Light that Won't Go Out

What brings you joy? Your family? A good book? An adventure?

Your joy source says something about you. The dictionary will tell you that "joy" means a great feeling of pleasure or happiness. I hate to say it, but the dictionary is shallow.

I did a bit of study on joy after reading through Romans 5:1-11. The following is where you will find the idea of "joy" in that passage (in the NLT):

3 We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance.

11 So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God.

"Joy" is certainly at the root of the word "rejoice." I think we may be taking unfortunate liberties when we apply our 21st century English definition to the word, however. I am not an advocate for any one English translation of the Bible. They all have their strengths and flaws. Romans 5:3, 11 are two verses in which I prefer how the King James Version translates this passage:

3 And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience...

11 And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.

Now, I am not sure why the KJV changed the word to "joy," but what about the word "glory"? The word Paul used that we translate to "joy" or "glory" can be translated as (1) to glory, with or without reason; (2) to glory on account of a thing; or (3) to glory in a thing.

"Glory." It means well-lit. The "glory" of the sun lights up our world. When you "glorify God," you are shining the best light possible on Him.

So when we "glory" in something, it means that something is shining its best light on us.

Now, again, what do we find our greatest joy in? An adventure, a possession, a trip... these have something to "shine" on us that will reveal something about us. But what kind of light?

The human view will say that we find joy in our accomplishments, our friendships, our education, our possessions, our influence, or our pleasure. But there is a problem with those things. You have to pursue them. Then they feed your joy. Then it runs out and the joy runs low, so you have to purse them again (kind of sounds like an addiction). Eventually we find ourselves in an endless and exhausting cycle of pursuing what "feeds" us.

If you "glory" in--if these things shine the best light on you--your light will grow dim indeed. Jesus did not come to bring a dimming light.

Jesus did show us what would build into a light that won't go dim.

Justification.

Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ... (Romans 5:1).

That means we are made right with God. It only comes by our faith in Jesus Christ, that He really did die for us, and that He lives again. Being so made right gives us an eternal peace with God. That's a light that doesn't go dim!

Privilege.

... by whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. (Romans 5:2)

In Jesus, the privilege we have as sons and daughters of God is access straight to God's throne of grace. Undeserved favor and mercy are found there. I love how the New Living Translation puts this one:

So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God. (Romans 5:11)

In Jesus, we have a privilege of friendship with God! That's a light that doesn't go dim (provided we don't turn around and walk away from it ourselves)!

Affliction.

This one is harder. As Paul wrote it, it can mean "pressing together" or "pressure." Think of it like a diamond. A diamond is formed at high pressure and temperature 87-118 miles below the earth's mantle. No one can deny a diamond's beauty. Neither can one deny what it went through to become so beautiful!

Paul speaks of affliction bringing about growth (endurance, strength of character, hope, etc.). This growth steels our hope that Jesus really has paid it all for our sins, and that He will come again, and that we do have access to God through Him even now. Could it be that Paul is telling us that our character--our faith, our child-of-God privilege, our peace, our justification--is much like that diamond?

We may not like it, but that's the idea! Affliction is a thing to glory in, and that glory doesn't go out!

Human light is possessions, accomplishments, and pleasures, things you have to keep pursuing in order to feed the light. One day, we'll wear out, and the light goes out.

But the best light is faith, child-of-God privilege, and affliction. We receive these gratefully. These are the lights that build us. These are the lights that never go out.

What are you glorying in? Have you prayed for the kind of faith that helps you wisely use your privilege, and even change how you view affliction?

May God give you the kind of light that won't go out!

One with Love

"Nobody's perfect."

"She's a perfectionist."

"Christ is waiting for a perfect church."

I am not a fan of how we usually understand this word, "perfect." It's problematic. It is excused. It is overused and used as a club. It is full of pressure, or it becomes a word of despair for some. But really, what does it mean?

In college, I was a fan of Friends (the show... I also appreciated actual friends, in case you were wondering). The personalities were a bit extreme at times, but that made it interesting. Ross was the nerdy, somewhat awkward one who couldn't get a relationship right until the very end of the series. Chandler was the one who was also awkward with women, but had a joke for every occasion. Joey was great with the women but couldn't hold a job down very long and was an average actor at best. Phoebe was the flighty, happy-go-lucky one with what seemed to be a checkered past. Rachel was the one with the fashion sense and sometimes seemed a bit emotionally overwrought. Then there was Monica. Once upon a time in her life, she was really big. Then she lost a lot of weight. In the show, she was the picky one. The hostess. The ultra-competitor. The perfectionist. In one episode, Chandler (who was now dating her) tried to clean the whole apartment to do something nice. Everything was moved back into place as best he could remember, but she could still tell that the coffee table was too far from the couch.

I fear that some of these impressions of "perfect" have all but ruined how God might see it. 1 John 4 is a great chapter if you want to learn about the character of God and of love. But within it is a picture of perfection that I feel can be liberating.

"12 No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us. 13 By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world.15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. 16 And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him."

So, if "perfect" really means "like God," this is pretty significant! God, after all, "is love..." First, love is something that is not ours. It is His! Second, we aren't the ones who perfect it. He does! In fact, the word "perfected" could have just as easily been translated "completed." This tells me that there was a starting point and that His love, being completed in us, is a process.

We see and testify of Jesus. His act of saving us is the ultimate expression of God's love. When we do this, we are given the Holy Spirit, as Jesus told His disciples in John 14:15-18. The Spirit, whom Christ refers to in a personal way, is at work in us as Christ was at work with His disciples, only He is even closer. And as He works, what is He perfecting (or completing)? Love! And the proof is in the pudding. We know that God is one with us and we are one with Him (another way of translating this passage from the word "meno" that John would have written in Greek is to remain in, be in, live in, or be one with) when we love one another. This is "agape" love that is more interested in the other than in self, that dearly regards the other and would do anything for the other. It is the closest word that can be used to describe God's love. This kind of love proves that we are in God, that God is in us, and that the Holy Spirit has been sent by Jesus into us, to live as "Jesus in us." 

Perfection? Perfection of life and character is completion of love! It is completion!

I don't know about you, but I don't always feel there yet. Sometimes I don't act in a way that reflects that kind of love. It is proof to me that I am still in process (we call that sanctification "churchese"). But I am getting there, and the grace of God and the character of Christ is something I can always call upon. When I am in Him (or even back in Him), I am complete again because "... where I am weak, He is strong" (2 Corinthians 12:10).

So what to do. A few thoughts on becoming ONE WITH LOVE (or complete, or perfect).

1. Love one another. Do you regard others as dear ones? Do you think of them with loving regard? What would you sacrifice for that person, even that person who cut you off, flipped you off, insulted you, or ignored you at church? How much would you inconvenience yourself for another person? Not that you have to be a pushover... that doesn't help the other person any more than it helps you. But how well you love those that are hard to love is a litmus test for how well Christ's love is being completed in you. But as you love like Christ, and love others, you prove that God is in you and you are in God. It proves that the Father has sent the Spirit to live in you as Christ in you. It proves that, yes, He is completing (perfecting) you.
2. Talk about God's love. This is called "testimony." It is telling others how you have experienced God's love. For me, it was the first time I laid eyes on my newborn daughter. Or the first time it hit me that Jesus overcame the world for me (John 16:33 is my favorite text). Testimony also includes your confession and praise that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, sent to save everyone.

So, about that... How has love been easy for you? How has it been challenging for you? How have you experienced God's love? how have you experienced Christ's salvation? Share away!

Feel Your OATs!

The Bible couldn't be clearer: "Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, 'Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,' but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” James 2:15-17.

It's likely that this video, and this text, hits us pretty hard. It sure hits me! My life is as full of good intentions as yours. Unfortunately, good intentions never got much done. Maybe you can relate to some good intentions like the following:

I meant to clean the kitchen... but the dirty dishes are still stacked up.

I meant to pay off the credit card bill each month... but years later, here I am up to my neck in debt.

I meant to play with my kids... but now they hardly seem interested.

I meant to help the guy next door move... but I missed my chance.

I meant to bring some spare change to help the guy at the corner who looks hungry... but I haven't seen him in awhile. I hope he's OK.

"I meant to..." is a pretty sad way to begin a phrase, isn't it? The outflow of "I meant to" Christianity is a world that hears "blah blah blah" coming from our lips instead of knowing us as people who make a difference, people worth knowing, people that seem like, dare I say, this Jesus fellow that we read about in the Bible?

How can we turn away from "I meant to" / "blah blah blah" Christians to being the people who make a difference?

It starts with each of us individually choosing to be different. Might I suggest "eating" a morning dose of OATs each day?

O - Observe

What is the need? What do I see happening around me? What is going on in my neighbor's life? Are they moving in? Are they older? Are they having health problems? Is this person hungry?

We need to be more observant! This means looking and (most importantly) listening.

Rather than judge (stereotype) a person by their looks, how about looking at them and saying, with our eyes, "I love you! How can I help?" Hey, if you actually think it, you might actually start acting like it!

Rather than completing someone's sentences for them, or thinking about our responses, how about hearing them completely before interpreting them?

How can you be a more observant person?

A - Act

I was reading the story about the good Samaritan in Luke 10 today. I found myself thinking about all the barriers that did not keep the Samaritan from helping the injured and robbed man out. Prejudice wasn't a barrier. Time wasn't a barrier. Finances were not a barrier to serving him. Inconvenience, discomfort, safety... none of that came between this Samaritan traveler and helping this dying man. Amazing!

Now, the second thought I had was a bit disturbing. Why is that so amazing to me? And why could I read that text and see the "barriers overcome" so easily? Is this passage piercing me a little? Is it piercing you? Could it be that the reason the barriers fell so easily to the Samaritan's pity is because he didn't even think about the barriers? He just acted? Why do I so easily think about barriers instead of action?

It seems to me that we need to have God install some real, genuine, Grade-A compassion in us. Compassion that sees a need and acts. Is it risky? Will we get burned? Is it wreckless? Maybe... but the fact that we think of service as these things seems like a problem to me!

How can we become people of service, who act first before seeing barriers?

T - TALK

Observation and action are great. But with those things alone, we aren't much different than a charity that runs a telethon, or a handout agency. Somehow we are called to be different.

We're called to have conversations. We're called to make friends. We're called to tell our stories of how good God has been to us. "How will they hear (about Jesus) if no one tells them?" Paul basically asks in Romans 10:14.

I love this quote, from Ministry of Healing, by Ellen G. White: "Christ's method alone will give true success in reaching the people. The Savior mingled with men as one who desired their good." [My observation: because he did desire their good!]. "He showed His sympathy for them, ministered to their needs, and won their confidence. Then He bade them, 'Follow Me!'" (page 143).

Here's the thing: only six words refer to actually, directly speaking to someone. The rest of it? Observation and action. You could say that any conversation He had with people before the invitation to "Follow Me!" was given was as much about observation and action, in terms of building the relationship. But that last part, "Follow Me!" is SOOO huge! Someone might say no, but for the one who says yes, that invitation seals the deal in totally transforming a person!

Who have you told your story to? Who out there knows how good God has been to you? How can you become a person who Observes, Acts, and Talks about Jesus, even inviting others to be part of the journey with you?

Let's enjoy the blessings of being such people!

What are your thoughts?