Not All Brokenness is the Same

And you were dead in the trespasses 

and sins in which you once walked... 

But God...  

Ephesians 2:1-2a, 4a

As I write this I am both encouraged and disheartened by the events of this past week.  I have been encouraged by the growing community I am seeing in the Thursday evening Bible study I have the privilege to facilitate.  Yet even as I celebrate the joy of fellowship I am met with the jarring juxtaposition of a teenager who in a rampage wrought with evil has gunned down numerous faculty and students, shattering a community at a high school in Parkland, Florida.  My mind is unable to comprehend all of it at once.  Pain and promise intermingle in sharp contrast within my soul.  

My mind is continually drawn to the images of grief I've only heard about because I just don't want to see it with my eyes.  Yet I do see it.  My heart breaks.  And I am reminded...we all need a Savior.  Every last one of us.  Me included.  I would be the angry, bitter gunman if it weren't for Christ.  I know it.  Because, you see, without Christ I know I would be utterly broken.

On Thursday evening I admired a young woman as she  poured out her heart over her own brokenness.  It was beautiful yet hard to contemplate at the same time.  My heart broke for her while it rejoiced to see her moving toward Jesus, encountering the healing balm that is able restore her soul.

In his letter to the Ephesians Paul describes these new believer's former lifestyle, "you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked..." (Ephesians 2:1-3)  Paul, in one of his letters to his protege, the young apprentice Timothy, describes what looks eerily like the present day circumstances in which we find ourselves.  This, perhaps, is what we understand "dead in the trespasses and sins" to look like today.

You should know this, Timothy, that in the last days 

there will be very difficult times.  For people will love only 

themselves and their money. They will be boastful and 

proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and 

ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred. They will be 

unloving and unforgiving; they will slander others and have 

no self-control. They will be cruel and hate what is good. 

They will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up 

with pride, and love pleasure rather than God. They will 

act religious, but they will reject the power that 

could make them godly.  (2 Timothy 3:1-5 NLT)

I see the mass shooter in these words.  I see the bully up the street.  I see what I could have been (and what I was once accused of my mother as being).  We've all experienced either the sin of other people or our own sin or most likely, a combination of the two trying to beat hope from our equation.  We've watched the beautiful become crushed and broken.  "You were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked."  Dead.  Talk about hopeless!!!

We would find ourselves completely without hope except that Paul interjects the tiny phrase "but God" and everything changes. (Ephesians 2:4)  Instead of death, mercy and love overflow to life.  That's a dramatic change!  So how does this transformation come to be, you ask?  One word.  Believe.  Paul continues:

For it was only through this wonderful grace that we 

believed in him. Nothing we did could ever earn this 

salvation, for it was the gracious gift from God that brought 

us to Christ! So no one will ever be able to boast, for 

salvation is never a reward for good works or human 

striving.  (Ephesians 2:8-9 TPT)

We can't earn access to God's kingdom by our own means.  Let me say that again.  We can't earn access to God's kingdom by our own means.  It isn't that we're not motivated.  It's that we're not able. (I also happen to think we're really not motivated either.  If we're honest, we think doing things for our own glory is pretty incredible.)  It would be an utterly hopeless situation if God had not intervened with His remarkable gift.  Paul tells his Roman readers:  

Stop imitating the ideals and opinions of the culture 

around you, but be inwardly transformed by the Holy 

Spirit through a total reformation of how you think. 

This will empower you to discern God’s will as you live 

a beautiful life, satisfying and perfect in his eyes.  

(Romans 12:2 TPT)

Notice that I highlighted "by the Holy Spirit" in the verse above.  God Himself provides the ability that we lack on our own.

The solution to mass shootings isn't in gun control.  It's not in treatment for the mentally ill or imbalanced.  It's not even taking a holistic approach to reforms.  I've heard so many arguments.  And there is truth to be found in many of them.  But really the thought that comforts my soul is that only real transformation heals the brokenness that lead to horrific scenes of mass carnage.  It is in the sacrificial blood of Jesus Christ that real transformation begins.  We are remiss if we think that mere physical and psychological manipulation of laws and treatments will change anything.  Let's not forget that we aren't able to earn access to the kingdom of God, to perfection, any way but through the blood of Jesus Christ.  Paul puts it this way a few verses beyond where we've been ruminating.   "But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ." (Ephesians 2:13) We were far off, but in Jesus we have been made close, personal part of a community of those who believe...believe in Jesus Christ as the only Savior able to institute real transformation.

You may recall that my initial thoughts as I looked at last week were over the beautiful brokenness of a young woman. Her brokenness stands in stark contrast to the brokenness of the teenager bent on evil.

She allowed herself to share her brokenness peacefully in a community that was safe, a place of refuge carved out by the Holy Spirit. He sought to violently crush the seemingly safe community through what can only be interpreted as revenge.

She allowed Jesus to speak life into her. He, unhappy with his own condition, stole life from the innocent.

She listened to the life-giving words of those who love her. He listened to the raging anger that boiled within him.

The only blood that need be spilled was already spilled for you. Take His life-giving blood poured out for you. It is a gift.

 ...knowing that you were ransomed from the 

futile ways inherited from your forefathers, 

not with perishable things such as silver or 

gold, but with the precious blood of Christ,

 like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.

 1 Peter 1:18-19

In This Race Called Life...

Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. 

They do it to receive a perishable wreath, 

but we an imperishable.  1 Corinthians 9:25

As I write this the 2018 Winter Olympics is under way.  Hundreds upon hundreds of athletes have descended upon PyeongChang, South Korea for the privilege of competing in their area of expertise.  An elite few will walk away with a medal; many more will exit the competition with little more than the satisfaction that they've competed against the world's best.  As the opening ceremonies reached its climax with the parade of nations, I watched Greece enter Olympic Stadium.  The NBC hosts, reading from script I'm sure, reminded the viewers that Greece always heads the parade of nations. This is because the Games were first practiced among the Greek city states.  Many of today's Olympic traditions began in ancient Greece.

Paul was acquainted with the Ancient Olympics and refers to them several times throughout his various letters.  In his letter to the Greek Christians in Corinth he compares his readers to these Olympic athletes.

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but 

only one receives the prize? So run that you may 

obtain it.  Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. 

They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an 

imperishable.  So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as

 one beating the air.  But I discipline my body and keep 

it under control, lest after preaching to others I 

myself should be disqualified.  1 Corinthians 9:24-27

Imagine being likened to Olympic athletes!  Well, you don't have to imagine.  You have been likened to them.  And this presents us with a challenge.  How are we to ensure we are not "disqualified?"  There is not one iota of anything we are able to contribute to salvation which is how we often interpret qualification.  What Paul means here lies more with consistency, I think.  Are you ready?

One of the things I enjoy about watching sporting events on television is the stories behind the stories.  You know, the personal interest stories that broadcasters use to fill time.  These are the stories that inform us of the great personal sacrifice these athletes and their families endure to get them to the Games.  Many are touching.  Some are nearly unfathomable.  But there's always a story to be told.  

Perhaps Paul had heard a version of one of these personal interest stories back in the day.  Who doesn't love a good personal interest story?!?  Or perhaps Paul, in his travels, had observed the disciplined practice of one or more of these athletes.  Either way he sees something constructive for his Corinthian readers.  

Paul has observed that the purpose of training is to receive the prize.  And in his day, only one received a prize...a highly regarded laurel wreath that a winning athlete would wear until the day it faded.  There is a purpose set before the athlete as he trains - that is to win.  He sets aside distractions; he ignores physical pain; he endures thirst and sweat rolling down his back.  His purpose is ever before him.  Isn't it the same with those who follow Christ?  At least that's what Paul suggests to his readers.  In context, Paul wants us to maintain a single-minded focus, that purpose of glorifying God by spreading His fame far and wide, laying the gospel open at the hearts of people everywhere.  Unlike the ancient laurel wreath that was awarded to the athlete as a personal treasure, our prize is an enduring one...to recognize and spread the unrivaled worth of Jesus Christ. The author of Hebrews puts it this way:

...let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin 

which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance 

the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, 

the author and perfecter of faith, who for the 

joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the 

shame, and has sat down at the right hand 

of the throne of God.  Hebrews 12:1b-2 (NASB)

Jesus endured for our salvation; He endured for the perfecting of our faith.  And He was given the reward of union with God at the right hand of His throne.  That is what Paul means when he tells us that we will inherit an imperishable wreath.  (1 Corinthians 9:25)  Peter, while he doesn't specifically write about perishable laurel wreaths from the winner's circle, does tell us that we have been born again with seed that is imperishable, "that is, through the living and enduring word of God."  (1 Peter 1:23)  In other words, Jesus, who is the Word, has bought us with His own blood.  We are His!

Doesn't it seem only right, then, that we would want to follow hard after Christ?  He has done so much for us.  He has saved us from the entangling sins that beset us. We don't have to depend on ourselves.  Jesus has done for us what was impossible for us to do for ourselves.  He clothes us with a new identity - His identity.

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy 

nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that 

you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called 

you out of darkness into His marvelous light; for you once 

were not a people, but now you are the people of 

God; you had not received mercy, but now you 

have received mercy.  1 Peter 2:9-10

So we have our purpose.  But Paul also talks about the process.  We are in the race of our lives.  And we want to win!  While our salvation isn't in question we still want to receive our reward, don't we?  James puts it this way:  "If your faith remains strong, even while surrounded by life’s difficulties, you will continue to experience the untold blessings of God! True happiness comes as you pass the test with faith, and receive the victorious crown of life promised to every lover of God!" (James 1:12 TPT)  It is no secret that life can be hard.  We have an Enemy of our souls who would rather we find pleasure in "lesser things."  That is precisely why Paul tells his readers "Every athlete exercises self-control in all things."  (1 Corinthians 9:25)  And goes on to explain "So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air.  But I discipline my body and keep it under control." (1 Corinthians 9:26-27a)  Paul compares the Christian's life to training as an athlete would compete for the Olympics.  Of all the personal interest stories I have heard come out of the Olympics, not one tells the story of someone who is handed his/her abilities on a silver plate.  These athletes may have abilities but they are useless on a world scale without investing hour upon hour of training, building endurance and skill.  I have a number of friends, as well as my own daughter, who have run in either marathons or half marathons.  I even have a friend who made the U.S. Olympic team a number of years ago but had to pull out of the Games because of an injury.  I have watched relentless physical labor to achieve goals such as this.  If I were to decide to run a marathon tomorrow I can tell you assuredly that I wouldn't get very far, at least not without putting in some time preparing.  Our souls need preparing for this battle as well.  We need to be praying and reading God's word and exercising our faith through our actions and words.  It isn't something we can do alone.  Paul tells us God gives us every tool we need -  in the form of some very special fruit! (Galatians 5:22-23)  Among this fruit is self-control.  It's something that has taken quite some time to develop and there are still times I ignore its pull in my life!  But it combined with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness and gentleness is so necessary to live my Christian life fully.  It is the exercise of this gift, for these components are part of singular gift of the Spirit, that causes us to display Jesus as winsome and worthy and glorious.  And that's the goal!  That's the prize!

I know that I am not running this race called the Christian life in vain.  I have a purpose.  I happily, most of the time, endure the process.  All so I may gain Christ in His fullness!  Every so-called sacrifice I make, every hardship I endure, every time I pour out my life for His I am gaining reward!!!  And it's so worth it!!!  Won't you join me?

More... Together is Better

And let us consider how to stir up one another to love 

and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is 

the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and 

all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

Hebrews 10:24-25

I am naturally an extrovert.  I thrive when I am with people.  Other than my youngest son, the rest of my family operate as introverts.  I call them social introverts because they recognize that they need human interactions and even crave them, just not with the same intensity that I do.  John Donne, a philosopher and poet of 17th century England wrote a poem of which you may have heard.  It's first phrase and the name by which it's called is "No Man is an Island."  As was common with metaphysical poets, John Donne wrote to  shake one out of complacency, embracing thoughts or phrases meant to disarm and provoke.  We find this feature in this poem as well.  He concludes his now famous poem with these words:

Any man's death diminishes me,

Because I am involved in mankind,
And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; 
It tolls for thee.

The thoughts that Donne portrays here leave us thinking that we're all connected somehow.  And it's quite true.  In fact, I would like to suggest that we can't experience the fullness of who God is without each other.  Perhaps that's why the apostle Paul compares the church to a body.

We see the metaphor of the church as a body used in several of Paul's letters to the churches, enough times to warrant some attention!  Let's start with Paul's admonition to the Corinthian church:

 For just as the body is one and has many members, 

and all the members of the body, though many, are  

one body, so it is with Christ.  1 Corinthians 12:12

In this passage Paul tells us that Christ's body has many parts.  In his letters to churches in  Colossae and Rome, Paul indicates that the church is Christ's body:

And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the 

beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in 

everything he might be preeminent.  Colossians 1:18

In the human body there are many parts and organs, 

each with a unique function. And so it is in the body 

of Christ. For though we are many, we’ve all been 

mingled into one body in Christ. This means that we

 are all vitally joined to one another, with each

contributing to the others.  Romans 12:4-5 (TPT)

And in Ephesians we get an idea what this looks like.

And he has appointed some with grace to be apostles, 

and some with grace to be prophets, and some with 

grace to be evangelists, and some with grace to 

be pastors, and some with grace to be teachers.  

And their calling is to nurture and prepare all the 

holy believers to do their own works of ministry, 

and as they do this they will enlarge and 

build up the body of Christ. 

Ephesians 4:11-12 (TPT)

We are not meant to grow in faith by ourselves.  Even as God within Himself is a community, He created us together to bear his image.  I touch on this idea in a blog post from November entitled "The Growing Grace of Spiritual Relationship."  The Bible actually has much to say regarding being together in community, growing together in grace, wisdom and fellowship.

The psalmists refer numerous times to worship in a community setting:

Oh, magnify the Lord with me,

    and let us exalt his name together!  Psalm 34:3

Let this be recorded for a generation to come,
    so that a people yet to be created may praise the Lord:

that he looked down from his holy height;
    from heaven the Lord looked at the earth, to hear the groans of the prisoners,
    to set free those who were doomed to die,
 that they may declare in Zion the name of the Lord,
    and in Jerusalem his praise, when peoples gather together,
    and kingdoms, to worship the Lord.  Psalm 102:18-22

I was glad when they said to me,
    “Let us go to the house of the Lord!”
 Our feet have been standing
    within your gates, O Jerusalem!"  Psalm 122:1-2

There are other instances as well.  Worship is definitely something God desires us to do in community.  The author of Hebrews advocates this rather boldly, declaring:

 Let us hold tightly without wavering to the

 hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to 

keep his promise.  Let us think of ways to motivate 

one another to acts of love and good works. And let us 

not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, 

but encourage one another, especially now that the day

 of his return is drawing near.  Hebrew 10:23-25  NLT

This passage also tells us why community is so important. When we are united with one heart toward Christ we hold tightly to hope better.  We motivate one another.  We encourage one another.  We spur each other to become more like Christ.  Solomon tells us "As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend." (Proverbs 27:17 NLT)  Even my introverted husband recognizes that he does life better when he has someone to whom he can be accountable.

I think there's also evidence that community isn't just for this life as well.  Let's take a peek at Hebrews again and we'll see that there's a crowd of people in heaven cheering us on.  I like the description Eugene Peterson uses with the Message paraphrase of Hebrews 12;1-3:

Do you see what this means—all these pioneers who 

blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on? It means 

we’d better get on with it. Strip down, start running—and never 

quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. Keep your 

eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this 

race we’re in. Study how he did it. Because he never 

lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating 

finish in and with God—he could put up with anything 

along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now he’s 

there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. When 

you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that 

story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility 

he plowed through. That will shoot 

adrenaline into your souls!  

The pioneers, of course, are those faith infused souls that appear in the "Hall of Faith" in chapter 11.  Here's the thing, if you look at the lives of those appearing in the rolls of the faithful and you check out their stories, almost all of their stories contain a community in which they operate.  It's not a fluke!  Our great and wonderful Creator has  knit His relational character into our souls.  And we are unable to display that image of God alone.  We together with those faithful believers who have gone before us more vividly exhibit God's true image than we can ever do alone.

Quite a number of years ago now, Alan and I were at a Bible study together.  We had gotten to the end of the study and were sharing prayer requests.  After a particularly difficult request had been brought to our attention Alan thoughtfully mused, "Wouldn't it be great if we could get a physical hug from Jesus?"  Without missing a beat, Laurie, our pastor's wife replied, "We can!"  The church, you see, is the body of Christ so when we reach out to touch our neighbors we are manifesting Jesus in our actions.  We give the physical hug of Jesus!  In the story of the sheep and the goats, Jesus tells us He is present in the lives of people. (Matthew 25:31-40)  Therefore, our human touch not only represents Jesus but gives to Jesus as well.  

Don't ask me exactly how this all fits.  I'm not sure.  I think some things need to remain a mystery.  But this thing I do know.  God's intention for our spiritual journey is that we do it in community.  To experience more of God we need to share our experience with those around us.  We need to learn from each other.  We need to pray for each other.  We need to be in each other's lives.  It might get messy, but it's so worth it!  In God's economy more of Him means together is better!