JESUS HAS CLAIMED ME

Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.  Phil. 3:12, R.S.V.

Almost everyone who has studied a course in basic psychology read about all those babies who died in an orphanage at the close of World War II.  The infants all had proper nutrition, plenty of fresh air and sunlight, and clean clothing as needed.  There was no evidence of any disease among them.  Yet many of them simply gave up on living.  The management, suspecting they might know the reason, hired a number of women to simply pick up the starving babies, hold them close, and talk warmly to them.  The babies' condition improved markedly.

My psychology textbook listed this as concrete evidence that human beings have needs that go beyond biological necessities.  We need to be loved.  Without love, we are damaged; with the genuine item, we are healed.  It is interesting that wise observers in the field of human behavior are verifying what Scripture has been telling us all along.  Every human on this planet is made to be bound together in a union of love with God and with each other.  We cannot survive without it.

We are not speaking here of warm sentimental niceties; we are talking about the fundamentals for being functional persons.  Except as we know how precious we are to our Lord, we spend our days consumed in petty, grasping selfishness, groping somehow to earn or deserve His favor.  Such an inward, anxiety-ridden experience cannot foster the true works of righteousness, the works of selfless love.

In the message of Philippians quoted above, Paul forcefully shares a priceless insight: relationship produces righteousness; righteousness does not produce relationship.  In essence he is saying, "Jesus has already claimed me, and because of that, I have the inner strength and incentive to become all that He wants me to become--within the nurturing security of the relationship."

Paul is not saying that our relationship with God is a reward for our perfect performance.  Indeed, he is emphatic that he does not himself possess such perfectness.  Rather, he longs to press toward that wholeness, "because Christ Jesus has made me his own."

If Jesus Christ can draw His people upward so powerfully through the impact of a loving relationship, shouldn't we in His family pass on that same love to each other?

THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF HONEST WRONGNESS

Never despise what is spoken in the name of the Lord.  By all means use your judgment, and hold on to whatever is good.  1 Thess. 5:20, 21, Phillips.

Americans love their freedom.  However, conservatives contend that too many citizens are turning liberty into license.  The "back to God" movements springing up everywhere are an outcry against such permissiveness.  People are calling for "men of God" to take the helm of government and "get tough on crime."  To many Christians this all sounds very good.  Certainly getting "back to God" can only bring relief.  Who wouldn't want fearless, Bible-believing statesmen?  But wait!  Might we trample on the vital principles of freedom of choice?

The Scriptures counsel us to "use your judgment" and "hold on to whatever is good."  Another version says "test everything" (R.S.V.).  The testing process in which we exercise judgment is absolutely vital in developing strength of character--even when we're wrong, very wrong!  Take Paul, for example.

Paul was "convinced that I ought to do many things in opposing the name of Jesus of Nazareth....I not only shut up many of the saints in prison, by authority from the chief priests, but when they were put to death I cast my vote against them" (Acts 26:9, 19, R.S.V.).  Paul had honestly weighed the situation in Jerusalem and had taken a terribly wrong course of action!  What changed him?

Paul was confronted with the person of Jesus Christ.  His conscience was not forced, but from this encounter he discovered his error and made an abrupt about-face, becoming the single most powerful witness in early Christendom.  To this day God utilizes Paul's strength of character--his rock-firm stand on conviction--as an example to believers everywhere.

Paul's strength of character was not developed that day on the road to Damascus.  It had been growing a long time.  It was growing even when he was wrong, because he was wrong honestly!  Only God knows when that is the case.  We cannot know for sure.  Therefore, it is better for us to preserve an individual's sense of integrity than to destroy it in the name of right.

THAT EXTRA OIL

For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them; but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps.  Matt. 25:3, 4, R.S.V.

Two people are praying about the second coming of Christ.  The first prays, "Lord, I have waited for You so long!  Come soon and save me from this miserable world."  The other person prays, "Lord, use me to enlighten others about who You are so they can choose aright, even if it means You need to delay Your coming."

Both persons want Jesus to return.  Both want to see an end to the reign of sin and the beginning of the eternal kingdom.  But if you listen closely, you will spot quite different motives as to why they want Jesus to return.  And That is precisely the point of Jesus' parable about the ten young maidens who were asked to lighten the way for the coming of the Bridegroom.

Both groups of women had oil in their lamps--the Holy Spirit in their minds to illuminate them.  Specifically, all ten wanted Jesus to come.  They all knew the approximate time and sought to be ready.  But five of them were concerned only for the light adequate to get themselves in.  The other five (whom Jesus identified and wise) were prepared to lighten the way for the coming of the bridal party.  Knowing that they themselves would find entrance, they wanted to lighten the way for others as well.

The sobering part of Jesus' parable, however, is the fact that the five whose concern was narrowly self-centered did not enter into the wedding feast with the Bridegroom.  Though they had enough light (truth) to know that the Bridegroom was coming, they were not prepared for the essential privilege of their calling.  They were unable to hold the lamp of truth high so that others could appreciate His coming as well.

I find myself confronted with probing questions.  Am I more concerned about the "soonness" of Jesus' coming than I am about the One who is coming?  Am I more eager to be rescued from this planet than I am to be prepared to tell others about the Rescuer?  Is my attention centered upon slipping away from the cold darkness of this world into the warm light of heaven?  Or do I find great delight even now in watching the light dawn in someone's eyes as he gets to really know Jesus Christ?

FROM BLESSINGS AND CURSES TO FRIENDSHIP

I offer you the choice of life or death, blessing or curse.  Deut. 30:19, N.E.B.

When my daughter was little, she liked cleaning her room because I rewarded her with hugs and kisses.  As she grew older she began to appreciate the inherents benefits of having a tidy room.  It was a triumphant day when she came to me announcing, "It's so much nicer living in a clean room.  I think I'll keep it neat all the time!"

Small children cannot comprehend the deeper reasons for principles and actions.  So we reinforce their experiences with praise or discipline that teaches them that "this will make you happy" or "this will bring you sorrow."  These external teaching aids become less and less necessary as the child discovers the built-in pluses and minuses of his actions.  If I hugged and kissed my daughter today for cleaning her room, she'd consider it unnecessary.  But we'd both laugh--because we've become friends.

Just before the Hebrew nation went up to possess Canaan, God spoke to them through Moses.  They were given many laws and ordinances to govern their personal and corporate lives.  And they were told, "I offer you the choice of life or death, blessing or curse."  The blessing of life or the curse of death was inherent in their choice.  If they chose to follow God's outline they would benefit from the built-in pluses of doing so.  If they preferred the lifestyles of the heathen nations they were bound to reap the results.

Only one generation removed from Egypt, however, the people were like little children, unaccustomed to reasoning from cause to effect.  Therefore, God reinforced their understanding with promises of His pleasure and warnings of His censure.  Had Israel come to appreciate that the lifestyle God desired for them was simply the most sensible and productive way to live, not only would they have prospered, but they would have seen that God was more than a law-giver.  He was their friend.

The way God chose to deal with postslavery Israel was not His most preferred method.  He met them on the level at which they functioned.  The relationship I had with my daughter in her younger years was not my ultimate goal for us.  I looked forward to the day she would look beyond my role as parent and see me as her friend.

Today God desires you and me to see Him as more than one who blesses or curses.  He wants us to see Him as our dearest friend!

HOW FAITH WORKS

What matters is faith that makes its power felt through love.  Gal. 5:6, Jerusalem

I know this is a bold assertion.  But the longer I live with it, the more I believe it to be true.  I believe that virtually everything we do that is illegal, immoral, unkind, unethical, insensitive, or otherwise sinful, we do in a frantic and futile attempt to bolster our self-worth, protect our self-image, or defend our self-esteem.  In varying degrees, we are all lonely, frightened people, trying to cling to our little scraps of self-worth.

We are in this wounded condition because all of us have been out of relationship with the Lover of our souls.  Viewing ourselves as unloved, we have gone about in the best way we know how to cope with our emptiness.  Forgetting that the script was written by Satan himself, we follow the actings of a hundred generations before us.  We gossip, exaggerate, boast, manipulate, ridicule, and scorn.  But no one applauds.  Like a thirsty man drinking saltwater, we cannot quench our thirst.  If you want to speak of sin in psychological terms rather than theological terms, this is it!

The inner emptiness of one out of union with God is so full of craving, so powerful, that its longings cannot be stifled by any amount of pressure or commands.  Only a loving friendship can heal the heart of an unloved person.  And faith does just that.  Faith, in fact, is the reestablishing of a loving relationship with God.  It puts us into fellowship (indeed it is the fellowship itself) with our divine Lover.  And does that ever make a difference in our lives!

In this context, take another look at today's verse.  Paul recognizes that the essential ingredient in our lives is that healing bond with our Sustainer.  And that relationship is in fact so powerful that the apostle James could say, "By my deeds I will prove to you my faith" (James 2:18, N.E.B.).

Perhaps we hold faith in such low esteem because the real item is so rare.  Most people speak of faith as though it were a self-generated opinion about something one can't know for sure but would very much like to believe.  Others can talk about faith for pages--even whole chapters--and never mention Jesus Christ.  But have you ever found someone who is enthralled with Jesus and who fellowships with Him often who hasn't begun to become like Him?

That is faith's power!

PRAYING BY FORMULA?

Keep on praying and never lose heart.  Luke 18:1, N.E.B.

Why do I have to keep praying the same thing over and over?  Doesn't God hear me the first time?  If I don't pray enough times, does that disqualify me from getting an answer?  How many times is "enough"?

Have you ever had such thoughts, when prayer seems like an exercise in frustration?  Do you feel guilty because, secretly, you feel manipulated by God?  It seems as though He doesn't answer your prayer because He wants to keep you praying.  What a way to develop a friendship!

Let me tell you right now that God doesn't need to utilize such methods to invent relationship.  It would be like a mother who wanted to teach her young child that she could satisfy his hunger at dinnertime by allowing him to see her prepare a lovely meal.  And as he cried to her to feed him, she kept it from him because she so enjoyed hearing him call to her!

Neither is there some divine formula whereby God's blessings are dispensed, such as Blessings = Prayer x Intensity -- Doubt.  Though you may have heard the expression "the science of prayer," it does not refer to mathematics.  It means, as Paul so aptly puts it, "Persevere in prayer, with mind awake and thankful heart" (Col. 4:2, N.E.B.).

Mind awake to what?  To Whom you are praying!  And let me suggest that prayer will take on a totally different meaning in our lives as we focus on the person of God rather than on His "treasure chest."  Our text, "Keep on praying and never lose heart," is simply a reminder to keep focusing on our wonderful Father because He'll never let us down!  In the parable of the importunate widow and the intransigent judge, Jesus was not teaching that we have to beg God day after day in order for Him to bless us!  He was teaching just the opposite: God is not like that!

Our good God assures us to be comforted as we wait for an answer to our prayers.  He assures us that He hears us and that He "is able to do immeasurably more than all we can ask or conceive, by the power which is at work among us" (Eph. 3:20, N.E.B.).  Yes, He is "at work"--and is willing and able to do more for us than we think He'll do.  We need never lose heart!

WHOSE FAULT FOR FEELING BAD?

"I hold on to my integrity and will not let it go; my conscience does not accuse me, not one single day."  Job 27:6, Berkeley.


A teenage boy spends the whole evening watching a lightweight television program rather than doing his homework.  The next morning in an innocent gesture of caring, Dad asks him if his assignments are ready for school.  Junior exploded in touchy self-defense.  He sulks off to school, wondering why everyone is always "down on his case."

Those of us who have survived the testy years " 'tween 12 and 20" know why he feels that way.   We know that, in truth, it is his own sense of self-esteem, that has judged him the most severely.  Dad simply touched the raw nerve, calling him to have to reckon with the obvious.

Self-worth stands, as it were, on the three-legged stool.  The first leg is built on God's opinion of us--His prizing of us as His bought-back friends.  His forgiveness, His caring involvement, His constancy, all stand like pillars in our lives.  Though this leg of the stool is as strong as carbon steel, it has the disadvantage of also being the most abstract or intangible, especially for a young person.

The second leg of the stool is made up of the opinions of other people toward us.  Few things can shape our self-image more powerfully and immediately than concern for how we are valued by others.  The potency of this support in our lives is counterbalanced by the fact that we often have little control over how others view us--since they are usually consumed with protecting their own self-image!

The third leg of the stool is very largely under our own control.  It has to do with our own appraisal of our abilities to live a useful, purposeful, controlled life.  If we spend our days in lazy indulgence, dissipating our energies into frivolous thrills, we can't feel good about ourselves.  Our own conscience will be active in condemning us.

Yet how quick we are to blame those feelings of condemnation on God!  Or, realizing that the church upholds principles of usefulness and rightness, we feel that the church is a condemning power in our lives--and avoid it.  But it is not fair to blame God, religion, or the Bible for the reproach of our own hearts.  Rather our hearts should cherish God's righteous ways.

TOLERANCE OR INTELLIGENCE?

To be patient shows intelligence.  Prov. 19:11, N.E.B.

Patience is often thought of more as a virtue than a sign of intelligence.  Take, for example, the poor mother of five who does not lose her temper during the chaotic tug and pull of her offspring's growing-up years.  Marveling at her ability to endure patiently, we go away impressed but not taught.

Patience is more than control over upset feelings.  As our text today states, "To be patient shows intelligence."  Now, that changes the picture!  It moves us away from the mere exercise of tolerance toward a more reasoned and chosen posture.  The mother of five probably has no more inherent emotional strength than any of us.  She chooses to retain her patient bearing with her children because she understands that by doing so she is demonstrating to them that difficulties are worked through more effectively in the absence of agitated feelings.  Her demeanor is thought through and deliberate.

We read 2 Peter 3:15: "Bear in mind that our Lord's patience with us is our salvation" (N.E.B.).  To many Christians, that means we are walking on eggshells! Someday, according to their thinking, God is going to get rid of the whole mess and destroy the world with fire.  And He might lose patience with us even before then--and send calamities upon us!  We've all heard of "the judgment of God"!

The redeemed, standing on the sea of glass, will sing a song of their experience with the Lord God.  They will praise Him for His dealings with them, announcing that they worship Him because He has revealed His judgments to them (Rev. 15:2-4).  God's judgments are not the outpouring of His bad temper; they are His carefully weighed and executed decisions.  Sometimes they involve allowing men to experience the results of their own bad choices.

God's patience is divine intelligence.  He is demonstrating to us that anger never solves problems; it only complicates them.  He knows that we need to learn to deal with correct information without feeling a need to appease His inflamed temper.  He desires us to choose to function thoughtfully and reasonably, without imposing our frustrations on others.  Impatience is a form of pressure to make others comply with one's wishes.  Conduct achieved in this way is meaningless in the process of character development.

Frankly, I respect God!  I think His manner of handling the chaos of this rebellious planet (me included!) is downright praiseworthy.  For me this equals worship.

TEACHABLENESS

The Lord God has opened my ear, and I was not rebellious, I turned not backward.  Isa. 50:5, R.S.V.

There is probably no word in theological circles that can start an argument more quickly, or raise blood pressure more surely than the word perfection.  Too often perfection is viewed as a level of performance that one must achieve, beyond which there is no more need for growth.  That challenging goal, however, always seems to be just beyond the reach of even the most earnest.  And this is where the controversy arises.  Should one keep on striving?  Or should one just claim forgiveness...and rest content?

Any concept of perfection that focuses upon our performance, or holds to some plateau of goodness which then earns God's approval, is bound to run into these conflicts.  In seeking for a more adequate (and thus more trouble-free) understanding of this nebulous goal of Christian growth, I have been impressed with Isaiah's assertion that God has opened his ears to hear truth; Isaiah, in turn, is entirely free from resistance or rebellion.  Isaiah is teachable!

God has many things to teach us--about Himself, His plans for us, His paths of blessing.  Since truth is the means God uses to draw us back to Him, our response to that truth becomes an extremely vital issue.  What is more, God intends to keep on telling us the wonders of His character, of the plan of salvation, and of the mysteries of nature, throughout the ceaseless ages of eternity.  What better preparation for heaven than to become the kind of person right now who will eagerly be open to the Divine Teacher?

Furthermore, when God knows that it is time to work on the next "round" of character development, He will find the task either easy or difficult (or even impossible), depending on whether He finds us to be teachable.  Those who, like Isaiah, can say, "I was not rebellious," will find growth into His likeness to be both rapid and accurate.

But teachableness is not something one simply chooses to wear, like a grin.  It isn't a matter of one's casually saying, "I think that today I shall become teachable."  To be teachable means to trust the Teacher!  It means trusting that he will not lead us into a life of drudgery.  It means experimenting in our lives with what He has taught us, seeing that it is very good, and returning for more.  It means knowing Him!

SOMETIMES PRESERVATION COMES FIRST

"The Lord commanded us to do all these statues, to fear the Lord our God, for our good always, that he might preserve us alive, as at this day."  Deut. 6:24, R.S.V.


Many people have lost their lives needlessly in a fire either because they did not get out of the burning building while they had the opportunity to do so or because they went back in to retrieve something.  Firemen have had to forcibly drag such people from burning buildings.  That was not a time for discussion.  That would come later.

When God brought Israel out of Egypt, at first they were relieved at no longer being slaves in an alien land.  It didn't take them long, however, before they wanted to "go back in" to retrieve their familiar lifestyle.  This was no time for discussion.  God dealt forcibly with them, binding them around with His statutes and ordinances.  There would be time to talk about it later.

"When your son asks you in time to come, 'What is the meaning of the testimonies and the statutes and the ordinances which the Lord our God has commanded you?' then you shall say to your son, 'We were Pharaoh's slaves in Egypt; and the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand....And the Lord commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God, for our good always, that He might preserve us alive, as at this day' " (Deut. 6:20-24, R.S.V.).

It is important to realize that fire-rescue methods are not the preferred way of dealing with people!  Under ordinary situations we don't go around dragging people out of buildings.  Nor do we bind them with commands and restrictions in order to preserve them alive.  Life-threatening situations call for drastic measures.  To the degree that one is removed from such situations the manner in which he is dealt with changes.  There is more time for talking, for explaining, for exploring all the reasons.

God's dealings with us are no different.  There are times when "fire-rescue" methods are necessary in order to ensure that we will be around later to enter into a dialog with Him.  But God does not desire that we remain in a dragged-out-of-fire posture!  To do so is not only unsatisfactory, it is unnecessary.  Our Father has much to talk to us about!

Let's get started!