relationships

Relationships without shame.

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18Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is just right for him.” 19So the Lord God formed from the ground all the wild animals and all the birds of the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would call them, and the man chose a name for each one. 20He gave names to all the livestock, all the birds of the sky, and all the wild animals. But still there was no helper just right for him.

21So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep. While the man slept, the Lord God took out one of the man’s ribs and closed up the opening. 22Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib, and he brought her to the man.

23“At last!” the man exclaimed.

“This one is bone from my bone,

and flesh from my flesh!

She will be called ‘woman,’

because she was taken from ‘man.’”

24This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.

25Now the man and his wife were both naked, but they felt no shame. Genesis 2:18-25

Shame hides. Shame creates a compulsion to hide either by overdoing togetherness or separateness. Shame is an enemy of communion. But shame is not the product of separateness or of union.

No shame. We have difficulty imagining such a condition.

God intended for Adam to discover his aloneness or difference from the creation. I believe the naming process created an awareness of self and of the other; or perhaps I should say the naming process engaged Adam with the stuff of earth and created the awareness in Adam of the absence of the “other” who was “just right for him.”

When Adam saw the woman, he recognized and rejoiced in her. His poetic explosion highlights their connection and their separateness. True communion must be permeated with the grace of God; it is the condition required for the strength and glory of an eben-ezer (strong help) to be received and cherished without fear, guilt, or shame. In the backstory of the Gospel its hard for us to imagine relationships without shame.

Created in the image of God.

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26Then God said, “Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us. They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth, and the small animals that scurry along the ground.”

27So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them;

male and female he created them.

28Then God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it. Reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the animals that scurry along the ground.”  Genesis 1:26-28

The Christian view of humanity before the Great Catastrophe is glorious. God created people. He created people with capacity for relationships, love, and authority.  And God blessed them; He set before them the abundance of earth and set before them the opportunity to delight in Him and in each other and the diversity of creation.

Humanity carries within a fundamental and qualitative difference from the rest of Creation. They have been made “in the image of God.” They have been bestowed with a character representative and related to the Creator separate from the rest of Creation. Yet they are distinctly connected to the Creation for they have been endowed by God with capacity to rule and to choose.

But perhaps more importantly, humanity was created with a capacity for knowing God and living in communion with Him through loving responsive to Him.

We’ve been created for relationships.

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3When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers—

the moon and the stars you set in place—

4what are mere mortals that you should think about them,

human beings that you should care for them?

5Yet you made them only a little lower than God

and crowned them with glory and honor.

6You gave them charge of everything you made,

putting all things under their authority—

7the flocks and the herds

and all the wild animals,

8the birds in the sky, the fish in the sea,

and everything that swims the ocean currents.

Psalm 8:3-8

The Christian worldview maintains that God created people for four kinds of relationships: with God, with self, with people, and with the stuff of earth. In this Psalm of David we see this conviction present. David sets himself in Creation—the stuff of earth— and reflects on himself in relationship to God, with people, and in the Creation. All four relationships are in play in this Psalm.

The tension in the Psalm is unavoidable. David is in awe of God. Yet David feels small. God has show Himself large in the immensity of the night sky, the strength of the wild, the seemingly unrestrained space of the sky and sea. And yet, humans matter to God. And yet, God has given mere mortals glory and honour to have authority in the creation.

I’m blessed to come everyday to a community dedicated to the study of the creation and all that humanity has done with it. I am often delighted by the students and professors whose knowledge of slices of The Creation is only bounded by time and the questions they are asking. They are awesome.

Knowing God, the Creator, drives our faith forward to seek and know Him.  The writer of Hebrews says, “It is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.”Hebrews 11:6

Fight Club–The conflictual nature of belonging to Jesus. Authentic Stewardship, Part 3.

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14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. 15Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. 16Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. 17Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. 18If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. 19Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” 20To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” 21Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.  Romans 12:14-21

The fight.
We are going to talk about it.

To follow Jesus is to land firmly and fully in a conflict. And yes, it is between good and evil. The battlefield that matters most is in your heart, mind and soul. For from inside of you, you will be called on to love with “the love genuine.” The Gospel is doing its work and you are a participant in your sanctification. (See Romans 12:1-3)

Your mettle will be tested by those who contend against the firmness of your stand with Jesus. They may not even know what they are doing! Paul would write to the Ephesian church that this battle is not against flesh and blood, but against  “the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:12) People are really not THE enemy. Yet their compliance with evil and our own compliance with evil must be confronted.

Every command of love-in-motion confronts. 

Paul begins this battle-aware list of commands by echoing the words of Jesus. Every command confronts. “Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.” Please go back and read the passage again with this question in mind “How are we going to engage with people in the highs and lows of life?”

Every command urgently requires us to seek the Spirit of God for the deconstructing and constructing work of the Gospel in our lives. Truly its only our fears and the fears of others that disable and negate the creative impulse to overcome evil by doing good.

Do good. Mobilize the stuff of earth.

Why, you may ask is this part of a discussion on authentic stewardship? Because doing good goes beyond words. Doing good requires the requisition of resources and their thoughtful and generous application to business, to governance, to art and culture, to the judicial system, and to community and city infrastructures. Those intent on doing this for the common good and not just for personal gain will always find the conflict. Christians are Jesus’ stewards. We move forward with personal responsibility towards Him for what has been entrusted to us. We are to steward with the posture of genuine love, not acting, but loving with integrity to Jesus. When we miss the mark, we miss it royally!

Spontaneous Worship!
Jesus is the Lord of Heaven and Earth! He comes to us from the communion of God, and the humble ground of the stable, and the refuge of Egypt, and the shores of Galilee, and the halls of Jerusalem’s justice, and the Cross of the cursed, and the tomb of the dead, in order to reign as Lord of all. Having  ascended to Heaven He has given us His Spirit to establish His temple in our very body and in His Church. Glory to God! Let our love be genuine.

Love can’t be hurried. Authentic Stewardship, Part 2.

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9 Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. 10Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. 11Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. 12Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. 13Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality. Romans 12:9-13

We have a giant plastic box at home. And depending on the occasion we all have reached into it. Its the costume box. We have hats: firemen hats, cowboy hats, pirate hats, clown hats, robin hood hats. We have capes: merry men, zorro, and all kinds of super heroes. We have wings and wands and brooms. We have… Ok you get the picture!

No actors allowed.
At a moment’s notice we can be someone else! When we put on these hats and capes we get to pretend to be someone else with different powers and personas. But this is not how we are to live as followers of Jesus.The Apostle Paul is clear — those who have received the mercy and grace of God through Jesus Christ are done with pretending. He writes, “Let love be genuine.”
The phrase here is more like a heading: The Love Sincere. The love without hypocrisy. No play-acting or pretending here! This is how we are to steward the grace of God given us and residing in our bodies and our fellowship.

With that introduction Paul is off to the races. He races through a list of commands illustrating real love in a world of great challenge. In the first five verses of this list of love we see that maturing, genuine love empowered by Jesus gives His people a subtle and pervasive strength. What real love can do, the people of Jesus begin to do.

What love can do; and how Jesus’ disciples are being changed.
Love can differentiate. So, they know the difference between what is evil and what is good. (v. 9)

Love has brotherly affection. So, they maintain boundaries in relationships. (v. 10)

Love honours. So, they can show honour to others without fear of loosing themselves. (v. 10)

Love takes personal responsibility; So, they perennially engage in the disciplines generating enthusiasm for Jesus. (v. 11-12)

Love sees what is needed; So, they enter into the lives of others and allow others into their own. (v. 13)


Make it personal.
In these five verses we are confronted with a dynamic vision of the soul who loves. Jesus shows me the God who loves, and shows me that I am loved. Such knowledge changes everything in my relationships with people and the stuff of earth. Authentic stewardship is love in motion. I know a transformation is required! But it cannot be hurried. There is no mask to put on that will make me love like Jesus. There is only a work to be done from the inside out.