Believers should have the enthusiasm of Beliebers.
(For those not in the know, a "belieber" is a dedicated fan of Justin Bieber).
Because the way some of these girls act about the Biebz, you'd think he was the one who died for our sins so we could be eternally united with a good, holy and loving God who cares deeply for us.
Most of these girls will never even meet Justin. He certainly doesn't know who they are, yet that certainly doesn't stop them from going all out on his behalf. Meanwhile, we are known by God and are able to know Him, yet at times were are so listless in regards to Him. We certainly take Him for granted. And the general excitement for Him generated by believers as a whole is dismal by comparison to these tween girls and their heart throbs.
2 Corinthians 5:20
Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making His appeal through us.
"Beliebers" are ambassadors for Bieber. They dedicate most of their time to promoting him, proclaiming him, defending him and encouraging him. They fight fiercely for his cause and aren't the least bit ashamed of being so devoted to him, even in the face of criticism, ridicule and opposition. They support him to the utmost and are absolutely unstoppable.
Can the average Believer say that about their dedication to Christ? Is He our number one concern? Are we obsessed with Jesus? I know "obsessed" has somewhat of an unfavorable connotation, but if there is anyone worth of obsession, it's Christ, and we probably should be absolutely obsessed with Him. Obviously Beliebers tend to get feisty and issue death threats via twitter and insult "Directioners" (One Direction fans - don't ask how I know, just accept it) or "Jonas Brotherites" (yeah, that's probably not their fan name) - and as Believers, we definitely should not adopt those practices. I do, however, think there is something to learn about fervency from Justin's followers. In our devotion to Christ and our aim to serve and please Him, let us not let Beliebers put us to shame.
Monday, January 14, 2013
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
The Original Sin
The root of all sin is pride. It's saying we know better than God. In
fact, pride is the original sin. The events of the fall of man
illustrate that often times, it's not the act in itself that is sinful,
but the heart behind it; the intent of the act.
Is eating a fruit a sin? No. But when God told Adam and Eve not to eat fruit from a particular tree and they did anyway, it became sin because it was then rebellion. Furthermore, it was spurned by pride which is really setting ourselves above all else. Adam and Eve set themselves above God when they decided their own logic was greater than His. By eating the fruit, they inherently proclaimed that they knew better than He did - that they, not He, knew what was best for themselves. They wanted to be their own god instead of submitting to a Creator that had done nothing but love and care for them.
They decided that their way was better than His.
And it did nothing good for them. It seemed harmless, I'm sure. It seemed like it would benefit them greatly at the time - to be like God! But that's just it - like God, but not actually so. A counterfeit god, knowing good and evil but thus swallowed up by the latter, unable to embody perfect goodness like the real God does. And so we did become like a god unto ourselves when Adam and Eve gave into their prideful desires to govern themselves. But as they found out and as we often find out, we make terrible gods. When we rule our own lives by our own standards and own (lack of) wisdom, we find ourselves in the midst of destruction. Out of the garden of paradise and into suffering.
It's our pride - our desire to be our own god, to set our own standards by which to live by, to try and believe that we know best for ourselves - that bolsters all the rest of our sin and drives us so far from God. And it what destroys our lives, leaves us utterly dissatisfied as we decay - sometimes slowly where in the midst of instant gratification, we don't realize the harm we're doing ourselves until suddenly, we're at a low and don't know how we got there as things are so bad, we feel so empty and lost and none of what we have been doing will fill us like we had tricked ourselves into thinking it did before. And for some reason, we keep on trying to fill it with the same ol, same ol and maybe can manage to feel good for a second before it goes crashing down again, leaving us emptier than before because it never lasts. It doesn't last because it doesn't make us whole.
God makes us whole. Because we were made for Him. We were supposed to be with Him from the get-go, fully intertwined with Him, finding the fulfillment of our every need and desire in Him. And if we just set Him as our God instead of trying to be a god unto ourselves, we can rest in that and enjoy that. It won't destroy us, it won't leave us empty. In God is peace and true satisfaction. And thank goodness for Jesus that bridges the gap back to true union to God that was broken with that bite of fruit. Which was much more than just a bite of fruit but an assertion of shunning aside God in favor of our own rule.
And look how far our own rule has gotten us. It is our pride that has destroyed. But it is His love that will heal.
Is eating a fruit a sin? No. But when God told Adam and Eve not to eat fruit from a particular tree and they did anyway, it became sin because it was then rebellion. Furthermore, it was spurned by pride which is really setting ourselves above all else. Adam and Eve set themselves above God when they decided their own logic was greater than His. By eating the fruit, they inherently proclaimed that they knew better than He did - that they, not He, knew what was best for themselves. They wanted to be their own god instead of submitting to a Creator that had done nothing but love and care for them.
They decided that their way was better than His.
And it did nothing good for them. It seemed harmless, I'm sure. It seemed like it would benefit them greatly at the time - to be like God! But that's just it - like God, but not actually so. A counterfeit god, knowing good and evil but thus swallowed up by the latter, unable to embody perfect goodness like the real God does. And so we did become like a god unto ourselves when Adam and Eve gave into their prideful desires to govern themselves. But as they found out and as we often find out, we make terrible gods. When we rule our own lives by our own standards and own (lack of) wisdom, we find ourselves in the midst of destruction. Out of the garden of paradise and into suffering.
It's our pride - our desire to be our own god, to set our own standards by which to live by, to try and believe that we know best for ourselves - that bolsters all the rest of our sin and drives us so far from God. And it what destroys our lives, leaves us utterly dissatisfied as we decay - sometimes slowly where in the midst of instant gratification, we don't realize the harm we're doing ourselves until suddenly, we're at a low and don't know how we got there as things are so bad, we feel so empty and lost and none of what we have been doing will fill us like we had tricked ourselves into thinking it did before. And for some reason, we keep on trying to fill it with the same ol, same ol and maybe can manage to feel good for a second before it goes crashing down again, leaving us emptier than before because it never lasts. It doesn't last because it doesn't make us whole.
God makes us whole. Because we were made for Him. We were supposed to be with Him from the get-go, fully intertwined with Him, finding the fulfillment of our every need and desire in Him. And if we just set Him as our God instead of trying to be a god unto ourselves, we can rest in that and enjoy that. It won't destroy us, it won't leave us empty. In God is peace and true satisfaction. And thank goodness for Jesus that bridges the gap back to true union to God that was broken with that bite of fruit. Which was much more than just a bite of fruit but an assertion of shunning aside God in favor of our own rule.
And look how far our own rule has gotten us. It is our pride that has destroyed. But it is His love that will heal.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)