ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
March 22, 2024
On Sunday, which happens to be Palm Sunday, we will conclude the series on Pressing The Reset Button. As we continue to push the metaphor of the reset, we will focus on the necessity of anyone seeking to live like Jesus needing a reset from one perspective to another. There is one world where the humble are crushed and the last are defined as losers, yet Jesus spoke of how those who humble themselves shall be lifted up and those who are last shall find themselves first. Those who claim to be Christian offer a lot of sanctimonious rhetoric to these ideas, but they remain very much citizens of a world that does not have time for those defined as weak, failures, worthless, and nobodies. Very rarely do we see the Jesus reversal embodied, let alone the defining value. This might be the single most difficult reset for us to make, simply because there are very few examples we can turn to and use as a model. In James 4, the question is asked: “What good is it if people say they have faith but do nothing to show it?” The faith spoken of in James is not some nebulous feel-good sentimentality, but a specific belief in a specific worldview.
There are numerous resets that I probably need, Lord God, but a reset with how I see the world and how I choose to interact with the world needs to be a priority each day. By your grace, may it be so. Amen.
3 thoughts on “03-22-24”
So, of course I’m asking myself if you directed me to this post because you are ‘reading between lines’ of what I commented on, or perhaps it was in bold type?. – I frankly struggle with this issue constantly. I often, very often in fact feel as if I’m fooling myself that I might be a good Christian. – Many times after I’ve been reading or even after Sunday service I soon feel down, even depressed at times.
Bruce,
I simply want to apologize for my last post. – It was childish and there was no good excuse for it, Not something I’ve ever done before and I’m embarrassed of it. – I also want to apologize that my previous posts didn’t sit right with you. Whatever that was I have no doubt you are correct in your assessment.
God Bless,
Tim
You’ve got to do a lot more to offend me. 🙂 Don’t be embarrassed or concerned at all. This whole journey of faith thing needs to be questions, discernment, reflection, practice, more reflection, more questioning, all within the community. Sorry that I was slow in responding. Dr. Warren Carter is in town doing these lectures and conversations, and I have been tied up with them. And in regard to being a “good Christian,” I am sort of cautious when it comes to that language. We are invited to be disciples, or maybe a better word is students. And when we are thinking in terms of trying to be a student of the Jesus life, there are going to be many moments of failure, stumbling, doubts, and frustration. What makes a “good” student is not someone who avoids all those things, but someone who can ask the hard but important question, “What can I learn from this?” Remember, there was a time when a “good Christian” was defined as someone who did not drink, smoke, or hang out with those who did. I’m going to suggest that discipleship is something entirely different. It’s about learning to embrace God’s unmerited love for the purpose of finding wholeness within ourselves and then discovering ourselves as agents of that love in the world. Be good to yourself!!