Religion vs. The Gospel: Part II

Freedom.

I'll admit until about a month and half ago, that word in the Biblical context really scared me because I didn't understand it. Some Christians use it as a basis for "everything is permissible" kind of lifestyle. Still others choose to ignore the word completely and demand that both they and others around them live their life according the rigid set of religious rules they deemed necessary to obtain holy living. I found myself somewhere in the middle (but sometimes slipping to group #2) and more often than nought, with my head stuck in the sand like an ostrich. Maybe I was afraid of the answer, but for whatever reason I usually chose to dance around the issue so I didn't have to examine it too closely.

I was always left with this question, "What does freedom in the Christian life look like? What is it for?"

To me, it was more of an issue regarding how we chose to live our own lives. But then, I stumbled across Galations 5:13 and my eyes were suddenly opened.

"You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature[a]; rather, serve one another in love."

The simple truth had been there the entire time and yet I kept missing the point.

The point of freedom isn't about us. It is God's way of relieving us of a heavy burden of following the "law" so that we can focus on others. In the past few month I've been hit time and time again, with just how much the Gospel has an outwardly perspective as its focus. Sometimes I get so concerned with how I doing and how I'm appearing to live my life that I realize I'm missing the point entirely. Not that being concerned about our walk is a bad thing; it's quite the opposite. However, we aren't really fulfilling the purpose God has set before us if we choose to concentrate mostly on ourselves.

I'll admit I see this a lot in myself and in the Church. Sometimes we are afraid "to get our hands dirty" by associating with people that are difficult or involved with things that could lower our image. We can spend a lot of time pouring all of our effort into our own walk that we neglect the ones God has called us to love.

I know it is a whole lot easier to cut these people out of our lives but it is not what the Gospel is asking us to do. It is not what Christ did. The love of what He did on the cross is enough to cover the blemishes of us all. His perfect love couldn't be anymore outwardly demonstrated and in that I find a sense of freedom I am no longer afraid of.

In fact, I embrace it wholeheartedly.

"For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love" Galations 5:6

Religion vs The Gospel: Part 1

Religion. Even the sight of the word makes my skin crawl with a shudder. While most people unknowingly use it as a common label for people who have a belief in God, it is in fact, a word that has a deeply dangerous connotation.

A couple of weeks ago, I was blessed to be able to attend Grace Church in San Luis Obispo, CA with my in-laws Joella & Jeremy. The topic of the sermon was one that I found quite pertinent in today's world view and would like to share with whomever stumbles across this blog.

(Galations 5:1-12)

THE DEADLY DANGERS OF RELIGION:

1. Religion renders Christ of no benefit (v2)
Religion is self-centered in its focus.

2. Religion obligates us to perfect obedience (v3)
The problem is, we can't!

3. Religion cuts us off from Christ and God's grace (v4)
God does not accept us because we obey. He accepts us only through His Grace & Son.

4. Religion is not obeying the truth (v7)
The gospel is clear that it is not by works, but by grace through faith that we are saved.

5. Religion is not from God (v8)
It removes the faith element.

6. Religion spreads like leaven (v9)
It spurs pride, judgement, self-reliance & anything we, as Christians, try to add to our "to-do" lists. This can seem harmless at first (ie: habitually reading our Bible, attending church, etc) but a wrong attitude can quickly turn our walk into religion.

7. Religion exposes us to God's judgement (v10)
It severes the relationship aspect and turns it into a self-seeking list.

8. Religion abolishes the stumbling block of the cross (v11)
Sometimes the simplicity of faith is too much for people to overcome.

In contrast, the Bible tells of the genuine truth of God's desire for His people:

THE DELIGHTFUL DIRECTION OF THE GOSPEL:

1. Upward: Faith in the Gospel frees us to wait expectantly for righteousness (v5)
We hope by faith. We are not depending on the burden of ourselves and the drudgery of keeping the law. We are no longer consumed with rule following.

2. Outward: Faith in the Gospel frees us to love others (v6)
"The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love." Love is the fruit of faith...the outward demonstration.

I have to pause here. When I was listening to this sermon I was both deeply amazed and convicted by the truth that was being presented to me. I will admit, it is really easy for me to be the kind of person who makes "lists." I like to be looked at as a "good" Christian and secretly, it can be pretty easy for me to point out what doesn't look so "good" in other people. I recall these times and I realize just how religious I was being. I wanted my gold star, and in doing so probably pushed a lot of people out of my way. People that probably needed to be shown love.

This is the danger of being religious. It takes the Gospel which is so lovingly outward with its focus and turns it into a selfish perspective of duty. I'm pretty sure most Christians don't intend for it to happen, but then, like a bad habit, it creeps back into our life and sucks the living right out of us.

I wonder how many people have suffered at the hands of "religion"? It fascinates me, as well as makes me terribly sad, to think that most people equate the Bible & Christians with religion. I just pray that I can do my part and let people know that God is so much bigger than their misconceptions.

Perspective

Life, even with its struggles, twists and turns, is a very beautiful thing. Sometimes, I forget that. It's so easy to concentrate on whatever issue is consuming me at the moment that I fail to focus on the greater picture of what God is doing in my life.

If I could describe my current life in a single phrase, it would be "take a deep breath." With my job possibly ending in September, us moving, and Jared trying to get into a studio and go full time with the business, it is so easy for me to get caught up in worry and doubt. I kinda feel like we are standing on the edge of the cliff in "The Last Crusade" where Indiana Jones has to have the faith to step onto the "invisible bridge" in his search for the Holy Grail. He knows it is there and that it will carry him across to the other side but actually taking that plunge is a completely different story.

But then I do a quick time of reflection and I know God is doing a great work in our lives through this trying time. He is growing Jared and I closer to each other and closer to Him and we are realizing that EVERYTHING is from His hand and not of our own accord. Awesome thing to learn. He has us here for a reason and I have to trust in that, even when things don't necessarily make a whole lot of sense.

I think that is the beauty of obedience. If God just wanted to give us something, he would. But instead, I think He loves us so much that is He is far more concerned with the process of growing us into He wants us to be. Is it an intricate and difficult process at times? Absolutely. But it is one I wouldn't change for the world.

I Heart My Hubby

Today, is my 2nd Wedding Anniversary!!! Jared and I kept it pretty low key with a candlelit BBQ in the back yard. It couldn't have been more perfect and simple..an absolute beautiful evening and one I know I will remember for a long time.

I know it sounds cliché but of course, I can’t help but think of all the reasons I love my hubby. Here are a few:

1. He never gets tired of picking up my hair ties I randomly leave around the house.
2. He makes me feel like I am the most beautiful girl he has ever seen (but isn’t afraid to go tell me to shave my legs when I need to.)
3. He is even goofier than I am & his yodeling makes me want to pee my pants in laughter.
4. He needs to cuddle for at least 30 minutes a day.
5. He lets me know when I am being disrespectful or mean spirited.
6. Even if it is just breakfast for dinner, he absolutely loves it when I cook and has never said one critical remark (not even when I once used a spaghetti sauce that tasted like vomit...true story!).
7. He always asks these deep, probing questions about stuff I never know about right before we go to bed. Although at times exasperating, I love that curiosity he has about life. He is always looking at things in a way I forget to.
8. I can leave for work with a ton of laundry to do and I will come home and not only is it done and put away but he has also cleaned the kitchen and our bedroom. Most importantly, he doesn’t keep score or use that against me.
9. His creativity, style, and determination make him the best photographer I have ever seen.
10. No matter what we do, we both agree that it is best when we do it together.
11. His adventurous spirit. From snowboarding and roller coasters, to trying new food and living on the East Side, Jared has taken my hand and opened my eyes to a world of new experiences and wonderful memories.
12. He’ll be the best dad imaginable.
13. He commonly mistakes me for a ninja, and likes to think he can karate chop me or wrestle me to the ground when we are outside.
14. He constantly reminds me of the simplicity of what it means to be a Christian when I spend too much time trying to complicate things.
15. He covers me and prays over us every night before we fall asleep.
16. He has an honest desire to become the man and husband that God wants him to be. He leads me in the ways of the Lord and demonstrates Christ’s love for the Church.
17. I know that our marriage is the most important thing to him in this world.
18. He surprised me and took me to the ballet…and actually enjoyed it.
19. When we are riding our bikes home from church and my legs get too tired on the hills, he will come alongside me and push my seat so I can make it.
20. When I think of everything Jared is to me…my better half, my encourager, my champion, …best friend is the one I cherish the most.
He is the companion of my heart through everything life brings.

(Okay, I didn’t come up with that last line. It’s off the card I gave him, but I couldn’t have been said any better =)

Jared…I am so blessed and humbled that I am the gal that gets to be your wife. A life with you is more than I could have ever imagined. I love you.

I’m at 30,000 feet above the ground as I write this. A canopy of perfectly white clouds are right outside my airplane window and they look so soft it seems I could almost reach out and grab a handful of their fluffiness without it disintegrating between my fingertips. My iPod is playing one of my favorite songs. It is strangely both calming and moody and I find myself settling against my seat in quiet reflection, my thoughts drifting over the past few weeks.

I’m on my way home after spending five weeks at Keesler AFB, Mississippi for some military training. Overall, it was a great experience and God blessed me with some really great Christian women to hang out with. It felt so good to be back on an active duty base and to be reminded of the role I serve in the US military. I’m so glad to be able to wear the uniform and to belong to a strong heritage of those that have served, are serving, or will serve.

I’m not going to stand on my patriotic soapbox as I strongly believe that our country could use a lot of redirection but for me, I sometimes downplay or forget what a large part the military has played in making me the person I am today. It has taken me across the world, introduced me to people I will never forget, forced me to view the world and my life in a different light, and it even brought me to my husband.

Most importantly, God has used the military to draw me close to Him in a way I didn’t know was possible. I’m only 24, but since I enlisted in 2001, these past 7 years have been an adventure I thank God for and would never take back, not even for a second. How was I to know the amazing journeys God would take me down? I’m so humbled by this thought, so thankful that God allowed me to experience this. There have been some bruises and cut knees along the way but there have also been some of the most glorious moments where my Savior has picked me up, mended my wounds with His love and helped me stand more firmly in whom I am IN Him. A priceless gift and one I don’t deserve.

When I graduated high school, my mom gave me “Oh, the Places You Will Go” by Dr. Suess. I think back on that book now and my heart is so full. I’m realizing it’s not about the physical places I’ve visited or will visit. It all goes back to God and the intangible/indescribable moments He takes us in our lives; our hand in His, in this beautiful journey of self-exploration and a relationship defined by perfect trust……

I can see mountain tops start to poke their peaks through the clouds and I know I am almost home. I can’t wait to be back with my hubby. But for now, I am content up here in the never-ending sky, just me and my thoughts.

Oh, the places we will go. The marvelous and wondrous places…

In His Presence

There are days in which you feel as though you are trudging through life on only the sometimes waning vapors of an obedient faith. Though you realize the Lord has not forsaken you, you long for a tangible reminder of His presence. That silence can be a vast well, one in which your soul so desperately wants to climb out of, but is instead forced to wait in patient stillness.

And then there are days in which He literally wraps Himself around your senses and you realize you are in His very presence.

I experienced God in that way today. My husband and I went to the mountain to go snowboarding and though the wind was so powerful that Timberline was closed, we drove up anyway and paused to take in the view.

The beauty of that moment took my breath away. The cerulean sky was without a single cloud and the snow whirled around the peak of the mountain like vapors of crystal smoke. Wind whistled through the evergreens in a powerful but haunting melody and the brightness of the sun against the pure white snow was so vivid, I had to shade my eyes. And it was there, when I lifted my eyes to the heaven, that I realized there was nothing in this moment but endless blue sky, a beautiful mountain and my God. It was His creation, His gift to me and the air was saturated with His presence. I stood there, in the stinging wind and let Him wash over me. Every burden I was carrying was suddenly gone, having taken flight on the powerful coattails of the air around me. My fears and doubts melted away like ice from the branches of the tree and I was once again reminded what it feels like to experience perfect contentment. I am loved. Oh, I am loved desperately.

Today was such a precious gift and one that filled my soul with a sense of refreshed completeness. It is my prayer that wherever God reveals himself to you, that you will be ready to receive it.

"In his hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to him." Ps 95:4.

Running on Empty

I sometimes think people run from the difficult questions. Like the rising waters of a tidal wave licking at our heels, we stay just far enough ahead of it so as to not get swallowed up but still convince ourselves we are still, somehow, coming face to face with reality.

Maybe we aren’t necessarily afraid of the question, but rather what the answer may reveal. To face that answer, to really evaluate it, means we can’t just simply ponder it and let it lie. Instead, we are compelled to take action.

I know there was a time in my life, where if I felt challenged, I would become defensive to the point of being judgmental. I’m learning that sometimes those tough questions are ones that the Lord uses to encourage growth. When we feel like we have all the answers, we can sometimes become stagnant in the way we approach the life God has given us. We are too comfortable, too complacent, and at times too prideful in our own self righteousness.

I am guilty.

I’m in the middle of reading Quaker Summer by Lisa Samson. She is one of my favorite authors because she’s not afraid to ruffle feathers and ask some pretty difficult questions regarding today’s Christian culture. This book is no different. In it, the main character comes to terms with how much of the Christian church in America has missed the point. At times slightly cynical but always searching, Heather Curridge is realizing that she, herself, has been a major contributer to the problem. Although I will wait to give a full review until I have finished the book, there is one question in the chapter I am reading that has really caught my attention.

“..So if we are not any morally different than the rest of the world, why do we think we’re so great, why do we think we have all the answers, why do we act like such know-it-alls? Shouldn’t our love for Jesus make a difference in our behavior?”

“I’d like to think so.”

“As far as I am concerned, all we have is hope. And if I’m honest, it’s probably all we’ve ever had that’s separated us from the rest of humanity. Isn’t that right?”

Ouch. Now you have to read this book so as not to take it out of context but this paragraph stopped me dead in my tracks. Is my hope the only thing that separates me from the rest of the world? Trust me; this isn’t about the moral high road that so many Christians use to argue “why I am a better Christian than so and so…” What I am getting at is this: Is the love of Jesus making a difference in my BEHAVIOR? Is it being demonstrated in everything I do? Is their an outward focus of it?

As Christians, many of us choose not to watch R-rated movies, and abstain from alcohol and cigarettes. We go to church three times a week, tithe, memorize scripture, and hold deep theological conversations with fellow believers. Now please believe me when I say these are good things that the Bible preaches in some sort or another. But if Jesus’ love isn’t being displayed in our behavior, aren’t we missing a really big part of the picture? Isn’t that what Jesus is all about? I hope people don’t think I’m talking about the kind of fluffy emotion that involves rainbows, puppies, and hippies frolicking through fields of daises =) I’m talking about the kind of love that causes drastic change in the way we see and treat others. A love so strong that Jesus thought it was worth dying for.

So ask yourself these questions. Mull it over. Ponder it. Dig deep and resist the temptation to run.