The title is "inspired" by a book of daily meditations, a good book on the whole, but one that urges the reader to "despise yourself and to want others to despise you" - words that are written in the context of growing closer to God.
This advice grated on me, but I can remember trying to manufacture these sentiments. What a bad idea!
Despising myself never got me anywhere.......other than farther away from God. Why is despising myself the right thing to do? I'm one of God's creatures, loved by Him. Why would I want others to despise me? Shouldn't I want everyone to answer Christ's call to love? I don't want people to despise me; I want them to love me. And I want to grow in love for the people who come into my life. Those who go around "despising" are not happy or holy, so why would any Christian wish this behavior on someone?
Undoubtedly, my sins are ugly, and even more so than I realize. Despising my sins helps me love God and others, as well as myself. Despising myself doesn't do anything for anyone. I am not my sins; people are not defined by their sins unless they choose to be. "Love the sinner and hate the sin" is great advice - and it applies to ourselves, too.
Monday, February 25, 2013
Thursday, February 7, 2013
"Beer with Jesus"
"....a beer with Jesus..." The words coming from the radio caught my attention, and my scrupulous evil twin reached over and turned it off.
The song didn't get another thought and that was the end of it, until Tom asked days later if I was really sure it was wrong to want to have a beer with Jesus. As he mentioned, that's basically what the apostles did, except it was wine (which I like better anyway!) This was the start of a thought-provoking conversation and some time spent thinking about how I tend to approach God vs. how He chose to approach us.
So the next time the song came on, I listened all the way through........and ended up loving it. It might not be theologically perfect on all points (nor am I attempting to give all Thomas Rhett songs an Imprimatur!) but this one is really worth hearing and pondering.
The idea of having Jesus here, in 2013, sitting down for a chat (regardless of what we're having to drink!) at first seems to me childish or even irreverent.......but then, that is what He did - just in a different "messed up" age. At times that my faith has been shaky, this image of Jesus is the one that's been farthest from my mind.
Philosophical arguments aren't that helpful when I'm trying to fight back the image of God as "someone who lets terrible things happen." I may never really understand this issue or grasp why He saved us through His own torture and death. Embracing the fact it's my understanding that is lacking, not His love, is the answer, but getting there can be hard.
Remembering that Jesus did become an actual Person - a Person who ate, and drank, and talked with His friends - and that He did choose to save us through pain and death, helps me to keep faith and sanity when "bad things" happen or when the news is full of events that make me sick to my stomach. And yes, when it's hard to keep believing and trusting, I think sitting down and having a talk and drink with Jesus is what most of us really want to do!
The song didn't get another thought and that was the end of it, until Tom asked days later if I was really sure it was wrong to want to have a beer with Jesus. As he mentioned, that's basically what the apostles did, except it was wine (which I like better anyway!) This was the start of a thought-provoking conversation and some time spent thinking about how I tend to approach God vs. how He chose to approach us.
So the next time the song came on, I listened all the way through........and ended up loving it. It might not be theologically perfect on all points (nor am I attempting to give all Thomas Rhett songs an Imprimatur!) but this one is really worth hearing and pondering.
The idea of having Jesus here, in 2013, sitting down for a chat (regardless of what we're having to drink!) at first seems to me childish or even irreverent.......but then, that is what He did - just in a different "messed up" age. At times that my faith has been shaky, this image of Jesus is the one that's been farthest from my mind.
Philosophical arguments aren't that helpful when I'm trying to fight back the image of God as "someone who lets terrible things happen." I may never really understand this issue or grasp why He saved us through His own torture and death. Embracing the fact it's my understanding that is lacking, not His love, is the answer, but getting there can be hard.
Remembering that Jesus did become an actual Person - a Person who ate, and drank, and talked with His friends - and that He did choose to save us through pain and death, helps me to keep faith and sanity when "bad things" happen or when the news is full of events that make me sick to my stomach. And yes, when it's hard to keep believing and trusting, I think sitting down and having a talk and drink with Jesus is what most of us really want to do!
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