Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Why Do We View God As Being "Un-Godly?"

While driving to work this morning, I realized for most of my life I have viewed God as being ungodly in nature. My mind began to swirl with all of the ways I have viewed God and foremost in my thoughts was how I have believed God was out to "get me." I viewed the creator of the universe as watching to catch me in my mistakes and should I die committing a sin, He would be quick to throw me into the fires of hell! How could I not develop this thought as I was continually taught how narrow the gate/path was and how few would enter in to share eternity with Him.

Having just discussed the aspect of being snared by those who are right in the last blog, I am still wrestling with the petty aspects of those things causing such turmoil in God's family. Coming to mind as I type, are the realities of our earthly families and how we often get trapped into competing for the attention of each other in the family by being a little more extravagant with a gift or invitation so we will be loved or respected more than another. When considering what it might take to be successful in our earthly lives, we are constantly reminded to dot our "i" and cross our "t." Those who pay attention to details are those who will be successful!

In our church families, have we not taught the importance of the DETAILS? Like the Pharisees, have we not even been known by our careful consideration of every aspect when we gather together in praise and worship to God so we will not carelessly do something to offend God and lose our salvation? It took me being slapped hard in a sermon one day before I fully realized how right the preacher was when we declared we not only believe we can lose our salvation but we go further and even believe it more likely than unlikely?

How can we be so bold as to lower God to human standards and nature and even suggest He consider us any less that a loving child when we bring him an offering of praise. How can we consider and believe God looks at one form of worship as being right and acceptable and another form being unacceptable because of what is offered? As you read this last thought, do you want to throw the story of Cain and Abel at me and remind me how God found the offering of Abel acceptable and rejected the offering of Cain? You might even remind me of how the prophet describes the people in Amos 6 of strumming on their harps like David and improvising music so I can fully understand how God is looking for those who pay attention to details and do things the right way.

I'm not sure which one of my relatives first used the term but all of this is more than nonsense, it is HOGWASH! As far as I can tell, from reading my bible, the only time God was interested in details is when He was very specific about what He wanted. Since the Law of Moses was never intended to be the "plan" for God's people, even the details mentioned in the Law are meaningless to what God expected and desired of His people.

If the reader was brought up under much of the same legalism as instructed me in my youth, you might have been taught how Abel's sacrifice was acceptable because it was a blood sacrifice and Cain should have offered an animal. Again, I say hogwash because I am fully convinced (at least right now) of the problem being with the heart of Cain in his offering and not the specifics of the offering. All I can tell for sure in reading the story is how Abel offered the best and Cain offered SOME. Yes, and when speaking of those addressed in Amos, God hated their singing and He hated everything they were doing to honor him, not because the act was wrong, but because their hearts were far from Him.

Someone once told me how when I had children I would begin to understand the reality of a father to a child. We might even go back and look at the words of Jesus in Matthew 5 and see how he brings our attention from the letter of the law to what is on our hearts. When He talks of bringing and offering to the alter and having something against your brother, Jesus does not ask us to check the offering but rather check our hearts and first make our hearts right so the offering will be right. How can we view our Father in Heaven as a vindictive God looking for our mistakes when He is looking for the GOOD in all of us. Those of us who do have children know of the performances and ballgames we have attended and all of the mistakes we witness and yet when we gather our children up, we encourage and cheer them on reminding them of the one fantastic moment they just experienced. In all of our "human wisdom" we act this way and yet we view God as the parent who would yank their child out of the game and take him/her home for a good beating because of the errors made.

Something just recently giving me much pain was watching our youth prepared to participate in the "Leadership Training for Christ." Following the introduction to our church family of the various activities our kids would be involved with, my own daughter came to me and asked why they did not offer activities for those playing instruments and the truth of our continued training to do things the "right way" hit me once again. Not only was it evident in not having opportunities available for musicians playing an instrument, the boys competing in bible reading would be allowed to read and practice in the "official" church setting and the girls competing in the same activity would not be allowed practice time in the "official" setting.

Over the years, I have been encouraged to come use my talents in churches who have orchestras and I have been reminded of the gift God has given me to play horn. As I simply stop writing this evening, the greatest weight on my heart is realizing how my choice to stay in weekly fellowship with the churches of Christ is also my choice to offer God much less than I have to offer. Like Cain, I only offer SOME of what I could give and as we start our new series on whether we will be a fan or follower of Jesus, the decision to be a follower may require something of me I have never considered giving up!

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Snared By Those Who Are "Right!"

Freedom does not exist where one refuses to exercise the freedom possessed. When I think of the slavery having existed in the United States and the human trafficking (slavery) still existing today, I can't find it acceptable to give my approval or willingly offer myself or my family in participation. If not for the chains and locked doors, I suspect none of the slaves would continue in their current condition and yet as Christians we seem profess contentment in our bondage to others.

When considering the plight of "free" Christians, the chains and locked doors are graciously accepted and we continue in our bondage daily. The primary reason I believe we find acceptance to bondage within the Christian family is based on the transformation achieved or currently taking place in our lives. When we replace the sinful nature of man with an understanding of Christ's nature and begin the transformation in our lives to look like our Savior, we accept and choose to be responsible to the characteristics of His nature. We choose to be loving and compassionate. We choose the servant attitude and make a deliberate choice to place the needs of others ahead of our own lives. As a Christian, we face an almost constant struggle to meet the ideal description given by the apostle Paul when he says, "it is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me."

Our life as a Christian can easily become one of a paradox between what is supposed to be, as planned by God, and who we are supposed be when we choose to be Christ living today. It is this paradox I believe Paul addresses in Romans 14 when the Spirit leads Paul to address the stumbling block we are capable of placing before others. Effectively, Paul discusses how Christians, failing to escape the selfish desires of their own life, carelessly trap others devoted to living the life of Christ in their lives. Yes, our carelessness in declaring what is right or wrong in the lives of other Christians will spring the paradox (trap) of Christianity on our brothers and sisters. We throw down the stumbling block and cast the snare of compassion and love. Now, the once free Christian, finds themselves in the paradoxical position of being free in Christ and yet confined by the nature of compassion and love as they are faced with the choice of exercising their freedom or placing the wishes and "well-being" of other brothers and sisters ahead of their own freedom. Not originally placed here, I have to consider verse 22 of the chapter, "So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the man who does not condemn himself by what he approves" and conclude how exercising ones freedom in Christ could actually be an act of condemnation once the snare has sprung!

Snared by love and the decision to live a Christian life, the only choice seems to be the acceptance of our bondage and yet the acceptance of bondage only leads to a continued bondage for future generations. Yes, as we accept our bondage we set the snare to trap other unsuspecting Christians who, "guided in paths of righteousness for his name's sake," will be walking "through the valley of the shadow of death."

Not wishing to leave the reader in a seemingly hopeless position of simply accepting the bondage placed upon us, I will offer a solution I believe offers hope to those ensnared and the future generations of those who would be enslaved with this paradox of desiring to live the Christian life. Those, responsible for setting the snare must choose to release those ensnared! Those who have taken up the "mantle" of leadership must do everything they can within their abilities to promote verses 17 and 18 "For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by men."

In other words, being Christ to the world with love of everyone and especially to our own brothers and sisters, will be pleasing to God and definitely approved by those not currently members of God's family. I fully believe Paul tells us to take great satisfaction in knowing others who want to praise and honor God and that the "rightness" in this decision far outweighs the methods employed in praise and worship of our master.

Brothers and sisters, let us not be guilty of ensnaring those around us because we think it necessary to speak for God and create a list of sins for those things God did not address when defining the sinful nature of man but instead take care to lock our snares or what is "right for us" to remain locked away from those who might not see it our way.

Friday, April 8, 2011

The "Invitation!"

While visiting with my daughter and discussing all the Holy Spirit has led her to become (including things still on the horizon), I discovered yet another adjustment we have made in our attempts to be something other than what God intended. Jesus told us to go into all the world and yet those still bound by the tradition of my fellowship would have us believe God designed the church for all the world to come, VISIT, be taught and receive salvation after we change them with our "correct" way to worship.

It is not too amazing that I came to this realization when I mentioned the idea of a preacher, in our fellowship, not giving the "appropriate" words of invitation to those needing "to be saved." As I type these words, I might even consider how I do not believe we can even find an example of men being asked to save or described as "saving" another man (if, as so many in my fellowship, we need an example).

If I find myself "bound" to using examples, I am curious how we ever began requiring a preacher in our assemblies to end his lesson reminding people of the importance of hearing, believing, repenting, confessing and being baptized. I might guess men made the assumption of this taking place because we do find a statement of the disciples coming together daily and if we stretch this passage enough, we can use the statement of those being saved and added as "proof positive" of the effective "assembly preaching" of those already in fellowship! Yes, we can be assured it was the effectiveness of the church in assembly responsible for advancing the numbers of Christians and not the effectiveness of the lives led by men and women. Yes, we have credited man's institution with the success of the gospel message and not the people led by the Holy Spirit to resemble Christ in their daily lives (going into the world).

I have been taught to regard 1Corinthians 14 as "the main guide" for our worship and yet I can't find the official invitation required. In fact, I find the focus of our "official" worship to be focused, not on the lost, but on the SAVED!

What then shall we say, brothers? When you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church.

I find brothers and sisters, those having been added to the church, coming together to meet the needs and strengthen each other. I think we could more easily defend an official policy of forbidding the lost to come together with us than we can a tradition of focusing our worship time on meeting the needs of the lost.

May God be praised more fully by the lives we lead in the world and not wanting to miss the lesson learned from the sermon I heard this past week, may the goal of our faith not be to get us to heaven but rather get heaven down to us! May we all be effective in assuring God's will is done on earth as it is in heaven!

I thank God for the ability to see areas of life where the will of man has replaced the will of God and make adjustments so that His will not mine becomes the norm.