In Heavenly Places

"But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not as a result of works, so that no one may boast." - Eph. 2: 4 - 9 (NASB)

I remember reading Mark Twain's book The Prince and the Pauper (1881) when I was a young teen. It made such an impression on me, especially one of the secondary plots of the story.

For those that don't know the story, young king Edward VI (Henry VIII's son) is one of the main characters in this book (the prince) and a boy born in squalor, spending his life stealing money and food for his alcoholic father and dodging his blows when he didn't bring in enough, is the other (the pauper). Prince Edward sees this young boy (Tom) outside his gate and takes him in, cleans him up and realizes that this child is his double! They trade places "temporarily" - the prince to see what adventure lies outside the gate and the pauper to see what comforts lie within. 

While outside the gate, Edward takes a man into his confidence, Miles Hendon, a man who starts out believing the boy has gone crazy, but who humours his delusions that he is the heir to the throne, to the point of becoming like a manservant to him. He protects the boy from the pauper's father and from the elements of the society which surely would have killed the naive prince. Edward rewards him by granting Miles' request, a privilege Edward did not allow him previously, the right to "sit in his majesty's presence." 

Henry VIII dies and plans are made to place Tom (the pauper) on the throne.

Edward (with Miles' help) manages to return to the palace, interrupt the coronation, prove his identity and assume the throne, naming Tom a ward of the palace. Miles, having been detained by the palace guard, is unaware that Edward has returned to his rightful place. Miles manages to evade the palace guards and attend the last part of the coronation. He fights his way through the crowd and sees the new king in his splendor. He recognizes the boy he had come to know. 

In desperation, he does the only thing he can think to do. He rushes up to the foot of the throne, and sits cross-legged on the floor in full view of the new king and all who are present. There is an audible gasp from the crowd. The guards move in to drag him away, but Edward stops them and says that this man has been granted the right to sit in his presence and has often protected him. 

That scene in the throne room - for me - was the highlight of the story. 

Photo "Father and Daughter"
by photostock at
www.freedigitalphotos.net

To have the right to sit in the presence of the King is a privilege that God has granted to us because of what Jesus did for us on the cross, because of His great love for us (Ephesians 1). Not only does He allow us to sit in His presence, but He brings us to sit with Him in His throne, free of condemnation, safe from all who would seek to destroy us. 

His grace toward us is so complete and so permanent that He states that He HAS saved us. It's already been done! Ages ago!! We are NOW sitting in His throne with Him; this is not some pie-in-the-sky-bye-and-bye promise. Eternal life, the new creation, the reborn existence, begins at the moment we accept all that He has done as enough for us; nothing more can be added to it. Nothing.

We are fully accepted. Fully. 

Being in His throne with Him doesn't give us the right to judge another; that is God's prerogative and not ours. Not even Jesus has that right (John 12: 47 - 49). 

The more we realize how completely accepted by the Father we are, accepted in such a deep way, being loved that much with absolutely no condemnation, the more we comprehend the key to living the life of faith, that abundant life that Jesus promised in John 10:10 and which many of us have given up hoping is possible. A lot of very good things can come in and take the place of what is most important. Those good things can themselves become a form of slavery and detract from the good news of the Way Jesus died to provide.

That Way doesn't come by turning over a new leaf; it comes by Grace.
It doesn't come by behavior modification; it comes by Grace. 
It doesn't come by moral codes and church constitutions; it comes by Grace.
It doesn't happen through being busy in the Lord's work; it comes by Grace. 
It doesn't come by Jericho marches; it comes by Grace.
It doesn't even come by Bible-reading or prayer; it comes by Grace. 

The cart - as usual - is before the horse in the minds of many believers. Focusing on what our lives "should" look like, we try to produce those results without resting in the Grace of God. 

It's a recipe for bondage and burnout. Plus, it's (in effect) saying to God that Jesus' sacrifice wasn't enough. 

Let that sink in for a minute.

I'm not saying that we live in lawlessness and anarchy. Far from it! However, if we get it into our heads that keeping ourselves in the love of God means keeping the commandments, we've missed out on what Jesus died to give us freely.

So I close with a couple of verses from Galatians. And I pray that you and I will take it to heart - every day - with the highest Way (the Way of Grace) in mind.

"It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery. Behold, I Paul say to you that if you receive circumcision [substitute here: "if you follow the rules and regulations"] Christ will be of no benefit to you..." - Galatians 5: 1, 2

Umbilical

Lately I've been discussing the benefits of training for dogs. We've explored how new service dogs are trained from the time they are puppies - 8 or 9 weeks old - to look after people who need help. 

One of the most common ways to train a puppy to walk on a loose leash and let the owner take the lead (i.e., not make the owner feel like the dog is pulling his or her arm out of its socket - I've been there!) is a technique known as "Umbilical." Basically put, it means that the owner attaches the dog to himself or herself and never goes anywhere in the daily routine without the dog attached. The owner doesn't get out of the dog's way; the dog learns to pay attention to the owner, learns to anticipate, learns to depend, and yes, even to dote on the owner because the owner is the dog's source of all things: food, outings, entertainment, companionship, and more. Indoors, outdoors, it doesn't matter. The point of the exercise is to build relationship, to strengthen attachment, and to give the dog the idea that dog and human are inseparable.

Inextricably linked. 

Photo "Red Grapes On The Vine" courtesy
of Stoonn at
www.freedigitalphotos.net

This is the lesson Jesus talked about in John 15. 

"I am the Vine; you are the branches. 
Apart from Me you can do nothing." (vs 7). 

It's not about the leash; it's not about where the vine stops and the branch begins. It's about relationship. 

Complete and utter connectedness. No "trying" to be connected, oh no. No straining or grunting or groaning to "grow" the relationship from our end. 

We aren't the source. We. Just. Aren't. He is the source, and He just flows into us ... whether we are aware of it or not. Whether we can feel His life in us ... or not. It's all His work. We're just along for the ride. 

That's not to say that the life we lead in the Way is not difficult; it is. But it needn't be difficult in the way it often is. A lot of times we get discouraged because we can't keep all the rules and we waste a lot of energy trying to meet expectations - others', or our own. And we tell ourselves that these are God's expectations. But the Word tells us clearly that we are "justified freely" (Romans 3:24) and that we are the righteousness of God in Him. 

No, the work isn't to obey the rules. The work, dear brothers and sisters, is to enter into rest. It is to cease from our own works. It is to realize how great, how deep, how wide and how high His love is for us. It is difficult for our flesh to stay in that place of total openness, where we realize that there is nothing we can do to make Him love us more. He just loves us. Period.

That is the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Relationship. Passionate, intimate, He-loved-me-first, He-loved-me-most, no-holds-barred, laid it all out on His cross LOVE.

Pure. simple. Transformational. 

How can I NOT desire - with all that is in me - to be around Him every moment of every day? 

All that has taken my heart

"Lord, I will bow to You - to no other god
         but You alone...
 Lord, I will worship You, nothing hands have made,
         but You alone.
     I will lay down my idols, thrones I have made,
     All that has taken my heart, oh..
 Lord, I will bow to you, to no other god
     ... but You alone.

     I will lay down my idols, thrones I have made,
     All that has taken my heart, oh..
 Lord, I will bow to you, to no other god
     ... but You alone."     - - Bob Fitts

Yes. Yes there are Christian idols. There are things that take our hearts without us even being aware of them. 

I'm not talking about cars, or sports, or TV, or (fill in the blank that we turn to when we feel empty or bored). I'm talking about right inside the church.

When I first heard Bob Fitts sing the song I've quoted above, I was struck by how humble the man was. How he longed to worship God and God alone. Then I got to meet him and work with him briefly. His attitude in person was full of grace and gratitude. There was no hint of self-serving or arrogance in him. 

I fear that in some areas in church life, we've succumbed to an "American Idol" mentality. We follow superstars, or styles of worship (Hillsong vs Thousand Foot Krutch for example). We hear a worship band and reduce their ministry - which they give to Jesus - down to something that must be applauded, or tell them, "Good job!" (Job?? Really??) We rob them of their heavenly reward by lavishing earthly reward on them. 

Photo "Center Of Church" courtesy of Keerati at
www.freedigitalphotos.net

And that's not all. Idolatry is not just worshipping other gods. Idolatry is also worshipping a version of God that isn't really what He's about. Just like the children of Israel did once - it cost them three thousand lives that day. 

Let me explain. In Egypt, every altar or shrine erected to whatever god was being worshipped at the time had an altar base - a pedestal, if you will - which was made in the shape of Hathor, the goddess of the earth. She was represented by a cow. 

When Moses went up the mountain to get the law from God, the people got restless. "We can't just stand here," they thought. "We have to DO something!" They originally wanted to worship the God that brought them out of Egypt. They pressured Aaron into allowing it. They donated some of the gold they had plundered from the Egyptians and they made an altar base. Naturally it was in the shape of a bovine - a small cow - a calf. 

But it was JUST THE BASE. There was NOTHING ON TOP of the calf. (The Egyptians never did this. All their altars had something on top.) God's people intended to worship the "unseen God" which - they reasoned - was above the altar. But their worship and celebration soon focused on the human-made base upon which they had thought the presence of God would hover. They followed the practices they'd seen growing up (traditions of men). And they moved from a desire to worship God, to saying "THESE are the godS that brought us out of Egypt." 

Can you see the path of degradation into idolatry? 

This is what happens when people think that they can 'add' something to what has already been done for them. The people felt they had to add something of their own, something tangible, to this worship-fest. Just like the church today stumbles over the simplicity of the Good News and feels she has to add to it: the wood, hay and stubble of rules, regulations and ritual (1 Cor. 3: 11-13). 

Idolatry. It's spiritual adultery. 

Rules and regulations and rituals feel good. They make us feel comfortable, safe, like we are doing something for ourselves, securing our place, pleasing God. They take our heart, they steal it away from a life in which He is the centre because of His goodness, mercy and grace. Bit by little bit the focus becomes the altar (what we do or don't do for Him, our own human effort) and not Him. We get into the mindset that in order to please Him we have to appease Him, that is, to keep Him from getting mad at us by doing stuff He likes.

But don't we see? God is already pleased with us. Because of what Jesus did for us, we are already pure, clean, washed, made whole. We are the righteousness of God in Jesus, because He was made to be sin. For us. (2 Cor 5:21) Once for all time, He settled the sin question: past, present, and future. "He,  having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God ... for by one offering He has perfected for all time those that are being made holy." (Heb 10: 12, 14.)

There is nothing we could do to add to that. It's already perfect. The forgiveness is complete, unconditional, absolute. "He is able to save them to the uttermost those who come to God by Him, seeing that He ever lives to make intercession for them." (Heb 7:25). "These things I have written to you that you might know that you have [present tense] eternal life, and that you may believe on the name [or in the authority] of the Son of God." (1 John 5:13).

This is basic stuff; this is the scandalousness - the lavish nature - of God's Grace. But it goes against our human nature. Like the people of Israel at the foot of Mount Sinai, we feel that we can't "just stand there" in the freedom with which Christ has made us free. We have to "do something" ... and in this lies the most dangerous fear-based lifestyle possible - thinking that we have to keep by our own efforts that which God has already freely given. 

So that is what I will lay down. I will lay down the idols of all my own efforts, all my own devices, all my arm-twisting where I try to behave myself so God will answer my prayers, and all my insistence on complicating His free gift, sullying it with my own kindling (wood, hay, and stubble). I will focus instead on His perfect sacrifice for me, and live in gratitude and worship to Him who gave all He had, all He was, for me, and who lives forevermore.

Between His Shoulders

I've been following a new blogger lately. She's been writing about something that to a lot of believers would be a 'ho-hum' topic: Grace. 

When I read what she writes, though, my heart stirs within me because she doesn't just talk about Grace as some theological construct but as a moment-by-moment, vibrant experience that has transformed her life even in the most mundane of experiences. She writes from personal, transformational experience and it's very, VERY hard to argue with that.

Not that I'd want to.

I've written many times about the gullible Galatians who thought they could add to what Jesus had done for them by keeping the law, following the rules, compiling a list of dos and don'ts. And I've said many times that this is the fallacy into which the modern church has fallen. Some have called this the Jezebel spirit - the spirit of religion. It is a very narrow view of a very wide, vast God.

My friend understands that, and for many years she lived in that religious experience. But she also understands and has experienced the truth: that the Christian life is just Jesus. That's it. There's nothing more complicated about it than that. Because of what Jesus did, we are forgiven: past, present, and future. No amount of straining or trying harder will make Him love us more or make us love Him more. It's just Him. Just His Grace. 

Many people I hang around with are actually frightened by that kind of talk. They think that saying that we don't have to DO anything once we are born again is equivalent to a license to sin (you know, "I can do anything I want because God will forgive me so I think I'll just go hog-wild.") I understand that the idea of that kind of Grace wouldn't make sense to someone who still believes more in the depravity of human nature than in God's unconditional love, who is thinking in human terms because human love is so often dependent on what the other person does or doesn't do. But God is bigger than that. His love isn't like our love. His love is limitless, lavish, and totally scandalous in its intensity.

Something my new friend said on her blog recently (in fact, her blog was how we met) struck me and vibrated something inside of me that was just waiting, longing for someone else to "get" this: "I have yet to see a heart that is gripped by God's unbelievable grace that wants to go out and sin. Just doesn't happen like that. No way. No how. In fact, I would have to argue that the opposite occurs!" (Read her whole post here.) 

Photo "Portrait Of A Baby Sheep In The Farm" courtesy of
ponsulak at
www.freedigitalphotos.net

 All afternoon, I've been reminded of an expression I read in the Old Testament somewhere and I knew I had to go look it up. It was a blessing that Moses pronounced on the tribe of Benjamin (which means 'Son of my right hand').  I found it in Deuteronomy 33:12 - "May the beloved of the Lord dwell in security by Him, who shields him all the day, and he dwells between His shoulders."

The picture of God's beloved one dwelling between God's shoulders has stayed with me for a long time ... for the place between His shoulders is His heart. The place of resting close to (or in) His heart takes me to Isaiah 40:11(b) - "In His arm He will gather the lambs and carry them in His bosom..." 

Jesus often used the metaphor of sheep to refer to His followers and He used the contrast between sheep and goats to talk about believers and unbelievers. Though related, sheep and goats are completely different species [and even if a sheep acts like a goat, it's still a sheep. (Just saying.)] Sheep respond to being led... or carried. Goats must be DRIVEN, forced to go where the goat-herd wants them to go. 

Once, we were spiritual goats. We needed to be externally motivated (i.e., given a good swift smack) to behave ourselves. Then we heard the Good News. The Shepherd had given His life for His sheep and offered to make us into new creations. Yes... sheep. A total species change. Only He had the power to do it, and once done, it was done for good. To the uttermost! There was nothing we could do to earn it; He did it all. And there is nothing we can do to keep it. He does the keeping. We have no strength? No problem. He picks us up and carries us between His shoulders, in His heart.

Because He loves us.
So.
Much.