honor

SNS 012: God, Non-Dysfunction, and Our Faith

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Click on the white arrow in the green button above to hear this episode. Below are the show notes. Feel free to read along, check out the Bible references I make, and subscribe through the podcast service you prefer by clicking any of the buttons on the upper right side of this post.

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Show Notes

Last time we spoke of God not being dysfunctional and by the end of the discussion, we noted that we were mainly addressing those who call themselves Christian. How does God respecting our choices apply to Christian peoples? That is what we are going to explore here in episode12.

My name is Charles, and this is the Simple Not Shallow Podcast. A podcast for those who want a deeper faith, not a confusing one. That is what our name is about, keeping faith in Christ simple enough for a child like me to understand it and yet, not so shallow that when the storms of life hit, our faith runs aground. Here we go.

As we begin, it is important to remember that first and foremost, we are all human beings. Folks who are prone to be hard-headed and more than a little self-centered. Entering into a relationship with God does change things, but somethings still require a tenacious desire to allow the love of God to have its way in us, or we will once again fall into behavior from which we thought to be cured. Paul said it well when he said, “But I beat my body and bring it into submission, lest by any means after I have preached to others, I myself should be disqualified” (1 Corinthians 9:27). That he could still be disqualified indicates that he still had choices to make.

Jesus taught us to pray and to ask for our daily bread (Luke 11:3). Often, we think of this as referring to our daily physical needs. And that is definitely one aspect of daily bread. Yet, here is a thought, what if he is speaking about our spiritual needs. This phrase lies in-between asking for God’s kingdom to come and forgiving us of our sins. It seems strange to say, “God, your will be done, feed me, and forgive me.” It makes more sense if we see 'our daily bread' as spiritual need; “God, your will be done, supply us with what we need to do our part, and forgive us.” Also, in light of Jesus’ response to Satan, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4). And what he said to the disciples, “I have food to eat that you do not know about…. My food is to do the will of Him how sent me. (John 4:32-34). And again, “My Father who gives you the true bread out of heaven…. And gives life to the world” (John 6:32, 33). Reading of ‘our daily bread’ as a spiritual need makes a good deal of sense.

Is this not intriguing? Asking our Father to give us daily what we need to be spiritual, to be holy, to be “one; even as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be one in us; that the world may believe that you sent me” (John 17:21). It is a daily choice, a daily prayer. We must choose each day to love.

And God will not force us to love him, to seek this daily need. Examples abound in the Bible, Joshua in making the alliance with the Hivites without looking to God for his provision (Joshua 9:14). David did not seek his daily portion before looking at Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11). Jonah did not seek it before running from God’s mission to Nineveh (Jonah 1). Peter did not partake when he held himself aloof from the Gentiles in Galatia (Galatians 2:11-13). And the list goes on and on.

Examples also abound of things that will require this daily need to be met. Examples include: to “be careful that by no means does this liberty of yours become a stumbling block to the weak” (1 Corinthians 8:9); to “bear all things so that we will cause no hindrance to the Good News of Christ” (1 Corinthians 9:12); to “let him who thinks he stands be careful that he doesn’t fall" (1 Corinthians 10:12); Or, to “beware, lest being carried away… you fall from your own steadfastness” (2 Peter 3:17). And again, the list goes on and on and on. There is much we must do and we need to choose to ask God each day for what we need.

For all these great tasks we need our daily bread. We need to have our spiritual needs met. We need the love of God as never before. I have mentioned John 15 in several previous episodes. And we discussed what abiding in Christ means and how love is the fulfillment of the law. As such, it is our great need and we must ask for God to meet it daily. Not that we need to ask God to love us, but that he would provide what we need, not want but need, to learn to love; to help us stay abiding in him. That… Jesus' prayer would find fulfillment and we become “one; even as you, Father, are in me and I in you…” (John 17:21). The result would be that His kingdom then comes on earth as it already is in heaven (Matthew 6:10).

This post is already getting long, but I would be remiss if I did not mention a negative component involved in our ability to choose, and in God respecting our choices. As mentioned last time, God respects our choice too much to force on us what is best for us; to force on us a vital relationship with himself. If we choose not to ask for this daily sustenance, he will not make us do so. However, if we choose not to love… well, Jesus graciously gives us warnings as to where that choice will lead. Matthew 7; 25 and Luke 13 (Matthew 7:15-23; 25:41-46; and Luke 13:24-30), all bespeak a dire warning for those who wish to claim the name but stay out of the game. These passages speak of those who do religion well, but who do not love; simply put, of those who do not abide in Christ. These passages speak of a time of judgment and those who have chosen not to love are told to depart from God’s presence as he knows them not.

How sad, to dedicate yourself to learning things and doing things, but never learning to relate to God. Never learning to abide in the love of Christ; not learning to love. “The one who does not love does not know God” (1 John 4:8).

Do you see now how choosing to love applies to those calling themselves Christian as much as to those who do not? It does so because it applies to every human being. And every individual is, after all, merely human.

Well, what do you think? I’d love to hear from you, so please, go to simplenotshallow.com, and under the Simple Not Shallow Podcast section, find this episode, #12, and leave a comment for me there. Also, in the show notes, I’ll list all the verses I referenced, in the order and at the location in the transcript at which I referenced them. That way you can check me out to make sure I’m not totally in left field.  Also, please take a second to rate this episode and subscribe to this podcast through iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify… or whichever service you use. Thank you. I’ll catch you next time.

 

SNS 011: God and Non-Dysfunction

Thank you for visiting.

Click on the white arrow in the green button above to hear this episode. Below are the show notes. Feel free to read along, check out the Bible references I make, and subscribe through the podcast service you prefer by clicking any of the buttons on the upper right side of this post.

Also, to click the like button or leave a comment, please click on the title above to take you to the actual post instead of this category listing page. When you do that simply scroll down to the bottom of the page and click like and comment away.

Thank you.

Show Notes

Isn’t it truly amazing how much spiritual life is reflected in real everyday life events? For instance, the other day, I had cause to take note of a woman not being interested in a certain young man. To put it simply – he wanted to take her on a date and she was not interested in the least. Pretty straight forward; interest by the one does not have to equate to interest by the other. But this story isn’t about that couple, it’s about us relating to God and his love. This is what we are going to explore here in episode11.

My name is Charles, and this is the Simple Not Shallow Podcast. A podcast for those who want a deeper faith, not a confusing one. That is what our name is about, keeping faith in Christ simple enough for a child like me to understand it and yet, not so shallow that when the storms of life hit, our faith runs aground. Here we go.

So, boy meets girl, the girl couldn’t care less,  and the boy lets it go. Now, here’s the thing; he is still interested in her. Yet, being honest with himself, he and admits that she is not interested in him and that she has left no indication that she ever would be. This honesty has left him in an interesting frame of mind; for now, he willingly leaves her alone because she does not want anything to do with him. Oh, he is still desirous of her becoming interested in him and may, from time to time, float an invite her way. Yet, he respects and honors her wish to not have anything to do with him. He believes it would be wrong to force his attentions on her. Indeed, if he did so, we would call him something much worse than a jerk. 

“Ok Charles, I thought you said this was not about this couple, why are you still talking about them?” Well, it’s just that... Is it not strange that we often expect God to do what we would blame another for doing? Track with me for a moment.

God, for some strange reason known only to himself, wants a relationship with each and every one of us. You, me, the dweeb next door, all of us. Yet he leaves it up to us whether a relationship is started or not.

He sends invites and makes the initial overtures, yet he will not force anything. He will not push – if you say no, no it is. He honors your choice. Such is the love and respect he has for you.

Yet, there are only two possible destinations. One that leaves us in the presence of God and one that does not. In other words, there is Heaven and there is Hell. If like the girl in our story, you say "no" to him here, he will not force himself on you there. For how would he be loving, holy, or anything else, other than a manipulative dirt-bag, if he used your disadvantage (your death) to force himself upon you?

Yet sometimes, it sounds like this is what we want. You hear it all the time, “Do whatever you want here, God is love. He won’t hold anything against you or send you to hell. How could a loving God do that? Everyone gets into heaven.” What is this but an unwitting desire for God to force a relationship upon you? Do you really want him, if you have said no to him all your life, to turn around and force you to live in his presence? To force you to have to deal with him forever?

Why cast God as such a manipulative low-life; one who forces us, against our wishes, to relate to him in the afterlife? If we want nothing to do with him here, why would we want to live in his presence there? Why would we desire him to dishonor our choices and force us to live with him there? Hmmm… manipulation by one and the desire to be dishonored by the other…. There is a term for that, dysfunction.

So, why would we want to live in the presence of a dysfunctional God? One who could only provide a dysfunctional relationship in heaven, one where love and respect do not matter? That does not sound like heaven to me. Most of us realize that living in a dysfunctional relationship is pure misery. Why would we want that to go on forever?

There is enough dysfunction in this world, isn’t there? Shouldn’t heaven be a better place? I think so, don’t you? And the good news is that God is truly loving and not dysfunctional. He will honor your choice to relate to him or to not do so. So, choose today and choose well. By the way, I am speaking to those who call themselves Christian. Not who you had in mind? Oh... well…  we will have to explore this connection next time.

Well, what do you think? I’d love to hear from you, so please, go to simplenotshallow.com, and under the Simple Not Shallow Podcast section, find this episode, #11, and leave a comment for me there. Also, in the show notes, I’ll list all the verses I referenced, in the order and at the location in the transcript at which I referenced them. That way you can check me out to make sure I’m not totally in left field.  Also, please take a second to rate this episode and subscribe to this podcast through iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify… or whichever service you use. Thank you. I’ll catch you next time.