meditation for Holy Tuesday: what is needed, a change of heart

When Jesus came and God’s kingdom in him, not only was there to be a change contradicting the world’s system, but at bottom there was to be no less than a change of heart. It does little to no good to change systems or laws when there is no change of heart corresponding.

That week Jesus was telling his disciples that they would all fall away because of what was about to happen to him. Peter denied it emphatically, showing what little he knew. The Lord corrected him, telling him that he would actually deny him three times. Peter then protested that even if he had to die with Jesus, he would never deny him.

We know what happened afterward. In the garden Jesus had told the disciples not only to watch and pray with him, but to pray that they would not fall into temptation. The disciples fell asleep, and then Jesus’ rebuke, wondering that they could not watch with him for one hour. With the warning: “The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

The Lord had told Peter that Satan had asked permission to sift all the disciples as wheat. But that Jesus had prayed for Peter. With the directive that when Peter would turn back in repentance that he should strengthen his brothers. We know how that happened. Peter does return, and then the Lord asks Peter if he loves him three times. Perhaps the change in the last of that questioning from the verb form of agape to phila love mattered. But Peter broke down in grief. This was a time of deep soul searching and transformation of heart.

Jesus came to give us a new heart. Our hearts are often hard and unmoved. We don’t want to do what we know we ought to do, or we do what we should not because our hearts are unchanged. Scripture tells us that a broken and contrite heart God will not despise. Jesus said that on the outside people can look good, while the inside can be full of evil. White washed tombs with dead people’s bones inside.

I can be slow at heart to believe and obey. It is good when one finds it joyful to obey in love. Jesus came and walked that dreadful way of the cross to give us a new heart. In his high priestly prayer, Jesus prayed just prior to his suffering, “For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.” This was a setting apart to God in sacrifice, in order that his followers would also be set apart as his followers in the same way. In heart and life.

Paul prayed that the believers might know the depths of God’s love in Jesus, that they might be filled to all the fullness of God. We are being remade in and through Jesus into the very image of God through and through. In calling and in heart.

In the end tradition tells us in keeping with Jesus’ earlier words to Peter, that Peter was to die on a cross, even as his Master, Savior and Lord had died. Peter insisted that he was not worthy, and that therefore he should be so executed on a cross, upside down. A heart which was soft, contrite, sensitive to all that is wrong not only in the world, but in one’s self.

Yes, we need a change of heart. “Change my heart oh God. Make it ever true. Change my heart oh God. May I be like You.” By Jesus and God’s love in him in and through his death for us. Together in Jesus for the world.

contrition

a broken and contrite heart
you, God, will not despise.

from Psalm 51

It is interesting, and actually rather disconcerting when one can be sailing along with little care (of course there are always deep concerns in this world) only to be hit by something unexpected which challenges one’s sense of well being in grace, I mean even one’s holiness, to the core. You’re left shaking inside, not at all reconciled to the development, realizing that you’re lost on this count. And apparently not as holy as you thought. Not that we should think that anything at all is anymore than a gift to us. But character transformation is to be occurring in Christ.

That is when it’s good to bring the matter to God in prayer and then just leave it sit. We can’t change ourselves. It is God who changes us. Of course we do change then, but that takes a working of God, nonetheless. Surely God wants us to sit with our sin, to realize our weakness and failure, indeed lostness at a certain point. And this may go on for a time. Before God gives us a certain sense in thought, conviction and movement by the Spirit toward new growth in Christ.

This all normally takes place in the context of relationships. God is interested in building up his people together because community and relationships are inherent in the God who is Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

So instead of “kicking against the goads”, I want to be willing to lay low, and be still during such times. Knowing that whatever I’m kicking against involves something that is not right nor holy in me. And that I need whatever change would come from God through Jesus in this. This can involve intervals of change, or a longer, drawn out process we’re working through. As we do so, we have this sense of God’s grace active and at work in our lives.

God does not despise a broken and contrite (or crushed, repentant) heart. Neither should we, and we should submit to God in this, and let him do his good work in our lives. In and through Jesus, together for the world.

 

falling short

Blogging for me has the nature of thinking out loud sometimes, and testing words. Most likely we all change in some ways over time in how we express things as we hopefully gain a more full and mature understanding of life and of truth. The thought here today I am especially aware of fitting into this category.

When one looks at the characters of scripture, as a rule it seems that over and over again they fall short of what they could have been. David is a classic point in case. Of course there are notable exceptions to the rule. Though little is said of Enoch, he would seem to stand as such an exception. Then of course there is Paul. God went to great lengths to keep him from becoming conceited, though Paul had a calling in which such was necessary for him. And perhaps the Lord was honoring Paul’s commitment. In the end all is a gift, and as Paul himself exclaimed, “By the grace of God I am what I am.” But are we faithful stewards of God’s gift to us?

Israel fell short, even into sin and captivity. Jesus comes and fulfills all Israel was called to be. He is the one for sure that never fell short for a moment, even if he did fall short time and time again in the eyes of the people. Expectations that are out of line with God’s will are common. We have this and that in mind as the ideal, and if people don’t measure up, they let us down, we think. But our ideal is almost certainly not God’s. And only God knows the ideal inside and out.

I don’t believe in sinless perfection, or even in a Wesleyan version of that, which I think can come much closer to the truth. We will sin, we do sin. Therefore because of that alone, we all fall short of God’s will. Yet as we walk in the light as God is in the light, we experience cleansing through Christ’s blood, and ongoing repentance in our lives as we confess our sins to God.

Jesus is the one who did not fall short. And as we continue in him individually and together, we too will be carried as well as protected, blessed to be a blessing to all. Yes, we do fall short. It is not us, but Jesus who we point others to. As we tell his story, and seek to live in his ongoing story, one that helps sinners like you and I go on and grow together in and through Jesus.

love

Today is our 26th wedding anniversary. We try to make these times special, and this time of the year cooperates in this part of the world, with lovely autumn leaves.

The love between a man and woman is a mirror of the love between God and his people, between Christ and his Bride, the Church. It is rooted in the Trinitarian love of God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit: a mutual, interpenetrating dance and union of love.

My lovely wife is my best friend in this world. And while we thank God for where we’ve arrived, where we’ve come in our relationship, we know that in a way the best part of a love relationship is not only in its fulfillment, but in its continued pursuit. We can see something of that in the magnificent poetic love story of scripture, Song of Songs.

Love means relationship in a self-sacrificial kind of way which is a free and mutual giving and receiving. We want to please the one we love, the one in whom we find delight. And there is a bond which grows stronger over time. So as to withstand the storms of life, even the inevitable faults and shortcomings in any relationship.

Every good gift is from above, a good love relationship being a most excellent gift. But love is best seen and known in and through Jesus, a love which helps us to be holy, and a holiness which helps us to love. It has been well said that marriage is designed by God to make us holy, not just happy.

I thank God for my wife. For our years together. I am blessed. And I hope through Jesus that I’m a blessing to her and will be in increasing measure, as we grow together in our love in and through Jesus. That the world might be pointed to God’s love in Jesus, even through us.

tested and tried

It’s interesting how often I am tested on a certain matter the same day I post about it on this blog. Somehow I see the devil in those details, yet I also can learn to see the Lord. The devil of course tempts us, wanting us to fall. Out of love the Lord tests us, to refine us and make us holy.

Early church desert fathers and mothers from what I understand, spent extended time in solitude and experienced much of the temptation of the devil, there. Just as our Lord did when he was tempted forty days and nights in the wilderness. Such times were times of drawing near to God, and hearing God’s voice. Followed by rich blessing for many when they returned to society. I think especially of Anthony of Egypt.

I want to finagle my way out of such times. Instead of resisting the devil and drawing near to God, I want to complain. Alright, if I pour out my complaints to God as in the psalms.

Shouldn’t I develop a new attitude toward trials? I think so. I should see them as necessary in a process of my becoming like Jesus. I need to resist the devil in all of his schemes. Learning discernment in that. And I need to draw near to God, to hear God’s voice, and learn to see his heart and hand in everything.

Tested, tried and in the end found true. For all of us, in and through Jesus, that we might become more and more like him, together for the world.

babying ourselves

As followers of Jesus, I think at times we contradict that following by babying ourselves. We are stubborn and hold our ground in areas in which the Lord wants to break and remake us in his image.

We do well to ask ourselves in what way we may be stunting our growth in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus. What sin may be keeping us back.

The key and the goal is Jesus himself by the Spirit, who leads us into conformity to him in all things. Together in Jesus for the world.

one thing at a time

If we’re honest, I think we’ll be aware of more than one fault we have, weakness, or propensity to weakness, sin which so easily overtakes us. Of course if we’re aware of more than one sin we committed during the course of a day, we need to confess them to God, and to anyone we offended. Best at the time when we commit them. But I am thinking now of areas in which we are aware that we are weak, or need spiritual growth.

I think the Lord wants to work with us on one thing at a time. He is not limited as we are, so that he is at work in our lives in all things, no doubt. But we are naturally aware of one matter at a time. So that we need to be open to the Lord’s revelation to us of our sin, and of his goal for us. I’m reminded of the prayer of the psalmist that God would search them and know their heart, test them and know their anxious thoughts, and see if any offense lies in them, and lead them in the way everlasting.

When the Lord searches us, as we remain open, he helps us get to the root of our sin. It is always a sin against God and often against our neighbor in which love is lacking. Since the first and greatest commandment is to love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength, and the second, like it is to love our neighbor as ourselves, we can be sure that all sin is somehow a violation of the love God calls us to live in and live out.

We simply need to be open. And aware. God will not overwhelm us. In his grace he brings us along as his dearly loved children in and through Jesus. Guiding us by his gentle and loving Spirit. Into all truth, to be lived out in and through the Truth, Jesus. With each other, and for the world.

mixed motives

I was once challenged on my old blog as to why I do what I do, as in blogging, I think. Indeed, while the question stung, it has made me think. Christian Tradition is settled in the belief that in this life our hearts are not entirely pure. Yes, we are being changed in Jesus and made holy no less. There indeed is a cleansing through the blood, Jesus’ death applied,  which continues to happen, as we walk in the light as Jesus is in the light. And a purifying which can come so to speak, by fire.

Jesus does not let us off the hook easily. Some want to think the New Testament is easier on people than the Old Testament, because of God’s grace coming to full fruition there in Jesus. But Jesus plumbs right to the depths of the heart, and holds nothing back. Jesus is concerned with both grace and truth. And the New Testament follows suit. To be angry with a brother or sister is to be in danger of judgment, and to hate a sister or brother is to be a murderer in one’s heart. To lust after a woman (or man) other than one’s spouse is to commit adultery or immorality in one’s heart.

This is not to say that the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible is not concerned about matters of the heart. It most certainly is. Psalm 51 makes that abundantly clear, as well as in other places. But the new covenant promised, brings with it a new heart. One that is holy preeminently in love. Not just holy in some false way we may view holiness. Often rigid, impersonal, rule oriented, easily given to pride, legalistic and destructive. But a holiness which is rooted in no less than the love of God. Deeply loving God with everything, and deeply loving each other from the heart, as well as loving our neighbor as ourselves. Love, from the love of God found in Jesus and given by the Spirit. Jesus said that everything written in the Law and the Prophets hangs on the commands to love God with all one’s heart, soul and mind.

So on the one hand mixed motives may be a part of life in the here and now in our process of becoming holy, and more and more like Jesus. After all, we haven’t arrived. But neither are mixed motives to be accepted. We have freedom in Jesus not to get all hung up in this, so that we lose all joy and are constantly haranguing ourselves or looking for what is wrong to the nth degree. And yet in that freedom, we are to be attentive to what indeed might be wrong. Regularly praying through a scripture passage like Psalm 51. As we seek to maintain our focus on Jesus, and the goal in him of God’s kingdom being realized in our lives, and out through us into the lives of others in and through Jesus.

Christopher J. H. Wright on our lives mattering first, then our words

…the mission of God’s people in the Bible is to be the people whom God created us to be and to do the things that God calls us to do. We have a life to live, and if we are not living as God’s people, there is not much point saying anything.

However, we are, of course, also called to speak up and to speak out. There is a message to be communicated. There is a word to be heard. There is truth to be known and passed on. There is good news to be shared!

Christopher J. H. Wright, The Mission of God’s People: A Biblical Theology of the Church’s Mission (Biblical Theology for Life), 149.

training ourselves unto godliness

Paul tells Timothy that while physical training has some value, godliness has value for all things both in the present, and in the age to come. Value for all things.

Godliness carries the meaning of being like God in character. Theologians have spoken of God’s communicable attributes, in others words those aspects of God’s character which he has created, and now recreates in Jesus, in us humans. In Jesus by God’s grace through faith we enter into new life. Of course we have to grow in this new life. From no less than infant stage toward full maturity in Christ. This is actually meant to be a joint venture, not a lone one. We are in this together with others. And yet we are responsible as individuals first for ourselves. Babies need help, as do toddlers. But there comes a time when more and more a person is on their own. There is the so-called age of accountability. And as an adult, each is expected to carry their own load, as a rule. Helping and receiving help when needed.

Do we think in terms of godliness? In other words, do we measure our thoughts, attitudes, spirit, words, deeds, aspirations, goals, etc., by whether or not they are godly? Or is something less than that driving us? Do we have understanding as to something of what godliness is, what it is like, what characteristics are part of it, what its source is, what really constitutes godliness?

Jesus gets at the essence of it when he lets us in on the first and greatest commandment along with the second that is like it: to love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength, and to love our neighbor as ourselves. Everything else is said to hang on these commands. So love out of a pure heart, with a good conscience, and a sincere faith, as we read elsewhere, this is the goal to which all of us in Jesus are to aspire.

Training carries with it the idea of surmounting difficulties, getting to the place where we are more than conquerors through Jesus who loved us. The latter thought comes in the context of understanding the great salvation that is ours in Jesus (Romans 8). Training itself involves understanding, and it involves a faith that is active, seeking God’s face and his will for our lives in Jesus. Endeavoring, however clumsily, to learn to walk in his way. In following Jesus.

Of course this takes time. And yet as we begin on it, God will help us, no matter what the obstacles. In fact the obstacles can end up being the means used by God to make us stronger in our faith, in our trust and confidence in God and his promises to us in Jesus. Not just for us, but together in Jesus for the world.