What if Jesus sinned?
It's a scary thought, really. I mean, if Jesus had sinned, we'd still be in need of a Savior. He was perfect in His life, so His sacrifice was worthy- perfect, that is- to fulfill the law's demands for punishment. The problem is, I think we tend to forget or at least gloss over the fact that Jesus could have sinned.
Luke 4 contains one of three versions of the temptation in the desert- all of them begin with Jesus being led into the desert by the Holy Spirit. Wait- check that out- Jesus was led by the Spirit knowingly into a situation that would hold massive temptation. It is almost like Jesus was being tested by the Spirit- and His Father. Now, the other 2/3's of the Trinity did not cause the temptation, but they did put Jesus in Satan's cross-hairs (heh, pun un-intended). The Father and the Spirit knew that a Savior who got a free pass would not be much of a Savior- Jesus had to be able to actually face and resist temptation to be the perfect sacrificial Lamb of God. If Jesus had never faced temptation, He would not know how to relate to us when we are tempted. Instead, Jesus listened to the tempting voice of Satan, and said, "Nope."
It wasn't just that He refused to give in, it was how. He responded, each time, with Scripture. Not a hollow kind of Scripture memory, words Jesus chose to use were pointed to the specific temptation of Satan.
What Kind of Bread?
When Satan tempted with bread, Jesus spoke words that referred to Deuteronomy 8:3, "He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD." Luke only records Jesus saying the "man doesn't live on bread alone" part, but the reference is clearly stating that man needs the words of God. Jesus knew of this need, because He had come to the desert after His baptism- a baptism in which He heard His Father proclaim, "You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” (Luke 3:22) Jesus is telling Satan (and us) that the affirmation of our Father is more sustenance than any bread- literal or figurative. Jesus knew the power of those words, and used that power to withstand all of Satan's attacks.
Power Play
Satan next appeals to the power hungry. Fortunately Jesus is not power hungry. The Accuser offers power over all the world- something I believe Satan had the authority to give, you know, being the prince of this world and all. The funny thing is, Satan offers what Jesus will ultimately have anyway. Jesus will reign over the earth- so the temptation Satan offered was a short cut. Worship Satan, get power now without suffering the Cross. Jesus responds by saying something that hearkened back to Deuteronomy 6:13. Jesus says worship, where Deuteronomy says "Fear the LORD your God, serve him only and take your oaths in his name." Revere God only. No one else is above the Father, not Satan, not the Son. See, Satan says worship me, but the real temptation was for Jesus to be a 'self-made man.' To get all the power coming to Him by way of a path apart from the Father's Will. The worship would ultimately be a worship of Himself apart from the Father, because He had made it Himself. Jesus knew that for the Father's plan to work, He had to stick to it, and at the heart of it all, Jesus loved and revered the Father more than Himself.
Don't Test Me
Finally, Satan throws his curve. He quotes the Psalms about Jesus having the power to command the angels to protect Him. The appeal here is to entitlement. "Jesus, the Father OWES you protection." Again Jesus goes to that book that we so often glance past quickly, Deuteronomy 6:16: "Do not put the LORD your God to the test as you did at Massah." Massah is the place where the Israelites called God out, saying He brought them out of the plentiful food and water (and slavery) of Egypt to die in the dry, foodless desert. Moses was told to strike a rock, and water flowed. But the damage had been done, the Israelites had claimed their entitlement- "If we're really the Chosen Ones, come through. Hold up your end of the bargain- if you're really there." Jesus knew that the Father OWED Him nothing. Jesus was a servant of His Father...and a Servant of all people. To claim His importance in such a way as Satan tempted would be Jesus claiming His own greatness- that He was more than us. And though He is more than us, He came to walk amongst us, to know our sufferings, to know our pains. And yes, to know our temptations.
That's the heart of the temptation in the desert. To get Jesus to take the easy way out. And really, that's the same temptation we face daily- to take the easy, self-centered path. None of us are called to be Savior like Jesus was, but I bet we're called to live a life of importance to God. When we face temptation and give in, we are surrendering the greater plan the Father has for us. Yes, we will fail. But we must, at some point, face those temptations that derail and respond as Jesus did.
And how did He respond? Out of a vibrant and active relationship with His Father. No matter what defenses we set up against temptation, they will fail if our relationship with God is weak. Jesus was secure and strong in His relationship. He was walking in that strength when He went into the desert to be tested. Just as He walked with the Father in all of His days. And when Satan returned to tempt at a more opportune time, as Luke 4:13 says, Jesus was ready.
For He still walked hand and hand with the Father. And nothing could separate that.
Imagine what we could be if we lived like Jesus did through His temptation.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Friday, February 25, 2011
The Un-Penned God
I grew up on a ranch. We raised sheep mostly, but had a dozen or so cows as well. I was involved in 4-H, particularly in the sheep exhibitions, but one year my parents and I decided to try our hand at a heifer. So, we bought one from a neighbor, and drove her the mile or so home and placed her in a pen we had built to contain her. The fence was high, she had plenty of food and water, and shelter was good.
She promptly jumped the fence and headed home- to her home. We caught her, placed her back in the pen, but quickly realized adjustments had to be made to keep her contained. But she was still too crazy to get in the pen with her and try to tame her. Honestly, we didn't have a clue what to do with her, so my heifer showing career ended before it started.
I think back to that time in my early teen years and one thing is vivid: that cow was too wild to be contained, too strong to be tamed. You could see it in her eyes like a fire: "You don't know who you're dealing with." Eventually we released her to be with the other cows, and she went on to have lots of babies and live her life, her way.
I draw a lot of comparisons to that incident and how I often view God. I mean, I recognize the power of God, and even notice His wildness at times (seriously, watch a Texas thunderstorm sometime), but I often try to pen Him up into my idea of what God should be. Really, we all do it. We want Him to be more like us, to make sense when He talks and with what He does. We want his complexities and His justice to be only as deep and as understandable as human complexities and justice.
In essence, we want God to exist within us- that is to say, within the boundaries of our understanding. Anything outside of that is grounds for immediately discounting or distrusting God.
Man has always been this way. Ancient cultures handled it more with religion, going so far as to create new gods to explain the strange and scary things they saw. Even more sophisticated cultures like the Greeks and Romans went this way. They went out of their way to try to appease the gods, so they made statues to all of them, and even statues to gods they didn't yet know about just in case that god got mad at them and attacked. Really, though, it wasn't about protecting themselves from the gods as it was exercising control over them. At least, that's how Paul saw it.
On one of his trips, Paul came face to face with idolatry, aka man's pen for God. In an attempt to serve a god that made sense, they just made one up. Paul addressed this thinking like this:
“The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’
--Acts 17:24-28
To me, seeing God as not being dependent on us is tremendously freeing. These words remind me that it is God who has mastery over me, not the other way around. And then, the fact that He actually penned us in (he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands) in an effort to call us to Him. He has set out to tame us- but not like we think.
I think we believe God sets rules to keep us from fun. God has actually set rules up to make life better. He wants to tame us from the actions that destroy us, but He wants us to be adventurous and full of life in our pursuit of Him. In that, He has set no limits. That leads me to my favorite part of this passage: 'For in him we live and move and have our being.’ Paul quotes a pagan philosopher who spoke a truth he didn't fully understand. That truth is that we exist in God. Not in an Eastern Mysticism "We are all god" way, but in a "God made us to exist for Him, whether we acknowledge it or not" way. He enables us to do what we do, even refuse Him.
Because God is big enough for that.
And no matter how hard we try, with idolatry or watering Him down to fit what we are comfortable with, we will not pen Him. His eyes are filled with a fire, not unlike the heifer of my youth, that screams of passion and power, and warns us that we don't know who we are messing with.
She promptly jumped the fence and headed home- to her home. We caught her, placed her back in the pen, but quickly realized adjustments had to be made to keep her contained. But she was still too crazy to get in the pen with her and try to tame her. Honestly, we didn't have a clue what to do with her, so my heifer showing career ended before it started.
I think back to that time in my early teen years and one thing is vivid: that cow was too wild to be contained, too strong to be tamed. You could see it in her eyes like a fire: "You don't know who you're dealing with." Eventually we released her to be with the other cows, and she went on to have lots of babies and live her life, her way.
I draw a lot of comparisons to that incident and how I often view God. I mean, I recognize the power of God, and even notice His wildness at times (seriously, watch a Texas thunderstorm sometime), but I often try to pen Him up into my idea of what God should be. Really, we all do it. We want Him to be more like us, to make sense when He talks and with what He does. We want his complexities and His justice to be only as deep and as understandable as human complexities and justice.
In essence, we want God to exist within us- that is to say, within the boundaries of our understanding. Anything outside of that is grounds for immediately discounting or distrusting God.
Man has always been this way. Ancient cultures handled it more with religion, going so far as to create new gods to explain the strange and scary things they saw. Even more sophisticated cultures like the Greeks and Romans went this way. They went out of their way to try to appease the gods, so they made statues to all of them, and even statues to gods they didn't yet know about just in case that god got mad at them and attacked. Really, though, it wasn't about protecting themselves from the gods as it was exercising control over them. At least, that's how Paul saw it.
On one of his trips, Paul came face to face with idolatry, aka man's pen for God. In an attempt to serve a god that made sense, they just made one up. Paul addressed this thinking like this:
“The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’
--Acts 17:24-28
To me, seeing God as not being dependent on us is tremendously freeing. These words remind me that it is God who has mastery over me, not the other way around. And then, the fact that He actually penned us in (he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands) in an effort to call us to Him. He has set out to tame us- but not like we think.
I think we believe God sets rules to keep us from fun. God has actually set rules up to make life better. He wants to tame us from the actions that destroy us, but He wants us to be adventurous and full of life in our pursuit of Him. In that, He has set no limits. That leads me to my favorite part of this passage: 'For in him we live and move and have our being.’ Paul quotes a pagan philosopher who spoke a truth he didn't fully understand. That truth is that we exist in God. Not in an Eastern Mysticism "We are all god" way, but in a "God made us to exist for Him, whether we acknowledge it or not" way. He enables us to do what we do, even refuse Him.
Because God is big enough for that.
And no matter how hard we try, with idolatry or watering Him down to fit what we are comfortable with, we will not pen Him. His eyes are filled with a fire, not unlike the heifer of my youth, that screams of passion and power, and warns us that we don't know who we are messing with.
Monday, February 21, 2011
Is Jesus Legalistic or Grace?
I don't speed.
I just don't do it. I keep my cruise set at whatever the speed limit is posted at and don't rise above or below it. I don't do it because I'm a good person, I do it because I hate spending money on things I don't want. Like tickets.
I guess if I'm honest, I follow most rules simply because I don't like the consequences of not following them. I don't love laws- in fact I think we have too many. (I don't like the government telling me how long I have to keep my kid in a car seat- which since my kids are tiny will be until they get their license.) But I keep them because I don't want to pay a fine or hear the harsh clang of steel bars. To be fair, some laws I follow because I feel morally obligated- like the whole not killing or stealing or committing adultery (which is most definitely a spiritual law, not a judicial one in our society).
It could be said we have laws for lots of reasons like safety and civility. I think we also have laws to make us feel in control. If we obey the rules, we know we are good people and good people control their own destiny. We like rules because they tell us just what we need to do.
God knew this about us, which is why He gave us the Commandments. He knew we'd never figure it out on our own, and we felt we needed to control our own lives, so He gave us Laws. With Laws came consequences and punishments. With consequences and punishment came judgment. With judgment came Pharisees. With Pharisees came Jesus. And with Jesus came fulfilment.
The Law is not the problem, even if that is what much of the world would have you believe. They say the problem with God is that He has too many rules, and thus He is no fun. Jesus walked into the world and said, very clearly, that the rules were not going away just because He came. No, they were in fact going to be fulfilled. This was what we call a 'bummer' to the Jews, a society oppressed with countless laws on top of the Law. See, they were burden by laws that men made to make God's Law more difficult to live by. Laws that took away freedom. Laws that bound the keeper- not to God, but to the laws. In simplistic terms, they no longer refused to murder because the loved God, they refused to murder because they loved the law.
Jesus came on and said that the law stands, but what needs to change is our reasoning for keeping it. We don't keep it for fear of consequence, or for respect for the man-made institutions that keep the law: we are to keep the Law out of Love for God. And Jesus set out to keep the Law. That is, the Law of God, not the Pharisaical law. See, he came to expose the control-minded laws of man by living out the Laws of God. Law Lovers say it is more important to pass the injured man by if it is the Sabbath (day of rest), lest we help him and sin by breaking the Sabbath. God Lovers say it is more important that the man be rescued so that he can enjoy the restful day of Sabbath and those that follow. Jesus healed on the Sabbath, Pharisees let you rot. The Law had been allowed to make us selfish- legalism was about making sure we were right to the exclusion of concern for others.
Jesus fulfilled the Law by completing the "don't" laws as well as the "do" laws. Not only did He abstain from murder, theft, adultery and the lot, He fully engaged in caring for His fellow humans and worshiping God. More than that, He fulfilled the Law of God by taking the punishment the Law owed to all who fell short. His death was fulfilment in that the punishment for all sin was given to the one man who didn't deserve it. He became the scapegoat ( a Jewish tradition of sending a goat covered with the sins of the people out in the wilderness to die, thus taking the people's sin with it) for all of mankind. Our sins died with Him, even though He didn't deserve to die and we didn't deserve to live.
So, the age old question of whether Jesus was about the Law or about Grace is answered in true, God-like fashion: He's both. On this side of the Cross, we have the Grace covering our screw-ups, but there is still this expectation that we would seek to live to please God. And that's just it- we should follow God's Laws not for the sake of following the rules, or being a good person, but for the love we have for our God. The kind of Law following Jesus shows us is the kind that puts the focus on God- never on us. We would fall forever short of the scrutiny and intricacies of the Law.
But Jesus can take it. And He did.
For us.
I just don't do it. I keep my cruise set at whatever the speed limit is posted at and don't rise above or below it. I don't do it because I'm a good person, I do it because I hate spending money on things I don't want. Like tickets.
I guess if I'm honest, I follow most rules simply because I don't like the consequences of not following them. I don't love laws- in fact I think we have too many. (I don't like the government telling me how long I have to keep my kid in a car seat- which since my kids are tiny will be until they get their license.) But I keep them because I don't want to pay a fine or hear the harsh clang of steel bars. To be fair, some laws I follow because I feel morally obligated- like the whole not killing or stealing or committing adultery (which is most definitely a spiritual law, not a judicial one in our society).
It could be said we have laws for lots of reasons like safety and civility. I think we also have laws to make us feel in control. If we obey the rules, we know we are good people and good people control their own destiny. We like rules because they tell us just what we need to do.
God knew this about us, which is why He gave us the Commandments. He knew we'd never figure it out on our own, and we felt we needed to control our own lives, so He gave us Laws. With Laws came consequences and punishments. With consequences and punishment came judgment. With judgment came Pharisees. With Pharisees came Jesus. And with Jesus came fulfilment.
The Law is not the problem, even if that is what much of the world would have you believe. They say the problem with God is that He has too many rules, and thus He is no fun. Jesus walked into the world and said, very clearly, that the rules were not going away just because He came. No, they were in fact going to be fulfilled. This was what we call a 'bummer' to the Jews, a society oppressed with countless laws on top of the Law. See, they were burden by laws that men made to make God's Law more difficult to live by. Laws that took away freedom. Laws that bound the keeper- not to God, but to the laws. In simplistic terms, they no longer refused to murder because the loved God, they refused to murder because they loved the law.
Jesus came on and said that the law stands, but what needs to change is our reasoning for keeping it. We don't keep it for fear of consequence, or for respect for the man-made institutions that keep the law: we are to keep the Law out of Love for God. And Jesus set out to keep the Law. That is, the Law of God, not the Pharisaical law. See, he came to expose the control-minded laws of man by living out the Laws of God. Law Lovers say it is more important to pass the injured man by if it is the Sabbath (day of rest), lest we help him and sin by breaking the Sabbath. God Lovers say it is more important that the man be rescued so that he can enjoy the restful day of Sabbath and those that follow. Jesus healed on the Sabbath, Pharisees let you rot. The Law had been allowed to make us selfish- legalism was about making sure we were right to the exclusion of concern for others.
Jesus fulfilled the Law by completing the "don't" laws as well as the "do" laws. Not only did He abstain from murder, theft, adultery and the lot, He fully engaged in caring for His fellow humans and worshiping God. More than that, He fulfilled the Law of God by taking the punishment the Law owed to all who fell short. His death was fulfilment in that the punishment for all sin was given to the one man who didn't deserve it. He became the scapegoat ( a Jewish tradition of sending a goat covered with the sins of the people out in the wilderness to die, thus taking the people's sin with it) for all of mankind. Our sins died with Him, even though He didn't deserve to die and we didn't deserve to live.
So, the age old question of whether Jesus was about the Law or about Grace is answered in true, God-like fashion: He's both. On this side of the Cross, we have the Grace covering our screw-ups, but there is still this expectation that we would seek to live to please God. And that's just it- we should follow God's Laws not for the sake of following the rules, or being a good person, but for the love we have for our God. The kind of Law following Jesus shows us is the kind that puts the focus on God- never on us. We would fall forever short of the scrutiny and intricacies of the Law.
But Jesus can take it. And He did.
For us.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
$5 Compassion
When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
--Matthew 9:36
There was this guy. He was always coming up to people in the parking lot outside my office asking for money. On a couple of occasions, I had some cash and let him have it, thinking I was doing a bit of a good deed. The problem was, this guy kept getting more aggressive with people. He would follow them to their car, or be waiting for them to get out of their car. If he did get money, he would bolt the parking lot and head north, to who knows where. Later, the sheriff's department alerted us that this gentleman was in fact taking the money and feeding his drug habit- and the more aggressive he got, the deeper into the addiction he was. I felt bad that my 'donation' had gone not to feed him, but rather to feed his addiction.
I remembered, around this time, a story I had heard from several different Christian circles of people who stocked up on $5 gift cards to McDonalds or Subway, so that when approached for money, they would give a card that guarranteed the person wouldn't get drugs- unless you count caffeine and those addictive fries. But the moment faded, and I never stocked up on gift cards.
All this time, our church, the Gate, was praying and seeking a way to serve our community. We'd volunteered at food banks and helped with A&M's Big Event service project, but they didn't come around too often, and both were services that the Bryan/College Station community actively- and in large quantities- supported. And, while Big Event allowed us to meet the person we were helping, the food pantry stuff mostly did not. We wanted- no, we needed- an opportunity to do something new and something that allowed us to share our faith with someone- but being a small church with a smaller bank account, we couldn't find it.
Through all these events, all this prayer, and all this frustration at not finding that 'big thing,' God spoke.
"Why does it have to be 'big'?"
Times are tough. People don't have as much to give. College students have less, and they made up our church. But everyone can give a little. Five bucks a month. It wouldn't take a much more than skipping one latte at Sweet Eugene's (for the Aggies out there) or Starbucks (for the rest of the world). Suddenly, God reminded me of the gift card idea. Spend $5 to get a gift card to some fast food place or even a coffee shop with the intent of giving it away.
Originally, the idea was to just give it to those folks on the side of the road or the homeless. But with our church being so full of the students, we realized they wouldn't run into as many of those folks as the rest of us.
But that didn't mean they wouldn't encounter the "harassed and helpless" that Jesus had compassion on.
Bad breakups. Failed tests. Financial shortfalls. Work stress. Nutty roommates. Any of these things and more could lead to a person needing compassion. So, this past Sunday, we launched a vision for our church to serve the communtity. The Gate bought twenty four $5 gift cards to McDonald's and gave them out amongst our church. This was the seed for them to begin thinking of and looking out for people who could use a little encouragement. The recipient could be someone they knew going through a tough time, or just someone they meet who seems to be having a bad day. Once a month, they give $5 Compassion to someone who needs a little encouragement and a kind, hopeful word. And if they feel so led, then they can give more than one card a month.
Each card contained a verse of Scripture, the church name and website, and a note to check our the $5 Compassion group on facebook and share their story. See, the vision is that $5 Compassion would not just be a ministry of the Gate, but of anyone who wants to make life a little brighter for everyone else. The idea is that those who recieve the gift can post on the site and share what it meant to them. And the one who gave the card can share what it was like to be able to help someone out. It is as much about sharing our stories and how God moves- even with just $5 of Compassion- in our lives as it is about the actual gift.
We added our church info to the card so that if someone does want to connect with God, they can find us- but you don't have to add the Gate to your card if you don't want to. Yeah, that's right- I'm issuing the challenge to you. Steal the idea. Run with it. Tell your friends. Because $5 Compassion is not about our church, our ideas, or your money. It is about showing, in a tangible way, that our God is in love with us. It's why we chose this verse for the cards:
The LORD is gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger and rich in love.
The LORD is good to all;
he has compassion on all he has made.
--Psalm 145: 8-9
So, go out, drop $5 on a gift card, and ask Jesus to give you His eyes to see people as He sees them. Allow your heart to be broken for a friend or a stranger who needs to love of God- whether that person knows of that love already or not.
And if $5 Compassion is something you can support, check us out on facebook at:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/5-Compassion/140630949332317?ref=ts (We're not eligible for a fancy username yet.)
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Pastor =/= Celebrity
Kristin and I were in town to meet the church I was about to join as Youth Minister. Everyone knew we were coming, its a small town and all, but I thought we could slip down to the Festival going on in the park unnoticed and check things out. Almost immediately, we felt eyes on us. The people were sort of subtle about it, but it was clear, they kinda knew who we were. Finally, someone asked if I was the new youth minister. Then people started talking to us.
I felt,for the first time, like a celebrity.
I don't think we set out to be 'celebrities' to our churches, but it often happens. Pastors who are loved become special people in the community. They get good seats at events, special parking, and lots of invites to cool stuff. People begin to talk like they talk, dress like they dress, and name drop them in conversations to feel important. Don't get me wrong- pastors should be loved and appreciated, but caution must be taken.
Pastors Are People
Something begins to happen in and around Celebrity Pastors. People begin to think they can do no wrong. They take their words as gospel, and their actions as saintly offerings. But pastors are people. They are fallible. They are given to fits of stupidity and error just like everyone else. They have affairs, struggle with alcoholism, have tempers, and occasionally lie (and not just in those cheesy 'pastor stories that sometimes get told from the pulpit to make a humorous point). Not just in their sins, pastors are people in their needs. They need friends they can vent to, cry with, laugh with and bounce ideas off of. They need friends. But Celebrity Pastors find friends hard to come by. The power they wield puts up a wall between the people and them, a sort of "I wanna talk to him, but he's so important and I'm not" vibe sets in. And the more distance between Pastor as Person and Pastor as Celebrity, the more it becomes about the power of the position and not the people they serve.
Power Corrupts
When people view their pastors as celebrities, eventually it can go to their head. They begin to get beyond the checks and balances of the people because no one would dare question their word. If it goes on long enough, even if someone does confront an error the pastor will refuse to see it. This is how bad theology becomes common theology. No matter how good the intent of the man setting out to lead, too much power will corrupt. You've seen it in nationally known pastors like Swaggart and Haggard, leading powerful churches while living a lie and believing their power strong enough to keep it hidden. But it happens on smaller levels, and without such blatant sin. Sometimes, a pastor becomes so powerful that the church can't function without him. He retires and the replacement is a sacrificial lamb because he's never good enough, and never will be. Or the church just dies, because the life of it was in that one man.
Pastor Worship is Idolatry
Paul told us to imitate him as he imitated Christ. Paul wanted us to look at Paul and see Jesus. The problem we have today is that we can come to get lost in the charisma and words of the man serving God, and so forget to see the God who sent the man. I dare say there are people more loyal to their pastor than to Jesus. After all, you can see him, and converse with him, and be near him- you know, the same things the Israelites said about the golden calf they made while God chatted with Moses on the mountain.
The Answer
So, here is how we can avoid setting our churches, and our pastors, up for failure:
Churches: Remember the pastor is human. He makes mistakes. Even in his teaching. So check what he says with Scripture and prayer. NEVER take him just at his word, because his best intentions will still fall short of God. Allow him to admit his faults, and encourage him to do so- and if he asks for help, give it. He needs your help in walking with Christ, even as he is called to lead you to walk with Christ. Pray for him. Question him. And never feel afraid to approach him. He may be the guy speaking each week, leading everyone, but he is still one of you. Don't forget that. And don't let him forget it either. But when he takes a stand that stands with God (and God backs that choice in Scripture)- back him with all you have.
Pastors: Remember you are human. You rely on God for the same grace you extol your church to seek and live in. Be real with the people, and never pretend you have it all together. Take time to be with them more than just a greeting as they enter or leave church. Share your sins and failures, and ask for their help. Do what you do for the Name of Christ, above doing it for the love of the church. Don't be afraid to take a stand- one that comes from Christ, not your views- and be willing to lose popularity over it. Make it clear with words AND actions that Christ leads you, Christ is your Lord, and that you merely lead the church where Christ leads you. Don't let people make you into more than you are.
That church that made me feel like a celebrity also taught me the dangers that come with it. It taught me how to be a pastor, not a celebrity. How to care for the people more than the position. They taught me that a real pastor will lead the people where they don't want to go, even if it costs him greatly- and he'll lead them there because that dangerous and lonely place is where Jesus is.
I felt,for the first time, like a celebrity.
I don't think we set out to be 'celebrities' to our churches, but it often happens. Pastors who are loved become special people in the community. They get good seats at events, special parking, and lots of invites to cool stuff. People begin to talk like they talk, dress like they dress, and name drop them in conversations to feel important. Don't get me wrong- pastors should be loved and appreciated, but caution must be taken.
Pastors Are People
Something begins to happen in and around Celebrity Pastors. People begin to think they can do no wrong. They take their words as gospel, and their actions as saintly offerings. But pastors are people. They are fallible. They are given to fits of stupidity and error just like everyone else. They have affairs, struggle with alcoholism, have tempers, and occasionally lie (and not just in those cheesy 'pastor stories that sometimes get told from the pulpit to make a humorous point). Not just in their sins, pastors are people in their needs. They need friends they can vent to, cry with, laugh with and bounce ideas off of. They need friends. But Celebrity Pastors find friends hard to come by. The power they wield puts up a wall between the people and them, a sort of "I wanna talk to him, but he's so important and I'm not" vibe sets in. And the more distance between Pastor as Person and Pastor as Celebrity, the more it becomes about the power of the position and not the people they serve.
Power Corrupts
When people view their pastors as celebrities, eventually it can go to their head. They begin to get beyond the checks and balances of the people because no one would dare question their word. If it goes on long enough, even if someone does confront an error the pastor will refuse to see it. This is how bad theology becomes common theology. No matter how good the intent of the man setting out to lead, too much power will corrupt. You've seen it in nationally known pastors like Swaggart and Haggard, leading powerful churches while living a lie and believing their power strong enough to keep it hidden. But it happens on smaller levels, and without such blatant sin. Sometimes, a pastor becomes so powerful that the church can't function without him. He retires and the replacement is a sacrificial lamb because he's never good enough, and never will be. Or the church just dies, because the life of it was in that one man.
Pastor Worship is Idolatry
Paul told us to imitate him as he imitated Christ. Paul wanted us to look at Paul and see Jesus. The problem we have today is that we can come to get lost in the charisma and words of the man serving God, and so forget to see the God who sent the man. I dare say there are people more loyal to their pastor than to Jesus. After all, you can see him, and converse with him, and be near him- you know, the same things the Israelites said about the golden calf they made while God chatted with Moses on the mountain.
The Answer
So, here is how we can avoid setting our churches, and our pastors, up for failure:
Churches: Remember the pastor is human. He makes mistakes. Even in his teaching. So check what he says with Scripture and prayer. NEVER take him just at his word, because his best intentions will still fall short of God. Allow him to admit his faults, and encourage him to do so- and if he asks for help, give it. He needs your help in walking with Christ, even as he is called to lead you to walk with Christ. Pray for him. Question him. And never feel afraid to approach him. He may be the guy speaking each week, leading everyone, but he is still one of you. Don't forget that. And don't let him forget it either. But when he takes a stand that stands with God (and God backs that choice in Scripture)- back him with all you have.
Pastors: Remember you are human. You rely on God for the same grace you extol your church to seek and live in. Be real with the people, and never pretend you have it all together. Take time to be with them more than just a greeting as they enter or leave church. Share your sins and failures, and ask for their help. Do what you do for the Name of Christ, above doing it for the love of the church. Don't be afraid to take a stand- one that comes from Christ, not your views- and be willing to lose popularity over it. Make it clear with words AND actions that Christ leads you, Christ is your Lord, and that you merely lead the church where Christ leads you. Don't let people make you into more than you are.
That church that made me feel like a celebrity also taught me the dangers that come with it. It taught me how to be a pastor, not a celebrity. How to care for the people more than the position. They taught me that a real pastor will lead the people where they don't want to go, even if it costs him greatly- and he'll lead them there because that dangerous and lonely place is where Jesus is.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Sexting and the Identity Crisis
It's always something with teenagers.
One generation has the evils of dance and drink. Another sees the danger of drink and drive. Yet another sees the evil of drugs rear it's head. A few years ago it was the predator filled land of MySpace. Now, it's sexting.
Last night, the local news ran a report on this new phenomenon (which, I must add, is not exclusive to those age 13-19). In the story, a mother discovered her 15 year old had created several false social media profiles and was sexting several older guys. So mom calls the dudes up and outs the daughter. Gutsy mom. In the story, the State Attorney General spoke of efforts to pass legislation making it illegal.
This morning, a local doctor who does a 3 minute bit on the local morning show, and whom I'll call Dr. Eyebrows, also addressed the issue. And for once, I agree with him- for a minute or two. He said legislation and potentially labeling these kids sex offenders won't solve the problem because we haven't answered why they do it. He says it is because we don't spend enough time with our kids, that that is the root of it. That's where I disagree with Dr. Eyebrows. Time with our kids is a part of it, but I spent a great deal of time with my parents, good quality time at that, and I still engaged in actions that were not the best for me. Admittedly, I was not the typical rebellious teen at all, and had sexting been around back them, I would never have done it anyway. I still got involved in things that were not the best, ranging from BB gun fights to pornography, and I had very good, involved parents.
I did the things I did because I was looking for identity.
I've long said that the 18-25 time of our lives is about defining our identity. It's that period of time in which we become who are for the rest of our lives. But I would say that the teenagers years is when we first become aware of a need for identity, and so set out to create one.
We pursue sports, recreational activities, the opposite sex, a cool car, a reputation, a group to belong to, an image- all things that give us identity. But this is identity bestowed. It comes from others. Sexting, to me, falls into this area. It is an attempt to attain an identity as sexy or tempting. An flawed identity that says "I am a man or woman because I am sexy." This is nothing new. When our grandparents' parents were terrified of them going dancing, it was because dancing always led to sex, and that is what teens want more than anything. OK, the "always led to sex" part was a bit of hyperbole on their part, but sex being a predominant thought for teens is not too far off the mark. Up until the Technology Age we live in, sex had to be personal. Now, it comes over the internet or through the phone.
And it is still about a teens search for identity.
To be declared sexy means to have identity. To be a 'mature' person in they eyes of their peers. Again, this is identity bestowed, not identity discovered. So, here is my answer to Dr. Eyebrows' suggestion that we spend more time with our kids: Time spent with our kids NEEDS to be time spent urging them to define themselves, to discover their identity for themselves. And we need to remind that while the mask of identity they wear in High School (Jock, Cowboy, Cheerleader, Band Nerd, Geek, etc.) will fade, the scars they receive in pursuit of this temporary identity will not. It is natural for teens to experiment with who they are, but those experiments will have consequences. Habits they establish in the teen years will either plague them or help them for the rest of their lives, long after the nicknames have faded. You can delete that sext, but what you have given up is much more than data.
And really, sexting is not the core issue- it is a symptom. A generation exists right now that doesn't know who it is- just like every generation before it. It is trying things to see if they can figure out who they are. And they so desperately want to be cool and grown up, and are willing to create a false identity (literally and figuratively) so that others will perceive them as such. Because they fail to see the real person they are. Whether it is sexting, or drunkenness, or bullying, or lying, they are all the attempts of a blind person trying to see themselves in a mirror. They can't see themselves, so they act in such a way that others define them. And they live in that definition until one day, often when it's too late, they can suddenly see the mirror for themselves. It is then that they realize they have been living an identity that is not really them at all, but it is too late to undo what has been done. The scars won't fade now
It is a simple answer to say that what people need is Jesus. It is a church answer to the extreme. But church answers aren't always wrong answers. I was able to avoid making most of the big bad decisions in my teen years because I chose to let God define my identity, for the most part. I struggled with then, and struggle with now, the issue of pornography because I didn't, in those formative years, let God define that part of me. I didn't drink or do drugs, I didn't drive recklessly- even when I had a Firebird. I had a better idea of who I was in High School because I had Jesus leading me to those answers instead of letting other identity challenged teens give me a name. I still was blown away by how little I knew of myself when I got to college, but I had way fewer scars than many of my friends. But there is not a day goes by that I don't wish I had given over to Jesus that sexual part of my identity that was scarred by the images I saw. If I had only trusted Him totally, I could have spared so much anguish.
Now imagine the feeling of a teen who got lost in the false identity given through "teenage indiscretions" like sexting or beer parties or hookups or bullying. The choices teens make will define them, long after they have grown up and tried so hard to let the world see them as they really are. Those choices may be see by everyone, like when there is a teenage pregnancy or a drunk driving collision. Or they may be private like pornography. But they are there. In our hearts. In our minds. They are the nagging little things that won't let go, no matter how hard we try to get away. No matter how much we want them to fade.
If you're young, make wise decisions and seek your identity from the One who actually matters. If you're old, know that the One who actually matters forgives us for our failures- the old ones and the new ones. In Jesus, we have a new chance. A new hope.
Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give that person a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to the one who receives it. --Revelation 2:17
One generation has the evils of dance and drink. Another sees the danger of drink and drive. Yet another sees the evil of drugs rear it's head. A few years ago it was the predator filled land of MySpace. Now, it's sexting.
Last night, the local news ran a report on this new phenomenon (which, I must add, is not exclusive to those age 13-19). In the story, a mother discovered her 15 year old had created several false social media profiles and was sexting several older guys. So mom calls the dudes up and outs the daughter. Gutsy mom. In the story, the State Attorney General spoke of efforts to pass legislation making it illegal.
This morning, a local doctor who does a 3 minute bit on the local morning show, and whom I'll call Dr. Eyebrows, also addressed the issue. And for once, I agree with him- for a minute or two. He said legislation and potentially labeling these kids sex offenders won't solve the problem because we haven't answered why they do it. He says it is because we don't spend enough time with our kids, that that is the root of it. That's where I disagree with Dr. Eyebrows. Time with our kids is a part of it, but I spent a great deal of time with my parents, good quality time at that, and I still engaged in actions that were not the best for me. Admittedly, I was not the typical rebellious teen at all, and had sexting been around back them, I would never have done it anyway. I still got involved in things that were not the best, ranging from BB gun fights to pornography, and I had very good, involved parents.
I did the things I did because I was looking for identity.
I've long said that the 18-25 time of our lives is about defining our identity. It's that period of time in which we become who are for the rest of our lives. But I would say that the teenagers years is when we first become aware of a need for identity, and so set out to create one.
We pursue sports, recreational activities, the opposite sex, a cool car, a reputation, a group to belong to, an image- all things that give us identity. But this is identity bestowed. It comes from others. Sexting, to me, falls into this area. It is an attempt to attain an identity as sexy or tempting. An flawed identity that says "I am a man or woman because I am sexy." This is nothing new. When our grandparents' parents were terrified of them going dancing, it was because dancing always led to sex, and that is what teens want more than anything. OK, the "always led to sex" part was a bit of hyperbole on their part, but sex being a predominant thought for teens is not too far off the mark. Up until the Technology Age we live in, sex had to be personal. Now, it comes over the internet or through the phone.
And it is still about a teens search for identity.
To be declared sexy means to have identity. To be a 'mature' person in they eyes of their peers. Again, this is identity bestowed, not identity discovered. So, here is my answer to Dr. Eyebrows' suggestion that we spend more time with our kids: Time spent with our kids NEEDS to be time spent urging them to define themselves, to discover their identity for themselves. And we need to remind that while the mask of identity they wear in High School (Jock, Cowboy, Cheerleader, Band Nerd, Geek, etc.) will fade, the scars they receive in pursuit of this temporary identity will not. It is natural for teens to experiment with who they are, but those experiments will have consequences. Habits they establish in the teen years will either plague them or help them for the rest of their lives, long after the nicknames have faded. You can delete that sext, but what you have given up is much more than data.
And really, sexting is not the core issue- it is a symptom. A generation exists right now that doesn't know who it is- just like every generation before it. It is trying things to see if they can figure out who they are. And they so desperately want to be cool and grown up, and are willing to create a false identity (literally and figuratively) so that others will perceive them as such. Because they fail to see the real person they are. Whether it is sexting, or drunkenness, or bullying, or lying, they are all the attempts of a blind person trying to see themselves in a mirror. They can't see themselves, so they act in such a way that others define them. And they live in that definition until one day, often when it's too late, they can suddenly see the mirror for themselves. It is then that they realize they have been living an identity that is not really them at all, but it is too late to undo what has been done. The scars won't fade now
It is a simple answer to say that what people need is Jesus. It is a church answer to the extreme. But church answers aren't always wrong answers. I was able to avoid making most of the big bad decisions in my teen years because I chose to let God define my identity, for the most part. I struggled with then, and struggle with now, the issue of pornography because I didn't, in those formative years, let God define that part of me. I didn't drink or do drugs, I didn't drive recklessly- even when I had a Firebird. I had a better idea of who I was in High School because I had Jesus leading me to those answers instead of letting other identity challenged teens give me a name. I still was blown away by how little I knew of myself when I got to college, but I had way fewer scars than many of my friends. But there is not a day goes by that I don't wish I had given over to Jesus that sexual part of my identity that was scarred by the images I saw. If I had only trusted Him totally, I could have spared so much anguish.
Now imagine the feeling of a teen who got lost in the false identity given through "teenage indiscretions" like sexting or beer parties or hookups or bullying. The choices teens make will define them, long after they have grown up and tried so hard to let the world see them as they really are. Those choices may be see by everyone, like when there is a teenage pregnancy or a drunk driving collision. Or they may be private like pornography. But they are there. In our hearts. In our minds. They are the nagging little things that won't let go, no matter how hard we try to get away. No matter how much we want them to fade.
If you're young, make wise decisions and seek your identity from the One who actually matters. If you're old, know that the One who actually matters forgives us for our failures- the old ones and the new ones. In Jesus, we have a new chance. A new hope.
Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give that person a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to the one who receives it. --Revelation 2:17
Monday, February 7, 2011
Flag Football Grace
Today I am sore.
It takes great pains to lift my legs when walking. Rising from my chair requires a groan and many wobbles. I have a finger that is a lovely shade of purple.
This is all because, yesterday, I played flag football with our church. This translates into three people over the age of 30 playing with and against nine people under the age of 25. Six years makes a great deal of difference. I learned this among much other vitally important stuff.
For one, I learned that coordination at 31 is not what it was at 21. I learned that when the momentum of the upper body exceeds the terminal velocity of the lower body, one can enter into a "head skid." I learned that after falling on the ground, rolling is an excellent way to prevent your flags from being pulled- but it is not a legal way to gain yards. I learned that one's wife will, on instinct, trip you to prevent you from sacking her teammate. Lastly, I was reminded of what if feels like to be trapped.
I got to quarterback a few times, and each time, a rush came at me. What often happened was the rushers simply pushed the defenders back with them, so anywhere from three to five people were suddenly all in my space, with no way out. Running around it wasn't an option all that often (see the above mentioned age difference), so you often had to through up a hopeful pass or take the sack. Fortunately, we were playing flag football. Mostly. ( See above mentioned wife defensive strategy.)
It's one thing to feel trapped in a friendly flag football game. It's a totally different kind of trapped when you feel attacked- physically, spiritually, or emotionally. For me, the trapped feeling comes in one of two ways most often: from increased stress or from sin. Usually, they eventually tag team me.
I've felt trapped lately. Temptations rise around me like a defensive line going for the sack. The walls close in and I feel trapped, I can't see a way out of them. I can run for a bit, but I grow tired and the assailants don't. I look for a way out, but the added stress makes me question every decision, every way out is shut down by my feeling of oppression. The loss I take is much more deadly than taking a couple yards for a sack.
Praying the other day, I felt it impressed upon me to read Psalm 40. It's the one that starts out talking about waiting patiently for the Lord, then Him hearing the cry. U2 made a song about it:
In the middle of the Psalm, comes a plea. It comes from the depths of the man, of David who is no stranger to heart wrenching failure and oppression.
11 Do not withhold your mercy from me, LORD;
may your love and faithfulness always protect me.
12 For troubles without number surround me;
my sins have overtaken me, and I cannot see.
They are more than the hairs of my head,
and my heart fails within me.
13 Be pleased to save me, LORD;
come quickly, LORD, to help me.
So often, it feels our heart fails. We know what is right, we know what is good. We know what hurts God, hurts those we love, hurts ourselves. But we grow weak in the moment. We give a little ground, and the sin takes the field in a stunning blitz we weren't prepared for. Our troubles overtake us, our sins overwhelm us and we can no longer see our salvation. So, in our moment of desperation, we throw up a prayer blindly. We hope it will find it's intended target before we take the sack. We can't see Him out there, we just hope He is 'pleased to save me.'
I don't know how He does it. I don't know why and definitely not when He does it. But He saves us. Not just that first time when we first meet Him, but daily. He does hear us, and though His answer is not always immediate, He does rescue us. HE snatches our plea for rescue from the air and brings it down securely in His possession. Then He helps us.
He calms us if we will listen for Him and wait for Him. He heals us if we are willing to forgive ourselves for getting into the mess in the first place. He restores us if we are willing to shed the sin that has grown painfully into our skin. And make no mistake, ridding our lives of sin will hurt. Maybe it's the mild removal of a splinter kind of hurt, maybe it's an amputation kind of hurt. Either way, removing a sin that has become a part of you would kill you- if you weren't already dead to sin but alive in Christ (Romans 6:11).
My soreness today reminds of a good memory- a great game with good friends. The soreness of sin however reminds us of how quickly we can get lost in the old us. If only we would remember the pain of sin when in the midst of pursuing it again. There is another ache, however, that rises when we perpetually return to our old sins. It is the ache of longing for God. The ache of losing sight of Him, of broken relations with Him. Of a heart that has failed.
Sin leads to death. Death comes from a heart that has failed- both physically and spiritually.
So if your heart is failing, your options for escape have faded away or you've given up on them, lift your eyes to patch of sky that is still visible in your haze. It's there, trust me. Throw your last hope for rescue at it, trusting in a God you've strayed from but who has never left you. It's not logical, it's not good football strategy to toss a blind pass in the vain hope your receiver will snag it.
It's a good thing Jesus isn't like a flag football receiver, isn't it?
It takes great pains to lift my legs when walking. Rising from my chair requires a groan and many wobbles. I have a finger that is a lovely shade of purple.
This is all because, yesterday, I played flag football with our church. This translates into three people over the age of 30 playing with and against nine people under the age of 25. Six years makes a great deal of difference. I learned this among much other vitally important stuff.
For one, I learned that coordination at 31 is not what it was at 21. I learned that when the momentum of the upper body exceeds the terminal velocity of the lower body, one can enter into a "head skid." I learned that after falling on the ground, rolling is an excellent way to prevent your flags from being pulled- but it is not a legal way to gain yards. I learned that one's wife will, on instinct, trip you to prevent you from sacking her teammate. Lastly, I was reminded of what if feels like to be trapped.
I got to quarterback a few times, and each time, a rush came at me. What often happened was the rushers simply pushed the defenders back with them, so anywhere from three to five people were suddenly all in my space, with no way out. Running around it wasn't an option all that often (see the above mentioned age difference), so you often had to through up a hopeful pass or take the sack. Fortunately, we were playing flag football. Mostly. ( See above mentioned wife defensive strategy.)
It's one thing to feel trapped in a friendly flag football game. It's a totally different kind of trapped when you feel attacked- physically, spiritually, or emotionally. For me, the trapped feeling comes in one of two ways most often: from increased stress or from sin. Usually, they eventually tag team me.
I've felt trapped lately. Temptations rise around me like a defensive line going for the sack. The walls close in and I feel trapped, I can't see a way out of them. I can run for a bit, but I grow tired and the assailants don't. I look for a way out, but the added stress makes me question every decision, every way out is shut down by my feeling of oppression. The loss I take is much more deadly than taking a couple yards for a sack.
Praying the other day, I felt it impressed upon me to read Psalm 40. It's the one that starts out talking about waiting patiently for the Lord, then Him hearing the cry. U2 made a song about it:
In the middle of the Psalm, comes a plea. It comes from the depths of the man, of David who is no stranger to heart wrenching failure and oppression.
11 Do not withhold your mercy from me, LORD;
may your love and faithfulness always protect me.
12 For troubles without number surround me;
my sins have overtaken me, and I cannot see.
They are more than the hairs of my head,
and my heart fails within me.
13 Be pleased to save me, LORD;
come quickly, LORD, to help me.
So often, it feels our heart fails. We know what is right, we know what is good. We know what hurts God, hurts those we love, hurts ourselves. But we grow weak in the moment. We give a little ground, and the sin takes the field in a stunning blitz we weren't prepared for. Our troubles overtake us, our sins overwhelm us and we can no longer see our salvation. So, in our moment of desperation, we throw up a prayer blindly. We hope it will find it's intended target before we take the sack. We can't see Him out there, we just hope He is 'pleased to save me.'
I don't know how He does it. I don't know why and definitely not when He does it. But He saves us. Not just that first time when we first meet Him, but daily. He does hear us, and though His answer is not always immediate, He does rescue us. HE snatches our plea for rescue from the air and brings it down securely in His possession. Then He helps us.
He calms us if we will listen for Him and wait for Him. He heals us if we are willing to forgive ourselves for getting into the mess in the first place. He restores us if we are willing to shed the sin that has grown painfully into our skin. And make no mistake, ridding our lives of sin will hurt. Maybe it's the mild removal of a splinter kind of hurt, maybe it's an amputation kind of hurt. Either way, removing a sin that has become a part of you would kill you- if you weren't already dead to sin but alive in Christ (Romans 6:11).
My soreness today reminds of a good memory- a great game with good friends. The soreness of sin however reminds us of how quickly we can get lost in the old us. If only we would remember the pain of sin when in the midst of pursuing it again. There is another ache, however, that rises when we perpetually return to our old sins. It is the ache of longing for God. The ache of losing sight of Him, of broken relations with Him. Of a heart that has failed.
Sin leads to death. Death comes from a heart that has failed- both physically and spiritually.
So if your heart is failing, your options for escape have faded away or you've given up on them, lift your eyes to patch of sky that is still visible in your haze. It's there, trust me. Throw your last hope for rescue at it, trusting in a God you've strayed from but who has never left you. It's not logical, it's not good football strategy to toss a blind pass in the vain hope your receiver will snag it.
It's a good thing Jesus isn't like a flag football receiver, isn't it?
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Who Do You Say He Is?
I've been a Batman fan for as long as I can remember. I first learned of him through Super Friends re-runs and the '60's TV show. I read the occasional comic book. Then it was 1989 and Tim Burton did a movie that changed things for me. Batman was serious, and dangerous. Then I really became a fan. Burton continued with Batman Returns, but then Joel Schumacher made Batman Forever, and the goofy came back. This was not my Batman anymore. Then there was Batman and Robin. I'll not say anything else about that. But I had another version of Batman to keep me happy- found in the animated series and later the Justice League cartoon. All the while, the comic book Batman stayed like I liked him- dark, serious, and not a people person. When Christopher Nolan brought his more realistic, more serious version of Batman to life in Batman Begins and the Dark Knight- I was ecstatic. MY favorite version of Batman was out there for the world to see.
There have been numerous directors and actors to bring their vision of Batman to life- each with his own twist, his own little bit of definition that makes it 'their' Batman. And thats not to mention the 70+ years of writers who put their mark on the character. They can look at their work and say proudly, "That's who I say he is." And they have every right to do that- he is a fictional character and he is meant to be molded to the vision of the creator currently handling him. He is a tool of entertainment.
But Jesus isn't. Never has been. But like actors, directors, and writers we want to put OUR stamp on Jesus. It's so tempting to try to see Jesus as we want to see Him. Part of that is good and needs to happen: we need to see Jesus as we experience Him in our day to day lives. But the danger is when we try to change, however subtly it may be, the Truth of who He is.
It's nothing new. Jesus' own contemporaries wanted Him to be something He wasn't: a conquering political leader. Many grew frustrated and left Him when they realized the revolution He was leading would not take down an oppressive government. John the Baptist's followers questioned whether or not He was the one they expected, because He didn't fit their perceptions. Those closest to Him struggled with who He really was even after seeing all the miracles- it wasn't until after He ascended to Heaven after the Resurrection that they began to really see.
Now, we mostly like to pick and choose the things about Jesus we want to believe. Occasionally we ( and by we, I mean cult leaders, politicians and pastors like me) put words in His mouth, but mostly we just like to ignore the things He said we don't like, or justify why we don't have to still follow that teaching. We want to quote those passages about forgiveness and turning the other cheek, but conveniently forget that Jesus PHYSICALLY threw money changers out of the temple and verbally assaulted the Pharisees on numerous occasions. We want to think Jesus doesn't care about sin because He always forgives, but conveniently forget that He forgives and asks us to "go and sin no more." We take those teachings about confronting those in sin, but leave the parts about confronting in love and "removing the long in our own eye." We claim to be His chosen people, then look down on those who don't believe as if the 'chosen' part was really about something we did to earn it.
Essentially, we try to write Jesus as a character. We want to put our spin on it. And we do it with the best of intentions. There are parts of the character of Jesus- and even more so, God in the Old Testament- that aren't easy to digest, so we clean it up a bit. We try to make God as a whole easier to take, like He's medicine that needs a spoonful of sugar. We think, "What's the harm in making Jesus and God less exclusive, less difficult, more human?" If people come to know the safe (read "our") Jesus, that's all the matters, right?
At best, when they finally realize that Jesus is not so easy to grasp, that we 'sugared' Him up to make Him more palatable, then they grow frustrated. Maybe with God, maybe with the Church. At worst, we water Him down or beef Him up so much that they realize the Jesus they accepted was not really Jesus at all, but in actuality our projection of who we want Him to be.
I think this is one reason behind the Exodus of teens from the Church when they go off to college or career. They've met Jesus, but not ever really engaged Him as He is. They know a little of Him, mostly what others have said, and when they get independent and start really looking at who He is, they decide they don't really like the way Jesus characterizes Himself. They find other characters to read that make them feel good about themselves as they are. Characters that make more sense to them.
I've not read Batman comics for a year or so now because I don't like the characterization of Batman. I've moved on to Green Lantern and Flash, and I can do that with no qualms, no major consequences. I like their characters better right now, so I invest in them. I can do this because they aren't real. They are shaped by their creators. And if I don't like it, I can read about something else.
But with Christ, He is the Creator and we are the characters. It is supposed to be Him writing our actions, scripting our dialog, not the other way around. For me to stop seeking God because I don't like the way He works is the ultimate form of idolatry- it's putting me as god over God. It'd be like Batman stopping in the middle of a scene or comic panel and looking at the director or writer and saying, "Eh, I'm going to go a different way with this. It's just not working for me."
We must come to the point where we stop trying to add our characterizations to God to get Him to be who we want Him to be. We can't force Him to accept our actions, we can't justify doing things He clearly says are wrong and still call Him God or Lord. It's time we read our Bible without a preconceived notion who God should be. It's time we open it's pages and ask the Spirit to lead us to see Him as He is. When Jesus asked Peter, "Who do you say I am?" Peter said, "You are the Messiah, the son of the Living God." Jesus told him this confession came not from other people, or even from the finite mind of Peter, but was revealed to Peter by the Divine. God wants to reveal Himself to us. He longs for it because He wants to be known by us. But our prejudices and ideas of who He should be get in the way. We must go to Him and ask Him to reveal Himself, and in doing so to burn away all the junk that clutters our perception of Him.
If Christopher Nolan's version of Batman is my favorite version of Batman- then God's version of Himself is not only my favorite version of Him, it's the only true version of Him.
By that reasoning, the best version of me is the one written and directed by Jesus.
There have been numerous directors and actors to bring their vision of Batman to life- each with his own twist, his own little bit of definition that makes it 'their' Batman. And thats not to mention the 70+ years of writers who put their mark on the character. They can look at their work and say proudly, "That's who I say he is." And they have every right to do that- he is a fictional character and he is meant to be molded to the vision of the creator currently handling him. He is a tool of entertainment.
But Jesus isn't. Never has been. But like actors, directors, and writers we want to put OUR stamp on Jesus. It's so tempting to try to see Jesus as we want to see Him. Part of that is good and needs to happen: we need to see Jesus as we experience Him in our day to day lives. But the danger is when we try to change, however subtly it may be, the Truth of who He is.
It's nothing new. Jesus' own contemporaries wanted Him to be something He wasn't: a conquering political leader. Many grew frustrated and left Him when they realized the revolution He was leading would not take down an oppressive government. John the Baptist's followers questioned whether or not He was the one they expected, because He didn't fit their perceptions. Those closest to Him struggled with who He really was even after seeing all the miracles- it wasn't until after He ascended to Heaven after the Resurrection that they began to really see.
Now, we mostly like to pick and choose the things about Jesus we want to believe. Occasionally we ( and by we, I mean cult leaders, politicians and pastors like me) put words in His mouth, but mostly we just like to ignore the things He said we don't like, or justify why we don't have to still follow that teaching. We want to quote those passages about forgiveness and turning the other cheek, but conveniently forget that Jesus PHYSICALLY threw money changers out of the temple and verbally assaulted the Pharisees on numerous occasions. We want to think Jesus doesn't care about sin because He always forgives, but conveniently forget that He forgives and asks us to "go and sin no more." We take those teachings about confronting those in sin, but leave the parts about confronting in love and "removing the long in our own eye." We claim to be His chosen people, then look down on those who don't believe as if the 'chosen' part was really about something we did to earn it.
Essentially, we try to write Jesus as a character. We want to put our spin on it. And we do it with the best of intentions. There are parts of the character of Jesus- and even more so, God in the Old Testament- that aren't easy to digest, so we clean it up a bit. We try to make God as a whole easier to take, like He's medicine that needs a spoonful of sugar. We think, "What's the harm in making Jesus and God less exclusive, less difficult, more human?" If people come to know the safe (read "our") Jesus, that's all the matters, right?
At best, when they finally realize that Jesus is not so easy to grasp, that we 'sugared' Him up to make Him more palatable, then they grow frustrated. Maybe with God, maybe with the Church. At worst, we water Him down or beef Him up so much that they realize the Jesus they accepted was not really Jesus at all, but in actuality our projection of who we want Him to be.
I think this is one reason behind the Exodus of teens from the Church when they go off to college or career. They've met Jesus, but not ever really engaged Him as He is. They know a little of Him, mostly what others have said, and when they get independent and start really looking at who He is, they decide they don't really like the way Jesus characterizes Himself. They find other characters to read that make them feel good about themselves as they are. Characters that make more sense to them.
I've not read Batman comics for a year or so now because I don't like the characterization of Batman. I've moved on to Green Lantern and Flash, and I can do that with no qualms, no major consequences. I like their characters better right now, so I invest in them. I can do this because they aren't real. They are shaped by their creators. And if I don't like it, I can read about something else.
But with Christ, He is the Creator and we are the characters. It is supposed to be Him writing our actions, scripting our dialog, not the other way around. For me to stop seeking God because I don't like the way He works is the ultimate form of idolatry- it's putting me as god over God. It'd be like Batman stopping in the middle of a scene or comic panel and looking at the director or writer and saying, "Eh, I'm going to go a different way with this. It's just not working for me."
We must come to the point where we stop trying to add our characterizations to God to get Him to be who we want Him to be. We can't force Him to accept our actions, we can't justify doing things He clearly says are wrong and still call Him God or Lord. It's time we read our Bible without a preconceived notion who God should be. It's time we open it's pages and ask the Spirit to lead us to see Him as He is. When Jesus asked Peter, "Who do you say I am?" Peter said, "You are the Messiah, the son of the Living God." Jesus told him this confession came not from other people, or even from the finite mind of Peter, but was revealed to Peter by the Divine. God wants to reveal Himself to us. He longs for it because He wants to be known by us. But our prejudices and ideas of who He should be get in the way. We must go to Him and ask Him to reveal Himself, and in doing so to burn away all the junk that clutters our perception of Him.
If Christopher Nolan's version of Batman is my favorite version of Batman- then God's version of Himself is not only my favorite version of Him, it's the only true version of Him.
By that reasoning, the best version of me is the one written and directed by Jesus.
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