Hardship ---> humility ---> love.

When going through hardship, humility is what God is after and ultimately what we need (and should seek). Hardship is only a means to that end and valuable to the extent it helps us acquire greater humility. 

If we seek humility directly, we may not need to experience self-induced hardship; at least not as often.

There is also self-imposed hardship (i.e. self-denial) as well. Taking up our cross would be an example.

Either way it seems we can not obtain sufficient humility and necessary dependence on God without self deprivation (or denial) in one form or another. 

Self-induced hardship is hardship that comes as a consequence of violating God's law i.e. Disobedience 

Self-imposed hardship (self denial/self discipline) is hardship we experience as a result of choosing to follow God i.e. Obedience

There is also hardship that simply comes by virtue of living in a broken world full of broken people who are disconnected from the Source of life and love. 

(foot note: Being disconnected from the Source of life and love can only result in pain and suffering. Why? Because we were not designed to operate apart from our Creator/Source, no more than the body was designed to function without food and water. Deprive the body of food and water and what happens? We die i.e. we experience pain and suffering) 

The ultimate goal of humility is so we might more fully know and experience God in the greatness of his love, majesty, beauty, wisdom, power and glory.

Arrogance and pride is what we should avoid with everything we have for it is the enemy of unity and harmony with God.

Jas 4:10  Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.

1Pe 5:6  Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you,

Luke 14:11  For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

Our problem: the law or unbelief?

Rom 3:20  For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.

God's law tells us how we are designed to live, i.e. if we live according to the law, we will experience the life God created and designed us for. This is a good thing, not bad. Therefore, the law too is good. The law is simply God's operations manual for how mankind can best function according to his design and, therefore, to his optimal capacity, bringing the greatest honor to God and drawing others to him. 

But in order for us to live according to the law, we must believe it is given by God for our good. So the problem isn't the law per se, it's our unbelief. We don't trust God, so we are unwilling to obey God and his directions for us. We believe our way is better than His. 

Because we have no faith in God, we have no faith in his directions (the law) for us either.

As a result, the law actually reveals to us how we don't trust God; how we have rebelled and continue to rebel from believing God is our Creator, director, rightful owner, sustainer, provider, lover, caregiver, protector; the all-wise, all-powerful, always present, always loving, all benevolent, beautiful God.

If we knew and believed God was all of this for us and more -- i.e. exactly who he says he is -- doing as He says; following His direction; and obeying the law would be no problem.

Unbelief/distrust is our problem, not the law.

The heart of the law brings all of this out most clearly.

Jesus answered, "The most important (commandment) is, 'Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' 

The second is this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these." Mar 12:29-31

So are we good or worthless?

Rom 3:12  All have turned aside; together, they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one."

We are not worthless, but we become worthless when we don't do good.

"Salt is good, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is of no use either for the soil or for the manure pile. It is thrown away. He who has ears to hear, let him hear." Jesus. Luk 14:34,35

We can do good because we are created in God's image. But because of our disconnection from God, i.e. our rebellious distrust/unbelief, we cannot do good for we were never designed to operate without God, separated from his love for us that empowers us to be loving.

We can not love as we were designed to love because we have disconnected from the source of love. We are not the source of love, God is. Love comes from God to us, and out to others. We inturn are empowered to love others, because we are loved.

Obedience… drudgery or delight, part 2

The reason obedience feels like drudgery or hard work for many professing Christians is there is no "want to" in their actions. It's a "have to." It's performance based behavior. It's ¹"do it or else..."  

We don't have complete confidence and trust in God's love for us to follow his directions with delight yet. This comes over time as we get a fuller/clearer view of Christ and all He did for us. But also after trusting in, seeing and experiencing God's love in various difficult circumstances. As our trust grows, so does our increased willingness and desire to obey.  

In 1Jn 5:2,3 we are told

"...By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments.  For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome."

When love is driving our actions, the doing/acting isn't a burden, drudgery, or hard work. It is actions from the heart, not out of shear "willpower." We "do" because we want to out of love for God and a desire to honor Him. This is the oil, if you will, that lubricates all our actions. It keeps things from wearing down, heating, and tearing up. 

When I used to surf, it was always a strenuous workout. I would usually be out for 2 or 3 hours per session. When I was done, I was hungry, exhausted, and probably 1 or 2 pounds lighter. But I LOVED it! Did I exert myself? Big time! Was it work? Well, in a sense. I definitely exerted a great deal of energy and effort, but it didn't feel like "work" because it was something I loved to do. ²It was something I delighted in.

The following passage captures the essence of this: 

Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation (deliverance from behavior contrary to God's will and design) with ³fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose. - Phil 2:12-13

When God's love gets a hold of us, it creates the "want" to pursue him. If there is no "want to" we need to take a hard look at whether we are truly his child that understands and believes in God's loves. 

The solution? Ask God to help you see more clearly what Christ did for you and why he did it i.e. fall more in love with Jesus!

Sometimes, the only way we experience God's love is to step out in faith on God's character and claims (promises) - regardless of how we feel - and love others. This is the essence of obedience to his greatest commandment to love him with all our hearts and our neighbors as ourselves. 

His character/love/wisdom has already been demonstrated to us by giving us Christ. This alone is enough when we really see and believe it. To step out in faith releases our experience of his love to us and through us. Not his actual love - which is already fully secured for us in Christ.

He who is forgiven much loves much.

And Jesus answering said to him, "Simon, I have something to say to you." And he answered, "Say it, Teacher."  

"A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. When they could not pay, he canceled the debt of both. Now, which of them will love him more?" 

Simon answered, "The one, I suppose, for whom he canceled the larger debt." And he said to him, "You have judged rightly."

 

...Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven--for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little." - Jesus Christ - Luk 7:40-43;47 

The truth is anyone who puts their trust in Christ is "forgiven much." Our problem is we don't have a full understanding of the greatness of our offense, how desperately we need God's forgiveness, how totally impossible it is for us to be righteous enough to be accepted by God, and what lengths God went to, to provide the solution to our otherwise impossible dilemma. The more we see the greatness of our offence and the completeness of God's solution, the more in love with God we become. We love much because we see how we have been forgiven much. 

This is not just at our entry into God's reign of love over us - i.e. His kingdom - but at the heart of our maturing and where growth lies; in seeing the infinite extent of his forgiveness and great love for us and the extent of our absolute need for it. The power and influence of this good news - the gospel - in our everyday behavior is not only ongoing but increases over time.

For further discussion, click here. 

_______________________________

¹or else you will be condemned, rejected, make God mad, etc. 

²obedience isn't always fun (often it is the opposite) but we know the outcome of it will be "fun" later, if not now. This is our hope. 

And this hope empowers us and makes it fun (rewarding beyond comprehension) in a real and vital way. It is living through dying; it is finding our life (truly and later) by losing it (now). It is dying to what we naturally want and living to honor God - which is ultimately best for us and most rewarding long term, if not always immediately rewarding.

³Why fear and trembling? Is it a fear of condemnation and rejection by God? No. It is a fear of the consequences of going contrary to God's design and dishonoring God after He did everything necessary to honor us. 

#Wantto #haveto #Drudgery #thotsaboutGod #thoughtsaboutGod

Grace or reaping what you sow...or both?

How the fall played out is an overview of how all rebellion towards God plays out.

When we rebel, we violate God's will and our design. As a result, consequences happen (Gen 3:13-19; 3:23-24) but grace is right there and also happens (Gen 3:9,15,21).

For us today as than, the love expressed through grace is no less, even though the consequences are there and so destructive. And the consequences are no less even though the love is so great i.e. one does not diminish the other (If consequences are ever removed, it is only because of God's mercy i.e. His not letting us get what we deserve).

In fact the greater the consequences the more loving it is for us to experience the full brunt of them (Usually, unless God in his wisdom deems it best to show mercy). Experiencing the full consequences of our rebellion demonstrates to us the fallacy and destructiveness of seeking to operate our way verses God's way. In short it shows us the importance of total dependence and trust in God and the destructiveness of not depending on and totally trusting him.

Because God is the source of all life, all goodness, all wisdom and all love, dependence on him and trust in him is not just the only way but also the best way to operate. It is operating according to who we are and who God is i.e. according to how God designed us and the world. 

All the pain and suffering that we see all around us today is a grand object lesson of the foolishness of distrusting God and seeking to be our own god. Yet it is also an even grander object lesson in the greatness of his love. 

Even though we seriously messed up, God himself, took all the pain and suffering we caused, upon himself in Christ and made a way for us (and eventually the creation itself) to be fully restored back to all the fullness of His love again.

Free to be honest

Performance is embedded in the very core of our being. It is the fruit of believing we can be our own god. The exact same lie Adam and Eve bought into when tempted in the garden.

This is now so subtly and deeply embedded in our hearts and a part of our make up, it is our default approach to everything in life. Only by the Spirit of God, through the grace of God, bringing it to our attention, do we ever see and abandon it. This is not a one time event but a constant ongoing process.

Thank God he frees us and allows us to take an honest look and admit this deeply ingrained and hidden inclination away from Him because we now know He does not reject us in Christ. Because Christ has removed the barrier between us and God and gained God's total love and acceptance of us we no longer need to deny our deep distrust of God. 

He loved us before we ever trusted him. 

Rom 5:8  but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 

In Christ we now have complete access to every spiritual and heavenly resource. 

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places," - Paul the apostle. Eph 1:3

#distrust #Performance #Acceptance #Honesty 

God's Commandments...drudgery or delight?

Making out a "to-do" list does not motivate you to do it, it only reminds you of what you need to do. The motivation comes from elsewhere.

If there is no motivation, a "to-do" list is drudgery and restrictive. It only produces guilt because it reminds you of what you need to do when you don't have the motivation to do it.

If there is motivation, a "to-do" list is helpful and aids you in being more efficient, moving you faster and closer to what you already desire. It's the desire that drives us, not a to-do list. 

So it is with obedience to God's commandments.

Living according to God's commandments is rewarding and freeing when we are motivated by love, trust, and a desire to honor him.

But they are condemning and only produce guilt when we are not.

The solution? A clearer understanding and view of the love and majesty of God. A greater trust that He loves us without strings and that all his directives are for our good, given in our best interest and out of his relentless love for us.

If we act for any reason other than love and trust in God and a desire to honor him because of his great love for us, we are not acting by grace, in the Spirit, by love (these all go hand-in-hand) but by performance i.e. to earn God's approval versus acting because we already have it.

"By this, we know that we love the children of God when we love God and obey his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome." - John, a disciple of Christ. 1Jn 5:2-3

For further discussion click here

Valuing God...the maturing process

What we value and what we want are not necessarily separate. That which we truly value most we desire/want most.

However, we can "want" things simply because we "know we should" and not necessarily because we truly value them, i.e. They don't really hold genuine value for us. We only say they do because God (or someone else) said they should. 

And of course, none of us wants to say openly that we disagree with God. So we disagree "quietly" instead i.e. we hid our true feelings and beliefs from ourselves and others (though not from God). We only attempt to hide from God - thinking by doing so we can avoid dealing with them, i.e. We don't have to look at and address our unbelief/distrust in God and our subtle/hidden commitment to valuing something more than God.

A primary means of our maturing is coming to the place of wanting and valuing what we know we should, i.e. what we know we should value and what we actually do value are one and the same. There is no pretense (pretending). 

When our values are totally in line and integrated with God's values, we are operating as we were designed and have come to a place of true joy, fulfillment, and maturity.

The first step in this process is recognizing how much we don't want or value what we know we should.