When reading, studying and even watching ( DVD courtesy of Grosvernor parks actually really good) the gospel of John I began to see a really warped form of love.
In John 6:28 a question is asked of Jesus. A question that all Christians ask themselves. We have all kinds ways of trying to figure this out, to decided what it means to serve God and how we do it. The response that Jesus gives is very reassuring for those of us who believe in him. The question is simply “What must we do to be doing the work of God?”
His answer is clear and straight to the point. (v29) “ that you believe in him whom he has sent”
This question seems to be asked ( as far as I can tell) in humility and in an honest manor of trying to serve a God whom he loves. This the desire of all people who love God and therefore love Jesus. To serve and be able to be apart of what God is doing. This is similar to the way that a romantic love behaves, since I love my Fiancé I want to be around her and be able to do what she wants me to do, because I want to make her happy. What God wants us to do is just believe in him. This is really a simple request considering what he has done for us and given to us.
A second question is asked. This time it is not asked out of genuine love and in an attempt to please God “Then what signs do you do, that we may see and believe you? What works do you perform?
This is a question that asks Jesus to prove himself. As if to say (through under tones) If you want my love and you want me to accept you what can you do for me?. This is not love, this is a contractual agreement. If we keep the same example of romantic love. I do not wait to do do things for my fiance until after she proves herself and does something for me. If I did act this way, it would be a good example of a relationship that is going to go down hill fast, once we hit an inevitable a hard spot. From what I have ever read in the Bible I have yet to find a spot where Jesus wants to prove himself before we believe.
The second statement made by the same person in verse 31 displays a sense of arrogance and entitlement. 31 “Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written “he gave them bread from heaven to eat”. Of course this means that because his ancestors were given food in the dessert which was a miracle done by Moses that means that this man who claims to be God must be able to do something at least that amazing for him. Once again a contractual agreement.
The response of Jesus to this statement will do three things:
1 It will carry the same theme as what Jesus said in John 5:46 which is “ For if you believed Moses, you would have believed me, for he wrote of me. But if you do not believe his writings how will you believe my words?”.
That all of scripture talks about Jesus and how he is the fulfillment of it all.
2. It will explain that not only did Moses ( who the Jews took much pride in) write of Jesus but also that Moses was not that amazing, God through Moses was amazing.
3. It will put the emphasis back on Jesus who is fulfilling all that Moses taught and all that the Jews love about God.
Jesus’ response is “ Truly truly I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." (John6:32-33)
The bread that was given to the Jews in the dessert, a time in their history that they perceived as God proving himself to them. Jesus says that the bread that they received was just a pre-show, just a training exercise for them to learn how to recognize the real deal. They loved God because he gave them what they wanted, Jesus says that He is the real bread of life and he is what Moses wrote about, and he is the one who gave them bread from heaven. He is the true bread of life. (John 6:35). Except they didn’t want him, even though they should have recognized him.
Love is not a contract. Love is phrased in a way that just asks, how can I serve?. Without a sense of entitlement and without bargaining and asking for a sample.
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
The Point.
So I have been having the HARDEST time trying to let get my brain get to a point where I can just chill. This is what I have come up with since I am now just starting to emerge from a haze of other peoples theology and books up the yin yang and seminars and lectures and MORE BOOKS!!!!. lol.
I love books and reading since I started to dive into something that was deeper than just me. ( more on this later maybe). I started to understand how importance it is to be reading other peoples interpretation of an issue or a way that they saw and applied something, and whether or not it was affective and useful to them in their situation. This is invaluable experience and is important that we need to be reading.
That being said it also just as important and probably more important that we also take the time to let that information become our own. Not that DA Carson's interpretation of the eschatological return of Christ will become my own, necessarily, or Allan Hirsch's view and application of Biblical discipleship NEEDS to be mine after I have read his book on it. But rather that we need to take some time to mull over what has been read and let it filter its way into how we think and always always be weighing it against scripture.
I think that a lot of this comes down to how we see the world, and as a Christian a lot of it comes down to how we see scripture in light of how I see the world.( more on that later, once I get myself organized here)
I've been reading John and just letting myself unwind and get back to reality, aka scripture and stop reading opinions and view points. A good friend and a big brother to me told me recently that it's important to always be reading something if that is what you like to do, but always keep one foot in the Gospels ( Matthew, Mark Luke or John) and the other in whatever else you are studying at the time. we need to always be reading the words of Jesus because that is what everything else is based on. I think that this is an incredibly simple and very true statement.
In John it talks about how when John is doing his thing and dunking people in the river. Jesus comes to see him. John says one small statement and with that one statement he gives up everything that his life's work has accumulated. All the time that he spent chilling out in the desert and eating bugs will begin to come to a close with one statement. " Behold the lamb of God". This statement causes John's disciples to leave him and follow Jesus.
I think that this speaks volumes to all parties involved. 1. John. and 2 the disciples.
1. John recognized the point and he did not hold onto his little posse like so many leaders today could be easily accused of. I went to a small small conference recently here in Ontario and the premise was the idea of house Churches. The speaker ( the only speaker) said that house Church "was the only Biblical way of doing Church". One of his main reasons for this was that pastors tend to cling to the pulpit just like a factory worker will cling to his union rights and the contractual obligation of the company to keep him employed and because under this accusation pastor are doing this, the Church suffers because Church leaders are afraid to say what needs to be said and do things in the manor in which they need to be done out of fear that the congregation wont give them a nice Christmas bonus. All though I did feel that the speaker was nuts there were enough people, granted stillnot that many but enough that the mentality of the pastoral position needs to be discussed in this sense.
2. Is the disciples. They recognized what John was talking about and that the teacher is not better that the student. They didn't stay with John and try to justify it somehow. They followed the message and not the messenger. Jesus is the message and they got that. They would have to be fools to just let him walk by and NOT FOLLOW HIM.
I sometimes have to ask myself if sometimes I follow the messenger and not the message. How closely could they really have been listening in the first place if they didn't, they would have missed the whole thing that John had been talking about anyways. The mark of true disciple in their context or ours, is that disciples follows the message regardless of how charismatic and intriguing the messenger is.
Anyways that's all for now I am done my middle of the night rant, comment if you like.
I love books and reading since I started to dive into something that was deeper than just me. ( more on this later maybe). I started to understand how importance it is to be reading other peoples interpretation of an issue or a way that they saw and applied something, and whether or not it was affective and useful to them in their situation. This is invaluable experience and is important that we need to be reading.
That being said it also just as important and probably more important that we also take the time to let that information become our own. Not that DA Carson's interpretation of the eschatological return of Christ will become my own, necessarily, or Allan Hirsch's view and application of Biblical discipleship NEEDS to be mine after I have read his book on it. But rather that we need to take some time to mull over what has been read and let it filter its way into how we think and always always be weighing it against scripture.
I think that a lot of this comes down to how we see the world, and as a Christian a lot of it comes down to how we see scripture in light of how I see the world.( more on that later, once I get myself organized here)
I've been reading John and just letting myself unwind and get back to reality, aka scripture and stop reading opinions and view points. A good friend and a big brother to me told me recently that it's important to always be reading something if that is what you like to do, but always keep one foot in the Gospels ( Matthew, Mark Luke or John) and the other in whatever else you are studying at the time. we need to always be reading the words of Jesus because that is what everything else is based on. I think that this is an incredibly simple and very true statement.
In John it talks about how when John is doing his thing and dunking people in the river. Jesus comes to see him. John says one small statement and with that one statement he gives up everything that his life's work has accumulated. All the time that he spent chilling out in the desert and eating bugs will begin to come to a close with one statement. " Behold the lamb of God". This statement causes John's disciples to leave him and follow Jesus.
I think that this speaks volumes to all parties involved. 1. John. and 2 the disciples.
1. John recognized the point and he did not hold onto his little posse like so many leaders today could be easily accused of. I went to a small small conference recently here in Ontario and the premise was the idea of house Churches. The speaker ( the only speaker) said that house Church "was the only Biblical way of doing Church". One of his main reasons for this was that pastors tend to cling to the pulpit just like a factory worker will cling to his union rights and the contractual obligation of the company to keep him employed and because under this accusation pastor are doing this, the Church suffers because Church leaders are afraid to say what needs to be said and do things in the manor in which they need to be done out of fear that the congregation wont give them a nice Christmas bonus. All though I did feel that the speaker was nuts there were enough people, granted stillnot that many but enough that the mentality of the pastoral position needs to be discussed in this sense.
2. Is the disciples. They recognized what John was talking about and that the teacher is not better that the student. They didn't stay with John and try to justify it somehow. They followed the message and not the messenger. Jesus is the message and they got that. They would have to be fools to just let him walk by and NOT FOLLOW HIM.
I sometimes have to ask myself if sometimes I follow the messenger and not the message. How closely could they really have been listening in the first place if they didn't, they would have missed the whole thing that John had been talking about anyways. The mark of true disciple in their context or ours, is that disciples follows the message regardless of how charismatic and intriguing the messenger is.
Anyways that's all for now I am done my middle of the night rant, comment if you like.
Monday, September 6, 2010
Start with brokeness and add humility
When we read scripture we find certain people who are just naturally wired to be leaders, whether for good or not. This is something that has fascinated me and I want to just look at a few of these men who lead men for Jesus.
God tends to make leaders when they are the most broken and opening themselves up to His mercy because they are so busted up.
I love Paul, I like to read the letters that he writes to people who know and trust him. His words of encouragement and rebuke are some of the most in-depth writings ever written. He displays the attributes of a Godly leader in how he stand up for what is right and just which is of Jesus and the cross. He is not afraid to get in a tussle with people who have authority and will fight back. He is even unafraid to correct those who he respects as being above him in apostleship. He walks the walk and talks the talk of the gospel.
The Bible also illustrated for its readers how Paul became such a man and it shows a glimpse of how he was prior to God gaining a hold on his life.
One very important attribute that is absolutely crucial to good leadership as described by the Bible is humility. When we start in Acts 9 Paul is not yet who is going to be. He is Saul, a man who is like a 1st century, Jewish, James Bond running all of the place taking out Christians in the name of God.
Paul was built from the start as a leader. We know this from Acts 9, it says that when he was on the road to Damascus with his new license to kill ( aka a letter to the synagogue 9:2), that he had men with him (Acts 9:7). Paul is already a leader in the most basic sense which is that men will follow him.
So this moment is the climax of Saul who is very soon to become Paul’s life. He is given all kinds of authority to do what needs to be done according to the Jewish authorities of that time and he is at a high point of his pride and self reliance. This is where he changed from becoming an empty ring leader of a pack of thugs to a discipler and a teacher of the faith. But before he can become this “chosen instrument”, he must first be humbled. (Acts 9: 3-6)
Paul sees a vision of Jesus Christ after his death, burial, resurrection and ascension that is unique to him alone in this way. Paul is put in such a position where he just became the lowest guy on the totem pole rather than the boss. He is physically put onto the ground and told to follow order and told to “ enter the city and you will be told what you are to do”. He must first be broken before he is of any use. This is the starting point of Paul’s long life of preaching about God’s mercy for the humble and also His just wrath towards our unrepentant selves.
King David, the King of a nation that was hand chosen by God himself to triumph and fail based upon their adherence to His law and what he wants them to do.
When at the end of his life when he has conquered nations, been conquered ( by his own son) and been restored, after he has felt so far away from God’s good side that he wrote “ O Lord do not rebuke me on your anger nor discipline me in your wrath. For your arrows have sunk into me, and your hand has come down on me”, (Psalm 38: 1-2) and has also felt co close to God in a personal relationship that he wrote “Commit your way to the LORD: trust in him, and he will act. He will bring forth your righteousness as a light.” (Psalm 37: 5-6)
Nearing the end of his life when he has seen the hand of God so clearly working in and around his life he remains humble.
1 Kings 1:47 “Moreover, the king's servants came to congratulate our lord King David, saying, 'May your God make the name of Solomon more famous than yours, and make his throne greater than your throne.' And the king bowed himself on the bed”.
Even at the end his gives over his authority over the people of Israel in a quiet and humble manor. He does it willingly and not begrudgingly.
The recognition that all authority and all responsibilities we have been given come from God is a crucial element of any form of ministry, because He wants it back. That why he gave it to us.
John 3:30 " He must increase, but I must decrease".
God tends to make leaders when they are the most broken and opening themselves up to His mercy because they are so busted up.
I love Paul, I like to read the letters that he writes to people who know and trust him. His words of encouragement and rebuke are some of the most in-depth writings ever written. He displays the attributes of a Godly leader in how he stand up for what is right and just which is of Jesus and the cross. He is not afraid to get in a tussle with people who have authority and will fight back. He is even unafraid to correct those who he respects as being above him in apostleship. He walks the walk and talks the talk of the gospel.
The Bible also illustrated for its readers how Paul became such a man and it shows a glimpse of how he was prior to God gaining a hold on his life.
One very important attribute that is absolutely crucial to good leadership as described by the Bible is humility. When we start in Acts 9 Paul is not yet who is going to be. He is Saul, a man who is like a 1st century, Jewish, James Bond running all of the place taking out Christians in the name of God.
Paul was built from the start as a leader. We know this from Acts 9, it says that when he was on the road to Damascus with his new license to kill ( aka a letter to the synagogue 9:2), that he had men with him (Acts 9:7). Paul is already a leader in the most basic sense which is that men will follow him.
So this moment is the climax of Saul who is very soon to become Paul’s life. He is given all kinds of authority to do what needs to be done according to the Jewish authorities of that time and he is at a high point of his pride and self reliance. This is where he changed from becoming an empty ring leader of a pack of thugs to a discipler and a teacher of the faith. But before he can become this “chosen instrument”, he must first be humbled. (Acts 9: 3-6)
Paul sees a vision of Jesus Christ after his death, burial, resurrection and ascension that is unique to him alone in this way. Paul is put in such a position where he just became the lowest guy on the totem pole rather than the boss. He is physically put onto the ground and told to follow order and told to “ enter the city and you will be told what you are to do”. He must first be broken before he is of any use. This is the starting point of Paul’s long life of preaching about God’s mercy for the humble and also His just wrath towards our unrepentant selves.
King David, the King of a nation that was hand chosen by God himself to triumph and fail based upon their adherence to His law and what he wants them to do.
When at the end of his life when he has conquered nations, been conquered ( by his own son) and been restored, after he has felt so far away from God’s good side that he wrote “ O Lord do not rebuke me on your anger nor discipline me in your wrath. For your arrows have sunk into me, and your hand has come down on me”, (Psalm 38: 1-2) and has also felt co close to God in a personal relationship that he wrote “Commit your way to the LORD: trust in him, and he will act. He will bring forth your righteousness as a light.” (Psalm 37: 5-6)
Nearing the end of his life when he has seen the hand of God so clearly working in and around his life he remains humble.
1 Kings 1:47 “Moreover, the king's servants came to congratulate our lord King David, saying, 'May your God make the name of Solomon more famous than yours, and make his throne greater than your throne.' And the king bowed himself on the bed”.
Even at the end his gives over his authority over the people of Israel in a quiet and humble manor. He does it willingly and not begrudgingly.
The recognition that all authority and all responsibilities we have been given come from God is a crucial element of any form of ministry, because He wants it back. That why he gave it to us.
John 3:30 " He must increase, but I must decrease".
Monday, August 30, 2010
Jesus just is
So I’ve taken some time to read my way through the gospel of Mark because, well Mark loves Jesus and talks about him a lot so I felt that was the only reason that I really needed. Inside of Marks gospel he takes great efforts and makes it quite apparent that Jesus wants his people to figure out who He is for themselves.
I hope that this is not a news breaking statement that Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, wants to know each of his followers individually.
The first place that I noticed this is right off the kick. Mark 1:2-3.
"As it is written in Isaiah the prophet, "Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way,
the voice of one crying in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight,'"
This is a quote taken from the prophet Isaiah 40:3 as stated. The quotation that Mark has put in cuts off or hides the last piece which states that:
“A voice cries: "In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. “ (Isaiah 40:3)
Mark cuts off the last piece which makes it abundantly clear to the reader that Jesus is in fact God.
Now why would Mark do this? Is his plan to not allow the reader to come to salvation? Mark does this consistently throughout his gospel.
Mark 1: 23-26
"And immediately there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit. And he cried out,
"What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are--the Holy One of God."
But Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be silent, and come out of him!"
And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying out with a loud voice, came out of him."
Once again in a public setting when Jesus could have easily established his authority as God in the flesh he rather silences the opportunity.
Jesus wants each person who follows him to get to that point on their own. There is no such thing as a second hand Christian. This is a problem that I see being consistent today just as it was when Jesus was on earth.
When I think about how Christianity in the holistic sense desires to have those who do not believe come to faith, which is a very biblical idea and one that we NEED to have we do a lot of proving rather than just laying out the evidence. I am more guilty of this than most. There are not to many times when Jesus feels the need to beat his supremacy into people’s heads. He just is supreme. He demonstrates it and lives it and just simply is.
Now this is impossible for us to do(live in supremacy). We cannot live perfectly as Jesus does, but what we can do is live in such a way that points to his supremacy. We don’t have to enter into hostile debate as a means of displaying what Christ is. We simply do as Mark does when he writes and just lay out the facts.
Colossians 1:21 “And you who were once alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him.”
The bottom line is that Jesus did it all. He has brought us in and he has changed us. As Christians we don’t have to prove who He is just point to who He is.
I hope that this is not a news breaking statement that Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, wants to know each of his followers individually.
The first place that I noticed this is right off the kick. Mark 1:2-3.
"As it is written in Isaiah the prophet, "Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way,
the voice of one crying in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight,'"
This is a quote taken from the prophet Isaiah 40:3 as stated. The quotation that Mark has put in cuts off or hides the last piece which states that:
“A voice cries: "In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. “ (Isaiah 40:3)
Mark cuts off the last piece which makes it abundantly clear to the reader that Jesus is in fact God.
Now why would Mark do this? Is his plan to not allow the reader to come to salvation? Mark does this consistently throughout his gospel.
Mark 1: 23-26
"And immediately there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit. And he cried out,
"What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are--the Holy One of God."
But Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be silent, and come out of him!"
And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying out with a loud voice, came out of him."
Once again in a public setting when Jesus could have easily established his authority as God in the flesh he rather silences the opportunity.
Jesus wants each person who follows him to get to that point on their own. There is no such thing as a second hand Christian. This is a problem that I see being consistent today just as it was when Jesus was on earth.
When I think about how Christianity in the holistic sense desires to have those who do not believe come to faith, which is a very biblical idea and one that we NEED to have we do a lot of proving rather than just laying out the evidence. I am more guilty of this than most. There are not to many times when Jesus feels the need to beat his supremacy into people’s heads. He just is supreme. He demonstrates it and lives it and just simply is.
Now this is impossible for us to do(live in supremacy). We cannot live perfectly as Jesus does, but what we can do is live in such a way that points to his supremacy. We don’t have to enter into hostile debate as a means of displaying what Christ is. We simply do as Mark does when he writes and just lay out the facts.
Colossians 1:21 “And you who were once alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him.”
The bottom line is that Jesus did it all. He has brought us in and he has changed us. As Christians we don’t have to prove who He is just point to who He is.
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Jesus is God... obviously right?
Collosians 1:15
"He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation."
When most people who have any knowledge about Christianity talk about who Jesus is, their opinion is normally something along the lines of " Jesus is the son of God". This statement is very true, although, what most people do when they say this is they do not put one and one together and say that Jesus IS God in the flesh.
From what I have experienced, in my very short amount of time of telling people about Jesus is that this is something that needs to be said.
Scripture makes it clear that Jesus is not just a man who is, kinda like God or that He is a guy who learned alot from God and was made some sort of super ultra wise man but rather that he actually is God.
'He (Jesus) is the image of the invisible God.'(verse 15). This statement alone is something that has so much to it in terms of how we need to change our thinking.
In our culture the same as theirs,( the audience to which this was originally written) there is alot or spirituality and following spirits that cannot be seen. In many cases this leads to a variety of forms of worship, whether it is called that or not. We all know people who are obsessed with their zodiak signs or horoscopes. People who are superstitious and believe in carma and what I will call " what goes around comes around-ism".
This is in some form the worship of a so called god that is invisible. Not even to mention other religious groups.
As Christians we no longer are left to imagine what are God would say, literally. We have testimony of men who have walked and talked with him, and have seen him in dreams after he was killed, resurrected and ascended. We don't need to guess how he would say things or how he would relate to people because we read how he loved people and took care of people and how he also yelled at people who needed to get yelled at. I think most of all saying that Jesus is the image of the invisible shows how He can talk the talk and walk the walk. He came to show us the ropes and then before he left he gave us the ability to learn from him, by being killed by us and then giving us the Holy Spirit.
To say that Jesus is God means that there is no longer any need to guess, and even better then that it means that there is no need to follow a god of inconsistency and chance when we have a God who came and lived out what He asked us to do and did it better than anyone.
He is the image of the invisible God, the first born over all creation.
"He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation."
When most people who have any knowledge about Christianity talk about who Jesus is, their opinion is normally something along the lines of " Jesus is the son of God". This statement is very true, although, what most people do when they say this is they do not put one and one together and say that Jesus IS God in the flesh.
From what I have experienced, in my very short amount of time of telling people about Jesus is that this is something that needs to be said.
Scripture makes it clear that Jesus is not just a man who is, kinda like God or that He is a guy who learned alot from God and was made some sort of super ultra wise man but rather that he actually is God.
'He (Jesus) is the image of the invisible God.'(verse 15). This statement alone is something that has so much to it in terms of how we need to change our thinking.
In our culture the same as theirs,( the audience to which this was originally written) there is alot or spirituality and following spirits that cannot be seen. In many cases this leads to a variety of forms of worship, whether it is called that or not. We all know people who are obsessed with their zodiak signs or horoscopes. People who are superstitious and believe in carma and what I will call " what goes around comes around-ism".
This is in some form the worship of a so called god that is invisible. Not even to mention other religious groups.
As Christians we no longer are left to imagine what are God would say, literally. We have testimony of men who have walked and talked with him, and have seen him in dreams after he was killed, resurrected and ascended. We don't need to guess how he would say things or how he would relate to people because we read how he loved people and took care of people and how he also yelled at people who needed to get yelled at. I think most of all saying that Jesus is the image of the invisible shows how He can talk the talk and walk the walk. He came to show us the ropes and then before he left he gave us the ability to learn from him, by being killed by us and then giving us the Holy Spirit.
To say that Jesus is God means that there is no longer any need to guess, and even better then that it means that there is no need to follow a god of inconsistency and chance when we have a God who came and lived out what He asked us to do and did it better than anyone.
He is the image of the invisible God, the first born over all creation.
Monday, July 5, 2010
Basics
Matthew 26:6-12
“Now when Jesus was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, a women came up to him with an alabaster flask of very expensive ointment, and she poured it on his head as he reclined at table. And when the disciples saw it they were indignant, saying “Why this waste? For this could have been sold for a large sum and given to the poor” But Jesus, aware of this, said to them “ Why do you trouble the women? For she has done a beautiful thing to me. For you always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me. In pouring this ointment on my body she has done it to prepare me for burial.”
In this passage we get the point that Jesus’ disciples were thinking in a way that they were instructed to think. They were thinking selflessly, about the poor. Trying to be good Stuarts of what has been presented. This expensive oil could have fed a lot of people and done a lot of good for the progression of the gospel and the mission of Christ. But Jesus’ response was not to agree with this at this moment and sell this ointment and feed the poor, but rather his response was one that reflects worship and gratitude. “ For you will always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me.”
Our relationship with Jesus has to be the number one priority in our lives as Christians. If we lose sight of this we lost sight of the point. Our faith is not earned it’s given. I can never feed enough poor, hungry people to make Jesus happy with me. Jesus is happy with me when I allow him to die for me and simply prepare him for his burial. This women’s action show acceptance, acceptance to the point that she will sit their and let Jesus die and do all the work for her. Her action is recognition of her inadequacy to play a role in earning the approval of Jesus. So how does she do this? She prepared him for his burial. An act of submission.
This is a lesson that I know for a fact that I need to learn. How often do we as Christians get so carried away with missions and evangelism that we forget to just sit with Jesus? This is very simple lesson on paper and not impressive. But I think that is the point in a lot of ways, Jesus was not an impressive person, infact he was so unimpressive that they did not believe that he was in fact who he said he was, to such a degree that they killed him. The gospel is not intended to be impressive. It’s a humble writing about a man who came to die for us and do everything.
I love to read theology and learn big words and concepts to better explain the deep and never ending truths of the Bible and how these are recognized in the world that we live in. But at the end of the day if I forget to sit with Jesus then what was the point? He is the center of all the theology but so often we mask him behind a concept, or an abstract philosophical idea.
Missions are not wrong by any means, and in fact they are entirely necessary but we need to get our heads in the right place first. When we get side tracked and stumble back into where we came from, we need to have the humility to look at the situation and recognize that we have to get back to basics because it clearly is not that basic.
“Now when Jesus was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, a women came up to him with an alabaster flask of very expensive ointment, and she poured it on his head as he reclined at table. And when the disciples saw it they were indignant, saying “Why this waste? For this could have been sold for a large sum and given to the poor” But Jesus, aware of this, said to them “ Why do you trouble the women? For she has done a beautiful thing to me. For you always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me. In pouring this ointment on my body she has done it to prepare me for burial.”
In this passage we get the point that Jesus’ disciples were thinking in a way that they were instructed to think. They were thinking selflessly, about the poor. Trying to be good Stuarts of what has been presented. This expensive oil could have fed a lot of people and done a lot of good for the progression of the gospel and the mission of Christ. But Jesus’ response was not to agree with this at this moment and sell this ointment and feed the poor, but rather his response was one that reflects worship and gratitude. “ For you will always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me.”
Our relationship with Jesus has to be the number one priority in our lives as Christians. If we lose sight of this we lost sight of the point. Our faith is not earned it’s given. I can never feed enough poor, hungry people to make Jesus happy with me. Jesus is happy with me when I allow him to die for me and simply prepare him for his burial. This women’s action show acceptance, acceptance to the point that she will sit their and let Jesus die and do all the work for her. Her action is recognition of her inadequacy to play a role in earning the approval of Jesus. So how does she do this? She prepared him for his burial. An act of submission.
This is a lesson that I know for a fact that I need to learn. How often do we as Christians get so carried away with missions and evangelism that we forget to just sit with Jesus? This is very simple lesson on paper and not impressive. But I think that is the point in a lot of ways, Jesus was not an impressive person, infact he was so unimpressive that they did not believe that he was in fact who he said he was, to such a degree that they killed him. The gospel is not intended to be impressive. It’s a humble writing about a man who came to die for us and do everything.
I love to read theology and learn big words and concepts to better explain the deep and never ending truths of the Bible and how these are recognized in the world that we live in. But at the end of the day if I forget to sit with Jesus then what was the point? He is the center of all the theology but so often we mask him behind a concept, or an abstract philosophical idea.
Missions are not wrong by any means, and in fact they are entirely necessary but we need to get our heads in the right place first. When we get side tracked and stumble back into where we came from, we need to have the humility to look at the situation and recognize that we have to get back to basics because it clearly is not that basic.
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Bias
It’s a funny thing, whenever someone is looking for advice on a part of their life where they really need help what do they do? They seek the guidance of a person who is neutral and has no stake in the decision that is made either way.
In theory this sounds like a really good idea but is it actually? When we say anything we very rarely ever say it without some sort of intention. There is always a point and there is always a bias in one direction or another. Like it or not. The way that we think and what we feel always comes out in what we tell others. Our life experience, advice we have taken from others and things that we have witnessed make us who we are. These are the things that we will draw on.
So the question really is not if we are biased or not, the question is in what direction are we biased?
Even as a think about this my bias is being revealed. I am a Christian and as a Christian I want all of what I think and feel to be completely biased by the gospel. As Christians the the absolute goal in its most simply said form is that we want to think, feel, respond and act just like Jesus did.
This is something that we will never achieve because, well we are sinful and Jesus wasn’t or isn’t and certainly never is going to be. As I read through the end of the gospel of John, the bias of the author is shown plainly. John 20:30-31. “ Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” John hides nothing, why? Because he just like all Christians who are seeking their goal, wants to be just like Jesus.
Jesus is also very obvious about his bias. Jesus was never neutral guy. John 3: 17-19 “ For God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.“ This statement and many other that follow the same idea are not statements that display a whole lot of neutrality.
In order for something to change, our thinking and feeling about that thing needs to change. If you want to lose weight you first have to recognize that you have a problem with your weight in the first place. This has to become a personal decision and something that you understand.
I am really really bad at math. It just does not make sense to me, but after repetition and questioning and working through it there is a point where it will click, the light come on and I get it. Only then can I sit down with a question and work through it. This does not mean that I am now allowed to become arrogant, because I always remember that I was taught this knowledge.
In a similar way if we want to be people who are honestly chasing that ultimate goal of being like Jesus we need to learn and strive until it clicks. This does not mean that when it does click that we have any reason to become arrogant because we must always remember that we were taught this knowledge.
When we read what John wrote in this letter and the others that he has written he displays this bias towards Jesus and he also displays that he was taught all that he knows.
1 John 1:3 “ That which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us.” John doesn’t take credit for having all of this knowledge but rather he demonstrates that we suck and Jesus rocks and he gives us all that we have.
The Christian life is not one that is designed to show neutrality. If we want to be like Jesus we must do what should seem obvious, model ourselves after him while always remembering anything that we learn, that finally clicks is only because he taught it to us.
In theory this sounds like a really good idea but is it actually? When we say anything we very rarely ever say it without some sort of intention. There is always a point and there is always a bias in one direction or another. Like it or not. The way that we think and what we feel always comes out in what we tell others. Our life experience, advice we have taken from others and things that we have witnessed make us who we are. These are the things that we will draw on.
So the question really is not if we are biased or not, the question is in what direction are we biased?
Even as a think about this my bias is being revealed. I am a Christian and as a Christian I want all of what I think and feel to be completely biased by the gospel. As Christians the the absolute goal in its most simply said form is that we want to think, feel, respond and act just like Jesus did.
This is something that we will never achieve because, well we are sinful and Jesus wasn’t or isn’t and certainly never is going to be. As I read through the end of the gospel of John, the bias of the author is shown plainly. John 20:30-31. “ Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” John hides nothing, why? Because he just like all Christians who are seeking their goal, wants to be just like Jesus.
Jesus is also very obvious about his bias. Jesus was never neutral guy. John 3: 17-19 “ For God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.“ This statement and many other that follow the same idea are not statements that display a whole lot of neutrality.
In order for something to change, our thinking and feeling about that thing needs to change. If you want to lose weight you first have to recognize that you have a problem with your weight in the first place. This has to become a personal decision and something that you understand.
I am really really bad at math. It just does not make sense to me, but after repetition and questioning and working through it there is a point where it will click, the light come on and I get it. Only then can I sit down with a question and work through it. This does not mean that I am now allowed to become arrogant, because I always remember that I was taught this knowledge.
In a similar way if we want to be people who are honestly chasing that ultimate goal of being like Jesus we need to learn and strive until it clicks. This does not mean that when it does click that we have any reason to become arrogant because we must always remember that we were taught this knowledge.
When we read what John wrote in this letter and the others that he has written he displays this bias towards Jesus and he also displays that he was taught all that he knows.
1 John 1:3 “ That which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us.” John doesn’t take credit for having all of this knowledge but rather he demonstrates that we suck and Jesus rocks and he gives us all that we have.
The Christian life is not one that is designed to show neutrality. If we want to be like Jesus we must do what should seem obvious, model ourselves after him while always remembering anything that we learn, that finally clicks is only because he taught it to us.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)