Sufficiency VI – Love

I came across another verse from 2 Corinthians today, this one from Chapter 9, vs. 8. It reads something like this:

“And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.” This inclines me to read through all of 2 Corinthians over the next little while, but in the meantime, let me continue to develop the theme of sufficient grace into sufficient love. This verse also bleeds into sufficient power, but I don’t want to get too much ahead of myself. But keep this in mind as we go on.

Grace is the existence of surpassing mercy through love, a surpassing mercy that is powered by the same love. The character of Christ is such that in Him there exists both mercy and love in equal and incredible measure. This is one of the reasons He is so beautiful to behold, and also a second demonstration of His sufficiency. We all ache to be loved in the world we wander through, because we hope to know what it feels like to have it. But in order to experience what it means to be loved, we have to have some idea of what grace we have been extended. There’s where we run into trouble, because we don’t always have even part of an idea about the amount of forbearance, grace, mercy and tenderness expressed to us and felt for us in God. An amount so much that He sent His Son to express it in death for each one of us. See, as you go through the Bible, you begin to see some of the rich love and overflowing compassion the Lord had first on the Israelites and then on the Gentiles, we foolish people who also inhabit the earth. A pattern emerges in the Old Testament and begins to foreshadow the message of the New; a message that demonstrates itself in what has been given to us regarding Jesus of Nazareth. I’m taken to a verse or two in Romans to remind you of the point:

Romans 5:6-8
“For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person – though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die – but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

I’m reminded, too, of a song by MercyMe, entitled “I would Die For You”. There’s a line resonant with purity and hope in the midst of that song that is pertinent to include here as well. It is simply “My life has never been this clear…now I know the reason why I’m here…You never know why you’re alive unless you know what you would die for…I would die for you.” And that is only the love that we as fallen human beings can express. How much more, then, is what God can express, and has expressed? Furthermore, consider this…how much of our pure needs, our God-seeking and worshipful ones, can this love meet?

Blessings;

Christ-bearer.

Sufficiency V – Grace

At long last, a return to the Sufficiency Series, this time with the upward-looking aspects of the sufficiency of Christ and his teaching in a post-modern world. I’ll begin tonight with a quote from 2 Corinthians 12:7-11, familiar to all who have looked at themselves and seen the truth of the weakness of the flesh.

“So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations [God gave me], a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me ‘my grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. for the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

So let’s think about sufficient grace for minute. This point of Scripture is going to be foundational as we move ahead with the examination of sufficiency, because it addresses the very things I’ve been talking abut thus far.

First, ‘my grace is sufficient’: That is, all other things are insufficient in weakness but His grace, to look at it conversely.

Second, ‘for you’: Spoken directly to Paul, but by extension to the ‘you’ who reads the text, in the curious symbiotic relationship between a reader and the text, between the word and the audience.

Third, ‘for my power’: Inextricably related to grace is power; my grace is sufficient…for my power…’. God glorifies Himself in giving grace and in claiming His sovereign power over human frailty

Fourth, “is made perfect in weakness.”: Further to three, God actually reflects His very nature as outlined by Scriptures in making Himself perfect in weakness and dependency. Lest heresy should come from my keys, let me make that clear. God Himself is sufficient in grace, demonstrated through perfection in His power and our weakness. There’s a lot to be drawn out of that tiny phrase, and since this post is meant as an overview and beginning of examination in sufficiency, let me leave it there for the time being and switch to talking solely about grace.

So what is grace?

I may have mentioned a definition of it before, but regardless, it bears repeating. Grace is, in my opinion, the extreme form of mercy that allows God, in His absolute power, holiness, goodness and glory to see His Son’s righteousness in place of our own sinfulness if we profess Christianity and believe it in our hearts. I say absolute because by rights, we should not exist as worshipers of Christ in the state of sin we are born to, and by rights, we do not warrant the sacrifice of Christ despite any illusions of righteousness we may possess. But in perfection also lies grace, for perfection as we should define it is the consummation, the apex, the completely highest point of all that is good, taking good to be love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness and self-control.

In other words…grace is the cleansing of profanity in thought, deed and action from the soul and the body.

And Christ’s sacrifice expresses this perfectly.

More next time.

Blessings;

Christ-bearer.

Restoration

This is the second and concluding post on community and exile. They’ve taken a different form than I’d intended, as writing usually does, but I think a better one than I’d planned. Regardless, I want to use this post to talk about restoration, the return to a blasted ruin with the hope of rebuilding.

Honesty in my own heart leads me to the conclusion that as much as I may examine the lack of community within the churches I’ve had experience with, I can’t maintain the argument in all experience, nor can I make a judgment call on all churches from my own limited view. What I can say, however, is that there is a lack of Acts-like fellowship in the age I find myself in, and that the needs and directives to – as in Colossians 3, allow the Word of Christ to dwell in me richly, speak and admonish in hymns and spiritual songs, and as in James 5, confess my sins to others and pray for others – live in community and interact in community are kept less than adequately. In less awkward phrasing, I find that I can’t live these imperatives in the regular community of the church, but rather in fellowship with a rather heterogeneous crew of Christians assembled outside of the Sunday service and even outside of the church I call home. And I doubt that I would be wrong in suggesting that many others are in the same position.

Zipping back and forth between the Testaments, I find myself thinking of the return of the exiles in Babylon to the burned and wrecked Jerusalem…mostly due to the Nehemiah sermons that began coming out of Mars Hill in Seattle last spring. The applications, however, are different. In my view, the very point of the rebuilding of Jerusalem is the restoration of a people’s identity and self-respect. And I do see an upswing in the establishment of a solid foundation in the church that parallels this rebuilding effort, although, sad to say, it is not taking root where the wounds of religion run deep. At least not in the mainstream denominations. So, as I move into Ezra in my personal reading, I keep this hope in mind: That much like the scars in a burned forest slowly heal and flourish again, so to do the scars of religion and the needs of the brethren to find strong community.

Blessings;

Christ-bearer.

Exile

Any community that exists has, as an integral part, those who live on its fringes, excluded from assembly. The pariah (outcast) is as much a part of a community as is the chief, the elder, the head. The Other – a literary term – exists within the same realm as the group, the ones who are ‘the same’. It is recognition of this fact that has been misplaced somewhere along the way, as the institution of the church has evolved. I want to bring it out of the shadows here, as I can.

We, as a community of believers, seem to have lost the knowledge of the truth of our sinfulness and damnation outside of Christ. We seem to have lost the understanding that we are ALL outside of righteousness by our very nature, and that we as Christians can make only one claim that sets us apart from our worldly friends and families…that we can call Jesus’ righteousness our own in Him. It is this central point, however, that opens the doors of grace amidst the ‘outsiders’ we know.

I’ve titled this post ‘Exile’ because I want to make it perfectly clear that this setting apart of our lives, this re-direction of our beings, leaves no room for compromise – especially the compromise of false righteousness. As the Israelites were forced into a land not their own, and as we have been removed from the culture that we are born into, exile is what we face. And we forget, though we must remember, that those who live in the world are, like us, shut away from their true home, whether or not they recognize it.

So what am I trying to say?

First, that the church is often guilty of not recognizing the sinfulness of its own, depending instead on the qualities of a nature defined as ‘good’ because the rules are being kept. Second, that the very people who are disillusioned with the church are, more often than we might like to admit, those who have a more acute grasp of their own evil hearts and sinful natures than we who can claim saving faith do. Third, and perhaps most importantly, that despite our categorizing and rules-laying, despite our ‘righteousness’, we are more like those we’re trying to reach than we want to see. We’re all exiles together, you see, so we have at least one thing in common: displacement. And we all have only one recourse – return. That’s what Christ accomplishes…He opens all the borders, unlocks the gates and tolls, and calls to each and every wanderer “Come home, ye who wander in the dark places. Come home, and be ye welcome in My name.”

Blessings;

Christ-bearer.

Sufficiency IV – Community

Acts 4:32 – 34
Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common. And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold…

Acts 2:42 – 47
And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

So why aren’t we able to do this any more? What’s killed the gathering of the believers in such a form as this?

I’ve been building towards this entry for the last little while, because I know it’s the most tragic loss to the church, and the most important of what needs to be seen again in the age of isolation. This entry is both the last of an old and the first of a new subset of examinations. My aim here is to look at the insufficiency of the church community now, and the ways it needs to and can improve to be culturally missional, reaching out to the lonely and the alone, the isolated and ignored…those that we no longer choose to see or hear because we lock ourselves into worlds of smoke and mirrors.

I believe that everyone should go through the experience of leaving one place to move to another. I believe that it is of the utmost importance to learn to build community amongst one another in Christian fellowship. And most importantly, I believe that we need to get alone with our faith or lack thereof in order to get together with the sick and dying who need to share it.

Hell is real. The absence of community is one manifestation of Hell on earth, when the tender soul is isolated and attacked, dealt blows of guilt and accusation, and tormented with the maddening inability to feel a part of anything or anywhere. And it is just as rampant in the church as anywhere else – probably moreso in the church than anywhere else, actually. We are all alone in the pews on more occasions than we care to admit, feeling cut off from the people around us and outcast with our own terrifying sinfulness. So many feel as if nothing can establish a place of common ground. And what the average church offers to combat this is, frankly, worse than nothing. It is the illusion of togetherness in vast and empty buildings, in sanctuaries where the teaching minister or pastor appears in the pulpit on Sunday morning and not again until the next week, shakes your hand and wishes you well. This is the nightmare that so many face unless they live their lives intentionally outside of the church, seeking out fellowship worthy of the example of Christ, making efforts to seek out believers with whom we can share our inner selves, and living (most importantly, this), as exiles together.

I say exiles and mean a number of different things in it: exiles in a land of foreigners, sojourners in a country not our own; people who live lives with a sense of the difference Christ makes and the necessary exile from the ways of the world and the friendships or relationships formed within those confines.

So what am I trying to say?

That community is grown organically, and grown for a purpose…that being to glorify God in the tasks He has appointed for His servants. That we are exiles in this land, cast out from our true home and dispersed to do God’s work in a culture we cannot fall subject to and begin to live within the confines of. That we are not alone in being outcast. And these are the things to which I’ll be devoting some significant attention to over the next two or three posts (no more, as I need to begin looking at the truth of sufficient grace, sufficient love, sufficient power, and sufficient accomplishment). Keep a weather eye out!

Blessings;

Christ-bearer.

Sufficiency III – Institution

What’s happened to the church as an institution? What’s happened to good doctrine taught and practiced in the lives and in the worship gatherings of the congregants in this culture? These are the questions fueling this post, building towards the observations of the insufficiency of community within the body of Christ and its effects on those trying to follow the path of the cross. It’s within many communities of believers that these failures really show, leaving so many adrift and wanting more than an hour each Sunday to shut the world out, close the doors and sing praises to each other (but not finding it). I’ve been blessed with a great community, but it’s found not within the institution, rather it’s shown outside.

So what am I trying to say?

I believe that the church as an institution has become a lost and wayward child, somewhere along the way. I believe that in its anxiety to work towards the mission field ‘out there’ overseas or trans-culturally, it’s forsaken its roots, it doesn’t know its own heart, and it has not equipped itself to deal with the men, women and children who come through its doors cursed under Romans 1. I believe that central to this failure is the lack of conviction in preaching the Gospel, the lack of reflection and meditation in the lives of the hurried and anxious masses, and the lack of faith in the power of God to uphold His Word in the body of believers that call themselves ‘the church’.

Insufficient.

Forgetting what it means to be the ‘bride of Christ’ in church-ese as an institution leads, without fail, to the forgetting of the power and the importance of community. Just today I was listening to some teaching on prayer, and in it was mentioned Matthew 18-18-21

“Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”

Next post, I’ll get into some detail on the nature of a failed Christian community and the necessity for a regroup and redeployment of gospel truths, intentional lives and resting in His sufficiency, but for now I’m going to leave it.

Blessings;

Christ-bearer.

Sufficiency II – Doctrine

Fundamentally, the truth of Jesus Christ comes from assurance. Assurance comes from the gospel, and the gospel comes from God. Yet so many churches neglect to preach the doctrines central to the Gospel, assuming knowledge that is simply not present any more, and as a result congregants fall away and non-Christians turn away. You will notice that this entry in the series will correspond closely to the Institution entry, with some details expanded upon and others newly introduced when I get to that one. At the root of it all is doctrine, however.

The Bible contains everything that one needs to understand about who Christ is, why He came to die, what the effects of his death and resurrection were and are, and what that means for His church. These truths are expanded upon throughout the letters of Paul, which compose the majority of the New Testament. The problem lies in the poor or neglected teaching and understanding of these things, and the unwillingness of many to ask questions of faith and seek answers in strong teaching on those questions. I am a firm believer in the fact that if we ask the right questions, we will be given the right answers. I take an illustration from the recent film adaptation of I, Robot, reminding you that in order to proceed, Detective Spooner had to ask the right questions to lead him down the right trail. I do have assurance in the fact that the Lord does answer questions as we ask them, and sometimes in great detail. And as we ask them, we grow in knowledge and understanding. But, we are still faced with the insufficiency, in many cases, of the teaching of doctrine in those churches that claim the name Christian.

My intent with these three first posts is to establish a claim for insufficiency in man and sufficiency in Christ and His teaching, and in careful prayer and meditation on what it means for each of us that He is sufficient. As I have said, the teaching I’ve had as I’ve grown up is only now appearing inadequate, and I want to share my examinations of what really is adequate. I’m coming at this with the intent of demonstrating sufficiency, so look forward, dear pilgrims.

Blessings;

Christ-bearer.

Sufficiency I

I am nothing.

This is the most important thing to remember as we get into it. I have friends who disagree with this statement, preferring to add glory upon glory to the human, to the victory of reason and achievement over faith. It’s a very old argument, however, and it’s one that we’re not likely to emerge from as long as we listen to what culture says.

One of my struggles, right now, is with self-sufficiency. I’ve let mastery pass from Christ to me, and I’ve smiled doing it. As a result, I have to grapple with God’s ability to provide. There’s nothing in my past that gives me the faith to trust Him with everything, even though I’ve been a ‘churchie’ all my life. What does that say?

That gives me cause to think that the foundation I need was never built. It gives me cause to think about what those who haven’t been brought up Christian have to deal with, if I can’t even claim a sustaining faith. No wonder there’s a trauma of despair that infects so many.

So the first few steps are looking at insufficiency, when we get down to it. Insufficiency in three parts: Of doctrine, of community, and of institution. I’m going to look at all three in the next little while.

Blessings;

Christ-bearer.

Reduction

The question the Christian Vision project asks this year is simple: Is our [being the Christian] gospel too small? Is it going to reach those who need reaching? One view regarding this conundrum is found here:

http://christianvisionproject.com/2008/01/the_lima_bean_gospel.html

I can attest to what it means in one’s life when the gospel preached is too small – often, we turn away, or try to solve things on our own. It’s not that we don’t believe that God can do it; rather, it’s that we can’t conceive of a God big enough to do it. We trust far, far too much in our own abilities, and as a result can’t believe that God’s abilities are greater. We say ‘Oh, I’ll let God handle it’ without the faith to live that way. It’s no coincidence that Isaiah 55:9 is today’s verse of the day: “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” says the verse. This is where we need to really address our self-sufficient arrogance, and our inevitable narcissism. Do we actually live that verse? Does it ring true in our lives as more than comfort in sorrow, or a cop-out answer to the question “How big is God?”

Examine, if you are Christian, what it is that you believe God is capable of. Examine, if you are not a Christian, why you have not received assurance that this faith is worth pursuing, or worth keeping. And examine, in the light of what you discover, sufficiency and insufficiency. I’m going to spend the next few posts on this very topic. So begins the Sufficiency Series.

Blessings, and talk to you soon;

Christ-bearer.

Determination

Ever kept saying to yourself ‘I need to do that’, ‘I will do that’, ‘I should do that’…But then stopped, didn’t act?

I have. Many, many…many…times. The trick is to do, rather than to say you will do. It’s something we all need to hear time and again, so that we’re spurred on to action, held accountable by friends or mentors. It seems, some days, that the will to do anything has left us; that we are apathetic, slothful, indolent, lazy.

That’s when we need to cry out the most. And cry out in conviction that we are heard, that our cries matter. We need to burn into our hearts the assurance of intercession, and that, my friends, is the hardest thing to do for many.

But the trick, as I say, is to do. Take hold of the things available to you. Wake up, as I need to wake up, and look and see that the Lord is present, and that he is Lord and Master. Get control of the things that enslave you, and become their master in Christ’s power. (I say this to convict myself as well as you). It’s a most liberating feeling, and it’s one of the things most worth fighting for.

Blessings;

Christ-bearer.