Thoughts Mixed in Through a Quote

A friend emailed this quote to his church and to me. I just read it over and over throughout the day, and discussed it with a couple of folks. And now, not being able to shake these awesome words, I have a few thoughts. The quote is by T. Austin-Sparks from The People That Do Exploits. I've inserted some comments along the way, party because it's a long quote and this breaks it up, but mostly because this is a lot to swallow all at once, at least for me anyway, and this helps to digest it bit by bit. He begins:

• How much do you depend upon conferences and teachers to keep you going? Must you attend meetings just because you feel that the last lot you got has been used up and you must get a fresh supply? 

The first thing I thought of here was "meeting demons." I'll never forget the first time I heard this phrase. Meeting demons are the demons which come when we try to force something Spiritual to happen, instead of waiting on God's Spirit and God's heart. The second thing which came to mind is how prone we are in Westernized Christianity to think in terms of meetings, as if they are our life. Meetings are NOT our Life. Christ is our Life. If we go to a meeting without Christ as our personal source of Life then the attendance itself is inevitably substituted for a real relationship with God. I noticed this while working in "professional" ministry for a few years. People would consistently speak of the "goodness" or the "horribleness" of the meeting. But in reality the meeting is (supposed to be) nothing but a get together of people who love God, and have already found their source of LIFE in Him (as well as people who are searching for God and find this source of LIFE very attractive and powerful). They are then compelled to be with other believers who also have found Life in Him. We do this not because the "last lot has been used up" and we need a "fill up." But we do this because we are ALWAYS FULL! We are full already, because we drink from the sweet waters of God's Living Spirit each day. What is the meeting then? It's a corporate, visible fountain of LIFE. That's what happens when this next part is true...

• Or have you been emancipated from all human props and put into a place of glorious independence, because you KNOW YOUR GOD? It doesn't matter if you are plunged into the middle of the Sahara, you know your God and can stand independently of all natural helps - this thing has become YOU! That is the kind of knowledge that means power. That is the kind of experience which overcomes the world. 

Emancipated. What a word. I forgot its complete meaning so decided to look it up.

Emancipated:

–adjective

1. not constrained or restricted by custom, tradition, superstition, etc.

2. freed, as from slavery or bondage.

Wow! Have we been freed from the slavery and bondage of human props; from custom and tradition? What a question. I was labeled a change agent in every church I grew up in and worked in, mostly because I always questioned the human props, customs and traditions. Those sacred cows are killing the church! It might actually be good to beam ourselves to the Sahara for a Sunday. But no, it's not the Sahara specifically. He just means a place of complete unfamiliarity. The unknown. If we are plunged into the unknown, broken out of our religious ruts and routines, would we KNOW our GOD? That's the question. Made me think of Paul and Silas in jail (Acts 16). They had that kind of knowledge that means power, for sure. Why? Because they had experienced the Living Christ.  Sparks continues...

• That is the kind of thing that makes all the other systems go down, and you rise triumphantly above them. That was the secret of the apostolic church. Let kings do what they like, let the people rage - it goes on, and it is the Roman Empire that goes to pieces before this thing, and not this thing that goes down before the Roman Empire. 

Good grief, he's right! What a power. What was it? What was it in the first century that made "the system go down"? That made the believers "rise triumphantly above them"? Was it tea parties* or temple buildings? Small groups* or power-point?! Was it 40 days of purpose?!?  .... Or was it a life-long love affair with the LIVING Christ? If we are deeply and completely, head-over-heals in love with God, what else is there to do but worship Him and meet with others to do the same!? Here we go...

•  It is an independent personal knowledge of God, resultant from an inward birth, that lives. Not only an objective truth, but a subjective power, and it is a great day when the slightest fragment of known truth becomes a vital personal experience in its working ability. That is what we want. First-hand knowledge, not second-hand truth.

Ahhh. There it is. What we need is a Personal Relationship with Jesus. 

Naaa. That's not really what he's saying.

I mean, it is, but it isn't. It's much deeper than the personal relationship stuff we hear now-a-days. An "independent personal knowledge of God" is just deeper. What this means is nothing can shake your love, your knowledge, your security in Christ. "Not an objective truth, but a subjective power," he says.  Meaning... not something which has floated from the pulpit one day, or from some book one night, to tickle our ears and make us think of it objectively, as "a" truth. Instead, it is a "subjective power." Meaning, we know it so deeply it changes the very core of our being and springs up in our lives as real power. Not our power. But HIS power. The real power of the Holy Spirit. That's when second-hand truth doesn't even matter anymore, because it never even satisfies. Once we've tasted a first-hand knowledge of God we are forever HIS, forever SET upon His love and affections. Meetings don't fill us. Meeting demons don't sway us. We are in LOVE. We ... are ... in ... LOVE!!!

And LOVE of this kind needs no human props of any kind. LOVE of this kind is the vital personal experience. Not the LOVE we see which someone else might have with God. But our own LOVE. What can separate us from this sort of LOVE? Nothing. This LOVE is never used up and never topped off; ever filling and flowing and filling again. Meetings are not the end all, or the focus of the Christian Life, or to our own life, with this sort of LOVE. Sure, we always want to meet with others who have this sort of love. But we could also be in jail and it wouldn't matter to this LOVE. 

We could even be... in the Sahara. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thanks, Noah, for sharing this incredible quote. I'm off to read some more by him.... Love, david.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

One more thought: What does one do if he does not have this love? I think... start by asking, seeking, and knocking. He promises...to answer. Remember He first loved us. May God work this into our very beings until it becomes us. "Take it in fragments if you like, and ask the Lord to work it out in you and make it live in you." -T. Austin-Sparks

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*I'm not knocking the Tea-Parties. Keep going, good people. You're making a difference. But remember, the TEA Parties are NOT our LIFE. Christ is our LIFE. Look for opportunities to make TRUTH (as in the "Person!" of Christ) clear to people, whether there is tea or not. 

*Also, I'm all for small groups. But I've just been in so many places where it seemed to be the next program thought to rescue a fledgling (and sometimes dying) Body. It's not. No PROGRAM will ever, ever, ever rescue anyone, or anything. Instead, talk about Christ all day, everyday, all the time -- until somewhere, something takes root and begins to grow. Groups will naturally form around a knowledge of Christ. Groups both small and large will always gather around the Risen and present Lord. Always have and they always will. 

Lessons of Life and Blood

Last week I was so excited to participate in a night of remembering the Blood. It was... Fourteen scriptures cut out on pieces of paper. Twelve kids ranging in age from 5-17. Six adults. Two nurses. A white board, with a black and red dry-erase marker. A poster of the tabernacle. After two hours together the lessons of Life and Blood were fresh and wonderful; and the name of Christ was on our lips and in our hearts. Sweet is His sacrifice for the forgiveness of sins; and sweet is the story of blood and God's people from the days of Israel until now. Here is how the night came to be.

Mercy asked me a couple weeks ago what God was doing in my life these days. I immediately responded with, "He is reminding me just how important is the blood of Christ." We talked for a while, encouraging one another. (Mercy is one of my 'Moms' in our church, and I love her.) And then an idea sprang to her ever-thinking and always creative mind. She says, "What if we get Mr. Russ, our local nurse, and he can talk about the life of the blood in the body, while you could come talk about what's on your heart!" "Let's do it!" I replied. So one night last week we all gathered in Nathaniel's house and began a journey, a journey which started with the blood of a lamb on the door-posts of each Hebrew home and ended with the blood on the Cross and in our hearts to cover our sins. From the 1st Covenant to the 2nd!

I was pretty proud of my boys, especially little Ian, as he sat and listened. I love teaching this stuff!! The Blood of Christ and the sacrifices of bulls and goats leading up to the perfect sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross! I'm not much of an artist. But to me the significance of the blood over the door posts, the blood on the altar, and the blood of Christ is one of the most exciting things in all the world! It's just amazing to me that God would come after us, providing a way of redemption through His very Own. But not only that, he teaches mankind about atonement and the necessity of Blood for the Sin Offerings (and other offerings, but I didn't go into all of those). Their entire life, as depicted quite well on the poster we had, revolved around blood sacrifices. And our entire LIFE today, revolves around God's once-for-all-time blood sacrifice, the atonement and the incredible second covenant. We are HIS. Not "I" am His, alone. But we -- the People of God -- are His! Purchased by Blood.

After I finished Russ came in and add the details of blood itself, providing a really neat picture.

As I taught I had the kids randomly read these scriptures we had handed out to them. It was really amazing how God seemed to time them just right.

Then came time for Russ to tell us about actual blood.  It's been a while since I've seen blood under a microscope. Just to think -- all the amazing and wonderful qualities, the life of the body in the blood, in every way imaginable. Oxygen, nutrients, immunity, DNA, you name it. It's all right there. It's everything. And it's no wonder God chose this substance throughout human history to prove His love and make for us a way back to His heart. What a God.


Just when I thought the night couldn't get any deeper or sweeter, Mala stepped up and shared her heart as a few of us stood around. I had told the kids how God instructed Aaron to put blood on his earlobe, and thumb, and big toe. "Weird, huh?!" Take a look at those scriptures if you don't believe me.  But wait.... what if God really knew exactly what He was doing with this... I mean this goes beyond blood on an alter or on a door frame. This was blood on the High Priest, who made the sacrifices for the Hebrew people.

The sweetness of our Lord's sacrifice for our sins has no end. How deep, how wide, how high! How wonderful is the wonderful LOVE of God. If we could just stop and see each other as God sees us. What if we all had blood on our earlobes, everyday? What if? Would you see how valuable she is to God? Would we remember then how Christ died for us, for you, for me? We are clothed. These are the lessons of Life and Blood.

...


Thank you, dear Christ, the Lord of LIFE! Thank you, Abba Father. You have bought for yourself a people with the very blood of your Own Son. And now you are my master and I will NOT go free! What can wash away our sins? Nothing but the precious, wonderful, powerful, lovely blood of Christ, our Lord and Savior! 

...
Check out these incredible verses on the Blood and print a .pdf for your own kids. Enjoy.

We'll Miss David Wilkerson...

Wow! I just heard the most clear definition of Pharisee ever. A Pharisee is simply
"one who monitors the sins of another while justifying himself."



Thanks, Dean, for introducing me to this wonderful man of God!
We'll Miss David Wilkerson.

And this one! Nothing like a clear and powerful explanation of the 2nd Covenant! Wow wow wow...

Robot Class!

What a blast for the kids. 

 David runs Bits, Bots, and Bytes and he's a great guy. I took a couple hours off to go do some much needed educational research for HLA, as well as get some pictures and video. This is the first of several classes, each on Fridays. The class is closed now, but I'm sure with the success of this one, we might like to get him back. It is difficult to place a value on educational learning experiences like this one! This introductory class led to a battle of the bots two weeks later.

Good Parenting = Time

I won't claim to know much about parenting. Nathan is only 9 1/2. The other five are staggered down to only 18 months, here in family Parkerson, and many days April and I feel like we're too disorganized and haphazard with our parenting. Six! But one thing is for sure: Good parenting = time. We always feel it ("it", being that place of confidence with ourselves and happiness in our family) when we're spending time with our kids.

I like this passage, even though it's difficult.


 ⁴ Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. ⁵ Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. ⁶ These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. ⁷ Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.

We've all read it a hundred times. It's from Deut 6. And it's a gem of a scripture. It's tough because there is this picture here, a picture of lots and lots of time. Sure there is the Greatest Commandment in all the Bible. But what's next? How are these commandments to "be on your hearts"? Well, time. "When you sit at home;" "walk along", "lie down" and "get up." That is... all the time.

So does this mean we are to quote this awesome truth about loving God all day long, or make the kids do so? I don't think so. It can't be. What good would that do? My kids know this verse because we've memorized it. But that only took a few days. What do we do the rest of the... time? Well, for one thing, we play legos. Like we did tonight.

The last few days have been pretty stressful, as far as the "go, go, go" goes. There were the trips to the storm shelters in the middle of the night. A trip to Memphis for a bday party. And trips to my office to get caught up on work (cause the really busy season is now upon us). As a result of this hyper-speedy life lately, our kids have been grumpy, and arguing with one another, and ... grumpy. I really needed to do something other than, "STOP FIGHTING WITH EACH OTHER AND GET ALONG!!  ...   NOW!!!" Yeah,.... that works, especially as we're loading up to rush off to the next... thing. No, what my boys needed was, quite simply put, ME. They needed me. So tonight, instead of heading out the door to another meeting* I felt deep in my spirit that I needed to play legos. It couldn't and shouldn't wait any longer. So we did.

I always love the look on their faces when I plop down on their floor and pour out the pieces. Eyes wide, followed by, "Daddy, are you going to play with us!?!??"  "Yes indeed... let's go." One hour later and we've constructed a futuristic, hovering launch pad with a robot car and recon bird inside; and a carrier craft and several check-point stations on top. As the small engineering marvel begins to take it's final shape, the boys seem to instinctively now when it's "time to play." Suddenly, as if we skipped the credits George Lucas style, the imaginations light up and the adventure begins. I enjoy the building time a great deal, because we often, spontaneously, get to talk about life in their small size world, and what it means to love God with all our heart as well as love each other. But when the curtain raises on the unfolding story at hand I'm always amazed at their teamwork. And I'm even more amazed by their state of heart. For they have "spent time with Daddy." And that's the real wonder of it all.

I think the same thing is true of our relationship with God in regards to time. Again, I don't have much experience here. But I know that whenever I've felt something off in my spirit --you know, felt a little grumpy and stressed, it was because I needed time with my own daddy, my Abba Father. Without fail, a little time with him rights the world around me and brings Christ into focus. I'm amazed at the new state of heart. God hard-wired this need for time right into every single relationship. And we have to see that.

Our kids need us to spend time with them. They cannot tell us, "I think I need time with you." We have to sense it, feel something is off, and go to them. In a perfect world we'd spend enough time with our children that they would not often feel the lack or distance. But, well, here we are, in a non-perfect world. This is the world where we fight to make time for our children, our spouses, and our friends. If we don't,... well, we'll loose them.

I've read a pretty good sized stack of parenting books over time and "time" is definitely a theme in most. All the specialists note it's importance. Many say you need "quantity" in order to get "quality." That's probably true. You can't just plop down and expect deep spiritual conversation every time. And if you try to force it they will likely feel you coming...with an agenda. Up go their guards against fake and force-fed parenting. Instead, I think we have to come down and play on their level. No matter the age or the interest or the hobby, we can find time with them when we do the things they like. And as we humble ourselves to the floor in search of that one, white, flat, long piece, they'll look up at us and see their daddy, and feel safe, and comfortable, and loved. That's the place where we are able to "talk about these things" as we "lie down" and "get up." And "play legos."

Good parenting = time. It equals time when ever and where ever and however you can secure it. Secure, and protect it, and keep it top priority. Time goes so quickly. Time is fleeting. Time is of the essence. Right!! And if we ask of our children, "Are you in my heart?" but we have not spent the time with them, to make a place for them, then it makes no difference. Time is the main ingredient. Good parenting = time. And we have to fight for that time in every decision and in every time of our lives. Even more, just as my boys knew instinctively when it was time to begin, we should follow our own instincts as the Spirit of God prompts us to spend time with our families.

There is more to write about this topic, but I'm out of time. Later. Now I need to publish this and go finish tucking the boys in.... and try not to step on that one loose lego piece with my bare feet!

~~~
* I like the verse from Ecclesiastes 3:1, "There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity."  This post grew out of the realization that it is always best to listen to the Spirit when leading one's family. Tonight the Spirit showed me the "activity" needed was time with the kids, to settle some very scared and upset children after 24 hours of severe weather.

New Tools for Marriage

The following happened in Sept. of 2010. I've saved it while looking forward to our 10 year anniversary.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
April and I got into a big argument and decided to sit with some friends to get their input. (If you don't have some older married couples in your church to talk with and get help with marriage then go outside your church. You don't necessarily have to pay for marriage counseling. Just find a marriage which you respect and ask to talk with them.) So there we were, with our friends. Having been married 30 years, compared to our nine, they just politely smiled through our descriptions of discord. Once we reached a stopping point they simply said, "You are starting to get new tools, and your marriage is changing."   Hmmm.  Silence. 'New .... tools?' we thought. They didn't take sides with either one of us or give us some lofty scriptures. Just, "New tools." That's what they said. And they were right!

Although we couldn't completely understand, we knew there were some real gems in there, some golden nuggets of truth about our life together and our relationship. It was pretty general advice on the one hand; but then, it was also a very specific observation, coming from their own experience. So we resolved ourselves to simply trust. And over the next few weeks we began to see exactly what they were talking about it. Our marriage was indeed getting new tools.

I really love the tools analogy because I've used it a good deal in talking with couples. Everyone, I believe, is basically born with a tool box ready to receive the much needed tools for marriage and parenting.  It is the job of our own parents to fill this tool box with these necessary tools. The end result of how many good tools we have depends on our own parents and/or guardians. For example, my own parents gave me the great tools of affection, commitment, and time. But my dad confessed to me once that he was prone to loosing his patience with me and mom at times. It was a great moment of deep friendship for us. But I had to look at that and decide to go after the tool of patience, which I knew was lacking in my tool box.

How many good tools we have comes from whomever had the greatest parental impact on our own lives. Some people grow up with a tool box full of good tools making marriage and parenting not as big of a struggle. While others, unfortunately, have very poor childhoods and can enter adult life with a tool box virtually empty. The good news is, the tools for marriage and parenting can be acquired at any time in later life, with the willingness to go after them and the readiness to use them. I've known some couples who had terrific marriages although the marriage of their own parents didn't last. They were terrific because they acquired the tools.  The same principle applies with good parenting. In each of the success stories there is a common thread: the admission that they needed help, followed by the relentless pursuit of that help from other couples.

New Tools. So there we were, sitting with our friends, getting some help, and we're told we are getting new tools. That immediately made us very excited. Suddenly we forgot what we were even fighting about. And it also encouraged us that God is never done with us; that He indeed wants to help us grow and get better at communicating; better at loving and caring for one another. Now that April and I have made the 10 year mark it's exciting and amazing to see those new tools in our tool box.

As I looked at our friends, our much older and wiser friends (wink), I realized that 10 years is really still only a start. The "new tools" we are getting are most certainly from God. We both feel our relationship changing and going deeper; and we cannot really explain exactly how. But we know it to be true. Our friends confirmed this and so we just simply trust; we trust God to take us to the new depth and we trust the wisdom of married couples who have a long history of walking with the Lord together. And we trust God to give us new tools whenever we need them. May God grant you and your spouse new tools and a deeper and more fulfilling relationship, in order that our great and awesome God might be glorified and praised by our lives. 

The Magic of Marriage is Found in Friendship

Gonna take a break for a few days from the Grace Works line and start a new topic -- Mawage!

Mawage. Mawage is wot bwings us togeder tooday. Mawage, that bwessed awangment, that dweam wifin a dweam...

But seriously, April and I just made it to the ten year mark on April 7th and we're pretty proud of ourselves, still head-over-heals in love, and incredibly thankful to God and our friends. So it's got me really thinking about what it really takes to make it a decade, or two, or three, or more. So here's where my thoughts start out...  

I think marriage is one of God's best ideas ever. Well, it's more than an idea, really. Marriage flows right out of who God is, His very essence, as a relational, creative being. That sounds deep, I know. But this post isn't. My goal with this post is simply this, to connect the "How to's" of marriage to the real source of marital happiness, friendship. I suggest that no marriage can really be satisfying and spiritual apart from understanding why God thought it up in the first place. Ever wonder why God created them male and female? I sure have. Even more, I find the teachings in the New Testament regarding marriage to be incredible, like this one: Husbands, you should love your wives as Christ loves the Church! Wow. How much does Christ love the Church? So that's how much I must love April?! That's incredible. But more than incredible...that's a whole LOT of pressure.

Thinking about marriage too much can actually cause us to spin out. I've read numerous books and attended multiple seminars, as well as took entire classes in college on the topic, and it doesn't take long to start getting overwhelmed with "good" information. Much of the time we think of marriage in the deep ways -- Marriage is about change, it's about a covenant -- 'til death do us part; It's about union, commitment, and raising children. This is all true. But I think the very first thing marriage is, before everything else in the world gets in the way and fills up our brains, is ... friendship.

Just think about it: God sent Christ so we can be friends with the Father. God establishes the church so we can have friends who are as close as brothers and sisters. And God sent me April because, quite simply, HE didn't want me to be alone. God wanted me to have a friend. He wanted Adam to have a friend and he wants me to have a friend. That's a pretty simple way to view marriage. The more April and I have kept that in mind the happier we have been. Of course her friendship leads me closer to the Father's heart and closer to those friends in my church. We are meant to feed one another with Spiritual food and build each other up and all that, sure. But all these things happen quite naturally in the context of a good friendship, where each person is intent on following God, and intent on being the very best friend he or she can be. But what does it take to be a "best" friend to someone? Or what does it take to be a best friend to your husband or wife? Ahhh,... now there's the question.

Think of the best friend you've every had, or think of the best friends in your life right now. Perhaps it is your spouse or perhaps it isn't. Whether you're married or not the question, 'How do we obtain deep and abiding friendships' is one of the most important questions we will ever ask. What are the main ingredients to a happy friendship-based marriage. Well, for April and I, (and I don't want to superimpose these on everyone for I believe every marriage is quite different) these are the top three things:

1. Communication: Good communication habits/skills are an absolute must in every marriage. Shoot the issue and not each other. We call it shooting the brick (issue), which would build up a wall if not dealt with. I just think this takes work, no matter who you are. Because of our fallen state we do not communicate very well. So it takes some practice and some time to get better. But I believe everyone can learn good habits/skills (and I do think it's a skill) with some effort and commitment. I've made boo-coos of mistakes in this area, and been exhorted by my brothers many times over. So I'm communicating this about communication with all humility and brokenness.
2. TIME! Time, time, time. Time together making good memories. All work and no play will lead to... well, misery. Friendship is memories. It's a long string of good times and bad, through thick and thin, to the depths and back again. Best friends spend time in every way, and in every moment possible. And friends laugh!! We just have to date our wives, men. We must! Dating is time that we and our spouses need. We need to laugh a little. If the laughter starts to go away for long, long periods in your marriage you better view that as a tornado siren going off. There is real danger coming. No matter how busy life is we always make time for our friends. Or... we don't have many friends. This same thing is true in marriage.
3. Forgiveness. Friends know how to talk to one another and how to forgive; how to not judge and how to forgive; how to listen and how to forgive; how to fight fair and how to forgive. And we're not talking about lip-service here, you know, that --- "I forgive you" but deep down you are not clear at all and even though you think you really forgave her or him you're in unreality about it and then you find out in a fight on a different subject all together when suddenly the hatchet rises from the grave and hits your "best" friend right upside the head. We must search ourselves. Do we really forgive? Do we forgive not just the actions but the very essence of who he or she is -- those bad habits, character "qualities," and...all that other stuff? Do we forgive? Really? It just won't work without it. 

So that's the top three for us (which, of course, each need their own post or two). These three apply to any and every friendship. But I am really not meaning to over-simplify here. I'm quivering at the very thought of clicking "Publish Post", because I know this topic is a doozy!  But I didn't think up marriage. God did. And I think marriage is one of God's best ideas ever. But, to me, it's a no-brainer if we understand that God is Love, that He desires us, that he is completely, 100% relational. It's His idea because it's who God is. It's more than an idea because marriage flows right out of Him, out of His very essence, as a relational, creative being.

In the end, whether you're married or not, God invented friendship. Friendships must have good communication, time, and forgiveness. Fortunately, as in all things, "WE" do not need to try to do these things on our own, or at all for that matter. We must only surrender more to God. God's indwelling Spirit will give us wisdom and produce fruit. And the family of God, our church, should provide a place to learn to become deeper and deeper friends both inside and outside of marriage. With God doing these good things in us we can say with all confidence, The Lord be praised! For He has given us good things. 

The magic of marriage
is
found
in friendship.

And wuv, tru wuv, will fowow you foweva...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Redemption through his blood." But why?

The other night some dear friends and I were discussing the different views of the atonement. Particularly we noted how so many view God as having basically punished His Son instead of punishing us. The very next morning the following was the verse of the day on www.Biblegateway.com. This is a random and rotating verse so I didn't think this was really coincidence.
 
“In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace” - Ephesians 1:7

Make no mistake, we can only have redemption "  through His blood."    There is no way around it. We cannot redeem ourselves. Paul doesn't say "through our good deeds."   This redemption by blood is a major theme throughout scripture and to miss this point would be to miss the core of the gospel message. Nothing can redeem our fallen state and our sinful condition; nothing but the blood. But why? Is it because we need a buffer between happy us and an angry God?  The answer to "Why blood?" is right here in the same verse, "in accordance with the riches of God's grace."


There is a common misconception among so many that God woke up one day as an angry dictator, and we are just sinners in His crushing hands. He is the furious Father, and we are His condemned creation.  With a frown on his face and a hand clinched into a fist, He makes the awe-full decision to murder His own son on our behalf. He went through with the plan, even though His One and Only begged Him through tears for a different way. Now He's been upset about it for 2011 years... and counting. 

This misconception deeply effects the way we live our lives and how we see God's face. Miserable Christians pack the pews Sunday after Sunday with this picture of God in their minds. And many more have abandoned Church altogether just to dull the pain. Scholars often refer to this as the "Penal" view of the Atonement,  the idea being that God needed to "punish" someone, somehow, for this big, fat, sinful mess. The penal view is widely adopted by Christians everywhere. But it is not the only view.* And it is not a view that seems healthy to me because of the image it paints of God. 

Am I infected by this bad image of God? Are you? To test your view of God try this little exercise (because I learned this imaginative prayer stuff from Greg Boyd). Just close your eyes for a second, think about the blood of Christ flowing down for your sins, and then picture God's face. What do you see there? What's in His eyes as He looks at you? What is the shape of His mouth? His eyebrows? If you see anger, depression, guilt, or condemnation then you see His face all wrong. Read it again:


“In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace.”

The key, I think, to imagining the true face of God in light of the great sacrifice of His Son's blood, is found in the word "riches." God is careful here to use Paul to pen these beautiful words and paint a glorious picture for us. Out of the "riches" of God's grace do we have forgiveness of sins. And now, if God's grace is RICH, and those riches He shares with us are out of His own free will (I mean, he didn't "have to" send His son to die, right?) then God's HEART is one of unconditional love. And this unconditional love not only puts a smile on His face as He sees the blood of redemption, it should put a smile on our face as well. The point is freedom; and that freedom is so that we may enjoy the Father.

God has 
set ... us ... free. 
Do you feel that!? 
God has SET ... US ... FREE!!!! 
And now we are free indeed!

Can you really feel free if you think God killed His son for you and is somehow bitter about it? Can you truly accept this Freedom in Christ if you are in some way paying a penance each Sunday, just trying to repay God for his incredible generosity? No way. In his blog post on this subject Boyd writes,  

• What is the intrinsic connection between what Jesus did on the cross and how we actually live? The Penal Substitution view makes it seem like the real issue in need of resolution is a legal matter in the heavenly realms between God’s holy wrath and our sin. Christ’s death changes how God sees us, but this theory says nothing about how Christ’s death changes us. This is particularly concerning to me because every study done on the subject has demonstrated that for the majority of Americans who believe in Jesus, their belief makes little or no impact on their life. I wonder if the dominance of this legal-transaction view of the atonement might be partly responsible for this tragic state of affairs. 

I wonder the same thing. What we believe should "compel us" and make us "no longer live" for ourselves (2 Corinthians 5:14-15). And I don't think we have to give up the farm when we relax a little on this judgmental view of God. One cannot deny the use of Blood in God's overall plan. It's everywhere, throughout History, and implemented and carried out by the His divine will. But if we stop and put this "sacrifice" in the context of the spiritual realm -- that other, over-lapping realm we also live in -- then we can see that God's use of Blood means so much more than we can probably even imagine. Perhaps the sacrifice was as much for the heavens as it was for us. This is where Boyd states it quite well:

• To me, these are all serious problems with the Penal Substitution view of the atonement. I do not deny that Jesus died as our substitute or even that it was God’s will to “crush and bruise” him (Isa 53:10). But we don’t need to imagine that the Father vented his wrath against sin on Jesus to make sense of these facts. One can (and I think should) rather see this as the Father offering up his Son to the principalities and powers to be bruised and crushed in our place, for this unsurpassable expression of self-sacrificial love is what was needed to destroy the devil and his works and to thus set humans free, reconciling them to the Father.

Freedom! See, if you only view the Atonement as a punishment for our sin then you are not free. You are in debt. (Or course we are indebted to God for all of this. But God still wants us to be focused on freedom.) This is true freedom from the principalities and powers which cause us spiritual death. This is not just freedom from "our" sin. But freedom from the accuser, from our flesh, from the sin-nature itself. How? Through faith, and by His Spirit's power. And through the Body of Christ. What's in view? Love. Incredible, overwhelming, deep love. But what's not in view? The spiritual realm, where the demons shriek and Satan quivers at the thought of that blood -- He has lost control over "this one" and over "that one." That's the real point of impact on my soul, and upon yours.
 
True: Nothing can redeem our fallen state and our sinful condition; nothing but the blood. But why blood? Because of God's love, affection, and grace towards us. He won't let us die in our sins. And if we'll let him He won't even let us die in our minds (although we Christians seem to hesitate at the renewing of the minds part). He wishes to renew our minds and our hearts with the riches of His grace, given through the redemptive blood of the perfect Lamb and experienced in His Body, the local church. If we are dead to sin then we are alive in Christ. Why? Because of the blood. Because of Grace. Because of unconditional love. Thus we can approach God with confidence. Like this: Eph. 3:12. "In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence."   (See also Heb 4:16).  

Now, did God also show us what true love is through the cross? Absolutely. "  This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters."   (1 John 3:16). But this is not the main reason for the blood. Just do a search for "blood" in www.biblegateway.com.  Blood = atonement. And God's atonement through Christ = confidence for you and me. Freedom! Within the context of complete freedom we then move to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.

Wrapping up: Ephesians is an incredible book of the Bible. We can't read it enough; for it is Spiritual and each time God will show us something new. But I especially love how Paul prays for the church in Ephesis. After a letter packed full of the Good News it's almost as if His heart and pin were about to explode with these thoughts of God's unfathomable love:

For this reason I kneel before the Father, ¹⁵ from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. ¹⁶ I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, ¹⁷ so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, ¹⁸ may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, ¹⁹ and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.


Do you feel it? Do you feel the forgiveness of sin and the redemption from the Blood of Christ? It is meant to be felt, you know. It is not some thought to hold in the mind or some mantra to chant each Sunday morning or some prayer to pray at the alter once or twice. It is a love-language bursting forth from the Creator of the Universe coming with such great conviction and mercy that it should penetrate our core being and make us change -- dramatically -- and in every way imaginable. This change starts with our own joy being a real and deep joy. It continues as the Spirit of God works into our hearts and lives the virtues of holiness and righteousness. And it extends to our brothers and sisters in Christ with great love and a shared passion for doing God's will.

Like a grand fountain, or a mighty waterfall, is our Lord's love. That's why. That's why the blood and redemption of sins. 

Because... 
He ... 
Loves ... 
US!

And oh, oh, oh   ...how He love us.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`


*I think what we believe about the atonement makes a huge difference in the way we live day to day. It's what we think of God, of ourselves, and of our brothers and sisters. Beliefs lead to actions and attitudes. I'm digging into this topic more deeply now and looking back over the major views out there, beginning with this book: The Nature of the Atonement: Four Views I'll let you know how it goes.