I just started to read a book called "The King Jesus Gospel" by Scot McKnight.
I am not far into the book but I love where he is going with it so far. He contends in the beginning of the book that evangelicals have turned the gospel into the "Plan of Salvation" message and that we have reduced the whole gospel into solely a personal salvation message - erroneously.
I agree with this. He also challenges us early in the book with the question, "what is the gospel?" and that has got me thinking...
The gospel is not simply a golden "get out hell free" ticket. The gospel is the story of redemption, restoration, and reconciliation of God to man and man to man. It is not about the redemption of one person but, at it's core, the gospel is about the redemption of all of mankind.
Embracing the gospel should mean that how we live changes - not just our "after-life" address. In the Old Testament, the Jewish culture very rarely spoke about life after death. They paid close attention to their community, their family, even their animals. I believe that our theology has left us so heavenly-minded that we have lost our efficacy in the culture in which we live.
Our belief should result in our capacity to love. We should be able to love those who use and abuse us. We should be able to love those whose purpose is to destroy us.
Our belief should result in kindness. We should be kind to those we interact with. We should repay evil with kindness.
Our belief should influence our actions and decisions in every area of our lives.
But, we have bought into a self-centered lie. We have bought into the concept that the gospel is so personal that it has lost its communal impact. This concept allows us to turn a blind eye to the suffering in the world. This concept allows us to live in extravagance while others are trapped in slavery or dying of starvation and curable diseases.
When they first came out, there were differing opinions on the WWJD bracelets...and, while I would concede that there is a gimmicky element to them, I sincerely wish we could get people to think in those terms.
The gospel is the message that God (from Genesis - Revelation and beyond) has redeemed all of mankind and that He desires a connectedness to us that would permeate everything we do from how we make decisions, to how we treat people, to how we spend our money, etc.
Keep this in mind...as a follower of God, it is YOUR life that needs to be the evidence that He is real, loving and truly has a plan for the people around you.
That is a scary thought.
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Brokenness
I was talking with a friend who is struggling through another episode of "relapse" in an ongoing addiction problem. His problem has shaped his entire life and identity.
The problem is far too complex to chronicle here but there are some principles that I think are relevant to all of us as we struggle.
How do you view yourself and the things with which you struggle?
I have seen two distinct mindsets about "sin." The most common analogy to describe how we view sin is that sin is like a backpack that we carry around. That backpack contains all of the things we struggle with - pornography, alcohol addiction, drug addiction, gluttony, etc. When those sins are powerful enough (addictions), we need to seek support and counseling to help us to "drop" or put down that backpack and move on. Until we do this, we are not truly free.
I believe that this viewpoint is wrong. I believe that all of us are broken to varying degrees. Some of us have slight cracks that have not broken all the way through and others of us have been shattered to the point that the shards of our lives have impacted those around us.
If we accept the idea that all of us are broken, it changes the approach a bit. Yes, we still must do what we can to protect the cracks from further impact. But, we must also understand that our cracks will always be with us. It's ok.
Most of the people I know that have significant struggles would gladly drop that backpack and run full-speed away. If only it were that simple!
The reality is that your life, my life (and even the lives of the seemingly well put together) is cracked and broken. Those cracks may hardly be visible for some of us and for others we may be so marred and disfigured by our brokenness that our original form is barely recognizable.
Either way, we should cherish our brokenness as the places in our lives that we must be totally dependent on the holy spirit to hold us together. We must seek ways to help hold our broken friends together rather than trying to throw stones at their fractures.
The true grace of our God is not that we are able to drop the backpack or that he can reassemble us to make the cracks invisible. The true grace is that while we lay their shattered he sees greatness and loves us fully.
If only we understood that completely...
Vince
The problem is far too complex to chronicle here but there are some principles that I think are relevant to all of us as we struggle.
How do you view yourself and the things with which you struggle?
I have seen two distinct mindsets about "sin." The most common analogy to describe how we view sin is that sin is like a backpack that we carry around. That backpack contains all of the things we struggle with - pornography, alcohol addiction, drug addiction, gluttony, etc. When those sins are powerful enough (addictions), we need to seek support and counseling to help us to "drop" or put down that backpack and move on. Until we do this, we are not truly free.
I believe that this viewpoint is wrong. I believe that all of us are broken to varying degrees. Some of us have slight cracks that have not broken all the way through and others of us have been shattered to the point that the shards of our lives have impacted those around us.
If we accept the idea that all of us are broken, it changes the approach a bit. Yes, we still must do what we can to protect the cracks from further impact. But, we must also understand that our cracks will always be with us. It's ok.
Most of the people I know that have significant struggles would gladly drop that backpack and run full-speed away. If only it were that simple!
The reality is that your life, my life (and even the lives of the seemingly well put together) is cracked and broken. Those cracks may hardly be visible for some of us and for others we may be so marred and disfigured by our brokenness that our original form is barely recognizable.
Either way, we should cherish our brokenness as the places in our lives that we must be totally dependent on the holy spirit to hold us together. We must seek ways to help hold our broken friends together rather than trying to throw stones at their fractures.
The true grace of our God is not that we are able to drop the backpack or that he can reassemble us to make the cracks invisible. The true grace is that while we lay their shattered he sees greatness and loves us fully.
If only we understood that completely...
Vince
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