I'VE BEEN THINKING... We Don't Need Common Sense

Looking around at the world situation it occurs to me that the last thing this place needs is “common sense.”  The vast majority of sense doesn’t seem to be very good.  The thought processes that represent the common view, common perspective, or common acceptance don’t seem to be serving our communities very well at all.

I’ve been thinking that, as Christians, we are supposed to possess the opposite of “common” sense – we need “uncommon” sense.  When I was a kid and trying to get my folks’ permission to do something or go somewhere, I would fall back to what I thought was an unarguable standard, “But, all the guys are doing it.”  My Mom or Dad would quickly retort, “If all the guys jumped off a bridge, would you? Just because they’re all doing something stupid doesn’t mean you have to!”   

But today it seems that if everyone (or at least the majority of people) decide that jumping off the bridge is a good idea, we’re all supposed to happily follow – without asking any questions.  What has become “common,” everyday, majority sense might not be such a good idea for Christians desiring to live righteously in our communities. 

The spiritual sense of Ephesians 4:1–3 (ESV) is not a very common sense.   I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. I don’t even find much of this kind of sense being lived out inside common churches today. 

Our communities, even our church communities, are more closely following the “common” sense of “if you’re wronged – get even” or “if someone says something bad about me – I’ll return the favor” or “I’m not going to be that religious – people may think I’m weird”… “nobody else takes the things of God that seriously – why should I?” 

It sounds a lot like when I was a kid, “I won’t believe that, or do that, because nobody else is… it’s not the common sense thing to do.”  The almost mocking words come back, “Just because everybody is jumping off (or away from) the uncommon sense of the “Christian-faith” bridge doesn’t mean you have to.”   

Ephesians 4:14-16 tells Christians not to think that way, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.  

But, if I want to do the righteous thing instead of the common thing… live a life giving glory to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ… how do I do that? 

Again, Ephesians gives us the direction, Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. But that is not the way you learned Christ!— assuming that you have heard about Him and were taught in Him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.  (Ephesians 4:17-24) 

Just because the majority of our culture agrees that a lifestyle of sin is acceptable or even cool, it doesn’t mean that we should follow the “futility of their minds – darkened in their understanding.”  Christians need to be “renewed in the spirit of our minds and put on the new self of righteousness and holiness.”  That’s not common but it is the course of action pleasing to the living God.   I’ve been thinking about… 

Taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ… We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ.

(2 Corinthians 10:5)

Putting on the mind of Christ… The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. “For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.

(1 Corinthians 2:14–16)  

Having the mind of Christ and taking every thought in life captive to obey Him may not be “common” sense, but it makes “uncommon” sense to me.     

Think about it….

I'VE BEEN THINKING... How Does A Person Without Standing Become an Outstanding Person?

I’ve been thinking…

How Does A Person Without Standing Become An Outstanding Person?

In every society of man there are persons who, because of their sex, lack of education, financial status, race, or religion are without standing.  In many communities age can be a point of non-standing; children and even unborn young can be killed or abused because they literally have no rights, while the old are often thought of as social or economic drains having no value.  Some segments of human society even consider people with handicaps as having no social, economic, or intrinsic worth. 

The insidious nature of bullying leaves the aftereffect of worthlessness in its victims.  Mankind has always been willing to humiliate others in order to achieve a feeling of superiority.  Often the ones doing the bullying are the ones who feel they are themselves inferior in some way and are trying to compensate by persecuting those they disdain or fear. 

But, I’ve been thinking about our spiritual standing before God.  I think the struggle for standing between human beings is a reflection of mankind’s concern for standing before a holy God. 

Before we acknowledged Jesus Christ as God’s loving sacrifice on our behalf, we were people without spiritual standing.  Romans 3:10-12 makes it clear, … “There is none righteous, not even one; There is none who understands, There is none who seeks for God; All have turned aside, together they have become useless; There is none who does good, There is not even one.” In comparison to a totally holy, totally righteous God we are worthless.  Romans 3:23 shouts the news that every human being is a sinner and is therefore lacking.  For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. 

So, that raises the question.  If we are all without spiritual standing before God, what can we do?  This is, of course, the “good news” of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Many of us are familiar with John 3:16… at least the first part… “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son…”  But what affects our standing before God is the last part, “that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” 

When we accept Christ as our savior, God freely gives us each a completely new status.  We are new people.   Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. 2 Corinthians 5:17.  New things include a new standing before the throne of God. 

Then, as a completely new person in Christ, I have the opportunity to be used by God to bless others with that same message of “good news.”  “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. Galatians 2:20 

I was a spiritually worthless person – completely without standing before a righteous God.  But, as a Christian, I am now a person who belongs to God as one of His own children…  For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!” Romans 8:15 

Looking at scripture.  God, almost as a rule rather than exception, takes people of little or no consequence and changes them into outstanding people.  Little David – from shepherd boy to king.  Jacob – from cheating scoundrel to father of a nation.  Daniel and Joseph – from lowly slaves to second-in-command to kings.  Gideon – from an inconsequential individual of a small defeated tribe to a mighty judge of Israel.  Ruth – from a non-Jewish widow to the grandmother of King David.  Mary Magdalene – from prostitute to the first person to see the risen Christ (Mark 16:9).  Peter – from fisherman to church leader.  Matthew – from detested taxman to writer of a gospel.  Onesimus – from condemned runaway slave to future bishop of the church (Philemon 1:10,11)…  And literally countless others throughout the Bible.  And then there’s me – from a worthless, self absorbed, directionless sinner to a person who, in Christ, found a purpose for life and a confidence in the future.  (1 John 4:16-18) 

People without standing become outstanding people because God has moved in their lives. 

As those of us who are Christians go through life serving our Lord and serving those around us, we truly live out the miracle of going from people without standing to outstanding people.  (Mark 10:43-45) 

His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ Matthew 25:21 (ESV)

Think about it…

Are You Seeing The World Through Your Songlasses?

I’ve been thinking…

Are You Seeing the World Through Your Songlasses?

Yesterday I was getting ready for a ride on my motorcycle.  I went outside on a bright and beautiful sunny day.  Almost immediately I noticed that I couldn’t see very well.  It was so bright I had to squint making the things around me, including road conditions, out of focus – fuzzy looking.  It would have been uncomfortable, not to mention dangerous, to ride with my sight compromised in that way.  I put on my sunglasses and it was instantly like that old song, “I can see clearly now…”

So, I’ve been thinking…  Do we see the world through our “Songlasses?”  That’s not a typo.  Are we seeing things through the filter of Christ’s vision?  I’ve often heard that as believers in Christ, we are to have a “Christian World View.”  But it’s never been totally clear what that view really looks like day to day.   

There are all kinds of scholarly definitions of “Christian World View” out there.  When I try to read some of them I know that I fall way short in the “smarts department.”  It confirms that my education has far exceeded my mental capacities.  So, Let me simplify the definition of “Christian World View” in this way… by looking at the specific words. 

Christian – meaning “of or about Christ.”  Do I see the world as Christ sees it?  We have a hint of His “World View” in Matthew 9:36 - Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd.  

World – meaning “the entire creation – both physical and spiritual conditions.”  It is often used in the New Testament to describe a place of spiritual lures and dangers, in other words as a system contrary to the spiritual agenda of heaven.  John 8:23 – And He was saying to them, “You are from below, I am from above; you are of this world, I am not of this world.  Romans 12:2 – “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”  1 John 2:15-16 – “Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.”  

View – meaning “perspective or way of perceiving.”  Do I look at things with a scriptural, spiritual perspective?  Am I seeing my health concerns, job challenges, financial difficulties, ministry obstacles, family stresses, and spiritual trials through the lenses of my “Songlasses?”  Do I see them as Jesus sees them?  When confronted with a stranger, family member, friend, or co-worker do I see them with Christ’s eyes?  Do I have a spiritual viewpoint about governments, world economies, the eco-system, and overall struggles of humanity?  I Samuel 16:7 says that God doesn’t see the way man sees.  Genesis 6:11,12 says that God looks at the world and sees corruption and sin.  John 3:16 tells us that, even in that corruption, God loves the world enough to send Jesus and, as we’ve seen, Jesus looks at the world and has a view of love and compassion.  

The only way we can have God’s perspective in every moment of our lives is for us to put on those “Son” lenses and see through Christ’s eyes.  When we start our day’s journey if we put on our “Songlasses” we will be able to see the day’s events much more clearly.  We’ll see people and situations with a perspective we couldn’t have if we just went through the motions of the day with our eyes partially closed in a squint. 

The view through my “Songlasses” is summed up in 1 Chronicles 29:11-13, “Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, indeed everything that is in the heavens and the earth; Yours is the dominion, O Lord, and You exalt Yourself as head over all.  Both riches and honor come from You, and You rule over all, and in Your hand is power and might; and it lies in Your hand to make great and to strengthen everyone.  Now therefore, our God, we thank You, and praise Your glorious name.” 

Now those are cool “Songlasses” … 

Think about it…