It's just really hard to know this one next step in my life and not be living it. I think that's why God doesn't tell us His plans, besides the fact that if we didn't go through a lot of the waiting, we wouldn't be willing to do some of the 'crazy' things He calls us to. But imagine if we knew now what we were going to be doing for the next twenty years. Imagine all of the impatience we would face as we eagerly wait for the good things. And imagine the anxiety the dreaded things would cause. I shudder at the thought. Much as I find myself wanting to know what I will be doing this summer or next fall or in a year, I also know that I am not ready to handle that knowledge. It would be too much for my mind to endure.
And then I think of how Jesus endured. He knew why He was coming to this earth. He knew He would have to endure being a baby (I'm sorry, that life just does not sound pleasant... but this is coming from someone who prefers working with teenagers). He knew He would endure ridicule, disbelief, death threats, obnoxious questions, and ultimately the most painful death imaginable. Not only was He crucified (which was, by the way, probably the most atrocious death anyone ever thought up... I mean, really, what cruelty conjured up a public death by asphyxiation which involved being nailed to roughly hewn planks of wood? I can be pretty dark, but this is one that has always made me shudder), but in addition, He was cut off from perfect intimacy with God. Talk about dying alone!
A dear friend of mine gave me the opportunity to read My Utmost for His Highest on a daily basis. Today's was particularly relevant to me and ended up tying into the sermon in church this morning. I think God is telling me something...
Why did Jesus come to this earth? Certainly not just to be born, be controversial, and be killed. No. Instead, He came to live a perfect life (I would like to point out that did not mean perfect as in worry-free, non-controversial, but perfect as in everything He did pleased God and did not deviate from God's commands), to take on our imperfections upon Himself as He died, and to be raised again from the dead.
Oswald Chambers, in the December 20 reading from My Utmost for His Highest (see link below), indicates that Jesus' death was not out of pity for us. He came to point out where we have deviated from God's standard. Sin, dear friends, tends to be a rather offensive term. Please bear with me. The term 'sin' was an archery term which was yelled out to an archer when he missed the bull's eye. It didn't matter if he was a millimeter from his mark or a mile, he wasn't perfectly centered. I love that. Apply that to human beings, and you find a brilliant conception of what the Bible means by sin. Sin is ANY deviation from the mark of God's perfection. This includes "really little" things. Example: taking the paperclip from work that doesn't belong to you: stealing. OUCH! I don't want to hear that! If such a little thing makes me miss the bull's eye, that means I miss the mark all the time. But that's the point. Aside from some outside intervention directing me to the mark of perfection, I can't meet it. Ever. I will always fail.
God wants an intimate relationship with us, but He can't allow that intimacy if we are always screwing up. Think about your own relationships. You don't develop intimacy with people who cannot be trusted and who do not accept your assistance in finding out how to be close to you. Shouldn't that be part of our communication with other people, letting them know what we need, what we expect and how they can meet that? If they are willing to accept our feedback, we are more willing to accept their foibles, are we not? But beyond that, the idea of our human relationships and our relationship with God falls apart. We should not expect people to meet our ideal every time; they will always fail. God does expect perfection and does not change His expectations for us as we should for our relationships when we discover our expectations are truly unattainable.
God gave us a way to meet His mark of perfection. He gave us Himself. Jesus took on our sin, but that didn't end with His death on the cross. From there, He raised from the dead, and according to Romans 8:11 and Ephesians 1:20, the same power that allowed Him to rise from the dead works in us if we put our faith in the facts of His birth, death, burial, and resurrection then allow Him to have control in our lives. Imagine actually allowing God to have control of our lives with the power that raised Jesus from the dead! What good we could do if only we got out of God's way and let Him work! The first step is accepting His gift of salvation on faith. That ensure we go to heaven. But if we want to be effective for Him, we must then also walk in that faith and let Him have control of our lives.
It was the knowledge that He would be offering a way to overcome our downfalls and become closer to Him that kept Jesus from walking away from what He knew His destiny to be. I cannot imagine the agony of knowing the pain you are about to face and making the decision to follow through anyway. But the awesome thing about that is I will never have to make that decision to die alone. I will always have Someone with me, even in death. And my death will lead me to heaven where I finally enjoy a life free of the damaging presence of sin in my life. When you love someone so much that you want everything you do to please them, it is so frustrating when you fail them. That's how it is in my relationship with God right now.
So now that I've given you a bunch to think about, let me just point out that you were made to enjoy today, to give glory to God, and to have a relationship with Him. There are steps you must take along the way, but the biggest of those steps is trusting Him to do His work in you and then stepping out of the way so He can.
Today's Links:
I didn't know that the word "sin" was an archery term, that any miss from the target--no matter how close--was deemed imperfection, and therefore a sin. Interesting!
ReplyDeleteAs human beings, we our best. What we are doing to be our best is not always most effective way of going about things, however, but we can learn to live more effectively when we are receptive to the feedback of others and to making changes in our attitude.
Moving can be stressful, but it looks like you're making the best of it. I hope you enjoy your time and studies out West. Neither of us knows what the future will bring, but we both know that you will never be alone at any point of your journey.
Thank you for writing this. It is always a pleasure to have a glimpse into your mind. <3
I like words, not just writing them but understanding their definitions and origins. So when I find an interesting fact about a word, it tends to stick for a long time, like the origin of the word "sin." And I enjoy sharing those random tidbits, even if everyone else finds it boring lol
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