Against the grain

Let’s be honest, following Jesus is a risk. It calls us to go against the grain of society and sometimes, the path laid before us is one that seems utterly insane, mocked by those both in and out of the church, but when followed, erupts in a lifetime of heavenly reward. 

Truth is, we must be mindful that when we choose to live by faith, to live in Christ, we will meet with turmoil, tension and struggle. And how we deal with such struggle depends on our perspective. That is, if we choose to look through the lens of the world we will hear such things like, "life has thrown you a curve-ball," or "well it will all work out you just need to keep pressing on." But those of us who love Jesus and see life through His heart will hear something different...

When struggle comes into our path, we will hear the Spirit softly whisper, "I have a plan for you for you are my beloved. In Christ and through the Spirit, you are more than a conqueror."

Yes, we can live life in Christ, or we can live life from the world. But when we say we love Christ, we must ask, "does my life erupt in His truth?" That is, as a follower of Christ, does my faith cause me to get lost in the truth of His love and praise?

Thinking about the risk and the reward of faith, Charles Wesley penned these words for his great hymn, “Love Divine, All Loves Excelling”

Love divine, all loves excelling,
Joy of heaven to earth come down;
Fix in us thy humble dwelling;
All thy faithful mercies crown!
Jesus, Thou art all compassion,
Pure unbounded love Thou art;
Visit us with Thy salvation;
Enter every trembling heart.

Finish, then, Thy new creation;
Pure and spotless let us be.
Let us see Thy great salvation
Perfectly restored in Thee;
Changed from glory into glory,
Till in heaven we take our place,
Till we cast our crowns before Thee,
Lost in wonder, love, and praise.

The risk of faith is made possible not because of the glory we might receive. Not because of the riches we will earn. Not because of the accolades we will acquire. No, the risk of faith occurs because in our life, love divine excels all and in this pure, unbounded love we are overwhelmed with the presence of the Spirit so that we might see the greatness of Christ and the beauty of His salvation that lays before us. And when our hearts are awakened and our souls enlivened, it is then that we become lost in wonder, love and praise for our Savior.

Throughout the history of the church, the saints took the leap of faith—they stepped into and embraced the risk of faith, and in doing so, they participated with the God of all creation in the redemption and reconciliation of the world. The question for us today is are we going to continue on in the legacy of the church, to be life-changers, history makers, ministers of reconciliation? Will we be lost in wonder, love and praise so as to become the insane love of Jesus in and through the Holy Spirit...regardless of the cost?

The Religion Game

Are you saved? I guess before answering this question one might ask, saved from what?

Seems that in recent years the definition of “saved” has been shrunken and freeze-dried by today’s relative thought process reducing it to nothing more than “personal savior” talk. That is, our religious endeavors have become acts of convenience and self-promotion as opposed to sacrifice and surrender.

In modern times salvation follows the lines of my personal society. That is, I may have a personal home, personal car, personal computer, personal identification number, personal assistant—all I need now is personal salvation from my own personal savior.

Sure Jesus is personal, but unlike our iPhones, iPods, computers and the like, He is not robotic, plastic or programmable. We need our heart’s thoughts reoriented – we don't need the latest and greatest savior. We don’t need our own personal Jesus who is programmable; we need the Jesus of the cross. For it is the Jesus of the cross who personally steps into life, relates to each one of us and seeks to save us. What we need is to personally step into Jesus…

This leads us to John 3—the ultimate passage from the Bible on the need to have a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Here Jesus tells Nicodemus, a religious leader and member of the Jewish ruling council (Jn 3.1), that he needs to be born again—to become a spiritual newborn baby: “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again” (Jn 3.3).

Jesus gets personal with Nicodemus—very personal. Jesus knows what’s in Nicodemus’s heart, just like He knows what’s in everyone’s heart, and so does not need human testimony about people (Jn 2.24-25). Jesus knows that Nicodemus has been playing the religion game way too long and that he has flawed faith based on the traditions and testimonies of his old boys’ club (the Jewish ruling council) rather than true faith based on God’s Word and the Spirit.

That’ why Jesus responds to Nicodemus in the way He does—up front and directly. As Jesus connects with Nicodemus, He is not scorning him, but He is seeking to crack his hard heart bound up with the pride of his position and the praises of his peers. How often do we do what we do for the praise of others or another notch in the belt of pride? Like Nicodemus, we need new flesh, a new heart, a new birth. We need Jesus.

And so are you saved? Saved from the hustle and bustle of the world? Saved from the necessity of “keeping up with the Jones’?” Are you saved from a life of self-promotion, self-righteousness and self-elevation?

Being saved is the realization that everyday, every moment, every thought, every action—all that I am needs Jesus. Everyday our prayer should be: “Holy Spirit lead me deeper into Jesus and save me.” Are you saved?