Incomplete Without Love (1 Corinthians 13)

Without love, I am nothing but a noisemaker. I am nothing. I gain nothing.

Even if I am gifted with the ability to communicate clearly with heaven and earth,

Even if I have intellectual abilities that allow me to understand how all things work,

Even if I accomplish great things,

Even if I am self-sacrificing to the point of giving away every penny I own, even giving up my own life,

Without love it means nothing, accomplishes nothing, and is in fact – NOTHING!

Love is more about how I live my life than about what I do with it.

I do not concern myself with what I want or don’t want.

When others do not act according to my time-table, I am patient.

When others seem to encroach upon my “space,” I am kind.

When others have what I want, I am not envious of what they have nor do I brag about the possessions or abilities I have.

Because, IT’S NOT ABOUT ME!

I am not the center of the universe.

                        I am not rude, seeking to advance my own agenda.

I am not easily angered, for I am at least as concerned for others as I am myself.

                        I keep no record of wrongs, because life is not about me.

            I refuse to give way to anything that destroys or tears down others.

                        I protect.

                        I trust.

                        I hope.

                        I refuse to give up on believing for the best in others!

Love is the mature way to live, for love will never fail.

            Knowledge will fall short.

            Communication will cease.

Achievement will not be enough.

Love will remove all the barriers.

We will come face-to-face with completeness.

What is incomplete will be made complete.

We will know fully and be fully known.

Love is everything. It is what gives direction to faith and hope.

Blessed?

I’m meditating/studying my way through that section of scripture we call “the sermon on the mount.” (Matthew 5-7) These are teachings Jesus shared with his disciples, and overheard by the crowd, while he was sitting on a hillside. Since he was sitting on a mountainside, someone somewhere began calling this section of scripture “the sermon on the mount.” The title stuck.

Jesus begins with several statements, each starting with the word “blessed.” So “blessed” is a key word that needs to be understood in order to get the full impact of what Jesus is saying. So, I decided to spend the thirty minutes I allotted for today trying to understand what was meant by the word “blessed.” Two hours later this is where I’ve landed.

There are multiple Hebrew and Greek words we translate into some form of the English word “bless.” The concept of blessing is such a huge component of our faith I soon found it impossible to survey the entire concept and all of the original language words, so I limited myself to trying to understand the Greek word we translate as “blessed” in Matthew 5. That word is makarios, and its structure in a sentence is apparently as important as what the word itself means. (Don’t worry. I’m not going to bore you with the details, partially because I am not sure I understand it well enough to explain it!)

Some would say the word means “happy.” If it means happy, it is a happiness that comes from something other than circumstances, for one would not expect those who are poor in spirit, those who mourn, those who hunger, or those who are persecuted to be happy. The definition I like best, hopefully because it is correct and not just because it fits with things I already believe, says that to be blessed is to be “marked by fullness from God.” It indicates a state of being that transcends one’s immediate circumstances. “To be blessed, is equivalent to having God’s kingdom within one’s heart.” This certainly fits well with the very first statement Jesus makes. “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:3, NIV84)

There’s more work that needs to be done at some point to fully understand what the word “blessed” in Matthew 5 means, but for now it may be enough to know that it means a state of happiness and fulfillment within oneself that is not dependent upon present circumstances but relies instead upon the King establishing himself within us. After all, it is not possible for God’s kingdom to be established within us if he, himself is not also established there.

One in a Crowd or Disciple?

What makes me a disciple of Jesus? What separates me from the crowd? Just before Jesus begins what we have come to call The Sermon on the Mount we read that large crowds were following him. When he saw the crowds he went up on a mountainside and sat down, and “his disciples” came to him. There is a distinction made between “the crowd” and those who were “his disciples.”

Jesus was in the early stages of his public ministry. He was traveling the land teaching, preaching, and “healing every disease and sickness among the people.” (Matthew 4:23-25) Imagine that – every disease being healed! Of course this was too exciting to keep quiet, so news spread and people came from everywhere bringing those who were sick, injured, and demon-possessed, and Jesus healed them! It’s no wonder that large crowds followed him.

In the crowd we would probably find those who sought some benefit from him. People who were struggling with issues beyond their control and ability to fix would turn to him to be healed. There would also be the curious, those who simply had to get a look at this worker of miracles. There were probably people there who were drawn to his words, finding them interesting and wanting to know more. A disciple would have been someone who was looking for something more than this.

A disciple is one who patterns his or herself after someone else. To follow Jesus as a disciple and not just another one in the crowd is to reject everything we think we know and embrace the totality of who he is, what he teaches, and the relationship he offers us as not just a pattern for living but as life itself! Ultimately a disciple is not interested in his own life but seeks the life that only Jesus can give. To gain that life a disciple is willing, even participates in, the tearing down of their life in order that Jesus can replace it with something new – not just something better.

Today when we take a look at the landscape of all those who follow him, there are some who follow as if they were members of the crowd. Some look for what value he might add to their lives. Others see him as a curiosity, and some follow him because of his celebrity status. An even smaller number follow him as disciples, people who throw off everything in order to embrace what he has to offer.

Am I disciple? The truth is sometimes I am, and sometimes I find myself standing in the crowd. But Jesus is always a disciple-maker, continually extending his grace to me when I have drifted back into the crowd inviting to come back to him on the mountainside.

Woodstock

I’m watching a Woodstock documentary. I am filled with sadness. I’ve been trying to put into words why, but I can’t find them. It has something to do with how deeply people hurt and desperately long for something better, yet they look to behaviors and philosophies that ultimately enslave them instead of free them.  With that in mind, it also has something to do with my failure and the church’s failure, by and large, to authentically live in and accurately portray the life and love of Jesus.  When I look at some of the things that have been done in the name of Christ, things he himself would not do or approve of, I am not surprised that the people who experienced or witnessed those things reject him rather than embrace him.  Even so, God continues to woo people to himself, and people continue to embrace the life he offers them.  This is only possible because, among other things, God is merciful, kind, loving, forgiving and patient.

The temptation is to say we need to do better.  We need to find better ways to communicate who Jesus really is to our culture.  We need to live better lives.  We need to try harder.  While I would agree the quality of what we do and how we do needs to  improve, to focus on improving it is to fall into a performance trap. 

I think the answer is to draw nearer.  The only way our lives will ever authentically reflect the beauty and majesty of Jesus, is for us to nurture his life within us.  Our behavior will never be perfect, for we are infected with a tendency to reject God and his ways.  Still, when we nurture the life of Christ in us, that life will show up in the way we live.

The Mature Disciple

I caught a tweet identifying the need for a definition or description of what a mature disciple of Christ looks like. (Yes, I am twittering now.  Even if you don’t twitter, you can follow me here.)  This has been something my mind has been mulling over for several months, years even, without a satisfactory conclusion.  So I wanted to post my thoughts here, in the hope that you can help me and I can help you sharpen your thinking in this area. 

Like the person in the tweet intimated, as a pastor I feel a need to identify the characteristics and qualities of a mature disciple.  After all, my call to ministry is to make disciples.  To do that, it is helpful to know what one looks like, so, in as much is possible, I can orchestrate events and experiences that provide opportunity for me and others to mature.  That’s where I start, but even as I write there is something inside me that screams “Noooooo!”

That approach seems a bit pharisaical in nature to me.  Once we identify what the marks are and are not of a mature disciple, does that not lend itself to an approach where people are identified, based on exterior appearances, as to whether or not they are “truly” following Christ?  Even if I don’t use it that way and only use it in reference to myself, does it not provide for sinful pride in what I have “achieved?” I think so.

Still, there is the need to understand what a disciple is in order for one to be one and for one to make one.

Lately I’ve been opting for a process based model of discipleship, but it has its flaws as well.  By process I mean to focus on what I believe every follower of Christ needs to do in order to mature – namely that which is found in Acts 2:42.

And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.

I see four things here in which the early community of believers engaged that formed them into God’s community of people.  After coming to faith in Christ, then engaged in understanding what they believed, developing friendships with other believers, worshipping and communicating with God.  I think these activities, engaged with frequency and regularity, form the character of God within us so the outer expressions of maturity manifest as we inwardly grow close to God, but there are two problems with this approach.

This assumes that discipleship is about a growing intimacy with Jesus Christ.  I don’t see that as problematic. I see that as truth.  The problem is that we sometimes see the things we do to get close to God as an end in themselves. (i.e. Bible study, Prayer, Worship, Small Groups, and any other spiritual discipline you wish to name) This opens the door for another pharisaic trap that is very similar to one cited above.  That is to judge our maturity based on whether or not we engage the spiritual disciplines with fervor.  Unfortunately, we all know people who do these things faithfully but whose character is no more like the character of Christ’s than a toad is like a butterfly. (Another assumption I make about the being a mature follower of Christ is that such a person’s character exemplifies the character of Jesus.)

The second problem is the New Testament does show evidence of early instruction that is focused on behavior.  One need look no further than Paul’s exhortation to the Corinthians to “expel the immoral brother!”  So we cannot discount behavior all together. 

Several years ago I attended a church conference at Ginghamsburg Church.  I picked up a illustration which I believe was entitled, “The Anatomy of a Disciple.”  I’ve misplaced the original illustration, and this illustration I have I edited a bit.  I’m a bit embarrassed by the quality, or should I say lack of quality, of the clip art below. Still, it helps make a point.

The graphic above is a mixture of characteristics that may be desirable in a mature believer.  Some of these characteristics are observable while others speak to motive. It’s not really meant as an attempt to bring two divergent thought streams together, but I guess it could be viewed that way.

A couple of book resources might be helpful here.

“The Lost Art of Disciple Making” published by NavPress.  In its appendix it has a list of objectives to be achieved in the disciple making process. 

A second book would be “The Master Plan of Evangelism” by Robert Coleman and published by Revell. Don’t let the title fool you.  This not merely about introducing people to Christ but about how Jesus himself discipled others through relationship.

If you are still reading, you are a brave soul.  I recognize the above is neither well-written nor does it come to an adequate conclusion.  It’s just to get my thoughts out there to invite others into a process where we might help each other in our thinking. Having said that, I treasure your comments.

The Life of Every Believer

Whether you are new to the faith or have been following Jesus for some time, it's important to focus on the most foundational aspects of our faith. Sometimes we convince ourselves that we have grown past a need to return to the basics; but I assure you, none of us can afford to think like that. Consider John Wooden.

Even if you are not a basketball fan or don’t like sports in general, you would have to agree, John Wooden is impressive. He was a three-time, all-state player in high school, winning a state championship. He was a three-time, all-American player in college, winning a national championship and named collegiate player of the year. As a coach, his UCLA Bruins won ten national championships, including seven in a row; and they still hold the record for consecutive games won (88). He is enshrined not once, but twice, in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, once as a player and later as a coach.

How did Wooden achieve such greatness? He focused on the basics, the fundamentals of the game, including passing, dribbling, shooting, running, and teamwork. So fanatical was his devotion to the basics, it is even rumored he taught his players, on the first day of practice, how to tie their shoes. Wooden’s teams never got too big for the basics, and we should never think that way about our faith.

Earlier today I was reading an author (Dallas Willard) who claimed most of the dissatisfaction people experience in their faith and most of the problems Christian congregations experience can be traced back to a failure to properly understand and apply the most foundational truths of what it means to be a follower of Jesus. As a pastor with close to twenty years of experience helping people grow and leading ministries, I would have to agree.

Let’s make sure we are not numbered among those who are missing the fulfilling life God offers because of our inattention to foundational truth. Let’s not gloss over the basics in favor of some supposedly deeper truth or more advanced ministry design. Let’s give ourselves to mastering the fundamentals so that we can live out our faith with integrity, grace, and power. Let's remember the basics.

A life surrendered to Jesus Christ.
A life empowered by the Spirit of Christ.
A life directed by God’s Word.
A life committed to Christian community.
A life engaged in worship.
A life communing with God in prayer.
A life reflecting the character of Christ.
A life inviting others into God’s love.

When we get these things right, they provide the tools we need, to grow deep and strong in our faith, so we can experience the very fullness of life that comes through Jesus.

The Benefits of Intimacy with Jesus

I thought you might be encouraged by the following short paragraph. I so want these words to be more than words on a page. It is my prayer, and sure hope, that this is what we each experience together at Ranch Community Fellowship and in other communities that honor Jesus Christ.

"When once we get intimate with Jesus we are never lonely, we never need sympathy, we can pour out all the time without being pathetic. The saint who is intimate with Jesus will never leave impressions of himself, but only the impression that Jesus is having unhindered way, because the last abyss of his nature has been satisfied by Him. The only impression left by such a life is that of the strong calm sanity that Our Lord gives to those who are intimate with Him."

Chambers, O. (1993, c1935). My utmost for his highest : Selections for the year (January 7). Grand Rapids, MI: Discovery House Publishers.

The Christmas Gift

For years I’ve been heart-sick from the realization that the church of modern times, at least in the United States, is no where near the church God intends us to be in terms character, community, and her ability to transform lives. Nor does my life emanate with the clarity, confidence, and conviction that every believer should possess. As a pastor, these are agonizing thoughts to me for they are related. No individual can live the fulfilling life offered to him or her through Christ without the influence of a powerful Christian community, and powerful Christian communities cannot exist without individuals who are experiencing, not talking about but experiencing, the fullness of life Jesus died to give us.

Dallas Willard writes in The Sprit of the Disciplines[*] of the human condition and our efforts to address it through political and societal revolutions. He asks whether or not modern Christianity is the answer.

And amid a flood of techniques for self-fulfillment there is an epidemic of depression, suicide, personal emptiness, and escapism through drugs and alcohol, cultic obsession, consumerism, and sex and violence – all combined with an inability to sustain deep and enduring personal relationships.

So obviously the problem is a spiritual one. And so must be the cure.

But if the cure is spiritual, how does modern Christianity fit into the answer? Very poorly, it seems, for Christians are among those caught up in the sorrowful epidemic just referred to. (Willard, p. iix)

I am not throwing stones as much as I am recognizing a need and acknowledging a longing, a hunger within me and many, for that which I lack as a child of God and that which we lack as a church. It is sometimes hard to name what we lack, but we know we lack because the longing is real.

We turn many things to satisfy the longing. If it is not “escapism through drugs and alcohol, cultic obsession, consumerism, and sex and violence” then it is good things like a great worship experience, a moving prayer meeting, excellent Bible teacher with a great message, or dramatic works of power. While these are beneficial, they fall short as an end in themselves. We are constantly changing methods, changing churches, and sometimes changing spouses thinking that our emptiness is due to the circumstances around us instead of the circumstance within us. We keep looking to God wondering why he is withholding good things from us, and that is the problem. We are looking for the things instead of him. We are seeking what he can give us with his hand instead seeking his heart and face. He is THE GIFT and all other good gifts come with Him.

It is Christmas time. At Christmas time, we celebrate the entrance of Christ into the world as light, love, joy, and peace. These are not things he gives us as much as they are who he is. It’s a total package, but it comes by nurturing his character within us while we create community among us. For our common commitment to him compels us to be committed to each other – to the other believers in our fellowship. It can be no other way, as our relationship with him strengthens our relationship with each other, and as our relationship with each other strengthens our relationship with him. Until we get that, we get nothing. Let this Christmas mark the year we begin to get it.

---

[*] Willard, Dallas. The Spirit of the Disciplines: Understanding How God Changes Lives. San Francisco: Harper and Row, 1988.

Living Water for India - A Christmas Missions Offering

Living Water for India

Our Christmas Missions Offering

A letter to Friends and Members of RCF from Senior Pastor, Ed Wandling

Little did the staff know when we selected a ministry in India for RCF’s annual Christmas Missions Gift that Mumbai, India would be so prominently and tragically in the news, but that’s exactly what has happened. While no one, including God, would want this senseless loss of life, there is now greater opportunity than before to influence India for Christ.

Times of India, an Indian Newspaper, conducted a survey in which it asked what one thing the people of India wanted more than anything else. Ninety-three percent of the people wanted clean water. Through Sower of Seeds International Ministries, Inc., we are going to be able to help meet this vital, physical need felt by nearly every Indian while spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

The typical Indian family’s life revolves around obtaining enough water for cooking, washing, and drinking. Half the day is spent waiting in long lines or walking long distances to contaminated water sources. Thousands of children die every year due to waterborne illnesses, and water is often auctioned to the highest bidder - taking half of a family’s earnings.

Sower of Seeds is an international ministry, based out of Keller, Texas, providing water wells in India. One well provides 1,000 people with water for the next thirty years. Almost always these wells are paired with the ministry of a Christian Church, allowing the people of the church to become the town heroes as they point out Jesus Christ provided them with clean water – something their 30,000 Hindu gods had not been able to do. You can see the power of this approach.

Our 2008 Goal for our Christmas Mission Gift is to supply $4,800 to sink one well that will provide 1,000 people with clean, convenient water for the next 30 years. It’s an aggressive goal, and we have no money in the budget for it. So we will be receiving special offerings throughout the month of December to meet this opportunity. The challenge for us is to give above and beyond what we would normally give so our local ministry does not suffer while we support this important mission.

On January 18, Chase Wilsey of Sower of Seeds and Champions for India will be speaking in our service. It’s my hope we will be able to present him with a check of at least $4,800 at that time. Let’s make a difference, not only in the lives of 1,000 people for a day, but for a generation and for eternity!

A Matter of Trust

John 8:31-32 (NIV)31 …Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”[1]

Which comes first, understanding or obedience? A positive response to authority is always easier when we agree with what we are being asked to do. However, the real issue is not agreement, but trust.

Picture the child who is about to run out into the street and a loving parent yells, “Stop!” If the child obeys, trusting his parent’s view, then serious injury or even death is averted. However, if the child subconsciously says to himself, “I don’t see why I need to stop,” and runs into the street, trusting his own view of the situation… You get the idea.

Michael Slaughter, a pastor in Ohio, tells of an experience in Germany. In a discussion with German Christians, Slaughter discovered they have no word for “lord.” They refer to Jesus as Herr Jesus – Mr. Jesus. In the conversation they said to him that American Christians might as well not have the word “lord,” for we refer to Jesus as Lord without really making him Lord.

Sadly, I think this is more true than we want to believe. All too often he is Lord only as long as we agree with him. Is that trust? Absolutely not! Yet, placing our trust in Jesus, as opposed to anyone or anything else, including ourselves, is not just foundational to receiving God’s blessing it is a prerequisite to everything that God wants to give us and do through us. True trust demonstrates itself in obedience which more often than not, leads to understanding.

According to the verse above, the mark of discipleship is obedience to the teachings of Jesus. The by-product of that trust displayed in obedience understanding and freedom. The old hymn had it right. “Trust and obey, for there’s no other way, to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.”

[1] The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984. Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

Who Did Jesus Claim To Be?

John 8:24-25  I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am the one I claim to be, you will indeed die in your sins.”  “Who are you?” they asked. “Just what I have been claiming all along,” Jesus replied.

Everything rests on the true identity of Jesus. For the Christ follower, our identity is rooted in his identity. Jesus was very concerned that his identity was being correctly interpreted. That is why he asked the disciples traveling with him, "Who do people say I am?” As a follow up he asked, “Who do you say I am?” (Matthew 16:13-16; Mark 8:27-30; Luke 9:18-20)

Who is Jesus? What or who does Jesus claim to be? I looked up all the places in the Bible where Jesus uses the words “I am.” I was specifically interested in the places where those words referred to who he claimed to be. One of the most interesting statements I found was in John 14:20 where Jesus says, “I am in you.” Think about that while you read through a few selected “I am” statements below. This one you are reading about, Jesus, wants to live in, and through, you!

• I am gentle and humble in heart… Matthew 11:29
• I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob… Matthew 22:32
• I am with you always, to the very end of the age. Matthew 28:20
• I am,” said Jesus. [the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One] Mark 14:62
• I am among you as one who serves. Luke 22:27
• I am the bread of life. John 6:48
• I am the light of the world. John 8:12
• I tell you the truth, Jesus answered, before Abraham was born, I am! John 8:58
• I am the light of the world. John 9:5
• I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— John 10:14
• I am God’s Son... John 10:36
• I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; John 11:25
• You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. John 13:13
• I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. John 14:6
• I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. John 14:20
• I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. John 15:5
• You are right in saying I am a king. John 18:37

The Passionate Focus of Jesus

John 19:28 Later, knowing that all was now completed, and so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.”[1]

It was only after Jesus knew his work was completed that he turned his attention to his own needs to say "I am thirsty." I am so stunned by the insight from this one verse, this glimpse into the single-minded desire of Jesus, that I don’t know what else to say. No wonder Jesus’ movement toward his own crucifixion is often referred to as “the passion.”


[1]The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (Jn 19:28). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

She Left Her Jar: Questions Every Heart Asks

John 4:4-29, 39-42

A few days ago, I posted some thoughts on John 4. Having given it some more thought, there were four subconcsious questions driving the women's interractions with Jesus. These four questions are in the heart of every person as they move toward a life with God. I shared my thoughts with the New Life Alamosa congregation this morning. If you find the outline below intriguing, you may want to go to www.newlifealamosa.org where podcasts of the messages presented on Sunday mornings will soon be available.

Why Would You Have Anything To Do With Me?
She was a Samaritan
She was a woman
She was an outcast

Can I Trust You?
She wondered about Jesus' motives.
Are you greater than Jacob?
Jesus was focused on the spirtual while the woman was mired in the physical.

Where Can I Find God?
Jesus confronts her with the truth of her situation.
In response, she wants to know where she can go to connect with God.
She is still rooted in the physical
Jesus helps her move to the spiritual

Can You Help Me?
She speaks of the Messiah
Jesus reveals that he is the Messiah.

A Woman Transformed
The woman makes the leap from the physical to the spiritual
She leaves her jar
She moves from being someone who goes to draw water when no one else would normally be there to one who is intentionally engaging others.

As the people of God we not only ask these questions, we must embody the answers.

Why Would You Have Anything To Do With Me?
Is your life an open invitation?
Are you assertively building relationships?

Can I Trust You?
Are you a safe person?
Will you be shocked by my sin?
Will my sin illicit grace or judgement?
Will you see past my insecure behavior?

Where Can I Find God?
Is Jesus alive and well in you?
Is Jesus alive and well in your church?

Can You Help Me?
Will you invest time with me?
Will you help me connect with other Christ followers?
Will you tell me about Jesus?

One of the most interesting visuals in this encounter is the woman's jar. She brought it to the well with a focus on meeting her physical needs. Her encounter with Jesus causes a shift in her focus from the physical to the spiritual, from the temporal to the eternal, from the mundane to the transformational. What's in your jar? What are you so focused on that it is distracting you from the truly imporant? Maybe it's time for you to leave your jar behind.

“Get To” not “Got To”

Jesus says “…do not think I will accuse you before the Father. Your accuser is Moses, on whom your hopes are set.” (John 5:45 NIV)

Many of us are confused about the relationship between the law of God and the grace of Jesus Christ. Very often we treat the grace of Christ as if it supplanted the law of God, yet Jesus himself said, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” (Matthew 5:17)[1] While many of us know this academically, practically we overemphasize the law, or grace, which leaves us an unsatisfying life with God and an inaccurate witness.

The New Testament teaches us that the law has at least two purposes; to lead us to Christ (Galatians 3:24) and to teach us how to live in love (Matthew 22:37-40 ). In many respects, the law actually foreshadows the kind of life God wants us to have, but the law, by itself, was incapable of producing that life. It was only capable of exposing our need for a savior while giving us a hint of what life could be.

Unfortunately, we are still left with a dilemma. How do we reconcile the law of God with the grace of God? I think Kevin Myers, a pastor in the Atlanta area frames it best. He basically says we “get to” rather than we “got to.” We “get to” live the life of God. Earning a life with God is no longer a “got to” proposition. Through the grace of Christ we “get to” live the life of God with God.

The work of Christ not only provides an avenue of forgiveness for our sin, but a conduit of power propelling us toward sin-free living. That conduit is the Holy Spirit, God, living within us. When we are living a truly spiritual life, that is to say living by the Spirit, then we fulfill the law of God. (Galatians 5:16-18 ) The Law becomes a guide, a measuring stick, to which we compare our lives. The degree to which our lives measure up indicates to us how well we are nurturing our relationship with Christ and experiencing the joy of living in his grace.

We are still expected to fulfill the law of God, but the difference is found in how we fulfill it. Do we fulfill that law as a goal through our own efforts? Or rather do we fulfill the law almost as a by-product of nurturing the life of Christ within? The former is from the outside in while the latter is from the inside out. I believe the latter is God’s plan, and it is even found throughout the Old Testament books of the Law. To cite one example, in Deuteronomy we read, “The Lord your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live.”[2]

© 2007, Ed Wandling

[1] The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984. Grand Rapids: Zondervan.
[2] The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984. Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

Take Jesus at his word, and...

John 4:50b (NIV)50 …The man took Jesus at his word and departed.[1]

These words jumped out at me as I read today. The son of a royal official was ill. The Father went to Jesus and begged him to heal his son. Instead of going with the man, Jesus told him that his son would live. At that, “The man took Jesus at his word and departed.”

Two thoughts come to mind. The first has to do with how we seem to struggle with accepting the idea that God will do what he says he will do. The anxiety and worry with which we approach some of life’s situations betray our lack of trust in him.

The second thought keys off of what the man did. He believed…and departed. What would we do if we truly believed? Jesus said, “…if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”[2] I’ve heard the question put this way. “What would you do if you knew you could not fail?” In my own life in the lives of those who have trusted their thoughts with me, more often our actions are shaped by our fears of what we cannot do than by our belief in what Jesus said we can do.

God places dreams in the hearts of every man and woman – a desire for something to be better tomorrow than what it is today. But when we fail to take God at his word regarding what he wants to accomplish in and through our lives, we allow our fears, anxieties, and insecurities to keep us from fulfilling the destiny God has planned for us.
It is time we stopped defining our world and our existence in our own limited view. It’s time for us to take God at his word, and…

© 2007, Ed Wandling

[1] The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984. Grand Rapids: Zondervan.
[2] The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984. Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

How do People Begin to Believe in Jesus?

In John 4 we find Jesus traveling through Samaria, a region Jews regularyly avoided in New Testament times for fear of coming in contact with a Samaritan and thus becoming "unclean." He ends up having a discussion with a Samaritan woman. She, along with many Samaritans from her town, eventually "believed in him."

Is there a pattern of realizations here that are common to people in their journey toward "believ[ing] in Jesus?"

1. John 4:9 - Do we find it hard to believe that God might speak to us as the woman found it hard to believe a Jew would speak to a Samaritan.
2. John 4:11 - Do we share the same disbelief about God being capable of doing what he says he can do as the woman had about Jesus's ability to draw water?
3. John 4:15 - Do we misunderstand the promises God makes to us, seeking less than what he is able to deliver just as the woman misunderstood what Jesus was offering.
4. John 4:17 - Are we even more surprised that God wants to know us, when we discover the depths of his insight into who we are?
5. John 4:19-24 - While this contains more about what Jesus says than what the woman says, I think this interchange is about making the leap from physical to spiritual realities. Surely the statement about worshipping in truth was part of what led the woman to make her next comment.
6. John 4:25 - OK. I know this is reading between the lines a bit, but I think the woman is suspecting that Jesus is the Messiah. He has just taught her something. He has just explained something. She responds by saying the Messiah will "explain everything" to us. Is she saying, "I think I know who you might be but I'm not sure yet?"
7. John 4:29 - She, even though she may not be sure yet herself, invites people from the town to come meet this man and suggests, in a question, he might be the Christ.
8. John 4:40 - The people from the town want to spend some time with Jesus, and urge him to stay. He stays two days. Isn't it natural to want to spend time with him as you begin to realize who he is. In 4:41 it says monay more came to believe in him because of his words, presumably words he was able to speak during the extra time.
9. John 4:42 The people come to the place where they believe in Jesus based on their own relationship with him verses the relationship someone else has with him.

What do you think? Am I on to something here, or have I pushed thing too far? What would you add? What would you say differently? If this is the progression that some people go through, then I believe there are implications for how the church should engage people. Maybe I can deal with that in a future post. In the mean time, feel free to make your own suggestions.

© 2007, Ed Wandling