Tension

Hard to follow news stories these days...

There are loud and confident voices among the progressive Christians, and loud and confident voices among the conservative Christians. The commentary is vocal and persuasive. If you follow current events on social media/news sites you might think there are two clear directions. But I suppose there are many more of us with quiet voices...listening, questioning, praying, seeking.

For us everything isn't crystal clear. We aren't ready to raise our voice yet on some things. We love Jesus. He is our hope, savior, answer for everything. That we know, but there is this tension.

Throughout history the devil has found "newish" ways to drive wedges between us, to distract us, to pit us against each other. Newish because it is the same general strategy with cultural nuances. And though we've been warned, even watched it unfold time and again, we still fall for it. He is crafty, armed with slithers of truth and God's goodness, mixed in with piles of lies and deceit. He is a master at pulling us off track and focusing our eyes and hearts on anything other than God and truth. We fall for it and drive more people to the wrong team. Exactly what he intended all along.

Though it may be the case throughout history, I feel like the church is going through rough times these days. And I know for thousands of years it has had its moments of glorious highs and devastating lows. But I am here now and it is hard to watch. My heart hurts for the church and the people “inside” and “outside” of it.

I have to be among a bigger group than myself that feels the tension. Confident in Jesus, but so unsure about so many other things. Open to the reason for my uncertainty being pride, wanting to fit in, not abiding...though it pains me to say it.

We want to love well. We don't want to be deceived. We don't want to miss Jesus right in front of us. We don't want to love culture and comfort more than Jesus.

There is this tension.

We wrestle with this tension between loving our neighbors, not "conforming to the world", fighting for unity among believers, focusing on the plank in our own eye & not judging others, discerning the will of God, being alert for false teaching, sometimes just fitting in.

Tension...

The Pharisees were face to face with the Messiah they studied prophesy and memorized writings about. They were the elite, respected, vocal religious people of the day. And they dug in their heels. They "protected" their "religion". They defended their status. They missed what the good news was and is all about. They missed Jesus. They killed Jesus. I don't want to be so stubborn that I miss Jesus.

But...

...Some caution is to be applied to who we believe/follow. Paul warns Timothy, warns us... "For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. " (2 Timothy 4:3-5). I don't want to be so selfishly open-minded that I miss Jesus. Miss truth.

Tension...

"Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?" (Matthew 7:1-3). And Romans 2:1, Romans 14:4. I don't want to be so focused on the sins of others that I miss where God wants to work in me.

But...

...even in the story to come and the Revelation prophesy, we see letters of warnings. To churches of the day and to churches of our day. Warnings about the yeast that is sin and the devastation it causes. Remaining true, clinging to the name of Jesus, BUT some holding to false teachings, idolatry and immorality...becoming a stumbling block to others (Rev 2:12-17). Demonstrating love, good deeds, faith, service, perseverance BUT tolerating teachers promoting idolatry & immorality (Rev 2:18-29). In each case, Jesus says to repent. To turn away from wrong teaching and living. The "good" they are doing doesn't cover up even tolerating the sin of others. Repentance and change is necessary. I don't want to be so isolated in my salvation that I tolerate things that displease God.

Tension...

"So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe...They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do...Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation." (1 Peter 2:7-12 excepts) And 1 Peter 2:15. I don't want my actions to disqualify my words.

But...

"He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it. For there are many who are insubordinate, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision party. They must be silenced, since they are upsetting whole families by teaching for shameful gain what they ought not to teach." (Titus 1:9-11) I don't want to hold my words when they need to be spoken.

So what do we do with this tension?

All I know is we pray, we stay in the Word, we ask God for wisdom and revelation, we have a genuinely seeking heart, we recognize we don’t know everything, we work on the log in our own eyes before even looking at the speck in others, we pray for those our flesh wants to judge, because the truth is, only the Holy Spirit will change any heart that needs to be changed. When this doesn't work, we shake the dust off our feet and do it again. And again. And again.

The good works, ways, lifestyle of others won’t save them any more than it will us. God saves those that recognize they need to be saved and He saved us all while we were still deep in sin.

People know what Christians think they are doing wrong. What they don't know is why Jesus is worth it. Only then will they seek God’s will and seek to please God and seek discernment.

The Author

Gazing at a blank, crisp canvas, an author sets out to write the greatest story of all time. He is an author like none other, writing a story like none other. He patiently and lovingly puts pen to paper and begins the story. 

He knows the ending as clearly as he knows the beginning. He sees it all at once. So, he begins his masterpiece, carefully creating the opening scene. Speaking into words…all of his creativity poured out…the characters, the setting, the mood, the tone, the colors, everything needed for the great story to unfold.  Nearly as soon as the beginning is set in motion, something goes horrible wrong. The antagonist enters the scene and the beauty and perfection is rocked. But the author isn’t fazed or surprised. He knows what will happen. He already knows the hero, the one who would save the day and wrap it all up. He was in him, part of him, with him already. He always has been.

Knowing the end, he knows in advance how everything in between will go down. He knows all the characters—in chapters not yet written – in ridiculous detail. What they will look like, who they will meet, what they will accomplish, what they will miss out on, their great mistakes and great triumphs, every tear they will shed. He knows who will make it to be end and who won't, though the desire of his heart is that they all would. He loves them all. But that isn't how this story works. 

These characters in some way all represent a piece of him or those he knows intimately. They will bear the image and likeness of their author no doubt...how could they not? He created them. But they would also be unique individuals. Good or bad in his readers' eyes, they are all loved deeply by him. It is something only the author understands. You see, he knows them so well. He knows the weakness within them, thanks to the antagonist. He knows why they do what they do...even when it seems devastating to the other characters he loves or contrary to how his readers will perceive the story should go in their minds.

Though he knows the ending and every detail surrounding his characters, he loves this story and he loves his characters. He will allow some flexibly as he writes for things to change. He allows them the freedom to be who he created them to be. For the characters in the various settings of the book, as they encounter other characters and circumstances and events that unfold, their specific actions and decisions will change as he writes. But he always had in mind the end. And deep down he always knows what they will do. It is an odd mix of their storyline being known, but also their own, with things along the way that could mix it up and not be the optimal path they have the ability to walk.

In accounting for this flexibility, there will be many twists and turns in the story along the way. The author doesn’t mind though. He is patient. He knows how it will end...how it HAS TO end...and it will be glorious. With pen in hand, he is in control of the narrative even when it seems out of control.

Though the reader may not see it, every word is important. It all has a purpose to the fullness of his story. And it isn’t just about getting to the end. The process of getting there matters too. The lives and events from beginning to end all matter deeply, full of meaning and purpose.

As a master creator, he slowly presents clues to how this great mystery will be revealed. He introduces people, representative events, foreshadowing of how it will all go down in the end. Things that won't always make sense to his readers in a chapter here or there, but will ultimately create a beautiful picture and understanding at the end.

He will create a growing longing for something these individual pictures aren't yet resolving. A yearning among the readers for it to all be made right. A connection with the characters and even more so himself.

Slowly, patiently, with great intentionality, the story will unfold. For his readers, it is like a foggy image that gradually comes into focus. Glimpses into the glorious ending and the one who will bring it all together. Glimpses into the hero who was there from them beginning, but not fully revealed or recognized. With each new chapter the reader will think they have the clearest picture, but it will continue to get clearer as the story develops. You see this story is one that couldn’t be imagined by anyone but this author.

And though the story is for the readers, the story isn’t about the readers. It is a story from, about, and for the author. It is his story for his characters. It is a gift for his readers. It is a love story.

And it the best story ever told.

The Talent and the Narrow Road

Am I, or is Jesus, the center of my life? Am I living for the glory of God or for me? Do I choose Jesus or the comforts of this world and conforming to this world?

We will ALL stand accountable before God, face-to-face with the reality of how we lived and used the gifts He gave us. Will we only then realize that “my vision for life doesn’t come anywhere close to the God-glorifying vision that He had for me when He came up with the idea for me.” Do I believe without a doubt that His plan is better…is best?

This conflict has become more clear to me as a parent of tween/teens. As I look at what I value in/for them, the “training” I think they need in life, the things I desire for them, the things I spend the most time preparing for them, the way I view their future. So easy to go with the cultural flow and get caught in the cycle of the world. The Bible will always bring us back to a better course. I pray for the strength, courage, resolve, desire to stay on God’s course for me and for them. 

It is the narrow road indeed.

 The parable of the talents Matthew 25:14-30.