John 1:17 (KJV) For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.
and thank God for that. I mean, look at the law. There's no way we can do all that. Some even say that's the point. Make the law impossible so that we have to rely on God. And the wages of sin is death, so according to the law we all deserve death.
But grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. It's not that they didn't exist before, but with the permanent sacrifice that Jesus was for us, God now looks at us in truth, but covers it with grace. At any point when we are judged, God sees the things we have done and truthfully tells us that it's not good. We've lied, we've cheated, we've killed, we've lusted, we've been proud. He doesn't hold back because He might hurt our feelings. But then, after He has finished convicting us of all our sins, He applies the grace and tells us that He knows we can't be good all the time. Then, as long as we say thank-you for your grace and your sacrifice and we accept that we can't do it without God, His grace will cover our sins.
However, should we not accept the sacrifice of Jesus, in effect we're telling God that we're better than He thinks and that we can handle this on our own. In that case, God won't apply His grace, since a gift has to be accepted in order to be given. And a human life without grace is nothing but a bunch of filthy rags worthy to be burned into ashes and thrown out to be trampled over and over.
So it pretty much comes down to whether we accept the truth and grace or if we turn it into a rejected gift. But we can also take it further.
Using grace and truth in everyday relationships really helps keep things on the down-low. If we keep things honest (even when it's hard and might hurt), people will always know where we stand. If we cover that truth with grace, giving the notion that even though there are things that are wrong we'll be okay with the process of working on it, people will be much quicker to accept that truth as trying to build them up. But then, we also have to take criticism from others and not make it into something personal... understanding that they're also working on truth and grace.
If everyone in Christian circles worked on the basis of truth and grace, personal vendettas would disappear and we would be much closer to the early church in meeting everyone's needs as they come. Let's make that our goal.
Wednesday, October 12, 2005
Tuesday, October 04, 2005
On Marriage
It would seem that whether or not a person should marry another is one of the biggest decisions a person has to make in the course of a lifetime. So, with that it mind, somehow we have to come up with a way to determine the pros and cons of marrying some particular person. In order to do that, we first have to decide on a purpose for marriage.
Movies these days have one main idea about the reason for getting married. For the most part, we're led to believe that the lone reason for marriage is because two people are in love. On the surface that seems like a really good reason. I mean, if they're not in love, what possible reason is there? However, while being in love is critical for making it work over the short term, what happens when that feeling subsides? Even Hollywood has movies that admit that sometimes it's possible to 'fall out' of love as well. But marriage is for life, so when the feelings aren't so great, what is supposed to hold it together?
Sex? Some might think so. But that's an argument that hardly holds water... especially in modern society. If sex is all someone wants, there's no reason to get married anymore. There's enough of that going on outside of marriages that to call it the purpose of marriage would be absurd.
Some might say companionship is the reason for getting married. Having someone to be around for the rest of one's life is a very desirable thing. But, just like the first argument, what happens when the other person annoys you, or flat out makes you angry... what's the purpose of sticking around then?
Having children? A lot of people say that they only stayed together because of the kids. But if that's the purpose, then what about people who never have children?
Clearly, the purpose of marriage goes deeper than the surface emotional, physical, and social benefits it provides. In my opinion, in fact, the purpose of marriage is very closely related to the purose of life. So what's that?
The purpose of life is simply this: to serve God and to work for His Kingdom.
It is my belief that the reason for getting married is so that two people, with different skill sets and some different interests, can combine their efforts to serve God better. There are many things that two people can do much better and much more efficiently than one... and in the case that there are children, three, four, etc. people can make a formidable team of God's workers.
Therefore, I would say that when considering whether or not to marry someone, the primary concern would be whether or not the two of you can work effectively together to bring glory to God. I'm not saying that the other factors are irrelevant, but chances are that by the time you're considering marriage, you've already experienced some love, physical attraction, and joy with the other person. I'm just saying that the crux of the decision should, just like anything else, be focused on God.
And then it truly can be eternal.
Movies these days have one main idea about the reason for getting married. For the most part, we're led to believe that the lone reason for marriage is because two people are in love. On the surface that seems like a really good reason. I mean, if they're not in love, what possible reason is there? However, while being in love is critical for making it work over the short term, what happens when that feeling subsides? Even Hollywood has movies that admit that sometimes it's possible to 'fall out' of love as well. But marriage is for life, so when the feelings aren't so great, what is supposed to hold it together?
Sex? Some might think so. But that's an argument that hardly holds water... especially in modern society. If sex is all someone wants, there's no reason to get married anymore. There's enough of that going on outside of marriages that to call it the purpose of marriage would be absurd.
Some might say companionship is the reason for getting married. Having someone to be around for the rest of one's life is a very desirable thing. But, just like the first argument, what happens when the other person annoys you, or flat out makes you angry... what's the purpose of sticking around then?
Having children? A lot of people say that they only stayed together because of the kids. But if that's the purpose, then what about people who never have children?
Clearly, the purpose of marriage goes deeper than the surface emotional, physical, and social benefits it provides. In my opinion, in fact, the purpose of marriage is very closely related to the purose of life. So what's that?
The purpose of life is simply this: to serve God and to work for His Kingdom.
It is my belief that the reason for getting married is so that two people, with different skill sets and some different interests, can combine their efforts to serve God better. There are many things that two people can do much better and much more efficiently than one... and in the case that there are children, three, four, etc. people can make a formidable team of God's workers.
Therefore, I would say that when considering whether or not to marry someone, the primary concern would be whether or not the two of you can work effectively together to bring glory to God. I'm not saying that the other factors are irrelevant, but chances are that by the time you're considering marriage, you've already experienced some love, physical attraction, and joy with the other person. I'm just saying that the crux of the decision should, just like anything else, be focused on God.
And then it truly can be eternal.
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