This has been big news year. Wars, rumors of wars, major political changes, financial chaos. It’s a lot to take in and this season is filled with media that covers every possible angle. I’ve taken some time to consider the year in review from a personal perspective. What are the big things I’ve learned this year? Like the world around me, it’s been a big year for me as well I suppose. I’m seeing things pretty differently and I’m grateful for what I’m learning. Some things are new. Some are confirmation of things I already knew, but didn’t understand. Still others represent resolution to ideas that had existed in conflict in me over the years.
I share this here for three basic reasons:
God is far bigger than I’ve ever conceived
His Word is vast and complete in its ability to communicate history, theology, wisdom and salvation. It is our guide to the way of life modeled by Jesus, the apostles and the churches they established. Yet in our finite nature, we cannot begin grasp the height, depth, vastness, or grandeur of His creation, let alone His infinite nature. We must know and live by scripture as lead by the Holy Spirit, but be cautious about stretching its application beyond what it literally says.
God is far more intimate with us than I’ve previously understood
The “substance” of God runs throughout His creation including everything and everyone in it. He not only set it in motion, He actively holds it together. As the Psalm says, there is no where we can hide from Him, because He IS everywhere. The Great I AM. This may seem somewhat basic, but it necessitates a level of personal involvement that has become increasingly real to me in 2008. If you believe this, you will see the world, everything, and everyone, differently. You pray differently. You experience life differently. It’s not that God is everything. He is infinitely more than the sum of His creation. But He is present throughout it.
Heaven is real, is imminent, and is the first time we’ll fully experience life as it was intended
God established mankind in Eden, a place where He was fully present with us physically and spiritually. It was an imperishable place and man was also imperishable. Eden was here on Earth and could have been our eternal home. The fact that sin messed that up through breaking our ties with the source of life (God), doesn’t change the fact that this the kind of place and the kind of life we were intended for. The struggles and pain we experience today in what’s left of creation are all a direct result of our fall from grace. All of them, personal, political, economic, social, ecological, you name it. They all stem from the lack of direct and personal connection with God that resulted from our acts of sin. But through Jesus we are reconciled with God. We can once again experience communion with Him intimately through the Holy Spirit. The world we live in is still fallen, and so will remain imperfect until it is remade. But after a time, God will establish a new Heaven and a new Earth and we will see all that God has had in store for those who love Him since the very beginning! Heaven is a far more tangible hope this year than it was in the past.
Salvation is a beginning, not an end
I have been guilty of seeing salvation of sinners as the end-result of the church’s work. That is part of our work (more specifically, “making disciples” is.) But the great commission (Matthew 28) is so much more than that alone. It is just as much about teaching people how to live like Jesus in this life, not just bask in the rewards that will come in the next life. Honestly, that always felt a little self-centered, and it was. But like most selfish pursuits, it also began to feel shallow. (And I should know, I have a lot of experience being selfish.) So how do we teach people how to live like Jesus? The answer is at once simple and impossible: live like Jesus. Ouch! Yes, Jesus was a teacher and we should continue to teach His message. But He lived-out his lessons and taught by example. We must too. This is the most challenging realization I think I’ve ever experienced and I have no idea where this may lead me in practical terms. But I don’t want this to be a passing thought. It should be transformational, as it was for those who heard it first-hand from Jesus himself. Jesus said, “follow me.” I think He’s still staying that to all who believe, not just pastors, evangelists and missionaries.
The Kingdom of God is here now
I have often thought of Jesus words proclaiming the Kingdom of God as being “at hand” as pointing to His Millennial reign, or even later starting in the new Heaven and new Earth. More recently though, I have come to believe that He was referring to the time beginning at Pentecost when the Holy Spirit arrived to reign in the hearts of believers. The impact of this is huge. It places Christians today in a very different position with respect to our allegiances. It also makes Paul’s claim of citizenship in Heaven in Philippians 3 make more sense. We are part of a different kingdom, and if we believe the Holy Spirit is literally present in our lives today and we aspire to living under His rule, then we’re talking about a literal kingdom. A government led by God through the Spirit and we (the church) are solely under His citizenship and authority. So as believers, we should not see ourselves as Americans, or Mexicans, or Chinese beyond ethnicity. These are human kingdoms lead by men that we were born into. However, having been baptized to Christ, we now live as expatriates in a foreign land. We are Christian, and our leader is our namesake — Christ Himself.
The “American Dream” is not ours to claim
As citizens of Heaven, we seek different goals. The fact is neither Jesus, the Apostles or the 1st century church ever sought or encouraged chasing after life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. In fact, these things are more akin to “eating, drinking, and being merry” (1 Corinthians 15), but the apostle Paul only suggested this course of life if the Gospel were false! Christians in the US have bought into our American culture because it is comfortable. The constitution’s separation of faith from matters of state, while an unholy trade-off for a true believer, has afforded the church a measure of freedom to comfortably coexist as long as it doesn’t infringe on the state. This has encouraged a comfortable church that enjoys its tax shelters and largely stays under them. Other countries (e.g., China, Afghanistan, Iraq, etc.) have not had it so easy. In those countries you would definitely find fewer minivans sporting Christian symbols. But the Christians you find there would be surprised to think that such a symbol would be necessary to identify a true believer living in freedom.
God’s politics are far different than I’ve been lead to believe
I have been relatively politically-minded over the years, even as a young adult. I was quite liberal (and Democrat) as a teen, but by my early 20’s I found myself relatively alone in this persuasion once established in the evangelical church. Through the influence of others and some natural moderation that come with maturity, I shifted significantly to the right (and Republican.) But after witnessing political failures at the hands of both parties during the two decades of my adult life, while at the same time learning more about Jesus for myself, I have become increasingly disillusioned with traditional politics and more interested in Jesus. Man’s systems clearly don’t hold the solutions to our problems. At best, the problems don’t essentially change. At worst, man creates more or worse problems. I’m beginning to believe that the ramifications of this realization may be quite far-reach for me, but 2008 netted these two major conclusions:
So that’s a bit of what I’ve learned and concluded in 2008. So now what? The net of this is surely more then a collection of New Year’s resolutions. I specifically avoid making them because I’ve never been able to keep them. From what I hear I’m not alone. No, these things are more foundational than that. I’m very aware that the implications of these ideas are not to be taken lightly. I’m not sure where this will lead, but I’m sure of these things:
I share this here for three basic reasons:
- I feel compelled to though I can’t fully explain why.
- That what I write might encourage others to consider these ideas and conclusions (especially if they surprise you) and either adopt them or challenge me on them.
- That people who know me might hold me accountable to the impacts of these realizations. 2009 and years that follow should be different because of what I’ve learned in 2008.
- Short-term mission work with the poor in rural Haiti. You can’t experience something like this and not be changed.
- In depth study of the Gospel and several New Testament letters.
- Reading several contemporary authors that express faith from a non-traditional perspective.
- Formal study of the Church and prophesy of future things
God is far bigger than I’ve ever conceived
His Word is vast and complete in its ability to communicate history, theology, wisdom and salvation. It is our guide to the way of life modeled by Jesus, the apostles and the churches they established. Yet in our finite nature, we cannot begin grasp the height, depth, vastness, or grandeur of His creation, let alone His infinite nature. We must know and live by scripture as lead by the Holy Spirit, but be cautious about stretching its application beyond what it literally says.
God is far more intimate with us than I’ve previously understood
The “substance” of God runs throughout His creation including everything and everyone in it. He not only set it in motion, He actively holds it together. As the Psalm says, there is no where we can hide from Him, because He IS everywhere. The Great I AM. This may seem somewhat basic, but it necessitates a level of personal involvement that has become increasingly real to me in 2008. If you believe this, you will see the world, everything, and everyone, differently. You pray differently. You experience life differently. It’s not that God is everything. He is infinitely more than the sum of His creation. But He is present throughout it.
Heaven is real, is imminent, and is the first time we’ll fully experience life as it was intended
God established mankind in Eden, a place where He was fully present with us physically and spiritually. It was an imperishable place and man was also imperishable. Eden was here on Earth and could have been our eternal home. The fact that sin messed that up through breaking our ties with the source of life (God), doesn’t change the fact that this the kind of place and the kind of life we were intended for. The struggles and pain we experience today in what’s left of creation are all a direct result of our fall from grace. All of them, personal, political, economic, social, ecological, you name it. They all stem from the lack of direct and personal connection with God that resulted from our acts of sin. But through Jesus we are reconciled with God. We can once again experience communion with Him intimately through the Holy Spirit. The world we live in is still fallen, and so will remain imperfect until it is remade. But after a time, God will establish a new Heaven and a new Earth and we will see all that God has had in store for those who love Him since the very beginning! Heaven is a far more tangible hope this year than it was in the past.
Salvation is a beginning, not an end
I have been guilty of seeing salvation of sinners as the end-result of the church’s work. That is part of our work (more specifically, “making disciples” is.) But the great commission (Matthew 28) is so much more than that alone. It is just as much about teaching people how to live like Jesus in this life, not just bask in the rewards that will come in the next life. Honestly, that always felt a little self-centered, and it was. But like most selfish pursuits, it also began to feel shallow. (And I should know, I have a lot of experience being selfish.) So how do we teach people how to live like Jesus? The answer is at once simple and impossible: live like Jesus. Ouch! Yes, Jesus was a teacher and we should continue to teach His message. But He lived-out his lessons and taught by example. We must too. This is the most challenging realization I think I’ve ever experienced and I have no idea where this may lead me in practical terms. But I don’t want this to be a passing thought. It should be transformational, as it was for those who heard it first-hand from Jesus himself. Jesus said, “follow me.” I think He’s still staying that to all who believe, not just pastors, evangelists and missionaries.
The Kingdom of God is here now
I have often thought of Jesus words proclaiming the Kingdom of God as being “at hand” as pointing to His Millennial reign, or even later starting in the new Heaven and new Earth. More recently though, I have come to believe that He was referring to the time beginning at Pentecost when the Holy Spirit arrived to reign in the hearts of believers. The impact of this is huge. It places Christians today in a very different position with respect to our allegiances. It also makes Paul’s claim of citizenship in Heaven in Philippians 3 make more sense. We are part of a different kingdom, and if we believe the Holy Spirit is literally present in our lives today and we aspire to living under His rule, then we’re talking about a literal kingdom. A government led by God through the Spirit and we (the church) are solely under His citizenship and authority. So as believers, we should not see ourselves as Americans, or Mexicans, or Chinese beyond ethnicity. These are human kingdoms lead by men that we were born into. However, having been baptized to Christ, we now live as expatriates in a foreign land. We are Christian, and our leader is our namesake — Christ Himself.
The “American Dream” is not ours to claim
As citizens of Heaven, we seek different goals. The fact is neither Jesus, the Apostles or the 1st century church ever sought or encouraged chasing after life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. In fact, these things are more akin to “eating, drinking, and being merry” (1 Corinthians 15), but the apostle Paul only suggested this course of life if the Gospel were false! Christians in the US have bought into our American culture because it is comfortable. The constitution’s separation of faith from matters of state, while an unholy trade-off for a true believer, has afforded the church a measure of freedom to comfortably coexist as long as it doesn’t infringe on the state. This has encouraged a comfortable church that enjoys its tax shelters and largely stays under them. Other countries (e.g., China, Afghanistan, Iraq, etc.) have not had it so easy. In those countries you would definitely find fewer minivans sporting Christian symbols. But the Christians you find there would be surprised to think that such a symbol would be necessary to identify a true believer living in freedom.
God’s politics are far different than I’ve been lead to believe
I have been relatively politically-minded over the years, even as a young adult. I was quite liberal (and Democrat) as a teen, but by my early 20’s I found myself relatively alone in this persuasion once established in the evangelical church. Through the influence of others and some natural moderation that come with maturity, I shifted significantly to the right (and Republican.) But after witnessing political failures at the hands of both parties during the two decades of my adult life, while at the same time learning more about Jesus for myself, I have become increasingly disillusioned with traditional politics and more interested in Jesus. Man’s systems clearly don’t hold the solutions to our problems. At best, the problems don’t essentially change. At worst, man creates more or worse problems. I’m beginning to believe that the ramifications of this realization may be quite far-reach for me, but 2008 netted these two major conclusions:
- Party affiliation. I no longer consider myself affiliated with either of the two major political parties. My association is to God’s kingdom, not man’s. This will affect my judgement on issues, my choices of candidates, my endorsements, or even my willingness to participate in the process. The solutions to every problem under the sun lie not in party platforms, but in restoring the hearts of men and women through the Gospel and in the church truly living as the body of Christ. There is no lasting hope short of this. But there is both immediate and eternal hope as we live lives consistent with the principles of the Kingdom of God today through the guidance and strength of the Holy Spirit.
- The Earth is His, and everything in it. (Psalm 24) And we should treat it as such. Creation is not our Walmart from which to extract whatever suits our fancy as cheaply as possible. Yes, the resources of Earth were put in our care to feed, shelter, and even comfort us. But that are also intended to proclaim His glory and thus should not be thwarted or denigrated. The unique planet we’ve been graciously given is not ours to rape, pillage and burn. It is God’s. I have long felt uncomfortable with tension that seems to exist between the evangelical church and environmentalism. On one side we have Naturalists who revere “Mother Earth” and Darwinian evolutionism and see man as a blight upon her face. On the other, you have those who so seek to differentiate themselves from this that they end-up supporting ideologies that fail to acknowledge the wisdom God gives us through science and deny any need for ecological responsibility. I find myself equally at odds with both. ?I have come to this conclusion. God gave us the gift of a diverse, beautiful, hospitable and remarkably durable home. Like our own bodies, the Earth’s ability to heal itself within certain limits is nothing short of miraculous. But as everything else physical, it is not unbreakable. The church is quick to condemn smoking as a desecration of our bodies, yet our parking lots are remarkably full of trucks and SUV’s that needlessly desecrate the air we breathe. We should at once enjoy, share, and care for the earthly home we’ve been given.
So that’s a bit of what I’ve learned and concluded in 2008. So now what? The net of this is surely more then a collection of New Year’s resolutions. I specifically avoid making them because I’ve never been able to keep them. From what I hear I’m not alone. No, these things are more foundational than that. I’m very aware that the implications of these ideas are not to be taken lightly. I’m not sure where this will lead, but I’m sure of these things:
- I need to continue to grow.
- I don’t want to be a complacent Christian who is on the sidelines of the Big Game (or worse yet, finally discovers he’s not really on the team.)
- I need to be willing to rethink and reorder virtually every area of my life.
- I can’t do this alone. I need the Spirit’s guidance and strength, the support of a like-minded Church community and family.
