Do I know Him?

Letter from Exile 3

God’s Word: Matthew 7:21-23

21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

What if a pestilence of this variety is a merciful opportunity before the judgment day to ask the question:  Do I know him?  Am I crucified with Christ? 

Reflection:

Okay, I will be honest.  I did not expect our Lenten reading to bring us to this passage, but let's lean into it a little bit.  There is a strange providence to all of this.  In our family devotion this morning, the most tender Garcia kiddo (Adeline), asked immediately upon reading it:  “Do I know him?  How do I know I know him?”  What she immediately (and rightfully) concluded was that we can do “religious” things (good things!) and still be a perfect stranger with Jesus.     

Lord, why did you give us this verse on this day, in the midst of this pandemic? Here’s why: So that we would hear Jesus’ words and ask Adeline’s question: Do I know him?  How do we know that we know Him if it is not by good works “in his name”? 

What if God, in his peculiar providence, is downshifting the American church into a gear of simplicity and deep identity with Christ so that we can answer this question more confidently. No more therapeutic gospel.  No more self-service gospel.  No more performance. All that is replaced with a theology of the cross—to join Jesus there.  What if a pestilence of this variety is a merciful opportunity before the judgment day to ask the question:  Do I know him?  Am I crucified with Christ? 

What if our certainty in Christ was more contagious than COVID-19?  What if we were known as people who were the least fearful?  What if we spoke freely of the resurrection?  What if our children were shaped by our trust, instead of our anxiety?  Could repentance and conversion spread farther than the virus? 

Please, listen carefully. Christians are not careless or reckless.  We are not super-spiritual so as to be insensitive to the realities of sickness.  We are not flippant about the intrinsic goodness of this life.  But this life is not our God.  God is our God.  What would happen if the American Church—more specifically, what if Trinity, prayed not simply for survival, but revival?  What if our certainty in Christ was more contagious than COVID-19?  What if we were known as people who were the least fearful?  What if we spoke freely of the resurrection?  What if our children were shaped by our trust, instead of our anxiety?  Could repentance and conversion spread farther than the virus?   

For you tender conscious people (like Adeline and me), who are asking, “Do I know him?”  You belong to him—indeed, you have been crucified with Him.  Let your union with Christ set you free to move beyond the American, performance based, gospel-less religion, and into simple, deep, contagious trust in Jesus. 

Prayer:

Dear Lord, I want to confess that dying for you (and with you) sounds romantic until I am actually faced with death.  I really need a new experience of faith.  Spirit, I beg you in your mercy to give me faith.  I don’t suppose that my trust in you is particularly contagious.  In fact, Lord, I am sorry because my fear and anxiety is the most contagious thing about me.  I am rubbing off on my family—in all the wrong ways!  Have mercy on me.  Father, I find comfort knowing that although my good works don’t earn my salvation, neither do my bad works disqualify me.  I know that my profound need for Jesus—his blood, his life, his good works, his crucifixion—are the only things that give me certainty.  Father, would you help move this certainty into confident and gracious living during this corona crisis?  As you sanctify me, break my rhythms of fear, and replace them with confident living on this day.  I love you, Lord.  Complete my joy.  In Jesus’ name only do I pray, Amen. 

Praying outside of ourselves:

• Pray for the church to be sanctified through this crisis and to return to the simplicity of the gospel.

• Pray for families with newborns and pregnant mothers who are understandably nervous about being in a hospital. 

• Pray protection (and endurance) for our doctors and nurses who are serving COVID-19 patients.

• Pray for hourly-wage workers and business owners who are severely affected by the stalled economy.

• Pray for seniors in High school and college who are anxious about finishing school and all the uncertainty that school stoppage entails.  

You all are my favs, ronnie

God will quiet you with his love

Letter from Exile 2

Let’s begin with our Lenten reading for today.  Why?  Because Lent represents God's calendar, and so our lives are organized around the resurrection of Jesus, not COVID-19.  Let us remember WHAT organizes our lives!

God’s Word: Zephaniah 3:14-17

14 Sing aloud, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem!

15 The Lord has taken away the judgments against you; he has cleared away your enemies. The King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst; you shall never again fear evil.

16 On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem: “Fear not, O Zion; let not your hands grow weak.

17 The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.

Reflection: 

Perhaps you have seen the movies or read J.R.R. Tokien’s Lord of the Rings. The protagonist, a hobbit named Frodo, is a terrific representation of humanity.  He is ordinary. He is brave.  He is afraid. He is tempted.  He is fragile.  He is a hero.  Listen in on a short conversation that Frodo has with the great and wise wizard Gandalf, regarding a calling he has been destined to live:  

“I wish it need not have happened in my time," said Frodo.

"So do I," said Gandalf, "and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”

There is no other alternate universe to step into. This is the life to which we were called to live. 

Do you see the inner tension? On one hand, we desperately wish this were all a bad dream.  But on the other, this is precisely the life (with these particular disappointments and tears) that God has called us to live.  There is no other alternate universe to step into. This is the life to which we were called to live.  

So what will we do with it?  What’s the point of this? 

Start here: Colossians 1:16

16 For by Him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through Him and for Him.

See, COVID-19 is simply showing us viscerally what was always true.  This life is not about us.  All things, whether stock markets, viruses, failing health, or board games—all things were created through Him and for Him.  When our so-called “freedoms” are limited through quarantine/curfew, it pushes our dreams and desires to the periphery of our lives.  In other words, our life is no longer the most important thing.  Others are.  More importantly, Christ is.  

This is true.  Life is not fundamentally about you and me.  Coming to grips with this is a little unsettling, but I can assure you that this is the most hopeful thing you will hear today.  

Do you know what grief does?  It makes you listen. It silences you. It can even reorganize your life to what is true—moving you from the center of reality to the outside looking in. Will you listen?

I know, I know.  This is hard at first. Maybe a melancholy comes upon you.  But do you know what grief does?  It makes you listen.  It silences you. It can even reorganize your life to what is true—moving you from the center of reality to the outside looking in.  Will you listen? No, seriously, will you?  It is okay that you feel the tension between disappointment and God’s sovereignty.   

Consider this thought: When you are silenced, it is not as if someone is violently shutting you up.  It is loving.  This morning during family devotionals, my daughter Mia put it like this:  “It is like when I am scared and crying, and mommy comes into my room and hugs me so tight—and my face is tight on her chest—it is such a tight, loving hug, that I can’t make a sound.”  

Trinity, COVID-19 is severely (but mercifully) pushing us out.  It silences us so that we will listen, but with love. This life is about Christ, not us.  This has always been true, but now we can feel it. This is the life we must live.  If it is distressing at first, please know that our God and King “will quiet you with His love.” (Zeph 3:17) 

 Prayer:  

Heavenly Father, thank you for hugging me so tight—and even helping me to be silent.  I might have a little endurance right now, but I don’t know how long this will last.  I don’t want to be selfish, but Lord, you know that I have a long history of being a jerk to the people I love.  Change me.  Push me to the outside.  Let me see your Son, my Savior, in his proper place—at the center of all things.  I tremble to say it, Lord, but you are the center of all things—even a COVID-19 crisis.  I really believe that, but it is scary.  There is so much that I don’t want to give up.  Forgive me for making myself at home on your throne. Have mercy on me, an anxious, selfish sinner.  Help me to reorganize my life (and dreams) around you.  I love you, Lord.  Heal me, and I shall be healed.  I dare pray only in HIS name, that beautiful name, Jesus. Amen.  

 Praying outside of ourselves:

• Pray for all the grocery store workers who are high risk and little pay. 

• Pray for all the parents who are not used to spending extended time with their children--for patience and creative interest in the inner lives of their kids. 

• Pray for those who are riddled with fear--especially those who are at higher risk due to compromised immune systems.  

• Pray comfort and peace for those who had to cancel their weddings.  

Yours in Christ, ronnie