As I have been thinking and reading about this struggle lately, I have run into other people talking about it too. Here are a few of the quotes that have hit me.

“The problem, of course, is that we are never made deeply joyful by the gospel because we have never been deeply crushed by it. We haven’t known death, so we can’t know life.” Page 78 of Counsel from the Cross by Fitzpatrick and Johnson.

“For it is only against the dark backdrop of our sinfulness that we can see the glory of the cross shining forth in all its brilliance and splendor.” page 30 of The Gospel For Real Life by Bridges.

In addition to these, I have been thinking about how to receive criticism. Here is an article that has been very helpful to me in thinking this through biblically. The Cross and Criticism

Enjoy!

In the first of this series I suggested a “Catch 22.” Are you familiar with that idea? I guess I shouldn’t assume you are. Generally it is a problem which it seems that no matter how we look at it we are propelled into a circle so that it is hard to imagine a way out. The problem was this: I want to see God’s love for as wonderful as it actually is so that I can be free to live in a transparent way, but the only way I can see His love for as amazing as it really is would be to freely admit to myself and others how terrible I really am. So, in order to see the greatness of God’s love I need to be transparent and in order to be transparent I need to know God’s love is so great. What can I possibly do? What can others do for me or with me to help?

In this post I would like to suggest one possible solution to that problem. If you have a different way you would like to address the same problem, I would love to hear your view. Whatever the case, these are my own recent thoughts.

I think I need both at the same time in order to get out of my own struggle with pride. I need people to come alongside me and be honest about the ways I sin. I need them to be patient with me and very gentle, but I need them to be honest. They need to invade my space and not let me hide. To steal a concept from Paul Tripp, they need to be “intentionally intrusive” in my life. As they are doing that, though, they need to be reminding me of the immense love of my Savior. They need to make sure I am not dwelling on either self-pity or self-condemnation. They need to hit me with a one-two punch as it were. Make sure my sin is clear AND point me to the dominating love of Jesus. They need to show me that I am more sinful and flawed than I ever dared believe AND more loved and accepted than I ever dared hope. (That comes from Because He Loves Me by Elyse Fitzpatrick.) The more that someone who is seeking to love me is able to do both of these, I will be helped. I cannot survive if I only see my sin, but I will not value the love of Jesus if that is all I hear. It is a fine line, isn’t it?

Let me remind you yet again of the importance of prayer in all of this. If you are approaching someone about their sin, please stop to pray. Ask God to make your motives right. Plead with Him to give you compassion and boldness. This is not meant to prevent you from taking action and talking to them, but it is meant to help you remember that both should be happening.

What do you think? What would you add to help me and others like me?

Last time we talked about the problem that I face as I reflect on the gospel and want to avoid my own sinfulness. They seem to depend on one another. Today I want to make sure we remember to ask God for help with this rather than simply giving our answers too quickly.

I so often forget this absolutely crucial part of helping people, whether it be myself or others. I tend to look until I see the problem and then think hard about how to solve it. In that process there is something MAJOR missing–the Holy Spirit!

Let me suggest that with a difficult problem like I raised in the beginning of this series, we should seek God’s help. But let me be clear here too. I am not talking about stepping away and talking in that King James English we think God likes so much. I am talking about turning to the Father who loves and accepts you. I am talking about a relationship. I am talking about praying as if you were talking to your best friend. No need to talk like Shakespeare, just talk to your Father. Plead with Him to help. Ask Him to open hearts, minds and eyes. Seek Him. He is the only One that can do anything about the problem anyway. Do you believe that or do you think that if advice is said just the right way it will help? I tend to forget that it is God’s job to change us. He must be behind it if it is going to happen.

Just ask. It really is that simple.
Back next time with a possible solution. See you then.

I have been thinking a bit about the battle I personally have with the gospel. It seems like I am probably not alone in this.

I WANT to see and experience the greatness of the love of God. I desire to appreciate it to the degree I should and I long to feel it, letting it dominate my thoughts so that I am more thankful than I have ever been and so that everything in my life is done out of the security that comes from the love of God. He is MY Father and nothing can change that. He loves me tremendously. I want to understand it that well, but…
The fact is that I cannot understand it that well until I embrace how sinful my sin actually is. Until I see how much I offend God every moment of every day, maybe especially when I think I am doing something “good”, I will not see how amazing grace really is and how much God loves me.

So…. My pride is keeping me from treasuring and enjoying the free love of God. Amazing that this is what is happening. I can’t own up to my sin because I am afraid that it is just too terrible. But since I can’t own up to my sin, I can’t see the overwhelming powerful love of Christ that covers all of my sin. That is truly a terrible circle to be in. Who will save me from my need to make myself look better than I really am? Who will rescue me from my need to hide the worst part of me from everyone? “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” Romans 7:25

See, something or someone must help me to see that while my sin is utterly terrible and a horrible offense against a completely holy God, He loves me anyway. He still chose to save me. I am not beyond hope even when every single sin I have ever or will ever commit is written down in a book because He knew all of it before it even happened and He still died for those sins! Can we get any better news than that? “but God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8

So, what changes me from this terrible sinner into a person who seeks after righteousness? Is it a series of laws that remind me how I can never live up to the standard?
“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age…” Titus 2:11-12

God’s grace is what changes us. God’s grace teaches us and instructs us in what we should do now. By remembering who we are and all that He has done, we will live differently. We want to live differently then because we have seen His love for what it really is. Back to the beginning. We have to see His love for what it really is so that we can live out of that for God’s glory, but in our minds we think we need to act right so that we can see how great His love is. Catch 22.

So, what will I do? What should I do? What should the people who love me most do for me and with me? What is most loving in this whole process? Should I meditate on my sin so that I see it or should I reflect on His love for me? When someone seeks to teach me, which should they emphasize first? What would you do?

Let me suggest we need to do both. The next post will remind us to seek God’s help and then the third post will seek to explain how it MIGHT look to do both. Stay tuned.

There are certain bogs that I read everyday. Partially this is to try to keep up with what is happening, but in some cases it is because I treasure what I find in the thoughts of others. One of the blogs that I truly enjoy reading is Challies.com. The latest post on Tim’s site is worth reading since it sums up my own thoughts concerning the world around us. The post is about finding treasure everywhere and starts with a reference to Calvin and Hobbes, one of my favorite comic strips of all time. Here is a quote to entice you to read more. Enjoy! I sure did.

“The more I have thought about different topics, the more I’ve realized that there is theology everywhere. And this is what motivates me to write; it’s what motivates me to read and to think and to explore. Everywhere I turn I see theology, whether in a book about the atoning work of Jesus Christ or in a book about the future of business or in a biography of a man who lives half a world away. Sometimes the theology is lying on the surface, exposed and easy to see. Sometimes it is hidden within and just needs to be coaxed out. But always there is something to think about, something to wrestle with, something to help me think deeply about how Christians are to live in this world.”

I don’t really like music all that much. Most of you know that already. One group that I have always enjoyed (if I must listen to music) is Caedmon’s Call. Because of that I have followed Derek Webb a bit.

His latest release has made quite a stir in the “Christian Community.” Are you aware of the discussion? If so, what do you think?

Here is the song that seems to be stirring up the majority of the “problem.” I will warn you, those who are offended at any “bad” language are going to have a problem with this.
More later as I point to what people are saying about it and reflect on it myself.

I just saw the movie Knowing staring Nicolas Cage and am still thinking about it. I wanted to point to a few thoughtful reviews of the movie, but I will warn you, they should only be read by someone who has already seen the movie or doesn’t care that the storyline is spoiled.

The reviews are by pastor James Harleman and can be found at the Cinemagogue website.

Here is the introduction, part 1 on Determinism, part 2 on the Apocalpse and part 3 on being Chosen.

All are worth reading and help us to think through a challenging and intriguing movie.

This is a great short video where Matt Chandler talks about ministering in the Bible belt and how he approaches it. Definitely worth five minutes of your time.

HT: GDC