The Rich Young Ruler

When I first gave my life to the Lord, I was a young, passionate kid with nothing much to lose. My discovery of Jesus, and His truths were absolutely the most valuable thing to me. In those days I could say in earnest, "God you are the greatest treasure!". Since those days, I've come to realize alot about myself that God already knew. Mainly that I will, and till the day I die, have to fight to know Jesus as my ultimate and my only absolute treasure, worth, and desire. Since those days as a young lad, I've "gained" so much. Much that I believe is even God's providence working in my life. A prestigious yet purposeful job, a beautiful and at times too valuable family... security and comfort that makes me at times, uncomfortable. It's lead me to becoming a person, who is less dependent and reliant on God. And thats why the story of the Rich Young Ruler becomes more real to me today then when I read it as a young college student willing to do anything for God. Not because I share many similarities in life to the rich young ruler (or maybe I do?), but because I feel like I have more insight into the emotion he felt as he walked away from Jesus... once a hopeful and now sorrowful being.

By all accounts, the rich young ruler approached Jesus in earnest and was genuine and respectful in his attempt to learn about eternal life. Though young, he was thoughtful and contemplative, not settling for absolute security in his position or wealth. He also probably lived a life of discipline that many of us would struggle to match. Yet the wealthy young ruler leaves disappointed and "sorrowful", not hearing the answer he wanted to hear, relegated to thinking that eternal life for HIM, was an impossibility. What is so clear to me, and also so relatable, is the condition, the emotional turmoil and struggle that the young ruler leaves as his heart is exposed... as his true desires are exposed. On the one hand Jesus teaches us Salvation is through Grace and through HIM alone. The young ruler had a works based mentality in believing that he had faithfully kept all of the commandments that Jesus inquires about. Jesus even in his explanation makes it clear that what is impossible for man is possible for God... alluding to the fact that salvation can only be gain through our Saviors justification.

But deeper still, Jesus shows us not only the gospel principle of salvation by Grace through faith but also insures that he leaves principles for our sanctification. Mainly the exposure of the young rulers heart. Jesus exposes the rulers idol of wealth... and in that, understanding the human heart, the human condition, the desire for security, for comfort, for happiness. The young man has everything one could want at that time... Prestige, respect, knowledge/education, wealth... he is upright in keeping the law and with it carries a sense of pride. He now desires eternal life... arguably desiring subconciously to be a "god" in his own right. It was probably the same temptation and deep rooted desire faced by Adam and Eve at the garden. It is ultimately the root of what initially separated us from God and what was reconciled by Christ on the cross. While greed and love of money is certainly one of the underlying issues, it is only a subroot to the deeper issue of self love. Of self idolatry. And ultimately our biggest problem. The young man loved his money, but money had only made him prisoner to what was a deeper disease. His love for self or his quest for happiness was more valuable than the trade off... Jesus. Reckless abandonment for Jesus. In the end isnt that mans and certainly my greatest struggle? Every anti-God group, or even the noble organizations that put mans worth above Gods... in the end we're all saying we are worth more than Him.

Jesus is saying, He HAS to be everything... that if our marriages were to fail, if our jobs and thus security (especially as a dad and provider) were to be taken from us... when the temporary things... the things of percieved "value" were to lose its value and the dust settled, that we would still be content in our union with God in Christ. That is a hard thing to say for "possession rich" and "spiritually poor" people like many who sit at church pews here in America. I realize I am one of those people and yet God is always faithful to deliver truth to counteract our sinful ways.

God will have no rivals for his throne or praise. Such was the story of Job who had to rediscover what it meant to have God and God alone as his ultimate treasure... Or David who had to learn through refinement that nothing on earth could take the place of God enthroned.

Tragedy and Sin

Dozens Killed in Newtown, CT School Shooting

I will never know the details of whom God chooses to show mercy towards, or how he sovereignly orchestrates all things in life.  However, days like today, I can think of one reason why tragedy can still be served and used to remind us of reality, and lead us to cling closer to hope in Christ. 

Are all sins equal?  Close look at scripture would suggest that this isnt the case... not all sins are created equal.  It is definately natural to look at tragedy like this and assign a severity... which in turn dictates the severity or depth of our response, our reaction.  That amongst so many "messed up things" in the world, this one is worse.  However, from the human perspective (vs Gods perspective) perhaps those details are less important than the fact that exposure to sin, in whatever varying degrees, should make us long for Jesus, and long for home.  That there must be more than this!  As we are lead to be more like Him through the Holy Spirit, and learn to hate and wrestle with sin, our hearts should break for the injustice of sin.  Against mankind sure, but ultimately against God, who created and formed all things.  Why then does it take the innocent murder of 20+ 5 year old kids to remind us that we are in deep need of a savior?

I have 2 kids whom I love dearly.  I would gladly give my life for them.  My first reaction was that I wanted to think of practical ways to protect them, to make sure they are never exposed to situations where something like this could happen to them.  And while protecting your kids from harm is a job of a parent and dad, I know as a separate point, that my kids under my own power, will never be protected from the prospects of sin.  Both in their own lives as well as manifested forms here in the world.  Then as a parent it is days like today that I long ever more, for my kids to deeply know Christ and have the sure assurance of hope, giving devotion and service towards a purpose and King that has defeated death and sin.  One who will one day erase the pain and build a glorious kingdom once and for all.  Not for our sakes but for the great fame of His name. 

Yes tragedy is very heartbreaking and unfortunate... especially when it deals with such young lives.  I cannot imagine as a parent, being one of those frantically wondering the fate of my child.  Or why someone would choose to violate those who are so unable to defend themselves, life cut far too short.  But tragedy causes us to pray, for love and forgiveness to win but also pray and long for our Christ all the more.  And remind us to live desperately and purposefully.  It is a wake up call for us who are prone to spiritually slumber... when in fact this heartbreak is all around us and sin is the reality of the day. 

Election and Democracy

Today is election day and today I will undoubtedly be asked several times, "did you vote?"  Today is our chance to have a say (albeit indirectly) in the decisions that will shape our country and the environment that we live in... that our kids will live it.  It is to that degree, an important day.  However, most will profess that politics and all the hoopla surrounding election day, gets very tiresome, annoying, and disgenuine.  You hear the same ads over and over again and is one reason for the annoyance... but ultimately, I believe it is because today is a day where peoples deep rooted desire to make "much of themselves" as John Piper calls it, comes to a crescendo. 

On one hand, I feel a civic duty to care about my country (which I do), and feel the need to serve the fellow citizens I live with.  God says, give to ceasar what is his and to honor elected officials and within the scope of our environment, being obedient to the government and servicing the country is the faithful and Christian thing to do.  But on the other hand it is very hard for me to fully embrace politics when the message will ultimately be about making much of ones country, ones party, ones main issues, ones candidate, and ultimately and truly about wanting to make much of oneself.  My vote goes more towards that cause than it does to bring an end to injustice, to murder, to inequality, towards economic prosperity (which isnt even that biblical) and more importantly, towards bringing Glory to the only one worthy of it. 

It is a universal reaction to find annoyance in someone who makes much of themselves in speech, and in action... we applaud people who are humble.  This is because there is not a human being on the earth who thinks there is a perfect person in this world.  We are deeply and utterly aware of our imperfections both individually and as a country, race, and species.  Rather we strive for equality, and applaud our differences... rather than speculate and magnify our weaknesses, we celebrate uniqueness and differences as a solution to the obvious annoyance garnered by purely trying to make much of oneself.  We find ways around the obvious truth that we "dont measure up" to still try and make much of ourselves.  This is why for the moderate voter, a party's retoric seems very disgenuine because we know that both parties cant be totally right.  There has to be faults, compromises, and failures in the plans, decisions, and stances of each political party.  During the elections each party with their hyper-partisan stance, will try their best to boast and sell the fact that their issues and their stance matters more... that their solutions will help to make this country great. 

The reality of it is that this country is gravely fallen.  I am proud that to a certain degree, the United States were founded on Christian principles but ultimately, the country is full fallen individuals.  It is a mistake to think that politicians are particularly evil, the truth being that we are all fallen. 

Ultimately, we cannot place our ultimate hope and trust in any government system, party or plan.  God and only God can redeem.  If there was an ultimately absoluteness to the definition of redemption, only God could fulfill it.  He alone is the hope of today, tomorrow, and forever more.  And while we should be faithful to serve our country, our fellow citizens, and community... we need to remember to never to place our ultimate hope in it. 

I am a democrat [proponent of democracy] because I believe in the Fall of Man.I think most people are democrats for the opposite reason. A great deal of democratic enthusiasm descends from the ideas of people like Rousseau, who believed in democracy because they thought mankind so wise and good that every one deserved a share in the government.The danger of defending democracy on those grounds is that they’re not true. . . . I find that they’re not true without looking further than myself. I don’t deserve a share in governing a hen-roost. Much less a nation. . . .The real reason for democracy is just the reverse. Mankind is so fallen that no man can be trusted with unchecked power over his fellows. Aristotle said that some people were only fit to be slaves. I do not contradict him. But I reject slavery because I see no men fit to be masters.
-C.S. LEWIS

You Alone Can Rescue

Simple and pround truths recieved by a humble and broken heart naturally elicits praise.  One of my favorite worship songs:

Who, oh Lord, could save themselves, Their own soul could heal?
Our shame was deeper than the sea, Your grace is deeper still

You alone can rescue, You alone can save,
You alone can lift us from the grave
You came down to find us, led us out of death,
To You alone belongs the highest praise

You, oh Lord, have made a way, The great divide You heal
For when our hearts were far away, Your love went further still
Yes, your love goes further still

but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more - Romans 5:20

Contradictions or Not At All?

I've always wondered if there was a word to describe the apparent contradictions or paradoxes in the bible that in full consumption of truth arent really contradictions at all.  I've called them paradoxes sometimes... or even in some theological circles the word antimony is used - which means mutual incomptability.  Well as far as I am concerned there isnt one.  That may be because it is that hard to really describe the truth of God sometimes.  The truths of God work in harmony to complement each other but incapsulating it with expression such as language, or our human logic... is at times very hard to do  The bible gives us what we need but any fairminded Christian knows that there are obvious mysteries to the nature of our God and how he has revealed and chosen to speak to His people.  God knew our imperfections in advance yet still actively works to advance His kingdom day by day as we see it.  We are called to exercise wisdom and discernment in continually living according to His purposes laid out for us.  Still as a kid wanting to ask his dad "why"... when observing the realities of Christianity here in this life, I am intrigued to do the same. 

You look at the incredible diversity of mankind... in race, in appearance, in beliefs, in environment... what do we attribute this diversity to ultimately?  God is sovereign over all and sometimes I wonder how he has crafted His ultimate plan of redemption and grace for His ultimate glory.  Christians sometimes take these contention points, these paradoxes which many times aren't paradoxes at all and make them rival thoughts or competing doctrines.  There is a balancing act and while most concede that at some point there is a point of mystery it is how far into that mystery (knowingly or not) sometimes we are willing to dive into to claim our positions that become a little harder to judge.  Explaining that mystery sometimes requires a little conjecture, or injection of context the way we see it... and this has lead to trouble for some churches (for example, prosperity gospel churches probably need to inject ALOT of conjection, opinion and "wisdom" to arrive at the conclusions they have).  Some are easy to compare against Gods word while other points hard harder to judge.  We many times are CONVINCED, that this is how God meant it but how could so many spiritual giants of the past, the great thinkers of yesterday, genuine Christians and people who have devoted their whole lives to God... be so different in opinion, or at odds with the our beliefs? 

I sometimes also wonder if God did it this way to keep people like me continually striving and continually engaged, continually in awe.  I tell you the mysteries of the gospel.. and the human reaction to His word and truth facinate me.  The rock solid foundation of the Word is imperative in my life... the absoluteness, the divineness and the ultimate supremacy of God and His word (for me to hold on to) are like treasures to a beggar for me.  It is important to grow and consume the revelation of truth through the Holy Spirit... especially the foundational gospel principles.  At the same time, the questions of todays Christian scholars, the percieved disunity and frailness of Gods word in some cases (as an example... you look at facebook reaction by Christians to the Chick-Fil-A homosexuality issue) intrigue me.  While these are serious issues to work out, I believe God is sovereign over all and sometimes I wonder if he crafted what he's revealed in such a way that it speaks to the differences and diversities, and extreme differences in makeup of believers and non-believers alike, all across this globe.  Or maybe not at all, God certainly doesnt need to cater to and appeal to our detractions, differences, diversity and sinful tendancies to ultimately write His redemption story.   

Such a paradox?  Or not at all?  I wish there was a word to describe it.

Suffering and Struggle

As happiness is the pursuit for many... it is a natural innate desire.   So is the desire to cope and deal with the opposite... suffering, struggle, and fear.  It is a human conflict that at some point in our lives, we must deal with and remedy.  Religion (should you choose to entertain it as a possible remedy) often addresses suffering or struggle in some way... as generalizations: either justifying it and encouraging it in place of a great reward (salvation, favor of God), eliminate it (meditation, prayer), or find protection from it (higher being, prayer or sacrifices).  You would think that the justifications I mention are emblematic of a certain religion, suffereing for reward (Islam), elimination through meditation (Buddhism), or protection (various).  However even within the Christian circle we deal with suffering and the response to it in ways usually indicitive of other religions.  We ask God for prosperity and protect us from suffering... believing Gods plan for his chosen is a prosperous life.. as defined by us... not knowing that it handicaps our spiritual growth.   

Suffering and struggle are a result of sin permeating through this world.  (Romans)  It is a result of sin rearing itself in the human manifestations of fear, unhealthy ambition, hatred, greed, just to name a few.  Even still, there is a distinct and necessary place in Christianity for suffering.  It is part of the redemption story. While God may not necessarily be the creator of suffering/evil (this can be debated) God is never the less sovereign OVER it, and uses it for His ultimate glory, to shape His final story.  He can choose to withhold it in a show of mercy but we are without excuse as suffering ultimately is a result of our sin and rebellion against God.

Suffering was a distinct mark of saints displayed in the bible and as Christ suffered to fulfill the redemption through the cross, so must His saints of today journey the same path to fulfill Christ second coming... the reach of the nations will be done largely through suffering and sacrifice. 

We often believe that we are completely devoid of need for struggle and suffering because Christ suffered FOR us. There is no more debt of suffering to be paid. It is true that our suffering and struggle to the deepest degree could not bridge the gap of our offense or appease the need for reconciliation but if Salvation in its fullest form is reconciliation/justification, sanctification and eventual glorification, then suffering IS a necessary part of salvation. It is encompassed in the act of the Cross and Gods plan for His ultimate redemptive work. It was His intention for us to know Christ and fellowship with him through suffering that we might know Him more and understand the cross more, for us to stay within grasp of it always.

However, God also says, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest".  We are commanded to live without fear and worry... for the great crisis has already been resolved, the ultimate ending already written.  Yet the nature and content of our prayers usually reveal that many crisis still exists in our lives.  When we are crying out for God to invervene in our circumstances, it to an extent reveals where we find our sure footing and our ultimate trust.  Oswald Chambers says, "God expects His children to be so confident in Him that in any crisis they are the ones who are reliable. Yet our trust is only in God up to a certain point, then we turn back to the elementary panic-stricken prayers of those people who do not even know God." God has resolved the great crisis and assured us in Hope of whats to come, yet many times our prayers reveal that we are unable to liberate ourselves from the crisis that is sin permeating in our lives and showing itself through different difficult circumstances. 

At times I feel ashamed knowing that I lack so much faith, showing in the content of my prayers yet, I am confident and almost certain that this struggle is not only known by God but necessarily for God to eventually write His story through his saints.  That "he who began a good work in me will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus" through the growth by struggle/suffering.  He knows our sin nature, our weaknesses and knows the sheep need not only a shepard for protection but a master to craft and mold.  It is then not our job to necessarily live life without words of crisis but to ultimately yield and relent day after day in clear knowledge of the fact that we ultimately lack maturity and faith to trust Him sovereignly and completely... rejoicing completely in our suffering, completely detached from selfish ambition, desires and want of resolved circumstance the way we see fit or even what we deem important.  As David made plain and clear his crisis in life, displaying fear and confusion, declaring his weakness... he also prayed a prayer of praise that God was sovereign over it all... and ultimately, that his SOUL was without crisis.  Deep down we can be stirred, we can be frightening in following and suffering for Christ, but for a Christian who has digested the gospel our SOUL is at rest and without crisis... becuase the only crisis that needed resolving has already been accomplished on the cross. 

In early levels of Christian maturity, we do not understand or grasp what is truly important.  Without understanding the depth of our depravity, from what depth Christ had to grab us from, we are left worrying about things so unimportant in the realm of eternity.  As we mature, we begin to see and appreciate the Grace by which Christ saved us, and the depth of our need already resolved... yet even in this state we struggle with a dual nature, one that finds confidence as heirs, but one that is fighting his sinful nature to worry, to love sin, and rebel from God... it is here we must learn to relent and submit day after day for a desire to love Christ and be more Christlike in thought and mind.  As mature christians, we can then even rejoice in suffering becuase we know that everything else is of little value, crisis or not, and that our suffering will lead to our growth and His eventually coming.. that nations will be reached and saved through the suffering of these Christians. 

Without sounding too much like a cultish doomsday prophet I can confidently say that crisis awaits Christians in some way shape or form in the comming days as we prepare like watchmen for Christ. We shouldn't live life ignoring it then become surprised when it comes but prepare for it in heart, mind, spirit, and soul... so that we can stand firm in God, in Glory of Him.  Suffering keeps us close to the foot of the cross and that is better than life without suffering and without God. 

But it is when a crisis arises that we instantly reveal upon whom we rely. If we have been learning to worship God and to place our trust in Him, the crisis will reveal that we can go to the point of breaking, yet without breaking our confidence in Him."  Oswald Chambers

Salvation

MINDSETS

I hate religious labels.

We are confronted with thousands of decisions every day... And over time we have grown efficient at making these decisions in order to adapt, to survive and thrive.  Our brains are wired this way, we create shortcuts based on the knowledge we've gathered to make daily decisions.  Some people are more systematic, others more impulsive, but either way, our brains compute in a certain manner to fill the gaps in the information. These quick fills create what we call biases, stereotypes and even mindsets… critical judgments based on patterns, expectations etc.. Whatever have you.  Sometimes we group certain peices of information together to form those baises, sterotypes and mindsets which we rely on time and time again unless we allow new information to regroup those thoughts.  In a way, it is a necessary mechanism to thrive in life.  The problem is that we fail to recognize that with so many different minds, experience pools and interpretations, these biases and mindsets dominate our decision making, leading to incorrect decisions on a daily basis.  So in terms of religious labels, when you declare yourself one or the other, a certain mindset takes place for most people.  For a Christian religion that stands for love, peace, and grace we hope those initial associations are positive but this is not always so.  Information is grouped and labeled to a certain brand/description.  A Baptist, a Presbyterian... a Calvinist, and Arminian... a charismatic and fundamentalist.  And without healthy and open-minded discourse, the brands/description and what it stands/what we think it stands for bring up certain points of contention, sometimes immediately.

Don’t get me wrong, I love knowing what I believe in... It is VERY important to seek truth and understand the "labels".  Many times, there IS a right and wrong, a black and white so to speak, especially when you drill down.  But as imperfect people with imperfect minds, people who make incorrect critical judgments daily, I believe we must understand how to use truth, prioritize information and spread/communicate that gospel effectively and lovingly.

PREDESTINATION

Ever since I started following Christ, natural questions always arose in my mind.  And I was hungry to know if a satisfying answer existed.  One of the big ones from a theology standpoint was the issue of predestination and salvation.  I read up on it, search the scriptures, and reasoned in my mind what made the most sense based on the information I had.  I reviewed the different sides and ultimately decided (time to label here) that Calvinist theology seemed the most BIBLICAL (not necessarily the most logical or made the most sense from an blank presupposition point... if such a thing exists).  I mean, Paul, the most influential author of the new testament HAS to be a Calvinist right? (besides the fact the he precedes the theologian the theory is named after) How can you read Romans 7-11 unbaisly and assume anything else?  Right?

However, ultimately I decided this... for some it may be very important to clearly be on one side of the fence or another... but to me it isnt...  the education of election vs free and salvation will usually help to STRENGTHEN ones faith but during the course of  debate and discourse of predestination, there exists potential to create a dangerous environment of conflict due to our human nature and sinfulness. 

Getting into it further, when you drill down the two theologies, I feel as though there still remains a huge element of mystery as to the true character, decisions, and orchestration of God that we cannot know for sure in this lifetime.  Calvinist say that due to total depravity and sin nature, we do not partake in the salvation process... we have nothing notably positive to bring forth to the table.  Salvation cannot be incumbent upon our free and righteous decision, even if it makes up only 1% of the picture.  Jesus's atonement once and for all completes salvation for the elect.  He does not merely create a MEANS... or a criteria of salvation through faith in which we are free to choose... The blue pill or the red pill so to speak. Our faith is given to us through sovereign ordination.

If you drill down further, regardless of the timeline of God's decision to elect and reprobate (supra vs infralapsarianism) you get to the individuals perspective and the issue of foreknowledge and foreordination.  If God knows how we are to respond to the Gospel and his election is based on our response, does that defile, or make less valid saving Grace and the work of the cross?  Or if God foreORDAINS our response (in effect, pre-deciding our salvation) to the gospel (whether it is presented to us or not) does that rob us of our choice and determination, and therefore becomes predestination anyway?  Does one have to truly contradict the other because logic disallows the cohesion and possibility of both at the same time?  I don’t really know if the mystery of Gods omnipotence and the inner workings of how he orchestrates his beautiful redemption story is meant to be cracked in this lifetime.  Is it foreknowledge or foreordination? Within the realm of our existence do we truly exercise free will or are we not autonomous to make decisions ultimately because God is the divine orchestrator and predetermines our salvation response through some sort of mysterious intervention or regeneration?  I get how one logically contradicts the other... or that if God pre-elected salvation and reprobated most even before existence or sin (from the perspective foreknowledged individual yet to be born) that it seems unjust.  Does original sin (however you understand it to be) truly justify supralapsarianism?  It is easy to see why these are points of contentions and sources of disagreement... but perhaps we aren’t truly meant to know the mysteries of His orchestration in this lifetime.  We can always use the basis of scripture but in the end the gaps have to be filled with an element of human logic, understanding or explanation... which is truly divine?  Then my next logical question is, Why has God reveal some things and not others? I will have to wait to ask that one.

You hear individual testimonies, one from a DVD I just watch entitled Nefarious: Merchant of Souls.  A dark yet hopeful look at the sex trade/trafficking industry. A particular story of one former prostitute, at the brink of being murdered and coincidentally or divinly saved... later on she would be raised out of the depth of hopelessness and abyss (that most will never experience) and have a powerful testimony of Grace. When I hear a story like that, I cant help but see a bit of divine intervention, divine ordinance.  A sense of purpose and reason for events that are out of our control and decison making.  Or perhaps it was all chance in the autonomy of free will and God uses the random, the ugly, and weaves a perfect story without preordinance. Or perhaps what is truly random and free will untouched, is also divine ordinance all at the same time.

I bring all this up and believe that most Calvinist and Arminian's alike would agree, that while God desires us to know truth, and exercise our given intellect, more important is the fruit of transcending peace (Philippians 4:7) that of knowing God will bring forth his kingdom and display his magnificent glory through a great story of redemption and ultimately supremecy... regardless of these dogmatic differences.  Only God is God and the mysteries as contradictory as they may be, doesn’t confuse the ultimate truth... that we are still yet sinners and God in His love involved his creation in a beautiful story of redemption through salvation, through the cross... for His ultimate glory and our profound joy.