New Blog Location

Dear readers,

I do so appreciate all of you who check in and regularly read Choosing to Trust. Because I wanted it to be easier to find and I also wanted to give the blog a new look, I am changing my blog's address.

The new address is ChooseToTrust.com, bookmark it!

So click the link and hop on over. When you get there, sign up for email updates to make it more convenient to read.

Thanks for reading.

Scott

Image Part 4: Reclaiming the Image

Jesus gives an interesting answer to an impossible question. When entrapped by the Pharisees and Herodians with the line "Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?" Jesus calls for a coin.

This question was intended to sift Jesus, to see whose side He was on, so I'm sure the air was thick with anticipation. One side was going to rejoice that they'd found His weakness. When the coin comes, Jesus focuses solely on the image. Instead of determining whose side He was on, Jesus turns the tide like Maverick putting on the breaks for the MiG to blow by, and it becomes a question of whose side the question-askers were on.

"Whose portrait is this?" Jesus asks. He draws everyone to look at the image on the coin. It is clearly Caesar's. "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's..." and then the most fantastic part "and to God what is God's."

Jesus is reclaiming the broken image. Claiming ownership over all those who would have known the Genesis story by heart. God's image, though broken, was still part of everyone who heard Jesus' voice, and He was making a declaration that they should give themselves back to God.

In effect Jesus is dismissing this thing they have put so much value in. The Herodians with their identity in Rome and government support and protection. The Pharisees with their identity in following the rules and cleanliness. Jesus wants them to shed those false selves. See this coin, it belongs to Caesar, what's the big deal. Give it to him.

The false identities, attempts to cover the broken image, are self effort - products of the old, sinful self. Jesus is not trying to change their behavior here, He is reclaiming their image.

The image of God implies ownership and security. Jesus takes the shame away so we don't have to cover it by proving our own worth. Through Jesus we don't have to worry about Rome (or Washington), our spouses faults, body image, money, popularity, education, church size - we can stop pretending that our value and acceptability comes from those things.

That is freedom. That is rest. That is available only in Christ.

What are you seeking to be freed from?

In what ways do you struggle to let Christ reclaim the image?

Eddie Murphy and the Spiritual Life

Remember the movie Coming to America? Eddie Murphy starred as an African king who has come undercover to America to find a wife who would fall in love, not with a king, but with a regular guy. In typical romantic comedy fashion, after a misunderstanding that nearly kills the relationship, Eddie lands his girl.

The connection to be made with the spiritual life is from the father of the love interest. He owns a fast food joint called McDowell's. As the name suggests, it bears a striking resemblance to a multinational hamburger chain. Throughout the movie, Mr. McDowell denies that he is ripping off McDonald's (their Big Mac has seeds, ain't no seeds on the bun of a Big Mick).

Outside the watchful eyes of others, within his own office, Mr. McDowell pours over the McDonald's corporate manual. He wants to do everything by the book. Success is to be found in imitating the big boy's playbook to the letter.

That is what we do in our spiritual lives. We want rules to obey. Steps to follow to get to a clearly attainable goal. A way to know if we are doing things right - and by right we mean by comparing ourselves to how others are following the rules.

It's religion. Masking the false self. Breeding shame. Ultimately rule following and comparison ends in death. Self-effort drives us away from God.

Yet we want this in our marriages. Give me the corporate manual so that I can do the things that will get me the things that I want. Then I'll be happy and satisfied.

And in parenting we want a user manual to give us tactics to practice on our kids so we will get predictable results. Kids that behave the way we want them to.

Some start churches, ministries, or programs with the same one size fits all manual. Ignoring culture and context, we edit out God and want best practices that will make people fall in love with what we are doing.

Worst of all, that is how we treat Christ. The Bible is a user manual with the rules for us to follow so we can act just like Jesus. A worthy desire, but one that won't be realized until heaven or His return, whichever comes first.

Instruction manual spirituality ignores our world's broken condition. It ignores the war of the two selves. Ultimately, it ignores the need for Jesus by proposing that we can reform our own behavior and achieve our own perfection.

My aim, spiritually speaking, is not to be McDowell's, but to be McDonald's. Which require me to make space for Christ, the Author and Perfecter of my faith.

Dealing With Weakness

The apostle Paul had a lot to say about weakness. Since we heard so much from a person who had so much input in the text of the New Testament, you would think that the church in our American culture would be a lot clearer on how to deal with the weakness and brokenness that is the reality of our lives.

In 2 Corinthians 12:9, Paul has this to say regarding his plea to Jesus to take away his thorn in the flesh -

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 about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.

As I continue to put one step in front of the other on this journey of trust, I find it significant that in order for Paul - the "super" apostle - to be conformed to the image of Christ, God did not heal him or release him from temptation or release him from whatever form of brokenness this thorn represents. This is Paul. If anyone lived victoriously, it was Paul.

Aside from that, I think there are three ways that we stray from the conclusion (what comes after the 'therefore') Paul makes to Christ's declaration that His grace is sufficient.

First deviation: instead of boasting, we deny our weakness. Maybe we are trying to help Christ out. Possibly we are trying to make Him look good. But the truth is, in our church experience we tend to lead people to believe that everything is just fine. Marriage is good. Kids are good. Work is good. Finances are good. Spiritual life is good. "No weakness here, I am a Christian after all." Weakness is distasteful. It seems like a lack of progress (for a great visual check out this blog by J. R. Briggs) and a waste of time.

Problem is, denying our weakness is an attempt to highlight our own power and righteousness. Creating our version of what the new creation should look like, which pales in comparison to what God has in mind. It denies Christ's power.

Second deviation: rather than approaching our weakness gladly or openly, when we do talk about it, our desire is to call God to the carpet. We challenge God with contempt, pointing our finger and giving ultimatums. Mind you, our complaints are not made in an effort to be honest about our disappointments - which I believe God welcomes - but are declarations of what we will and will not tolerate.

The last way we stray is rather than allowing Christ's power to rest, we create an identity of weakness. As an identity, we cry "woe is me" in every trial or perceived trail and walk around beaten. Never attempting to overcome with Christ, we become happy with weakness as a way of life.

Paul became open regarding his weakness so that others could see the power of Christ at work in him. That is the example of Christ, leaving heaven and putting on flesh. Humbling Himself on our account.

Our own weakness is not to be hidden. Not to be adopted as a way of life. But it may be the cross we have to bear, the example of Christlike expectation that is on display for those around us.

My default is to deny my weakness. Which of these three deviations are you most prone to?