Tuesday, May 6, 2008
The Barbarian Way
Robert the Bruce was the Scottish noble whose character is most remembered for betraying [William] Wallace, but he later rose up to lead Scotland to freedom after Wallace's execution. He died in 1329 at the age of fifty-four. Shortly before his death, Robert the Bruce requested that his heart be removed from his body and taken on crusade by a worthy knight. James Douglas, one of his closest friends, was at his bedside and took on the responsibility. The heart of Robert the Bruce was embalmed and placed in a small container that Douglas carried around his neck. In every battle that Douglas fought, he literally carried the heart of his king pressed against his chest.
In the early spring of 1330, Douglas sailed from Scotland to Granada, Spain, and engaged in a campaign against the Moors. In an ill-fated battle, Douglas found himself surrounded, and in this situation death was both certain and imminent. In that moment Douglas reached for the heart strapped around his neck, flung the heart into the enemy's midst, and cried out, "Fight for the heart of your king!" One historian quoted Douglas as shouting, "Forward, brave heart, as ever thou were wont to do, and Douglas will follow his king's heart or die!" The motto of the Douglas clan to which the present duke belongs is even to this day simply, "Forward."
Although anyone who understands the heart of God knows that the Crusades were a tragic lesson in missing the point, the power of this story awakens within me a primal longing that I am convinced waits to be unleashed within everyone who is a follower of Jesus Christ. To belong to God is to belong to His heart. If we have responded to the call of Jesus to leave everything and follow Him, then there is a voice within us crying out, "Fight for the heart of your King!"
Yet Christianity over the past two thousand years has moved from a tribe of renegades to a religion of conformists. Those who choose to follow Jesus become participants in an insurrection. To claim we believe is simply not enough. The call of Jesus is one that demands action. Jesus began His public ministry with a simple invitation: "Come, follow me." His closing instruction to His disciples can be summarized in one word, "Go!" The tribe of Jesus, above all people, should rightly carry the banner, "Forward."
I know the imagery of this story is nothing less than barbaric, but maybe that's the point. The invitation of Jesus is a revolutionary call to fight for the heart of humanity. We are called to an unconventional war using only the weapons of faith, hope, and love. Nevertheless, this war is no less dangerous than any war ever fought. And for those of us who embrace the cause of Christ, the cost to participate in the mission of God is nothing less than everything we are and everything we have.
Strangely enough, though, some who come to Jesus Christ seem to immediately and fully embrace this barbarian. They live their lives with every step moving forward and with every fiber of their being fighting for the heart of their King. Jesus Christ has become the all-consuming passion of their lives. They are not about religion or position. They have little patience for institutions or bureaucracies. Their lack of respect for tradition or ritual makes them seem uncivilized to those who love religion. When asked if they are Christians, their answer might surprisingly be no, they are passionate followers of Jesus Christ. They see Christianity as a world religion, in many ways no different from any other religious system. Whether Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, or Christianity, they're not about religion; they're about advancing the revolution Jesus started two thousand years ago.
This is the simplicity of the barbarian way. If you are a follower of Christ, then you are called to fight for the heart of your King. It is a life fueled by passion--a passion for God and a passion for people. The psalmist tells us to delight ourselves in the Lord, and He will give us the desires of our hearts (Psalm 37:4). When Christianity becomes just another religion, it focuses on requirements. Just to keep people in line, we build our own Christian civilization and then demand that everyone who believes in Jesus become a good citizen.
Its' hard to imagine that Jesus would endure the agony of the Cross just to keep us in line. Jesus began a revolution to secure our freedom. The new covenant that He established puts its trust not in the law, but in the transforming power of God's Spirit living within us. The revolution of the human heart would fuel the life and vitality of this movement. We would delight in God, and He would give us the desires of our hearts. With our hearts burning for God, we would move forward with the freedom to pursue the passions burning withing us. (Erwin McManus, The Barbarian Way)
Monday, May 5, 2008
Romans 2:16--"...on the day when, according to my gospel, God will judge the secrets of men through Christ Jesus."
Men will finally be judged by their own thoughts, which either accuse them of guilt or defend them according to the good which they have done; for then not words or works, which might deceive, but their own inner-most thoughts witness concerning them publicly, just as these now witness in them, telling them what they are and what they have done. From our own (guilty) conscience certainly only accusing thoughts can come, because our works are vain before God, unless He himself is efficacious in us by His grace. We of course, may easily excuse ourselves. But that does not mean that we have satisfied God or fully kept His Law. But from whom, then, do we obtain the thoughts that (truly) excuse us? Only from Christ and in Christ; for if the conscience of a believer in Christ reproves, accuses and condemns him as an evil-doer, he quickly turns from himself to Christ and says: “He has atoned for my sins. He is just and my Justifier, who died for me. He has made His righteousness my own and my sins His own. But if He has made my sins His own, then I no longer have them but am free from them. And if He has made His righteousness my own, then I am righteous because of His righteousness, for He is God, blessed forever.” Far greater is He who defends me than that which accuses me, indeed, infinitely greater. God is my Defender, while my heart is my accuser (Luther's commentary on the Epistle to the Romans [2:16]).
Sunday, May 4, 2008
"My Father was a Wandering Aramean..."
Ok, so you're probably wondering what the heck is the above quote all about. It is based on a sermon given at Mars Hill Church on 10/27/07. Before I begin, I would like to explain the meaning behind it and get some feedback from you about your story.
The quote is actually derived from the book of Deuteronomy, chapter 26 (v. 5). Just to give you a little bit of a background, the book of Deuteronomy is located at the end of the first 5 books of the Law (or the Torah) in the Old Testament. The Torah was the law given to the Israelites when they were brought out of Egypt. It was given to a generation who had been wandering in the desert and God was going to bless them. Right now in the story however, they are poor. They have very fresh memories of oppression, suffering, and slavery. God is going to bring them into a new land, but he tells them that when they enter that new land, when He blesses them and gives them a new life, He wants them to remember Him (vv. 1-9). He basically says, "When I bring you to this new place, it is going to be a great temptation to forget your story."
When the Israelites enter the new land, possess it and live in it, God wants them to say three things:
1. (v. 3) "I declare this day to the Lord my God that I have entered the land which the Lord swore to our fathers to give us."
God wants them to declare that they have entered the new land and what God has done for them. Sometimes we are tempted to believe that God doesn't want to bless us, that we should feel guilty for what we have. But God delights in taking these refugees, these people that have suffered and pours out His blessings on them.
So what is God asking? He is asking them to take the fruits of their blessing (v. 2) and declare that God has blessed them and kept His promise (v. 3).
2. (v. 5) "My father was a wandering Aramean, and he went down into Egypt and sojourned there, few in number; but there he became a great, mighty and populous nation."
Another translation reads, "My father was a homeless refugee..." Now think down the road. Hundreds of years have passed since Egypt and the Israelites wandered in the desert and Israel has become a rich and powerful nation. God is essentially saying to them, I want you to always remember your story: you were once a homeless, wandering refugee. Never forget your story. Remember the Egyptians subjected you to hard labor and there is pain in your story. God wanted Israel to never forget that pain. He wanted them to always remember their story, to remember that time of suffering in their past.
(v. 7) "Then we cried out to the Lord..." Israel had reached that place of desperation; that time when they had no other hope. Part of their story was not just to remember their suffering, but that time when they cried out to God.
(v. 8) "And the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and outstretched arm and with great terror and with signs and wonders." They were not only to remember their pain and their crying out, but also God's great deeds. So when they came into the land, they not only declared it and told it with all its pain, but they were also to declare what God had done for them.
3. (v. 13) "I have removed the sacred protion from my house, and also given it to the Levite and the alien, the orphan and the widow..."
When they bring their first fruits and put it in a basket (v. 2), that food is given to the Levite, the widow, orphan, and alien. The Levites were those who were, by decision, unable to care for themselves because they were too busy caring for others. The widow, orphan and alien, by their circumstance, were unable to care for themselves. So God is essentially saying to these wandering refugees, "When you come into this land, when I bless you as I have promised to do, I want you to not only declare what I have done, but of who you are. I want you to tell your story. Then I want all of that fruit, all of the results of your faith to work out for justice, for the weak and poor--for others."
The question then becomes, will they remember that their father was a wandering Aramean? God is basically telling the Israelites, "Years from now things are going to go really, really well for you and I know human nature." Human nature is when things go really, really well--you forget God because you are fine and everything is going great. Human nature is also when you crash and burn and say, "God where were you?!" and God's response would probably be, "Where were you?! Because I've been here the whole time." So human nature is when things go really well, we simply forget.
What does it all mean? Don't forget your story! Because when you are prosperous and successful every force around you is going to want you to think that it is all about you and you are going to forget just how bad it was. You are going to forget God's grace and that life is a gift.
How do you keep your story alive? By extending to others what God has extended to you. In extending grace to somebody who needs it, you are reminded what God has done for you. Face it, there are times when all of us have said, "What do I have to do with that person?" Or, "What do I have to do with those people over there in that country?" Why care about them? Because God says that when you become successful, when everything is ok, it will be very easy to forget about what it was like back then in your own life.
So what is your story? What has God done in your life (big or little)? What are those events that have shaped you? How has God touched your life? Was it through a car accident, illness, surgery, death of a loved one, bankruptcy, divorce, or recovery from an addiciton? Or perhaps was it through something beautiful like being loved by another when you didn't deserve it, being forgiven, supported, the birth of a child, or perhaps seeing the strength of someone else who is suffering?
Is there pain in your story? Is there suffering? Was there ever a time when you just cried out to God? What is your, "My father was a wandering Aramean...?" It can be brief or long, anonymous or named. I'd love to hear your story.
The quote is actually derived from the book of Deuteronomy, chapter 26 (v. 5). Just to give you a little bit of a background, the book of Deuteronomy is located at the end of the first 5 books of the Law (or the Torah) in the Old Testament. The Torah was the law given to the Israelites when they were brought out of Egypt. It was given to a generation who had been wandering in the desert and God was going to bless them. Right now in the story however, they are poor. They have very fresh memories of oppression, suffering, and slavery. God is going to bring them into a new land, but he tells them that when they enter that new land, when He blesses them and gives them a new life, He wants them to remember Him (vv. 1-9). He basically says, "When I bring you to this new place, it is going to be a great temptation to forget your story."
When the Israelites enter the new land, possess it and live in it, God wants them to say three things:
1. (v. 3) "I declare this day to the Lord my God that I have entered the land which the Lord swore to our fathers to give us."
God wants them to declare that they have entered the new land and what God has done for them. Sometimes we are tempted to believe that God doesn't want to bless us, that we should feel guilty for what we have. But God delights in taking these refugees, these people that have suffered and pours out His blessings on them.
So what is God asking? He is asking them to take the fruits of their blessing (v. 2) and declare that God has blessed them and kept His promise (v. 3).
2. (v. 5) "My father was a wandering Aramean, and he went down into Egypt and sojourned there, few in number; but there he became a great, mighty and populous nation."
Another translation reads, "My father was a homeless refugee..." Now think down the road. Hundreds of years have passed since Egypt and the Israelites wandered in the desert and Israel has become a rich and powerful nation. God is essentially saying to them, I want you to always remember your story: you were once a homeless, wandering refugee. Never forget your story. Remember the Egyptians subjected you to hard labor and there is pain in your story. God wanted Israel to never forget that pain. He wanted them to always remember their story, to remember that time of suffering in their past.
(v. 7) "Then we cried out to the Lord..." Israel had reached that place of desperation; that time when they had no other hope. Part of their story was not just to remember their suffering, but that time when they cried out to God.
(v. 8) "And the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and outstretched arm and with great terror and with signs and wonders." They were not only to remember their pain and their crying out, but also God's great deeds. So when they came into the land, they not only declared it and told it with all its pain, but they were also to declare what God had done for them.
3. (v. 13) "I have removed the sacred protion from my house, and also given it to the Levite and the alien, the orphan and the widow..."
When they bring their first fruits and put it in a basket (v. 2), that food is given to the Levite, the widow, orphan, and alien. The Levites were those who were, by decision, unable to care for themselves because they were too busy caring for others. The widow, orphan and alien, by their circumstance, were unable to care for themselves. So God is essentially saying to these wandering refugees, "When you come into this land, when I bless you as I have promised to do, I want you to not only declare what I have done, but of who you are. I want you to tell your story. Then I want all of that fruit, all of the results of your faith to work out for justice, for the weak and poor--for others."
The question then becomes, will they remember that their father was a wandering Aramean? God is basically telling the Israelites, "Years from now things are going to go really, really well for you and I know human nature." Human nature is when things go really, really well--you forget God because you are fine and everything is going great. Human nature is also when you crash and burn and say, "God where were you?!" and God's response would probably be, "Where were you?! Because I've been here the whole time." So human nature is when things go really well, we simply forget.
What does it all mean? Don't forget your story! Because when you are prosperous and successful every force around you is going to want you to think that it is all about you and you are going to forget just how bad it was. You are going to forget God's grace and that life is a gift.
How do you keep your story alive? By extending to others what God has extended to you. In extending grace to somebody who needs it, you are reminded what God has done for you. Face it, there are times when all of us have said, "What do I have to do with that person?" Or, "What do I have to do with those people over there in that country?" Why care about them? Because God says that when you become successful, when everything is ok, it will be very easy to forget about what it was like back then in your own life.
So what is your story? What has God done in your life (big or little)? What are those events that have shaped you? How has God touched your life? Was it through a car accident, illness, surgery, death of a loved one, bankruptcy, divorce, or recovery from an addiciton? Or perhaps was it through something beautiful like being loved by another when you didn't deserve it, being forgiven, supported, the birth of a child, or perhaps seeing the strength of someone else who is suffering?
Is there pain in your story? Is there suffering? Was there ever a time when you just cried out to God? What is your, "My father was a wandering Aramean...?" It can be brief or long, anonymous or named. I'd love to hear your story.
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