Mamas*Little*Treasures

Changing Up the Church, One Life at a Time

"Our view of the Holy Spirit is too small. The Holy Spirit is the One who changes the church, but we have to remember that the Holy Spirit lives in us. It is individual people living Spirit-filled lives that will change the church.”

Francis Chan   ~~ Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God

When I first became a believer and trusted Christ for my salvation, I was completely and totally naive. I had not grown up in a family that included church-going as a priority, and so when I was a teen-ager and first heard the Gospel of salvation, I was immediately drawn to the church. At the age of 17 I first understood the Good News of Christ's death on the Cross, and opened my heart to my Savior. That is one reality in my life that cannot be denied, even by all of the learned scholars who declare that there is no God. My life was changed, my heart was changed, and my entire outlook on the world was instantaneously changed in that moment. I know what happened in my life, and it was real on that day and continues to be real to this day.

But the other thing that changed, not perhaps not for the better, was my immature belief that everyone who claimed to be a "Christian" would be exactly like Christ. Silly me . . . . I was only a teen-ager and I guess I thought that becoming a Christian would work like magic, and we would all be changed suddenly to a state of perfection. Well, of course, it didn't take long for me to realize that I was mistaken. Now, I still believe that those of us who profess to be truly changed through the power of the Resurrection will strive throughout our lives here on this earth to submit our wills and our ways to our Heavenly Father. And that we will grow in His grace throughout our earthly walk. But the reality is that not one of us is perfect, or will ever be perfect, this side of our Heavenly Home.

Of course we know that we are "perfect" in God's eyes because He sees us through the Blood of His Son Jesus. But as long as we are on this journey here on earth, we will fail, stumble, fall, and sin. So, to expect to find a "perfect" church is a futile endeavor . . . . for just in case I ever should find that "perfect" church, it would no longer be "perfect" the minute I walked through the door. That is not the goal. And the sooner I let go of that immature expectation, the sooner I will realize that the joy is in the journey, not only the destination, and that everyone around me is traveling through right along with me.

No, finding a "perfect" church is not the goal. But each individual Christian seeking to be obedient to the leading of God's Holy Spirit will result in the community of believers becoming a powerful unit where God can do His work. That is a paradox of Christianity . . . . it is individual, but it is also a corporate experience and expression of God's grace and power. Without the individual experiencing the power, we cannot experience the gift of being a necessary part of the Body of Christ.

We are that, and so much more, but we limit our opportunities to participate in that community when we close our hearts to the Holy Spirit. Earthly perfection is not the goal (because if we could actually do that on our own, we certainly would not need a Savior to cancel the debt of our sins and provide HIS perfection) - but a continual, ongoing open heart to receive the gift of God's Holy Spirit will not only bring the joy and peace that only comes from Him, but it will also lead us to connect with that community of believer's through whom God is truly touching the world. That is definitely something that I want to be a part of, even if we are all a tiny bit imperfect!

Please visit Tami at her blog, The Next Step, and read her post. Then you can find the links to all of the other participants in this week's In Other Words. Leave your link, too, so we can visit you!

Got it wrong again! But He picked me up . . . again.

"Christian is a great noun and a poor adjective"

~ Rob Bell

 

As I began to think about this quote, I found myself wandering down a mental pathway of memories that included so many instances in my life when I really thought that if I just "did this" or "didn't do that" my life would be a true reflection of Christianity.  And of course, all of those things can be very helpful, just to get through life in a safe and peaceful way.  But it wasn't until I had spent many, many years "doing" all of the things that I thought I was "supposed" to do, fulfilling everyone's expectations, meeting my obligations, and acting out my Christianity the way I had been taught a "good Christian girl" would do . . . . . that I realized (unfortunately) many of the "right" choices I had been making turned out to be "wrong."  Not "wrong" in the sense of being sinful or morally or ethically "wrong" and bad.  But choices to do or not do certain things that in the end, were not the most helpful to myself or to my family.  But I was trying so hard to be a "good Christian."  More importantly for this conversation, I was trying to be a "good Christian woman." 

The concept of "Christian" being a great noun but not such a great adjective, says to me that Christianity is not so much about what I DO but who I AM.  Now, because of who I AM, there will be great influence on what I DO, and the choices I make in life.  But just because I DO all the right things, or the things that seem "right" to me at any point along life's journey, does not mean that I AM a Christian.  Nor does it mean, if I make a few wrong turns on that pathway, that I AM NOT a Christian.  "Christian" means a relationship, and just like the fact that I am a mother does not depend on my children doing or not doing certain things.  Of course, they can break my heart . . . . as we do all too frequently in our relationship with God . . . . but they will always be my children and I will always their mother. 

And just because I might label some action as "Christian," thus invoking the term as an adjective, does not make it so.  For instance, if I put a Bible verse on my toothbrush, does that make it a "Christian" toothbrush?  Of course not!  It might be a fun thing to do, to help our little ones learn about proper hygiene along with learning Scripture, but it is just not about slapping a label on something in order to make it "Christian."  It is about "being."  And in all of my studies about the "Being" of God, there was always the emphasis on WHO God IS - and His Being is then the impetus for His actions in love, mercy, and grace to us, His children.

My life journey has taken me to many places, and for very long periods of time, in which I truly and sincerely believed that I was doing the "right" thing for my family.  I was convinced, even though the choices I was making every day brought great heartache to me personally and it brought about a great deal of sadness and pain in my life, that I was really doing the very best thing for my children.  But in the end, I discovered that all those years of being sincere . . . . I guess I was sincerely "wrong."   ;o)   Not in the sense of doing something hurtful or harmful, but those choices over time were just not helpful.  But indeed I made the choices that, at the time and with the resources and information I had, seemed to be "good."  So, there I was, being the "good Christian woman." 

After many years of sadness and confusion, and my study of Scripture and the history of Christianity, I came to realize in a practical way (as opposed to kind of, sort of "knowing" it in my head) that "Christian" was about my relationship with God . . . . and try as I might, I was bound to make a mistake now and then.  But then, that's why God is gracious.  So, all of that is to say, with the Apostle Paul:  "What?  Should we sin more so that grace may abound?  Good grief, NO!"  My paraphrase.  That is a distortion of grace.  But the other distortion of grace that I have experienced is the pseudo-grace that somehow convinces us to believe that unless we are "perfect" we cannot be a Christian.  But I thought that's why God sent His Son to be the Savior of the world . . . because being perfect is not my job.  He already did that, and made it possible for me to be acceptable through His sacrifice. 

I am a Christian.  Period.

 

Please visit the other IOW participants to read their perspective on this week's quote.  You will find them on Tami's blog, The Next Step.  She has a very interesting perspective, so I hope you will read what she has written, and then stop by the others, too!

Why did He do that, anyway?

"If we could condense all the truths of Christmas into only three words, these would be the words:  God with us.  We tend to focus our attention at Christmas on the infancy of Christ.  The greater truth of the holiday is His deity.  More astonishing than a Baby in the manger is the truth that this promised Baby is the omnipotent Creator of the heavens and the earth!"  

~ John F. MacArthur, Jr.

Several years ago, having spent most of my life up to that point very involved with my family in our local church, I began to wonder what we really were doing, after all.  I mean, really . . . . . don't you ever ask yourself that question?  What's all of this about, and what do we think we are doing with this "church" stuff and "Christian Life" business.  Does it make any difference?  Is it really as important as we make it seem?  And yet, for all of the talk about "grace" and "forgiveness," and our ongoing discussions about living a life of commitment to the Lord - I wasn't convinced that we were that much "different" from everyone else.  What is REALLY going on around here anyway, I wondered.

Every where I looked there was the pretense of perfection, that just didn't quite seem right since NONE of us are perfect.  I seem to remember the words of the Apostle Paul saying someting like, "There is none righteous, no not one."  Well, of course that is true, otherwise we wouldn't need a Savior if we could get that part right on our own!  But in puzzling this one through in my little brain, I realized that we were all pretending because that is what was expected of us.  Well . . . . no one would admit to THAT, because we could all quote Ephesians 2:8 - 9  "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - not of yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast."   But there was still this sneaking suspicion in the back of my brain that if someday I slipped up and made a mistake (you know one of those REALLY BIG mistakes, because some sins definitely are worse than others!), and if anyone ever discovered that I wasn't perfect after all, it would be all over.  I would be abandoned by all the other perfectly pretending Christians. 

Well, eventually I had the opportunity to take a few classes in Biblical studies and theology, mostly just to try to understand why it is that so many of us were saying one thing and doing something very different.  I'm not sure I ever discovered the answer to THAT particular question, but one thing I remember discovering was the concept of the Incarnation.  Of course, I already knew the story of God sending His Son the Lord Jesus to be our Savior, John 3:16 and all.  But I finally had the chance to think about the "why" behind that eternal, historic event.  Why would a Holy God do that?  And why did He come to earth as a Baby instead of, say, a great big brute of a guy with a deep, gruff voice to put us all in our places?  Well, I'm no theologian (gave THAT up very early on in my educational journey because I really don' t like to argue that much) - but it seems to me that this was the PERFECT plan.  I  guess so!  Since He is God, His plan probably is perfect, even if I'm not and can't quite understand it all.

And it is perfect because we need to be reminded that even the Glorious, Infinite, Eternal God of the Universe was willing to be humble.  And because He knew that we needed to know, in our human finiteness, that we have a God who understands our limitations.  And one thing I did realize that was quite helpful . . . . even if lots of people around me couldn't quite cope with my imperfection, God was not surprised!  Actually that Baby in the manger, one and the same God of the Universe, came to earth because He loves us so much, and He cares so much that He was willing to become as one of us.  Kind of like God with skin on.  We're kind of simple that way, and need a little nurturing once in a while.  So, when I read the ancient text, "Cur Deus Homo," and I was able to begin even finitely to comprehend His amazing grace and love, it made sense . . . "Why God Became Man."  He doesn't turn His back on us, ever, even when we sin.  That's the whole point of the baby in the manger.  And that's why I celebrate Christmas.  The eternal God came down here, right HERE, to fix our brokenness.  Even when we pretend to be perfect, because we might be able to fool some of the people all of the time, but not only does God know all along about our failures, He took care of THAT problem a very long time ago.  Truly, God is with us!

Please stop by Jennifer's blog, Scraps and Snippets, and you will find all of the other IOW participants this week.