Last week was Easter, and I already wrote a blog on Good Friday kind of addressing this. However, The Lord has only impressed this idea further on my heart this week.
Truthfully, it has been a week of questioning the purpose of this season. Due to COVID, a lot of our ministry has been getting cancelled. We have been doing quite a bit of sitting around with nothing to do.
In that space, the Lord has given me space to start dreaming about the future. There are a few things that have come up… Yes, I have more personal things that I am excited about. But the Lord has also deeply impressed upon my heart the idea of starting a house church. I have been able to dream with a few friends about this. A couple of girls dream of owning a coffee shop to be able to employ girls that have been rescued out of strip clubs, while that space would double as a space for our house church. It really excites me! But honestly, I have found myself struggling to figure out what the line is of dreaming for both the personal stuff and this ministry stuff, while also not wishing away this season.
While wrestling through this, I have also found the Lord continually bringing the simple Gospel to mind.
I think I have lived so much of my life in a culture that feels the need to “dress up” the Gospel. We think it needs to be dolled up, marketed, and sold. But here is the truth: If you think the Gospel needs to have things “added” to it, you don’t understand the Gospel. There is NOTHING that could ever be better! Something I like to encourage people with is this: Sometimes sharing the Gospel is as simple as “I don’t know all the details. All I know is that I was blind and now I see” or “I met a man who told me everything about myself. Come and see for yourself.”
The simple truth is that every single person on planet Earth has sinned. We have all missed the mark. People who have never stepped foot in a church even know this. There is this thing in every single human heart that agrees on a universal moral standard. Every single person agrees that we should be loving, kind, generous, humble, and on and on. But here is the issue: Every single person on planet Earth has failed miserably at meeting that standard. We have all fallen short. And the Bible tells us that the consequence of that falling short is death. It is complete separation from the God who created us.
But here is the BEAUTIFUL news. There is only one person who has ever offered any solution to this problem. Tons of people and religions will tell you to just try your best, and maybe you can earn your way. But guess what? You can never earn your way back to perfection. The only person who has ever offered a solution to this problem is Jesus Christ. That solution is that He who knew no sin became sin so that we could become the righteousness of God.
In simple terms: Jesus came and lived the perfect life that we could never earn. He then took off His perfection to put on our sin. He paid the penalty that you and I both owed. He died for our sake. He traded His perfection for our sin. And now the CRAZY truth is that God the Father sees Jesus when He looks at people who put their faith in Jesus. He sees perfection!
Like what kind of LOVE would do that?! This is a love that is unlike anything you will ever find in this life. A LOVE that would kill His own son simply for the chance at knowing you. It is a love that says, “Even though there is absolutely nothing that you can ever do for me, I am going to give everything for you. I am going to spend all my time, effort, energy, and my life itself to see you become everything that you were created to be.”
And do you know what you were created for? It is what I shared last week… you were not created to live in the easy and comfortable. You were created to KNOW God and to worship Him. That means that your life might be hard. It means you will face trials. But it means you never walk alone into those situations. It means you get to live with freedom, hope, and fearlessness. It means you get to live in the fullness of freedom, purpose, and identity. You get to live with the only thing defining you being that you are LOVED by the very God who created you!
But hear me… Jesus is the only way! Do not ever be deceived.
Okay, so what does following Jesus look like then?
I love the passage in John 8 about a woman who was caught in the act of adultery. The pharisees want to stone her to death because that is the law. Jesus says, “Let he who is without sin be the first to cast a stone.” Slowly, all of her accusers walk away. Then Jesus (the only person who met that qualification for casting a stone) approaches the woman. He asks her where her accusers have gone. She tells him that they have all gone away and she stands not condemned. Jesus looks at her and says, “Neither do I condemn you. No go and sin no more.”
That statement is the fullness of grace that we are called to walk in. We are called to both mercy and truth. We are called into forgiveness and repentance. It isn’t an abusing grace that just pretends things didn’t happen. It also isn’t an absence of grace that lives in condemnation. It is both neither do I condemn you and go and sin no more. Both truth and grace.
See we aren’t called to perfection as followers of Christ. We are called to holiness. Holiness means that we are called to be different and set apart. We can’t expect to live just like the world, slap Jesus on it, and call it good. The Israelites tried this in Exodus 33. They started worshipping a golden calf, but called it Yahweh. They stole that idea from Egypt, while they were prisoners. We can’t live just like the world, slap God’s name on it, and expect it to be pleasing to Him.
What does that mean practically? Well, that means that we will lose popularity. It means that we will speak differently than the world. It means that we will act differently than the world. It means our priorities will look different. It means we might even lose friendships and dreams for the sake of truth.
And it is really easy to ask the following question: Well, if God really loves me, shouldn’t He let me keep walking in my desires/ways? If He really loved me, wouldn’t He allow all my dreams to come true?
Here is my answer: Is it loving for a potter to look at a lump of clay and say that one day it will become a jar? Is it loving for our Father to tell us that He sees where we are, but that in His hands we could be so much more?
The Father’s heart is to never let us settle for less than His absolute best for us! And sometimes that means He has to wreck our plans and habits. Sometimes that means He has to make us look weird to the world. Sometimes that means we have to walk through some really painful things to understand that He alone is the only one who could ever bring identity and purpose. Our Father is a jealous Father. He LOVES you.
Philippians 2 tells us to have a mind like Christ. Then it goes on to describe the mindset He had. It tells us that “though He was God, He did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage. Rather, He made Himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to death – even death on a cross!”
How backwards is this to our culture, and honestly even Christian culture? How often is the focus on numbers and influence? How often do we focus on climbing the ladder to be seen, heard, or admired?
Jesus went the complete opposite direction. Everything He did was focused on serving others rather than being seen Himself. He served Martha, Mary, Lazarus, Peter, James, John, all the disciples, and even Judas! He lowered Himself even further by letting Himself be falsely accused and judged by wicked men. Then He went even lower by allowing Himself to die.
I have been convicted lately with self-promotion. Honestly, I don’t think this is something that I really struggle with much. I typically don’t care what people think. I typically find it really easy to stand for truth, no matter what it costs me. But I have been convicted of moments where I think I can do it on my own. I have been convicted of moments where I do the right thing not because my heart desires it but because I know that is the kind of reputation I want to have.
This past week I have found myself being poor in Spirit. Poverty in this context doesn’t just mean not having enough. It goes further. It means to be constantly aware of your need and dependence… in all situations. I have found myself admitting that I do not have what it takes to walk in the things the Lord has called me into. I have found myself wildly aware of how undeserving I am of the gifts He has put in front of me. I have found myself praying in a way that says, “God, I can’t do this. I don’t have what it takes. I am not strong enough or smart enough. This is way too big for me. But God, You have called me to this thing, and I know You have an abundance of supply. So Father, give me Your heart for this. It is my only chance to walk this out well. And if You don’t show up, I will fall flat on my face”
See because when we are weak, He is strong. His GRACE is sufficient for us! Jesus promises to give the Kingdom to those who are poor in Spirit. He promises to give the Kingdom to those who are constantly aware of their desperate need for Him.
And this isn’t some false humility or way to beat yourself up into pity. It is quite the opposite. I could have more than enough to pour out to every single person around me, but if it isn’t from Him… it is WORTHLESS. Being poor in spirit doesn’t absolve me from responsibility. It invites me into action. It invites me into BOLDNESS. The kind of action where I know I have no chance unless He shows up. It frees me to simply try!
So, this thesis of a blog to ask you one simple question: Do you trust Him? I am not asking you if you simply believe a nice theory that Jesus died for you. I am asking you if you truly trust Him with your entire life… your marriage, your kids, your job, your friendships, your past, your present, your future, your doubts, your insecurities… ALL of it. Do you trust Him with your whole life? Do your actions prove that, or do they paint a different picture? Because it is ALL or it is nothing. We have a jealous Father who will not settle for anything less than what He paid for… and Jesus paid for ALL of you on the cross!
Baptism is a beautiful illustration of this. Baptism isn’t simply declaring to the world that you believe in Jesus. Baptism symbolizes full surrender. As you get dunked in the water, you have absolutely no control. You are trusting the person baptizing you to bring you back up from the water. In the exact same way, we are invited to fully trust the Father with every part of our lives!
I know that is scary, but I promise you He is GOOD… even when we are scared! Saying yes to the fullness of the invitation of the cross, will be the hardest decision you ever make. But, I promise you it will be the best decision you ever make!
