Shiny Cars

Have we not all one father? hath not one God created us? why do we deal treacherously every man against his brother, by profaning the covenant of our fathers? Malachi 2:10 (KJV)

Why is it so easy to find differences? If you have ever visited a new church and felt the eyes of the faithful as you searched for a seat or perhaps you have been the faithful doing the checking, you know what I mean. We tend to have a set of standards by which we measure the world. In America we have been convinced by Hollywood and Madison Avenue that the definition of beautiful is the thin, petite model or movie star that spends thousands of dollars on their make-up each week and supplements their figure with extreme diets and surgery. So we judge ourselves and others by an unobtainable standard for all but a small minority. We have a standard of living that requires us to have certain electronic devices, automobiles, clothes, and recreational activities and we expect our friends to either have or strive to have the same. Society has divided along social, economic, political, and moral standards and revels in the idea of belonging to those special groups. Instead of coming together it seems that we are constantly dividing. This is not God’s design for greatness.

Throughout the Word of God we see unity of God flow through every aspect of His work. In Creation we see God designing, The Word declaring, and The Spirit moving. There is a perfect unity of thought and order that move throughout the Universe and reflects the essence of God. “Let them be one as we are one.” Jesus prayed in the seventeenth chapter of John. He knew that when He was gone the enemy would come to bring division. Quarrels and fighting over doctrine and methods would replace humility and preferring their brother and not only hinder the work of God but tarnish the glory of His name. James tells us,

For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work. James 3:16 (KJV)

These things cannot ever be a part of God’s work. Not if God is to be the Author and Finisher.
Have you ever known someone that couldn’t afford to keep their house, buy food, or take care of their family but they drive around in a brand new, expensive car? That is how I liken the religious spirit that overtakes us. We drive around in our status symbol driven by a religious spirit trying to prove that we are okay. We claim God is on our side. The outside of our lives are shiny and pretty but the inside is corrupt and dying. We are proud and envious, judging others by the very things that we know we cannot keep. Confusion reigns in our lives, yet we try to enforce a religion that we cannot keep on others and judge them without mercy.

God doesn’t judge by the outside but what is on the inside. He looks beyond the shiny vehicle of our religious pride and looks on the heart. The only thing that will impress Him is the humble heart, mourning for their sin, broken in the presence of a holy God. Once we have been to this place how can we ever judge our brother? The repentant heart is ever aware that it is only by the Grace of God that we are accepted. Pride is crushed and destroyed and all that remains is a heart keenly aware that God is their everything. Overwhelmed by Grace this heart has no interest in the shiny façade of religion but instead lives to glorify God.

The desire to glorify God is what becomes the unity of God’s people. God’s Word is no longer used to condemn, separate, and divide but rather to lift up, unify, and create. All things become insignificant in the light of God’s glory and grace. What difference does it make if someone’s customs and dress is different than ours, we aren’t looking at the shiny car we are in touch with the spirit that dwells in their heart. No longer do we compare the size of the car driven by us to those around us. If a congregation has 10,000 or 10 the only thing that matters is does the glory of God abide in the hearts of those that are gathered in His name. We are able to look beyond differences in style, music, dress or anything else that make us different and see only what matters, the presence of God in the midst of His people.

Malachi asked the question,

“Have we not all one father? hath not one God created us? why do we deal treacherously every man against his brother,..”

Perhaps we should ask the same question today.

Loving God, Loving Each Other

Matthew 22:37-40 (NIV) Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."

Walk into any church in the world and you will find a mess. I know we want to think of churches as perfect places where we can forget about the world and concentrate on Jesus but that is just not reality. Think about how an all knowing God looks at the typical congregation that gathers each Sunday morning.

Sitting in the third pew on the right is the lady that seems to have it all together, she puts on an air of righteousness, and knows all the right things to say but what the world doesn’t know is that she is addicted to pain medicine. Just behind her is the family that argued all the way to church. Across the way is the man who watches porn on the internet. On the back row are the people that come out of a sense of duty but would rather be at home or on the beach. Sitting on the front row is the little girl that wishes mommy and daddy would stop fighting. Right behind her are the people that don’t know how they are going to pay the mortgage this month. Church is not a place full of perfect people but a place full of hurting people.

That is why Jesus came. He knew that we needed a Savior! He knew that we needed Hope! He knew that we were lost and confused stumbling in the dark. He didn’t send us a map or some great instructions. Jesus came into the midst of our chaos and said let me help you with that load. We often say, “Jesus loved us when we were unlovable” but really He loved us because we were unlovable. Your sins and failures didn’t make God run away they made Him run to you.

Loving God and being conformed to His image allows us to see people as they are and love them anyway. It is religious pride that looks at hurting humanity and feels no compassion. The Pharisees would judge the woman found in adultery and stone her to death, Jesus looked at the same woman with compassion and I believe that instead of writing her sins on the ground He wrote theirs. When each of the religious people had slinked away Jesus said,

“Neither do I condemn thee go and sin no more.”

Which part of that statement resonates with you? “Neither do I condemn thee” or “Go and sin no more.” The answer will help you see which camp you lean towards. Are you quick to forgive and not condemn or do you expect perfection? I believe that the only person who could ever say “go and sin no more” without feeling the sting of their own failures was Jesus. With that in mind perhaps what we should concentrate on is the “neither do I condemn thee.”

If loving a perfect God with all our heart, soul, and mind is the greatest commandment and we struggle with that at times we shouldn’t find it a surprise that the second commandment might even be harder. God doesn’t hurt us, people do. God doesn’t fail us, people do. God doesn’t lie to us, people do. God has never let us down, people do. The harsh reality is that too often we stand with the crowd around the woman caught in adultery waiting for Jesus to join us in condemnation. He doesn’t!

Loving our neighbor as ourselves requires us to put away pride and condemnation. We must realize that we aren’t perfect. Many times Jesus has to come and pick us up, cleanse all over again, and set our feet back on the path. Maybe that is why Jesus said, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

The Great Paradox

The Great Paradox

Matthew 5:5 (NIV) Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

The two men faced each other in the courtyard. One was a man of extraordinary pride, a powerful man that had worked his way to the top. His influence was felt throughout the entire country of Israel. He held the power of life and death and as a son of Rome he was heir to the earth. The other man was the picture of weakness, a poor Jew caught in the grip of history, the crowd calling for his death and the Jewish leadership condemning him. There was nothing he could do to stem the tide sweeping against him. To the world the hero of this story could not possibly this lowly carpenter’s son. The two men stood on opposite ends of a great paradox. Jesus, the prisoner, was free. He was in absolute control and would not only inherit the earth but the entire universe. On the other hand Pilate was a prisoner of his own pride and couldn’t even control the outcome of the tragedy playing out before him. His soul and his inheritance would be lost.

The world doesn’t picture those who are meek as conquerors or winners. Yet, Jesus tells us that on the ladder God has placed before us the third step is meekness. To say that God’s ways are not this world’s ways seems too obvious. First He tells us that the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to the poor in spirit. Then he tells us that God’s comfort is for those that mourn (speaking of sin). When Jesus said the first shall be last and the last shall be first He really meant it. In this world leaders are expected to show bravado and command of the situation. In The Kingdom of Heaven the meek receive the prize.

To some it seems that God’s ways are upside down but from God’s perspective the lies of Satan have brought chaos on His creation. What we see as upside down is really right side up. Living in this present world we walk in the dark as if it were light and stumbling in the dark is accepted practice. But God desires to show us a better way. We cannot win, we cannot inherit, we cannot receive God’s best using the methods of this fallen world but there is a way. It is way that foolish, prideful men will never find for only the meek will inherit the earth.