Rejection

If you’re not rejected at least three times a week, you’re not really trying.

I have the above quote tacked on a cork board in my office. It came from something intended to encourage writers. It caught my eye recently as I was sitting with God pondering the unusual amount of rejection I’ve encountered regarding my perspective of life and God.

Writing is basically sharing what we see, either as witness to facts or our imagination. According to Acts 1:8, after receiving the power of the Holy Spirit, we will be witnesses of Jesus.

We know not everyone is going to want to hear our ideas of Jesus. Scripture is clear that we will be persecuted and rejected. For most of us in the western culture, we assume that means those in foreign countries who are not free to worship as we do. Or maybe it refers to the minor blows to our ego or finances that occur in this country.

The rejection I’ve encountered over the past 2 ½ years has come from Christian leaders. It drives me to deeper questions of what it means to be a Christian and more specifically, a Christian leader.

I love William Young’s dialogue between God and the main character in The Shack. I don’t remember which person of the Trinity Mack was talking to but God basically says “Jesus is not a Christian.” It seems many who claim to have a Christian faith are trying to be “Christian” more than submitting to Christ. I’ve been guilty of this myself.

Looking back at the interesting confrontations of the past couple years, I’ve discovered that my attempts to be fully submitted to Christ causes friction with some Christians – or should I say “religious leaders.” Funny, that’s who gave Jesus the most trouble too.

In John 15:7, Jesus says “if they persectued me, they will persecute you.” So, as a follower of Christ, if I’m not rejected by religious leaders regularly, I’m not really trying. Well now, that makes rejection sound quite positive!

This post is intended to encourage those experiencing rejection from well meaning Christian leaders. It is not meant to condemn those doing the rejecting. Those who have rejected my ideas have not questioned my relationship with Christ. None of us fully understand yet and I just happen to be one that likes to explore the unknown. Therefore, being a Christian is not defined by what I do, it is defined by who is in me. Romans 8:9 “if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.”

Whether you are rejecting others ideas or being rejected, remember this:

The wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness. James 3:17-18

The Shack by William Young

This was one of the most thought provoking novels I’ve read. It did not give me new concepts of God as much as it put words to the concepts I have so often tried to express. Now I see why I am so quickly misunderstood.

I’d love to do my own in-depth review but since there is enough out there, I’ll just comment on a few reviews I read.

One online reviewer stated, “There are other teachings about the Trinity that concerned me. For example, Papa says ‘I am truly human, in Jesus.’ This simply cannot be true… this is not taught in the Bible. Overall, I had to conclude that Young has an inadequate and often-unbiblical understanding of the Trinity.

I strongly disagree. I believe this perspective is visible in the Bible. However, I would agree that it is not taught in most western churches.

These same churches will tell you that God (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) is One and we worship only One God. Therefore, why would it be incorrect to state that God (the Father) is truly human in Jesus? If they are distinctly separate, then we worship three gods.

The reviewer also disagreed with Young’s perspective of submission which I discussed with my husband shortly after reading the book. The Greek term translated as submission refers to "a voluntary attitude of giving in, cooperating, assuming responsibility, and carrying a burden".

Our western culture prefers to apply the military slant which is "to arrange [troop divisions] in a military fashion under the command of a leader". Interestingly, this is where the Jewish leaders parted ways with Jesus. They wanted the Messiah to bring military submission. Jesus instead brought an attitude of giving in (considering others better than yourself), cooperating (being one Body), assuming responsibility (different workings for the common good) and carrying a burden (Jesus carried our burden and also the burden of God).

Jesus prayed in John 17 that those who believe in Him will be one as He and the Father are one. The only way to accomplish this is through all believers submitting with the attitude of Christ found in Philippians 2. Jesus is in very nature God – but he did not consider equality with God something to be grasped. Why? I think there is a lot more to that statement than Jesus didn’t fight God’s will.

From my perspective, it has more to do with relationship. Jesus knew that as God in very nature, he didn’t have to prove himself. He chose to limit himself to human nature. He chose to rely on God the Father. And, God the Father equally relied on Jesus to do what only he could do in the flesh. The Holy Spirit was the significant link between the two. William Young does an outstanding job of picturing this relationship. I love his portrayal of the Holy Spirit and the mystery with that character.

My challenge to you is to read this book with a sense of adventure. Be willing to look at truth from a different perspective. I’m not asking you to change your perspective or turn from truth. Simply suggesting you allow the gift of fiction writing to broaden your perspective of a God who is far too big for any of us to fully understand.

If you are one who has a negative response to The Shack, I challenge you to use the same measure of judgment on your own perspective of truth. Do you believe what you believe because the Holy Spirit taught you or because a fully human person with a Christian label influenced your thinking? Scripture is God’s Word. The Holy Spirit is to be our counselor of that Word.

Here are a couple of good posts on The Shack:

Crosswalk - A Gentle Balance to the "Shack Attack" by David Burchett

LifeStream blog - Is THE SHACK Heresy? by Wayne Jacobson

Spiritual Warfare

“Jesus has called us into the army

but most western Christians

are trying to figure out how to remain civilians.”

~Steve Robbins, Vineyard Church of Columbus, Spiritual Warfare Seminar, June 2008

Holy Spirit in Residence

Or didn't you realize that your body is a sacred place, the place of the Holy Spirit? Don't you see that you can't live however you please, squandering what God paid such a high price for? The physical part of you is not some piece of property belonging to the spiritual part of you. God owns the whole works. So let people see God in and through your body. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (The Message)

And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. Romans 8:9 (NIV)

This concept jumped out at me this morning. Oh, yes, I’ve been taught and agreed for years that I am not my own. But the reality of my body being the property and residence of the Holy Spirit took on new meaning.

Think of it. God the creator made us human and gave us freedom to choose what to do with our life. Then, he purchased the right to be the landlord (owner) of everything we have. The price? The blood of Jesus. In exchange for all our life as we know it – everything that we can enjoy, control, imagine, whether we consider it “spiritual” or physical. God has given us his Holy Spirit to be the Director of all our affairs.

Now, as the Manager accountable to the Director and Owner, I have agreed to a contract (covenant) which states that I will do everything according to the intent of the Owner. Fortunately, this is a great deal because I couldn’t have this great of a life without the Director’s personal interest in my operations.

Fascinating, isn’t it?

Marlene Nathan in Living by the Spirit (NavPress Pilgrimage Growth Guide) presents this question: “How would your life be different if the Spirit lived among you with much more power and a much higher standard for holiness?”

If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him! Luke 11:13

National Day of Prayer

When I was a little girl
grown-ups taught me how to pray
No one taught me how to listen
only words to say

Today has been designated The National Day of Prayer.
May you listen as you pray.

The National Day of Prayer is an annual observance held on the first Thursday of May, inviting people of all faiths to pray for the nation. It was created in 1952 by a joint resolution of the United States Congress, and signed into law by President Harry S. Truman. Our Task Force is a privately funded organization whose purpose it is to encourage participation on the National Day of Prayer. http://www.ndptf.org/about/index.cfm

A God Sandwich

I love it when God unexpectedly reveals something new from a very familiar piece of scripture. Yesterday, at The Church at North Pointe, Pastor Kevin Dudley delivered a new visual for me of Psalm 23. It was powerful because I struggle regularly with the tension between pushing forward and giving up. Look at it with me.

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want…
he leads me beside quiet waters…
He guides me in paths of righteousness…
Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life.
~ Psalm 23:1-3, 6

Do you see it? God is in front leading us AND he is behind us with his goodness and love. We are in a God Sandwich.

Pastor Dudley encouraged me in my circumstances with this statement. When you feel like turning back, giving up, God’s goodness and love is right there saying “no, no, keep going forward!”

As I apply that to my life, I know that God’s goodness and love is different than the supernatural leading of God. Following God requires trusting Him with the unknown. Behind me is a known path filled with God’s presence in my physical life. It is those experiences of God being Real that encourage me to keep following the Shepherd, My Shepherd.

God is Real! He goes before you and he is behind you. You are in a God sandwich.

Why do I exist?

There are plenty of books on living your purpose, finding your destiny, and following your dreams. But have you ever taken a step deeper and asked why do I even exist? Not, why does man exist. Why do I, as a unique individual, exist at all?

Paul states in Philippians 1:21 “to live is Christ and to die is gain.” I will admit that the “gain” part of that statement is often more attractive. However, I am, by God’s choice, very much alive. But why? Why is it “necessary”, as Paul says, to “remain in the body.”

I have determined that I am not here for myself. If I were, there would be no real reason to go on living, would there? My reason for existing even goes beyond being here to be in relationship with Christ – although that is certainly a benefit of living. And being here to help others is also a vital part of my existence. However, if I never existed, I wouldn’t miss out on anything, would I?

Why do I fight for the unborn child to exist beyond the womb? Why do I follow a man raised from the dead? May I suggest that each one of us is part of God’s artwork which has been vandalized by Satan’s Gang?

But not just people. All of God’s creation has been vandalized. The restoration began when God sent his son to earth to oversee the refurbishing project.

The infant will play near the hole of the cobra, and the young child put his hand into the viper's nest. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. Isaiah 11:8-9

I am here as part of God’s creation - God’s imagination and dreams of perfect love and beauty, trust and joy, peace and harmony like a powerful symphony. I am one note in the maestro’s melodious arrangement.

To ask why I exist is to ask why the waterfall exists. Like the waterfall, the birds, and music; I am a creation on God’s living canvas.

Hang in there. I hear the finished product is to die for.

Let me live that I may praise you. Psalm 19:175