Salvation

Mid-life Mayhem…

/ pastorlynnmalone / Leave a comment

No! Not me. King David…you know? King David of Israel. It had to be mid-life mayhem. Some call it a mid-life crisis. It’s the only thing that makes sense.

What am I talking about? I’m talking about David’s tryst with Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11 & 12), and his subsequent cover-up. Here’s how the encounter begins:

11 In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king’s men and the whole Israelite army. They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained in Jerusalem.

2 One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful, 3 and David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, “She is Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite.” 4 Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her. (Now she was purifying herself from her monthly uncleanness.) Then she went back home. 5 The woman conceived and sent word to David, saying, “I am pregnant.”

According to the biblical chronology, David was somewhere between ages 49 – 56 when this event occurred (see here).

So, all week long I’ve been asking myself, “How could David do such an obviously wrong thing?” I mean, seriously, he is God’s anointed one, a “man after God’s own heart,” the poet of Israel, the one who was/is the foreshadow of Messiah. How does he fall, and so obviously and precipitously? It just doesn’t make sense. What could it be?

I thought, perhaps, it was boredom. Here’s David lounging around in the spring of the year, sleeping until afternoon, hanging around an empty palace (all his warriors are off at war). The proverb “idle minds are the devil’s playground” is true. Perhaps if David had been productively occupied, say out with his warriors, this might not have happened.

Maybe David had a sense of entitlement at work. You know? He was thinking, “I’m the King. No one says ‘No,’ to the King. I can do what I want.”

While it is true that Israel was governed by the Mosaic Law, and the Mosaic Law was very specific concerning the act of adultery, I wonder if David saw all the surrounding kings who WERE the law in their kingdoms, and thought, “I can make my own law,” or thought he wasn’t subject to the law. Yeah, it’s a stretch, but I’m trying to make sense of it all.

Some have suggested that it wasn’t a sin for David to be with Bathsheba. Under this line of reasoning, David instituted the practice of issuing a “conditional divorce” to soldiers going off to war in case they were lost in action so that their widows would be free to re-marry legally. Uriah was conditionally divorced from Bathsheba because he was at war. According to this reasoning, David’s sin wasn’t adultery, it was the murder of Uriah and its cover-up. I’m not sure I buy it, but it is an interesting perspective.

I’m not justifying David’s actions with these excuses. Just trying to understand his actions. Nothing justifies David’s actions. Nothing justifies our sin. Suffice it to say that this episode in the history of Israel and the life of David stands as a cautionary tale for all of us. May I share some of the cautions I’ve noticed as I’ve reflected on David’s actions?

Caution #1: Everyone is subject to the power of sin.

No one (not even David) is perfect. David had a human heart (even if it was one after God’s own) just like the rest of us. As the Apostle James reminds us:

14 but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. 15 Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death (James 1: 14 – 15 NIV).

Yes, David (up to this moment) has been the foreshadow of Jesus Christ, but this moment is the pivot of David’s life. Before this moment, the biblical writers portray only the triumphs of his life. He is anointed as king. He wins mighty victories over his enemies. The nation writes songs about him and celebrate his victories. He becomes king, and a good one, too. He shows mercy to his enemies. He reunited the Kingdom of Judah and the nation of Israel. He is riding high in Israel.

Events after this encounter are recorded as pure tragedy. He loses a child (the child born of this tryst), he has a son rape one of his daughters. Another son kills that son. Children revolt. David flees. He gets old and dies. Literally, the triumphs of David’s life turn to the tragedies of David’s life, and this is the pivot point.

Before this moment, David is (appropriately) compared to Jesus Christ. From this moment, David is contrasted to Jesus Christ, and we discover that even David needs Jesus, for even he is subject to the power of sin.

Even the chronicler of 1 & 2 Kings saw this as the pivotal event of David’s life:

5 For David had done what was right in the eyes of the Lord and had not failed to keep any of the Lord’s commands all the days of his life—except in the case of Uriah the Hittite (1 Kings 15: 5 NIV).

Caution #2: Sin destroys everything.

David’s family fell apart. Uriah lost his life. Bathsheba lost her family and a child. Sin, this sin, destroyed it all.

Yes, David repented of his sin (see 2 Samuel 12 and Psalm 51), but repentance doesn’t negate the consequences of our sin. We are left with pain and grief caused by the brokenness of sin.

Yes, salvation in Jesus Christ saves us from the penalty of sin (Romans 6: 23), and he (along with John Wesley) says we are saved from sin’s power (Romans 6: 14), but nowhere does the bible indicate that salvation in Jesus saves us from the consequences of sin.

Caution #3: Everything is not enough.

David had it all. He was famous. Fame didn’t satisfy him.

David had success. He had won great victories on the battlefield and reunified the nation. He had brought the Ark of the Covenant back to Jerusalem. Success didn’t satisfy him.

David had great wealth. Kings from surrounding kingdoms were paying him. tribute money and he was adding his wealth to the treasury to build the glory of Israel–the Temple. His great wealth didn’t satisfy him.

He had everything, yet he wanted more.

The blessings of the economic realities of the United States of America has created a very comfortable environment for all of us. Our success has left us wanting more, more, more. In all our pursuit of more, we are moving further and further away from the Lord. We’re busy chasing anything to fill the emptiness only God can fill.

Caution #4: Anything might be legal, but not everything is moral.

David may, in fact, have seen himself as the law of the land, and by a simple edict established anything as legal. But, just because something is legal doesn’t make it moral. When man’s law and God’s law come up against each other, God’s law will win every time. Maybe not today. Maybe not tomorrow. But, ultimately, God’s law will prevail.

Perhaps David had already experienced this reality. We know that Genesis 2 is explicit in God’s plan for marriage–a man and woman become one flesh. Yet, David had 8 wives (at least 8!). Yes, it was legal, but legal doesn’t mean moral.

Yes, gay marriage may be legal. Legal doesn’t mean moral.

Yes, abortion may be legal. Legal doesn’t mean moral.

Yes, gambling may be legal. Legal doesn’t mean moral.

Yes, it may be legal for the United Methodist Church to seize all the property of the local congregation. Legal doesn’t mean moral (Yes! I went there!)

Finding Jesus.

As I always do, I need to find Jesus in these Old Testament accounts. Where can I see Jesus in this unfortunate episode in David’s and Bathsheba’s lives?

Well, Jesus is certainly present in their genealogy. Matthew’s Gospel mentions Bathsheba in Jesus’ family tree, so there’s the literal sense in which Jesus is present.

Beyond that, though, I see God’s sovereignty at work in all the brokenness of their lives. God’s will is accomplished (salvation comes through Jesus) even though David is disobedient and sinful. There is hope for me yet. All my broken, sinful attitudes and actions will not thwart God’s plan. For that I am grateful.

What a testament to God’s grace! It’s all grace, and Jesus came so that we might know the grace of God up close and personal. Repentance is grace. Forgiveness is grace.

What a great lesson to learn in mid-life (or at any other point in life). It’s a lesson I’m learning a little past mid-life, but I pray that I AM learning it.

Coming to understand the depths of God’s grace opens us to a new (or renewed) gratitude for Him. No, it won’t necessarily change my circumstances, but it will change my perspective and attitude. It can, literally, give me new life–God’s life in Jesus Christ.

Oh, that I should be so blessed.

Until next time, keep looking up…

A Man After God’s Heart…

/ pastorlynnmalone / Leave a comment

Israel’s King David is (perhaps) the most well-known religious figure in the world besides Jesus Christ. He certainly is to the Jewish people and to most Christians. Honestly, to most Christians (and not a few Jews) he’s almost superhuman.

I bring David up because I’ve been meditating on his life, and particularly his calling (anointing as king) all week long. I’ve preached the passage before, and I’m preaching it again this week, but as I’ve studied and meditated this week, I just can’t seem to get to the “heart” of one particular passage of Scripture:

7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” (1 Samuel 16: 7 NIV)

I have been stuck on the phrase, “the Lord looks at the heart” all week. I’ve asked myself three questions all week long:

  1. What does the Lord see when He looks at the human heart?
  2. What did the Lord see when He looked at David’s heart?
  3. What does the Lord see when He looks at my heart?

The Context

I suppose I should set the context for the passage. It was the period of the Judges in Israel’s history when the people began clamoring for a King (1 Samuel 8). Samuel’s time as prophet/judge was drawing to a close and the people rejected his sons, who had been tapped to take his place. Samuel’s sons were corrupt and the people knew it. They wanted different leadership.

The lesson in that is be careful what you ask for. You might just get it. What the people got was their first king named Saul. Saul, who was “the most handsome man in all Israel–head and shoulders above everyone else in the land” (1 Samuel 9:2). Unfortunately this tall handsome guy turned out to be half-crazy and disobedient, and was ultimately rejected by God as King of Israel (1 Samuel 15).

Enter God’s call to Samuel to anoint another King in Saul’s place, and this takes us to the sleepy little town outside Jerusalem called Bethlehem where Jesse and his family keep flocks for a living. Jesse is the grandson of Ruth and Boaz (find their story here), and the Lord tells Samuel to go and anoint one of Jesse’s sons as the new King He has chosen for His people Israel.

Samuel is hesitant to do so (What if Saul finds out?), so the Lord tells Samuel to go to Bethlehem to offer a sacrifice and invite Jesse’s family to the sacrifice, and while you’re at it, take the horn of oil–kinda’ keep it out of sight until the time is right–and when I tell you, anoint a new King.

I could chase a rabbit here and explore the idea that God uses deception to accomplish His will, but that’s for another day. I’m just going to leave that thought right there because I really want to understand what God sees when He looks at David’s (and my) heart.

Samuel makes the trek to Bethlehem, invites Jesse’s family and begins to parade Jesse’s sons before the gathered body. Eliab, the oldest, is brought forward first. “Surely,” Samuel thinks, “this is the one.” He’s the oldest, so it’s got to be him, right? Wrong!

It’s then that the Lord announces to Samuel verse 7. See, Samuel just can’t get past appearances. Eliab is the oldest, perhaps the tallest, too. Samuel uses the same standard for David that was used for the previous King, Saul. Even the prophet/judge Samuel misses the mark. He does what we all are prone to doing–we like judging a book by its cover. The Lord says, “Not so fast!”

In order from oldest to youngest, seven of Jesse’s sons are brought to Samuel. All seven are rejected. Finally, Samuel asks Jesse if there are any more sons. “Yes,” he replies, “but he’s the youngest and he’s busy tending the flocks since you’ve got the rest of us here.”

“Send for him,” Saul says. “We’re not having supper until he gets here.”

David arrives. He is the chosen one. Saul anoints him as Israel’s next King. The Lord looked past his appearance and saw his heart.

This is where it gets really sticky for me. I (along with countless pastors in the past) have preached that there was something special about David’s heart. If we could just figure out what that was, we could learn how to be “people after God’s own heart” (1 Samuel 13:14 and Acts 13:22).

Godly Character

Yeah, I came up with lots of good sermon material. I can easily come up with 10 characteristics that reflect David’s heart. All one has to do is read the Psalms:

Humility – Lowborn men are but a breath, the highborn are but a lie; if weighed on a balance, they are nothing; together they are only a breath. Psalm 62:9

Reverence – I call to the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and I am saved from my enemies. Psalm 18:3

Respectfulness – Be merciful to me, O Lord, for I am in distress; my eyes grow weak with sorrow, my soul and my body with grief. Psalm 31:9

Trust – The LORD is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid? Psalm 27:1

Loving – I love you, O Lord, my strength. Psalm 18:1

Devotion – You have filled my heart with greater joy than when their grain and new wine abound. Psalm 4:7

Recognition – I will praise you, O Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonders. Psalm 9:1

Faithfulness – Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever. Psalm 23:6

Obedience – Give me understanding, and I will keep your law and obey it with all my heart. Psalm 119:34

Repentance – For the sake of your name, O Lord, forgive my iniquity, though it is great. Psalm 25:11

Yeah, that would make a great (and long) sermon. Hey, if I could just exhibit those characteristics, I’d be a great Christian. The Lord would see my heart and He’d just smile.

A Dose of Reality

But, there are two passages of Scripture that have given me “heart-burn” as I’ve prayed over this passage. The first is found in Jeremiah 17: 9-10:

The heart is deceitful above all things
    and beyond cure.
    Who can understand it?

10 “I the Lord search the heart
    and examine the mind,
to reward each person according to their conduct,
    according to what their deeds deserve.”

The second is in Romans:

There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. (Romans 3: 22b-24 NIV)

In light of Jeremiah 17 and Romans 3, I’m not so sure David had a great heart. I’m not so sure I do, either!

Yes, David could be all the things we talked about. He could have great faith and be wonderfully obedient. He could show proper reverence, respect and humility. He could be a great leader of people. He could be all those things, but he could also be an adulterer and murderer (2 Samuel 11). Let’s not forget that he was a less than stellar parent, too (2 Samuel 13-14).

I, too, want to say I have a heart after God’s heart, but then I look at my own heart and think, “Do I really?” No! I’m much like Rev. Alexander Whyte, who upon receiving great praise from one of his happy congregants, replied, “Madam, if you could see my heart, you’d spit in my face.”

Yes, being able to develop godly characteristics will always make me a better person, but being a better person will not save me. Only Jesus Christ can save me! How do I get from my sad, sinful heart to God’s heart? Only through Jesus Christ. He is the key. That must be what God sees when He looks at David’s heart. I pray it is what He sees when He looks at mine.

How so?

I take my clue from John Woodhouse, who translates the passage thusly: “For the Lord sees not as man sees, for man sees according to the eyes, but the Lord sees according to the heart.” It is a subtle, but major difference in this and the translation of most interpreters. In this rendering, it is God’s heart that He sees…meaning that David was chosen according to God’s purpose, just as Israel was “chosen” by God.

God views everything according to His own intentions and purposes. what I mean is that God’s choice is not on account of any peculiar fondness that he has for David—not because he has a particular liking to David, a liking that he doesn’t share for the other brothers, or that David has a peculiar and special quality which makes him attractive to God.

What it means is the fact that God, because he is God and because he is sovereign, is able to divinely select the one who is to be the king. And what it has to deal with is the fact of God’s electing (we Wesleyans hate that word) love rather than some notion of the suitability of a particular person.

Our Only Hope

It’s not that David’s heart was full of God, but rather that God’s heart was full of David. It was God looking through David’s heart to see Jesus Christ. It’s all about the place the man has in God’s heart rather than the place God has in the man’s heart.

I can only trust that when God looks at my heart, he sees Jesus Christ. If He doesn’t, I am lost, indeed, for only in Jesus Christ can I find redemption, reconciliation and salvation. He alone is my source of hope. I will put my trust in Him alone.

I’ve probably muddied the waters for everyone except myself, but I have, at least for myself, gotten to the “heart” of the matter. After all, every event in the Old Testament is leading us to Jesus. My own righteousness is as filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6). I can’t depend on my own heart. I can only depend on the loving heart of God.

I want to be a man who has a place in God’s heart.

Until next time, keep looking up…

Finding the Perfect Church…

/ pastorlynnmalone / Leave a comment

It’s been FIVE years since I stepped away from full-time vocational ministry. For parts of those five years my wife and I were church “homeless.” That’s right! We didn’t have a church home. We became church shoppers…looking for the perfect church.

The sad thing? We haven’t found one. The sadder thing? I uttered a lot of the same excuses I heard other people utter in my 28+ years in vocational ministry.

Making Excuses

Perhaps you’ve heard some of these excuses. Perhaps you’ve made some of these excuses if you’ve ever been church “homeless.” Perhaps you’re saying some of these things right now if you’re currently church “homeless.” What are those excuses?

  • “This church is too small…”
  • “This church is too large…”
  • “There aren’t any children here…”
  • “There are too many children here…”
  • “The youth group is too small…”
  • “The youth group is too large…”
  • “The youth pastor is too (well, there are a lot of things we can say about youth pastors!)…”
  • “There’s no youth group…”
  • “I don’t like contemporary music…”
  • “I don’t like traditional music…”
  • “The music is too loud…”
  • “There are too many old people…”
  • “The pastor’s sermons aren’t good…”
  • “The pastor doesn’t know me…”
  • “I don’t like the pastor…”
  • “I’m not being fed…”

That is certainly not an exhaustive list of excuses I’ve heard through the years. You could add your own. The problem with church shopping is that it betrays an appropriate understanding of what the church is, and it feeds into our consumer mentality–the fact that we have become “consumers” of religion.

Going to church should not be like going shopping. I’m going to church to find what I need and I’ll keep shopping until I find it. Looking for a church that “I” like is one of the most selfish endeavors on the planet. Oh, and it is also one of the most un-biblical, too!

Reasons to “Church Shop”

Actually, there are very few reasons we should be church “homeless.”

One reason is because we’ve moved to a new community. A job or career change takes us to a new community and we’re forced to move away from our current church home.

Another reason is a change in our relationship status, i.e., we got married or divorced or remarried. The change in relationship affords a new opportunity to go to church with the other, or to begin again with the other.

Yet another reason to leave a church is because the church has abandoned orthodoxy. This is the primary reason that Vanessa and I were church homeless. I don’t intend to get into a discussion here about orthodoxy or my former church home. That can be for another time, but suffice it to say we believed (and still believe) that our former church home abandoned the “faith once delivered to all the saints.” We could be wrong (I often am!), but apparently a lot of other people agree with me.

I’ve gone a long way out of the way to say, “Stop looking for the perfect church. You’re not going to find it!” What’s the old saying? If you find the perfect church, don’t go! You’ll mess it up! Actually, that’s not true. You can’t mess up what’s already messed up. There is NO perfect church. Looking for one missed the point entirely.

The Uncomfortable Church

When we look for the perfect church, we usually mean the perfect church for us. We mean we want a church that meets my needs. We want to be with people who generally look like us, who generally act like us, who generally make the same amount of money as we do, who are in the current life stage we are in, etc. What we really mean is we want a church where we can feel comfortable.

Guess what? Church is not about our comfort. Guess what? We’re supposed to be uncomfortable in church! We’re supposed to be uncomfortable with our sin because we are in the presence of a holy God.

We’re supposed to be uncomfortable because there are people in church who aren’t like me. We’re supposed to be uncomfortable in church because the teaching challenges me to be transformed.

We’re supposed to be uncomfortable in church because I’m being asked to surrender myself…my wants…my likes…my dislikes…my desires…all of me…to Jesus and to one another.

Dang! All of that makes me uncomfortable. Welcome to the perfect church!

I kind of think that’s what the Apostle Paul had in mind when he wrote the Ephesian church in its infancy:

12 …remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, 15 by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, 16 and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility.  (Ephesians 2: 12 – 16 NIV)

Making Us One in Christ

One humanity out of the two. What two? Jews and Gentiles. Let’s face it. In the first century, Jews and Gentiles did not like each other very much (understatement!). Yet, they were called by Christ to be together…to worship together…to serve together…to love God together…and…wait for it…to love one another together. Talk about out of their comfort zone! That’s exactly where Christ is calling us to be and it is exactly what Christ is calling us to do.

Imagine how evangelistic it is for the world to see people who are normally at each other’s throat worshipping and serving together. The world sees it and they wonder, “How can that be?” It is through this imperfect church that the world (and we) see how powerful and amazing His grace is to save a bunch of people who really don’t like each other.

Don’t go looking for a church online. Yeah, I know. We look for the Google reviews when we’re looking for a church home. Why go to a four-star church when you can find a five-star one? Let me remind you that church health can’t be measured by Google reviews.

Yes, I know that when you’re shopping for a new church home that you’ve already watched the sermons online and you’ve perused the church website or Facebook page. It’s what we do.

Do you really want to grow in Christ? Then, how about go to the church that doesn’t have an online presence? Yeah, preacher, you’re really stretching it now!

Do you really want to grow in Christ? Then how about look for the church home that you’ll probably like the least…that is least like you. Perhaps that is where real growth will occur, and maybe…just maybe…that’s because it is as Jesus intended it.

Yeah, I don’t know, either. I’m really just processing my own church homelessness over the past five years. Perhaps my processing it will help others get off the couch and find their new church home and will give them pause while they do. Then again, maybe not.

Finding a new church home is not about “me.” It is about finding Jesus, loving Him and loving one another. THAT is the perfect church.

Until next time, keep looking up…

A Little Irony at Christmas…

/ pastorlynnmalone / 2 Comments

Thomas Edison is credited with changing the way Christmas was lighted, not because he invented the incandescent bulb, but because he chose Christmas as the time to market the incandescent bulb. Edison’s marketing trick during the holiday season of 1880 was to display his invention as a means of heightening Yuletide excitement; he strung up incandescent bulbs all around his Menlo Park laboratory compound so that passing commuters on the nearby railway could see the Christmas miracle. But, Edison being Edison decided to make the challenge a little trickier by powering the lights from a remote generator eight miles away in an effort to gain a contract to provide electricity to Manhattan.

Did you catch the irony? Electric Christmas lights were a marketing ploy in the middle of the most marketed holiday ever. Two years later, in 1882 Edison’s partner Edward Johnson strung lights on his family’s Charlie Brown looking Christmas tree and the world saw the first electrically lighted tree. The practice didn’t catch on too quickly because it was too expensive for the average American to string lights on trees. Not until 1917 did electric lights become affordable for the average American, and they’ve been marketed successfully ever since. It’s okay, though. Lights are pretty, and they add so much to the season, and when we remember why we have lights we recapture the essence of the season, and we can handle the irony.

Irony at the Manger

There’s more than a little irony associated with the nativity, too. How ironic is it that the Prince of Peace should be born during a time known as the Pax Romana—a time known as the Peace of Rome? Yet, the Jews were an oppressed people living in an occupied land. Though there was no outright conflict in the world, there was unrest in the hearts of the people. They were, even in those days, restless for God.

And, how ironic that this One born the Prince of Peace would, himself, bring so much conflict among people? Consider that because of this peaceful manger scene every child under the age of two would be slaughtered due to Herod’s insecurity. Consider the scene in Luke’s Gospel when Jesus’ hometown folks sought to shove him off a cliff, and consider the attacks Jesus endured from the very Roman occupiers who demanded that Mary and Joseph travel to Bethlehem—attacks that took him to the cross. And, consider the conflict the early disciples endured because they followed this One we call the Prince of Peace. Oh! There is more than a little irony when we consider that Christ is the Prince of Peace.

Light brightens the darkness. Light, as the prophet Isaiah says, “will shine on all who live in the land where death casts its shadow.” And, the prophet says this light will shine in a day of peace. We hear a lot about peace in the nativity story. It starts with the prophet Isaiah who speaks of a resounding peace that comes amid the vivid imagery of the boots of tramping warriors and battle garments rolled in blood all of which will be burned as fuel for the fire to usher in the One who will be known as the Prince of Peace. 

According to Luke, a multitude of the heavenly hosts, the ones who appeared to the shepherds that night of Jesus’ birth, sang of “Peace on earth good will to all whom God favors.” And our favorite carols pick up the theme as well.

Silent night, holy night. All is calm all is bright, round yon virgin mother and child. Holy infant so tender and mild. Sleep in heavenly peace. Sleep in heavenly peace.

Somehow the image of a newborn child and our longing for peace go hand in hand. The baby Jesus, lying in a manger, offers a symbol of peacefulness and calm that speaks to our soul, especially when we consider the chaotic time in which we live. Jesus as the Prince of Peace in a chaotic world seems like a marketing ploy, like someone’s trying to sell us a bill of goods. When we consider 2020 and the pandemic, rioting and looting, cities ablaze, and of course, the election (and its aftermath), peace seems so unattainable. How do we look at a baby in a manger and see peace? How can we see light shining in the midst of dark, chaotic world?

Searching for Shalom

Too often, the term peace has been connected with the absence of war, or even the absence of conflict. If there is no war – there is peace. However, the word that is used in the Old Testament for peace is “Shalom,” and it means so much more than the absence of conflict. Shalom is used to describe the end of hostilities, but the word itself also denotes health and wholeness. It denotes harmony and completeness. To have shalom is to have a quiet life and a fulfilled life in every way. When you have shalom there is no feeling of harm or hurt. When you have shalom you are in a state of ease and safety. In a state of shalom there is no fear whatsoever, nor is there any worry. There is a sense of harmony and oneness. Everything is exactly the way it should be. Nothing is out of order. Your inner world as well as the outer world is in harmony. This is shalom – this is the peace that Jesus brings for He is – Our Prince of Peace.

Down deep inside, don’t we all long to have this sense of peace? Deep inside every one of us is a God-given longing that there would be a greater sense of shalom within ourselves, within our families, within our nation, and between nations. 

Isaiah felt the same way. Isaiah was an Old Testament prophet and he had the same longings. The year was 700 B.C. The Jews had been fighting for forty years. First, they fought with the Assyrians, then the Egyptians, then the Assyrians again, then the Egyptians again. An entire generation had grown up knowing war, with a spear in one hand and a sword in the other. From the time a kid was three years old, all they were doing was playing war games.

Can you imagine forty years of that kind of life? Isaiah was tired of it. He was tired of four decades of killing. He was tired of kids being trained to kill. He was tired of mothers and fathers and sons and daughters fighting with each other. Isaiah longed for peace; he longed for peace as much as a parched, dry, thirsty man longs for water, or a starving man longs for bread. Isaiah longed for peace because he had experienced so much war.

Isaiah longed for peace perhaps because he had read the book of Genesis, and he knew that God created us to be peaceful with each other. Isaiah knew that we were made in the image of God, and therefore we are made to be peaceful with each other.

Made for Peace

When God created Adam and Eve and humankind, it was not God’s intention for us to hurt each other. It was not God’s intentions for mothers and fathers, and husbands and wives, and blacks and whites, and Arabs and Israelis, and Russians and Americans, Muslims and Christians, to be at war with each other.

We are made in the image of God. We are made for peace.  That’s why, down in our hearts, every time we fight with our spouse, or our children, or even ourselves, we don’t like it. You and I have been made by God to be peaceful people. We always feel so much better about life when we are at peace with ourselves, family, and each other.

Peace with ourselves and with one another starts with peace with God. Here is where a little light begins to shine in the darkness. Though we are made in the image of God, sin has stained that image. Each of us, because of sin, has a problem with God. Our sin has separated us from God. The Bible says that we deserve punishment for our sin. Before we can have peace with God, something must be done about sin.

Guess what? Something has been done! God sent the Prince of Peace to deal with the situation. He sent the Prince of Peace to fix the problem. He sent the Prince of Peace to give us peace with God. 

The good news of the child who is born a savior is that he comes to a world we know and bears upon him the sins that we bear. God has entered into this life of ours and taken it upon himself, and in so doing, sets us right with Himself, makes peace. There is a caveat, though. The angels in the Christmas story were singing high above the shepherds and they sang, “Peace on earth to all whom God favors.” The angels did not sing, “Peace on earth for all people…Peace on earth, carte blanche. Anyone with a credit card can charge it.” Rather, the song of peace adds a crucial ingredient, “to all whom God favors”—that is, people who trust in Jesus Christ will find shalom.

Let me tell you about Robert Reid. Not the actor, but the missionary. Robert graduated from high school and then from Abilene Christian University with a degree in Latin. He taught at a junior college in St. Louis and ventured overseas on five mission trips before moving to Lisbon as a missionary in 1972. He rented a hotel room and began studying Portuguese. He found a restaurant owner who would feed him because he was unable to feed himself. That’s because Robert’s hands are twisted and his feet are useless. He can’t bathe himself. He can’t brush his own teeth. He can’t put on his own underwear. His shirts are held together by strips of Velcro. His speech drags like a worn out audio cassette. He can’t drive a car. He can’t ride a bike. He can’t even go for walk. Robert has cerebral palsy. But that did not keep him from becoming a missionary to Portugal.

Robert would go daily to the park. He would station himself there and with his twisted hands he would pass out brochures about Jesus. Within six years he helped seventy people come to know the love of God in Jesus Christ, one who became his wife, Rosa.

Robert could have been bitter because of his disease, but he wasn’t. Robert could have asked for pity, but he didn’t. Robert holds his bent and twisted hands in the air and yells, “I have everything I need for joy! Amazing!” Robert can do that because he has peace. Robert can do that because he has met the Prince of Peace – Jesus.

Peace can and does happen, even in a chaotic world. Peace can happen, even in us. Peace can happen in our marriages. Peace can happen in our children.  Peace can happen because we are made in the image of God.  We are made for peace and we long for peace and we then work for peace because the Prince of Peace is working inside of us. How ironic that we who seem to have such dark, chaotic lives have been called to be light in a dark world. How ironic that we who seem to so often lack peace are called work for peace in this world. Yeah, there’s more than a little irony in the Christmas story.

Until next time, keep looking up…

G.O.R.P….

/ pastorlynnmalone / Leave a comment

I am not a hiker, but I have been hiking. So, I know very little about hiking except what I’ve read. I mention hiking, though, because hiking comes to mind when I think about God’s sanctifying grace (yeah, I know, you can’t figure out how my mind works–sometimes I can’t either).

SANCTIFICATION

I am thinking about God’s sanctifying grace because I’ve been studying again the core beliefs of the Evangelical Methodist Church. Here’s what the Church says about sanctification and living a holy life: “We believe in entire sanctification following regeneration, whereby the believer is cleansed from the pollution of sin, saved from its power, and enabled through grace, to love God with all his/her heart,” and “We believe that every Christian is expected to live a holy life, one that is truly Christian.”

Regeneration. Sanctification. Those are three dollar theological words that mean “a new life” and “a holy life” respectively. New life (regeneration) comes when we accept Jesus Christ, and a holy life (sanctification) is what grows out of following Christ. Now, you’re probably wondering, “What does any of that have to do with hiking?” I’m glad you asked.

Do you know what G.O.R.P is? G.O.R.P. is an acronym that stands for granola, oats, raisins and peanuts, or as others have said, “Good old raisins and peanuts.” For a hiker on a journey, gorp is a snack designed to keep the hiker from crashing on an extended trip. It’s hard to pack a lot of food on an extended hike, and g.o.r.p. is sufficient in calories to keep the hiker from experiencing what is known in the hiking world as the “bonk.” A bonk is when a hiker doesn’t take in enough calories and energy and capacity deteriorates, thus preventing one completing the journey. Good old raisins and peanuts is meant to sustain the traveler through the journey, to help the person stay fueled to finish the hike.

That, in a nutshell (no pun intended), is the essence of God’s sanctifying grace. Life is a journey, and all along the way God’s grace is available to us, in different ways at different stages of the journey. 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, when energy and capacity wane…when life happens.

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.

HOLINESS

Understand, living a holy life is not living a holier-than-thou life. None of us will likely ever live a perfect life, at least that’s been my experience—but that could just be me. But, John Wesley taught that not only does Christ deliver us from the consequence and penalty of sin, he also delivers us from the power of sin. The Apostle Paul does a masterful job in Romans 6 explaining this idea.

(c) John Wesleys House & The Museum of Methodism; Supplied by The Public Catalogue Foundation

John’s brother, Charles Wesley, also does a masterful job capturing John’s teaching with this verse from Charles’ great hymn, O For a Thousand Tongues to Sing:

He breaks the power of canceled sin,
  He sets the prisoner free;
His blood can make the foulest clean;
  His blood availed for me.

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 deal with anger. We will deal with frustration. That is the life. In those times, we need grace, and God gives us grace so that we need not surrender to the baser insticnts of our fallen nature. Christ has given us new life. Christ gives us hope. It is Christ who sustains us through life.

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.”

The spiritual journey of life is about growing up in love. It is growth, and 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, 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 me 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.

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 the Gospel 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 the trailhead…closer to holiness.

What is our G. O. R. P.? What sustains us so that we make it to the end? What makes us holy? I remind us again of the disciplines of the spiritual life—prayer, solitude, fasting, accountability. We know about bible study, too. Another is submission. All of these are the disciple’s G. O. R. P. They strengthen us and grow us in holiness.

There is another one, too. It is the sacrament of Holy Communion. There is strength here. There is grace here. At the Lord’s table, we are reminded of love, and we’re reminded to love. And, we’re reminded that love is sacrifice. It is sacrifice that the Apostle Paul calls us to in Romans 12: 1 – 2—the surrender of ourselves to Christ:

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.

We recall Christ’s sacrifice for us, and we see in it his sacrifice, and we acknowledge he calls us to the same sacrificial life. At the Lord’s table, we find strength for the journey. Here we are enabled to keep moving forward.

The Australian coat of arms pictures two animals—the emu, a flightless bird, and the kangaroo. The animals were chosen because they share a characteristic that appealed to the Australian citizens. Both the emu and kangaroo can move only forward, not back. The emu’s three-toed foot causes it to fall if it tries to go backwards, and the kangaroo is prevented from moving in reverse by its large tail. In the following of Jesus, G. O. R. P. helps us be like the emu and kangaroo, moving only forward, never back…becoming more like Jesus everyday–that is holiness…that is sanctification.

Until next time, keep looking up…

Simply Jesus…

/ pastorlynnmalone / Leave a comment

It really is all about Jesus! It being, of course, the Christian faith. I remember a parishoner named Mr. Joe who, as he departed every Sunday, would simply say, “Just give ’em Jesus.” I think that phrase sums up what the Evangelical Methodist Church means when it states “We believe each person must acknowledge the Lordship of Jesus Christ and be born again before he/she is a true Christian.”

A Matter of Grace

We can search the depths of theology and philosophy and discover one verse which, in its essence, sums up all God offers His creation, and we find it in a late night conversation Jesus had with a Pharisee named Nicodemus. Of course, it’s John 3: 16—“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever should believe in him would not perish but have everlasting life.” Let us be careful not to let the familiarity of the words lessen their power.

We are nothing apart from faith in Jesus Christ, and it is faith in Jesus Christ that gives us new life, that transforms us from what we were (a sinner), to what He intends for us to be (a sinner saved by grace). I am reminded that a relationship with Jesus Christ is all about grace–God’s grace.

We Wesleyans walk the Wesleyan way of salvation. Along that Wesleyan way are several “movements” of God’s grace. One of those movements is of justifying grace. It is this justifying grace of God at work in that moment that one comes to faith in Jesus Christ. The theological term for that moment is regeneration.

John Newton, in his famous hymn Amazing Grace, wrote of this moment of regeneration:

‘Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,
and grace my fears relieved;
how precious did that grace appear
the hour I first believed.

Newton wrote his classic hymn on a slave ship bound for England on March 10, 1748, as he endured a raging storm on the high seas. That evening, Newton cried out to God, and his life was forever changed. He wrote of that evening, “I cried to the Lord with a cry like that of the ravens which yet the Lord does not disdain to hear. And I remembered Jesus whom I had so often derided.”

Regeneration

Justifying grace (regeneration) is that moment in time when we realize that God accepts us just as we are, and we say “yes” to his offer of salvation, and our eyes are opened to the love and companionship of God. Justifying grace (regeneration) is about saying “yes” to God.

The problem is that we need help when it comes to a restored and right relationship with God. The Good News is that God wants to help. God didn’t come to offer us things (like money or power or success or possessions) that we think will make life full, or us happy. God sent His Son Jesus Christ to offer us a relationship that is a relationship of love that flows out of His self-giving nature.

Regeneration happens in that moment when we accept the relationship God offers in his Son, Jesus Christ. We are justified in that very moment. This moment of acceptance is commonly referred to as conversion. It is what happens inwardly at that moment when most people would say, “I’ve been saved!” But the phrase “I’ve been saved” does not mean that conversion is ended. Rather it means we have begun a more adventurous portion of the journey that is God’s salvation.

We can just as easily say, “I am saved,” or “I am being saved,” for conversion continues when we find new ways of accepting Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Like when we come to a better understanding of ourselves, and when we come to a better understanding of the claim God is placing on our lives, but more about that in a later blog.

A Gift

Here is where it gets sticky and we have difficulty accepting God’s offer of salvation. Let me explain why. We have been taught all our lives that America is the place where hard work and determination meet opportunity to produce wealth and success. While there are exceptions we all could point to, we realize the American dream is fueled by hard work and determination. Gary Player, the legendary golfer and a South African, understood this attitude. He said, “The harder you work the luckier you get.”

The American attitude is an up-by-the-boot-strap mentality, and that attitude is what has made America great. Isn’t it ironic, then, the American attitude, that up-from-the-boot-strap mentality, is a major stumbling block in our acceptance of God’s offer of salvation. We know that hard work and determination are what make the measure of success, so we find it totally unreasonable that God would offer us salvation at no cost. Surely we have to do something to earn this salvation. We can’t do anything. But God does not give us something for nothing, and our salvation has come at great cost. It cost Jesus Christ his life.

All we can do is accept God’s offer or reject it. It is totally a free gift to us, and our acceptance of that offer is an act of faith. It is not our work, nor is there any work we can do to deserve or earn it.  This work is what Jesus Christ has done for us in the grand plan of God’s salvation. Listen to how the Apostle Paul describes it:

But now God has shown us a different way of being made right in his sight–not by obeying the law but by the way promised in the Scriptures long ago. We are made right in God’s sight when we trust in Jesus Christ to take away our sins. And we all can be saved in this same way, no matter who we are or what we have done. For all have sinned: all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet now God in his gracious kindness declares us not guilty. He has done this through Christ Jesus, who has freed us by taking away our sins. For God sent Jesus to take the punishment for our sins and to satisfy God’s anger against us. We are made right with God when we believe that Jesus shed his blood, sacrificing his life for us. God was being entirely fair and just when he did not punish those who sinned in former times. And he is entirely fair and just in this present time when he declares sinners to be right in his sight because they believe in Jesus. (Romans 3:21-26).

The faith that responds to this offer is an act of trust and self-abandonment by which we no longer rely on our own strength but commit ourselves to the power and guiding word of him in whom we believe.  Gratitude becomes the motivation for the life that follows the acceptance of this great gift.

God has given us the freedom to accept or reject his offer. He doesn’t interfere with that decision (that’s what makes a Methodist), but he does appeal to our intellect. Faith is not an unreasonable endeavor. When we engage our minds in the pursuit of God it is God engaging us, for how can we even begin to comprehend what does not exist. When we recall the testimony of countless saints who have gone before, it is God engaging our minds. God has given us the capacity for reasonable reflection. He engages our intellect as we make our decision.

God also touches our emotions. Gratitude and appreciation, love and compassion, joy and relief are all ways we respond with great enthusiasm, but we do not depend on those feelings for the foundation of our faith, for feelings wane. With each passing event of life we ride a roller coaster of emotions, but our faith in Christ is sure in the midst of life, and God touches our emotions to aid in accepting God’s great offer of salvation.

God makes this offer because He loves us. He loves us unconditionally. He doesn’t love us because we’re perfect. He loves us in spite of the fact we’re not perfect. If I might quote another old hymn of the church:

Just as I am, without one plea,
But that Thy blood was shed for me.
And that Thou biddst me come to Thee,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

“But I can’t change,” you say. That’s what John Newton thought, too, until he experienced the grace that caused him to write:

‘Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,
and grace my fears relieved;
how precious did that grace appear
the hour I first believed.

Accept God’s offer of grace, justifying grace, and His grace will continue to work through you and in you, taking you to the next step on the journey to full salvation.

Regeneration–it is simply Jesus!

Until next time, keep looking up…

Finding My Way Home…

/ pastorlynnmalone / 3 Comments

Ralph Waldo Emerson is credited with the phrase “Life is a journey, not a destination.” It’s a great quote, but it can’t actually be found in any of Emerson’s works. The first place it is found is from a prominent Methodist pastor named Lynn H. Hough. Perhaps Dr. Hough understood the essence of what the Apostle Paul wrote to the Philippian Christians so long before—life is a journey…life…this life…is not the destination, but as those who follow Jesus Christ, we believe this life is leading us somewhere. Paul reminded them (and he reminds us): “But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior” (Philippians 3: 20 NLT).

Paul only echoes what other early disciples wrote, too. Peter writes:

Now we live with great expectation, 4 and we have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay. 5 And through your faith, God is protecting you by his power until you receive this salvation, which is ready to be revealed on the last day for all to see” (1 Peter 1: 3b – 5 NLT).

Also, the writer to the Hebrews wrote: “For this world is not our permanent home; we are looking forward to a home yet to come” (Hebrews 13:14 NLT).

A Detour

I feel like I’ve been on a detour for the past two years. Well, not so much a detour, but rather lost, and you know how men can be, right? When we’re on a journey and take a wrong turn, we prefer to wander around just knowing we can find our way back on course. That’s what I feel like I’ve been doing the past two years–wandering around looking to get back on course. I felt as though I lost my spiritual home. I was a wanderer. But, that’s okay. Wandering is often part of the journey.

After two years, I finally feel like I’m back on course. Why so? On June 2nd, I met with and was interviewed by the Board of Ministerial Relations of the Evangelical Methodist Church. As a result of that interview I was elected into membership in full connection as an Elder in the Evangelical Methodist Church.

What does that mean? It means that I am ordained clergy once again in a denomination that has it’s roots in John Wesley’s theology, and it’s a place I can feel at home as I continue the journey.

A Journey of Grace

Yes, life is a journey, and the journey we are on through this life is a journey toward salvation—God’s full salvation. I say “full salvation” because we tend to think in terms of salvation as that moment we came to trust Christ, but I remind us that’s just part of the journey as we understand it as those who follow the Wesleyan way.

We don’t like to use the word salvation much anymore. We don’t like to talk about people getting “saved.” It reminds us too much of preachers hitting us over the head with their Bibles and trying to guilt us into the kingdom of God. Salvation is not about any one particular place and time as much as it is about a journey that is made up of many places and many times along the way.

Our journey is a journey of grace. The Wesleyan journey speaks of prevenient grace, justifying grace, sanctifying grace and glorifying grace. These are not four different kinds of grace, but rather the singular grace of God as it intersects our lives at different points along the journey. God’s grace comes to us as we are and where we are, and that’s why we are able to speak of it in different terms. But grace is neither imposed nor irresistible; we must respond to it and interact with it—and that’s the journey!

Prevenient grace means that God is working in us even when we are unaware of it and are unable or unwilling to acknowledge his presence. Prevenient grace is one way we encounter God’s salvation. It is God pursuing a continuing love relationship with us.

Then there is that when we experience God’s grace, and we begin to understand who and what it is He is calling us to. In that moment, one person may walk the aisle and make a public profession of faith, or another person may come to be baptized as an adult. It may be that moment when a young person goes through confirmation and embraces the faith of their parents as they are introduced to Jesus Christ through confirmation. It may be that time when the drunken, homeless drug addict realizes that Christ is the only answer, and that person calls out to Jesus to save them from the brokenness and pain of a wasted life, all the while kneeling and trembling in the cold of winter on a deserted street corner. That moment is the “justifying” grace of God, and it, too is an encounter of God’s salvation. It is a very important encounter, but it is not the singular defining experience of salvation.

The journey continues beyond that moment because God still seeks a continuing relationship with Himself for us. We grow in grace as we learn and live in Christ-like ways. This growing to become ever more like Christ we know as God’s “sanctifying” grace at work in our lives.

A Destination

As with every journey, though, this journey is carrying us toward something, a destination. No, the Evangelical Methodist Church is not the destination for me, It’s another part of the journey. All our lives are moving toward something, and for those of us who trust in Jesus Christ, we are moving toward that time when all things will be reconciled to God through Jesus Christ.

We look forward to that day when these perishable bodies, so broken by sin and disease, will put on bodies that shall never dim or die. It is that time when the fullness of God’s salvation, not only in our lives, but in all His creation will become real. We are moving toward heaven! There’s our destination. As we survey the landscape of our culture today, it sometimes seems like we’re going in the wrong direction, but, like Paul, we go on toward perfection.

We Wesleyans have a term for that, you know? The moment we are fully redeemed in heaven with Christ is a moment of “glorifying” grace. The Apostle John gives us a glimpse of this time in The Revelation:

“I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, the home of God is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. [4] He will remove all of their sorrows, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. For the old world and its evils are gone forever.”

[5] And the one sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making all things new!” And then he said to me, “Write this down, for what I tell you is trustworthy and true.” [6] And he also said, “It is finished! I am the Alpha and the Omega—the Beginning and the End. To all who are thirsty I will give the springs of the water of life without charge! [7] All who are victorious will inherit all these blessings, and I will be their God, and they will be my children” (Rev. 21:3-7 NLT).

We don’t talk about heaven too often. When someone dies we turn our thoughts in that direction. I’ve often said when we get to heaven we’ll likely be surprised by two things: One, who we’ll not see there, and two, who we will see there. If I’m honest, I really don’t think those will be the surprises for us, though. I don’t think I’ll be surprised or shocked by the glory of God, or even the splendor of the place. I don’t even think I’ll be shocked or surprised by the fact that I see Jesus. I think the biggest surprise will be the fact that I’m there!

It’s All Grace

I think we’ll be eternally overwhelmed with wonder at the reality of the grace that allows us to be there. We certainly rejoice in the grace of God that calls us, and we rejoice in that grace of God that justifies us. We rejoice, too, in that grace that sanctifies us and gifts us and enables us to serve and grow. But I don’t think our rejoicing in those things even comes close to the rejoicing that we will experience when we see what glorifying grace gives us…and it will be grace. I think the stunning reality of heaven will definitely be that I’m there.

I don’t know how we’ll think in our glorified condition, but if there is any vestige of Lynn Malone from this journey, the first thing is going to be shock and awe with the immediate thought, “How in the world did someone like me ever end up here?” The answer is grace—God’s grace.

Fix our hope completely on God’s grace through Jesus Christ, made real by the power of the Holy Spirit. It is that grace which chose us, that grace which called us, that grace which justified us, that grace which sanctified us, and it is that grace which will glorify us. It is all grace, grace, nothing but grace from eternity past to eternity future in the glorious presence of God. It is grace.

That’s the prize Paul is pressing toward. It’s the prize we’re pressing toward. We look forward to that grace in the future. Our hope looks to that next great explosion, that final culminating grace that will never be improved upon because it is, as Paul says, perfection.

When we know what awaits us at the end of the journey we can live with joy and expectation. It makes life exciting. It makes the journey enjoyable, and it helps us anticipate the end. We can take the journey knowing it’s not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a well-preserved body, but we’ll slide in sideways, thoroughly used up, totally worn out and loudly proclaiming, “Wow! What a ride!”

Finding my way home is about finding God’s full salvation. I am grateful for every part of my journey so far, and also grateful there is a new segment. I’m anxious to see how God will continue to work out His salvation through this part of the journey. As with every part of the journey, I will rely upon the Holy Spirit to guide.

Until next time, keep looking up…