"But God being rich in mercy because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses made us alive together with Christ-- by grace you have been saved" Ephesians 2:5-6
I walked down the steps this morning to see my daughter dancing in a circle singing Jesus Loves Me. I have often mused that this, the simplest of songs, is somehow the hardest for most adults to grasp.
Jesus love me, this I know. For the Bible tells me so. Hopefully by the time we reach adulthood, we have more evidence than just the Bible that Jesus loves us. Even so, we can read about the great mercy of God and the great love with which he has loved us, but it still doesn't sink in. We don't experience it.
They are weak, but He is strong Maybe this is the part that we are missing. We aren't supposed to be strong. We aren't supposed to have it all together. By Grace we are saved! I keep wanting my religion to make me strong, but this only gets in the way of knowing Christ. This strength-seeking does not seem to be what Christ was about. He was about emptying himself. He was about dying on the cross. He was about being totally exposed. I know I am weak in the face of His real strength. But if I know I am weak, I can know the great love with which He has loved me, because I am open to it.
by the will of God,
Jonathan
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Wrath's Baby
"among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of our body and mind, and were by nature children of wrath like the rest of mankind." Ephesians 2:3
Whenever I hear the word wrath, I think of that old sermon by Jonathan Edwards: Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God. I think of red-faced preachers bellowing judgment from an elevated pulpit. I think of how my friends who do not espouse to be Christian would hear phrases like "the wrath of God" which, I found out, appears in the Bible 11 times (6 of them in Revelation). Most of the verses in the Bible that talk about wrath are more like the one above though. They are not necessarily talking about some future event or destination, but rather a state of being. This passage seems to say that when we choose to live in the passions of our flesh, God is no longer our father, but wrath is. And this was the state we were formerly in. This is probably why Paul says that we have been adopted as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will (Ephesians 1:5).
I definitely experience this wrath. I read in a study bible of some sort and it said that this "children of wrath" was a idiom from that time. I wonder what the translation would be today. If the symptom is following the desires of body and mind, I would guess the result would be anxiety and loneliness. That combination of feelings that seems to lead to a desperate hollowness which is a feedback loop to following the desires our body and mind. Maybe a more current term would be to call us children of despair.
But I know there's another way to live because I have lived it at times. I have lived in the freedom and purposefulness of God--living in my adopted identity. But I cannot gain this identity on my own. I must throw myself at the mercy of God and trust in his grace, which is where this passage is headed.
by the will of God,
Jonathan
Whenever I hear the word wrath, I think of that old sermon by Jonathan Edwards: Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God. I think of red-faced preachers bellowing judgment from an elevated pulpit. I think of how my friends who do not espouse to be Christian would hear phrases like "the wrath of God" which, I found out, appears in the Bible 11 times (6 of them in Revelation). Most of the verses in the Bible that talk about wrath are more like the one above though. They are not necessarily talking about some future event or destination, but rather a state of being. This passage seems to say that when we choose to live in the passions of our flesh, God is no longer our father, but wrath is. And this was the state we were formerly in. This is probably why Paul says that we have been adopted as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will (Ephesians 1:5).
I definitely experience this wrath. I read in a study bible of some sort and it said that this "children of wrath" was a idiom from that time. I wonder what the translation would be today. If the symptom is following the desires of body and mind, I would guess the result would be anxiety and loneliness. That combination of feelings that seems to lead to a desperate hollowness which is a feedback loop to following the desires our body and mind. Maybe a more current term would be to call us children of despair.
But I know there's another way to live because I have lived it at times. I have lived in the freedom and purposefulness of God--living in my adopted identity. But I cannot gain this identity on my own. I must throw myself at the mercy of God and trust in his grace, which is where this passage is headed.
by the will of God,
Jonathan
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Day 24: A new chapter
"And you were dead in your trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience." Ephesians 2:1-2
I've been a little delinquent lately with keeping up with my verses. I don't really believe in excuses, so I'll stick to reasons. My reasons were being overworked and then wrestling with some disappointment. The latter was in the form of not being accepted to the PhD program that I've been working towards for months. It was disappointing and it was surprising. I felt very (overly) confident about my chances. I believed I had what it took. I also made the mistake of telling God that if He didn't want me to be in that program that He should shut that door. Well, its not a done deal, but God certainly got my attention with that one. But I digress.
Anyway, the whole thing made me realize how much stock I put in how others evaluate me. All week I was feeling very confident. I believed in myself and my skills as a counselor. Then this news, and all of a sudden I began to doubt everything about myself. And all for what? I get firm direction from the Lord about something? I am still so invested in the course of this world. I realize how much my life is guided by how I feel in any given moment. I know I am probably more susceptible to this type of thinking than many. All the more reason why I need the Lord.
The course of this world vs. the way of the cross. May Your will be done.
by the will of God,
Jonathan
I've been a little delinquent lately with keeping up with my verses. I don't really believe in excuses, so I'll stick to reasons. My reasons were being overworked and then wrestling with some disappointment. The latter was in the form of not being accepted to the PhD program that I've been working towards for months. It was disappointing and it was surprising. I felt very (overly) confident about my chances. I believed I had what it took. I also made the mistake of telling God that if He didn't want me to be in that program that He should shut that door. Well, its not a done deal, but God certainly got my attention with that one. But I digress.
Anyway, the whole thing made me realize how much stock I put in how others evaluate me. All week I was feeling very confident. I believed in myself and my skills as a counselor. Then this news, and all of a sudden I began to doubt everything about myself. And all for what? I get firm direction from the Lord about something? I am still so invested in the course of this world. I realize how much my life is guided by how I feel in any given moment. I know I am probably more susceptible to this type of thinking than many. All the more reason why I need the Lord.
The course of this world vs. the way of the cross. May Your will be done.
by the will of God,
Jonathan
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