The Counter-Intuitive Way

So much of the Christian life is paradoxical. It's so against the grain. God's ways are counter-intuitive to our ways. Yet his thoughts and ways are better and higher than ours...

The way UP is really the way down.
The way forward so often feels backwards.
The way to have true joy comes through suffering.
The way to have peace is not through control but through surrender.
The way to know Christ's companionship is through loneliness.
The way to become strong is through experiencing weakness.
The way to save your life is to lose it.
The way to be first is to be last.
The way to be exalted is to be humbled.
The way to gain Christ is through loss of the world.
The way to bear much fruit is to simply abide in Christ.
The way to accomplish much is through being still and prayer.
The way to life in Christ is through death to self.
The way to grow in awareness of God's grace is to grow in awareness of our sin.
The way to be truly free is to learn His discipline.
The way to wear a crown in heaven is to bear a cross on earth.
The way to shine bright is to be placed into the fire.

This was the way of Jesus on the cross and so is the way for every follower of Christ. "Small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only few find it." - Matt 7:14

Beautifully Unfair

This is the beautiful unfairness of the Gospel, that on the cross Jesus:

Left his home, that I may come into his home.

He lost his beauty in the sight of man, that I may become beautiful in the sight of God.

He suffered on the cross, that I may know him as my joy.

He was nailed down, that I may experience freedom in him.

He was rejected by his Father, that I may be accepted by his Father.

He lost his Father's presence in his most painful hour, that I may have His presence in every hour.

He died a painful death, that I may live an abundant life.

He took the punishment of everything I did wrong, that I may receive the reward of everything he did right.

He who knew no sin would become sin, so that when God looks upon me he sees no sin. Instead, the righteousness of Jesus.

What happened on the cross is bigger and deeper and more amazing than we can ever fathom. How beautifully unfair that Jesus' undeserved death was exchanged for undeserved life for me.

This unfair grace, this unfair exchange, this unfair gospel is beautiful and it is ours, forever.

Overflow the Gospel

I want my life to be a response to the Gospel. I want to be so immersed in the Gospel that it overflows out of my life.

Every human heart has this desire to have someone's attention, to be accepted, to be approved of, to be thought highly of. I think God put that in us so He could give it to us, but we abuse it by trying to get others to pour that into us. We go around trying to get the applause of people. Whether it is through our looks, our accomplishments, our success, or even our tweets and FB statuses.

Whenever I notice my heart going to others for applause, I have to go back to the cross and remember that I already have what I'm looking for in Jesus. On the cross...

He poured out his life, so that I could have a full life.
He emptied himself, so that I could be filled with his spirit.
He lost the approval of God, so that I could have the approval of God.
He was rejected by his Father, so I could be accepted by his Father.
He lost the applause of God by my sin, so that I could have the applause of God by his righteousness

Out of sheer belief and gratitude of that... 

I don't need to get life from others. I can give it away to others.
I don't need others to fill me, I can pour out into others.
I don't need the approval of others, I can approve of others.
I don't need others to know I matter, I can make others matter
I don't need people to be interested in me, I can be interested in them.
I don't need others to applaud and celebrate my accomplishments, I can applaud and celebrate their accomplishments.

Because I already have ALL of that in my relationship with Jesus.

When I walk in to a room, I don't need to be a "HERE I AM!" kind of person, I can be a "THERE YOU ARE!!" kind of person. Because God already sees me and His attention is on me.

I want to be free and at rest in my identity in Christ, so that others will be at rest and free to be themselves around me.
I don't want to sell people on myself, I want to sell them on themselves in Christ.

I fail to do this so often (which makes his grace all the more rich to me). But this is what I hope to do and be.

When our lives are being filled up by the Gospel every day, when we allow ourselves to be poured into by God's Spirit and receive all of his approval, acceptance, attention, and applause for us in Jesus.... then our lives will inevitably overflow the Gospel.

The Unfairness of the Gospel

"Today you will be with me in paradise is what Jesus whispers to every dying saint." ~ a quote a read years ago in some devotional

Jesus' undeserved death was exchanged for undeserved life for me.

"God put the wrong on him who never did anything wrong, so we could be put right with God." ~ 2 Cor. 5:21

The Gospel is beautifully unfair.

The criminal who was hanging on the cross next to Jesus understood fairness. "We are punished justly for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man [Jesus] has done nothing wrong. Jesus remember me when you come into your kingdom." ~ Luke 23:43

The moment he understood his wrong, his sin, and the punishment of death he deserved for it, that was the moment that Jesus extended the most unfair invitation. He invited a man who was about to encounter hell and life apart from God, into paradise and life with him.

"Jesus answered him, 'I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise." What a beautifully unfair exchange.

The moment we realize that our sin deserves the punishment of death and life apart from God is the moment we can receive this most unfair invitation. The gift of paradise in living life with God and life in Christ. Unmerited, undeserved, unfair grace.

I think true paradise is knowing Christ intimately. I think we know him intimately through suffering and dying to self. When we go through suffering we get to know him in his suffering for us. When we die to ourselves and give ourselves away we are getting a taste of what Jesus did for us. The thing about dying to self is that it's essentially for others. It's serving others, giving to others, sacrificing for others, loving others, showing Christ to others.

So in essence we get to participate in the beautiful unfairness of the Gospel. When I die to myself it has the potential to give life to someone else.

"For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal bodies. So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you." 2 Cor. 4:11-12

What happened on the cross is bigger and deeper and more amazing than we can ever fathom. That Jesus got what we deserved and we get what he deserved. He took the punishment for everything we did wrong so that we get the reward for everything he did right. 

This unfair grace, this unfair exchange, this unfair paradise with him. The word "thankful" doesn't even do my gratitude justice. I'm beyond thankful for the unfairness of the Gospel.

The Most Important Person

(This picture is of this passage in English, Spanish, and Arabic. It gives such eternal perspective!)

"After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried:

"Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne and to the Lamb." Revelation 7:9-10

Can you imagine that multitude of millions praising and worshipping God? This image of everyone in all the world, in all of the history of time, dressed in white, declaring God's salvation is breath-taking. Jesus at the center of it all.

Jesus is the most important person. The most powerful person. The most beautiful person. The richest person. The most royal person. The greatest person. The most famous person. The most important person in all of the world, in all of history, in all the universe.

And one day every creature and human being will realize it and praise, worship and bow down before him. We will realize it was never about us. It was always all about him. We will be in the multitude and he will be in the center, the focal point, he will be on the throne.

And yet it is just absolutely mind-blowing that this most important person in the world wants me, loves me, sits with me every morning, wants to be with me, went to the extremes for me... died for me.

He has everything, he knows everything, he sees everything, he created everything and he wants my heart, my love, my worship. And I have his love, his grace, a relationship with him. I get him, I get to have him, to know him, to find comfort in him, to spend time with him. I get him today and for eternity. That just makes everything else so... trivial and temporary.

It's truly thrilling that this person, this God in all his glory and kingdom and beauty and light and royalty says to us, "Hang out with me today, sit with me, let me speak to you and love you today."

One day I will stand in that multitude and be in awe that I have a history, a past, a relationship, a life spent with the one who is at the center of it all, the one who we all are praising and worshipping.

This God who is the treasure treasures me.
This God who it's all about is all about me.

If that doesn't give you the deepest confidence and absolute security in who you are...
Nothing else, no one else will ever be able to give you that the way Jesus can. That makes me want to worship him, praise him, and make my life all about him.

What gratitude, what an honor that we are most important to the most important Person.

The Beauty of Christian Community

When something becomes familiar it can be easy to take for granted. When something becomes familiar it can seem to lose it's beauty.

I remember the day I moved to Memphis, it was on my 25th birthday. I wanted so badly to connect with others in Christ and to find true Christian community. I couldn't find it. It was so easy to find in college but once I was out of college it felt so hard to find. But out of that burden and desire the Young Adult Community at Hope Church was birthed. 

So I've been doing this job for 4 years now. And community has become familiar to me. The thing I used to long for, I can easily take for granted now.

But this week God has given me a new found appreciation for community. I have been able to step back and re-see, re-find and re-appreciate the value and beauty of Christian community.

Everyone wants to connect. Everyone wants to be known. Everyone wants to feel like they belong to something. That is the common denominator of everyone who walks through our doors. Everyone is in a different place spiritually and might be looking for different things in a church. But the desire to connect with others is the same.

When new people walk through those doors each week I just can't help but think about the potential that is before them to meet people and build relationships and friendships that may grow their faith and challenge them to a deeper desire to know Christ. I see potential for them to follow Jesus in new ways and to be used for his kingdom. I see potential for changed lives that will change lives. I see new opportunities to obey Jesus' greatest command: to love God and love others. I see opportunities to follow Jesus' last command: to go into all the world and make disciples. When people walk in the doors and encounter Jesus (through others, through worship, through teaching), I feel like I get to see God's kingdom come on earth.

I love getting to be a part of something like that. I LOVE connecting people to people and people to Christ. 

Over the past 4 years I've gotten to watch countless friendships and groups of friends develop. I've gotten to watch small groups form that study and grow in God's Word together. And I've gotten to see God bring relationships together where people are pushing each other towards Christ, learning to forgive, learning to love selflessly and learning to look past themselves. Some of those relationships will last the rest of their lives.

Maybe the beauty of what can happen in Christian community is that we get to taste what Jesus had in mind for us when he said, "I have come that they may have life and have it to the full." John 10:10

Maybe the beauty of what can happen in Christian community is that we get to be a part of the fruition of Jesus' prayers before he went to the cross, when he prayed, "that they may be one as we are one - I in them and you in me - so they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me." John 17:22-23

And... it's just fun!

The Beauty of the Gospel of Jesus

The Gospel is the most beautiful thing in the world. Jesus is the most beautiful person in the world.

Like when I stop and think about the Gospel and all the riches and treasures it contains, it truly amazes me. Even after all these years of "knowing" it and believing it, I've still barely scratched the surface. There's still so much to know of it and experience of it.

This is the beauty of Jesus to me:

That he would leave his home, that I may come into his home.

That he would lose his beauty in the sight of man, that I may become beautiful in the sight of God.

That he would suffer on the cross, that I may know him as my joy.

That he would be nailed down, that I may experience freedom in him.

That he would be rejected by his Father, that I may be accepted by his Father.

That he would lose his Father's presence in his most painful hour, that I may have His presence in every hour.

That he would die a painful death, that I may live an abundant life.

That he would take the punishment of everything I did wrong, that I may receive the reward of everything he did right.

That he who knew no sin would become sin, so that when God looks upon me he sees no sin. Instead, the righteousness of Jesus.

The extremes Jesus went to for me on the cross... It's full of grace, full of unfairness (in the best way), full of love, full of complete self-sacrifice. He gave away himself for me. Sometimes it's just good to let that soak in.