There's a reason we call it GOOD Friday (or, The Beauty of the Cross)

I'm finding it hard to believe that it's Easter weekend already. Time is going so quickly! Seems like Lent just began, and yet here we are at Good Friday.

Over the last 6 weeks, I've been using John Piper's book Fifty Reasons Why Jesus Came To Die as a way to prepare my heart for Easter. Each day, I read one of the reasons and reflect on its truth in my own life. Today I want to share the reasons with you in the hope that they might help focus your heart on the beauty of this day, the beauty of Christ on the cross, the beauty of what He accomplished there. And I pray that this beauty will fill your heart even fuller as we celebrate His resurrection on Sunday-- the truth that what He accomplished is complete!

1. To absorb the wrath of God (Galatians 3:13; Romans 3:25; 1 John 4:10)- "God is both just and loving. Therefore his love is willing to meet the demands of his justice."

2. To please His Heavenly Father (Isaiah 53:10; Ephesians 5:2)- How stunning to know that this rescue plan was God's idea!

3. To learn obedience and be perfected (Hebrews 5:8; Hebrews 2:10)- "... he was gradually fulfilling the perfect righteousness that he had to have in order to save us." He was obedient because of His love for God and His love for us.

4. To achieve His own resurrection from the dead (Hebrews 13:20-21)- "... the resurrection proves that the death of Jesus is an all-sufficient price. If Jesus did not rise from the dead, then his death was a failure, God did not vindicate his sin-bearing achievement, and we are still in our sins." I cannot wait to celebrate this truth on Sunday!

5. To show the wealth of God's love and grace for sinners (Romans 5:7-8; John 3:16; Ephesians 1:7)- "Our debt is so great, only a divine sacrifice could pay it." And He did pay it by making an infinite sacrifice. That's how much He loves us!

6. To show His (Jesus) own love for us (Ephesians 5:2; Ephesians 5:25; Galatians 2:20)- "Surely this is the way we should understand the sufferings and death of Christ. They have to do with me. They are about Christ's love for me personally." Do you believe that Christ loves you enough to die for you?

7. To cancel the legal demands of the law against us (Colossians 2:13)- "There is no salvation by balancing the records [doing enough good deeds to cancel your bad deeds]. There is only salvation by canceling records." Do you realize that you don't need to prove yourself worthy of salvation by doing good things? Christ is your only hope. Just put your faith in Him.

8. To become a ransom for many (Mark 10:45)- Jesus willingly paid the price to release us from God's condemnation if we will only choose His payment plan.

9. For the forgiveness of our sins (Ephesians 1:7; Matthew 26:28)- "Oh, how precious is the news that God does not hold our sins against us! And how beautiful is Christ, whose blood made it right for God to do this." Have you sought forgiveness? All you have to do is ask!

10. To provide the basis for our justification (Romans 5:9; Romans 3:24; Romans 3:28)- "Justification... is a declaration that happens in a moment. A verdict: Just! Righteous!" We are declared innocent because of what Jesus did, not what we have done.

11. To complete the obedience that becomes our righteousness (Philippians 2:8; Romans 5:19; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Philippians 3:9)- If you have placed your faith in Jesus, when God looks at your life, He sees Jesus' perfect obedience instead of your sin!

12. To take away our condemnation (Romans 8:34)- "Christ has died once for our sins. We will not be condemned for them. Condemnation is gone not because there isn't any, but because it has already happened." Look to the cross and see there Jesus bearing the condemnation that should have been yours.

13. To abolish circumcision and all rituals as the basis of salvation (Galatians 5:11; Galatians 6:12)- Nothing we do saves us. Faith in Christ is enough to put us right with God.

14. To bring us to faith and keep us faithful (Mark 14:24; Jeremiah 32:40)- "When Christ died, he secured for his people not only new hearts but new security. He will not let them turn from him. He will keep them. They will persevere. The blood of the covenant guarantees it." What does it mean to know that your faithfulness is not dependent on your strength alone?

15. To make us holy, blameless, and perfect (Hebrews 10:14; Colossians 1:22; 1 Corinthians 5:7)- "The suffering of Christ secures our perfection so firmly that it is already now a reality. Therefore, we fight against our sin not simply to become perfect, but because we are. The death of Jesus is the key to battling our imperfections on the firm foundation of our perfection." This truth became the foundation for my battle against addiction and the only way to find freedom. Do you believe it?

16. To give us a clear conscience (Hebrews 9:14)- "When our conscience rises up and condemns us, where will we turn? ... the blood of Christ. This is the only cleansing agent in the universe that can give the conscience relief in life and peace in death."

17. To obtain for us all things that are good for us (Romans 8:32)- "The suffering and death of Christ guarantee that God will give us all things that we need to do his will and to give him glory and to attain everlasting joy."

18. To heal us from moral and physical sickness (Isaiah 53:5; Matthew 8:16-17)- "The horrible blows to the back of Jesus bought a world without disease." Whether or not you experience physical healing in this life, you will experience it in the next. That is a guarantee!

19. To give eternal life to all who believe on Him (John 3:16)

20. To deliver us from the present evil age (Galatians 1:4)- On the cross, Jesus defeated Satan. You are no longer captive to "the evil one" so follow the Victorious One!

21. To reconcile us to God (Romans 5:10)- God took the steps to make us His friends while we were still His enemies!! Receive what He has already done and be reconciled to Him.

22. To bring us to God (1 Peter 3:18; Ephesians 2:13)- Our fullest experience of joy comes from "seeing and savoring the glory of God". Jesus made that possible through His death on the cross. "Hear then the invitation: Turn from the 'fleeting pleasures of sin' (Hebrews 11:25) and come to 'pleasures forevermore.'"

23. So that we might belong to Him (Romans 7:4; 1 Corinthians 6:19-20; Acts 20:28)- You can belong to Christ or you can belong to sin; which will you choose?

24. To give us confident access to the Holiest Place (Hebrews 10:19)- Come into God's presence through Christ. You are welcome there!

25. To become for us the place where we meet God (John 2:19-21)- "When Christ died and rose again, the old temple was replaced by the globally accessible Christ. You may come to him without moving a muscle. He is as close as faith."

26. To bring the Old Testament priesthood to an end and become the eternal High Priest (Hebrews 7:23-27; Hebrews 9:24-26; Hebrews 10:11-12)

27. To become a sympathetic and helpful priest (Hebrews 4:15-16)- Jesus knows our struggle with temptation; even when we fail, He is with us, not against us!

28. To free us from the futility of our ancestry (1 Peter 1:18-19)- No matter what issues live in your family history, you can be free of them through Christ!

29. To free us from the slavery of sin (Revelation 1:5-6; Hebrews 13:12)- "Sin is such a powerful influence in our lives that we must be liberated by God's power, not by our willpower." What do you need God's power to set you free from?

30. That we might die to sin and live to righteousness (1 Peter 2:24)- "The old self that loved sin died with Jesus. ... My new life is now swayed by righteousness. ... The beauty of Christ, who loved me and gave himself for me, is the desire of my soul."

31. So that we would die to the law and bear fruit for God (Romans 7:4)- God gives us the Holy Spirit to help us produce fruit instead of striving to keep the law.

32. To enable us to live for Christ and not ourselves (2 Corinthians 5:15)

33. To make His cross the ground of all our boasting (Galatians 6:14)- "We are not as Christ-centered and cross-cherishing as we should be, because we do not ponder the truth that everything good, and everything bad that God turns for the good, was purchased by the sufferings of Christ."

34. To enable us to live by faith in Him (Galatians 2:20)- "... the new self is defined by Christ's presence and help at all times. He is always imparting life to me. He is always strengthening me for what he calls me to do." How would your life be different if you lived rooted in this truth?

35. To give marriage its deepest meaning (Ephesians 5:25)- "... marriage is meant to make Christ's love for his people more visible in the world."

36. To create a people passionate for good works (Titus 2:14)- "Christ died to make us this kind of people-- passionate to help the poor and the perishing. It is the best life, no matter what it costs us in this world: They get help, we get joy, God gets glory."

37. To call us to follow His example of lowliness and costly love (1 Peter 2:19-21; Hebrews 12:3-4; Philippians 2:5-8)- "Jesus suffered for us uniquely, that we might suffer with him in the cause of love." How is God calling you to show costly love to the people around you?

38. To create a band of crucified followers (Luke 9:23; Matthew 10:38)- "... when I follow Jesus as my Savior and Lord, the old self-determining, self-absorbed me must be crucified."

39. To free us from bondage to the fear of death (Hebrews 2:14-15)- "The fear of death enslaves. It makes us timid and dull. Jesus died to set us free. ... We are freed to love like Christ, even at the cost of our lives."

40. So that we would be with Him immediately after death (1 Thessalonians 5:10; Philippians 1:21,23; 2 Corinthians 5:8)

41. To secure our resurrection from the dead (Romans 6:5; Romans 8:11; 2 Timothy 2:11)

42. To disarm the rulers and authorities (Colossians 2:14-15; 1 John 3:8)- Satan is defeated. He has no power. Let us turn from him and walk in victory with Christ!

43. To unleash the power of God in the Gospel (1 Corinthians 1:18; Romans 1:16)

44. To destroy the hostility between races (Ephesians 2:14-16)

45. To ransom people from every tribe and language and people and nation (Revelation 5:9)- "Christ died to save a great diversity of peoples. ... As the disease of sin is global, so the remedy is global."

46. To gather all His sheep from around the world (John 11:51-52; John 10:16)

47. To rescue us from final judgment (Hebrews 9:28)- "Sin was dealt with once for all. No new sacrifice is needed. Our shield from future wrath is as sure as the sufferings of Christ in our place. For the sake of the cross, then, exult in future grace."

48. To gain His joy and ours (Hebrews 12:2)- Feeling a lack of joy? Find it in Christ and the hope that comes through His suffering and death.

49. So that He would be crowned with glory and honor (Hebrews 2:9; Philippians 2:7-9; Revelation 5:12)

50. To show that the worst evil is meant by God for good (Acts 4:27-28)- "God meant to show the world that there is no sin and no evil too great that God cannot bring from it everlasting righteousness and joy. The very suffering that we caused became the hope of our salvation."

Papa, thank you for Jesus' suffering and death and all that it accomplished. Help us to see how each of these things are true in our own lives. Help us also to see where we need to join you in making these things true in our lives by living out what Jesus completed on the cross and in His resurrection. May our hearts swell with love and praise as we celebrate the beauty of the cross. Amen.

"He called me brother..." (or, The Beauty of Grace)

Imagine this:

You come home to find a dirty, obviously homeless man asleep in your yard. There's a very good chance he's a paroled convict. What would you do? Ignore him? Call the police? Or would you invite him inside? Perhaps you would cook him a meal and pray over him, calling him an honored guest as he dines with you and your family.

But then what if he slips out in the middle of the night taking as many of your valuable items as he can carry? What if the police catch him and bring him back to your house because he claims you gave him the items? Would you find yourself pressing charges? Or maybe you corroborate his story, calling him brother as you do so, and hand him the most valuable items saying he forgot to take them with him?

This is the scenario that plays out at the beginning of Les Miserables. I'm starting to realize that this show has always been one of my favorites because of its portrayal of grace. We meet Jean Valjean as he finishes his prison sentence: 5 years for stealing a loaf of bread (in an attempt to feeding his starving family) plus another 14 for trying to run. When he's finally released, he remains a prisoner to the past because he is labeled as a convict which means no one will hire him. You can imagine the desperation he might feel when he is rejected and turned away time after time.

And then he finds himself outside a church. The Bishop discovers him, and for the first time, Jean Valjean is shown grace. Just like Christ, the Bishop chooses not to treat Valjean as he deserves; instead, he simply loves him. After the moment I described above, Valjean processes the incredible idea that another human being could call him brother, let alone believe that he had a soul and was capable of being more than a paroled convict. Somehow this act of grace penetrates the hatred he feels toward the world and his desire for vengeance. This frees him to leave the past behind and seek to "live a life worthy of [his] calling" (Ephesians 4:1).

In stark contrast to the Bishop, Javert lives life clinging to the law. He hunts Valjean mercilessly, wanting this man to be brought to justice for his actions. In other instances, we come to understand that Javert sees only wrong choices and not the stories of desperation that may have led to them (or the broken system that created the desperation). He lives by the mantra: "Honest work; just reward- that's the way to please the Lord." The idea that Valjean's crimes could be forgiven eventually leads to Javert's suicide. Javert can't imagine a world  in which grace plays a role. His hope is in the law, in following the rules and earning his reward.

So my question for each of us (including myself) is this: Do you tend to be more like the Bishop or Javert? Do you understand the role grace has played in your own life enough that you can't help but extend it to others? Are you able to see past the exterior to recognize the soul of your brother? Or are you still so busy trying to have it all together that you balk at the idea of others receiving grace?

There's a lyric in the show that goes like this: To love another person is to see the face of God. Lately I've been taking this to mean that we need to recognize the face of God in the other person in order to truly love them. Maybe it's only when you choose to see it that they will be free to see it, too.

The Beauty of Dignity

The word 'dignity' derives from a Latin word meaning "worthiness". One definition of the word is "the state or quality of being worthy of honor".

God, in His gracious wisdom, bestowed humanity with the beauty of dignity. We are each worthy of honor simply because we are God's creation. We were made in His image, and thus we were made with dignity.

When Adam and Eve sinned, we lost our sense of dignity. We no longer see ourselves as God created us to be. We see only the brokenness and despair of any possibility for dignity to be restored. And so we turn on our fellow man and strip them of any dignity that might linger. We judge and criticize and demoralize in some perverted attempt to make ourselves feel better about ourselves.

I've seen it a lot recently. Much of it has taken place in the political arena in the days leading up to the election. Some continues as people express their elation or disappointment at the outcome of the election. But the kind that saddens me the most is the stripping of those who have the greatest physical needs in this country.

Just this week I have seen a meme that compares people on welfare with a lazy dog. In another post, a newspaper clipping compares people who receive food stamps to wild animals who no longer know how to fend for themselves. I'm not here to argue for those programs. But I am here to argue for the dignity of the people who currently depend on those programs.

Yes, it is true that there are people who take advantage of these free handouts. But it is also true that there are many who could not survive without them. We don't get to judge them. We don't get to add to the shame of not being able to provide for their families by calling them lazy and stupid. We don't get to expect that they get their act together before we will help. We are asked simply to help them. We are called upon to serve the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the naked, the sick, and the prisoner (Matthew 25:31-46). We are not called upon to judge why he is hungry or naked or in prison. We are not asked to determine whether or not a person deserves our help, we are told to help (James 2).

You see, the truth of the matter is this: you don't deserve your current situation in life any more than they do. You are where you are because of the grace of God. You may not like to admit it, but you are the recipient of a free handout. It's called grace. And God gave it to you because you needed it. You were desperate and couldn't live without it. He didn't hold back because you might abuse the system. He didn't call you lazy and stupid for admitting that you needed help. He didn't wait for you to get your act together. He reached out His hand and helped you. And in doing so, He healed your shame and He restored your dignity. And then He asked you to do the same for those around you.

So next time you find yourself judging and criticizing the welfare recipients of this world, remember that you are one, too. And then get up, go to your local homeless shelter or soup kitchen or food pantry and get to know the people there. Ask them to tell you their stories, and then listen as they tell you. That one simple act will do more to restore their dignity than you could ever imagine.

What would happen if we chose to spend more time restoring and defending dignity than seeking to strip it away?

Breaking the Silence

I've always found it interesting that a recovery program that's all about groups and sponsors would have the word "anonymous" in its name.  It's not very anonymous to stand in front of a group of people, announce your name, and then admit to being addicted to alcohol.  But I wonder if some of the power of the program comes from the fact that anonymity isn't really an option.  The message seems to be: You think you're alone in this, that no one sees or understands your situation, but that's not the case; there are others who have struggled and found freedom, and they want to help you.

Sometimes I wish church services were more like AA meetings...  People could stand and share their struggles without fear of judgment.  Everyone else would respond with understanding nods as they think of their own struggles.  Once you shared your story, you would be paired with someone who would be your mentor.  This person would tell you their own story of finding freedom from addiction, how they're still learning to walk in the grace of God.  They wouldn't be a mentor because they had it all together.  They would be a mentor because they would know how far they had come and Who had brought them that far, they would know that walking in the truth of freedom is a daily process.

I guess what I really wish is that it would be easier for people to be real and honest about what's going on in their lives.  How many people go through life missing out on what God has to offer them because they're stuck in sin and pain and lies?  How many are stuck because they don't want anyone else to know what's really going on, because they fear that judgment and disappointment will be the reaction?  How many spend every Sunday morning sitting next to someone who is going through or has gone through the exact same thing?

There is power in the humility required to share your reality with others: the power to set you free and even the power to set others free.  When you choose to talk about it, you can ask for help and find the accountability you need to make freedom a reality.  When you choose to talk about it, you can help others to know they're not alone and that there is hope for freedom.

Of course, the reality is that this sort of honesty can't really happen in the context of a Sunday morning church service.  The trust needed for that sort of intimacy doesn't come from sitting and listening to the pastor on a weekly basis.  There's some work required.  You have to be willing to get to know people, to spend time with them, to begin sharing some of the small things before you move into the bigger stuff.  It requires community.  And it requires courage.  Someone has to have the courage to start sharing.  Someone else has to have the courage to listen with grace and not judgment.

So do you have the courage?  Whether you're just stepping out in the search for freedom or you've been walking in freedom for some time, do you have the courage to break the silence and share your story?

"Hi, my name is Katie, and I was addicted to pornography; as of today, I have been walking in freedom for 1 year, 7 months, and 21 days..."

Getting What You Think You Want

I have been shirking my blogging duties over the past few weeks.  Life has been a little crazy, so sharing my ramblings on Once Upon A Time has taken a back seat.  Fortunately, there have only been two new episodes (thanks to the Super Bowl!), so I don't have as much to catch up on.

Both episodes have me thinking about what happens when we go after what we think we want, what we think will satisfy our desires, with little or no regard for the consequences.  How quickly we compromise on our convictions for the sake of satisfaction.

Mary Margaret & David arrange secret meetings or sit very near each other at the diner.  Despite his promise to his wife, they are determined to be together, because that is what they want.  In the end, Mary Margaret realizes it's an impossible situation.  David is still married to Kathryn and isn't free to have the kind of relationship Mary Margaret longs for.

We find out that the Queen's magic mirror was once a genie, set free by her husband (Snow White's father).  The genie falls in love with the Queen and pursues her heart despite the fact that she's already married.  The Queen uses his love against him to accomplish the murder of the king.  The genie uses the last wish left in the lamp to make sure he will never be parted from the Queen.  And so, he winds up in the mirror.

Sydney (the mirror as he is in Storybrooke) comes to Emma with a desire to bring down the mayor.  Although Emma refuses to stoop to the mayor's level, Emma does eventually play dirty in order to get the information they need.  The plan backfires, making Emma all the more eager to partner with Sydney to get to the truth.  What she doesn't know is that this is all part of a plan the mayor and Sydney have concocted to keep an eye on Emma.

All three of these stories are perfect examples of how quickly our desires can lead us astray when we seek to fulfill them on our own terms and timing.  The desires themselves aren't necessarily wrong (the desire to love & be loved reflects God's desire for relationship; the desire to see the mayor brought to justice so others could be free reflects God's desire for truth and freedom).  However, the ways in which each character chooses to act on those desires is wrong.  We do the same when we decide how and when we get what we want (or what we think we want) instead of waiting on God's plan.  We may not wind up stuck in a magic mirror, but we will still face the consequences of heartbreak or becoming entrapped in something that isn't good for us.  Fortunately, there is One who heals broken hearts and sets captives free.  We can turn to Him for grace and forgiveness and a second chance in which He delights to give us the desires of our hearts... on His terms and in His timing.