Running Late

What is the worst thing a person could say to you? How would you feel afterward?

I don't know if I've found it, but today I got at least a taste of what that might feel like.

Now that Isabella is full-swing into preschool (don't tell her that, you must refer to it as 'school') our morning routine includes getting up, seeing Mommy off to her school, eating breakfast, getting dressed, and then heading off to Isabella's school before Daddy heads to school himself. We like learning, what can I say?

Anyway, Friday as we were getting ready I looked at the clock and I realized that we were incredibly behind. We had more things left to do than time left to do them. That's not good, and for a person like myself who...strongly prefers punctuality, that's a really not good thing. So, I started rushing. Herein lies the problem. Isabella has recently begun this "do it by myself" phase, which is great, except when she's slowly doing it by herself and we're running late. Then I start to stress out and panic and urge and push and prod and...

You get the picture.

So, I asked her to put on her shoes and socks (read: shoe yourself as fast as humanly possible) and she sat down to take care of that "all by myself" (read: as slowly as humanly possible). I'm freaking out. This is not good. We're going to be late. I'm going to look like a bad parent because I can't get my child to school on time and a bad student because I can't get myself to school on time. Not good. At all.

These thoughts lead me to do the only logical thing - take the shoes and do it for her.

Bad decision. Not logical at all. Cue tears and total meltdown.

I tried to calm her down - to no avail. I tried to reason with her - fruitless. I finally just said, "Baby, look at my face. Do I look mad at you?" She said no. I said, "Then, why are you so upset."

And in this way, the most heart-wrenching and hurtful words I've heard in a long time came out of my daughter's mouth. Tears running down her face, she said to me:

"...because I'm mad at you, Daddy."

I cannot express the hurt that a statement like that can bring to a parent, especially when you know it's your fault in the first place. The last thing that I want to do is hurt my child. Yet, while I know there is merit to her anger toward me - she needs opportunities to grow and do things on her own - I really was just trying to help. I even heard myself saying as I tried to calm her down, "I'm not trying to hurt you. Just let me do it for you. I know a better way."

Even still, in the midst of all of that, I couldn't help but think all day about what it must be like for God, to hear from His children, "I'm mad at you."

We only see a glimpse of this as parents, as we watch our children begin to grow in independence and become the person that God has made them to be. But God sees each situation so much more clearly than we do. I'm not thinking of those moments where we know there is nothing we can do and we must depend on God to handle it (even if it's the last, begrudging thing we do). I'm thinking of those days when we know we ought to trust God to take care of things, but we have the means to do it ourselves and so we do it our way instead. God sees those moments and He looks at us and says, "Just trust me. I know a better way."

And sometimes, maybe even all the time, we get so upset and frustrated and...well, mad because we know how to solve the problem and we want to do it "all by myself," and God knowing better just gets in the way of our plans.

Or does it?

No. It doesn't. I'm coming to realize more each day that God knowing better doesn't get in the way of my plans at all. It gets in the way of my pride.

And that hurts. As God does the things that are best for us, things that may not even be in our own plans for our lives, sometimes it will hurt. I'm reminded of a sculptor, chiseling away at all the extra stone to reveal the expertly crafted masterpiece inside. It hurts, but it is so good for us in the end because it teaches us to rely, not on our own wisdom and ability, but on the infinite wisdom and ability of God.

There will inevitably be times when Isabella is mad at me because she wants to be independent but, due to the situation, she must depend on my limited wisdom and ability (I'm thinking of things like driving and dating). Of course I won't parent perfectly and there will be many times when I rely on myself for the strength to do that - and I will fail miserably.

But the same can be said for all of us in our relationship with God. We want to be independent and self-governing, but God made us to be dependent upon Him and governed by Him. We want to worship ourselves and our strength, but God made us to worship Him alone. Because of this, we are tempted every day to grow angry with God because, ultimately, He knows the better way and to trust Him in that is to put to death our pride and our plans for the sake of His glory in our lives.

It hurts me deeply to hear Isabella tell me that she is mad at me, and I'm sure it won't be the last time either. But, imagine how much more so it is with God.

You didn't get the job you prayed for. "I'm mad at you, God."
Your financial situation gets worse instead of better. "It's your fault, God."
You lose a precious family member to death. "Why would you do this to me, God?"

There are so many things that we could get mad at God about, and yet it is unfounded and ill-informed because we cannot always see or know the purpose that He has for us in a situation. His ways are higher than our ways, His thoughts are higher than our thoughts. Sometimes we get so lost in the details of a situation that we lose sight of the bigger picture - that God has a plan for us and that His plan is to glorify Himself in all things.

Maybe this is just review for you. Good - be encouraged.
But maybe it's deeper than that. Maybe God is saying to you, right now,

"Trust me. I know a better way."

---

That you might know Christ,

Revelation 5

"And they sang a new song, saying, 'Worthy are You to take the book and to break its seals; for You were slain, and purchased for God with your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation'...'Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing'...'To Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever'...And the elders fell down and worshiped." :: Revelation 5:9,12,13,14

To someone reading this chapter, I can imagine one question (among many) that they might have would be, "Who is this 'Lamb' and why does everyone in heaven bow down and worship him?"

A valid question. With an amazing answer. This Lamb is the very Son of God, who lived a perfect life and died a cruel death to pay the penalty that God requires for the sins that each of us commit against Him. He died to bring us back into right relationship with God. He died to re-order our worship - from self and stuff-centered to God-centered.

It doesn't matter who you are or what you've done, at the end of time you will join the rest of creation, on your face before the throne of heaven, in worship of the Lamb who was slain to take away the sins of the world.

The question is, will you do so willingly?

Will you be gratefully rejoicing because of your love for the Savior and the price that He paid on your behalf?

Or will you be forced to your knees in submission to the God that you refused to acknowledge your whole life?

The choice is yours.

---

That you might know Christ,

After

I love the moment after it rains. The sky is crystal clear. The ground and trees and buildings all look newly washed and clean. The animals come out and resume their chirping and chittering. It is the perfect reminder that even though this world is so broken by sin, God is still making all things new. No matter the storms that we face in this life - whether persecution and suffering from others or the self-inflicted wounds of guilt and shame at our own failures - God is still sustaining and restoring us as we walk through life with Him.

This afternoon it occurred to me, however, that it doesn't always stay that way. Pretty soon the clouds roll away and the sun comes back out. It gets hot and steamy. You can almost feel the air sticking to your face and you can practically taste it on your tongue. Before long, aside from the occasional puddle (that probably annoys you more than it reminds you), you've forgotten that the rain even came. Life resumes its normalcy.

Until the next storm. Perhaps this one is worse than the last. Maybe it's the same or not so bad. Regardless, the rain still comes. The wind still blows. It seems there is no reality other than the constant downpour of water on your roof, dark skies overhead, and a sort of melancholy that the storm conveniently brought along to weigh you down and weary you to the very soul.

Yet, without fail, the storm passes and that moment, the one I almost seem to live for, the one just after the storm when everything seems so new again - that moment comes. And again I am reminded of just how perfectly God protects and sustains His creation. Again I relish the thought of the new heaven and earth that will one day come. And I rest, comforted in these thoughts.

Even still, almost in spite of the comfort that I feel in those moments after the storm, I know it cannot remain. I cannot live in that moment, nor can I live for that moment. Life doesn't work that way, does it? There are many moments spent before the storm even comes. We laugh and cry, we get stressed out and upset, and life happens. Of course there are times during the storm as well. We get frustrated as we sit in traffic, surrounded by drivers who appear to have forgotten how to function as soon as the first rain drop hits their windshield. We get terrified, huddled in the basement of our house, praying it will still be there when the storm passes. Life does not remain in those moments after the rain.

I think that sometimes I live out my faith like that. Maybe all the time, I don't know. I mean, when life is going along well and all the pieces are falling into place, I don't give a thought to the storms that will inevitably cross my path. Sometimes I almost live like temptation and trials are just things that happen to other people, something I might read about in the news. And, when those things do come my way, I either react like it's just one more annoying detail I've got to deal with or I freak out like I'm the only person in the history of the world to experience this.

But we all face storms in our faith, don't we? You see, what occurred to me in realizing that the moment after the rain isn't permanent is that all of those other moments before and during the storm are just as important. Sure, after coming through trials, we experience comfort and peace. We truly get a moment to rest as the God of all comfort wraps us up in His loving arms and reminds us that He's been there, carrying us through, sustaining us as we faced that storm - not alone, but with the Almighty God standing right beside us.

Before the storm comes, though, what are we doing? Are we content just to let life roll on by, taking the storms as they come or even trying to pretend as though we won't be affected? Tragedy strikes us all. Difficult times cut us to the very core of our being. For the Christian, suffering and persecution is inevitable.

But, for the Christian, it should also be anticipated and welcomed.

We intimately learn about comfort in those moments after a storm. But before the storm, we should be intentionally learning the art of abiding in Christ. We should be purposefully learning how to trust our God who has never failed to be trustworthy. Why? Because in the midst of the storm, we don't act methodically. We act instinctually. We don't act proactively, but reactively. If our practice has been to rely on our own strength and our own understanding, then when we faces trials and temptations we will continue to rely on our strength and understanding.

The Bible is clear however that we must "trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight." How much of your heart? All of it. So, if the end goal is to trust God in those situations where our gut reaction is to trust ourselves, then what needs to change?

Have you ever heard the phrase: "What's down in the well comes up in the bucket?"

If we constantly pour our own strength and understanding into normal life situations, what do you think is going to come up when you reach for that "bucket" during a storm?

We must be in the practice of constantly filling our hearts with the strength and understanding of God. How does that happen?

• Daily spending time in His Word. Peter says that God has given us everything we need for "life and godliness" through the Scriptures. How else can the Word get into our hearts unless we get into the Word?
• Daily spending time in prayer. Luke records that Jesus made a habit of prayer. How else can we submit to the will of the Father unless we offer up our own will to Him in prayer?

There are many more examples (worship and missions, to name two) but the point is this: be in the habit of filling your heart with the things of God before the storm because, whether you like it or not, the storm is coming. You can't live happily in the "after" forever.

---

That you might know Christ,

To Be Or Not To Be...Content

Sunday our pastor continued working his way through 1 Timothy, specifically 6:3-10, and the main point he was making was that people will either try to use God for personal gain or they will be content simply to worship God. This started my wheels turning because it forced me to think about my own motives in pursuing a life of godliness. I started asking myself some questions, and honestly I think they are questions that we must all answer when it comes to God and our motives.

Am I trying by my own effort to earn a salvation that has already been freely given?

Am I trying to be more godly so that God will give me the things that I want?

Am I content simply to rest in the hope that I have in Christ, knowing that no matter what comes my way or crosses my path, God works for the good of those who love Him?

If I am not content, if there is always something more that I need to be happy, then what does that say about my walk with Christ and the authenticity of my faith?

If my identity is found in money and power, have I not forgotten that God owns it all anyway?

If my satisfaction is found in sex, have I not forgotten that there is no greater pleasure than to know God?

If my self-worth is found in knowledge, have I not forgotten the infinite depths of knowledge which belongs to God alone?

Maybe this whole montage of questions is just a means for me to think out loud a bit, to process what the Lord is teaching me through His Word and the men who are faithful to preach it week in and week out. But perhaps it is something that we all need to think through.

Each day when we wake up, what is the dominant thought in our minds? Is it all the things we have to do...or the disappointments we have felt...or even guilt because of our own sin and failure? Or are we confidently approaching the throne of grace to worship the only God who saves and sustains, who redeems and restores? I genuinely pray it is the latter. I also know myself and my own sin nature and I realize that we probably all wake up, more often than not, overwhelmed or defeated by the former.

And so I am purposing, I am setting my mind and heart, to pray each day:

Father, you are the Author of Life and the Hope of Salvation. You are Today, will You fill me with the contentment that can only be found in You. Today, in trial or comfort, success or failure, I will be content to know Christ and Him crucified. Today, rich or poor, happy or sad, I will be completely satisfied to rest in the hope that is Christ's blood shed for me and proclaim Your Gospel to the nations. Amen.

---

That you might know Christ,

Why We Obey

Here's something about parenting that you might not have realized:

The most heart-breaking thing about a child disobeying is not the first time they do it.

It's the second,

                         and the third,

                                               and the twentieth times.

Why is that?

Because every parent, deep down in their heart, hopes that after the first time their child gets in trouble for something then the child will permanently realize the error of their way and never commit another wrong the rest of their life.

If only it were that easy...

This seems like such a random topic to write about, but it's not coming from nowhere. It's coming from my few years of being a dad up to this point. Tonight, as I sat and talked with Isabella for what seemed like the hundredth (and most certainly not the last) time about disobedience, I found myself saying something to her that I think has been brewing inside of me for quite some time.

"What happens when we disobey?"
(sniff sniff) "A spanking..."
"So do we get a spanking if we obey?"
(sniff) "No."
"How do you show Daddy you love him?"
"Hugs and kisses."
"That's right. And we don't just obey to not get a spanking. When you obey Daddy, you're showing him that you love him. Does disobeying show Daddy love?"
"No."
"What's it show him?"
"Not love."

Every time I have a conversation with Isabella about something discipline related, especially disobedience, I feel like I'm having the same conversation with God - except in reverse. He's using parenting to convict and discipline me. Maybe I'm just late to the game, but it's finally settling deep in my heart that my obedience to God should not be from fear of punishment.

Could God choose to smite me at any moment? Yes. He is God and He has that option.

But God gives me chance after chance, even though I fail miserably time and again.

Why?

Because God loves His creation, especially His human creation. We are the only created thing with His very image stamped into us. As image-bearers of God, we were made to do one thing: worship. Ideally, sin excluded, we would all worship God. We would love Him as perfectly as we were made. Our relationship would be unbroken.

And God wants us to love Him back. He wants us to obey Him, not because He'll punish us if we don't but because we love Him more than anything else in this whole world, even ourselves. Just as much as He wants us to tell Him we love Him with our words, He wants our actions to reveal the same heart of love for our Father.

But sin messed all that up. Sin broke our relationship and distorted our love. Now, we seek to worship anything and everything we can get our hands on. We worship money, sex, and power. We worship people. Most of all, we worship ourselves.

Anything but God.

Sin caused that rift in us. "And it's a void only He can fill."

And so God filled it. In the form of a baby, fully God and fully man, born to walk this earth in perfect relationship with the Father, Jesus Christ did what we could never do. On a cruel, rugged cross, dying a death He did not deserve, stepping into punishment in our place, Jesus Christ made a way where there was no way.

Why?

Because God loves us. And He wants us to love Him in return. He wants us to live for Him, to serve Him, to worship Him as He rightly deserves.

Will we continue to mess up? Of course. But we will not be repentant primarily because we fear punishment, though that is a valid concern (just because we are God's children doesn't mean that He never disciplines us).

Rather, we repent with deep mourning over our sin because we understand the depth of the punishment that Christ took on our behalf and the disappointment and hurt that God feels, just as a parent does with a child, each time we choose to make something else more important that obeying, loving, and worshipping Him.

It's important that Isabella obeys us as her parents. We have her best in mind. We're trying to help her understand not just that she should obey, but why she should obey - out of love for us, and we hope one day out of love for her Heavenly Father.

It's even more important for us to obey God. He has our best in mind, too. Better than we could ever imagine. But perhaps it's just as important for us to remember not only that we are to obey God, but why we ought to obey Him.

---

That you might know Christ,

Small

{I love to write. And I'd love to write on my blog more often, but many times I feel like I have more to say than time or space to say it. Blogger gives me a practically unlimited space to write in, but I don't always have time to write a post of my typical length. Twitter is my preferred means of social media, but the character limit is sometimes too small to fit everything I want to say. So, I thought of something that can both limit my words and free up time for consistent writing.

New goal: write at least once a week.

New method for making the aforementioned new goal a manageable task: Twitter style.

Each post in this format will be limited to only a paragraph or two of concisely written response to Scripture. Think of it like a few tweets about the same passage of Scripture - short enough to read quickly, long enough to get across a point that Twitter's character limit would not necessarily allow.

It's an experiment, but one that I really hope works for me. Did I mention I love to write?}

---

Seeking wisdom from the Lord this morning, I ran across this gem: "Who has ascended into heaven and descended? Who has gathered the wind in His fists? Who has wrapped the waters in His garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is His name or His son's name? Surely you know!" [Proverbs 30:4]

I am struck by how small I am and how big God is. I am convicted by how much I trust and put faith in myself and how often I do so by sacrificing my trust and faith in the Father, who "gathered the wind in His fists." I am overjoyed at the prospect of Jesus Christ, God's own Son, vast enough to establish the earth and yet personal enough to die on the cross for me, a sinner. How greatly He humbled Himself! How much more ought I to do the same?

#humility #trust #gospel

---

That you might know Christ,

Lazy Saturdays

I love a lazy Saturday. It's that time when you get to sit back, stay in your PJ's, eat a late breakfast, savor a cup of coffee, and just enjoy time spent with family (Well, some of us at least). In this crazy world that doesn't happen too often, does it?

We got a chance to take advantage of one such opportunity and, for whatever reason, we decided to watch the Veggie Tales version of the story of Jonah. It seems like people tend to gravitate toward the story of Jonah (or Noah and the Ark or Daniel in the lion's den). We paint a scene of Noah collecting animals two by two in the baby nursery. We describe Daniel cuddled up with some lions in a well-lit cave. Jonah (in the movie we watched) ends up hanging out in the belly of the whale with a worm that sells Persian rugs and some gospel choir angels. Laissez le bon temps rouler, n'est-ce pas?

There's a problem with that perspective, though. Isabella reminded me of that very distinctly. The movie progressed through the story line and eventually got to the part where Jonah had disobeyed God, run to a boat, and sailed in the opposite direction. And God called up a storm to blow in and stop Jonah in his disobedience. As easy as that is to type, it is not easy to watch, at least as far as Isabella was concerned. She became immediately scared to the point of tears and ran to me for consolation. Convinced it was a "bad part" and it was "scary," she didn't want to watch anymore. I understand that. It is scary when you think about it. A storm on the sea is one of the most helpless positions a person can find themselves in, especially when it's a direct result of disobedience to God.

Anyway, I calmed her down and reassured her that it wasn't so bad - God did and does have everything under control. What else is a dad to do? Be brutally honest and tell her that she really ought to be scared? Well, sure, but not yet. My dad handbook says to wait until she's at least five for something like that...

While I didn't go into the technical details, we did have a talk about how Jonah had a bad attitude and disobeyed God and the consequences of his actions. That's something that she can understand, being a typical (almost) four year old and having her own issues with consequences for a bad attitude and disobedience.

But the whole scene reminded me that the story of Jonah is not a children's story. As funny as "The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything" are, it's not fun and games to disobey God. In the case of Noah, as cute as all the animals are, that is a story of global annihilation as a direct result of sin. There is nothing sweet about the story in any stretch of the imagination. Daniel didn't just waltz into the lion's den and play for a while before camping out with his new pets. He fully expected to be mauled by lions into a gory and violent death for his faithfulness to the One True God.

These are not just feel good tales of adventure with a silly song or two thrown in for kicks. These are incredibly serious stories about the war that we fight every day against our sinful flesh, about the serious consequences of fallen man living in a broken world in seemingly perpetual disobedience to God. Jonah is just the example, but I fear that the church today does not take obedience to God seriously. I fear that, more often than not, we downplay the biblical accounts of sin and its consequences to the point that they're just a cute story about a whale and a guy who doesn't listen to God but wasn't really that bad of a person.

NO! Jonah brazenly disobeyed God and ran in exactly the opposite direction to avoid the task that God had called on him to do. Even when he does get to Ninevah, Jonah wasn't thrilled about telling them about the second chance that God was giving them. Jonah had a terrible attitude because he hated the people of Ninevah. Even when they repent and God spares them in the end, Jonah gets mad at God for doing what He said He would do in the first place. He wanted them dead! He wanted them dead without any hope for a right relationship with God! What?! That's not the Jonah we teach our kids in Sunday School!

And yet, how often do I walk away from reading the Holy Scriptures, a revelation directly from God for life and godliness, and treat it the same way? How often do I read the account of Paul suffering for the sake of the gospel and write it off as something cool that Paul did but that I would never have to do? We don't take obedience to God seriously.

I just wonder if it will take something catastrophic to make us figure it out.

---

That you might know Christ,

Brushing Teeth

Sometimes I don't brush my teeth very well.

Admit it - sometimes you don't either. You know that day, the one where you're in a hurry to get out the door, kid or dog or coffee in one arm, bag or trash or computer in the other, fifty things on the to-do list for the day, and you're just glad that your head is physically attached to your body or you'd forget that too!

Surely that's not just me?

...

Anyone?

Okay, regardless of how busy (or not) your life gets, I was driving down the road the other day and I realized as I swiped my tongue across my newly brushed teeth that I had missed a substantial amount of...well, junk. They felt clean all along the front. But the backside of my teeth, the hidden places, felt as dirty as if I hadn't brushed. I honestly thought, "Wow, I might as well not have brushed my teeth..."

It's funny, though. Even on the days when it is obvious how poorly you've brushed, you still can't know exactly how well you clean your teeth until you actually go to the dentist. Then, to your horror and surprise, as the hygienist picks and digs and flosses all the areas you've been missing since your last visit, you realize that what you thought was a good overall attempt at keeping your teeth clean was really amateurish at best.

And then what happens? Your dentist tells you to do a better job, to actually floss (because it's obvious you haven't been...), and "We'll see you again in six months!" Right? Or is that just me?

It occurred to me as I pondered the whole process of dental hygiene that brushing teeth is like trying to be righteous apart from Christ.

Think about it. Justification is being declared righteous, spotless, clean before God. We all do our best to clean ourselves up. We dress it up nicely. We make excuses to justify the things we know are wrong but don't want to admit to. Sometimes we're even blinded to obvious sin because of our bias in our own favor. The average person would never see the sin that we commit on a daily basis. They would never notice just how bad of a job we do at making our lives pure.

But God sees.

He sees the sin and the brokenness. He sees the hurt and the pain. He sees our attempts at doing good things and how we hide it all behind a mask of personal strength or holiness or whatever else we put up to hide just how broken we really are. The problem is that anything "good" that we do is like filthy rags compared to the perfect righteousness of God. Within that problem lies yet another problem: because of how sinful we are, righteousness based on anything that we do apart from Christ is impossible.

No matter how hard I try I will never clean out all the nasty sin that is hidden away in the crevices of my heart. But God, like dentist does with our teeth, comes in and cleans house. I am so thankful for the work that God does! And I will praise God for the rest of my days because Jesus stepped in and made a way where there was no way. He gave up His life so that we could live. He became our righteousness for us.

I know the analogy isn't perfect, but I couldn't help being reminded as I thought about my dirty teeth that no matter how morally I try to live, no matter how strong I try to be, nothing will ever measure up to the standard of perfection that God's holiness requires. It's an endless cycle of cleanliness and filth - an impossible task for us as humans on this earth.

And that's okay. Because Jesus stepped in and did it for me.

Does it mean I'm perfect and I'll never do anything wrong the rest of my life? No! Does it mean that I can live however I want? Absolutely not. But it does mean that we can have a restored relationship with God. It means that as we grow in our walk with Him that God will continually make us more holy as He Himself is holy. And it means that we can rest in the joy of abundant life with Him and hope of the future in heaven.

---

That you might know Christ,

The Conviction to Parent

Parenting is incredibly convicting.

Seriously.

Try disobeying God in an area of your life while explaining the necessity of obedience to a child. It's doable, but it certainly isn't comfortable. I sat down with Isabella today, for what seems like the millionth time, to talk about obedience and what it means.

I feel like I'm on repeat sometimes as I listen to myself talk about the same thing over and over again...

But every time I have that discussion I am reminded of some area of my life that is not rightly aligned to God's standard for me as a Christian. I am convicted of just how guilty I am of disobeying my heavenly Father, even in the midst of discussion that is centered on the disobedience of a child toward her earthly father.

Discussions about

    obedience,

        patience,

            attitude,

                discipline,

                    consequences

then drive me to humbly and honestly consider my own relationship with God.

Discipline is then infinitely harder because I feel as though I am disciplining myself in some vicarious way. That's probably a skewed understanding of discipline, but I can't help thinking that sometimes God uses that conviction to lead me to repentance and thus draw me closer in relationship to Himself.

Just as I have found that conviction within me grows as I walk through life as a parent, so also is grace all the more real to me. I think this is because in spite of my frustration over yet another blunder on the part of my child, I constantly feel the overwhelming desire to extend grace and show mercy for her error based on the very grace and mercy which were shown to me at the cross. This doesn't mean that my wife and I don't discipline her, but it does mean that we are honest with her about the grace that we have experienced in Christ. She gets her fair share of spankings. But she also gets her fair share of second chances. We want her to know as she grows in understanding that discipline is both external and internal. It is the external ordering of our behavior to line up with God's standard for holiness. But, more importantly, it is the internal change of heart that comes with conviction of sin and repentance before a holy God. Without both, it's guilt at best and hypocrisy at worst.

---

That you might know Christ,

What is the Gospel?

I recently posted this on Twitter and Facebook:

“I need the Gospel more every day.”

That statement prompted an insightful response from a friend of mine. She’s the kind of person that challenges me to say exactly what I intend to say, to think outside the box a little, and to appreciate the value of a dissenting opinion. I would have responded on Facebook, but I didn’t want to be that guy that responds to an honest question with a dissertation that analyzes the argument but never actually gets around to answering the question. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that this was a great topic to blog about. This is what Margie said:

“What do you mean when you say Gospel? No, I’m not being a jerk. I’ve had a few conversations in the last few days of what the word means to people. Gospel as in Jesus is savior/lord…crucified…resurrected? Or do you mean the gospel as in the Good News that the savior came into the world? Or gospel as in the teachings of Jesus to the world or Gospel as in All of it…everything?? Why can a simple little word be so complicated in Christianity?”

It’s a very good question – or series of questions – and it’s well worth an honest answer.

The best standard by which I could answer is with the words of Jesus himself. I love what Mark records, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many” [Mark 10:45]. Another great answer comes from Paul, who is typically quite wordy but is piercingly concise when he says, “For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified” [1 Corinthians 2:2].

So, to answer the question, the Gospel is God’s solution to man’s problem. The problem is this: God is holy and I am not. I am sinful and my sinfulness is an affront to God’s holiness. And at the end of my life, God will judge me based on His standard for a holy life – perfect, sinless righteousness. Hence, the problem: I’ve failed before I’ve even begun.

But, God provided the solution: Jesus came and fulfilled God’s standard. He lived a perfect, sinless life. He lived in perfect righteousness and obedience before God. And He didn’t do it for Himself – He did for you and me what we could never have done on our own. Even more, He offered Himself as a perfect sacrifice for all of my sins, for all of your sins. He satisfied God’s righteous anger against sin by laying down His life for the sins of man.

This was not an easy thing to do. It cost God immeasurably to sacrifice His Son on the cross. So, God raised Jesus from the dead and in doing so God declared that Jesus’ sacrifice was enough. We are justified before God because of Christ’s death and resurrection. But we must respond. The Bible is very clear that this is an act of faith in Christ’s work on our behalf. There is no work that we can do to earn this, it is "the gift of God...so that no one may boast." Paul says further, “if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” [Romans 10:9].

As a result, we are adopted into the family of God, forgiven of all our sins, and have the blessed hope of growing in relationship with God here on earth while anticipating an eternity spent worshiping at the throne of God.

That is what I mean when I say "Gospel." Thank you, Margie, for pushing me to explicitly declare the salvation that I cherish and the hope that I have. May we all be so bold.

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That you might know Christ,