Yada yada yaDA...

Have you ever gone to church and watched everything going on and wondered to yourself, "Is this all there is?" 

I have. Sometimes those who have been in the church for a long time can get pretty blasé about the gospel. Yeah, Jesus died for my sins, yeah, the Spirit is in me, yeah Jesus is coming again, yeah, God loves me and has a plan for my life...

Yada yada yada. 

Sometimes it can seem like just words. Sometimes it seems like a total disconnect from reality, the reality of just living life in impossible situations with uncaring, unthinking people and in the face of constant inner pain. Sometimes - if we're rigorously honest with ourselves - we wonder if it's all worth it. Struggling every single minute to keep our heads above water, constantly fighting to "keep the faith" when all around us, the walls are closing in. 

At times like that, it just seems so irrelevant, so unlike anything we are actually going through. And so, in those times we might actually put on that happy face and pretend like everything is great - but we're dying inside and there is a part of us, deep down, that says, "Suuuure. Yada yada yada. Been there, done that, guess it must work for those folks who have a charmed life or something but it sure doesn't seem real to me." 

I listened to a sermon this morning ... probably the best one I've heard in quite a long time ... and that was only PARTLY because it was super short! The young man who spoke said that there are two really super-important statements that people believe (all people, including Christians) which are not true - and that this is quite likely "the lie" that people will believe in the end times: 

1.   I am a good person. (More on this later). 
2.   God is too loving and too caring to punish me. 

I can see a lot of folks nodding right now. Good stuff, you say.

I went to see the man who preached because something he said in passing kind of stuck with me. It was that Christians tend to believe the second more than the first, and then they take carte blanche and go live like - well - like hell. 

I do know people who live that way; that's not my point in this post. (I'll probably get to this in another one.  But later.) 

What I shared with him is that we Christians might not admit to thinking that we are "good people" (again, another topic for another time) but far too many of us Christians believe that once Jesus saves us, it's up to us to do the rest of it on our own, so we try and try and try again. And we fail. Every. Time.

As a matter of fact, the harder we try, the more likely we are to fail. It just isn't in us. There is no possible way that human effort (which is death) can accomplish something spiritual (which is life).

"We CAN'T," I told him. "There is no possible way for anyone to live the way God intended by trying. But we still try anyway." He nodded ... and agreed with me.

We try, over and over and over. And we fail. And we get discouraged, depressed, despairing. Jaded. Yada, yada, yada. 

Photo "Young Couple Standing"
by photostock at
www.freedigitalphotos.net

But did you know that "yada" is a Hebrew word? It's a verb, and it's pronounced Yah-DAW and it means "to know intimately." In fact, about ten times in the Old Testament it is used to describe intimate relations (to "know" someone in the "Biblical sense," as the saying goes). 

It is the word that Paul used when he expressed his heart's desire, "I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but dung, for the excellency of KNOWING Him who loved me and gave Himself for me ... That I may KNOW Him, and the power of His resurrection..." (Philippians 3:8-10)

Knowing someone in that way isn't about buying them expensive presents, or doing impressive feats, or working for that person. No, it's about time spent together. Not so we can "maintain the relationship" but because we want to spend time with the person. 

Just so with knowing Jesus. We grow in intimacy with Him as we spend more time with Him. Not asking for things, no prayer lists, no beating ourselves up because we forgot or were too tired ... just simply gazing at His face, looking into His heart, reading true, unconditional love there and being totally enraptured by Him. Why? because He loves us. He forgave us. He rescued us. He sees us as perfect - yes, perfect!! - because of His sacrifice. He holds us. He fills us. He empowers us. He is with us. He has gone before us. He knows the way ahead of us. He is above, below, around, and in us. And He loves us. Oh yeah, I guess I said that. But I'll say it again: HE LOVES US. Supremely. Unconditionally. Thoroughly. There is not a part of us that He doesn't love. Not one. 

That is transformational. It really is. Oh yaDA!! To KNOW Him!

Paul talked about this process to the Corinthian church. "But we all, with open face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are transformed into that same image from glory to glory, by the Spirit of the Lord." (2 Cor. 3:18). 

Beholding. Not striving, not trying, not resolving. Just beholding. 
Can it be that simple?

Yes. Yes it can. 
The more I try, strive, and resolve to do better, the worse I fail. 

The more I simply focus on Jesus, every moment of every day, simply reveling in His love for me and His forgiveness, the easier and better my life is, the more free I am, and the more I intimately know Him. 

How cool is that!

Walking with Jesus - an easy yoke

It's been building for a while now. My pans (both baking pans and skillets) have been getting older, chipping and peeling, getting crudded up with baked-on grime, bugging me more and more, and today ... well, the dam broke. I bought a whole bunch of different types of non-stick pans and threw a whole bunch out. (That felt really, REALLY good, by the way. I'll explain below.)

Among the pans I replaced were a few cookie sheets. I'm sort of particular about cookie sheets. Back about four years ago, I bought some, took them home and tried to use them. However, when I placed them side by side in the oven, the door didn't close because the handles on the ends were rounded to allow for a better grip, something to hold onto. While this was an interesting idea, it didn't work for my oven!! I had to use one sheet at a time and put the sheet in sideways.

The problem with this is that sometimes I need to use two sheets at the same time. Otherwise, whatever it is I'm cooking takes twice as long. At least. (Example: cookies ... although I use the sheets for much more than that. Like home-made pizza.) Using two at the same time makes it easier for the sheets to fit back into the oven when I have to turn something over (like, for example, oven fries or pork chops.) So I came to see these old cookie sheets that wouldn't fit beside each other as nothing more than a nuisance.

And rather than get rid of these sheets four years ago, I (in deference to my Scottish husband's roots) decided to use them. They were good quality, after all. They were sturdy. But they just didn't fit my needs. 

Well, they've been getting old. And I realized this past week that the non-stick coating on them was scratched and starting to peel. 

So I went for it. 

The funniest things will speak to me spiritually; God gave me my sense of humour and he uses it to speak to me at the oddest times. Because when I said to myself that I could finally put two sheets side by side again, and how it would feel good to just slide that second cookie sheet right into the space it was intended for, my first thought was what Jesus said about His yoke being easy and His burden light. 

Now yokes mean hard work. Picture a yoke and more than likely, you picture a team of oxen or horses pulling this great weight, perhaps a wagon full of people on a hay ride ... or just a load of lumber. 

And burdens mean ... well, they mean burdens!! 
What was Jesus talking about??!? 

Photo "Autumn Avenue" courtesy
of Dundee Photographics at
www.freedigitalphotos.net

When a young ox is in training to work in harness or as part of a team, he is yoked to an older, more experienced ox. But they don't put a weight behind them, just the yoke over their shoulders and the reins running over their backs so that the driver can direct them. The yoke in this sense is not to pull a load, but to teach the younger ox how to walk, how to work together, how to take a turn (left, right), how to take direction from the master, and how to stop. And when a young ox followed the older one's lead, the work was easy. There wasn't a fuss in the traces, no fighting each other. The older ox did pretty much everything and the younger one was along for the ride. Without realizing it, the younger ox was learning to listen.

That was the sense in which Jesus said to take His yoke. Walk with Him, He's been there and done it all ... He even gives the power to walk!! He's accomplished the whole thing; there is nothing left to "do," and if we try in the way we see fit, we'll just make the job harder for ourselves. He has finished it all! Trying to do things on our own takes twice as long (remember the cookies?), is way more than twice as frustrating, and - truth be told - never turns out quite as well even if you DO manage to pull it off ... ONCE. 

Compare that to the absolute joy of reveling in His love, bathing in grace, being enthralled with Jesus and His finished work! Even the things we were taught we were "supposed to" walk in (for example, Ephesians 2:10 - "You are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works...") aren't to be done by striving for anything ("lest anyone should boast.") Check out next few words in verse 10 ... "... [good works] which God has prepared in advance for us ...." What? Just gaze on Jesus and He'll take us where we need to go, give us the power to do whatever He whispers to us, and delights in us no matter what? 

Yep. 

I'm not kidding. It's just that simple. 

I am learning (most of the time the hard way) that it doesn't have to be more complicated than letting our hearts be completely and hopelessly in love with Him. that's it; that's all. No jive.

The tragedy of the prodigal

What a waste.

We see that expression most often when someone has had so much potential and they've chosen to throw it all away and do something to diminish their life - either choose a different career path, get lost in addiction, or commit suicide. 

I'm not going to comment on any one of these. I just state that I hear that expression a lot. And usually when someone in the church talks about it, they are apt to say something about the parable of the prodigal son. 

I read that parable so differently now than I used to. 

True, it's a compelling story of a young man who was wasteful (which is the meaning of the word "prodigal" - in that he took his father's wealth and his own reputation and wasted them in riotous living.)

However, I have come to understand something about this younger brother and about the family he grew up in. His home life had settled into a schedule of work, work, work. Both brothers worked from sunup to sundown on the family farm. The younger one just got tired of the rat race. He wanted something more. He was honest about it. And he went to the only one who had the power to do something about it: his dad. 

With bags and bags of money he set out and yes, he wasted it. He thought of it as being generous to his friends; he didn't see that the only reason people hung out with him was that they could get a free lunch. And when he finally came to himself, he started to see how generous his own father had been to him. In fact, he knew deep in his heart that even the servants got better treatment than his so-called friends (and of course, his employer) were giving him. He came back, only to find out that his dad had never given up on him, gave him the space he needed and knew that one day he would come home. 

The dad had the whole "welcome home" speech pretty much rehearsed in advance - the best of everything and a feast on top of it all! 

And here's the tragedy for the younger son: that it took losing everything he had and the humiliation of coming back ... to realize that ALL that the father had was his. 

But the deeper tragedy lay in wait - at home - this entire time, a ticking time bomb. 

The older son was all about keeping the rules, doing everything that was expected of him, buttering up the old man. When the younger son left, he was outraged ... or was he? Could it have been that he saw this as a chance to increase his father's holdings and therefore have the whole shebang to himself after his dad died? He redoubled his efforts, worked like a slave, did what was expected. 

Photo "Portrait Of Pointing Male"
provided by imagerymajestic at
www.freedigitalphotos.net

And when his brother came home, he was FURIOUS. How DARE this son come back? He knew his father's generosity would mean that he'd put the younger son back in the will. Under Jewish law at the time, the elder son got 2/3 of the inheritance and the younger son(s) would get 1/3. The younger son had already asked for his third. And his older brother was livid that his younger brother would get - in essence - more than his share.

And to add insult to injury, here was his father killing the fattened calf to throw this huge party for this younger brother who had not earned it. "He has wasted his inheritance on prostitutes and loose living..." 

Hmm. I wonder how he could assume that his brother lived like that while he was away; could it have been that he would have, if given that opportunity? He wouldn't allow himself the opportunity, of course. It would mean financial suicide!! He just dreamed of what the younger brother was doing and felt perfectly justified in judging him, vilifying him for having the gall to do what he was afraid to do (because to do that would mean he'd certainly be disinherited. Or so he thought.)

The real tragedy is THIS prodigal. THIS is the more wasteful son: the older brother. He just didn't get it. 

He didn't comprehend how generous, how loving his dad was to both of them. The father's response to his oldest son, when he objected to the party his father had thrown for the younger, was simply, "All I have is yours. All you needed to do was ask." But the older son never could conceive of such lavish love, or that it could be extended toward him. He thought he had to EARN it. He wasted his whole life trying to increase his reward, trying not to lose what his father had so freely given. He never enjoyed himself, never developed any kind of connection with his dad other than the work he did for him. He never knew how much his dad loved him, even though I am sure that the dad told him and found a thousand ways to show him, over and over again. The oldest son just could not believe it.

How tragic. 

How very, very tragic.

Thank You Lord!!

Dear Jesus,
I have so very much for which to be grateful. You've given me such riches: family, friends, a home, a job to pay for it, food and drinkable water in abundance, reliable transportation, access to adequate health care, and so many more things that I take for granted every single day.

But all these pale in comparison with the eternal spiritual blessings you have poured out on me.

I've been thinking a lot about what happened when I passed from a living death to a living life, complete in You in spite of my keen awareness of my own insufficiency. I know that in my own human strength, there is absolutely nothing I can do to make any kind of change within me, as much as I try. It's just not part of my human nature. I fail every day... sometimes several times a day. 

Photo "Loving Father And His Baby" courtesy
of David Castillo Dominici at
www.freedigitalphotos.net

Yet ... You call me Yours!! You were the chief Agent in my adoption into our Father's family. He calls me His daughter. Your Spirit lives inside of me. You think about me, listen for my heart's voice, and You are FOR ME. Constantly. Whether I fail You or not (and I fail You more often than not) our Father sees me as holy and blameless before Him ... because of You. He dotes on me. He watches me with joy even when I am doing absolutely nothing, just because I am His. He is filled with so much joy that He sings over me (Zeph. 3:17). Because of You, Jesus, I can have that totally dependent relationship on Him and I can know He is thrilled by me even when I am sleeping. Just like I tenderly watched my own sleeping babes ... so does He.

I am overwhelmed!!

I cannot begin to fathom why He would choose me in You before the foundation of the world... but He - and You - did. I can barely grasp the concept that You would love me beyond what I could ask or even imagine. And as You very well know, I can imagine a LOT. 

Thank You. I can't begin to thank You enough! Thank You that You finished, once and for all, the sin question. The moment You cried out, "It is FINISHED!" that settled it! Sins - past, present, and future, from every person that had ever lived or who would ever live - all gathered together in one moment of time and You cancelled the debt, Jesus. PAID IN FULL. 

This is not some head-in-the-clouds, esoteric, or abstract concept. It's REAL. As real as the breath that I breathe. This marvelous truth - the truth of Your forgiveness - is so real, so present, that before I even become aware that I've messed up, You've already forgiven me...eons ago. To You, past, present, and future are all the same. In Eternity past You died for me. At Calvary You died for me. And throughout the Ages to come, You are the Slain Lamb standing for me. I am clean - whiter and more pure than snowflakes - not because of anything that I have done. It's all YOU. All I need do is thank You for that forgiveness that is already mine ... because of YOU.

And that's the thing. Thank You SO MUCH that it's not anything that I've done or ever will do. I know me; I would brag, Jesus, even if I only got ONE thing right! I'd get all proud of myself. But You did it all. 

I open myself, all that I am, to being known by You, to getting to know You more and more deeply. I truly could spend the rest of my life, the rest of eternity ... and it still wouldn't be enough time or intensity to worship You and thank You for this incredible gift. 

We ... are family, You and I. And it's all. Your. doing. 

Such unspeakable joy! Hall-e-lu-JAH!!

... and THEN some!!

There's a local department store where, when I shop there, I always get more than what I went in there to buy, because the prices are that good ... which usually means I end up spending more than what I budgeted, LOL.

When I get to the checkout, the cashier always asks, "Did you find everything you were looking for?" And usually I say, "OH yeah. And THEN some!!" And he or she smiles ... or chuckles. 

Contrast that to the small print you see on auto ads that promise a great price (and then you realize in the small print that the price is not per month or even per two weeks, but per week!!) 

It's disappointing when things aren't as good as what was expected or advertised. I think a lot of believers feel like that about relationship with God. Frustrated by rules and obligations, we feel like what we got is not like what was in the brochure. And quite frankly, many of us feel gypped. Disillusioned. And guilty, because we know we "shouldn't feel that way" and we label ourselves "selfish." We beat up on ourselves. We see other believers whose lives appear charmed (is that real or is it a façade and they're up to their eyeballs in debt and family strife??) and we wonder what we did wrong, why we got the dirty end of the stick, why God "has it in for us." Or alternatively, we stick our heads in the sand and tell ourselves lies about how everything is glorious and beautiful, and we hide from the fact that we're lying by calling it "speaking in faith." 

Photo "Sun Ray Behind Dark Cloud"
courtesy of Sura Nualpradid at
www.freedigitalphotos.net

But God isn't less than what has been promised. He's MORE. He is able, the Word tells us, to do exceedingly abundantly above (that's three words meaning SO VERY, VERY MUCH MORE) than we can ask or think, according to (in the same measure as) the Power that works in us (which, by the way, is the same Power that raised Jesus from the dead!!)  And we trot that verse out and claim it ... in our prayers and our declarations and affirmations ... but do we really realize what that means in the every day?? Perhaps some concrete examples would help, because I think that we use it to apply to the temporal things in life, like health and wealth and all kinds of blessing. But let's look at MORE.

He's forgiven us. No, think about that. MORE forgiveness than we could ever handle, already done well in advance so we don't have to beg for it or beat ourselves up with how awful we've been. Forgiveness with no holds barred, no matter how many times we mess up, no matter how deeply we've embarrassed ourselves. No matter how much we think we should feel ashamed of ourselves. Already forgiven. Period. No conditions, no limitations, no standing with His hands on His hips saying "tsk, tsk..." NONE of that. 

He's not only forgiven us, He's made us new, declared us righteous. Seriously!! We are absolutely new before Him at all times. I know, you might say that I just got through saying that. But there is a subtle difference between sins forgiven and having a whole new nature, being recreated completely so that there is no blemish in us, unbroken, unbreakable fellowship with Him. No exceptions. (Can it be??) We are "chosen in Him before the foundation of the world ... holy and without blame before Him." (Ephesians 1)  These are often hidden facts, hidden in a smokescreen of dos and don'ts, pray this, go to that service, assume this posture, wear these clothes, etc., etc. 

The awesome truth is that after we are God's adopted children, recreated in Christ Jesus, we don't have to "ask" for forgiveness when we mess up; it is ALREADY OURS! we simply thank Him for the provision that has already been made once and for all!! We are so grateful for such great love that would find a way to approve of us, dote on us, and welcome us into His presence any time, any place, whether alone or in the presence of one or more people.

It boggles the mind.

Meditate on those wonderful, simple truths (being already forgiven and being declared righteous and blameless before Him because of His great love, being accepted and loved lavishly by Him - not in some abstract way but in a very personal, very moment-by-moment way, like a new parent watches his or her sleeping baby!) and it won't be long you can feel "it." Realize how deep His grace goes and there is a kind of giddy, bubbly thrill that permeates your being; you just can't help it! All the "buts" clear away in the simplicity of the pure gospel of Jesus. Joy, pure delight cannot help but result! 

Those of us who have grown up in the church sometimes lose sight of the "easy yoke" Jesus places on us. We get bogged down in this and that project, this and that need, this and that doctrine or prayer focus. We get distracted by how our lives don't "measure up" to the end result that is expected of us, and we can lose sight of the simple fact that none of that means anything at all without our relationship with Jesus being the centre of everything. We put the cart before the horse and wonder why it never goes anywhere. 

Jesus is the source. Jesus loves us. He (the Truth) has already made us free, forgiven, accepted, loved, embraced, and spotless before Him. That's everything I've been looking for. 

And THEN SOME.

Join me in highest praise!
Woo-HOOOOOOOO!!! :D 

Faith - God's gift

"For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast." - Eph. 2:8-9

I've been thinking a lot lately about how and why it is that we humans tend to think that having a relationship with God has anything to do with what we do. 

It doesn't, you know. 

But somehow we fall into that trap door that Cain fell into. You remember Cain. Abel's brother, Adam's boy. Yeah, him. He got the notion that being acceptable to God was the way to have a relationship with Him. He figured if he could prove he was worthy enough, he'd be a shoe-in. On the other hand, Abel his brother knew that there was nothing he could do to secure God's favour. And so he did what his mom and dad told him was the only way (how else would he have known if not for the story of God clothing them with animal skins?) ... he sacrificed the best and purest of his flock. 

But Cain didn't get it. He didn't - or better put, he wouldn't understand that it wasn't about impressing God. In his mind, it couldn't be about resting in the one provision God made! He had to DO something! And when God told him that it wasn't acceptable - instead of doing what was acceptable (he already knew; he just could not accept it!) - Cain got angry. VERY angry.

We know the rest of that story.

Down through history we've done it over and over: we (individually and collectively) have tried to twist God's arm into paying attention to us. 

It never ends well. 

The apostle Paul was very meticulous about the simplicity of the gospel (some would say that in trying to show how simple it was, he made it sound so complicated!) His main concern was to show people that all they needed to do was believe in the authority of Jesus, the authority that His death bought and paid for, as our only way to a relationship with God. That's it, that's all. 

God is the One who thought up the notion of salvation. He's the writer and the completer of our faith. He didn't do it as a "Plan B" when Adam sinned; no, Jesus was our sacrifice and we were chosen to be in Him from before the foundation of the world. 

As the beginning Bible text shows, even the faith that we place in Him doesn't come from us. It comes from Him!! He gives to every person, the Bible says, the measure of faith. The same measure. Whether that person is an atheist or a Buddhist or whatever other kind of ist, every person is given that gift. But that gift (faith) alone does not automatically result in salvation. Like a seed, it depends on where it is planted. 

The process of bringing someone to salvation is accomplished by God. Jesus said in John 6:44, "No man can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him."

Pictures sometimes help us grasp how this works. One picture is of a lifebuoy, a red and white ring thrown to people who are in distress in the water. They can choose to grab it. Or not. Of course that analogy breaks down when you think about those who are too weak to hold on!! 

Photo "Ring With Stone" courtesy of
Boykung at
www.freedigitalphotos.net

Of all the examples I could pick perhaps it's best to think about the example of a proposal of marriage.

The suitor has been wooing the intended for a while. And then the question is popped.

There are only two answers. 

Yes. 
No.

Yes takes the faith that has already been given, the knowledge of who the Lover is, of His character, His love, and trusts that love, rests in it, accepts the offer freely made. It's as simple as that. No strings, no buts, no ands, and no ifs. 

No means that the offer is rejected. 

It doesn't have to be more complicated than that.

I really don't need to get into all the theology in that description of the marriage proposal. The gospel can be understood by very small children. I've seen that understanding take place and watched a child as young as three years old ask Jesus to be her "special Friend." Believe me when I say that this child's whole attitude changed in that moment, and God has had His hand on her life ever since. 

Adding to that simplicity takes away from the beauty of it. 

Barry MacGuire's old song, "Cosmic Cowboy" (1978) gives another example:

I met a cosmic cowboy ridin' A Starry range
He's a supernatural cowboy and he's dressed-up kinda' strange
And at first, I didn't see him  being out there on the run
Yeah, but that ol' hat that he's wearing is shining brighter than the sun
And, when my eyes adjusted to the flashing of his smile
Hey, I saw his invitation: Say, come-on Barry, we'll go riding for awhile...

Cowboy of the night, Shooting rainbows through the night

We rode along together For more 'n half-a-day
Riding through the changing weather   Sky was all turned gray
Chilly winds were blowin'   Oh, the cold was cuttin' deep
Yeah, then it started snowin'  Trail was getting' steep
I was just about to turn-around  Head back the way we came
Somehow, without a sound   I heard him ... call my name

Cowboy of the Light   Shooting rainbows through the night

And looking up, I saw that we was high upon this ridge
And he took me by my arm  and led me right over to the edge
Hey, I was so scared I couldn't find a single word to say
You know, there's  ten-thousand feet of empty air
And it's just about an inch away!

But - a, billion miles was out beyond the waving of his hand
I was looking through his eyes right into another land

Cowboy of the Light shooting rainbows through the night

He said, this is my Father's ranch as far as you can see
He made it out of nothin' every branch and every tree
The stars, all the mountains, rivers and streams
The oceans, the fountains, and, the valley of your dreams
I know that place you're lookin' for
That place you long to be
Truth is, I'm the only door
You're going to have to pass ... through me

Cowboy of the Light shooting rainbows through the night

Bending back, I tipped my hat to look him in the eye
But he just smiled, and gave me confidence
And said, "Go-ahead and try!"
It was now-or-never and I, I knew I had to start
So, I took that step, and  I went fallin'
Straight in through his heart!

The first thing that I noticed coming out the other side
Hey, all my fears had vanished ...
He taught me ... how to fly!

Cowboy of the Light shooting rainbows through the night

Ahhh yeah, there's a cosmic cowboy and, he rides a starry range
He's a supernatural cowboy, He is dressed-up kind'a strange

And to think I, I nearly missed him being out there on the run
But, that old hat that he's wearing, it's shining brighter than the sun
Yeah, and when my eyes adjusted to the flashing of his smile
I saw his invitation, He said, come-on Barry
We'll go riding for awhile!
 
Cowboy of the Light, Whooo! Shooting rainbows through the night

Ha-ha-ha-ha, Ahhh!

Cowboy of the Light shooting rainbows through the night...
 

It's God's idea, God's initiative, God's calling, God's wooing, God's invitation. Once we say yes, it's God's Spirit in us, God's power in and through us, God's faithfulness in spite of us, and .... 

One more thing.  He always finishes what He starts. 
Always.

Lover of my soul

I had the all-too-rare opportunity to drive my vehicle this morning. Usually my husband drives it, but this week I'm on vacation and so, when we stopped in town and he went to work, I slipped behind the wheel and started back toward home. 

Photo "Couple At Sunset" courtesy
of piyaphantawong at
www.freedigitalphotos.net

Since I was alone, I decided to have some music; there had been a CD in the stereo and I wondered if it was still there. It was! The first song I heard was one I remembered as having slightly re-written. The words are really, "Jesus, lover of my soul; Jesus, I won't ever let You go... " and so forth. I'd changed the focus of these lyrics - for me - because there is no way I can promise not to let go of Him. I don't ever want to let go of Him - of course - but if my connection to Him depends on my own efforts, I'd have been sunk long ago. Oh, it's easy to say that I won't let Him go - especially when I am on top of the world, feeling wonderful, and things are going the way I want them to go.

But oftentimes I am not, and things are not so rosy. My feelings change with the circumstances. They change with what others tell me, how others treat me, with what I tell myself and how I treat myself. 

I don't want to make a promise to Him that I have no guarantee of being able to keep. I'm just not that strong. I'm not that sure of myself. However, I am sure of Him. His love, His grace, His perseverance. I know that He who began a good work in me will be faithful to complete it (Phil 1:6). I depend on that. Every. Day.

So, to fit with my experience and with the doctrine (no, that's not a dirty word) of the Good News (that is, all of Jesus and none of me), I had changed the lyrics slightly: 

Jesus, Lover of my soul -
Jesus, You won't ever let me go!
You've taken me from the miry clay,
You set my feet upon the Rock 
And now I know

I love You, I need You -
Though my world may fall
You'll never let me go - 
My Saviour, my closest Friend
I will worship You until the very end.

I so needed to sing that to Him this morning. I needed to remember that no matter what happens, Jesus is the One who loves me, all of me, all that I am or ever become, and that He is faithful. He will never. never. NEVER let me go. 

When I am weak.
When I am sad.
When I am weary.
When I am frustrated.
When I am sick.
When I am discouraged.
When I am grieving.
When I am busy.
When I am angry.
When I am hurt.
And more.

He holds me. He loves me. He takes care of me. He listens to me. 

He has already forgiven me, made me clean, declared me without blame. (Ephesians 1) Unconditionally!! All of this just to spend time with me, know me, and help me to know Him in greater and greater intimacy. Jesus, Lover of my soul ... Jesus, You won't ever let me go.

Such great, great Love!!

Wanting from within

Aesop wrote a fable about a man walking down the road with a cloak on, over his clothes. Meanwhile, the sun and the wind were arguing about which was more powerful (well, mostly the wind. Which is a whole other post!)

So the sun suggested a contest. "Whichever of us can get the man to remove his cloak is the most powerful." The wind agreed. "You go first," the sun said.

So the wind blew and blew. The man pulled his cloak around him tighter. Not wanting to appear to have lost, the wind blew harder. The man braced himself against the force of the wind, and held even more tightly to his cloak. 

Then it was the sun's turn as the wind gave up. The sun remained where he was, and shone brilliantly, heating the air - and the man - with his rays. Soon the man began to mop his forehead. He loosened his cloak and finally stopped and removed it, draping it over his arm before continuing on - with a smile. 

Photo "Silhouette Of People On Hill" courtesy of
moggara12 at
www.freedigitalphotos.net

The moral of the story was that one can accomplish more with kindness than with force. I'd go a step further and apply this fable to the modern church. And by modern I mean anything after 900 AD.

The wind in this fable is the tendency to judge, to make someone conform to a strict moral code and then punish that person when he or she doesn't toe the line. This is most often attempted by the manipulative act known as shaming. (Yeah, you've had it happen to you. And like me, you've probably done it to others too, and felt completely justified in doing so ...) The problem with shaming is that it NEVER works. Instead, it causes the person to withdraw or move away, to try to appease and become a chameleon (not being real is never a good idea), or to confront or take out their anger and hurt on that person or group. I could do a whole post on this too. But not today. :)

The sun, by contrast, is the love and grace of God, the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, and the compassion of Jesus. This is an internal motivator. 

God doesn't shame us. He accepts us. He has made us "accepted in the Beloved." (Ephesians 1:6). He loves us ... and this great love (that is the cause of Jesus' sacrifice on our behalf) makes it possible for Him to call us His children! (1 John 3:1)

In fact, His grace goes so very deep that Paul, after exploring how deep it is in Romans 5:8-11, addresses in Romans 6:1 the one fear I have heard so often expressed by "people of the wind" - how it's possible (and they can't accept this possibility in their works-based theology) to abuse God's grace by continuing in sin!! But Paul has just finished chapter 5 by implying that such a presumptuous lifestyle would be possible, given the depths of God's grace: "...where sin abounded, grace did much more abound..." (5:20)! His response to that hypothetical question is immediate. In chapter 6:2 (in that confusing Pauline language because well, he's Paul and he used to be a Pharisee, what can I say!!) he responds, "Of course not!! Why would you want to?" (Judy's paraphrase there...)

And that is just the point. Why would you WANT to?  Wanting to is the whole point, the whole reason why God made a way in Jesus to escape the consequences of our own inability to rescue ourselves. He wanted us to want Him. Not because He was holding our feet to the fire - that would be such bondage!! Grace - because God is the most - had to be the most anyone could imagine and then way beyond! This is the whole idea behind the scripture, "...the love of Christ constrains us." (2 Cor 5:14) That word "constrains" means "motivates from within" or "strains from inside or alongside." And that isn't something we drum up, working ourselves into a frenzied lather like the prophets of Baal did on Mount Carmel, trying to impress God with how holy we are. "In this is Love. Not that we love Him, but that HE LOVED US and sent His Son to be the propitiation [the wrath-taker] for our sins." (1 John 4:10). 

He did it. HE did it!! 

This full and free grace frees us. Completely! It buys us back (at SUCH great cost!!) from the slave-trader and makes us completely right with God, no holds barred, and declares that we are no longer slaves. Why would we want to go back to that kind of life, trying to keep with our own efforts what we could never have paid for in the first place? 

Wouldn't it be so much better to let the Sun shine in?