A Section from the Conclusion
Through the journey of the wilderness, Israel mistakenly believed that they left Egypt behind when they left the country. Then, amid the exposing struggle of the wilderness, their hearts were revealed to be like Pharaoh’s, and they hardened their hearts against God. They did not become the kinds of people who could hear the Word, nor did they give themselves to ways of life that allowed them to walk with God. They were idolaters, and so like the idols themselves, they became people with eyes that could not see and ears that could not hear. They were becoming like the dead idols that looked alive but had no real life in them.
Today, we face a similar problem. It takes a certain kind of life to be a true listener of the Word of God. This does not happen at random, but demands that we give ourselves to the way of Christ. Unfortunately, we can neglect to consider how modern life and technology might hurt our ability to be listeners to the Word. We fail to consider how ways of living could hurt our ability to attend patiently to God’s calling on our lives. We forget that influence and popularity are not intrinsically good. We do not notice that we are becoming like the idols in our lives, and that the rituals of God’s family are boring and lack meaning for us. But this kind of numbing will always be the fruit of idolatry.
In our calling to be fruitful for the kingdom of God, we must discern the way of God (Eph. 5:10), so we must be the kinds of people who can discern this way (Heb. 5:11-14). The “from” and the “for” of our power need to align with God and his way, regardless of how savvy, sophisticated, or skilled we are. As we seek to thrive in whatever position the Lord has called us to, we can still seek to be skilled at what we do, as long as that skill is grounded in our abiding in Christ, and our purpose is oriented to God’s calling to love. In this sense, our skill is like our unblemished lamb that we lay before the Lord in offering to him. Sacrifice was never a mechanistic reality. God wasn’t waiting around for more dead animals. As the psalmist proclaims, “You do not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it; You are not pleased with burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, You will not despise” (Ps. 51:16-17 NASB). Our sacrifice is, in part, the mode by which we can come before God in repentance, trust, and abiding. Our skill, therefore, is the way we present ourselves to the Lord, and is the vehicle by which we abide in Christ and serve him. The focus is always on God, and the sacrifice is our means to partake in his work and live in the freedom of his presence. The more skilled we become, however, the easier it is to seek power from within; and the more fruitful our power becomes, the easier it is to seek power for control and our own glory, rather than God’s.
Power in weakness for love is power that bears fruit for the kingdom. Power in strength for control, used to achieve kingdom ends, will ultimately deceive us into thinking we’re living in the way of Jesus, when in fact we are living in the way from below. This power is the power of straw; it is the power that seems invincible, and then one day just disappears. Power in weakness works the opposite way. Power in weakness appears to be powerless in the face of this world and it may even be denounced as foolish within the church itself. We must be prepared to face opposition, rejection, and mockery. We must be prepared to be ignored and passed over for the promotions of “powerful people.” In these moments we ought to pray with Augustine: “Let the strong and mighty laugh at us, then, but let us weak and needy folk confess to you.” †
Getting Some Wise Advice
The above text is a section from the conclusion of a book I completed recently, called “The Way of the Dragon or the Way of the Lamb”. During the writing of the book, its authors (Jamin Goggin and Kyle Strobel) traveled various places to conduct interviews with many seasoned aged ministry leaders and pastors. Their focus was to consider how Christians and Christian leaders can undiscerningly default to worldly/humanly methods to attempt to build the kingdom. They hoped that the perspective of these wise Christians after years of walking with the Lord might have some insight. Each one revealed how easy it is for us to begin to rely on our personal skills, wisdom, and abilities to inch along the progress of Kingdom work personally and in the church. They talked about how easy it is to employ the strategies of the world to generate spiritual success.
In the text, I could really see the illustration of Israel’s post-exodus Egyptian-like tendencies and how that derailed their progress in the wilderness. See, we all struggle with internal elements leftover from our previous way of life. That’s not surprising to us, or at least it shouldn’t be. We are every one of us unfinished and imperfect in this life. Don’t misunderstand me, I’m not extending a blanket excuse for us to continue living in foolishness while thinking, “well, I guess that’s just who we are…” Instead, I’m hoping to bring to light the reality that the flesh will never produce righteousness, even with our best intentions. If we can acknowledge that fact and repent of those elements and tendencies, we can humbly re-engage God and begin again kingdom work in His power rather than ours. In all honesty, presuming ourselves to be smart enough and skilled enough to do ministry is to say to the Spirit of God, “Stand back, bro, I got this… I’ll come to get you when I can’t handle things myself.” It’s a mentality rooted in our western culture proclivity toward self-sufficiency and independence.
Abiding or Idolatry
The life-lessons expressed by the sages interviewed for this book (J. I. Packer, Dallas Willard, Marva Dawn, John Perkins, Jean Vanier, James Houston, and Eugene Peterson to name a few) all circled back to the slow and tedious means by which the kingdom is built; relationship with God by humbly submitting to and following Him… talking extensively with God and listening to Him and His word. The alternative is to live as Israel in the wilderness, just as it was expressed at the beginning of this article, “They did not become the kinds of people who could hear the Word, nor did they give themselves to ways of life that allowed them to walk with God. They were idolaters, and so like the idols themselves, they became people with eyes that could not see and ears that could not hear. They were becoming like the dead idols that looked alive but had no real life in them.”
How often do you talk with God about your life, ministry, and purpose? …even the stumbling blocks or roadblocks of your life that seem impossible? Or are your conversations with God more often reduced to pleas for His help to fix things or give you things? If the disciples are any form of example to us, we need to consider their day to day interaction with Jesus in comparison to ours. It’s the gospel call to all disciples to abide in Him. From that position comes peace, hope, purpose, direction… and power in love. For what? …the glory of God and His Kingdom alone. It’s not about focusing on making your life count, leaving your legacy, or being a good example to others. The fact of the matter is if you live your life for the glory of God, you will count, leave a legacy, and be a good example; all which are a legitimate side-effect of a proper Christian focus.
Spiritual Activity in the Flesh
This issue affects our lives in subtle and various ways. Compare the effect of a father who abides in Christ before the eyes of his children versus the one who “behaves as a Christian should” in order to be a good example to his children. Which one is correct or most effective? One is done in the power of God and the other in the flesh. Assuredly the one who “behaves as a Christian should” is more concerned about how he looks than being sincere. In fact, it seems God almost guarantees we’ll look like fools if we abide in Him. Compare the Christian who abides in God amongst the Christian community to take part in the work of God versus the one who tries to “do all he is supposed to do” and “struggles to live up to the expectations of God and the church” to gain a position, attention, or some payoff. Compare the one who abides in Jesus day-to-day submitting to the authority and direction of the Spirit versus the one who lives the way he lives so that he will be remembered after he is dead. Something that seems so honorable on the surface reveals fleshly roots that are so subtle and corrupting. There is such a great pull inside us to make something Godly into a work of the flesh. We can’t take credit for something God has done which is such a blow to our ego. And claiming credit for the work is to claim control of it.
The Doorway Out
Our hope in changing direction in this common-to-man problem is in abiding in God. I believe we all could use improvement in our personal prayer with God. In another book by the same authors, they expressed that, “prayer is not the place to be good, but the place to be honest.” I encourage you to join me as I seek to deepen my relationship with God; as I grow in my desire to abide in Him more consistently; not doing the activity of prayer but communing with God. “Here I am, Lord.”
† The Way of the Dragon or the Way of the Lamb: Searching for Jesus’ Path of Power in a Church that Has Abandoned It
by Jamin Goggin, Kyle Strobel – Paperback – January 24, 2017