This
is not what I intended this to be; it isn't even the second or third
thing I thought it would possibly be. I am now simply calling it,
Dismantling the American Jesus, and I may even add Pt 1 to that as it
may turn out to be a multi-part work, but...it may end in the next 5
minutes, who knows....
Some things you should know up front:
I
am not a person that is prone to regurgitating pre-formulated thoughts,
or who likes to resort to cliché/path of least resistance type
thinking.
I believe that if you can not be honest
then you can not be anything that is worthy of being, for it will all be
built on the shaky foundation of lies and will eventually crumble under
its own weight.
The blessing being the curse as
it often is, I have once more been given cause to think. So...here is my
honest thinking submitted for your reading, once more.
It
is, as usual, a stream of thought, complete with typos and spelling
errors. Clearly I need an editor, so try to overlook these things and
see my point through them. Remember, this a couch more than a classroom.
I
post here and on my blog, so you may interject, and comment
anonymously. I don't expect that anyone would care to be as "out there"
as I am told that I am.
And so it begins:
I have been thinking a good deal lately about failure in the context of living out one’s faith…
We
are a success driven culture, it is the nature of the free enterprise
culture to be so. I have seen (and sadly have been guilty of myself)
many believers shunned by other believers who might be failing, or who
have, in a very limited view, failed for fear of being dragged into
failure as well. It is shameful, and this is not the way of the Jesus I
find in the bible, regarding those who may stumble in their pursuit of
righteousness, nor should it be ours.
Jesus lived among
the sinners, was shunned by the self-righteous religious leaders of his
own day for doing so, rejected and labeled as a failure. He dared to
challenge the traditional religious’ (and political hierarchy contained
within) concepts of righteousness in pointing out that simply meeting
the letter of the law was not by any means embracing the heart of the
intention behind the law. In challenging them to re-think their
practices, and examine their hearts, they understood that this would be
the undoing of their greatest source of self-pride, the power structure,
and the financial gain they enjoyed so greatly, by the strict
regulation and religious burden on those who’s desire was truly that of
God’s heart. At the outset, they knew he must be silenced, and when
unable to outsmart him in religion, crucifixion suited the cause just
fine.
We will find the same is true of many of the
“religious” in our own day, and the greater the effect we have in
causing people to think and change, the more vocal and forceful the
protests will be.
In caring for the sinner, Jesus suffered
with and for them, then and us as well today. Even knowing the depth of
their failures, past, present and future, Jesus continued to see and
treat people for their potential so that they too might realize it
within themselves.
Consider Peter, while he was
passionate, this emotion also drove his decisions in which ever way the
wind blew. The other apostles must have seen this in instability him,
and probably saw it as a jab of sorts, when Jesus called him the rock.
Not unlike nicknaming an overweight person slim.
This was
not the case at all though. Jesus was sincere in his renaming of Peter,
because he alone knew the depth of failure Peter would reach, even
before calling him Peter. (Petra, the rock, Peter) He told Peter in
advance that he would deny Jesus 3 times. Peter refused to believe such a
thing, but to his own shame Peter did in fact do. But Jesus did not
hold this foreknown or previous failures against him, for he told Peter
that upon this rock (Peter) he would build his church, and so he did.
Peter's
identity was in Jesus, and Jesus in believing the best of Peter without
keeping score of his failures, allowed Peter to do things, which Peter
might never have done, or even considered as possible, on his own
strength. Amazing...
I believe that this is how we too are
viewed by Jesus, and we might not settle for spiritual mediocrity in
our lives, but go on to accomplish far more for the kingdom if we were
to find our own identity in Christ and believe this of ourselves.
This
idealistic attitude runs contrary to human nature's quest for
self-preservation and prosperity, and it is certainly counter to our
American culture, because in doing so we may indeed find ourselves in
situations where by we too suffer for the failures of others (on many
different levels) by actually suffering with them. I believe that by
showing compassion to others and making their failures our own, their
growth through those difficult times would foster at least some degree
of growth within ourselves for simply having done so. If our identity is
truly realized through Jesus then it is our calling. For is that not the work of the cross, a suffering for the failure of others?
I
believe that most of the answers we struggle with are in large part due
to the manner in which we approach our questions. A good deal can be
discerned about a person's level of maturity or depth of understanding
by the manner in which their questions are posed. We are wise to
remember as believers however that we are the finite attempting to
pursue the infinite, the imperfect creation in pursuit of our perfect
creator, a difficult task indeed, and impossible by our own merits!
In light of this, we must keep in mind that we are certain to fail at some point or another, along the way, and probably often.
Show me a man that has not failed, and I will show you a man that has not tried.
If
in our lives we wish to simply avoid failure, then all we must do is
simply avoid success, and I'm afraid this is the spiritual state of many
believers, including myself at times. We expect very little from God,
and ask that he return the favor. We have settled for being luke warm,
and Christ addresses that state as well in a far more than unfavorable
way.
Our modern culture is one of instant gratification,
and often our determination of failure, is such because we fail see the
realization of success manifested within reference to our own imagined
ideals of what success is, and within our own brief life spans. This is
not how success and failure work in a spiritual context.
Success
and failure cannot, if we are believers in God's sovereignty, be
concluded merely by our limited observation and short sightedness, it
must be considered as part of the whole, a much larger picture (God's
purpose), of which we have a very limited view.
God, being
eternal is not limited to time. Failure and success, as it were, is not
realized in a given moment, or within anyone's individual
accomplishments, it is rather realized within the context of eternity
and its part in achieving his ultimate purpose.
We might
consider "the failure of one the failure of all, and the success of one
the success of all" in choosing or failing, to support one another in
either.
In this process then, I have opted to go contrary
to what I see as the "normal" approach, by focusing on failure more than
success. Doing so has proven to be a very large and complicated task.
My original intention was to examine the life of Moses, who experienced a
great number of failures and successes, while being quite clever and
insightful. I have once again foiled my own plan however, and the
process has allowed me to make only some very basic, general
observations.
Failure is not an option...
Often
times not only is failure AN option, it is THE option, as it is
required for our growth and in achieving God's purpose. Especially when
it is considered within the context of salvation, recognizing and
admitting failure by our own strengths is mandatory, or we negate the
mission of Jesus himself.
I we could do anything but fail, even in our best attempts at righteousness, then the cross has no meaning.
I
find it quite comforting that the bible is so free in exemplifying the
failures of so many of its heroes, and in this regard I find that I do
often look at the life of Moses.
God instructed Moses to
return to his homeland of Egypt, from which he fled as a murderer years
prior. He told Moses to talk to Pharaoh, instructing him to request that
he let the Hebrews (slaves at the time) go into the wilderness to have a
feast in honor of their God. However, and this is the part I really am
inspired by, God also tells Moses that he will fail. Get it? It was a
part of the plan; Moses would, as a mandatory part of accomplishing
God's will, FAIL! He in fact, failed as a part of God's plan many times,
and I believe so do we.
God's ways being higher than ours
ways, and his thoughts higher than our thoughts, it is he that will
have the final determination in defining our successes or failures, and
it is ultimately not within our control. While success rather than
failure is our goal, it is our perception of their purpose that will
determine our response to these situations and what we do with them, and
in the grand scheme what we perceive as either may be totally
incorrect.
It seems to me we are more prone to
introspection, thinking, learning and growing into maturity through our
discomforts and afflictions, more so than we are in our comfort and
success, as those seem more often to create within us complacency,
self-centeredness, and pride. It is rare to recognize our need for God
when we are comfortable, but in our failures we recognize our
hopelessness and cry out to him.
On the return from a
short-term mission trip to impoverished Mexico, I asked the prople
around me what one thing they walked away with. The consistently the
answers were based in gratitude for the affluent American lifestyle.
This was deeply saddening to me because not one person seemed to notice
the passionate worship and deep level of commitment to faith these
people possessed.
Is our vision so focused on material wealth that we are blinded to our spiritual poverty?
As
we tend to require so much of it ourselves in the process, failure is
also a great catalyst for learning the importance of extending grace and
mercy in order to encourage others to press forward as well, not
accepting failure as defeat, but as part of a process. Many times I have
received such encouragement, when it would have been far easier to be
crushed by judgment and condemnation, regardless of how accurate those
assertions may have been. (Sadly though, the opposite has also been the
case far too often, and it has proven to be most disheartening and
disillusioning when un-grace is so generously distributed by those
claiming the name of Christ.)
We may view many failures as
successes in a certain sense, both for others and ourselves if only in
that regard. Often times in extending the opportunity for growth to
others we too seem to grow.
Again, we can look to Jesus to
see the attitude of non-judgment very clearly exemplified for us, as a
pattern for living, which we should strive to attain. I will say though,
that in looking to Jesus as our example we should look at the bigger
picture, not expecting that the graces and mercies we extend will, as a
matter of natural course, be returned, for we too will at times fail to
do the same.
We should also recognize at this point, that
Christ was very good to point out sin as the root cause for many
afflictions, calling for repentance rather than doling out the judgment
that he alone would have been justified to administer or by addressing
the mere symptoms of sin without also addressing the underlying cause.
We
are often people who sparingly extend our graces and mercies. When we
do it is primarily based on the realization that within our own lives,
we require the same. Compassion is consequently often born out of our
own life experiences, and a person failing to encompass these things has
most likely not recognized them having been or being extended to them,
or perhaps even their need for them.
In some cases the
failure to extend these graces may in fact just be a symptom of issues
people are dealing with internally. On a darker note, and please forgive
me, they may in fact not be believers at heart. Most likely you will
never know these last two, and it will be up to you to extend the grace
you have not been afforded and move on.
Love does not keep score, and you may find one day that you too (heaven forbid) are that person.
Jesus
was generous to extend these things to those who asked sincerely, and
he alone knew the extent of our sad human condition in doing so.
Part 2 Hang on, it's going to be a bumpy ride...
I
used to get quite frustrated that many of the answers that Jesus gave
in response to (seemingly) very direct questions, were often vague
shadows of answers, portrayed in stories and left open for
interpretation. I was dumbfounded when I read his response for doing so
as being so that some would indeed not understand them. This seemed
unfair and contrary to the loving Jesus I worshipped. I have found a
certain understanding of this, however, through my own experiences.
Many
of the answers we seek cannot be presented to us as mere formulas for
success. There is usually a much larger picture that we fail to
comprehend in asking many of our questions and the nature of many of the
answers we seek are a result of our desire to relieve symptoms, rather
than solving the root cause of them. As I previously touched on, Jesus
did not allow this as an option, and does not address our problems
without also addressing their underlying causes.
This is a
blessing in my opinion, as it seems God is always good to give us what
he knows we need, rather than what we seek as a result of our perceived
needs. Anyone with children will understand the frustration of them,
when instead of candy we offer a meal, or instead of watching a late
night movie they must go to bed. They cannot understand why their
greater good is entirely contrary to their wishes. We too often operate
as children when it comes to our requests of God to meet "our needs".
Although
many situations are the same in nature, no two situations are really
ever the same in circumstance if/when we are discussing those in which
people are involved. That being the case, even if it is only we who are
involved in those situations, there is again the one person involved,
with skewed and limited perspectives, ourselves.
With that being said, I have come to a couple of conclusions, over the years.
1) There are answers in life that can be found, but that the simple imparting wisdom will not satisfy.
In
many instances, unless we can work through the given situation that has
made us aware of our need for such an answer, we would not accept,
recognize, or comprehend these answers. These are often answers that
risk rejection by trying to simply explain them, without having
experienced them firsthand. However sincere our desire to help may be,
we do a certain dis-service when we try to do so.
To grow
in our maturity of anything, but especially in our faith, is a process
more than a product, and so we must see one step through to its end,
before we can proceed to the next.
2) I have found that
youth, either chronologically or in regard to our spiritual quest,
affords us a strong certainty of things which our later experiences and
maturity will simply not allow.
Immaturity would have us
believe that the world is quite small, and is comprised primarily of
what we perceive it to be by our own senses.
Children can
be cruel and lacking in compassion. By virtue of their own limited
experiences they simply cannot understand or relate to the needs of
others, or what it takes as an adult to meet those needs. They assume
the perspective of others must be the same as their own, if they
consider those things at all, because of their ignorance. Any parent
knows, and forgives this, because that's how children are and it's a
part of the process of growing into maturity.
The other
complicating factor in children is that they tend to paint the world
with the brush of their own experience. My experience is that of being
born into the American culture. To be born again in large part to being,
and being surrounded by purely cultural Christians. Christians by
proxy.
The faith we have been handed by our predecessors,
is a faith that is so intertwined with the American dream and political
agendas, that the deciphering and separation of the biblical Jesus and
the American Jesus is almost impossible if our reliance is strictly
based in the teachings of popular "Christian" celebrities, and even
sincere but duped local leaders and teachers.
I have found
that even among people who seem to see themselves as being fairly
knowledgeable about the bible and its teachings, however "good" their
intention, feel that their understanding of scripture is most certainly
the "correct" meaning of any given text in the bible.
While
I certainly wouldn't expect anyone to profess belief in something they
actually didn't, what I have found is that many of these folks seem to
read into the bibles teachings what isn't there by failing to remove
their personal and political agendas at the outset. Perhaps not
consciously, they in effect make their cause God's cause, when God's
cause should be theirs. In doing so they put themselves in a very scary
position of divine judgment for misrepresenting God and his word.
Although
we fancy ourselves to be independent thinkers very few of us actually
take the time or extend the effort to read and understand the very
scriptures we profess to believe. Because we profess but don't practice
our faith we are easily convinced to follow blindly, those who would
lead us astray.
I'm certain that I too must be guilty of all of this to a large degree, although I struggle daily not to be.
We live in a culture that allows, encourages, and rewards non-thinkers.
We
hold fame to be a virtue, give credit where it is not due, and
celebrate the accomplishments of those that have accomplished nothing.
We are a shallow people often believing that in parroting the thoughts
of other popular and apparently more intelligent people that we too will
appear to be thinking independently, as they are, and in doing wrongly
esteem ourselves quite highly.
This thinking is as
immature as seeking acceptance from your peers by wearing the t-shirt of
a band, or dawning a logo as to provide instant status and credibility,
simply by association. Sadly, we seem to buy in to this logic quite a
bit as well.
So, where am I going with all of this?
Well
In considering the determination of success and failure, as Christians
we fail when we do not seek. While it is clearly good to seek teaching,
we must also validate that teaching with our own study and pursuit of
God's heart in doing so.
To me, as a believer, this is the
only true failure. All other failures are merely stepping stone
failures. The sorts of failures that can prepare us for real success
when we learn from them whatever it is God intends to teach us as a
result.
These are the sorts of failures contained within
scripture, for it is not God who fails, but we who fail when we seek to
live by our own wisdom and strength instead of searching for and
submitting to God's providence.
The highest and most
honorable success we may hope to have is that of being used by God for
the manifestation of his glory and work through our lives. If this is
our goal then failure is only a part of the process in finding success.
I will close with these final thoughts:
1)
One failure may be the catalyst to a great number of later successes,
but one success may require many failures before coming to fruition.
2) Our greatest successes will be our greatest failures if Christ alone is not at the center of them.
Let your ultimate hope lie in the ultimate hope...
