Power By Default

Wisdom makes one wise man more powerful than ten rulers in a city.  Ecclesiastes 7:19.

 

Have you ever worked with those in leadership, say in a church setting or city counsel, and realized you knew more qualified people pumping gas at your local station?

Wisdom, knowledge, discernment, compassion, empathy and sympathy are not relegated to those in charge.  I find it ironic how many people in government are highly educated, well connected and powerful yet still make a mess instead of helping things run smoothly.  Oh, sure, they might have started out with grand ideas but once they settled in and realized how little gets done in a democratic machine, decided to work on their retirement instead.

It isn’t the educated, wealthy or powerful who always deserve to be in charge or are the most qualified either.  The history of European monarchies should dispel any grand notions about that being true.  The monarchs and rulers of Europe oppressed their people pretty badly yet were some of the most highly educated (and in that age only educated) of the day.  So education doesn’t guarantee wisdom.

I’m politically and socially skeptical.  I believe human nature tends to mess up good things; things that would work far better if we just let them happen without interference.  Unfortunately, there will always be someone who thinks they know how to run yours and my life better than we do.

It would seem to the casual eye that wisdom and cunning are two halves of the same coin.  The two, however, are not even close, for cunning is wisdom turned sinister, where those who take what wisdom has to offer and use it to gain from it no matter who it hurts.  In other words, a person who understands human nature turns that nature into a profit machine disregarding the outcome.  Cunning uses others as tools for some self-serving goal; wisdom uses its tool to benefit all.  Lying, cheating, double crossing, and using others is not a product of wisdom but of self-centered thinking.

If you are a follower of Jesus, then adhering to strictly political party will be impossible.  Why?  Because social welfare is at the heart of the Bible’s message.  Sodom and Gomorrah weren’t punished just for their sexual sin but their disregard and oppression of the poor, fatherless and widows.  (See Isaiah 1 where God compares fallen Judah with Sodom.)  The NT is replete with instructions about what to do with the church’s funds, very little of it was to go to administration opting rather to help those who could not otherwise help themselves.

Yet wisdom refuses to be duped.  In 2 Thessalonians 3:10 Paul makes a bold statement, “If a man will not work, he shall not eat.”  The public assistance programs of any government not conforming to Christ will not understand this maxim.  Wisdom teaches us not to argue with fools, which in Proverbs points to one who is spiritually and morally bankrupt.  Trying to explain spiritual truths to those who refuse the Spirit of God’s input is futile for the unspiritual mind cannot grasp them.

It isn’t that a person lacks an understanding of the argument for spiritual things as a POV but that they are unable to see any advantage to them.  If a person doesn’t accept Jesus as the Way, Truth and Life, explaining any principle which adheres to such an ideal to them will fall on deaf ears because they see it as foolish.  The message of the gospel is foolishness to those who seek worldly wisdom and a stumbling block to those who seek works as their way to God.

Wisdom instructs us to avoid arguing about incompatible ideologies.  One who refuses to accept the authority of the Word will never accept an argument from it.  We live this way because we accept its authority; they live their way because they don’t.  It’s as simple as that.  Forcing them to live contrary to their own philosophy by making laws which corner them into acquiescence is oppressive, evil and outside of the character of Jesus.  The Golden Rule (a Christ declaration) says, “Do unto others as you would have them do to you.”  If this is the maxim of Jesus, then making laws which outlaw another’s lifestyle, religious preference, or anything else is a place to tread carefully.

I don’t have all the answers to the complicated questions this discussion brings up.  What I do know is the only way to work through them is to keep the wisdom of Christ in full view.  In order for people to live together in relative harmony, ideologically specific rules must be left to those who follow the ideology.  The societal maxims we agree on should become laws of governance.

Two Are Better than One

Again I saw something meaningless under the sun:  There was a man all alone; he had neither son nor brother.  There was no end to his toil, yet his eyes were not content with his wealth.  “For whom am I toiling,” he asked, “and why am I depriving myself of enjoyment?”  This too is meaningless—a miserable business!

Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work:  If one falls down, his friend can help him up.  But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!  Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.  But how can one keep warm alone?  Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves.  A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.  Ecclesiastes 4:7-10.

 

Living alone by having it thrust on us through circumstances versus choosing to be so are two different things.  Some choose it out of a desire for spiritual focus, some have problems being in close contact with other people, and others just because they don’t want to be bothered by anyone interfering with their routine.  .  To one degree or another, these choices are all based on narcissistic attitudes, if we take that word to mean what makes me feel good as opposed to being in community.  Others chose community in one form or another but ended up alone through the choices of someone else

The man in Solomon’s illustration works hard to gain wealth for himself thinking that he’ll be satisfied at the end of the day.  When he accomplishes his dream he’s left feeling empty because there’s no one to share it with and he’s alone.  Our resident wise man claims this is a case of chasing after the wind and totally void of anything meaningful.

Why?

For the simple reason that all of us need relationships in one form or another.

We were built, designed and set up for community.  The first thing God did was create a community of two.  It wasn’t an accident of evolution or a case of artistic flair but a programmed characteristic which defines the human psyche.  Those who think they can survive without community should just see the roster of counseling appointments treating the social networking woes of thousands of people.  It’s not hard to see how many of us get closed down because community hurts more often than it heals, but that further emphasizes our need for Jesus, in my estimation.

The teachings of Christ were not principally meant for political outcomes or religious piety but to restore relationships.  The song the angels sang at His birth wasn’t concerned about the latest doctrinal stance or treasure trove of things God required, instead their focus was, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth, peace, good will to men…”  Good will is all about relationship building, which has something to do with the boundaries of love, though very little to do with the minutiae of human laws.  Because we can’t seem to conform to love, we make laws to regulate human behavior—a reason why the laws of most countries are becoming more and more complicated.

Fallen human nature angles for the loopholes on such a regular basis that we begin to think laws and punishment are the only way to curb it.  We’re dead wrong, of course, yet humanity as a whole steadfastly doesn’t want God completely in charge; tending instead to invest in anything but Him.  It’s a failed experiment, this endeavor to find self-actualization and godlike status without the Creator to guide us and temper our pride.  The most anyone can be like God is by imitation; other than that we have no option but entropy and death.

The first time I read this passage it validated marriage for me, since that’s where my focus was at the time.  As I’ve grown in my walk with God it now validates every aspect of human relationships.  We need family, friends and social circles to thrive.  As I said before, no business can succeed without a community to support them.  No painter, musician or actor can continue publishing their art, songs or stories if no one sees or listens to them.  So it validates our relationships in all their glory no matter what the ties that bind.

The world is violent place, pretending it’s not causes no end of heartache and trouble.  What’s the quote, “Evil men succeed when good men do nothing” or something to that effect.  We miss the point when we figure love should conquer all.  It does, but sometimes we have to use the stick of love instead of the helping hand.  There are people out there who are not damaged, abused or neglected but selfish to the core and uncaring about who they hurt as long as they get theirs.  Denying these people exist will only hurt all the more when they run us over.  Every macro culture and micro culture will contain a selection all types of people.  Hopefully, there are more of the type who construct and sustain than those who destroy or drain it.

My point being, no matter how we slice it, we still need to continue in community with one another.  All the wealth in the world and toys it brings will not replace solid loving relationships.  The man or woman who works hard and is successful will feel more so when there’s someone else to share it with and appreciate his or her efforts.  Loneliness sucks, folks.  In contrast, however, the person who cannot seem to get it off the ground no matter how hard they work will also feel better about life when they share it with someone who cares for them and for whom they care.

The Context of Peace

Don’t be anxious…And the peace of God will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally, brothers, whatever is true…And the God of peace will be with you.  Philippians 4:1-9.

Something about the context of this passage keeps tickling the back of my mind.  Every night before I go to sleep I’ve been reading these words over and over trying to figure out what’s catching my attention and wondering what bothered me about my observation skills.  So I read verse 1, then all the first sentences to the paragraphs following.  Though Paul speaks to the whole church at Philippi, he’s really addressing the issue between Euodia and Syntyche.  In fact, I think he’s using these two ladies’ quarrel to bring up the characteristics of God’s peace and what it offers.

If the God of peace rules in our hearts, then we don’t have to be anxious about anything since we know we can present our requests to Him through prayer and petition.  Our sense of gratitude grows out of our experience of His peace.  In other words the reason why anxiety isn’t part of our emotional diet after a while comes directly from His history of provision and the peace that transcends all understanding.

The two women were letting a disagreement break the harmony of the church and their own relationship.  If the peace of God truly rules the heart, a person won’t be able to be divisive, unruly, resentful or disagreeable, for the glue of Christ’s love binds us all together.  Remaining outside of the virtue of Jesus while claiming to live for Him, creates an oxymoronic state in our souls—a conflicted nature divided and at war with itself.  Conflicts within the church can’t always be resolved by one person being convinced of another person’s conclusion; sometimes we have to agree to differ.  Perspective being what it is more often than not leaves us at odds with each other if we aren’t bathed in the peace which transcends understanding.

The only reason for a person to be put out of fellowship is admitted, unrepentant sin or outright heresy.  This person must know what they are doing is wrong and not care nor want to conform their opinion to the teachings of Christ for them to be outside fellowship.  Otherwise, everyone is to remain a part of the body.  But before such drastic measures happen, several steps must be taken to ensure the person in question refuses to conform to the mind of Christ.

Sometimes what instigates a new denomination is the old guard refusing to allow the new to have a differing or even adjusted opinion or interpretation on disputable matters.  Just as often it happens in reverse.  Paul listed several in Romans 14 and subsequent letters expanded on these issues.  The practices of the early church from what I know of its history and the letters of Paul suggest to me there was quite a lot of leeway for doctrinal differences as long as these differences didn’t go against the basic gospel teachings the apostles taught or what was known of Jesus’ instructions.

If God’s peace cannot bring reconciliation between believers, something’s wrong with it.  Let me say it again, if we can’t find His peace in the midst of our disagreements, it doesn’t work.

Or…something’s radically wrong with us.

I’m biased towards the latter since I have many, many faults.  Agreeing in the Lord isn’t about coming to the same opinion or even copping to the same view, but realizing our differences are what give us the complete picture of God.  What sin has done to us is make us myopic to the point of obsession.  My POV usually struggles to take in more than one or two points at any one time.  I can multitask when I know my job well, but most of the time I’m overwhelmed concentrating on more than one thing.

With a complex God in our sites it’s quite easy to forget mercy while thinking about His judgment; to forget grace when thinking about His righteousness; to forget forgiveness while thinking about the price He paid.  He is all of these things at the same time and doesn’t need to switch hats in order to apply one or the other.

C. S. Lewis in his book “The Great Divorce” claimed all of hell could fit on the head of a pin because it depended on small thinking.  I say that almost all divisions in the church are caused by small minded people trying to cope with big ideas about God and failing miserably.

Yet even in our inability to get along there’s abundant grace.  I might call denominational bias on the carpet for its exclusive nature and antagonism to the call of Christ to be one, but I recognize it won’t do any good.  We’re just too fallen; our bodies and minds too beaten down with the weight of sin and its destructive nature to be anything but broken.  This very reality is why the gospel is so wonderful and beautiful.  Where the brokenness exists, His grace covers all.

Euodia and Syntyche probably reconciled on behalf of their beloved Paul, but the church since has shown less inclination to be so willing to put aside their differences and demonstrate the peace God offers in our ignorance and lack of perspective.  Those of us who grasp this concept, however, have an obligation to its message to demonstrate it at every opportunity.  Which means, God is gonna’ probably throw us in the deep end where the disagreements are the most painful so He can show through us what He desires of the church.

Agree in the Lord

I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to agree with each other in the Lord.  Yes, and I ask you, loyal yokefellow, help these women who have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life.  Philippians 4:1-3.

We’re not given the reason these women were having a problem, all we know is there was a disagreement of some sort, and it was enough of one to cause a rift.  It’s interesting that Paul never swerves from naming names or publicizing problems.  Unlike many today he’s not afraid of sin being known nor opposed to exposing it for what it is.  In this instance, however, there doesn’t seem to be any sin involved directly, rather it sounds more like a difference of opinions or methodology.

And who is this loyal yokefellow Paul addresses without giving any indication of a name?  I like this reference because it shows these letters were personal communications rather than theological dissertations.  Instead of Paul attempting to be the sole interpreter of this new religion he’s personally instructing those with whom he shared his life and God.  The gospel is one of restoring the family of God to its natural state; for make no mistake we are in an unnatural limbo since the fall and experiencing entropy on a more and more evident scale.  The work of God is personal.  It is the heart of God worked into and throughout His people to reconcile man to Himself and human to human.

Those who create any other kind of gospel ignore the obvious truth found in Paul’s plea with two women he knew as coworkers in the gospel; signifying to me they were quite close in pure platonic love.  And what I mean by “create” another kind of gospel is that Paul taught the churches to accept one another in love, of which any deviation from that would be a creative exercise outside it.

It’s now strange to me that uniformity rules the church rather than unity in our diversity.  I don’t believe we need to excuse sin, but we certainly don’t need to be beating the sinners up or ostracizing them for being such.  If Christ died for the ungodly and we are saved because of it, it means that once (and most likely still, in places) we were ungodly and lost as well.  Arrogance or any form of exclusive attitude applied to the work or life of God is completely out of place.  A person who confesses their sin will be forgiven—even if it is a recurring problem.  We can preach salvation and love all we want but without practicing grace we will condemn to darkness those Jesus came to save.   Anyone who approaches the work of the gospel in this way will find themselves in a cold, dark place where fear reigns supreme or spiritual apathy rules the twilight.

Again, notice there is no mention of what divided these two women, we don’t know how heavy the issue was, for Paul shows discretion in not revealing it in his letter; aware, no doubt, it would be read to other churches at one time or another.  What he does do with their issue is beg them to agree in the Lord, which is poles apart from coming to an agreement.  To agree with one another in the Lord takes on a whole different meaning when we look at how Paul and the other apostles approached differences in the church.  In Romans he brings up the issues of eating or abstaining from certain foods, special celebration days or Sabbaths (usually a specific Jewish favorite).  In other letters he broaches these subjects by intensely begging the church to accept one another in love and leave the differences to ones conscience rather than a setting a bunch of hard fast rules for everybody.  This says to me his primary concern wasn’t doctrinal unification but heart.

At the same time this doesn’t do away with the need for sound doctrine.  Anyone who teaches freedom from the law in any form other than the higher calling of love, which goes beyond the law to complete heart change, is slapping God in the face.  They might not know they are doing so, but they are.  Grace without the law is dead.  Without the law to condemn us we have no need of grace or mercy.  Yet to teach that morals are not necessary is ludicrous.  No one in their right mind thinks that theft or rape is ok, therefore teaching freedom from any standard of conduct by using a rather fluid “love” for mankind destroys both the character of God and stunts the believer into a infantile minded follower.

People who understand the road to truth get the contrast better if they study both sides of the issue.  I don’t have to agree with your conclusions nor should you mine to grasp the truths of either argument.  Yet I know I appreciate those who oppose my viewpoint because they challenge me to think outside my own box of crayons, almost forcing me to accept the fact one can come down on different sides of almost any issue.  Deciding what is or isn’t necessary to practice never becomes completely objective since we rationalize what is truth from our own take on what is rational.  There is no escape from our myopic take on gospel truth unless we truly give ourselves over to being the body of Christ by allowing others to challenge our conclusions.

The problem with most of us is we feel put down the moment someone challenges our POV.  In most cases it probably is since humans love being superior as well as condescending to one another.  I suspect Euodia and Syntyche experienced something along this line.  The human condition hasn’t changed all the much over the eons, though the traditions and cultures might vary a bit.  Our heart follows the logic of our grasp of truth and what is important, which means we feel the same emotions though the exact issues making us feel these might be different.  The women experienced a strong enough division Paul felt inspired to beg them to reconcile.  Whatever the issue was between them, it was enough to keep them at odds for several months because Rome was quite journey from Philippi and news didn’t travel that fast.

Paul, however, unlike many of us, didn’t ask them to come to a mutually acceptable conclusion but to agree with each in the Lord.  That’s quite a different thing by comparison.  To agree in the Lord means to me we let the disputable matters go unresolved and must leave them up to the conscience rather than beating each other up over personal convictions.  This means, of course, we must develop discernment on what the disputable matters actually are.  Unfortunately human beings like to play God without having the universal wisdom, compassion, knowledge and a host of other truths and attitudes necessary to judge the rightness or wrongness of whatever is being discussed.

Yet his loyal yokefellow was his ace in the hole.  Paul’s appeal to this man meant the dude had been educated and immersed in the proper approach to godly wisdom and decorum.  We’re not told if the problem was ever resolved or peace between the women restored, but we do have the words of Paul pleading with them to come to wholeness in Christ.

In our relationships with others unity in Christ is of utmost importance as a witness for Him.  Being right is secondary.  Our common ground is always Jesus; our glue is always the love of Christ which constrains us to good works.  If we accepted one another as Christ does us, what would the church look like?

The Sign of Maturity

All of us who are mature should take such a view of things.  And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you.  Only let us live up to what we have already attained.  Philippians 3:15, 16.  NIV

All of us who are mature should think this same way.  And if any of you think differently, God will make it clear to you.  But we must keep going in the direction that we are now headed.  Philippians 3:15, 16. CEV

The more I know about Christ, the more I am aware of the lack in most Christian circles of true maturity.  In my experience we think uniformity is the best sign of our growth in Christ, when, according to this Scripture, it seems to point more to unity in Christ despite our differences.

I have an astigmatism which doesn’t allow me to see very clearly on my left side.  This means I struggle to focus on sheet music or lists quickly during live performances and have missed key program stuff because of it (besides my natural absent mindedness).  My POV is skewed on the left side slightly, though I still have pretty good peripheral vision.  It doesn’t keep me from seeing or knowing what I’m seeing, it just means I have to turn my head to focus instead of using just my eyes. Another worship leader I know prefers their music stand on the left.  Who’s right?

In the church we have much the same problem.  There are weaker areas where we struggle to focus on what’s important.  Finding the priority is a tough call for most of us and those who become mature in Christ sweat out this issue more than just about any other.  Why?  For the simple reason as we grow in Christ reality sets in and we begin to realize just how vulnerable we are to our blind spots.  That old saying works here:  “The more you know, the more you realize what you don’t know!”

God is a stranger to us.  Anyone coming to Jesus for the first time (or last time for that matter) does so with a certain amount of hero worship in their spiritual eyes.  We can’t help it, really, for to be told we are worth something to the Creator of the universe, which is so vast and seemingly impersonal, blows our minds and causes gushing gratitude.  The problem of this POV is many of us believe we must remain in that euphoric state, the Christian “high” or we feel a loss.  Eventually every fire mellows and we begin the daily relationship stuff which is never all that exciting, though it yields the greatest results in the long run.

A toddler’s view of Mommy or Daddy is quite different than an adolescent’s.  Why?  The toddler doesn’t have enough perspective to understand who their parents are let alone divide fact from fiction.  Another example, the more I know about the science of creation, the more I am reminded I don’t understand what happened in Genesis 1 very well.  In many respects I know I am no better than the men who burned Galileo at the stake for proposing the earth rotated around the sun, for the science many times threatens my preconceived notions of what Genesis means.  But the facts of science don’t eliminate the probability of Genesis 1:1.  To be blunt, the account basically just tells us God created things in a certain order—or if you understand the Rabbinical style of non-linear thinking, it doesn’t tell us order as much as it does state the fact of His direct creative involvement.  Our preconceptions of reality get in the way of accepting truth many times.

I’m reminded of a Jethro Tull album called “Aqualung” where they amusingly wrote on the back a sarcastic rendering of Genesis 1:

1. In the beginning Man created god:
and in the image of Man created he him.

2. And Man gave unto god a multitude of names.
That he might be lord over all the earth when it was suited to Man.

3. And on the seventh millionth day Man rested and did
lean heavily on his god and saw that it was good.

4. And Man formed Aqualung of the dust of the ground.
And a host of others likened unto his kind.

5. And these lesser men Man did cast into the void.
And some were burned,
And some were put apart from their kind.

6. And Man became the god that he had created
and with his miracles did rule over all the earth.

7. But as all these things did come to pass,
the spirit that did cause man to create his god,
lived on within all men,
even within Aqualung.

8. And man saw it not.

9. But for Christ’s sake he’d better start looking.

I know, I know, many Christians might object to my quoting such “heresy” but I believe Ian Anderson hit upon an important truth.  Did you see it in the first few “verses” of his rendition of Genesis?  Man created god after his own image and gave god a multitude of names as well as authority to rule over the all things whenever it suited man.  This ability to create a god makes man the god.  Do you catch that?

Whenever we decide upon the characteristics or attributes of God from fragments of Scripture or misunderstandings of the text we create an image of Him rather than seeing the reality.  Proverbs 3:5, 6:  Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.  What I understand about Scripture now is not what I thought I knew twenty years ago.  That’s not to say my understanding was completely wrong at the time but rather to confess my lack of depth in my spiritual infancy.  I am not ashamed of my “lack” then because our relationship with God is a matter of eternal growth.

The maturing process isn’t like instant oatmeal, which is not instant really anyway since someone had to harvest the oats, thresh the grain from the chaff, cook them to a specific temp and package the result for those who would prepare them later to eat.  No matter what we think about instant oats, they are anything but “instant”.  Still, most of us forget the process by which the finished product arrived at our table.

Our family has a story about my older brother, Dan, when he was about 6 or 7 riding next to Dad while going past a corn field.  He asked,  “Dad, what is that out there?”  Dad replied,  “That’s corn, son.”  Puzzled, Dan shot back,  “No, it’s not!”  Of course Dad argued with him about it for a while until finally he asked,  “Ok, if it’s not corn what is it?”  “I don’t know,”  Danny replied,  “but it isn’t corn!”  “So where do you think corn comes from then?”  Dad asked, pretty irritated by this time.  Dan looked at him like he was nuts (my dad’s description here) and replied with a certainty only a kid that age can have,  “Why the store of course!” like it was obvious.  The rest of the conversation involved my dad attempting to correct this uneducated POV.  Unsuccessfully, I might add.

Danny obviously no longer thinks corn just magically comes to the store and hasn’t for more than 60 years.  Why?  He grew in his understanding by learning new information which affected his perspective of the world around him.

Our perspective of God cannot remain static; it must grow with our grasp of reality or it will stagnate, or worse, petrify.  I’ve met many petrified Christians in my journey with Christ.  They believe they’ve learned all there is to know about God and no one can make Him any clearer.  This POV would be like my brother, now nearly 70, still believing corn magically just appears in the store.

We laugh at kids who say these kinds of things but don’t apply the lesson of their uninformed reasoning to our own growth in Christ.  Creation’s a complex place to live in, and assuming we have it figured out is just plain foolish.  I mean, I can explain the soul to some degree from a Christian perspective but what it is, how it works with or without the body and which dimension it inhabits is not explained to any great detail in Scripture.  I think I know why we are not given certain details in Scripture though (and this is just my theory, ok):  we would focus on them to the exclusion of the really vital issues facing us.

I’m giving lots of examples here of areas where we need to grow so that we get a handle on our spiritual pride.  Maturity in Christ not only makes us confident in what we know but also what we can’t know.  A truly mature believer will keep critical thinking at the forefront of his or her mind when considering the Scriptures.  However, when it comes to others, criticism is out of place for we are to educate and restore people to Jesus in all gentleness and grace, while critical thinking is not.  The difference between the two uses of the same word is that critical thinking means we weigh the facts we know to come a conclusion; criticism means we denounce others for not submitting to our ideology or perspective.

Last point:  If you put 7 theologians with PhDs from 7 different denominations and a thorough education in Scripture in a room, then instruct them to come to a consensus on their differences they won’t be able to without godly wisdom.  Cold, hard knowledge leads to the pride of comparison rather than edification.  Paul exclaimed, Knowledge puffs up, love builds up.  Those who reach maturity in Christ will recognize their differences as a part of the His body and act in concert though they disagree on some point.  The Day of the Lord’s return will clear up many of our misconceptions and theological differences anyway.  So let us live up to what we know and stop beating each other up over what is disputable or arguable.  The love of Christ must rule in our hearts before any of the other stuff matters anyway.

Straining Forward

Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.  Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it.  But one thing I do:  Forgetting what is behind and straining toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.  Philippians 3:12-14.

Now we come to a passage which has become a theme for me—mantra was the first word I thought of but it seemed out of place in this context.  As usual, I need to take this point by point to mine the rich truth embedded in it.

Paul does one of those Jewish rabbi expansion things where they say something in a sparse almost terse way, move another point then return to the original by way of saying it either slightly or completely differently with the same emphasis.

First he makes it clear he hasn’t been made perfect as yet; though he pushes on to grow towards this in Christ.  Using the phrase to take hold of he gives us a metaphor which points to his journey to become godly in Christ.  The next sentence denies actually being whole (perfect) so all this nonsense about Paul or any other apostle attaining sinless-ness except in the context of the blood is a complete waste of vocal cords.  The apostle proclaims succinctly he isn’t sinless, which should be a comfort to others who read his letters and feel like they don’t make the grade.

Yet once he makes it clear perfection is still a goal, he expands his original point by stating his determination to accomplish this through Jesus’ power.  It might be semantics for some but the fact that Paul makes a point of Christ taking hold of him for the purpose of perfection should wake us up to who really does the work.  We might hold on to Him for dear life but our efforts are not what change us, though by them we give God the “permission” to work in our lives.  Our submission is the means by which the Holy Spirit comes into our lives with His changing presence, and our work, as I’ve said before, is based more on keeping our submission current rather than a self-help list of pep-talks and attitude adjustments.

The next question we have to ask is why did Jesus take hold of us?

Jesus came to reconcile man to God and once that was accomplished mankind would become reconciled to themselves.  God didn’t need to be reconciled to man because, though we sinned, which means we betrayed and rejected Him, He worked out a way to save us, since He still loves us and wants a relationship with us.  That doesn’t describe someone who needs to be reconciled to me.  He doesn’t hold our sins against us and only for this reason would we need to mollify Him.  No, it’s man who holds the grudge not God, and is the main reason Jesus came to earth.  If this was Christ’s purpose in taking hold of us, then we press in to take hold of Christ, which means we have to be reconciled to Him to first.  Paul’s push to take hold of Jesus’ mission and claim not to have taken hold of it signifies that our entire lives are spent in the reconciliation process.  Don’t believe me?  Then why do we still wrestle with sin?

Anyone who is fully reconciled to another has no further work to do towards the process and operates in perfect harmony.  Paul’s declaration that he hadn’t accomplished all this or been made perfect says to me his life was in process of reconciling every part of himself.  None of us reach this point of full unity with God this side of glorification, since our bodies remain bound to death despite what our eternal spirits.  This is an important distinction because I know people right now who preach that a sinless state is possible for us.

I grew up with the understanding those who were alive when Jesus returned would be sinless.  Though I know the passages my church used to support their claim for this “doctrine,” I don’t know how they came to this conclusion with all the other references in Scripture disagreeing.  I’ve hear recently another church that preaches this kind of “perfection” to which one of my friends adheres most ardently.

Yet our “sinless” state on the Day has nothing to do with our performance or state of being without sin, rather it has to do with our connection to Jesus.  The robe of Christ’s righteousness covers our sin like the blood on the day of Atonement.  When we see Jesus face to face, we will not feel worthy to be with Him in and of ourselves, which means our salvation rest wholly on God’s mercy and grace.  Like one pastor had a habit of saying,  “When they ask me what I’m doing in heaven, I’m gonna’ say,  ‘I don’t know!  I’m with Him!’ “

Right there is where the difference comes for all of us.  The word “perfect” takes its primary meaning from a word in Greek which points to wholeness.  None of us will be completely whole this side of our bodies being glorified so any claims to contrary are a waste of time.

Why would Paul say, But one thing I do:  Forgetting what is behind and straining toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus, if he’d already arrived at wholeness?  The need to forget what is behind and strain towards something else points to a lack in the past, for no one needs unless they lack.  The prize for most Christians is eternal life, but I believe restored unity with God is what Paul is thinking of here.  Eternal life is a reward, to be sure, yet living forever without being reconciled to God would be hell.  What reason would Paul need to forget what was behind if he had already attained wholeness and reconciliation?

The short answer is:  None.

This passage only becomes encouraging to us when we realize Paul had to let go of his past mistakes and failures to be like Jesus the same way we do.  That knowledge gives us the greatest weapon against condemnation we could ever receive.  We step into a state of grace where mercy is the standard of operations.  Grace doesn’t ignore or deny sin; instead it solves it by being an agent of transformation, and any gratitude or loyalty to God on our part grows from this place.

By Contrast

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ…

What does Paul say about Jesus’ attitude towards His creation?  For that matter, what does he say about Jesus’ attitude to sinners?

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

So our attitude should be?

You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.  Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die.  Romans 5:6, 7.

A follower of the Creator respects His creation.  This means we don’t attempt to value or devalue what He has made until we know what His values are.  This is important for too often we think we know what is and isn’t valuable to the point we build a whole life philosophy around what our conclusions are.

By contrast, God through Jesus demonstrated love that rescues, heals, gave to all without discrimination and opened the way for anyone who wished to follow Him.  The difference between His methods and ours is that we tend to get overwhelmed or let ourselves become doormats for the world to wipe their feet on.  Jesus wouldn’t let anyone control His actions or choices, instead He willingly gave without co-dependency problems or a need to be praised.  John 2:24:  But Jesus would not entrust Himself to them, for He knew all men.  He did not need man’s testimony about man, for He knew what was in man.  In other words, the fact that people were excited about His teaching, miracles and presentation meant little in respect to how He chose to operate.  He kept His own counsel and decided to stay in sync with His Father’s will rather than be wowed by His own press.  The only way a person can find this kind of attitude and security is by knowing both God and themselves.

I know very few people are so self-possessed they aren’t swayed by praise or criticism.  Jesus occupied this place of tranquility, choosing rather to be about the purpose of God over being popular or accepted.

I gotta’ admit I have barely a hint about how to accomplish this mentality.  I can see it in Jesus’ life and message but I don’t see it in very many people around me—if any.  Let me point out I’m not criticizing my family in Christ just being realistic about the reality of the state of our being.  It’s very rare to find someone who is self-possessed and in tune with God’s Spirit to the point where others see them as undeniably solid.  Without fail, 99.99% of the people we know are struggling towards or with something.  Everyone’s straining to arrive at some state of peace built by whatever substance or philosophy they’ve bought into as the means to this end.

What is the absolute best argument anyone can give?

Irrefutable evidence.

No one can argue against our peace if we’re not swayed away from it by their unrest or dissent.  No one can defeat an argument based on something real and immovably secure in its truth.

The problem many of us find in witnessing to others is we begin to mirror the restlessness they display in an effort communicate we understand them.  The difference between what Christ did and what we tend to do is that He didn’t need to demonstrate dissatisfaction to show He experienced lack or failure.  I’ve noticed, however, those in a state of flux or who are unstable have a habit of accusing those who have found peace of never experiencing their particular brand of stress.

And here is the main reason why being an open book about our failings and growth in righteousness is so important.  Jesus was perfectly sinless; none of us are.  God used Him as an example to show humanity what they can become depending on Him.  By contrast, God uses our fallen sinful state to demonstrate His power to change even the most intractable and stubborn of human natures.  Through our example of an ever growing heart, the world around us sees a ray of light, a glimpse of hope for themselves daily lived out as we grow more like our Master.

The conclusion I draw from this is simple:  Being like the Master in His humility, open discretion, love, acceptance, eagerness to heal, forgive, change and restore, makes us stronger while leaving us exposed at the same time.  Our strength comes from being in the Strong Tower of the Lord (Proverbs 18:10), an impregnable castle of crystal, full of light and beauty.  Our vulnerability in Christ protects us from permanent damage while not keeping all suffering at bay.  If they rejected Him, they will reject us; it’s a given.  We must expect our hearts to be wounded by those we love who reject Christ—and many times by those who have accepted Him.

Through the renewed mind the Spirit grows in us we learn to love the world as Jesus did.  He didn’t let the world’s priorities or “needs” control Him, instead He let His life demonstrate how important they were.  He got involved in their lives to the point He could by placing Himself in their company; all the while not taking part in their fallen natures.

We are to be in stark contrast to the world’s general attitude of complaining and arguing.  The world fights for either dominance or indiscriminate freedom.  We however stand for the attitude of Jesus.

A Good Run

…In order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing.  But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you.  So you too should be glad and rejoice with me.  Philippians 2:16b-18.

Paul wants them to remain solidly for the faith he taught them to pursue, for them to be worthy of his efforts.  I know there are lots of times I’ve wondered if my investment in a life or lives of people hasn’t been in vain (or in vein because it bleeds me dry) because the response isn’t what is optimal according to the teaching.

He compares the journey of the Christian to a race fairly often because it’s the best way to communicate the reward for hard work and determination.  I don’t for a minute think he’s suggesting we are working our way to God; rather our efforts to follow Jesus take us down a certain path and require discipline and determination to continue in it.  So for a minister or evangelist to pour themselves out then see no results but apostasy, squabbling and division would be like losing a race they trained hard for but lost anyway.  No laurel, no satisfaction of a job well done and a lost person or group to the gospel.

In his reference to being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice is a direct allusion to the law.  (Find the reference in the law)  Their sacrifice for his wellbeing served to not only meet his need but encourage him as well.  His life hung in the balance at this time.  In a way, he was like a sacrifice for Christ waiting to be taken into the temple as a thank-offering for the Philippians.  He considered a thing to celebrate instead of bemoan.

For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain…

We have to understand Paul’s mindset here.  He wasn’t eager to die necessarily; rather he sees his current circumstances as evidence of service in the kingdom of heaven.

Anyone wanting to follow Jesus must walk as He did.  By definition walking implies a certain amount of work, imitation takes discipline, therefore action.  Our efforts to walk in the way of the Master don’t grow from a desire to earn His favor.  Instead all our efforts grow out of the clear evidence of His love for us.

Without Complaining or Arguing

Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life—in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing.  Philippians 2:14-16.

Now that is one heavy instruction and darn near impossible to accomplish.  Imagine the church doing everything without complaining or arguing, where is Paul from Pluto?

I’ve said it before and it bears repeating, put ten theologians in a room discussing a subject and you’ll get an argument from nearly all ten points of view.  When a person is working with information in the dark, it’s pretty obvious some of the details will get misrepresented.

There’s an ancient story from the Orient about seven blindfolded monks being asked to describe an elephant from one touch from as single given position around the animal.  The conclusion of the story should be pretty clear:  7 different descriptions about what the object or animal might be from their various perspectives.

What I get out of this story, of course, is that it takes all of our perspectives to arrive at even a partially clear picture of God.  Sure, there will be those who give such a forceful one-sided view of Him that we’re tempted to reject their conclusion outright, but without careful consideration our reaction would be foolish.  For one thing, these single-minded types might have a valid point along with the ax they grind, so rejecting their truth based on their attitude is just as wrong as the superior approach they practice.  It sucks that we have to accept them as possibly valid but that’s the way it is.  Just because the feet and armpits stink and certain parts of the body emit methane doesn’t mean they aren’t a part of the body.  Those areas speak to the rest of the body loud and clear of the need to bathe or what’s happening in our digestive track, right?  Ignoring the smell just makes the problem worse and eventually causes everyone around to be standoffish.

The best way to conquer an enemy is to divide them.  Get all the factions fighting over either the minutiae of the gospel message or rules of conduct and you have an entity which becomes ineffective and basically preoccupied with itself.  I’m thinking about the over two-thousand denominations which exist today despite Jesus’ explicit command to love each and be one.  While I don’t object to the diverse viewpoints represented by these various factions within the Christian ethic, I do find it sad that our message is one of preference over substance.

There’s an old saying I believe is attributed to Martin Luther which goes,  “On essentials, unity; on non-essentials, liberality; in all things, charity.”  The reality, however, is one of infighting and quarrels so sharp or vehement denominations form and wars break out.  What this type of behavior says to the world around us is that our message of love and unity is bogus.

Paul gives one reason (among many) for this unity and love, though, by including what such an attitude produces:  light.  Those who imitate the Master without complaining or arguing shine like stars in the darkness of night.  We may not be as bright as the sun/Son, but we do reflect His light and that’s enough.  How can these people help but shine?  They contrast the rest of Christendom so drastically they stand out.  The only sad truth about their light is that like stars they are small lights relative to the darkness in which they stand out so brightly.  Yet all is not hopeless for a good navigator will be able to find the way by using such lights, as any good sailor will tell you.

The wording of the first sentence strikes me as especially significant.  The way to becoming blameless and pure is to avoid complaining or arguing…or, at least, this is the first step to such a state of mind.

Why would complaining or arguing cause our light to dim or be tainted?

Despite all the miracles God performed on their behalf, the Children of Israel continued in their faithlessness and complaining to the point that a whole generation of them died before they could enter the Promised Land.  All the way through the history of Israel the majority continued with a “what-have-you-done-for-me-lately” attitude.  The human species without God in charge find themselves always at an impasse when they reach the crossroads of trust or apostasy.

Later in history the Jews held the repository of God’s message in their Torah yet either missed or rejected the Messiah when He arrived.  Does this reveal something about human nature to you?  We are so contrary in our pursuit of being little gods we cut our noses off to spite our faces.  What is it that drives us to be obnoxious about our beliefs?  I hear so many Christians criticize or outright condemn the Muslim faith yet many of them ignore the wars the so called “Christians” in our past started in the name of spreading the gospel.  If I remember my history right, however, most of this crusader spirit usually devolved into a grab of wealth in the form of land or gold.  Even in recent history we can read examples of people supposedly going by the name of Jesus declaring violent war on those who held a different POV.

To be innocent of evil and shine like stars in the universe we have to live in contrast to everything the world represents.  In all our dealings with the body of Christ, first, then the world at large we have to be different in every aspect which Jesus instructed us.

Paul called the age in which he lived wicked and depraved not as a derogatory comment because his goal had nothing to do with superiority or setting himself above anyone.  No, his comment referred to the nature of Christ as it stood out in contrast to the world.  Another passage we just studied referred to Jesus as not seeking God-status or to advance Himself in the eyes of anyone preferring instead to be thought of as nothing over acclaim, beauty or any kind of advantage over others.  Who He was stood out so brightly His own people tried to put out His light because it hurt their eyes.  We cannot hope to shine like Him without His presence permeating every part of our being, but if we do in just a minute way, we will experience the same reactions.

Complaining and arguing is about either getting what we think we deserve by griping or fighting for it with words—or at worse weapons of death.  In other words, we fight for what we think our rights are or what we think we deserve rather than being like Jesus.  Instead of becoming like the heart of God we seek to change our circumstances or environment.  Those who follow Jesus change both by default as they choose to be like the Master.  If Jesus refused to let anyone have power over Him because He knew human nature (John 2:23-25), what should our choice be?

Normal
0

false
false
false

MicrosoftInternetExplorer4

st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) }

/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:”Table Normal”;
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-parent:”";
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:”Times New Roman”;
mso-ansi-language:#0400;
mso-fareast-language:#0400;
mso-bidi-language:#0400;}

Now that is one heavy instruction and darn near impossible to accomplish.  Imagine the church doing everything without complaining or arguing, where is Paul from Pluto?

I’ve said it before and it bears repeating, put ten theologians in a room discussing a subject and you’ll get an argument from nearly all ten points of view.  When a person is working with information in the dark, it’s pretty obvious some of the details will get misrepresented.

There’s an ancient story from the Orient about seven blindfolded monks being asked to describe an elephant from one touch from as single given position around the animal.  The conclusion of the story should be pretty clear:  7 different descriptions about what the object or animal might be from their various perspectives.

What I get out of this story, of course, is that it takes all of our perspectives to arrive at even a partially clear picture of God.  Sure, there will be those who give such a forceful one-sided view of Him that we’re tempted to reject their conclusion outright, but without careful consideration our reaction would be foolish.  For one thing, these single-minded types might have a valid point along with the ax they grind, so rejecting their truth based on their attitude is just as wrong as the superior approach they practice.  It sucks that we have to accept them as possibly valid but that’s the way it is.  Just because the feet and armpits stink and certain parts of the body emit methane doesn’t mean they aren’t a part of the body.  Those areas speak to the rest of the body loud and clear of the need to bathe or what’s happening in our digestive track, right?  Ignoring the smell just makes the problem worse and eventually causes everyone around to be standoffish.

The best way to conquer an enemy is to divide them.  Get all the factions fighting over either the minutiae of the gospel message or rules of conduct and you have an entity which becomes ineffective and basically preoccupied with itself.  I’m thinking about the over two-thousand denominations which exist today despite Jesus’ explicit command to love each and be one.  While I don’t object to the diverse viewpoints represented by these various factions within the Christian ethic, I do find it sad that our message is one of preference over substance.

There’s an old saying I believe is attributed to Martin Luther which goes,  “On essentials, unity; on non-essentials, liberality; in all things, charity.”  The reality, however, is one of infighting and quarrels so sharp or vehement denominations form and wars break out.  What this type of behavior says to the world around us is that our message of love and unity is bogus.

Paul gives one reason (among many) for this unity and love, though, by including what such an attitude produces:  light.  Those who imitate the Master without complaining or arguing shine like stars in the darkness of night.  We may not be as bright as the sun/Son, but we do reflect His light and that’s enough.  How can these people help but shine?  They contrast the rest of Christendom so drastically they stand out.  The only sad truth about their light is that like stars they are small lights relative to the darkness in which they stand out so brightly.  Yet all is not hopeless for a good navigator will be able to find the way by using such lights, as any good sailor will tell you.

The wording of the first sentence strikes me as especially significant.  The way to becoming blameless and pure is to avoid complaining or arguing…or, at least, this is the first step to such a state of mind.

Why would complaining or arguing cause our light to dim or be tainted?

Despite all the miracles God performed on their behalf, the Children of Israel continued in their faithlessness and complaining to the point that a whole generation of them died before they could enter the Promised Land.  All the way through the history of Israel the majority continued with a “what-have-you-done-for-me-lately” attitude.  The human species without God in charge find themselves always at an impasse when they reach the crossroads of trust or apostasy.

Later in history the Jews held the repository of God’s message in their Torah yet either missed or rejected the Messiah when He arrived.  Does this reveal something about human nature to you?  We are so contrary in our pursuit of being little gods we cut our noses off to spite our faces.  What is it that drives us to be obnoxious about our beliefs?  I hear so many Christians criticize or outright condemn the Muslim faith yet many of them ignore the wars the so called “Christians” in our past started in the name of spreading the gospel.  If I remember my history right, however, most of this crusader spirit usually devolved into a grab of wealth in the form of land or gold.  Even in recent history we can read examples of people supposedly going by the name of Jesus declaring violent war on those who held a different POV.

To be innocent of evil and shine like stars in the universe we have to live in contrast to everything the world represents.  In all our dealings with the body of Christ, first, then the world at large we have to be different in every aspect which Jesus instructed us.

Paul called the age in which he lived wicked and depraved not as a derogatory comment because his goal had nothing to do with superiority or setting himself above anyone.  No, his comment referred to the nature of Christ as it stood out in contrast to the world.  Another passage we just studied referred to Jesus as not seeking God-status or to advance Himself in the eyes of anyone preferring instead to be thought of as nothing over acclaim, beauty or any kind of advantage over others.  Who He was stood out so brightly His own people tried to put out His light because it hurt their eyes.  We cannot hope to shine like Him without His presence permeating every part of our being, but if we do in just a minute way, we will experience the same reactions.

Complaining and arguing is about either getting what we think we deserve by griping or fighting for it with words—or at worse weapons of death.  In other words, we fight for what we think our rights are or what we think we deserve rather than being like Jesus.  Instead of becoming like the heart of God we seek to change our circumstances or environment.  Those who follow Jesus change both by default as they choose to be like the Master.  If Jesus refused to let anyone have power over Him because He knew human nature (John 2:23-25), what should our choice be?

Thinking Alike

If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from His love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose.  Philippians 2:1, 2.

Like minded…

Being like Jesus is conditional.  After all, if we want to be “married” to our job or wife or children in the metaphorical sense, we have to spend the greater portion of our time with them, otherwise it’s just a word we use to describe how we feel about them.  With Christ it’s no different, for the basis of any relationship is the “relating” part where interaction happens.

I fall down on the relating part in almost every single one of my relationships because I don’t interact very well.  O, I’ve improved over the years and grown more socially adept, but in the end I don’t communicate very well.  Seems odd for a guy who writes a couple of blog entries a week to be saying, right?  Not at all, since processing things out loud is how I do it best, writing things down makes that process even better.

Let’s take apart this text a little…which means in my “language”: a lot—if you’re trying to relate to me. 

Paul begins each statement with the word if.  If you have any encouragement…if any comfort from His love…etc.  So we need to deal with that preposition first.  If is a conditional word setting up what comes next as contingent on an action or whatever that comes later.  When someone says,  “If you pick up the dry cleaning, I’ll get the groceries” they are really making a deal with the other person.  Yet in that case it’s not conditional necessarily, rather the efficiency depends on both parties fulfilling these separate jobs.  The person making the deal is probably thinking about a supper deadline, which means in order for them to get supper done in a timely manner they can’t pick up the dry cleaning and buy groceries.

Every one of these relationship benefits are contingent on being connected with Christ in an intimate way.  Anyone “in” a building is inside it; anyone wanting to be “in” a relationship has to be on inside it.  Each benefit named above comes as a result of being “in” Jesus, for the Greek word used here is ei which means to go into.  How the translators got from this word to united is contextual, since the last phrase uses being one for the body of Christ.  In order for us to be one with each other in Christ, we have to be united with Him as well.

The only way to find encouragement is to be in Jesus.  Where will we find comfort?  From His love.  How do we fellowship with the Spirit?  By being united with Christ.  How do we develop tenderness and compassion?  Through our unity with Jesus then, as a result of that connection, unity with one another.

Using like-minded to describe the church can be misconstrued to mean we agree on everything.  Later on in this very book Paul debunks that POV, which is something we’ll study more about when we reach chapter 3.  No, the scars on the right hand won’t be the same as the left if we are right handed.  I use my right hand more than my left, so my left hand has been bruised by hammers and cut by sharp things far more often than my right.  The experience of the left hand has been quite different from the right, since it has been on the receiving end of many of the bad aiming mistakes my right has made.  (Those aiming “mistakes” are due to concentration and focus, for the most part, which involve wandering mind.)  Yet no matter what the differences are in the two hands’ experiences, they are united by and work for the goal of one body—mine.

Paul wants the Philippians, and so us, to have the same love while being like-minded.  How can such a disparate bunch of people have the same love, be like-minded and united in spirit and purpose?  They would have to take on the mind, spirit and purpose of Christ.  There’s no other way for us to be one in spirit, since the only spirit we have in common is the Holy Spirit.  The Spirit gives us the mind of Christ, which in turn unites us into one purpose and love, for the mind we submit to is His; the purpose we take on is His; the love we know and express is His.

The moment we step outside of Jesus being the source of all these things is the moment fissures in the body of Christ begin to happen.  Paul uses the rewards of His presence in our lives to inspire us to unity.  If we have any encouragement from being one with Christ, and through this connection we find fellowship, comfort from His love, compassion and tenderness, our next step by default is to be united with other people who follow Him in the same way.  Jesus might be the Truth, the Way, the Life, but He is a being not a philosophy or religion.  If the word “religion” means something we practice in a committed and wholly dedicated way, then our relationship to God can be called a religious experience.  You can’t have a religious relationship with someone without being with them all the time.

The encouragement we experience is from the presence of Jesus in our hearts.  The friendship with God comes through opening our hearts to the Spirit.  Once we open up we find comfort in His love, for we realize He loved us before we were willing to be open.  The fruit of such a connection grows out of the spirit of love we find there and inspires us to be loving, compassionate and tender with one another.

If we are submitted to the love of Christ, then we have the same love.  That love will bring with it a natural tendency to comfort those who share in His mind.  We will grow more loving, tender and compassionate toward everyone because of our connection with Jesus and His body of believers.

I will make a bold statement here:  If people are growing colder in their religion, harder in their judgment, less pliable in their POV and generally exclusive in their relationships, from the words of Paul I gather they have cut themselves off from the mind of Christ.  To be like Christ one sacrifices for the sake of others.

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.  Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.  Philippians 2:3, 4.

Notice the wording in that last sentence doesn’t subtract having personal interests or negate pursuing them, rather it includes the interests of others as being as important as “my” own.  If this is the case, the only way to this kind of mindset is through having the same mind, and the only mind in existence which thinks like this is Christ’s.

We’re Not Orphans!

“I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.  Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me.  Because I live, you also will live.  On that day you will realize I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in You.  Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me.  He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him.”  John 18-21.

Okay, this is one packed statement!

I own a hard disk recorder which is system exclusive.  I don’t know what to tell you about it except that it’s a pain in the neck, since it doesn’t communicate with any other computer based recording systems.  The recordings are really cool, but not being able to transfer the wave files  so I can tweak or add parts in one venue with another system just limits where and what I can do.

If you’ve read this blog much at all, you’ll realize pretty quickly I don’t like being exclusive with people either, which makes Jesus’ statements above a bit uncomfortable for me.  “Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me.”  “He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him.” The mentality here goes against everything I learned from my culture during the 60s and 70s about acceptance.  So Judas’ question,  “But, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?” echoes my own concern with closing out possible friends.

Yet this isn’t what our Master is doing at all, nor is He attempting to be exclusive or even unconsciously being so.  What He’s telling us is something completely different than our modern minds will grasp, for we automatically infer something in His statements that aren’t there.  The fact that the world cannot see Him anymore has nothing to do with His efforts to reveal Himself to them, rather it indicates their refusal to see, believe, or acknowledge Him for who He is.  Therefore they see just a man where an incarnate God and Savior actually stands, whereas those who love Him see Him as He is.

It has to do with openness.  If our eyes are open to Christ, who is our light, then we will see clearly.  If we shut them and put our hands over our ears, He’s dead to us.  Of course this means God isn’t excluding anybody, if they feel outside the camp of Christ, it’s because they have refused Him.  A person must have Jesus’ commands in his or her possession and obey them before they can truly be said to be His disciple or see Him.

Someone once said,  “The door to hell is locked from the inside.”

Once we accept Jesus as He is without adding to or subtracting from Him, we will see Him and He will live in us.  Our acceptance that He is right and whatever opposes Him is wrong opens us up to not only His truth but the blessings and knowledge of His presence as well.

But about God loving only those who love His son, what does John say earlier in this book?

“For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.  John 3:16, 17.

So, then, what is Jesus saying to the disciples about God only loving those who show their love through obedience?

Well, to my grasp of the Greek here, it is an active love demonstrated and known by the person not a love held in just in the heart.  In other words, God loves the world but they won’t accept Him, which means by shutting Him out they shut out His overt expressions of love as well.  And, as we’ve mentioned before, His presence being felt in our lives is contingent on us accepting Him as He is, otherwise we won’t recognize it being there at all.

Have you ever worked with mentally challenged people?  I have and one of the defining characteristics of their condition is usually how they interpret the world around them.  Things we take for granted they see as something to fear or don’t even recognize as potentially dangerous to their lives or limbs.  At the same time, there’s this trust/mistrust issue that crops up constantly which is constantly disproportionate to their reality.  They trust quite often those who would harm them and push away those who mean them well.

I see us in this light spiritually because we tend toward the same behavior with God.

Jesus sets the foundation for belief in Him first by promising the Spirit of truth, then making sure the disciples (and us through their message) know how to see Him once He’s gone from the earth.  He clears up any fears about the future by saying He will live, which promises a resurrection and make certain that His death was enough for humanity’s sin.  At this point He draws a line around the word “love” in order to define it for those who follow.  The actions of love for God are pretty well set out here, so as to avoid misunderstanding it.

Does this definition of love make our faith a works-based service to God?

Not at all.  I say this with confidence only because I see the works we do as a result of belief and faith not the other way around.  Anyone who loves flying kites learns the rules for keeping one in the air so they can continue to practice their love.  Following Jesus is no different.  If we claim to love Him yet ignore what He says, it shows the same disregard for Him that a husband or wife give to their spouse in a relationship.  If a husband ignored his wife, people would know his love was completely conditional and therefore not pure.  Jesus commands us to love Him in Spirit and truth, which is only commonsense.

For the life of me I can’t fathom why someone would call themselves a “Christian” then ignore or simply disregard the teachings of Jesus.  It makes about as much sense as calling yourself African while being of Indian decent. It’s getting the cart before the horse—for those not up on farm references it means a cart must be pulled by the horse not pushed.  We get things backwards then wonder why they don’t work.  Works before faith is so out of sync that it almost boarders on mentally challenged.  Works has to be a result of love—not a consequence because that is something that happens to us instead of coming from us as a response.  Consequences are natural or artificial results outside our control as a result of being in a place, time, or for something someone else or we’ve said or done to outside influences.  A result is a combination of factors that can be dictated by us.  Obedience to Jesus’ commands from trust in His teachings and person result in a consciousness of His presence which then brings a peace beyond comprehension since it doesn’t come as a natural consequence of the world around us.

To “see” a husband or wife doesn’t end with visual contact because a person is so much more than their physical presence. Again, my son is always with me even when I don’t see him because I know him by heart.  I know his quirky behaviors, idiosyncratic patterns and that red hair which makes nearly every woman within sight want to snuggle with him.  When he’s with his mom, I know his presence in the world because he’s in my blood.

Obeying our Master is not about earning anything, rather it’s a call and response.  If we say we love Him, it means we love what He says, does and considers good.  I want to be like Jesus in character and actions because I believe He’s right, good and full of love.