Jesus

Build a Life that Lasts

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Build a life that lasts

15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. 17And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.

1 John 2:15-17

A life that lasts, it is what God wants for us. It is a movement from inordinate concern for our success to delight in our significance emerging in the truth and grace of our Saviour.

The elder John is concerned for the continued growth and development of the disciples of Jesus from their new birth in Christ Jesus, to their growth in His Word to become strong and courageous in character, and then to become reproducers sharing the Father’s heart. But John knows that Satan and the greedy desires of the heart can derail growth. So he commands them: Do not love the world.

The “world” here is not specifically a reference to creation or to people, but rather to the system of belief and thinking, attitudes and actions, that are independent of the Heavenly Father. He knows that we live “in” the world, but he also knows we do not have to be “of” it. Jesus has set us apart, even as He was set apart for the glory of the Heavenly Father. Such autonomy and independence from God does not originate in His love.

Three approaches to life that are “normal” to our cultures and societies ruin us for a life that lasts. John calls them the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes and the pride of life.

The desires of the flesh
The impulse of fallen human nature to satisfy physical desires in ways that are not of God.

The desires of the eyes
The shortsighted desire to live for only what one sees physically, without a thought for its real or eternal value.

The pride of life
The temptation to make worldly things and wealth our source of security and pridefully overlooking our need for and dependence on God.

Here’s the problem with this kind of life. It has destruction as its end. It will abandon the virtues God calls for in Christ and it seeks a victory that has nothing to do with Jesus. John says this kind of life will not last. The world and these desires are passing away (verse 17).

The Life that Lasts
But, the person who does the will of God abides forever. This person will last. Their life will last. It is the will of the Father, that you and I find our greatest joy, satisfaction, and even life in His Son, Christ Jesus. What you do in Christ Jesus, with Him, and in congruence with His character will last. Dependence on Jesus, humility and sacrifice, courage and love will matter into eternity. Its never wasted! This kind of life will last!

Exhausting Lies

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19When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, 20idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, 21envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God. Galatians 5:19-21 (NLT)

 

The “old me” is hanging around. It seeks to rule me and is in conflict with the “new me” created by the Spirit of God. Paul gives us a short list evidencing the old nature, but he admits the list is not exhaustive.

However, it must be said, the old nature is exhausting! That’s the surprising and enslaving feature of the old nature. Sin wears us out. And all the while it keeps feeding us the lie that we are “really living” or will be really living when we follow the desires of our sinful nature.

This kind of life truly keeps us from inheriting and enjoying the freedom and joy of the Kingdom of God made ours through faith in Jesus. Jesus says, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)

No Room for Idols

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9For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, 10and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.  1 Thessalonians 1:9-10

 

Statues are easy. I remember the day my dad threw out an idol. He rocked the boat! It created waves. Was it art or was it an idol?

 

What lodge deep in my heart was the idea that our affection for Jesus did not leave room for idols. But you know statues are easy.

 

What’s not as obvious is how my heart turns many, many, many of God’s good gifts into idols. They take the place of Jesus in my heart. I take hold of their false promise of peace, of joy, of security. Whether its achievement, money, health, children, friends, pleasure, these become idols in my heart when they become ultimate. They cannot bear the weight of my soul. Nor can my soul bear their weight. I will be crushed by them. Like the tragic hoarder in Connecticut I might not ever see the consequence of my misplaced affection until its too late.

 

But here is the grace of God to us in Christ: His grace awakens us to the Living God and we now keep turning from idols to serve the living and true God. Statues are easy for us to see and say “ah, a false view of God.” But please, don’t become smaug, you may be sitting on your idol.

 

So look with Jesus Christ our Lord at your heart. With Him there is no room for idols. Its not time to move furniture around, its time to clean house. Some things must go and some things must be put back in their proper place under Jesus. Then the report will go out about us, “They turned from their idols to serve Jesus, the living God.”

Consuming Community

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14For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 15But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another. 16But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh…

22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. 26Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.

 

How is your family (organizational) culture today?

Fussy? Filled with fights?

Does jealousy lurk just below the surface?

Do your structures promote pride and leverage selfish ambition?

Community that consumes is common.

 

Such dysfunction abounds when fear, shame, and guilt have their way among us.

 

In Christ Jesus we have been given another way.

 

The Apostle Paul, writing to the Galatian churches, is concerned. He knows what happens when we our old nature runs into the old nature of another person. Unchecked by the Spirit of God, the old natures rises up and shows its conceit, its ungodly joy at provocation, and its festering envy over another’s good fortune. This kind of community is the kind that devours people and spits them out. Its always looking for the top of the pile. Its a consuming community.

The community that consumes has nothing to do with the Spirit of God and the fruit that is borne of a community surrendered to Jesus. Spiritual leadership in Jesus’ name will yearn for and create the environments that seek maturity that displays Jesus’ love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Then we will catch glorious glimpses of The Communing Community of God, Father, Son & Holy Spirit.

Orientation, Lines, and Shouting in the Office

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25And now that the way of faith has come, we no longer need the law as our guardian.26For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 27And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes. 28There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29And now that you belong to Christ, you are the true children of Abraham. You are his heirs, and God’s promise to Abraham belongs to you. Galatians 3:25-29

 

 

One of my kids was bullied, shamed, yelled at, and banished by a teacher for not colouring in the lines. It was awful. If I could have, I would have erased the lines on the paper and used them to draw a new vision of education all the way from the office to the classroom.

 

Now, I know we like our lines. They bring us some measure of comfort and normalcy. We feel threatened when someone colours outside the lines.

 

And here’s a truth, the Gospel has erased some lines we like.

 

Do you claim Jesus as Lord? If yes, get your social eraser out.

 

Paul is inviting the Galatians to a Gospel Orientation. The lines have been redrawn. Who’s in and who’s out? Who’s up and who’s down? In Christ Jesus we are in the family as equal partners no matter our race, status, or gender. The implications are dramatic. A new social code has been written through His blood. When we resist the pull of the Gospel against our social and cultural conventions that oppress and limit people based on race, status, or gender, we are fighting Jesus. We are neglecting the common ground at the foot of the Cross bought through His blood.

 

So what to do? Raise the bar of the conversation. The Apostle Paul keeps pointing to the dramatic realities of the Gospel and acting accordingly. Let’s do the same!