Saturday, June 29, 2013

Gaining Life By Losing It

People from the world's western culture - especially those of us from the United States - seem to love being in control.  I'm not speaking of the type of control that equates to a desire for power (although there is a strong natural tendency for that too).  This isn't about being on a power-trip.  It's a discussion about our natural want to determine our destiny, eliminate surprises, always know where we are going, write our road map through life, or even merely preserve ourselves.

But, God wants his followers to depend upon him and his provision.  We can see this demonstrated throughout the entirety of the bible.  Jesus Christ told his disciples "whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it".  Jesus also said that "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me".  I believe that he was being quite literal about this.  And in the desert, God wanted the Israelites to be completely trusting in him even for their daily sustenance.  He provided food to the them, in the form of manna, for a period 40 years (after Moses freed them from the bondage of slavery in Egypt).  But, he only supplied them with one day's worth at a time.  God wanted them to trust and depend on him...completely...each...and every...day.  He wants that for us today.

That doesn't mean that the Creator wants to make mindless puppets out of his followers, forever in waiting.  This fact was demonstrated from our beginnings - our individual freewill is essential in his desire for us.  We also shouldn't think that relying on God means no motion on our part.  But, he wants us to actively put him at the very center of our lives and our actions.  I heard a pastor once describe the catastrophe that would result if the planet Mercury suddenly replaced the Sun at the center of our solar system...that arrangement wouldn't work any more than when we attempt to remove God from our center.

Unfortunately, my natural inclination does not align itself with these ideals.  Sometimes, it is incredibly difficult to lose my life.  In fact, it is something that I need to do daily...if even 50 times a day.  My notions of "what is best" occur throughout the day, every day.  It isn't until I realize my plans are merely my own human design and that God's are divine, that I realize how much I limit myself by attempting to save my life.  There is a paradox in that it takes real strength to truly release ourselves to God's will.  It can seem somewhat like jumping out of an airplane.  However, in this act of holy obedience, the parachute has never failed to open and the destination is always better than wherever we planned to land.  It is better because it is God's destination.

God is really really big.  He's huge.  He created a universe that has been estimated to have a diameter of 150 billion light years.  We can't comprehend that distance any more than we can fully understand his design for our lives.  But, with his abundant grace, our faith will be sufficient to see where that design leads.  Undoubtedly, our plans for life are small in comparison and these small plans have been outweighed.  This will surely be an exciting ride...if only we have the willingness to jump.