Glass House and Living Temples

Have you ever been enraged by an injustice? Whether something we see happening on a global scale or a wrongdoing that has personal affects, it is natural for humans to seek justice. We have been made in the image of a holy and righteous God. It is His sense of justice that burns in us, though perhaps twisted by the Fall.

Earlier this week, I saw a documentary entitled "Nefarious: Merchant of Souls". It tracked the global connections between human trafficking, sexual slavery, and prostitution. The film infuriated me as it revealed the story of exploitation and abuse going on throughout the world.

I seethed with rage at these men who victimized young women and girls. I hated the traffickers, clients, and pimps who made injustice a reality. I hated myself. I hated every time I engaged in injustice, every time I was complicit with exploitation through action and through silence.

I'm reminded of the saying, "People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones." It's difficult to be sincere about the flaws and brokenness of others when you are suffering with flaws and brokenness. Jesus said it this way, "Let anyone of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her."

The beautiful part of this story about an adulteress being condemned by these Jewish men: that He who was without sin did not see fit to stone her. At Jesus' words, the men confronting Him saw their own guilt and flaws in this women. They dropped their stones in response to recognizing their shared broken humanity with the women.

But what about the sinless Son of God? He tells her, "Go now and leave your life of sin." He sees what she could be, what she was made to be. A reflection of God's own image, a carrier of the divine spark, a co-heir of the Kingdom of God.

In Matthew 12, someone mentions Jesus' brothers and mother and He responds by saying, "For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother." Jesus saw the potential in the adulterous woman to repent of her lifestyle, follow Him, and be born again into God's own family. Paul called Christ the "first born of many brethren"; should we then be filled with condemnation when anyone at any moment has the potential to choose Christ and become our brother or sister?

In his letters to the Corinthians, Paul refers to the body of believers as a living temple of God. As human beings turn away from the world, the Spirit of God dwells within us. We are transformed from flawed and broken creatures to be what God made us to be, reflections of His own divine image. We are remodeled from glass houses to living temples.

That was the great part about the Nefarious documentary. The end of the film described stories of people being restored from the depravity of sexual slavery by the life in Jesus Christ. Not only the prostitutes, but the clients and traffickers experienced resurrection as well.

We should fight against injustice in its many forms. We are called to be a voice for the weak and vulnerable. We ought to pray for the world to conform to God's perfect will. We need to work towards restoration and resurrection for the victims. And the perpetrators.

You Should Not Go To Church

I am going to build a little bit on the end of Nathan’s last blogpost, so if you missed it, I invite you to go back and read it.  Towards the end, Nathan draws the analogy of Christians to analog clocks, in that just as analog clocks are represented by continuously variable physical quantities, we are also to be continuously representing Christ in our lives. 

One of the major breakdowns in this representation comes from our understanding of the term church.  Phrases such as “It’s time to go to church”, “I go to church on Sundays and Wednesdays”, “We are going to meet at the church”, or “Where do you go to church?” give rise to the definition of church as a building or place. 

Yet, throughout the New Testament, whenever the term church is used, it never once references a structure.  Rather, the individual is referencing the either the entire collection of saints in the world, or a particular group of saints in a city.  Here are a few of these examples:

“If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.”  Matthew 18:17

“So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied.”   Acts 9:31

“To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” 1 Corinthians 1:2

“Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church” Colossians 1:24

I have often used the phrase “I’m going to church” or invited others to “come to church”, as I am sure most of us have.  The question is whether it is wrong or not?  Are we not simply attributing a modern day usage of the term to a structure?  Doesn’t it make things easier calling the building a church as well?  Isn’t it more convenient to say “I’m going to church” rather than “I’m going to the building on 413 Ash St. to worship this morning with the church”?

However, I believe the effects are more damaging than we might realize.

Take for example our modern day use of the word “love”.  The term is often used to describe a middle school relationship,  a stage in life such as college, or even a sandwich.  I made a sandwich the other day and threw part of it out because I was full.  What happens when we stop loving others when we have had enough?  This is not the love of the Bible for sure.

Again, take our modern day approach to marriage.  It is a commitment so long as both parties are enjoying one another.  It is a vow for better and only for the better, not for better or worse.  Contrast that with the biblical view of marriage: a lifelong commitment that God has ordained.  It is a gift so that mankind would not be alone.  When struggles arise, it is a gift to have someone to struggle with (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12). 

Similarly, today’s culture has distorted our view of what church should be.  If church is a place we go to, then our church behaviors and actions are limited to that place.  We only have to love and serve while at church, we can swear so long as it is not in church, and while we would never think to show up to church drunk, it is ok to do so outside the church walls.  After all, Jesus will forgive us on Sundays.

Our modern day definition of church has allowed us to compartmentalize our lives so that Jesus is a box we address one or two days out of the week, but does not interfere with the other aspects of our daily habits.  Essentially, we are giving ourselves freedom to sin while opposing our spiritual transformation.

However, if we define church in terms of the body of Christ, then we recognize we are the church everywhere we go.  In this light, we must love others constantly, serve others consistently, and allow God to permeate all areas of our lives.  With the help of the Holy Spirit, we become the analog representations of Christ that our Heavenly Father desires us to be. 

We need to be aware that everything we do helps shape and form what others believe about church and about God.  If we do not love others outside of Sundays, then outsiders will believe God loves the same.  If we live like the prodigal son outside of Sundays, then others will learn to live the same.  If children grow up thinking the church is a place they go to, they will be hindered in their understanding of what the church should be, should do, and should look like.

We are the new temple that God chooses to rest inside, therefore let God be proclaimed loudly through our lives. 

Finally, may this past Sunday be the last day you ever go to church.

Has your faith gone digital?

Do you remember the cartoon ReBoot?  Bob, the guardian, would "mend and defend" the city of Mainframe not only from its enemies but also from "games", big purple cubes that drop into random sections of the city.  Bob would rush into the incoming game and be cast as a character in its environment where he would stop the "user" from beating it.  It was a great gimmick for a kid's show.  In one episode Bob could be a swashbuckling pirate captain, next week an ace pilot, or maybe a time traveling dinosaur hunter.

Bob's role changed in order to fit the environment in which he found himself.  I wonder if sometimes we mimic this same behavior.  I know that I can be found guilty of morphing to fit my environment.  It's easy to segment your behavior to fit the people you are with.  When hanging with the guys our senses of humor may tend to vary, certain jokes are funnier at a bar than they might be at, say, Bible study.

The faster our lives seem to be going, it becomes easier to splinter our personalities into a variety of aspects that will best suit each environment.  We are adaptable creatures.  It's a natural human coping mechanism.  Switching from the aggressive, no-quarter-given business attitude of the work week, to one of grace, love and worship on Sundays, becomes as easy as multi-tasking on your PC.  Like the clicking of a mouse, we can jump from one personality segment to another.

In fact, these distinctions are fundamental to the workings of the digital technology that surrounds us.  In a digital setting, everything is broken into distinct bits into a series of yes or no, 0 or 1, inputs.  These bits become bytes, kilobytes, megabytes and so on.  Everything has its definitive place and division.

Its the same way when a computer processes real life experiences such as sound or color.  A computer's recording of music isn't the same wave that you would hear from an instrument playing, instead it is a rapid-fire series of digital samples, something like 44,100 per second, each a individual decision about the sound.  Similarly, to a computer color is seen through a spectral gradient.  Where are eyes see pink meld into salmon, a computer sees salmon as Red=204 Green = 102 Blue = 102.  Each color is defined by a series of numbers and then put into a single image based on the number of pixels adding up to its resolution.

Now consider how we are inundated with digital technology.  Might this affect the way we interact with the world around us?

I've recently read and even quoted in this blog from authors that touch on this, Adam Frank, Douglas Rushkoff, or Grant Morrison.  An astrophysicist, a technological theorist, and a comic book writer, each at the top of their various fields.  And in each of their books I have found similar themes.  These authors have all articulated that human culture, technology, and beliefs are partners in a dance through the decades.  The technological advances we make affect how we interact with one another and what we believe about the world around us and vice versa.

But what about when those distinct divisions come in contact with a holy savior that plainly asks for all of you?

In fact Jesus said in Mark 12:30 that the greatest command was this:
"Love the Lord you God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength."

That doesn't leave much room for a segment of life which Christ doesn't touch.  We surrender all to Christ and make Him king of our entire lives.  Christ said that he came to give us "life, and have it to the full."  Paul encourages us in 1 Corinthians 11:1 to follow "his example as he follows Christ".

In this way we are more similar to analog technologies, than the digital ones that are filling our lives.  Analog is defined by Webster's as being a mechanism in which data is represented by continuously variable physical quantities." Consider an analog clock.  The hands are in constant movement, a physical representation of the passing time.  They display time to the eye in the same way we experience it in real life.  A digital clock by contrast makes decisive divisions between one minute to the next.

Similar to these analog technologies we are analogs of Christ.  To bear the name Christian is to literally be a "Little Christ" as Martin Luther put it.  We represent Him to the world AT ALL TIMES, not just on Sundays or Bible studies.  Consider how you can emulate Christ.  How you can grow to reflect His character each and everyday, so that we may accomplish the vision of Ephesians 4:13:

"...until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ."

Love for Enemies

There once was a man whom we were first introduced to as a thief.  He claimed he was too poor to work, so he had to steal to live.  He avoided authorities time and time again, never serving one day in jail.  He would eventually scheme, lie, and cheat his way to wealth and a perfect marriage.

We all rooted for him.  The entire way.  Thrilled at the end result.

There once was another man who was born in a small town.  He spent his time with the outcasts and thieves, constantly challenging religious authorities.  One day, he went into a religious building and destroyed most everything in it.  When asked to explain his actions, he claimed he was God himself.  Yet, amidst all of these accusations of wrongdoing, he was completely innocent. 

We did not believe him.  We demanded justice.  So we killed him.  Thrilled at the end result.

The first man: Aladdin

The second man: Jesus

As I sat in church today meditating on this thought, my heart sank.  When it comes to fictional characters it does not matter how ruthless, how heartless, how self-seeking they are, we will root for them if the writer tells us to.  However, when it comes to real people, individuals with God-given worth, our sinful nature is so inclined to pursuing justice instead of mercy that we will berate, tear down, and kill even the most innocent and helpless victims.

Again, this summer, during the College World Series, two men from a competing baseball team were caught stealing at a sporting goods store.  Yet, we were more concerned with crying out for their suspension from the tournament rather than telling them about Jesus. 

Where have we gone wrong?

In no way is our fight for justice a bad thing, we were born in God’s image and part of that reflection, part of that regenerating work of the Holy Spirit, is our desire for what is good.  Yet, let us not forget, in receiving the righteousness of God through Jesus we are receiving good for what we do not deserve.  Essentially, we have accepted good in return for our evil, yet are crying out for others to receive evil for their sins.  How is that just? 

The Bible teaches us in Matthew 5 that the sons of God love their enemies.  The greek word for love here is not storge (love of family), eros (sensual love), or even phileo (affectional or friendly love).  Instead it is agapao, self-sacrificing love. 

Agape love is a response to someone who is unworthy of love.  It is laying down one’s personal desires, motives, and rights for the good of others.  Agape love is the love that Christ showed us on the cross, sinners who were once his enemies.  However, He set all the sins of humanity towards His heavenly Father and sacrificed himself for our sake, not so we would be tolerable, but so we could have the most intimate of relationships with God the Father. 

This is the same love we are to show our enemies.  All of them.  To the boss who overloads us and shows us little respect, we are to show agape love.  To the friend who betrays us by spreading rumors, we are to show agape love.  To the Osama Bin Ladens, Saddam Husseins, and James Holmes’ of the world, who murder others with little concern….take a deep breath…..we are to show agape love.

Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you.  Pray that they would be redeemed.  Just as we were redeemed.  Liars, thieves, murderers all the same.

This past Sunday a man walked into the 9:00 service at Calvary church and sat in the second row.  When our Pastor, Mark, was sharing the gospel the man asked if it was true for everyone, even if you had murdered someone. 

Instead of overreacting, Mark calmly asked a few of the men in the church to talk to the man.  They answered his question and shared the gospel with him once again, and before the police came to escort him to jail, he prayed to receive Jesus into his heart, an enemy of God no more.  Instead, he is our brother in Christ.

The Lord can do incredible things in the hardened hearts of those the oppose Him, if only His people will pray and love them.  Not just with superficial love, but with that deep, sacrificial, agape love.  A love the changed the heart of the sinner who hung next to Jesus, the heart of a man named Saul, the heart of the man on Sunday, and the heart of you and I. 

As we go forward, may we lay aside our desire for justice and revenge, and instead extend the Grace and Love of God, not just to our friends, but to our enemies, that they, too, might know God.