Life Through Death

2 Corinthians 4: 10We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.

The second letter to the Corinthians has a very solemn tone. Paul is obviously grieved by the suffering that the Corinthian Church is going through. It seems as though the Church is being persecuted for the faith which Paul, in part, was responsible for. So what does Paul have to say to a Church in the midst of their suffering?

The peculiar verse above stuck out to me a number of weeks ago. I believe it is meant to be an encouragement to those in Corinth, but how? An underlying theme in Paul’s message is to hold fast to Christ and it is encouraging to those who suffer for Christ sake to know that Christ too suffered for the sake of us. In essence doing what is right, following Christ, can induce suffering of some sort but as Christians there is hope in this suffering or “death”. It is through suffering and death that Jesus comes to life in the resurrection. It is because Jesus is faithful to God and God’s mission that He suffers. So although we may share in Christ’s death we do so in the light of working for the truth of the gospel and with the knowledge of the life it will produce now and for eternity.

I have talked about this before but suffering takes on a different face in our context in Canada. We aren’t physically, socially or outwardly persecuted for being Christians in the same way that the Christians in Corinth would have been. However, I still think there is something very pertinent about the idea of carrying Christ’s death around in our bodies. Although Christ suffered physically He was also killed because of who He was. Who He was and what He did led to his death. So when we share in his death or sufferings, I believe, we also share in his heart. Becoming like Christ or sharing the heart of Christ requires an amount of humility, humbleness and awareness; awareness to the suffering that is present in the world and aware of the ways that sin and human beings are destroying each other and themselves. It is said that Jesus was a man of many sorrows and to me that comes from the deep awareness of the reality of the world in which we find ourselves. So although we may not carry the death of Christ in our bodies in the same way that Paul or the Corinthians did I think we are admonished to carry the death of Christ in our bodies through our attitudes and the way we approach the world and understand ourselves and each other and ultimately through our understanding of the suffering in which God lives with for our sake.

Be On Guard

Deuteronomy 13:3 - "The LORD your God is testing you to find out whether you love him with all your heart and with all your soul. 4 It is the LORD your God you must follow, and him you must revere. Keep his commands and obey him; serve him and hold fast to him."

When Christians used to say, “God is testing you or will test you”, I thought, “what kind of God is this”? I couldn’t ever figure out why God would want to test me. Is He out to get me? Out to bring me down?

Lately, this idea and passage above have come into clearer focus. In Deuteronomy the author in this section is talking about prophets who give false prophecies to the people of Israel so that they will worship other gods and not their God. As you can see the gist of the passage is to stay faithful and loyal to God in the midst of testing (follow, revere, serve and hold fast). So why would God ever test us? “To find out whether we love God with all our heart and with all our soul”.

However, as a Christian, this is where the water becomes murky. (as an interesting side note: this matter doesn’t seem to be so much about small decisions or even big life directional decisions but about being faithful in whatever we’re doing. I always put so much emphasis on doing the “right” thing in life that God’s “called” me to. But this passage seems to put calling more in the context of faithfulness to our relationship with God, no matter what we're doing, rather than finding “the right path” in life.) I have found as of late that there are so many things that test me. I am not a full blown charismatic and have never known how much weight to give this stuff, but since working in a Church testing has taken on a whole new meaning. In a Church there are many different kinds of testing: there may be false prophets; their may be different spirits; there are disgruntled people; there are hurt people; there is my own sin; powers and principalities and lastly Satan.

I have not read the screw tape letters by C.S. Lewis, but it has come up a number of times recently. The gist of the book, from what I know of it, is how satan and his companions operate; deceiving, dividing and discouraging people whenever possible. I am not one to read into EVERYTHING spiritually, as I know there are so many different things at work in our lives. Like people, circumstances, history, sin, spiritual factors etc. However, I must say that I have begun to re-consider the different powers at work in our world and how they influence me. Is this thought or event or perception from God or the devil?

We tend to take satan or demonic powers as a joke in our “advanced” western society. Usually Christians who believe in that stuff are fanatics and freaks. But it should concern us that the majority of Christian teachers and theologians since the beginning of the Church, not to mention Jesus Christ, have taken very seriously the works of the devil. Why are we so quick to disregard the possibility of the devils influence? But wouldn’t that be exactly what the devil would want? I mean think about it, wouldn’t the devil be more affective in his destructive work if we didn’t acknowledge or believe that it could be him who is confusing us, tempting us and leading us into sin?

I’m not saying that I’m a spiritual guru who knows exactly when satan is at work and when he’s not. But it’s safe to say from a biblical perspective that he is at work. So where does that leave us? It seems like a long way from Deuteronomy but I think it’s not actually. On Biblegateway.com google the word “guard” in the keyword search. Jesus and the apostles used the word many times and I believe this is what the author of Deuteronomy was getting at: stay on guard so that you are able to stay faithful in the midst of testing and trial so that your love for God may shine forth. Guarding our faith from the enemy for me lately has been actively saying “no” when temptations come. Whether that temptation is from God, my sin and rebellion or the enemy I don’t always know. But being on guard has opened me up a new level awareness in the ways that my wayward thoughts and actions may actually be a trap from the evil one. Be on guard and love God with all your heart and soul no matter what you're doing or what trials and tests you face.

It's ALL about ME!!!

2 Corinthians 4:7 (New International Version) - “But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.”

As I talked with my friend about an upcoming speaking engagement I expressed my worries. “What if they don’t like it?” “I’m not sure what to say?” “I want to have an impact”. Friends are good at telling it like it is. “It’s not about you”, my friend replied. His comment was a resounding cymbal that cut to the center of my heart: it’s not about me.

The Christian life is the art of responding to God’s grace without losing sight of that grace. I know for me it’s easy to see what God has done in the world and then have the urge to “go out” into the world on God’s behalf. The problem is so often when I “go out”, I “go ahead”. I imagine my spiritual life like a child who runs ahead of their parent on a walk.

But how does one “live in grace”? When you find out let me know!

I have learned something as of late in regards to grace; that’s it not all about me. What a relief! I believe this is some kind of first step we need to make every day for our whole life. When I know that everything is not about me then I know it’s about God. Knowing life is about God changes everything. We may say we “know” that in theory or believe that but it is a different thing to know that truth in our heart.

It is really an issue of identity isn’t it? Where do we get our identity from? I know that my identity is often rapped up in what I do, how I perform or how other people perceive me. It’s all about me. But that identity will never be secure, never be at peace. What if I do something awful? What if I fail? What if someone dislikes me or lashes out at me? Basing my identity on myself as a flawed and depraved human being in a corrupt world is bound to leave me insecure, anxious and influenced by the slightest breeze.

What I have learned is that I need to trust God and surrender my life over to God every day. As a Christian my identity is rooted in God’s love for me and this entire world. It is God who has created me, God who defines me and God whom I honor with me life. Placing my identity in God releases me from the burden to try and be God and please others.

I don’t know about you but trying to carry God’s load, trying to make everything right in the world, my world, is exhausting. Why not give our burdens to God? Why not give our work to God? Why not give our lives to God? For me, as a people pleaser, when I surrender my life to God daily the end results, the critiques or acclaim, the failure or success lose their grip. Why? Because now I am griped by God’s grace, God’s love and God’s work in the world. When our identity is formed by God we’re standing on solid ground. My life, my character, my “good deeds” and accomplishments are not solid ground. They will pass away like wheat in a field. But God is an everlasting God who alone can be trusted.