What "Ishmael" could have been

I recently read a plot summary for a philosophical novel titled Ishmael.  I view the book (or summary I guess) as flawed and I do not agree with all of its ideas because I view it through the lens of the Gospel.  Nevertheless, the following is a collection of some of the things that the author said, but has been altered (and very much so) by me.  It is quite clear that the Gospel changes Daniel Quinn's story drastically.

The fall of man.  The fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil provides God with the knowledge of who shall live and who shall die--knowledge which He needs to rule the world (so says Quinn).  The fruit only nourishes God though (another Quinn idea).  If man were to eat from this tree, he might think that he gains God's wisdom (without actually doing so) and consequently destroy the world himself through his arrogance.  Thus, we are familiar with the warning that man must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil or he will certainly die.  Despite prior warning, we, man, rendered ourselves above the laws governing life.  Having ate the fruit, we decided that we should be God, that we know better than Him.

We produce enormous food surpluses, which allows us to thwart God.  We decide when we should go hungry and when we should eat!  "When you have more food than you need, then God has no power over you"-- this is what man thinks.  So we declare that we are "those who know good and evil".  Meaning, we think that we rule the world.  We try to take the place of God, never realizing that it is better to live in His hand than to die.  Man thinks "the world belongs to man" but really man should declare "man belongs to God".

Man thought the world was made for them and that man is here to conquer and rule the world.  Man thought that they could bring about paradise this way (and remember: direction, not intention, determines destination).  But we forget: paradise was already given.  By attempting to create our own paradise, we have not accomplished it.  Man, actually sent himself out of paradise in attempt to make his own better paradise.  Man, no matter how hard he labors to save the world, is just going to go on defiling and spoiling it. 

Reconciliation is the only answer.  Jesus bridged that gap.  God went from paradise to our rotting land in order to bring us back to paradise.  Our searching will never amount to anything without Jesus, our Guide.  Our purpose, thus our joy and fulfillment, will never be found when we are out of place.  This is why we are never satisfied.  We must live once again in God's hand, a place in which we don't often see as appealing because we humans love to be in control.  We must realize that all other destinations are imperfect and fleeting.  Our only hope and true, lasting pleasure is found simply where God is.  When we embrace Jesus and what He has done, only then can we stand in undeserved privilege, confidently rejoicing in hope of the glory of God.

“You’ll be disappointed when you uncover that candle and realize there was never a flame there” or “Only the Son can’t be put out, so let’s get rid of all these psuedo-lights”

As I walked alone after sundown the other night, I watched cars passing by.  For a moment, I thought about the possibility of the drivers not seeing me.  When crossing the street, I thought about how light works. Despite the darkness, the headlights force the drivers to be aware of me in the street.  Human eyes focus on where light shines. In darkness, a light behind an object that is directly in front of you will only allow you to see a silhouette.  This is despite the fact that the object is closer and in the foreground.  I think that God is teaching us some things.

While on Earth, with the Roman Empire’s strong-handed oppression crushing Israel, eyes started to focus on Jesus.  Even with all of the forced pain and suffering, people started to see past the immediate silhouette of Roman oppression and unto the bright light, thus dominating darkness.  “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” (John 1:5).  Even death couldn’t own Jesus.  The world’s effort to put out Jesus failed.

We should remember that light really shines in darkness.  There is a reason why Jesus spent time with the people he did. Pharisees asked the disciples about this behavior in Luke 5 and Jesus said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.”  We must not be like the Pharisees.  All too often we sit on our high horse behind our four walls of christianity, completely disconnected from others.  Have you ever covered a lit candle in a jar?  It’s the preferred method to snuff it out.  You won’t even smell the smoke.

You're not alone. I'm sure of it.

Lately, all I see on Facebook and Tumblr is hopelessness.  I see broken people. They have been abandoned by friends, families, and significant others.  I see cries for help, support, and love.   I wish they would give me just a moment of their time to listen to some things I would like to share with them.  These things are, quite frankly, stuff they either say they don’t want to hear or stuff they have only heard some twisted version of.  I’ll start with a quote:

     “And they don’t want to go back to religion and they don’t see the difference between religion and the Gospel.” - Timothy Keller

Please hear me out.  You have probably had someone tell you to “go to church” before or tell you something like “you need God” etc.  If not, I know this is most likely something you have heard of before or you are familiar with.  Anyway, there is probably a huge difference between what you have heard about church and God and what I’m going to tell you.

You may have been told that Christianity is something you do that gets you to Heaven or saves you from Hell, a place you’re headed to because you “do bad things”.  Or possibly that it’s a bunch of rules you have to follow.  Maybe you have heard that it’s about being a “good boy” or “good girl” and abstaining from doing “bad” things.  You’ve been told that it is all about morality.  To me, those things sound like “religion”.  Like the quote above says, you don’t want to be a part of that.  Neither do I.   

Ironically, the Gospel is something much different. A lot of churches, unfortunately, don’t teach or understand the Gospel like they should.  The Gospel or “Good News” is something so great that I would have to sit down with you and talk about it, only then could I do more than merely scratch the surface.  The Gospel is something that is definitely not boring or hateful or condemning like some so-called “Christians” or churches preach.  The Gospel is the reason I’m not hopeless.  It’s what pumps life into my body.  It has changed me to the core and it’s something I want you to experience too.  It has changed the way I view circumstances, people, nature, and life in general.  

The Gospel is Jesus.  You have probably heard about him before.  Maybe from some movie that’s about him.  Or maybe that Christians talk about him a lot.  Or maybe even somewhere between explicatives.  From a glance, Jesus won’t make sense to a lot of people, or anybody really.  Even in his day people were confused about him, so they followed him around to listen to him and to try to understand what he was all about.  He was the humblest of men, but more than that.  He was someone that would spend time with the lowest of people, people who were diseased and rejected by society.  These people were very important to him.  He showed them compassion.  He cared for them.  He loved them.  He spent time with undesirable people and people that communities had given up on: tax collectors, prostitutes you name it.  He stood up for the broken, the cast aside, the forgotten, the unloved, the helpless, and the hopeless.  He spoke of new life, of fresh starts, of purpose, of compassion, of humility, of justice, of righteousness, of love, and of hope.  People tried to rid his name from history.  Why do people feel threatened by a man with the greatest message of all time?  In his day, the corrupt, the self-righteous, the hypocrites, and the tyrannical all felt threatened by him and his message.  This included the most religious people of his day.  So how is Jesus and his Gospel different than religion?  Religion says be good enough and you’ll go to heaven.  Religion says follow these rules.  Religion says it’s all about you.  Religion says you’re better than those that aren’t religious.  Religion has a checklist.  Religion is self-righteous.  Religion isn’t humble.

     “The Gospel is news not advice. Advice is counsel about what to do. News is something that has already happened.” - Timothy Keller

The Gospel says that we can’t do this on our own, but that their is One that already has taken on our brokenness, namely Jesus.  He suffered and died for us, something that we can never neglect and must embrace.  He solved our tragic insufficiency.  He bridged the gap for us, leading us into a new life that is better than anything we could have ever imagined.  God came down as Jesus, died, and rose to life so that we could follow His footsteps back to be with Him for eternity.  His footsteps are a beeline straight to Glory.  Some ask why Christians can’t just die now.  To proclaim that we are simply waiting for death and a new life, is to miss the point of the Gospel.

     “It’s comforting to know that God is with us and is good just as our lives are today, that we don’t need to wait for some imagined preferable future in order to experience God’s loving us moment to moment” - Dave Schmelzer

You see, our new life starts now and only a selfish heart would keep this good news to themselves.  Our God desires for us to live in communion with Him, all of us.  This road may seem impossible, but we don’t have to worry about travelling up the road Jesus laid out for us because He is with us. He will lead us if we are willing.  He is the way, the only way, and He is the truth.  Following some other path would result in falling off the side of this road, falling short of God’s plans and intentions for our lives.  Following others on any other path or direction would be following a lie.  Leading others on any other path or direction would only be leading them into brokenness and heartache.  

Only God can let us into his home and, through Jesus, we have a personal invitation.  Getting your name on the list, if you will, is impossible for an enemy and could not be easier for a friend.  He’ll write a friend’s name down Himself.  If we are like His bride or like His children, His home is ours as well.  How great it will be to live in a perfect, complete household.  No more broken homes!  There will be no divorce because He is the perfect groom and He has chosen us, the Church, as His undeserving bride whom He loves unconditionally.  We are beautiful in His eyes.  Let us not reject His love.  Let us not be led astray or reject His lead to His perfect home.  Let Him sweep us off of our feet.  I look forward to the day that we will sit at His table and feast together.

There is hope in Christ Jesus

God, hear my prayer.
God, please hear their cries!  I hear their need for love. I hear their need for acceptance.  They have unveiled their brokenness for all to see.  They have given up on all this world has to offer.  Their desperation is clear in their words.  They don’t know to what or whom to look.  Continually, I see them try to fill themselves with temporary pleasures.  They’ve noticed these things’ brevity and have found it unnerving, knowing well that these fillers were all for naught.  Please, God, meet them in their despair!  Shock the afflicted with your love.  Make your presence a reality in their lives.  Show them that all hope is not lost.  Reveal to them that there is One who can make them whole, namely Jesus, through whom all sin was borne and through whom there is life.  Amen.

Churches opposing Jesus

At what point do churches believe it is a good idea to say something like “If you are just coming here, not getting involved, and simply attending or coming here to take and not contribute, we’d rather you not come back"?  This bothers me to the core.  Yes, it great when someone can be a part of a body of believers and be able to bare each others burdens etc.  I would encourage people to do so.  But turning people away?  I would say that that is in complete contrast to the Gospel.  Sure, churches want people to be involved and to be a “member”, but turning people away that don’t?  That disgusts me.  It’s not okay and I’m not going to pretend that it is.  Churches should be preaching a Gospel that loves and cherishes everyone, regardless of how uninvolved they are.  Churches should naturally be attracting people who are unfamiliar with the Gospel.  Most churches want people from outside the church to step in and see what they’re all about.  Now imagine that your first time inside that building you have to sit down and listen to some guy telling everyone (including you) “don’t come back if you’re not getting involved.”  I don’t think many of those people would want to come back after hearing that and I wouldn’t blame them.  A church that is telling people things like this has no business telling people what Jesus is about.  Because, frankly, it doesn’t come off like they are fit to do so.  Jesus had a multitude of people following Him everywhere he walked.  They were curious to what he was all about.  When a church tells its congregation to be completely involved or not at all, they’re turning those curious individuals away from Jesus.  What kind of church turns people away from Jesus?  To say at the very least, it’s not my kind.  And it certainly isn’t Jesus’s kind.

Transformed

This semester is different. No, this year is different.

Meeting people at the beginning of a new college year or semester is nothing out of the ordinary. It’s expected. Everyone tends to ask the same icebreaker questions: what’s your name, what year are you, what are you studying, where are you from etc. Then the conversations go on from there. Typical polite chit-chat. I have always been one to engage in this thing often, especially at the beginning of the school year. Someone recently cut from the typical surface-level crap and said something along the lines of “what is something about yourself that would shock me?”. After a bit, I had proceeded to tell this individual some crazy things God has done in my life as of late. I realized that these things I shared with this person were the same things I have shared with many of the people I have met this year even if they didn’t prod for it. The question simply allowed me to share these things a tad quicker. You see, I have found that I CAN’T HELP but share a handful of these crazy accounts, in which God has so graciously blessed me, with everyone I meet. They are things I can’t keep inside, things that I find to be so powerful and so permeating that they seep out of me at any given opportunity. It reminds me of an event in Luke chapter 5

“12 While he was in one of the cities,there came a man full of leprosy. And when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face and begged him, 'Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.' 13 And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, 'I will; be clean.' And immediately the leprosy left him. 14 And he charged him to tell no one, but 'go and show yourself to the priest, and make an offering for your cleansing, as Moses commanded, for a proof to them.' 15 But now even more the report about him went abroad, and great crowds gathered to hear him and to be healed of their infirmities.”

Jesus told the former leper to show what Jesus had done instead of merely telling. I’m sure people knew of this leper and had seen him maybe countless times, but to see this man healed must have been astonishing! Obviously, you would inquire this man on how he was cured of his leprosy. I imagine the man was more than eager to tell them something like “Jesus of Nazareth has healed me! My life will never be the same for he has healed me!”. Maybe something a little different. But I’m sure we can agree that surely this man was overjoyed to share with them what Jesus had done. Crowds of people gathered to see Jesus because of this. I think it’s safe to say that the former leper didn’t mope around on the streets anymore; Jesus transformed his life! While I haven’t been cured of leprosy, I have been told by a few people that I seem different this semester, that I have changed. This is why I am so eager to share how Jesus has changed me, too. I’m transformed like the leper. It would make no sense if my life didn’t change. I may have gone to church for 16 or more years, but now I understand this beautiful Gospel like never before. Knowledge changed my heart which changed my actions. So when people want to get to know me, Jesus will most definitely be a part of the conversation.

Take a second and think of the people who you love the most in life, the people you have close relationships with. When you are talking with other people, you’ll find that quite often you bring up those individuals whom you love and have close relationships with. Maybe this will shed light on why this year I cannot keep from sharing what God has done in my life with the people I meet. I pray that hearing of these things will prompt others to go to Jesus as well, so that they too will allow Him to transform them and give them a new life. Jesus endured the death we deserve and has given us a new life that is only made possible through Him.

Here is some scripture for you.

“17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ,God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin,so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:17-21)

“Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

6 For while we were still weak,at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. 11 More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.” (Romans 5:1-11)

An honest prayer

God show me a way how to reach those who think they know you. It breaks my heart when they claim your name, but don’t know you. They quote scripture and they have a moral appearance, but where their hearts truly lie is exposed in their posture, words, and actions. They seek self-help advice instead of you. Their tongues are sharp as daggers. They love money. Some say they believe because they are financially prosperous. Break that nonsense away from them! They’re selfish to the core. They seek to control you through prayer and get what they want. I urge you to let me, someone else, or even some experience open their hearts to the truth of the gospel. God, my heart breaks for them. I feel like a jerk when I try to urge them to the true gospel because they think they know you. Strip all arrogance, pride, and superiority from me. Humble my heart. I want them to experience and be a part of this new creation and to live according to your plans and purposes for their lives. God, let them know that their self-righteousness is not sufficient. Let them find that we are only justified by faith through Jesus, who bore our sin upon the cross, allowing for us to obtain undeserved grace. Let these people die to themselves and live in the spirit. Amen.

Christians Justifying Sin?

It is no news that there are many people in the United States who claim the title “christian”.  In person, on t.v., on the internet, etc. the spinelessness of many “christians” is evident.  It is frustrating to see, but it is inevitable and will continue to happen.

Lately I’ve seen a colossal contradiction: individuals who label themselves “christians”, but try to justify sin.  This is a great example of the manifestation of self-centeredness in the human heart.  When we try to justify sin, it is like saying,” I got this!  I don’t need you, God!  I can do this on my own!”.  We continually try to nullify the magnitude of our sin.  We must realize how greatly we offend God with our sin and just how big of a deal our sin is.  And when we try to say that specific things are not sins, especially ones that are clearly stated in the Bible as perversions of God’s plans and purposes for our lives, we are knowingly and actively rebelling against God and His intentions for our lives.

Throughout the Scriptures, Satan is often described through hypocatastasis as a serpent.  He is referred to as a “twisting serpent” as well as a “Leviathan” in Isiah. A Leviathan was known in ancient cultures as a menacing beast of a sea creature.  Leviathan is a transliterated Hebrew word (livyathan), meaning “twisted” or “coiled”.  This is exactly what Satan does throughout the Scriptures; he twists and perverts words from Scripture.  A very common example of this can be found in Matthew when Jesus is in the desert.  Satan recites Scripture, twisting its meaning.  At one point, he recites Psalm 91:11-12 and says that Jesus could jump from off of the temple and angels would protect Him.  Ironically, Satan even leaves out verse 13 that says God tramples the serpent underfoot.

Anyway, my point here is that the very nature of Satan is to twist and pervert the Scriptures and that this is what we do if we try to justify sin.  Some people I know refuse to think that some things that people choose to do, to God, are considered sins.  Now, we must remember that it is very clear in the Scriptures that sin is not merely “doing bad things”.  It’s much more than that.  In the famous parable of “the prodigal son” (or better yet, the parable of “the two lost sons”), which is found in Luke 15, the elder brother ends up being just as lost as the younger brother.  Now, the elder brother always did “good” and never disobeyed the father, but he was still lost like the younger brother was (you can read more into this in The Prodigal God by Timothy Keller).  Once again, it is clear that sin is more than “doing bad things” because the elder brother had never done “bad things” yet he was more or less living in sin.  When we sin, we step out from under the authority of God and turn our backs to Him.  We rebel and claim that we know better than Him, that we don’t need Him, and (like the younger brother) that we wish Him dead.  We do this when try to justify sin.  It’s nonsense because sin is not justifiable.  People try to say “well (specific thing) is not bad”.  But it is more than that.  Attempting to justify any given sin is an unveiling of a sinfully self-centered heart.  If we can’t understand why something is a sin, we must look past the “it’s just bad” explanation or even the “because it says so in the Bible” explanation.  Ask yourself “why?”.  Sins are things that separate us from God’s intentions for our lives.  The danger of some sins is that they look so innocent.  We say “oh, how can this be bad?”.  That’s an attempt to justify it.  Just because someone cannot see the “wrong” in a particular sin, doesn’t make what they are doing right or justified.

Earlier, I stated that Christians are being “spineless”.  I see this when a non-Christian states a particular action or idea, and claim that it is not “bad” or something along those lines and state a reason why.  They are testing the Christian not unlike how Jesus was constantly tested.  In response, some “christians” give in and say that that particular thing is not really “bad” or “sinful”.  This is a justification of sin.  You must accept the Bible as a whole.  You cannot label some sins as “sin” and other sins as “not sin” just because you think that some things are “bad” and other things are "not bad”.  Look deeper into the texts.  Was Adam and Eve eating from the tree just a “bad” thing?  It was much more than that.  In doing so, they were saying that they didn’t need God and that they knew better than Him.  They stepped out from under the authority of God.  Since when do we ever know more than God?  How ridiculous is this justification of sin and rebellion against God?  It’s nonsense!

If you are struggling with why something in particular is a sin, pray about it and really study the Scriptures on why it really is a sin.  Examine the root of the sin.  Try to understand why this thing separates you from God.  Understand that it is a big deal; don’t shrug it off and undermine the severity of it in an attempt to justify it.  Understand that God has plans and purposes for your life that are much bigger than the sin you struggle with.  Understand  that whatever the sin is, Jesus took on that burden on the cross and that He alone has the power to overcome our brokenness.  Amen.