Life from death

With Good Friday and Easter approaching, the focus is on the death and resurrection of Christ--death and life, the former which we dread and the latter which we seek. We hate death, and yet so often we cooperate with it by choosing hurtful things. We want life, and yet so often we cling to the things which fight against it. Our self seems to lead us exactly the wrong way--away from life in Christ. If self is in charge, we're in trouble.

That's why the self-control given by the Spirit is different from the self-control that helps us get what we want. If I control myself only as a means of achieving my own goals, it is not the Spirit of Christ who is in charge.

But, as it says in Romans 8: 11-15, "If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you. Therefore we have an obligation--but it is not to the sinful nature to live according to it. For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father."

Imagine that--no, do better than that--BANK on it: the Spirit of the resurrected Christ lives in us, bringing life where once death reigned. It's not Easter yet (hide your eyes if you're a stickler for following all the Lenten traditions), but I'm going to say it anyhow, "Hallelujah!!!!"

Contentment and Self-control

One of our verses this week says, "Godliness with contentment is great gain." That idea of contentment and its role in self-control has been rolling around in my brain all week. Usually we think of words like discipline and organization and planning and denial in relation to self-control, but it seems to me that contentment does more than all of those to help me put my trust in God rather than in my own desires.

If I am content with what God has provided and confident in his tender, all-knowing care, I don't need to be always looking for more, more, more. If I realize that God has created a safe place for me--a place hemmed in by warnings against unhealthy and harmful things--it's easier to say "no" to those things that God tells me are not for my good. If my worth and sufficiency come from my position in Christ as a beloved, redeemed child of God, I don't need to try to make myself feel good by indulging my ravenous sinful nature. Christ fills me; why would I stuff myself with anything (any excessive behavior) that competes with him for my affection, attention, and adoration? Being content with Christ, the ultimately satisfying "portion" God assigns me, is a key to self-control.

Link to a GodTube Video

Have you seen this video? A member of our class sent it to me with the warning to have tissues handy. She was right! Click on the link below to go to the video.

http://www.godtube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=ee73e63418003b47d7d5&ref=sv

Not the good fight

Paul tells us to "fight the good fight of faith" but there's a fight that's NOT the good fight of faith but the bad fight of pride. In our lesson, gentleness was described as "the complete surrender to God's will and way in your life." Its opposite was defined as "fighting against God." Here are a few characteristics of those who lack gentleness: "They push and shove. They fear that to give in means to lose." To me, this is a picture of an "I must win" mentality. It makes all of life into an opponent to be mastered, a contest to win, a trophy to raise high which will prove our worth and success. It focuses on what Paul calls "confidence in the flesh"--what I can accomplish or do or be--and is what he came to call "rubbish" compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus.

Coincidentally (NOT!), these concepts were reinforced in a book I just happened to randomly pick up at the library yesterday. It described how we often pit ourselves against others in our relationships (with God, spouse, children, friends) instead of placing ourselves next to them in unity or, heaven forbid, even putting ourselves under them in submission. The picture is a boxing ring, hands lifted in aggression and self-protection. Lest you think that too dramatic an image, let me share some of the behaviors these authors suggest indicate lack of gentleness and an "I must win" attitude. They call these "invalidations" and include anything that lessens the value of others. (Many of these are most visible in interactions with people, but I'm firmly convinced that we treat God the same way we treat people; we just fake ourselves out better with him.)

Here's a quick synopsis of some common invalidations in various categories:

Blatant slams
Rolling eyes, glaring, name-calling, sarcasm, uncomplimentary names, mocking intelligence or skills, criticizing, complaining.

Slamming by Association
Ridiculing the person's friends, family, occupation, gender. Belittling beliefs, projects, or creations. (Belittling a person is belittling God's creation!)

Unflattering comparisons
Drawing attention to the flaws or mistakes of others. Insulting by saying, "You're just like...." Always having a better idea.

Physical Aggression
Any use of physical power to intimidate or control another.

Negative Interpretations, Labels, and Expectations
Assuming the worst, using "You always" or "You never" in arguments, neglecting to notice or praise the positives (this applies especially to God), rehashing old mistakes and issues.

Withholding Self
Refusing to listen or hear, not reciprocating love and affection, rejecting sexual advances of a spouse, failing to verbally express pleasure in the other, isolating yourself physically or disconnecting emotionally, indifference. (I think this category is a biggie with relation to God.)

Quite a list, huh? Some of those sure hit home with me. Invalidations often stem from pride in both its forms: needing to be the winner or wallowing in being the loser. But in Christ, neither of those matters. In Christ we are fully loved, fully desired, fully beautiful. We don't need to prove anything or achieve anything or claw our way to the top or punish anyone for not cherishing us. We are his beloved--there's no need to fight; we can rest.

A couple of things that might help us stay in that place of rest are:

Confession: admitting to God the truth about ourselves, agreeing with him, agreeing with his Word

Adoration: verbally expressing appreciation and love to God

We honor God when we humble ourselves in his presence, put our hope fully in his Son, and let his Spirit fill us with all good things--including gentleness.

I'm way behind this week...

I'm only up to Day 3, so I have some catching up to do. Two sentences from Day 2 have stuck in my mind. They are:

If your faith is based on what God is doing, you are in for the scariest ride of your life.

And

Genuine faith walks steadfastly with God for the pleasure of his company, not for his results.

Plenty there to think about, wouldn't you agree?

Goodness me

Goodness is a little harder for me to get a handle on than kindness was. I've had to stop and think what is even meant by the word good. The phrase that keeps coming to me is: God is good. He defines and illustrates goodness. He IS goodness. So, then, everything that comes from him or has its source in him is what we would call "goodness." That would include things like truth, justice, love, fidelity, honor--all in their purest, most untainted forms. The good stuff is the God stuff.

When the Spirit works goodness in us, it shows itself as zeal for the good things of God. And because the world doesn't always love the good things of God (like truth, justice, or fidelity) and in fact is often an active enemy of the goodness of God, zeal for God's goodness sets us in opposition to some of the things this world (and we as creatures of this world) holds dear. For that reason, sticking up for goodness or doing goodness can mean confronting the "badness" in ourselves and this world. As Beth said, that is not often comfortable or pleasant, and it can get downright ugly unless accompanied by the tender kindness of a soft heart.

That's why my prayer now is that along with zeal for the good things of God, the Spirit will give me kindness. And along with a tender heart, he will give me the backbone to make no compromises with evil.

Kindness, nurture, a tender heart

You can't be a Christian for very long or be around Christianity without hearing that God is love. It's the heart of everything in Christianity. It's why God has anything to do with us. But love is a big word, and even that most wonderful description of God's devotion to us can get to feeling almost impersonal and far-off and matter-of-fact. That's why I appreciate this week's focus on kindness, which takes the word love and puts it into pictures.

We see God the nurturing parent who knows our needs better than we do and generously provides. He takes us by the arm, he heals us, he fills our mouths with good things, he leads us to the well of salvation, he uses his mighty arm to save, he delights in us, he quiets us with his love, he rejoices over us with singing. He will never forget us. His heart is tender toward us, even more tender than a mother gazing with love on her baby.

As Jesus gathers the little children to him and blesses them, we see a heart soft with love. Of all the artwork depicting Christ, the scenes of him blessing the children are my favorite. And when I look more closely at that picture, I see myself there, too, with his hand on MY head.

It's worth thinking about: how and when have you seen and experienced the tender heart of God?