Shattered Glass

You can’t seem to see past your own reflection
Caught up in the halls of your introspection
And you’re staring at your mirror on the wall
Asking “who is the fairest of them all?”
‘Cause Lord I know, it’s not me
If only you could see
That you’ve already been set free

Well come on, come on
Let’s throw our mirrors down
Yeah come on, come on
Let’s shatter the glass on the ground -Tenth Avenue North

We are concerned people. We are concerned about the economy. We are concerned about education. We are concerned about election. We are concerned about our job, our kids and neighbors. But if we are honest with ourselves, we would have to admit the one we should be most concerned about is the person we see in the mirror every day. If that does not compute – if you don’t see why you are the problem…then you should be really concerned.

 

 The Bible indicates that the problem is me…and the problem is you. We are our own worst problem. Our pride and selfishness; self-pity, self-indulgence, narcissism…this is the problem. We are lovers of self.

Paul in his description of the last days says,

“For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good,  treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God ” (2 Tim. 3:2-4)

It’s a real problem. It is our Big Problem. What do we do? We need to throw our mirrors down. We need to say no to self and yes to the Savior who died proving His love and commitment to us. If we can trust Him for our eternity, can’t we trust Him for today?

Jesus and Valentines

The church has a love-hate relationship with…love. I know that sounds odd, but it is true. Part of this is because of all the ways “love” is understood by our culture and the way the Bible talks about it. Part of the problem is not just because of errors in the world’s culture, but also because of errors in the church’s culture. You see, while we tend to be very aware of how the world is messed up - we are usually blind to our own problems. A few of these problem areas are: relationships, sexuality and emotion.

Relationships

We tend to think of loving one another in the body of Christ as knowing each other’s name, praying for needs from time to time and generally wishing one another well. While that is well and good, it does not seem to fit in with what we see in the book of Acts. The believers in the early church were very close. They ate together. They shared one another’s belongings. “Like birds of a feather they were always together,” said Matthew Henry. This is rare today. We want our separate, personal lives. We don’t want that much intimacy or exposure.

As a result of doing the Christian life alone, many of us are defeated and discouraged. I have been a pastor for a long time (some of my friends would say a very long time), and I know church culture; and we have not been very relational. This is hard to change. I have preaching community for five years but still catch myself being uncomfortable and pulling away – even when I know it is best for all concerned.

Sexuality

I blush talking about it…and that is part of the problem. We tend to be prudish about any mention of sex in the context of sermons, classes or blogs. Interesting: the Bible is not shy at all about sex.  In fact, if I were to say some of the things Scriptures do in my sermon, I could raise all kinds of problems for myself. The fact is, people deal with very real problems in this area – they are hurting - but we all but ignore their struggle because it makes us uncomfortable to talk about.

Emotion 

If I have heard it once, I have heard it a thousand times (in sermons and Christian books) that love is not a feeling. Love is something you do. Okay, I see the point. We should not live by emotions. But who will actually tell their wives this Valentine’s Day that they are giving a dozen roses because it is their duty? The Bible says Jesus felt compassion.

I agree with C.S. Lewis that much of our way of processing the Christian life came from Kant and the Stoics rather than Scripture. We have seen emotion as the enemy. Emotions are not the problem, rather the problem is sin. Sin with a lot of emotions can be a problem.  But in the same way, emotionless love is a problem as well.

What we need is a rediscovery of true, gritty, joyous Biblical love. That kind of love would make would be very satisfying and to those involved and drawing to the world around us. God  made us for this.

Broken Down Faith - Part 2

Broken Down Religion

In my last blog I said about Christians and the church, “We are His beloved and we should be the most free, happy, accepting people on the planet…but somehow that is not our reputation. Why? And what can we do about it?”  Please understand that when I say this it is with great compassion for those who have been laboring in church work. I do not mean to discourage or bash. I say it because I am concerned.

The church has lost its influence. We no longer have what Ed Stetzer calls “home field advantage” anymore. More and more people are opting out of church and feel Christ and Christianity and the Bible are irrelevant. Why? I know the media is a problem. I know we have gotten a bad rap. But, as a pastor who has been intimately involved with the church for 30 years, I would be lying if I did not say, “The king (church) has no clothes.” I think we are a big part of the problem. That is good news because while we cannot change the media, we can change ourselves! What is the reason for our lack of joy and lack of love? What can be done to remedy that situation?

Gospel Poverty

I believe the basic problem we have is gospel-poverty. Although we might be able to articulate the good news to unbelievers, I think we are very weak on articulating it to believers…especially ourselves. Martin Luther said that we need to preach the gospel to ourselves daily. This means that we need to remind ourselves often of our status with God based on the finished work of Jesus Christ. We need to often remember the imputation of Christ’s righteousness for us. We need to continually be cognizant of the reality of our adoption as sons and daughters. This means that we are not slaves in the sense of having no value and worth – but rather that He has written us on the palm of His hand (Is. 49:15-16), that He rejoices over us with singing (Zeph. 3:17) and that He is “Daddy” (Abba, Father Rom. 8:15). Would this bring joy? Of course! It would also bring about something else: a willingness to accept others no matter what sin was in their lives. How?

The End of Self

The way the gospel empowers us to really love others rather than judge them is because having been loved so completely and freely gives us the liberty to be real about our own predicament. We are a mess. We are failures. We are desperately sick and sinful (Jer. 17:9). I know for myself that it is not nearly so hard to admit what a mess I am because now…I have nothing left to lose. Janice Joplin used to sing: “Freedom is another word for nothin’ let to lose”. I never understood that line until now. Although I don’t think Janice Joplin meant it this way, that line means to me that because I am loved and valued and accepted – not based on my goodness or togetherness but solely on Jesus -I am free. I have nothing to lose. I can be honest about who I really am because I am not earning my value, I don’t have to scratch and claw for significance anymore. I have all that and more in Jesus!  You see, we so often think that only unbelievers struggle with a sense of insignificance which results in hiding who the really are…but I have found it is a huge struggle for believers, too. Why is this? It is because somehow we have gotten away from the gospel. What we need is to rediscover the gospel again. We need a Gospel Riot.

Gospel Riot

The church I grew up in is having, in the words of the Pastor, a “gospel riot” right now. Many of the members of that church are discovering…or rediscovering the gospel again as believers. They are finding new joy and freedom. One of these is my mother, in her 80’s. I can see it in her eyes and hear it in her voice. She has come alive again. It is the gospel for Christians.  This is what needs to happen in every church: a gospel riot. Is your church having one? When it happens, there can be true community and powerful mission. Now our interactions are not tinged with fear or self-righteousness…but with freedom, joy and love. When this happens, we could see the greatest Awakening since Pentecost. And it can start with you.