The Eschatological Tension of a Christian

The past 6 or so weeks have been some of the hardest weeks I have had in my short adult life. Finishing up classes as a newly wed husband and dealing with the death of a dear friend has been a huge test of my faith. Death is a hard thing to deal with. Even harder when its someone as intimate as your mentor, leader, best friend and pastor, it has the tendency to rattle your entire world. The academic week that the Lord decided to call Derek home on wasn't easiest one either.

That week I wrote a paper for a philosophy class on St. Augustine's City of God. In the paper I focused on the eschatological tension a Christian experiences when accepting God's promises in our life now, but also living in anticipation of their fulfillment in the future.

It's no surprise to me that I focused on the element of time and tension in the paper as I reflected on my relationship with Derek and the time he had here on this side of eternity.

In the City of God Augustine writes about two coexisting cities; The City of God and the City of Man. The two cities are separated by there ultimate eschatological destinations, which are fulfilled in the ultimate inheritance, or rejection of, the ultimate good (which is God himself). It is the Christians unique ability to be able to have properly ordered desire, which in turn allows them to have the highest degree of love for others and creation itself. But this love is still incomplete, because union with Christ is still yet to reach its fulfillment, and the curse of sin is still present and active in the world.

It is in this eschatological tension the Christian must sojourn through this life on earth. The ability to live in true freedom and through love, by participating in God's redemptive plan for creation, makes this life beautiful and meaningful alike. But the temporary sting of death, broken relationships, greed, hate, disease, war, famine, rape, murder, natural disaster, poverty, etc. are all marks of creation and humanity groaning in birth pains eagerly awaiting for its redemption and adoption by the great I AM.

I lost a great friend. He ran his race. He taught me how to sojourn well. He showed me the beauty of being a faithful loving husband and a father whose face would almost explode off his head at the very sight of his girls or his wife. And it is his wife, daughters, friends and family that experience this tension as we watched him go, awaiting our turn for redemption. These are the people who are living testimonies of defiance to one of Christianities most destructively deceptive heresy's, the health and wealth prosperity gospel.

In The Cost of Discipleship by Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Dietrich speaks of the costly grace that Christ invites us to take part in. The same invitation that the apostle Paul echoes so often in his letters inviting us to take part in the sufferings of Christ. It is the the daily picking up of our crosses and following Jesus that shouts in defiance to facebook status and sinners prayer Christianity. Grace that costs us our convenience, grace that is more than just a mental assent to dogmatic praxis to secure the remission of sins. Grace that is the actual living of a life of love, grace, peace and faithfulness. This is the challenge for a Christian living in eschatological tension of waiting for our end goal, that is eternal rest in Christ. This was Derek's mission in life.

It is in Derek's death that I saw my call to a life of eager anticipation. Eager anticipation for God's deliverance and his fulfillment of covenant promises. A call to live a life, however the length, that is spent dwelling on the faithfulness of God, dwelling on his beauty and work in and through creation, dwelling on his desire for humanity to live and love him in the same way he loves them.

This is our challenge, to live consistent steady lives, in fruitful labor for the gospel of Jesus Christ, the savior of the world. It is my prayer that the Church would rise in sober-minded discipline, desperately seeking after this call. The call to live in healthy eschatological tension. Anticipation. Equal parts soaking in beauty of what we have now, and looking forward to our inheritance as sons and daughters of the King of Kings. This was the life of my good friend Derek Taatjes.

This should be all our lives. Is it yours?

Hedonism

Hedonist: Noun: a person whose life is devoted to the pursuit of pleasure and self-gratification.

I have had the privilege of working my way through the first half of Pastor John Pipers opus work Desiring God: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist. In His book he explores what be at the very heart of every single Christian. In doing so he adopts what would and should be construed as a very non-biblical word by definition, and makes it the chief aim of every single Christ follower.

God is most glorified in me, When I am most satisfied in HIM.

At the heart of every person is a desire for God. This desire is labeled many things. Its filled with many things. But none of them seem to exhaust it, nor satisfy it. For a Christian our souls satisfaction is found in the LORD. Just a brief look at the Psalms paints a picture full of longing, desire, thirst and satisfaction in God. We rise in the morning, showered in the graces of life given by the Father. We live through the day seeing the face of Jesus in every person we serve and come into contact with. We come home in the evening to those we love being reminded of the family of God and the wonderful community of the Saints. We lay our heads down at night with the hope of doing it all over again, but that hope is far out weighed by a greater hope in the coming of our Lord and King Jesus.

A desperate longing for completion not only for ourselves but for the all of creation. For the day that Jesus will wipe every tear from every eye. For the day that Gods presence will be with his people in fullness. And from this will come complete satisfaction in worship of our God in his presence for all of eternity.

This is the desire of every true Christian hedonist. To find satisfaction in the Glory of God. To find identity as a worshiping son or daughter. Finding Joy and satisfaction in Him who made you.

Where do you find your Joy? Your satisfaction?

Every Stream Has A Source

James 3:9-11

"With the tounge we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring?"

I've always had a compartmentalized view of sin. Sin has been an entity outside myself that lurking in the shadows waiting for me to randomly stumble across it much like I would a pile of dog poop. Forgive the humor in the analogy I just thought it was so good. At the time its unpleasant a little irritating and depending on the size of the dog and size of his/her leftovers determines the stank and messiness factor. BUT none the less still random. I can be on the look out but never sure when it will happen.

Reading James this morning I made a connection. Most of us Church goers would believe... or I hope should believe that we are depraved. inherently sinful. As Christ followers we are actively engaged in a relationship with the Holy Spirit of God "working out our salvation through fear and trembling" or to put it to theologically "sanctification". Grace is free, but after our receiving grace we begin the life long task of diligently allowing God's Holy Spirit to sanctify us and make us "Christ-like" thus the name Christ-ian.

Sin starts in the heart. Today I realized an aspect of scriptures beautiful analogy of "living water" Jesus often talked about streams of living water and James picks up on it in the form of springs in Ch. 3.

Every stream or spring has a source. A source that yields a product and sends it on its marry way winding across the earth watering it and providing life for all. The source of our spring is our heart. The beauty of the Gospel is Jesus' purification of that spring through his death on the cross and the indwelling of his Holy Spirit in the lives of his people.

The picture above is of the Amazon Basin. Beginning as just a few small streams the Amazon grows into the largest river in the world by the time it empties into the ocean. (not longest, Nile still beats it). This river is fed. Our hearts and lives are the same. Jesus renews us and flows out streams of living water, but we are able to pollute it with all kinds of habits, idols, ideas, selfish ambition, greed, immorality, sin.

I got angry at my wife yesterday. I raised my voice at her and it was something I vowed I would never do in my life. Its affects are damaging and is something you never get back. "...with the tongue we praise our Lord and Father an with it we curse men". While repenting about it this morning God showed me that my anger was not a product of my frustration with my current circumstance but a product of what was flowing from my heart. I didn't spend time with God yesterday, I didn't read the word, I didn't allow Jesus to cleanse all my "tributaries" to use the stream analogy.

Brothers and Sisters the fruit of our days and our actions are litmus tests to what is inside. Sin is NOT random isolated choices but a reflection of our hearts pollution. Jesus is a source of living water that yields life to those we pour into, including those most dear to us. How can we praise God and curse our brother? The answer is you cant. As I read the Gospels I see a savior who is concerned with the heart. God doesn't want our lip service. He doesn't want our "Christian Checklists", our Church attendance, or facebook religious status or the occassional post of worship lyrics. While all good things they are incomplete. He wants our hearts. Psalm 24:3-4 "who may ascend the hill of the Lord? Who may stand in his Holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to an idol or swear by what is false." When our hearts are on Jesus the author and perfecter of our faith, out of our hearts, out of our minds, out of our mouths come living water for a thirsty generation. For a thirsty friend. For a thirsty spouse. For a thirsty world.

As you go about today ask yourself what is polluting your stream? Is Jesus present? One in the same, is his WORD present? You cant know him if you don't seek him.

In John ch. 4 Jesus answered the Samaritan women "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water, welling up to eternal life."

Whose your source?

Go be a spring of Living Water today.

Blessings

Reconciliation

Colossians 1:19-20

"For God was pleased to have all of his fullness dwell in him (Jesus), and through him to reconcile to himself all thing, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross."

In the garden man was created to commune with God. God walked with Adam in the garden and creation existed in the fullness of its creators presence. Holy. Perfect. Good. Man rebelled against Gods only command to not eat of the tree which possessed the knowledge of good and evil. A thought I had while reflecting on this was that God's creation already knew "good". Thus making the "opportunity" to know evil as one that inherently was corrupting in nature. This rebellion tainted and distorted God's full Holy presence with his people. This separated himself from his creation in very real ways.

Romans 8:20-21 Says that creation itself is groaning for restoration, harmony, shalom and completeness with its God. It was waiting. We were waiting. Waiting for reconciliation. Reconciliation offered only through the blood of one who lived our life and chose God in every situation. Over the entire story of the Hebrew scriptures we see the building anticipation of a king, a messiah who will not lie, who will not cheat, who will not kill, loose faith, sin.

Jesus came to reconcile to himself all things. In heaven or on earth. The human desire for beauty, justice, peace, restoration, reconciliation and acceptance are echos of a need created long ago, that was met in a man, Jesus of Nazareth.

Reconciliation is found in Jesus. Now as God's people we wait for his return. Waiting to experience this reconciliation in fullness.

Now---You know o man what is good. What does the Lord ask of you? Act Justly. Love Mercy. Walk humbly with your God.

Be a part of God's reconciling work. Pursue the Kingdom.

Cheap Grace.

I have begun leading a small group for my Church where we are studying the book of 1 John. Reading and taking the text for its face value puts a lot of cracks in my traditional understanding of "saved by grace". One could consult a myriad of various texts to build the "magic" formula for salvation. Is it a prayer? is it a lifestyle? or somewhere in between? My Calvinist bend pushes me in the direction of saying its a null issue due to God's predestination of our hearts, since he is in complete control its not our job to worry, he does all the judging right? The problem then lies with the issue of maturing in our faith and in discipleship. I can say I "repented" and accepted Jesus when I was 11 at some church gathering.... but if I'm 22 and living in sin, with my life for the most part unaffected by the Gospel... then what exactly am I buying into as a faith system...fire insurance?? After all Christ commands us to pick up our cross and follow him... There will be sacrifice on the way, and one thing is for sure... HIS sacrifice was not cheap. So this idea of cheap grace almost seems offensive.

Martin Luther is one of my favorite Church fathers. Luther Struggled with the book of James because of its "works based" nature claiming that faith without works is dead. Luther went as far as calling James "the book of straw" wanting to throw it out of Biblical cannon. Its hard to accept the idea we need to DO something for our grace. The protestant Church as we have branched out from the reformation has shy'd very far away from the works based salvation idea... but too far perhaps?

When someone professes in something, their belief is always backed up by a behavior. I get out of bed in the morning and set my feet on the ground because I understand and believe in gravity to keep me there. Jesus is inviting us into a relationship of experience. Not a revival gathering "spiritual high" experience. But one that matures as we choose to put faith and trust in him everyday we get out of bed. One that tests him and allows him to show himself to you in your life. When was the last time you allowed God to show himself in your life? When was the last time you were willing to lay down your life for him? Following is an action, and Jesus claimed to be the way. So maybe its just one of those healthy paradoxes. God's grace covering our sin as we whole heartedly begin to follow him. I'll end with a quote from the Psalms... "Taste and see that the LORD is good"

Have we tasted him?

Need to start writing.

I need to start writing in a public area again. many journals filled with ideas and concepts that require to be fleshed out into intelligent coherent thoughts. Here goes....