This is the last and final week of the series from Kings. Kings ends in melancholy. The kingdom is destroyed and the promise of David seems to be forgotten. The Davidic king is sent into exile into a foreign land along with most of the people, and the promise of Abraham also seems to be forgotten. I read the story and I see zero hope in this story.
This is a troubling story. I've heard my whole life that God's plans are perfect and in him there is hope and peace, but when I read a story like this I begin to question those things I've always heard. Even knowing the rest of the story, how the nation lived in a downward spiral of increasing sin and deprivation, I am still left with question after question on why this happened. The really troubling part of this is that I can't be too harsh on the people of Judah or their kings because time after time in this series I've seen my own story. Solomon compromised; I compromise. Rehoboam's pride; Spencer's pride....etc. It makes me wonder about my own captivity and exile. It makes me wonder how I might incur God's judgment. Very troubling.
One thing I've been trying to grow in the last few years is seeing salvation in both temporal and eternal terms. My God saves me, and I believe he saves me now. He saves me from myself now. He saves me from sin now. Eternally this salvation will be complete, but I live into it now. This is a major shift from usual evangelical thinking that limits salvation to eternity only...salvation is only concerned with the soul. I take this from Wesley, salvation begins "at the first dawning of grace until the soul is consummated in glory" (my favorite Wesley quote).
If I believe this about salvation, then I need to also believe this conversely about judgment. Judgment is not only limited to the eternal. Hell is not the only manifestation of judgment. I believe we experience judgment now, which is why the Kings story is so troubling. I don't think this means cities are destroyed. I don't think Katrina or 9/11 was judgment from God. I do though resonate with Paul's understanding in Romans, "the wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness...for although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him...therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity."
Paul goes on later in Romans to talk about salvation in terms of captivity. We are held in captivity, or slavery, to sin until Christ brings us peace with God and makes us slaves to righteousness. In this light, I wonder what I may be in captivity to. I wonder if there are ways I have incurred God's judgment, the horrible judgment of being separated from him, of having my relationship with God estranged for any reason.
"But who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God- through Jesus Christ our Lord!" - Romans 7:24
Showing posts with label grace. Show all posts
Showing posts with label grace. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Free Grace and The Kite Runner
I'm preaching this week on Naaman's healing in 2 Kings 5. This is a story of Naaman, a great military leader, who even fights against Israel coming before Elisha in order to be healed. Two points emerge from this story. One is the universality of God's salvation. God is at work in the world, whether we acknowledge it or not. This has great implications for us.
Second, is the free nature of the healing he received. He comes bringing payment for his healing to pay the prophet. Prophets usually accepted payment for their work, such as Balaam. Elisha ends up turning his money away, which leads to next week on Greed. Naaman, because of his own greatness, expects Elisha to respond in greatness as well. I think he is expecting fanfare and fawning over Naaman. Instead, Elisha does not come out of his house and just sends a servant to talk to Naaman. He is told simply to go dip in the Jordan seven times and he will be healed. Strange.
He is upset by this, and I think it is because he expected some sort of magic trick that he would have to pay for and instead found an expression of grace that cost him nothing but some pride. I think the implications here are massive. The Msg offers this translation: "If the Prophet had asked you to do something hard and heroic, wouldn't you have done it? So, why not this simple wash and be clean?
How often do we make this so much harder than they really have to be? Naaman is looking for a way to make his healing justifiable through some hard work or through some payment of some money. Instead, Elisha evens the tables. If it were not so, then only those who could afford to be made well or who had the courage to do some daring task like a warrior would be made clean (or saved). Instead, Elisha makes it accessible to all.
In this he reminds me of Khaled Hosseini's book The Kite Runner. This is a book about the need to make his redemption justifiable. Hossein's main character is Amir. He is narrating the story of his life. He is born into privilege before the Soviet Union takes over Afghanistan. His father is wealthy and has a sevant and his servant has a son, Hasan. Amir and Hasan are best friends, even though they are not on equal terms. Hasan always has to serve Amir, even in their friendship. One day, Hasan and Amir get jumped by a gang in the street and Hasan offers himself in a daring move to distract the gang from grabbing Amir. In that shuffle, Amir is able to get away unnoticed and hide out of view. From his hideout, he sees a detestable act as Hasan is raped by this gang of teenage boys. Amir leaves and doesn't help Hasan at all. He doesn't even see his friend for several days. Then finally he sees him, but his relationship is ruined. Instead of being friends, they're relationship is now relegated to servant-master. Amir feels very guilty because he was too cowardly to help his friend, but his guilt just keeps driving them further and further apart. During all of this time, Hasan remains very faithful to Amir even though Amir keeps treating him worse and worse.
After awhile, the Soviets come into the nation and he and his father have to flee. They leave behind Hasan in Afghanistan because Amir accuses him of stealing so he won't have to go with them to Pakistan and then later to America. That one instance ends up defining both Hasan and Amir. Later in life, Amir is a grown man living in California with his wife and his demons from the past come back and end up driving him back to Afghanistan to make things better. He ends up having to be faced with some "hard and heroic" deeds in order to get rid of his guilt and his shame from the past.
In that story I hear Naaman's story. I hear my story. Now, to be sure God always wants us to be heroic in our pursuit of righteousness, but not to earn Christ's righteousness. I just know that for me, so much of life is lived with the idea that I need to do something heroic in order to find my redemption. I need to at least wash in a better river than I'm told. It can't be that God's grace and healing are free to me and only cost me my pride. Its impossible to believe that God could heal someone even like me simply by his word. Surely, I have to show my faith. Surely, I have to earn my redemption. Surely, I have to earn my healing. How could it be any other way?
Second, is the free nature of the healing he received. He comes bringing payment for his healing to pay the prophet. Prophets usually accepted payment for their work, such as Balaam. Elisha ends up turning his money away, which leads to next week on Greed. Naaman, because of his own greatness, expects Elisha to respond in greatness as well. I think he is expecting fanfare and fawning over Naaman. Instead, Elisha does not come out of his house and just sends a servant to talk to Naaman. He is told simply to go dip in the Jordan seven times and he will be healed. Strange.
He is upset by this, and I think it is because he expected some sort of magic trick that he would have to pay for and instead found an expression of grace that cost him nothing but some pride. I think the implications here are massive. The Msg offers this translation: "If the Prophet had asked you to do something hard and heroic, wouldn't you have done it? So, why not this simple wash and be clean?
How often do we make this so much harder than they really have to be? Naaman is looking for a way to make his healing justifiable through some hard work or through some payment of some money. Instead, Elisha evens the tables. If it were not so, then only those who could afford to be made well or who had the courage to do some daring task like a warrior would be made clean (or saved). Instead, Elisha makes it accessible to all.
In this he reminds me of Khaled Hosseini's book The Kite Runner. This is a book about the need to make his redemption justifiable. Hossein's main character is Amir. He is narrating the story of his life. He is born into privilege before the Soviet Union takes over Afghanistan. His father is wealthy and has a sevant and his servant has a son, Hasan. Amir and Hasan are best friends, even though they are not on equal terms. Hasan always has to serve Amir, even in their friendship. One day, Hasan and Amir get jumped by a gang in the street and Hasan offers himself in a daring move to distract the gang from grabbing Amir. In that shuffle, Amir is able to get away unnoticed and hide out of view. From his hideout, he sees a detestable act as Hasan is raped by this gang of teenage boys. Amir leaves and doesn't help Hasan at all. He doesn't even see his friend for several days. Then finally he sees him, but his relationship is ruined. Instead of being friends, they're relationship is now relegated to servant-master. Amir feels very guilty because he was too cowardly to help his friend, but his guilt just keeps driving them further and further apart. During all of this time, Hasan remains very faithful to Amir even though Amir keeps treating him worse and worse.
After awhile, the Soviets come into the nation and he and his father have to flee. They leave behind Hasan in Afghanistan because Amir accuses him of stealing so he won't have to go with them to Pakistan and then later to America. That one instance ends up defining both Hasan and Amir. Later in life, Amir is a grown man living in California with his wife and his demons from the past come back and end up driving him back to Afghanistan to make things better. He ends up having to be faced with some "hard and heroic" deeds in order to get rid of his guilt and his shame from the past.
In that story I hear Naaman's story. I hear my story. Now, to be sure God always wants us to be heroic in our pursuit of righteousness, but not to earn Christ's righteousness. I just know that for me, so much of life is lived with the idea that I need to do something heroic in order to find my redemption. I need to at least wash in a better river than I'm told. It can't be that God's grace and healing are free to me and only cost me my pride. Its impossible to believe that God could heal someone even like me simply by his word. Surely, I have to show my faith. Surely, I have to earn my redemption. Surely, I have to earn my healing. How could it be any other way?
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Tempation
From Prayer by Yancy p30
A few years ago I received a letter from a reader I'll call Mark. He began,
I have suffered froma very serious emotional condition all of my adult life- borderliine
personality disorder- with the attendant depression, extereme anxiety, and debilitationg
physical symptoms. In way of explanation, and not blame, during the first years of my life I
was the subject of ver seriaous sexual and emotional abuse at the hands of my mother. Enough
said on that.
He went on to say that accounts in my books of inspiriting people only made him feel worse about himself.
I suppose my question is: what is the heavenly reward for those of us who are not laboring in God's fields in the inner city? Or who struggle daily with pornography, where a major
breakthrough is a day not on the Internet. Or who at the height of our recovery may have
maybe 10 percent of the moral character of the average unbeliever. Does one have to be a
healthy Christian servant to receive God's grace?
A few years ago I received a letter from a reader I'll call Mark. He began,
I have suffered froma very serious emotional condition all of my adult life- borderliine
personality disorder- with the attendant depression, extereme anxiety, and debilitationg
physical symptoms. In way of explanation, and not blame, during the first years of my life I
was the subject of ver seriaous sexual and emotional abuse at the hands of my mother. Enough
said on that.
He went on to say that accounts in my books of inspiriting people only made him feel worse about himself.
I suppose my question is: what is the heavenly reward for those of us who are not laboring in God's fields in the inner city? Or who struggle daily with pornography, where a major
breakthrough is a day not on the Internet. Or who at the height of our recovery may have
maybe 10 percent of the moral character of the average unbeliever. Does one have to be a
healthy Christian servant to receive God's grace?
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Prostitute not going to church
From The Jesus I Never Knew by Philip Yancy
A friend of mine works with the down and out in Chicago. A prostitute came to him in wretched straits, homeless, her health failing, unable to buy food for her two year old daughter. Her eyes awash with tears, she confessed that she had been renting out her daughter- two years old!- to men interested in kinky sex, in order to support her own drug habit. My friend could hardly bear hearing the sordid details of her story. He sat in silence not knowing what to say. At last he asked if she had ever thoughts of going to a church for help. "I will never forget the look of pure astonishment that crossed her face," he later told me. "Church!" she cried. "Why would I ever go there? They'd just make me feel even worse that I already do!"
A friend of mine works with the down and out in Chicago. A prostitute came to him in wretched straits, homeless, her health failing, unable to buy food for her two year old daughter. Her eyes awash with tears, she confessed that she had been renting out her daughter- two years old!- to men interested in kinky sex, in order to support her own drug habit. My friend could hardly bear hearing the sordid details of her story. He sat in silence not knowing what to say. At last he asked if she had ever thoughts of going to a church for help. "I will never forget the look of pure astonishment that crossed her face," he later told me. "Church!" she cried. "Why would I ever go there? They'd just make me feel even worse that I already do!"
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