God owes us . . . nothing

I'm recently discovering (or rediscovering) the fact that God owes us, needs to give us, is obligated to provide . . . well nothing.

What do I mean when I say nothing?

God does not owe us:

1. Life: Here is the reality: we are not promised one more breath, one more heartbeat, one more blink of the eye. We are not promised that our cancer will miraculously (or by science) go away, that we will be saved from car wrecks, that we won't be the one who has that 'freak' accident in the safety of our own home. Just because you believe in God and follow Jesus--or not--does not make you invincible nor exempt from the reality of life, which is that people die a lot.

2. Laughter: No one is promised a 'good life.' It is hard for me, as an American, to get my head around this because I've assumed I am somehow due a good life, but find that in the Bible for me then I'll change my mind. What does this mean for day-to-day life? It means no one is promised good feelings . . . ever. No one is promised that we will laugh when something funny happens, that we will cry for joy, that we will get that job (let alone any job), that we can sing songs, that we will have a spouse and kids, that we will enjoy fine meals, that we can be wowed and refreshed by being outdoors, that anything will go 'right' or the way we wanted and planned, that praying will accomplish anything, that following the rules will get you anywhere, that breaking rules will summon excitement, that following your heart will work out, that following whatever 10-steps will accomplish their aim, that doing what people say will have its hoped for affect, that doing anything will illicit any kind of reaction in your soul. No one is promised anything of the sort.

So now that you're all glum and sporting a frowny-face, what does this mean? It means that when God--yes it is HIM--provides us the capacity and gift of pleasant things and the ability to feel rightly about these gifts.... enjoy the heck out of them. Cry when your baby is born. Laugh when your friend does something stupid. Eat that delicious dessert with happiness. Go celebrate when you get your job. It is SO good to have gifts and we should take them and embrace them . . . as gifts.

And whether we get this or that is not based on our good or bad behavior.

We are promised God. For those who follow him, we are told that we will always have God. We should not say, 'in his presence is fullness of joy so that means we should be happy all the time.' No, joy is not happiness. Joy is not feelings. Joy is a faith-based sense and belief and understanding that though we may never smile one more time, and we may spend the rest of our days in tears of sorrow God is still real, we are still his children, and Heaven will be full of the most explosive happiness and joy and good times we literally cannot fathom it.

Life is hard. Life is unbearable sometimes. Life can be too much. But often it is when we have everything but don't have the feeling we hoped for, it is then that we finally see we need God. Thankfully, for most, God is very kind in his provision and gift giving and occurrences in our life and we should thank him so much! But our belief in God and HIS GOODNESS should not be dependent upon what he provides day in and day out but on what he said and the now-unseen-reality he says is true.

The book of Job points this out and Job got it right when he said that God is truly good when he provides all kinds of great things or provides all of life to cease and die and be ripped away. Naomi was right she told her friends to stop calling her 'pleasant' but to call her 'bitter' because God killed her husband and two sons; she was a broken mess who still had a glimmer of hope in God.

It is crazy to understand that goodness is known in the darkest hour of your soul. That pain can walk beside God's favor. Joy accompanies stomach wrenching agony and confusion and frustration. The reality is that though he seems to not care one bit about you, God is not far off ever and he is always loving his children when it seems like he is ruining them. Love is peculiar and when we figure out what Paul proclaims in Romans 9-11--God does whatever he wants and he is always good in whatever he does because he IS wise and IS loving more than we can understand--we believe a scary and hard truth. Love is different than we think.

Is Orthodoxy Your Christ?

Is orthodoxy your Christ?

Sometimes we can forget why it is we do what we have done for so long.

There is a story of a man who, like many, fell in love with a gal he met his Sophomore year of college. They dated, got married, had children, even adopted one. But over time the man slowly stopped surprising his wife with a flower or note or wink, that 'something' in him for her began to fade. He was the same man who provided for his family, played with his children and tenderly cared for them, who made his wife, in some ways, still feel special... but something had faded which once was there. He would never consider divorce or separation, for he saw nothing in the relationship that was off. He would always be the husband at his wife's side, the father there with wisdom and grace for his children. But the thing which he lacked was this: he worried so much about being a good father and husband that he stopped loving his wife and children. He would not say it, his family would not say it, but it was the reality. His desire was not to set-out to emotionally schism from his family, it just sort of happened. He had the mechanics of one who outwardly displayed love, but he was more of a robot than a man; he DID more than he was compelled.

In the book of Revelation, second chapter, Jesus charges the church at Ephesus with 'abandoning the love you had at first.'

This was probably shocking to many in the churches at that time. You mean us? We have protected the truth, orthodoxy, right thinking about you? We have undergone persecution for our views which are correct. We fought against the heresy of the Nicolaitans! How can you say we are lacking love?

Just like the man, Ephesus, full of good and truth, was without love.

Facts do not give life. Love gives life. We always need true truth, but truth which forsakes its source, God, is a deadly poison for it has all the workings of love, yet without the life.

Be Careful, You May Have Terrible Logic

After I decided to follow Jesus I began thinking in some new terms: what is MOST helpful for people?

I don't think that at its core this thinking was sour or bad. The conclusion I reached, however, was bad. It went something along the lines of . . .

What is the greatest need of an individual? To be saved from Hell and put in a right relationship with the God of the Universe.

Therefore the most LOVING thing I can do is tell people about Jesus.

'Woah, that sounds terrible' you say. I hear your sarcasm, don't worry. The Apostle Paul kinda came to this conclusion in the New Testament book of Romans, the tenth chapter: faith comes through hearing and hearing comes through the words of God and no one is going to hear if no one is telling people the word of God THEREFORE go and tell people about all that Jesus did.

The problem with my logical conclusion--and some of yours--is that we somehow forgo the rest of the bible, namely what Jesus did constantly and all the other New Testament letters guide us to do: love others. James says to take care of the orphans and widows as well as generally being one who interacts with the broken and needy world we live in: loving by doing. Paul and Peter say similar things: taking care of the needy, the hungry, the outcast and downtrodden. And Jesus, as I already said, told the inquiring disciple the Gospel According to Luke, You go tell the imprisoned John that the blind receive back their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up, the poor have good news preached to them.

These words of Jesus are not just to announce that he is the Messiah, they are practical and true words--Jesus did all of these things; Jesus met physical needs. Among missionaries there is a saying that bread creates ears. What this means is that if someone is starving and you try and tell them the good words of Jesus they are deaf to it BECAUSE THEY PHYSICALLY ARE STARVING; they may soon die because of their lack of food. But provide a full stomach and suddenly their attention is yours. For many it is easier to tell some stranger how they are in need of the saving work of Christ, then leave. But God calls his children to love as he loves, namely providing and helping and aiding physically and emotionally as well as spiritually.

It it nothing less than cruel to tell your friend who just lost his wife to cancer, 'Hey man, God is working out this for your good.' Where is the love in that? Sure you conveyed and relayed true information but he wants a companion in this time of great hurt; he needs someone to cry and hurt with; he needs someone who will listen and be there for him. The best thing Job's friends did in the entire time they were with him was sit in silence ALONG SIDE OF HIM for seven days. This is what James was talking about in his book when he says you're an idiot and a devil to say, 'May God bless you, sir' to the guy who asks you for some clothes because it is winter time, it is snowing, and he is clearly freezing, yet you give him no clothes.

The Gospel, the life followers of Jesus Christ live is one that provides hope for the distant future and provides hope to live each second of the day.

The Book of Ecclesiastes says there is a time for everything in this world, which also means there is a time NOT to do some things. Have you been speaking when presence would be most helpful? Have you been ignoring clear needs because in your mind they are tertiary or insignificant needs? You want good logic? Go to God and see how he loves.

One of the most happy repercussions of admitting you are sinful and need the saving work of Jesus is that now you can recklessly love others, meaning you can go overboard in your love for them! This does not mean you should be unthoughtful or unwise or impractical and ultimately unhelpful in how you love others but you no longer need to concern yourself with if I do this wrong will I be held liable for their condemnation?

The new logic for followers of Jesus is now love often and in every way you can.

Titus 1.8: a companion of good

Paul instructed his fellow-worker Titus to find in Crete some men who could be elders for the churches on the island. Doing so is not a whimsical venture. So Paul lays out some things for Titus to look for to determine and gauge what these guys’ character should display. One trait he highlights is being a ‘lover of good.’

This seems simple enough, but what does it mean to be a lover of good? It is easy for me—and maybe you—to say, ‘Yes, I love good.’ But when I thought more and delved into the devotion of my own intentions, I became worried. For when I initially thought of if I love good I thought of something positive and then looked at the associated feeling or desire. Correct thinking soon followed: just because I like something when I think of it does not mean that I love it. I soon found that I root for good a lot, but it is often like cheering on your stock as it climbs higher and higher: the results are going to positively affect my bank account. But rooting for is nowhere in the vicinity of loving; unless I have some sad affection for money, I do not actually LOVE my stocks in the stock market; I do desire them to do well so I can have a good investment so I can earn more money so I can do more things with money, but I don’t love stocks or money; they are necessary and helpful. (This is when, in my thinking, my tranquil complexion started to grow into a frown.)

What does it mean to LOVE good? If we look at what love entails through the logic of the Bible—a good place to look since that is where the question arose—we have a helpful guide. To love something Biblically means everything. When Jesus talked about loving our enemies he talked about laying aside all our desires of self-promotion and vengeance for the sake of aiding their soul and even at times their ventures. When Jesus talked about the greatest love one could have for another he talked about the laying down of ones life: willingly giving up yourself totally for another. When Jesus talks about a husband and wife he talks about forbearance, patience, seeking the good of the other, humility, sacrifice, actions and inactions that positively promote the character and life of the other, intentions, dipping into every area and aspect of what it means to live.

So, do I, do you have this particular proclivity for good? Does your life wreak of promoting—for goodness’ sake—good?