Did the title get your attention? Well, that’s exactly what I wanted it to do. You probably clicked on the link because you thought, “Oh! Let me see what the bad news is!”
Well, the bad news is that your/our social media is leading us to more and more bad news. It really doesn’t matter the platform, either. Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X (Twitter)–the algorithms are all pointing us to bad news. And, we keep clicking and keep scrolling. We get caught in a “doom loop,” and that makes the situation worse.
Positively Negative
The reality is we like bad news. Many years ago, I had a radio executive in one of the congregations I served. I dabbled in radio as a younger guy, so I thought “Maybe it’s time to get back into radio.” I had a conversation with the executive to pitch my idea for a local radio talk show. After a couple of back and forth conversations discussing the idea he eventually said, “Lynn, to be successful in talk radio, you have to be negative. I don’t think you really want to be negative.” That same attention-grabbing negativity that drives talk radio also drives our social media algorithms.
No, I didn’t want to be negative then, and I don’t want to be negative now, but heaven help me, I find myself being more and more negative in my online engagement, and that’s leading me to be more negative in my face-to-face engagements. I don’t like the person I’m becoming as a result of all the “bad news” in my life. It’s messing with my sanctification!
It would be real easy to say, “It’s not my fault!” That’s the easy out. I could blame it on “algorithmic negativity bias” (it’s a real thing–look it up). Look, social media is designed to keep us scrolling. The algorithm learns which posts get our attention–that make us stop, linger or click. Unfortunately, bad news gets our attention more than good news. If we stop and linger on a “bad news” headline, we get more bad news headlines in our feed.
We humans have a survival mode bred into us that means our brains are wired to pay more attention to threats and danger (think “fight or flight” here). So, when we see a negative headline, we naturally pause.
Traditional media understood this long before the brainiacs developed algorithms for social media. Traditional media was driven by two statements: “If it bleeds, it leads,” and “Sex sells!” Social media has simply perfected these mentalities, and we’ve (meaning “me”) fallen for it in a big way.
What really makes me stop on the bad news headline? It’s just my old sinful nature at work, and the Enemy is utilizing social media to draw me away from the holiness to which Christ calls me. Let me say it this way, “Sin has a hold of me and it won’t let go, and now social media is helping it keep its hold.”
Turning Off the Doom Loop
So, the Holy Spirit and I have a little work to do. Yeah, I know the simple answer is to get off social media, but I ask, “This day and age is getting off social media a realistic possibility?” Social media is simply a tool. It is amoral. It is what we do with it that determines its morality.
The first thing I must do to turn off the doom loop is repent. All significant spiritual change begins with repentance. I repent of my own negativity and I’m sorry for all the negative posts I’ve made on social media (and there have been a few more than I care to admit). My prayer is “Change my heart, O God!”
The Lord really does want to change my heart, and as much as I would like a supernatural transformation, He’s asking me to do a little of the work myself. What is He asking me to do?
One, He’s telling me to limit my time on social media. Set a timer if I need to in order to remind myself how long I’ve been online. I need to spend less time online and more time “touching grass,” as they say–more time in face-to-face interactions. It’s a whole lot easier to say mean things online than it is in person.
Two, I need to actively engage with positive content online in order to reprogram the algorithm. That means I have to mute or block or snooze the negativity in my social media feed. When I find positive content I need to share it with others. Simply don’t click on negative headlines. Stop falling into the trap.
Three, I need to get back into God’s Word. I need to spend more time reading and reflecting on God’s Word than scrolling negative headlines on social media.
Yeah, I’ve got a lot of work to do, but with the Holy Spirit’s help, perhaps I’ll come out on the other side a better person. Perhaps the holiness I desire will make its way out in the interactions I have online and in person. That’s my prayer, anyway…
Here’s the verse I’ve been contemplating all week:
18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. (1 Corinthians 1: 18 NIV)
Here’s the question I’ve also been contemplating all week:
Is the Church of Jesus Christ losing the message of the cross, and thus the power of God unto salvation?
Why do I ask?
No Crosses
It’s simple: there are some “Christian” bodies that no longer display the cross. I’m not going to name names. Why heavens! That would seem divisive, but you know what? Division in the body of Jesus Christ is exactly what the Apostle Paul was addressing when he introduced the message of the cross to the young church at Corinth.
So, yeah, let me name names.
Lakewood Church–that bastion of evangelical (?) Christianity in Houston, Texas–doesn’t display the cross prominently in its worship space.
They’re not the only one. Traditionally, Quakers do not display the cross (or any religious symbols) in their meeting houses. Additionally, many non-denominational churches have chosen to remove the cross from their worship spaces.
Why would they do that? They will tell you there are several reasons:
Some would say they focus on the resurrected Christ rather than the crucified Christ (this would distinguish them from the Roman Catholics),
Some would say that a focus on the cross is a form of idolatry and violates the second commandment,
Some argue that the cross wasn’t used broadly as a Christian symbol until 300 years after the time of Jesus, so why use it now,
Some say the cross is offensive to non-Christians, so to make non-religious people feel more comfortable, crosses should be removed.
It’s this last reason that gets me, and I’m wondering if it was what Paul was addressing as the first issue (among many) in their divisions of the Corinthian church.
The Offensive Cross
Look at what Paul says in verse 23:
23 but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles,
In the first century, crucifixion was the most shameful death imaginable — reserved for slaves and criminals. Romans themselves would never endure it.
So, telling people their Savior died on a cross was scandalous to Jews and nonsense to Greeks.
I fear that today people want a faith without a cross. We want inspiration without repentance, blessing without sacrifice. We want Christ without the crown of thorns. If that is what we want, that is what we’ll get, but we’ll miss the power of God unto salvation.
Paul says “the message of the cross…is the power of God.” Why is the cross God’s power? Because at the cross:
The penalty of sin was paid.
The power of sin was broken.
The holy love of God was displayed.
We should never be ashamed of the cross. It is where justice and mercy meet perfectly. The message of the cross changes lives.
Smarter than the Cross
Rev. Shane Bishop had a Facebook post earlier in the week wherein he identified four viruses affecting the contemporary church. The third virus is that “we are suddenly smarter than everyone else who has ever read the Bible.”
Our propensity is to read the Bible in light of current cultural trends and bend the Bible to fit the current cultural climate instead of allowing the Bible to form us in light of the current culture. Culture will always change. Always has. Always will. The Word of God never changes. It is the enduring truth of the ages. I believe this is what the Apostle Paul is saying to the young church.
20 Where is the wise person? Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? (1 Corinthians 1: 20 NIV)
We’ll never be able to outsmart God. Paul mocks our human arrogance. All our knowledge can’t help us find God. Our learning can make us clever, but it cannot make us right with God. Only the cross can do that! Education, without the power of the cross, just makes smarter sinners.
God’s plan of salvation was designed so that no one could claim special “knowledge” that led to salvation. It can’t be earned through human achievement. It is available to anyone and everyone who receives it by faith…it is God’s gift.
Look folks, everything we have comes from God through Jesus Christ. Paul evens ends his initial plea for unity with that truth:
30 It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. (1 Corinthians 1:30 NIV)
Paul says Jesus is the source of any wisdom we attain. Paul says Jesus is the One who places us in right standing with God. Paul says Jesus is the One who sanctifies us, and that He has purchased our pardon. It all happened on the cross.
If the Church of Jesus Christ would find its unity, it must do so, Paul says, in the message of the cross.
We can’t replace the Gospel message with clever ideas or popular cultural trends.
We can’t water down the “offense” of the cross. The message of the cross will always confront our pride.
We must remember that we are nothing and we have nothing apart from the cross of Jesus. If we boast, let our boasting be in Him.
The cross of Jesus is the power of God. Let us never lose His power. Let us never lose the cross.
Well, dang! It’s happened again…and in the Dallas, Texas area, too. What has happened again? Another prominent pastor has fallen from grace.
Pastor Steve Lawson, pastor (well, former pastor now) of Trinity Bible Church in Dallas, Texas was removed from his ministry by the elders of the church last week because of an “inappropriate relationship” with a woman who was not his wife. (Read more about the story here).
I’m not here to dump on Pastor Lawson. He’s got enough people doing that. I do want to say, though, there must be something in the water in the Dallas area that is affecting pastors. Only this past June, two very high profile pastors resigned or were removed from ministry in the Dallas area for the same issue facing Pastor Lawson. (I wrote about those two persons here).
I’ll say that Pastor Lawson (who is 73 years old!) is/was a passionate preacher. I’ve listened to a number of his sermons through the years, and have read a couple of his books (he’s written over 30). When he preached, he always preached with certainty and authority (that’s my kind of preaching). He may not have always been right, but he was never in doubt. He was, by all accounts, a holy man used mightily by God for His glory.
A Christian Reaction to Non-Christian Behavior
As one might expect, the ordeal has the Christian community scratching its collective head wondering what is going on with all these “holy” people. Are they living sham lives, false lives, hypocritical lives?
The non-Christian community is not asking the questions, they’re simply saying that all Christianity is a sham and that all Christians are hypocrites (they might be correct on the hypocrite part). Lawson just happens to be the latest example to their point.
As I have reflected over the past week on Lawson’s situation, I’ve found myself asking the same questions. The easier path would be to dismiss these fallen pastors as charlatans and move on, but in so doing we might overlook some truth and miss what God is doing in the midst of it all. So, where is the truth?
First, we need to clarify that we are ALL sinners saved by the amazing grace of God in Jesus Christ. Both preacher and parishioner are subject to sin because as the Apostle Peter reminds us “Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8 NIV). The devil can devour the preacher as easily as the parishioner.
Second, these pastors were removed or stepped away from vocational ministry. Appropriately so, I might add. The sins to which they’ve either admitted or accused are of the disqualifying sort–at least until repentance is made and restoration practiced (that’s a whole other discussion).
Clergy should be held to a higher standard, but even acknowledging that fact, I am reminded of the words of Oswald Chambers: “The call of God has nothing to do with salvation and sanctification; it isn’t because you are saved and sanctified that you’ve been called to preach.” We are called to preach because God chose us to do so, and in so doing, placed a “divine compulsion” (the Apostle Paul’s words) within us.
Third, God uses both the holy and the unholy to minister to His people. This is where it gets sticky, but this is the point I want to make as I reflect on these events.
The Holy and The Unholy
I am reminded of Paul’s words to Timothy:
20 In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for special purposes and some for common use. 21 Those who cleanse themselves from the latter will be instruments for special purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work. (2 Timothy 2: 20 – 21 NIV)
Paul writes to Timothy to encourage him to rightly handle the Word of God. He even goes so far as to name two who have departed from the truth and brought confusion to the body of Christ. Yet, in his encouragement he admits that God’s house contains both holy and unholy vessels. Here’s the truth: God uses both!
Are the holy vessels more useful? Yes, obviously, but just because the holy vessels are MORE useful, doesn’t mean the Master does not utilize the unholy ones.
Please don’t hear me making excuses for these pastors and their failures. Their failures are their own and they must own them and deal with the consequences. What I am saying is don’t discount the good God has done through the ministry He entrusted to them–in spite of their failures. Stated another way: Don’t let the good God has done be negated by their unholy actions.
Nothing justifies their actions, but their actions don’t mean God wasn’t using them. So, why would God use unholy vessels? I can think of three reasons.
God and Unholy Vessels
The first reason is that God loves His people. He’s not using the person for the sake of the person. If He were, the person might begin to think that God owes him/her something because they’re “holy.” Or, the person might begin to think that God is okay with what he/she is doing…if it were all about the person. No, God is using the unholy for the sake of His people, and if another person’s life is touched in the course of that ministry, God has demonstrated His love for His people using an unholy vessel.
The second reason might be that God is storing up judgement/discipline for that “holy/unholy” person. Maybe God is giving that person the rope he/she is asking for, and surely, if you give a person enough rope he/she will hang themselves. Perhaps it is all about judgment/discipline towards His house. Is that not God using the unholy for His purpose?
The third reason is so that He can demonstrate the riches of His grace. God’s is an amazing and extravagant grace, and He gives it in ways we don’t always understand, nor do we always like (ask the older brother in the Story of the Prodigal Son).
If God used only holy people, it wouldn’t be long before all the holy people would be pointing to themselves thinking everything was happening because they are so holy. No, everything is happening because God is so gracious. It is always and forever about what God is doing, never ever about what we are doing.
So, I suppose we should let this be a warning to all of us (especially those of us in ministry). So, I heed the warning by seeking to live a holy life, by confronting the sin that is within me, and by crucifying the passions and lusts of the flesh on a daily basis…well, because holiness is such a daily endeavor. And I do it not for ministry success, but because I’m a disciple of Jesus Christ.
Yes, God uses holy vessels in a greater way than unholy ones, but God can, and sometimes does, use people who are undeserving. And, He does it whether I like it or not.
A friend asked me a question this week. It was a simple question asked in sincerity, but it challenged me in a way I haven’t been challenged since I left full-time ministry.
What was the question? “How common in your career did you see pastors and leaders teaching entire sanctification?”
I had to think real hard the last time I heard a sermon on entire sanctification. Honestly, I couldn’t remember one. Honestly, I had to check my sermon file to see if I had ever preached one. Luckily, I found ONE sermon in my file. Entire sanctification is obviously something that was never high on my list of priorities to preach and teach.
Well, if it was impossible for me to remember if I had preached a sermon on entire sanctification, it was impossible to remember hearing one. I could only answer my friend with, “In The United Methodist Church, rarely!”
Perhaps that is what is wrong with The United Methodist Church (or any other Wesleyan denomination). The doctrine of entire sanctification lies at the heart of Wesleyan theology, and yet we (meaning me) rarely heard it preached (or preached it) from a Wesleyan pulpit.
Sure, we mentioned it (or heard it mentioned) in passing, but we never dug deeply into it or spent too much time on it. Let’s face it. When we pastors and laity went to Annual Conference, we didn’t get deep dives into Wesleyan theology. We got motivational speeches and rah-rah talks about best practices in ministry that we could take back to our congregations.
Same thing when we attended leadership conferences. Seriously, how many preachers (and laity) would ever sign up for a conference entitled “Sanctification Summit?” Nah! Not many. Instead, we’d rather flock to conferences with names like “Refuel,” or “The Global Leadership Summit,” or “Disciple Making Summit,” or the “Orange Conference” (what do oranges have to do with ministry?). After all, we want to grow our churches. I mean, isn’t that the point?
Entire Sanctification
Unless you’re a pastor in the Wesleyan tradition, you’re probably asking yourself, “What does he mean by entire sanctification?” I’m glad you asked.
Rev. John Wesley
Sanctification is a $3 theological word that means “holiness.” Well, if we don’t like the word sanctification, we probably like the word holiness even less. Me? Holy? Never! Yet, holiness is at the heart of John Wesley‘s theology, and we Wesleyans ought to be teaching it! Maybe that’s the key to our church growth? Maybe holiness is what will make the church stand out from the culture?
For most folks, holiness is reserved for monks, missionaries, mystics and martyrs, not everyday Mark and Mary. Nothing could be further from the truth. It was Chuck Colson who said, “Holiness is the everyday business of every Christian. It evidences itself in the decisions we make and things we do, hour by hour, day by day.”
Colson is correct, and his statement echoes the words of the Apostle Paul written to the Church at Thessolinica two thousand years ago. God’s will for our lives is holiness. Paul says so right there in chapter 4, verse 3: God wants you to be holy, so you should keep clear of all sexual sin. The NIV translates it this way: It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality. The KJV says it this way: For this is the will of God, even your sanctification.
Avoiding Holiness
One reason we shy away from holiness as a way of life is because of the “holier-than-thou” crowd. Actually, “holier-than-thou” is not really holiness at all. In Jesus’ day, the “holier-than-thou” crowd turned out to be the Pharisees—arrogant, prideful and self-righteous. Certainly not the traits Jesus would applaud and want his disciples to emulate. Rather, it was the Pharisees for whom Jesus reserved his most scathing condemnations.
Another reason we might shy away from the word holiness is the word’s close association with the “holiness” movements of the late-19th century, and the Pentecostal and charismatic movements of the mid-to-late 20th century (which actually had their genesis in the Wesleyan tradition).
The extremes of those movements gave too many people in the church permission to separate themselves from holiness. Use whatever excuse we may to lay claim to our own unholiness, it doesn’t change the fact that God’s will for our lives is for us to be holy.
Perhaps a third reason we shy away from the teaching of holiness (entire sanctification) is because we confuse it with “perfection.” We think we have to be perfect, and after all, no one is perfect (boy! don’t I know that to be true?). How can I teach what I am not? How can I be what is impossible to be? Well, let’s go back to Wesley…
The Heart of John Wesley’s Theology
John Wesley helps us understand better in his A Plain Account of Christian Perfection. Holiness is not sinless perfection. Unconscious sin will always remain. No matter what level of holiness we attain, there will always be more room to grow. This fact helps us live in humility. It’s like Jesus would tell the Pharisees, “Take the log out of your own eye before you complain about the speck in your neighbor’s.” Knowing we have further room to grow keeps us from the holier-than-thou attitude.
Wesley would further say that holiness (or perfection) does not mean freedom from errors or mistakes. We’ll always have inaccurate perceptions, deal with deceptive apperances, have clouded memories and distorted opinions based on faulty information. It does not mean the sin nature has been eradicated. The seed of the sin nature still exists, and abiding outside of God’s grace leads to the sin nature conquering us.
And, Lord help us, holiness is not about freedom from temptations. As a matter of fact, Satan’s attacks will likely increase because he thinks he’s losing control.
Well, if holiness is not that, what is it? For Wesley, as for the Apostle Paul, it is a heart full of love—love for God and love for neighbor. According to Paul, if we love God and love our neighbor, it changes our conduct. As our love for others increases, God establishes our hearts blameless in holiness. Our holiness is reflected in the way we treat others.
“It is thus that we wait for entire sanctification; for a full salvation from all our sins, –from pride, self-will, anger, unbelief; or, as the Apostle expresses it, ‘”‘go unto perfection.'”‘ But what is perfection The word has various senses: here it means perfect love. It is love excluding sin; love filling the heart, taking up the whole capacity of the soul. It is love ‘”‘rejoicing evermore, praying without ceasing, in everything giving thanks’.”
“…we wait for entire sanctification…”
We wait. Sanctification is not an overnight thing. Sanctification is growing in grace. Sanctification is a moment-by-moment, day-by-day decision on our part. Yes, it is done through the power of the Holy Spirit, by the surrender of our will to His, but surrender is done daily by our choice–that’s called “free will.”
Attaining and Maintaining
Don’t think you can attain holiness (entire sanctification)? Oh, I think you underestimate the power of grace. Also, how uncouth would it be for the Lord to ask something of us that He knew we couldn’t achieve?
John Wesley said it this way: “Christ died to deliver sinners from not only the guilt but also the power of sin.” Our salvation (which is God’s will for our lives) would be an incomplete salvation unless it delivered us from sin’s power as well as sin’s penalty. God never intended the cross to address only the “judicial” matters of our sin. God equally intended the cross to reshape those who believe toward the holiness to which He calls us.
Salvation is the simplest thing to attain, but it is the hardest thing to maintain. It is in the maintaining that we reach what Wesley termed “entire sanctification, for a full salvation from our sins…” Salvation is attained through the simple act of believing. Salvation is maintained through the difficult act of obedience. Believing and obeying both demand surrender.
Full salvation is a long time coming, but salvation is attained and maintained as a child. As a child trusts to attain and as a child obeys to maintain, but maintaining is so much harder than attaining.
So, how often have we taught entire sanctification? Not nearly often enough. How often should we teach entire sanctification? Well, if we’re truly Wesleyan, a whole lot more often than we have.
Well, that just what I think, but I’m not the perfect pastor, which is probably why I haven’t preached and taught full salvation more often. Maybe by His grace, I’ll do better.
Jesus, after the resurrection, encounters several of His disciples along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, and in the encounter He asks Peter, not once but three times the question, “Do you love me?” (See John 21)
So, that’s the question I’ve been wrestling with most of the week myself: Do you love me? I must confess that wrestling with that question has caused me no small amount of pain and not a little confusion.
My initial answer, like Peter’s, is “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” As with Peter, so with me, Jesus has been persistent in asking the question and with each answer I find myself a little more confused, and if I’m honest, a little more uncertain that my answer is truthful.
I’ve come to the realization that I don’t love Him the way that He loves me. That’s probably because I am unable to grasp how much He really loves me and unless I can grasp that, I can’t love Him that much. Of course, you understand that when I say he loves me that I mean “us”…all of us. He loves us deeply and passionately…so passionately and so deeply, in fact, that He was willing to die for us…to give His life for ours.
Consequently, His call to us is to love others in the same way He loves us. He calls us, like Peter, to pour ourselves out for others (“Feed my lambs,” “Take care of my sheep,” “Feed my sheep”). His love for us is shown by action, not by emotion. Our love for Him can only be seen in our actions toward others. Unfortunately, I’ve come to realize my love for Him stays on the emotional level. I love Him as long as I’m receiving some benefit from Him.
The entire conversation has caused me to question my motivations for leaving full-time ministry in 2019. That’s nearly five years ago now, and this week of reflection on this passage has brought it back up. I’ve wondered if my leaving full-time, vocational ministry is proof that I don’t really love Him. I’ve questioned whether my leaving was courage, or cowardice? I want to believe it was courage. I’ve come to think it was cowardice.
Loving Jesus is a heavy lift. It demands a willingness to “take up our cross and follow Him.” It demands forgiveness. It demands holiness. It demands sacrifice. It demands loving and caring for His sheep…his smelly, dirty, rotten, hard-headed sheep. Did I abandon His sheep? Have I failed to take up the cross? Did I count the cost and determine the price was too high? Was that my way of saying, “Lord, I don’t really love You”? Perhaps I don’t have the strength (or the courage) to do such a heavy lift. After all, I’m not Peter.
I suppose the season of Lent is for grappling with these kinds of deep questions. You might be surprised to discover that when you to get to the end of this blog you’ll not find a deeply compelling answer or a shocking revelation. I’m still grappling with the question. I don’t have an answer yet. Jesus really has backed me into a corner with His question.
All I know to do at this point is pray this prayer: Break me, Lord, until I love you. Let me hurt with the most awful pain until all I have left is to love You. Perhaps I don’t understand what I’m asking for, but perhaps You know best what I need. I know I want to love You the way Peter came to love You. I want to take up my cross and follow You. I want to be broken by You and I want to be broken for You because I want to answer Your question with a definitive, “Yes! Lord You know I love You!”
I can only thank Him that Sunday is coming! Lent can’t be over soon enough.
Whether it is a lack of time or a lack of inspiration to write anything serious, I share today a few of the devotional thoughts I’ve pondered throughout the week:
The Majesty of the Mundane
Reflecting on Luke 24: 13 – 35 this week and one particular phrase “We were hoping…”
In this “Road to Emmaus” encounter with Jesus, the two disciples, in trying to explain to Jesus all that has happened in the preceding days (a rather hilarious image, by the way), make the statement in verse 21: “But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel.”
These disciples were dejected because circumstances didn’t turn out as they had hoped. Imagine that! I think that’s called life. It was in their dejection that they missed the fact that Jesus was right there with them. Jesus was walking with them in their hopelessness. They had been looking for earth-shattering changes in their lives due to Jesus Christ. What they got was Jesus in the midst of their brokenness, and they missed it.
We spend much of our lives looking for earth-shattering, life-changing events and episodes and we end up missing Him walking to Emmaus with us. There is much majesty in the mundane circumstances of our every day lives, but if we spend our time looking for the earth-shattering we will miss His majesty that is with us moment-by-moment, day-by-day. While I was hoping for something grand, I missed him in the moment of the ordinary. Silly me!
The Cost of Sanctification
I’ve been thinking a lot about sanctification (holiness) these days. That’s probably because it escapes me, but that’s for another blog. I was prompted by Paul’s writing to the Thessalonians:
“May the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely” (1 Thessalonians 5:23).
I’ve asked myself the question, “Am I ready to be sanctified?” Undoubtedly, I’m not, or else I would make Jesus the center of everything. Holiness, I’ve discovered, is not within me. Holiness can only come from outside me and can only come as I surrender to the Holy Spirit.
Perhaps I should say it this way: I need to stop pursuing holiness and allow myself to be captured by the holiness that is pursuing me. I have to be totally given over to the Holy Spirit’s power in order for Him to do His work in me. As I’ve said before, surrender is hard work. I love the benefits of salvation. I deplore the costs of sanctification. What a shame. I’m missing the best God has to give me.
Saved and Sanctified
We are saved and sanctified to become spiritually exhausted. Oswald Chambers intimates that we are not spiritually exhausted by sin, but rather by service. We are to be “broken bread and poured-out wine” for other people’s nourishment until they learn to feed on God. That, my friends, can be exhausting! That only means I must find my own supply by feeding on the Lord.
Finding my supply in the Lord means that I must first be “broken bread and poured-out wine” in prayer. To be poured out in service before I am poured out in prayer will lead to burnout and disdain for those whom I serve. Everything in the spiritual life begins with prayer. Prayer is the beginning, the middle and the end of the spiritual life. Until we are prayed up we can’t be caught up to the heights of glory God has planned for us.
Concluding Thoughts
You’ve gotten a glimpse this week into some of my devotional thoughts. I’d love to get a glimpse into yours. I invite you to leave a comment below about what the Lord has been saying to you this week.
The past week has had me contemplating death…yes, even my own! What a morbid way to begin a blog, right? Hear me out, though!
Certainly, as I’ve gotten older, I’ve thought about my own demise. My dad died at age 63, so I’m a mere three years younger than he was when he passed away. I’ve thought about that often since October.
Honestly, that’s not really the death I have been contemplating recently. It may have been the ice storm left me with too much time on my hands, or the fact that I preached on Jesus’s baptism last week, but the death I’ve been contemplating is death to self. In that regard, I know I have a little more dying to do.
I am reminded of the words of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who said in The Cost of Discipleship, “When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.” We die to pride, we die to selfishness, we die to our own will, our own desires, and we are raised to be like Christ.
As much as baptism is a symbol of the forgiveness of sins, it is also a symbol of our dying. The Apostle Paul said as much to the Roman church:
3 Or have you forgotten that when we were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined him in his death? 4 For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives.5 Since we have been united with him in his death, we will also be raised to life as he was. 6 We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. 7 For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin. 8 And since we died with Christ, we know we will also live with him.
Romans 6: 3 – 8
Baptism is our acknowledgment that we have heard God’s call to come and die. Baptism is our acknowledgment that we are not sent to work “for” God, but are sent to be “used” by God for His purpose. We acknowledge that we are His vessel so that His grace can be poured out through us. For that to happen, I must die.
My pride must die. Pride has no place in God’s presence. Pride cannot be sustained in God’s presence. If I’m still struggling with pride (and I am), I still have some dying to do.
Death is a frightening thing, though. We avoid it like the plague. Yes, even dying to self, especially when we live in a culture that tells us life is about self-realization, self-actualization and self-fulfillment. No, I’m sorry! That is not what the Bible says and that is not God’s call upon our lives. God’s call is to self-surrender. God’s call is to selflessness. God’s call is to self-denial. In that regard, I still have some dying to do.
Paul says we are dead to sin. Oh, really? It sure doesn’t feel that way some days! It’s probably because I still have some dying to do. God’s call is to holiness…to sanctification (that $3 theological word we Wesleyans like to throw around). We Wesleyans believe that baptism is an acknowledgment that God’s sanctifying grace begins its work in us so that God might do His work through us. We believe that a life of holiness is real and attainable, but it will only come through death–death to self. We must die to live. An oxymoron, I know, but according to Paul, it is imperative.
Then why is it that many (most) days, I feel like I actually regressed in the pursuit of holiness? Honestly, some days I get tired of trying! Death is hard! Faithfulness is hard! Pursuing a life of holiness is exhausting! Well, duh!
The last week of reflection has shown me that it is so hard because I’m the one doing all the work. I’m the one doing all the work because I still have some dying to do. The “old self” hasn’t died enough to realize that forgiveness is a gift…salvation is a gift…the Holy Spirit is a gift. I heard the call of God and then “I” went to work instead of receiving the gift and allowing the Holy Spirit to do His work in me.
I work so dad-gum hard to become a better me that I never realized that the Lord wants to make me a different me. He’ll do all the work if I just get out of the way and let him. The only way I can get out of the way is through death–death to self.
How? How can I die to self? I can’t! I’ve figured that one out. This death is not within my ability to accomplish. I have to quit trying. I have to surrender even my desire for self-denial to the power of the Holy Spirit. I cannot overcome the temptations and pride of life in myself. It is only through a power outside myself. My only prayer…my only hope is “Let the Holy Spirit fall on me!”
I still have a little dying to do. Come Holy Spirit! I’ll not die without You!
A friend shared a Wall Street Journal article with me this week that shared some alarming statistics if you’re concerned about the church at all. The point of the article is summed up in this paragraph (since it’s behind a pay wall–though you can set up a free account to read the article):
The percentage of people ages 39 to 57 who attended a worship service during the week, either in person or online, fell to 28% in 2023, down from 41% in 2020, according to a survey this year. This was the largest percentage-point drop of all age groups examined in the survey of 2,000 adults conducted by the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University.
Wall Street Journal, August 1, 2023
Yeah, I know. Just another study demonstrating what we already know–people are attending church less often. Yes, Covid-19 played a part, but it only accelerated what was already taking place. I wrestled with the phenomenon when I was serving as a full-time pastor, and I’ve followed the phenomenon since leaving vocational ministry.
The article points out some of the reasons that this particular age group is attending less often:
Raising kids
Caring for aging parents
Demanding jobs
Disillusionment
Those are the same reasons that existed pre-pandemic, so really nothing new is revealed in the article in that regard. I would add to the list more social opportunities and more expendable income make it easier to make other choices come Sunday morning. That, and the fact that it is no longer socially “advantageous” to belong to a church or faith community.
Yes, I know. Ultimately, it comes down to a matter of priorities. We make time for that which is important to us, but I think there is something deeper at work, and the responsibility lies at the doorstep of the church, not necessarily at the doorstep of the individuals who are making other choices. Let me see if I can explain.
I need to clarify what I mean by “the church.” I mean the institution and its leaders. I also mean denominations and non-denominational churches. I mean the organized body of Christ, and yes, I mean on the global and local level. The organized body of Christ, on every level, bears some responsibility in the overall decline in church attendance. How so?
A Matter of Trust
First, it is a trust issue. Let’s acknowledge that people in general have major trust issues with institutions these days. From government, to schools, to churches, people don’t have trust in the leaders of those institutions. Let’s not blame the people who aren’t coming to church for that loss of trust. Let’s blame the leadership of the institution (of which I’m one!). We failed the people. We failed our communities. We failed to live the values we’ve proclaimed. We’ve failed to live holy lives before the Lord and before others.
Now, settle down! I’m not calling out any one person or institution in particular. There have been (and currently are) many faithful leaders who show the love of Christ in meaningful ways, and who exhibit a depth of spiritual maturity we should all seek to emulate. I praise the Lord for those saints! All it takes is for one leader to fail, and that failure gets amplified and it erodes the trust of the people in the pews.
Here are some examples of what I mean: Jimmy Swaggart, Jim Bakker, and more recently, Mark Driscoll and Bill Hybels. Though these are high-profile examples, the same scenes are played out on an almost daily basis in congregations around the nation.
Perhaps it is good that I’m preaching from Romans 3 today. It reminds me (and encourages me) that “…all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…” (Romans 3:21 NIV). I need to be reminded of this fact. I am, after all, Not the Perfect Pastor! Still, our failures erode the trust of the people we lead. I have to remind myself of this often. The cure? Trust Christ and pursue holiness of heart and life.
Additionally, when the leadership in entire denominations begin living out values that do not reflect the values of the collective larger body, trust is eroded. Lack of integrity to the values the institution has codified erodes trust. When we erode trust, people figure, “What’s the point?” As examples, I point to the cover-up in the Roman Catholic Church during its sexual abuse scandal, and the United Methodist Church in failing to deal with gay bishops according to its own Discipline.
Individually and institutionally, trust is eroded. I’m not saying it’s all the fault of leadership, but it is our fault as much as it is the fault of those who are no longer showing up. Let’s just say there’s enough repentance to go around for everyone. Thank the Lord, there is enough forgiveness, too!
I also believe the sin of congregational and institutional leadership is exacerbated by our own unwillingness to hold each other accountable and to speak prophetically to the sin in our midst. I’m as guilty as the next. My guilt (or its acknowledgement) does not relieve me of my responsibility to lead with integrity in the body of Christ, and to “live a life worthy of the calling” (Ephesians 4:1) I have received. There is a cure, though. Trust Christ and pursue holiness of heart and life.
Sorry! I spent more time on that topic than I meant to as I began to write. Moving on, then…
A Matter of Belief
There is another point of failure among church leadership that I think needs noting here. A community is formed when a group of people hold values in common. It is the values and beliefs that hold the community together. May I posit this point? More and more as the culture changes and exerts more influence on the congregation rather than the congregation exerting influence on the culture, we have failed to state definitively what we believe. When we don’t state openly and definitively what we believe, we’re subject to believing any old thing.
Let me be a clear as I can be (since we don’t get subtle): Too many churches don’t say the creeds anymore. When I say creeds, I mean the Apostle’s Creed and the Nicene Creed. These two creeds connect us most closely to the early church and to the beliefs that formed the common community.
Recitation of the creeds on a weekly basis provides both a visual and auditory confirmation of the beliefs and values that form us and hold us together as a faith community. The church moved toward “seeker-sensitive” worship and contemporary worship that, in many cases, have forgone the creeds altogether. We, the leaders of congregations, led our people to embrace “buffet Christianity” to the detriment of the community of faith. That, my friends, is on us!
The community of faith needs a weekly reminder as it is gathered in a single place for a single purpose of the values and beliefs that define it. What it does not need is a weekly “make me feel good about myself” message so I can get through another week. The community of faith needs a message from God’s Word that confirms and affirms the values and beliefs that have defined it for centuries. Those beliefs are contained in the Apostle’s Creed and the Nicene Creed.
Yes, it is Jesus Christ that defines the Christian community of faith, but it is what we believe about Jesus that will hold us together as a community of faith. Otherwise, I can believe anything, and if I can believe anything, why do I need the church/Church? As church leaders, are we missing the obvious?
Yup! It’s been that kind of week. The kind of week you’d rather get a do-over. I won’t bore you with all the details (your week may have been worse than mine), but suffice it to say this week confirmed for my that the name of my personal website (nottheperfectpastor.com) is the correct one.
Here’s the first evidence that my imperfections reared their ugly head. People! The world would be a great place if it weren’t for the people. That’s a terrible thing for a pastor (well, soon to be pastor) to say. Not only for a pastor, but for a business owner, too. Without people there are no customers. No customers mean no money. No money means no business. Yup! We NEED people, but sometimes…
I try desperately to show respect to others. I also try to exercise common courtesy when engaging with others. I must be terribly old school, though, because I’m seeing very little in the way of respect for or courtesy toward others. Or, perhaps I’m just not looking for it (could be another of my imperfections).
Three separate events keep playing over and over in my mind, and every time I re-live one of them, my blood pressure goes up and I get a little red in the face. Every time, I have to say a little prayer of repentance and patience, and also remind myself that my consternation with the situations (and persistently reliving them) are both signs that I need as much grace as the people who have raised my ire. So, there’s that…
Uh, huh! I know I’ve got you wondering what happened. I said I wouldn’t bore you with details, so I won’t go into too deeply (sorry! I’m trying to think of something to write since it is Sunday and I want to keep the discipline of writing on Sunday lest not doing so becomes another sign of my imperfection) on the details, and doing so might compromise other people and I really don’t want to do that (oh! the imperfections). So, here goes nothing…
This literally happened! We replaced a couple of parts on a customer’s vehicle this week. Got the job done. Took care of the problem. Two days later the customer calls and asks to speak to me. “Sir, those parts you put on my car, one of them is chrome and the other is black. Why is that?” My answer is, “Because those were the only two parts the parts house had to fit your vehicle” (the parts are not visible unless you get under the vehicle). Long story short, the customer wanted us to replace one of the parts so they would match. Really!
I can’t tell you what I really thought, or what I really wanted to say (and might have under my breath). Just know that the end of that conversation prompted a moment of repentance, a prayer for patience and deep gratitude for grace.
So, let me ask you? If you were to quit a job, would you have the courtesy and consideration to say to your boss, “This isn’t working out for me. I’m leaving”? Or, “Hey, you’re a terrible boss. I’m outta’ here!”? Perhaps even, “I have a better opportunity, so I’m done”? Wouldn’t you at least say something on your way out the door?
No! Just don’t show up. Don’t call. No, “Kiss my foot” (yeah, I thought of the other word) or anything. No respect. No consideration. No courtesy. That happened not once this week, but twice. It is the nature of the quick lube industry (or so I’ve been told), but seriously, I’m beginning to develop a complex. I’m beginning to think not only am I not the perfect pastor, I’m not the perfect boss either, but still, how hard is it to show a little respect to others.
The Holy Spirit (as the Holy Spirit so often does) used those encounters to put me in my place. He heard my prayer for patience and soon turned my thoughts toward those who departed. What events in their lives might be happening to prompt such actions? Perhaps I had not earned their trust as a boss? Maybe I need to hone my hiring practices and skills? Maybe, just maybe, Lynn Malone, YOU are the problem. At the end of the day, there was a moment of repentance, a prayer for more patience and deep gratitude for grace.
And yesterday, let me tell you! It’s bad enough when you have a flat tire, but having a flat tire on your wife’s birthday when you’re taking her to dinner and movie, well I hope you can imagine. So, we’re stuck in a hot parking garage. I intentionally parked in a far away parking spot knowing that when we came out of the movie that I was going to be changing a flat tire.
This event really caused what one old preacher friend labeled “the unregenerate portion” of me to show itself. First, roadside assistance with State Farm is well, let’s just say that Jake is not my friend. Seriously! You mean to tell me in all of Shreveport/Bossier City on a Saturday afternoon at 4:00 p.m., you can’t find anyone to offer roadside assistance? I can’t believe you tried very hard. I should move on from this one since I have a daughter who works for a State Farm agent.
Now, get this when you think about being considerate of others. Here we are, really off to ourselves near the entrance of the parking garage and there a literally 600 other parking spaces nearby…and I mean literally 600 spaces. I’m in my spot with the tailgate raised and tires and spare tires lying around and my wife’s van on a jack. A car pulls into the garage and which spot does the driver choose? You guessed it! The one right next to mine…on the same side as the flat tire…that I’m attempting to change! 600 (literally 600) other spots and you pick this one? Can you see the redness of my face as my blood pressure rises?
Honestly, I thought some things a disciple of Jesus should never think. At least I didn’t say them, though when I’m reminded of the Apostle Paul’s words to the Philippian Church, “whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things” (Phil. 4:8) I realize how woefully short I’ve fallen, whether I actually said anything or not. Let’s just say that there was another moment of repentance, a prayer for patience and deep gratitude for grace.
The before…
It really was all my fault anyway. Had I put the portable air pump back in my wife’s van the last time I used it, the flat tire would have been about a ten minute fix. But, I didn’t put the air pump back in her van. Imagine the irony of a guy who sells tires for a living not having the equipment to fix his own flat tire. Yeah! I was a bit mad at myself, too! Grace was found however in having a daughter who lives in Bossier City dutifully jump to the rescue by going to Auto Zone, buying a new portable air pump and delivering it to her stranded mom and dad (she even brought Nothing Bundt Cakes, too!).
The after…
The entire week has been an experiment in patience and a lesson on grace. I’m even going to confess that I considered not attending worship this morning, too, but I need another lesson in grace. I am grateful to have the opportunity to worship this morning with the body of Christ to be reminded that we have a Lord who loves us, gave Himself for us and pours Himself out continually for sinners like me (sinning is the only thing I seem to do rather perfectly). I need to be reminded that we are all in need of grace and that grace is exactly what He extends to every one of us. And, I will go to a Methodist church where hopefully I’ll be reminded that it is His grace that will draw us closer to Him and deeper into discipleship as He grows us toward holiness. Want you join me?
You know my friend, Boudreaux? I think I’ve told you about him before. Well, Boudreaux and his wife, Clotile, go down to St. Peter’s Catholic Church, and down there at St. Peter’s, they hold weekly husband’s marriage seminars.
At the session one week, the priest asked Boudreaux, who was approaching his 50th wedding anniversary to Clotile, to take a few minutes and share some insight into how he had managed to stay married to the same woman all these years.
Boudreaux replied to the assembled husbands: “Well, I’ve tried to treat her nice, spend the money on her, but best of all is, I took her to Italy for the 25th anniversary!”
The priest responded: “Boudreaux, you are an amazing inspiration to all the husbands here! Please tell us what you are planning for your wife for your 50th anniversary?”
Boudreaux proudly replied: “I’m gonna’ go pick her up.”
A METAPHOR FOR GRACE
Oh, that life were that easy, right? We all know it’s not. Those of us who have been married any length of time know that marriage is hard work. As we continue resetting our understanding of God’s grace and how we experience our relationship with God, I remind us that our relationship with God can somewhat be compared to a relationship of a husband and wife in marriage. There is the courtship stage of the relationship, where one partner “woos” the other, inviting them into a relationship. That courtship stage, when God is wooing us into a relationship with Himself, we experience God’s prevenient grace.
Then, there is the moment we say “I do” to God, when we are, by grace, able to acknowledge that God desires to have a relationship with us…we hear His voice…and we say “Yes” to Him. That moment, that part of the relationship, we experience the justifying grace of God. We experience the forgiveness of our sins, and we are given new life in Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit. As a husband and wife stand before the altar and publicly proclaim their love and say “I do” to each other, so we proclaim our love and commitment to Christ.
Something happens after the wedding ceremony, though. Yes, I know we like to think it’s called the honeymoon, and there is that honeymoon phase of marriage that everything seems to be wonderful. Of course, I can say I’ve been on an almost 40-year honeymoon, but that’s for another day. Seriously, though, we know what happens…and it’s called life. It is God’s sanctifying grace that sustains us over the long haul of life. It is His grace made real in the challenging times, in the everyday times…when life happens.
A CALL TO HOLINESS
Sanctifying grace is God at work in us through the Holy Spirit to transform us. Our journey, our spiritual journey, is a journey toward transformation. When we come to Jesus Christ and he forgives our sin and gives us a new start, that’s not the end of the journey. In that moment, Jesus does something for us. If justifying grace is God doing something for us, sanctifying grace is God doing something in us. The something He desires to do is make us holy. We hear that word “holy,” and we think, “Who me? Holy? No way.” Yet, that is the life Christ call us to.
Let me pause here and insert that living a holy life is not living a holier-than-thou life. None of us will likely ever live a sinless life, at least that’s been my experience—but that could just be me. Certainly, John Wesley taught that not only does Christ deliver us from the consequence and penalty of sin, but he also delivers us from the power of sin.
As we journey through this life, there will always be temptations to sin. There will be challenges to our faith. There will be crises that cause us to doubt. We will deal with death. We will deal with disease. We will deal with difficult people. We will be angry. We will be frustrated. That’s life! In those times, we need grace, and God gives us grace so that we need not surrender to the baser instincts of our fallen nature. Christ gives us new life. Christ gives us new hope. It is Christ who sustains us through the journey.
The holiness Christ call us to is different than sinlessness. As Wesley taught it, and we understand it, holiness is nothing more…but also nothing less…than love for God and love for neighbor. It is to love as God loves. Jesus gave us two great commandments. We find them in Mark 12: 29 – 31: “The most important one,’ answered Jesus, ‘is this: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”
Holiness is about growing up in love. It is growth, and as I anticipate the coming of summer and that first ripe tomato of the season, I’m reminded that growth is a process. We don’t miraculously love as God loves. Oh, that it would be so simple. Growth is a process, and holiness is a process. Yes, there is, in one sense, where we are made holy by the work of Christ on the cross, but holiness that is lived out occurs over time. Don’t be surprised if you didn’t wake up the day after you accepted Christ living a holy life. But also, don’t be surprised if he begins a work in you, too.
C. S. Lewis
C. S. Lewis, perhaps the greatest theologian of the 20th century, explains it this way. When he was a child, he often had a toothache, and he knew that if he went to his mother, she would give him something which would deaden the pain for that night and let him get to sleep. But, Lewis said, he did not go to his mother–at least not till the pain became very bad. And the reason he did not go was this: He did not doubt she would give him the aspirin; but he knew she would also do something else. He knew she would take him to the dentist the next morning. He could not get what he wanted out of her without getting something more, which he didn’t want. He wanted relief from his pain; but he couldn’t get it without having his teeth set permanently right. And he knew those dentists; he knew they would start fiddling about with all sorts of other teeth which had not yet begun to ache. Our Lord, says Lewis, is like the dentists. Lots of people go to him to be cured of some particular sin. Well, he will cure it all right, but he will not stop there. That may be all you asked; but if you once call him in, he will give you the full treatment.
God’s sanctifying grace works on those problematic places…those sinful places in our lives. Conviction is part of His sanctifying work. Sure, most of us don’t wrestle with big sins…even the day after accepting Christ. You know, like murder and stealing and lying. No, what we deal with are much more subtle sins…like selfishness, jealousy, greed and envy. Those sins need transforming, too, and when we struggle with those along our journey, when they sap us of our energy and capacity to love, it’s then we need grace, and the promise of Scripture is that God gives us His grace—His sanctifying grace—to give us strength, to give us energy, to give us hope in the face of the struggle so that we move closer to the place…closer to the destination… closer to holiness
THE HARD WORK OF HOLINESS
Any relationship takes work. Whether it’s the relationship between a husband and wife, or between parents and children, friends or co-workers. If we don’t do the work to sustain relationships, they will break down and there will be distance between the persons in the relationship. In our relationship with God, it is God’s desire to make us holy. I think I’ve written before that God is not nearly as concerned about our happiness as he is about our holiness.
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Romans 12: 1-2 (NIV)
The Apostle Paul, writing to the Roman Church, says “be transformed” (Romans 12: 2). That’s passive, my friends. Transformation is something that happens to us and in us. We can’t say, “I’m going to transform myself, I’m going to change.” We may give it the old college try, but we’ll most probably fail because it is God and His grace that does the work.
I hear you asking, “How?” What makes us holy? I remind us of the disciplines of the spiritual life—prayer, solitude, fasting, accountability.
Accountability? Let’s not blow by that one. Yes, accountability is a spiritual discipline. As followers of Jesus Christ, we must hold each other accountable to living the “holy” life-the Christian life. We are meant to do life together. We can’t simply watch a brother or sister in Christ who struggles with sin and not offer encouragement, correction and hope. Jesus didn’t mind challenging his disciples when their faith waned, and he certainly never backed down from challenging the Pharisees. That’s accountability at work, and it is a means of experiencing God’s sanctifying grace.
We know about bible study, too. There is another one without which no transformation will occur. It is the spiritual discipline of submission.
Submission is the spiritual discipline that frees us from the burden of always needing to get our own way. In submission we learn to hold things loosely. We also learn to diligently watch over the spirit in which we hold others— honoring them, preferring them, loving them.
Submission is not age or gender specific. We learn to follow the wise counsel of the apostle Paul to “be subject to one another out of reverence for Christ” (Eph. 5:21). In Ephesians 5, Paul is introducing the “household code” for the Christian, and he uses the analogy of husband and wife in speaking of the idea of mutual submission, but this submission is not limited to that relationship alone. Each of us is to engage in mutual submission out of reverence for Christ.
The touchstone for the Christian understanding of submission is Jesus’s statement, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me (Mark 8:34).” This call of Jesus to “self-denial” is simply a way of coming to understand that we do not have to have our own way. It has nothing to do with self-contempt or self-hatred. It does not mean the loss of our identity or our individuality. It means quite simply the freedom to give way to others. It means to hold the interests of others above our own. It means freedom from self-pity and self-absorption.
Indeed, to save our life is to lose it; to lose our life for Christ’s sake is to save it (see Mark 8:35). The cross is the ultimate symbol of submission. Again, the Apostle Paul writes, “And being found in human form, [Jesus] humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death— even death on a cross” (Phil 2:7 – 8).
Jesus didn’t just die a “cross death.” He lived a “cross life” of daily submission to God the Father. We, too are called to this constant, everyday “cross life” of submission. It is as we submit to the Holy Spirit that He does His transforming work in us and we grow in holiness by His sanctifying grace.
A man and woman had been married for more than 60 years. They had shared everything. They had talked about everything. They had kept no secrets from each other, except that the little old woman had a shoe box in the top of her closet that she had cautioned her husband never to open or ask her about.
For all of these years, he had never thought about the box, but one day, the little old woman got very sick, and the doctor said she would not recover.
In trying to sort out their affairs, the little old man took down the shoe box and took it to his wife’s bedside.
She agreed that it was time that he should know what was in the box. When he opened it, he found two crocheted dolls and a stack of money totaling $95,000.
He asked her about the contents. “When we were to be married,” she said, “my grandmother told me the secret of a happy marriage was to never argue. She told me that if I ever got angry with you, I should just keep quiet and crochet a doll.”
The little old man was so moved; he had to fight back tears. Only two precious dolls were in the box. She had only been angry with him two times in all those years of living and loving. He almost burst with happiness.
“Honey,” he said, “that explains the dolls, but what about all of this money? Where did it come from?”
“Oh,” she said. “That’s the money I made from selling the dolls.”
Day after day, year after year, life happens and we make the daily choice to submit to the other, and we wake up forty, fifty years later and the love has grown deeper and more meaningful, and we discover our life in the other. Ultimately, the other for the disciple of Jesus, is Jesus Himself. We love Him and we love like Him. That is holiness. That is God’s sanctifying grace at work.
Not the Perfect Pastor 