If you consider yourself a follower of Jesus, just take a minute to consider this. There is a division cause by sin today among us and none of us are without blame: Repentance is not an event (“I repented”) as much as a process, a state of being; always re-turning to Jesus. This is what St. Paul meant when he spoke of dying to ourselves daily” (Luke 9:23-24, Galatians 2:20). It means throwing ourselves at the altar of Reconciliation. The Table. If I get there and realize there is anything dividing me and another who professes Christ as Lord, I am commanded to go and be reconciled before receiving the grace of God (Matthew 5:23-24, 1 John 1:7), otherwise we deceive ourselves and make God into a liar (1 John 1:8-10). There is no Gospel of “Masculinity,” no Gospel of “Feminism,” no Gospel of “pussified-James Dobson-knock-off-crying-Promise-Keeping-mama’s-boys,” no Gospel of “His-disturbed-troubled-mind,” no Gospel of “you’re-completely-pussified,” no Gospel of “well-you’re-deranged-and-horribly-sick.” These are shams, reflektors, broken mirrors. There is one Gospel of Jesus Christ, summed up in his own words this way: Come unto me, you who are tired, weary, weighed down by whatever you carry with you, and I will give you rest (Matthew 11:28-30). It is a Gospel of Resurrection (1 Corinthians 15). To be a disciple of Christ means to look at him. This is part of repentance; not simply turning away, but re-turning, taking up our mat and walking somewhere. We do a good job of hurting each other in the name of “truth.” Im not talking about offending someone. Offense is not violence, it is selfishness and pride. Offense is always about me and what I dont like or appreciate. On the cross Jesus exposes this for the sham it is and transcends it, being himself accused, beaten, convicted, shamed, but never offended. Because Love is not offended by anything (1 Corinthians 13). Love is wounded and bled and hung out to dry. When we enter into the true pain of this, the Cross of Christ, we are then able to be resurrected and made new. Offense is always a last-ditch attempt to survive and keep ourselves alive out of fear of death. It has no place in the heart of a disciple (John 12:24, Romans 6:2-4). Next time you are offended, pause and examine it in the light of the Love of Christ. If honest, you might see your selfishness and pride, an attack on how youve always validated yourself. Soon you will be forced to contend with a much deeper pain that is ultimately about your own insecurity and insufficiency to know and be known. Most of us, if we get to this point, turn back to our offense. We know it well and it is our safe place. But it’s a cold, dingy, leaky cave. We begin to believe that this must be the place Christ is preparing for us. We get paranoid about our own judgment. We push that judgement on others to feel at home with ourselves. I think it comes from a distorted need for community. This is what we are created for (Genesis 2:18). And so our self loathing turns into loathing others, the pussified men, the preachers of macho masculinity, whoever we want. We are so scared of identifying with the suffering and sorrow of Christ, so scared of being wounded, we settle for being offended. But unless we sell all of this, and give it to the poorest in all creation, the Creator in the flesh (Philippians 2:6-8), we cannot enter the Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 13:44-46, Luke 12:33). If we sincerely come to Christ without any pretense of trying to validate ourselves, he will lead us up his Holy Mountain (Psalm 24:3-6). And while at the base of the mountain we can each afford our own space, our own selfishness, the closer we get to the top the closer we get to each other. The summit is standing room only. “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 your 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,[b] 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. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” (Philippians 2).
Posted on: Wed, 30 Jul 2014 20:42:07 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015