It is finished!

     The question of faith is not some work that still remains to be done. There is not a required decision, process, or ritual that must be completed properly before a person can be saved. The question of faith is a choice whether a person will act as if Jesus has truly completed all the requirements for salvation. 

     Seeing others through the eyes of grace, we see them Not as incomplete but whole. Not as in process, but complete. We see what others cannot: their ability to walk in freedom, truth, and light. They are not prisoners bound in chains who we have come to free; they are free men who willingly sit in prison because it is ‘safe’ and ‘comfortable.’ In their hearts, they know there is a world outside to explore, adventures to be had, and life to be lived. Yet, they choose to submit to their fear and pretend that they are unable to leave the prison that surrounds them. They are free, but they wrap themselves in chains and try to convince themselves that they really can’t get out. What foolishness! The chains have been broken. There is nothing left in between the individual and the promise of daylight that streams through the open prison door. 

     We enter this prison of mind to give the willing captives something to hold on to as they begin the journey of freedom. When we speak words of love and truth, they need not listen to fear. When we speak of trust and satisfaction, they need not worship comfort. When we love with unconditional acceptance, they need not wonder what the others will say, or accept the mocking laughter that will follow them to the door. When we act as if they are free, we shatter the illusion that they are captive and give them the courage to walk with those that have no chains.

     Jesus came that people might have life and have it more abundantly. As we live in this truth, we can begin to share it with others who do not yet know the blessing it holds. As we share its truth, the desire to experience it will begin to grow in those whose hearts already know its reality. As that desire grows, its reality will begin to overpower the illusion that people often choose to accept in its place. As the illusion is overpowered, another relationship is restored. As the relationship is restored, another person is brought from darkness to light, from death to life, from sin to righteousness, and from pride to humility. Jesus Christ is glorified as His gift becomes the means by which yet another person comes to live in the freedom He has won! 

It is finished, the work is done. 

Take your freedom, run.

Bound by nothing, through the door.

Seek, find, ask for more.

Nothing lacking, all loss is gain.

Know the truth, life, way.

Holding loosely, what is received.

More will come, believe.

Imperfect start, infinite end.

Complete as its begun.

 No price to pay, the promise done

Fight beginning, won!

 

Everlasting Rest

As I take to my knees to write what is in my heart, I desire to understand what I am giving up for. 
This sacrifice of my life, this pain, this letting go, must be something I do for a great reward.

The joy set before him, led Jesus to die. The cross where He suffered is now where I died.

Long ago, I gave up the life I once had, to take from Him what He died to give.

Now, in fear that by following in to things I do not know – that I may never understand,

I am forced to once again trust Him with my life and reach out with empty hands.

The good that I had, I left all behind. Now with nothing, O Lord, I come.

Give, give me all that I desire. I desire more of You. I desire only You.

My one great reward and my one great treasure is to know You, to hear Your voice.

Nothing inside me understands this call. It seems like I have given up the world.

Sometimes I wonder if I will look back one day and wonder what fantasy it was,

That drives me to give everything away. Abandoning the life I could have, every day.

Like the ancient ones of faith, I desire a kingdom that is not of clay,

But I don’t know if, like them, I can spend my entire life waiting for someday.

The pressures around me to conform to the attitudes and lifestyles of normality,

Remind me at once of the gravity of my situation, the futility of life, the morality of choice…

And, by the grace of God, the absolute hopelessness of my situation apart from Christ.

If I were not first drawn into the desire to have what is best, I could not enter rest.

But the rest eludes me in the struggle of war. To keep the faith is tough.

When life is easy, I get careless. When it is hard, I am tempted to let go.

But one thing keeps me holding on, pressing in. I have found a treasure in a field,

An unshakeable kingdom, a promise that is sure, and a fortune that will not be taken away.

In order to buy, I must give up all that I possess. Including my life. Nothing less.

This payment not to buy, but rather be given. The reward is priceless - sacred by blood.

For me this treasure is free, but I cannot with hands that are full of pleasure

And a heart that is full of pride, find room for a vision that could overflow my life.

So giving up, emptying out, losing what most desire to gain, I complete the suffering, know joy.

I buy with a great cost what is already mine to possess: Salvation through Jesus Christ. 
Everlasting Rest.

The Prison of Religion

In reflection this morning, I recalled once again the great freedom that I have discovered after finally entrusting my soul completely to God. As I read about the work God has done in my heart in the Bible and other materials, I wonder why it took so long for me to reach this point when the path was so obvious. The nation of Israel provides the perfect example of my own stumbling. The law was given to lead them to righteousness through faith, but they stumbled by attempting to fulfill it by their own works.

In my Christian experience, I recall reading through books and hearing the idea of surrendering to God. Of letting go and letting Him take control of my life. I knew from trial and error that attempting to be a good Christian was really difficult, but I thought that I could eventually achieve a more ideal state if I figured out the right steps to follow. Unfortunately, all of the steps that I thought were right required me to earn for myself what Christ has already offered for free. In my pursuit of holiness, I turned my back on what was Holy, despised the gift of salvation, and even tried to take the position of God.  Because it was derived from my own efforts, my Christianity looked good to the church, but had no heart.

The nice things I did for others out of duty became nothing because they were not accompanied by love. The smile I carried on my face only reflected the joy I knew I was supposed to have, and the peace I claimed to hold required such constant attention to maintain that I knew it would be gone shortly. Worst of all, I turned the God I claimed to serve into little more than a genie who failed at granting wishes, a judge who required more than I could ever pay, and a servant who by reason of His own laws would have to grant me access to heaven because of the knowledge I had obtained.

This is the point at which I stumbled. I had faith in my own understanding of the methods by which I could procure my own salvation. I knew that salvation was only available because of God’s grace and Jesus sacrifice, but I never placed my faith entirely in these two incredible facts. In this way, I turned God’s incredible blessing into my own incredible burden and insulted the cross through my inordinate sense of pride that I claimed was ‘biblical.’

Though I spent hours pouring through books on doctrine and theology to support my beliefs, I soon came to understand that every person I read had a slightly different understanding of who God was and how one could obtain His blessings. Even so, I desperately assaulted the philosophies that were incompatible with my own. Usually these had to deal with eschatology, baptism, church traditions, and highly controversial topics like predestination. If I could not prove to myself or to someone else that the alternatives to my methods would not work, I became uncomfortable with my own beliefs and began to worry about my ultimate end. The only glimmer of light that fell into this dark world vanished when I came to realize that many people do not believe in the idea of eternal security.

Only after this point, when I lost faith in my own ability to procure my salvation, did I acquire the humility that is necessary for one to place his faith in the goodness of God for salvation. 

Grace

For the past two and a half weeks, I have found very little time to pray and even less time to reflect. But as time goes by between the moments I still spend with God, I find my attention slipping onto things that do not matter and even into religious ritual that I hope will jump-start the engine of self-motivated, successful Christian living. I begin to forget that my identity is not found in what I have or what I do, but in the love that God has for me. I forget that I am not the one who I depend on for life, for food, and for a car to drive. I forget that my relationship with God can be so much more than simply praying, acting in a certain way, or knowing certain things.

I recognize what is happening as a slip into a world that looks less and less like the kingdom of God and more like my pride, but I am too busy in pursuit of what I want to take more than a token step back in the right direction. I am learning that not only am I unable to follow God without His grace, but apart from His work, I do not even want to try.

The evil that is inside me would draw me further and further into myself, the busyness of my world, and the hollow joys of my success. Even the love that I would show to others becomes a meaningless action when I am in such a condition. 


Then like Peter who lost his focus on Jesus while walking on the water, I notice the waves around me and begin to sink. My only hope is that the Son of God will once again reach out His arm to pull me back to Him.

That is grace!