Check out this quote from the devotional text of the Bible in a Year plan I’m on:
“Holy is the word that sets God apart and above our attempts to enlist him in our wish-fulfillment fantasies or our utopian schemes for making our mark in the world.”
WOW!
Talk about taking a moment to think about the motivations of my own goals. Yes, I’m ambitious and I want to do things and leave my mark on the world, but the “wish-fulfillment fantasy” and “utopian schemes” really nail the reality of how much of my own ego is involved in my ambitions.
The role of the Christian is to serve God, not to serve the self. While motivations vary and I don’t think there is much necessarily wrong with the notion of being self-serving…it has to be second to the primary mission of us all…to serve our God.
We, ourselves, are holy to the extent to which we live to serve God.
Being in line with what God wants me to do means that God is on my side…who can be against me? What could I possibly fear when the creator of the universe is on my side? This is what is meant by being fearless…this is a degree of peace that we seek in our faith.
Jesus calls us to be ruthless in our effort to be holy (to live our lives in service to God). This intensity is what he seeks…this is the intensity that will attract others. When we see people who are very INTO what they are doing, we find it compelling and amazing. We want to learn more, maybe even have a part of that wonderful energy that we have when we fully commit to something…when we are “ruthless” in our pursuit.
We are to develop:
- Humility
- Tolerance
- Love
- Discipline
- Peace
- Faithfulness
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One of the great challenges of my thinking is with the mechanisms of the universe that demand a blood sacrifice for the forgiveness of sin. I can understand enduring sin and the fact we are born sinful. Humans have been devolving in some ways over the generations due to sin.
What is it about the physical manifestations of good and evil in the world that usher in the need for sacrifice. Are there patters of power and energy that emanate from “good” and “bad” acts? Can this balance be offset by the instance of “sacrifice”?
I consider the energy that goes out when we hear of a personal sacrifice. This giving of self, everything from simply doing a favor to giving one’s life, has a ripple effect in the world. More so than simply doing good (which may have selfish motivations along with good ones.). Sacrifice, one would assume, entails that I am not that comfortable with the thing that I’m losing.
Our own trek to be holy involves an imense amount of personal sacrifice. We are to give up our selfhood, our desires, our needs. These things we do with joy and willingness and out of a pure desire to serve God.
There is something, however, mystical about blood. Scientifically, it is the liquid tissue. It is a transportation system that moves nutrients, oxygen, and waste all over the body. Blood is a miracle fluid. It is connected, in composition, to the she and the initial creation. To spill blood (as in murder) is to defy God, to spill blood in sacrifice is the ultimate glory to God. It truly is the leaking away of our life.
In the ancient world, blood sacrifices pervade the Old Testament. This is so strange to our modern ears. But in the day, blood was mysterious. It is also connected to the creation so the use of it in sacrifice recollects the connection we have to the initial creation.
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Just read that we are the “salt of the earth”…we are to have “salt” in us. Consider this in light of the fact that salt intensifies the eating experience. It causes us to salivate more thus aiding in the breakdown of the chemical make up of our food and allowing our tastebuds to process more information. We are to be the “salt in the oats” that lead others to be thirsty. May they look at us and be thirsty for what we have!
We will bring others to Christ not because we have convinced them of the need they have for Christ, but because we will be the salt that causes them to thirst for him! Like moths attracted to a flame, we are the flame that attracts others to Christ. We have to burn, we have to give light. And by giving light we bring attention to the shadow (for without light there is no shadow and all is in darkness.)
Mark K.