Come and Belong

The more time that passes, the more I realize and understand that I will never truly “arrive”. Not here on this earth. Our lives here are only temporary, but every moment of them is a journey. We work so hard to proceed to whatever we think is the next step. I go to college so that I can earn a degree so that I can hopefully get a “good” job so that I can support myself so that I can start a family so that I can raise children in the ways of the Lord… it doesn’t really ever end. There are several things I find funny about this mindset. First of all, who am I to say what will or will not happen in my life? “Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes” (James 4:14). We are not promised even the next moment. But I also find it funny how self-centered that entire mindset becomes. It becomes all about my hopes and dreams and success. But this journey is not my story. I only play a small part in the eternal tapestry of God’s creation and story of redemption. This story is not about what I accomplish or who I am, instead it is about whose I am.  “Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?” (Romans 6:16). We either belong to sin (and thus to death) or we belong to Christ, being justified by His righteousness.

John Piper explains the invitation of the gospel as: “If Christ’s, then come and belong”. This story is not about me. I belong completely to Christ because it is by His blood and His grace that I am ransomed from my former life of sin. “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20). This is nothing of our own doing; God chose to put Christ’s righteousness upon us while we were still sinners. “But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8). So since I am ransomed I am now a child; I belong. Belonging to God changes the entire view and purpose of my journey. It is no longer about my dreams, success, or desires. Belonging to Christ leads to a Christ-centered life. God’s glory becomes our joy, His honor and praise becomes the delight of the soul. To quote John Piper again, “He created us in such a way that His glory is displayed through our joy in it”.  Belonging to God’s family establishes the purpose “that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God” (Romans 8:21). 

This journey is an invitation. An invitation to come and belong.

Do You Trust Me?

There has been one question that God is continually putting on my heart in this season of life: “Do you trust Me?”

Every season and circumstance requires some element of trust. We all have times of doubt and questioning, but God doesn’t. “If we are faithless, He remains faithful- for He cannot deny Himself.” (2 Timothy 2:13). As explained in my previous post, God is holy, holy, holy. It is against His own character to make mistakes. In our previous lives of sin, this created complete separation from the Lord. But as Christians, we believe that Jesus Christ came to this broken earth to meet us exactly where we are. “For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person- though for a good person one would dare even to die- but God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:6-8). There was no work and no sacrifice done on our parts. The ultimate sacrifice of the spotless lamb was the holy and perfect plan of our sovereign God.

The best example of trust that I find in scripture is Jesus’ death on the cross. Jesus came to this earth fully man and fully God. He experienced suffering, sorrow, and even temptation from Satan himself (Matthew 4:1-11). As Jesus prepared to face His death, I cannot even begin to imagine the trust and hope He had in His Father. According to the Passover tradition, within the Psalms that Jesus prayed over His disciples is Psalm 118:24 “This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it”. Less than twenty-four hours before Jesus is beaten within breaths of death and nailed to the cross, He uses what little time and life He has left to praise the Father. Jesus knows and trusts that the Will of His Father is indeed holy, holy, holy. “And going a little farther He fell on His face and prayed, saying, ‘My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will’ (Matthew 26:39). Jesus has complete faith and trust in His Father. As David writes in Psalm 23:6 “surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever”. Jesus has confident faith that God is good and that He is holy, holy, holy.

I believe that sincere trust in God leads to genuine community with Him.  Again the best example of this I know is God Himself. Our God is a trinity, three in one, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The three are distinguishable yet indivisible. God Himself dwells in community. We see from the very beginning in Genesis 2:18 “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make a helper fit for him”. In God’s creation of woman, we see that we are not meant to go through life alone. We are designed and created for community. I have realized that my own tendency is to base my ability and choice to trust based on past experiences and feelings. Based on what I have known in the past, I think I know what is good. But I know that I do not see the whole picture. Only God in His eternal perspective knows what is truly best. He sees the entire journey and story of my life; only He holds all the pieces of the puzzle. The puzzle only shows the real picture and stays together when all of the pieces are present and aligned. When I try to see and hold the picture with only the few pieces I have it is unclear and fragile. So knowing and trusting that God knows the whole picture and that His plan is holy, holy, holy, my ability and choice to trust changes. I know that pain, confusion, and victory are all a part of His sovereign plan because of His great love for me. He loves His children too much to allow anything other than what is best for each of them according to His eternal glory. I’ve heard it said “God gives us what we would’ve asked for if we knew everything” (Timothy Keller).

So in every circumstance and every season, pause and consider God’s question to you: “Do you trust Me?”

God Redeems All He Allows

“God redeems all He allows…He is holy, holy, holy.”

[I read this quote today in a post from Denison Forum’s post about “Witnessing God’s Redemption in Cuba” (2/6/2013).]

This post got the wheels in my brain turning, it certainly gave me great conviction and hope. In Hebrew, a word is repeated for emphasis. So to repeat that God is “holy” three times, is like a superlative, He is the most holy of holy’s. This is the only attribute used to describe God in the Bible that is repeated three times (Isaiah 6:3, Revelation 4:8). So since God is the Most Holy, He cannot and will not make mistakes. God’s plan, including the timing and execution, is without fault. So every moment of pain, confusion, loneliness, excitement, victory, etc., is purposefully planned and perfectly orchestrated. He uses all of these moments for the glory of His Name. He redeems all He allows. “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:8-9). A beautiful example of this is Christ’s death on the cross. Who could have been there and seen the Savior killed, and not question or doubt that this was somehow a mistake. But God used the murder of His innocent Son to bring sinners into His presence, something us sinners could have never earned on our own. Through the death and resurrection of Jesus, God adopted His once enemy as now His pure and redeemed child. There is beauty and purpose in every aspect of God’s plan whether we are able or choose to see it or not.

Since we are redeemed through Christ’s innocent blood shed on the cross, we are now the ransomed children of the Most Holy. “Knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.” (1 Peter 1:18-19).  As His children, we are called to reflect His image as we bear His name. I once heard John Piper say: “God is most glorified when we are most satisfied in Him”. So as we are saved by Him, we are called to live a life that brings His name all glory and honor. “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” (1 Peter 2:9). We are chosen and ransomed. We are loved by Him who is holy, holy, holy. He redeems all He allows.