A Diamond---Some Day

      I've been blessed with exceptional mentors over the course of my Christian walk. My mentors always seemed so secure and so confident in their experience. I was sure they had reached a point where trials were easy when they came at all. Forty years later, I know how wrong I was. The older I've become, the deeper I find God digging through my life.

     C.S. Lewis wrote that as a child he had bad teeth. However, he refused to tell his mother when he had a toothache because he knew she would take him to the dentist. The problem Mr. Lewis had with dentists is that they are never happy just to fix the tooth that is hurting. Dentists all have a terrible habit of wanting to fix everything--even teeth that don't hurt. He went on to say that God is like dentists. You may seek God to deliver you from a painful situation. He will fix the hurt that brings us to Him, but be warned, He will not stop there.

     Jesus says, "If you love me, keep my commandments." If we truly love God, the Holy Spirit will use that love to work ever deeper into our life. We soon find "if you love me" invading places in our heart which we hoped to keep our private domain. God has a complete plan for sainthood that reaches down into our thoughts, our emotions, and our intentions. He even turns up in our imagination.

     Charlotte marvels at how quickly I fall asleep. My secret is bedtime stories. I have certain story lines in my imagination geared to sleep. Once my thoughts start down those lines, I fall asleep. They stories have changed over the years, but most had a martial theme. Lately, however, I've been aware of the Lord ordering changes in the stories so that the old standards no longer work.

     Is thinking about holding a hilltop against an enemy onslaught wrong? No, not in itself. But, if that hilltop is not where the Lord wants you to go--stay off it. "If you love me" is not just for what we consider "big" things. It is for every detail and every corner of our life. It is even for the stories we tell ourselves.

     If the Lord isn't working changes in your life, it's clear your not paying attention. Transformation through the renewing of your mind never takes a break. It's time we all look into how deep the love of God goes into our lives. Maybe, we need a new outlook on love. God's not dead and He's not on vacation. He's interested in every moment of your life.

Not a Man

      "God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent; hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?"

       That God is not a man is a truth so elemental, so simple, and yet, so beyond reach. We think we know Him, but the most basic truths about the person of God are beyond any mortal frame of reference. He is one being eternally existing as three persons, each of which is omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, self-existent, and timeless. Anyone who thinks he understands all that that entails is delusional. Nevertheless, Christians and non-Christians alike have readily labeled God; stuffed Him into a box; and profess to know all that God would or would not do as if He were not the Sovereign of all. God is not "the man upstairs" because he is not a man.

     

     God is not like us. God is the I Am; uncreated, self-existent and self-sustaining. He is not a part of the universe, the universe flows from Him like the words of a song. "With God nothing shall be impossible," is not an exaggerated, motivational meme, it is a statement of the absolute truth. Paul's statement that he could do all things through Christ is equally true, but what the apostle is not saying the same thing. We are enabled through God, but God is able of Himself. We are created in His image, but He is the master--the source of inspiration.

As far as the likeness and image thing goes, we would do well to remember that was written on the sixth day of creation. Things have changed since then. The likeness and image in which we are created Is corrupted by sin. Our natural state is a satanic inspired imitation of the being God created for divine fellowship. A dim reflection of what we were is still present in us, but is far from dominant. Our life is now an effort to either reclaim that true image or a continued rebellion against it.

     God is not a man. His thoughts are not our thoughts. I don't think one can read the bible and come away with the opinion that Man is nothing worse than a happy-go-lucky moral bumbler. We like to tell each other how our sin is no worse than the next guys as if somehow that makes it acceptable to God and Man. Sin is not simply inherited imperfection or a penchant to err. Sin is a calculated rejection of God's love and provision.

     Sin is not acceptable with God. "The soul that sinneth, it shall die." It doesn't sound like God is playing around or that He's willing to give us a free pass because we disagree with Him about what is or is not sin. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but God's word will never pass away. Meanwhile, our life is a vapor. Which do you suppose is the more trustworthy?

God's ways are not our ways. I'm going to touch on the up side of this divine attribute. We say, "Everybody makes mistakes." In fact, we love the mistakes. A entire segment of entertainment is dedicated to viewing the mistakes of celebrities. News correspondents and political pundits live on the gaffes of political figures. We climb up by tearing down others. On the other hand, God lifts errant souls up to heaven. Along the way He spends the time to dust them off, straighten their tie, and set their feet back on the right way.

     "For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would dare to die. But God demonstrates His love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." In this we know with certainty that God is not a man.

A Reciprocal Trade Agreement

"Master, which is the great commandment in the law?"

Jesus saith unto him, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment."

A simple truth; simply put. However, please note that the command is to love God. Believing in God is not the same thing as loving God. By way of illumination, James points out that the devil believes in God. I would go so far as to say the devil believes in God with a greater certainty than the vast majority of mankind. The devil has seen God face to face, I for one, cannot say the same. Given his use of scripture in the temptation of Christ, it can also be said that the devil has faith in God. Nevertheless, no one would say the devil loves God.

If faith and belief do not constitute love that fulfills the great commandment, what does? The answer is a reciprocal relationship. The scripture assures us that God is love. Therefore, it is reasonable to expect that when God reaches out to man, He does so of His own unique nature. That is, He reaches out in love. It is equally reasonable to expect that God is looking for a response in kind.

When we offer our hand to others as a greeting, we expect a like response. In fact, we are offended if the other person refuses our hand. Without a response in kind, any possible relationship is headed for enmity. The problem is that God is not visible to us. How can we know His hand is extended? In a world full of disease, disaster, and death, how can we even be sure God is there? This is where faith and believing come into play. It is impossible to take the hand of a God one does not believe exists.

The bible offers no proof of God's existence. Neither does it offer an apology for God in the classical sense. The Bible states, "In the beginning God..." Since the Bible is God's revelation of Himself it makes no sense for Him to have to prove He exists. "He cannot deny Himself," nor does he find it necessary to debate His existence any more than we feel it necessary to debate ours. "The fool hath said in his heart, there is no God." There ends the Bible's discussion of the subject of God's existence. Now, you may say that is not enough. That is your choice. However, it is all that you will get in print.

Of course, just because God exists doesn't mean He is extending a hand of friendship our way. Historically, man leaned more toward angry gods that need to be appeased. We seem to be born with the notion that whatever divine beings may exist, they must be angry with us. In this, we are not mistaken. We are merely uninformed as to the whole story.

Unlike the majority of His creatures, this God who is love, even loves His enemies. He has held out His hand all the day long to a "rebellious and gainsaying people." When that was not enough, He sent His Son to make peace with mankind. God desires an end to the enmity that exists. We cannot see His hand extended, but we can touch it with our heart, our soul, and our mind. Whosoever takes His hand, to them God gives peace.

Inventing Christianity

If I were inventing a religion, I wouldn't invent Christianity. Christianity requires too much divine interaction to make its tenents fit with the natural order of things as interpreted by the senses and scientific theory. Christianity doesn't allow for a theory of everything because God keeps meddling in the universe, especially where man is concerned.

Suppose, for argument's sake, the Big Bang and subsequent evolutionary process we were taught in school are absolutely true. Now, take a look out your window or step outside for a moment. Be sure to come back; there's more to this.

Are you back? Good, what did you see? I saw a tree. Except for a few brown leaves, the limbs were bare and swayed with the wind. To the best of my knowledge, the tree was simply doing what trees of its kind do. I wish the tree was closer to the house and a little more to the west, but I don't fault the tree for this. It grew where a seed entered the soil and took root. That too is what trees do.

While I was looking at the tree, a sparrow landed near its roots. The sparrow pecked at the ground as sparrows are wont to do. Suddenly, one of the feral cats in the neighborhood sprang from the grass and pounced on the bird. Feathers flew in the air and the cat raced away with the dying bird in its mouth. I felt sorry for the bird, but I don't think evil of the cat. Killing and eating birds is what cats do.

Stay with me, I plan to make a point. That point is that everything happening outside is not as I would have it, but nothing that transpired outside was evil. It was nature doing what nature does. To say that it is wrong for the tree to lose its leaves or for the cat to kill the bird is absurd. There is no right or wrong to it; as far as I can tell there was no malice; no hatred; no envy; there was only nature being natural.

But what about mankind? How do we fit into nature? Lying and cheating are simply a part of how humans interact. Rape, murder and theft are humans doing what humans have always done. We are exactly how we evolved in our niche and these behaviors are how we survive and compete for resources. In a sense, it's boys being boys. Aren't all rules really just an attempt by others to force their standards on us? If our premise is true, that we are the product of mindless evolution, it makes no sense to treat mankind differently than any other animal.

The problem is, none of us truly believe we are the same as all the rest of the universe. We treat one another as if there are rules for human behavior that apply only to mankind. Moreover, we believe everyone else is aware of these rules and breaking them is "wrong." It doesn't matter that my rules are different from your rules, the very fact that either of us have rules is evidence that we think ourselves different from everything else. This idea doesn't fit with the observable truths of nature. Christianity embraces the idea anyway.

Christianity says men are different from the rest of creation. Christianity says this difference comes from the men being created in the likeness of God and designed for fellowship with the Creator. Christianity goes on to say that something went wrong with man; he rejected his purpose. God made rules for fellowship and man rejected them and in the process rejected God.

Without God rules, morals and ethics are arbitrary and pointless. Without God as a measure, there is no good or evil. Therefore, the true hypocrite is not the Christian who falls prey to sin, but the humanist that advocates rules of behavior.

Spirit and Truth

Jesus told the woman at the well, “But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.” Christian worship is not confined to location, style or the intercession of saints. Christians must worship God in spirit and in truth.

Pilate asked Jesus a question that still echoes in the voices of the world. “What is truth?” Jesus gave him no answer. Pilate knew the truth. The council had delivered Jesus to be crucified in order to protect their position in society. They wanted Pilate to do their dirty work and he knew it. Pilate asked the question to try to minimize his guilt. This is the same reason people still ask it.

When faced with a truth that is contrary to their desires, people try to deflect guilt by clouding the truth. It's a strategy as old as mankind. A the root of this defense mechanism is the belief that there are many shades of truth. This belief is not entirely incorrect---it is entirely dishonest. That there are shades of truth is evident in our justice system. Witnesses promise to tell three shades of truth---the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Attorneys then work these three shades to tell the story in their favor. That's why they seek “yes or no” answers and limit testimony to questions and answers.

Shades of truth are the camouflage of deceit. When God says “truth,” it comes in one shade. What is truth? Truth, the only truth, is a person. Before Pilate's question Jesus told His disciples, “ I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” Jesus Christ is The Truth—God's Truth.

If you believe in God, “what would Jesus do” is more than a catch phrase or a marketing gimmick. God is to be worshipped in the Person and Spirit of Jesus Christ. All else is falsehood and error. That, is the truth.