I was having a discussion with a few friends of mine over the last few days. One of these men is my best friend from high school. He lives in Tanzania and has work most his adult life with the peace corps and with USAID. The other man is a quite successful business man. He is in real estate and owns a business with about a dozen franchises. That’s pretty big bucks. As we were talking one of the men said, “I am a generally good person”, and in fact, he probably is generally a pretty nice guy with good values.
It is funny the topic of religion was brought up by them and not me. Bringing up religion is not something the follower of Jesus really needs to do very often. I find everywhere I go people are constantly bringing up religion. I go to lunch with non-christians every day, and I never bring up religion. Nonetheless, the topic is probably the most dominant of all topics. I can even say, “Now, I didn’t bring this up ya know” and, at their initiation, launch into some scripture filled explanation of the beauty of the cross of Christ.
Anyway, so this man contends that he is a pretty good guy generally speaking. I would bet that he is, in fact, much "nicer" than I am. In fact, by the world’s standards, I am not particularly nice at all. It is this not being nice that constantly surfaces the religious questions people have. My rich friend's statement about being a generally good person was a natural self defense against my answer to another question he had asked.
The Conversation
“So what have you been doing lately?”, he asked. As you will see simple warm and pleasant conversations just tend to touch upon kingdom principles sooner or later.
“Yeah, we just moved into our new house”, I said.
“We just got a new house too. We live in La Canada. I bought my mom and dad’s house on Nice Street. Does your mom still live in Newport.”
“No, she has moved a few times. She has done pretty well for herself. From Newport to Corona del Mar to San Marino to Altadena and now she cashed out and lives in a Condo in Old town.”
“Same with us, with housing prices going up and all, we have done real well.”
“Yeah, Jane and I are looking to do some down grading. I have a vision I call from Cerritos to Compton. We started in Artesia (which is near Cerritos and is a pretty upper middle class neighborhood) and now we down graded to Bellflower. The goal is to live as simply as possible until it feels very natural to move our family to Compton or some similar underdeveloped area. Part of being a Christian is to live as simply as possible to be a witness against materialism and to be free to give sacrificially, but at the same time we struggle to perfectly live out the vision.”
“Our company does some charity work. Last year we raised 100,000 dollars for local charities.”
“That’s good money.”
“So you believe that only Christians go to heaven? I am a generally good person.”
Now, analyzing this actual conversation. From whence on God’s green earth did that question come from bout only Christians going to heaven? Well, the fact is it naturally came as a self defense from the conversation. I made a statement about my view of righteousness. Saying that my vision is to live simply. I am intentionally implying that simplicity is a virtue and that to walk with God one must seek virtue. In order to enter the kingdom, our righteousness must exceed that of the successful in life even the successful people who cloth their self-centered pursuits in religious clothing. All of this perspective is behind my natural and smooth flowing discussion about life. But such a subtext, told in story but not yet explained in principle, puts this rich man on the defensive. Without even being aware of it, his inner person is saying, “He seeks to be simple and I just spent $40,000 on a kitchen remodel”.
To his question, I answered, “It is not what I believe that matters, but Jesus did say, 'It is easier for a camel to get through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.'”
Now this answer might not be the best. The best answer might be (probably is) what Jesus said in a similar situation and which I have only thought of in retrospect. Maybe, I should have said, “Would you like to go to heaven?” Hopefully, he would answer. “Well I imagine it is better than the alternative.” Or maybe, a healthy American, “yes”. To this Jesus, I think, would reply, “If you want to go to heaven (inherit eternal life) then sell all your possessions and give them to the poor and follow me.” Or in our case, “Sell all your possessions and give to the poor and become a follower of Jesus, and, today, you will enter a new life that will be indestructible even by death.”
This is the proper call to salvation for these friends of mine. This call of salvation is quite different than the call we have been taught, but it is how Jesus, our Lord and Teacher, our only teacher and leader, would have addressed my friends. This is how Jesus addresses all of us today.
Today, is the day of salvation, and, apart from any work, we can have His kingdom today. Today, if we hear His voice and if we do not harden our hearts, we can enter the kingdom. The prophet, Jesus, speaks to us today. He stands and says, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is within reach, today!!”.
Lord, grant us courage and power to live this life today. Let your power and your life and your faith fill our hearts and minds that we may know life and have a witness to Your present kingdom and the life of following the King of Kings - a life that is truly called "blessed".
God Bless,
brad
tags: materialism; Kingdom of God; Gospel; emerging; emerging church; House Church; religion; Christianity
Showing posts with label Generosity. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Generosity. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 18, 2006
Friday, February 04, 2005
The Global Village and Materialism
This morning I was worshipping to the song "What I Have Vowed" by Matt Redman of the CD "Heart of Worship". This is IT.
All I have vowed I will make good.
My life is not my own. No longer my own.
Living now for you.
Everything I think. Everything I do is for You.
Our Christianity has made us free to make these dread filled choices to take up our cross and make difficult sacrifices. We choose between HIM and us. As the world becomes more fragmented and alienating, such choices become more accentuated and crisis laden. The modern world pulls me to self preservation and fortress laden isolation. I am blessed with a dread-filled choice to obey. The modern notion was that this choice was a turn from the chaos of the world into the piety of individual sanctification and experience, BUT a more balanced and biblical theology sees the refuge being in both the Lord and His people. Instead of resisting the modern world, I applaud the increase of the complexity of life that is brought about by human freedom in the context of human fallenness. As the human condition becomes more free, the dread and difficulty of exercising this freedom will increase the psychological stress people actually experience. This dread is the experience of human freedom. So, as human freedom flourishes, the church can shine ever brighter as the place of refuge and safety. So, I stand pledging my obedience in the difficult modern world of infinite possibility.
One of the great and dreadful choices we must make is the choice to give freely.
Jesus beckons us with these words,
19"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20"But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; 21for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 22"The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light. 23"But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! 24"No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other You cannot serve God and wealth."
The Meaning of the Term Treasure
Many argue that this word treasure means to have affection. Therefore, the saying “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth” would be interpreted to mean “Do not have affections for the things of the earth”. Verse 21 would then mean, “Where your affection is there is your heart also”.
But this interpretation actually makes no sense of the passage and in fact is a very "platonic" and even "Gnostic" way of looking at the passage. First to say that where our affection is there is or heart is tautological. The saying reveals no new content. Of course where my affection is there is my heart. This interpretation is basically saying that where your heart is there is your heart. So the need then is to discern your heart in order to be able to discern our heart. NO!!! We discern our heart not through self-examination of our motives but we discern our heart by our observable fruit.
When Jesus says "do not store up treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy", He speaking of the physical vulnerability and transient nature of this thing called treasures. It is far more natural to interpret treasures literally as earthly treasures or earthly wealth or luxury items. Now, Jesus' saying means the following, "Do not store up for yourself wealth and luxury items, for where your wealth is there is your heart. Instead become wealthy in God’s economy."
My friends, you know a tree by its fruit. Daily, we make choices. Make friends with earthly wealth or hoard this wealth. Give to everyone who asks or be close handed. You cannot serve and strive for earthly wealth and also strive for heavenly wealth. The dreadful choice remains until the end of the age. The poor we will always have with us. The poor remain for our good and sanctification. The poor force us to make the dreadful choice of sacrifice. Do not be deceived. Where you treasures are there is your heart also.
1 John 3:16-18 says it this way,
16We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. 17But whoever has the world's goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him? 18Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth.
The poor are in our global village and before us daily. This global reality makes the possibilities more and more ever before us. The complexity of society and the information age has made us more responsible to our global neighbor. As the opportunities increase so too the responsibility of our freedom and the dread and difficulty of our decisions. We are not allowed to see the world and not give. If we do, the love of God is not in us. Again, the external storing of our treasures as opposed to the free surrender and sacrifice of our treasures, our material possessions, is the test of our hearts.
Jesus presents this choice before us as essential to following Him. Such expressions of love with wisdom is vital to the display of the Moral Perfections of God through His people.
The global village and the expansion of freedom makes such choices more available and our opportunity for the Glory of God more ever present.
God Bless,
brad
All I have vowed I will make good.
My life is not my own. No longer my own.
Living now for you.
Everything I think. Everything I do is for You.
Our Christianity has made us free to make these dread filled choices to take up our cross and make difficult sacrifices. We choose between HIM and us. As the world becomes more fragmented and alienating, such choices become more accentuated and crisis laden. The modern world pulls me to self preservation and fortress laden isolation. I am blessed with a dread-filled choice to obey. The modern notion was that this choice was a turn from the chaos of the world into the piety of individual sanctification and experience, BUT a more balanced and biblical theology sees the refuge being in both the Lord and His people. Instead of resisting the modern world, I applaud the increase of the complexity of life that is brought about by human freedom in the context of human fallenness. As the human condition becomes more free, the dread and difficulty of exercising this freedom will increase the psychological stress people actually experience. This dread is the experience of human freedom. So, as human freedom flourishes, the church can shine ever brighter as the place of refuge and safety. So, I stand pledging my obedience in the difficult modern world of infinite possibility.
One of the great and dreadful choices we must make is the choice to give freely.
Jesus beckons us with these words,
19"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20"But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; 21for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 22"The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light. 23"But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! 24"No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other You cannot serve God and wealth."
The Meaning of the Term Treasure
Many argue that this word treasure means to have affection. Therefore, the saying “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth” would be interpreted to mean “Do not have affections for the things of the earth”. Verse 21 would then mean, “Where your affection is there is your heart also”.
But this interpretation actually makes no sense of the passage and in fact is a very "platonic" and even "Gnostic" way of looking at the passage. First to say that where our affection is there is or heart is tautological. The saying reveals no new content. Of course where my affection is there is my heart. This interpretation is basically saying that where your heart is there is your heart. So the need then is to discern your heart in order to be able to discern our heart. NO!!! We discern our heart not through self-examination of our motives but we discern our heart by our observable fruit.
When Jesus says "do not store up treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy", He speaking of the physical vulnerability and transient nature of this thing called treasures. It is far more natural to interpret treasures literally as earthly treasures or earthly wealth or luxury items. Now, Jesus' saying means the following, "Do not store up for yourself wealth and luxury items, for where your wealth is there is your heart. Instead become wealthy in God’s economy."
My friends, you know a tree by its fruit. Daily, we make choices. Make friends with earthly wealth or hoard this wealth. Give to everyone who asks or be close handed. You cannot serve and strive for earthly wealth and also strive for heavenly wealth. The dreadful choice remains until the end of the age. The poor we will always have with us. The poor remain for our good and sanctification. The poor force us to make the dreadful choice of sacrifice. Do not be deceived. Where you treasures are there is your heart also.
1 John 3:16-18 says it this way,
16We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. 17But whoever has the world's goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him? 18Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth.
The poor are in our global village and before us daily. This global reality makes the possibilities more and more ever before us. The complexity of society and the information age has made us more responsible to our global neighbor. As the opportunities increase so too the responsibility of our freedom and the dread and difficulty of our decisions. We are not allowed to see the world and not give. If we do, the love of God is not in us. Again, the external storing of our treasures as opposed to the free surrender and sacrifice of our treasures, our material possessions, is the test of our hearts.
Jesus presents this choice before us as essential to following Him. Such expressions of love with wisdom is vital to the display of the Moral Perfections of God through His people.
The global village and the expansion of freedom makes such choices more available and our opportunity for the Glory of God more ever present.
God Bless,
brad
Tuesday, February 01, 2005
The Cost of Morally Beautiful Community - Treasures on Earth - Part 1
There is a discussion going on at the Dialogical Coffee House about politics and the role of the Christian. I do not know politics. I am not wise. But I do know how to live in freedom. The presence of Jesus - this I know. The following series of posts is my take on the path to cultural renewal.
I fear as I write on the subject of materialism and the cost of discipleship, I will lose some of my readers. Blogging is a hard medium to explain the nuances of biblical ethics. So, I ask you to bear with me. The church and all of us have a dream put in our hearts that is calling us to live in our true humanity and in the footsteps of Jesus. I am going to begin the discussion with a story from my youth. I have known the reality of freedom as a single man, and I seek to learn this reality as a father and a husband. The principles are the same though the specific application must be different. Over time, I will distill the ethical principles and seek to live it out and, by the grace of God, offer up "something beautiful for God".
Yes, "I have had enough of romantic love and I again am gonna give it up for a miracle"..the miracle of the morally beautiful life and the end of it all. The end of it all - the morally beautiful community that is in His mind. It is time to "see His thoughts take shape and walk right out".
The Cost of Discipleship
But what is the cost of seeing such a dream take shape. "The foxes have holes and the bird of the air have nests but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head". All of the Words of Jesus come together and place us in crisis. Freedom is the faith to walk into obedience without fear. So few believers know the freedom of entering the story of the Son of Man who has no where to lay his head. But I have a story...and this story is being revived as the challenge of living something beautiful for God places us in the crisis we need if we are to become free to feed.
Free to Feed
When I was about 26 or 27, I lived in a Christian community in downtown Anaheim. I was the leader of this community with another young man. There was about 5 of us single men who were all college educated but had been taken by the story of the kingdom. We functioned as a recovery home and had about 5-6 other men living with us who needed deliverance from life controlling addictions. The ministry was wonderful. I often say those years were one continual prayer meeting. We attended the Anaheim Vineyard. I was on staff and ran the Benevolence Ministry.
One day while I was praying from the Book of Luke, I remember reading this passage of the rich young ruler, Luke 18:21-22. The rich young ruler responding to Jesus question about his obedience to the commandments says,
"All these things I have kept from my youth." 22When Jesus heard this, He said to him, "One thing you still lack; sell all that you possess and distribute it to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me."
I decided I wanted to find out what this passage meant. So I took my one possession other than my clothes and my guitar, my truck, and I drove to my parent's business. I dropped the truck off and took a bus ride back to Anaheim.
I remember that bus ride home. I was never so happy in my entire life. What is it about choosing to live the dream that creates a cathartic experience of freedom and hope and joy? For the next few years...I walked most everywhere. I met many people and had fantastic success in ministry.
Mother Teresa has a phrase that I absolutely love, "Gospel Poverty". She says that the world has millions or even billions of poor people who are there in poverty because of the sinfulness of the world we live in. But, we, the "sisters of charity", we live in poverty because Christ has set us free and set us to be the Gospel to the world. We are kings and princes, and yet, we come down to live incarnationally with and in the suffering of the poor. We identify with the suffering of the world and quench the thirst of Christ for souls. Mother Teresa was free to feed. She wept at he feet of Jesus and, by grace, offered up something beautiful for God.
Today, I have six children and one wife and many responsibilities. BUT I AM STILL CALLED TO GOSPEL POVERTY. I, and you, are still called to live as the Love of God for the poor of the world. We are all called to make our lives something beautiful for God. This beauty and freedom is the dream of the kingdom, and there is no freedom until we give up our romantic notions of love and step out and give shape to the Words of God and the compassion of Christ.
The next series of posts are going to look deeply, and hopefully in a balanced way, at what it means to step into freedom and live for the Love of God ALONE.
God Bless,
brad
I fear as I write on the subject of materialism and the cost of discipleship, I will lose some of my readers. Blogging is a hard medium to explain the nuances of biblical ethics. So, I ask you to bear with me. The church and all of us have a dream put in our hearts that is calling us to live in our true humanity and in the footsteps of Jesus. I am going to begin the discussion with a story from my youth. I have known the reality of freedom as a single man, and I seek to learn this reality as a father and a husband. The principles are the same though the specific application must be different. Over time, I will distill the ethical principles and seek to live it out and, by the grace of God, offer up "something beautiful for God".
Yes, "I have had enough of romantic love and I again am gonna give it up for a miracle"..the miracle of the morally beautiful life and the end of it all. The end of it all - the morally beautiful community that is in His mind. It is time to "see His thoughts take shape and walk right out".
The Cost of Discipleship
But what is the cost of seeing such a dream take shape. "The foxes have holes and the bird of the air have nests but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head". All of the Words of Jesus come together and place us in crisis. Freedom is the faith to walk into obedience without fear. So few believers know the freedom of entering the story of the Son of Man who has no where to lay his head. But I have a story...and this story is being revived as the challenge of living something beautiful for God places us in the crisis we need if we are to become free to feed.
Free to Feed
When I was about 26 or 27, I lived in a Christian community in downtown Anaheim. I was the leader of this community with another young man. There was about 5 of us single men who were all college educated but had been taken by the story of the kingdom. We functioned as a recovery home and had about 5-6 other men living with us who needed deliverance from life controlling addictions. The ministry was wonderful. I often say those years were one continual prayer meeting. We attended the Anaheim Vineyard. I was on staff and ran the Benevolence Ministry.
One day while I was praying from the Book of Luke, I remember reading this passage of the rich young ruler, Luke 18:21-22. The rich young ruler responding to Jesus question about his obedience to the commandments says,
"All these things I have kept from my youth." 22When Jesus heard this, He said to him, "One thing you still lack; sell all that you possess and distribute it to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me."
I decided I wanted to find out what this passage meant. So I took my one possession other than my clothes and my guitar, my truck, and I drove to my parent's business. I dropped the truck off and took a bus ride back to Anaheim.
I remember that bus ride home. I was never so happy in my entire life. What is it about choosing to live the dream that creates a cathartic experience of freedom and hope and joy? For the next few years...I walked most everywhere. I met many people and had fantastic success in ministry.
Mother Teresa has a phrase that I absolutely love, "Gospel Poverty". She says that the world has millions or even billions of poor people who are there in poverty because of the sinfulness of the world we live in. But, we, the "sisters of charity", we live in poverty because Christ has set us free and set us to be the Gospel to the world. We are kings and princes, and yet, we come down to live incarnationally with and in the suffering of the poor. We identify with the suffering of the world and quench the thirst of Christ for souls. Mother Teresa was free to feed. She wept at he feet of Jesus and, by grace, offered up something beautiful for God.
Today, I have six children and one wife and many responsibilities. BUT I AM STILL CALLED TO GOSPEL POVERTY. I, and you, are still called to live as the Love of God for the poor of the world. We are all called to make our lives something beautiful for God. This beauty and freedom is the dream of the kingdom, and there is no freedom until we give up our romantic notions of love and step out and give shape to the Words of God and the compassion of Christ.
The next series of posts are going to look deeply, and hopefully in a balanced way, at what it means to step into freedom and live for the Love of God ALONE.
God Bless,
brad
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