Month: May 2020

“For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Ephesians 2:10

If you’re anything like me, you read this verse and immediately wonder what it is you’re supposed to be doing. After all, if God made us to do certain things, we better figure out what those things are, right? Again, if you’re like me, that thought is quickly followed by guilt because whatever it is I’m supposed to be doing, I must not be doing a very good job because I’m not even sure what it is I’m supposed to be doing. The way I deal with guilt is with frenzied activity. If I just work hard enough, surely I’ll hit on whatever it is I’m supposed to be doing sooner or later. Thankfully, that’s not what God is saying in this verse. I’m the one who put the emphasis on the last word. It’s like that little two-letter word has overshadowed the rest of the verse. So let’s take a look at the rest.

It starts out by saying that we are God’s. Wow! Stop right there for a second and let that sink in. You’re His. You’re not forced on Him. He didn’t take you grudgingly. You’re His because of His great love for you. Now let’s continue. We’re His workmanship. That word “workmanship” is the Greek word poiema. Can you see an English word you think comes from that word? Right. We’re a poem, a masterpiece. He created us and, as the old saying goes, God don’t make no junk. He created you in Christ Jesus to be a poem, a masterpiece. Stop right there! I know what you’re thinking and that thinking is wrong. Don’t say that if He created you as a masterpiece, you must have really messed up His artwork somewhere along the line. Those are thoughts the enemy loves to drop into our brains so kick them to the curb! Dwell on God’s truth. He says you are a masterpiece. Not were. Not going to be. You are right now.

Now we get to the part about us doing things. God did prepare good works in advance, but some other versions are a little more accurately translated at this point. Some say that “we should walk in them.” That last “do” actually refers to how we live our life. It’s not a list of jobs to do, like a honey-do list. It’s a way of being. What is this way of being? Well, look back to see how we were created: in Christ Jesus. Quite simply, we are to be more and more like Christ every day. I know this sounds like a tall order but again, that’s the enemy trying to discourage us. In reality, when we are more like Christ, we are becoming who we were created to be. Trying to please Satan, the world, or our flesh is being someone we’re not. But being more like Christ, well, that’s allowing ourselves to be the real us. The real person that God knows we are on the inside. It’s who He created us to be. And we become that person by not worrying about being that person. Instead, we focus on Jesus. Keep your eyes on Him and you’ll find yourself daily becoming more like Him. And you’ll find that it’s not a struggle at all. It’s actually a relief to be able to just rest in Him!

“Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.” Romans 14:19

            When I look at our culture today, I’m amazed at the many ways the enemy uses to divide us. There are the “divisions” that always exist, such as politics or race or denomination. Even cultural habits can become divisive. Then we’re hit with a global pandemic, something that is affecting the whole world. So now we’re all united, right? We’re all threatened by the same virus and facing the same “sudden significant disruption,” a quote I heard recently that I think very aptly describes what we’re experiencing. As bad as the pandemic is, our enemy can’t leave it at that. He has to make it even worse by dividing us even further. And there are plenty of issues on which to disagree. Is the president making the right or wrong decisions? Do you agree with your governor? Are the numbers of COVID cases being reported accurate or not? If not, are they too high or too low? Should we take a vaccine when one is available? Are face masks necessary? Should the quarantine be ended or extended? For that matter, is the quarantine for our safety or an infringement of our rights? I’ve listed these (and there are so many more) as questions but that’s seldom how they’re worded. Usually, the speaker’s opinion on these questions is stated as fact, not as opinion.

            We humans have a tendency to state our opinions much more emphatically than we do facts. If I have irrefutable data to back up my statements, I don’t feel the need to defend those statements. They stand on their own. But when I think I’m right or hope I’m right, that’s when I get adamant about my beliefs. The more people I can convince that my opinions are right, the easier it is to believe that they really are right. And that gives us a (false) sense of control over the situation. Lately I’ve been realizing that I need to ask myself a question: “Am I willing to give up the right to be right?” It’s kind of a trick question, because we don’t really have that right anyway. Only God does. Maybe a better question would be, “Am I willing to accept that my opinions may be wrong and the other person may be right?” followed by the bigger question, “What’s more important, me being right or the feelings of the other person?” Because that’s what all this comes down to. All our opinions are really just hiding underlying emotions. Only the individual can say what those emotions are. There may be fear of contracting the virus, or of a loved one contracting it. There may be fear of loss of income, or loneliness during quarantine. We may be facing unrelated issues buried deep within us that are now surfacing during this time of slower schedules and fewer distractions. Whatever the driving emotions are, it’s good to recognize that strongly held opinions are nothing more than masks to hide the hurt, pain, fear, etc. that lie beneath.

            All of that brings us to the verse above. As we move forward during this time of “sudden significant disruption,” let’s keep this verse in mind. Let’s remember that the person is always more important than the opinion. Let’s pursue peace as if we were chasing it with intensity. Let’s listen to one another and ask God to show us how we can minister to one another in the midst of the emotions swirling at this time. And let’s build one another up. You notice the verse doesn’t say to build up those who agree with you. We’re to build up everyone. We can do that with compliments and praise, but we can be even more edifying if we listen – really listen. What’s behind the statements? What emotion is the speaker struggling with? And how can we encourage them to take that emotion to God? At the same time, how are they building us up? Is there something in what they’re saying that is a lesson for me? Is God speaking through those with whom I disagree? Amazingly, one of the divisions I’ve noticed is between those who are really struggling during this time and those who don’t seem to struggle at all. Even in that difference, how can we encourage one another?

            Let’s not let the enemy divide us. We are all facing one enemy and it’s not the pandemic. The true enemy is the one who wants to steal and kill and destroy. One of the methods he uses is to divide and conquer. Let’s not lose sight of the fact (not opinion) that his true goal is not to kill the body with a virus, but to kill the soul. We need God, and we also need each other. God placed each one of us in this place during this time for a reason. His church, the body of Christ, should be united in so many ways – in praying, in caring, and even in listening. How is God asking you to minister to others during this time? And how is He using this time to draw you closer to Him?

“So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer.” 2 Corinthians 5:16

            Don’t you just love how scripture packs so much into just a few words? It’s so easy to read a verse and move right on, to just skim over the surface. Let’s take a moment to dive a little deeper into this verse. We’ll start with the second half. Paul is saying that he once regarded Christ from a human perspective. That’s easy to see in his life. At one point he considered Jesus as just a human being and His followers as threats to the real truth, the teachings of the Pharisees. Then he came to realize that Jesus is actually God and worthy of our complete devotion. Being the passionate person he was, he then devoted his life to serving Jesus. That dividing line may not be so easy to see in our lives. I don’t know about you, but there was never a time in my life when I traveled around having Christians put to death. And I didn’t have a Damascus Road experience when I was blinded by Christ and audibly heard His voice. But has there ever been a time when I have taken Jesus less seriously than I should have? The first several years after giving my life to Christ, I have to admit that my lifestyle didn’t change much. I’m afraid that I didn’t take my conversion very seriously. I’m so thankful that God took it very seriously and continued to pursue me until I finally began to regard Him as the true Lord of my life.

            If Jesus is truly Lord of our lives, we need to ask ourselves how we view others. Our views of Jesus are a little more cut-and-dried. Either He’s God or He isn’t. Either I’m letting him rule in my life or I’m not. But other people aren’t gods. They’re human, just like you and me. The question is not if we’re seeing them as they really are. The question is if we’re seeing them through the eyes of Jesus. Let me explain. Let’s say there’s someone in your life who is irritating, frustrating and aggravating. Maybe they’re downright mean. Perhaps they’re prideful and arrogant. Maybe they don’t care about the feelings of others as long as they get what they want. This scripture isn’t saying that the problem is our view of them. They really are all those things. God isn’t suggesting we try to tell ourselves that if we just change the way we look at them, they’ll be a different person. We can never change another person. That is the way they are. Only God and they can change them. But that doesn’t mean we can see them as God sees them.

            How does God view a person like that? How does He see someone so completely opposed to Him and His way? The answer is one word: love. It’s not the kind of love that comes from natural feelings. It’s not natural to have warm fuzzy feelings for someone like that. Rather, the love of God is a choice. Even when we don’t feel like it, we choose to pray for that person, treat them with consideration and kindness, and look for the evidence of God in them. Every single human being was created in the image of God. That image has been twisted and even covered up, but it’s still there. Even the most depraved individual has evidence of God somewhere in them. Looking for that is seeing them the way God does. Looking past the pride and sin to the imprint of God within is how we are able to love them with a love only God could give.

“God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” 2 Corinthians 5:21

            Have you ever been unjustly accused? Sometimes something we said or did was misconstrued and we are accused of meaning something we didn’t actually mean. We may not even realize how what we said or did was taken by others. Other times the accusations come completely out of left field. We’re accused of doing something we didn’t even think of doing. Perhaps an extreme example of this is people who are wrongly imprisoned for crimes they didn’t commit. They were mistaken to be someone else, or maybe they were even framed for the crime. When we hear of situations like that, we decry the injustice of it. We may even ask God why He would allow something like that to happen. After all, isn’t He supposed to be a just and fair God?

            This verse tells us of the greatest “injustice” of all. It talks about Jesus who had no sin. Some versions say He “knew” no sin and that may be a little closer to the original meaning. It’s not just that He didn’t do sinful things. That word translated “had” or “knew” includes an understanding or recognizing. In other words, Jesus was so far from doing anything sinful that He didn’t even know any sin. There are many times when I have sinful thoughts or desires that don’t become action. But the thought is still there. I still “know” the sin. Jesus didn’t even have that. And yet God turned Him into someone who not only knew sin but became sin. And He did that for us!

            Why would He agree to be so unjustly accused, tried, convicted and punished? For us. So we could become the righteousness of God. Did you catch that? He “became” sin so that we can “become” righteousness. It’s not some outward thing. It’s who we are, deep down inside. You want to hear something ironic? Righteousness includes a sense of justice. The most unjust act in history – the death of Jesus Christ – brings us into a just relationship with God. Because He bore the injustice of paying for our sins, we’re able to live a new life as if there had been no sin in our lives. I sometimes hear people say they want life to be fair. I don’t! There’s nothing fair about this. I praise God that He doesn’t treat me fairly. Rather, He treats me as if I were His sinless Son. That’s a reason for true joy!