So today's sermon at church came from Matthew 7:15-20. Batman (in Batman Begins) paraphrased this passage nicely when he said it's not who I am underneath, but what I do that defines me. Jesus used fruit, speaking to an agricultural audience. Same idea. What you do is a reflection of who you are.
So this is how these things go in my brain - something starts me down a path, such as thinking about our innate nature. And a few things happen that strengthen the idea. Then out of nowhere, it's front and center. I want to say that this train of thought started with some remarks by a radio DJ. And today was God re-emphasizing its importance.
God wants our obedience. Not so that we'll do what He says. But because the things that He asks us to do are good. When an artist paints, they put a bit of themselves into the painting. The paints, the canvas, none of that has any meaning or value. The person behind it, the painter who opened a bit of their heart, that gives a painting value.
Back to the fruit analogy. Jesus talked about good trees producing good fruit - you know, crunchy apples, juicy peaches. The kind of stuff you eat, enjoy, and it gives you energy to go do something else in return. The kind of fruit that has more of an impact than the space it occupies.
Why? Because that's its nature. When Jesus talks about our relationship with God, He always refers to our character, not our actions - "love me", "I and the Father are one", "if you love me, then you will obey", "believe". There was nothing magical or mystical about the animal sacrifices. God was teaching us about our relationship with Him. A broken relationship. They had to keep doing the sacrifices because they kept sinning.
The law only shows us what we can't do. God looks at what we can do. He sees you as the person He created you to be. A reflection of His glory. Majestic. Powerful. Good. And everything He has done, all of the trials in life, all of the crazy history of the church, was all about transforming you into the person He knows You to be. To change your nature.
Jesus wasn't telling the people to follow the rules. He was telling them that the rules aren't thing that matters. Who you are, the person you become, matters. And this is why Jesus Himself says that He came to save sinners. He knows perfectly well that I won't stop sinning just because. But He does know that one day, when it's all said and done, when He finally gathers everyone God placed in His care, the work will be done. And what God has started will finish.
When God can once again walk among us. And we reflect His nature. Then, and only then, can we live the life He has always seen for us. When our nature becomes like His nature. And who we are, what we do, will be who He is. That's my hope.
Sunday, October 22, 2017
Tuesday, October 10, 2017
Running water
Revelation 3:15-17 paints a picture of stagnant water - warm, yucky, bad water.
Change is inevitable. I once read that relationships are always changing. Know why? Because people are always changing. Just like the water, you are always changing. The only control you have comes from choosing to be the pool or the stream. Will the change be good, or bad?
You may have heard the old saying people never change. It's actually true. I can hear the quizzical look on your face. I just said people are always changing and that they never change. It's perfectly true, people never change. They are changed. On my own, under my control, I cannot change. But I can be changed. The water in the stream doesn't change itself. Gravity and pressure make the water flow. Some force outside of the water changes it. Left on its own, the water becomes a pool.
Why am I writing this? Because one of the biggest ways we change is through obedience. Remember the last letter talked about compliance and obedience? Rules can only tell you what you've done wrong. Think about the driver's manual, when it discusses the right of way. The law never gives one vehicle or person the right of way. The motor vehicle laws only tell you who has to give up the right of way. Rules never make anything you do right. They can only make some of the things you do wrong.
That's why compliance fails. Compliance gives power to the rules. Obedience gives power to a person - especially when that person is God. God gave us rules for the sole purpose of showing us that we can't keep them. Not to frustrate us, but to drive us to Him. Jesus says "I didn't come to abolish the law, I came to fulfill it." Obedience over compliance. When we obey, there is no need for rules.
One day, you will find someone to marry. You will stand in front of a whole lot of people and repeat words like love, honor, and obey (or submit if you're more modern). I want you to understand that promise. I don't care about chores. I care about you. I care about all of the lives you will touch. And I want you to be cold, refreshing water. Leaving strength and life everywhere you go. This is only the beginning.
15 ‘I know your deeds, that you are neither cold (invigorating, refreshing) nor hot (healing, therapeutic); I wish that you were cold or hot. 16 So because you are lukewarm (spiritually useless), and neither hot nor cold, I will vomit you out of My mouth [rejecting you with disgust].I was thinking about change. Imagine your life as a running stream. The water in the stream today is not the same water that was there yesterday. It's always new, always fresh - clear, cold, and invigorating. Now compare that with a puddle, a pool, that's been sitting still for months - full of algae, rank, green. Both bodies of water changed. In the running stream, change brings life. Life for the water and for those touched by the water. In the standing pool, change means death. The stream changes for good. The pool, well, not so good.
Change is inevitable. I once read that relationships are always changing. Know why? Because people are always changing. Just like the water, you are always changing. The only control you have comes from choosing to be the pool or the stream. Will the change be good, or bad?
You may have heard the old saying people never change. It's actually true. I can hear the quizzical look on your face. I just said people are always changing and that they never change. It's perfectly true, people never change. They are changed. On my own, under my control, I cannot change. But I can be changed. The water in the stream doesn't change itself. Gravity and pressure make the water flow. Some force outside of the water changes it. Left on its own, the water becomes a pool.
Why am I writing this? Because one of the biggest ways we change is through obedience. Remember the last letter talked about compliance and obedience? Rules can only tell you what you've done wrong. Think about the driver's manual, when it discusses the right of way. The law never gives one vehicle or person the right of way. The motor vehicle laws only tell you who has to give up the right of way. Rules never make anything you do right. They can only make some of the things you do wrong.
That's why compliance fails. Compliance gives power to the rules. Obedience gives power to a person - especially when that person is God. God gave us rules for the sole purpose of showing us that we can't keep them. Not to frustrate us, but to drive us to Him. Jesus says "I didn't come to abolish the law, I came to fulfill it." Obedience over compliance. When we obey, there is no need for rules.
One day, you will find someone to marry. You will stand in front of a whole lot of people and repeat words like love, honor, and obey (or submit if you're more modern). I want you to understand that promise. I don't care about chores. I care about you. I care about all of the lives you will touch. And I want you to be cold, refreshing water. Leaving strength and life everywhere you go. This is only the beginning.
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