God's Interpretation of Justice

Could it be that God views justice differently than we humans do? In his book, Unconditional?, Brian Zahnd says the following which is worth pondering carefully to get the implications:

"The cross is where justice is reinterpreted by mercy in order to be redefined as reconciliation. This alone is what God calls justice." 

Unconditional? is an excellent book on forgiveness. God bless you! 

Two Ingredients in the Recipe for Ongoing Growth and Change

An observation I have been making in recent years is that one of the easiest things to happen to a Christian is to stagnate; we like to feel secure, and staying within the learned theological boundaries that have provided a sense of certainty (see "Sense of Security") is natural to us. We unwittingly end up placing our trust in our certainty rather than in the Person of God in Christ who is infinitely larger than our systems of belief. The Christian system in America contributes to this tendency to stagnate, because we've inherited and accepted the idea that being a Christian primarily means to adhere to a determined set of beliefs concerning God and that those beliefs should never change. (See recent post here.)  It's acceptable if we change within the boundaries of that prescribed belief system, but to venture outside of those boundaries in search for more truth is at best discouraged and at times punished.

I attended the wedding recently of two dear friends who I've spent a lot of time with in recent years. They asked if I would share a bit from my heart at the wedding, and as I pondered what to share, I thought of both of them, and it hit me that the two of them together have the ingredients for ongoing growth and change.

The bride is a beautiful young woman of sincere devotion to Jesus; the groom is a wonderful young man with sincere questioning about Jesus (and all the trappings that Christianity has added to Him). We have spent long hours in the past couple of years discussing anything and everything that we have had questions and doubts about; his bride-to-be would suggest once in awhile that we take time to pray and worship Jesus in it all.

I think the two of them represent two main ingredients needed for ongoing change and growth in God: 1) Sincere questioning of anything and everything about Jesus, sorting through what really is needed and disposing of whatever is hindering the true knowledge/experience of God in Christ; 2) Sincere devotion to Jesus, always keeping focused on what the "sorting through" is all about and not getting lost in the sorting. Without the sincere questioning, we easily get stuck in what we have been taught and there is always more to learn (and unlearn) of Jesus; without sincere devotion to Jesus, we can easily make the "sorting through" the goal.

With this in mind, I recommend some books below, two for the "questioning" ingredient and two for the "devotion" ingredient; I recommend the wonderful (and at times frightening) adventure of finding a trusted follower(s) of Jesus with whom you can safely discuss anything and everything while keeping clearly in view the ultimate and ongoing goal of encountering Jesus in truth and consequently becoming like Him. Depending on the lens you are looking through, some of this material will stretch your thinking; the wonderful thing is that you don't have to agree with everything an author writes in order to receive truth from him/her.

Books to help with the questioning ingredient:
A New Kind of Christianity
The Sacredness of Questioning Everything

Books to help with the devotion ingredient:
God's Favorite Place on Earth
The Only Necessary Thing

Getting Sheep to their Destination

I've become aware over recent years that we Christians generally seem to be pretty uptight people. There seems to be an underlying anxiety about most things in our life: worries about whether or not I'm praying or fasting enough, or whether my prayers are fervent or faith-filled enough, whether I'm doing enough for others, whether I'm in the will of God, or whether I'm giving enough, whether I'll miss "God's best", etc., etc.

I've spent my life in the holiness and missions world and like many in that world, the emphasis on "finding the will of God" for many years left me with a nagging fear that I might miss God's "highest" and end up living as a "second class citizen" of God's kingdom. I believe these kinds of fears have their roots in religious ideas that set up spiritual hierarchies and that put the weight of our salvation and sanctification on us, rather than on God.

When I look at the characteristics of sheep (see previous post here), I'm very impressed with the shepherd's love and care for the sheep and His ability to lead them (see here). My conclusion is that getting the sheep to a certain destination is much more about the shepherd's leadership than it is about what good followers the sheep are.

This is a source of joy and peace/relief to me when I start to go down the path of introspection, getting uptight and afraid that I'm not sufficient enough in this or that and worried that I've missed God's best or that I'm not going to make it in the end, etc, etc.  I can pause and look at the good Shepherd and how well He leads and how He is able to get us where He is taking us.

Jesus said, "Take my yoke upon you...my yoke is easy, my burden is light..." I do my small bit of agreeing to be with Him in the "yoke", and the weight of getting me (along with all His people) to where we are going falls on Him. This should make us the most joy-filled and peace-filled people on earth!

Shepherd: the Sheep's Greatest Need

Earlier this week I posted a list of characteristics of sheep (here); it's easy to see why the sheep's greatest need is for a shepherd. Jesus calls us sheep, and He calls Himself the good shepherd. Following up from the characteristics of sheep, I will share a list of characteristics of the shepherd taken from here:

1. Loves his sheep and develops a close, intimate relationship with them so that they know his voice and trust him
2. Understands the needs of the sheep better than they do
3. Understands what threatens sheep and what makes them sick
4. Works tirelessly to provide protection and security
5. Leads them to fresh pastures and fresh water
6. Searches out sheep when they stray
7. Defends sheep against all their enemies
8. Provides protection while they sleep
9. Shears them and examines each one for injury or disease
10. Goes ahead of sheep and prepares the path
11. Disciplines and corrects them
12. Comforts sheep when they are hurt or fearful
13. Keeps sheep "on the move" so they don’t get into a rut
14. Liberally anoints them with oil to prevent disease or to heal an injury
15. Keeps sheep from fighting and from hurting each other
16. Cares for, loves sheep, and sacrifices his life for them
17. Rejoices in the health, well-being, and prosperity of his flock
18. Will leave the flock to search for lost sheep
19. Experiences great joy in finding lost sheep
20. Carries the lambs close to his heart
21. Gently leads those with young
22. Gets deepest satisfaction from seeing that sheep are contented, well-fed, and safe

Sheep: That Pretty Well Sums It Up!

Jesus calls us sheep (see Mt.9:36; John 10:11-30)...below is a list of characteristics of sheep that I found online:

"They are of a gregarious nature...meaning they love to be with the herd, they are herbivores. Sheep must have a leader (shepherd) and must be told what to do and where to go, other wise they'll wander off and get lost.

Characteristics of Sheep
1. timid, fearful, easily panicked
2. dumb stupid, gullible
3. very vulnerable to fear, frustration, pests, hunger
4. easily influenced by a leader, by the shepherd
5. stampede easily, vulnerable to mob psychology
6. little or no means of self-defense; can only run
7. easily killed by enemies
8. the shepherd is most effective, calming influence
9. jealous, competitive for dominance
10. constantly need fresh water, fresh pasture

11. have very little discernment in choosing food or water
12. best water source is early morning dew
13. perverse, stubborn - will insist on their own way , even eating poisonous
plants or drinking dirty water
14. easily "cast" - flipped over on their back, unable to right themselves
will die of starvation if not turned over by shepherd; helpless
15. frequently look for easy places to rest
16. don't like to be sheared, cleaned
17. too much wool can cause sheep to be easily "cast"
18. creatures of habit; get into "ruts"
19. need the most care of all livestock
20. need to be "on the move"; need a pre-determined plan, pattern of grazing
21. totally dependent of shepherd for every need
22. need "rod and staff" guidance"

That pretty well sums it up!