When I take a look around, I see so much wrong with Christianity. People use and abuse it. Its hard to miss the greed, hate, pain, and judgment that are all associated with what being a Christian looks like.
But according to Galatians, there is Freedom in Christ. All of those things associated with Christians come from our fallen selves, not Christ. Christ offers Grace. And that is His message. None of us is worthy and none of us will ever be able to uphold the law and do what is right 100 percent of the time. We can't even try....because in that, we lose the value of Christ. If we could gain merit my obedience, Christ died for nothing.
'It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by the yoke of slavery.'
In this verse Paul is encouraging us to not try to gain righteousness or salvation by the Law. The yoke of Slavery is referring to the yoke of the Law. Paul even says that if we do, Christ will be of no value to us at all. 'You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. But by faith we eagerly await through the Spirit the righteousness for which we hope.' Galatians 5
This righteousness is not something that will be obtained perfectly now, on earth. But Christ calls us righteous...and is making us righteous. One day we will be, but not now.
And isn't this so comforting? We don't have to worry about not being perfect now and we don't have to expect others to be perfect. When we wrong one another, we can forgive because we know that He has forgiven us.
3.26.2010
things, matters, and affairs
My most recent pondering: Christian Paraphernalia.
Why does everything a Christian owns need to be religiously labeled?Do we know what it means to be a Christian anymore? How did we arrive at this current understanding of what it means to be a Christian?
I think there are two main reasons for this influx of Christian Paraphernalia.
For one, I think we have lost sight of Christ.
We have exchanged discipleship for something much cheaper. There is a cost to discipleship. It is the one thing that serves as the avenue for complete transformation and the only way to truly become a follower of Christ; A Christian.
Second, we have been deceived by culture. We have been deceived by ourselves.
We have fallen into the belief that Jesus was a middle-class, blond hair and blue-eyed man, who wanted everyone to have the best life possible, no matter the cost to others.
What about this….
‘”We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up.”
“He has shown you, oh man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.”
“Remember the prisoners…and those who are ill treated, since you yourselves are the body.”
How do these verses connect with our lives? Do they connect? Are they foreign to our actions?
I believe that we are not being Christians in any true sense of the word. Claiming that your a Christian has come to mean that you carry a faith in who Jesus was…instead of who he is.
There is no action needed and no joint effort required to work out your faith with the God who died to be in relationship with you.
The process of becoming, sanctification, is being exchanged for something immediate and simple, making a mockery of Jesus’ life and death.
And I think this has put us in an interesting predicament. Instead of being seen as Christians in our culture (the light unto the world), the division between those who are and those who are not disciples is increasingly becoming harder and harder to distinguish.
And this is why I think we need Things, Matters, and Affairs.
We now need to be labeled. We now need something to reflect who we are instead of actually being that thing which we think we are.
and so…
we end up with shirts that express our beliefs (instead of our actions)
we end up with our concerts to be ‘christian concerts (instead of being a christian at a concert)
we end up needing christian life groups (instead of living life with society as a christian as a way of life) we now must be separated from culture to be christians…vs. living in this culture as a christian
we end up with empty voicemail recordings that express our beliefs (instead of our shared words)
we end up with a million books on our shelves about how to be a Christian (instead of reading the one book and following the one true teacher)
we end up with jewelry that expresses our beliefs (instead of our simplicity)
we end up sending money to someone we have never met to live out the life we are called out to live for us (instead of individually living out the Christian life)
we end up eating mints with scripture to reflect that we are followers (instead of being outwardly and publicly thankful for our daily bread)
and lastly, i think it is important to have things that connect you to truth, tangible things. social bonds are inevitible. this is good. But, there must be something to be said about this. it just doesn’t feel right to me. im not sure exactly where, but there is a disconnect.
Why does everything a Christian owns need to be religiously labeled?Do we know what it means to be a Christian anymore? How did we arrive at this current understanding of what it means to be a Christian?
I think there are two main reasons for this influx of Christian Paraphernalia.
For one, I think we have lost sight of Christ.
We have exchanged discipleship for something much cheaper. There is a cost to discipleship. It is the one thing that serves as the avenue for complete transformation and the only way to truly become a follower of Christ; A Christian.
Second, we have been deceived by culture. We have been deceived by ourselves.
We have fallen into the belief that Jesus was a middle-class, blond hair and blue-eyed man, who wanted everyone to have the best life possible, no matter the cost to others.
What about this….
‘”We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up.”
“He has shown you, oh man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.”
“Remember the prisoners…and those who are ill treated, since you yourselves are the body.”
How do these verses connect with our lives? Do they connect? Are they foreign to our actions?
I believe that we are not being Christians in any true sense of the word. Claiming that your a Christian has come to mean that you carry a faith in who Jesus was…instead of who he is.
There is no action needed and no joint effort required to work out your faith with the God who died to be in relationship with you.
The process of becoming, sanctification, is being exchanged for something immediate and simple, making a mockery of Jesus’ life and death.
And I think this has put us in an interesting predicament. Instead of being seen as Christians in our culture (the light unto the world), the division between those who are and those who are not disciples is increasingly becoming harder and harder to distinguish.
And this is why I think we need Things, Matters, and Affairs.
We now need to be labeled. We now need something to reflect who we are instead of actually being that thing which we think we are.
and so…
we end up with shirts that express our beliefs (instead of our actions)
we end up with our concerts to be ‘christian concerts (instead of being a christian at a concert)
we end up needing christian life groups (instead of living life with society as a christian as a way of life) we now must be separated from culture to be christians…vs. living in this culture as a christian
we end up with empty voicemail recordings that express our beliefs (instead of our shared words)
we end up with a million books on our shelves about how to be a Christian (instead of reading the one book and following the one true teacher)
we end up with jewelry that expresses our beliefs (instead of our simplicity)
we end up sending money to someone we have never met to live out the life we are called out to live for us (instead of individually living out the Christian life)
we end up eating mints with scripture to reflect that we are followers (instead of being outwardly and publicly thankful for our daily bread)
and lastly, i think it is important to have things that connect you to truth, tangible things. social bonds are inevitible. this is good. But, there must be something to be said about this. it just doesn’t feel right to me. im not sure exactly where, but there is a disconnect.
the Gospel is not that we have to climb up...but that He came down
Yesterday my Pastor expressed the truth of the Gospel that this generation is missing...that Christ came down for us!
Jesus didn't come here to make a religion, he demolished the religion that he saw of his day (the pharisees) and He takes its place. He is our sacrifice, he is our Redeemer, our Salvation, our only hope.
Praise God for this Gracious Truth : )
Jesus didn't come here to make a religion, he demolished the religion that he saw of his day (the pharisees) and He takes its place. He is our sacrifice, he is our Redeemer, our Salvation, our only hope.
Praise God for this Gracious Truth : )
good news
Since my last post I have made time to check my mail in the morning,completed my school work at least a day in advance, cooked breakfast before work, took a walk and prayed, and even found time to squeeze in a workout during my day.
It hasn't happened everyday, but the times that it has happened has made a significant change in my mood and my life. I love feeling on top of things. I love being able to accomplish, and relax.
I remember a quote, 'People only procrastinate because they don't believe they can do it.'
There is a lot of truth in this for me. Personally, I want to do all the things I am doing in life right now. For example, school work. The only time I procrastinate on a paper is when I start believing that it isn't going to be good. I doubt my ability. After hearing this quote I have applied it to my life and have been doing things on time, even early!
It hasn't happened everyday, but the times that it has happened has made a significant change in my mood and my life. I love feeling on top of things. I love being able to accomplish, and relax.
I remember a quote, 'People only procrastinate because they don't believe they can do it.'
There is a lot of truth in this for me. Personally, I want to do all the things I am doing in life right now. For example, school work. The only time I procrastinate on a paper is when I start believing that it isn't going to be good. I doubt my ability. After hearing this quote I have applied it to my life and have been doing things on time, even early!
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