Monday, July 31, 2017

The Least ... Again

I have been thinking about another way to look at the “least.” I’m sure when Jesus referred to the least, he meant the lowest in society. The poor. The criminal. The social outcast. But could we not also think of them as those we have the least in common. When we combine this, with Jesus’ command to love our enemies, we can come to a bewildering array of conclusions.

It is easy to see how the better-off should love the poor. But Jesus’ commands are for everyone. So, the poor should love the rich.

Everywhere there is a broken relationship, no relationship, or enmity, the family of Jesus should fill that space with love. In both directions.
  • Whites and blacks.
  • Democrats and Republicans. (Conservatives and progressives.)
  • Christians and Muslims. (ISIS?)
  • Christians and gays.
  • The Police and the black community. 

If we have given our allegiance to Jesus, and are members of his family, we have chosen to follow him. We have not only chose to obey him, and his commands, but we have, at some time, decided that his commands express a perfect expression of his design for mankind.

God’s first and foremost intention is for people to live in love. And love covers and encircles every single person: friend, foe, stanger, foreigner, amd across every possible way to divide people.

Saturday, July 22, 2017

The Least

Jesus told a story about a crowd of people, standing before the throne of God, waiting for judgment.

God told one group, they would be banished from his Kingdom, because when he was hungry, they did not feed him. When he was thirsty, they did not give him a drink. When he was sick, they did not take care of him. When he was lonely, or in prison, they did not visit him.

God told another group, they would inherit from his Kingdom, because when he was hungry, they did feed him. When he was thirsty, they did give him a drink. When he was sick, they did take care of him. When he was lonely, or in prison, they did visit him.

And both groups asked him, when did any of this ever happen? (One woulds think that if an individual found the King hungry, and cooked a burger for him, one would remember.) And the God answered, "When you loved/served the least of my brothers, you loved/served me."

God makes loving and serving one another -- especially the least -- equivalent to loving and serving him.

But who are the least?

The helpless are part of the least. They can do nothing for you. They cannot repay, or reciprocate, for any kindness given to them.

Enemies are another part of the least. Someone who could reciprocate a kindness given, but if they had a choice, would give back evil.

Law breakers are also part of the least. They perform acts of rebellion against the order of their society. They promote a breakdown of peace and safety.

And in regard to the Kingdom of God, we are the least.

From the beginning, we were all intended to be part of God's Kingdom, God's family. The first people chose to live apart from God. They broke their allegiance to the Father, cast of their family ties, and lost their citizenship.

And we all begin in that state. We continue to break God's law. We defy God's rule, and are hindrances to his way. At times, we will deliberately choose to act in ways that advance the kingdom of the enemy. And when we wake up, and realize the emptiness of our lives and actions, we cannot change our hearts. We cannot change our standing before God.

A prime example of helplessness is a human infant. An infant cannot feed or protect itself. Unlike animals, who can walk within a short period of time, sometimes only hours after birth, an infant may take a year. The only reason infants survive is the almost obsessive devotion of their mothers.

We are helpless. We cannot restore our relationship with God. We cannot restore our design. We cannot fill our hearts with true fuel. So, our Father chooses to fil the role of mother, with the same devotion. He restored the relationship. He brought us back into the family. He fills our hearts with that true fuel.

If we break his law, we work against his Kingdom. We are rebels ... perhaps without conscious intention. But we live in ways that damage the effectiveness, the image, and the reputation of God's Kingdom.

We are least in the Kingdom. And God fed, clothed, cared for, and visited each of us. And God's standard is that the children imitate the Father.

Who are the least to us? That homeless man begging on the corner. That driver who cuts you off on the Interstate. Nowadays, maybe it is that man living at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. Whoever it is, God wants us to treat the least, like he treats the least.

Monday, July 17, 2017

Choosing Jesus ...

When we give our allegiance to Jesus, we become a citizen of God’s kingdom, a member of God’s family, and a friend of the King. We learn that the world is broken. It does not work as God intended. And we are broken. But we look forward to God’s new world. And we rejoice as we consider living in that world, which is not broke, but does function as God intended.

And when the world expresses itself in this broken, ungodly way, we can also rejoice. Problems and trials teach us to endure. We learn to stay faithful. We learn what is important.

And because we practice what is important, we develop character. We slowly become what God designed us to be.

And because of this transformation, we eagerly expect salvation in all its phases. We expect to be delivered from the penalty of sin. We expect to be delivered from the power of sin. We expect to be delivered from the presence of sin.

And God will deliver meet all our expectations. Living as God designed is the best for us. And he delights in our transformation, and our fellowship, because he loves us. His Spirit resides in our inner core, to facilitate that transformation, and fellowship, and to communicate his love.

Monday, July 10, 2017

Serving from God's Love

I have been reading a book (The Five Stones), and in one part, the writers were the story about Jesus getting baptized by John. In the story, Jesus rises from the water, the Holy Spirit rests on him in the form of a dove, and a voice is heard. “You are my son. I love you. I am pleased with you.”

The writers point out this is the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. He hasn’t preached a sermon, healed any diseases, or performed any miracles. Yet, the Father proclaims his relationship, his favor, and his approval of Jesus. The Father gives loves and approval based on identity, not performance.

Recently, I discussed here 70 different parts of a person’s identity in Christ. 70 different things that God proclaims as true about each of his children. They are true, because God proclaims them to be, not necessarily because we walk in them.

Jesus served from his identity, and God’s love and approval. The writers pointed out that people often serve to gain love and approval. Like Jesus, any of God’s children, once they have given their allegiance to him, begin walking with him in his love and approval. We do not need to work for it. We have it already.

What amazed me was the tremendous freedom Jesus walked in. He had God’s total love and approval. That meant he could go all in, and roll the dice without fear. Jesus had no fear!! Of failure. Of rejection.

God’s children need to learn their identity, and learn how to walk in it. The heart to obey, and the willingness to take risks for God, increases as we learn who we truly are. And we can see the impact of this mindset, because the first church understood its identity vividly. And they turned the world upside doen.

Wednesday, July 05, 2017

The Gospel

The classic “formula” of the gospel is:
  • God loves you and has uniquely designed your life.
  • But all mankind has sinned, so they are separated from God. They have no relationship with God. They cannot have fellowship with God. They cannot experience his love.
  • Jesus died to satisfy God’s judgment in our place.
  • We can choose to accept this pardon.
Scripture bears witness to all four of these principles. Each of them could certainly be expanded on a lot more. For example, we could talk about how “accepting the pardon” also requires “repentance.” In other words, we realize that sin, not only separates us from fellowship with God, but it also blocks us from living according to our design. Repentance says “I used to live by these principles and standards of life. Now, I realize they don’t work. I choose to live by God’s principles and standards. I choose to live in subjection to him.”

However, my question today is: how close to the classic “formula” does a person need to be, for his profession of allegiance to Jesus to be authentic?

Augustine lived in the fourth century. To put it simply, he was a bad person. He lived selfishly, and for his own pleasure. But at some point in his life, he realized he was a bad person. And he was horrified by how he was living. So, he began a journey to find how a person can get right with God. After trying several things, he finally came to understand Jesus and the Cross. He understood repentance and faith. He gave allegiance to Jesus, and became part of God’s family.

I have a friend, who before he gave his allegiance to Jesus, was also a bad person. He knew he was a bad person, but he didn’t care. There were worse people. And in the long run, it didn’t matter.

One day, someone gave him a book. The book was about how the Bible is demonstrated to be true by events in history. His reaction was: “The Bible is true. God is true. Jesus is true.” The truth of history convinced him to give his allegiance to Jesus, not his guilt before a holy God.

The story of Paul’s conversion is quite prominent in the Bible. He became an agent of the Jews in persecuting the church. While on a trip to carry out his assignment, he was knocked off his feet by a vision of Jesus. It was this vision that became the main force in Paul giving his allegiance to Jesus. Paul, speaking about his life before Jesus, says that according to the Law, he had no fault. In his mind, at that time, he kept the Law. He was not guilty of breaking it. Scripture does not say what went on in his mind the three days between his vision and his baptism. But it was the truth about an encounter with Jesus that propelled him toward allegiance to Jesus, and not consciousness of sin and guilt.

I was nine when I gave my allegiance to Jesus. I do not have a very dramatic story. I was at my family’s church one Sunday. I became impressed by the fact that there really, and truly, was a God. And if there really was a God, that meant he was Boss of the universe. Which meant my life needed to agree with him, and his “direction.” So, I chose to get in line, and follow him the best I could. And it probably took me less time to decide that, than it did for you to read this paragraph.

Augustine’s main push came from his realization of his sin. The main push for the others came from some other truth. Not that they didn’t learn about sin, and how far away from God’s way they were. It came second though.

God does not follow formulas. God touches the core of each person’s heart, and connects with them. It might be a place of need. It might be a place ofafailure. It might be a truth. God does not get locked in, but uses a multitude of avenues to connect with people, and to persuade them to choose allegiance with him.