Pursuing The Christ Life

In the past couple blogs we've been looking at the issue of how the LORD disciplines his newborn children in Christ. We've been reminded of the sometimes harsh nature of that training and the resulting growth in faith and life it brings. Having explained this the Hebrews writer draws a couple conclusions, a couple therefores. Here's the first:

Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed. Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no "root of bitterness" springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled; that no one is sexually immoral or unholy like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal. For you know that afterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, though he sought it with tears. - Hebrews 12:12-17 ESV

Sounds like some football coaches I know. When the team is exhausted by the drills, with sweat pouring from every pore, he yells, "OK, sissies, ten more laps around the field!" That's what the LORD does with us at times. He pushes us beyond, making demands upon us to do things we absolutely are convinced are impossible.

"OK, sissies, weaklings, sinners! pick 'em up. Straighten those knees. Stand up and walk on you own two feet. It hurts? So what? Work through the pain. That's the only way to maturity, to wholeness, to becoming the man or woman you are called to be. 

"So you don't like that person with whom you've been quarreling. So she's mean, childish, narrow-minded. So? Get with the program. Your task is the pursue, chase after and grab hold of harmony, oneness with everybody, yes even with her. If you believe you are more mature than she is, act like it! Grow up! 

"And quit acting like the baby you once were. Remember how you used to pout and cry when things didn't go your way? Remember how you started a fight or crawled off into a corner to feel oh so sorry for yourself? Well, that was childish living. It only leads to more trouble.

"Holiness! That's the aim, the goal, the program. I want you to be holy, just as your heavenly Father is holy (Lev. 19:2). Consider again the words of the Apostle: 

'I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment.'" - 1Cor 1:10 ESV 

Here's the secret. When you pursue the LORD's manner of living, when you submit to a life of forgiveness, forgiving even as we are constantly forgiven in Christ, then an amazing thing opens up. We begin to see God's grace at work. This business of love and mercy generates new life and love in the hearts of others. Getting even, running away, feeling sorry for yourself, etc., etc. only does the opposite. It only plants what the writer calls a "root of bitterness" that springs up, grows and causes even more trouble. Want an example from the Bible? Consider Jacob and Esau (Gen. 25:1-34; 27:1-28:10).

These two brothers, fraternal twins, never seemed to get along. Their talents and interests went in different directions from childhood. And they quarreled. And their parents chose favorites. Mama chose Jacob. Papa chose Esau. Stupid way to parent. Only caused more trouble. And Jacob lived up to his name, the trickster! He was smarter and sneakier than his brother. Mama encouraged him. And it led to more trouble. Read the story. Consider the example. Consider what happened to Esau and how he threw away his one chance for his father's inheritance and blessings.

That's what happens in life. The LORD gives us an opportunity. We waste it. It never comes again. Your choice. You allowed your sinful nature to take over. Think about it.

There's more in this chapter. We'll consider it next time.

How To Deal With Selfishness

This week Christians around the world begin their 40-day worship-journey to the cross of Christ and from there to the empty tomb of Easter. Once again we gaze in awe upon the astounding self-sacrifice of the Son of God. As we do so, we are encouraged to follow his lifestyle. 

On Saturday, April 20, 1912  the Worcester Evening Gazette published an article about the self-sacrifice of many during the sinking of the Titanic.

WASHINGTON, April 19- But for the unparalled self-sacrifice and heroism of Capt. Smith and the Titanic's officers, the sea would have claimed an even greater toll when the gigantic ship went down. From the bridge, Capt. Smith called through his megaphone, "Be British," and that became the rallying cry of the officers and crew. 

Such was the graphic description of the conduct of men responsible for the saving of human souls on the stricken Titanic, as told today by John Johnson, a member of the crew who took an oar in the lifeboat. He gave his version of how the ship struck the iceberg and went down, how officers and male passengers stood unafraid on the deck awaiting the inevitable hour; and how husbands and wives said their last farewells.

The Titanic was carrying 2,223 passengers on board when it sank, and out of those 1,517 died, including passengers and crew. Only 705 people survived. One of the first lifeboats to leave the Titanic carried only 28 people; it could have held 64 people.

The self-sacrifice of so many on the Titanic a hundred years ago is but a small reflection of the self-sacrifice of our LORD Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul calls upon all of us to follow his way of life. 

So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. - Phil 2:1-8 ESV

Paul writes about selfish ambition, an all too common human trait. In his comments upon selfish ambition, James points out that disorder and all kinds of wicked things follow (James 3:16).  Here I am reminded of the vast disorder surrounding marriage and family life in our day, disorder that flows from selfish ambition. In my home state of Texas, for instance, the number of divorces reported to the Texas Vital Statistics Unit increased to 82,098 in 2010 from 81,822 in the previous year. That's in a population of 25.1 million. 

Why do people divorce? As I think back upon my pastoral experience I remember a man telling me his wife became involved with another man in the same office where she worked. And a young woman complained that her husband was only interested in hunting and fishing. Another woman remained married for about a year before she discovered her husband's drug habit, a habit that destroyed their bank account and their relationship. So the stories go, one after another. And behind them is always selfish ambition. 

What troubles me even more than the divorces is what happens to the children. Their home life is broken. They often have to move, find new friends, learn about new schools. They become confused, angry, depressed, sick. And they carry those memories with them into adult life. One young man tells me he won't marry, because he remembers all too well his parents quarreling and arguing throughout his childhood and finally divorcing. He doesn't want to deal with any of that.

Another young woman I know, in despair and anger over her parents' divorce, rebelled against much of what they tried to teach her. She married a lazy, shiftless man and threw away her own plans for college and a career. Her marriage lasted about two years. She now struggles to support herself and her four-year old son by working in a bar. Her ex-husband provides little or no support.

Our Lenten journey is a prime time in the year for us believers to re-examine our own selfish ambitions and to relearn Jesus' mindset. He chose not to cling to equality with God, but poured himself out to become a servant to us all, humbling himself to the merciless death on the cross. Can you imagine belonging to a Christian community and a Christian family where everyone lives  this kind of life? Hard to imagine? Sometimes, but not impossible when the Spirit of Christ lives in our hearts.