Categories
Relationships

Safe, Not Soft.

a soft cottony dandelion seed headPreviously I wrote about how Jesus wasn’t safe. (But that He is good!)

And while it may be true that Jesus is not safe, the church does need to be a “safe” place for people to come with their brokenness.

Too often, though, we think that being a safe place means we have to be “soft.”

No so. Jesus certainly wasn’t.

Jesus loved people furiously, without ever being soft on their sin. We have to love people furiously as well, at the same time holding a serious view of behavior that is not God-honoring.

“Abhor what is evil.” A gospel-centered community acknowledges the presence of sin and welcomes the confession of sin. But a truly gospel-centered community never reduces the severity of sin. …When God saves us, our attitude toward sin changes. Sin doesn’t become easier to commit; it becomes more despicable to us than ever. …Abhorring what is evil in the context of community requires true love–love that dares to inflict “the wounds of a friend” (Prov. 27:6).

The weakest, saddest, most hypocritical form of pseudo-love is the kind that sees someone in danger and simply hopes everything works out in the end. Is it judgmental, ruthless, or wicked to correct your children when they’re doing things that are dangerous for them? Normal parents would never watch their kids play in the street and just hope they don’t get hurt: “I know it’s dangerous, but look how happy they are. They seem to be having so much fun.” Our ferocious commitment to their safety and success, along with a heart full of genuine love, drives us to endure the often unhappy experience of disciplining our children.

In the same way, gospel-formed believers take responsibility for confronting those who claim to be Christ-followers and yet continue to sin. Church leaders must strive to create environments that are “safe but not soft”… environments that embrace people in their brokenness while guiding them to wholeness in Christ. [from ‘Creature of the Word’]

Let us reject pseudo-love in all our relationships.
Let us not be cruel by withholding the truth just to protect feelings.
Let us be safe, but not soft.

Categories
Christian Living

Jesus Is Not Safe.

artwork of aslan movie poster - the not safe lionFor a birthday gift last year, Paige “commissioned” an artist to paint a lion along with one of my favorite quotes from ‘The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.’ It is found in the discussion when the children are asking about Aslan, the Christ-figure in the story:

“Is he a man?” asked Lucy.

“Aslan a man!” said Mr. Beaver sternly. Certainly not. I tell you he is King of the wood and the son of the great Emperor-beyond-the-sea. Don’t you know who is the King of the Beasts? Aslan is a lion – The Lion, the great lion.”

“Oh!” said Susan, “I’d thought he was a man. Is he – quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion.”

“That you will, dearie, and no mistake” said Mrs. Beaver; “if there’s anyone who can appear before Aslan without their knees knocking, they’re either braver than most or else just silly.”

“Then he isn’t safe?” said Lucy.

“Safe?” said Mr. Beaver; “don’t you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.”

Aren’t you listening? He’s a Lion! Of Course He Isn’t Safe!
But He’s Good.
What a remarkable description.

Jesus is not safe.
Choosing Him will cost you your life!

C.S.Lewis discovered this in his own life when he wrestled with Jesus over belief.
He discovered that Jesus was not safe. It cost Lewis his life.
All of a sudden his mind was filled with wanting to discover more about Jesus and write about Him and talk about Him. His life was consumed with this unsafe King.

But Lewis also discovered something else remarkable about Jesus along his journey.
That Jesus is Good.

He may not be safe, but He is the only One who can control your life without destroying it.
Not even you can do that.
What a Great King!

Jesus is not safe… But He is good.
And He is worth it.
You can trust this Unsafe King with your life.

Categories
Christian Living

Giving Up Good Things to Obtain the Best

We all want to live the good life. We want good things.

The problem is that sometimes we chase after the good things, and this pursuit keeps us from finding the best things. There is only so much time in a day. Only so much time in a life. And when we spend our time and our lives focusing on the many good things out there, we may miss out on what is best. What if instead, we narrowed our focus to the best things and only pursued those?

Here’s my simplistic example: There are a lot of good books out there that I can read. Many people will tell me about a good book they just read. Some will even hand me their copy and tell me to take time to read it. But there are also some great books out there! Many of them tested by time and having garnered many awards. And so with the limited time I have, I can fill my reading time with many of those good books, but in doing so, I will be unable to read the best books. So I have tried to make a conscious effort to say “No” to the good to make sure I have time to say “Yes” to the best. But it takes determination and effort to keep the good from crowding out the best.

The pursuit of the good life in America hinges on success, wealth, fame. But many people who have sought and obtained that “good life” have found it to be empty and unfulfilling at the top. God tells us what will bring us the best life – pursuing a life that pleases Him. But again, this takes determination and effort to keep the “good” of the American dream from crowding out the “best” of God’s dream for me.

My American notion of the good life is for money and safety and comfort and happiness and the fulfillment of every desire of my heart. But if God tells me that His plan is best, then shouldn’t I drop my notion and try to fulfill every desire of God’s heart?

To meet His desires, it will take determination and effort as I will have to learn to give up my “good” things for His “best” things. The life of a Christian is about constantly giving up my notions and embracing His notions.

It seems counter-intuitive, but since He made the universe, this world, its rules, and me… I figure He understands the difference between “good” and “best” better than I do.

So what do I need to give up today in order to find a bit more of His best for me?
What about you?

And on another note… Many of my posts have to do with me trying to craft something around a quote or thought from something I read and thought was important. But when I can’t figure out a good way to craft around a quote, it can keep me from writing for a few days as I start an idea, re-write it, trash it, etc. So when that occurs, I’m going to try to stop worrying about it so much, and just give some of them to you at the bottom of my post, even if they don’t tie in to the post at all! Just consider it lagniappe! (some of you will have to look that word up!)

Today’s Unrelated Quotes from ‘Creature of the Word’:
“Compassion linked to the gospel is compassion that goes beyond merely observing hurting people; it sees hurting people and realizes that Jesus loves them furiously.”

“Ultimately, then, it’s not our compassion but the compassion of Jesus that fuels and sustains our desire to act on others’ behalf. When we remember how gracious and compassionate Christ has been to us, our compassion is as sustainable as our remembrance of the gospel.”

“Without Him, compassion will slowly but surely devolve into a weepy moment that we forget as soon as the commercial ends or someone breaks the mood with a joke.”

How well does your remembrance of the gospel sustain your compassion?

Categories
Christian Living

My Un-Righteous Life

I wish I could say I that I was a good person. But unfortunately this is not true. Now it is true that if I decide to compare myself to others, I find that if I choose the right people to compare myself to, I can make myself feel pretty good. I just have to make sure to pick comparison people who don’t make me feel bad.

But in reality, it doesn’t matter who I compare myself to… Because the only real standard is Jesus. And when I compare myself to Him, I always come up un-righteous.

But fortunately I don’t have to stay there.
God has made a change in me through Jesus, and He has brought me into His family. Now I’m one of the “called out ones.”

“The called out ones.” The word is plural. Believers, therefore, are placed in community with others for one reason: because God has called them out of their former ways of life. Everyone in the community is deeply sinful. Everyone is called by the same God. And everyone has been mercifully placed in community together. So why pretend we’re more than we are if everything is built on Jesus’ righteousness and not our own? Why the need to be fake? The gospel frees us to be authentic, to admit that our struggles and strengths have not been fully sanctified, and to allow others to apply the grace of God to areas of our lives that desperately need it. When community is honest and authentic, people begin to experience freedom from wearing a mask, because Jesus sets people free from the need to be hypocrites.
        We all possess the same amount of righteousness — none.
The only righteousness any of us have is the righteousness God freely gives to us in Christ.

And it is because of that righteousness that I get to be a part of His family. The community we find in His family is one that brings freedom. I now have freedom and liberation to be myself. I am no longer forced to find people to whom I have to compare just so I can feel good about myself. Knowing that I have a righteousness before God through Jesus brings me an amazing sense of satisfaction and joy.

You can have that same joy, liberation, and satisfaction.
Seek out His righteousness and His community.

(How has your relationship with God given you a sense of freedom?)

Categories
Relationships

Designed for Community, pt. 2

As I mentioned previously, you were designed for community.

You were designed to have both an intimate relationship with God and intimate relationships with others. Without both, you will never find complete satisfaction in life. Here’s another great quote on community from “Creature of the Word”

…The reason most community is shallow in our world is because it’s built on temporary foundations. The reason most relationships don’t last is because they’re built on commonalities that change over time.
When the common bond changes, the relationship changes. If you’re married, you see this happen immediately when you have kids. You once had friends you would hang out with late at night, but now you can’t do that. Even if you get a babysitter, you’re not staying up till 1:00 in the morning, because your kids are waking up at 6:50 and you’ll be exhausted.

If you play sports with a group of guys, and if nothing deeper than your love of basketball binds you together, that community will weaken and likely disappear if you blow out a knee and can’t play anymore. If relationships aren’t built on something deeper than finding good restaurants, working at the same company, or having kids in the same activities, they will change whenever the common bond is no longer there. Community is only as strong as what it’s built upon. And nothing is as strong as the gospel.

The gospel is the deepest foundation for community. What connects believers is the reality that we were all very messed-up people, broken before a holy God, yet rescued and given new life in Christ. What unites believers is deeper than anything that can divide.

A unity that is deeper than anything that can divide.

That’s what I want.
That’s what I long for.
That’s what I need.

A community built on the strongest foundation.
A community built on the gospel.

Make sure that you are a part of that community!

(How have you found this to be true? How have you found that the community you have with others through the gospel is deeper than anything that can divide?)