The Odd Thing about Stories...

Ok. Major insight into Jacob’s childhood time. I loved adventure-filled fantasy fiction. Drawing from my imagination, my heart, and epics that I grew up with such as Star Wars, The Lord of the Rings, and The Chronicles of Narnia, my boyhood gave a lot of time and thought to fantasy. It inspired me.. I remember yearning to be a ‘knight in shining armor’, adventuring in the hope of saving some ‘damsel in distress’, and gallivanting in the ideals of chivalry. I have old journals filled with detailed maps of made-up lands, sketches, and stick-figure cartoons depicting a knight (me) standing up against the bad guys while some cone-headed princess stood besieged upon the ramparts, watching. There was even a point when I tried to write my own fantasy story… and my favorite pastime was definitely running through the woods, brandishing a stick-sword, decapitating the growing heads off blackberry bushes with my best friend.

As I grew older, however, I remember analyzing this love for fantasy with a troubled heart. I ultimately lost passion for writing my story because I felt it was vain and that God was not pleased with me wasting my life in ‘make-believe’ and in dreaming up literally nothing of consequence. Part of this probably came with my maturing spirituality in founding my life on things eternal as opposed to things temporal, and may have been in itself an immature outlook on what it really means to live for the eternal. As an adult, I have given a ponder to the allure of fantasy-fiction/stories in general on multiple occasions, always with the thoughts of my past in mind. Here are some unrequested thoughts on the potency of stories!

There is just something about good stories that are alluring. They draw you in with plot, entertain you with unlived adventures, inspire you with a utopian reality, or launch your heart in a longing for something.. more. As I form a ‘take-away’ for these thoughts now, I am not convinced that the allure of stories is entirely a bad thing. In fact, it seems to be a natural part of most stories, and I cannot fully explain why they inspire men so. From the perspective of a man, there is something naturally appealing about adventure, valor, and romantic pursuit. Hence, we get the ‘knight in shining armor’ and ‘damsel in distress’ hype. There are aspects of these traits that are naturally appealing to women also, with slight differences; the point is that both men and women uniquely reflect the image of God, and they do so by filling distinct images. There is something beautiful about a man’s desire to fight for someone. There is also something beautiful about a woman’s desire to be fought for. Call me a complementarian if you wish, but that isn’t the issue at hand. Speaking as a man, I can concur with authors such as John Eldredge who states in Wild at Heart that “In the heart of every man is a desperate desire for a battle to fight, an adventure to live, and a beauty to rescue.” For both men and women, there is something about stories that draw out our souls to long for something more, something beyond ourselves, that hits a chord within us of something we are called to be.  #marriageandthefamily (yay for book reports I never had to do)

Second, when the immaturity of doctrine yields passage to the seasoned practice of doctrine to life, there can be great benefit when the potency of stories is harnessed for eternal use. The recent end of The Hobbit trilogy brought to light a good article currently going around facebook reviewing usefulness of Tolkien’s life work. Was that work truly nothing of eternal consequence? No one can see the full work of man’s hand but God, but few can deny the helpfulness of writers such as Tolkien and Lewis who by their writings directed men to a sense of ‘good’ that dwelt outside themselves. Said article indicated this ‘good’ to be a gleam of the gospel that is given light uniquely through the window of a fictional story. Now, I desire to be a minister of the gospel, and I am one of the quickest people I know to give careful guard to such thoughts that claim to reveal new gospel truth by means other than the Word of God itself. That’s not what this is. God has provided us with direct revelation. AND I am not so naïve as to say that the glory of the gospel of Jesus Christ is limited only within the pages of a New Testament. In truth, the glory and fingerprints of the gospel is revealed in the life of one carrying out the ministry of reconciliation, in the life of the ambassador of Christ, in the words of grace that come out of a Christian’s mouth, and in the works of grace that are made by a Christian’s hand. The relativity of art is almost yet another debate, but I choose to believe that art will reflect meaning as the skillful artist intends it to. Thus, a Christian can create stories that not only reflect the gospel, but that do so well. This would be the point of the blog where I would exhort Christian artists to unabashedly create with nods to the gospel, for from such creations only will lasting worth be contrived. Are we not made in the image of God? Then let us create.

Finally, there is a distinguishable potency to stories that I fear will drag a man empty-handed to judgment day quicker than anything else. It might be unique to our era because of the comparably dull nature of normal life to fictional adventures- but for many of the great epics there seem to follow those groups of extremist fans who are so blindly inspired by an ideal that they wish they could be in another reality. They would wish to live in Middle-Earth for example, or in some other God-forsaken place. Truly God-forsaken, because Eru is a Deist, and Aslan is a lion, let’s be real. Or what about those people so in love with Star Wars that they walk around and believe themselves to be Jedi-Knights? For as good as the intentions of authors or fans might be, there is no eternal epic in anything other than the story that God has written, and there will be no peace for the man inspired by fantasy unless he can contentedly base his existence within the greater epic of God’s story. Indeed, for Christians to be so swept off their feet by the ideology of stories is an insult to God and a sure play of Satan’s hand. In addition to bringing us near God, the things we create can also be used to dilute or defile the nature of God, and so deter us from Him by erosion and deceit.

So stories are potent. They can lead a man a good merry way and then plop him back within a disillusioned reality, or they can lead a man to find true, enduring joy in a broken reality because of the epic that is yet unfolding. Don’t be swept off your feet by something that isn’t real, and don’t fail to arm yourself with those things that gird you better for your long trek home. By all means, life in Christ is an adventure! Living by faith requires valor. Both men and women should be driven to joyfully fill the roles that their heart calls them to. Just don’t lose sight of Jesus in the excitement and story of life, because (thank you SC Chapman) there will be a glorious unfolding! 

Feet to Reconciliation

I enjoyed attempting to pull the impossible (or ill advised) last week by preaching on “The Ministry of Reconciliation” of 2 Cor 5:16ff while simultaneously preaching the entirety of the epistle. I have much yet to learn when it comes to the art of addressing God’s people, but I think He was able to work powerfully through my weakness. (… ehh?? :D #2Cor12:9 #claypots #gospel #boosh) I also enjoyed prepping the youth group with three adjacent weeks of themed studies (however effective they proved to be; I enjoyed the preparation from my end) in the hopes of putting more tangible feet, or application, to what can be considered as the broad topic of reconciliation.

(In a nutshell, I presented the 'ministry/message/word of reconciliation' as the treasure that jars of clay carry, as well as as the gospel message that ambassadors of Christ preach. In order for Christians to carry this message, they must 1) Be reconciled to God, 2) Seek reconciliation with others, and 3) preach reconciliation to those not reconciled to God. As our spiritual act of worship, reconciliation ought to be practiced, declared, and celebrated.)

Paul’s epistle to Philemon was the first of the studies we did. Basic story: Philemon’s servant Onesimus runs away, meets Paul in prison, believes in Jesus Christ by Paul’s witness, and is sent back to Philemon with Paul’s letter calling for reconciliation between the two. What is interesting to note is that Philemon was a well-known believer in the church. He may well have hosted the Colossian church in his house, and he is commended by Paul for the sharing of his faith. Paul mentions that he could have kept Onesimus with him for the sake of his joy and gospel ministry, but he appeals for Philemon to take him back willingly, I believe for reconciliation’s sake. For the gospel’s sake. There is a public testimony that the gospel has as it is enacted through forgiveness, and Paul would not spare the world of this declaration of God’s grace. I pulled the following observations from Philemon:

• Reconciliation entails more than just forgiveness. If Onesimus had not returned, Philemon would have still needed to decide to forgive him. But in order for relationship to be fully restored, it has to be reunited, and fully reinstated to the day-in and day-out graces that life requires. “Wiping the slate clean” doesn’t mean avoiding someone, it means resuming the relationship as if nothing had happened.
• Reconciliation affects more than just two parties. I might be drawing this one out, but I appreciated Paul’s statements in vs4-7 in regards to Philemon’s sphere of influence. The hearts of the saints were refreshed because of Philemon’s testimony and witness- and Paul prays that the sharing of Philemon’s faith would “become effective for the full knowledge of every good thing that is in us for the sake of Christ.” Real faith in the gospel will result in enacting the gospel, and likewise, enacting the gospel makes a Jesus-declaring statement. I like to think that ‘every good thing that is in us’ is a cool reference to the treasure that jars of clay carry, which is the death and life of Jesus. (2 Cor 4:10-11) #gospel

The second study we did was on the prodigal son. Cliché, I know. But don’t give me that. This time I really wanted to focus on the lavish nature of the father’s love grace towards us in the reconciliation process. Preceded by the parables of the lost sheep and the lost coin, the story of the prodigal son is well-known, and the cultural context of the story is almost becoming just as well-known thanks to exegeting pastors abroad. To request one’s inheritance from a living father is to wish him dead, and is a cultural ‘shock and awe’. To take back a son after such an offense, is equally as shocking- but to hike up one’s loins so as to run to said pig-slop covered son, only to embrace him, kiss him, reinstate him to full family rights with a father’s ring and robe, and slay the fattened calf in his name for celebration… that is nonsensical. Francis Chan might say it is ‘crazy’. Here are the observations I pulled from this beloved parable:

• The Father: His love towards use is lavish and boundless. There is simply no extent to which the Father would not go in order to find us and bring us back. (The father in the story was even looking for the son, seeing him from afar off.) When He forgives, it is more than a clean slate policy- He reinstates us as children and heirs of God. NBD. 
•  The Prodigal Son: Doesn’t expect full forgiveness- he is just hoping to become as one of his father’s hired hands. Dear Christian, the depth of your muck and the extent to which you have wandered means nothing in the light of the Father’s grace- sometimes your reconciliation with God is inhibited simply because you cannot bring yourself to accept it. Thankfully, one of Paul’s first statements after describing the ‘message of reconciliation’ that Christians carry is “Be reconciled to God!” (2Cor 5:20) The first step to reconciliation is coming before God broken and humble to accept by grace full reinstatement to His family as a child and an heir. Don’t keep wallowing in your pity party of pig slop; put on the ring. 
• The other son: Oo. This one’s fun. The other son is resentful towards his brother and his father because ludicrous grace that the father gives. Not to mention that the remaining half of the father’s possessions, which the family had been limping on since the prodigal’s desertion, could have been considered as the faithful son’s future inheritance- that is, assuming the faithful son wished his father to be dead too. When we find ourselves resentful that others are getting undeserved or coveted blessings, we are not acting with the Father’s heart of reconciliation. Children of a forgiving Father should be excited about all instances of the Father’s forgiveness, which, (interesting!) is a necessary attitude if said children are going to be ambassadors for Christ and ‘message-of reconciliation-carriers’.  Reconciliation is a thing worth celebrating, and declaring, so that others might become the ‘righteousness of God’ too. (2Cor 5:20-21)

Finally, this last Thursday we revisited reconciliation by studying the unforgiving servant from the parable of Matthew 18. This one was interesting for me because it sheds dark lights on the master figure that have to be wrestled with. (It is also preceded by the parable of the lost sheep, keep in mind.) Basic story: The master is about to sell his servant with his family and possessions in order to settle a large debt, comparable to 6 million. But the servant pleads to the master, and the master suddenly relents and negates the debt completely. This is pretty miraculous and nonsensical, but that servant then goes to a debtor lower than him over a sum of $10 to scale, and withholds all mercy when the same plea is made. The master finds out, and throws the first servant’s sorry self in jail. 

• The debtor to the servant kind of gets the short end of the stick, he just gets thrown in prison. It is unknown whether the master frees this servant after the first servant’s treachery is discovered.
• The unforgiving servant definitely misses the lesson, and there is one to be had. He does not act with lavish mercy, or even any mercy at all, towards his fellows as the master does. God wants us to forgive others just as lavishly and nonsensically as we have been forgiven. This still holds true even when another’s debt towards you is justly owed, and when in the moment you feel entitled to retribution before you feel obligated to forgive.
• The master is puzzling, but don’t equate forgiveness or imprisonment here with salvation. It is not as though God will take away your salvation if you don’t forgive others as you have been forgiven. Even so, there is gravity here in the master’s attitude towards those who do not emulate his example, and I wanted to use this to communicate God’s very real attitude towards us when we act like the prodigal’s older brother or when we refuse to preach reconciliation/gospel to others simply because we don’t feel inclined to. God will not cast you out if you fail to forgive, because a lack of forgiveness is a sin that He forgives just as lavishly as any other sin. But He may well remove blessing from your life in order to get your attention, because while God is merciful, He is also just. He’s not a tame lion, after all.  (“Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.” #narnia) 

If it helps, remember to put this in the context of a God who is also faithful to pursue and rescue lost sheep by any means. 

           

These are simply observations that I hope will be helpful insights into how you can ‘carry’ reconciliation with you on a daily basis- to your family, friends, roommates, and co-workers. I can’t apply them for you. But as we celebrate the gospel and forgive, may the Lord work death through us all, so that the life of Jesus may be manifested in our mortal flesh and the surpassing power may be shown to belong to God and not to us. His grace is sufficient. (2Cor 4:11, 7; 12:9)

“For our sake He made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.” 2Cor 5:21 #reconciliation

A Jog Through 2 Corinthians

Or, finding joy in being a jar of clay. A reading of 2 Corinthians in one sitting is recommended for your near future.

I think that part of the reason these blogs take forever in coming is that I've focused my heart towards the benefit of other people in writing them, as opposed to just treating this like a journal. Hence I feel like I have to get everything theologically and grammatically perfect before I post, because I’m just prideful like that- not to mention some of these have been horribly long. I still hope that my soul spewings can be beneficial to other people, but I hope to condense these blog-thoughts and make them more frequent- if anything, to record the devotional thoughts that flit across my heart in the midst of their chaotic preparation and deployment as I try to keep my head up in ministry. 

That said, this thought may not be all that condensed. I’m preparing to preach on 2 Cor 5 this Sunday and I’m making myself do this as an overview exercise, but this letter has been close in hand and thought for some months now. Initially, because I found the giant Despair ravaging my soul and my affections bound by shackles within Doubting Castle, and presently, because so far I’m finding that simply pulling the key called “Promise” out of my bosom and escaping to my freedom in Christ is easier said than done. Christian, sometimes life sucks… and sometimes it feels like no knowledge of theology or scripture can provide a sufficient answer. Part of this is often a sinful heart issue, and part of this is God kicking the training wheels off your faith. Gradually or suddenly, you find yourself at the end of your rope and God is not there to catch you… it’s a hard thought to swallow that sometimes God designs for you to fall and experience pain for the sake of your sanctification and His glory.

Throughout this process, I've felt so alone. But my head knows I'm not.. I’m not the only one to have suffered at the hand of God, to have had hope falter in ministry, to have been acquainted with despair. Paul describes in 1:8-9 of how he, Timothy, and possibly other fellow workers were so afflicted in heart that they despaired of life itself.  I’m not comparing my troubles to Paul’s, but at the end of the day despair is despair, and it’s a pretty weighty statement coming from this apostle. I am glad to know that sometimes despair happens- it is probably even a guarantee that sometimes in life and ministry Christians will be utterly burdened beyond their strength. (1:8) But I’m not advocating depression beards, and neither was Paul! He follows his confession with pure faith in God. Even if despair is felt and we receive ‘sentences of death’, there is reason to believe that God will deliver us as He has delivered in the past. I cannot say that this deliverance will mean physical salvation from the earthly woes that besiege us in every individual’s case, but we will eventually be delivered through peril nonetheless.

Summary: For you who despair; you’re not alone. Do not kick yourself for struggling with doubts, because they tend to happen when you believe in the unseen. But in order to move on you must pick yourself up from your sackcloth and gird your loins enough to revive your faith. Have faith in the character of God, enough to say that you will hold to believing in who God is even though He may forsake your understanding of His nature. Can you bring yourself to say along with Job, “Though He slay me, yet I will trust Him”? (Job 13:15)

Moving on, point 2. Whether or not you will choose to remain in your pit of despair, (probably self-made at this point) there is a ministry at hand. Queue orcs walking in to Saruman’s sulky-pants office. “We have work to do.” From chapter 2-4, Paul describes the ministry of death and begins to contrast it with the ministry of grace, represented by the message of the law and the message of the spirit. I think you can just take ‘ministry’, ‘message’, and ‘word’ to be interchangeable forms of λογος at this point- the point being that there is a distinction between the former ethos of the law and the spirit of Christ post cross, (capital ‘s’ Spirit, literally! ha) that not only gives Christians work to do, but also a hope in doing it, and thereby a reason to live. Part of despair drives questions such as “Why live? Why pray? Why witness?” when faith is shaken, but these thoughts are refusing to face the work that Jesus has set up for us to do. The treasure that ‘jars of clay’ proclaim is that same message as that of the ‘ministry of reconciliation’; namely, that though we may be physically, spiritually, and emotionally buffeted by the cares of this world, we carry within our frail clay-pot selves the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. (4:10) Get ready to have your mind blown- in essence, Jesus likes to use frail pots and even to allow them to be cracked and bruised so that the eternal treasure that the pots hold shine all the brighter through the cracks. Be mad at God if you will, but this is like Salvation 101. The treasure of jars of clay is the gospel: the death of Christ, whereby the life of Christ is made evident in self and apparent to others, for the building up of others. How else can frail jars take such a beating and not be utterly crushed or demolished? They are held together by the life of Christ, and that testimony is as powerful a ‘miracle’ or a ‘sign’ as God needs show our generation to prove His presence. (4:7-15)

Summary: Should you suffer, regain your purpose. Don’t lose heart, your suffering won’t last long- not in comparison to eternity, after these earthly tents fade away. (4:16-5:10) Take comfort in knowing that eventually courage and the power of the Lord will work their way back into your life along with your obedience, and you will be a happy clay pot. :) A shining work of death, which brings life. An ambassador of Christ. He wants to reconcile you to Himself even daily if you would have Him, and He wants to use you as a tool in reconciling the world to Himself as well. Now is the favorable time, get on it.

If I can say that my first point was “You’re not alone” and that the second was “God’s design in the ministry of clay pots”, take this last point as “Grace made sufficient” in looking at Paul’s boasting. Paul kinda boasts here and there in the remaining chapters, and admits doing so, but what is interesting in a recently crushed and despairing man’s seeminly random boasting is the motive that has been renewed. Paul boasts of the things that show his weakness. (11:30) Even when afflicted with a thorn in his flesh, as if things couldn’t get any worse, Paul finds reason for hope. Blessed be our beloved Jesus, that He found fit to record telling Paul, “My power is made perfect in your weakness.” for our sake as well. (12:9) Again, you may find reason to hate God for His tactics, but He doesn't care whether or not you can become O.K. with His ways. He simply says, “My grace is sufficient for you”, and I don’t think He can be any more loving when He says it. I don’t mean to paint the Lord as uncompassionate, although I am describing to you the process by which I’ve had deal with God’s grand escape from the box I had Him in, and His teaching me of who He is for Himself.  1 Peter 5:6 calls for humility in casting your anxieties upon the Lord, because He does care. I can’t imagine ‘anxieties’ means anything other than the what-have-you worry on your heart. It’s all going to be ok, but you are never going to get over suffering, or despair, or disappointed expectations of God if you cannot cope with carrying Him inside you as a jar of clay or find joy in the vocation.

Summation summary:

God loves you so very dearly. Be reconciled to Him! He will draw near and meet you wherever you’re at so long as you draw near to Him as well- one of the dear gals in my youth group texted me with this- “Don’t equate the presence of God with a good mood of a pleasant temperament. God is near whether you are happy or not.” -Max Lucado.

Be reconciled to others! You can't claim to conduct the ‘ministry of reconciliation’ if you do not apply the gospel living within your heart by initiating mends to the relationships around you. Introduce reconciliation to those not reconciled to God! This is God’s design for you, be ye evangelist or no.

Finally, boast in your weakness as it illuminates the power and grace of God. Resolve to make God’s grace sufficient for yourself. Don’t worry, ‘keep calm and 1 Peter 5:6’. Compelled by the love of Christ, you will again find hope and joy in living for Him who died for you, whatever you find your station to be. (5:14)

I am single pro amore Christi. I am a child of God. I am one and whole in the arms of my Savior, and I am perfectly acceptable in His eyes. I am a clay pot, a holy jack-o-lantern with a divine message of reconciliation. I am a sojourner to a heavenly country beyond Jordan. Arrival there will be gain, but the journey in the meantime will mean fruitful labor for me. I am a shepherd, and I am willing to be afflicted still more so that others may have comfort in Christ. God’s grace is sufficient for me. 

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!

(Phil 3:20, 1:20-21, 2 Cor 1:6)

Sola Scriptura

Sola Gratia

Sola Fide

Solus Christus 

Soli Deo Gloria

Coming to Grips with Grace

Dear Christian, have you ever felt worthless and unlovable before the Lord? Have you burdened yourself with the weight of your spiritual discipline, or shamed yourself with the guilt of your spiritual or practical shortcomings? I know I have. My prayer for you today is that you would be ushered by our Father into the warmth of His lavish love, which abounds in grace towards you and has never left your side.

I believe that there is a great need for professing Christians today to come to a daily understanding of the grace of the gospel. I do not quite know what it is that burdens men’s hearts with lingering feelings of shame, regret, and unworthiness. I don’t think these things are inherently wrong because to a degree they are a natural part of life as we know it, under a holy and majestic God. It is perfectly natural for a puppy to come before its master with tail between the legs and eyes to the ground after it has rolled around in the dirt- certain things are just shameful. Therefore I do not protest the conviction of the Holy Spirit that teaches me what the will and character of God is by making the things that are not of Him so starkly and unavoidably undesirable.

But I do know that Christians, myself included, can place themselves under unnecessary stress and depression when they live as though they are under the law, and not as though they are under grace. By this, I mean that it is altogether too easy for me to cease to believe in the reality of God’s abounding grace and love for me. When this happens, I cease to live in God’s will, I dilute the power of my witness with my own doubt, and I cut off my ability to share the love of God with others because I cannot accept it for myself. As I examine my own heart in overcoming this cycle, join me in giving a brief glance to the epistle of Romans.

First of all, what exactly is the law? It’s not like we’re living under the strict rules of New Testament Jewish custom anymore. From the outset of Romans, the law is presented as that intrinsic, integral part of the universe that is the reaction to the sheer existence of God. Here’s a shameless plug for Theology- God and His character unavoidably define reality. In describing God’s wrath against unrighteousness, Paul states that “His divine attributes, namely, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world in the things that have been made.” (Romans 1:20) The fact that God is such as He is leaves an irremovable mark on the created order that reflects moral truth. There is ‘right’ in this world simply because God exists and He is holy; also there is ‘wrong’ in this world simply because God exists and He has allowed men to choose to be other than like He is. This law is written in creation and also in human hearts, as Paul gives reference to in Romans 2:15. Hence, why shame over things that are shameful is natural.

But a large portion of Romans consists of Paul explaining between the law and grace. He states outright that the law is good! It is the testament of the character and holiness of God in our world. However, the law also brings death, because the simple fact is humans cannot become like God without God. Queue stage entrance for the gospel. “But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it- the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by His blood, to be received by faith.” Romans 3:21-25a

Natural shame at our shortcomings exists, but if we who are Christians continue to shackle ourselves subconsciously with shame under the law, we will never be free to breathe in the fresh air of God’s grace or to convey His gracious love to other people like the Lord wants us too.

I just want to point out a couple of things. In order for Christians today to truly come to grips with grace, they must

1) Recognize their sinfulness. (Rom 3:23) It’s true, you are a faulty person. You are covered in sin from head to toe, and there is absolutely no way for you to become ‘good’ like God on your own. You cannot move on until this fact is recognized- so recognize it, and then move on.

2) Embrace mercy. (Rom 3:24) There is no room in expressing the gospel for your work or action. You are justified by grace as a gift, through the redemption of Jesus Christ! He loves you so very dearly and He extends to you His mercy, compassion, and forgiveness. It is up to you, however, to decide whether or not you will accept it.

3) Believe. (Rom 5:25) Salvation must not only be accepted as a gift, it must be accepted on a basis of faith. Faith is the basis and birth of your imputed righteousness, but it is also the means of your spiritual life- the air that you will breathe every day for the rest of your life in order to continue walking in righteousness. You cannot accept God’s grace unless you choose to believe in it.

4) Live without fear. (Rom 8:1) This is where it gets good. “There is therefore no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

There will be times in your Christian life when it is hard to continue believing in the abounding wonder of God’s grace. Take Paul for an example. Even though he recognized and preached the grace of God on the basis of faith and not on the basis of the law, there were still times when life sucked for Paul, and God’s grace had to prove sufficient in light of his weaknesses. (2 Cor 12:9) The law of God that is written in our hearts is good, but through sin the devil still has the capability of wreaking havoc. The truth is that we will be embroiled in spiritual warfare until the day that we are completely saved from the marring stains of sin that remain in our mortal flesh. Paul knew this well when he said, “For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? But Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 7:22-25a

Living without fear means frolicking in the grace of God. It entails faith to know that in every moment of your life the Lord has nothing but love and longing for you in His heart. There is no condemnation against you. There is only grace. So, daily, throw off the shackles of shame in your life that keep your from living in the joy of the Lord and in the power of His resurrection!

I’ll close with 3 verses and the chorus of “The Power of the Cross” by Keith and Kristyn Getty. There will still be days when I and my fellow believers are confronted by the overwhelming weight of our sinfulness. But throw your shame to the Lord, and frolic in His grace!

“Oh, to see the pain

Written on Your face,

Bearing the awesome weight of sin.

Every bitter thought,

Every evil deed

Crowning Your bloodstained brow.

Now the daylight flees;

Now the ground beneath

Quakes as its Maker bows His head.

Curtain torn in two,

Dead are raised to life;

"Finished!" the vict'ry cry.

Oh, to see my name

Written in the wounds,

For through Your suffering I am free.

Death is crushed to death;

Life is mine to live,

Won through Your selfless love.

This, the pow'r of the cross:

Son of God-slain for us.

What a love! What a cost!

We stand forgiven at the cross.”

A Story of Trust

It has been two and a half years since I have last had the heart to write. I don’t know about ya’ll, but sometimes life sucks. I look back on these last years and see growth and joy, but I can’t deny that I still feel the engraved etchings of pain, hurt, and confusion that the past has left on my soul. I can't deny the confusion I sometimes still feel at the Lord's working, but I doubt I am alone. I fear that despair and depression have not been unfamiliar flavors for a lot of my fellow teenagers and twenty-somethings. 

          

I hope that I may share with you a story of trust, a foothold to place your hope in. If you would, gird up your loins and pick up your faith again from the ashes with me.

Once there lived a man, born into a world of confusion and brokenness. I’m sure he heard stories from people- Abram was only a few generations away from the unified world order and stability that Babel represented. Yet he had his family were wanderers who had at one time purposed to make it to the land of Canaan but were beleaguered in Haran. It was at this time that the Lord- the Creator, the God of Noah- seemingly shows up. His promise to Abram was profound:

“Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.” Genesis 12:1-2

There is no distinct reason for the Lord’s action, besides divine election. God simply chose Abram, while he was a wanderer and little of note, and promised to make of him a nation, a people, a home- complete with all the benefits thereof: stability, peace, blessing, and hope. What’s more important is the response of trust. Abram trusted God enough to take Him up on the offer of a crazy adventure, and as a result the world has received the greatest boon it has ever known. But being himself a man the same as us, Abram never saw the whole picture! Abram’s life on earth was filled with times of doubt, disbelief, rejection of the promise, confusion, hurt, and suffering. It had ups and downs, blessings and hang-ups. Abram became Abraham, his family and possessions grew large. But even after Sarah died, Abram took another wife and had a ton of children, which doesn’t seem like a ton of faith in God’s specified promise. God promised through the unbelievable- through Issac, the natural offspring of one who had once been the tragedy of Sarai, barren among women. Issac was the means of God’s promise, and he was a miracle just tangible enough for a man to place all his hope in.

What a horror, then, to be torn between faith and hope. Certainly true faith in the Lord always entails the most joyful of hopes. But this hope was the tangible desire, the longing, and the love of a father for his son. Abraham had believed beyond a shadow of a doubt that God’s promise was going to take place by means of Issac, but then he was forced to cope with the idea of life with God’s promise without the tangible direction he desired it to take. Do you see what I’m getting at? I am certain that Abraham’s story is not altogether far off from the stories we lead today. We often lift our fists against heaven simply because our hopes do not fall in line with the faith God wants us to have.
            

In our lives today, “God’s will” is fairly open. His promise is sure and it can be trusted. In the meantime, we are busy about our adventuresome lives- enjoying them, and seeking the Lord’s will in them: conforming to His image and making disciples. But oh, to be able to see with God’s eyes, and to see our promise fulfilled! Would that Abraham could have seen the promise as even we can today. But these dreams miss the point of faith. I can’t tell you why God desires to work by the means of faith and intangible promise. I can't fully explain why there is so much suffering in the world. But we live by faith and not by sight- and without faith, there is not much of a story.

“But the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be the heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith… That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring- not only to the adherent of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all, as it is written, ‘I have made you the father of many nations’- in the presence of God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist. In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations… That is why his faith was ‘counted to him as righteousness.’ But the words ‘it was counted to him’ were not written for his sake alone, but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in Him who rasied from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.”             Romans 4:13, 16-18, 22-25

Dear Christian, God has chosen you. It wasn't for any particular reason- in your sinfulness you're not very attractive- but it was because He loves you tremendously. It’s not always about how your story is going to go, or how it is going to end. It’s not about which path to take, and wishing back that you had taken a different path from the one you did. It is all about having the faith to put you’re hope in God, even when trials come… or when the tangible option that was your hope suddenly vanishes into the mystery of God’s sovereign will. These trials will surely come, it’s totally how God works! It’s up to you to decide whether or not to take up your faith, to put your hope in God, and to praise God even in their midst of difficult trust.

Try this one on for size: the Lord gave Abram a part of the picture before He died.
            

“Then the Lord said to Abram, ‘Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for four hundred years. But I will bring judgement on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out will great possessions.”         Genesis 15:13-14

Why did they have to go through that? I cannot fully say. But I believe in God's bigger picture. King David continually praised the Lord and demonstrated faith despite his life that was full of confusion and anguish:  

“The Lord sits enthroned over the flood; the Lord sits enthroned as King forever.” Psalm 29:10
“For He will hide me in His shelter in the day of trouble, He will conceal me under the cover of His tent; He will lift me high upon a rock.” Psalm 27:5

“The Lord is the strength of His people; He is the saving refuge of His anointed.” Psalm 28:8

Our God of mercy has given us the treasure of hope within the frailty of our lives. But a curious part of His nature is that He likes to make your frailty known to you and others for the sake of emphasizing the treasure that you carry.

“But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.”                     2 Corinthians 4:7-11

I know from experience that despair, depression, and heartache is real. But can you believe with me that it only lasts for a night? That joy comes in the morning? The Lord will swiftly fly to your comfort, and He works through pain for your good.

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.…He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and He will deliver us. On Him we have set our hope that He will deliver us again.”                2 Corinthians 1:3-6, 10

The Lord loves you, reader, so very dearly. It won’t always be easy, but I encourage you to trust in Him with faith, hope, and joy. He is so worth it.