We have no righteousness of our own...
Well the last three days have blurred together into one enormous block of time. Once again God has taken me on this spiritual ride of up, down, backwards and still. I guess it makes sense that the day after I really felt like I understood and experienced God's Shalom in a very clear and simple way, that God would then show me the next layer of complexity, the next layer of junk in my own life. I'm reminded by something Bambi said in November when we were studying Galatians 6. We were reading verses 7-8:
"Do not be deceived:God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life."
Bambi's commentary: "the world is dead, so reaping there will only bring death. The new creation is alive and sowing there will only bring life. It's a law of nature. It's just how things work, not a human law to be followed, just a fact.
"We have no righteousness of our own."
If we just continue to plant seeds in the world, we will continue to reap sin and death, pain and suffering, both in our own hearts and in the hearts of other people. On Friday, God really opened up my eyes to how many seeds I have been sowing in my sinful nature. People know I love to talk and joke, but at the same time if you talk too much, if you're not thinking about your words and how powerful they are, you can hurt people. This always astonishes me. I never want to hurt anyone, but sometimes I talk faster than I think and I catch someone in the crossfire. I've done this twice in the past two years (to my knowledge) to friends that I care about deeply. One of those times was this week. Both times the friend in question was gracious enough to forgive me, for which I am truly thankful. Both times I felt awful about it. The Bible talks over and over again about the Word as a "double-edged sword" (Heb 4:12 for one). God's word is the most penetrating, because it is true, because it comes from the Truth. But he has also given us the power of speech and our words, too, can be a double edged sword equally powerful at wounding or healing. I thank God so much that he has given us the ultimate example of forgiveness to show us how to heal the wounds we give each other. I especially thank the person, who this week offered me forgiveness even after I messed up. Thanks.
That same day (Friday) I was talking with this guy from class. He's hysterical, really funny, probably the most sarcastic guy I know. For some reason I felt like I should start swearing while I talked with him. Stupid, stupid, stupid. The guy is better than anyone I know at spotting hypocrisy and he called me on it immediately. He could tell at once that I was trying to be someone I'm not in order to gain his approval. Again, the words I chose were so many seeds planted in the world instead of in the Spirit.
Rob Bell writes in Velvet Elvis:
"I'm learning that very few people actually live from their heart. Very few live connected with thei soul. And those few who do the difficult work, who stare their junk in the face, who get counsel, who let Jesus into all of the rooms in thier soul that no one ever goes in, they make a difference. They are so different; they're coming from such a different place that their voices inevitably get heard above the others. They are pursuing wholeness and shalom, and it's contagious. They inspire me to keep going."
Shalom is so different. It's so so so different. The language the bible uses about the difference between light and darkness shows this difference in the most simple and most powerful way. I again quote Rob Bell: Shalom in the Hebrew means, not just the absence of conflict, as in the English word "peace" but rather "Shalom is the presence of the goodness of God. It's the presence of wholeness, completeness." Wow. That's powerful. Shalom is assertive. Light is assertive. It's active. It's full. Darkness is an absence. Darkness is a void. There can be a peaceful Darkness. There can be a Darkness absent from conflict. But there can never be Darkness full of Shalom. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the Beginning...In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness but the darkness has not understood it." (John 1:1-5)God shows us the ultimate example of words shining in the darkness in the presence of his Shalom, in the person of his son Jesus.
We have no Righteousness of our own. Righteousness is inherently holy, is inherently other, from us. Shalom is so different. But we are meant to live with it and by it. We are meant to live in Christ and by Him. Shalom is awesome. It truly is like a city on a hill or a lamp in a window by which others also can see(Matthew 5:14-16). Thanks be to God for His presence of wholeness and completeness.
"Do not be deceived:God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life."
Bambi's commentary: "the world is dead, so reaping there will only bring death. The new creation is alive and sowing there will only bring life. It's a law of nature. It's just how things work, not a human law to be followed, just a fact.
"We have no righteousness of our own."
If we just continue to plant seeds in the world, we will continue to reap sin and death, pain and suffering, both in our own hearts and in the hearts of other people. On Friday, God really opened up my eyes to how many seeds I have been sowing in my sinful nature. People know I love to talk and joke, but at the same time if you talk too much, if you're not thinking about your words and how powerful they are, you can hurt people. This always astonishes me. I never want to hurt anyone, but sometimes I talk faster than I think and I catch someone in the crossfire. I've done this twice in the past two years (to my knowledge) to friends that I care about deeply. One of those times was this week. Both times the friend in question was gracious enough to forgive me, for which I am truly thankful. Both times I felt awful about it. The Bible talks over and over again about the Word as a "double-edged sword" (Heb 4:12 for one). God's word is the most penetrating, because it is true, because it comes from the Truth. But he has also given us the power of speech and our words, too, can be a double edged sword equally powerful at wounding or healing. I thank God so much that he has given us the ultimate example of forgiveness to show us how to heal the wounds we give each other. I especially thank the person, who this week offered me forgiveness even after I messed up. Thanks.
That same day (Friday) I was talking with this guy from class. He's hysterical, really funny, probably the most sarcastic guy I know. For some reason I felt like I should start swearing while I talked with him. Stupid, stupid, stupid. The guy is better than anyone I know at spotting hypocrisy and he called me on it immediately. He could tell at once that I was trying to be someone I'm not in order to gain his approval. Again, the words I chose were so many seeds planted in the world instead of in the Spirit.
Rob Bell writes in Velvet Elvis:
"I'm learning that very few people actually live from their heart. Very few live connected with thei soul. And those few who do the difficult work, who stare their junk in the face, who get counsel, who let Jesus into all of the rooms in thier soul that no one ever goes in, they make a difference. They are so different; they're coming from such a different place that their voices inevitably get heard above the others. They are pursuing wholeness and shalom, and it's contagious. They inspire me to keep going."
Shalom is so different. It's so so so different. The language the bible uses about the difference between light and darkness shows this difference in the most simple and most powerful way. I again quote Rob Bell: Shalom in the Hebrew means, not just the absence of conflict, as in the English word "peace" but rather "Shalom is the presence of the goodness of God. It's the presence of wholeness, completeness." Wow. That's powerful. Shalom is assertive. Light is assertive. It's active. It's full. Darkness is an absence. Darkness is a void. There can be a peaceful Darkness. There can be a Darkness absent from conflict. But there can never be Darkness full of Shalom. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the Beginning...In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness but the darkness has not understood it." (John 1:1-5)God shows us the ultimate example of words shining in the darkness in the presence of his Shalom, in the person of his son Jesus.
We have no Righteousness of our own. Righteousness is inherently holy, is inherently other, from us. Shalom is so different. But we are meant to live with it and by it. We are meant to live in Christ and by Him. Shalom is awesome. It truly is like a city on a hill or a lamp in a window by which others also can see(Matthew 5:14-16). Thanks be to God for His presence of wholeness and completeness.