Happy Christmas!

At Christmas we celebrate that God took on flesh in the person of his Son, being born in a shed in a nowhere town outside of Jerusalem. In celebrating Jesus' birth we celebrate very humble beginnings, but we do so in the light of all that has been accomplished through his life and death. Therefore, in celebrating the birth of Jesus we also celebrate our new birth, because on that first Christmas, everything began to change. In the birth of his Son, God's plan to give birth to a new humanity was set in motion. Perhaps the best language for this is recreation. The fact that John's Gospel begins by echoing the opening words of Genesis (In the beginning...), suggests that in Jesus, God is going about his work of recreation. Recreation is then affirmed a few chapters later when Jesus tells Nicodemus that he needs to be born again (or born from above). Something new is taking place in and around Jesus!

To fully grasp hold of this we have to remember that we cannot separate or compartmentalise the different parts of the story of Jesus. His birth, his life, his death and his resurrection all belong together in the one story of God's engagement with the world he so loves. Therefore in celebrating the beginning of Jesus' earthly life (his incarnation), we also celebrate all that followed (his death and resurrection). We need to be wary of focussing all our attention on the cross in such a way that forgets or diminishes the incarnation. The incarnation was not simply the means to the end of the atonement. Instead, as Julian of Norwich once stated, the atonement secured the end of the incarnation, which was the ontological recreation of our humanity. Through the death of Christ (which she described as the ‘labour pains’ of the cross), the old humanity is put to death in order that a new humanity might be born. As Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5:17, ‘if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!’

Therefore as we celebrate God's extravagant love in the giving of his only begotten Son to be born in 'sinful flesh', we also celebrate that in his death that flesh has been defeated in order that new life may emerge. Put simply, for those in Christ, the birth of Jesus is cause to celebrate our own rebirth - we are now sons and daughters of the one true King.

Oh, and by the way, Happy Christmas!

Questioning God

What does the Church exist for?

Here's another way to think about the whole 'give yourself away' idea:

I believe that churches exist for the sake of others. Churches that exist for their own sake take on a survival mentality and lose sight of their calling and purpose. But if churches exist for the sake of others, the obvious question remains: who are the 'others' they exist for? Here's what I think:

Church exists for the sake of God
Worship is our highest priority. As the Westminster Catechism puts it, 'The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy him forever.' If that building block is not in place, the rest of the building will collapse. However, if it is in place, out of the overflow of this worshipping relationship will follow my next point.

Church exists for the sake of the world
As Bishop William Temple once said, 'the Church is the only institution on earth that exists for its non-members.' The mission of the church is to proclaim and demonstrate God's love to a hurting world. This involves not just meeting people in their place of spiritual need (and offering only a salvation that deals with their spiritual state), but also meeting them in their place of physical need and emotional need. For this to happen, churches must be fully engaged in their local communities to the point where the well-being of their own local community is intrinsically linked to their own personal well being. Only when that is the case are we engaged in incarnational mission. Without such an incarnation there can be no long-term transformation of a community.

So worship leads to mission. But mission has to lead back to worship. As John Piper states: “Mission is not the ultimate goal of the church. Worship is. Missions exist because worship doesn’t. Worship is ultimate, not missions, because God is ultimate not man. When this age is over, and the countless millions of the redeemed fall on their faces before the throne of God, missions will be no more. It is a temporary necessity. But worship abides forever. Worship therefore is the fuel and goal in missions. It’s the goal of mission because in mission we simply aim to bring the nations into the white-hot enjoyment of God’s glory.”

Trust

Give Yourself Away

What a beautiful summary of the Christian calling: give yourself away. Not only is it short and sweet, it's also deeply biblical. Consider the well-known verse John 3:16 - for God so loved the world he gave his only begotten Son...' In other words, God so loved the world that he quite literally gave himself away. And what is true of the Father is also true of the Son. Consider the christological hymn of Philippians 2. Paul says that Jesus, 'who being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing.' The Greek word for this (kenosis) speaks of emptying oneself. So Jesus gives himself away (or pours himself out) for the sake of others. In the context of Paul's letter to the Philippians, he has previously urged his readers to follow this model of Jesus, so it's hardly surprising that Paul goes on to talk about how he himself is following Christ's example. Paul, who has given his all for the sake of the gospel and writes this letter from prison as a result, says that he has 'poured himself out like a drink offering'. The comparison between Jesus and Paul is striking, and it therefore enables Paul to say elsewhere 'follow me as I follow Christ' (1 Cor 11).

But an obvious question remains: who or what do we give ourselves away to? Biblically speaking, the answer is threefold:

1. We give ourselves away to God in the context of worship
As Philippians 2 points out, the greatest example of 'giving yourself away' is seen at the cross, and before anything else, the cross is about worship. Many of the sayings of Jesus at the cross are lifted straight out of Israel's worship book, and specifically Psalm 22. The sacrificial offering of Jesus accomplishes many things, but at its heart it is an act of worship.

Consider also the story of the woman that pours out her expensive perfume over Jesus' feet. The perfume was worth a years salary, and the guests Jesus was dining with could not help but see this as an absolute waste. But Jesus celebrates this extravagant waste and says that wherever the gospel is proclaimed, this story will be remembered. Of all the great stories in the gospels, why does Jesus pick out this one for special mention? Perhaps because nothing in the Christian life is more important than giving yourself away in the context of worship. As Paul reminds us in Romans 12, true (or spiritual) worship always involves offering ourselves as a sacrifice to God.

2. We give ourselves away to each other in the context of community
Jesus states: "Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." The key phrase here is 'as I have loved you'. How did Jesus love his disciples? By giving himself away to them in the context of friendship. So Jesus says, 'Go and do likewise'.

3. We give ourselves away to others in the context of mission
The language of Paul 'pouring himself out as a drink offering' is the language of worship, but interestingly it is used in the context of mission. Paul is describing how he has given himself (his very life) to the cause of preaching the good news to the gentiles. And in doing so he reminds us that it is impossible to separate worship and mission. This idea leads us back to the cross: this perfect act of worship not only demonstrates the love within God, it also demonstrates God's love for the world. The cross speaks of what God was willing to give to reconcile humanity back to himself: he gave himself away for our sake. As Jesus himself stated: 'Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends'. This is the love that Jesus asks us to display to the world, and specifically to those found on the margins in our society.

By way of conclusion, this ministry of giving ourselves away in the context of worship, community and mission has been described in numerous ways. Some churches talk about having an upward, inward and outward focus. Others talk about communion, community and commission as the core values of their church. But I think the language of giving ourselves away adds a richness that perhaps the others lack. It reminds us of the ministry of Jesus, and in doing so it speaks of the cost involved. And let's face it, there isn't much glamour in the type of worship that involves identifying with the most broken and bruised in our world. That type of ministry demands something from us: it demands that we give ourselves away!

To the Streets

Here's another video we made for use within the small groups:

Words that bring life

As I've already discussed on this blog, I believe one of the greatest mysteries to comprehend is the fact that we have been created in the image and likeness of God. Much has been written throughout history as to what the language of 'image and likeness' points to (and there isn't time for that here), but the fact that the same language is used of Adam and his son Seth in Genesis 5:3 (When Adam had lived 130 years, he had a son in his own likeness, in his own image; and he named him Seth.) means that we can at least say that family resemblance is part of the equation.

Such a profound thought can be taken in all sorts of directions, but consider for a moment the fact that we are made in the image of a God who creates the heavens and the earth simply with the words 'Let there be...' It is an understatement to say that the words of God carry enormous weight. His words contain within themselves the very power of life and death.

Not only is this evident at creation, it is also evident in the life of Jesus (and in his ministry of re-creation). Jesus, the 'word made flesh', arrives on the scene speaking the very words of God (Jn 14:24). With a word storms are stilled, people are healed, the oppressed are set free and the dead come to life. As Jesus himself said, 'The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life'. Yet with the same mouth Jesus can curse the fig tree causing it to wither and die. Jesus is never careless with his speech because he knows the weight of his words. As a good Jew he would have known Proverbs 18:21 - The tongue has the power of life and death.

But as the true 'image of God', Jesus doesn't just show us what God is like. He also reveals what true humanity is meant to look like. Our words too carry weight: they can bring life and they can bring death. It's a very scary thought.

Aware of the reality of the power of the tongue, James takes some time out to remind his readers of the desperate need to 'tame the tongue'. He states: 'With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness' (James 3:9). The logic of this statement reminds me of Genesis 9:6 in which killing someone made in the image of God is considered like killing God himself (deicide). Similarly, James seems to suggest that cursing (or bad-mouthing) those made in God's likeness is the same as bad-mouthing God. With the same tongue, we both praise God and we curse him. As people created to reflect God to the world, we therefore either magnify him (and by making him big, enable others to see him more clearly) or we shrink him and make him harder for the world to see.

So words bring life or death. With our words we either bless or curse. I have experienced both. I've had people take me aside to encourage me, and their words have fed my soul. They have enabled to grow in confidence and courage. They have literally brought life. However, I have also experienced people speak words over me that have crushed me in a way that felt like life was taken from me. Even more sadly, I have spoken those words over others.

It's therefore a valid question to ask why God would allow our words to have such power. But I consider that part of the mystery of being made in his image. Though that image has been corrupted and distorted by our sin and independence, we still somehow reflect our maker (though in a significantly diminished way). The world's great need (and hope) is for people to rediscover their true identities as God's image bearers in the world and to start living (and speaking) in such a way that brings life: something that can only happen through dependence on Christ - the one who restores in us God's image.

So as someone in the process of restoration, I've felt challenged to take seriously the pursuit of taming my tongue. I'd rather lay aside bad habits of putting others down to make myself feel temporarily great. I want to start bigging others up. Instead of cursing, I want to start blessing and speaking words of life, because whenever I've encountered God, that's what he's done to me. And after all, I am at least a bit like him!

The Pursuit of Love

Here's a video we made for use within small groups at our church - thought you might be interested!

Love: the means and the end

‘Love is the fulfilment of the law’ states Paul in Romans 13. In order to fully understand what an incredible statement this is, you have to understand a little bit about the place of the law (or the Torah) within the Jewish worldview. The law was a gift from God to his chosen people that enabled them to live within a covenant relationship with him. Obedience to the law was never a means of earning a right to that relationship (which was purely a gift). Instead it was an expression of love to the God who had rescued his people from slavery in Egypt and pledged himself to them in a covenant relationship. Obedience and worship has and will always be a response to God’s extravagant mercy and grace. As the Apostle John puts it: ‘we love because he first loved us.’

The law was therefore a little bit like a wedding ring – a precious gift that not only speaks of commitment and love, but also sets the person apart as belonging to someone else. The law was what set Israel apart as a people belonging to God. And within the context of the Old Testament, honouring this covenant relationship was the means to living within the circle of God’s blessing. It was also one of the means by which Israel could be a light to the nations: showing the world the generosity and kindness of their God.

The problem was, that for many, the law ceased to be an expression of their love for God. Instead it became a duty they felt obliged to live by. And when the hard work of loving one another is replaced by a simple set of rules, things begin to go wrong. But here Paul reminds us that at its very core, the law is about loving God and loving one another. And in the same way that the law set the people of Israel apart from other nations, so Paul suggests that it is our love for one another that sets us apart as children of the light (or children of the age to come). And with this idea we can hear the echoes of Jesus: “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."

So why is this idea of being set apart so important? The bible tells us that holiness (literally meaning ‘set apart’) is never about withdrawing from society in holy huddles. Such holy huddles can never be the means of demonstrating God’s love and light to the world around us. Instead, holiness is about being set apart for a purpose. Rather than encouraging withdrawal from society, it demands meaningful engagement with society. But instead of engaging on the world’s terms, it involves engaging on God’s terms. Such holy engagement never asks what can the world offer me. Rather, the key questions become what can I give to the world, and how can I demonstrate God’s love to these people.

So how do we live as people of the light in a dark world? Or using another Pauline image, how do we live as citizens of heaven here on earth? The answer is simple: we love our neighbours as ourselves. And in doing so the law is fulfilled: for love is both the means and the end in the Christian life.

Ascent and Descent

‘For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.’

True humility is found not making ourselves small but in making God big.

The theologian Marianne Williamson writes: ‘Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.’

It’s important to note, the glory that shines from us is not a light that comes from within – it is the light of the glory of God reflected off us. It’s a little bit like the relationship the sun has with the moon. If you had never seen the sun and were shown the moon, you would marvel at its beauty and its power, with little knowledge that the greatness of the moon is entirely dependent on the power and greatness of the sun. The moon has no light in and of itself. It simply reflects the sun.

So too, the implication of Jesus’ teaching is that those who think they are like the sun (or want to be the sun like Adam and Eve) misunderstand their true identity and purpose and hence settle for less than they were made for. Instead it is those who recognise they are more like the moon and therefore point people to the sun – it’s those image bearers (or image reflectors) that discover their true identity and purpose. And their reward is in knowing and becoming more like the God they worship.

So how do we pursue this humility?

The answer is that we model our lives on the life of Jesus – who gave up everything in coming to earth, dying the death of a criminal, only to experience the exaltation of the resurrection 3 days later, followed by his ascension. Spiritual writers throughout history have spoken of this journey that is clearly outlined in the Christ Hymn of Philippians 2 as the journey of descent followed by the journey of ascent. The journey of descent, found in service and sacrifice always precedes the journey of ascent. As Jesus said, ‘For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it.’

John the Baptist hit the nail on the head in declaring ‘You must increase and I must decrease Lord.’ For it is in our descent that Christ is lifted up. And here comes the great news of the gospel – Christ’s ascent provides the sure sign and hope of our future exaltation. The resurrection of Christ points towards the future resurrection of all of God’s people.

So with the incredible hope of new life that we taste in part today but shall taste in full when Christ returns and we receive our resurrection bodies – with that hope we find strength for today in building God’s kingdom and making his name great in all the earth.

Seek first the Kingdom

There’s a beautiful verse in Isaiah 26:8 that says, "Yes, Lord, walking in the way of Your truth we wait eagerly for You, for Your name and Your renown are the desire of our souls." It got me thinking that what our souls desire our souls pursue. So, in the core of your being, what do you desire right now, because that is the thing you will be pursuing.

Psychologists tell us that for emotional health (and we can add spiritual health), there are 3 basic needs that need to be satisfied: the need to be loved, the need to feel secure, and the need to feel significant. It’s not difficult to see how we spend most of our lives trying to satisfy these basic needs. We’ll do whatever it takes to win peoples love and affection. We’ll also do whatever it takes to build a safe and secure life. And finally, we want to be significant. We want to feel worth something. We want to be noticed, recognised and highly thought of. And unfortunately fifteen minutes of fame won’t satisfy this basic need. Why? Because feeling significant isn’t something we earn, it is something we possess when we know our lives count for something or someone.

So when Jesus showed up on the scene 2000 years ago he found a group of people with those exact same longings and needs – they wanted to feel loved, secure and significant. So what did Jesus say to them? He said, ‘SEEK FIRST THE KINGDOM’, and all that other stuff, all those other needs, they will be satisfied as well. And you can imagine these unschooled fisherman doing the maths, and asking the question, ‘How will seeking first YOUR kingdom satisfy OUR needs?’ In other words, ‘what’s in it for us?’ But the answer is pretty simple: in seeking first God’s kingdom you can’t help but encounter the King - the one who is the source of all love, the one who holds us securely in his hands and the one who gives meaning and purpose to our lives.

And because this is what the King is like, when we are in his presence (at home with him) all these needs and desires are satisfied. The problem is that we all have a strange tendency to wander off from ‘home’, and as soon as we wander away we have to find alternative ways to satisfying those basic needs. So we unconsciously bring those needs to other people and places asking them to love us, to make us feel safe, and to make us feel significant. We turn to sex, work, people and all sorts of other addictions in a desperate attempt to satisfy these needs that drive us. But all along, there is a place called home (where God lives) where all those needs will be fully met in the perfect love of a perfect Father.

And this is what I feel God has been saying to me in the last few days: “Come home. Stop looking to everyone else to tell you that you are ok. Start listening to me, and tune in to the voice of a proud Father saying ‘This is my Son, whom I love, with him I’m well pleased.’” And in stilling myself to hear those words, I know I’ll feel the love, security and significance that my soul desires.

It’s one of the beautiful paradoxes in the Christian life, that as soon as we begin to live for sake of another (Jesus), our own needs are met. It’s only when our souls desire his name and fame (or renown) above our own that we find peace and contentment. Jesus put it this way: ‘Whoever wants to find his life will lose it. But whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.’

Augustine once said: 'Our souls are restless until they rest in God.' So here’s to seeking first God’s kingdom, and finding the rest that our souls have been craving our whole lives.

Trust: follow the leader

Here's my third and final thought on the subject of trust. Last week I closed with the idea that growing in faith is not only about learning to trust God more, but also about living in the knowledge that God has put his trust in us. To briefly recap: at the very beginning (in the Garden of Eden), God entrusts Adam and Eve with his creation, and entrusts them with the purpose of filling the earth with his blessing - a task that can only be accomplished in partnership with God, trusting in the one who had put his trust in them. But instead of dependence, Adam and Eve chose independence, and trust was therefore broken.

So with the coming of Jesus we see the beginning of recreation (or restoration). And as Jesus goes about his ministry of building God's kingdom (ie. extending God's blessing to the world), in complete dependence on the Father, we are reminded of how things were always meant to be. And not only that, we are invited in to this divine work.

To explain this more you need to get your head around how rabbinic schools operated in first century Judaism. A Rabbi would show up in town and hunt down pupils that displayed real potential. Rabbis chose these pupils with the belief that, in time, they could do what he did. Therefore, the very process of choosing was a demonstration of the Rabbi's belief (and trust) in the students. The students would then become the Rabbi's disciples, learning all that Rabbi knew in order to do all that the Rabbi did.

So, with that in mind, Jesus shows up in Galilee and finds some unschooled fishermen and says 'Follow me'. Implicit in the invite is Jesus' belief (and trust) that these disciples could do what he does. So as they begin to follow and watch their master, they are initiated into the things of the kingdom. They witness Jesus heal the sick, cast out demons and proclaim the kingdom. And then comes the defining moment where Jesus, as the ultimate demonstration of his trust in them, sends them out to carry on this work of building the kingdom.

Rob Bell beautifully describes how this understanding of discipleship and trust is the background to Jesus' invite to Peter to walk on the water. We've tended to focus on Peter's trust in Jesus as the key to Peter's success or failure to walk on the water (which is definitely part of the equation). But this is also about Jesus' trust in Peter. Peter's question (Lord, if it's you, tell me to come to you on the water?) points to Peter's inner struggle to believe that as a disciple of Jesus he should be able to do what his master does. Jesus' invite therefore carries a significant message to Peter: "I believe that you can do what I do, so come and walk to me on the water."

Most of us really struggle to believe that God might dare to believe in us. But in the Great Commission we see God yet again saying to his people "I'm empowering you by my Spirit to continue the work of my Son, and I believe that you can do it." In the same way that Jesus called his first disciples, he now whispers to us, "You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last." The choosing implies his belief that by his Spirit we can and will be what we were always created to be - workers in his kingdom.

Trust: the language of intimacy

Last week I mentioned that trust is the language of intimacy. Here's how Mary Pytches speaks of trust in the context of relationships: ‘Trust puts oneself in a place of great vulnerability, and the potential for hurt is then built into the relationship. This possibility of pain – which could be the outcome of trust – causes some people to forgo true friendships. Their failure to trust forces them to sacrifice the very intimacy they long for.'

Choosing to trust God is a demonstration of love. And the more we fall in love, the more we trust. But here's the amazing thing - for intimacy to develop in any normal relationship, trust has to flow in two directions. It has to be reciprocated. Therefore in the same way that we love because God first loved us (our love is always a response to his), we also trust because he first trusted in us.

This sounds dangerously close to heresy, but I think it very much reflects what we read in Genesis. God creates mankind in his image and likeness, and then entrusts them with the world that he has created and loves. Specifically, he entrusts them to extend the life of Eden beyond the boundaries of the garden until it fills the whole earth. In this context, the Abrahamic covenant in which God promises that ‘all the people on the earth will be blessed through you' is really just a restatement of God's original call to Adam and Eve.

So how were Adam and Eve expected to fulfill this call? By trusting in the one who had put his trust in them. It was always meant to be done in partnership with God and through dependence on him. The fall represents a breaking of this trust. Instead of dependence they choose independence, and the tragedy is that the 'God-likeness' they pursue was the very thing they already possessed through dependence on God (for they were already made in the image and LIKENESS of God). But by choosing independence (and pursuing something they already had!) they lost the intimacy of being alone with God in the garden, and therefore settled for less than they were made for.

However, the point of mentioning the above is that Christ (the true IMAGE of the invisible God), came to restore in us the image and likeness of God. Athanasius' famous quote that 'God became man so that man might become God' is surely all about this journey of restoration. And through this restoration, not only is intimacy restored, but so is trust. Once again we are entrusted (and empowered by the Spirit) to bring God's blessing to the world and establish his kingdom.

All of the above was a very long-winded way of me trying to explain something incredibly simple that I think is unbelievably profound. It's this: not only is God asking us to trust him, he's reminding us that he puts his trust in us. Why? Because he loves us, and that's what people in love do.

Trust: power flows from intimacy

I've been thinking a bit over the last few days on the relationship between power and intimacy. Particularly with all the healings we've been hearing of from Florida and elsewhere, people are talking a lot about the power of God again. However, I’ve had a few friends that have now been to Florida, and interestingly none of them came back talking about the power of God. Instead they all came back talking about the intimacy of God. Their experience was one feeling near to God, and tasting afresh his love. So why then when their major experience was one of intimacy did they also witness such incredible power? I think it's because God’s power flows from his intimacy. When we fall in love with him, we learn to trust him again, because trust is the language of intimacy. And when we trust him, we act in accordance with what we believe God to be. Those that trust God begin to pray for the sick because they trust in God as a Healer. They begin to share their faith with people, because they trust God as a Saviour, and they begin to pray for the oppressed because they trust God as our Liberator. And in short, trust releases God's power.

I guess I have therefore felt pretty challenged to seek God afresh. In the knowledge that all sorts of evils are committed when power is separated from love, I believe God is calling us back to intimacy. Only in that place of knowing his love and loving in return do we begin to step out in obedience and allow his power to be made known. Paul summarised it pretty well (which he has a habit of doing!): 'And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.'

Yes please!

Welcome to WonderStuff

Someone once famously said that all you need to be a good philosopher is the faculty of wonder. If we define wonder as 'to think or speculate curiously', then I couldn't agree more. But if we add the alternative definition 'to be filled with admiration, amazement, or awe', we can surely also say that all we need to be good theologians (and good worshippers) is the faculty of wonder: for it's pretty hard to think about God without being led to awe. So here is a blog of my wonderings. For the two or three of you that get to read it, I hope it causes you to wonder!