Friday, June 13, 2008

Ship of Fools: Part II

Childlike Gumpness

In our generation, the film Forest Gump captured the hearts and minds of many. The movie portrays a childlike character who manages to deal with life rather successfully, though not without pain. He was slow of mind but not of heart! Gump grew up before our eyes, not is smarts but in heart size. This may be a sign of our times, trying to say look, we can be child-like with out being childish.

But we need to grow up so we can quit hurting ourselves and others. Jesus also needed to grow up and did so in a wonderful way. Through his growth was not out of a necessity that he might hurt people, it was out of the other side of the coin, the necessity to live for people to help them do what they can’t do alone. For humanity both necessities are true for Jesus the latter was true. Looking at his experience gives us a helpful path to follow so we can grow up like Jesus.

The word became flesh: the incarnation as active chosen dependence.
God is the only one who is independent. In theology, it is called the self-sufficiency of God. He is the only independent being in the universe. When we live to prove we are all we need. We do not prove much. The dilution goes all the way down; we think we can achieve economic, relational, and emotional, independence. Even if by all appearances we have achieved our goal, such a person, in reality, is relationally dysfunctional, emotionally disordered, and may have a -Phat-FAT- Bank account but it is full of stuff God owns already!? So only it is foolish to say that I am all I need. Such verbiage, does not mean anything true unless you’re the “I AM” saying it!

But remember Jesus is the independent “I AM” of Heaven. Before time began, the Father Son and Spirit were happy, content, and full of joy, all by them-self. Only God can please God and God was happy! He was the happiest and still is a glad God! Yet after creation, after the fall, after God’s people built and destroyed the promise land, Jesus stepped out of an existence of independence Glory and Gladness, and into a stable. He decided to make himself dependant. Even to the conditions of humanity. He never needed air before; he never needed to breathe to sustain his life. When our independent self talk’s sounds like we are trying to prove that our survival is dependent on me! We are fools. All we need do is tried to stop breathing and we will learn that we live because we are dependent. I am always amazed when people living in such selfish vacuums never suffocate? But I found out the secret! They keep breathing, they need air! Don’t tell them it will crush there fragile egos?!

Jesus modeled dependence. He showed us its value. He became dependent and let even the forces of life overshadow him. As a baby, He was vulnerable to the cut of a sword, open to attack and dependent on so much more than was worthy of him. Yet he actively chooses dependence so he can help others and give God the glory he properly deserves. He had cling to his mother and drink for her breast. The king of heaven, the word made Flesh has to cling to a person that needed him more than she could understand; He had to depend on her for protection, nourishment, and life. Jesus, the word became flesh, Independent God became dependent man to show the love that can not be manipulated and the glory of an independent God! Dependences is important, our salvation (Jesus) had to go through it and if you are to grow up, It must be a value. An ultimate concern that lives at the base of your brain, where every thought that passes by is reminded you’re not a product of our own genius, and every action is condition and conformed in the humility this one golden thought can produce. Dependence is important because it is an inescapable reality, the gate to humility and the glory of humanity!

Teen JESUS
At 13 Jesus had his Bar mitzvah. The Jewish rite of passage, when a boy is declared a man by the community. At this time Jewish boys are confirmed as being a “man of the commandments.” The Bar Mitzvah is an introduction to the community. The boy is confirmed as having the responsibilities of an adult Jew under Jewish law. This means that this rite in not giving them any “rights” as American rites of passage do. For example Americans have two. 1. The 16th birthday party: we get the right to drive. Another is the 21st birthday party. When an American turns 21 normally he or she is taken out to party and gets there first alcoholic drink (legally) followed by first hangover (again legally).[1] The Jewish boy is given responsibility. These things include:

*Moral culpability. They are morally responsible for their own actions.
*Be part of the spiritual ministry in the community. They can be called to read from the Torah.
*Become responsible to be a productive and wise user to things. They can own what they possess as personal property.
*They become “men of the commandments.” They must follow the 613 laws of the Torah.

If truth be told- the way one learns to grow up begins with responsibility. No self-responsibility where you take care of yourself, and “look after number one”. This responsibility is a Jesus like responsibility, which can be summed up in three ways. (read them slowly I packed much into them)

One, actively seek to grow in an ability to respond rightly to circumstance and possession in such a way that one’s words and actions reflect the glory of God. Responsible actuality means “able to respond” thus being a person that can take punishment or honor and respond as a “man of the commandments”.

Two, committing to being a person that lives Corum Dei –before the face of God- in full ownership of the whole self (mind will emotions) and holding a posture of real, raw, undiluted honesty and vulnerability before God empty of false projections of the self, spiritual dilutions of grander and identity masks. A life in sacred space - Where God is taken with ultimate seriousness thus it follows His word grasps the soul with an ultimate concern. From such a grasping sin is taken with ultimate seriousness a real offence against one so great.

Three, seeking to loose self-importance in the betterment of the lives and joys of others. Thus taking action in becoming a person of real consideration by a posture of being “your brothers keeper”, without being a fault finder, fruit inspector, self-righteous condescending guilt dispenser” and by concerning yourself with caring to the need (spiritual, emotional mental and physical) of other, encouraging the vision of others, and Loving the hell out of other! In short, being responsible like Jesus means being God-centered and other-minded. Where we love people in the Love we know God has for us, and Love God in the Love he has for himself.

When JESUS was wet behind the ears.
Jesus when he was baptized knew who he was. He was the son of God in whom the father was well pleased. The words came as a confirmation and marked the beginning of his public ministry. Two beautiful truths rise from this moment in Jesus’ life. First, Jesus lived from God’s affirmation over him not a self-affirmation. Have you ever heard someone say in independent smugness, “I am satisfied with who I am” or I am happy being me” or my favorite, “I like who I am.” Now, there is not room in God’s kingdom for whiners, gripers, and complainers that just want to bitch and mown about how bad they are. this we can all agree on, Yet when such positive self-affirmations are made from self-loving people, the sound makes God sick to his stomach. Such positive affirmations sound to God as unpleasant as the whiners and complainers sound to us. Please understand God hates both, one misses to the right the other to the left. One is full of manipulation and unbelief the other of pride and self-affirming independents! One gets a morbid ungodly pleasure out of putting themselves down and the other draws a line in the sand, telling God – “YOU WILL NOT CHANGE ME!!” The implication is that sanctification is finished when we are “happy” rather than holy. Interestingly, when we are holy, not the fake “southern Americanized” holiness, I mean the real thing that contagious holiness of being ardent worshiper. A WHOLE burning Human (Rom 12:1-4) A person that lives on the alter but is not consumed by the fire much like the Burning bush in exodus 3. A person of Holy blindness, one in the Spirit’s sanctifying flame of self-sacrifice becomes blind to the self. A lucid self-forgetfulness that touches all areas of life. Self-forgetful in worship, self-forgetful in doing good, living out of Jesus-like habits that do not conform to this world but baffle and fascinate, repulse and attract those in the world. It is a “holy” that is also responsible freedom and passionate life, enigmatic expression and a reckless joy, we are not just happy but holy and baptized in pleasure. When someone lives outside of self and into the story that’s bigger than them unordered pleasures that look as they are “out of place.”

Two, Jesus did not live and help other to Gain God’s pleasure, he touched lives from a place of knowing God was pleased with him. We are never working for God’s pleasure but for it. His gladness that is present in our lives by grace, that grace that calls us child is the grace we live and doing and help others from. this is dependant living faith that takes hold of God’s pleasure over them and grows up into it. Who he thinks you are is all you need to know who you are to grow into. The path we follow is always laid by the things that concern us and the people that inspire us. So who do you want to be down the road is where your heart is today. So find your heart in grace and turn your heart to his pleasure.


[1] That is not to condone or promote drinking or came Jesus did any of that please no email tell me I’m going to hell for that illustration. It was only to show the cultural rites of American culture in general.

No comments:

Post a Comment