I have been reflecting this week on how inwardly focused my faith is. I spend a lot of time thinking about God…about me…about God and me, together. I wonder if God really loves me as much as the Bible says He does. I wonder if I am where I am supposed to be and doing the work God most wants me to do. I wonder if I'm living a life that is pleasing to Him. None of these questions are bad questions. In fact, they are necessary questions. But they are not the ONLY questions. And, I wonder—in the end--are those really the most significant questions?
I am, admittedly, an evangelical Christian. Evangelicalism is a movement within Church history that focuses on the Gospel (from the Greek: ‘euangelion’, meaning “good news”). By Gospel, evangelicals all too often have a limited definition of “personal salvation through Jesus Christ alone as Savior and Lord”. I do believe in that, don’t get me wrong. I know that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life…the fullness of God revealed to us…Lord and King, to whom every knee must someday bow. But, the more I study the Scriptures, it seems like Jesus was concerned with a lot more than an individual’s personal salvation. I mean, yes, that is important…but so is “The Kingdom of God”, right here and now…so is defending the powerless and standing up for widows and orphans…so is seeking out the lost and eating and drinking with them, and becoming “friends”.
With Martin Luther King, Jr. day coming up, I have been thinking about justice and what role Christians are supposed to play in that. In recent decades, the Protestant church has been divided into two groups: the conservatives (the ones who believe in Jesus alone as the way of salvation) and the liberals (the ones who march in human rights parades and seek to make a difference in unjust political systems). That is a vast oversimplification, but it is the best I can do without boring everyone to tears. It seems that if a conservative talks too much about justice issues, they are in danger of being labeled a “liberal”…and if a liberal dares mention Jesus as anything more than a model of good behavior, they are crossing into dangerous conservative territory. Someone might even call them an “evangelical” (which, I think is a most horrifying thought to most people who label themselves as “liberals”).
I wonder, is there a way for THE GOSPEL to be about both….both personal salvation and the healing of injustice and oppression in this world. I know…just go ahead and call me a radical…but I kinda think that Jesus cares about some other things in addition to our eternal destinies. Why did He go around healing people’s physical illnesses, if here and now did not matter significantly to God? Jesus spoke to both the soul and the body. His followers tend to err on one side or the other. Sometimes we provide for all the physical needs without ever speaking to the deeper, spiritual needs. Sometimes, we speak of eternity and the sinful soul that can only be saved by Jesus, but let little children die of starvation. Either way, I think we have missed what THE GOSPEL is all about. The Gospel, in my present thinking (though it is so big, I am sure no definition is truly adequate), is: The Amazing News that God has stepped into our world and that He will heal us, redeem us, restore us, free us…if we just come to Him…as we are, without any pretenses…willing to receive a great, big love that is so immense we cannot get our minds around it. Even more than that, Jesus—the God-man—cares about everything that we are going through…right here and right now…as well as the past and the future. He is the answer to every need…and most of the time, He chooses to use us (weak, flawed people) to be His hands and feet to those who need to know Him, as well as those who need to know that He sees their pain, hears their cries, and that He has not abandoned them in the hour of their deepest need.” That, to me, is the Gospel. This kind of thinking is what happens if you spend too much time reading the Sermon on the Mount. The Bible is dangerous…especially when it comes to our preconceived ideas about what is “godly”.
So, when Martin Luther King, Jr. talked about his “dream” of a world of justice for all people…that, too, was part of the Gospel. You cannot say you love God and then hurt His people (and "His people" means EVERYBODY on the planet). You cannot sing praise songs to Jesus on Sunday morning and then go out and ignore the needs of the oppressed, the poor, the hungry, the lonely, and the lost. I mean, people do it…all the time. But you can’t do that and please God. Not that our main goal as human beings is always pleasing God. If it were, the whole Church would be a lot different than it is.
Personally, I am tired of how me-centered my faith is…how me-centered my god (with a little “g”) seems to be. I mean, Jesus loves me and that is great. I need to think about it and live in it and let that love fall all over me on a daily basis. But, Jesus loves the hurting, lost, little girl next door to me, too…and she doesn’t know that Jesus loves her. So maybe I need to think about me less and find a way to show her Jesus great, big, life-changing love. Maybe I need to spend less time trying to “figure God out” and more time doing what He so clearly tells us to do.
God has a lot of work to do on my soul…probably, on all of our souls, if we are really honest. I pray this pray for me, and for you: “May your heart break with the things that break the heart of God.” When that happens, we will live the Gospel…and please God…and find that full life that Jesus promises us.
I close with this meditation. I was looking for who wrote that “break the heart of God” prayer, above, and did a Google search. I came across this article, and part of it really spoke to me. I hope you find it inspiring, as well.
Stolen from "Popeye Theology: A New Year's Meditation"
By Michael Ireland
(http://www.crosswalk.com/faith/pastors/1461357.html)
How many of you remember the Popeye the Sailor Man cartoons? Well, my pastor preached on the topic of "Popeye Theology" this morning and I thought it worth sharing with a wider audience.
He started his message with a clip from the popular TV cartoon. Then he asked the question, “How many of you feel like Popeye in the cartoon when he reaches for his can of spinach and says, "That's all I can stands, coz I can't stands no more!"?
Pastor Joel told the story of Bob Pierce, founder of World Vision, who in 1947 went to visit a school in China and was confronted with a young, battered and bruised child. That experience prompted Pierce to start his ministry, "coz I can't stands it no more!"
Pierce said that he prayed: "Dear Lord, let me be broken by the things that break the heart of God."
My pastor then illustrated the same principle from the life of Moses, where he couldn't stand the sound of the mistreated Hebrew slaves in Egypt anymore; by the example of Fern Nichols who founded Moms In Touch in 1984; from the life of Nehemiah and his sorrow over the broken walls of Jerusalem; and from the story of David, who couldn't stand Goliath's ungodly taunts anymore.
Pastor Joel asked us: "Where in your world and daily life do you see what breaks the heart of God?" and: "Are you ready to say, 'That's all I can stands, coz I can’t stands no more!' " ?
I am, admittedly, an evangelical Christian. Evangelicalism is a movement within Church history that focuses on the Gospel (from the Greek: ‘euangelion’, meaning “good news”). By Gospel, evangelicals all too often have a limited definition of “personal salvation through Jesus Christ alone as Savior and Lord”. I do believe in that, don’t get me wrong. I know that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life…the fullness of God revealed to us…Lord and King, to whom every knee must someday bow. But, the more I study the Scriptures, it seems like Jesus was concerned with a lot more than an individual’s personal salvation. I mean, yes, that is important…but so is “The Kingdom of God”, right here and now…so is defending the powerless and standing up for widows and orphans…so is seeking out the lost and eating and drinking with them, and becoming “friends”.
With Martin Luther King, Jr. day coming up, I have been thinking about justice and what role Christians are supposed to play in that. In recent decades, the Protestant church has been divided into two groups: the conservatives (the ones who believe in Jesus alone as the way of salvation) and the liberals (the ones who march in human rights parades and seek to make a difference in unjust political systems). That is a vast oversimplification, but it is the best I can do without boring everyone to tears. It seems that if a conservative talks too much about justice issues, they are in danger of being labeled a “liberal”…and if a liberal dares mention Jesus as anything more than a model of good behavior, they are crossing into dangerous conservative territory. Someone might even call them an “evangelical” (which, I think is a most horrifying thought to most people who label themselves as “liberals”).
I wonder, is there a way for THE GOSPEL to be about both….both personal salvation and the healing of injustice and oppression in this world. I know…just go ahead and call me a radical…but I kinda think that Jesus cares about some other things in addition to our eternal destinies. Why did He go around healing people’s physical illnesses, if here and now did not matter significantly to God? Jesus spoke to both the soul and the body. His followers tend to err on one side or the other. Sometimes we provide for all the physical needs without ever speaking to the deeper, spiritual needs. Sometimes, we speak of eternity and the sinful soul that can only be saved by Jesus, but let little children die of starvation. Either way, I think we have missed what THE GOSPEL is all about. The Gospel, in my present thinking (though it is so big, I am sure no definition is truly adequate), is: The Amazing News that God has stepped into our world and that He will heal us, redeem us, restore us, free us…if we just come to Him…as we are, without any pretenses…willing to receive a great, big love that is so immense we cannot get our minds around it. Even more than that, Jesus—the God-man—cares about everything that we are going through…right here and right now…as well as the past and the future. He is the answer to every need…and most of the time, He chooses to use us (weak, flawed people) to be His hands and feet to those who need to know Him, as well as those who need to know that He sees their pain, hears their cries, and that He has not abandoned them in the hour of their deepest need.” That, to me, is the Gospel. This kind of thinking is what happens if you spend too much time reading the Sermon on the Mount. The Bible is dangerous…especially when it comes to our preconceived ideas about what is “godly”.
So, when Martin Luther King, Jr. talked about his “dream” of a world of justice for all people…that, too, was part of the Gospel. You cannot say you love God and then hurt His people (and "His people" means EVERYBODY on the planet). You cannot sing praise songs to Jesus on Sunday morning and then go out and ignore the needs of the oppressed, the poor, the hungry, the lonely, and the lost. I mean, people do it…all the time. But you can’t do that and please God. Not that our main goal as human beings is always pleasing God. If it were, the whole Church would be a lot different than it is.
Personally, I am tired of how me-centered my faith is…how me-centered my god (with a little “g”) seems to be. I mean, Jesus loves me and that is great. I need to think about it and live in it and let that love fall all over me on a daily basis. But, Jesus loves the hurting, lost, little girl next door to me, too…and she doesn’t know that Jesus loves her. So maybe I need to think about me less and find a way to show her Jesus great, big, life-changing love. Maybe I need to spend less time trying to “figure God out” and more time doing what He so clearly tells us to do.
God has a lot of work to do on my soul…probably, on all of our souls, if we are really honest. I pray this pray for me, and for you: “May your heart break with the things that break the heart of God.” When that happens, we will live the Gospel…and please God…and find that full life that Jesus promises us.
I close with this meditation. I was looking for who wrote that “break the heart of God” prayer, above, and did a Google search. I came across this article, and part of it really spoke to me. I hope you find it inspiring, as well.
Stolen from "Popeye Theology: A New Year's Meditation"
By Michael Ireland
(http://www.crosswalk.com/faith/pastors/1461357.html)
How many of you remember the Popeye the Sailor Man cartoons? Well, my pastor preached on the topic of "Popeye Theology" this morning and I thought it worth sharing with a wider audience.
He started his message with a clip from the popular TV cartoon. Then he asked the question, “How many of you feel like Popeye in the cartoon when he reaches for his can of spinach and says, "That's all I can stands, coz I can't stands no more!"?
Pastor Joel told the story of Bob Pierce, founder of World Vision, who in 1947 went to visit a school in China and was confronted with a young, battered and bruised child. That experience prompted Pierce to start his ministry, "coz I can't stands it no more!"
Pierce said that he prayed: "Dear Lord, let me be broken by the things that break the heart of God."
My pastor then illustrated the same principle from the life of Moses, where he couldn't stand the sound of the mistreated Hebrew slaves in Egypt anymore; by the example of Fern Nichols who founded Moms In Touch in 1984; from the life of Nehemiah and his sorrow over the broken walls of Jerusalem; and from the story of David, who couldn't stand Goliath's ungodly taunts anymore.
Pastor Joel asked us: "Where in your world and daily life do you see what breaks the heart of God?" and: "Are you ready to say, 'That's all I can stands, coz I can’t stands no more!' " ?
3 comments:
"I wonder, is there a way for THE GOSPEL to be about both….both personal salvation and the healing of injustice and oppression in this world."
Yep, seems like this is all the NT actually knows of the gospel--Jesus' pronouncement in Luke, reading Isaiah, for example. It's kind of amazing that Evangelicalism, as a branch that claims to regard the Bible the highest and follow it best, has been so unbiblical in its narrow and undernourished understanding and proclamation of salvation and the gospel.
Tina,
the girl next store needs you to reach out, maybe you could invite her to the lock in tonight - mom
Guy, that is a great point about "Evangelicalism, as a branch that claims to regard the Bible the highest and follow it best, has been so unbiblical in its narrow and undernourished understanding and proclamation of salvation and the gospel."
I feel like we can critique Evangelicalism with authority, since we find ourselves inside of it. It is that whole "I can say whatever I want to about my momma, but if you ever say anything bad about my momma, watch out!". (note to my actual momma, I would never say anything bad about you!!!)
Love you, G!
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