This is a post from my other blog that I wanted to repost here:
There I was, standing and looking out over the Pacific Ocean in San Diego. In my ears played the refrain of a song off of ORU Music Ministries' album, "Until the Whole World Knows." While I enjoy most of the album, the one song that seemed to stick to me is one called "Persecution." Dark I know, right-but it's awesome. The basic premise of the song is that true worship and purification happen through the trials that we face and our willingness to walk through them and still sing out praises to our God. We eventually will join with the elders (that's for you Kelbert) and the scores of saints that have gone before in singing that our God is holy and is worthy of all praise. It's a haunting reminder that this life is not all that there is, and that our ultimate goal, our chief aim, is to bring about the praise and glory of our Lord.
Then I started thinking, what about those elders who have gone before me? In particular, there's this line in the song that really jumped out at me. As the song is resolving, the worship leader says, "we will be as those who boldly come before the throne and sing the elders' song...even unto death." Really? Unto death? The weight of that line is massive. The idea that we are called to sing worship to God, even in the face of death is a daunting reminder of my failure to even come close to that. It's so easy to praise God when things are going well, or more solemnly, when things are not going so well so long as there is an innate belief that it will all resolve itself to our good. But what of the idea that our praise and worship is to be extended even at the point of our death- when it is apparent that things are not going to work out like we want them? What of the stories of the saints and elders like Stephen who, even at the point of his death could look up towards heaven and see Jesus and then with his last breath speak forgiveness over those who were killing him? What of Paul and Silas, of the Apostle John, of Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela who could believe in and worship a Savior in spite of facing and embracing death in a very real and tangible sense? What do we do with those stories in a worldview that has no idea what it really means to "face death all the day long" as Psalm 44:22 says. Am I really willing or ready to worship God to the point of my death? Do I value His love and sacrifice to that point, or is it merely idle chatter and pretty (albeit haunting) songs that fill my day with no real connection to my actual life?
Let's take a step back. Is there anything for which I am willing to die? I would dare say that at this point there isn't- and that scares me. Martin Luther King, Jr. said "if a man is not willing to die for something he is not fit to live. " Could I extend it slightly and say that the person who has not found something worth dying for has not yet begun to live? I mean, consider it- if there is nothing for which we would be willing to sacrifice everything, then how can we accurately love anything? Do I rightly love God if I would not be willing in more than word to lay down my life? Is God enough, or do I think that adding to Him is necessary in order to fully appreciate and embrace life? Further, by adding to Him, do I take away from who he really is? Hint- the answer is yes.
And there's still one step further this journey is taking me. Am I willing to die...to myself. Now, I am not referring to the oft used reference of "death to self" referring to a subduing of passions and desires in pursuit of some as yet unattainable divine goal or spiritual "attitude." I am talking of my willingness to put upon the altar of my life any dreams and ambitions to see if, when tried by fire, they last and are found to actually be God's plans. We all make plans- it's in our nature to do so. We take into account our ambitions, abilities, desires, and any number of other factors in order to create a plan for our lives that we intend to walk out. Often, these plans are built out of a desire to do the will of God for our lives (however elusive that may seem to be at times), and we strive with all earnest to see them come about. But would we be willing to lay them down? I mean, Saul knew that he was doing God's work, and pursued it with as much vigor and fervor as he possibly could. Then God stepped in and changed everything. Moses was completely content living a life of luxury in the palace of the king until a situation arose that shook him to the very core of his being and sent him fleeing into the desert (where he would spend the remainder of his days). Abraham was a good man who became righteous simply because he "believed" when God called out to him. The key factor with all these people? God stepped in and they were willing to be changed. The key question for me? Would I be as willing to let everything I knew, everything I felt "called" to do, everything I was sure of be held by the master and shaped into what it is he precisely wants?
I sure hope so.
In truth, the Bible is replete with stories of men and women who were pursuing their plans and passions, only to have those plans shaken by an encounter with a very real God. Fishermen left their trade and their families to pursue an unknown man with a panache for pissing people off, shepherds left the comfort and familiarity of their flock to confront an army, and women left behind the established order and societal conventions in order to ensure that the gospel was preached and established. The ultimate flexibility of these people's plans met the immovability of a sovereign God's plans for each of us and the restoration of the world to Himself. I pray that I might be one who, as these did, would be willing to lay down what is firm in my mind for what is ultimate in His heart.
7 years ago
Hey D-man, in the interest of dialog I wonder if you could expound on two points for me that I wrestle with inside of this particular submission. First, is the problem as you describe it, really attempting to add something to God (thereby taking away from God) or is it more along the lines of substituting something else for God (idolatry/worshiping something other than God...ie. attempting to fill that God sized hole in us that nothing can fill but God)? I don't have issue with the logic in your existing argument, rather the question is if we are talking about the right struggle. Second, I wonder if you would expound more upon these words: "...and shaped into what he precisely wants". I think this leads us into a discussion of sovereignty that is important to have. Is there only one precise will/thing that God wants for our lives? Is it different for different people? Does God's sovereignty trump grace? If so, is it really grace at all? These are just a couple of questions that come to mind as I attempt to process what you have shared with us here today.
ReplyDeleteRussell, it would be my pleasure, though I must preface this by saying that I am not entirely sure where I entirely land on these two points.
ReplyDeleteI think it is fair to say that substituting something for God is in fact adding to Him. First off, some qualifiers. I am coming from a place, and writing this particular post to and for people who have some semblance of a relationship with the God of the Judeo-Christian Bible. That being said, He then becomes the ultimate source of all things, so to replace Him with something (selfish desires, individual pursuits, etc.) is to inadvertently say that He is not enough and is in need of some additional help, or must be replaced by what we can help him with. I think we are looking at two sides of the same coin. To idolize something *is* to attempt to fill the "God sized hole" because we are indicating that what was supposed to go there isn't enough to actually go there and needs more filler. To me, it's the same struggle.
As to the second point, I think that God "wants" followers after His heart who seek His kingdom on the earth. That being said, I think that there can often be pursuits of ours that, though well intentioned, can occlude our view or pursuit of that heart. Do I necessarily think that to pursue God is to figure out the exact detail of how He wants our lives to play out (i.e. the exact job, precise home, perfect spouse, etc.)? I am not sure. But I do think that there is a path that he wants us to at least walk down. This path is at the very least a path where we are leading others to know Him, striving to be more like Him, and in general living out the life that Christ has called us to.
Now, I don't know that I think that there is necessarily an exact way to be perfect in doing that, but I do believe that, even in the sovereignty vs. Grace debate (which I think share more in common than we often give credit for) it is important to realize that our desires can at times be prideful and must be looked at under the lens of Christ's redemption for our lives and his ultimate redemptive work for the world. If our desire is to be wealthy beyond belief and to live out our lives in splendor, with little regard for the disadvantaged, disenfranchised, or disconnected (yes, I love alliteration), I would venture to say that we have missed out on what God *wants* us to do which is to bring about the salvation of the world.