Jonathan Evans

The joy of being a Christian is not that God has secured what I want

 

The gospel doesn’t provide a sanctified form of humanism where I can live exclusively for myself. Rather, the gospel provides a new sanctified way of living beyond myself for God by His grace.

 

Today we sing, preach, write, and pray in a direction that moves us away from a world filled with God’s glory, existing for God, and towards a world filled with man’s glory, existing for man. God’s glory is in my glory, to make me happy, to make me flourish, to answer all my prayers, to fulfill all my dreams. God is re-fashioned in my image, that is, whatever I want for myself is surely a reflection of what God wants for me, what God has destined, called, and equipped me for attaining.

 

But man is created in God’s image. Whatever God wants for man is to be reflected in man wanting God – first, last, most. My glory is to receive, to rejoice in, and to reflect God’s glory. To share in his glory is to exult in his glory filling the whole earth!

 

The joy of being a Christian is not that God has secured everything I want from him, but that God has secured me for himself in Jesus Christ.

 

My ultimate happiness is now found in something that transcends this world and its material benefits: God's kingdom and will. It’s not that I can’t, shouldn't or don’t enjoy this world’s benefits, but that they are not the end of the world’s existence, the goal of God’s creation, the apex of man’s salvation.

Let another praise you

 

“Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; a stranger, and not your own lips.” Proverbs 27:2

 

Our natural inclination is to be first, uppermost, best, happiest; and coupled with that is our desire that everyone know it. I preach a sermon, but is that enough? Or do I need to know what others think, in particular how good they think it was (because, of course, I assume it was good). 

 

I meet a famous person, but is that enough? Or am I unhappy until I drop the name, so that others can know, hear, see it? 

 

I accomplish something; I succeed at something; I’m good at something, but is that enough? Or do I feel unrewarded until others comment, like, share, favorite, retweet?

 

The Proverb doesn’t forbid accepting praise. It forbids self-praise. It is attempting to protect the one who has succeeded, and is admired or celebrated for it, from self-deception and, therefore, from self-destruction. No one who praises themselves, who boasts in themselves, is ever thought of as highly by others as they think of themselves.

 

For Christians, the stakes are higher. It is not possible to believe both that we deserve glory and that God deserves glory (John 5:44). One wins out over the other, and determines the direction and destination of our lives. Because praise is ultimately about which way you live: vertically or horizontally?

 

The more I seek, receive, and enjoy praise from myself and/or from others, the more engrained these patterns of selfishness become. I come to anticipate the pleasure of the reward of praise before it actually arrives, which makes disappointment all the more bitter and hard to believe. Anyone who posts to social media has no doubt experienced a surge of pleasure before they check their account.

 

It is a fearful, dangerous, and shameful thing to find more joy in the “arms” of an audience (crowd, congregation, followers, customers, etc.) than in the arms of my spouse and my children; and especially more than in the arms of Jesus, my Savior, in comparison to whom all other glories, honors, and praises wither and fade.

 

A German proverb says, “self-praise stinks, a friend’s praise limps, a stranger’s praise rings”.  And Solomon writes later in this Proverb, “The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold, and a man is tested by his praise.” (27:21)  Praise is inescapable, but not its effect upon me and within me. Praise does something to me, even while it does something for me. But praise is no utilitarian pursuit; it is that which reveals what kind of man I really am, and as a Christian what kind of worshipper I truly am. 

Don't use Scripture, treasure it.

  

 

"Your commandment makes me wiser than my enemies, for it is ever with me. I have more understanding than all my teachers, for your testimonies are my meditation. I understand more than the aged, for I keep your precepts." Psalm 119:98-100

 

Too often, for many of us, reading and studying Scripture becomes a tool which we use to outwit our opponents, critique culture, evaluate sermonic soundness (truth), and test other Christians’ spiritual growth.

 

To be sure, the Psalmist does say that God’s word makes him wiser than his enemies, a step ahead of those who oppose or persecute him; cultivates in him a more insightful understanding than those who teach him or others God’s word; and enables him to possess a more comprehensive knowledge than those who are respected for their spiritual position and longevity in the community.

 

But, to be sure, these things are not the reasons for which the Psalmist meditates on God’s word. He doesn’t keep God’s precepts in order to be wise beyond his age, his teachers or his enemies. Rather, these things are the unintended, even unasked for, results of loving God’s Word, of loving God first.

 

If I use Scripture to get wisdom, I become arrogant. If I treasure Scripture to know God, I become wise.

Beyond words, but not apart from words

 

Dear Christian,

 

We read the Bible to remember that God With Us (Matthew 1:23) has acted in history, in time, and what he has done in Jesus. We see that we're a part of a story that is timeless, that doesn't end in time, on earth, but is written from eternity to eternity. It's a story bigger than any one of us that yet includes each one of us.

 

We read the Bible to realize that God's activity is not something centered around my individual life but someone focused exclusively on Jesus Christ: God Himself is set on exalting Jesus on earth from beginning to end – past, present, future.

 

We read the Bible to recognize that my life and yours are created, formed, and made to be a reflection of the greatness, majesty, and glory of God. Our life saved from sin is being recreated, reformed, remade into the perfect image of God, Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 4:4; Colossians 1:15; Hebrews 1:3), and is called into and empowered for full participation in his kingdom. We not only read this in the word of God but we live this through The Word of God, Jesus Christ (Revelation 19:13; John 1:1, 14), to whom the whole Bible is pointing and in whom the whole Bible is fulfilled.

 

We read the Bible to respond to a God who speaks. Exceeding, and more exhilarating than, a perfect day is hearing one word from God. Anyone in a significant relationship knows that conversation is better than a thousand gifts and that a thousand gifts without a meaningful conversation are meaningless. To listen to the voice of the one you love, of the one who loves you, is fulfilling beyond words, but not apart from words.

 

Listen closely, read slowly.

Have faith in God, not in time

 

If God promises me that he will do something "tomorrow”, I will likely wait patiently for today to pass. But if God is more vague and says, “soon”, I will likely become impatient. If I know God is going to do something anyway, what harm is there in rushing it a little? 

 

The witches have told Macbeth that he will one day become king. So why wait? Why not today? Isn't it all the same? Perhaps faith in fate is not me waiting for things to unfold but rather, in faith, acting and taking hold of things. Macbeth murders King Duncan.

 

Young David is anointed future king of Israel by the prophet Samuel (1 Samuel 16:12-13). But David will wait over 20 years for this to fully come to pass. Although during those long, trying years he has several opportunities to kill the current king and cut short the waiting, he refuses. He has faith in God, not in fate or time.

 

Often we wait for God because we can’t do anything about our circumstances. But how often do we wait precisely because we can change things? The temptation to play God, to force God’s hand, to get ahead of God is attractive. Isn’t faith refusing to let things stay the way they are?

 

Time is a funny thing. We like to manage it and be productive. It makes us believe, feel that we're powerful; that we can control our lives; that we can plan for what’s coming tomorrow (James 4:13-14); that we can add hours to our days and days to our lives (Matthew 6:27; Psalm 139:16). But in the end we can't use time to impose our will, or dominate our lives, or speed things up.

 

Watching humanity exist in technologically primitive or underdeveloped cultures, we easily feel like they're wasting time. When our plans fail or our dreams take longer than we pray they will, we feel like we're "wasting time" or that "time is passing me by". But these feelings, beliefs, are often a misplacement of our trust in God; they betray our trust in our activity, busyness, productivity, technology, management. Not that these are wrong, but that they're not God's parting gift to a now mature, ready, self-sufficient humanity.

 

Has God given us everything we need, in order that we should no longer need him? Is the world and all that is in it a substitute for God, his word, his Spirit? Has he created and saved us to work, be productive, and be successful in recognition of him, a tipping of the hat, but not in worship to him, a surrendering of our life? 

 

If time is only a resource by which we seize opportunity, then how we manage it is of paramount importance. But if time is the revealing and ordering of God’s will, then how we live in time is of paramount importance.  

 

David “served the purpose of God in his own generation” (Acts 13:36), a purpose that included the times of waiting in David’s life – nearly a third of his life. Ultimately, his life, my life, your life, our time, is not for God’s purposes for us but for his purposes for us for him – his name, his glory, his will, and his kingdom. 

 

It was in the fullness of time – a fullness that includes not only the past but the present and the future – that God sent Jesus Christ into the world (Ephesians 1:10; Galatians 4:4), which means that time is not left to blind, random or automated fate, but that God is eternal, in eternity, and time is his servant, not ours.

Unselfed Gospel

 

I've sung sing it with my kids while driving:  

Because I’m happy

Clap along if you feel like a room without a roof

Because I’m happy

Clap along if you feel like happiness is the truth

Because I’m happy

Clap along if you know what happiness is to you

Because I’m happy

Clap along if you feel like that’s what you wanna do

 

No question, it’s a catchy song. It’s also the guiding principle of a culture: Whatever makes me happy by making me feel good must be the right thing for me to do.  

 

Today, we believe one’s individual desires are the locus of authority and self-definition. (Long gone is any sense of individual responsibility to a larger community of which I am a part, unless I can use them to advance my own interests. Long gone is any individual commitment to sacrifice what I need or want for the good of another, unless, in the end, it gets me what I want.)

 

We consistently find this “truth” in the stories and songs of our culture. We also find this “truth” in the sermons in our churches. We hear messages telling us that not only must we believe in God’s Son, Jesus Christ, but we must also, of equal importance and necessity, believe in ourselves. God’s word and promise is dependent upon man, rooted in man, and oriented around man. Without our positive thinking and confession, God’s hands are tied. 

  

This preaching says that God demands nothing of me, because He’s chiefly concerned with making me feel good. God is sought only as a therapist, to solve my problems, to help me find fulfillment, and never inquired of as Holy God and Sovereign King. 

 

Some of the mantras of this gospel are, “Do your best”, “Believe in yourself”, “Say to yourself”, “Think positive”, “You’re a child of the Almighty”. Now, it’s true: a Christian is a child of the Almighty. But being God's child presupposes something radical, anti-culture, and now anti-church-culture: The gospel.

 

The Biblical gospel is concerned with the objective truth: God over man and man before God. A Biblical gospel preaches that God demands and deserves everything from me (love, obedience, passions, desires), because he is holy, and that I have chosen not to give it to him, because I am a sinner. 

 

The Biblical gospel presupposes God is love and God is holy, and he is never one apart from the other. Sin goes deeper than just doing bad, feeling bad, and having problems (Luke 18:10-14). There is the offense: our sin. There is the offended: God. There is the offender: you and I. There is the cost to be paid: a sacrifice. At the cross, God’s wrath and love were poured out on Jesus Christ (Hebrews 2:17). In and through him, God’s holiness was upheld and his love is offered freely to all. Our salvation. 

 

The salvation offered in Jesus Christ goes deeper than just doing good things, having good feelings, and having no problems. While God’s salvation can and does change our whole lives, making them better and happier, God saves us to re-orient our lives around him, not him around us. Whatever “better and happier” looks like or feels like, it now comes as a result of denying our self and dying to our self daily (Luke 9:23).

 

In all that he has created, God can be absent nowhere but the human heart enslaved to sin. Yet, God is present nowhere else in all of creation like he is in the redeemed heart of man.  The gospel – Jesus’ death in my place – is the entry point, not the end point of the unselfed life, a life that starts with Jesus, not with the self; a life where Jesus is at the center, not the self; a life where knowing Jesus is worth the loss of everything the self holds closer (Philippians 3:8).

 

(Adapted from a longer version of this post)

Idolatry and adultery

 

When Jesus says, “But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” (Matthew 5:28), he is not saying that any man who notices or recognizes the beauty of another woman has committed adultery. He is saying that any man who looks on a woman in order to desire her sexually, in order to have sex with her in his imagination, has committed adultery. 

 

The Bible often equates idolatry with adultery. God, who has redeemed for himself a people for his own possession through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, has done so with the anticipation and expectation that his people will worship and love him exclusively, completely, and permanently. "For your Maker is your husband, the Lord of hosts is his name; and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer, the God of the whole earth he is called." (Isaiah 54:5)

 

However, Biblical narrative and the history of the church and the experience of any Christian’s heart show that the people of God often turn away to worship and serve other gods. We idolize; we commit idolatry, spiritual adultery.

 

This first happened following God’s miraculous salvation of Israel from slavery to Egypt. “Our fathers refused to obey him, but thrust him  (Moses) aside, and in their hearts they turned to Egypt saying to Aaron, ‘Make for us gods who will go before us. As for this Moses who led us out from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’ And they made a calf in those days, and offered a sacrifice to the idol and were rejoicing in the works of their hands.” (Acts 7:39-41). 

 

This happened again when God through Joshua brought Israel into the promised land. He commanded them to break down the altars representative of worship to other gods. “Now the angel of the Lord went up from Gilgal to Bochim. And he said, “I brought you up from Egypt and brought you into the land that I swore to give to your fathers. I said, ‘I will never break my covenant with you, and you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you shall break down their altars.’ But you have not obeyed my voice. What is this you have done?” (Judges 2:1-2). Don’t miss this dear Christian. Before Israel joined and bowed in worshipping other gods, they failed to obey and break down their altars. There was a breakdown in their heart towards God before there was a breaking away in their actions against God.

 

Idolatry does not begin the moment we bow to another god, anymore than adultery, as Jesus has pointed out, begins the moment you have sex. Idolatry begins the moment we determine in our hearts that God is not all-sufficient for our life. We find something in addition to or apart from God to be as or more worthy of our trust and obedience, our love and our worship, and we pursue it. 

 

God is all-sufficient for your needs, your wants, your hopes, and your dreams. He belongs to you. But that’s not all he’s “good for”. He is all-sufficient for your obedience, your purity, your holiness, and your calling. You belong to him. He did not begrudgingly redeem and free you from slavery to your sin. He freely gave himself for you; he wholeheartedly took your place; he loved you. "you were ransomed...not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ" (1 Peter 1:18-19). We are “the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.” (Acts 20:28).

 

There is no grudge or mistrust or fear in the heart of the slave who has been freed by grace. There is only joy and thanksgiving and the desire to willingly follow their new Master all the days of their new life.

Forgiveness is daily cleansing

What are some things we clean daily? 

 

Our bodies. When I was growing up my parents needed to remind me to take a shower. Apparently they weren’t immune to the smell like I was. In fact, even later in life (no, I won’t tell you how old I was) someone kindly pulled me aside and asked if owned deodorant. Yeah, we need to clean and wash our bodies daily.  

 

 

 

 Our clothes. We all like wearing a clean shirt and pants. If you have to smell that shirt before you put it on though, you probably shouldn’t wear it. Just go ahead and wash it.

 

Our dishes. Now that my children are doing dishes, every once in a while I pull out a plate or a fork that has a spot or some food on it. They don’t want to use it when I give it to them. So we wash again.

 

Our houses. Most of us have a day of the week where we go through the house and clean it thoroughly. We pick up, put things back into place, sweep, dust, etc. If hospitality is a way of living for you, then a clean house is a must. 

 

If in our daily, physical lives there are things we should take care of, how about in our daily, spiritual lives? 

 

More than anyone Jesus knows what we need most every single day. One of the most important things he teaches us that we need is forgiveness – receiving and giving it. It is as essential as “daily bread” and daily protection and guidance. (Matthew 6:11-13)

 

“Forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors.” (Matthew 6:12) .

 

Forgiveness is daily cleansing.

 

When we’re forgiven and when we forgive we can smell good again. The fragrance of grace and mercy returns to us. We’re no longer immune to our own odor of anger, unforgiveness or bitterness. We’re easier and more enjoyable to be around. 

 

When we’re forgiven and when we forgive we can wear a spirit of kindness. A clean attitude of love clothes us. Generosity and joy are with us wherever we go. We release to God what we think others owe us rather than demanding it from them.

 

When we’re forgiven and when we forgive we can be patient with and less critical of others. We’ll recognize that we are far worse sinners against God than others are against us. Yet He loves us, forgives us, and cleanses us.

 

When we’re forgiven and when we forgive we can clean any unkept areas in our hearts that are dark and filthy. Light and fresh air come in. Things that are disorganized and clutter our lives, making it nearly impossible to move, can be trashed. Order can return.

 

Yes, I sin daily, “But you are a God ready to forgive” (Nehemiah 9:17). Yes, I am sinned against daily, but “as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.” (Colossians 3:13)

Maybe it doesn’t take as long to come back to life as it does to die.

It's probably just me, but I find it difficult to remember to water the plants in my office. There’s only three and I see them everyday! Yet I’ve easily (or conveniently) ignored them everyday. Until recently.

 

I’m not sure a dying plant speaks very well of my ability to care.

 

Everyday that I walk or drive the streets of my city, I usually take the same route. This means that I’m looking at the same things every day. It also means that I’m probably not seeing what or who is actually there. 

 

My eyes are open, but not really.

 

I need my eyes to open. I want to see what I’ve never noticed; I want to notice what I’ve always seen. 

 

I’m not sure a hurting neighborhood or city speaks very well of my ability or willingness to care. 

 

But if the love and grace of God have their way, I’ll start somewhere. I’ll notice and pay attention. I’ll stop and listen. I’ll sacrifice and give. I’ll come to realize that the city’s not only here for me, but that I’m also here for it, and maybe even more so in God’s eyes.

 

It appears it doesn’t take as much time for something to come back to life as it does for it to die. My plants are green again and growing. Time and water, daily attention and care. That’s what I can do. But what I can’t produce or command or control is life itself.

 

God gives life and God gives growth when and where we plant and water (1 Corinthians 3:6). 

 

One of my plants is drinking water like my son does after running hard. I can hear it, and it sounds desperate. All around me people are weary and working hard; many are hurting and giving up. Kindness to most is welcome. It is intriguing, surprising, refreshing. Kindness is also powerful. It is shocking, a “force quit”, a restart. 

 

It was, after all, God’s undeserved kindness towards me that led me to Him (Romans 2:4).

Serve. But every single day?

Learning to serve is perhaps one of the hardest things to learn, to do, to get in the habit of. Yes, it should become a habit. It should be something we do day in and day out, even at times without thinking, without blinking, without hesitation.

 

 

Being last is something we’re not naturally inclined towards. And yet putting others first is the only sure road to experiencing joy, mercy, forgiveness, kindness, generosity, grace, and love. 

 

Is it possible to experience the abundant life of Jesus if we resist or refuse living the way he lived? “For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you.” (John 13:15) 

 

This new life is a new way of living. “Abide in my love.” (John 15:9)

 

Start with someone close to you. What’s one thing that you can do for them every single day? A kiss before you get out of bed. A morning cup of coffee. Sweeping the floor before leaving for work. Doing the dishes before going to bed. Asking about their day. Asking if they need anything. 

 

A servant’s heart is a creative heart; it sees endless opportunities.

 

Yet even when the things we do become monotonous, even boring, over time we cultivate contentment – deep satisfaction and gratitude. That awkward feeling of doing something that you rarely do has been replaced with the genuine disappointment of not having done what you want to do every single day.