THE POWER OF POSITIVE PRIVILEGE
So you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is. Matt. 5:48, Goodspeed.
We were engaged in brisk conversation after the morning presentation at a camp meeting. The sermon had been on our freedom in Jesus--freedom from guilt and from manipulation. Obviously concerned, a woman asked, "But we've still got to reveal the character of Christ, don't we?"
"No," I interrupted, "we get to reveal the character of Christ. There is an important difference."
She stood for a moment, pondering the subtleties: "got to" versus "get to." Heavy weight of burden and responsibility versus exhilarating sense of delightful permission and promise. "I think this is a key that will unlock many puzzles for me," she concluded.
Later she stopped me in a hallway. "Those two words have turned around the motivations of my whole Christian life. I'm seeing that Christlikeness of character is not a duty I must perform in order to find God's acceptance. Instead, it is an experience I long for, to make Him known to others, because He has already accepted and loved me."
Speaking to the eager crowd on the mountain, Jesus had told them that His Father loved His enemies; He seeks to disarm their hostilities, so His enemies will let Him get close enough to heal them with His love (Matt. 5:38-47). Then Jesus concluded, "You are to be like your Father--as perfectly merciful as He is." (Compare Luke 6:36).
But was He saying, "You had better become just like your Father"? Or was He saying, "You are going to become just like your Father"? Remembering that all God's bidding are enablings, that nothing is to be done at His command that cannot be accomplished in His strength, it really doesn't matter which He meant.
The Goodspeed version expresses Matthew 5:48 in a delightfully ambiguous way. Depending on the emphasis, it can be either command or promise, duty or privilege. Jesus has set before us the most enticing portrait of His Father. Through His words and life, Jesus has shown us One whom we can adore and trust. Then He inspired Paul to promise, "As you behold Him, you will be changed into His very likeness" (see 2 Cor. 3:18).
Can you imagine that? We sin-blunted humans have before us the incredible privilege of becoming like Him. Since He is infinite, this growth-goal is a direction of travel, not a single destination. And we shall travel it together--eternally!
So you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is. Matt. 5:48, Goodspeed.
We were engaged in brisk conversation after the morning presentation at a camp meeting. The sermon had been on our freedom in Jesus--freedom from guilt and from manipulation. Obviously concerned, a woman asked, "But we've still got to reveal the character of Christ, don't we?"
"No," I interrupted, "we get to reveal the character of Christ. There is an important difference."
She stood for a moment, pondering the subtleties: "got to" versus "get to." Heavy weight of burden and responsibility versus exhilarating sense of delightful permission and promise. "I think this is a key that will unlock many puzzles for me," she concluded.
Later she stopped me in a hallway. "Those two words have turned around the motivations of my whole Christian life. I'm seeing that Christlikeness of character is not a duty I must perform in order to find God's acceptance. Instead, it is an experience I long for, to make Him known to others, because He has already accepted and loved me."
Speaking to the eager crowd on the mountain, Jesus had told them that His Father loved His enemies; He seeks to disarm their hostilities, so His enemies will let Him get close enough to heal them with His love (Matt. 5:38-47). Then Jesus concluded, "You are to be like your Father--as perfectly merciful as He is." (Compare Luke 6:36).
But was He saying, "You had better become just like your Father"? Or was He saying, "You are going to become just like your Father"? Remembering that all God's bidding are enablings, that nothing is to be done at His command that cannot be accomplished in His strength, it really doesn't matter which He meant.
The Goodspeed version expresses Matthew 5:48 in a delightfully ambiguous way. Depending on the emphasis, it can be either command or promise, duty or privilege. Jesus has set before us the most enticing portrait of His Father. Through His words and life, Jesus has shown us One whom we can adore and trust. Then He inspired Paul to promise, "As you behold Him, you will be changed into His very likeness" (see 2 Cor. 3:18).
Can you imagine that? We sin-blunted humans have before us the incredible privilege of becoming like Him. Since He is infinite, this growth-goal is a direction of travel, not a single destination. And we shall travel it together--eternally!
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