The Arena of Struggle

When it comes to emptying our heart so that the Holy Spirit can fill it completely with His presence and power, the last things let go are not the things held in the hand, but the things being given safe haven in our hearts.   We may think it is different.  We may think that the real struggles of life are over our wealth and prosperity, our sense of well being and our carefully constructed security systems, or maybe even things like public opinion and the way we are given respect by our peers.  But, the things we can see, the things we can touch, and the rest of the external stuff of life can be turned loose by some radical act of resolve while the heart remains unchanged.

 

What we hold in our hands in some way is a reflection of what lays hidden in our heart.  Why is it that our wealth is so important to us?  Why is it that we are elated by the "atta boys" and the slaps on the back we get from approving peers?  Why is it that we build such lavish monuments to ourselves and spend a life time paying for them?  Why is that we always make sure we have some ace in the hold just in case life becomes unmanageable?  Maybe common sense and being responsible is part of the reason, but to what degree might it also represent our unwillingness to radically trust God to provide whatever it is that is needed whenever it is needed?

 

The external things are important to us.  They reflect the attitudes, values, and priorities that motivate our every action from the depth of our heart.  These are the last areas we are willing to turn over to the control of the Holy Spirit.  These are the important things.  We hold them until last, and may not even let go of them at all,  as we enter into the emptying process necessary for the Holy Spirit to pour out God's sanctifying power in our lives.  Here is the real struggle.  Here is the arena where the battles of repentance and confession will finally be fought.

Spirit Questions

Anyone moving toward a life characterized by the words "sanctification," or "filled with the Spirit" should tread slowly.  Do not race ahead of the Holy Spirit who is the One providing this blessing of grace in our lives.  To move toward the Spirit filled life is to enter into a season of emptying.  The motive for our seeking is important.  Are we looking for another Certificate of Spiritual Attainment to hang in our Spiritual Trophy Room?  Are we wanting something because a friend seems to possess it?  Do we want more spiritual power so we can pray with greater results?  Are we seeking a deeper walk with God for our own benefit, or so that our life will bring glory to God?

 

The question of motive is always important as we seek after this deeper walk with God.  The soul searching that is required of the seeker by the Holy Spirit is no small thing.  What the Spirit wants us to do is to see how we may be seeking after God for reasons that fit into our own agenda instead of simply offering ourselves to God to do with us whatever it is that He pleases.  On the surface it may seem like an easy answer.  Of course, we want to do God's bidding, but do we really?  Do we really want to do God's bidding when it is contrary to what we want to do with our life, or when it puts us at odd with the common consensus which declares the Godly pursuits antiquated and irrelevant?  Are we ready to cease blending in with all that is around us?  Do we really want to belong completely to God?

 

Anyone who has asked these questions and come to quick answers has not really asked them which is why many who seek after the sanctified life live in spiritual frustration.  We want what we think we want, but not at any cost.  Such folks are not really candidates for the Spirit controlled life.  Such folks want to be in control; yet, to live as a living sacrifice unto God means we voluntarily choose to give the controls to God.  There is no middle ground.  It is either God or ego.  Choose this day who is to be served.

The Right Direction

Sanctification is not about an experience.  Neither is it about attainment.  Some might think it speaks of a kind of spiritual perfection, but it is not about perfection.  It is about heart purity.  As John Wesley pointed out, sanctification is not about perfection in performance, but perfection in motivation.  I often think about an old peach farmer in Talbot County who told me one day somewhere in his seventh decade of life that he planted new peach trees, not because he was sure he would be around in seven years when the new orchard came into full production, but because he wanted his grandchildren to know he was pointed in the right direction.

 

Is it not better to be pointed in the right direction than to be pointed in the wrong direction?  Is it not better to be pointed toward perfection and maturity (Matthew 6:48) than to be pointed toward imperfection and immaturity?  Is it not better to be pointed toward holiness (I Peter 1:16) than unholiness?  Is it not better to be pointed toward purity of heart (Matthew 5:8) than impurity?  Is it not better to strive for what seems beyond our reach than to be content to reach what is easily reachable?

 

We should always remember that it is God who purifies and cleanses the heart. (Acts 15:8-9)  We can live as those who seek heart purity and those who lives are pointed in that direction, but it is God who does this work of the heart.  There can be doubt that God desires to do this work in us that we cannot do for ourselves.  Always remember the Word.  Never lose sight of it.  "For this is the will of God, your sanctification."  (I Thessalonians 4:3)

The Hungry

While most of us can point toward people who we regard as Spirit filled Christians, we are a bit shy about putting that title on ourselves.  It is ok for others, but we do not want anyone to think we regard ourselves as some special kind of super spiritual Christian.  We would rather blend in with the other pew sitters who are more than content with mediocrity in their spiritual lives.  If someone should look at us and make such a suggestion, we quickly speak to dismiss their claim.

 

It is interesting that being Spirit filled is a goal for many of us, yet, we are never quite ready to identify with the description.  Perhaps, it is has to do with the expectations we associate with those words.  Or, perhaps, it has to do with a spiritual modesty.  Regardless of all of this, a testimony or witness to living the Spirit filled life is not something we hear very often.  And, even if we have though an act of grace and faith come to see ourselves in such a way, we do not speak of it lest someone think we have too high regard for our spiritual life.  Those who live with spiritual big headedness are perhaps the most insufferable of all Christians!

 

Of course, there is a place for speaking of how the Holy Spirit has come to be more a part of our lives than He was allowed to have in the beginning.  While it is true that some may view us as a bit of fanatic, or maybe someone who has gone off the deep end, if such is a part of how God has been working and continues to work in our hearts, it can be shared with other seekers as a way of pointing them toward knowing the deep desire of their own hearts.  Those who are hungry for God are hungry for someone to share with them how that hunger can be satisfied.  We cannot satisfy their hunger, but we can point them to the table where the Spirit waits to bless.

Necessary Things

When we start out with Jesus, we are like the Simon Peter who was so very confident that he would always stand by Jesus.  He was sure there would never be a moment for him of betraying his Lord.  Of course, we know how that story ends.  And, we also know how our own story ends as well.  In the beginning we vowed that there was nothing we would not do, no place we would not go.  All Jesus had to do was ask and we would be on our way. 

 

What most of us realize is that it does not take long for the reality of our human nature to re-appear with all its power.  We said we would go to the ends of the earth for Jesus, but when we realized He only wanted us to go to someone we know and seek reconciliation at any cost, we backed away.  We said we would do anything except forgive someone who hurt us, or disappointed us.  We declared ourselves ready for service until we encountered the beggar who clearly was fit for work.  Judgmental spirits do not die easy. 

We do start out as eager followers, but soon turn into reticent dispirited souls who wonder what happened.  It is at that very moment that our hearts are ripe for that work of grace which could bring us to a new awareness of the Holy Spirit, but we are usually unable to see.  Most of us have to go to the well of self-determination and will power more than once to realize that well is an empty hole when it comes to enabling us to live in the image of Jesus.  Only the Holy Spirit can do this and He is only able to work in us as we will allow it to happen.  It happens as we practice the discipline of emptying ourselves of the desires of ego and what we know to be sin in our life.  With such being necessary for a new beginning with the Spirit, it is easy to understand why we will try everything else first. 

Empty

At one time or another most of us had a moment of driving when we looked down past the steering wheel and suddenly realized we were running on empty.  But, the automobile is not the only thing which often is required to run on empty.  Sometimes we do it in our spiritual lives.  How many times have we looked into the depth of our inner being and realized we were running on empty?  Running on empty in our spiritual lives means we are still going where we think we ought to be going in our spiritual journey, but honesty requires us to acknowledge that we are trying to do it our own strength instead of through dependence on the Holy Spirit.

 

The Holy Spirit is the one who fills our emptiness.  The truth is that He enters into our lives when we say "Yes" to Jesus.  It is at the moment of beginning that the Holy Spirit starts working in our hearts to shape our inner being into the image of Jesus.  Sanctification actually begins at that very early moment.  What often happens after a time of running on empty is coming to terms with the fact that this Christian thing is not working as we thought it would work.  Instead of joy, we are gritting our teeth.  Instead of peace, there is frustration.  Instead of power for living, there is nothing.  Instead of consistent Christian living, our spiritual life is like a roller coaster.

 

Running on empty is not the way to go.  God never intended for us to live in such a way.  The Holy Spirit is the One who can take our emptiness and make it something which speaks of fullness.  But, He can only do such transforming work if such is our heart's desire.  When we finally come to terms with our empty Christian living and confess it for what it is, the Holy Spirit is ready and waiting to fill our heart completely with an awareness of divine presence and power.  It is ours for the asking, but we must first confess, ask, and cast ourselves completely on the grace of God. 

Holy Expectations

Before the Apostle Paul signed his first letter to the Christians at Thessalonica, he wrote, "May the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely..."  (I Thessalonians 5:23)  The Apostle makes it sounds like God is ready to do a complete work.   "Entirely" means there will be nothing partial, or half done. Entirely means that no part of the inner being will be left untouched by holy presence and power.  If anyone wonders about the thoroughness of the work of grace, those words should send them in the right direction.

 

A few things about sanctification come to mind easily enough.  Through sanctification we come to a more constant and deeper awareness of the presence of God.  Through sanctification we discover a more constant and deeper awareness of the spiritual power available to us for the living of our lives.  Through sanctification we experience in a more natural and spontaneous manner the mindset and the loving heart of Jesus.  Through sanctification the fruit of Spirit begins to grow toward maturity.  Through sanctification we know a greater sensitivity to people and opportunities which are a part of each day. 

 

When we offer ourselves completely to God solely for the purpose His pleasure and design, we should not expect life to remain mediocre and ordinary, but filled with a sense that something more is being experienced in our life.  Never expect God not to make use of us if we declare to Him that we are completely available to do whatever it is that He has in His heart for us to do. 

A Testimony

Back in my Asbury College days when I first starting hearing that preaching and teaching about sanctification, it seemed to me that it was about an experience.  I thought there was some special experience to be had that would be good for a lifetime.  Of course, I was mistaken.  Sanctification is not about a single moment in our lives, but is, instead, about a lifetime.  This is not to say that there may not be some spiritual experience which brings to a climax a deep longing for God, but it is not necessary.  What does seem necessary is consciously choosing to allow the Holy Spirit to be the primary source of influence in everything we do. 

 

My response to the message about the sanctified heart did take me to an altar one afternoon during the Asbury Revival, but what I soon realized was that the moment was only a beginning.  It was the initiating moment for a journey that has stretched from then until now.  The personal confessing and heart cleansing by the Spirit that afternoon was not one that was final, but one that pointed me toward the way God was calling me to live for the rest of my days.  While there have been many times when the Holy Spirit has made me aware of heart work that needed doing, the moment at the Asbury altar was for me a powerful and unforgettable moment of being overwhelmed by the Spirit.  It set the course for my spiritual life.

 

No two of us are the same.  We are all different and as different children, our Father God responds differently to us.  But, there are things which He desires for every one of us.  According to the Word, one of the things He desires for each of us is our sanctification.  He wants us to live with such a longing for Him that we are never satisfied until we step into that life of living totally dependent upon Him.  When we come to the place where nothing is more important to us than Him, He is ready to fill our hearts with an awareness of holy presence which will surpass anything we might have imagined possible. 

Holiness

Sanctification is about holiness.  Strange as it seems to some, holiness is one word which frightens Christians.  If you want to make a group of Christians run in the other direction, start talking about holiness.  No one in today's church wants to be labeled with anything that smacks of holiness.   Unfortunately, it brings to mind images of stern and somber people dressed in body covering black who never talk about anything except religion.  To say that holiness has gotten a bad rap is indeed an understatement. 

 

The truth is that any follower of Jesus is called to embrace the sanctified life.  I Thessalonians 4:3 says quite plainly, "For this is will of God, your sanctification..."  And a few sentences later the Apostle went on to say, "For God did not call us to impurity, but in holiness."  (I Thessalonians 4:7)  Another Apostle would write in another place, "...for it is written, 'You shall be holy, for I am holy.' "  (I Peter 1:16)  It is hard to come to any conclusion except the obvious ones.  God desires sanctification for us.  He wants us to manifest holiness in our living.

What becomes obvious to most of us in a hurry is that holiness is not likely to occur in our lives if we continue trying to make ourselves into the image of Christ.  Good living is a good thing, but it is not enough.  What we need to experience the something more God desires for us is a radical dependence on the Holy Spirit.  It is the kind of dependence which allows Him complete control in our inner being so that His shaping and transforming power is never quenched or limited.  Such is God's will for each one of us. 

The Beginning of the Journey

Not once in all my years of ministry has anyone ever suggested taking the Communion plate and using it for the fried chicken at a Church Night Supper.  Neither has anyone ever gone to the baptismal font with a bar of soap to wash their hands.  The reason is simple.  These things are holy.  Like everything else in the sanctuary (organ, piano, pulpit, candle stands, hymn books, etc.), they have been set apart through a service of consecration.  Once consecrated they are to only be used for holy purposes.

 

It is, of course, something started a long time ago.  When Moses was putting together The Tabernacle of Meeting, he was instructed by God, "Then you shall take the anointing oil, and anoint the tabernacle and all that is in it, and consecrate it and all its furniture, so that it shall become holy." (Exodus 40:9)  Even the vestments of Aaron, the priest, were set apart for holy purposes.  What Aaron wore while doing the work of the priest, he did not wear to a casual social gathering.  It would have been unthinkable.

 

Romans 12:1-2 which says, "I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship," simply must be taken into consideration by anyone who is seeking after what the Word is saying about sanctification.  Even as things can be set apart to be used only for holy purposes, so can we choose to live before God as one set apart to be used for holy purposes.  Such a desire and longing is the beginning of our journey into the sanctified life.

Something More

When Peter and John got to Samaria they discovered that the believers there had been baptized in the name of Jesus.  While such sounds like a good thing, the language implies that something more is being missed.  Verse 16 of the 8th chapter of Acts reads, "...they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus."  It is not often that a simple word like "only" becomes such a weighty and significant word.  Something was missing from their experience.   Peter and John went to pray for these believers to receive the Holy Spirit and before they left, the two Apostles, "...laid their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit."  (Acts 8:17)

 

Now no one needs to argue with this preacher about time of the arrival of the Holy Spirit in the heart of the believer.  The Scripture makes it clear that as we respond to Jesus, the Holy Spirit comes to abide in us.  The Spirit is the One who assures us that we are indeed a child of God.  But, what is also true is that while we receive all of the Holy Spirit at the moment of deciding for Jesus, the Holy Spirit does not really receive all of us.  Instead of shucking those sinful patterns and lifestyle that we have confessed, we tend to hang on to them.  We acknowledge our dirty laundry and then choose to hang on to it. 

 

When we hear that preaching about sanctification, or being baptized with the Holy Spirit, what we are hearing is a call to give the Holy Spirit complete control of our lives.  In other words, the Spirit gets all of us.  The believers in Samaria needed to know the full power of the Holy Spirit in their lives if they were going to be able to continue the walk they had started with Jesus.   It is no different for those of us today who walk with Jesus.  There comes that moment when we have to decide if we are going to put the demands of ego aside and allow the Holy Spirit to have control of every part of who we are.  There is something more for all of us just as there was something more for those disciples who stood before Peter and John. 

Greek to Me

When I was doing some time at Asbury Theological Seminary, I took a couple of courses in Greek which resulted in 10 hours of academic credit.  Since the New Testament is translated from very old Greek manuscripts, it is always a good thing for any ministerial candidate to study the language.  While I never saw myself as a Greek scholar, I have carried with me the ability to recognize and know something about a few Greek words.  One of those words is "baptizo."   Of course, anyone can figure that one out to be baptize.  But, an interesting thing learned and remembered about the word is that one of the alternate translations renders it "overwhelm."

 

When it comes to reading about people being baptized with the Spirit, or filled with the Spirit, the word "overwhelm" always comes to mind.  And, certainly the picture painted with words like "rushing wind" and "tongues of fire" not only describes Pentecost, but also speaks of those disciples being overwhelmed by the power of the Holy Spirit.  I have always been partial to the phrase, "overwhelmed by the Holy Spirit."   Even as I can visualize being overwhelmed by the waters of baptism, so does it give a clearer image of what it means to be baptized with the Spirit.

 

When we are overwhelmed by something, it takes us away.  It causes us to disappear.  It becomes impossible to stand in the midst of the moment.  What was no longer exists.  The word "overwhelm" carries with it the image of everything from the past being swept away with something radically new and different being left.  It sounds like a good definition of what happens to us as we allow ourselves to come under the influence and power of the Holy Spirit. 

Surrender

Five years after my father's death, my mother married a man who was both a Methodist preacher and the son of a Methodist preacher.   When this new grandfather preacher died in the early years of my own ministry, I took a number of books from his library, added them to my small collection, and then carried them with me through the decades of my preaching years.  One of the books was entitled, "Full Surrender" by J. Edwin Orr.  A word from that book I have carried with me through the years.  "Salvation is freedom from the guilt of sin, sanctification is freedom from the power of sin, and glorification is the freedom from the presence of sin."

 

As I was trying to figure out what sanctification was all about, it seemed to me that I was hearing preachers telling me that it was about never sinning again.  While the idea sounded good, it seemed a bit beyond the realm of possibilities.  I knew myself to well.  The quote from J. Edwin Orr kept me grounded on a solid place as I went forward in my life as one who desired to live under the control of the Holy Spirit.  While I have always known myself as a sinner, I also came to understand that life lived under the influence of the Holy Spirit enabled me to live as I could not possibly live as I depended on my own strength.

 

Those who hear find themselves dissatisfied and frustrated with a Christian walk characterized more by inconsistencies than faithfulness may discover within the ensuing crisis of faith a call to abandon everything for God so that His Holy Spirit might have full control of our inner being.  If the power of sin is to be broken in our lives, it will not be because of our human effort, but because of the power of the Holy Spirit as He moves and works within a heart totally surrendered to whatever it is that God wants to do. 

Come, Holy Spirit

A long time ago whenever sanctification was talked about, or preached, someone would speak of it as  "a second work of grace."  It was commonly used to refer to a subsequent spiritual experience that naturally followed "the first work of grace" which was salvation.  The old time holiness folks who talked in such a way believed that conversion was followed by a second spiritual crisis which could only be resolved by the believer coming under the authority and power of the Holy Spirit. 

The Scriptural model comes from the Day of Pentecost.  Prior to that moment of spiritual power being unleashed, the disciples were followers of Jesus, but they lacked the kind of power that we see manifested in their lives after Pentecost.  Before Pentecost they were timid compared to the boldness we see in them after that day.  Prior to Pentecost there was nothing about them which would suggest that they would change the world which is what they accomplished after those moments when the Spirit came.  Of course, the difference is not that they took some short course at the local college on leadership, but that they came under the power of the Holy Spirit.

 

Many a believer starts the spiritual journey dependent on their own will power, determination, and effort and they soon run dry. Human energy alone will not sustain us for the journey.  Only the Holy Spirit is able to do for us what we cannot do for ourselves.  Only the Holy Spirit is able to make of us what God desires for us to be as His new creation.  The moment of coming to terms with this human inability is experienced by many as a crisis of faith which can be used by the Holy Spirit to bring us into a deeper, more dependent walk with God. 

Abandonment

Some things about the past I hardly remember. Other things are like they were poured in concrete never to be forgotten.  My early response to preaching about sanctification as a reality to be experienced in our spiritual life is one of those poured in concrete memories.  I was a student at Asbury College and I wanted no part of it.  I had been a Christian for a few years which was long enough for me to get comfortable.  However, midst the comfort zone I had created, there was a growing dissatifaction with the inconsitency of my spiritual journey.  While I could not speak of it as such at the time, there was a spiritual struggle taking place in my life which would finally bring me to the place of realizing that what I could do paled in comparison to what the Holy Spirit could do if only He were allowed.

 

The old timers would call that inner spiritual struggle a second crisis experience. I had started the journey of faith, but was depending not on the Holy Spirit, but upon myself.  It was a formula for frustration and failure.  I have sinced heard many others speak of coming to that moment of crisis when a choice had to be made between ego and the Holy Spirit.  It is always a frightening thing to give up the control of our life.  When we do choose to live in such a way, we are constantly tempted to grab it back.  Yet, this is exactly where God desires for us to go.  His desire for us is to be Holy Spirit possessed so that it is no longer about me, but about Him.

 

In the beginning of my journey with Jesus, I mapped out what I wanted to happen. My plans became set in stone.  To respond to God's call to allow the Spirit to possess us completely is to turn loose of the controls and abandon the carefully planned agenda.  What is frightening to consider is actually the way where the joy of the journey can be experienced and the peace that passes understanding is finally known.

Sanctification

Sanctification is a long and scary word.  It is one of those words which gets thrown around in religious circles without anyone really understanding what it means.  Most of the time it is simply dismissed as something which speaks of a kind of holiness that is both unrealistic and out-of-touch with what is deemed to be real life.  Only the religious folks who are extreme and have gone off the deep end give it any attention and when they do, none of the mainstream traditional folks want any part of it.

 

It is a shame that the word sanctification suffers from such misunderstanding. If we read the Scripture and take what we are reading seriously, the sanctified life will become our great pursuit.  My first serious encounter with the word came when I went as a young man to Asbury College.  It was much talked about and preached in our three weekly chapel services.  It was back then that I started struggling to understand.  What I have realized over the years is that the struggle to give a final definition that pleases everyone is simply an illusion. 

 

A writer who has helped me immensely and consistently in my journey toward understanding and experiencing the sanctified life is Oswald Chambers.  In "My Utmost for His Highest,"  he wrote, "Sanctification is not my idea of what I want God to do for me.  Sanctification is God's idea of what He wants to do for me, and He has to get me into the mind and spiri where at any cost I will let Him sanctify me wholly."  (August 14)  It is a simple definition of a big and scary word.  As we reflect on the words of Chambers, we may decide that the scary part is not the length of the word, but the way taking it seriously calls for us to live.

The Plan of God

The wise men who came to see Jesus after His birth brought gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.  No doubt these things were useful to Joseph as barter when he joined the line of refugees going to Egypt.  However, as useful as the gifts were to the family, there is something prophetic about the child Jesus being given spices useful as burial anointment.  Much later when the child became a man and was seen walking near the Jordan River, John the Baptist pointed to Him and said to those who had been following him, "Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world." (John 1:29)

The first testimony given in the narrative of the gospel writer John concerning Jesus is as prophetic as the gifts of the wise men.

 

Jesus came teaching and preaching, but as much as He was about living, He came to die for us.  From the eternal to the earth He came as a sin sacrifice for each one of us.  The cross upon which He died is in its simplest definition an ancient means of execution, but there was nothing simple about what happened there on that dark Friday afternoon.  In some mysterious and divine way Jesus died that we might live.  He suffered and died so that we might be forgiven.  He was not killed, but gave His life to accomplish a divine plan of atonement for all of humanity.

 

It is something easy enough to talk about, but difficult for us to comprehend.  Such is the reason for the faith response.  An intellectual response that speaks of grasping completely what happened that day would not be something any of us are really able to choose.  As difficult as faith seems to some, it is the only response of which we are capable.  To believe in Jesus and to accept the cross by faith is always going to be the only response we can make.  We are not called to understand, but to believe.  Such is the plan of God.  

Mostly About Grace

When someone has walked along the road of discipleship as long as I have over this lifetime, it is sometimes hard to remember what life was really like before the beginning of the journey.  What started for me as a teenager has continued all these years.  Sometimes the fire in me for Him burned lower than it should, but never has it gone out completely.  He has always been a part of my life.  Perhaps, I would like to say He has been my life, but honesty does not allow for me to forget times when my own unfaithfulness prevailed over my faithfulness. 

 

The thing about Jesus is that He does not give up on us during those times of unfaithfulness.  The image of the Father in the parable of the Prodigal Son tells us that He does not give up on us.  The picture we see of the Father in that parable is one who is always looking down the road to see if the wayward son has come to his senses and is returning home.  Anyone who has been away when they should have stayed has to love that part of the story.  I have thought that if I were Jesus I would have given up on me somewhere along the way, but such is not the nature of Jesus. 

One thing I remember about the beginning is my certainty about never forsaking Him.  When I started with Jesus there was too much of Peter in me.  I knew I would always be faithful.  It did not take long to realize how much I really was like Simon Peter.  In the beginning I figured it was mostly about my determination.  It was mostly about me.  As I moved along I have finally learned it is not really much about me and mostly about grace.

Life Changing

Some things are life changing.  Getting married will change anyone's life.  But, the changes which take place after the altar of matrimony are nothing compared to those encountered when the first child breaks into the family circle.  Marriage partners can disagree and even argue over things that are happening, but there is always the possibility of reason taking charge.  Try reasoning with an infant child.  Impossible.  All a newborn child knows is that something is wrong and needs fixing.  Figuring it out is someone else's business.  There is no reasoning in the nursery.

 

Encountering Jesus is a life changing moment.  Anyone who worships the status quo should stay far away from Jesus.  He does not ask for a little, but a lot.  He does not require a portion of our life, but all of it.  To enter into a relationship with Jesus with the intent to take it seriously is not just life changing; instead, it needs to be understood as radical.  Anyone who thinks differently only needs to look at the Biblical story of folks like Peter, or Matthew, or the Apostle Paul.  Jesus invites those who would follow Him to walk the radical road.

 

Walking the radical road is not something that always meets the definition of reasonable.  After all, what is reasonable about giving one of your two shirts to someone who has none, or giving your last two coins as an offering to God, or walking into a lifestyle which will surely mean suffering.  Given all this, some might decide Jesus is not worth the cost.  Such a conclusion might make sense, but it is really only a choice for those who want to live a life that is less than what it could be.  Not to make a choice for Jesus means we end up living all wrapped in our selves which makes for such a small and empty world. 

Seeing Jesus

Grief can take us in strange and unusual directions.  When I was seven years old my father died.   One of the things I relished hearing from my uncles and aunts was, "You're the spitting image of your Daddy."  Hearing such made me want to stand a little taller.  In those days after his death, I would look at his picture and make my face look like his face.  I practiced holding my eyes and mouth as his looked in the picture.  I wanted to look like him, to be like him, to live up to the words my relatives said about the way I looked like him.

 

In a conversation between Jesus and Philip, the disciple said to the master, "Lord, show us the Father, and we shall be satisfied."  In the responding words of Jesus, we hear Him saying, "Whoever has seen me has seen the Father."  (John 14:8-9)  Of course, here is one of those places where the Scripture is not to be taken literally.  Jesus was not saying that the Father in heaven bears the same physical image as the Son on the earth.  Instead, He was speaking of the heart and the expressions of the heart.  This is the point where seeing Jesus is the same as seeing God.

 

It can be no other way.  God is not One who is limited by the things that are physical.  While we cannot define Him, nor describe Him, we know He is not bound by the physical as are we.  It is better to think of the Spirit as we seek to know how it is that God expresses and reveals Himself.  But, it is still true that what we see of the heart of Jesus reflects what is in the heart of God.  What we see revealed about Jesus in the pages of the Word  reveals to us the image and heart of God. 

Consequences

I remember from my growing up days a television game show called "Truth or Consequences."  As I recall, if you got the question right, there were no consequences to pay, but if wrong, then the game show player had to do the consequence part of the game.  The truth is that even the truth has its consequences.  Even doing something right results in some consequences.  No action taken stands absolutely alone.  If a stone is thrown in a lake, the water will ripple in every direction. 

So it is in life.  Nothing we do, good or bad, is empty of some other resulting action.  Certainly, this is true of the things we do which the sacred Word would label as sins.   Every sin has some specific consequence.  There are no exceptions.   If we speak a harsh or unkind word, we can never predict the harm it might cause another person and once that word is thrown out there for ears to hear, it cannot be called back not to be heard.  The Word tells us that when we choose disobedience to God, the result is separation from God.  The inevitable consequence of sin is separation from the holy God who loves us. 

 

It is not a consequence which brings pleasure to God.  Instead, He has through the person of Jesus Christ set in motion a way of delivering us from the consequences of our sin.  It is impossible for us to deliver ourselves once we choose to separate ourselves from God through sin.  However, when Jesus died on the cross, He mysteriously took upon Himself the consequences we should be paying for our sin.  God has a plan for handling our sin in a way that is just and right.  He does not take sin lightly.  He does not pretend it has not happened.  But, neither does He leave us without any hope of deliverance.  His plan and our hope is Jesus. 

Behind the Plan

Anyone needing any evidence of the love of God only needs look toward the cross.  Our sin is what made the cross necessary, but it was not prompted by our sin as much as it was the love of God for each one of us.  The most memorized verse of Scripture begins with the words, "For God so loved the world..." (John 3:16)  It does not say, "God was so concerned about the sin of humanity," although He was and is, but instead, it speaks of the act of the cross being one which speaks of God's love for humanity.

It does not take a particularly brilliant person to acknowledge that we have made a mess of things.  The creation has been abused in a mindboggling manner.  Humankind seems intent on learning new ways to destroy both the creation and others who share life as a part of the creation.  And even though a case can be made that we are much smarter and equipped with life changing technology, the problem of sin is as much with us as it was with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Evil.  We have not learned much about living.  We still insist on doing it the wrong way.  We still seem bent on ignoring the way the Creator intended for us to live. 

 

God's response to all of this is illustrated so very clearly in the parable of the Prodigal Son.  God's response to us is not one of the judgment passer, but as the Father who loves beyond understanding.  The gospel lesson begins with the love of God for each one of us.  It is His love which is the driving force behind His plan for our deliverance from our own willful disobedience.  Jesus has come.  He has lived and died and been raised from the dead.  Everything about what He has done expresses God's love for us. 

Choosing Christ.

None of us come to Jesus by chance.  It never is that we just happen to be at the right place at the right time.  And, neither do we come to a relationship with Him because we found Him.  What so many people do not comprehend as they go from one pursuit in life to another is that Jesus is seeking them.  He is the One who is initiating a relationship with us.  We sometimes talk about our finding Jesus, but to speak in such a way is to speak a truth that simply is not possible.

 

What makes it impossible for us to find Jesus is that we have chosen sin.  We have chosen a way of life that is incompatible with the holiness of God.  We have chosen a way of life that is out of step with the Creator's intention for us.  He intends for us live one way and we simply intentionally chose another.  To put it all in Biblical terms means acknowledging that we have sinned.  And, when we chose sin, in whatever form we choose, it inevitably separates us from God and once the separation occurs, there is nothing we can do to make it right again.

 

All of this speaks to why we need Jesus in our life.  Jesus is God's answer to this human problem we have created for ourselves.  Through His sacrifice on the cross, He makes it possible for our sins to be handled in such a way that we receive forgiveness and restoration of the severed relationship.  But, as always it is our choice.  What He has made possible for us does not have to be accepted.  It can be ignored.  It is our choice.  We can choose to ignore what Jesus has done, or we can choose to accept it and find that our life is once again righted in a way that enables us to once again know peace with ourselves and with God.  So, what will it be?

Faith From a Grave

When I was seven years old and standing by my father's grave, there was a lot to figure out.  In some ways I think I have spent my entire life in that single pursuit.  As a child it must have been confusing to me to be at a place where his body was buried and, yet, the people I trusted were telling me that my father was in heaven.  As the years rolled along, my father's faith became an important issue for me.  I was told he had professed faith in Christ before his death, but I wondered if it was just something I was told by those who wanted to bring comfort.  It was sometime later when I was reading over the book signed by folks at his funeral that I found words written by a chaplain which spoke of him professing faith in Christ and planning to be baptized.

 

I suppose for some such things are irrelevant.  Some say it does not matter.  Some dismiss heaven as a fairy tale.  All I know is that as a seven year old boy struggling to figure out his father's death, it mattered a great deal.  And as I have reflected back over those childhood years, I have realized that I first wanted to go to heaven because of a belief that my father was in that eternal place.  It had nothing to do with faith in Christ, but simply an awareness that a man important to me was waiting.

To become older is to come to a different places in my thinking, but one thing I have not lost is a belief that an eternal life awaits those who have faith in Christ.  Jesus promised it to one of the thieves who was dying on an adjacent cross.  "Today..." He said.  Those words have always been enough to cement a belief that heaven is out there for us.  There is no need to ask me for a lot of details.  I do not have them.  I just have this faith in Christ that was born long years ago at my father's grave.

The Beginning "Yes."

I was just under eighteen years of age when I finally said "Yes" to Jesus in a way that had sticking power.  Prior to that evening of kneeling in my bedroom, I had knelt at countless altars.  There were other times when I did what I thought was necessary to accept Jesus in my life as Savior, but there never was the kind of certainty that it was accomplished until that night a few weeks before graduation from high school.  There were no bells and trumpets blowing in my room that night, but the reality experienced in those moments has never left me. 

 

When I went to bed that night, I knew for the first time with certainty that I belonged to Jesus.  I have doubted a lot of stuff over the years as I have struggled along the road of faith, but I have never doubted that there was that single moment upon which my whole life turned.  I knew that He died on the cross for me.  I knew myself as a sinner in need of Him.   And I knew that He came into my heart with undeserved grace to send me forward into the life He was calling me to embrace.  The moment of beginning can be called by a lot of names, but for me it was the first of many moments of saying "Yes" to Jesus.  I am grateful still for the grace and mercy which touched me that evening long ago.

It is hard to imagine a life without Jesus.  When I think about all the ones who have shaped my life and enabled me to become the man I have become, there is no one who has had a greater influence than this One who walked the roads of Galilee and went to the cross for the likes of folks such as me.  If I had been Him, I would have excluded me from the list of those being delivered by His merciful act of sacrifice, but He included me, even me.  "Oh, how He loves you and me, Oh, how He loves you and me.  He gave His life.  What more could He give?  Oh, how He loves you, Oh, how He loves me. Oh, how He loves you and me."

The Big Disconnect

Long years ago when I was under the appointment of the Bishop, I was sent to a church which was troubled in many ways.  Some told me they were only waiting for a few more families to leave before they joined the growing exodus.  Another greeted me with the words, "These people are not looking for a new preacher.  They are looking for a savior and you better be him."  Fortunately, I was young and green which made me brave enough to foolishly tread boldly forward.

 

The truth is that no one really feels a need for a Savior these days.  There is a sense in which we are forever young enough to think that we can do whatever needs doing all by ourselves.  Here in is one of the great disconnects of the Christian faith.  Every year we hear we remember the words of the angel who told a bunch of shepherds, "...to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord."  (Luke 2:11)  It is received as a nice feel good story that brings completion to a very busy season known as Christmas.  But, it is hardly a word which is received as one which describes our human condition.

 

The Sacred Word announces a Savior, but it seems that no one has a need for one.  Somewhere along the way we have lost the sense of being lost in our sins.  Somewhere we have come to the conclusion that there is no problem we cannot solve, no trouble which cannot be overcome, and no dilemma so great that outside help is needed.  So, we close our ears.  Jesus is not really accepted as the Savior we need because to accept Him as such means acknowledging and confessing that there is something fundamentally wrong within us that we cannot handle.  It is unthinkable conclusion for modern believers.  But, though regarded as  unthinkable by some, it is necessary to really live.

Madman or Master

C. S. Lewis, a great thinker, theologian, and writer, wrote words which set forth the choices set before all of us concerning Jesus.  "You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us."   Lewis leaves no wiggle room for those of us who live in this gray world filled with compromise.

When I was growing up, the church that I remembered was more focused on presenting Jesus as someone about whom a life and death decision must be made.  There was an urgency heard in preaching.  The invitation to accept Jesus as the Savior was heard often and with great clarity.  I remember making many trips to the altar as I tried to get it figured out in my own mind and heart.  And ironically, when I came to that moment of responding in faith and accepting Jesus as the Savior He is, it was not at an altar of a church, but kneeling beside a bed in my home.

Today's church would surely be better served if it spoke with greater clarity about Jesus.  Too often what is said about Him sounds like someone trying to walk on theological eggshells.  The church and its preachers seem so conscious of the voices of this diverse culture in which we live that the proclamation about Jesus gets watered down to make it palatable without being offensive or unpleasant.  New is not always better.  I think I will cast my vote for what might be called old fashioned. 

An Unconquerable Adversary

Once grief is met and truly embraced, it always lingers like a shadow.  No matter how long the day that takes us away from the moment of loss, grief stays.  It may become a thing not constantly considered, but still it never lingers so far away it cannot come sweeping us away from the present moment into a memory that can never be erased.  We run from grief.  We talk about dealing with it as if it were some conquerable adversary.  We talk about working through it, but it is never a work completely done.

 

Jesus knew about grief.  Tradition tells us that He stood at the grave of Joseph, His earthly father.  There He watched His mother weep at the overwhelming loss and surely He wept there beside her.  There are other moments of loss and death and grief captured in the story of the gospel.  Stories that belong to the widow of Nain and the Bethany sisters quickly come to mind.  There were others, of course.  Not every one around Him was touched with healing powers that brought life instead of death. 

 

As surely as He lived, He was acquainted with the grief common to all of us.  On some days such knowledge brings comfort that enables us to make it, but on other days the sense of loss which comes to us seems beyond comfort.  About all we know is that we are never really alone.  Though it may seem that we are absolutely alone, He promised such would never be.  In our darkest moments we may find it impossible to believe, but our ability to believe does not diminish the reality of the promise.  Isaac Watts wrote a hymn entitled "O God, Our Help in Ages Past"  which has a line that sings, "our shelter from the stormy blast, and our eternal home."  Maybe sometimes the best for which we can hope in the midst of our grief is to be pointed home.