the cross and the crown

The way of Jesus is found in the following words - Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.


In these words we discover both a cross and a crown. A cross in that Jesus did not cling to what was rightfully His. A cross in that Jesus relinquished His rights to self-exaltation and self-determination. A cross in that the pathway of God led through suffering and death. We also find a crown. The Father gave Jesus a name above every name; a supreme authority. All creation recognizes the supremacy of Christ.

However, the crown came only because of the cross. Satan tempted Jesus to take a shortcut to glory - Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.” Ah yes...the glory without the cross. How appealing to our self-perserving nature!

If we are followers of Jesus, we can expect His example to be our own road map. The image of God within us yearns for greatness and glory. However, that glory can only be achieved by yielding to God's ways. We continually face the temptation to grasp at the glory without yielding to the work and the ways of God. Satan still offers a similitude of glory without needing to go through the cross; a glory that allows us to choose our own cross (which incidentally is not a cross at all) instead of allowing God to determine our cross. Far too often the appealing offer of the crown without the cross entices us and we yield to the way of self-preservation.

As a result we are left bowing to Satan. We may have an appearance of glory but it is but a hollow empty shell compared to the power and authority granted by the Father as we embrace the death to self that following Jesus requires. We hustle and bustle with great gusto in an effort to look important. All our efforts, however, are rather empty with no real power to bring any kind of transformation.

There are no shortcuts to glory, no easy way to authority. Unless we submit to the Father's ways we can never truly wear a crown. The cross and the crown cannot be separated 

prophets

In the Old Testament we discover prophets with strange names (to us) speaking to God’s people. Usually their writings were simply titled by their name. They were an eclectic bunch. Amos was a breeder of sheep. Hosea married a prostitute. Some are identified by their father – Joel the son of Pethuel. One, Jeremiah, was the son of a priest.


Each of them has one thing in common. Their words are passionate. Passionate in the way they pointed out where the people of God had left the ways of God. Passionate as they communicated the heart of God and His love toward His people.

One other thing they hold in common. While they spoke for God, they largely operated outside the religious and political systems of the day. They spoke to the systems and the people within the systems but they were not really connected to the systems.

Why would God not choose priests or kings to be His prophets? I am convinced that it is difficult if not impossible to speak prophetically to those who write your paycheck. The human nature subtly tempers the prophetic voice if it is pointed at the ones who give us a sense of security. So God gave His words to those who would clearly communicate them, to those who were not tied to a religious or political system. Might it still be the same today?

conversation

The stillness of the early morning allows for the mind and heart to be clear. That occured again early this morning in the barn with the cows. My mind wandered through a number of conversations that I either observed or in which I participated in the past weeks. Our conversations reveal a good deal about the condition of our heart, about the paradigms to which we hold.

There was the conversation in my truck almost two weeks ago. The Vice President of Reasearch and Development in the company for which I work spent an afternoon with me. We talked about cattle nutrition, our dreams, and life in general. All the while the theme of the kingdom of God wove its way throughout the conversation. There was a conversation yesterday with Karisa at breakfast. We discussed the brokenness we encounter in the world; sin and how we so often miss the good things God has for us. Last weekend our conversation with Justin touched on community and seeing people for the way they really are. These were kingdom conversations, all dealing with issues in the realm of God. They were heart conversations with deep emotions present in every interaction.

I also observed conversations in the past several weeks, conversations between Christians. Please do not hear what I am going to say as criticism. I am simply sharing my observations. These conversations were much more shallow. There was much talk about the church service, the quality of worship, and various programs. Lest you think I am being critical, I must confess that for many years of my walk with God, these themes dominated my interaction with God and with others.

In the stillness of the morning this morning, my mind reflected on these various conversations. I had to wonder if perhaps our fascination with the trappings of church provide a cheap substitute for the real thing. Might we be too consumed with the success of our churches that we are missing the point? Might the activities of church be a replacement of the more important things in the kingdom of God? As Jesus put it - the weightier matters of justice, mercy, and faith.

community

We spent this weekend in South Carolina at Clemson with Justin where he is enrolled in the PhD program. Friday evening he and his friends took us to Bluegrass and Barbecue for dinner followed by a visit to Nick's, a hole in the wall bar in downtown Clemson. Justin's friends are an eclectic group. They are all graduate students. Their political views, religious beliefs, and value systems are from every end of the spectrum, from Catholic to agnostic, from liberal to conservative, from Christian to pagan. However, the camaradorie in the group was evident. They freely discuss their differences without need to condemn.

As we discussed his friends with Justin, he made the following statement - "I like my friends, they are all broken". For the most part they understand their imperfections and the places where their life falls short. Instead of hiding behind a mask of goodness, they dare to be open. Without a doubt, some are more transparent than others, personality plays a role. However, there is little posturing. Justin spoke of the difficulty that will come when the time comes for each of them to move on to another place in life. He spoke of community like he never experienced before, community that he confessed could move him to tears with the depth of relationships.

As I reflect on our interaction with Hampton, Erin, Frank, Lori, Justin, and Trenti, I got the sense that Jesus would have been comfortable with them. It is the way it should be.  

hazards on the journey

And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. He spoke this word openly.

Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him. But when He had turned around and looked at His disciples, He rebuked Peter, saying, “Get behind Me, Satan! For you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.”


I find this exchange between Jesus and Peter rather fascinating. Jesus clearly outlined to those close to Him the road on which He was travelling. From the perspective of looking back through history, it seems odd that Peter would rebuke Jesus for embracing the Father's plan. While Jesus spoke of sacrifice, of dying, He also spoke of a miraculous life-giving resurrection.

For some reason Peter apparently never heard the words about resurrection. Why? I think it is because Peter's personal agenda for Jesus did not mesh with Jesus' words. Instead of hearing the voice of the Father in Jesus' words, Peter rejected the plan of God due to his lack of understanding the ways of God. Not only did he reject the plan of God, in his choice to disregard the hand of God, he became a voice for the counsel of Satan.

Unfortunately, the "Peter syndrome" still occurs today. Bev and I have noticed that every time that we have made a dramatic change in our lives in order to follow Jesus, good people have come out of the woodwork to oppose the change. They are not bad people, they simply have no understanding of the work of God. Due to the fact that they interpret life through their own humanistic lens, they can quickly become the accusatory voice of the enemy.

If you are going to follow Jesus, not only in word, but in action, expect this to happen. Look at the words of Jesus - Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also. 

From the perspective of looking back through time, we know that Peter eventually "got it". His mistake was not an eternal mistake. And so it is today. Set your face to follow Jesus. You will be opposed (and sometimes by those close to you) but be of good cheer - resurrection is coming! The opposition by good people does not last forever.     

simplicity

Recently Bev began the process of preparing to move. In the midst of sorting through stuff she came across keepsakes from our wedding. Among the items she found a bulletin from the wedding. As I looked over the format of the wedding service, a song by Don Francisco caught my attention. I had not heard the song in many years. I opened Youtube and typed the song into the search engine. Sure enough I found it.

That song stirred my memory about a number of other songs by Don Francisco. I spent the next 30 minutes or so listening to those songs. There was something innocent and pure in the lyrics and the music. It was refreshing, the simplicity of the words and music spoke of an innocence lost. The songs took me to a place many years ago, a time when I discovered God.

In many ways my journey with God was mirrored in the progression of "Christian" music in the past several decades. The innocence and simplicity got lost in the effort to be "cutting edge". It became more about performance and less about issues of the heart. The clutter and noise of a performance mentality gradually drowned the melody of simplicity from the heart of God.

Fortunately the alive heart can only put up with the external clamor for so long until it longs deeply to be heard. For the past years, I have been on a journey of returning to simplicity. This journey is not about correct theology or about flawless performance of religious duties. It is about something much more basic. Jesus distilled our walk with God into two foundational attitudes - love God and love my neighbor.

As Christ is formed more deeply in our heart, life becomes more simple. There is no longer a need for validation found in being cool or cutting edge. The words and music springing from the heart no longer need anything added to package them into a produced choreography.

Ah yes...it really is that simple!             

life

I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
    - Jesus Christ

Jesus stated purpose for coming to earth was that we might have life, not just a meager existence but abundant life. The Greek word we translate as "abundant" literally means "excessive, superior in quality, super abundant". In other words, the reason Jesus came was to allow us to experience life far beyond the what we could imagine.

If Jesus came so that we might live life beyond normal, why do so many people live, not in abundant life, but in a dull dreary manner? Why do so many people go to work everyday to a job they despise? Why do people endure boring empty church services? Why do people disregard their God-given dreams, choosing instead the way of safety and boredom?

The Greek word that we translate as "sin" in the scriptures has less to do with a set of actions and more to do with missing the point. In other words, when we choose something other than the abundant life offered by Jesus, we miss the point or mark, we sin.

There are a variety of reasons why we do not embrace abundant life, choosing instead the way of sin. The expectations of people, the fear of stepping beyond our current existance, the need to be in control of our circumstances all contribute to our missing the mark.

I am at the point in my life when I am becoming increasingly aware of my mortality. In all likelihood, I have lived more than half of my life. When a teenager, life stretches before us as a never ending road the disappears over the horizon in the far distant future. For me, the horizon has become much closer. As the last half of my life comes into view, the question of how I shall live my days becomes a very present question.

If I am to experience all that God has for me in the last half of my life, then I must choose life. I am becoming increasingly aware that I really do not have the time to waste on activities and endeavors that do not bring life. "Missing the mark" (sin) always results in death. I don't have the luxury of extra days days to waste in death, in engaging in activities that cause me to miss the mark.