Reflections of '11

The more we see our frailty and lack of perfection the greater we see our need for Jesus Christ! 

Therefore will I glory in my weaknesses...that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

I love to reflect upon the lessons of the year as it comes to close. It is a little earlier than usual but time has been granted for it now. The couple sentences with which I opened this post I'd have to say has been the one of the greatest lessons Christ kept ringing in my spiritual ears and heart. 

You'd think that EVENTUALLY we'd get this Christian walk, right? But no. We have programs, 7 Steps to..., rules, self-help tips, do-it-yourself books, ____ for Dummies, etc. Got the gist of the idea? You know, God must just die laughing at some of our attempts to achieve righteousness. This reminds me of a Ministry I receive a newsletter from:

"I have come to have a love-hate relationship with theology. I love it because it can deepen one’s faith, helping people to rejoice more because they understand and know God better (Jer. 9:24). There is nothing more exciting than the look on peoples’ faces when they are being theologically transformed. It is the “wow, this is really true” look. I live for that both in myself and in others. 

The theologically dangerous have no grace. They get some right answers and then become the judge, jury and executioner of people. What should have been the path toward humility turns into the path of arrogance. Their self-justification for their graceless belligerence is this: “I am not arrogant, I am discerning.” Correct theology becomes a virtue that swallows up virtues of tenderness, grace, respect, and kindness, offering only a black hole of hopelessness unless people conform. Those who come in contact with them are judged only by their statement of faith. Their fellowship circle is small and friends few. The distinction between essentials and non-essentials does not find a place in their diary. They hunt and hunt for bad theology until they find it. They correct others with pride." from:Reclaiming the Mind

Why is it that we have this itch that WE must do SOMETHING to obtain our salvation? We strive, fight and war...with good intentions but with the wrong 'power'.  Which brings to mind something Josh Harris said: "...we had some good motivation behind our guidelines. But we were pursuing holiness divorced from an understanding of what Jesus had accomplished for us.   This is the essence of legalism. Often we think of legalism as applying the wrong set of rules. But that's not necessarily true. Legalism is using any set of rules-bad rules, good rules, even God's laws-in a wrong way. In his book The Cross Centered Life, C.J. Mahaney writes, "Legalism is seeking to achieve forgiveness from God and acceptance by God through my obedience to God." ….Christ died to set us free from the tyranny of all our human contracts, which seek to make us righteous before Him. The law, and our obedience of it, could never make us righteous. It only reveals how sinful we are and how incapable of caging by ourselves. The law is a huge signpost pointing out the face we need a Savior.” The work of the flesh may give temporary ‘victory’ but not lasting for sure. Therefore, we will either experience this temporary success or end up puffed up in pride of our achievement. He goes on to say, “ An important part of stand firm in the gospel and avoiding legalism is understanding the difference between the work Christ accomplished to save us (justification) and the work of becoming holy that He enables us to participate in (sanctification) after we’ve been saved.” These two words, “have everything to do with God’s plan for changing sinners like you and me. … The process of sanctification is the result of being justified. Nothing we do in our pursuit of holiness ads to our justification.”

 There is no method to the Christian life. This is exactly what the Scribes and Pharisees were gotten onto by Jesus. To them they thought there was some formula, some amount of keeping the law (and plus) to obtain their way into heaven. It is Jesus and Jesus alone. The more we see our frailty and lack of perfection the greater we see our need for Jesus Christ. Paul expounds on this in 2 Corinthians 12: 7-10:  

And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

It is nothing of ourselves which we could ever do to achieve any amount of success and victories for Christ. For it is surely then that we become a stench to His nostrils. We through our actions in reality spit in His face and pronounce, 'You're not enough to make me fit for Your kingdom.' We know not the power of Christ which could be made manifest because we're too occupied trying to find a solution to our inadequacies. 

"For freedom Christ has set us free: stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery." Galatians 5:1 Strive, fight and battle not to work out your own salvation in your own strength. He is more than capable to grant His strength to carry you through whatever shortcomings/weaknesses you may have. He may not remove whatever thorn you've been 'blessed' by for the greater glory which is to be made manifest in Christ through your life. It is a daily, moment by moment relationship with Jesus which keeps us on bended knee. Really, it is a VERY good thing.