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."

The Power of Proper Identity: Ministers of Reconciliation

2 Cor 5:18-20 – “Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, 19 that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. 20 Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God.”

We must get the idea of a higher calling out of our collective minds. It is misleading and destructive to the pursuit of the Lord and hearing His voice in obedience. It puffs up if we receive what we feel is higher, and it casts down if we receive what we feel is lower. A higher calling alludes to a lower calling with lower standards…but there is only one standard: Christ. Therefore, there is no higher calling than to Christ Himself by Christ Himself. And if you call Jesus your Savior, you have received the highest calling, and one shared with everyone who calls Jesus Lord.

This calling is into full-time ministry, for we are ministers of reconciliation. At different points in my life, I have considered what is commonly referred to as “full-time ministry,” at times being very much unattracted to such a life and at times being very attracted. I have wanted to give my full life to Jesus so thoroughly, such that all that I do and every ability with which He has gifted me is to serve Him and His purposes, and to do this in a way that feels impossible or at least very hindered in a common “secular” job. And tonight I am convicted more than ever of my error in thought within the aforementioned framework.

I have heard it preached and have nodded my head in agreement with numerous others who sincerely follow Christ that we are all in full-time ministry, right where we are. But I challenge you as I challenge myself: how well are you attending to that calling and do you really believe it in your heart? Is it your identity or a side-gig that you continually wish was more dominant, but never seems to be preeminent?

I want to challenge our spiritual world views. When you view your head pastor and others such as John Piper, Francis Chan, or Billy Graham; or going back in time, Oswald Chambers, Charles Spurgeon, or Martin Luther; or even going back to Peter and Paul…when you view them in your mind, do you hold them higher? I certainly do. These are amazing and inspiring men after God’s heart and dedicated with lives that some even laid down both in the spirit and in final bodily death. Men who are mentors, if by their words and examples only, on whom Jesus has built His church. Men who fit together in the sentence above…a sentence that we wouldn’t dare place our names within and alongside these names. But what if you did? Peter, Paul, [Your Name]. How does that sound? I chuckle as I think, “Terribly inadequate or terribly and misguidedly prideful.” The truth is that we should never place our own names there. In fact, we should seek to have no separate set-apart list whatsoever. The reason is that we have all received the same call from Jesus: “Come, follow me,” and since then have been commissioned as ministers of reconciliation. Peter, Paul, [Your Name], ministers of reconciliation and disciples of Christ. What a privilege to be called as such…a privilege because of the nature of the blessed gift of the calling that we could never deserve, not because of the uniqueness of it, for we share it with every soul throughout time who calls Jesus Lord.

Too often we look at our new lives in Christ as adaptations of our old lives. We see where the call to be ministers of reconciliation fits into our day-jobs and lives as they have always been. We are set free to live a new life, yet we don’t. The truth is that for the newfound in Christ, there is no adaptation of the old life…the old life must die and a new life be erected in its place. This means that every framework of self that I have believed, every way that I perceive the world and my fellow-man, my every purpose and desire, is transformed into nothing less than Christ Himself. In Christ alone am I to know my identity, in Christ alone am I to perceive the world and fellow-man, and in Christ alone is my every purpose and desire. And therefore, any circumstance that lies before me is quite secondary to my identity in Christ. Any job or calling by which I am the hands and feet of Christ is quite secondary to the calling as a full-time minister of reconciliation. This may seem elementary or it may not, but how easily we get it squarely backwards! We try to build Christ into our frameworks that are external to Him. We try to fit the ministry of reconciliation into our lives, as if God was saying, “Will is a chemical engineer. How can I now work the ministry of reconciliation into that job?” God is not saying that, although I am prone to. Quite oppositely, as a believer in Christ, we have been called to the ministry of reconciliation since the foundation of the world.

1 Peter 1:20-21 – “He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you 21 who through Him believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.”

Eph 1:4 – “…just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love…”

Thus we see the Word of God paring up the commissioning as ministers of reconciliation (2 Cor 5:18-19) with Christ who was foreordained from the foundation of the world to reconcile us to Himself (1 Pet 1:20-21, Eph 1:4); therefore, our commission as ministers of His reconciliation is most certainly present from the foundation of the world. And therefore, it is preeminent over anything that you or I have become, learned, or have been gifted with. And so we must take on the new view in truth that our current circumstance, whether a job or otherwise, is a subset of the ministry of reconciliation, both in importance and in time. That means that what is commonly referred to as “full-time ministry” is also a subset of this same call to be ministers of reconciliation. In this we see the peer-to-peer brotherhood among all who are ministers of reconciliation, whether they serve in the church, on the mission field, at the office, or in the home.

The first misunderstanding that we have in our identity is that our primary calling is to any particular service or purpose...our primary calling is simply to Jesus Christ Himself, in the solitude of our hearts before Him. The second misunderstanding we have in our identity is placing the subset above the superlative office…i.e. placing any “full-time” ministry or “secular job” above the ministry of reconciliation to which we have been called. The final misunderstanding of our identity that I want us to examine is that one subset is higher than the other…which turns out to often be the result of the first and second misunderstandings. If our secular jobs or works in ministry were indeed our superlative calling and the ministry of reconciliation was but a subset of that calling, then there certainly would be a difference…for the observation is that much more reconciliation to Christ is happening in these works of ministry than in the common, secular workplace. But even in this misunderstanding, we have placed the value on the ministry of reconciliation itself after all, judging between the two callings, “secular” vs. “works of ministry,” by their fruit. In any case, we can more easily begin to see that the first calling was to Jesus Himself, being commissioned as ministers of reconciliation…a calling that we each share and that dominates our shared identities. Therefore, there is absolutely no difference in the height or greatness of the callings that lie in the subset…only a difference in obedience. Let us note that often the reason for attributing one calling as consistently higher than the other is that we perceive greater obedience to the call of reconciliation ministry within the works of traditional ministry. Oh, but what our world might look like if we took the same sold-out passion and love for Christ into our secular jobs! The fruit of the harvest that we could reap! This is where the droves of the lost reside, and we have been given access to the front lines of the battles over their souls, having greater contact with these than many of their closest family members and friends (how many people do you spend 40+ hours with each week?).

So what is the conclusion? Firstly, that there is one, singular calling to Christ, which is manifested in full-time ministry of reconciliation. Second, that this is manifested in numerous ways, for the Spirit gifts as He pleases (1 Cor 12:11). Thirdly, that all specific endeavors, works, and sub-callings are subsets of the calling to the ministry of reconciliation, and we need not consider that one calling is greater than another, such consideration being futile, elusive, and even destructive. And finally, that we cannot measure the greatness of the calling by the level of obedience of the multitude in that calling: Firstly, because we have examined that in principal, the callings are the same in necessity and value, though different in means; and secondly, by what means can we determine that one calling is greater than the other? We might better judge obedience, but even in that, we have difficulty seeing clearly the spec in another’s eye, due to the plank in our own.

I encourage you, I challenge you, I implore you: heed your calling. It is as magnificently great as it is common, the calling as a minister of reconciliation. As Christ dominates our identity, this ministry dominates our daily works. There is no greater calling than to Christ Himself. There is no greater blessing on this earth. There is no greater joy. And there is no escaping the full-time ministry of reconciliation as a follower of Christ, for to follow Christ is to minister to each other of reconciliation with Him. There are different ministry methods, but one ministry of reconciliation. May the Lord continually call you to Himself, and bless you abundantly in your personalized, yet shared calling as a minister of reconciliation. Amen.

*This post was inspired by current events in my life, as usual, as well as the first two chapters in "The Cost of Discipleship," by Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a book that I most highly recommend.*

The Power of Proper Identity: Disciples and Victors

Who are you? What is your title? How do others introduce you professionally? How do you introduce yourself? When someone asks what you do or what you love or who you are, what is your answer?

In reading the Feb 15 “My Utmost,” I realized that my initial thoughts to a question similar to these are, “I’m Will, Chemical Engineer.” Then I added to my thoughts, “Christ Follower and Disciple Maker.” Interesting…can you imagine your business card reading, “[Your Name], [Your job title], Christ Follower and Disciple Maker?” I chuckle as I realize that we’d get a lot of strange looks.

But within this, beyond societal norms and professionalism, I believe such thoughts and titles actually reveal very much about ourselves. The truth is that putting all professionalism and societal norms aside, we often define ourselves and find identity in every description and merit, or even shortcoming, apart from “Christ Follower and Disciple Maker.”

Having a solid identity and knowing it is a powerful thing. If you lack either, you stand in a position of weakness, whether knowingly or unknowingly. If your identity is not solid (not “Christ Follower and Disciple Maker”), then knowing your fragile identity contains no power and is in fact weakening. Additionally, if your identity is truly solid (“Christ Follower and Disciple Maker”) but you do not walk in the full knowledge of it, you will find yourself walking in weakness. We must stand on the solid Rock of Christ and let it rule our identity, heart, mind and soul.

Imagine standing on the battle field between your country and an invader. You have a one hundred-fold advantage in men, equipment, technology, weaponry, ammunition, training, skill, strategy, and experience. You are set to crush them. But you don’t know it. You’ve been deceived into thinking that the odds are flipped. You don’t know your own strength and out of it comes fear, cowardice, doubt, and hesitation that can lead to a shocking defeat. You might surrender before the battle begins. And if you fight, especially if you are a leader, and you allow that fear to dominate you, you will not fight with all your might and risk being defeated. But if you knew your strength and advantage fully, you would crush your enemy all the more swiftly, leading your men well, and following your commanders well.

This battle scene is a picture of the strength that we stand in as Christ Followers. We stand on the unshakable rock of Christ (1, 2), we fight with the piercing Word of God, more potent than any weapon known to man or any being for that matter (3), and we are guarded impenetrably by the shield of faith in our Father God (4). We stand in victory and are “more than conquerors" through Christ (5). Will we face the battle with that identity? If so, the victory is ours, and you can mark my words on that.

So today, on what are you basing your identity? Be honest before the Lord. He will show you, as He continues to show me daily, where our identity resides apart from Him. Let Him. Confess it back to Him in surrender and affirmation. Then let the Holy Spirit invade you and magnify your identity in Christ such that He permeates your every desire and perception of yourself and others.

We started not long ago as “[My Name], [My job title or favorite interest], Christ Follower and Disciple Maker.” But turn that around and consider its implication as your identity: “Christ Follower and Disciple Maker, [Job title or favorite interest], [My Name].” See that we have now placed ourselves last, and whatever other parts of our identity in Christ that the Lord interweaves between His name and ours, such as spiritual gifting, familial relationships, etc, we have found ourselves in the proper place in our identity, with Christ first, others second, and ourselves last. May each of us be so blessed by the Lord to have our identity strengthened in Christ alone, conquerors and co-heirs in God’s Kingdom together, forever. Amen.

1 - Matt 7:24-25 - "Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: 25 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock."

2 - Psalm 27:1-6 - "The LORD is my light and my salvation— whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the stronghold of my life— of whom shall I be afraid?
2 When evil men advance against me to devour my flesh, when my enemies and my foes attack me, they will stumble and fall.
3 Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then will I be confident.
4 One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple.
5 For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle and set me high upon a rock.
6 Then my head will be exalted above the enemies who surround me; at his tabernacle will I sacrifice with shouts of joy; I will sing and make music to the LORD."

3 - Heb 4:12 - "For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart."

4 - Eph 6:10-17 - "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God."

5 - Rom 8:37-39 - "Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. 38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Patience and Lust: An Unexpected Conviction

A person that I respect was recently making a good point when he said, “Satan is patient. He will wait to strike at the right moment. We must be on our guard.” The message behind his point was accurate and good for edifying the group. However, a few days later, I find matching the word “patient” with Satan difficult.

We know that patience is a fruit of the Spirit (1). We know that Satan is not of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, we must be using the same word, “patient,” to describe two different things. Or the word “patient,” as we are accustomed to defining and accepting it, does not carry the full meaning of the fruit of the Spirit that is manifested in patience, as identified in the Bible.

When we think of the word patient, we usually think of the ability to wait, to delay gratification. To desire something currently unfulfilled or unattained, but to wait in doing so, and without grumbling. Someone says to us, “be patient,” and we say, “yes, I must be patient,” as our chest tightens and we count the seconds and minutes that pass, determined to be silent and show the outward appearance of patience. We traded true patience for an appearance of patience, and though we may have fooled the other person (and likely not), we have not practiced true patience whatsoever. Authentic patience of the Spirit goes much deeper, much purer, to the core of our will.

And that’s just it: patience is a matter of our will. In order to better grasp the depth of patience of the Spirit, it is useful to examine its opposite: impatience. What defines impatience? The idea that I must have something…a feeling, an object, a task completed, a destination reached, etc…and that I must have it sooner than I am receiving it. I submit the following previously unimaginable truth: impatience is lust. Consider the definition of lust as astutely noted by Oswald Chambers:

“Lust means – I must have it at once. Spiritual lust makes me demand an answer from God, instead of seeking God Who gives the answer.” (“My Utmost For His Highest,” Feb 7)

Wow, to think that lust would even penetrate into our Spiritual lives! Oh, but it is true, isn’t it? We usually conceive of lust as a purely sexual term…that is it’s most common and accepted application, though less commonly we will see it used as an extreme desire for something such as power (i.e. “a lust for power”). It is the idea of desiring something outside of an appropriate means, and I find perhaps no better definition offered than, “I must have it at once,” whatever “it” may be; and this happens to define impatience, as well. Therefore, interestingly, impatience…is lust. Impatience just got a whole lot uglier in my perception, and I am personally convicted.

What are you pursuing today? Is it marriage or family? A job? Success? Perhaps the Lord Himself or His blessing? An answer to prayer? Is there any hint of impatience in you, concerning that desire? I know that it is hard to admit that the lust of impatience could widely permeate so many spheres of our lives. But realize this truth: conviction is not the presence of guilt for the regenerated in Christ, it is the proof of the presence of the Holy Spirit and His sanctifying action within us. So do not suppress conviction, embrace it! The ignorant would call you out in guilt for your conviction—nonsense! I contend that your conviction is the gateway from guilt into the grace of Christ. How could we repent if we were not convicted? How could we call on our Savior if we do not repent? How can we be saved if we do not know our Savior? Therefore, conviction is a glorious and holy thing. I encourage you to embrace it and let Him run His full course in your heart and soul.

So as we receive the Spirit and fruit of patience, let’s not stop at merely waiting for a specific desirable outcome to materialize. Even Satan does that as he lies in wait to devour the lost and vulnerable, as a prowling lion (2). No, let’s begin to practice patience in the Spirit by setting aside our wills. Any form of patience that ends short of sacrificing my will to God is incomplete. Let us “work out our salvation (3),” that has been granted to the regenerated in Christ, and become valiantly, humbly patient. May our Father God and the Holy Spirit breathe patience into your soul this day, conquering the lust that seeks to ensnare us, for we are “more than conquerors through...Christ Jesus our Lord (4).” Amen.

1 – Gal 5:22-23 – “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”
2 – 1 Peter 5:8 – “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”
3 – Philippians 2:12-13 – “Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.”
4 – Romans 8:37-39 – “Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. 38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Relational Atmospheres: Is Yours Destructive or Constructive?

I feel that the Lord is teaching me more about relationships…with Him and with each other. One recent epiphany concerns things unsaid, undiscovered, hidden, whether purposefully or unintentionally. When considering relationships among humans or with our Father in Heaven, we typically focus on what is seen or known. We define relationship by what is…by what exists…I will call this a “positive” definition, in that it is fabricated from what is known (proof by its presence). However, a useful exercise as well as potentially the source of better definition, is considering “omission,” in that it is fabricated from what is not known or not present (proof by its absence). We know much of what our relationships with God and each other are supposed to contain. There are many more attributes to consider that I will not list here, but with our Savior, let’s limit our focus to faith, hope, and love…and principally love, since “the greatest of these is love” (1 Cor 13:13).

1 Cor 13:4-7 – “Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; 5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; 6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”

In 1 Corinthians 13, we see love fairly well defined by positively present attributes, as well as the absence or omission of other attributes that are therefore the opposite of love.

Positive attributes that define godly love: Patience, kindness, rejoices in truth, bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Love as defined by the absence of these attributes: envy, pride, rudeness, self-seeking, provokable, evil thinking, deception.

It’s interesting that equally as many proofs of love by positively present behaviors are highlighted as are proofs via behaviors that are absent. Thus, considering both what healthy relationship SHOULD and SHOULD NOT be is worthwhile.

Therefore today, I would like to issue a word of warning about the unseen in your relationships, for what is unseen is just as important as what is seen. What defines your relationship with our Lord? Is it something He has done for you? Is it something you have done for Him? Is it something that He has not done for you or that you have not done for Him? Or is it perhaps much deeper than that? More importantly, as you stand here today, what is still keeping you from a deeper relationship with your God? Search your heart and see. Likely, it will be something absent as much as anything present.

We are apt to call out sin in our lives as the answer to the question above, “What is still keeping you from a deeper relationship with your God?” We would be correct, for we know that sin is defined as the separation from a Holy God. However, perhaps it is something we are lacking in our relationship with the Lord that is actually leading us into temptation and sin. Perhaps the root of our sin isn’t anything present at all, but is instead something we’re lacking. An illustration to clarify what I am attempting to explore together:

As a chemical engineer, I know that it takes three things to cause an explosion: fuel, oxygen, and a heat source. Furthermore, the fuel and oxygen must be in the right proportions for the heat source to initiate the violent and destructive chemical reaction known as an explosion. In the manufacturing environment, great care is taken to understand the atmospheres where a heat source or potential spark could be present. As long as the fuel/oxygen content is outside the limits for which an explosion is possible, any heat source is manageable. On the other side of things, as long as there is no heat source, then any mixture is manageable. And of course, we seek to control each of these things in the event of an unexpected failure, in order to preserve the least likelihood of an explosion. Even still, industrial accidents happen.

You can relate this analogy to relationships of all kinds. Our natural interaction with others produces an atmosphere of the relationship (fuel and oxygen). Our experiences and wounds also help to produce this atmosphere. I think you’ll agree that there are those in our lives that produce an explosive atmosphere when we are together! Also, there are those that bring safety and security, eliminating explosive atmospheres. Furthermore, as much as we try to make everything smooth and control disturbances to our relationships, life will bring frequent heat sources into our relational atmospheres. This is a guarantee. It is good to avoid striking a match when we have detected an explosive atmosphere. In that situation, if we purposefully light off the explosion, we are responsible. However, there will be many times when something completely external to the relationship lights a match and we are left picking up the pieces. But the final situation that I want to consider is when we hold the match in our hand, either unknowingly, or knowingly but seemingly benignly because we have misestimated the atmosphere of our relationship.

Have you ever walked into a conversation with something new and exciting only to see the conversation immediately deteriorate into a full-blown confrontation (think of close relationships)? What happened? We mis-estimated the atmosphere. If you walk into a normal room with a match, it burns for a couple seconds and goes out. If you walk into a room standing next to an open container of gasoline, you might just get the shock of your life as the vapors ignite. The point is that the atmosphere dictates the outcome of the “match.” Often these “matches” are much more significant in our relationships. Perhaps you just lost your job or are considering a different location that would require your family to move. Perhaps you want to place your children in a different school or activity. Perhaps you’re considering a different church. Perhaps it is holiday planning. Whatever the specific “match,” the atmosphere of your relationships will determine the outcome in that relationship.

All this to say: take a survey of your relational atmospheres. Take a survey of the atmosphere in your relationship with friends, spouses, children. And if you do none of those, be sure to take a survey of your relational atmosphere with your Creator and Father God. When something unexpected comes up, do you find yourself angry with God or have feelings that God is angry with you? The problem is not the unexpected circumstance (the “match"); the problem is the relational atmosphere. What is being unsaid between you and your Father currently? I know that in my experience with human relationships, the unsaid has been the source of more issues than what is said. Communication is your atmospheric detector. Pray to the Lord your God and let the Holy Spirit search you out and convey to you the pitfalls in your current understanding of our perfect God. Let the Holy Spirit respond in your prayers to cultivate the atmosphere of love between you and your Savior. And as the next “match” is lit, you will find yourself and your relationship with God responding in an entirely different manner.

Finally, the things that cause an explosion to be dangerous and undesirable are the same things that have great value when utilized in the way they are designed. For instance, the right combination of the same fuel, oxygen, and heat source leads to heating your home. Furthermore, your vehicle’s engine is powered by many well-controlled “mini-explosions.” Therefore, even the fuel and the oxygen are not the problem, nor the “match,” but the ability to utilize them in a manner that is constructive instead of destructive. Likewise, every current circumstance, every past wound or experience, and every interaction with your Lord and Savior, can be redeemed and be the very thing that propels you forward with our Lord this very day. The critical element is the Holy Spirit within us who call Jesus Christ our Lord. Without Him, these very same circumstances and interactions will serve to destroy our lives and relationships, with our fellow-man and loved ones, as well as God. The Holy Spirit is the difference.

Romans 5:3-5 – “Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.”

You will not be able to control the “matches” that ignite flames in your life. You will not be able to control the relational atmospheres in your life. Try as you might, and as well managed as your life may be at times, you will not be able to control these things. Explosions are coming in your relationships. What certainty do we have that we will even survive them, much less that they would be used for the good of all who are touched by them? Only in the Lord Jesus Christ and Holy Spirit do we have hope…a hope that does not disappoint. I encourage you, whoever you are and whatever state your relationship with our God is in, seek Him today, invite Him to permeate your relationships, and trust Him to do the physically unattainable, and draw you closer to our one, holy, true God. Amen.