For the most part, I’ve done my best to avoid or stay out of arguments (online or otherwise) between my fellow Christians on hot topic issues that will continue to be an argument until Christ comes back. I’ve considered them as not essential to salvation and therefore, just been chill about the whole thing. Just as "hermeneutic" is used as a word for explaining, debate is another word for argument and life is too short for that. The Bible is pretty clear on arguments, too (2 Tim. 2: 14, 23). However, by avoiding one of the "big daddy" issues, I’ve essentially buried a major part of my witness for Christ. I’ve allowed proof of the greatest pain that led me to the greatest joy of my life be silenced by a spirit of fear and avoidance. No more. (I expect some demons just got the cold chills and Satan just got a little nervous.) It is my hope that this post and any comments that follow it will reflect 2 Tim. 2:24-26. Also note that any use of the word "you" refers to the reader in general.
While killing time at the public library yesterday, I decided to catch up on a friend’s blog, in particular his post on divorce and remarriage. In the past, he has posted multi part series on his studies of divorce and remarriage; biblical vs. not, etc. He has never been divorced (praise God!) but has had several people in his life who have been. He opened the post to everyone to provide him with hermeneutical reasons to marry a divorced woman. As I read the posts and multiple comments (including two of my own that were basically: eh, what’s the point?), I saw the BIG piece of the puzzle that everyone else was leaving out, and a lot of similarities to the "old", before salvation, me. I left what may be the longest blog comment in the history of my life and then decided that I’d blog about it here, where my Bible was handy and I could focus.
If you think that following the rules (aka legalism) is your ticket in and is what makes you a Christian (or what Christianity is all about), then my friend, I am about to blow your mind. It’s about God, His love for us, and *heaps* of grace (Christ).
If you think the *ideal* "Christian" marriage will save you (or be free of the risk of divorce), it won’t. If you think *not* remarrying will save you, it won’t. If you think living in Tibet as a hermit will save you, it won’t. Don’t for one second fool yourself by thinking that *your* actions are going to add bonus points with God. Don’t become a whitewashed tomb (See specifically Matt. 23: 27-28, read the whole chapter if you’re so inclined).
The Bible never gives *any* hermeneutical "ok" for *any* of our sin (lying, cheating, murdering, adultery, divorce, sexual impurity, etc.). The Bible will *never* say your sin is okie dokie. There is no such thing as a *lesser evil*. Sin is sin in God’s eyes; he makes no distinction between the white lie you told at breakfast, the gossip you spread at lunch and my divorce. They’re sin. We *are* sinfully evil. Check out 1 Cor. 6:9-10 for a list of those who won’t inherit the kingdom of God. No one is exempt from this list, and then, the escape clause (v.11)!!
You know what the Bible does say? Your only ticket to God, your only ticket to heaven, is Jesus Christ. Your only hope bled out onto the ground. Your only hope, took on all the sins of everyone in the world to the point that God could no longer bear to look at His own Son. And there is NOTHING, absolutely NOTHING that YOU can do to add to that. Your best isn’t good enough and never will be. While God does love you so much, that he sent His Son to die for YOU and your life full of sin, that sin separates Him from you, and the only way to bridge that gap is Christ, like it or not. You and your actions and legalism and following the rules: IT AIN’T GOOD ENOUGH.
Look in the Bible for perfect people and you will find none but one: Christ. Look in the Bible for a list of "permissive sins" and you WON’T FIND IT. Look in the Bible for God’s grace and the times where He has used the absolute worse case scenarios and the absolute "worst people" (you know, sinners?) and YOU WILL FIND IT IN SPADES. Look for His love for you and you will find it nailed to a cross, sung about in the psalms and even in the book of Leviticus (rules that *still* didn’t save God’s chosen people or change their sinful nature).
The piece of the puzzle is this: YOU’RE A SINNER. YOU NEED CHRIST.
Frankly, I want to see all of you in heaven with me, and that won’t happen if you think that following the rules will somehow save you. Only Christ has the power to do that.
Now, some of you are scratching your heads. What did any of that have to do with hermeneutical divorce? It is my firm belief and conviction that any theological discussion leads back to our ONLY hope: Christ. Focusing on divorce vs. remarriage or different scientific creation theories or whatever else you want to debate about, needs to turn to Christ. If you are talking with an unbeliever, and the other topics open that door of communication, take it. You could be the last person who talks to them in this life.
It is a fact that when we sin, God is faithful to forgive us when we ask (I John 1:9). And I’ll close this with a quote from our DivorceCare series: "Divorce is an instance in your life, it is not a way of life" – Dr. Myles Munroe
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Psalm 37:3-6 and Tree Frogs!
I wish I had a good analogy for this. And for some reason, all I can think about is how much I love the sound of tree frogs. For me, they herald the coming of my favorite season, summer, and all that it involves: sleeping with the windows open, running around barefoot, shorts, sandals, my birthday and the county fairs. Not to mention the (mostly) clear night skies and the fact that I can sit outside comfortably and just watch the stars and absolutely lose myself in wonderment at the God who created it all.
You see, I haven’t been able to do any of those things beyond the occasional sneak a peek at the stars, except hearing the sounds of tree frogs. For some reason, they’ve been going nuts for about the last two weeks. The same amount of time that I have been under a very direct spiritual attack.
As you may or may not have read the bits and pieces in my blog, I’m nearly financially ruined and this has been robbing me of the excitement of my first international mission trip to the point that I nearly pulled out last week. Not only did it rob me of that, more importantly, it robbed me of the very close communication that I was having with God in Bible study and in getting deeper into my prayer life. By the time I began to realize what was going on, I had missed two Sunday services and two sessions of my Wednesday night Bible study group. And *I* wondered why God felt so distant and why the life that was getting better, was starting to fall apart.
I was making online friends, and talking to them about godly things but the truth is that I was starting to rely on one in particular to sort of be my confidant and encourager. I was falling into my old unhealthy relationship patterns of putting another individual before God and before myself. One of the verses that appeared in one of our first conversations was Psalm 37:4. In encouraging me, he was seeking to remind me that God loves us and he *will* give you the desires of your heart. Who doesn’t love to hear that? Anyway, my new friend is trying to work through some things, and I realized that I had lost my focus and maybe he did, too.
At about midnight, unable to sleep, I decided to journal some Bible verses from one the Bible studies I have been working on called A Woman Who Hurts A God Who Heals. At the end of each lesson, you are provided with several different scriptures and you can choose whichever is speaking to you and journal about it, meditate on it, etc. And then God decided to do one of his really cool God things: the next selection on the list was Psalm 37:3-6.
Right away verse 4 jumped out at me (I’d underlined it previously) but then the entire selection got my attention. God was saying, Hello, Leah!!! Do I have your attention now??? Trust in me, commit to me!! Why are you worrying over money and your ex husband and your new friends and the price of gasoline?? WHERE IS YOUR FAITH???
Ooops. I enjoy my relationship with God, why have I been neglecting it??!! I need to slow down and learn to be patient and see what the future brings. My focus needs to shift to how I can live for Christ today and in seeking the hidden blessing in the everyday things of life. I need to *live with God in the moment* and let HIM focus on putting the rest of my days together. As if that weren’t enough to get my attention, God spoke to me again through my one year devotional Bible. The devotion was about the safety of the old and how our fear keeps us from our desires. The last sentence said it best: He preferred the safety of the old to the adventure of the new.
It was only after reading and praying and meditating on these verses (a lot!) that I was able to reach out and help others by giving them some advice that I hope they will take to heart. And then I realized how much I enjoy helping others just by listening to their problems. Just in talking to them and hearing how their family members are. The most worthwhile part of my day at any given moment is when I’ve helped someone obtain some sort of peace of mind through something that God has led me to say. I don’t know what this means in regards to my future, but hey, God works in mysterious ways, Elwood.
Now about those tree frogs. Had I taken the time to live in the moment, I’d have been able to appreciate my favorite sound in the world and the Creator who knows how much I love to hear them sing. And they did; through the whole thing. I just wasn’t open to hearing it.
You see, I haven’t been able to do any of those things beyond the occasional sneak a peek at the stars, except hearing the sounds of tree frogs. For some reason, they’ve been going nuts for about the last two weeks. The same amount of time that I have been under a very direct spiritual attack.
As you may or may not have read the bits and pieces in my blog, I’m nearly financially ruined and this has been robbing me of the excitement of my first international mission trip to the point that I nearly pulled out last week. Not only did it rob me of that, more importantly, it robbed me of the very close communication that I was having with God in Bible study and in getting deeper into my prayer life. By the time I began to realize what was going on, I had missed two Sunday services and two sessions of my Wednesday night Bible study group. And *I* wondered why God felt so distant and why the life that was getting better, was starting to fall apart.
I was making online friends, and talking to them about godly things but the truth is that I was starting to rely on one in particular to sort of be my confidant and encourager. I was falling into my old unhealthy relationship patterns of putting another individual before God and before myself. One of the verses that appeared in one of our first conversations was Psalm 37:4. In encouraging me, he was seeking to remind me that God loves us and he *will* give you the desires of your heart. Who doesn’t love to hear that? Anyway, my new friend is trying to work through some things, and I realized that I had lost my focus and maybe he did, too.
At about midnight, unable to sleep, I decided to journal some Bible verses from one the Bible studies I have been working on called A Woman Who Hurts A God Who Heals. At the end of each lesson, you are provided with several different scriptures and you can choose whichever is speaking to you and journal about it, meditate on it, etc. And then God decided to do one of his really cool God things: the next selection on the list was Psalm 37:3-6.
Right away verse 4 jumped out at me (I’d underlined it previously) but then the entire selection got my attention. God was saying, Hello, Leah!!! Do I have your attention now??? Trust in me, commit to me!! Why are you worrying over money and your ex husband and your new friends and the price of gasoline?? WHERE IS YOUR FAITH???
Ooops. I enjoy my relationship with God, why have I been neglecting it??!! I need to slow down and learn to be patient and see what the future brings. My focus needs to shift to how I can live for Christ today and in seeking the hidden blessing in the everyday things of life. I need to *live with God in the moment* and let HIM focus on putting the rest of my days together. As if that weren’t enough to get my attention, God spoke to me again through my one year devotional Bible. The devotion was about the safety of the old and how our fear keeps us from our desires. The last sentence said it best: He preferred the safety of the old to the adventure of the new.
It was only after reading and praying and meditating on these verses (a lot!) that I was able to reach out and help others by giving them some advice that I hope they will take to heart. And then I realized how much I enjoy helping others just by listening to their problems. Just in talking to them and hearing how their family members are. The most worthwhile part of my day at any given moment is when I’ve helped someone obtain some sort of peace of mind through something that God has led me to say. I don’t know what this means in regards to my future, but hey, God works in mysterious ways, Elwood.
Now about those tree frogs. Had I taken the time to live in the moment, I’d have been able to appreciate my favorite sound in the world and the Creator who knows how much I love to hear them sing. And they did; through the whole thing. I just wasn’t open to hearing it.
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