Thursday, November 28, 2013

Brave Enough, Dependent Enough, Weak Enough


Almost universally, followers of Christ admit that they experienced the most spiritual growth during times of difficulty.  I know that this is certainly true in my own journey.  The times when we are having to bear the most burden is frequently when we are most willing to rely on God to support us (the saying that "God won't give you more than you can handle" is not in the Bible!).  There seems to be a point in time  during trials that we quite literally "take our hands off the wheel" and ask God to take over.

In my own experience, that inflection point is almost like a revelation, or a reminder from God, that I was never intended to bear the weight of this world. When I am open to the idea of letting him navigate, I always experience a spiritual pat on the back that serves to reinforce what ends up being a very liberating and beneficial move on my part.  As we see the spirit of God help us work through times of trouble, our faith in him grows exponentially.

To get to the inflection point where I grow closer to God, I have to finally admit and embrace my own weakness.  That, my friends, has never been an easy task for me.  My personal history, maleness, and our western culture have always reinforced my natural desire to be extremely self-reliant (being self-reliant is different than being self-responsible which is merely being a good steward of God's gifts and using them within the framework of his will for us - more on that later).  So, I have to finally admit my inability to fully bear a burden asking God to share my yoke which he promises to do.  It is important to note that to share the yoke of God means, not only that he will bear the weight of the burden, but that I have to also be willing to go where He steers me: to learn from the situation, to allow the spiritual growth that occurs, to be dependent upon him.

There is bravery associated with admitting weakness isn't there?  It is a scary thing to say that you don't fully possess the capacity to bear the weight of a trial.  To relinquish control and allow life to be directed by anyone other than ourselves is downright frightening.  But, as frightening as relinquishing control is, the bravery that it takes to initiate the quest for spiritual growth can feel sort of like jumping off of a cliff.  When life seems to be running rather smoothly, to ask God to cause us to grow, while knowing that this growth may cause pain, seems more than a little counter-intuitive.  We have to be willing to accept the fact that it could hurt...it could hurt a lot.

Frankly, this asking may cause a complete disruption in our lives that may feel like loss.  And by the way, it is.  It is loss because we are assured that there will be a cost to follow Christ.  Things that we have become dependent upon could be ripped away from us.  These could be our job, relationships, money, material possessions - basically, anything that is an idol and taking the place of God in our lives.

Christians are NOT promised the Best Life Now (that reference was intentional) nor are we assured a life in this broken world without hardship.  In fact, we are told that sacrifice is required, pain inevitable and persecution promised.  We are told that there is a cost to discipleship.  Jesus Christ was quite specific about this when he said "whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.  For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake, will find it".  If the faith of removing our hands from the wheel, sharing a yoke, jumping off of a cliff, and taking up the cross isn't bravery, I'm not sure what is.

Saturday, November 9, 2013

Grace - Undeserved Favor


For as long as i can remember, the word grace has stirred my soul.  During my younger days, I didn't really understand the full magnitude behind the meaning of the word.  I certainly didn't know how it applied to my relationship with God.  But, to merely hear the word grace had a tendency to soften me.  Philip Yancey wrote the book "What's So Amazing About Grace" that was devoted to the topic.  Within the book, he explained how the word grace was one of the few uncorrupted words in the english language.  He spoke about how grace resonates with other-worldliness.  He explains that, while justice seems right, grace has a supreme, other-world quality.  Grace is so big that it is troubling to think that I am to possess it.  Not only possess it but, I am to freely dispense it to others.

God is perfect.  God's justice is also perfect - he is the perfect judge.  As the creator and ruler of the universe, we would want him no other way.  A universe ruled by an imperfectly just God?  No thanks.  Within his perfectly just system, he placed grace.  Grace - that wonderful means for us to receive righteousness through Christ.  God's grace was the means through which the sacrifice of his son was accomplished.  Perfect justice will be achieved but, God's grace enables us to bear it!

So, where does my responsibility lay when it comes to grace?  I believe that it starts with me realizing that I am not God (yeah, a universe ruled by me would not be a pretty sight...I have a hard time picking a tie in the morning).  Since I am imperfect, I should not consider myself more capable than God in determining who should receive grace.  In other words, since God willingly displayed his grace on the cross for anyone willing to accept it, who am I to withhold grace from anyone?  Yancey also stated that God's grace is like water - it flows to the lowest part.  There is no one that is beyond God's redemption.  How can I rightly receive grace from God if I am not willing to freely dispense it to others...especially when I, an incredibly imperfect judge, don't believe that they deserve it?