Don't Turn Your Head

Over the last two entries in this journal, I’ve conveyed what I thought of sin and forgiveness, as a general topic, and more specifically how it relates to some very heated issues that are being discussed today. Basically, I think that I’ve argued that we aren’t supposed to stop people from sinning, but to show God’s love to them, so that we can change their hearts.

There is a lot involved in that. Just being nice isn’t enough. Jesus wasn’t just a nice guy. Neither was Paul. In Lewis’ Narnia Chronicles, Aslan isn’t a tame lion. He isn’t a nice lion. But, he is a good lion. Jesus isn’t tame, but he is good. Jesus and his disciples were men of action. They cast out demons, they healed the sick, they taught in the temple. They were vocal about what they believed in. Jesus spoke to crowds that numbered into the thousands.

So this really is just a brief overview of the philosophy that guides our actions. And summarizing the last two entries, I think I’ve stated that we may want to love people and become involved in their lives. Through that we can share Christ with them. I’ve also said it isn’t our place to correct or to accuse. But I think some people take this too far, and deny that sin even exists. Paul was vocal about what he believed in, and he taught love, but he didn’t teach an easy message.

Paul wasn’t afraid to point out that something was, in fact, sinful. Neither was Jesus. After healing people, sometimes he would remark “go and sin no more” or prelude a miracle with, “your sins are forgiven.” To carry on with my theme and apply it to a hot moral topic, what Paul seems to describe as homosexuality is described as sinful. But so is lust, greed, slandering, gossiping. Why are these things sinful? I think we passed over this briefly, but entire volumes could be written exploring the subject.

Suffice to say that the reason we need the love of God and the forgiveness of God is because we have sinned. Without sin, we wouldn’t need forgiveness, we wouldn’t need the blood of Christ, and we wouldn’t need repentance or redemption or sanctification. It is through recognition that we are sinful people that we strive to get closer to Christ and to conquer sin in our lives. Sometimes this recognition can be painful. I know that when I look back on my own life, I sometimes wince, because I remember how painful a lesson might have been. But I also look back in wonder at what I’ve been taught.

Sometimes we might want to shy away from this part of Faith, and I think that that is exactly what it is a part of. Because as a stander by, it takes Faith that God is at work on the lives of those we minister to, to be able to be bold enough to address this issue, and to be able to challenge our brothers and sisters. We don’t want to hurt anyone, or to point the finger and say sinner. But I don’t think that that is the way it has to be.

There is a difference between receiving condemnation from an enemy, and a challenge motivated by love or concern from a friend. That is why I think developing close relationships, actually coming to love people who do not yet know Christ or who are living deep in sin, is very very important to changing their lives. Because it is easier to accept a hard word when it is said in love, than when it is said in anger. To sidestep this tough word, I think, is to hold back from them something that is good, because we are afraid of how it will affect them.

Once a person, a sinner, an unsaved man or woman, recognizes that Christ is their savior and confesses their faith that is only the beginning. No, not beginning, forgiveness is the root without which the seed cannot grow, and will die in its absence. We must have faith that is was not by our words that such a person is saved, but by Christ ministering to their hearts. We don’t have to condone a sinful act to avoid an insult. It doesn’t have to be an insult, it can be done out of love. And we cannot forget to encourage and lift up those who struggle with sin, to remind them that they are forgiven, and they are beloved, and that by no act can they be separated from God’s love. Always push in the direction of love and forgiveness, because the other roads lead to punishment.

1 Grandillusionarians

Inspired by Josh’s comment, I wondered why I thought it isn’t our job to stop people from sinning.

I think, starting with Mark 2:17, that Jesus came to call sinners, not the righteous, because it was the sinners who needed him. Those who claimed to be righteous were often rebuked. Jesus even warned us to “beware teachers of the law” because their focus was on the exterior, on appearance. Luke 20:46. What else did he tell us? That the entirety of the law depended on two commandments. First, to love the Lord, secondly, to love your neighbor. Matthew 22:37. We are to love others, not judge them. Nowhere in scripture are we ever given the commandment to judge or to correct. We are given the commandment to heal, to lead, to love, to forgive…..never to correct, never to judge, never to condemn. Why is this?

Paul, writing to the Romans, talks about judgment and sin. When we judge, we are judged by that measure we use. “You therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else….do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance, and patience, not realizing that Gold’s kindness leads you toward repentance.” Romans 2:2. Incidentally, and perhaps ironically, this verse comes immediately after Paul goes into a discussion on what seems to be the sin of homosexuality, as well as other sins.

In 1 Corinthians 13:13, Paul tells us that we have faith, hope, and love, the greatest of these being love. Now,….I know that this verse, as often happens with the scripture (it’s not all strictly consistent, you know), directly contradicts 1 Grandillusions 12:21, which states that “these we have…Faith, Hope, and Correction, the greatest of these being Correction.” But since both Paul and Jesus had somewhat strained relations with the Grandillusionarians, I’ll give greater weight to 1 Corinthians.

But why? Why is the greatest of these love? Paul said it. “God’s Kindness leads you toward repentance.” Watch when Jesus performed miracles, or forgave sins. He never asked for a conversion first. He never said, admit you’re wrong and I’m right, and then I’ll heal you. No, he looked first at their heart, at their needs, and their sickness. The cure was always kindness and love.

That began the healing process. Once we love him, we can have faith. Faith is the evidence of things not seen; it is the evidence of God in our lives. Hebrews 11:1. The more we love him, the more we trust Him, and we will let him into our lives. Once we do that, the more we will see Him at work. The more we see him at work, the more trust and faith we will have. From this is born hope. We learn to rely on our Saviour, and put our hope in him.

In a nutshell, I think it is God’s job to stop people from sinning, by changing their hearts. How does he do that? Forgiveness and love, which he shows through us. That is why Grandilussions was never inspired by God, and Corinthians was. Forgiveness changes a persons heart, both the subject and the object. While condemnation hardens it, again, for both the subject and the object.

Eyes of a Heart

As a law school student, I’m often confronted with heated topics of debate. People who know my faith often know where I stand, and are often looking for an argument. There are a couple of topics of argument which recur almost every day. Abortion is one, homosexual marriage another, and right to die cases. There are others, but these are quite common. Most of the time, the people who instigate these discussions with me are angry. They want to disagree with me so that they can be angry with me, to hate me, because they hate what I believe. Sometimes I get sucked in. Its not hard for me to argue these things, because I’m convinced that I’m right, that is why I believe what I believe. But sometimes I wonder if there is a better path.
When I see what they see, I can understand why they are so angry. When I turn on the television or read the paper, I often see antagonistic messages. I once saw a man holding in sign in what was supposed to be a Christian demonstration against homosexual marriage. His sign said "Homosexuals are possessed by demons."
Who would react well to that message? Sometimes I wonder what the world would be like if we reached into our hearts and told people with whom we disagree on seemingly important topics what we all know Jesus is telling them. "I love you." "To me, what you are doing seems wrong, but that doesn’t matter because I still love you." Maybe not in those words, but just to convey that message. Because far above what anybody does is this simple fact, that they are as loved by the Almighty as anyone else.
To do such a thing doesn’t make sense. Some might even say that you would then be siding with a side we believe to be false, agreeing with them. But I don’t think it is, and even if it was, I don’t know that it would matter much.
When Jesus performed miracles, he did not ask for a conversion first. First he changed their hearts, then he didn’t even have to ask. The important thing is not that we stop people from sinning. We never will accomplish that. And when we try that path we walk away from God and follow our own lead, blindly. We end up poking everyone’s eyes out on account of the plank in our own. If we really wanted to change the world, we would find the most disgusting sinner we can find and eat dinner with them, we would get to know them. We do have an example
When Jesus was eating and talking with tax collectors, there were others talking behind his back. But what did he do? He told the sinners stories about love. He told them that a Shepard will leave his ninety-nine sheep for the one that is lost, and rejoices when it is found. He told them the same parable with a lost coin. He told them that, when a rich man’s son went astray, he came crawling back after wasting his inheritance, and upon seeing him, a long way off even, the father ran to the son and threw his arms around him and kissed him, gave the son his robe, and held a feast in celebration. Jesus didn’t tell sinners to go to hell. He told then not to. He told sinners that they are loved.
Luke chapter 15.

Great Expectations

Have you ever expected something of God, something that you wanted from him? Ever become frustrated when you didn’t get it? Often times I find myself saying to God… “Where are You! And why haven’t you done this! This is what you’re supposed to do!” Sometimes I have a hard time saying to God “thy will be done,” because often I can only see a very limited future, and I just can’t comprehend anything outside of that realm. I have a hard time letting go of my expectations of God, and therefore I can’t take the greater gifts that he is trying to give me.

Well, it’s good to know we’re not the only ones who have this little problem. Like so often happens, we can see ourselves in Peter. Sometimes I wonder if, when Jesus first saw Peter, He looked at his heart and said to himself… “Now, that’s the one. Every person for the rest of time who stumbles or struggles will be able to identify with this man. This guy is just never going to get it, he’s going to deny me, he is going to try and stand in my way….but he is still going to be my disciple.”

In Gethsemane, Peter still had the wrong expectations of God, to the very end, Peter still carried a sword, he was still waiting for his Messiah who would free Israel from the Romans. After Peter cutting off someone’s ear, Jesus again corrected Peter “All who draw the sword will die by the sword. Do you think I cannot call on my Father and he will at cone put at my disposal more that 12 legions of angels? But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen this way?”
In a nutshell, I think Jesus is saying…Peter, you have the wrong expectations. Open your heart to what I am here for, because its much, much better than an independent Israel. It’s better than Abraham, Moses, Joshua, and David.

I think Peter had in his head an idea of various possibilities. Either Jesus would now begin the rebellion, or he would be taken away for ever. Peter simply could not conceive of a crucifixion, a resurrection, and eternal forgiveness for sin. But Jesus knew of it, God knew of it, and it was the greatest possibility, the greatest gift, that he could have given us. When we let go of our expectations, we open ourselves up to just that, the greatest possibility ever.

A lot of people use the terminology, “laying it down at the alter” or the cross, or some such thing, with the intent on conveying the message… “Just let God take care of it!”
This can sometimes be a frustrating message to hear, because sometimes we just don’t know how. Let’s face it, we don’t have a man to ask, to follow, to hear and touch. Jesus is no longer on this Earth; neither are the disciples or Paul. But I think that, at least, a very large part of “laying it at the alter” is a recognition to yourself that, no matter what situation you are in now, Jesus is involved, and he is preparing something for you. You may only be able to see a few possible outcomes, some of which might not seem so desirable, but have faith that there is a purpose to what often seems like madness.

Incidentally, life becomes a wild adventure at the same time. We rarely know what to expect next, but we know its going to be good, its going to be exciting, and we are going to love it! In a word, we suddenly realize that Christianity is, indeed, a HOOT!

Friends and faithful,

Inspired by two of my Seven Istanbulian brothers, I've decided to take up this journaling bit, and share with you all some of the thoughts that pass through my mind, which I find rather interesting. Whether you'll find them interesting, I can't say, but I hope that you do. However, regardless, I hope I can learn from you all as a result of this. I speak to the tune of J.Z. and M.V. when I say that I hope to sound not pretentious, but inquisitive.

By the way, you should all check out an excellent piece on cheese at http://micvee.blogspot.com/.

I was eating a spicy bagel and cream cheese the other day at a small cafe across the street from where I work. Perhaps it was the jalapeño that brought my mind around to sin. But where, thought I, is the battle for eternity? Where do we line up forces to defend against a foe and attempt to stay righteous? Is it our souls? On such an infinite plane, it would seem likely that we often align on different fields, sometimes we win the field but lose the day, because we miss the battle. Perhaps this is why we all fall short and sin.

Why was Lucifer Cast out of heaven? What temptation was Jesus resisting in the wilderness? What did Peter say which earned him the rebuke "get thee behind me Satan"?

Is it sinful to desire food or water after fasting for 40 days and 40 nights in a desert? Was it sinful for Peter to plead with his Lord and friend to spare his own life? If that is so, why was it not sinful for God to demand Abraham's first son as a sacrifice? And why do I think it would have been sinful to refuse such sacrifice?

What I think all of these have in common is that whatever was sinful, was sinful because it had the effect of separating us from God's will, and putting our desires and decisions over God's. It is no less a sin against ourselves than it is against God.

In Lewis' sci-fi trilogy, title Peralandra, the Mother and Father of Peralandra are forbidden to sleep on a certain fixed land, they must spend all of their nights on floating islands, without a very satisfactory explanation. But the purpose for the forbiding, for the law, was so that one day they would come to find a different fixed land, that had been prepared for them by Oyarsa. Perhaps the real evil in sin is the separation it causes us from God's love, not the act itself. The act itself is sinful only because it achieves that goal.

What then of victory over this weapon? I can take heart because Abraham did not become Father of a nation in a day. It took a lifetime of lessons in faith. And if Abraham, who was righteous because of his faith, took a lifetime to develop it, then I don't think we would be expected to accomplish that in a day either. Even when Abraham entered Egypt, he didn't have enough faith to be honest about his wife! It took Abraham a lifetime of learning to trust in God for him to be able to hear and see and know when it was that he was putting his interests before God's, and to be able to line up on the right field of battle.

Why is faith so important to victory, to becoming closer to God? When we have faith, when we begin this walk, when we begin to hear God's voice over our own screaming desires, and we make choices pleasing to him even when they are not pleasing to us, we are safer and happier than we ever would have been. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego are a great lesson:

"....if you do not worship it, you will be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace. Then what god will be able to rescue you from my hand?" "O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, ad he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up." Daniel 3:15-18.

Faced with certain death, these faithful men were able to hear God's will because they knew God's heart. They stepped out in to the unknown because they knew that is where thier God was, they put him before thier own desire to live. And they put themselves in good hands. " the furnace was so hot that hte flames fo the fire killed the soldiers who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abendnego....then King Neb...leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisers, 'weren't there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?....Look, I see four men walking around...unbound and unharmed...."

But for victory we don't have to wait that long. We have a savior who took away any weapon that the enemy had to separate us from our Father. Now, if we fall short, if we miss the battle, we do not lose the day, we do not lose the feild, we cannot be separated from the Love of God any longer. The gap was closed, and every time we fall, we simply need whisper the name of our Saviour, and galloping he comes to lift us back up. Next time you feel like you've lost, like you've fallen, slid, whatever it is you feel, if it is as a defeat to you, say out loud, "Father, I love you!" At that second, you've won and the enemy has lost, because you stood back up, You are no farther from our Father than when you began, and are in fact, now closer. Not only do you not lose, but you are victorious, and the enemy is defeated.