People of the Spirit?

The new "forbidden fruit" is to be so well-planned and organized that we leave no room for the Holy Spirit to move and direct us. Come to think about it, that's not "new," in fact, it's the same issue that was at the heart of Eve's curiosity about "that one tree from which we cannot eat."

Eve wanted more than what the Lord had given. She "aspired" to a greater level of knowledge, insight, and most of all - control. The serpent exploits this aspiration with something so subtle and yet so attractive for human beings - "remove the limitations of your humanity, expand your reach, remove the gap between what it is to be human and what it is to be Divine. Don't settle for letting God be God; Be like God!"

The forbidden fruit was too much of a source of ambiguity and uncertainty for the first family. "You need to plan for the future; remove the uncontrolled variables; He who fails to plan, plans to fail. No room for that! 1% of creation abiding outside of our control leaves too much to chance!"

Yet, human beings are not God! We are not created to live with complete control. We are created to live in complete dependence on God. There's certainly plenty for us to organize and plan, but to ever expect anything we do in cooperation with God to be fully planned and completely controlled is human arrogance and vanity. We plan and organize, but God has the final Word about what happens.

I think that God intentionally frustrates our plans, from time to time, just to keep us humble and open to His Sovereignty.

People of God should especially understood that our way in life is not control and human organziation. We are people of the Spirit, and of course, as witnessed to in our Scriptures, that means many things, but here's one of Jesus' interpretations of what it means to be people of the Spirit: "The wind blows where it wants to and you hear the sound of it, but you don't know where the wind comes from or where it is going. It is the same way with every one who is born of the Spirit."

The Spirit moves; I'm lost as to what's going on. So, I just let go. Let the wind take me... enjoy the ride... out of control... not knowing and uncertain... wrapped in the arms of God.

Life Without "Good Fridays"?

As I celebrate Good Friday, today, I am spending a lot of time reflecting on my understanding of what it means for someone to be "saved." I think that it's important for the people of God to constantly reflect upon and remember what, exactly, we are offering the world when we proclaim our Faith as "good news". What are we offering that will make their lives different? Why should they listen to our message?

For most of my ministry, I have believed and taught that to be "saved" means to be made whole, to be delivered from the consequences, power, and even influence of sin. I have believed and taught that to be "saved" means to attain the life that provides us protection from much of the pain, struggle, and trouble faced by others who are "outside" of the family of God. In fact, I have often believed and taught that to be "saved" means, in some sense, that we will experience fewer and fewer "good fridays" - days during which are lives are characterized by pain, disappointment, suffering, and struggle.

Today, my thoughts are different... refreshingly so. As horrible as Jesus' Good Friday was, some wonderful and powerful things were happening that have changed the course of history. On Good Friday, God died, and in dying, He was giving the highest and greatest expression of His love for us. On Good Friday, Jesus was canceling our debts and giving us an eternal opportunity for jubilee - a fresh start without debt! On Good Friday, God demonstrated that our worst days are often handy tools for the display of God's magnificent love and power (a setup for Resurrection!)! Good Friday was indeed a good day because in the midst of, in spite of, and I would add, because of the suffering of that day, God reclaimed all of creation and gave us the decisive victory over sin and death!

I believe that God wants to do the same with our own "good Fridays". I believe that our most dreadful days, our most challenging days, our most difficult days, are days when God does His best work in our lives and in the lives of people around us.

To be "saved" cannot mean, then, that we gain exemption from "good fridays", rather, to be "saved" means that we are placed into our uniquely designed role to live a life through which God accomplishes His Will and is glorified. To be "saved" means to be live a life of purpose regardless of whether you're having one of your best days or one of your worst. To be "saved" means to be forgiven, set free to live without the bondage of the past. To be "saved" means to be given the "fullness" of God Spirit so that in spite of of our "good fridays" we can live with the joy of the Resurrection!