I see things UPSIDE DOWN

Over the last couple of years, as I share my life with others and they share their lives with me, I am struck over and over again as to how we, as Christians, see things upside down!  What I mean by that is, the more I get to know God and His Kingdom principles, the more I am seeing that the things I have believed most of my Christian walk are not at all what God is asking of me and they are actually backwards and/or UPSIDE DOWN from what He desires from me.

About 3 or 4 years ago, our friends Al and Cindy, introduced us to a Derek Webb song called “What is not Love”, or “I see things upside down”. I have pasted the lyrics below for you.

What looks like failure is success                               

And what looks like poverty is riches

When what is true looks more like a knife

It looks like you’re killing me

But you’re saving my life

[Chorus]

But I give myself to what looks like love

And I sell myself for what feels like love

And I pay to get what is not love

And all just because I see things upside down

What looks like weakness can do anything

And what looks like foolishness is understanding

When what is powerful has not come to fight

It looks like you’re going to war

But you lay down your life

What looks like torture is a time to rejoice

What sounds like thunder is a comforting voice

When what is beautiful looks broken and crushed

And I say I don’t know you

But you say it’s finished

(I have tried to find the song to attach for you but could only find the lyrics.  If you ever get a chance, I would strongly encourage you to listen to it, it is very powerful!)

So, with this intro, I will start off with the first of a series on this topic.  Recently I was talking with a friend and she was sharing with me that she sometimes has conversations in her mind about what she would say to non believers if she ever had an opportunity to talk with them about the Lord and the truth of the Bible. Basically, she is mentally preparing herself for a verbal debate that may or may not ever happen.  Can you relate with that? I certainly can! I remember having those same “mental” conversations myself!  Usually after I had an unexpected conversation with a skeptic and then afterwards, thought of all the things I WISH I had said and rehashing in my mind over and over again how it should have gone!  I always felt so LAME in my responses and wished I had better answers and comebacks so that they could “see the light” and be convinced of the truth of the Bible and of Jesus by my words (insert “angelic” “ah-ha” music here).  I think the “key” aspect here is that these were “my” words…  And as I am thinking about this now, it sort of resembles the same trap I keep falling into in my marriage, with ME trying to FIX my husband!  I am continually trying to get him to “see the light” with my convincing words and see that “I” am right and he is wrong… which, for some reason, NEVER seems to work out the same way in reality as it does in my mind… (What’s up with THAT anyway :)

So, back to my point, why do we feel like it is “our” responsibility to “save” people and what does the Bible say about these things?  The following are some scriptures the Lord has brought to mind regarding this:

“Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6). Not through “Linda”, Tom, Bob, Sue, Jane or Mary… but through Jesus. And again, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him…” (John 6:44).  This says that unless the Father draws them, there is NOTHING we can say, or do, that will convince people of the truth of God.  It is the Holy Spirit’s job to convict them of their sin, drawing them to God with the revelation of their need for Him in their life.  This next scripture has become one of my life verses: “Wives, in the same way be submissive to your husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives, when they see the purity and reverence of your lives.” (1 Peter 3:1-2).  This scripture always convicts me!  The “without words” part is SO hard (especially in marriages)!  Not to mention how FAR I am from the “purity and reverence” part in my life!  This scripture pulls out and emphasizes the key aspect which is, that we need to LIVE the life OURSELVES, loving those around us as Jesus loves us (“Love each other as I have loved you” John 15:12), and then letting God do the rest. Don’t get me wrong here, I am not saying that God will never use us to speak words of truth into the lives of others, but I think that we tend to lean very heavily in the “words” department and not the “behavior” department.

Ah, but do I hear you saying, what about Matthew 28?!: “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." (Matthew 28:19-20).  Did you catch that?! How many times have we been taught that we are to make “converts” of all nations?  Why are we taught that it is our job to “save” people…??  It so clearly says to make “disciples of all nations… teaching them to obey”. The way I now see this scripture is that God draws people to Jesus and we are to disciple them. And, so now you may be asking “how do we do that?” I would offer up at this point, drawing from the 1Peter 3 scripture, that it is our LIVES and relationships with others that reveal God’s power.  It is HIS faithfulness and love being revealed to those who are watching and seeing the transforming work of God in our lives.  One of my favorite sayings is; “Preach the gospel at all times, when necessary, use words”!  I love it!  We have it backwards when we try to convince others, with “words” to have faith and to live a Godly, Christian life when we don’t/can’t/are not able to “live” it ourselves…

     If the truth be told, I think we would rather spend our time "arguing and debating" with people about the Bible than learning to love them and build relationships with them, which is so much harder to do and requires a whole different skill set! The scripture that comes to mind now is: "Don't have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels. And the Lord's servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone..." (2 Timothy 2:23-24). I think it is also because it is so much easier to see other people’s “sins” and issues than our own! And, let’s face it; it is also easier to try to fix other people instead of working on fixing ourselves.

     Our lives should be such an example of Christ’s love, compassion, kindness, mercy and grace (just like HIM) that it draws people to us and makes them want to know what we have that they don't.... so they will come to us and say, "what must I do to be saved!" (Acts 16:30). But, it takes a LOT of work, pain and humility to yield and surrender our “stuff” to God and allow Him to remove the things that keep us from Him, and allowing Him to transform us. When we are able to do this, this next scripture applies very nicely: “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have” (1Peter 3:15).  Did you pick up the “everyone who asks” part here?  When God is drawing people through us, they will be compelled to ask us so we don’t have to go to THEM but they will come to us.

What did Jesus say would be the way people would know we were his disciples? "…Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." (John 13:34-35).  A very important thing to note at this point is; we can’t give what we don’t have.  Until we allow Jesus to transform our hearts, minds and our lives, with His love, compassion and grace, we won’t have it to give to others… “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Matthew 6:33).  If we keep our eyes on Jesus and allow Him to make the needed changes in our hearts and lives He will do the rest through us.

 I will leave you with one last, but very familiar scripture: "Jesus replied: 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' (Matthew 22:37-39).

Lord, help me to focus on YOU and what You have asked me to do and not take upon myself the things that are not my job. Help me to just be the BRANCH and not try to do Your job. Please give me Your perspective and help me to see through Your eyes.  Most of all Lord, help me to keep my eyes on You, the author and perfecter of my faith, and allow you to transform me and fill me with your love, grace, peace, patience, kindness, goodness and self control so that it will overflow onto those You put before me.  In Jesus name, amen. 

ABIDING in the Trinity

A friend of mine recently asked me what my thoughts were on the Trinity.  That was a good question, and one that I had not thought about in awhile!  I told her I needed some time to think about it because I wanted to gather my thoughts before sharing them.  My understanding of the Trinity has changed and grown through the years but it is still not to the point where I have a clear grasp of it.  I realize I will never be able to get it completely, but I still wanted to spend some time praying about it and meditating on it before I randomly blurted something out. 

A day or two later I was reading the True Vine devotional by Andrew Murray (The True Vine) the scripture verse listed was John 15:4 “Abide in me and I will abide in you”. The first paragraph of the devotional gave a really great visual of the vine and branch grafting which I have copied below for you:

When a new graft is placed in a vine and it abides there, there is a twofold process that takes place. The first is in the wood. The graft shoots its little roots and fibers down into the stem, and the stem grows up into the graft, and what has been called the structural union is effected. The graft abides and becomes one with the vine… Then there is the second process, in which the sap of the vine enters the new structure, and uses it as a passage through which sap can flow up to show itself in young shoots and leaves and fruit. Here is the vital union. Into the graft which abides in the stock, the stock enters with sap to abide in it.  

Being a “visual” person, I absolutely LOVE imagery like this!  And then he goes on to say:

“When our Lord says: ‘Abide in me, and I in you,’ He points to something analogous to this. ‘Abide in me’: that refers more to that which we have to do. We have to trust and obey, to detach ourselves from all else, to reach out after Him and cling to Him, to sink ourselves into Him… Many believers pray and long very earnestly for the filling of the Spirit and the indwelling of Christ, and wonder that they do not make more progress. The reason is often this, the ‘I in you’ cannot come because the ‘abide in me’ is not maintained… The graft must have grown into the stem, and be abiding in it before the sap can flow through to bring forth fruit. It is as in lowly obedience we follow Christ, even in external things, denying ourselves, forsaking the world, and even in the body seeking to be conformable to Him, as we thus seek to abide in Him, that we shall be able to receive and enjoy the ‘I in you.’ The work enjoined on us: ‘Abide in me,’ will prepare us for the work undertaken by Him: ‘I in you.’ …”

On a side note, after reading this, it was like a light bulb went on in my head when I read the second paragraph!  We wonder why the “Power” of the Holy Spirit is not displayed in our lives today like it was in the Biblical days?  Well, I think THIS is the answer!  We are not sinking into Christ to the point where He is sinking into us so the “sap” is not able to flow through us to produce the desired fruit!  We are not: “trust[ing] and obey[ing], detach[ing] ourselves from all else, to reach out after Him and cling[ing] to Him, ]or] sink[ing] ourselves into Him… denying ourselves,[and] forsaking the world…” which ultimately is the true sense and meaning of the word “ABIDE”.  Christ and the Holy Spirit can only work in and through us after we abide in HIM and then the power of the Holy Spirit will be able to flow through us!  As much as my heart LONGS to do this, I know I am still so far away from actually accomplishing it!  My flesh still rules my heart and life and I have not “detached” myself from all else…  Lord, help me get there!

Anyway, back at my original thought on the Trinity. I just happened to be walking with my friend that morning who had asked me about the Trinity and, as I was sharing this devotional with her, the Lord gave me another “visual” that helped me to see the Trinity in a new way. The "husbandman" is the Father; He works the vineyard and puts things into place. Christ is the True Vine that facilitates the bringing up of the branches and the bearing of the fruit and the Holy Spirit is the sap that flows through the Vine in order for the branches to produce the fruit!  When I got that visual, it reminded me of a trinity analogy I heard a couple of years ago; the Father is the designer and overseer of all things, Jesus is the facilitator who walks out the Father’s plans and the Holy Spirit is the Power that flows through Jesus to make it all happen.  They each have a part that they play and one can do nothing without the others.  They are dependent upon each other and they flow fluidly and effortlessly together in the work that they all 3 have determined to do.  Both of these ideas compliment each other and speak of basically the same thing and they help me understand the “Trinity” concept a little more.

After my walk with my friend, I came home and shared this thought and visual with Tom and he decided to look up on the computer the process of “grafting”.  Well, that took us even deeper and we walked away with three other aspects of “abiding” and “grafting” we had not thought about.  The first was that the Vine has to be "cut to the quick" or “wounded”, deep enough so that when the branch is grafted in, the “sap” can flow from the Vine into the new graft.  When we realized this, Isaiah 53:3 came to my mind, “But he was pierced for our transgressions…” Wow, that was an interesting thought and connection!  Second, it is necessary that WE, the “branch”, have to be cut and shaped as well in order to be able to be inserted and to abide in the Vine.  I am always hearing from the Lord that I need to be re-shaped and molded into the vessel that works best for HIS Kingdom and not mine… This is just another confirmation and a new way of seeing it. And third, in order for the new branch to stay, it has to be BOUND to the vine until the grafting is completed.  So, we need to allow God to "bind" us to Christ until we can get it on our own!!  That gives a whole new meaning to idea of becoming a “Bond-servant” of Christ! The visuals of “grafting” really helped to put this all together… and the Holy Spirit too, of course :)

So now how do I recap all of this?  I think the main point is our need to first abide and sink in to Christ so that Christ can then abide and sink into us. In order to do that, we need to focus on the key aspects of abiding which are to: “trust and obey, detach ourselves from all else, to reach out after Him and cling to Him, to sink ourselves into Him… denying ourselves, [and] forsaking the world…” Then, we need to allow Him to cut away the unnecessary parts of us so that we can sink in deep enough so that the SAP of the Holy Spirit can flow through us. And lastly, allow God to bind us to Him so that His Kingdom fruit is produced through us for His Glory!

As a closing thought, Tom brought up a really good scripture that also fits this analogy.  If you think about it, grafting is uniting two separate things and making them “one flesh”… “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. This is a profound mystery--but I am talking about Christ and the church.” (Ephesians 5:31-32)  Again, this is yet another example of how God uses His creation to show us that what happens in the natural also happens in the spirit!  Christ wants to become “one flesh” with us, His church, as we abide in Him!

Oh Father, help me to grasp these truths to the point of allowing You to do Your will in me.  Help me Lord to SINK into You so that You can sink into me so that we become “one”.  Help me to just be the “branch” and allow YOU to be the Vine and to surrender my all, giving up my dreams and my ideals of what I think you want from me, and just ABIDE in you.   Holy Spirit I long to have you flow freely through me so that Your fruit is produced and not mine, for Your Kingdom. Help me to get there Lord! In Jesus’ precious and Holy name, amen!