of the “right” time to have devotions. I am wired as a morning person, so the standard advice that one should have devotions first thing in the morning fits easily into my modus operandi. However, it is vital that we respect our internal makeup in these matters – some people feel nearly worthless in the morning but really come alive in the evening. For them, the oft-quoted maxim, “Be sure to see the face of God before you see the face of man,” while well-meaning, may lead to hopeless bondage. Instead, built your devotional schedule around your best times, and give yourself (and others!) flexibility. We are free to experiment, evolve, and discover what works best in our lives.

So, to sum up – don’t get locked in to one framework, and don’t bind others. God is big and powerful enough to accomodate our many styles and makeups. Embrace the necessity of discipline, enjoy the flexibility of freedom, and above all, walk in the liberty of grace.

How have you grown and changed in your devotional approach? Have you found a good balance of freedom and form, or are you still struggling to find a path of peace in personal worship?

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Clueless Birds

As I sit in the (relative) quiet of my study this Sunday morning, there is a squawking noise outside – sparrows happily jousting with one another for their turn at the feeder that hangs from the red maple by our deck.

Wings flapping as they hop from deck rail to seed-holder, they greedily go after their morning breakfast, provided by someone they’ll never know, someone they’d fear and flee from on sight.

Someone who gladly provides for them anyway. Because they are alive and have a purpose; even if that purpose is only to sing and look pretty and propagate and remind us that we are but one species in a glorious pantheon of wonderful creatures.

A mourning dove has now joined them – big, slow, with its incredibly distinctive and plaintive cry. And sometimes, my ears will delight at the calls of the neighborhood mockingbird (my favorite), one of the many reminders that God has a whimsical sense of humor.

These birds are clueless about higher purposes, yet they glorify God, even when not conscious of it.

Sometimes I wonder how clueless I am. Yet it is my calling and privilege to knowingly glorify God.

Not just take the daily abundance that he gives and fly off in fear…

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My Idea of Justice

I find that I have a very ambivalent relationship with Justice.

Like every human being made in the image of God (well, I guess that’s all of us!), my instinct for justice is undeniable. Murderers should be severely punished. Thieves (corporate or otherwise) should be locked up and have their assets liquidated and returned to their victims. People who do great work should be promoted.

We are hard-wired to seek consequences for choices, on both the reward and the punishment level.

Some feel squeamish about justice. But steal our wallet, smash our car, hurt our kids – we pretty quickly find out that we yearn for justice like everyone else. On a personal and societal level.

But then I read statements like this today, in Psalm 58:

Surely there is a reward for the righteous; surely there is a God who judges the earth!

…and I look around and say, where? Isn’t it often the case that the wicked “get away with it” while the righteous suffer (see Psalm 73)? If God is just, and a Judge over all the earth, why is there so much injustice? In the timeline of our experience, it all seems so uneven and inconsistent. What’s up with that?

This can be a real stumbling block to faith. Of course, reading through the Scriptures, we do find numerous places where God actively brings judgment on those who oppose Him, and even judges His people when they stray off from His ways. But other times, He seems silent. Is this injustice? Impotence? Absence? Or something else?

From our (admittedly limited) perspective, it looks like there’s not a whole lot of justice going on! But maybe – just maybe – this is a good thing.

The same psalm opens with this bald statement of our universal human sin: “the wicked are estranged from the womb; they go astray from birth speaking lies.” If just our little white lies were subject to the justice they deserve, we’d all be living through a Category 10 hurricane of wrath each day. Let alone all the other ways in which we daily fall pitifully short of perfect holiness.

God is just…and patient (or, in older English – longsuffering). God is a God of justice…and mercy. God is opposed to the wicked…and inscrutably wise in His eternal purposes.

In other words, justice will not always occur in the way and in the timing we expect. It WILL occur, as sure as day follows night – but, as for me, I am glad it is not immediate and fitting to the crime. Because I’d be a dead man 100,000 times over for all of my violations – in action and in heart – of God’s law.

Throughout the Torah, we see the principle of substitutionary sacrifice for sin – justice taken out on an animal substitute, such as a spotless lamb. Blood was shed as payment for human sin. Day after day, year after year. This understanding continued forward into the Christian faith, with the full outworking being a once-for-all sacrifice of Christ, the Lamb of God, for sinners of every race.

Justice satisfied via sacrificial substitute??? My sin cancelled out by the sword of justice falling on a willing, and faultless, sacrifice?? What’s up with that?

Scandalous idea. And that, my friends, is the gospel.

It’s God’s idea of justice, linked in mysterious wisdom to mercy for fallen men and women. Justice, and deliverance from justice. Holiness meeting humanity over a table of atoning love.

I’ll take that over my idea of justice any day.

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I, Me, My, You

God is not a third-person abstraction, though we often treat him that way.

We are often inclined to talk about God as if He is not personal; as if there is no genuine one-to-one relationship. And perhaps for many, there is no such personal relationship – God is best kept in some box, only to be dragged out in time of desperation and appealed to as some mystical caster of spells for my benefit in desperate times.

Ugh. Can you imagine children treating their parents this way?

Reading through Psalms 40, 41, and 42 the last few mornings, I was struck afresh by the cornucopia of first- and second-person references. Here is an extremely abbreviated sample:

• I waited patiently for the Lord…He inclined to me and heard my cry
• Many, O Lord, are the wonders which You have done, and your thoughts toward us
• There is none to compare with You
• My ears you have opened
• I delight to do Your will, O my God; Your law is within my heart
• Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me; make haste, O Lord, to help me
• As for me, I said, “O Lord, be gracious to me; heal my soul, for I have sinned against You”
• As for me, You uphold me in Your integrity, and You set me in Your presence forever
• As the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants for You, O God
• My soul thirsts for God
• Why are you in despair, O my soul…hope in God, for I shall again praise Him

I, me, my, You. That is the proper language of a soul engaged with the living and personal God.

Whatever anyone may think about the God of the Bible, and the faith of those who follow Him, there is no such thing as a far-off, third-person, unapproachable deity in the entirety of the Scriptures. Unless, of course, you choose to build that wall.

From Genesis to Revelation, I see an open door…and those who seek, find.

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Blessed Confusion

“Hail, blessed woman! The Lord is with you.”

Huh??

Mary was just minding her own business. A virgin, engaged to Joseph, she very likely did not view herself as a potential world-changer. As a uniquely and highly favored person in the sight of the Lord. As one who would know a “God with us” in a way that, body and soul, no-one else ever could.

Via an unanticipated without-Joseph pregnancy, she would bear a Son whose impact on the following generations would be unfathomable. One whose kingdom would have no end.

“How can this be, since I am a virgin?”

While the angel gives her an answer, it’s the summary statement, the exclamation point at the end, that resonates through the ages even to us today, in all of our confusing difficulties: “Nothing will be impossible with God.”

Whatever perplexities we’re facing, if God is with us, we’re richly blessed. If the Lord has favored us with his nearness, and chosen us for His service, we are wealthy beyond measure, even if poor in this world’s goods.

And He calls us to mind-boggling things. Forsaking treasured sins. Giving up self-direction. Turning our backs on the allure of the world. Holiness. Singleness of heart. Things impossible for mere men.

But possible with God. Only possible with God.

Some people deny the existence, or presence, or activity of God. When you see a follower of Jesus with a submissive and trusting heart, a former slave to selfishness and sin who now (even just in part) walks a different path out of worship and love, you are seeing a divine work. You are seeing the life of God implanted in a chosen one. You are seeing Emmanuel – God with us.

For those who will not see God, there are always alternative explanations to be manufactured. Denial is the daily lot of the unbeliever. Unbroken natural process is the dogma that defines what is possible.

For those who believe but know the confusions (and even tragedies <–I never knew this backstory until this morning) that swirl about in our fallen world, there will always be unresolved questions (esp. the ones starting in “Why….?). But there is one exclamation point that is simply self-evident regarding the one God who has created heaven and earth and all that is in them.

The Unlimited One doesn’t feel the handcuffs of “the impossible.” As King, He does whatever He chooses. Even if it involves sovereignly blessing His chosen servants, and bypassing the laws by which He set up His universe.

Confusing at times? Yes. But a blessed confusion.

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Fish Out of Water

Beginning to read through Susan Cain‘s recent book Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking, I was surprised to find, in the second chapter, that she addresses the discomfort an introvert may feel in modern evangelical Christian culture.

The main thesis of the book is that there is a strong tendency to over-value demonstrative extroversion, and a corresponding tendency to under-value reflective and quieter introversion. The inner wiring of introversion can subtly (or even overtly) be viewed as problematic, instead of a strength. I have felt this trend in many areas of life, including business (see Lisa Petrilli’s excellent e-book on the subject, The Introvert’s Guide to Success in Business and Leadership).

While I have felt like a fish out of water in some church settings, I hadn’t thoroughly connected it to the broader evangelical culture until pondering this (page 65 of Quiet):

Now I’m quite sure our Lord was outgoing, but to peg Him to a personality type and then use that as a screening tool for leadership effectiveness? I don’t think so (but I have felt that pressure)!

From what I have seen over the years, outgoing-ness and expressive-ness are valued more highly in church settings, both in the pulpit and the pew. The gregarious pastor, the energetic worship leader, the hand-raising parishioner – those whose faith more easily flows into outward expression often surround the quiet and reflective souls who are left silently wondering if their faith is somehow defective.

Last week, my wife and I were watching a DVD of Michael W. Smith leading a worship concert of thousands in Houston (Michael’s got “it” when it comes to up-front leadership charisma, though I suspect he also has a reflective side). I felt that pang of insignificance – how does my more one-on-one approach to people and life measure up to this type of public display? Answer: It’s not meant to. Michael is built for what he does. I’m built to reflect and analyze and question and reason and write and teach. Is one of these traits inferior? I have to believe not (but that doesn’t always stop the feelings of inferiority that introverts regularly experience!)

So I guess that’s the point of this rambling post. Measuring ourselves, and others, by some “ideal” personality type – let’s dispose of that. In life, in business, and yes, in the church. We need our extroverts; they bring a lot to the table. But introverts have some very unique and vital strong suits that balance out the inevitable weaknesses of those who lean more heavily toward speech and action and social engagement (and vice-versa).

I struggle to worship in the outwardly-expressive manner of many of my brethren. I feel like an alien trying to schmooze in noisy social settings. I sometimes feel like a fish out of water when I’d rather take a walk and think, rather than run off to some social gathering. But I’m OK with all of that. God made me to go deep, not necessarily wide. My personality, along with my navel, is an Innie, not an Outie.

I’m sure our Lord loves His introverts.

(Links to Amazon are affiliate links, which means I may earn a few pennies if you click on them and buy the book!)

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Landing on Another World

I can hardly imagine the nervousness at NASA today, as the rover Curiosity is due to land on Mars late tonight.

I grew up devouring science fiction. I’ve always been fascinated by space travel. The idea that we could create machines that escape our planet, land on another one, and ship back data is still breathtaking to me.

But, as with all Mars or Moon landings, this is no slam dunk. A LOT has to go right to get Curiosity (intact) onto the surface. One of my brothers is an engineer with a firm that designs parachutes for these space adventures. This is high-risk, complex stuff.

The drive to visit another world, and the technological brilliance required to design a way to “Make it so!” (gratuitous Star Trek reference for Jean-Luc Picard fans) is one of the curiously amazing things about how we, as humans, are created.

But it shouldn’t surprise us. We were created by a God who conceived and brought into being an entire universe (0.00001% of which we barely understand), and this Creator was perfectly capable of visiting us, on this Earth, in a form to which we could relate.

Curiosity may fail to land safely on Mars, or it may fail to function properly. Jesus, however, did not fail. It looked like a catastrophic crash when He was impaled on a cross, but that death had a purpose (the redemption of His people), and His rising from the dead and current reign over heaven and earth validated His identity as Savior and Lord.

If your idea of God is a Being incapable of intervening in His own creation, incapable of communicating with His finite creatures, incapable of providing redemption and forgiveness to sinners…well, then, to quote a book title from a few decades ago, Your God is Too Small.

It is a small but still amazing thing that we little humans can reach out to another world. Let it serve as a snapshot of a far greater visit to our world.

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50 Shades of Great

I decided, this morning, to see how many of the 150 Psalms I’d need to go through to find 50 shades of God’s greatness – a far more uplifting topic than that other “50 Shades” currently making the rounds…

Starting with Psalm 1, and being pretty selective…

1. God prospers those who delight in His law.
2. God knows the way of the righteous.
3. God ensures that the wicked will not, ultimately, prosper.
4. God is King way above all earthly kings; He rules.
5. He is wrathful toward sin, yet also the refuge from wrath.
6. The nations are, and will be, His inheritance.
7. God is a shield.
8. He lifts up the head of His trusting people.
9. He sustains His people and delivers them from fear.
10. Salvation and blessing belong to the Lord.
11. He relieves us in our distress.
12. He is gracious and hears the prayers of His people.
13. He sets apart the godly man/woman for Himself.
14. God’s countenance is of light, shining on His people.
15. He puts gladness in our hearts.
16. He makes His people dwell in safety.
17. He gives ear to our words and groanings.
18. God takes no pleasure in wickedness; the boastful will not stand before Him.
19. He is a God of abundant lovingkindness.
20. He has given us a “house” in which we have access to His presence.
21. God is righteous.
22. Those who take refuge in Him are glad.
23. The Lord blesses the righteous person.
24. He is gracious and heals.
25. The Lord judges all the peoples; vindicating the righteous.
26. He tries the hearts and the minds; and saves the upright in heart.
27. As the Lord Most High, He is worthy of praise.
28. His Name is majestic in all the earth.
29. His splendor is displayed above the heavens.
30. The heavens are the work of His fingers.
31. Though He is vast and all-powerful, He takes thought of/care of mere men; He makes us special above all other creatures.
32. He is a God of wonders.
33. He rebukes and uproots those who oppose Him.
34. He abides forever.
35. God does not forget the cry of the afflicted.
36. He lifts us up from the gates of death, that we may tell His praises.
37. The Lord has made Himself known.
38. When men say, “God has forgotten; He has hidden His face; He will never see it” – that’s a pure delusion.
39. God hears the desire of the humble, and vindicates the orphan and the oppressed.
40. The upright will behold His face.
41. The words of the Lord are pure, as silver tried in a furnace, refined seven times.
42. The Lord deals bountifully with those who trust in His lovingkindness.
43. God is with the righteous generation.
44. The Lord restores His captive people and makes them glad.
45. We may abide in His tent, and dwell on His holy hill.
46. He is the source and fountain of all good.
47. The Lord is our inheritance.
48. He counsels His people.
49. He is at our right hand.
50. In His presence is fulness of joy; in His right hand there are pleasures forever.

And that brings us all the way through…just Psalm 16. Let alone the other 134 Psalms, and the rest of the Scriptures!

Of course, to be on the wrong side of righteousness and justice and purity of heart is a frightening thought – because, as each hour of every day abundantly reveals, we are all thoroughly corrupt. Yet, in Christ, God Himself clothes us in forgiveness and a righteousness that only He can impart.

We are urged to “set our minds on the things above.” These bright shades of greatness, and many, many others in the Scriptures, are for more edifying than anything else. They are riches given us to make our hearts glad – let’s do just that today!

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