This morning my spiritual mentor and I were chatting. I was pontificating (like I do...and like you don't have to be a pontiff to do) on a few things and that's when she dropped Matthew 7:22 and further on me. The separation of the sheep and the goats is what it gets expanded out to elsewhere.
The context of our original conversation isn't important but suffice to say that we were talking about the parts of the Bible that Christians tend to want to ignore. Like...Sin. We have to be honest and say that American Christianity overall hates sin and not in the way God hates sin. What I mean to say is that we hate talking about it, preaching about it, admitting it exists, and especially hate admitting that it even exists within our selves. But, what is the power of the Gospel at all if we don't fully recognize that we are a fallen creature who has done this to themselves, continues to do it to themselves, and justifies it almost as much as we poo poo it in our own circles. "You disrespected your spouse? Oh, honey/dude everybody does that. It's no big deal. Heck, I did it four times on my way over here. Now, if you cheated that would be totally different." Uh...actually it's not except by our own fallen creature standards. But if I continue down this route I'll be putting the miter back on my cabeza and get all pontiff on a subject I've already established it's not crucial for the sake of this post to illuminate. #MaybeTooLate
I'm going to come right out and say what I may have already stated in previous episodes... Matthew 7:22 and following scares me. It scares me right out of a dead sleep some nights. Why? Because it's Jesus talking. It being Jesus talking mean's it's GOD talking and what GOD is saying we have zero right or ability to worm our way around. It's foundational which means it's been true since the foundation of the world, in a land before time (not a kid's movie reference, thank you) whether we want to admit it or not.
There are a lot of things that can and have been said about what the sheep and the goat separation, mostly regarding what it "doesn't" mean. Often focusing on what it "doesn't" mean leads us to not pay attention to what it "does" say (Thank You, Alistair Begg) and that is a road that leads to ruin.
So, as I believe the LORD tells me from time to time, buckle up, buttercup. This is going to get rough. You're not going to like it. I don't even like it. But most things that heal us are not likeable...potent medicine, resetting bones, the application of tourniquets, cancer surgery...none of these are holiday options. So, lets take this line by line instead of scanning through.
"Many will say to me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?'" vs 22
Now here's the thing that pushed this blog post. It's a little thing. It's that first word. It's one of the scariest words in the whole of the scriptures because of its context.
Many.
It brings me absolutely not comfort and it shouldn't bring you any comfort either. Jesus isn't saying that a few, some, a goodly amount, but MANY are going to say to Him on the day of judgement, "but...but...but...we did stuff!"
These are people who clearly recognize Jesus as "Lord" and have dedicated themselves in some way to Him and His service. Barney down on the beach doesn't just prophesy for Jesus in between whiling his time away praying to Buddha and meditating on the Sutras. These "many" are for the home team. These are people swinging and fielding for Jesus, progressing to the point where they are actually prophesying, actually doing miracles, driving out DEMONS in His name, with His authority and His power. They call Him the Lord of their lives. Given this resume is it a huge leap to believe that they may have written books, taught Bible studies, headed up churches? Preached in arenas?
This is heavy. The very definition of heavy. These individuals believe they are Christians, believe they are saved, believe they are on His good side. They expected to be greeted with open arms and told, "Well done, good and faithful servant" or they wouldn't be protesting, they wouldn't be pleading their case before the judge of the living and the dead, the righteous and the wicked.
The message is compacted in the way only Jesus could, "Hey...this could be you. Look out. Don't make excuses. Don't tell me what I'm not saying. This is the deal. Guard your heart. Know your motivations. Make sure what is meant to be first is first in your life, and don't screw around with matters of your soul." We see this in His response.
"I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!" v23 b
I. Never. Knew you.
That's some cold words from someone everyone sees as loving, forgiving, and all embracing. That condemns them to Hell and that doesn't even come close to the depiction of Jesus as just a "good teacher" that the World and some in the Church want to think of Him as. There's going to come a time when He is going to tell people that the miracles they performed, the demons they drove out, and the prophesies they spoke count for nothing.
Do you know Him? Seriously, there is a vast difference between knowing about someone and knowing someone. I could read about Winston Churchill, I can read his own words, but I could never say that I know him only that I know about him. I can feel like I know him, to be sure, but that's not the same as knowing him. Interestingly the Greek word for "know" here (ginosko) is the same Greek word used for the Jewish idiom for "knowing" someone...sex. The suggestion is a deep deep intimacy with Him. "I never knew you" isn't him saying they didn't show up to church or pray. It's not a casual acquaintance "know" and in my life that's the level I used to be at with Him.
My encouragement, meager as it may be, is this: Don't take this lightly. And by "this" I mean knowing Him. We can do all the great and mighty works of God and still not know Him. I venture to say that we can even feed the poor, clothe the naked, and visit the sick and it still wouldn't count if we did not deeply intimately know Him.
Knowing you and being known by you is very high on God's list of things He wants. There are many out there who say that you can't experience God and my response is now and always, "Then WHY does He tell us to?" "Taste and See", "If I answer the door I will come in to him and sup with him", and I could go on and on. Knowing about Him isn't enough, and He says it right there in Matthew. Stop being consumed by the distractions of the world though they call to you, though you are addicted to them, though they make you so blissfully happy (and you already know which ones I'm talking about) because they are distracting you from REAL LIFE. And by REAL LIFE I mean HIM, because He says "I am the way, the truth and the life". He's not just A way or A truth. We say that all the time leaving off there and betraying our hearts. He is not A life. He is THE life. He is by His very own definition REAL LIFE. And that's heavy because I didn't realize that until right now so I'm going to pause, close the Facebook window in the background and let that sink in.
.
.
.
Wow. I've still not fully absorbed that.
It's a massive alteration which takes time. Though I'm sure my beloved Pastor is thinking, "BOOM! Yes! Got one!" because he's been trying to teach that to his congregation for YEARS and I thought I had it before, but now my vision cracked just a little bit and all that light is pouring through causing a kind of spiritual pupil constriction making me shield my spirit peepers and utter a full on Neo from the Matrix, "Woah..." It'll be a while before I can utter, "I know Kung Fu..." on this one to which I'm sure my mentor will pull the Morpheus response of a skeptical appraising look followed by the line, "Show me."
The point, in so much as I can full articulate one, is to stop your distractions. Focus on what connects to Him. He says that this very act has eternal consequences. We nod our heads along when someone quotes "...and there is no life apart from Him..." then get in our SUVs, turn on the game of the week, while playing games on our phones sitting next to our loved ones who are doing the same, and we say "Where's God?" Clear the field. Seek Him and you will find Him. How do I know? No other reason than because He says so and He is not a man that He should lie.
Pax,
Will
Showing posts with label Kingdom. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kingdom. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 5, 2017
Tuesday, June 27, 2017
The Deification of George Washington
Like many of my posts on here, I am uncomfortable with what I'm about to write. I believe that's actually part of the nature of whatever it is I do. I'm thinking, I'm questioning, I'm grabbing something and holding it up to the Lord and saying, "So, about this..." and I don't really seem to care if it's something beautiful or ugly. But then there are those days where I show something to Him that I think is benign and He says, "Uh, actually...we need to have a serious conversation about that. It's uglier than you think." And so I bring it here and share with you all for the purposes of conversation and iron sharpening iron. Today is likely to piss off some people whom I love, but that is not my intent AT ALL. So, without further ado...
Standard Disclaimer: I use this blog to express thoughts and ideas. I am not now nor am I ever trying to use it as a massive soapbox where I am all wise and you need to listen to me because you can't figure it out yourself. I often get things wrong, and I don't mind being proven wrong. I question everything including my questions. I am a growing, evolving being and in 5 minutes or 5 years I may think differently.
Now, with that out of the way, what's up with the title?
I was watching a video on Youtube the other day (I couldn't tell you which one to even link it here, I go down so many rabbit trails) and this guy was talking about how on the ceiling of the rotunda of the United States Capitol Building there is this painting called "The Apotheosis of Washington". It is a spectacular looking piece calling back to Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel. Such rich colors and symbolism, all the good stuff you think of in great paintings. The thing of it is that there is George Washington seated in the clouds surrounded by these angelic and symbolic beings, and that's fine until you realize what "apotheosis" means. It means "the elevation of someone to divine status; deification" (hence my title). The other day it was simply an oddity and a "huh...why would someone of a Christian nation in 1865 make something to represent that?" So, I'll get back to this so hold it in your mind, or bookmark it, or whatever works.
My recent growth spurt in things pertaining to the Spirit started less than a year ago with the impressing of the Lord on me to get alone. I did. I worked through some issues, forgave people I didn't even realize I needed to forgive, and He gave me a directive; to learn what it means to walk in the Spirit. Now, I'm not a master of that, but I'm getting a handle on what it means. This morning He gave me another directive; to learn what it means to be of the Kingdom.
"Kingdom" is a word i keep hearing bandied about by would be prophets, televangelists even some dietitians (there seriously is a Christian "Kingdom Diet") and so I have spent a lot of time believing it to be the new Christianese buzzword. I've had my fill of them in my nearly 40 years and just shrug them off. So, when the Lord laid it on me this morning I went, "Uh...oh...kay..." and began to think about it. I consulted my spiritual mentor and she gave me the sort of things I wasn't looking for but needed to start on my journey. It would be really nice if it all came nicely bundled up in one book with a flashy cover so I could pour over it and nod sagely will drinking my coffee, saying things like, "Oh, yes. I see now. My how foolish I've been. I am so much wiser for having read this." And that does happen from time to time. C. S. Lewis gets me in the sagely nodding mode. But, today, my first step into understanding the Kingdom wasn't "Oh, yes. I see", it was "Oh, crap. Woe is me."
When I think about Kingdoms I think about Kings. I think about rulers. I think about who belongs to a King. I think about how a King owns all that he surveys from the land to the people and how the identity of people is often bound up in who is ruling over them. Their actions, reactions, purchases, holidays, celebrations, stuff around their house often reflects their monarch. We can see this in a negative light in North Korea with the near deification of their "blessed leader" and to more nostalgic effect with the Queen of England. The royal family is still given much regard even to the point that Her Majesty is sometimes sported on tea cozies and commemorative china plates.
So, as I was making the bed, folding the laundry, and trying to avoid scrubbing the toilets (because really, who jumps into that chore with gusto?) the question was raised in my head;
"So, whose Kingdom do you belong to?"
"Well, yours Lord. Naturally."
And there was a still pause there. It was the kind of pause your parents used to employ when they knew better than you about who you are and how you act and what they asked was to get you to realize that same thing too.
I looked in my heart and what I found there was a terrible thing. I almost didn't want to pull it out and look at it. My reflex of finding a thing and talking to the Lord about it was thankfully ingrained in me enough that I did it automatically.
One can't be born and raised in the United States of America and not encounter the American Myth. By that I mean the whole explanation of where we came from, what we are meant to be, and, in many evangelical circles, they even go so far as to believe that we are the "New Chosen People" now that Israel is somehow out of favor. Don't ask me how it makes sense. I don't get it, but I was suffused, even baptized in a way, into the belief in the greatness of America, how we were destined to be God's shining city on a hill, His light in the darkness. And these men, Washington, Jefferson, Adams, Franklin, and all the rest were the greatest men of the age, men to emulate and try to live up to.
Here is my confession. I give it to you feeling a lump in my stomach and a hesitating flutter in my chest. Are you ready?
When God asked me whose Kingdom I belonged to I had to be honest and admit that I belonged not wholly to His Kingdom, but to the Kingdom of the Myth of America.
And how do I know? Because my passions, my excitement, my identity, my love, my desires are all wrapped up in the flag.
I realized in an instant that, as a Protestant, in the absence of saints I accepted Washington, Jefferson, Adams, and Franklin. I get more of a thrill, more guidance, more of my integrity, and my character from studying those men than I do when I study my Bible. Good me, exceptional men, to be sure, but I find that if I'm looking to them rather than Jesus...what am I doing?
I have believed, not consciously mind you, that the United States of America is "Jesus Inc." that we are somehow His new chosen people so of course we're fine, golden, and good. Just by being Americans we've got a spiritual leg up. Sure, other countries "have Jesus" but come on! We're the head office, the HQ, the Corporate Flagship. Those other guys are basically franchises. I mean that's why we have missionaries go out there, right?
I've swallowed hook, line, and sinker that we are right because of who we are as a nation. I mean, I know, I question all the time what we are doing in other places, I don't trust the government and that sort of thing, but there is this emotion in me, this switch that automatically goes "Yeah, but it's our flag so God is going to bless it."
When, on top of all this, the words of the Founders and the Constitution come more readily to my mind and direct more of my life than Scripture then, God forgive me, I have deified my own country. I treat those Founders as better and with even more regard (honest) even than Peter, John, Paul, Thomas, and yes, even Jesus. As great men as the Founders may have been for their age I have felt a fire for them that I haven't for the ones in the second half of the Book. As a Christian...that is messed up and I have a sneaking suspicion that I'm not alone.
What I believe God is calling me to, and I wouldn't be surprised if there were others, is a people for Himself; a people who find no identity in the world apart from Him. Because once we come to Christ all those labels are supposed to fall away ("therefore there is no...Greek, Jew, slave, free) and become as dust, all previous political or social affections are to be snuffed out, and we turn our affections to one and only one. Given the long scope of our God's focus and vision this doesn't seem too far fetched. To Him, in the span of time, our nation, though it may be made "Great Again" is dust, it's vapor, it's gone in an instant. And yet I want to cling, I want to put my affections on those symbols, on this country, on those historical figures.
Is the American Myth better than most other myths out there? Absolutely. Can believing in the American Myth make you a better Man or Woman? I believe so. But what I want to tell you is that it's a competing myth that steers our affections toward something and away from something else.
I want to emphasize that nobody told me to have this issue that I have. Nobody sat down and taught me to turn my affections toward something other that Jesus. The Greeks had Hercules and people thought it would be better for me to read about someone who actually existed and was an American. I don't fault anyone but myself in this.
I worry that we, as a whole, are like the Israelites, who knew they were special to God and believed in that to save them from the wrath, and so they worshiped other gods, other heroes, other deities in high places rather than the One to whom they belonged. I worry that we think we are so special that hearing preaching on "sin" grates on our ears even as Christians. I worry that I've become so desensitized to the Bible through familiarity that I've cast my affections elsewhere because those new things are more tangible, relatable as quasi-politic-religious icons, and I cast my faith on the System and that politics will save us rather than His might, His power.
One of the most disturbing images I've ever seen has been whenever I see a Cross or Bible draped in a flag. I never knew why it bothered me so much, but now I have an inkling. It's been a long time since I've said the "Pledge of Allegiance" because it is swearing allegiance to a flag, an inanimate object. Again, I wasn't sure why it bothered me so much, but now...
Pax,
W
Standard Disclaimer: I use this blog to express thoughts and ideas. I am not now nor am I ever trying to use it as a massive soapbox where I am all wise and you need to listen to me because you can't figure it out yourself. I often get things wrong, and I don't mind being proven wrong. I question everything including my questions. I am a growing, evolving being and in 5 minutes or 5 years I may think differently.
Now, with that out of the way, what's up with the title?
I was watching a video on Youtube the other day (I couldn't tell you which one to even link it here, I go down so many rabbit trails) and this guy was talking about how on the ceiling of the rotunda of the United States Capitol Building there is this painting called "The Apotheosis of Washington". It is a spectacular looking piece calling back to Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel. Such rich colors and symbolism, all the good stuff you think of in great paintings. The thing of it is that there is George Washington seated in the clouds surrounded by these angelic and symbolic beings, and that's fine until you realize what "apotheosis" means. It means "the elevation of someone to divine status; deification" (hence my title). The other day it was simply an oddity and a "huh...why would someone of a Christian nation in 1865 make something to represent that?" So, I'll get back to this so hold it in your mind, or bookmark it, or whatever works.
My recent growth spurt in things pertaining to the Spirit started less than a year ago with the impressing of the Lord on me to get alone. I did. I worked through some issues, forgave people I didn't even realize I needed to forgive, and He gave me a directive; to learn what it means to walk in the Spirit. Now, I'm not a master of that, but I'm getting a handle on what it means. This morning He gave me another directive; to learn what it means to be of the Kingdom.
"Kingdom" is a word i keep hearing bandied about by would be prophets, televangelists even some dietitians (there seriously is a Christian "Kingdom Diet") and so I have spent a lot of time believing it to be the new Christianese buzzword. I've had my fill of them in my nearly 40 years and just shrug them off. So, when the Lord laid it on me this morning I went, "Uh...oh...kay..." and began to think about it. I consulted my spiritual mentor and she gave me the sort of things I wasn't looking for but needed to start on my journey. It would be really nice if it all came nicely bundled up in one book with a flashy cover so I could pour over it and nod sagely will drinking my coffee, saying things like, "Oh, yes. I see now. My how foolish I've been. I am so much wiser for having read this." And that does happen from time to time. C. S. Lewis gets me in the sagely nodding mode. But, today, my first step into understanding the Kingdom wasn't "Oh, yes. I see", it was "Oh, crap. Woe is me."
When I think about Kingdoms I think about Kings. I think about rulers. I think about who belongs to a King. I think about how a King owns all that he surveys from the land to the people and how the identity of people is often bound up in who is ruling over them. Their actions, reactions, purchases, holidays, celebrations, stuff around their house often reflects their monarch. We can see this in a negative light in North Korea with the near deification of their "blessed leader" and to more nostalgic effect with the Queen of England. The royal family is still given much regard even to the point that Her Majesty is sometimes sported on tea cozies and commemorative china plates.
So, as I was making the bed, folding the laundry, and trying to avoid scrubbing the toilets (because really, who jumps into that chore with gusto?) the question was raised in my head;
"So, whose Kingdom do you belong to?"
"Well, yours Lord. Naturally."
And there was a still pause there. It was the kind of pause your parents used to employ when they knew better than you about who you are and how you act and what they asked was to get you to realize that same thing too.
I looked in my heart and what I found there was a terrible thing. I almost didn't want to pull it out and look at it. My reflex of finding a thing and talking to the Lord about it was thankfully ingrained in me enough that I did it automatically.
One can't be born and raised in the United States of America and not encounter the American Myth. By that I mean the whole explanation of where we came from, what we are meant to be, and, in many evangelical circles, they even go so far as to believe that we are the "New Chosen People" now that Israel is somehow out of favor. Don't ask me how it makes sense. I don't get it, but I was suffused, even baptized in a way, into the belief in the greatness of America, how we were destined to be God's shining city on a hill, His light in the darkness. And these men, Washington, Jefferson, Adams, Franklin, and all the rest were the greatest men of the age, men to emulate and try to live up to.
Here is my confession. I give it to you feeling a lump in my stomach and a hesitating flutter in my chest. Are you ready?
When God asked me whose Kingdom I belonged to I had to be honest and admit that I belonged not wholly to His Kingdom, but to the Kingdom of the Myth of America.
And how do I know? Because my passions, my excitement, my identity, my love, my desires are all wrapped up in the flag.
I realized in an instant that, as a Protestant, in the absence of saints I accepted Washington, Jefferson, Adams, and Franklin. I get more of a thrill, more guidance, more of my integrity, and my character from studying those men than I do when I study my Bible. Good me, exceptional men, to be sure, but I find that if I'm looking to them rather than Jesus...what am I doing?
I have believed, not consciously mind you, that the United States of America is "Jesus Inc." that we are somehow His new chosen people so of course we're fine, golden, and good. Just by being Americans we've got a spiritual leg up. Sure, other countries "have Jesus" but come on! We're the head office, the HQ, the Corporate Flagship. Those other guys are basically franchises. I mean that's why we have missionaries go out there, right?
I've swallowed hook, line, and sinker that we are right because of who we are as a nation. I mean, I know, I question all the time what we are doing in other places, I don't trust the government and that sort of thing, but there is this emotion in me, this switch that automatically goes "Yeah, but it's our flag so God is going to bless it."
When, on top of all this, the words of the Founders and the Constitution come more readily to my mind and direct more of my life than Scripture then, God forgive me, I have deified my own country. I treat those Founders as better and with even more regard (honest) even than Peter, John, Paul, Thomas, and yes, even Jesus. As great men as the Founders may have been for their age I have felt a fire for them that I haven't for the ones in the second half of the Book. As a Christian...that is messed up and I have a sneaking suspicion that I'm not alone.
What I believe God is calling me to, and I wouldn't be surprised if there were others, is a people for Himself; a people who find no identity in the world apart from Him. Because once we come to Christ all those labels are supposed to fall away ("therefore there is no...Greek, Jew, slave, free) and become as dust, all previous political or social affections are to be snuffed out, and we turn our affections to one and only one. Given the long scope of our God's focus and vision this doesn't seem too far fetched. To Him, in the span of time, our nation, though it may be made "Great Again" is dust, it's vapor, it's gone in an instant. And yet I want to cling, I want to put my affections on those symbols, on this country, on those historical figures.
Is the American Myth better than most other myths out there? Absolutely. Can believing in the American Myth make you a better Man or Woman? I believe so. But what I want to tell you is that it's a competing myth that steers our affections toward something and away from something else.
I want to emphasize that nobody told me to have this issue that I have. Nobody sat down and taught me to turn my affections toward something other that Jesus. The Greeks had Hercules and people thought it would be better for me to read about someone who actually existed and was an American. I don't fault anyone but myself in this.
I worry that we, as a whole, are like the Israelites, who knew they were special to God and believed in that to save them from the wrath, and so they worshiped other gods, other heroes, other deities in high places rather than the One to whom they belonged. I worry that we think we are so special that hearing preaching on "sin" grates on our ears even as Christians. I worry that I've become so desensitized to the Bible through familiarity that I've cast my affections elsewhere because those new things are more tangible, relatable as quasi-politic-religious icons, and I cast my faith on the System and that politics will save us rather than His might, His power.
One of the most disturbing images I've ever seen has been whenever I see a Cross or Bible draped in a flag. I never knew why it bothered me so much, but now I have an inkling. It's been a long time since I've said the "Pledge of Allegiance" because it is swearing allegiance to a flag, an inanimate object. Again, I wasn't sure why it bothered me so much, but now...
Pax,
W
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