brianrushing.net

By every human standard of reckoning, the cross was a waste — the waste of a young life, a prophet’s influence, and a leader’s potential. We know the secret of its meaning and achievement only from God’s own statements. Similarly, the Christian’s guided life may appear as a waste — as with Paul, spending years in prison because he followed God’s guidance to Jerusalem, when he might otherwise have been evangelizing Europe the whole time. Nor does God always tell us the why and wherefore of the frustrations and losses which are part and parcel of the guided life. Sooner or later, God’s guidance, which brings us out of darkness into light, will also bring us out of light into darkness. It is part of the way of the cross.
–J. I. Packer

Wherever God has guided you to right now, know that the experiences you will have there are not a waste. Even in areas of difficulty you will find that Jesus is there to help you grow in trust and faith and love for Him.

As Walter Wink puts it, “The contagion of holiness overcomes the contagion of uncleanness.” In short, Jesus moved the emphasis from God’s holiness (exclusive) to God’s mercy (inclusive). Instead of the message “No undesirables allowed,” he proclaimed, “In God’s kingdom there are no undesirables.”
–Philip Yancey

And if that is the case, it is our responsibility to take God’s same view – removing all prejudice, bias, and judgment that puts anyone in a “lower” category than ourselves. In fact, the Scripture tells us that we are to put ourselves in the lowest position: “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves.”

Tough to do.
Yet commanded by God.

Father, help me to see others through Your eyes and love them with Your compassion.

Insulated Western Christianity is waking from the dreamworld that being a Christian is normal or safe. More and more, true Christianity is becoming what it was as the beginning: foolish and dangerous. “We preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles” (1 Cor. 1:23).
–John Piper

I hope that you are struggling with God regarding how to live foolishly and dangerously for Him – holding loosely to the things of this world while holding so very tightly onto Him.

Too often we find that we have chosen the opposite – a continued hope and prayer for our safety and blessings and comfort over our radical obedience, no matter the cost, to the Great Commission. I am so glad that so many before us were willing to live dangerously for their belief in Christ. And I pray that God will continue to help me see how to live in radical obedience to His Word, not focused on myself and my insignificant kingdom that will end when I die, but rather that I focus solely on building us His eternal Kingdom.

…in the flesh I keep the law of sin, obeying sensuality rather than reason. Therefore, the desire to do good is present in me, but how to accomplish it, I know not how. I often propose many good things, but because the grace to help my weakness is lacking, I recoil and give up at the slightest resistance. Thus it is that I know the way of perfection and see clearly enough how I ought to act, but because I am pressed down by the weight of my own corruption I do not rise to more perfect things.

How extremely necessary to me, O Lord, Your grace is to begin any good deed, to carry it on and bring it to completion! For without grace I can do nothing, but with its strength I can do all things in You. …Let Your grace, therefore, go before me and follow me, O Lord, and make me always intent upon good works, through Jesus Christ, Your Son.
–Thomas à Kempis

Scripture is clear – we are to obey the authorities. Yes, the human authorities, even if they are not Christian leaders. Until the authorities have given us a command that goes against God’s will, we are to obey them perfectly.

From Paul in Romans: Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment.

From Peter: Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority, or to governors sent by him…. For such is the will of God….

And yet, too often, we continually refuse to obey the laws of the land. We decide that they shouldn’t apply to us. We decide that they are too restrictive. We prefer to see just how much we can get away with – whether on the road with the speed limit (or for me – trouble with wanting to turn every stop sign into a yield sign, so that I can do a rolling stop when no one else is around), or with trying to get away with a few dollars of tax evasion by not being completely honest about cash money received or about what I own or where I live. There are so many ways that we can provide ourselves with “justification” for our disobedience, but very seldom does it have to do with the reason being that we were asked to do something against God.

The Christian freeman will speak thus: I will fast, I will pray, I will do this or that, which is commanded me by men, not as having any need of these things for justification or salvation, but that I may thus comply with the will of…a community or…a magistrate, or of my neighbor as an example to him; for this cause I will do and suffer all things, just as Christ did and suffered much more for me, though He needed not at all to do so on His own account…. And although tyrants may do me violence or wrong in requiring obedience to these things, yet it will not hurt me to do them, so long as they are not done against God.
–Martin Luther

May we each search our hearts to see where we are not being obedient to God by being obedient to our laws and authorities – not for legalism’s sake – but rather as Martin Luther indicates – to be an example to others.