The Logos Became Flesh...

  Christmas has always been my favorite holiday.  My favorite Christmas song is "O Come, O Come, Immanuel".  The ache of a people longing for their God in the midst of a broken, sin-filled world.  The answer coming into this world as an infant.  Years of prophecy fulfilled with the birth of a child.


"The people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned...For to us a child a child is born, to us a son is given, and the govenrment shall be on his shoulders.  And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." Isaiah 9:2, 6


  The books of prophecy are some of my favorites, so I love seeing how verses like these were fulfilled through the birth of Christ.  This year, however, God opened my eyes to the beauty of Christmas from a Gentile perspective.  I am a philosophy major, and one of the classes I was required to take this semester was history of ancient philosophy.  We studied Greek philosophy that occurred prior to Christ's birth.  I also got to study the first 11 chapter of the book of Acts with my life group at church and see how Christianity spread to the Gentiles.


  One of the things the ancient Greek philosophers we studied focused on was the arkhe, or the first cause.  Many of them focused on physical substances.  Some of them considered theological questions.  Xenophanes claimed that the divine did not communicate with humans. 


  The next philosopher we studied was Heraclitus of Ephesus.  I was thrilled when I came across the word "logos", the same word that is translated as "Word" in the beginning of John.  Heraclitus used the term logos to refer to what he believed was a single divine law that controlled and guided everything.  He believed that the logos was both an objective and independent truth and that it was available to everyone.  He also viewed the logos as unchanging.  According to Heraclitus, all things come to be in accordance with the logos.


  Sound a little like the beginning of the book of John?  I thought so.  I did a little research with the help of Google and found that John had done ministry in Ephesus where this philosophy was likely still circulating.


  Now imagine you are a Greek citizen during this time.  Some of the philosophy passed down suggests that the divine can't be known.  Some of it talks about the logos as Heraclitus described it, including that it's physical sign is fire.  Now here comes this new guy named John preaching about this Jesus fellow:


"In the beginning was the [Logos], and the [Logos] was with God, and the [Logos] was God.  he was with God in the beginning.  Through Him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made." John 1:1-3


  Ok- so, essentially, the logos is the arkhe, which is here defined as being God.  Now here's the kicker:


"The [Logos] became flesh and made his dwelling among us.  We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth...No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father's side, has made him known." John 1:14, 18


  Say what?!  The driving force of the universe became flesh and dwelt among us?!  He came to make the divine known?!


  I think the Ephesians may have been presented with a story that was familiar to them but with an unexpected twist.  Instead of fire, the driving force of the universe appeared in the form of an infant.  Instead of a divine being or divine beings that did not communicate with humans, God came to dwell with humans and make Himself known to them.  As John would later continue, the driving force of the universe also took on flesh and was born to be the atoning scarifice for all of mankind.  He was the baby that was delivered so that He may deliver us all.  My teacher for this class said that one of the appeals of Christianity to the Gentiles was the fact that this personal, loving God was so different from the gods they had been taught about.


  There's something so humbling about knowing that the driving force of the universe willingly became a helpless infant- all to willingly die on a cross for our sins.  How could one not worship Him?  he is so worthy of all our adoration and praise!

The Middle of Starting Over

"Take it on faith

Now I'm ready to fly

I'm in the middle of starting over

Back to the beginning

Gonna hit rewind

Chance to do it over

Get it right this time"

Beautiful words from Sabrina Carpenter's song "The Middle of Starting Over", which may just be my new obsession.  It gives words to where I'm at in life right now.  This is the beauty of what Christ gives us.  A chance to rewind- to go back to the begiining and get it right with the help of the Holy Spirit.

In the midst of a broken world, Paul tells us in Ephesians 4:22-24 and 2 Corinthians 5:17-19







"You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new elf, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness."

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the new has come!  All this is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them.  And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation."

And so, the old is gone and the new has come.  However, I'm finding that it's more like a process of the old going and the new coming.  Reconciliation has been completed by Christ, but the work of the Holy Spirit to bring my heart into alignment with God's will and who He meant for me to be is a process.  It's a messy process as the old and the new collide.  It's becomes hard to define yourself when you're not quite who you used to be and not yet who God is transforming you into.  I can't imagine a better phrase to describe this time as being in the middle of starting over.

I no longer see myself as drifting through life.  Christ has given me freedom , and together God and I are redesigning my life.  Perhaps redesigning my life isn't the correct term, though.  His design was already perfect; it's more like coming back to His design.  It's home- where I'm meant to be.  It's scary, but also beautiful and filled with abundant joy.  Hope, love, faith, peace, and joy fill this place. 

I think this also applies to where we are in history as well.  God's perfect design has been torn apart by sin.  He has been trying to bring us back to the beginning since the fall of man.  Christ's death and resurrection and the sending of the Holy Spirit to dwell among us is God's plan to do so.  Yet we are still awaiting perfection.  We're in the middle of starting over.  And we're working towards a very happy ending!

We don't usually think of there being a middle to starting over, but I can't think of a better way to explain my experience with the going of the old and the coming of the new.  I'm in the middle of starting over- and it's a beautiful place to be!


Here's the link to the video for the song:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJDGXg6IiT4





Thoughts on Death

I've been thinking a lot about death lately.  It's something that we were never meant to experience, but is the inevitable result of sin.  "You will not surely die," says the serpent.  Wisdom stands at the crossroads and shouts, "Choose life!  Stay away from the path that leads to death!"  Yet, so often we listen to the cunning serpent instead, believing that we will not surely die.  And all may seem well at first.  Yet death creeps in, and it doesn't just affect us.  It affects those around us, and it affects the God who travels that path to save us from the death we brought upon ourselves. 


As Christians, we are all one body.  1 Corinthians 12:26 tells us that, "If one part suffers, every other part suffers with it."  We can't sin and have it only affect us.  The rest of the body suffers as well, including the Head, which is Christ.  Lately, I've found myself mourning the fact that I hear so many Christians saying that sin is no big deal.  In John 10:10, Jesus says, "The thief come only to steal, kill, and destroy."  The thief, of course, is Satan, but do we not realize that sin is how he accomplishes those three goals?  That sin is responsible for all of our relational hurts and for the broken state of the world that causes other hurts?  That sin is what put Christ on the cross?  Or have we forgotten?


Love is what is supposed to characterize Christians.  Even the world knows that.  But what does that love look like?  So many people seem to think that means overlooking sins and making sure people feel good about themselves.  Yet, when I read the Gospel, I see nothing warm and fuzzy about the cross.  Christ despised it's shame.  Yes, He endured it because He loves us, but He was also fulfilling God's desire of creating a people who would wholeheartedly follow and obey God with the help of the Holy Spirit.   It was to cleanse us from sin, not to permit it.  Our redemption came at the greatest price that could ever be paid.  How then, can we say that the very thing that killed the God we love is no big deal?  And if our sin hurts God that much and hurts ourselves and those around us, how can we love the way Christ loves us without confronting sin?  If sin is the problem, let's address it instead of hiding it.  And let's start with ourselves.  We all have fallen short and are in need of grace.  Let's acknowledge that.  But let us not acknowledge it and call it acceptable.  Let's move foward to the healing Christ is waiting to offer.


That new life requires death.  Death of things that may be dear to us.  It's not easy.  It hurts.  It's confusing.  We don't always know what God is leading us into; we can only trust that if He is leading us out of something then He is leading us into something better- out of the land of slavery and into His promised land of abundance.  It's all new and we get frustrated in the pain and confusion, but if we continue to follow Him believing in His goodness, we will experience things better then anything we ever could have imagined.  Most importantly, we will experience His presence.  Death sucks.  We will probably feel like the disciples felt after the crucifixion- like all hope was lost, fearful of their futures, wondering if they could still trust this person they'd placed all their hope in now that things don't seem to be going the way they thought they would. 


And then comes the resurrection!  New life arises from the grave.  The old is gone and the new is here.  The enemy came to steal, kill, and destroy, but Christ came so that we may have life and have it to the full, and that's what was accomplished through the crucifixion and resurrection.  I recently heard a sermon where the pastor talked about Christians trying to live in the power of the resurrection while avoiding the pain and suffering of the cross.  We can't do that.  We have to experience death in various sorts.  We have to die to our sins.  It's a process and a struggle, but it's necessary and Christ made that clear.  Loving God and loving others will come at a cost.  It's messy.  It's inconvenient.  It hurts.  But the fruit that it bears has no comparison.  It brings joy and blessing and peace.  Even experiencing God's love isn't easy when we are living in sin because many of the blessings He longs to give us can only be received through obedience.  Obedience isn't something to take away our pleasures, but something that will allow us to be blessed beyond all measure.  God's not trying to make us miserable; He's trying to give us better gifts than we can even imagine, but sin will steal those gifts away. 


I want to live in the resurrected life, not in my old ways.  I want to be restored, and I long to see the entire body of Christ restored.  Just as all parts suffer if one does, all parts rejoice when one part is honored.  I pray that all parts would be healed so that the glory of Christ would be seen through the church.  My prayer is that the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ and nothing short of that will be lived out by the church, thus drawing others to God.  May we not forsake either the crucfixion or the resurrection; may we be dead to our sins and fully alive in Christ.

Jehovah Jireh

     The name Jehovah Jireh means "The LORD our provider".  Last week, I witnessed a beautiful testimony of this while I was on a mission trip to San Diego with 14 other people from my church.  On Wednesday evening, we had the privilege of serving hot meals to homeless people in Chula Vista.  A small amount of clothing was also available for the people to sort through after they finished eating.

     One of the women we met that night had walked to San Diego from Arizona.  Understandably, her shoes were very worn.  She asked our youth minister Joe if we had any shoes.  Joe didn't know if there would be any, but went to go look.  Sure enough, there was 1 pair of shoes and they were her size.  When Joe brought them back to her, she began to cry and said that she could now look for a job since she had shoes.  It was as if God had made sure that both she and those shoes were there that night so He could give them to her.  Jehovah Jireh- the LORD provided.

     I think that night was a favorite for many of us because it was one of the few serving activities that we di where we actually got to interact with the people we were serving.  Sorting through donated clothes didn't seem as exciting because we didn't get to see the faces of the people who would receive them.  Yet the way God provided for this woman gave us a glimpse of the way people would be blessed by our service.

     Wanting to continue the work God had been doing in our hearts during the trip, we tried to find things we could take home with us to make a difference here in Modesto.  As we sorted through clothes, I kept remembering all the clothes I have in my closet that either don't fit or that I simply don't wear.  I've intended to go through my closet for awhile now, but I never actually get around to it- that is, until today.

     So what's so different about today?  Today I walked out of the house to find a plastic bag in the front door to collect clothing for disabled American veterans.  As I sort through my closet looking for clothes to donate, I know that God already knows the names and faces of the people who will be receiving them.  God is in the process of providing clothes for people who need them.  That bag on the door?  That was my invitation to join Him.  That was Him asking me to give Him clothes that I no longer use and allow Him to bless someone else through them.  That was Jehovah Jireh in action.

Monster In Me

I have the privilege of volunteering with the Art Resores Kids program at my local Family Justice Center. Now, I am not very artistic myself, and fortunately, this is not a requirement. One of the workshops we do with the children, called "Monster in Me" involves coloring with cray-pas, spraying the paper with water, and then painting over it with water colors. I liked the effect this had and decided to try it at home and just have fun with it instead of creating a monster as one would do during a "Monster in Me" workshop. This is one of the pictures I worked on this Lent:

 

As I was painting it, I realized that it is, in a way, representative of a monster in me.  A monster named sin.  A monster that seeks to steal, kill, and destroy, all the while deceiving me into thinking that it is making me happy.  A monster that put the one and only, blameless Son of God through an unjust trial, beat Him, mocked Him, and crucified Him.  Yes, the bloodstained cross reveals to me that there is a monster in me.

Yet at the same time, the empty cross reveals a bigger, brighter picture to me.  That cross was the battlefield on which Christ took on that monster- and WON!  As beaten up as that monster left Christ, it was the monster who was defeated.  The monster was left nailed to a cross, while Christ rose from the dead, ascended to Heaven, and sent His Spirit to live in me.  No longer monster in me, but Christ in me!

This Lent, I have felt the battle between Christ and that monster more than I ever have before as that battle plays out in my heart.  That monster won’t die without a fight.  Fortunately, Christ already won and this Easter weekend I get to celebrate Christ’s victory over the monster that sought to kill me and take part in the life which Christ has to offer.  This Easter, I get to remember that because of the cross and the resurrection, it is no longer monster in me, but Christ in me!  And THAT is a reason to celebrate!