Of Heat, C130's, Shadows and Wings
While there I noticed something I’d never seen before. In order shelter themselves from that blistering sun, people were crowded under the shadow of the wings of a massive C130. Some were sitting on the ground, others had beach chairs, but they were all seeking shade. It was a beautiful analogy and as I pondered it, it became even more glorious.
Most of us are familiar with the passages in Psalms that speak of our hiding ourselves in the same way:
• Let me dwell in your tent forever! Let me take refuge under the shelter of your wings! (Ps 61:4)
• Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings, from the wicked who do me violence, my deadly enemies who surround me. (Ps 17:8-9)
In these passages and others like them (Ps 57:1; 91:4) we see the Lord as the One who protects us from harm. When utter ruin or malicious enemies would destroy us, we can hide under His defending arms and know that our souls will be safe. When the blistering sun of trials make our hearts faint, we can find sweet relief in the Lord’s presence. In fact, we can find more than relief, we can find joy, “for you have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy.” (Ps 63:7) We’re not simply hiding there, cowering, holding our breath until the danger passes. No, we’re singing for joy because we’re so secure. But that’s not all.
In his commentary on Galatians, Luther employs this metaphor in another way…a way that, quite frankly I’d never considered. He writes, "But I am covered under the shadow of Christ’s wings…and I live without fear under that wide banner of the forgiveness of sins that is spread over me. Therefore, God covers and pardons the remnant of sin in me; that is, because of the faith with which I began to lay hold upon Christ, he accepts my imperfect righteousness as perfect righteousness and counts my sin as no sin, even though it is indeed sin…So we shroud ourselves under the covering of Christ’s flesh. He is our pillar of cloud by day and our pillar of fire by night, lest God should see our sin. "
Can you see how this changes the metaphor? That threatening sun isn’t only foreign enemies or terrible trials from without. It is God’s wrath at my sin and the wings that shelter me from it is Christ’s own body. He suffered in the Father’s inferno – received His wrath in His own flesh – was scorched in the blast furnace that my unbelief and selfishness had fueled. Now I am safely anchored under those dear wings I can be confident that He’ll keep me, or as the pastor to the Hebrews wrote, “we who have fled for refuge [under His wings have] strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us” (Heb 6:18).
So, although we may face trial and difficulty today we can know with certainty that we’re completely hidden from the scorching wrath our sin deserves. We have a strong encouragement because we know that what He has done in sheltering us today will continue forever! John writes,
Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple;
and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes." (Rev 7:15-17)
Submission is Harder than You Think
As a Christian woman and a wife, I’ve heard a lot of teaching on the topic of submission over the years. I assume that most women who attend good churches have, too. I’ve also had disturbing conversations with egalitarian women who think that submission is mutual in marriage: husbands and wives equally submitting to one another. Gallons (drums?) of ink have been spilled over the roles of men and women in the home and the true definition of what it means for a wife to submit to her husband. Yes, submission has been a hot topic in Christian circles for years.
But there’s one form of submission that Paul speaks of that I’ve never heard anyone discuss – at least not in those terms. Here’s Romans 10:1-4:
Brothers, my heart's desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For, being ignorant of the righteousness that comes from God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.
In this passage, Paul is expressing his deep longing for the salvation of his Jewish brothers. He recognizes that they have a zeal for God, a desire to stand righteous before Him, but in their zeal to serve and please God they are gravely mistaken. They are ignorant of the way of salvation—of the righteousness that comes from God. Is this ignorance just a lack of education or is there a moral component to it? It’s not simply that they are innocent, misguided seekers. No, in fact, their ignorance is willful. They are culpable because they have a desire for something other than the righteousness that comes from the God Whom they say they’re seeking to please. They desire to glory in their own righteousness so they aren’t willing to “submit” to His.
Isn’t that the difficulty with true Christianity? It forces us all, women and men, to subordinate ourselves – to bow low beneath the truth that if we want to be righteous we must give up all our efforts at righteousness and submit to His.
I ought to rejoice that “Christ is the end of the law for righteousness,” but I’m not sure that I always do. Yes, of course, when I’m in my right mind, I exult in the truth embodied in those words. But there are other times, and far too frequently, when I find myself relying on my obedience to the law so that I can assure my own heart and beg to squirm out from under the total submission He’s demanded of me. You mean I can’t rely on myself at all? Really? Can’t I just craft a little something to hang on to when I start to doubt whether grace is enough? This feeling of freefalling into someone else’s mercy and righteousness is really quite unnerving. Sometimes grace gives me the shivers.
I’ll admit that wifely submission is difficult. But this kind of submission, submission to an alien righteousness, a righteousness that I do not deserve and don’t really even always want, is utterly impossible. I will never, and I mean never, give up the moral high ground on my own. God must humble me and change my heart by His Spirit, compelling me to bow the knee at Calvary or I will always remain a proud Pharisee. Here’s the truth: sometimes I make efforts at submitting to my husband so that I don’t have to submit in this other way. Sometimes I make nice dinners and say, “Yes, dear, of course,” just so that I can assure my own heart that I’ve got a little righteousness of my own.
It’s actually a nice distraction from the humiliating reality of an alien righteousness to spend time talking about being a godly wife – although that’s not a bad thing – it’s just that in my self-sufficient heart I’d really rather talk about anything other than that submission. That humiliation? That righteousness? That weakness? Really?
Let’s pray today that the Lord may grant us all, women and men, the grace to submit ourselves to His righteousness and stop seeking to establish our own…no matter what form that might take.
Why the Resurrection? What does it mean?
Sometimes the chapter breaks in the Bible get in the way of our understanding truth. Here's the last two verses from Romans 4 and the first verse of Romans 5:
"But the words 'it was counted to him' were not written for his [Abraham's] sake alone, but for ours also. It [righteousness] will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification. Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ."
The death of Jesus Christ was the ultimate expression of God's hatred of and wrath against sin. He slaughtered His own Son, pouring out upon Him all of the wrath for all of the sins of all of the elect that would have been their's for all of eternity -- in three short hours. Only the wrath of God could kill the Son of God. Christ's death signals God's wrath against sin.
So what does the resurrection signal? Simply this: that Christ had paid the penalty and was now, once again, completely pleasing in the Father's sight. Jesus was back to being, "My Beloved Son, in Whom I am well-pleased." God raised Him up and declared Him, "Not guilty."
Okay, that's all well and good as an interaction between the Father and the Son...but what about us? Here's the mind-blowing truth: When the Father punished the Son, he punished him for all the sin you ever have and ever will commit. All God's wrath for all your sin has been propitiated! So, where does that leave you and I who believe that this substitution was for us? Here: We are His beloved children, with whom He is well-pleased. Yes, we are not guilty -- but not simply not guilty. We are righteous and pleasing to Him. We are beloved sons and daughters -- with whom He is very pleased!
How should this truth of expiated sin and complete acceptance and righteousness affect you today? All the personal sin you struggle with today has been taken care of. The enslaving power of it has been broken because you are now completely accepted and no longer guilty. Walking through suffering is transformed by the realities of His suffering for you and His guaranteed promise of future glory. He is completely at peace with you -- if you will believe that He is that good.
All the wrath is gone. You're completely pleasing to Him. All you have to do is believe.
For some of you, you may be thinking:" yeah, but what about confession ...repentance ...doing good...???"
To which I respond, "Of course!" All these things will be the natural outgrowth of true faith in Him and in what the resurrection says about Him, about you. But don't let the focus be on you and what you need to do. Let it be on Him and on what He's done. Then confess, obey, repent, do good. But don't do it because you feel guilty. Do it because you have been loved and welcomed. Do it because you're ALREADY very pleasing to Him and you love to serve Him.
How important is the resurrection? It means everything."Wrath" is completely spent, "very pleasing" has come to stay.
Will Faith Be Enough Today?
I woke up this morning troubled by yesterday’s failures. In fact, I spent most of the night last night, trying to drown out the voice of my inner slave driver who incessantly told me that I’m still the same and that I might as well give it up. More confessions: The truth is that I wasn’t primarily troubled this morning about my sin before God. Yes, of course, there was that, but I was mostly concerned about my reputation before others. The question, “Why did I say that?” led as it always does to, “I might as well give up.” It was this refrain that had repeated in my head all night long. “Nothing ever changes. Everything will always be the same. You’re no different now then you were decades ago…Just give up.”
Of course, I knew that the ways that I had sinned by not loving my neighbor, by trying to impress others, was ultimately tied to the gospel but I was having trouble getting there. The first impulse of my heart was to “get my act together.” I determined what I needed to do to demonstrate that I really was going to be different today. Honestly, I wasn’t drawn to prayer and Bible reading. I felt agitated and was drawn to list making. But God in His kindness inclined my heart to start my day back where I needed to. In my reading through Romans, this was my portion for the day; this was how God spoke to me:
In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told, "So shall your offspring be." He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead (since he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah's womb. No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. That is why his faith was "counted to him as righteousness" (Rom 4:18-22 ESV).
God made a promise to Abraham that he would become the father of many nations, that his children would number as many as the stars in the heavens. The promise had been given twenty-five years before but still he had no children. He considered his own body and the barrenness of Sarah’s womb – their inability to fulfill their part of God’s promise should have crushed his faith. But Paul tells us that he “grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God.”
I know that you’re familiar with this story and that you know that its ultimate fulfillment is in the promised Messiah. But this morning this story spoke to my heart in this way: I could look at the weakness and barrenness of my life. Those were, indeed, true realities. In response, I could get out my list, my sticky-notes, and devise ways of feeling better about myself. To switch back to our patriarch’s story, I could go visit Hagar. Or I could give glory to God knowing that even though I am still so very weak, so very barren of true love for my neighbor, God had already promised me that I would be fruitful and that my life would somehow count. How? Only through faith in the righteousness of another. It was in this process of rehearsing God’s promises to me, of giving Him glory for His wonderful mercy, grace and kindness, that my heart was changed and I walked out into faith again.
Every morning…every moment of every day…I have a choice to make. I can trust in my heart’s default position: Work it out, work harder, prove I’m better, show that I do love my neighbor, engage with Hagar and my sticky-notes. Or, I can rest in His promise that even though I look at myself and realize that for me it’s been nearly forty years since I first believed the promise, the One who is able to speak into existence things that don’t exist, has declared that I am righteous now and that this faith is enough now. It must be enough or I can’t breathe. That was the choice for me today and it’s the choice we all face every day.
Don’t get nervous. I’m not saying that now I’ll cavalierly spend my day being rude and popping bon-bons. No, this transformation means that I have faith to fight the war again – this time with a smile. I have the courage to get up again and seek to love my neighbor and love my Father because I know that for Him…it’s enough. My belief in His grace is enough for Him. May it be enough for me today, Lord.
The Odd (Wo)Man Out
When I was a child I had a terrifying recurring dream, especially when I was fevered. In it I was standing on a dark stage and I was completely alone. I was aware of the fact that I was alone and had no place to hide. The isolation was horrifying. Five decades later, that dream still impacts me.
Then, when I was a teen, Petula Clark recorded a song entitled, “The In Crowd.” In the song she boasted, “ I’m in with the in crowd, I go where the in crowd goes…I know what the in crowd knows.” Well, needless to say, most of us never really hung out with the “in crowd”. Most of us relate more to tapping on the window, hoping to be let in. But, even if you’re one of those popular people who always found yourself “in”, you know that sense of belonging doesn’t last for very long because there is always another group that’s more in than yours. We weren’t meant to find our identity in the “in crowd” or the cool, loser “out crowd”, or in the “isolated, I-don’t-give-a-rip” crowd. We are meant to find our identity in Christ.
Adam and Eve never experienced this awareness of alienation before the Fall. In fact, wasn’t their sin and subsequent exile from Eden the genesis of our sense that we “just don’t belong”? Ashamed, banished from their true home, we’ve all been wandering ever since…seeking and never really finding that one place where we know we’re loved, welcomed, accepted for who we are: Home. None of us really fit in here because we’re not meant to find our primary identity in family or friends. We’re meant to find our identity in Christ.
Why is there such alienation? Why do we feel so alone? Our problem is that we are sinners. Our sin separates us from each other. Others sin against us and we turn from them in disappointment or disgust. We sin against others and they turn away from us, too. We see their sin and feel self-righteous and wary of relationship with them – as if their sin might contaminate us. We see our sin and feel guilty and self-condemned so we hide, hoping that the “good face” we put on will be enough to fool them and open the door to relationship, to home. And, worst of all, at the bottom of all this separation, we feel alienated from God. “How can God love and welcome me?” is the question that’s at the heart of, “How can you love me? How can I love you?” These questions plague us, so we continue to hide, tap on the window, hope that we’ll be let in and all the while fearing that we will be. We think that we’re different from everyone else when, in fact, we’re all the same. That’s the secret that our enemy keeps trying to hide from us all. We all feel alienated. No one is ever assured that they’re really in the “in crowd”, no matter what Petula Clark says.
The Bible tells us that Jesus Christ, the High Priest who became one of us, was tempted in every way, just as we are, yet without sin (Hebrews 4:15). He became part of the “loser” crowd. What this means is that he was tempted to experience sinful self-consciousness, self-protection, self-pity, isolation, comparison and judging. He was tempted to disassociate Himself from the sinners around Him; He was tempted to idolize the love and support of friends; He was tempted to worship the opinions of others rather than the opinion of His Father. He was tempted to love popularity with people more than He loved people. He was tempted to find His identity apart from His Father.
The gospel tells us that because of the incarnation, we are not alone in our temptations. But his identification with us is not the only good news he brings. He has gone before us, yet without sin, so His perfect record is ours: He took up the towel, He laid down His life, He prayed in anguish alone, He was crucified outside the city, He was forsaken by His Father. Remember that in all this, He never sinned. Justification means (in part) that His perfect record is now ours. His servant-love, His self-sacrifice, His faith in the midst of abandonment is now how our record reads before the Father who isn’t fooled by our outward appearances. Amazing grace! When the Father sees us He sees loving, generous, servants who find their identity in Him. We’ve been let in because he was alone (amazing!) and sinless (more amazing!) and that’s our record (shockingly amazing!).
The blessing of justification is that it not only makes us welcome before the Father, it also frees us to love and welcome others. Because everything that we’re vainly trying to hide has already been publically declared about us (we’re so sinful we deserve to die!), we don’t need to fear relationship. We don’t need to hide. Because we’ve been forgiven and declared righteous: welcomed and loved by God, we don’t need to fear rejection either. He was righteous and rejected for us. We can forgive, love and serve because we’ve been forgiven, loved and served. Isn’t that the message of 1 John?
When you step off into eternity and wonder if you’ll be tapping on the window of heaven, hoping to be let in, or if you’ll be on that blacked out stage, standing completely isolated on your own, your Husband, Jesus Christ will come to you, take your arm and say, “She’s (he’s) with me.” Then, when our faith becomes sight we’ll know that we’re part of the only “in crowd” that will ever matter…and all because of what He’s done for us.
A Slap on the Hand, A Kiss on the Cheek
The workers were an hour and a half late arriving at my home. Now that they had finally come, I struggled to get my dogs outside, necessitating my dragging them out of the house by their collars. I had been working on an article on my laptop in the kitchen, getting ready to eat lunch and I now, too, needed to get out of the way. So I decided to stack a plate, a boxed salad, two phones and a nice big cup of coffee on a tray and try to navigate my way out the sliding door onto my patio. Strange thing, though…that tray? It was actually the keyboard of my laptop. I’m sure you can guess what happened next. The coffee went flying and my computer fried.
I confess that I had been impatient with the tardy workers and stubborn dogs. I responded to this situation in a sinfully foolish manner. While I was cleaning up the mess, I knew a fried computer was what I deserved. I hadn’t loved my neighbor nor the Lord as I should have. I had quickly fallen into self-righteousness and pride: “I’m never late!” “These dogs should obey!” “Stacking all this stuff on my computer might be foolish for some people, but I can handle it!” A fried computer was undoubtedly what I had earned.
Don’t misunderstand. As I walked through the next few hours and the real possibility of having ruined my computer, I didn’t question whether God had stopped loving me. I thought that He was lovingly using my sin to teach me a lesson. I knew that I deserved a slap on the hand and I thought He had given me one. It was time for me to pay the price for my sin – not the ultimate price, of course, no, not the atonement. Just a little hand slapping from a loving God who knew what I needed.
But then, something amazing happened. I received unexpected news of answered prayer. I was delighted and stunned. I had assumed that this day would be a day of hand slapping. I thought I knew what I needed: a lesson about the follies of impatience and pride. But this surprising answered prayer wasn’t a slap. No, it was a kiss on the cheek. And then, the next morning…another kiss. My computer was limping back to life. I didn’t lose all my data. What did I deserve? A slap. What did I get? A kiss.
For most of my Christian life I would have been very comfortable with saying that the Lord disciplines me for my sin (a slap on the hand), but would have struggled terribly with thinking the Lord blesses me in the face of my sin (a kiss on the cheek). Is there room in our very-serious-about-the-sinfulness-of-sin theology to say that sometimes, (many times?), the Lord woos us into obedience through kisses rather than slaps?
Although I know and love the gospel, I frequently find myself functioning in that quid-pro-quo, “God as Vending Machine,” world. I fight sin and fulfill my spiritual duties and expect God’s blessing or at least protection from fried computers. Conversely, when I don’t fight sin or when I neglect prayer, I assume God will discipline me. Don’t misunderstand -- I recognize that both blessings and discipline are functions of His Fatherly love for me. It’s just that I think I know how He should motivate me to obey. But He uses both slaps and kisses.
Now, here’s where the gospel turns everything we know about how we grow in obedience on its head. It speaks of kisses of betrayal given to our Faithful Friend (Luke 22:48). It tells me that He was slapped for me and punished for my rebellion. I read that “…the guards received Him with blows” (Mark 14:6). He got kisses and slaps…for me. And because He has endured all that, He’s free to bless me and woo me and speak tenderly to me and surprise me with little kisses on the cheek when I least expect it..when I’m expecting the slap. His kindness is meant to lead me to repentance. His kisses draw me near. And now, instead of thinking about my guilt and punishment, I’m spending my day thinking of His kindness and it frees me to love him in return.
Am I saying that’s all He ever does? No, of course not. Discipline, as Hebrews tells us, is painful rather than pleasant. But, then again, haven’t there been times when you know you deserve a slap and suddenly He dazzles you with a sweet kiss on the cheek? Is there room in our theology for a God who kisses His dear foolish children and draws them with cords of love? Do we really believe that it is the “grace of God” that saves us and trains us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions and makes us zealous for good works? (Titus 2:11-14)
Gentle Jesus, Meek and...Modest
I live in Southern California and now that it’s summer, a familiar problem has returned. The problem is immodesty and now that the temperature is rising, the problem is becoming more and more obvious…again. But summer or not, modesty has been a topic of concern for me during my whole life. For instance, back in the days when I was in Catholic school, modesty was demanded. At any point during the day a nun could check to see if I was obeying the rules about skirt length. I had to kneel on the floor and if my skirt didn’t touch the ground, I was given demerits. (Of course, as soon as the nun turned the corner, we all hiked up our skirts again!)
Taking a cue from my parochial education, perhaps now that it is summer, I’m tempted to think that we should install immodesty checkpoints at the doors of the sanctuary. Perhaps we should make up rules about inappropriate clothing and station a deaconess or two at the doors to be sure that the rules are being enforced…better also station one ‘around the corner’ for when the young girls hike their skirts up again!
On the other hand, perhaps we should just ignore the whole immodesty problem all together because after all, “God looks on the heart…” And our pastors and brothers will just have to learn to look only at a woman’s face.
Rules? No rules? Is there a better way? Is it found in the gospel?
Hebrews 4:15 informs me that my Savior has been tempted in “every respect” as I have, yet without sin. Could this possibly mean that Jesus was tempted to immodesty but didn’t sin? Because we don’t usually think in these terms about Jesus, perhaps at this juncture it might be helpful for me to define what I mean by “modesty.” Christian modesty is simply a refusal to show off out of love for God and one’s neighbor. Jesus refused to show off His power. For instance, when tempted by Satan, He refused to show off His ability to turn stones into bread or cast Himself off a high tower (Matt 4:1f). When attacked by His accusers, He “opened not His mouth” (Isa 53:7). When facing the humiliation and excruciating pain of the cross, He refrained from appealing to His Father for legions of angels who were waiting to bring Him deliverance (Matt 26:53). Jesus didn’t show off His power or authority because He loved His neighbor, His bride. Jesus was modest because He loved the church.
Conversely, immodesty flows out of the heart of a show off. Maybe we’ve worked hard at the gym or purchased an expensive new pair of jeans. Maybe we want to prove how free we are to dress in any way we choose, no matter how scandalous. When we show-off we’re failing to love our brother (and sisters) who may be tempted to lust or covetousness or sinful imitation. Showing off is a fruit of pride and love of self. Immodesty demonstrates a cold unconcern for the church.
The beauty of the gospel, however, is that it informs us about who we are and what Jesus has already done. While it convicts us that we’re all unloving show-offs (in some way), it also assures us that we’ve been loved and that we no longer need to show off to get other people’s approval because (here’s the best news of all!) the record of our Modest Redeemer is ours! Our identity isn’t wrapped up in the approval or envy or lust of others. Our identity is found in Christ’s life, death and resurrection. Christ is our life. He loved us and refrained from showing off so that we could be His and freed from the need to prove that we’ve got a great body or wardrobe or…because we’ve been lavished with His love instead.
Of course, in this promiscuous culture women (and men) might need to be taught what modest attire looks like and there’s nothing wrong with doing so. It’s just that the transforming power that changes a show off into a servant doesn’t come from rules about blouses or skirts. It comes from remembering the gospel and seeking to show Him off instead. So, let’s spend this summer talking about modesty…mostly His.
Thesis 28 -- The Qualitative Distinctions of Love
Here's thesis 28: The love of God does not first discover but creates what is pleasing to it. The love of man comes into being through attraction to what is pleasing to it.
J C Ryle echoed Luther when he wrote, "Our love is excited by the extraordinary charms of worth and grace... Who ever loved that which was altogether hateful? Such is the manner of man." The manner of our God is entirely different. "God loves us before one particle of grace enters our soul, when we are a loathsome mass of vice and iniquity. God loves that which is altogether unlovely." (Holiness)
God "loves sinners, evil persons, fools, and weaklings in order to make them righteous, good, wise and strong. Rather than seeking its own good, the love of God flows forth and bestows good." (113)
Look it, here's the truth about me and my "love". I have problems loving even those I find lovable. That's not to say that the Lord hasn't worked in my heart, but the longer I bask in God's love for me in Christ, the more I understand that I don't really love like this at all. In fact, I think it's kind of funny when people make fools of themselves on WipeOut and bounce off those big balls or get smashed in the gut with the sweeper. Oh, for the day when I can look into the face of my brothers and sisters and really love them...freely, genuinely, generously. But in the meantime, my love is "awakened by attraction to what pleases it. It must search to find its object and, one might add, will likely toss it aside when it tires of it." (113) So, won't you please sign up for WipeOut so I can laugh at you?
Christ did not come to call the righteous (lovable). He came to call unlovable sinners. "This is the love of the cross, born of the cross, which turns in the direction where it does not find good that it may enjoy, but where it may confer good upon the bad and needy person. 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'" (Go figure. Did you ever understand that verse in that context? I sure didn't.)
"God is not, as in the theology of glory, one who waits to approve of those who have improved themselves, made themselves acceptable, or merited approval [through believing!], but [he is] one who bestows good on the bad and needy." (113)
And so we come to the end of our disputation. We began talking about our utter poverty and inability to obey the law. We must die. "The sinner must be reduced to nothing." (114) We must suffer the humiliation of knowing we bring nothing but debt. But we can face this destruction of our "ego" because we've been loved. We haven't been loved because of anything lovable within us. We've been loved because He chose to love us and in that very act of choosing us and loving us into His kingdom, he's made us perfectly righteous. It's from this position of having been loved like this that experiential heart change takes place. We begin to love others -- not in any effort to earn or merit -- but simply in response to what he's done in loving us. God looks over the whole earth of our hearts, sees that they are formless and void, sends the Spirit to brood over us, and creates that which he can look upon and call "very good." He creates ex nihilo -- out of nothing. From the "nothing" of our souls he creates beauty that pleases him.
In Christ we have true goodness because God's love is powerfully transformative and makes us, by the very act of loving us, worthy of love. Yippee?!
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I've enjoyed doing this study with you all. Thanks to all of you, particularly those of you who posted. Thanks for the lively discussions and pushing me to think more deeply.
I'll be back to this in a few days with some thoughts on how we might proceed from here. Oh, BTW, if you're interested you might check out my store at www.shop.elysefitzpatrick.com. I'm trying to help fund our son Joel's seminary education, so if you want to buy any of my resources, please check us out and Joel will be glad to serve you.
Why don't you write back with your fav Luther/Forde quote? Thanks for dropping by.
Thesis 27 and Down With Summer Brain and Weather Pansies
For those of you who don't have the book in front of you here it is: "Rightly speaking, therefore, the work of Christ should be called the operative power, and our work, the operation: so our operation is pleasing to God by the grace of the operative power."
Yes, yes I know that's a bit confusing, but don't succumb to lazy Summer Brain. It's summer and today it's supposed to be 95...although "they" keep saying that the weather is cooling...it's still going to be 95 today. I know all about lazy Summer Brain. I'm tired of it being hot and, yes, I know I'm a weather-pansy and this hot weather gives me lazy brain...or perhaps it's just an excuse for me to not push through and really think. Maybe it's the same for you. I'll try to help and hope that my poor old-lazy really-gray cells will come alive and that I don't have a hot-flash in the meantime.
Here's what Luther means in a nutshell: "The real operative power in all works that can be called "good" is the work of Christ, that outrageous assertion that in Christ all that God demands has been fulfilled and that this Christ dwells in us by faith. The believer is "aroused" to work through living faith in Christ's work, to be "imitators" of God..."drawn" after Christ." (111)
So it is this very knowledge...come on...track with me...the very knowledge that everything, yes really everything!!! has already been done for us AND that Christ dwells within us in power and love. Here are the two sides of this truth: Christ has done everything that needs to be done by us AND he indwells us giving us his mind and his Spirit and his desires. I think that deserves a "wow." Wow.
I found myself sinfully angry at ineptitude yesterday. This happened in a number of areas too boring to discuss. I awakened this morning to the realization that my life and love yesterday wasn't anywhere near what I think it should be -- again. How do I fight to try to believe that today will be different? Where is the joy and peace and faith that will overlook the small trifles of others and rest contentedly in God's providence? Simply here: Everything that I should have done yesterday was done by Him in my place. Everything I shouldn't have done (but did, nevertheless) was atoned for by Him in my place. This alone is my record today. And this is the motivation to try again. Yes, I'm sinful and impatient and short-sighted and crabby (a nice word). But he isn't and His record is mine! Not only that, but He's indwelling me by His Spirit, so my union with Him assures me TODAY that I have unhindered access and full acceptance before Him and that I can fight this sin again.
So now this is what I understand from Luther/Forde and Thesis 27: "The impetus to do good works comes entirely from being moved, aroused, and motivated by the completed work of Christ, who dwells in the believer through faith." (111) He has loved me like this! He has atoned for it all! He has completed it all! He's placed himself, as a good husband in union with me. That's love and it's that sort of motivation or operation that God has accomplished that draws me to good works. God pleases himself by completing all the work for me, saying "It is good" and then loves, woos, draws, impels and motivates me to get up off my sinful...ness and fight the war again today, even though it's hot and I'm a pansy. Only love motivates us to continue to fight. The law fails. Our pride wains. Our good intentions fade in the heat of idolatrous desires for ease and comfort and a cool day. Only his love for us motivates or as William Romaine wrote -- we need the power of a new affection -- affections that have been warmed and enlivened by such a love as this.
Okay...there you've got it. Back to the iced tea and Lazy Summer Brain. You're loved and welcomed even when you're sitting in a pool of sweat and your faith is wilted and you couldn't care less and you wished people had their act together (like you). And..if you live in Phoenix, I don't want to hear about how hot it is there. It's supposed to be hot in the desert. It's not supposed to be hot in San Diego. .
What the Law Requires From Us is Freedom From the Law -- Put Your Dancin' Shoes On!!!
"The language has to break out into preaching. Never mind that when we look to ourselves we find no sign of good works. Never mind our fears and anxieties. We are looking in the wrong place. Look to Christ! He has done it all. Nothing will be gained by trying to shore up the OId Adam. Christ leaves nothing for the Old Adam and Eve to do. The old can only be killed by the law, not given artificial respiration by recourse to it. That is the point of the language here and its exuberance. To the theologian of the cross the language of grace and faith must be pushed absolutely to this length -- until it kills the old and raises the new. We will only fall back into law where the demand continues endlessly and nothing is ever finally done. So we can only let the language of grace sound forth. Grace says, "believe it" and everything -- EVERYTHING! -- is already done. It is the creative Word of God. If that doesn't work then nothing will." (110)
I'm having to control myself now. I want to dance! I'm remembering that lovely scene from the movie Babe when the staid old farmer is alone with his pig and the music starts and he dances with abandon for joy. That's what I'm feeling right now. I'm getting a feeling that that's what I'll feel like for eternity in heaven. EVERYTHING! has already been done! Yippee! I'm in love! I'm filled with joy! I'm at peace! I am coming to "know and believe the love that God has for me." This is a Dancing-Shoe-Mandatory Zone. Don't be afraid that this kind of talk will make you apathetic, lazy, cavalier. Just the opposite will happen. Don't be afraid of being loved like this.
I don't know how to proceed. I'm stuck trying to decide how to summarize what Lewis called "the language of heaven" (joy). I'll just write out the thesis and a few of my favorite quotes and let them work on you till your feet start twitching and you've got to jump up and burst forth with hallelujahs and thank you's:
Thesis 26: The law says, "do this," and it is NEVER done. Grace says, "believe in this," and EVERYTHING IS ALREADY DONE.
"In commanding love law can only point helplessly to that which it cannot produce...What the Law requires is freedom from the law." (108)
"...grace, instead of demanding love, simply gives it unconditionally. It is simply the "I love you."
"Faith justifies. Faith is the righteousness God wants and aims to get...Faith obtains what the law commands. Through faith Christ is in us. We fulfill everything through him since he was made ours through faith."
"The insistence that only those works are truly good that are done spontaneously and joyously out of faith, hope, and love belongs to the very heart of Luther's Reformation. That is why he can make the claim that faith doesn't have to be prompted to do good works because the Christ who fulfilled all things dwells within the person of faith, EVERYTHING! has already been done! There is simply nothing to do!...The Christ of the cross takes away the possibility of doing something."
And now to the truth that this entire discussion has been heading: The point is precisely that the power to do good comes only out of this wild claim that EVERYTHING! has already been done. (110)
Oh, my sister, my brother: be done with the law! Embrace this faith, this wild, illogical, incomprehensible reality. EVERYTHING! has already been done! Wholly lean on Jesus' Name! I'm singing now...On Christ the solid Rock I stand...All other ground (my own works, abilities, goodnesses) is SINKING SAND! ALL OTHER GROUND IS SINKING SAND. Flee the sinking sand. Get up now. Lift up your hands. Dance and believe. Really. Now.
