Guest Post - Re: The Power of Proper Identity: Ministers of Reconciliation

A dear friend of mine responded to my latest blog post titled, "The Power of Proper Identity: Ministers of Reconciliation" with some very insightful and edifying assertions. With this friend's permission, I cannot help but share, as I enjoy and value the perspectives offered in this reply:

"I agree that the calling is to Christ Himself, because the relationship is more important than the roles we play. So often we seek to establish ourselves in a business relationship with God, instead of a personal one. We strive hard to be servants when God has called us to be sons.

In being sons, the ultimate thing is the love and intimacy we share with Christ. Since we share in His kingdom, we share in His kingdom's work. The scripture seems to discourage segregating this work into higher vs. lower within the kingdom because, after all, the highest is the least servant in God's kingdom. Philippians does talk about the high calling, but never the higher calling.

The term "higher calling" has been used to distinguish those who are following a specific calling with the organized church or full time mission effort. When I say full time mission, not to be stuck on semantics, I mean one whose life activities are not fungible in the securlar market place. His economic needs must be subsidized by others of the "lower" calling (so to speak in keeping with the topic). So, in this sense, I would agree we would be off-base to say one Christian has a "higher calling" because he does not have a day job.

But the status of being supported by the Christian community is Biblical, and is a specific calling, albeit not higher. Those in that role tend to be held to a "higher" standard, which is also Biblical. Of course we are all held to the same standard which is the Word, but Biblicially speaking leaders of the church throughought the Bible have been expected to demonstrate exceptional holiness as they naturally become leaders. In being in this office it can be said that we "follow them" as they follow Christ. It is in this sense that the "higher" terminology would gain some historical basis - but I would agree that it still is inaccurate.

The secular perspective says jobs are to produce products, and the "better" we are, by worldy standards, the more products we produce. In that lifestyle, if I were to "do my best," I would always be trying to maximize my competitiveness and success would be measured in magnitude.

The Word says, the kingdom of God is like a treasure someone found in a field, burried it, went and sold all he had, and bought the field. If I won the lottery, my paycheck would diminish as an important factor to me. In the secular sense, my paycheck is my master - because its presence commands my obedience (speaking in worldly perspective). If I were to become a millionaire, it would no longer have any meaning for me. My paycheck would decrease, and the need to enjoy my work would increase. Similarly, when we are saved, we are set free from the shackles of status, the need to produce. We now do those things because we enjoy them.

Some may try to correct me there and say "because we serve Jesus." But serving Jesus is joy. We continue to do what we are good at because of joy, nothing else. God knows who he gave a good voice to, a quick body, a bright mind...we use those gifts out of joy. When your future is secure, your present takes on a new identity. The law, no longer our master, fades as the love and joy of Jesus fills our lives. God lacks nothing, yet he intervenes to save the needy. Why? Because he is so full of joy, it is overflowing. He is so full of love, it is overflowing. His actions are a result of His love and joy.

When you are full of fear and hate and bitterness, you seek to share it. When you are full of love, joy, and peace,you share that too. And when you get grafted into the vine that is love, joy, and peace.....you can't help it. That becomes who you are.

Being a Christian is being free from status. What would it matter if I exchanged one activity I enjoyed for one I will enjoy even more? This would be the case for a Christian transitioning from engineering to full time missions. I believe a man I greatly respect once said, missions exist because worship doesn't. Worship is the goal of the church, not missions. Paraphrasing alot but, he goes on to say: because God is ultimate, not man. Whether I'm a slave, free, engineer, nurse, ditch digger, or whatever else - it is for worship. For joy. For the life I have in Christ. Missions is just one more role - but a temporary one like all the others. Preacher is temporary, because Jesus is our true shepherd. Engineer is temporary, because by Christ all things were made. Whatever role He puts us in, He is highest, not our role. He has called us to only one thing, to worship Him forever. The rest is just the details."

Guest Post - Re: Stephen Hawking "Afterlife is a fairy story"

One of my good friends emailed an online article to several of us the other day. It was an interview with Stephen Hawking, a world renowned scientist. Not surprisingly, in the article Hawking attempts to use science and logic to defy the existence of any god and therefore any afterlife. His arguments are not new, though they still get under the skin of many Christians. The amazing irony is that a man of great science, logical thought, and intelligence such as Hawking makes some very obvious logical flaws in his sweeping statements against any existence of God or afterlife. You can read the article in its entirety here: http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_thelookout/20110516/us_yblog_thelookout/stephen-hawking-says-afterlife-is-a-fairy-story

In the end, without some faith, there is no belief in God. Good luck proving Him or fully comprehending Him. In fact, stating that there is not enough proof or that it is inconceivable is no proof at all. If God is beyond us—He created us—then how can we hope to tie a nice bow around who He is in our limited ability to understand? The amazing thought of a personal relationship with a big, all-knowing, perfect God is hard to accept or even grasp fully. But our inability to fully comprehend it is in no way proof for or against, contrary to Hawking’s logic. If God's “ways are higher” and His “thoughts are not your thoughts" (Isaiah 55:8-9), then how could we expect to be able to fully comprehend Him? So that argument does nothing. Hawking or others might reply, “Well, how convenient. Explaining the impossible with an ‘incomprehensible God’ cop-out.” That response sounds clever and logical, but given what God claims to be and what we know Him to be (see Isaiah reference above), it is an irrelevant argument. I would challenge Hawking to choose something more solid and substantial. (Of course, he would probably come up with something, however inadequate, as there is no end to this banter back and forth from either side…but if we have a hard time proving God with human logic, we will certainly have a harder time proving His non-existence…we get smug in our logic, but when you break it down, we haven’t proven His non-existence whatsoever. And for those of us who know Him, that is no surprise. :-)

For more thoughts on science and religion and how they fit together, see the following post: The Pursuit of Happiness – Science, Logic, and Love

One of my good friends wrote back the following reply to the Hawking article. I really enjoyed his thoughts, so I have brought it to you as this month's guest post:

These kind of articles are not unusual for our society. We have often spoken about how the media has used Christianity for an amusing punching bag whether it is in movies, TV, or radio. There are many who are so deep into scientific research, that for them matters of fact are the goal rather than matters of faith. Human history has already experienced this though: think of how many religions and beliefs in the past have been proven untrue (Mount Olympus being the easiest example). It is understandable for people to be skeptical and even Paul realized the implications if Christianity was untrue: "and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith is also vain." 1 Corinthians 15:14.

While I have no desire to go toe-to-toe with Stephen Hawking, there are some observations I have on this article.

"But in 2010, Hawking told Diane Sawyer that "science will win" in a battle with religion 'because it works.'"

Scientists, engineers, and others are driven by a desire to understand what appears to be not understandable. Science is something we can comprehend, test, and rely on to return the same result... most of the time. God is unknowable and far beyond us. How many times have we been told, "You're trying to put God in a box." Why does grace work? Because of God, yet we have done nothing to deserve it. To one such as Hawking, this doesn't "work", yet we praise God because of this "not working out." If it did "work", then we would be condemned.

"What could define God [is a conception of divinity] as the embodiment of the laws of nature. However, this is not what most people would think of that God," Hawking told Sawyer. "They made a human-like being with whom one can have a personal relationship. When you look at the vast size of the universe and how insignificant an accidental human life is in it, that seems most impossible."

He is more than Mother Nature and Father Time combined into one. But if our Bible is true, than we see in Genesis that God started the relationship, not Adam. Hawking is right though: we are insignificant in our own perspective of the cosmos, making God much more worthy to be praised.

"Because there is a law such as gravity, the Universe can and will create itself from nothing. Spontaneous creation is the reason there is something rather than nothing, why the Universe exists, why we exist."

And who authored and signed the bill of gravity into law? "Matter can neither be created nor destroyed," correct? Then why does anything exist at all? Hawking would argue that just because an answer has not been discovered yet does not mean there is no explanation. True, just because I do not understand that one light in the sky is a star 93 million miles away and another orbits our planet does not make it unexplainable eventually. In the vastness of the universe (infinite), if you wanted to do a statistical probability of any fraction, then our world would by chance have to happen sometime. But with all we can see around us, if spontaneous creation is true, then I will also believe in spontaneous human combustion as my brain will have exploded. Pastor Gregg said it well once, "A random chance of creation takes more faith than God's deliberate creation."

"'We should seek the greatest value of our action,' Hawking told the paper."

And what are our greatest actions of value? Praising God, loving one another, going out and telling others.

When we get together again, we should pray for the lost, those striving to find something greater than themselves, and those who do not realize the joy and hope that we share.

Amen!

Guest Post: Christ Seen in You and Me

Earlier this month I reiterated a question that pierced me to friends, family, and blog readers: Do others recognize me as a Christian because I'm living to high standards...or are they seeing Christ in me? What does "seeing Christ in me" really mean? (see post Shared Convictions, Apr 7, 2011)

One of my friends responded with some thoughts that were worth sharing. Her response to the question is this month's guest post:

To address my first thoughts on the initial question of whether others "recognize me as a Christian because I'm living high standards...or are they seeing Christ in me," I honestly think it's a combination of both. All of scripture calls us to live our lives to a higher standard. From the wisdom of Proverbs and examples of faith in the Old Testament to the entire New Testament, God's word is Truth meant to help guide and protect us; to sanctify us, set us apart for God. (John 17:13-19)

I definitely believe that the high standards we choose to live by according to God's word should make us different; we are set apart by Christ to be used by God to bring glory to Himself in everything we do. (Col. 3:23)

That said, I also firmly believe that high standards are only a surface layer to our calling as Christians. To know what it means for others to see Christ in us, we have to know about the character and life of Christ. Looking back through Matthew, we are given a plethora of examples of who Christ is and the life He lived. To put it simply, Christian life is about love and obedience.

An all-consuming love for God sparks obedience to Him and a heart of love for others.

Like in Matthew 5:17-20 - Jesus reminds us of the difference between integrity and piousness. It's not just about rules (or high standards), but about the heart; not just intense legal compliance, but rather obedience out of intense love.

Matthew 18 continues to give us examples of this intense kind of love for others.
- Love others enough to not be a stumbling block (Rom. 14:13,19,22)
- Love others with a heart of mercy and compassion (2 Cor. 11:28-29)
- Love others enough to be just and honest (2 Tim. 2:22-26)
- Love others as we love ourselves (Rom. 12)

Matthew 22:34-40 commands us to love God first, then, love others. This is an unselfish love, a Radical love.
- We must put action to our words by humbly loving others as Christ loved us (Matt.23; 25:31-46).

Summarized, we show our love for God by obeying His commands (John 14:15-24), many of which call us to love people (John 13:34-35; 15:1-16).

1 John is all about Love! 1 Corinthians 13 is what a Christian should be! Other verses that show what our mentality should be are: Phil. 3:7-11; Col. 3:15-17; Col. 3:23-24.

But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8 What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. 10 I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead. - Phil 3:7-11

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. 17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. - Col 3:15-17

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, 24 since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. - Col 3:23-24

Wow, right! I want to have a heart like that.

So, I might suggest, rather than the question of "are people 'seeing Christ in me,'" we should perhaps ask "how am I intensely loving people so that they may see Christ in me?"

Having talked some about this topic with friends, there are some arguments that come to mind. For example, when our circumstances are challenging and we're going through different trials, some will argue that they can't show God's love to others when they don't feel like God is close at hand. A recent devotional I did refered to Acts 17:24-28. It talked about how we can complain all we want about the fact that God seems distant, but the reality is that He is not far from anyone who actually seeks Him. He is ready to manifest Himself to anyone who doesn't just hear His word, but lives it out. We always have a choice...feelings are fickle; it's not about what we feel like doing or not doing, it's making the right choice based on the Truth of God's word and call in our lives. We choose to demonstrate His love in His strength to others, no matter our circumstance.

I think another part of loving people that I know I still struggle with is being real with them. Even though we strive to live by higher standards, no one is perfect. We all fall short and make mistakes. No one has it all together all the time. But it's hard admitting to our imperfections and weaknesses. We want people to see us and think everything's fine and good, but if that's how people are seeing us all the time we cannot reach out in love to meet people where they are. Instead they feel pressured to get where we seem to be. And true accountable relationships can't be built on false pretenses. Shouldn't we practice humility and vulnerability to such an extent that the awesome power of our God is revealed rather than what seems to be our own competency? (2 Cor. 11:30; 12:8-10)

Shared Convictions - Christ Seen in You and Me?

I heard something that really stuck with me from a friend and fellow Christ follower last Sunday.

I'll summarize what the person said with the following question: Do others recognize me as a Christian because I'm living to high standards...or are they seeing Christ in me?

Meditate on that one this week. How am I displaying Christ to my co-workers today? To my family? To anyone I meet? I can strive to live up to the holy standards of the Bible, but the lost seeing Christ in me will be the thing that changes their lives.

At this point, my logical mind asks the next logical question: What does "seeing Christ in me" really mean? Well, I've been doing a lot of writing over the past year, but instead, I'd like to hear from you on this one. Where does that hit home with you? I seek your thoughts for you, and for me, for I know I will be convicted by their truth! And I love that we can share that.

A loved one of mine responded to the question with the following:

"Hey, that's a good question! I've thought about that a lot since working full time.

I think that we will never actually see Christ in ourselves, though I think that the fruits of His Spirit are a good place to start in understanding what it means. I think that others may see Him in us, but it should surprise us if they ever pay us such a compliment. Obviously, we can't make it happen on our own either. We know what the fruits of the Spirit are (love, joy, peace, patience, etc...), but if we focus on "I'm going to be more loving" or "I'm going to work on patience today", we get well acquainted with failure. We have to pray for and rely on the Holy Spirit to change us and prompt us (we have to pray and rely on God to be the means, rather than striving for an impossible end). It is called the fruits of the Spirit anyhow, not the fruits of humans trying to be good people. In the end, I think humbling yourself before God each day (praising God with thanks and joy, directing your inner monologue towards God as fellowship with him, seeking Him in the Word) puts you in a place where God can actually work through you. In my experience, while I would still have to make an effort to be patient with annoying co-workers, or kind to a nasty person, I would look back and see that I'm still not perfect, but I'm not the person I used to be and I don't quite know how I made that progress, except that God was working on me!

I think the hardest part of it all is when you aren't seeing or feeling any change in yourself, to keep running the race, as Paul puts it, or to keep your head down and keep praying and keep reading (abiding) in the Word, etc - trusting God that His promises are true, whether you are "feeling" it or not. Chances are that that in itself is making more of a change in character in you than you know, and that someone may comment on what a change they've seen in you - which again will come as a total surprise. When God is or seems silent, He is still actively at work in us. (This is all just from personal experience!)"

I love that perspective. I'd love to hear from you, too. I invite you to share your convictions by commenting on this post. After all, "as iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another." (Proverbs 27:17)

-Will

Guest Post: "We Have A _______ God"

In year two of iron sharpening iron on this blog, I thought it would be both appropriate and fun to have occasional guest posts. I was inspired to do this after an email conversation with a loved one yielded some inspiring thoughts that I wanted to share. So I asked that person to draft a "guest post" for this blog. I am pleased to bring you guest post #1:

We Have A _______ God

“Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” Mark 8:34b

“Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.” Matthew 12:31, 32

“And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.” Matthew 5:30

“And the Lord opened the mouth of the ass, and she said unto Balaam, What have I done unto thee, that thou has smitten me these three times?” Number 22:28

“And it came to pass, as they were burying a man, that, behold, they spied a band of men; and they cast the man into the sepulcher of Elisha: and when the man was let down, and touched the bones of Elisha, he revived, and stood up on his feet.” II Kings 13:21


What do these five passages of Scripture have in common? They are just a handful of dozens of passages that are evidence of this:

We Have A Radical God

Usually, in this day and age, radical has a negative connotation, so let me hasten to say that the definition of radical here does not mean ridiculous or outrageous, but rather, intense or extreme. And it is meant in the most positive way. Our God, the God of the Bible, is extremely good, extremely loving, extremely brilliant, extremely powerful. And because of these wonderful qualities, His words and actions, while always perfect, are, on occasion, no less jolting.

Thank God we have a radical God. We are living in radical times: we have a radical economic crisis, we are seeing an increase in radical acts of nature (most recently, the earthquake and tsunami in Japan), and most tragic of all, a radical moral crisis where Judeo-Christian values are being thrown aside like so much dirty laundry.

None of this surprises our radical God. He saw it all coming hundreds of years ago and has warned us about it in His word, both Old and New Testament.

He has proven Himself over the centuries to handle the most radical of problems. There was the parting of the Red Sea, Daniel in the lion’s den, Noah and the Ark, the Resurrection of Jesus, just to name a few. These were boldly radical events, but there was a lot of quietly radical living that went on in between.

Think about Noah. We remember that it rained for forty days and forty nights and Noah and his family were kept safe on the Ark. But what led up to that? We know that he built the ark, according to the Lord’s command. For a hundred years. Measuring and sawing and hammering. For a hundred years. Quietly, radically, obeying the Lord.

What about Jesus? He lived between thirty-three and thirty-six years on this earth, but He spent the first thirty, with the brief exception of his time in the Temple when He was twelve, being quietly radical. I can only imagine that, at age twelve, Jesus was like a race horse, chomping at the bit, anxious to break out of the stall and burst on the scene. He was teeming with knowledge of and passion for His Heavenly Father. But His parents chided Him, because they had been searching for Him for days. So what did Jesus do?

“And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them….” Luke 2:51a

Quietly radical. For eighteen more years.

We, too, as Christians, will have many quietly radical days, and months, and years and probably just a few boldly radical moments.

We recently moved into a home that is much larger than our previous home. I was overwhelmed as how I was going to keep this house clean. But I prayed about it and the Lord gave me a basic plan that has proven very effective. I knew that, in order to be a good steward, I should take good care of the house, which of course involves keeping it clean. But I sensed that keeping the house clean had an even greater significance…it almost seemed like a godly assignment.

Still, I would have misgivings. I would watch the news and think “The world is going to hell in a hand basket, and I’m scrubbing toilets.” I wondered, “Shouldn’t I be doing something more significant?” But the conviction persisted: just keep doing what you’re doing.

Finally, the Lord’s vision for this house began to materialize: In December my husband and I hosted a meeting where a report on a mission trip with “As Our Own” was given. Then in March, we held a ladies mini-retreat for women from three different churches.

I have begun to understand that the Lord has some wonderfully radical things that He wants to do, but I must continue in quietly radical obedience until He is ready to do them.

In the cases of Noah, and Daniel, and even Jesus, (as well as many others) their quietly radical way of living led to boldly radical events that changed the world.

We may be tempted to think, “Well, I’m not a Noah or a Daniel, and I’m certainly not Jesus. What I do isn’t going to make a difference, one way or another.”

Have you ever had an ingrown toenail? An ingrown toenail can cause a great deal of pain. Pain usually distracts and can even be an energy drain. As your body compensates by favoring the foot with the pain, it can even throw your skeleton out of alignment, leading to knee, hip, and/or back problems.

So even if you think you are nothing more than a toenail in the body of Christ, what you do matters.

The day to day, seemingly mundane, living that we do as Christians are links to great things that our Lord wants to do. Every time we resist sin, every time we obey the instructions the Lord has given us in His Word, whether it be resisting gossip or resisting sexual temptation, wives choosing to reverence their husbands (yes, that’s in the Bible), being kind to neighbors, friends, and yes, enemies. These are part of a radical way of living that we call Christianity.

And it’s the way to be on the same page with our radical God.