"Sin"

The question isn't,

     "Is this right or is it wrong?"

but rather,
     "Does this draw me closer to Christ or does it rob me of my affections for Him?"

Forgiveness

On Maundy Thursday, I had the privilege of partaking in a foot-washing.  The day began with me deciding to participate in another event that involved me walking around barefoot all day.  In the course of walking to classes, my feet had gotten pretty dirty by the time I arrived at the foot-washing service.  Whenever I have had my feet washed before, they have always been relatively clean.  However this time, I had the humbling task of presenting my dirty, disgusting, embarrassing feet to be handled by the unsuspecting man who led me to the wash basin.  Without a hint of remorse at having chosen me and my dirty feet to wash, he carefully and meticulously cared for my feet and made me clean again.  Afterwards, I was delighting in how clean and soft my feet were, how they still smelled like the soap, and how they seemed to be in perfect condition.  Excitedly I wondered if I could stay this way forever.    But suddenly it struck me that my shoes were out in my car and I would have to cross the parking lot with my newly cleaned feet.  I began trying to think up any and every way, whatever the cost, to get to my car without dirtying my feet again.  I was considering asking somebody to carry me out to the car; trying to figure out a way to wear my coat on my feet while maintaining the ability to walk, or even wondering if I had the necessary skills to walk across the parking lot on my hands.  I was willing to look foolish if I could just stay in that clean condition.

I wonder, if we truly understood the weight and depth of forgiveness, if we would be so quick to fall back into our old habits.  If I truly understood the extent to which God has forgiven me, would I be so quick to continue in my patterns of life that are harmful or destructive and build no one up?

I believe there are two primary problems.  First, we don't recognize how bad we truly are, how dirty our feet are.  I like to think of myself as a good person, but the more I realize how great God is and how little I give Him my full praise, thanks, and the glory that is due to Him, I begin to see more clearly the mud between my toes.  The second issue at stake is that we don't realize how clean we have been made in Christ.  When my feet were made perfect, I had this desire to keep them in that condition for as long as possible.  If we were aware that in forgiveness God removes our sins from us "as far as the east is from the west" (Psalm 103:12), we might work harder to not wander back to that place of sin.

In forgiveness, I ought to be so impressed with how new God has made me, that I begin to examine every aspect of my life, on guard against the things that will make me dirty again so that I might avoid them.

As Pastor David Choi once said, "Cheer up, you're not as bad as you think you are, you're worse."  Now rejoice and delight in how God in Christ through the Spirit has made you a new creation, separate from your sins - and with His help, you could stay this clean forever.

..."Then neither do I condemn you," Jesus declared.  "Go now and leave your life of sin." - John 8:11

"Not Our Voices But Our Lives Will Sing"

The other day I was talking with one of my friends, Leo, from the DR.  He was sharing how they are building a new church and that he is helping with the construction.  I asked if he was enjoying that and he responded with "I like doing anything I do for God."  I thought this was a pretty good answer and it got me thinking about the things we do for God.
     First off, are we really doing things for God, or just for ourselves?  What I mean is, when they pass the plate at church for a special offering or when there are signups for some sort of work day, are we actually participating for God, or for our own sake?  So that we can "check off" giving or serving on some sort of invisible checklist of spirituality.  Am I doing it just so that I'll feel better about myself?  Not to suggest that there is anything wrong with special offerings or work days, in fact they are good things, but what is our real motivation for participating?  Is it enough?
     And should I be able to compartmentalize my life into "things I do for God" over here, "things I do for myself" over here, and "things I just do" over there?  Shouldn't I do everything to the glory and honor of God?
     Okay, so if I'm working to do everything for God, how do I know whether I'm doing something for Him or for myself?  In the book Culture Making, by Andy Crouch, Crouch talks about discerning our calling by seeing where our work is being multiplied beyond our efforts, because then we know the Lord is in it.  God fills us with joy when we are following Him - it should not be burdensome.  In Matthew 11:30 Jesus says, "...my yoke is easy and my burden is light."  Not to suggest that we will never run into frustrations as followers of Christ, in fact Jesus even promises difficulties (Jn. 16:33), but the overwhelming message we see is average people like you and me gladly giving up everything to follow Jesus (Mt. 4:20, 22, Mk. 1:17-18, 2:14, Lk. 5:11, 28, Jn. 1:35-51) and celebrating in their times of difficulty (Acts 5:40-41, 1 Cor. 12:9-10, Jas. 1:2, Phil. 1:21).  We know God is using us and we are in the center of His will when our joy and efforts are multiplied beyond anything we could manage on our own.
     Mark Lewis, one of the directors of Arena Theater at Wheaton College, puts it another way.  He asks, "Does it sound like fun?  Does it seem like an adventure?"  This is an excellent way to look at it.  A couple of months ago Mark was collecting money to buy infant formula for an orphanage he was going to visit in Ethiopia.  When asking for the funds, he encouraged people to only donate if this seemed like an exciting opportunity, like something they wanted to be a part of.  He wasn't after people's money, but rather was inviting them to join in something greater than themselves.
     This is how we should look at "doing things for God."  Not as an obligation to be filled, but rather an opportunity to be part of something bigger than ourselves.  In Isaiah 29:13 "The Lord says: 'These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.  Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men.'"
     May we enjoy serving the Lord with our hearts, and may it never be a burdensome obligation.