Some
say that Christ doesn’t make a difference – that Christians act the same way as
others and that Christ doesn’t change lives. However, I know otherwise!
I
have found that the Bible contains transforming and empowering wisdom, a wisdom
that has brought me all sorts of blessings. For example, anger and hatred are
tyrants that override reason and even self-interest. Yet, I knew that hatred is
wrong. I even knew that it torments its prey. Nevertheless, it consumed me, as
I watched powerlessly against it. Even its “arguments” were persuasive. They
felt so right. Hatred placed its own lens over my eyes, and I saw only red.
However,
I remembered the Word of God:
· Let love be genuine. Abhor
what is evil; hold fast to what is good… Bless those who persecute you; bless
and do not curse them… Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but
associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil
for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If
possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never
avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written,
“Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your
enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for
by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by
evil, but overcome evil with good. (Romans 12:9, 14, 16-21; ESV)
His
Word came upon me with such force and conviction that it drove the hatred away,
the bully yelping helplessly as it fled. Instead, I was left rejoicing at the
great privilege to love others and to “overcome evil with good.”
No
wonder Scripture informs us that loving God is about embracing and obeying His
teachings:
· If you keep my
commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s
commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my
joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. This is my commandment, that
you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this,
that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do
what I command you. (John 15:10-14)
Keeping
His teachings is our cure, our protective shield and the source of blessings. It
even rescues us from destruction:
· Only be strong and very
courageous [Joshua], being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my
servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left,
that you may have good success wherever you go. This Book of the Law shall not
depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you
may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will
make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. (Joshua 1:7-8)
No
wonder that we are instructed to “meditate on it day and night.”
I
am a man of many flaws, and they can be deeply troubling. However, I have
learned something of even greater significance – that our Lord brings strength
out of our ongoing weaknesses, as Paul had learned:
· Three times I pleaded with
the Lord about this [affliction], that it should leave me. But he said to me,
“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”
Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power
of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with
weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am
weak, then I am strong. (2 Corinthians 12:8-10)
I
too have learned to boast in my weaknesses. They continue to humble me,
tromping down my pride, drawing me closer to my Savior through His Word, which
ministers so powerfully to me, through His blessed Spirit.
All of this
has been made possible by the wisdom of the Living Word of God. Its wisdom has
provided me with exactly what I had needed. Here are just a few more examples.
I am always second-guessing myself, wondering, “Did I say the right
thing? ...Did I say it with the wrong motives? … Could I have said it more
effectively?” Although this perfectionistic preoccupation can promote
self-improvement, it can also drive us crazy. I needed to lay it aside before
it laid me out, and the Holy Spirit did this for me through applying Scripture
to my life:
- I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)
What a relief! My failures were no
longer my own. They belonged to my Savior who promised that He would work all
things for my good (Rom. 8:28), even my worst failures and nightmares, my worst
humiliations! I was now free to fail. Not that failures no longer hurt, but I
now know who will lift me out of my discouragement (1 Cor. 10:12-13), and He has
proved this to me repeatedly. Consequently, Biblical truth allows me to
constructively face my challenges without being overwhelmed by them.
We
are also self-obsessed
with questions of our goodness and worthiness. One of the greatest threats to
our psychological well-being is the dread of not being worthy. This might take
the form of a deep and abiding sense of shame, insecurity, or inadequacy. We might
worry that we are not even worthy of God.
Therefore, it is such a relief to realize that none of us are worthy. We are all sinners who need the Savior:
- "There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one." (Romans 3:10-12)
This had certainly been true of me.
Even though I attempted to suppress this truth of my moral inadequacy before
God, it would continue to resurface to my great shame. I tried to beat back the
ugly truth with self-assertions that I was really a good and loving person. I
was engaged in a costly war with myself, and the result was desperation and
depression.
Instead of deriving my sense of
worthiness or adequacy from myself, I needed to find it from another source, and
Scripture informed me that Jesus is that source:
- God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Cor. 5:21)
I could begin to accept the fact that
I am entirely unworthy, because, in the eyes of my Savior, I am now entirely
righteous. I could now face the once-shaming truths about myself and take
responsibility for my behavior, because I have been assured of my ultimate
worth before Him!
My wife can now charge me with being
insensitive, and I can readily apologize. We’re restored! Others can regard me
negatively, but that’s okay because I am now defined, not by what others might
think, but by what my Savior thinks. Yes, it still hurts, but it no longer
devastates.
For
the longest time, I had been feeling condemned. Even after Christ came into my life,
I still had that sense. My feelings were so forceful that everything else – even
Scripture – appeared as merely hollow words in comparison. I felt that even God
condemned me! Finally, however, Scripture broke through, took hold of my
self-contempt and torn it apart, like a lion tearing apart red meat. What a
consolation it has been to learn that:
- Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. (Romans 8:1)
This taught me conclusively that my
feelings of condemnation and rejection had nothing to do with God rejecting me,
but just my own aberrant reactions! I could now laugh at these once terrifying
feelings, knowing that they have nothing to do with my ultimate status! It’s
like receiving a letter saying that there has been a warrant issued for your
arrest. However, upon reading it more closely, you find that the letter is
actually addressed to someone else.
Many say, “Well, I’m glad Christ worked for you, but many find consolation through
psychotherapy.” It didn’t work for me. I had seen five highly recommended
psychologists, and each left me worse off than I was before.
Yes, they all affirmed that I was
“okay,” even superior, but I could never believe them, at least, not at the core
of my being. I knew what my feelings were telling me, and they talked with a
greater authority than the psychologists. I just knew I wasn’t “okay.”
Their affirmations rolled off my back
as if it was made of Teflon. Perhaps this was because I had been giving myself
false affirmations all my life. I told myself I was the greatest but actually felt
that I was the least. After a while, these affirmations became no more than an
addiction. I needed them but got little out of them. However, having believed
them – and this distorted my thinking and perceptions - they alienated me from
reality, wisdom, and honest relationship. Because I perceived the world through
my distorted self-affirmations, I also regarded others through this grid. They
were either superior or inferior to me. If they were seen as “superior,” I
resented them. If “inferior,” I disdained them.
However, these affirmations bore
little resemblance to reality, while I subsequently found that the Biblical affirmations
brought me in touch with a deeper reality. Now, perceiving myself as an object
of God’s mercy, I began to regard others with mercy.
Besides, our sense of okay-ness
requires more than the affirmation of
other people. They all say different things, and every experience - every
success and every failure – sings a different song. Which was I to believe? Therefore,
to base my worth on either the opinions of others or on my socially approved
accomplishments meant that my worth was like the stock market – booming,
crashing, and the cause of constant instability and insecurity.
Besides, if my well-being depended on the opinions of others, I would resent them when they failed to project the “right” opinions of me. This would also place enormous pressure on them.
Besides, if my well-being depended on the opinions of others, I would resent them when they failed to project the “right” opinions of me. This would also place enormous pressure on them.
Not
only does Scripture tell us what to believe, it tells us what to avoid. It is not simply that certain acts
are regarded as “sin.” These acts also destroy. Sin is worse than eating junk
food. The latter just destroys the body. Sin destroys everything about us. It
contaminates our thinking and passions (Rom. 1:21-32). For one thing, as a
result of sin, we carry around unresolved guilt and shame. We even project our
shame and self-contempt on others, convinced that others regard us in the same
way we feel about ourselves. However, Scripture relieves us of these blinding
burdens:
- If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives. (1 John 1:9-10)
Instead, we often try to cover over
this problem with a variety of palliatives – successes, sex, drugs, popularity.
However, there is nothing that gives the relief and cleansing the way that
confession does.
What
makes the affirmations of Scripture so powerful – so life transforming? For one
thing, they illuminate what had been shadowy and confusing. In the hand of the
Holy Spirit, Scripture tore me down so it could build me up on a solid
foundation. It penetrated the blind spots created by my defensive mechanisms.
Once I began to understand myself in
the light of Scripture, I found that I began to understand others. With the
assurance of God’s love and forgiveness, I could begin to face myself. As I saw
my needs and insecurities – I had previously run from these and denied them – I
could also see those of other people. As I began to face my denials and
rationalizations, I began to understand the same defensive maneuverings I saw
in others. As I received God’s compassion for me, I could more readily extend
it to others.
While Scripture is foolishness and
contemptible to the one whose eyes haven’t been opened (1 Cor. 2:14), it is the
scalpel in the hand of the Holy Spirit. It cuts deeply to remove malignant
tumors (Heb. 4:12) – attitudes and ideas that fail to accord with holiness.
Such cuts are always painful (Heb. 12:5-11), but they identify and remove
cancers that threaten well-being. They expose jealousy. However, they also provide
the perfect antidote:
- All things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future--all are yours. (1 Cor. 3:21-22)
In light of
God’s assurances that He wants to eternally give us the world, jealousy had to take a back seat. And
I had been jealous, even of the spiritual successes of others, convinced that
they would receive heavenly reward and recognition, and I wouldn’t. However,
Scripture assures us that all of God’s people are one, and “all things” would
be ours. We have become joint heirs with our Savior (Rom. 8:17).
This is just what I needed to know.
This truth stomped all the vitality out of my jealousy. I now rejoice as others
rejoice!
Through the Scriptures, I have even
come to know my Savior in a more personal way. On top of my decades of serious
depression, I began to experience panic attacks. These left me utterly
devastated. I was so tormented that I could barely carry on a conversation or
even read the Bible. I could hardly make it through the day, and to believe
that God loved me was beyond my grasp.
However,
despite my profound doubts, I had no other place to turn. So I would continue
to make feeble attempts at prayer and Bible reading. But even when I succeeded
at reading the Bible, I could only understand the simplest statements.
Nevertheless,
on numerous occasions, God spoke to me. For example, on one occasion, while
reading the phrase, “And God heard him,” a light exploded upon my tormented
mind. The depression and panic were instantly driven away. I looked for them,
but they were nowhere to be found.
Nonetheless,
they returned on the following day, but something had changed. I knew that God
had also heard me and that He would
keep on hearing me! I therefore knew that I was in His hands, despite my
pathetic situation.
The
Lord continued to reveal Himself to me in this manner over the next year, but
these transformative experiences ceased entirely 35 years ago. I wish I could
say that I had mastered the technique to bring on these electrifying
encounters, but there is no technique for them, just the sovereign all-knowing
workings of my Savior.
Indeed,
the Lord continues to speak to me through His Word, but not in such a dramatic
way. Why not? He prefers us to walk by faith and not by sight or by miraculous
visitations (2 Corinthians 5:7), and I now trust that He knows what is best for
us.
Westerners
have invented a new god,
a god who is non-judgmental and non-punitive. Momentarily, this god might feel
comfortable. However, once we have suffered victimization, our thoughts turn to
justice, even revenge. Therefore, it is so liberating to know that we have a
God who cares deeply about justice:
- If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord. On the contrary: "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink” [ Proverbs 25]…Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. (Romans 12:18-21)
It is only because we have the
assurance that God will bring justice (also through the legal systems He has
ordained – Rom. 13:1-4) that we can devote ourselves to love. It is also
because we know the undeserved love of God for us! Without this knowledge,
revenge would become a way of life.
When I read about the estimated 170,000
Christians being murdered yearly simply because they are Christians, I want to
grab a machine gun or suicide belt and right the wrongs. But my Lord informs me
that He has a better way. He’ll deal with it! Instead, I should pray, love my
enemies, and address the wrongs with righteous means. How liberating and
personally enhancing!
This represents just a small sampling of the ways that God and
His truth have infiltrated to bring us new life. Volumes can be written on this
subject. Jesus had taught:
- "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." (John 8:31-32)
Not only has He set us free from sin
and its various penalties, He has also set us free from so many things that
have kept us in prison – fears, lusts, rationalizations, denials, addiction to
self-affirmations, and many forms of self-deceptions.
From where does such wisdom come? I
have become convinced that it must come from God through His Word.
***
However, the Bible is more than just a
book of wisdom. It is far more. It is the vehicle of the Holy Spirit, the power
of God for salvation (Romans 1:16) and also for sanctification (2 Corinthians
3, 4).
I’m somewhat reluctant to take this a
step further, but I feel that I must. Sometimes, the Spirit works through the
book He has authored in the most profound and unimaginable ways. This natural
skeptic has had a series of unforgettable encounters through the Scriptures,
but let me prepare you for this.
The last encounter I had had was more
than 30 years ago. They are not part of the standard Christian diet. Instead,
of walking by miracles, we are instructed to walk by faith (2 Corinthians 5:7).
However, I had been seriously depressed for decades. Perhaps the Lord knew that
I needed more than others in order to sustain my faith and even my life.
On top of my depression, I was visited
by years of panic attacks that left me dysfunctional. Even praying and reading
the Bible were activities I could barely sustain. Often, I was only capable of lying
in bed with my Bible resting upon my belly as I longed for five minutes of
sleep. At other times, I could read, even though I was capable of only an
elementary understanding of the Word.
However, on a number of occasions, the
Word became miraculously alive. On one occasion, I read, “And the Lord heard
him.” A veritable explosion of light illuminated my distressed mind. The
depression and panic were gone. I tried to find these oppressors, but they were
not to be found. Joy unspeakable filled my heart.
By the next day, my oppressors
returned, but something was different. I KNEW
that the Lord had heard me, and that I was safe.
This happened on several occasions, until
they stopped completely. Why had they stopped? I think that that Lord knew that
I no longer needed them. Instead, I was now to walk by faith and memory and not
by feelings.
Nevertheless, the Spirit still
illuminates me with His Word, even though not as before. I can now even thank
Him for my afflictions because, through them, He has given me a precious
treasure:
Psalm
119:71-72 It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I might learn your
statutes. The law of your mouth is better to me than thousands of gold and
silver pieces.
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