My freshmen year of college I discovered the band "The Rocket Summer". The band is actually made up of Bryce Avery, a short, blonde, hyper guy whose musical talents are most likely the result of ADHD. On his recorded albums all the instruments and vocals are Bryce, while on tour he travels with a full band and switches to different instruments for different songs. His energy and passion is evident in his intensely energized upbeat melodies and clever lyrics. His newest album, "Of Men and Angels" focuses mainly around the themes discovered in 1 Corinthians 13, better known as the love chapter. The title track, however, couples the love theme with a yearning to only pursue what leads to the heart of God in the end. The lyrics of this chorus caught my attention the first time I listened to the song:
"Here I am dear Lord
Tasting hints of fame
I don't want it anymore
If it's not You that I gain
Wanna fall on my knees
Don't wanna fall from Your peace"
The lyrics express a humility and deep desire to gain nothing more from this life than to live it in the midst of God's peace and presence.
In my last blog I discussed the narrow-minded perspective of the world that sees this life as all there is and therefore takes whatever this world can offer. Look around; how often do relationships and careers and wealth with God end in despair? Clearly the world's view is lacking.
In Matthew 16, Christ is discussing the cost of being His follower:
"Then Jesus told His disciples, 'If anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his life?"
In the Greek the word for "life" is "pseuche" which is also translated as "soul". So ask yourself this, "what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and lose his soul?" If the pain and suffering of this world is temporary, so to are it's pleasures. If the pleasures of this world are a foretaste of the divine, how much greater a reward do we have waiting in heaven?
Think of it another way: the fall distorted perfection; God, however, was not tainted by the fall. Why then do we still trust our own perspectives on happiness, beauty, and love instead of surrendering our conceptions of these things, distorted by our humanity, to our perfect, sinless Creator? Why do we still chase the world, when Christ offers us so much more?
As I discussed before, the cost is high, but the reward is priceless. Believers must be willing to bear the cross for the crown. It's a package deal.
When we think of the "world", most of us think of wealth, fame, power, popularity; but I don't think that's what is meant in this context. I think it is so much more than simply wordly possession; it is worldy pleasures, worldly company, worldy knowledge. It is anything that would sway man's passion away from God and rob him of the joy of his salvation.
Christ tells us in John 10:10 "The thief's (Satan) purpose is to steal, kill and destroy. My purpose is to give life in all its fullness."
In the book Crazy Love by Francis Chan, he describes a luke-warm Christian in the following way: "Luke-warm people don't really believe that this new life Jesus offers is better than the old sinful one." To follow Christ and take up our cross often involves going against what is socially acceptable. Chan goes on to address this by saying, "If life is a river, then pursuing Christ requires swimming upstream. When we stop swimming or actively following Him, we automatically begin to be swept downstream." Whatever form the world may take in your life it will try to convince you it can satisfy better than the "full life" Christ wants to give us. It is a counterfeit joy that eventually robs us of everything and damns our souls.
The "world" in the context of Matthew 16 is in complete opposition to the life Christ redeemed us for. In fact, the "world" is the very thing Christ redeemed us from. If we are still swayed by that which Christ has saved us from, what was the point? Christ's death on the cross defeated the consequence of sin; His resurrection defeated the power of sin.
"Here I am dear Lord
Tasting hints of fame
I don't want it anymore
If it's not You that I gain
Wanna fall on my knees
Don't wanna fall from Your peace"
The lyrics express a humility and deep desire to gain nothing more from this life than to live it in the midst of God's peace and presence.
In my last blog I discussed the narrow-minded perspective of the world that sees this life as all there is and therefore takes whatever this world can offer. Look around; how often do relationships and careers and wealth with God end in despair? Clearly the world's view is lacking.
In Matthew 16, Christ is discussing the cost of being His follower:
"Then Jesus told His disciples, 'If anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his life?"
In the Greek the word for "life" is "pseuche" which is also translated as "soul". So ask yourself this, "what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and lose his soul?" If the pain and suffering of this world is temporary, so to are it's pleasures. If the pleasures of this world are a foretaste of the divine, how much greater a reward do we have waiting in heaven?
Think of it another way: the fall distorted perfection; God, however, was not tainted by the fall. Why then do we still trust our own perspectives on happiness, beauty, and love instead of surrendering our conceptions of these things, distorted by our humanity, to our perfect, sinless Creator? Why do we still chase the world, when Christ offers us so much more?
As I discussed before, the cost is high, but the reward is priceless. Believers must be willing to bear the cross for the crown. It's a package deal.
When we think of the "world", most of us think of wealth, fame, power, popularity; but I don't think that's what is meant in this context. I think it is so much more than simply wordly possession; it is worldy pleasures, worldly company, worldy knowledge. It is anything that would sway man's passion away from God and rob him of the joy of his salvation.
Christ tells us in John 10:10 "The thief's (Satan) purpose is to steal, kill and destroy. My purpose is to give life in all its fullness."
In the book Crazy Love by Francis Chan, he describes a luke-warm Christian in the following way: "Luke-warm people don't really believe that this new life Jesus offers is better than the old sinful one." To follow Christ and take up our cross often involves going against what is socially acceptable. Chan goes on to address this by saying, "If life is a river, then pursuing Christ requires swimming upstream. When we stop swimming or actively following Him, we automatically begin to be swept downstream." Whatever form the world may take in your life it will try to convince you it can satisfy better than the "full life" Christ wants to give us. It is a counterfeit joy that eventually robs us of everything and damns our souls.
The "world" in the context of Matthew 16 is in complete opposition to the life Christ redeemed us for. In fact, the "world" is the very thing Christ redeemed us from. If we are still swayed by that which Christ has saved us from, what was the point? Christ's death on the cross defeated the consequence of sin; His resurrection defeated the power of sin.
Comments
Post a Comment