Growth

You are not indispensable.

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16And this was why the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because he was doing these things on the Sabbath. 17But Jesus answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I am working.” 18This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.  19So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise.    John 5:16-19

 

In University I got sick- mono! I remember feeling really terrible about it because of how I was letting people down. My campus minister, Ron Little, tried to give me some perspective but it wasn’t working. So he said, “Craig, go home, put your thumb in a bucket of water and if it leaves a hole in the water, come back and tell me.” Humbling. Yet even then, it took me a while to comprehend what Ron was telling me!

 

Sometimes we can have an over-blown sense of just how much everybody else needs us. We believe we are indispensable. Its a problem for leaders because it cuts two ways: this attitude will ruin us and it will ruin the people we serve. Its the death of humility. Its the death of delegation and genuine empowerment.

 

Jesus is extraordinarily necessary for our salvation. And yet, he maintained humility, and the capacity to empower others. He knew who He was because He knew His Heavenly Father. And of His Heavenly Father, Jesus says, “He is always working!” and “I’m only doing what I see my Heavenly Father doing.”

 

For mission and for life its essential for us to remember: before you and I showed up on the scene God was working. If we begin to believe that its all up to us and that we are God’s answer for humanity’s brokenness, our mission can become our idol. We will  become a distraction with our sense of heroics, pointing people to us rather than to Jesus. We will become disappointed, angry, and bitter.  Jesus is familiar with the our problem, but it was not His problem. Jesus only saw His work through the lens of His Heavenly Father.

 

The remedy for our overblown sense of requirement is to look again to Jesus and tell  Him, “I’m available today to be a part of what you are doing.”

 

Think about thinking.

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Walk as children of light 9(for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), 10and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord….

15 Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, 16making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. 17Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. 18And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit…  Ephesians 5:8-10, 15-18

Have you spent some time lately thinking about how you are thinking?

God is interested in your metacognition. The quality of your life with Him and in all your relationships depends on it.

Here’s some questions to help:

Are you living as a child of light? The Gospel brings us into the revelation of the glory of God in Christ and into the reality of God’s comprehension of our whole lives. No need to hide before Him. Bring your life honestly and in its rawness to Him.

Is your thought process informed by an increasing desire to please God? If so you will be seeking to discern what is pleasing to God.

Are you paying attention to your life and relationships in order to live wisely? Are you living in a bubble or are you aware of the interconnectedness of your life to God through Christ, to people, to yourself, and to the stuff of earth?

Are you seeking to make the most of your time in each day? Is there any urgency in how you use your time?

Are you seeking to be full of the Holy Spirit? The mind and life under the influence of the Spirit of God is the grace available to us who are in Christ Jesus. The counter concern is that we not give up the capacities of mental engagement to drunkenness. Such a life leads to the persistent relinquishment of our thinking ability and leads us into habituated patterns of thinking, feeling, and acting that are in opposition to Jesus.

Are you thinking about your thinking yet?

I had a friend who used to say to me when he didn’t like what was coming out of my mouth or anyone else’s, “Now that’s stinking thinking!” When you hear it, repent, and ask the Spirit of God to align your thinking with the truth and grace of Jesus Christ our Lord.

Incompatible.

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3But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. 4Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. 5For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. 6Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. 7Therefore do not become partners with them; 8for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light 9(for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), 10and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord.   Ephesians 5:3-10

Out of place. Incompatible.

When we are walking in the love of Christ Jesus, these actions and pursuits are out of place.

Sexual immorality.

Impurity.

Coveting.

Filthy, foolish, crude speech.

I find it interesting that Paul was already aware of how people are prone to excuse, justify, and accommodate these vices. He warns, “Let no one deceive you with empty words…” In other words, some people will say these are compatible with Jesus. Yet, the Gospel gives us a vision of the crucified Jesus giving himself as a sacrifice for our forgiveness for these very vices (5:1-2). The wrath of God came upon Him so that His followers could walk in this love, truth, and grace. These things are incompatible with our new identity in Christ. We are no longer “sons of disobedience,” but now in Christ we are His “beloved children.”

What to do when I see these in me? Walk in His love. Depend on the Spirit. Move into repentance and belief.

What to do when I see these in fellow Christians with whom I share life? Gently call them to a greater vision of His love, dependence on the Spirit, and movement into repentance and belief.

Walk this way.

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1 Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. 2And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. Ephesians 5:1-2

The love we walk in is the love we offer to others. I share Paul’s hope for the church in Ephesus as a hope for Origin. Our vision of God shapes our love.

Shall we give ourselves up for another’s benefit?

Shall we be reduced to a fragrance?

Shall we live sacrificially?

Our capacity for giving, humility, and sacrifice will grow as we abide in the Kingdom of God knowing that we have become His child. At times imitation requires intention. But in the power of the Spirit of God may our imitation of Jesus become the unconscious byproduct of His renewal and transforming work of our very character.

The 6, 8, 10 Principles

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How are you making lifestyle decisions?

How do you think about your life as a follower of Jesus?

Do you have a short list of “nots” or oughts? Or perhaps more helpful do you have a short list of questions to ask yourself?

A pastor during my university years shared a short list of questions drawn from 1 Corinthians 6, 8, and 10. On many occasions I have reflected on my life by considering these questions. Most lifestyle decisions I made ahead of the crisis moment by taking stock of God’s Word and these simple questions.

Could this action or substance take control of me?

12 “All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be dominated by anything. 13“Food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food”—and God will destroy both one and the other. The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. 1 Corinthians 6:12-13

Could my action(s) cause another believer with whom I share fellowship to stumble?

11And so by your knowledge this weak person is destroyed, the brother for whom Christ died. 12Thus, sinning against your brothers and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ. 13Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble. 1 Corinthians 8:11-13

Is this action going to make a positive contribution to the life of another person? or How does this help build-up someone else?

23 “All things are lawful,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful,” but not all things build up. 24Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor. 1 Corinthians 10:23-24

Can I pursue this course of action for the glory of God, displaying the glory of God?

31So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. 32Give no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God, 33just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, that they may be saved. 1 Corinthians 10:31-33