Amendments to Grace...

Kev and I have been taking this course called “Perspectives on the World Christian Movement.” U.S. Center for World Mission (the organization that we are with) requires us to complete this within the first two years of joining. We are plugging away. Should have been done months ago, but you know….life and work and raising a family happens. Our supervisor rocks and is very gracious, but there are limits to one’s grace. So, this month, we’re both kicking it into high gear.

So, these 15 lessons – in the tiniest of nutshells – is about we as believers needing to be Kingdom oriented people. It’s what life is all about! The Bible isn’t just a nice little book about a bunch of different people’s stories. The Bible is HIS story that contains His strategic plan for saving the world. We are in a battle – we are at war – life is not a spectator sport. And there is a part that He wants me to play.

Christ has a vision for us that extends far beyond ourselves and our own little lives that we can so easily get caught up in living. I need to be constantly reminded of this! The world does not revolve around Amy and her home and her crazy little life that she so desperately tries to control. In fact, this life isn’t about Amy, at all. Shocker.

Anyway….one thing that I love about this course is that the things that are applicable to planting churches and preaching Christ overseas so easily parallel doing those same things over here. So many culture clashes, and struggles against tradition, and doing things “the way we’ve always done them,” and all of the things we battle with today….the disciples battled as well! This is an age old issue of trying to figure out what God views as important versus what we feel are necessary things to living out the full life that God intends for us.

Remember the difficulties some of the disciples had in wrapping their brains around the idea that the Gentile believers – the dogs of the day – did not have to be circumcised to be honest to goodness followers of Christ? What was held so sacred in one custom was utterly unimportant in another. And the real kicker? God honestly and truly didn’t care what those Gentile believers chose to do in that manner. What He cared about was the condition of their hearts.

Why? Because the Gospel is about God. Him alone.

The underlying character of one’s relationship to Christ is what really matters. And the process of transformation that takes place in someone’s life is progressive and often in God’s timing and not our own. I think we forget this sometimes. How often do we add our own amendments to God’s grace? How often do we say, or at the very least think, that if someone was really serious about their walk with Christ well, they surely would’ve kicked their smoking habit by now, they would obviously dress more modestly, they would be in church whenever the doors were open, they wouldn’t drink, they wouldn’t hang out with the unsaved, they would never slip up and swear, they would most definitely not have gauged ears and tats etc. etc. etc.? God calls people to repentance…not to repentance PLUS these ten things that I think good Christians should do.

I don’t know. Looking back at my own life, I’m sad at what mountains I chose to die on with some people. I have led an elitist, self-centered life. One that, in the past, would rather have argued over what style of worship to sing to, what movies to watch, what music to listen to, what type of clothing is appropriate, and what version of Scripture to use. I have been comfortable. I have been fat on God with a banquet of churches and Bibles and programs and styles of everything to choose from. Standards are good. Necessary even. But not ammunition to shoot each other with.

Christ didn’t die for Muslims to eat pork or for people in Papua New Guinea to wear shoes. And He also didn’t die for my co-workers to feel like they have to clean up their acts before they would feel good enough to walk through the doors of a church.

So, what do we do about this? Not really sure yet. Still processing. Lots of what Kev and I talked about while we were away. I just know one thing for sure. I’m ready to stop talking, and I’m ready to really put my money where my mouth is.

I love this quote from Gary Barkalow: “You can tell how close someone is to the battle by what they are complaining about. If they’re complaining about how warm the beer is, well you know they’re not really very close. But, if they’re complaining that they’re out of ammunition, then you know they are in the thick of it.”

I’m done dying on petty mountains. I’ve got one life to live with three little boys watching how I walk it out. And I don’t want them seeing Mama complaining about ANY beverage being lukewarm…..