Walking in the Light

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us— that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete. 1 John 1:1-4

John wants to make clear that what he is proclaiming is real.  He saw it, he heard it, he touched it. He experienced Jesus with his own natural senses.  I can't imagine actually touching Jesus--feeling his skin against mine.  Jesus really came and walked this earth.  His humanity is fully assured.  But John also wants to say that Jesus is divine--He is from the beginning.  He is the eternal life.  Believing this brings us into fellowship with God. 

This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. 1 John 1:5-10

God does not tolerate darkness.  He is light.  His presence drives darkness to the farthest depths.  To have fellowship with God means to renounce darkness completely.  We can't let even a little bit of sin stay in our lives. And which is better anyway: to have the awesome privilege and delight of fellowship with God for eternity, or the momentary fleeting pleasure of sin? I can't have both.  So why I ever choose sin over righteousness is a mystery to me.  The devil likes to lure us into it.  But we have this confidence, that through confession we can forgiveness. 

Amazed or Committed

Mark 1:27, 2:12, 5:20, 5:42, 6:2, 7:37.

All these verses highlight one thing: many people who saw Jesus perform miracles were amazed.  They were wowed and awed and at times beyond astonished.  However, many of these people, despite having a positive response to the works of Jesus, did not then have a positive response to the call of Jesus.  They loved his miracles.  They loved the benefits he provided, but they did not love the man.  As soon as he started to talk about eating his flesh and drinking his blood and personal crucifixion on his behalf, people started dropping like flies.  A lot of times people who say they love someone do not then follow through with their actions. That's why there's the saying, "Actions speak louder than words."  Hypocrisy is not new on this planet.  Jesus worked to combat it.  Nowadays it walks boldly around as a symptom of a greater problem: a lack of commitment.  When people are uncommitted they are unwilling to sacrifice.  So this Christmas, I'm contemplating whether or not I am truly a committed follower of Christ, or if I'm just acting the part.

Thoughts on Romans 12:1-2

"I appeal to you therefore brethren by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual (logikon) worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect." ~Romans 12:1-2

There are lots of things to notice here.  First of all, "present your bodies as a living sacrifice."  The Christian life is not a cakewalk.  It is a sacrifice.  It is dying to self daily and following Jesus, because He is the focus of Christianity.  There is no point in doing things half-way.  Jesus demands my all.  My life is to be holy and acceptable and pleasing to God, yes, but also a sacrifice--a bloody, gory mess---that's what a sacrifice is.  It's not one of those little platitudes "Oh, this is my cross to bear, just gotta suck up and deal with it." NO! "When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die." [Dietrich Bonhoeffer]  Come and die! This is not a pretty picture.  It's not a golden cross to hang around my neck and say, "Oh, look, I'm a Christian."  It's in my attitudes and actions.  It's in the choices I make in my heart every second.  These choices must be holy, and they must be acceptable to God.

Why?

Because they are my spiritual worship.  When I lay myself on the altar before Christ, and give myself to him, I am not doing something pointless and without reason.  May it never be! The word for spiritual is actually the Greek word logikon, from which we get the word "logic" and all its derivatives.  So why translate it spiritual? The word has a broad meaning, but Paul must have a purpose for using it here.  Jesus Christ is the logos. He is the word-become-flesh.  He is rationality personified.  The one who is ineffable came and took on human form so he could explain himself and his love to me.  And he did this partly through his life and miracles, yes; but most especially through his sacrifice.  So, when Romans 12:1 tells me to present my body as a sacrifice, it is as a Christ-like act of service-worship.  Rational and yet spiritual, not one or the other.  God doesn't demand my heart and then ask me to abandon my brain.  He asks that I present all to him that I might be conformed by him into his image.

As verse 2 states, I cannot, must not be conformed to this world.  I must be transformed in the renewal of my mind. The focus of these two verses is the mind, the intellect, the reason which God gave me.  It must be used to one purpose, that is to discern God''s will for my life.  Oh@ How I need this reminder on a daily basis!  What is good and acceptable and perfect will be clear to me when I am consistently presenting my body as a sacrifice before God in a way that pleases Him, that is, after the manner of the logos, the God-man, the word-made-flesh.

Anything else is but a cheap perversion of the Christianity to which God calls me..  May he give me the strength and the will to do this each and every day, nno matter how my sinful frame may rebel against it.  Only when I have done this will I be able to discern what is the will of God in my life.

To Do

An excerpt from my journal tonight:

So what am I to do? Seek God first, above all else, that's what. Not worry about money or future or guys, just serve God in the moment. Love Him with all my heart, soul, mind and strength, and love my neighbors as myself. Do justly, love mercy and walk humbly with my God. Praise Him with a new song. Meditate on His goodness day and night. Rejoice without pause and pray without ceasing. There's plenty I can do without pining over something God may or may not have for me. God is the author of my story. I just need to let him fill in the blank pages, let him move the pen.

That's my little pep talk for the evening.

Melody Grace

Stay alert!

Early yesterday morning I was walking to work, having just awakened about twenty minutes beforehand, and I was rather out of it. All of a sudden, a dog jumped out at me and bit me in the leg. I was shocked but felt it wasn't that bad, the most damage having been done to my clothes. Today I've been contemplating the situation and this verse came to mind:
"Look out for dogs, look out for evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh." (Phil 3:2)
I wasn't being very alert as I was walking along. I certainly wasn't looking out for dogs. I don't think there was anything I could've done differently, as it all happened so suddenly, but I would've been less surprised. Satan is the same way. He likes to jump out and bite us when we're not looking. Temptation comes when we're least prepared to fight against it. So just like I was unprepared to jump away from the dog, even so are we often unprepared against the devil's attacks. The events of yesterday remind me of the necessity of staying both physically and spiritually alert against all evil.

The Sword

The summer is upon us at last.  For some, that just means more work.  For others, that means more time.  For those in the latter category, I have a book recommendation.  Earlier in the semester I won a free book, on one condition: that I would write about it on my blog, so here goes.
The Sword by Bryan Litfin is one of those stories I knew I would like even before I read one word.  Action, adventure, romance, intrigue, mystery: all of these are present in the first of the Chiveis trilogy (yes I've read them all now, and I still like it just as much). The premise, though somewhat far-fetched, allows for a futuristic fantasy in which the world has returned to a medieval state.  Most knowledge was lost after a global plague and a nuclear fallout. The story is very fast-paced, the writing is richly descriptive, and the characters are both believable and relatable. All in all, it is well worth the time it takes to read. It can be bought on Amazon here.

Forgiveness

It is never easy to forgive. If it were, that would kind of destroy the point. Nor is forgiveness always "fair."
Yesterday I was hurt by someone whom I love deeply. When that happens, it's hard for me just to get over my pain immediately and turn around and forgive. Yet I know that is precisely what God calls me to do. I was just wrestling with my need to forgive, and I was asking God, "Why should I forgive him, when he made me cry?" And small, but still, I heard Him respond: "Why do I forgive those who made Me cry?" And then I thought, if Christ forgave those who did far worse than just make him cry, why don't I just forgive? But I still couldn't bring myself to do it. I tried. I tried asking to do the forgiving through me. And still I failed. So i thought again: Why should I forgive? And then I realized my problem: it was pride. I was focusing on me, on my hurt, and on how I had a right to be bitter against the person who had hurt me. The reason to forgive is ultimately about God. True forgiveness glorifies Him, and bitterness only serves to block the path to glorifying His sacrifice. So, I recognized my need to forgive. And then I simply said "aphiemi." (Greek for I forgive/let go) And in that simple act, I truly did forgive.

Lessons from Mountain Climbing Pt. 3

Continued from July 27, 2012:

I learned one more lesson on the mountain.  We were on a mountain, climbing up, up, up, but there were other mountains all around, surrounding us.  We could have chosen to climb one of those mountains, but we didn't.  We climbed the one with the refuge halfway up the mountain. 

There are many mountains in life that we could choose to climb, and they will all be difficult, but not all of them will be the right mountain.  Not all of them will have a refuge, a haven where we can stop and rest.  That's why it's so important to stay close to the stream, so we know which mountains to tackle, so that we won't keep climbing and then find that we have no place of rest, nothing to do but keep climbing toward a goal that God never intended for us to try and reach.

If we stay close to the stream, we can expend our strength on the right goals, being satisfied by the source of water ever by our side.  And at times there may even be a bright meadow full of fruit waiting once we pass through the trees.

Lessons from Mountain Climbing Pt. 2

Continued from July 27, 2012:

When I was on the path up the mountain and it came very close to the rushing rivulet, the sound of the water running on the rocks was very loud.  However, it only took a few steps away from the stream before the noise faded.  The more steps away I took, the harder it was to hear, and finally, even though I was maybe only 15m away, I couldn't hear it at all, even though I could still easily see it. 

I think this is a great illustration for our relationship with God.  If we always stay close to the stream of Living Water, we will be able to hear God's voice and determine His will, but if we take only a few steps away, His voice will become harder to hear and easier to ignore.  The farther away we go, the truer this becomes.  But, there is still grace, because we can still see the stream.  We can still turn and walk towards the stream, to the place of sweet communion with God. 

Lessons from Mountain Climbing Pt. 1

An excerpt from my journal entry from July 27, 2012:

Yesterday I climbed a mountain, not all the way, but pretty high up, almost to the glacier at its peak.  Because there was a glacier at the top, water continually flows down the mountain.  Most of the climb up was near a very fast-flowing stream.  Past the tree line there were gorgeous meadows filled with wildflowers and berry bushes.  Climbing up a mountain is hard, no doubt about it.  Stamina and strength are both required, but most of all mental fortitude, because as one ascends, the task gets harder, and in order to get to the summit, concentration on the goal, rather than on the difficulties of getting there, is absolutely necessary. 

I realize that climbing a mountain is a lot like life, only condensed into a much smaller period of time.  If we concentrate on the struggles of the path, and how tired our muscles and lungs are, we'll never summit.  But if we keep looking up to the top, and remembering how amazing it will be to reach the summit, we will have the strength to go on, keep on climbing, and achieve whatever goal we have set for ourselves.