Having a Heart in a Sometimes Heartless World
Scripture focus: What a God we have! And how fortunate we are to have him, this Father of our Master Jesus! Because Jesus was raised from the dead, we’ve been given a brand-new life and have everything to live for, including a future in heaven – and the future starts now! God is keeping careful watch over us and the future. The Day is coming when you’ll have it all – life healed and whole. I know how great this makes you feel, even though you have to put up with every kind of aggravation in the meantime. 1 Peter 1:3-6 The Message
In the book, TrueFaced, the authors suggest that there is a way to live in the present, with an eye on the future, and experience transformation in the process. If I can rephrase, I think they’re saying that we can live simultaneously aware of our own shortcomings AND our potential. This is uncomfortable. It requires that we drop all our preconceived notions about what it means to be healed and whole. But it also enables us to feel great even though we’re experiencing every kind of aggravation. Listen in as they give us an example of the way this kind of newly created person thinks through this radical way of believing… “I can’t handle my sin. I can’t save myself. I can’t change myself. Thank you, God, for already making me godly, so you could stand with me, ready to address my sin out there in front of us. Lord, thank you there is no pile of sin and junk between us. If there were, I wouldn’t stand a chance of intimacy with you. I know I can’t survive away from you. Once, I thought that this particular sin would fulfill and satisfy me. But Father, as we look at it together, I am learning to trust your assessment of what will satisfy me. So, what do you want us to do about this sin? I am not going to try to manage it or throw it to the ground. I trust you for the next step.” (P.67, TrueFaced by Bill Thrall, Bruce McNicol and John Lynch) Amazing. Here’s what I notice in this paragraph:
* The speaker is telling the truth – only God can make us godly. We can’t achieve it through will power or self-effort.
* The speaker is telling the truth about his/her present situation. He/she has a “sin” problem. They’re not a victim. They may have had some hard knocks that have contributed to their life choices, but the bottom line is – they are not living life God’s way. They are living life trying to get their own way all the time.
* The speaker continues to tell the truth – they believed that if they got their own way all the time, they would discover the satisfying life. They’ve tried that strategy – and it’s not working for them.
* The speaker tells the truth about who they are, who God is, and how God makes a way to wade through all this sin and still end up with life satisfaction. Their “sin” issue is not what stands in the way of an intimate, satisfying relationship with God. The speaker understands that the satisfying life is somehow connected to an intimate connection with God. That doesn’t mean that this person understands all the details about how that works or what to do to make it happen.
* Finally, the speaker acknowledges powerlessness and unmanageability of the “sin” issue. Perhaps more importantly, he/she also acknowledges that they are going to trust God to restore them to sanity. (Sounds like a nice summary of the first three steps of the Christ-centered 12 steps to me.)
How does this paragraph differ from how you and I have viewed our own crazy ways?
Recommended reading: Ezekiel 42 and Psalm 97 in the morning; James 4 in the evening
1 comment:
This paragraph is very encouraging in that it reminds me Who's really in charge of my live, which is the real Truth. My truth, on the other hand, is that as much as I like to think that everything's going well and that I've pretty much got my issues under control (confession is good for the spirit, soul, & body) there are still those hidden sins (yes, sins) that others can't see that I can. The goal is to keep those sins I believe are not as bad as the codependency, which is idolatry,such as judgment, gossip, pride, rage, jealousy, etc. (hard to believe, isn't it) under wraps lest they spill over and affect others. However, this shaken snow globe of a brain I have doesn't seem to want to get with the program for some reason. Oh well, onward and upward. This paragraph offers a reason to believe that perhaps the second half of my life can be dramatically better than the first, but at this moment, I can't see it.
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