I came across a great quotation today that I thought would be worth sharing, especially in light of my post yesterday. Currently, I am reading Making All Things New: An Invitation to the Spiritual Life, which is a fantastic book. Nouwen begins the book talking about our modern, busy lives. I’ve had many conversations about the modern life, modern busyness, and balancing the spiritual life with “secular” life; so I found this quotation thought-provoking:
It is important for us to realize that Jesus in no way wants us to leave our many-faceted world. Rather, he wants us to live in it, but firmly rooted in the center of all things …. [Jesus] speaks about a change of heart. This change of heart makes everything different, even while everything appears to remain the same.
…
Jesis asks us to move our hearts to the center, where all other things fall into place. What is this center? Jesus calls it the kingdom, the kingdom of his Father.
{ Making all things New, page 42-43 }
At first read, it’s just a restatement of the familiar “be in the world but not of it” idea that Christians often (rightly) parrot. But I think Nouwen captures an essence of this delicate balance of Christian life in this world very well. We are to refocus on the Kingdom, just as Jesus did.
This is the freedom Christ offers: death to self and life in Him. When we refocus on that kingdom, and that reality, we experience true freedom. Christ does not call us to forsake all things earthly, rather we are called to refocus so that we are no longer concerned primarily with the physical kingdom around us, but the kingdom of the Father.
May you and I find the strength and the courage to recenter our lives on that kingdom.
Independence day. Undoubtedly, many of us are celebrating today by enjoying time off and spending it with family and friends. Today is a reminder of our country’s heritage and freedom. I would like, however, to offer something that I have been thinking about a lot: what is true freedom for the Christian? I would like to suggest that the freedom we celebrate today, on July 4th, is at best a pale shadow of the freedom Christ offers to us, and at worst an idea that lures us into a false conception of Christ’s freeing work on the cross.
Let me start out by saying that I by no means wish to “bash” our country or its principles. As a historian, I recognize the uniqueness of our country’s founding, and our ideals; we are indeed blessed with a freedom that many people today and throughout history have not been. I am glad that I can choose my own government—that our government in theory works for us and not the other way around, that I can worship as I please and where I please, live my life as I please, and so on and so forth. But the problem with that list, for the Christian, is that word I.
Christians believe they have freedom in Christ. But what is this freedom? Is it to do as we wish and live as we please? No. Paul tells us in Romans 6:6,7 that “our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be destroyed, and we might no longer be enslaved to sin. For whoever has died is freed from sin” And the more I see the power of sin in my own life, the more I see how the word “enslaved” is so appropriate. But Paul does not end there: (verses 17 & 18) “But thanks be to God that you, having once been slaves of sin, have become obedient from the heart to the form of teaching to which you were entrusted, and that you, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness.” We are dead to self and alive in Christ. We are all familiar with Galatians 2:20: “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.”
Freedom in Christ, then, is fundamentally about far more than little old me. In fact, Paul goes so far as to say that he is no longer living his own life—he is dead to self, but that it is Christ living in him. I should no longer be concerned with my own desires, but the desires of Christ. Not that all human desires are wrong or should be ignored, but rather that I submit them to Christ my master.
Do you see the paradox with what we call “freedom” in America? Freedom here is the freedom to do whatever you wish with your life, and be free of governmental control, religious control, and free from tyranny. Freedom in Christ is the freedom to no longer be concerned about your own life, and to no longer be enslaved to your own sin, but to wholeheartedly give your life to Christ and live for him. To call him Lord and Master: two words that are inherently, not “free.” To be completely free from yourself, your desires, and your sin is true freedom.
Again, I by no means believe there is anything immoral about experiencing what I am calling “American” freedom. Indeed, we are arguably better enabled to serve Christ and live for him because of it. But I hope we can see the limitations of that freedom too. And I hope we can see that our freedom in Christ is completely independent of secular freedom, and perhaps even stands in stark contrast to that secular freedom. Christians living under the most oppressive governments, or Christians who are physically enslaved to someone, can still experience freedom in Christ, and perhaps they even have experienced that freedom more fully than we who live in “free” countries.
I leave you with the words of Christ from John 8:31-36 :
To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, ‘If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’
They answered him, ‘We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?’
Jesus replied, ‘Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.’
I’m sitting in the library, trying to work on my final paper of my undergraduate career. Should be easy, really. Still, I’d rather devote my typing to something else right now, and this seemed like a good fit.
I haven’t written much under my “Thoughts of the Day” category lately. (Have you noticed I like to categorize things?) So here I am reviving it.
My thought today, or right now really, comes from staring at the most amazing yellow sky I have seen in a while. It rained here today. All day. A lot. The sky has, therefore, been dark and gray and cloudy. Which, for me, was not a good day for that to happen (see earlier note). I didn’t think I’d see the sun today. And I really wanted to see the sun.
I suppose my prayer for sunlight wasn’t quite answered. But this golden glow across the clouds is a pretty decent second. Shuffle on my iPod decided to play “You Never Let Go” by Matt Redman about the time this glow crept across the sky, which I found to be rather fitting.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death
Your perfect love is casting out fear
And even when I’m caught in the middle of the storms of this life
I won’t turn back
I know you are near
And I will fear no evil
For my God is with me
And if my God is with me
Whom then shall I fear?
Whom then shall I fear?
(Chorus:)
Oh no, You never let go
Through the calm and through the storm
Oh no, You never let go
In every high and every low
Oh no, You never let go
Lord, You never let go of me
And I can see a light that is coming for the heart that holds on
A glorious light beyond all compare
And there will be an end to these troubles
But until that day comes
We’ll live to know You here on the earth
(Chorus)
Yes, I can see a light that is coming for the heart that holds on
And there will be an end to these troubles
But until that day comes
Still I will praise You, still I will praise You
I have been reading some fantastic books lately, have heard some fantastic messages and sermons, and have been learning much from my time with God. My lighter class load has freed me up to do some fun and needed contemplation. With graduation looming, I’m facing the next step in my life. Where to go, how to go, what to do, how to do it. More than anything else lately, I have been reminded that I must keep Christ at the center of that process–something that isn’t always easy to do.
I am daily reminded that it is not my life I live anymore. As Paul says, it is not I who live, but Christ who lives in me. I fear that I too often forget this…I want Christ’s salvation and redemption but I am unwilling to truly give up my life. I’d rather live a life of safety and contentment, making choices that are easy and safe. Christ becomes a nice part of my life that gives me warm fuzzy feelings when I go to church on Sunday.
Christ stands ready to change our lives. Our entire, holistic lives. To settle for anything less is both missing the point, and incredibly tragic. My human will desires freedom to do what I want. It desires to control God and relegate him to a comfortable square of my life that I designate on my terms. Christ invites me into a new and powerful freedom that is rooted in giving up all of myself and my ambitions. Didn’t he say, after all, that whoever tries to keep his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will keep it? In church today we talked about Matthew 20:20-34, the story of the mother who asked for her sons to sit at the right and left hand of Jesus when he came to reign. It is here that Jesus says that to become great in the kingdom of God, one must become a servant. God’s economy is entirely reversed from our human ideas. To become great, we must become low. And Christ himself modeled this for us. He became a servant to all.
The more I see this arrogant self-centeredness my own life, the more it breaks my heart. In an effort to try to preserve my own freedom, I have lost sight of Christ’s freedom. In a desire to live my life as I want to, I have missed out on something far greater.
Much of this lesson is nothing new. As seems to be the case with most things I learn, I don’t really seem to learn new things but rather I relearn things I should already know. I guess it just goes to show that I have a rather thick skull. I wrote recently that I wonder if I would recognize Christ if he were here today. If my life centers around myself, and Christ becomes only a small portion of my life, then I think the answer to that question is probably “no.” Because those that did recognize Jesus dropped everything they were doing to follow him. Hardly a good record for me if I am unwilling to drop all my priorities and ambitions for the same Man.
My hope and prayer is that Christ truly does become my all in all. That Christ should be my every breath, my every word, my every thought. That my entire life changes because of Christ. That I love like Christ loved. That I serve like Christ served. And most of all, that I don’t limit Christ to try to make my life more safe and comfortable.
I don’t think this is easy. My culture around me says to enjoy the moment, to do what I want to do, to make my life what I want it to be. Everything about the young 20s centers around what I want to do with my life, where I want to go to school, etc. Sadly, even the Christian community seems to echo some of these thoughts and attitudes–we just throw God’s name in to the mix every now and then to make it sound better. In this nation, we are blessed with the incredibly freedom to make what we want out of our lives, and the material blessing to be free from worrying where our next meal might come from. This is truly a great thing, but I think it is also a danger. And I see it in my own life: my focus can quickly shift towards myself and my desires. And in that process, I lose sight of the One who should be my all consuming passion.
If I say I am a Christ-follower, that means I am following Jesus, right? And with whom did Jesus spend his time? The least of these. Who do I spend my time with? Hmm. I don’t really want to answer that, because it isn’t “the least of these” and my natural desire is not to live with the “least of these.” I’d rather live in a nice neighborhood with a nice house and a nice car. Christ says to love my neighbor as I love myself, and I’m ok with that as long as my “neighbor” is someone I like. I’m ashamed of the ways I try to dismiss this simple, yet powerful message. I’m ashamed of the ways I justify ignoring the least of these, and the ways I mistreat others. I’m ashamed that I am only willing to follow Christ when doing so is comfortable to me.
Thankfully God is merciful and gracious towards us, and thankfully he knows our weaknesses. And thankfully, he is willing to change our hearts to be more like His. I pray that my heart is daily made more like His, and that His concerns become my concerns. I pray that He frees me from selfish ambition, and frees me to live a life of dedicated pursuit after Him. I pray that I would not just accept Christ’s salvation, and refuse his challenge to live life differently, but would wholeheartedly embrace a life of following Him.
Where you go, I’ll go
Where you stay, I’ll stay
When you move, I’ll move
I will follow…
All your ways are good
All your ways are sure
I will trust in you alone
Higher than my side
High above my life
I will trust in you alone
Where you go, I’ll go
Where you stay, I’ll stay
When you move, I’ll move
I will follow you
Who you love, I’ll love
How you serve I’ll serve
If this life I lose, I will follow you
I will follow you
Light unto the world
Light unto my life
I will live for you alone
You’re the one I seek
Knowing I will find
All I need in you alone, in you alone
In you there’s life everlasting
In you there’s freedom for my soul
In you there joy, unending joy
and I will follow
This questions is probably aimed more at my fellow seniors, who will be graduating soon, but definitely a question for anyone to answer. If you attended chapel today, and the luncheon afterwards, this may be repetative, but I’d still be curious to hear what you think.
What does a good transition look like to you? What will be hard about leaving JBU and what are you looking forward to?
{ Making all things New, page 42-43 }
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