When Strivings Cease - A Taste of Heaven

Running or Resting?

If you had asked me my favorite bible verses when I was in highschool, Hebrews 12:1 would have been in the top three.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, - Hebrews 12:1

More than a decade later, in a season of struggling with anxiety, I began meditating and finding grace in an earlier chapter of the book.

So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God,for whoever has entered God's rest has also rested from his works as God did from his. Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience. - Hebrews 4:9-11

As a Christian husband, father, and manager, I often think about what it means to live out my faith in everyday life. In the pursuit of happiness, we can find ourselves caught in a cycle of endless striving. I find myself asking: How can I find true joy and satisfaction in the gospel of Jesus? How can I follow Christ as He has commanded? How can I become more holy? Embracing the mystery of God’s work has changed my perspective on these questions.

Understanding the Role of the Law

Since the beginning, being close to God has always been about faith. As God unfolded His story of redemption, He used the law as a “guardian until Christ came” (Galatians 3:23). With its inception starting with Moses at Mt. Saini, the law grew throughout the Old Testament and arguably grew exponentially in Christ's teaching ministry (Matthew 5). While Jesus’ atoning death fulfilled the demands of the law, the ongoing role of the law has challenged and confused the Christian ever since the early church. As one example of this, Paul writes to the Colossian church:

Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ. Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions,[a] puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind, and not holding fast to the Head, from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God. If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations— “Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch” (referring to things that all perish as they are used)—according to human precepts and teachings? These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh. - Colossians 2:16-23

It’s important to note that the church of Colossae was mostly Gentiles and didn’t stumble over these religious traditions and rules in the same way Jews did. Yet, Paul still sees a vital need to address this confusion about the law to these Christians. In his humbling message, Paul clarifies that human works can not ultimately stop the indulgence of the flesh (vs 23). It is the invisible Spirit that is the primary agent of righteousness, new life, and change (Colossians 1:27, Romans 8:4,11,13).

Embracing Grace

God has chosen to reveal himself and his work in specific ways. In the Bible the Holy Spirit is occasionally referred to like the wind, the invisible presence of God creating life and change among God’s people (Genesis 1:2, John 3:8, Acts 2:2). Additionally, many analogies of faith in the Bible such as the circumcised heart (Romans 2:28-29), the anchor for the soul (Heb 6:19), the parable of the harvest (Matthew 13:24-30), illustrate the nature of faith itself being inward and concealed. While our inability to see and understand may be perceived as a limitation, it may also be a grace, causing us to turn to Jesus and not ourselves.

Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful. But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself. For I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me. - 1 Corinthians 4:2-4

In this passage it is clear that God does not give us the capacities or role to judge or measure spirituality. This limitation prevents Christians from reverting back to living under the law, measuring and comparing holiness in similar ways to the Pharisees. Verses like these have brought me to the conviction that while God’s work is something I diligently want to understand, it is a mystery and not intended to be fully understood on this side of eternity.

Living in Daily Dependence

The New Testament is also full of guidance on what living out faith looks like. While in some cases they can be used as litmus tests to confirm one is in the faith, these external actions are never used as ways of measuring progress in the faith. Theologian Gerhard Forde writes:

That is why it is a growth in grace, not a growth in our own virtue or morality. The progress, if one can call it that, is that we are being shaped more and more by the totality of the grace coming to us. The progress is due to the steady invasion of the new. That means that we are being taken more and more off our own hands, more and more away from self, and getting used to the idea of being saved by grace alone. Our sanctification consists merely of being shaped by, or getting used to, justification. - Christian Spirituality

Rather than seeing Christian sanctification as adherence to acts after being justified, Forde describes it as receiving and being strengthened by grace. Like the Israelites while wandering in the desert and waiting in the promised land, Christians are called to pray for and receive daily bread, “manna” – fresh grace from God, giving life and sustenance for the day.

Believing Christian growth is less measurable and in my control is an invitation to receive, enjoy, and rest in God’s unending grace and love. Learning to rest in God’s grace rather than striving has changed everything. I find more peace as I seek to faithfully steward the different roles of life, and trust that God is working in ways I may not see. I have gained a greater sense of self-forgetfulness and freedom as I remember: “We love because he first loved us.” (1 John 4:19). This is such a beautifully simple and comprehensive explanation of how real change happens in the believer.

JOHN HOUGARD / GUEST CONTRIBUTOR

Help in the Pain

Pain and suffering and heartache are all very real. Being persecuted for your faith, being diagnosed with cancer, watching your mother die of Parkinson's, losing a child, or just living with the disappointments and crushing realities of life, pain and suffering touch all of us. And for some, the suffering is deep and long-lasting.

One of the problems with suffering is that it can quickly cause us to narrow our focus, throwing us into a type of panic where we disregard almost everything else and know nothing other than our pain. So, if we don't have a deeply embedded theology of suffering, we will struggle more than we should. While I won't be able to do justice to the entire problem of suffering, I would like to share a few thoughts with you.

As Christians, we live in an already-but-not-yet segment of time. We are already part of God's kingdom, but this kingdom is not in its final condition. We are already saved, and sealed, and adopted, and forgiven.

The price of redemption has been paid, and Jesus is ours, and we are His. But there are still more that need to be rescued before Jesus returns, and all sin and pain are gone. So, while we have been rescued, God is not done, and that means we're still living in a broken world.

The Apostle Paul refers to this already-but-not-yet reality of suffering in multiple places. One of these is Romans 8, where he mentions present suffering compared to future glory. He says creation itself is waiting for freedom from decay, and we in our suffering await the redemption of our bodies.

So, rather than simply escaping our troubles, we have been called to stay in the struggle and shine the light of Jesus into a dying world. Sometimes this happens through our pain. Now, that doesn't mean we can't find victory while in the struggle. We can, and we should. Just think of all the countless number of saints who have, in steadfast hope, suffered well. It's natural to try to figure out exactly what good God will bring from our suffering.

It's easy to think that God owes us an explanation. Have you ever asked, God, what are you doing? Or, why are you doing this? If we could just know specifics, we might be able to cope better because we would know exactly what's going on. I think there's a better way, because who can begin to know exactly how God is working and exactly what good He is bringing about in the struggle? Instead of questioning God, we should trust Him to do what's best.

And He has given us promise after promise that we can count on. Here's one. In Isaiah 43:2, we read, "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you. And when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep you over. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned. The flames will not set you ablaze."

God uses the difficulties here to remind us that the answers to life are not found here. Everything here will end, but Jesus and His love for us will never end.

Jesus, you are the only one who can rescue us from eternal suffering. I'm sorry for thinking that I don't deserve to have pain here. Thank you for suffering for me in ways I can't even imagine. Please cause me to be filled with the joy of your goodness, even though this life can be painful.

So, let me leave you with this. Have you ever said, God, please use me to further your kingdom and the glory of Jesus? This often takes place while in difficulty, and when this happens, we are sharing in the sufferings of Christ. In 1 Peter 4:12-13, we read this, "Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when His glory is revealed."

WALDEAN WALL / GUEST CONTRIBUTOR

*This was originally published at praythebiblewithme.com. For more by Waldean Wall or to read parts 2 and 3, you can click here.

I'm Not Great (Thank God)

Mistakes and blunders checker my past, like a used dart board. 

If you’re like me, you prefer to focus on the future. After all, it’s what we feel we can control. There’s a reason why our windshields are larger than our rearview mirrors. We figure that if we can sway the narrative that we’re honestly and consistently striving to be better, more holy, more rich, more successful (at least, more than our friends), then we’ll have a life worth living.

 As a byproduct of our western individualistic culture, I have a “me” problem. As a chronic navel-gazer, I’m much more likely to stare down at the scuff on my shoes than at the beautiful scenery around me. If I had a good day, it’s likely because I caused it to be good. If the day blew chunks, it was probably my fault too.

 Unfortunately, it often makes little difference whether a person identifies as a believer in God or not. A quick survey shows that anxiety levels, mental health disease, divorce rates, and isolation have impacted believers and unbelievers alike in statistically similar fashion. In the West’s individualistic society, both groups intend to fix these problems in surprisingly similar ways.

 Society says to find fulfillment, definition, and affirmation in your job, success, monetary worth, humanitarian accomplishments, relationship status, or whatever you choose as your success metric. And while the Christian believer is also prone to these things, all too often the church itself encourages its family members to focus on increased self-control, self-discipline, social or biblical justice, and “being better for Jesus.”

 However, both of these postures make a god out of improving the “self” and points the focus inward rather than outward. What if I never improve though? What if being great was never the point to life at all? And where do we go when we’ve achieved greatness and still find life meaningless? Or what if, like the red hat motto suggests, we’ve fallen from greatness? What if we never were in the first place? Is the point to white-knuckle our way to the top?

 Everyone is a slave to something. In the sixth chapter of Romans, Paul exhorts the church in Rome to live in the freedom Christ has bought for them.

 But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

 To live as if your life had not been freed by Christ is the equivalent to being a freed slave that continues to work the fields. It’s possible, but it by no means makes any sense. Instead of being a slave to our “selfish” desires and schedule, we church-folk often make ourselves a slave to our religious tasks and thoughts. The freedom that Jesus specially won for believers in Him through sheer grace has been traded back. The chains which had been broken off the wrists of the sinner have been soldered back together and placed.

 Eternity’s standings have not been changed. Rather, the Christian which once had been free has become like the famous Robert Sadler, who was sold into slavery at the age of five, fifty years after the Emancipation Proclamation. There’s a reason why Juneteenth is so drastically important to our African American and BIPOC brothers and sisters, and is increasingly so among the broader evangelical church. To be freed and unaware is to live as if you were not freed at all.

 But, does this mean we have to just “try harder for Jesus!” like so many sermons on this passage have stated? Thank goodness, no! What if the solution wasn’t “self-realization,” but instead “self-forgetfulness”? What if, rather than playing the David that defeats the Goliath or the suave super-hero that swoops in to save the day, we realized we were more like Tree #2 on stage left, just thankful to be included in the story at all. What if we were never meant to be the main character in our own story? It’s not until we realize that we’re not really all that awesome that we can be pointed towards a life of hope, freedom, and joy, ultimately found in the embrace of Jesus and a spot at His table. Take a breath, brother or sister. Jesus says His yoke is easy and His burden is light. He’s already saved the day. Let’s look up from our shoes and to Him.

 CONNOR LUND / GUEST CONTRIBUTOR

*This article was originally published at Key Life.