LIVING IN A BOX OF OUR OWN MAKING

 

Isaiah 55:8-9 (NIV)
"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD. "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts."

               In the main, we like putting things in boxes. We like things in our lives to be neatly tied together with a bow. Most of us struggle with ambiguity and open-endedness. A friend of mine made that clear with the following quip.

There are two kinds of people in the world. Those who need closure.

               When things are left hanging, something inside of us screams for closure. What happened? What’s the answer? What happened next? We like things neat and tidy.

               It is natural for us to satisfy our need for closure by putting things in neat boxes. We often do this by putting labels on things. He’s a Republican. She’s a Democrat. He’s narrow minded. She’s bigoted. Putting labels on things categorizes them for us. It puts things in little boxes that we can handle.

               I have been reading G.K. Chesterton’s book “Orthodoxy”. In it, he makes that point that the trend of materialism today is to put everything into neat little boxes. By denying the supernatural, we confine life to the narrow box of determinism. Determinism eliminates mystery by having to explain everything in naturalistic terms. There is a logical explanation for everything that we see and experience. Our emotions are the product of the neurological impulses in our brain caused by specific chemical reactions. Life itself is the product of the evolutionary process. There is nothing at work outside of the natural world in which we live.

               The materialistic view of the world places everything into neat, explainable boxes. There is a certain sense of comfort and security in this. If we can explain something, then, in a sense, we can understand it and control it. In a sense, it becomes “safe.” The problem with the materialistic approach is that it places us in a very small box of our own making. It eliminates mystery and the transcendent.

               Yet, there is something within us that cries out for the transcendent. When materialism is taken to its logical conclusion, it become a straightjacket. We find ourselves confined in a very small box of our own making. Instead of our world expanding, it collapses in on itself. Suddenly, we find it hard to breathe within that box. We clamor for the air of mystery and wonder; of the unexplainable and the transcendent. So, we create fantasy worlds and dabble in a spirituality of our own making. If there is no God, then we will create our own god to fill the void, whether that be art, music, science, politics, or even ourselves.

               As Chesterton points out, materialism eliminates free will. Everything is determined by a set of parameters that are outside of our control. But faith in God actually frees us from the boundaries of this confining box. It opens the door to mystery and wonder. It acknowledges that there are things we cannot know, understand, or control. It also allows us to really think outside of the box. Today, thinking outside of the box only results in another box. But spiritual thinking outside of the box actually opens up an expanding universe without boundaries. Materialism seeks to narrow and confine our world. Faith in God seeks to expand and explode our world.

               The common thinking of our world today is that we exist because of random, causeless events. Because of this, our lives have no ultimate meaning or purpose. We may be able to create some temporary sense of meaning and purpose, but in the end, even those will evaporate with time. The Bible gives us a very different picture. It tells us that we were intentionally created in the image of God with meaning and purpose. The meaning and purpose of our lives transcends the time we have on this earth. As Jesus has said, we have the chance to store up treasures for all of eternity. How we live our lives matters, not just to us, but to God. Therefore, everything we do becomes a conscious choice to either invest in eternity or squander our resources on temporary pleasures.

               Years ago, there was a movie called “The Truman Show.” It was the story of a man who, from birth, was raised in an artificial world. He lived in a totally predetermined world where everything was unchanging, until one day he rebelled and found the door to the outside world. Materialism wants to trap us in “The Truman Show.” Faith in God shows us the door to a much wider and more meaningful world.

               There is a significant difference between facts and truth. Facts tell us what is, but they cannot explain why things are. They create the walls of the boxes that we live within. But truth transcends the facts; it goes beyond the sterile walls of a deterministic world. Truth sets us free to engage with mysteries that will lead us deeper and deeper into God’s unconfined reality.

               Many secular people claim that religion takes away our freedom and confines us. In reality, true faith in God does the exact opposite. When we place our faith in Jesus Christ, he explodes the walls of our little, self-made boxes and invites us into the expanse of his amazing reality.

John 8:31-32 (NIV)
To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."

John 14:6 (NIV)
Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

 

WHAT IS GROWING IN YOUR GARDEN?

 

Proverbs 4:23 (NIV)
Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.

               I saw an interesting commercial the other day. It began with beautiful scenes of pristine nature. Then it showed pollution being pumped into the water and fouling the environment. The camera panned back and a young woman, who was vaping, came into focus. The tag line was vaping pollutes the beautiful world of your body.

               The point of the commercial was that what we put into our body affects our wellbeing. This is a truth that should be applied not just to the physical things we take into our body but to the emotional and intellectual things we take into our mind.

               In my devotions today, I read a piece by Max Lucado where he equated our heart to a greenhouse garden. The crop that the garden produces is dictated by the seeds that are planted there. Then he asked the question, what seeds are you planting in your heart?

               Solomon warned us long ago to guard our hearts. The heart represents the very core of our being. It is more than just our mind. It is the operating system of our life. Just like in a computer, the operating system controls everything. The output from the operating system is shaped by the data put in.

               Most of us have become more careful about what we eat. We watch the amount of fat and sugar that we consume. If we are diligent in this, it pays off in better physical health. Unfortunately, we are often not as selective about what we allow to come into our minds. We have become used to consuming intellectual junk food. We are bombarded daily with messages that are shaping who we are becoming, and often we don’t see the changes until they become very evident.

               When I was in college, I had a roommate who we very negative. He could find fault in any situation. Nothing seemed to be right in his estimation. Sometime during that year, I developed a similar negative attitude. By the end of the year, if my roommate could not find something to complain about I could. It took me a while to clean out the negative and reset my operating system.

               As followers of Christ, we have to fight hard to swim again to tide of negativism that is so prominent in our society. If we do not guard our heart, we will focus on the wrong things and miss the best things. Paul challenges us to be intentional about what we allow to dominate our thinking.

Philippians 4:8 (NIV)
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things.

               Paul’s words offer us a filter through which to evaluate what we allow into our heart. When confronted by some message we can ask these probing questions. Is this true? Is this noble? Is this right? Is this pure? Is this lovely? Is this admirable? Is this excellent? Is this praiseworthy? If the answer to any of these questions is no, then we need to shut the door to that message. Don’t let it in. Don’t give it space in your garden.

               At the end of Paul’s challenge, he tells us to think about such things. The word we have translated think can also be translated ruminate or meditate on these things. I like that image. If you are like me, you tend to chew on things, especially negative or hurtful things. Paul tells us to change our diet. We need to intentionally chew on the things that will lift us up not the things that will tear us down.

               Let me ask a couple of important questions. What are you intellectually and emotionally consuming on a regular basis? What are you reading or listening to on a pod cast? What are you watching on TV or the internet? What seeds are you planting in your garden?

2 Corinthians 10:5 (NIV)
We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

 

Why be Thankful?

 

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NIV)
Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

               As we approach Thanksgiving Day, it is appropriate for us to ask the question, why should we be thankful?

               Thankfulness is not a natural aptitude for us. It is far more natural to take the blessings of life for granted or as our right. We can fall into the mindset that the blessings that we enjoy are what we deserve. Afterall, that is what the TV commercials tell us. You deserve a new iPhone or you deserve a break today. When we focus on our abilities and our efforts we tend to see the outcome as our right. When we focus on our rights, we tend to expect good things to come our way. Being thankful goes against our natural grain of thinking.

               Paul told the Thessalonians that being thankful was God’s will for their lives. Multiple times in the book of Psalms we are instructed to give thanks to the Lord. Why is being thankful important?

               First and foremost, being thankful reminds us that everything we have and everything we do is a gift from God’s hand.

               As Moses was preparing the people of Israel to enter the Promised Land, he gave them a warning about not being thankful.

Deuteronomy 8:6-18 (NIV)

Observe the commands of the LORD your God, walking in his ways and revering him. For the LORD your God is bringing you into a good land--a land with streams and pools of water, with springs flowing in the valleys and hills; a land with wheat and barley, vines and fig trees, pomegranates, olive oil and honey; a land where bread will not be scarce and you will lack nothing; a land where the rocks are iron and you can dig copper out of the hills.

When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the LORD your God for the good land he has given you. Be careful that you do not forget the LORD your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day. Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, then your heart will become proud and you will forget the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. He led you through the vast and dreadful desert, that thirsty and waterless land, with its venomous snakes and scorpions. He brought you water out of hard rock. He gave you manna to eat in the desert, something your fathers had never known, to humble and to test you so that in the end it might go well with you. You may say to yourself, "My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me." But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your forefathers, as it is today.

 

               Moses’ warning is a warning that needs to be reiterated today over and over again. We have placed our trust in our own efforts and in our own progress and we have forgotten the Lord in the process. The reason that we are not thankful is because we believe we have earned everything we have. But we are wrong, extremely wrong. None of us chose our talents and abilities, even though we may have cultivated them. Even the cultivation of our talents and abilities was shaped by circumstances that we had no control over. No matter how “successful” a person has become, their success is a gift from God.

               Why should we be thankful? Because all of life is a gift. The very air that we breathe is a gift from God. The food we eat comes from his hand. He created it in the first place. Our physical bodies are a gift from God. He created us unique in the world; created in his image to reflect his glory into our world. Our ability to take the raw resources of this earth and turn them into good things is a gift from God. He gave us both the raw materials and the capacity to see the potential.

               Why should we be thankful? Because God loves us so much that he sent Jesus into the world to rescue us from our selfishness and pride. He came, not to make our lives better, but to restore the image of God within us.

               Why should we be thankful? Because God had the right to remove his blessing from us, but he didn’t. God had the right to wipe humanity off the face of the earth, but he chose to redeem us instead. God had the right to make our daily lives miserable, but he chose to bless us with everything we need, not just to survive, but to thrive.

               Why should we be thankful? Because, in God’s design, thankfulness is the fulfillment of every pleasure. Thankfulness is the elevation of even small blessings. Thankfulness changes our perspective on our world and on life itself. Thankfulness makes life worth living.

               In our affluent society, we tend to live with constant discontent. Great effort is made every day to place our focus on what we don’t have or what we “deserve.” This Thanksgiving, let us take our eyes off of what we don’t have and focus on the innumerable gifts that God places within our lives every day.

Psalms 103:1-5 (NIV)
Praise the LORD, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits--
who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion,
who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.

 

What’s the Big Deal?

 

John 3:16-18 (NIV)
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.

               One of the criticisms of Christianity is that we are so focused on heaven that we are no earthly good. So, what is the big deal about heaven? Why is that such an important concept for believers in Christ?

               If we see heaven as an escape from this world, then the criticism we get is valid. A person who is only concerned about going to heaven when they die tends to live with blinders on. They focus on the distant future with little regard for present realities. But that is not the essence of our faith in eternity. In fact, those who are most convinced about eternity are the most invested in the present.

               We live in a secular world that has convinced millions of people that we are just evolutionary accidents. There is no ultimate meaning in life. Any meaning that we have we create for ourselves. Yet this flies in the face of how people actually live. Most people live as if there is some undefined ultimate standard to which all people are subject. True relativism crumbles when a person must make decisions regarding what is right and wrong in life. As soon as a person says that some things are right and others are wrong, they are appealing to some universal standard of morality. They may not be able to articulate where that standard comes from, but they believe in it.

               Tim Keller, in his book The Reason for God, gives the illustration of a woman who strongly contends that all morality is culturally based and shaped by the dominant culture. Yet she also believes that women’s rights are universal and must be upheld in every culture. When asked what she bases her conviction upon, she responds that everyone knows that abusing women and children in wrong. She is appealing to some universal standard of morality.

               So, what does that have to do with a belief in eternity? It makes all the difference in the world. If a person believes that their life will be judged by an ultimate standard in eternity, it shapes how they live their present life. The Christian belief is eternity is not just some pie-in-the-sky hope of eternal bliss. It is a realistic understanding that how we live our lives here on earth matters. It upholds the idea that all human actions will one day be judged, whether good or bad. It acknowledges that if judged on the scales of eternity, we will all fall short, but that through faith in Jesus the scales will be tipped to our advantage. In response to this, a true believer strives to align his or her life with God’s ultimate standards. Not as a way to earn salvation, but as a response to what Jesus has already done for them.

               When a person lives their life without any hope of eternity, it also changes everything. If the seventy or eighty years on earth that a person gets is all that there is, why wouldn’t that person leverage everything for their advantage. Selfishness is the natural and normal consequence of a denial of eternity. Even seemingly selfless actions are calculated to bring some advantage to the person. It may enhance their self-esteem or raise their profile with others. But taken to its logical conclusion, it really doesn’t make a difference. If when we die physically, we disappear, then it really doesn’t matter how I live my life in the present.

               Evolutionary philosophy teaches us that we are all just accidents of the evolutionary process. In every aspect of this process, survival of the fittest is the name of the game. Yet, when we look at human beings, we balk at the idea of survival of the fittest. We contend that the poor, the vulnerable, the disadvantaged need to be cared for, but why? On what basis are we claiming that this should be true?

               On the other hand, Christianity teaches us that how we treat one another matters. All human beings are created in the image of God and are of value. Everyone deserves respect and care, regardless of their social, ethnic, or physical status. Because we believe that this life is the prelude to eternity, we take this life more seriously. A person who believes in a God of justice will work for justice in the here and now. A person who believes in a God of creation will take managing this creation more seriously. A person who believes in a God who cares about every individual will make ever effort to care for those around them.

               We Christians have not always had a great track record in some of these areas. That is not the fault of our belief in eternity. It is that we have not taken our belief in eternity seriously enough. Because we believe that God exists and will judge every person according to their life, we need to take how we live this life seriously. What we do today matters for all of eternity.

               Historically, those who have the strongest belief in eternity have made the greatest contributions to the present. Those who believe in eternity have been willing to make enormous personal sacrifices for others. Those who believe in eternity have put enormous effort into raising the status of the abused, marginalized, and abandoned.

               So, what’s the big deal about eternity? Without a belief in eternity all of life ultimately becomes meaningless. With a belief in eternity all of life becomes sacred and of great consequence.

2 Corinthians 4:16-18 (NIV)
Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

 

TIME TO TRUST GOD

 

Proverbs 21:1 (NIV)
The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD; he directs it like a watercourse wherever he pleases.

               Today is a day of anxiety for many people. As people go to the poles to cast their votes, we anxiously await the outcome. This year, it seems like we are in a no-win situation. Whichever candidate wins the presidency there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

               As followers of Jesus, we need to step back and take a very different perspective on what is happening. Unfortunately, for the last several decades, Christians have placed their trust in political action and placed their hope in political figures. This has taken our eyes off of Jesus. The Psalmist warns us that placing our hope in politics is a dead end. Do not put your trust in princes, in mortal men, who cannot save. Psalms 146:3 (NIV) It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man. It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in princes. Psalms 118:8-9 (NIV)

               First, we need to acknowledge that we live in a fallen world that is bent on leading us away from God. In his letter to the Romans, Paul described the world we live in in detail. See if his words don’t accurately depict the world in which we live.

The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.

For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.  Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.      

Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator--who is forever praised. Amen.      

Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.      

Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them. Romans 1:18-32 (NIV)

 

               Second, we need to remember that God uses flawed people to accomplish His purposes. He allowed Babylon to capture Jerusalem and send His people into exile in order to refine His people. He allowed Rome to be in control of the known world in order to use their systems to expand the gospel to the world. Moses, David, Peter, Paul were all flawed people that God used for His glory. So are you and I and so are the people running for political office. God can use whomever He chooses to accomplish His purposes.

               It is easy for us to despair in the face of a world that is spiraling down into destruction. But our hope is not in a political party or social system. Our hope is in the Living God, Jesus Christ. Jesus told his disciples not to live in fear, but to live in confidence and hope, even in the face of evil. "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." John 16:33 (NIV)

               The writer of Hebrews challenges us to get our eyes off of the world and fix them firmly on Christ. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. Hebrews 12:2-3 (NIV)

               God is calling us to stop putting our hope in particular political parties or systems and place it firmly on Him. We need to stop trying to legislate righteousness and start living righteously. The early church lived in a world much like ours today. They transformed their world without any political power. They did it by living godly lives in the face of the evil around them. The darker the day the brighter the light will shine. Jesus has called us to be that light in a dark world. “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:14-16 (NIV)

               We have an obligation to be good citizens and do our part by expressing our right to vote. It is essential that we are involved in shaping the government under which we live. But we cannot place our faith in that government. Instead, we need to put our trust in the one who has the ultimate say. As Larry Osborne has put it, we need to remember that “God is in control of those who are in control.” However this election shakes out, God is still on the throne and His plans and purposes will prevail.

Isaiah 40:21-24 (NIV)
Do you not know? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood since the earth was founded? He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth, and its people are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like a canopy, and spreads them out like a tent to live in. He brings princes to naught and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing. No sooner are they planted, no sooner are they sown, no sooner do they take root in the ground, than he blows on them and they wither, and a whirlwind sweeps them away like chaff.

In what are you putting your hope?

 

1 Peter 1:3 (NIV)
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

               Hope is an essential component of life. When we lose hope, we fall into despair. Hopelessness is one of the most devastating experiences that a person can have.

               In are living in a time when people are desperately looking for hope. Traditionally people looked for hope from God or the gods. They looked to something or someone more powerful and more transcendent than themselves. In the main, Western culture has abandoned the idea of the transcendent. Instead, they have tried to find other things in which to placed their hope.

               Many post-modern people have placed their hope in science. They believe that all of life can be explained and rationalized through scientific exploration. But science often raises more questions than it gives answers. It can explain how things work, but not why they exist. There are major aspects of the human experience that science cannot explain.

               Many people have placed their hope in progress. Progress is the idea that if we just strive hard enough, we will expand our world and solve all of our problems. Progress is based on the idea that what is ahead of us is always going to be bigger and better. But progress has not delivered on its promises. In many ways, the pursuit of progress has caused as many problems as it has solved. The Western world has achieved a high standard of living, but often at the cost to the non-Western world. The current hot button, climate change, is a direct result of progress.

               Currently, many people are looking to politics to give them hope. They believe that if the right political party is put in place that everything else will fall in line. But as we know all too well in America, the ruling political party changes routinely, dashing some people’s hope and enlivening others.

               Another place that people look for hope is through social action. They believe that having the right social programs in place is the answer to our needs. Many of these social programs have done great things to improve the lives of many people. But again, they have fallen short of the goal. Unintentionally, some of these social programs have only increased people’s dependency and decreased their hope.

               Science, progress, politics, and social programs are all good things in their place, but they are not sufficient to provide lasting hope to people. In the end, they all disappoint us. There is only one place where we can find enduring hope. That is in faith in Jesus Christ.

               The hope we have in Jesus is not wishful thinking or pie in the sky. It is a living hope that builds the closer we get to Him. Our hope is based on what Jesus did for us on the cross. He paid the penalty for our sins so that we could be set free from sin and death. Our hope is based on the reality of the resurrection of Jesus, which validated all that Jesus had taught and claimed. Our hope is based on the promise of real justice, peace, and joy. Because Jesus transcends our world, He is not limited by the constraints of this world. As the creator of all that is, He has the right and the power to judge justly, to right every wrong. He also has the authority to forgive and redeem.

               One of the greatest aspects of the hope we have in Jesus is the reality that this life is not the entire story. When we see the world as a closed system, this life is all we have. There is nothing to look forward to or to strive for. There is really no purpose or direction in life. We just exist for our allotted time and then vanish. That is not a very hopeful perspective. But Jesus gives us a very different and more compelling story. This life is important, but it is only the gateway to eternity. How we live this life shapes us for the next. If we place our faith in the saving and redeeming work of Jesus, we can look forward to living a redeemed and transformed life in eternity. This life will be a life of experiencing pure love, joy, and peace in God’s welcoming presence. If we choose to reject Jesus’ saving and redeeming work, we will face an eternity of despair and hopelessness.

               During a time of despair and loss of hope Jesus gave hope. It took place at the death of His close friend Lazarus. As Mary and Martha grieved, Jesus offered them a hope that goes beyond the grave. Jesus said to her (Martha), "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?" John 11:25-26 (NIV) Near the end of His earthly life, as Jesus was preparing His disciples for His coming death on the cross, He parted the curtain between time and eternity and gave them (and us) a glimpse of what is ahead. "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going." John 14:1-4 (NIV)

               You might stop at this point and think, wait a minute, this seems to be too good to be true. How is it possible for me to enter into this eternal hope? You are not alone. One of the disciples asked the same question of Jesus. Jesus gave the answer that is the key it a hope that can withstand any challenge. Thomas said to him, "Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?" Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. John 14:5-6 (NIV)

               Whether we acknowledge it or not, we are all placing our hope for the future in something. It may be in politics, or success, or even our own abilities. But all worldly hopes will disappoint us. They cannot deliver the lasting hope that we are looking for. Only Jesus can give us a hope that is secure and will endure.

Hebrews 4:14-16 (NIV)
Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are--yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

THE REALITY OF FREEDOM

 

John 8:31-32 (NIV)
To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."

               Today, the greatest virtue is the idea of personal freedom. The mantra of today is, I am free to do whatever I want, as long as I am not hurting someone else. This idea of freedom has led to the casting off of many, if not all, of the traditional restraints that we have recognized for millennium. We have raised a generation of people who believe that they can be and do whatever they desire. We have done them a major disservice because the idea that I can be or do whatever I want is a myth.

               The reality is that freedom comes with limits. Freedom is a good thing when it is exercised within those limits. It becomes destructive when it strays outside of those limits. Tim Keller, in his book Making Sense of God, points out that to have the freedom to do some things we have to give up the freedom to do others. As an example, he points to a man who wants the freedom to eat whatever he likes and the freedom to engage with his grandchildren. The man goes to his doctor and the doctor informs him that if he doesn’t stop eating everything that he likes he is in danger of having a heart attack or a stroke. If he wants the freedom to continue to engage with his grandchildren in the future, he will have to give up the freedom to eat whatever he wants.

               In all of life, we are constantly running into limits on our freedom. Those limits are not arbitrary. They are givens that we must live within. We can acknowledge this in the physical realm. I don’t have the freedom to defy gravity by jumping off my roof and expecting to fly. It is harder for us to accept these limits when we think of moral, social, and relational limits.

               We live in a promiscuous generation. Many people want the freedom to engage sexually with multiple partners, but at what cost. Often what is sacrificed is a long-term, fulfilling marriage relationship. The more sexual partners a person has, the harder it is to commit totally to one person. We sacrifice genuine love for momentary personal pleasure.

               Jesus made a bold statement in John 8. He said that if a person lived by his rules that person would know the truth and the truth would set them free. What Jesus was saying was that God designed the world to work in a particular way. Kind of like the owner’s manual to a furnace or dishwasher. When a person lives within the limits set by God’s owner’s manual, they are free. When they choose to live outside of those limits, they sacrifice their freedom.

               Jesus made another bold statement in John 14:6. Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” If we want to live a truly free life, then we need to live it in relationship with Jesus. Jesus doesn’t just reveal the truth, he is the truth. If the truth can set me free, and Jesus is the truth, then in order to be free I need to know Jesus.

               Here is the problem. Sin has entered our lives and made us captives to its desires. We think we are free when we indulge our every desire, but we are really slaves to impulses we cannot control. Like a drug addict, sin leads us to ever diminishing rewards from our so-called freedom. The things that thrilled us and gave us the feeling of freedom soon fade and must be replaced or expanded. True freedom can be experienced only when we are released from our bondage to sin.

               Again, Jesus makes it clear that true freedom comes only through the saving grace found in him. Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. John 8:34-36 (NIV)

               We all desire to live freely. We do not want to have others imposing restrictions on our freedom. This is not a bad thing, to a point. But genuine freedom comes with real limits. It is only as we live within those limits that we can find real freedom.

1 Peter 2:16 (NIV)
Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God.

Galatians 5:13 (NIV)
You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love.