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Idolatry (Part 8)
8-22-10
The Bible never offers us a remedy to the human dilemma which ignores (2)
fundamental responses: 1) repentance, 2) faith.
Acts 20:21 “I have had one message
for Jews and Greeks alike- the necessity of repenting from sin and turning
to God, and of having faith in our Lord Jesus.”
These (2) responses of repentance and faith address the futility associated
with our failed attempts at making life work without God and also the hope
of breaking the cycle of self-destruction and realizing life as it was meant
to be lived.
“All have sinned”,
as the Bible would describe it, “and
fall short of the glory of God…” Romans 3:23
It says that our pursuit of life apart from God does not take us far enough.
We fail to become who we were meant to be and experience the kind of life we
were meant to live.
In repentance and faith, the initial process has very little to do with what
you know of God or the extent of your experience.
Although you are bound by all manner of unhealthy attachments, you sense
this strange, yet uncertain freedom and stability. You stand with all of the
“props” kicked out from underneath you
(“Trust in the Lord… and lean not on
your own understanding…” Proverbs 3:5-6).
It’s this vulnerability that we feel which keeps us tethered to grace.
●
For all that we as humanity are capable of… limitless internet travel,
genetic engineering, and now, getting tiny pretzels inside of M & M’s, we
are
terminally religious.
●
Wherever and whenever we look into the on-going history of human cultures,
we find religious activity which had some common pursuits:
►There
was the belief that there was something
(personal or impersonal) which was
higher than, other than the human person. We weren’t “self-explanatory”.
►Religion involved a ‘paradigm’; a ‘worldview’, meaning that humanity’s
thoughts and conclusions about God helped form and inform how they related
to their world.
Their worldview answered the life questions.
►There
was, out of necessity, some form of response both ethically
(in the
ways that we were with each other)
and supernaturally (responses which we believed took us beyond
ourselves: worship, commitment and prayer).
●
What we couldn’t then, and are still unable to agree upon, is how to go
about finding and relating to
this
“other”.
Some images have God as “out
there”. Naturally, when he is thought of in this way, he is considered
untouchable and disinterested. So, we offer him the occasional gesture (a
nod or wave), but are convinced that he’s content to remain aloof.
Some images have God as predominantly,
“here”. Which, at first, sounds
really comforting, but, as we stop and take a good look at the mess we’re
in, we conclude that he is “kindly”, but is fairly “impotent.”
And, the more “here” he is, the more unsettling the questions we have
about him [“If he’s concerned and if he’s so powerful, then why (fill in
the blank)?”
●
For the most part, there seems reflected in history and in the story of God
(the Bible) a couple of essential approaches:
First, there is no shortage of
religious expression which is rigid, demanding and manipulative. And, may I
add, lifeless, frustrating and fatiguing. In a word, Paul would identify it
as “conformity” (literally, ‘to be fashioned according to the pattern of
another’).
Colossians 2:21-23 "Don't handle, don't eat, don't touch." Such rules are mere human teaching about things that are gone as soon as we use them. These rules may seem wise because they require strong devotion, humility, and severe bodily discipline. But they have no effect when it comes to conquering a person's evil thoughts and desires."
This is ,“Life according to the rules”,
and it is always opposed to God because it is opposed to love.
It’s a
“self-rating” system.
And the beauty of self-tests is that we can always judge on the curve
(always compare myself to how you’re doing rather than comparing myself to
God). And, you can’t really love others if you are always critiquing and
categorizing them.
What you eventually discover is that not only does sin separate us
from God and each other, but so does self-righteousness.
It’s “self-imposed” goodness.
Boundaries seem like a good idea, but what they do best is reveal my
inadequacies. So, we stretch the boundaries; we make up our own rules to
accommodate our lack of proficiency (e.g. we play from 3 fairways over
because we can’t keep the ball within the boundaries).
It is self-defeating and frustrating.
There’s no margin for error; no room for grace. Because it is always based
on appearance, it provides the perfect cover for a disorderly heart.
The alternative approach is found in that same verse: the hope for
“transformation”.
The answer is not a faith which makes no demands of us, but a faith that
demands something better of us.
An appeal to live more ‘humanely’.
In this approach, we can live free of the pressure to perform because we
could never live up to those expectations anyway.
●
Interestingly, it’s the same word used in Matthew 17 to describe this
occasion we call Jesus’
“transfiguration”. He was not
turning into someone else, he was being revealed for what was truly there,
but often not fully evidenced to the naked eye.
Grace will lead you into a fuller experience of life than guilt ever could.
Guilt is an effective strategy if what you are looking for is compliance,
but it’s a horrible basis for a relationship.
●
The issue is, I can’t really love myself because I know too much! I long for
this kind of love, but I have an aversion to it, as well. You see, it’s my
suspicion about unconditional love which keeps me bound to the rules.
“There is no fear in love because perfect loves expels all fear”
(1 John 4:18). John then goes on to offer the source of that perfected love:
“…he loved us first” (19).
Grace means that the relationship is already stronger than the wrongs
committed against it. Therefore, I can live in love, not fear.
Repentance and faith will always maintain this mysterious quality: we will
realize that our hearts will never really be free of our attachments
(propensities to satisfy ourselves apart from God) by our own willpower,
yet, we will never be fully relieved of our need to choose; to respond
wisely.
Grace is most recognizable when the human person determines to
respond in ways which are a reflection of the divine will at work within
them. We are free to choose, yet compelled to choose a God-inspired,
God-empowered pursuit of life.
“For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what
pleases him”
(Philippians 2:13)
In order for truth to transform our desires, it has to reach past our
morality and access the “inner parts”.
Psalm 51:6 “You desire truth in the
inner parts…teach me wisdom in
the inmost place.”
God is not just interested in people who are good at following orders, but
people who share his heart. The kind of people who don’t have to be told
what to do all the time, because the transforming love of God is shaping
them in such a way that their lives are producing what the
Kingdom-way-of-life requires. ● David was a guy with just such longings. Even after his own hideous moral failure, what he needed was not just the truth, but the truth that could set him free. The kind of truth that could not just “call him out”, but “draw him out”.
That kind of truth fosters humility and arouses my desire for God.
The “grace-givers” hold out
mercy, but often lack the courage to address the truth (the real issue).
The “truth-tellers” often assume
that the truth ‘alone’ will remedy the situation.
Fortunately, the gospel is much bigger and better than just “unconditional
love”.
To say that God loves you despite your brokenness is only partially true. To
say that God will not be content until you are whole and is committed to
staying with you through the process, is still only partially true. To say
that God loves you despite your brokenness and longs to transform you so
that you might embody his healing, restorative love to a broken world…
that’s the truth.
Creation is good… creation is fallen (marred)… creation will be restored
(atonement: every movement of God toward his creation motivated by his
loving-purpose of setting things right). This is true for our pursuit of
“shalom”, as well.
“I am convinced that he who began a good work in you..until it is finished
on the day Jesus Christ returns”
(Philippians 1:6).
Until then… there is “static”, incremental progress and partial
fulfillment. Enough to keep us dissatisfied, but hopeful. |
