Disattending To Who Men Are

Jesus didn't really pay any attention to men. Don't get me wrong, he gave people a lot of attention and ascribed to them the infinite worth they have as people. And He loved them deeply. But, Christ dealt with a lot of people - many of those who had a lot of power, influence, and communal respect - without in any way being influenced by the pressure that often comes from dealing with people.

Ever felt that pressure? I sure do. It looks like a lot of different things in my variegated life. Sometimes I feel like I need to say certain things in a certain way to avoid ostracism. Other times I'm talking to someone who is, in some way, really important, so I'm more careful about what I say and I converse in such a way as to impress. Still, at other times, I feel like to accrue love I've got to act within self-constructed confines that I believe others put me in. No matter what caving into the felt (real or not) pressure looks like, it always chains me and limits me.

Back to Jesus (I pronounced it "Hey Zeus" that time). I read about the nature of the environments Jesus was in and the people he was around and ascertain that he probably faced a lot of the same pressures I face, and under which, I falter. He's stood the easy test of being in situations with excessive drinking and not sinning, but some of the others are impressive. At age 30 Christ stood against, in acts and words of blatant subversive deracination, the most exalted men of his culture, lightly shouldering their disapproval. Hundreds who literally followed Jesus, who He called friends, abandoned Him because of His unyielding theology, opting for more meretricious doctrines. One of his best friends tried to get Jesus to take an easier route, Jesus unflinchingly called him Satan. The people He grew up with and knew for His entire life disbelieved what Jesus said of Himself and what He was capable of; Jesus never attenuated a single statement or went into a high-energy unmitigated pursuit to prove them wrong. Over and over again in Scripture, there is Christ immovable in the face of intense people pressures. And, it doesn't even seem difficult for Him… it looks like a light yolk He's under.

And it is. One reason that Jesus is so much better at loving people than I am is that He is free from any sort of explicit or implicit social, cultural, religious, and relational pressures that I too often succumb to. Jesus was able to be around the broken, battered, and sinful without concern for risking his reputation. He could defend the culturally repugnant sinners against the esteemed judgmental Pharisees. Jesus spoke truth passionately, insouciantly, audaciously. And in the end, His freedom from people pressures enabled Him to endure the unequivocal shame of the cross - despised by those who once praised Him, denied and deserted by His closest friends, and betrayed by the very people He came to save.

So, I see this freedom and how essential it is to truly living life in Christ, a child of God in the Kingdom of heaven, but man, it's difficult. I've been held back from living the Christ-infused, God-glorifying life I've been called to because of this difficulty. Too often I refrain from having that difficult conversation with someone close to me. Too often I circumlocute amongst those who have an aversion to Christianity, and my faith remains undiscovered. Too often I quickly catalyze a transient permutation of my character to in some way acquire rapport. Too often I care who people are, what they think, and how that will negatively or positively affect me in the environment I'm in. Too often, too often.

And, honestly, I'm not quite sure what is behind this messed up way of living I find myself in far too frequently. It's a conglomeration of reasons methinks, some probably pretty good and some probably pretty bad. There's probably some fear in there, likely some pride, and I think also a passion to maintain a strong witness and to fame the name of Jesus. Doesn't really matter why so much though, does it? What matter is that I'm not being like Jesus - supremely confident in who God is and who He is in relation to God. Never shrinking back, holding back, or moving back, but ever boldly pressing forward, bringing the Kingdom of God with Him. May I, standing firmly upon my Rock, live freely, and thus, live valiantly.

They came to him and said, "Teacher, we know you are a man of integrity. You aren't swayed by men, because you pay no attention to who they are; but you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth." -Mk 12:14

Understanding God's Love - Part III: It Changes Everything

Alright, so we've covered our indigent state of helplessness and depravity and noted that God's love exists despite that, not as something to be worked for or earned, but is simply there. As I've submitted repeatedly, this acknowledgement of our own sinful repugnance and understanding that God freely loves despite that, is the starting point of a fuller comprehension of God's love. When we accept the merciful, grace-filled gift of the love of God in Christ Jesus, everything changes.

First I've got to a give a short, inadequate, but necessary explanation on the point of God sending His son, in His great act of love, to die for us. God, who created humanity good, looked upon the people He created and saw that they were killing themselves with sin, their corrupted hearts driving them to engage in behaviors, thoughts, and attitudes that were bringing death to their lives, creating a divide between His people and Himself - the source of life. Because of their sinfulness, which is completely antithetical to God's nature, He could not be near them, for when sin is in the presence of God, it is engulfed in flames like chaff in a fire. The requisite result of sin is death. Somehow, God needed to make up for our complete lack, so He did. He sent His Son, who, begotten of God, was by nature God, to live a pure and holy life, and after doing so, being perfect, take our sin and it's consequences upon Himself, through death removing our sin from us forever, through resurrection bringing life where sin once reigned. By doing this for us, God is allowed intimacy with us because our essence has changed. We're no longer contemptible.

The sinfulness in our hearts has been washed away by the blood of Christ. Sinful Humanity, once innocent, has been redeemed by Jesus, given back their purity. We have been given freedom from condemnation, while the sinfulness in us, that has kept us from God, has been condemned. Where death once reigned, we now reign in life. What was dirty has been cleansed. What was broken has been fixed. What was by nature disgusting is now by nature beautifully enthralling. By trusting in God and allowing Him to have us, the very essence of who we are is pure, righteous, and holy. And, as we let His love in more and more, this unwarranted but desperately necessary love begins to change the way we live.

Now, because of our redemption through the love of God in Christ Jesus, we are not only changed on the inside, but we change on the outside. By the same love, His love, that drove us to allow Jesus to have our lives, forgive our sins, and redeem our souls, we are now tenderly impelled to become the person God has made us. Whole, New, Alive. The Spirit of God infused in our souls provides us what we need to live without the sin we were once stuck with. As we continue to allow God in more and more and work toward complete obedience, the beatific essence in us grows and develops, shining forth from the inside into how we act on the exterior. This magnificent interaction between our love-driven active submission and God's love-driven active provision enables us to be people who, inside and out, powerfully resemble Jesus Christ - the very image of life, glory, perfection, and love.

And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power� to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge - that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. - Ephesians 3:17-19

Understanding God's Love - Part II: While We Suck

I just read part 1 and I think it kind of sucks. This part probably should have gone along with the first part, because the two are inextricable from one another. They have to be connected in our minds and hearts. Or else, we'll do one of two things, either becoming pompous knowing God loves us or despising ourselves knowing we're not worthy of love. Neither of those is very helpful. That said, here goes dos.

So, we know that there's nothing we've done that makes us worthy of love, but still, there's this strange idea present that we have to become worthy of love to be loved. Humans, and it seems also, American culture, often think that to get A we have to do B. We work to obtain money. We work for reputation. We work for respect. Naturally then, we also should work for love, even God's love. It's a sociological philosophy embedded in our culture, not reflective of reality, but difficult to get past.

There's another reason why we're so apt to try to work for God's love... we're proud little son of a bucks. People want to be able to attribute to themselves whatever good attributes they can. So we refrain from admitting the reality of our hearts, that they are depraved, in order to maintain an ostentatious ruse of righteousness. That way, we can puff ourselves up, call ourselves good people worthy of God's love, and when our goodness comes into question, advert to how we stand comparatively to the rest of the world. In doing this, we make God's love for us, about us. And, like most everything else, it's not.

The veracious reality is that because we suck there is nothing we can do to earn God's love. Trying to earn God's love and believing we can only leads to failure, which makes us see ourselves as failures, which leads to more failure, which leads to self-hatred and condemnation. Surprisingly, we must stop trying. When we're trying to become good enough to be loved by God, we're keeping ourselves from accepting God's love. We refuse, for whatever reason, to accept the love he offers. Getting caught up in the desire to and attempt to earn only leads us further and further away from an understanding of the love God has for us, the free love.

Right now, in the middle of my crap, in the middle of your disgusting sin, God loves you and I powerfully, infinitely, perfectly. There's nothing I can do to acquire more of God's love. There's nothing you can do to diminish God's love for you. Although by it's very nature sin is contemptible to God, and we are the purveyors of sin, God loves us. So deep does this love run that He sent His son, a part of Himself, to become the ablution, salvation, and expiation for our sins - opening up the room of God's presence to the entire world. Let go. Acknowledge your sinful heart, end your endeavor to earn God's love, and let the love that is already waiting for you come into your life. It changes everything.

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. - Romans 5:8

Understanding God's Love - Part I: We Suck

I have so many conversations with people, people who desire and love God, who are struggling hard in life because they don't understand God's love for them. They are missing key componential comprehensions that enable us to know the love of God. I am one of these people. All too often in my life there have been gaps in my heart's understanding of God's love, caused by my debaucherous and pertinacious self, that have left me wanting. The following notes discuss the areas where my misunderstandings have perniciously affected my life.

This is the least enjoyable part of understanding God's love. People think highly of themselves. Almost always. And when they don't, they want to, they long to, and they try to do things that allow them to think well of themselves. Our natural inclination is toward hubristic self-confidence. Because of all our ingrained insecurities we desperately want to see ourselves as good people. We think that in spite of the bad things people do, at heart humans are generally pretty decent. It all sounds swell, but it is a gross prevarication.

We're afraid to admit the truth because the truth is overwhelmingly opprobrious. Humanity is messed up. Our hearts are tainted, dirty, sinful, deplorable. We are so full of selfishness, conceit, and impurity. I am, you are. I don't deny that there is good in us. I don't deny that most people desire sublimity. However, the sad reality is that the good in us is contaminated and because of our actions and the motivations of our heart, we deserve the wrath of God. Acknowledging this is difficult on many levels. What if I'm not a genuinely good person? What if my very soul is depraved? Where then is my worth? Who could love me?

The reality is that we are bad people. This, my friends, is step one. We have to admit that our hearts are vitiated. Our very natures are sinful and disgusting. Refrain from expostulation, rationalizing your actions, writing off your failings as mere foibles, and engaging in comparisons. Accept that you don't deserve love, because you don't. In doing so, you can begin to understand just how powerful and magnificent the love of God is - seeing through our marring sinfulness and into the core of our being, engraved with His image.


Man is in no danger of taking too much from himself, provided he learns that whatever he wants is to be recovered in God. But he cannot arrogate to himself one particle beyond his due, without losing himself in vain confidence, and, by transferring divine honour to himself, becoming guilty of the greatest impiety. - John Calvin Institutes... 2.II.10

Wanting The Unobtainable

Some things in life are so wonderful. They really are. God has created a mesmeric world with so many things that are excellent and praiseworthy. A key component of understanding and enjoying God is a comprehension of the innate goodness of what He's created. It is good for us to cogitate on these things, desire them, and pursue them. The quandary arises when we want what we cannot have.

This is where I'm at right now. I desire something that is intrinsically good, holy, pure, beautiful, and Godly, but, for a number of good reasons, I can't have it. And there's this feeling in my heart when I consider this reality. It's not anxiety or pain really. Something just isn't quite right, my heart feels ill. So, is it wrong for me to want what I can't acquire? No. It's not wrong to desire that which is good. At the same time, even though this thing is [insert extensive list of positive adjectives here], I've got to let it go.

Why? It's affecting my heart. It's distracting my mind. It's not helping me follow Jesus. Because it directly disconcerts my heart, my mind ruminates on it, then my heart wants it, and after that I go into deliberating on whether or not to pursue it and how I would do that. When I am around that which I'm impassioned over or see someone that has what I long for, it only exacerbates the problem. I spend time living in this world of the imagination and not in the God-authored reality that is my current life. And my current life is magnificent.

It's really easy to become mentally abstracted in good things that aren't Jesus. At least I think so. They're much more likely to hinder me than the bad things that aren't Jesus, because the bad things are so obvious. We have to check our hearts, check our minds, and find anything in there - good things included - that is thwarting us from trusting, pursuing, loving, or living for Christ and let it go. For Christ here and now is better. When our joy is in him and focus on him, the illness of our heart is forgotten, for our great Hope is obtained.

Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:4

Oh, the ludicrous cross

I am a follower of Jesus. That means I believe a lot of strange things. I believe God exists. I believe He created the world in its entirety. I believe in absolutes. I believe that a perfect and perfectly good God can allow evil and still be perfect, still be good. I believe the Bible is the way God has chosen to speak to us. I believe that the same God who created the Universe chose to bring salvation to the world by dying on cross at the hands of the very people He came to save.

What's with that last one? The rest of the beliefs I listed can be easily defended using scientific and logical arguments, with consent to a few presuppositions. But Jesus on a cross? Are you kidding me? An omnipresent, omnipotent, omniscient God determined that the preeminent method to liberate people from their sin and the effects of their sin was to send His begotten son, the outgrowth of Himself, to bring people life through His own death.

See what I'm saying? It's counterintuitive. Couldn't a better way exist? Couldn’t God think of something else? He's God after all, right? Let me submit this: perhaps, keeping in mind that God knows all and has all power in His grasp, there is no other way.

As humans, we have been born with an intrinsic sense of what ethical behavior is. When we sin, we sense it. We feel guilty. Because of our inherent ethic, we become guilty. In becoming guilty we acquire the weight of that guilt, and guilt, though immaterial, does not just disappear. It has to go somewhere. Although sometimes it does not stay with us emotionally and our calloused hearts may no longer sense it, the guilt remains upon us.

Back to Christ, on the cross. The perfect human. The perfect sacrifice for our sins. It is there on the cross that our guilt went somewhere. All of the sin of the past, present, and future was transferred to Christ. When His blood was shed, our sin was shed. With his death was the death of our guilt, for it was all upon Him when He died. His expiation for our sins was the ablution of our souls, freeing us from all sin and opening the door to intimacy with the God of the Universe. Powerful? Heck yeah. Foolishness? Yeah, I suppose so. But sometimes, Love is foolish.