Hard Truth ...

I can’t figure out if the fault is in our educational systems, or perhaps stems from our media.  Maybe it comes from our horrific parenting skills that attempt to treat 2-year-olds as if they were somehow our mental equivalents.  I have just been unable to put my finger on it.  But somehow, some way, our culture has become one of affixing blame for anything and everything that happens – on someone else.  Self-reflection and self-awareness are as rare as the dodo bird.  And nobody wants to hear it.  Even less are willing to accept it.  It is as if Satan has convinced us all that “if” we should be going to hell, well then, that is God’s fault.  “We” are not responsible for a single thing that happens to us, even though 90% of it stems from simple cause and effect that “we” initiate.  Look around, you will find this everywhere.  I get in a car accident, and guess where the “fault” will be assigned if I have anything to do with it.  Two dogs fight in a street (mostly because owners overreact in fear and stupidity) and blame is the first item on the agenda.  Something goes wrong at work, and everyone begins looking for a fall guy.  That guy could be anyone, except me.  For I am a precious snowflake that nothing should be able to touch – just ask my mom, she can verify it. 😊 Some might argue, she created it.

You would think that inside the church this could not be true.  But it is.  The kind of people we are outside of the church building, is the kind of people we bring to it each week, and the kind we find there sitting next to us.  So to combat this, I hear a good many pastors lamenting over the “soft truth” sermons spoken from the pulpit today.  Sermons designed to offend no one, and accomplish little.  I hear a lament to return to the good old days of “hellfire and brimstone” sermons designed to scare the be-geezes out of parishioners and get them to straighten up and fly right.  But those good old days did nothing to prevent the backlash in our culture that today chooses to blame first, and think later, if ever.  People just don’t forsake sin from fear, at least not for long.  But there is a hard truth that might be worth telling, even if it does not come on the topic we traditionally think of.  The emphasis of this hard truth is not on sin at all.  That might make it more popular.  It is actually focused squarely on me (the larger me in this context, that includes you, etc.).  That might make it wildly popular in our age, particularly if you plan to tell me how great I am (you know, just like mom does).

But then telling me how great I am, does not sound like a hard truth at all, it sounds more like a fantastic truth.  So what is the hard part, if it is about me, and not about my sin?  Perhaps the hardest truth I may ever hear.  And it does not come from me, that is today’s me, it comes from a sermon Jesus preached a long time ago.  Stick with me, this sermon is decidedly not what you would expect.  Luke records it in his gospel letter to his friend in the 4^th chapter picking up in verse 16 saying … “And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read.”  Now for some context.  Jesus has already picked up disciples and begun his ministry.  He has already performed miracles throughout the countryside and healed and preached to a great many.  He is now famous.  People are talking about Him everywhere, and nearly all the time.  But Luke is not focused on that here, he is focused on the simple fact that on Sabbath – Jesus goes to church.  It was His custom.  It was Jesus who made the 7^th day holy, and it was His choice to spend at least some of it in the synagogue (or local church) wherever He happened to be.

Another bit of subtle context, not everyone who went to church back then, was “able” to read.  It was usually only the scribes or Pharisees or Sadducees or elite educated who had ever picked up the skill.  The poor who went to church were dependent on others to read to them.  It is how they learned.  On this occasion it was to be Jesus who would read in His home church in the city of Nazareth where He was from, but had not spent any time as yet in His ministry.  Kind of like having a guest pastor at the church, one who is very famous and well known at the time.  Luke continues in verse 17 saying … “And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written, [verse 18] The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, [verse 19] To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. [verse 20] And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him.”

First, re-read the text from the book of Isaiah Jesus read to the crowd.  Does any of that sound like a “Debbie-downer” sermon to you?  Kind of just the opposite right?  It is about uplifting mankind.  It is about ministering to mankind.  Healing, reaching out to the poor, preaching deliverance to those who are captives (read slaves, or prisoners, or those of us made slaves to our own sins).  This may be some of the happiest scriptures Isaiah ever penned, and here is Jesus simply reading them to His homies.  And every eye in the joint is fixated on Jesus to see what He will say next.  Everyone wants Him to preach here.  You will notice they already had a local minister (it is the guy Jesus returned the book to when He went back and sat down in the chamber).  But the people wanted more.  They wanted to hear more from Jesus.

So Luke continues in verse 21 saying … “And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears. [verse 22] And all bare him witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth. And they said, Is not this Joseph's son?”  Jesus proclaims the good news, nay, the awesome news, that the time of this prophecy has arrived and is happening now in the ears of those who have heard the words read by Jesus Himself in this sanctuary.  These are gracious words.  These are loving words.  There is no condemnation in them.  There is no hell fire and brimstone in them.  There is no talk of sin in them.  There is only freedom in them.  There in only love in them.  There is only hope in them.  And yet, they are the hardest truth these people, and now us, have ever heard.  Why?  Because they and we do not want to hear them.  We doubt the messenger, even when He is Jesus Christ.  So we close off our ears to hear Truth even when it is wonderful Truth.  And in so doing we take awesome news and make it “Meh” news.

Jesus reads the minds of the petitioners here this day and reads the doubt.  Instead of remembering the facts of what is going on around them, they are remembering only that this Man was supposed to be nothing more than a carpenter’s son.  Carpenters are usually not very educated.  Math perhaps.  But reading scripture, not so much.  Carpenters are work men, trades men, NOT preachers of any kind.  And they realize that all the miracles performed in the ministry of Jesus have been somewhere else, not in their hometown.  So maybe it is all exaggeration or just outright lies.  And it is here where the hardest truth to our human ears begins to take shape.  It is our willingness to hear that makes a Truth easy, or makes it hard.  The facts are the same.  Jesus is the same.  But how we respond is a foretelling of whether we walk a hard path or an easy one.

Luke records Jesus as He continues in verse 23 saying … “And he said unto them, Ye will surely say unto me this proverb, Physician, heal thyself: whatsoever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in thy country. [verse 24] And he said, Verily I say unto you, No prophet is accepted in his own country.”  Ouch!  Capernaum is the home of Peter and a neighboring town.  And in it, miracles of untold power and love have been done nearly all the time.  But in Nazareth, nothing.  What is the difference?  They are only similar towns in a similar region under similar circumstances with similar needs.  But in Capernaum, they believe, and are willing to believe.  In Nazareth, they are certain they already know the truth, and are unwilling to believe in the Truth.  Jesus is nothing more than carpenter’s son in Nazareth.  Jesus is hope personified in Capernaum.  And let us not fixate on the past.  Who is Jesus to you?  Are you even willing to believe at all, or has your belief been slain on the altar of self-love?  Have you already decided you know the truth, and have become unwilling to hear the Truth, even when the Truth is telling you awesome news?  You make your life hard.  You make the Truth hard.  When it does not need to be so.  And ONLY you are to blame.  You cannot put this off on mom, or the preacher, for getting it wrong – because the Truth is talking to you in that still small voice you should not ignore, but so many of us do.

Jesus continues in verse 25 saying … “But I tell you of a truth, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when great famine was throughout all the land; [verse 26] But unto none of them was Elias sent, save unto Sarepta, a city of Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow.”  Aaarg!  Hard truth spills from the mouth of Jesus to us, hard because we have made it so.  There were many widows in Israel, that is, Israelite widows in the time of Elijah.  The prophet might have been sent to any one of them, to the home of any believer.  But the believers did not want him there.  They were afraid of the wrath of the King and Queen who hunted Elijah.  Elijah was billed as a trouble maker.  Elijah made life hard.  But in truth.  Sin made life hard.  The sin of widows, just like the sin of Kings and Queens.  So to a foreign woman the Prophet is sent.  To a woman of no Israelite blood.  Had the women of Israel been as likeminded as the foreign woman Elijah would have been sent to them, and in fact, the drought would not have been needed in the first place.  But women, even the widow women, had embraced the sin of Kings and Queens, and nothing but hardship would get their attention to bring them back into the fold of redemption.  Hard truths, but needed truths. 

And is it so for us?  It is the difference then between Nazareth and Capernaum.  Nazareth refused to see and was left mired in the same pain Capernaum had been freed from.  Hard truth.  Refusing to see meant embracing the same pain as before.  Jesus continues in verse 27 saying … ” And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Eliseus the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, saving Naaman the Syrian.”  Yikes!  This one was even more personal.  You see, there was not supposed to be ANY lepers in Israel.  Because the priests had a cure for it.  Rather God was the cure, the priests simply administered the rights, and the cure was had.  But the priesthood had long ago abandoned belief that cure was possible.  Sound familiar?  How many of us believe cancer is also impossible to cure with prayer – every single time, for every single person?  So Elijah was sent to a foreigner to be cleansed.  A foreigner who would be willing to believe and do what he was told.  And this was a rebuke against Israel for abandoning hope in a cure in the first place.  Remember the words of Jesus when He healed the lepers asking them to go to present themselves to the priests.  This was part of the healing ritual back in the day, and a rebuke against their lost faith in the present.  Hard truth.

And when we hear that we do have a role to play in the acceptance of the Truth in our lives, what will be our response?  When we come to realize there is no-one else to blame for our lives now?  My snowflake melts.  My mom shivers.  And the reality that life does touch me begins to sink in.  Yet nowhere in this sermon was a hard truth about calling sin by its right name.  It was about calling rejection of belief, and rejection of Jesus by its right name.  It is about losing control over salvation, and submitting to the only One who can save you, because He is the only One who ever promised to do just that.  Rejecting Jesus is embracing pain.  And that rejection cannot be blamed on others.  You must own it.  You must own it alone.  This is not about how “spiritual” you are, or how “religious” you are.  Those are nice adjectives that placate people into thinking Jesus is not necessary in the equation for self-improvement.  But it is Jesus alone who is able (and longing) to save you, from you, from who you are today.  The devil would try to distract you from this, but it remains and cannot be undone, by anyone other than you.  You must choose to embrace Jesus, or be stuck embracing the pain you always had.  Redemption is not about focusing on your sins, or trying to scare you out of them.  It is about connecting with Jesus and finally beginning to hear the awesome good news.

But delight is not the response of those who have finally heard “they” are not the precious snowflakes they once had envisioned.  Instead they got mad.  Luke continues in verse 28 saying … “And all they in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, [verse 29] And rose up, and thrust him out of the city, and led him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was built, that they might cast him down headlong. [verse 30] But he passing through the midst of them went his way,”  They were ready to kill Jesus.  They were going to run Him off a cliff and kill Him for certain.  They took Him all the way there.  And only then does the Holy Spirit come to essentially turn Him invisible, or untouchable, and He passes right through the angry mob unnoticed and walks away.  In a twist of Irony returning from Nazareth to Capernaum.  Now consider the reaction of those called out with hard truth.  They wanted and were trying to kill Jesus over it.  Not because Jesus pronounced some curse on them, or talked about what great sinners they were.  Jesus had read a beautiful set of scriptures, with awesome good news.  Jesus said it is here for you.

They were ready to kill Jesus, because He showed them what unbelief looks like.  They were ready to kill Jesus, because they “knew” Jesus was nothing more than a carpenter’s son, instead of the Messiah.  And now to you and me, the precious snowflakes of our age.  What is to be our response?  The news is awesome and good.  The text is hope.  The promise of Jesus hope made flesh and made real.  But if we “know” how we will be saved and refuse to let Jesus do it, if we focus on the sin and not the cure, or if we refuse to believe or even be willing to believe – what hope have we but the life we have already come to know?  The Truth is not hard.  It is easy.  The news is not depressing.  It is wonderful.  Why make something hard that does not need to be hard?  Why not simply embrace what is easy, and see what a difference it can make in your life right now, today, and for each day you live from this day forward.  If you ask me, it is rejection of Jesus that is hard.  Acceptance of Jesus is a cakewalk by comparison.  I wonder how this Truth will ring in your ears?

 

Family Redefined ...

Most of us hold a special place in our hearts for mom.  Mom generally earned this place because as far back as we can remember, she was there taking care of us, nurturing us, and showing a love for us we could barely understand back then.  Dad’s love was different, likely less expressive, but present.  Dad had a natural instinct to insure the family was safe, secure, and taken care of.  It meant less of his time, but always because of His desire to work for our greater good.  Our siblings are another kind of love entirely.  We grew up with them, fought with them over silly things, and were close to them when in times of need or sadness.  We share their joys and triumphs and share with them their sadness and defeats.  Underneath it all, the fights with them were more about establishing a unique identity in the family unit, than about any “real” disagreements.  And so we define our family unit by blood relations, and are often taught that blood is thicker than water, and only blood can be counted on in the world.  But our premise is mistaken at its core.  It is not just the Supreme Court of the United States that is redefining family, it is Jesus Christ.

Our core premise of family is broken from the outset.  Mom and dad are not actually related by blood (usually), unless you trace back our ancestry to Noah or Adam.  Taking history back that far makes us ALL related by blood (a concept we find Jesus endorsing).  So then mom and dad are family not by blood, but by choice, and by commitment.  In our world choices and commitments fail regularly leading to new family unit compositions, where new partners for mom or dad equate to new roles in the parental offering.  Step dads, or step moms, become part of the family unit through different choices made on the timelines of our lives.  New siblings that may have no blood relation at all enter the family unit, and if things go well, and Christian charity is employed, they can become as close to us, as any blood relation ever was.  The love between the new partner of mom or dad is different as well, and can be more or less intense than the original pairing.  And so how do we judge (perhaps not at all), about the validity of a family unit after it was broken, and now attempting to repair itself in another way?

Our core premise of family is broken in yet another way.  Sometimes children are left alone in this world, because of situations beyond their control.  They may be lucky enough to be adopted by parents who so desperately want to add another child to their family unit.  Those parents invest deeply in the lives of these adopted children, working hard to demonstrate a love that is intended to fill the gap left by the pain and loss found in this world.  No adoptive parent ever makes a distinction in how much they love their child.  While not the biological parent, they are the parent none the less.  These family units are determined by choice and commitment, not by blood.  They are as strong as any family unit, and the restorative love they put on display emulates the love of God as much as any we see here on earth.  And blood relations have little to do with the choice and commitment adoptive parents and children make to each other.

While the Supreme Court recognized that the privileges of a marital family unit are more defined by a choice and commitment than by the sexual orientation of the two individuals making that choice; they only chose to expand our legal definition of family to those who may be a bit different from ourselves.  But I submit, what they did is not new, nor did “they” actually redefine family for us or Christianity at large.  How could they?  We already had homosexuals in our family units, whether by blood, or by choice.  The orientation of a person does not determine their place within a family, it is instead only a characteristic that self-identifies with that person.  Many parents will discover that one or more of their children are in fact gay.  While this revelation may be painful at first, particularly if it is at odds with the values those parents hold to; ultimately it changes “nothing” about how much a parent continues to love that child.  Moms don’t stop nurturing, caring, and loving their child because they discover the child is gay (or they shouldn’t).  And dads don’t stop providing, seeking for safety and security of their families, because they discover a child is gay (or they shouldn’t).  So the inclusion of a gay person in a family unit was ALREADY part of our culture, and our definition of family.

It turns out, we already love people who are gay, whether as siblings, or children, or parents.  Loving someone with this characteristic is NOT against the law of God, nor is it forbidden in scripture.  There is no scripture that demands we ostracize a member of our family because they exhibit some behavior the Bible defines as sin.  If it did, every single parent, spouse, or child who has ever told a lie should be cast out (instead of forgiven).  Every single act of sexual misconduct including “lust” even if only in the mind, would be grounds for excommunication between the family unit and that person.  Under these extreme conditions there would be no family units left, only single individuals who are universally guilty of misguided sexual expression both straight and gay.  If our sin is allowed to separate us from each other and from redemptive love, there is no hope for any of us.  Instead Christians believe and need the forgiveness our Savior offers us.  It is a constant and ever present need, and it spans many more sins, than just those of a sexual nature.  At its core, a family unit is composed of choice and commitment, it is not simply a matter of blood.  But that lesson is not mine, it was Christ’s.

Peter recalls to John Mark an incident that proved just this point.  Mark wrote it down in chapter three and beginning in verse 31 saying … “There came then his brethren and his mother, and, standing without, sent unto him, calling him.”  This occurs at a time when Jesus is deeply engrossed in teaching His followers about the restorative love of God.  His mission is beyond healing only our bodies, but it remains for Jesus to heal our minds, and our souls.  He is demonstrating to his listeners what freedom from sin can really mean.  And during His teachings, His blood relations, or His family come to see Him.  Keep in mind this designation includes not only His mom, but “His brethren” or His siblings.  Mary did not remain a perpetual virgin after having Jesus Christ.  Instead she was a normal wife and mother.  She had sexual intimacy with Joseph, and the brothers and possibly sisters of Christ were a result.  Mary was like any other wife and mother, she loved her children, and her husband.  She had earned a place of respect in the family unit due to her choice and her commitment.  And now she was here with her other children to see Jesus.  But the venue was packed, another standing room only event, and she could not even get close enough to her Son, to ask Him what she was there to ask.  So they had to send in word by messenger.

John Mark records how the message progressed in verse 32 saying … “And the multitude sat about him, and they said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren without seek for thee.”  Whether it was whispered from person to person, or perhaps someone sitting there at the feet of Jesus saw His family outside waiting for Him and just assumed He needed to know, the message about His family waiting was delivered to Jesus.  Of course in so doing, the flow of His sermon was interrupted.  The train of thought had to by necessity pause, while consideration of this new situation was discussed and addressed.  Jesus, being divine, already knew they were there.  In addition, He already knew why they were there and what they wanted from Him.  He had already evaluated their needs and their request in His head before they arrived; had it been more critical to Him than what He was teaching, He would have ended His dialogue early, and met them outside, or on the road to go address what they felt was important.  But Jesus did none of this.  Instead He had remained inside, with these people in front of Him, teaching them something that outweighed the needs of His family.

Then Jesus does what the Supreme Court could not ever do as Mark continues the account in verse 33 saying … “And he answered them, saying, Who is my mother, or my brethren?”  This is not a casual question.  The parentage of Jesus Christ was “the” pivotal question of His ministry here on earth.  Jesus had repeatedly commanded the demons who fled before Him to remain silent on identifying Him as the literal Son of God.  To be born of a virgin was a miracle ONLY God could accomplish, and since it has never been done before or since, it remained an issue of faith to accept.  You will also note in this text, He does NOT ask who His Father is.  That question was to be settled as we examine His life.  But questioning who is His mother, and who are His siblings was intended to shock His audience into thinking deeper about what it means to be in a family with the Son of God.

Then Jesus ups the stakes in the definition of family as Peter has John Mark transcribe the further words of Christ in verse 34 saying … “And he looked round about on them which sat about him, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren!”  Ouch.  If our traditional views of blood relations were all that defined family, Jesus Christ just blew that away.  There would be no special place of respect for His mother standing outside, or for His siblings that grew up with Him.  Mary would be no intercessor with Christ as our Catholic friends might like to believe, as here Jesus plainly equates NO special status to her as to any other person sitting on the floor in front of Him.  To be the blood brother of Christ, did not afford His siblings any more special consideration than to be a stranger sitting at the feet of Jesus.  Blood is obviously not something that defines inclusion in the family of Jesus Christ.

Perfection was not a pre-requisite either.  The crowd sitting in front of Jesus were not well educated wealthy, religious leaders who committed little if any sins.  They were common folks.  The Pharisees who were deeply religious, wealthy, and obsessed with the keeping of the Law, had largely abandoned following after Jesus to learn.   They were instead plotting how to kill Him.  The people here on the floor were common sinners of every variety.  They were not there to justify their sins, or deny them, or make false claims about having already gained perfection.  They were universally guilty of sin.  But the focus there was on restoration and redemption.  To free these listeners from even their desire to sin, was the paramount goal of Jesus Christ.  In that mission, He could not be interrupted for trivial concerns.  And just because you had a blood relation, did not make your request more important that the restoration of one who is bound in sin.

Then Jesus made a declaration that would redefine family forever as John Mark records in verse 35 saying … “For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and my sister, and mother.”  It would not be about blood, it would be about choice and commitment.  Those listeners there had chosen to find Christ and learn at His feet, they had committed to being restored by Jesus Christ, and in so doing were named as part of His family.  When we choose to submit ourselves to Jesus Christ and let His will become ours, let Him remake our desires, our thinking, and ultimately our choices … we are making a choice to enter the family of the Son of God.  He considers us family as we unite with both Jesus and the Father God.  When we become in harmony with His Laws of Love, we become part of His family.  This can only happen, as our sin-sick diseased and addicted minds are remade by our Creator God.  We need re-creation, if we are to be brought into harmony with the Law of God which reflects His entry-level definition of what it means to love others. 

Being Jewish was and is not enough to be considered part of the family of Christ.  Being of the bloodline of David or Abraham was not enough.  Being Christian was and is not enough to be considered part of the family of Christ.  It is not just about making a declarative statement that we “believe” in Christ.  It is about taking that belief to Christ and surrendering “who” we are to Him to be remade.  For many a Christian does NOT do the will of the Father God, as instead they cling to the sins that define their characters.  This is not just a gay condition, it is a straight one.  It is not just about sexual expression or behavior, it is about loving self more than loving others.  We could completely abstain from sex altogether and still be found lacking in the pursuit of the will of the Father God, because we have not surrendered our desires to Him to be remade.

Those who focus on sex as the discriminator of proximity to Christ, ignore every other sin they are bound to.  Both gay and straight people lie.  Both steal.  Both love themselves more than they love others.  Both have pride, arrogance, and can reflect a coldness to those in need.  Christians are supposed to be the antithesis of these characteristics yet they are not.  It is the un-surrendered heart that keeps us at odds with the Law of God.  It is our pride in “who” we are that prevents us from being willing to put even our spouse or our sexuality on the altar of God.  We wish instead to retain the things that are important to us.  We wish to retain the things about us that define who we are.  We cherish our characters instead of looking at them with the disdain they deserve.  The only good in us, can be found as we reflect the Love of God to others.  This love does not originate in us, it is only reflected through us.  And that reflection is made dim or non-existent because we refuse to let go of who we are, choosing to try to retain ourselves and find a “partial” salvation instead of a full one.

It is as if we wish to get better from our cancer rather than find a cure for it.  It is as if we are comfortable being HIV positive as long as our condition does not evolve into full blown AIDs.  Jesus was not here to dispense so many spiritual pills to make us feel better about our diseases.  He was here to cure them all, fully.  He was here to restore us to the condition He had in mind for us.  When we are ready to put our sexuality on His altar, even if that means we live the rest of our lives in abstention, or are compelled to find another partner, or must forgive and recommit to the partner we have no matter how bad they treat us … to allow Jesus to reshape what we desire and how we love … is at the core of a full cure from our disease of sin.  Lest straight believers think I am only talking to our gay brothers and sisters, I am not.  Adam withheld Eve from the trust of the Lord to save her.  Eve was the one thing Adam was not willing to give up, and in joining her, he initiated sin into our world and our genetics from then to now.  Original sin was not found in homosexuality, it was found in the love of a husband for his wife, over that of his Creator.  That test remains for us all.  Is there anything, or any part of us, we love more than we love God?  If we hold back any part of ourselves from the restoration Christ offers, we cling to the cancer that kills us.

But, if we are willing to bring all of ourselves into surrender to Christ, then there is no difference between any of us in His eyes.  Our perfection will be the journey Christ brings us to.  It does NOT matter what sins we suffer from today, as ALL of them are to be a thing of the past as He remakes who we are, how we love, and how we think.  In this process, our sole job remains to love each other.  We are to be a family by choice and commitment, not by blood.  I am to love you, no matter what condition of sin you suffer from, or that I suffer from.  I am to love you without precondition, or demands upon you.  For it Jesus Christ who will free both you and I from our sins.  No need to judge your progress on that path, only to encourage you to remain on it, and ask that you encourage me to remain on it as well.  It is not our sins that exclude us from restoration, it is our unwillingness to see those sins disappear.  Letting go all of ourselves to Christ, frees us to love each other without condemnation or judgment.

The Supreme Court redefined legal marriage in our country this week.  But what spiritual marriage is, remains a concept no law of our land will ever fully be able to comprehend or enumerate in legal language.  The relationships that God blesses of family units begins with an entirely different understanding of what it means to love others like He loves others.  If we are not in harmony with how He loves, how we could possibly hope to understand what a true spiritual marriage is all about.  Instead we bring our selfishness into our weddings, and our lives, and look to see what marriage has to offer us; instead of holistically re-evaluating marriage through the eyes of Christ, and what it means to have intimacy between ourselves and our God as the underpinning of any choice and commitment.  The intimacy between each of us and our God must occur prior to the success of anything we call marriage.  If we are distant from the source of Love, how can we hope to truly love each other, as a spouse should be loved?

Before Christians decry the breakdown of the family unit because our country made something legal, they should take a serious look at why the concept of divorce exists, and the damage it causes to our families and our nation.  Divorce exists (and will now impact the gay community), because of the selfishness in how we love others.  It is a reflection of our addiction to loving self, and unwillingness to love another beyond the limits of our lives.  Divorce is enabled because Christians are unwilling to have their desires remade, and be taught a new way to love another.  If we were willing to submit the entirety of who we are in surrender to Jesus Christ, we would be making better decisions before marriage, and better decisions once in a marriage.  It is not the legality of our marriage license that determines the spiritual validity of marriage, it is determined in how much of ourselves we are willing to surrender to Jesus Christ to be remade by Him.  Full surrender will yield full restoration, and we can trust in Jesus to save us from ourselves.  To be part of the family of the Son of God, remains only about choice, and about commitment.  How much of who you are, are you willing to relinquish to Christ?  Or perhaps better stated … how much pain would you like to let go of as our Lord offers a full cure just for that asking?

 

A Home Without Judgment ...

Home.  Just the word invokes a feeling.  When away from it for any length of time we begin to miss it.  We long to return to a place where love abounds, where we are accepted, appreciated, needed, and loved.  Home is where our family lives.  These are the people who know us best, and love us most.  We are not loved in our homes because we are perfect.  But we are loved despite our imperfections.  We may hurt those who love us, or argue with them, but in the end there is always forgiveness, always healing, and eventually peace.  We may go out for activities, or work, or entertainment – but in the end we always look to going home.

Our churches need to stop being churches and start becoming homes.  We do not need to move our belongings into them and sleep there at night to accomplish this.  But we need to realize that a home is a place we treasure, a place we long to be – not for its amenities, but for its complete acceptance of who we are.  It is love that defines our homes the most, and so it must be love that comes to define our churches the most.  Our church must become a home without judgment, a home of love, and a place of healing.  When church becomes this ideal, our members will hardly be able to stay away.  Seating will be in short supply, workers too plentiful, and outreach a natural phenomenon.  Guests will be treated as they would be honored in a private home.  They will be treasured, served, and leave wishing only to return once again.  It is then that we will once again begin to see Christ in His church.  It will be His image that is burned into the minds of member, speaker, and guest.  And it will be His work that will explode again in countries that have long been immune to theological dissertations and warnings of doom.

Some have argued that the church must be a place of standards, doctrine, and truth.  They believe the mission of the church is to spread the unpopular truth revealed in the law that we are wicked and in need of a savior.  Thus church should be only a place for perfection; perfect clothing, perfect cleanliness, and perfect behavior.  But these ideals are seldom lived, and rarely seen in the same believers homes.  It is because they rely too much on imperfect humans to accomplish goal that are beyond their capacity.  Our need of a savior to remove our wickedness and pain is true, but the reason we are drawn to Him is because He cares about us and loves us.  Christ drew people to Himself because He loved them.  Only then was He able to begin to remove their pain.  Condemnation drives people away.  A revelation of our evil condition is not nearly as compelling as the offer of a life without pain, and a future that begins here and now and continues into eternity.  Christ offers us an escape for our pain here.  He offers it to us because He loves us, and for no other reason.

Some argue that if we adopt such a complete standard of love and acceptance that sinners will use this as an excuse to hang on to their cherished sins.  But this is not true.  Have you ever noticed the behavior of a smoker when they visit the home of a friend who does not smoke?  The smoker does not simply quit forever because he is visiting a friend.  But he is conscious about the fact that his friend does not smoke, so he tries to refrain.  Or if he must smoke, he goes outside, or tries to be as respectful to his non-smoking friend as he is able.  If he just lit up a cigarette in his non-smoking friend’s living room, the friend might remind him politely not to light up there and offer him an alternative.  But friendships continue despite the differences between the two. 

Smokers inherently know that their habit is not one everyone appreciates.  They know that the habit may well be damaging their health.  They know that it is a costly habit and they would do better financially if they stopped.  They know it turns their teeth yellow and their lungs black.  They know their smoke can damage other’s health, particularly the vulnerable like children, or pregnant women.  Yet all this collective knowledge does little to inspire people to quit.  Why?  Because it “looks cool”, or “everyone else is doing it”?  These two sentiments are not nearly as true in our society as they may once have been.  It is because the chemicals in cigarettes are addictive.  They are designed this way, to provide the body with a feeling of relaxation that it will crave over and over again.  Chemical addiction is not easily broken, often it requires outside intervention.  But it is ultimately NOT isolation that inspires a smoker to quit.  It is the desire to be included with many who do not smoke that makes him want the change.

Our homes are not places where we excuse horrific behavior.  We seldom welcome unrepentant child molesters, practicing serial killers, and active psychotics over for dinner.  Anyone of those folks would inherently already know that their behavior limits their ability to socialize with others.  But where does a former child molester or former murderer go when they wish to reform who they are?  How can a person change from the evil they embrace to the perfection Christ offers if not to associate in a home where He is present?  We might remove a belligerent smoker from our homes if they seem only interested in hurting us.  But we would not consider removing the friend who smokes, but is very respectful in our homes and really wants to quit.  It is the same condition, but an entirely different interaction between us.  Sinners, of which we are all appropriately labeled, fall into these same categories.  Each of us inherently know what acts we commit that we should not be doing.  And the cure for all of them is Christ.  The only question is whether we intend to seek the cure or not.  It is love that draws us to seek the cure.  It is because we love our families that we wish to become better people so as not to hurt them or ourselves.  It is love alone that can motivate us to do so.  It is indifference that would allow us to hurt others around us; indifference we are shown, and indifference we reflect as well.

If our churches are places of only indifference, apathy, and self-enrichment – we can expect to see no great change in our own lives or the lives of others around us.  No one seeks change for those they could care less about.  But if our churches are homes steeped in love, where genuine care and concern for every single family member or honored guest is the norm, the expected, the routine – then a world of change is inspired both within us and around us.  People crave the company of such groups and such places.  It is a lack of love our world suffers from, not an overabundance of it.  Our world is full of indifference and those who care nothing for us.  Our church MUST NOT BE the same as the world in this regard.  The singular characteristic that will keep our churches from becoming like the world around us is not found in our doctrine, or worship style, but in our application of genuine love for each other.  Doctrinal distinctions were supposed to only enrich our ability to love, not squelch it.  As our ability to love increases, our desire to change increases.  As we forsake indifference for concern, we inspire those objects of our affection to wish to experience the same love we seem to reflect.  It is in this way that world changes into His image.

People will tolerate a number of things they do not enjoy, if what they ultimately care about the most is present.  I may not enjoy a visit with extended family members who I find illiterate, obnoxious, or offensive.  But when those same family members, despite their shortcomings, pull together towards a common goal; when they appear to drop their own concerns and reflect deep interest in those of mine or each other; when they remember first we are truly family and that blood counts – all of the sudden, I remember how much I love those people.  Our petty differences are dropped as we realize how important we are to each other.  We begin to prioritize life better.  The place of our meeting and the conditions of the building become so much less important.  The background music, or what is on TV hardly matters.  What matters is that we love each other.  We care when one of us is sick, or faces a life threatening condition.  We ache when one of us has been hurt.  We want to help when one of us needs it.  We offer whatever skills we have as we are able.  This is family.  This is home.  This is a place we want to be.  This is what our church must become.

A great orator, an excellent speaker, a fantastic musician, and elegant surroundings do not make a church.  They make an entertainment vehicle.  If I am looking to be inspired for a moment, I might seek them out.  But when I have had my fill, I look to go home again.  The effects are temporary, not life altering.  And if given a choice to be permanently in the company of great orators, excellent musicians, and elegant surroundings – or be at home with a family who loves me – I would prefer to be at home.  Love beats performance.  Love has more of an effect than what I choose to observe for 2 hours, once a week.  But what if, those people who I truly love, can be found in church only one time per week?  What if that might be MY only opportunity to be with those people who I love?  Our schedules may not permit more interaction than that.  Or there may be simply too many of us to practically get together more often outside of a building that is big enough to house us all.  Well then, church is the one place I must be at, as those who I love will only be there once where I can see them all, talk to them all, catch up with them all.  I long to experience a true family get together, where the source of our love, family unity brought about by Christ, is the underpinning to all that we do.  It is more important that sermons, or choirs, or lesson studies. 

Our churches need to be more than mere places of education.  They need to be transformed into places where we have the time we need to reflect love and genuine concern we have for each other.  A common goal, a church wide activity that requires all members to participate to succeed should be more the curricula.  Sitting still, with minimal participation, or only as we collectively worship God does little to show person-to-person warmth for each other.  We turn our love to God upwards, from grateful hearts, but refuse to show it sideways to each other where it is needed most.  The person on my left needs to feel that love.  God already knows how I feel.  He knew it before I prayed, or gave my offering, or sang my song.  He is happy I love Him, now He wants me to take that love and apply it to the guy next to me in the pew.  Our services need to be altered so that I have that chance.  Individual praise to God, that is performed in a group, is not the same thing as love to each other.  It is a format that allows us to keep indifference between us.  It keeps us in our comfort zones of not having to interact with someone who may be in great need.  It is not a recipe for the spreading of love, it is a recipe for the maintenance of isolationism.  And it must end.

Our church is in need of the greatest reform.  It is not the forsaking of our evil habits and past that must be addressed, but rather the reason we would seek any kind of change within us.  We must seek first Christ, and His love to be instilled in us.  We must seek first every opportunity to express love, to our families, our honored guests, and the world around us.  It is a reform of love we need in our church.  Each of us needs so much more love than we have, not merely to be loved, but to love others ourselves.  We need to break the bonds of indifference through our submission to Christ.  To begin to see the world as He sees it, with longing in our hearts, love in our hands and feet.  This will be the most substantial reform the church has ever encountered.  It has historical precedent when founding fathers performed great acts of love and courage to take small ideas and turn them into large movements.  It was not their courage, or ideology that saw them succeed.  It was their commitment to love.  It was their actions to try to show and spread that love for those in darkness that led them to succeed.  From Peter and Paul, to Martin Luther, to the early pioneers of every church; it is love that marked success.  It is love than must now mark the greatest reform we can seek as a people or as a denomination.