On her thought-provoking blog, GODSPACE (http://godspace.wordpress.com/2011/02/22/following-jesus-what-difference-does-it-make/#comment-6538), Christine Sine asked her readers’ thoughts on this question: “Following Jesus, what difference has it made?”
For me, as for CS Lewis, “I believe in God like I believe in the sun, not because I can see it, but because of it all things are seen.” Christ is the light by which I see everything else, giving me a reason to live and showing me how.
I reached a point a few years ago where God allowed some very painful things to happen in my life and opened my eyes to much of the pain and heartbreak that exists in this world. Before God intervened my life, and my faith, had been very self-focused. When Christ took me deeper into Himself, he also took me deeper into the lives of others. Since this point of growth, there have been so many painful, sickening days where seeing the reality of the pain that exists in this world has just been too much to handle. I’ve wanted to just give up: on God, on there being any purpose in this world. I’ve wanted to scream at the Father and run far, far away. And there are days where I’ve started running. But I’ve only gone a few steps before the Spirit gently reminds me of the words of one of Christ’s disciples long ago: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” (John 6:68) Even when I want to react to the pain in this world by being angry at my Savior, I am reminded that it is the hope of my Savior that gives me any hope at all. I cannot leave Him, because he has not left me. What do I have if not Christ? As horrible as things are now, He promises that He will make them GOOD. As desperate as I get at points, His promises give me hope. Without Him, I have nothing. No reason to have purpose in my work in this world, no reason to hope for anything more beyond this life.
But with Him, I can make sense of this hard world. “Deep calls to deep” (Psalm 42:7) and His truth resonates in my heart, even when my mind cries out against it. Knowing Christ, following this Savior, changes my entire perspective. Because Christ lived this pain, because He went through the worst horrors we could ever endure, giving His life for us in the process - and then because He rose victoriously over this horror in the end - I can have hope.
Because he showed us what a life of selfless love looks like, what a life of GOOD looks like, I can have hope. “This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins…No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.” (1 John 4:9-12)
Christ showed us that it is possible to spread love and redemption and beauty on this earth. This is why I cannot leave Him. Where else would I go? Who else can offer me this hope? It is this hope that has affected my entire life. As I daily know Him more, He opens my eyes to more of the pain that exists but also to more of His hope, His joy, and His Way of bringing healing to the pain. Because of knowing Christ I do not groan and despair like so many but am empowered by His Truth, by the reality of His redemption, to love like Christ loved and give His hope to others as He has given it to me. My life has purpose.
I can hope because what Christ has offered me is eternal: it enables me to look forward to a world without pain, death, or tears, giving me the strength and peace to love others now and share this hope with all I meet. I can ask “Why?” and receive the promise of future glory in return. This promise frees me from fear and enables me to think of others, living joyfully in this world and spreading Christ’s peace amidst a world of confusion and chaos.
Friday, March 4, 2011
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
To be in the world, not taken out of it
I was really blessed by Pastor Tim Keller’s recent article about his church’s five main ministry fronts to their city of NYC, and why these are their main ministries:
"Foundational to everything we do is the gospel message that God entered the world in Jesus Christ to achieve a salvation we could not achieve for ourselves. This good news is first of all grace-centered. Jesus lived the life we should be living (but rebelliously will not live), and he paid the penalty for the life we are living (so we do not have to pay it ourselves). Therefore, we are not reconciled to God through our efforts and record—as in all other religions—but through his efforts and record.
Second, this good news is kingdom-centered. Jesus is not ultimately saving individual souls by removing them from the world, but rather he is bringing the life and power of God down into the material world to eventually renew and restore it. Thus we seek not only the conversion of individuals but also the peace and prosperity of our city. The grace and kingdom emphases of the gospel compel us to be very city-centric, as God instructs in Jeremiah 29:1–7 and as Paul demonstrates in his urban-centered mission in the book of Acts. Grace-centeredness reminds us to love the city, not despise it. Kingdom-mindedness leads us, as citizens of the city of God, to be the very best citizens of our earthly city.
...Redeemer seeks to minister in both word and deed. The Bible’s basic narrative points to the restoration of the whole world, material and spiritual, as the aim of salvation. Christian churches, therefore, must work for justice and peace in their neighborhoods through service, even as they call individuals to conversion. Indifference to the poor and disadvantaged demonstrates a lack of understanding of grace and God’s free salvation. A church that grasps the gospel will be holistically faithful in both word (Bible teaching) and deed (acts of service)."
Keller makes it clear that one of the main objectives of his church is to carry out Christ's mandate for social renewal AS WELL AS personal renewal. Because Christ came not just to remove us from this world and deliver us to heaven, but to use us to bring His love and redemption in the world NOW to help prepare it for its eventual complete restoration, Keller biblically states that one of the main purposes of his church is to minster to the city in both Word AND deed, seeking to bring peace and justice through their actions just as much as they preach the Word. (to read the other main purposes of his church, read the rest of the article at http://www.qideas.org/blog/the-five-ministry-fronts-in-the-city.aspx) This is a purpose of the Church that I think we too often forget. We as people are so bad at balance: either we preach the Word and focus so much on ourselves that there is no room left for action for the benefit of others, or we have all action and no preaching of the Word and focus on ministry to our own souls. But Christ came to show us that God desires BOTH. he desires a balance of both aspects: He came to redeem us, but also to redeem the cities we live in - and He wants to use US to help Him do it! As Keller, said, failure to recognize that Christ came to redeem the world around us and not just take us out of it – failure to recognize that He came so that we may live out His love and care for the poor around us - is a failure to truly grasp the meaning of God's grace and its impact on our lives. I pray the Church continues to explore what this balance looks like and holds both the teaching of the Word and acts of service as equally important to Christ's calling for us.
"Foundational to everything we do is the gospel message that God entered the world in Jesus Christ to achieve a salvation we could not achieve for ourselves. This good news is first of all grace-centered. Jesus lived the life we should be living (but rebelliously will not live), and he paid the penalty for the life we are living (so we do not have to pay it ourselves). Therefore, we are not reconciled to God through our efforts and record—as in all other religions—but through his efforts and record.
Second, this good news is kingdom-centered. Jesus is not ultimately saving individual souls by removing them from the world, but rather he is bringing the life and power of God down into the material world to eventually renew and restore it. Thus we seek not only the conversion of individuals but also the peace and prosperity of our city. The grace and kingdom emphases of the gospel compel us to be very city-centric, as God instructs in Jeremiah 29:1–7 and as Paul demonstrates in his urban-centered mission in the book of Acts. Grace-centeredness reminds us to love the city, not despise it. Kingdom-mindedness leads us, as citizens of the city of God, to be the very best citizens of our earthly city.
...Redeemer seeks to minister in both word and deed. The Bible’s basic narrative points to the restoration of the whole world, material and spiritual, as the aim of salvation. Christian churches, therefore, must work for justice and peace in their neighborhoods through service, even as they call individuals to conversion. Indifference to the poor and disadvantaged demonstrates a lack of understanding of grace and God’s free salvation. A church that grasps the gospel will be holistically faithful in both word (Bible teaching) and deed (acts of service)."
Keller makes it clear that one of the main objectives of his church is to carry out Christ's mandate for social renewal AS WELL AS personal renewal. Because Christ came not just to remove us from this world and deliver us to heaven, but to use us to bring His love and redemption in the world NOW to help prepare it for its eventual complete restoration, Keller biblically states that one of the main purposes of his church is to minster to the city in both Word AND deed, seeking to bring peace and justice through their actions just as much as they preach the Word. (to read the other main purposes of his church, read the rest of the article at http://www.qideas.org/blog/the-five-ministry-fronts-in-the-city.aspx) This is a purpose of the Church that I think we too often forget. We as people are so bad at balance: either we preach the Word and focus so much on ourselves that there is no room left for action for the benefit of others, or we have all action and no preaching of the Word and focus on ministry to our own souls. But Christ came to show us that God desires BOTH. he desires a balance of both aspects: He came to redeem us, but also to redeem the cities we live in - and He wants to use US to help Him do it! As Keller, said, failure to recognize that Christ came to redeem the world around us and not just take us out of it – failure to recognize that He came so that we may live out His love and care for the poor around us - is a failure to truly grasp the meaning of God's grace and its impact on our lives. I pray the Church continues to explore what this balance looks like and holds both the teaching of the Word and acts of service as equally important to Christ's calling for us.
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