In a recent interview the rock star Dion, whose songs included "The Wanderer" and "Runaround Sue" described the difference between license and responsibility. He noted that license gives us permission to do something whether or not it is good for us whereas responsibility gives us the freedom to do as we ought. It was only after becoming a Christian that he began to understand the distinction between the two. He then observed that as young children we don’t have the freedom to choose. Decisions are made for us. It is only as we begin to take responsibility that we obtain this freedom.
Today we live in a world that focuses on rights rather than responsibility. Alexandr Solzhenitsyn, in his 1978 Harvard graduation address, remarked that “The West ended up by truly enforcing human rights, sometimes even excessively, but man's sense of responsibility to God and society grew dimmer and dimmer.” During the intervening years, the situation has not improved. People are often forcefully talking about their rights. But when was the last time you heard anyone speak as forcefully about their responsibilities? Our government gives us many rights. Unfortunately they are more closely related to license than to responsibility. We can think of many examples. For instance, we have the right to obtain a divorce, but it doesn't mean that we ought to do so. We have the right to have an abortion, but it also doesn't mean that we should. We have the right to go out and get drunk, but it's certainly not the best thing to do. Rights are tied to license. In most cases they are related to what we legally can do. But rights can become terrible task masters when we focus too much upon them. They can gain control over us. By focusing on them we easily become their slaves.
On the other hand, responsibility, because it deals with what we ought to do, is more connected to morality. Responsibility gives us the freedom to choose to do what is right. Unlike rights, it is not directly related to what we legally can or cannot do. Responsibility allows us to choose to do what is proper and what we should. In both Solzhenitsyn’s and Dion’s eyes, rights and responsibility are the antithesis or each other. It is difficult to maintain both at the same time. Rights focus on “me” whereas responsibility focuses on “others”. Rights focus on what I can legally do whether I should or not. Responsibility focuses on what I ought to do in given situations. Responsibility brings freedom because it involves the commitment of the will. Perhaps the reason we hear so little about responsibility these days is because of its tie to morality. The society in which we live is consumed with being free to do what they want, not what they ought. Our compulsive obsession with rights has enslaved us to the point that we are no longer free. We have bought into the mantras of women’s rights, minority rights, gay rights, freedom of choice rights, and whatever other rights we can think of. This obsession has led to the victim society in which we live. Instead of taking responsibility, it is much easier to blame someone else.
Solzhenitsyn and Dion imply that until we put more emphasis on responsibility than rights we will never solve the problems which face society today. Until we do, we will never be truly free. But we can’t expect society to change its focus unless we do so first. Ask yourself, “Do I focus more on my rights or my responsibilities?” The answer will tell you a lot.
Friday, February 27, 2009
Making God Visible
Philip Yancey, in a talk given on the topic of prayer told the story of Joanna, a woman of the South African Colored race who with her husband lived near one of the most notorious prisons in South Africa. This particular prison housed the most violent criminals. Conditions inside were horrible. As many as fifty people were housed in the same cell, with rows of bunks three high in addition to mattresses on the floor. The prisoners were allowed outside the cell only one hour a day. Bathroom facilities consisted of a single garbage can inside the cell. The stench inside the prison was overpowering. Violence was an everyday occurrence. The year prior to Joanna’s involvement at the prison, violence had to be quelled three out of every four days. Then Joanna felt God calling her to minister to the prisoners who were incarcerated in that prison. A year later there were only two incidents of violence during the entire year. Something miraculous had happened. The British Broadcasting Corporation was so intrigued by what had gone on that they filmed two documentaries on the prison and what had happened there. When Yancey, on a trip to South Africa, met with Joanna, he asked her how she had been able to do the work of God inside that prison. She replied that God was always present there. She only made him visible.
She only made him visible! God is present in the slums, the refugee camps, and the prisons. He is present in Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan. He is present in our slums, our ghettos and our drug houses. He is present in New Orleans and in the Mississippi and Louisiana towns not yet rebuilt in the aftermath of Katrina. He only asks that we make him visible.
We can easily ask the question “How do we make God visible?” There is no precise answer. There are many ways. For one person it may be going down to the Katrina ravaged south and helping rebuild a poor widow’s home. For another it may be sitting with a friend who is dying or listening to someone who is facing a difficult situation. For a third, it is befriending an at risk child. It may be taking a meal to a family who has experienced grief. There are as many ways as there are people. But each has one thing in common – demonstrating the love of God to those in need.
. When one of his disciples asked Jesus to show them God, he replied “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say ‘Show us the Father’?” (John 14:9). Jesus was making God visible all along. When John the Baptist, languishing in prison sent a message asking if Jesus was the Messiah, Jesus told John that the blind see, the lame walk, the sick are healed, the deaf hear and the gospel is preached. Jesus was demonstrating the love of God to those in need. By healing and loving people he was making God visible and showing that he was the Messiah. He visibly did the things the prophets said the Messiah would do.
God calls us to make him visible too. Today we live in a society that has little use for God. Religion is being removed from the public square. People are becoming less and less knowledgeable about God. In such a society, many people will only see God through us. Joanna definitely made him visible. As we look at our lives, are we also making God visible?
She only made him visible! God is present in the slums, the refugee camps, and the prisons. He is present in Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan. He is present in our slums, our ghettos and our drug houses. He is present in New Orleans and in the Mississippi and Louisiana towns not yet rebuilt in the aftermath of Katrina. He only asks that we make him visible.
We can easily ask the question “How do we make God visible?” There is no precise answer. There are many ways. For one person it may be going down to the Katrina ravaged south and helping rebuild a poor widow’s home. For another it may be sitting with a friend who is dying or listening to someone who is facing a difficult situation. For a third, it is befriending an at risk child. It may be taking a meal to a family who has experienced grief. There are as many ways as there are people. But each has one thing in common – demonstrating the love of God to those in need.
. When one of his disciples asked Jesus to show them God, he replied “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say ‘Show us the Father’?” (John 14:9). Jesus was making God visible all along. When John the Baptist, languishing in prison sent a message asking if Jesus was the Messiah, Jesus told John that the blind see, the lame walk, the sick are healed, the deaf hear and the gospel is preached. Jesus was demonstrating the love of God to those in need. By healing and loving people he was making God visible and showing that he was the Messiah. He visibly did the things the prophets said the Messiah would do.
God calls us to make him visible too. Today we live in a society that has little use for God. Religion is being removed from the public square. People are becoming less and less knowledgeable about God. In such a society, many people will only see God through us. Joanna definitely made him visible. As we look at our lives, are we also making God visible?
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Magnets
As a young child I spent many hours at my grandparents. They had a couple of small magnets that had dogs glued on top of them. I spent hours playing with those magnets. When the dog’s heads were face to face, they repelled each other. It was only when head to tail that they attracted each other. Most children have enjoyed playing with magnets at one time or another. As adults, there are many times when we are thankful for a magnetized screwdriver. As I grew up I learned how magnets work. When the same poles of two magnets are placed next to each other they repel each other, pushing themselves away. It is only when the north pole of one magnet is next to the south pole of another magnet that they attract each other. It is interesting that the same pair of magnets can either attract or repel. Electromagnets also use this magnetic principle. When the current is on they act as a magnet. When it is off they have no effect at all.
As we live our Christian lives, I wonder how much we act like magnets. We have the capability of attracting, having no effect upon, or repelling others. We are to live our lives such that others, seeing how we live, are attracted. They should want to know what makes us different. They should see something in our lives that intrigues them so that they want to know more.
Unfortunately this is not often the case. The father of Indian independence, Mahatma Gandhi, is reported to have thought very highly of the Sermon on the Mount. Yet he never became a Christian. He said that the reason he didn’t become a Christian was because of Christians. In other words, what he saw in the lives of the Christians around him repelled him. Many of the young blacks I met during the late 1960s and early 1970s rejected Christianity because they viewed it as the main thing that held them back for three hundred years. Their view of Christianity and the church repelled them instead of attracting them.
In identifying with Christ, our lives are to be transformed. The transformed lives of the early Christians became a strong attraction to men and women living in the Roman and Greek world of the 1st and second centuries AD. The early Christians demonstrated love to all people, no matter their race or economic status, whether slave or free. Many of them had their lives totally changed following their conversion to Christ. People were attracted to them. Their transformation allowed them to go out and change the world – even in a world where they were outlawed and persecuted.
Whether we like it or not, as Christians we are like magnets. We can either attract people to Christ or repulse them. To a large extent it depends on how others see us living our lives. Like the early Christians, we also are to live transformed lives. Our relationship with God should make us different from those around us. Through us, people should be drawn to the God we serve. Will we who live in the 21st century have the same effect on the world that the church did during the first two centuries of the Christian era? To a large extent the answer will be found in our answer to the following question: As I live my life before God and the people around me, do I attract them to him, do they have no idea I am even a Christian, or do I repulse them?
As we live our Christian lives, I wonder how much we act like magnets. We have the capability of attracting, having no effect upon, or repelling others. We are to live our lives such that others, seeing how we live, are attracted. They should want to know what makes us different. They should see something in our lives that intrigues them so that they want to know more.
Unfortunately this is not often the case. The father of Indian independence, Mahatma Gandhi, is reported to have thought very highly of the Sermon on the Mount. Yet he never became a Christian. He said that the reason he didn’t become a Christian was because of Christians. In other words, what he saw in the lives of the Christians around him repelled him. Many of the young blacks I met during the late 1960s and early 1970s rejected Christianity because they viewed it as the main thing that held them back for three hundred years. Their view of Christianity and the church repelled them instead of attracting them.
In identifying with Christ, our lives are to be transformed. The transformed lives of the early Christians became a strong attraction to men and women living in the Roman and Greek world of the 1st and second centuries AD. The early Christians demonstrated love to all people, no matter their race or economic status, whether slave or free. Many of them had their lives totally changed following their conversion to Christ. People were attracted to them. Their transformation allowed them to go out and change the world – even in a world where they were outlawed and persecuted.
Whether we like it or not, as Christians we are like magnets. We can either attract people to Christ or repulse them. To a large extent it depends on how others see us living our lives. Like the early Christians, we also are to live transformed lives. Our relationship with God should make us different from those around us. Through us, people should be drawn to the God we serve. Will we who live in the 21st century have the same effect on the world that the church did during the first two centuries of the Christian era? To a large extent the answer will be found in our answer to the following question: As I live my life before God and the people around me, do I attract them to him, do they have no idea I am even a Christian, or do I repulse them?
Labeling Others
Sue von Fange, in an article on singleness in the church notes “At times we all tend to think that by labeling someone we’re excused from relating to them because they don’t fit into the same category as we do.” Unfortunately, we are great labelers. Whether its race, politics, religion, economic status, or lifestyles we naturally try to label other people. It helps us define who they are. But labeling both gives us control over them as well as giving us an excuse to avoid taking them seriously. Living in an area which is heavily influenced by academia, we face the constant temptation to look down on those with lesser degrees, lower economic status, or lesser jobs. Labeling can negatively affect our relationships with neighbors, co-workers and even fellow church members. But when we label people in this way we miss out on so much that we can learn. It really is a form of profiling, which God looks upon with great disapproval.
Two incidents in my life stand out in stark contrast to this pattern. Shortly after beginning my graduate studies in seminary, several of us students visited a coffeehouse located in a church in downtown Chicago. The church had hired a poor elderly black man who was a wino, one who had spent years on the streets, to be their janitor. Part of his job was to be at the church when the coffee house was open. That evening, for three hours, he kept us spellbound as he told us of life in the inner city. Here we were, a group of bright, up and coming white seminarians from suburbia and rural America being taught about life on the streets by a poor elderly black drunken inner city wino. As we sat at his feet, we learned a lot about life that evening. Forty years later I still recall that evening with a sense of awe. It would have been so easy to dismiss him because of his status in life. But had I done so, I would have missed so much. This experience has had a definite impact in how I have viewed and treated people through the years.
The second incident was shared by a friend who had been named as the department chair at a prestigious university. Shortly after their arrival, his five year old son was fascinated by the garbage collectors as they made their rounds. He had never seen this before. When his father came home from a day of teaching he said with wonderment in his eyes “Dad, do you know what I wish you were – a garbage collector.” Position meant nothing to his young son. My friend related that it taught him humility. As humorous as his story is, it has a point. Value doesn’t require status, and labeling is an acquired skill. We often learn it from our parents and associates. This can occur overtly or subjectively.
We also become very adept in labeling other Christians. We refer to them as Baptist, Catholic, Lutheran or Methodist, etc. While it can define them, oftentimes it is a way of labeling as well. My mother-in-law’s family and friends came out of the pietistic reform movement in the spiritually dead Scandinavian state churches of the late 19th century. My wife, Juanita, recalls overhearing her mother’s friends say many times “Well so and so is Lutheran, but I think they might be Christian.” Another form of labeling!
How much we miss when we label people in order to avoid, ignore or discount them! To what extent are we teaching our children to label others by the way we live? How much more could our lives be enriched if we treated everyone as a person of worth and value? What labels do you need to peel off and throw away?
Two incidents in my life stand out in stark contrast to this pattern. Shortly after beginning my graduate studies in seminary, several of us students visited a coffeehouse located in a church in downtown Chicago. The church had hired a poor elderly black man who was a wino, one who had spent years on the streets, to be their janitor. Part of his job was to be at the church when the coffee house was open. That evening, for three hours, he kept us spellbound as he told us of life in the inner city. Here we were, a group of bright, up and coming white seminarians from suburbia and rural America being taught about life on the streets by a poor elderly black drunken inner city wino. As we sat at his feet, we learned a lot about life that evening. Forty years later I still recall that evening with a sense of awe. It would have been so easy to dismiss him because of his status in life. But had I done so, I would have missed so much. This experience has had a definite impact in how I have viewed and treated people through the years.
The second incident was shared by a friend who had been named as the department chair at a prestigious university. Shortly after their arrival, his five year old son was fascinated by the garbage collectors as they made their rounds. He had never seen this before. When his father came home from a day of teaching he said with wonderment in his eyes “Dad, do you know what I wish you were – a garbage collector.” Position meant nothing to his young son. My friend related that it taught him humility. As humorous as his story is, it has a point. Value doesn’t require status, and labeling is an acquired skill. We often learn it from our parents and associates. This can occur overtly or subjectively.
We also become very adept in labeling other Christians. We refer to them as Baptist, Catholic, Lutheran or Methodist, etc. While it can define them, oftentimes it is a way of labeling as well. My mother-in-law’s family and friends came out of the pietistic reform movement in the spiritually dead Scandinavian state churches of the late 19th century. My wife, Juanita, recalls overhearing her mother’s friends say many times “Well so and so is Lutheran, but I think they might be Christian.” Another form of labeling!
How much we miss when we label people in order to avoid, ignore or discount them! To what extent are we teaching our children to label others by the way we live? How much more could our lives be enriched if we treated everyone as a person of worth and value? What labels do you need to peel off and throw away?
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Know Thyself
The dictum “know thyself” has been attributed to Socrates. He held this as one of the two guiding principles of life. His statement alludes to a life of examination. But his statement misses one vital aspect of life. In his novel "Father Elijah: an Apocalypse", Michael D. O’Brien states “No man knows his own soul so well that he is invincible to the tactics of the enemy, no man.” Not only must we know our strengths and our gifts, but we especially must know our own weaknesses. In warfare, it is important to know the weakness of the enemy. That weak spot becomes the focal point of the attack, for it is there that the enemy can best be defeated. Likewise, if an attack can be launched at a point where the enemy least expects it, the likelihood of success is greater. This was an important aspect in the success of the “D” Day invasion at Normandy.
The devil is at warfare with the church. He knows our weaknesses, often better than we know them ourselves. He exploits these points of weakness in order to strike out against us and defeat us. These are the places where we are most vulnerable. They are the places where we are most likely to fail. He also knows the areas where we think we are invincible. In those areas he can also catch us off guard. When we think we are safe we can easily succumb to the danger of pride. This became a vulnerable point for many of the high profile church leaders who have fallen over the past few decades. They forgot to examine their weaknesses. The results were tragic for their ministries. Jesus told the disciples that they would all abandon him. Peter’s denial of Jesus a short while after his declaration that even if everyone else left, he, Peter, would never leave shows how little he knew himself. The statement “pride goes before a fall” is poignantly true.
Unfortunately, we are not invincible and we often fail. For this reason it is especially important for us to know the areas where we are most likely to succumb to temptations. By knowing them, we are less likely to be caught off guard when temptations do come our way. Knowledge of our weaknesses will provide a hedge of protection around us. Having that knowledge in front of us when the temptations come helps us to reject the temptation. If we then succumb to it, it is because it is an intentional act. We must also understand the areas in our lives where we can become prideful. This helps us to maintain a humble attitude.
In order to avoid the twin dangers of being caught up either in temptation or pride we must truly know ourselves. We have to examine the areas of our lives were we are most likely to fail. This isn’t always easy. We don’t like to admit that we are not perfect. But when we really look at ourselves, we are forced to admit that we are far from perfect. We must acknowledge that we are vulnerable to sin. We have to understand the grace of God at work in our lives to protect us. And this process begins with the clear understanding that we are truly sinners in need of a forgiving God. It starts with our taking a hard look at who we really are. And this begins by asking how well do I really know myself?
The devil is at warfare with the church. He knows our weaknesses, often better than we know them ourselves. He exploits these points of weakness in order to strike out against us and defeat us. These are the places where we are most vulnerable. They are the places where we are most likely to fail. He also knows the areas where we think we are invincible. In those areas he can also catch us off guard. When we think we are safe we can easily succumb to the danger of pride. This became a vulnerable point for many of the high profile church leaders who have fallen over the past few decades. They forgot to examine their weaknesses. The results were tragic for their ministries. Jesus told the disciples that they would all abandon him. Peter’s denial of Jesus a short while after his declaration that even if everyone else left, he, Peter, would never leave shows how little he knew himself. The statement “pride goes before a fall” is poignantly true.
Unfortunately, we are not invincible and we often fail. For this reason it is especially important for us to know the areas where we are most likely to succumb to temptations. By knowing them, we are less likely to be caught off guard when temptations do come our way. Knowledge of our weaknesses will provide a hedge of protection around us. Having that knowledge in front of us when the temptations come helps us to reject the temptation. If we then succumb to it, it is because it is an intentional act. We must also understand the areas in our lives where we can become prideful. This helps us to maintain a humble attitude.
In order to avoid the twin dangers of being caught up either in temptation or pride we must truly know ourselves. We have to examine the areas of our lives were we are most likely to fail. This isn’t always easy. We don’t like to admit that we are not perfect. But when we really look at ourselves, we are forced to admit that we are far from perfect. We must acknowledge that we are vulnerable to sin. We have to understand the grace of God at work in our lives to protect us. And this process begins with the clear understanding that we are truly sinners in need of a forgiving God. It starts with our taking a hard look at who we really are. And this begins by asking how well do I really know myself?
A Childlike Faith
I received an email the other day about Kevin. One night Kevin’s brother overheard him praying. As he prayed he asked “God, where are you? Oh, I see, you’re under the bed.” Kevin is a 6’2” thirty year old man, who due to difficulties during his birth, is mentally disabled. In his adult body lives the mind and functionality of a seven year old. He will never grow mentally beyond this level. But he has complete faith that God lives under his bed. In his childlike innocence, he has complete trust in God.
Kevin works at a workshop for the disabled. His daily life consists of getting up, taking a bus to work, performing simple tasks at work, coming home to walk the dog, eating dinner and going to bed. The only variations that occur in his routine are his weekly tasks of doing the laundry and vacuuming the carpet, and going out with his father on Saturdays. Life for Kevin is very simple. It consists of daily rituals and Saturday field trips. He happily accepts his life and is never discontented. He doesn’t worry about wealth or power or status. He’s not concerned with pride. He enjoys working, but is not obsessed with it. He is not striving to be upwardly mobile. He is transparent with his emotions and is sincere. He has a childlike trust in God. In this childlike faith, God – his best friend – lives under his bed.
Kevin’s brother, who has normal intelligence, observed that whereas he always thought of Kevin as being handicapped, perhaps he himself is the one who is really handicapped. Perhaps in God’s eyes Kevin is normal. Kevin’s brother reflected that he finds that his obligations, his pride, his fears and his circumstances become disabilities when they aren’t entrusted to God’s care. He worries about things Kevin never will. He seeks to control the situations around him – something that never even crosses Kevin’s mind. He doesn’t completely trust God like his brother does.
How unlike Kevin we are! We are often too much like his brother. We frequently live with discontent. We seek to have power and want to control things. We try to garner wealth. We are far from transparent, often hiding our true feelings. We are always trying to get ahead and obtain more. Oftentimes our jobs consume us. We worry about things instead of trusting them to God. We are anxious to know how things will turn out in the future. With our intelligence we rationalize away faith. In our sophistication we question God. We have a limited view of who God is. We feel that we must help God with things or they won’t work out right. We easily can become manipulative.
I wonder how much we handicap ourselves when we limit our trust in God. We are often more concerned about things than we are about trusting God with our lives. We end up with an inadequate view of who God is. We don’t see him as strong enough to be trustworthy. We have lost the innocence of a childlike faith. We have lost the pure faith that Kevin has in God. Maybe this is why Jesus said “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 16:3). He calls us to have that innocent, trusting faith that little children so easily have. By the way, how strong is your faith? Is it as strong as Kevin’s? Or do you have his brother’s handicap?
Kevin works at a workshop for the disabled. His daily life consists of getting up, taking a bus to work, performing simple tasks at work, coming home to walk the dog, eating dinner and going to bed. The only variations that occur in his routine are his weekly tasks of doing the laundry and vacuuming the carpet, and going out with his father on Saturdays. Life for Kevin is very simple. It consists of daily rituals and Saturday field trips. He happily accepts his life and is never discontented. He doesn’t worry about wealth or power or status. He’s not concerned with pride. He enjoys working, but is not obsessed with it. He is not striving to be upwardly mobile. He is transparent with his emotions and is sincere. He has a childlike trust in God. In this childlike faith, God – his best friend – lives under his bed.
Kevin’s brother, who has normal intelligence, observed that whereas he always thought of Kevin as being handicapped, perhaps he himself is the one who is really handicapped. Perhaps in God’s eyes Kevin is normal. Kevin’s brother reflected that he finds that his obligations, his pride, his fears and his circumstances become disabilities when they aren’t entrusted to God’s care. He worries about things Kevin never will. He seeks to control the situations around him – something that never even crosses Kevin’s mind. He doesn’t completely trust God like his brother does.
How unlike Kevin we are! We are often too much like his brother. We frequently live with discontent. We seek to have power and want to control things. We try to garner wealth. We are far from transparent, often hiding our true feelings. We are always trying to get ahead and obtain more. Oftentimes our jobs consume us. We worry about things instead of trusting them to God. We are anxious to know how things will turn out in the future. With our intelligence we rationalize away faith. In our sophistication we question God. We have a limited view of who God is. We feel that we must help God with things or they won’t work out right. We easily can become manipulative.
I wonder how much we handicap ourselves when we limit our trust in God. We are often more concerned about things than we are about trusting God with our lives. We end up with an inadequate view of who God is. We don’t see him as strong enough to be trustworthy. We have lost the innocence of a childlike faith. We have lost the pure faith that Kevin has in God. Maybe this is why Jesus said “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 16:3). He calls us to have that innocent, trusting faith that little children so easily have. By the way, how strong is your faith? Is it as strong as Kevin’s? Or do you have his brother’s handicap?
The Inward Eye
In the fantasy novel The Forgotten Beasts of Eld by Patricia McKillip, one of the main characters, Sybel, plots revenge. She is given a veiled warning when she is told “The giant Grof was hit in one eye by a stone, and that eye turned inward so that it looked into his mind and he died of what he saw there.” The implication behind the warning is that what he saw inside himself was so revolting that it caused his death. Because of that warning, Sybel eventually abandons her revengeful plot after examining her own heart. She finally came to understand that had her plot been successful it not only would have destroyed her enemies, but it also would have destroyed her own soul.
The prophet Jeremiah warns us that “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure.” (Jer 17:9). He gives us a warning to abandon our evil ways. We aren’t really as good as we like to think we are. The apostle Paul points to the same difficulty when he states that he doesn’t do the good he wants to do, but continually does the evil he doesn’t want to do. (Romans 7:15-25). Both Paul and Jeremiah had looked inward and understood who they really were. They both saw themselves as sinners, being unable to follow the just demands of a holy God. They both understood human nature. They also understood that God had to provide the solution to the problem of sin in their lives. On their own, they could never succeed. Paul concludes that trying to do it on our own only makes us more pathetic.
It is too easy for us to gloss over the real us. We paint a distorted picture of ourselves. We like to think of ourselves as being good people. We compare our selves with others. We are like the Pharisee who prayed “Thank you God that I am not like that sinner over there.” If we are better than they are, whoever the “They” might be, we must be OK. But we aren’t OK. We lose sight of the fact that God has an absolute standard of justice, not a relative one. And when we really take a serious look at our inner thoughts we find a different picture. We do have evil thoughts and desires that we have difficulty keeping under control. Our thoughts are often much worse than our actions. These undesired thoughts keep popping up in our minds. We find that we constantly need help to control them. We find that we can’t control them on our own. Measured against God’s standard we come up short.
This is the point where God intervenes in our lives and transforms us. The apostle Paul says that this is where God rescues us from our dilemma through the death and resurrection of Jesus. But the process must begin with our own self examination. We must recognize who we are as we stand before a holy God – a sinner who has violated His holy standard again and again – a sinner in need of His grace. We must confess this to Him and ask for forgiveness. But in order for us to accept His grace, we must first know that we truly need it. We must first recognize and understand who we really are. This requires taking a realistic hard look at ourselves. I wonder, if we turn our eye inward and look at the thoughts of our heart, if we explore the depths of our soul, what will we really find there?
The prophet Jeremiah warns us that “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure.” (Jer 17:9). He gives us a warning to abandon our evil ways. We aren’t really as good as we like to think we are. The apostle Paul points to the same difficulty when he states that he doesn’t do the good he wants to do, but continually does the evil he doesn’t want to do. (Romans 7:15-25). Both Paul and Jeremiah had looked inward and understood who they really were. They both saw themselves as sinners, being unable to follow the just demands of a holy God. They both understood human nature. They also understood that God had to provide the solution to the problem of sin in their lives. On their own, they could never succeed. Paul concludes that trying to do it on our own only makes us more pathetic.
It is too easy for us to gloss over the real us. We paint a distorted picture of ourselves. We like to think of ourselves as being good people. We compare our selves with others. We are like the Pharisee who prayed “Thank you God that I am not like that sinner over there.” If we are better than they are, whoever the “They” might be, we must be OK. But we aren’t OK. We lose sight of the fact that God has an absolute standard of justice, not a relative one. And when we really take a serious look at our inner thoughts we find a different picture. We do have evil thoughts and desires that we have difficulty keeping under control. Our thoughts are often much worse than our actions. These undesired thoughts keep popping up in our minds. We find that we constantly need help to control them. We find that we can’t control them on our own. Measured against God’s standard we come up short.
This is the point where God intervenes in our lives and transforms us. The apostle Paul says that this is where God rescues us from our dilemma through the death and resurrection of Jesus. But the process must begin with our own self examination. We must recognize who we are as we stand before a holy God – a sinner who has violated His holy standard again and again – a sinner in need of His grace. We must confess this to Him and ask for forgiveness. But in order for us to accept His grace, we must first know that we truly need it. We must first recognize and understand who we really are. This requires taking a realistic hard look at ourselves. I wonder, if we turn our eye inward and look at the thoughts of our heart, if we explore the depths of our soul, what will we really find there?
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