Resisting the Current

Wrath/power is revealed by the effects of resisting it.

Sin is transgression – resisting, living at cross-purposes with God's ways.

If you are enjoying white-water rapids flowing with the current you can have the thrill of being carried along with the powerful, surging water beneath you. But if you “dig in your heels” locking yourself to a rock or even trying to move cross-wise to the current, you will suddenly find yourself in realization of how intensely powerful and dangerous the water can be if you are not willing to move in synchronization with it.

The last half of Romans 1 is describing this very situation in contrast to the first half describing the very opposite. The identification of each is found in back to back verses 17 and 18 - “the righteousness of God is revealed”, and “the wrath of God is revealed”. Reading all the previous verses before 17 reveals the righteousness of God. Reading the following verses reveals the wrath of God.

But unlike the typical spin that most people assume by projecting their own feelings of wrath onto God's character, what in fact is revealed here is the natural consequences of resisting the powerful current of God's intense passion of love.

Just as trying to stop in the middle of a surging river or even move in a different direction suddenly and dramatically produces life-threatening danger, resistance to the power of God's love and His ways of relating produces life-destroying results. Why then do we blame God/the current for the dangerous consequences of our resistance when we could be enjoying the most exhilarating ride of our lives? In fact, this very penchant to blame God and accuse Him of arbitrarily imposing these “punishments” on those who resist Him in itself will put us in the path of resisting Him. If we chose to continue to blame God for sin's effects we will tragically find ourselves suffering those very effects. And the sad consequence will be that our conclusions will seem to be justified while in fact we are only living under the intense deception of sin and the lies that reinforce it.

Notice what Romans 1 really says about how God's “wrath” is revealed. I notice two important principles emerging here: (1) “they knew God” (v. 21), and (2) “God gave them over”, or released them. These are repeated in various ways throughout the rest of this chapter. What it is saying, to use our current analogy is that (1) they cannot help but notice that there is a strong current underneath their lives and that it is consistently urging them in a particular direction. But when they chose to “exchange” the real for the imitation (v. 23) and refused to “acknowledge God”, then in respect for their choice to resist the current of His love and passion for them God, in the intense anguish of His breaking heart for them “gives them over” to the terrible natural consequences of their stubborn resistance.

Just in case we glibly smile believing that we are safe from that problem, Paul goes on in chapter 2 to point out that when we harbor “judgment” in our hearts against others who are suffering these results of resisting the current we place ourselves in the same situation and will unwittingly find ourselves in the same danger as the ones we condemn.

I want to explore this much more but right now I want to sit in a raft and relish the sun and the spray in my face as the current of God's love surrounds me and carries me through this day.

(next in series)

What Must I Do to be Salvaged?

“'Sirs, what must I do to be saved?' They said, 'Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.' And they spoke the word of the Lord to him together with all who were in his house.” Acts 16:30-32. I found myself asking God this very question this morning. Then I was reminded to think of what the words mean and how that might sound using their more accurate meaning. Since “saved” and “salvation” are the same, and the root meaning is “restoration, returning to an original design and function”, then I see that “doing” something and getting restored to my original design and function are the main elements of this question. Generally speaking, when we ask what we should “do”, the question is coming from the context of our left-brain, external-oriented religious thinking, even if we are not known as being necessarily religious to other people. Religious people do not have a corner on living fake lives. It is our natural response to an exposure of the emptiness of our heart that has been nagging us all our life but we could not satisfy it or even understand it correctly until we see someone else living from their heart in joyful fulfillment. Then our own heart screams out in agony of desperation and we become more aware of how empty we really are and how deep our heart hunger really is. Consider the people who approached Jesus with basically the same question. “Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may obtain eternal life?” Matt. 19:16. “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” Mark 10:17, Luke 10:25 and 18:18. As I was waking up this morning I couldn't miss the intense hunger of my heart awakened last night when I watched “Tuesdays with Morrie” at a friend's house with friends and family. It has stirred up awareness of how selfish I am, of how much the faults in others that irritate me are only reflections of how I must irritate them. The self-deception of my own hypocrisy is so effective that I find it impossible to see much of the truth about myself and of course cannot receive it from others attempting to tell me about it. But the heart is communicated to by example and demonstration, not with words and logic. Thus my heart was able to at least slightly communicate back to my brain how empty it is as I watched the actions, spirit and transparent unselfishness of Morrie in the way he related to the self-absorbed young man swallowed up by the typical distractions and busyness of hectic living, too distracted to be able to receive or give love with anyone. I saw myself portrayed painfully accurately in the example of the young man far more than in the character of Morrie. And my heart cries out, “What must I do to be saved?” I realize even more now how helpless I am to change myself. My only hope is outside, supernatural intervention by a Power that can transform me from a selfish, pride-filled, self-deceived nice guy (many would even dispute the nice guy part) to a genuine, caring, loving and expressive man with a servant heart spontaneously reaching out to touch the hearts of everyone around me. In the answer of Paul and Silas to the jailer who found himself asking this same question after having his own callous heart awakened by their startling behavior under persecution and abuse; their answer alerts me to the underlying basis for hope. It is not an intellectual answer, though it has often been degraded to that in religious teaching. It is a heart answer – belief in Jesus, the Creator and original Designer who created our hearts and is the only One who knows how to really satisfy them and restore them to their original design and function. Believing in Jesus involves trusting His motives and integrity and passion as well as His ability to change me. This kind of trust does not insist on knowing ahead of time how He will do it or having every question about His past dealings with me answered before I let Him have His way with me. Believing means that I let go of my resistance to Him and allow Him access to my emotions, my pain, my fears and my shame. Believing in God is not the same as believing facts and doctrines about God. That is a left-brain function and often blocks us from allowing our hearts access to true faith. Real faith/belief is a heart response as well as a choice to allow our heart to come out in the open and take the ultimate risk of self-abandonment. In so doing we are promised that we will find true life, true heart-satisfaction, real fulfillment and joy. But now my left brain analytical thinking is hijacking what my heart was trying to express and my heart is complaining that it is being ignored again. That is what a lot of people around me have been feeling as well. My mind wants to find a nice, tidy answer to wind up this post so it will conform to literary expectations and social norms. But my heart wants to scream, “What must I do to be saved, to be alive, to thrive and connect and bond with other hearts around me like I was designed for?”

A Tragic Exchange - round 1

Rom. 1:21-25 The tragic exchange. This is in the context of the revealing of God's wrath. (v.18) Professing to be wise, they became fools. This is a classic description of a person who has shifted their focus from a heart-based relationship with God demonstrated in honoring Him and giving thanks (v.21) to living in left-brain speculations resulting in the heart going dark. This implies that previously the heart was not dark but was designed to be full of light, of fire, of passion in a vital connection with the ultimate Lover. Professing to be wise... This is more description of the cause that results in the tragic results further described in this chapter. This is likely one of the most subtle and effective deceptions that Satan uses on us. Because this profession of being wise entrenches us in self-justification and defensiveness blocking all attempts to reveal the truth about our cold, darkened hearts. Exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for and image in the form of.... Notice what is exchanged for what. Glory is let go of to receive an image. An image of what? What is an image? What is glory? Be careful not to assume the answers too quickly and rush on. Allow the text to contribute to the real meaning of the words it uses and still maintain an open mind even then. It seems to me that the image is the counterpart or counterfeit of the glory, since the enemy is into counterfeiting everything that is true. We lose most of the significance and application to our own lives of this powerful passage when we brush off the reference to image as being carved idols worshiped by weak-minded people. I don't believe that a physical image is the primary issue revealed here. That is not our great danger. What is the real problem is looking to anything or anyone as a source of life instead of an intimate, dynamic, growing vital connection with the only true God. Exchanging real glory for an image is exactly like looking to pornography for pleasure in place of enjoying the ultimate sexual experiences in the context of a healthy, exciting and deeply bonded marriage relationship. The first is a self-destructive and very poor imitation, an “image” of the glory of the second. The text goes on to reinforce this truth even more. God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts... This is not an arbitrary act of a God that is offended by sinners and determined to punish them in retaliation as is so commonly thought. This is the reality of a spurned lover finally relinquishing and releasing a determined person stubbornly rejecting all attempts at reconciliation. It is acknowledging and sadly respecting the decision of the other to permanently break off an intimate, healthy relationship for a twisted, lifestyle of indulgence and and self-destruction. It is a parallel to exchanging the truth of God for a lie (v.25). This is just a preliminary note to be explored much deeper when I have more time. (next in series)