Christian Essentials: How Can We Extend God’s Grace?

“Grace is giving people what they need, not what they deserve.” – Mike Miller

We All Need Grace

Grace is such a difficult thing to understand. We all want to receive it. The hard part is giving it. I know when I am wronged I want to settle accounts. Or at least I think I do. There’s a real problem with that though. Too many things just can’t be settled. And that whole eye for an eye thing is a lot like a slot machine. Even if you win a few bucks here and there, in the end the house always takes more from you than it pays out. Vengeance is also a boomerang. When it goes around it comes around. Peace is not possible until someone puts down the spear. It’s the only way to break the chain.

Now, I’m not too extreme in my position. There is a time and place for arms. We need police. We need order. We need courageous people to stand against tyranny. We may even need to personally defend ourselves. What we don’t need are vendettas. They solve nothing. They serve nothing. They only destroy.

I write this feeling deeply convicted myself. I’m not speaking from a high horse. Grace is really hard for me, just as it probably is for you. I feel grudges. I feel anger and I feel fear. I don’t want enemies to trample over me. I don’t like injustice. But somehow, grace is still the answer to these problems. It is grace that heals and helps, grace that overcomes, and grace that takes away the burden of own sins. Through grace we are freed from the control of hatred. So why is it so hard to give? Maybe it’s because we don’t really understand this thing called grace. What is it? What is it not? How do we apply it? How can I put down my spear? We need an example that makes sense.

Jesus demonstrated grace more than all others. More than we can fathom. He paid for the sins of the whole world, past, present, and future; all of them; at his own expense. He is the first and primary example of God’s grace, but it can be hard to relate his example to ourselves. He’s awesome, but he’s Jesus. “My Lord and my God!” and all that entails. It would help to have an example of someone like us, a normal person following Christ, to show us the kind of grace we are capable of in Christ. The first one that comes to my mind is the account of Stephen in the book of Acts.

An Example We Can Follow

The account of Stephen is given here: Acts 6:8-7:60. Click the link and go read it. No really, go read it! I’ll wait.

Did you go read it? There’s really no point in continuing to read this post if you didn’t, because that’s what I’m going to talk about. You need to consider the full passage to connect with where I’m going.

The first thing we read about Stephen is this:

“Now Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, performed great wonders and signs among the people.” Acts 6:9

That sentence defines Stephen for us. It’s what is significant enough about him that we read his story in scripture. He is notably “full of God’s grace and power.” So much so, it is visibly obvious:

“All who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at Stephen, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel.” Acts 6:15

This is not kidding. Stephen was that affected by grace. He’s the real deal, a true follower of Christ, full of love, mercy, and truth, just like Jesus. So how does such a man act before the ruling religious council? Well, he was no coward, I’ll tell you that. He was bold and to the point.

In the passage we see the extreme contrast between grace and legalism. Stephen challenges the legalists’ rejection of Christ with solid truth and reasoning. They refuse to accept Jesus because grace is a complete contradiction to what they believe. They think they are the gatekeepers for God through their legalism, but in fact they are going the wrong direction. The thought of God’s love and grace being poured out through the cross to the undeserving is so vehemently repulsive to them that they can’t stand hearing it. Worse, Stephen tells them that they are undeserving!  That’s when they lose it and take him out to stone him to death.

But what does Steven do?

“While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, ‘Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.’ Then he fell on his knees and cried out, ‘Lord, do not hold this sin against them.’ When he had said this, he fell asleep.” Acts 7:59-60

Wow.

To top it all off, the passage points out a particular person present at the scene, approving of Stephen’s murder:

“the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul.” Acts 7:58b

That young man, Saul, became a leader in violently persecuting the Christian church. He did so until Jesus himself confronted him on the road to Damascus. That’s where he renamed him Paul. Paul became the most prolific and outspoken Apostolic writer of the New Testament.

There is so much grace here that it can’t even be quantified. That is the grace of God. It is lavish to the extreme. It’s more than we can handle.  In Stephen, we see this grace on display in a normal person following Jesus. Like Jesus, who interceded with the Father while dying, asking him to “Forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing,” Stephen intercedes for the men putting him to death.

So that’s the passage.  What can we glean from this that we can apply?

#1 – Grace is from God, not man.

The grace Stephen offered was the cross, not his own righteousness. If he had something to brag about he could say,  “Hey, look how cool I am! Be like me!”  But he needed the cross for his salvation. The cross is grace that does not come from us. Stephen was filled this grace. It’s power didn’t come from him. He got it from God. It wasn’t earned through self-righteousness. That’s not how grace works. It’s a gift.  Stephen looked to Jesus as master and provider. The follower points to the master, not himself. Stephen filled up with God’s grace because he actively sought it from God. He could only give from what he received.

This is how Jesus describes the grace of God:

“So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!'” Luke 11:9-13

It’s worth nothing that the verbs used in the original language for this passage are of an ongoing nature, i.e. “ask and keep on asking” “seek and keep on seeking”.  The nature of being filled the grace of God is that it is a continual filling and refilling process. In Christ, we receive the Holy Spirit who gives us power to serve God. When we seek and keep on seeking him, he fills us up and overcomes our fallen nature. He gives us a reservoir to draw from in the face of sin.

#2 – We are able to offer grace via the same source as God.

God required a payment for sin because he is infinitely just. He said, “The soul that sins shall die.” He cannot change his perfect righteousness. If he simply looked the other way, he would compromise himself. He must punish sin. At the same time, in his love and mercy he desires to save us, not destroy us. In Jesus, he provided the  solution that satisfies both justice and love.

Think about the payment for sin at the cross: When God’s judgment was complete Jesus said, “It is finished,” declaring the debt paid in full, but the actual withdrawal of funds is ongoing. Sin continues. We keep doing it. As more people are born, they add sins too. But the vast treasure chest of his atoning sacrifice never fails to pay.  It doesn’t run empty. It’s potency is never ending.

“But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! Nor can the gift of God be compared with the result of one man’s sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification.” Romans 5:15-16

When we need grace to give, we must draw from that treasure chest. It is our source from which to pull out grace for those who have wronged us. It’s God’s, freely given to us and free for us to give. God is the house that always pays out. The atoning blood of Christ does not fail. His sacrifice is enough to pay the penalty.

#3 – Grace does no good for the debtor unless it is received.

Stephen prayed for his attackers. One of those present surely did receive God’s grace, but I’m sure many did not. The debt for sin remains on those who reject Christ when they die.  Scripture says:

“Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.” Hebrews 9:27-28

So despite Stephen’s earnest prayer for them, those who never received the grace they were offered will be held accountable in eternity for what they’ve done.

Stephen hoped they might be saved, not cut-off. God’s judgement could have easily come against them then and there. He could have saved Stephen and put them to death. God put others to death, like Herod and Ananias and Sapphira. But, I think, because of Stephen’s prayer, God held off judgment. Not only for that moment, but he continued to grant them opportunity to turn to him and receive grace.

Stephen died an honorable death, full of grace and truth, defending the Lord without wrongdoing, seeking the salvation of others. His death had meaning and purpose. He chose to give up his life for it. He wanted to participate in the sufferings of Christ for the sake of his honor. So it is with us. The grace we give may not be received. It might even be trampled on. We may be cursed or mocked just like Jesus. We honor God by offering it.

#4 – Grace is for our benefit.

I can recall a U.S. Senator speaking at hearing on torture. He said, “The reason we don’t torture is because we don’t want our guys to be tortured.” We don’t want to become terrorists ourselves. That’s why we offer grace. We don’t want to become the bitter thing we hate. We want to rise above that for something better. Grace changes us, maybe visibly like Stephen. May we all shine with such grace.

Next in this series: Why Does A Loving God Allow Suffering?

Too High To Get Over

There’s a case to be made that of all the people who’ve ever lived, Michael Jackson had the most rhythm.  You could be in a coma when one of his hits comes on and you’d start tapping your foot.  He had amazing talent.  I’ve been listening to a lot of his songs lately, since my oldest came up with a CD of his greatest hits. We’ve been listening to it together.

So many questions buzzed about this man.  Was he nuts? Was he a child molester?  Did he endanger his children?  Was he gay, straight, or neither? Was he black or white? How much plastic surgery did he have and why?  Can you imagine having all that hanging over your head in front of the world?  He was a very mixed up and troubled man.

It’s interesting how those closest to him still love and defend him.  They must know he was living in Crazytown, but he made them care about him somehow, warts and all.

In our age we say there are no more heroes.  All are fallen.  Consider some big names and their failures:

1. Abraham Lincoln – owned slaves in his life.
2. Martin Luther King – unfaithful to his wife
3. John Kennedy – unfaithful to his wife
4. Barry Bonds – took steroids
5. Brett Favre – unfaithful to his wife
6. David Letterman – unfaithful to his wife
7. Bill Clinton – unfaithful to his wife
8. Newt Gingrich – unfaithful to his wife
9. Mel Gibson – hot tempered, drunken, racist
10. Martha Stewart – insider trading
11. Tiger Woods – unfaithful to his wife
12. Roger Clemens – affairs and steroids
13. Pete Rose – betting on baseball
14. O.J. Simpson – murder
15. Michael Vick – dog fighting/killing

I’m sure you can add others to the list.  You probably feel some measure of mercy towards some, but most likely not all.  Yet there is mercy available from God.  Jesus explained it very simply:

“Peter came to Jesus and asked, ‘Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?’ Jesus answered, ‘I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.'” Matthew 18:21-22

A couple of friends of mine like to use the phrase “slippery slope.”  Forgiveness is one of those things that can be a very slippery slope indeed.  When you’ve been seriously wronged, or you see immense evil, your heart cries out for justice.  We have police to go after bad guys.  We have prisons to punish wrongdoers.  We go to war to stand up against evil.  Jesus made a whip and cleared the temple of thieves scamming the people in his Father’s house.  How does forgiveness factor into this?  When is it right to judge and when is it wrong?

Jesus said both of the following things:

“Do not judge, or you too will be judged.” Matthew 7:1

“Stop judging by mere appearances, and make a right judgment.” John 7:24

Jesus was not contradicting himself.  He separated right judgement from wrong judgement.  The difference can be difficult to discern, and is made even more ambiguous by the state of confusion in the church and society over it.

“Judgment is an ambiguous word, in Greek as in English: it may mean sitting in judgment on people (or even condemning them), or it may mean exercising a proper discrimination. In the former sense judgment is depreciated; in the latter sense it is recommended.” – F. F. Bruce

Jesus discerned between evil judgement and good judgement.  Evil judgement looks like this:

“When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise.” 1 Corinthians 10:12

Evil judgement measures others according to itself.  It makes itself the standard.

Good judgment discerns between right and wrong according to God’s Word.  God’s Word condemns sin, but saves sinners when they turn to him, repent, and ask his forgiveness. The offer of forgiveness is freely available until the last breath.

“It is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment” Hebrews 9:27

Since this is how God treats all of us, this is how we must treat all others.

On Judgement Day we will either stand before God based on our own merit or Christ’s.  That is the determining factor as to where we will spend eternity.  Christ is the only gateway to entry into God’s kingdom.  That fact alone should create great humility in God’s people, who have received such a lavish gift from God in Christ.  But humility does not preclude discernment and forgiveness does not preclude justice in a human sense.  Forgiveness in Heaven depends on justice meted out at the crucifixion.  Justice on earth is merely a human matter, necessary for the protection of all and the promotion of what is right and good.  It is a judgement of discernment and order, without any bearing on God’s judgement of the soul, which is wholly his to decide.

So what about all these fallen people? What do we do with them?

It goes back to what Jesus said to Peter.   We forgive as many times as we would want to be forgiven.  To the unrepentant, we maintain the same attitude as Christ, offering forgiveness and mercy so long as their hearts keep beating.   In society, we mete out human justice as necessary to protect all, knowing full well it is a human matter.  We let God decide the eternal fate of souls, as this includes our own.  Insofar as is possible, considering all that is at stake, we show mercy even to the unrepentant.  And as for our personal concerns, we let others off the hook of our justice in lieu of God’s, which is only his to decide, fully confident in his perfection.

In this New Year, may we all judge rightly, turn to God, and joyfully receive his forgiveness, an ocean of love and mercy freely available and washing over us all.

“I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” Luke 15:10

Sitting In The Dark

About 2:30 a.m. last night a very large tree fell near my house. It snapped a power pole in half, sending the upper portion across my driveway. Two transformers blew up nearby. There were sparks and flashes and booms.  Then the whole neighborhood faded to black until daylight.

Welcome to Monday!

In the morning, large trucks came to repair the damage, one carrying a new pole. I managed to escape out my neighbor’s driveway, the opposite way down the road, to go to work. Late in the afternoon I called my neighbor.  He said the lights were back on.  Cool!

By the time I came home in the evening it was dark again.  And unfortunately… I quickly discovered that while my neighbors on either side had power, my home did not. (sigh).  The power surge fried my breaker box. I Thank God it didn’t catch my home on fire.

So, tonight I have no lights.  I sit here typing by candlelight.  To my great benefit, my neighbor ran an extension cord from his house over to me so I can run my fridge, modem, router, and laptop.  Awesome neighbor!  I feel loved.  I’m glad I ran a cord over to him when something similar happened to him! 🙂

Coincidentally… (or perhaps not) this isn’t my first time sitting in the dark this week. The first time wasn’t caused by a tree unleashing electric mayhem through my neighborhood .  It was spiritual. I had to sit and contemplate some backsliding choices I made. I needed to humble myself, confess the sin, and ask God’s forgiveness.

The Lord’s forgiveness doesn’t excuse my behavior, nor take away the regret. It simply turns me around and heads me back in the right direction.  It restores honest fellowship with him, allowing him to push out the darkness I let in and replace it with light.

It’s not so bad sitting here tonight in my mostly darkened house; not like sitting in spiritual darkness.  That is a sad, empty place to be.  How thankful I am for the Light.  He leads me beside still waters.

In The Light – DC Talk

© Sparrow Song, Written by Charlie Peacock

I keep trying to find a life
On my own, apart from You
I am the king of excuses
I’ve got one for every selfish thing I do

What’s going on inside of me?
I despise my own behavior
This only serves to confirm my suspicions
That I’m still a man in need of a Savior

(chorus)
I wanna be in the Light
As You are in the Light
I wanna shine like the stars in the heavens
Oh, Lord be my Light and be my salvation
Cause all I want is to be in the Light
All I want is to be in the Light

The disease of self runs through my blood
It’s a cancer fatal to my soul
Every attempt on my behalf has failed
To bring this sickness under control

Tell me, what’s going on inside of me?
I despise my own behavior
This only serves to confirm my suspicions
That I’m still a man in need of a Savior

(repeat chorus)

Honesty becomes me
[There’s nothing left to lose]
The secrets that did run me
[In Your presence are defused]
Pride has no position
[And riches have no worth]
The fame that once did cover me
[Has been sentenced to this Earth]
Has been sentenced to this Earth

Tell me, what’s going on inside of me?
I despise my own behavior
This only serves to confirm my suspicions
That I’m still a man in need of a Savior

(repeat chorus 2x)

[There’s no other place that I want to be]
[No other place that I can see]
[A place to be that’s just right]
[Someday I’m gonna be in the Light]
[You are in the Light]
[That’s where I need to be]
[That’s right where I need to be]

Christian Essentials: What Did Jesus Teach Pt. 3

This is a follow-up to my previous post Christian Essentials: What Did Jesus Teach Pt. 1 and What Did Jesus Teach Pt. 2, based on the book The New Christian’s Handbook by Max Anders.

Part 1 discussed that Jesus taught humanity needs a Savior.
Part 2 discussed that Jesus taught righteousness is what’s in the heart, not the outward appearance.

Part 3:  Jesus Taught That Love Is Life’s Priority

“Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.” 1 John 4:7-8

God’s Word is the instruction manual for love.

When they asked Jesus, “What is the greatest command in scripture?” he replied:

‘”Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.’”

Matthew 22:37-40

There it is.  The Bible in two sentences: Love God. Love your neighbor.  Makes you wonder why are there so many books and pages?  It’s because we have no idea what God means by love. 🙂  We have a sin problem and require clarification.

The song lyrics below make quite a poignant statement about God’s definition of love:

Here’s where real love begins:

Jesus gave His life for sinners.
In the first of ten commands
Demonstrate love to beginners.
He gave His love like no one else before,
And I owe everything I am and more to Him.

(From The Hope of the Brokenhearted, song written by Bryan Duncan and Larry Brown, ©1986 Lexicon Music (ASCAP), Drummer Music (BMI))

God has been working to teach us the meaning of love from one end of scripture to the other.  It’s not easy to teach beginners.  We try to grasp it, but without his help, we’re grabbing at the air.  Bits and pieces float by us and we try to make something out of it.  What is this thing called love?

Love is a “Do” word.

Jesus told his disciples:

“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.  If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love.  I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. This is my command: Love each other.” John 15:9-17

And:

“The greatest among you will be your servant. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” Matthew 23:11-12

When asked, “And who is my neighbor?” Jesus said:

“‘A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. “Look after him,” he said, “and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.”

Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?’

The expert in the law replied, ‘The one who had mercy on him.’

Jesus told him, ‘Go and do likewise.’” Luke 10:30-37

What love does:

1. Love humbles itself to serve and honor God.
2. Love humbles itself to serve and honor others.

John wrote:

This is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome.” 1 John 5:3

In 1 Corinthians 13:4-7, Paul explains love a little more concretely:

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.”

And James puts the application of love in practical terms:

“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”  James 1:27

Jesus is the example of how to practice love.  He humbled himself to serve and honor God the Father all the way to the cross.  He humbled himself to serve and honor us by taking the punishment meant for us in our place.

Love is kind And stern.

The Apostle Paul wrote:

“Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God: sternness to those who fell, but kindness to you, provided that you continue in his kindness.” Romans 11:22

How do we reconcile the kindness of God with the sternness of God in scripture?  Is the Old Testament God of Judgement God or the New Testament Father God God?  And don’t “both” Gods send people to Hell?  How is that love?

These are fair questions and certainly difficult to grapple with.

In the Old Testament God put people to death for standing in the wrong place, touching the wrong thing, or even neglecting to do what he told them to do.  The Old Testament Law contains harsh punishments, like stoning people to death for commiting adultery.  God called out the Jews as his people, but the majority of mankind was left out in the cold.  When he sent Israel into the Promised Land he had them kill just about everyone they encountered.  This is tough stuff to contemplate.

In the New Testament, God seems to have had a personality transplant.  God the Son comes into the world as a baby, born in barn.  He grows up to endure the shame and humiliation of the cross and give away his life for us.  Now everyone is welcomed with open arms and God seems to be handing out candy canes.  What is going on here?  Is this even the same God?

Yes, it is the same God.  God has not changed. “I the LORD do not change.” – Malachi 3:6.  It’s important to understand that, both to retain proper reverence for God and to grasp the depths of his love.  But make no mistake, something radical has changed because of Jesus.

Expensive Love

A man named Dietrick Bonhoeffer coined the term “cheap grace” to describe “the preaching of grace without requiring repentance.”  This practice has also been called “easy believe-ism”.  It’s the belief that a person can receive God’s forgiveness through Christ without regard for the price Jesus paid for sin on the cross.  It’s treats Jesus as nothing more than “fire insurance.”  It’s empty.  It’s a cheap, fake faith that demonstrates no love for him.

Jesus said:

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’” Matthew 7:21-23

Love is expensive.  It comes at a price.  Before Christ, all of humanity was separated from God because of sin. There was a veil between us.  From our point of view, regarding sin we often think, “What’s the big deal?”  But it is a serious matter to God.  All of mankind was far away from God’s love, but now, because of Christ, we’ve all been brought near.  Jesus made God accessible.

It took millennia for God to bring his full plan to fruition on the earth.  The planet was completely lost. Before the Savior could come God had to carve a path through a world where human sacrifice and every evil practice was deemed acceptable.  Mankind was spiritually disconnected.  God had to establish a dial tone.

Before returning to Heaven, Jesus promised something that altered the world we live in when it happened:

“But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me;  in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.” John 16:7-11

Wherever the message of Christ goes the Holy Spirit comes to live in those who receive him, thus spreading God’s influence and furthering salvation across a lost world.  God made a way where there was no way.

Love must sometimes do the hard thing to do the right thing.

“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens:

a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.”

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

Love is not all hugs and kisses.  There is a time when love must do things that seem unloving, but are not.  Love might pull out a gun and shoot an intruder threatening its family.  Love might kick you out on the street so you’ll learn to work for a living.  Love might tell a child, “No,” when it wants with all its heart to say “Yes.”  Love is forgiving, but not a fool.  Love is merciful, but not without constraint.  Love is abundant, but must be received.  Love conquers all.

“I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”  Ephesians 3:17-19

Next in this series: What Does The Holy Spirit Do?

Serenity Prayer

In my experience, very few Christians understand addiction.  It’s not intentional.  It’s just ignorance.  And it’s not limited to Christians.  Addiction is hard to understand for anyone who has not experienced it themselves.

A non-addict believes that the addict should just be able to put down the thing they are addicted to.  It makes no sense.  Why does that thing have power over you?  Christians add spiritual expectations to this mix.  “Of course you don’t have power on your own to overcome that addiction, but you can do all things through Christ.  You’re free from sin, therefore nothing shall have mastery over you… so stop pretending you’re addicted. It’s all in your head.”

Umm… no, that’s not right.  It sounds right to a believer, but there’s a fly in the ointment.  Christians are still addicted to sin just like everyone else.  We like it even. (Oops, did I say that? Perhaps I’ve revealed too much!!  Let me put on my pious face again.) Though we may not think of it as addiction, that’s what it is.

This is what’s true: In Christ, no sin should be your master.  Whatever your addiction is, God can help you deal with it.  What’s not true is that the temptation will necessarily go away.  All God is promising is that you don’t have to give in to it.  He always provides a way out.

“No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted,he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.” 1 Corinthians 10:13

It’s no sin to be tempted.  I’ve had friends confess their addictions to me.  I have addictions of my own.  It’s not pretty.  I wish it weren’t true, but it is.  Just because I don’t struggle with alcoholism, drugs, or pornography, doesn’t mean there aren’t things that trip me up.  Sweets for example, that’s a mild one I’ll admit to publicly.  I am a sugar fiend.  I will consume sugar to the point of obesity given the chance.

In order to cope with addiction an addict must sometimes free himself from the temptation.  In the case above, I have to steer clear of sweets for the most part to avoid falling off the wagon.  An alcoholic should not go to bars.  A drug addict may need to avoid friends who will pull her back into the scene.

“If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire. And if your eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.” Matthew 18:8-9

The passage above is actually quite controversial because some people have taken it literally and actually maimed themselves.  That is really not the intent of the passage.  Your eye does not cause you to sin, nor your hand or foot.  The desires of your heart cause you to sin. (And that’s not referring to your anatomical heart either!)

Desire leads a person to cross the boundary between healthy and unhealthy; balance and imbalance; wisdom and foolishness; obedience and sin.  Self-control will only take us so far when it comes to sin.  We need God control.  We are capable of all sin given the right circumstance, alignment of the planets, and a cool breeze from the north. /-:  A person has to know his or her limits and be prudent about dealing with them to avoid falling into the trap of sin.  Listen to your heart.  Listen to God.

The stupidest thing one can do is blame an addict for being addicted.  You might as well blame him or her for being born.  Case in point: Homosexuality.  (Uh, oh.  Now I’ve done it.)  According to the Bible the practice of homosexuality is a sin.  Homosexuals complain, “But how is that fair?  This is how I’m made.”  The Bible is saying you have an addiction man.  It won’t affirm the choice to engage in sin.  It says flat out, don’t go that way.  But it will affirm you. God loves you.  God understands your predicament.  He knows you’re addicted to sin just like everyone else; and it just so happens that this is the one you like.

I think I’ve managed to offend both Christians and unbelievers in that last paragraph.  Forgive me for stating the argument.

We don’t have to give in to sin.  There is a better way that God is leading us to follow, even though we’re all (all of us) dirty and covered with muck according to scripture.

“All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away.” Isaiah 64:6

Not having to sin doesn’t mean our temptations will flee us when we resist, only that the tempter will flee when we resist him.  And in that we have power to walk in the light with Jesus.

There’s a children’s song that goes like this:

O Be Careful, Little Eyes

O be careful little eyes what you see
O be careful little eyes what you see
There’s a Father up above
And He’s looking down in love
So, be careful little eyes what you see

…O be careful little ears what you hear
…O be careful little hands what you do
…O be careful little feet where you go

If your eyes, ears, hands or feet cause you to sin, just don’t go there.  Know your limits.  Everyone is weak.  Some just don’t admit it.

“God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
Forever in the next.

Amen.”

–Reinhold Niebuhr