American Salvation

We don’t need Jesus as much as our ancient forbears did.

That’s not to say that we don’t need the forgiveness of our sins.  Absolutely, we desperately need that.  And we need a relationship with God.  It is a wonderful feeling to know that, if we ever need God, we can pray to him and He’s there for us.  It’s good to have that security blanket, if we ever need Him.  And, of course, we need Him everyday.  That’s why we need to pray daily.  Because we need Him.

                So why don’t we pray?

                Well, sure, we prayed for Aunt Marge just last week.  She was going into surgery.  But she’s okay, because the doctors fixed her right up.  And we prayed for Tim, from our church, because he was going to Africa to visit some people who needed help.  We prayed for his protection.  He got back okay.  Of course, we knew that air travel is the safest way to go.  And there weren’t any wars where he was going.  But we’re glad we prayed, just in case. 

                And, of course, we worship God.  Some of us do it just on Sundays, and some every day.  But we recognize that its our responsibility to worship Him because He gave us life and created the world and provided us with the basics of every living thing.  So we thank him for our food, although we know that it came from stores after being processed after being grown in farms.  But somewhere back there, God did something to get us the food, so we thank Him.  It’s only respectful.

                It’s not like we believe that God doesn’t work today.  We certainly recognize God’s power in our lives.  It’s not like God is just some clockworker who put in the rechargeable battery and let it go. So why do we often practically act like deists?  Why does it seem as if our lives wouldn’t really be any different if we were just trying to be “good people”? 

                 Isn’t Christianity supposed to be something more intense?  What are we missing?

                Honestly, what we are missing is salvation.

                “No, no,” you interrupt, “you don’t understand.  We HAVE salvation.  We have it in Jesus.  Jesus died on the cross.  We believe.  So we have forgiveness and a relationship with God.  We already have it.”

                The problem is that forgiveness is only one part of salvation.  It’s important, that’s true, but its not the whole ball of wax.  Jesus offered us a lot more than just forgiveness.  He offers us the kingdom of God.  That’s quite a package.  It’s just that so few people really know what it all entails.

When Jesus offered us the kingdom, he offered us a nation of justice.  He offered us a nation that acts on the principle of caring for everyone, without exception, so that everyone will be cared for.  Justice is in Jesus’ hands, and he offers it to us. All we have to do is

                But we already have justice, don’t we?  That’s what we are told.  We live in a great nation of equality, where no one receives special treatment because of who they are.  Everyone is treated the same, no matter what their sex or their race or their social class or their wealth.  Everyone receives the same justice, the same opportunities… or, at least, that’s how it is supposed to work.

                I guess perhaps we don’t all have justice.  I guess there is still people of color who don’t receive equal treatment.  There are still women and even men who are refused jobs because of their sex.  There are immigrants and the homeless who aren’t treated with fairness.  There are still the mentally ill who are not given a fair shake.  So maybe we still need Jesus’ offer of justice after all.

When Jesus offered the kingdom of God, he was offering the outcast and lowly the opportunity to be rulers over the world.  He proclaimed good news to the poor, freedom to the prisoners and a new start to sinners.  Anyone could have the opportunity to lead in Jesus’ kingdom—they didn’t have to be rich or popular or part of a ruling class or a certain educational level.  Anyone could be powerful or have authority through the Holy Spirit, and rule with Jesus.

                But in our society, we already have that, don’t we.  After all, any kid in America could be whatever they want to be.  If a kid wants to be part of the police or an astronaut or even President of the whole country all they have to do is work hard and nothing will stop them from achieving their goal, right?

                But, actually, I wanted to be an astronaut until I found out that very few people could be in the few slots available for the position.  And I wasn’t good enough at science anyway.  Maybe, they said, I could be a social worker.  And as far as president?  When was the last time a homeless person became president?  Or a woman?   When was the last time an uneducated person become president?  No, the presidency is for a very few.  I guess we need Jesus’ salvation for the outcast after all.

               

                When Jesus offered us the kingdom of God, he offered us God’s knowledge and wisdom in all things.  He offered us the opportunity to know God’s righteousness and to know the hidden things of God.  We can have the Holy Spirit who will guide us in our lives and give us wisdom in every circumstance.

                But maybe we don’t need that knowledge anymore.  After all, we have great colleges and universities where we can learn anything of importance.  We have the internet to pick up any other kind of fact that we need.  And we have counselors and psychologists to offer us wisdom and counsel in our lives. Heck, we have search engines that will tell us whatever we know. 

                On the other hand, I never really learned that much in college.  I mean it was helpful, but it really only pointed the way.  And the ethics courses were pretty sketchy.  And though I can get a lot of facts in our society, I can’t tell the difference between Truth and the various forms of untruth that are floating around out there.  It’s so hard to tell the difference.  And I’ve got a friend, who is at least as sane as me, and the counselor keeps telling her that she’s got multiple personality disorder.  How many of those counselors and psychiatrists really understand us, who we really are, as individuals?  Perhaps we need Jesus’ salvation for wisdom after all.

When Jesus offered us the kingdom of God, he said that God would provide everything we need.  He said that we wouldn’t need to worry about food and clothing—God has got us covered (so to speak).  He said that he would heal our diseases and care for our wounds.  All of our basic needs would be provided for.

                But we don’t need God for that anymore.  I’m sure that the ancients needed God for their daily bread and health, but, frankly, us Americans are doing pretty well.  After all, I’ve never missed a meal in my life.  And I’ve eaten pretty well, if I can judge by my waistline.  We’ve got clean water and hot water and running water and sanitary water—that’s something!  And we have a better health system than ever seen in history.  More people are healed in a city hospital in one day than Jesus did in a year of ministry.

                Of course, people are mostly healed.  There is very little joy in healing, like with Jesus.  People sometimes seem sicker after their “healing” than before.  And I eat well and live well, it is true.  But why do I feel so guilty?  Why is there no satisfaction, not even any contentment, with my prosperity?  And why are there so many in the U.S. that don’t experience that prosperity?  Why are there children who are hungry, families who are homeless and strong men crippled by work?  Perhaps we need Jesus’ salvation of prosperity after all.

When Jesus offered us the kingdom of God, he promised us a society of God.  He said that we would have a society which would be our family, and we would have tight-knit bonds.  If any person was in need, the others would help them out.  Everyone would be supported and helped.

                But our society seems fine.  It offers a lot of variety, a lot of opportunity.  There are support groups everywhere, for every kind of issue.  There are churches and clubs and societies.  And if anyone is really in need, they could ask for it.  Or get welfare.

                On the other hand, our society seems full of violence.  And full of hatreds.  And there isn’t much forgiveness.  And I don’t know if I remember the name of anyone in my support group.  And I think I lied.  There’s no one who will really help us in need.  And welfare is humiliating.

When Jesus offered us the kingdom of God, he promised us a secure future.  We would be resurrected from the dead, and we would have eternal life.  We would be completely defended by God and there would be no more sorrows.  All the future would be ours, if only we would trust in Him.

                But our future seems fine.  We have the possibility of a comfortable retirement.  We have insurance to cover the worst of disasters—fire, flood, death, disease.  And we are secure in the hands of the U.S. military and the local police.  They keep things pretty secure.

                But, actually, we are pretty nervous.  We depended on Social Security, and we aren’t confident in it anymore.  We depended on insurance, and they said they wouldn’t pay for our disaster.  We had to take them to court to get the money we were promised.  And I would feel secure with the military and police, if only I could trust them.  If only I wasn’t afraid of what they would do.  As well as all the criminals and terrorists they miss.  I suppose that we still need Jesus salvation for the future.

When Jesus offered the kingdom of God, he was speaking about God’s rule.  God would be our Lord and Master and King.  No one would take us from his hand.  No one would rule over us, only God through Jesus.

                But, frankly, we don’t really want to be ruled by anyone.  I am the master of my own destiny, and I don’t really want anyone telling me what to do.  I have my own principles to live by.  I have my own ambitions.  It is enough for me to make my own decisions.  It is enough that I am in charge of my own life and I am independent of all rule.  Even God’s.   I think I understand now why we are practical deists.  Because we are content with what we already have.  We have made our own decisions and we have obtained the salvation the world offers, and why do we need any thing else?

 

                Except… that I made a mess of my life already.  I am depressed, sometimes forsaken, often sick.  My life is miserable, and I can’t blame anyone but myself.  I don’t know if I want to be independent.  I’m just not strong enough, not wise enough, not secure enough, not happy enough.  Maybe—just maybe—I really need Jesus to take over my life.

There is a salvation that America offers us.  It is often called the American dream.  We could fit into our society and live out this dream.  We could be consumers, and have whatever material things we want.  We could gain a high position socially.  We could live in a society of mutual respect and opportunity.  We could have security for our family and our children’s children.

                That’s the promise.  There’s only two problems with this promise.

                First of all, it’s a lie.  America cannot deliver it to us.  It never has, and it never will.  The government and society is inadequate for what the American dream promises.

                Also, Jesus’ offer is much better.  The kingdom of God is a more complete version of the salvation America offers. 

                Some of our greatest heroes, we have been told, offered us salvation.  George Washington.  Thomas Jefferson.  Abraham Lincoln.  Franklin Roosevelt.  Martin Luther King, Jr.  They offered us equality.  They offered us prosperity.  They offered us a glorious destiny.  It was an empty promise.  It was an offer without any substance.

            Only Jesus’ promise is the real thing.  The real salvation.

A Thirst For Wisdom

In the world there exists no lack of truth. Libraries are stacked with truths, the internet is exploding with facts, experts are just full of it. If we want truth, we can look anywhere and find it. The world focuses on the differences between what is true and what is untrue. This is significant, for if we believe a lie, then we have nothing true within us. However, it is equally possible for us to focus on the wrong truth. For some truth does not set us free, but bind us and blind us to what is significant.

The church has often been mislead by what is untrue. We have often listened to rumor or the speculations of a charismatic figure rather than examining what we have received in order to determine it’s accuracy. The Bereans were considered high minded because they didn’t just accept what they heard—as true as it was—but examined it according to a standard of truth. They analyzed and so were able to decide what was true, not just accepting it blindly.

But rarely does Scripture command us to determine what is true. Because there are so many truths to choose from. The Scripture never denied that there were spiritual powers beside God. The Scripture never said that all the pagans had to say was false—instead, they used the literature of the pagans to convict of the truth that was obvious to all. But what the Scripture emphasizes is the differences between truth and wisdom.

Truth is simply what is. It is fact. But we cannot live by facts alone. It is a fact that the sky, when clear, is blue, but that does not tell us why we are on this earth. It is a fact that light travels at the speed of … miles per second, but this fact does not tell us how we should live. It is a fact that there are (a hundred) kinds of penguins, but this fact does not tell us how to live in integrity and love.

Truth is the fact. Wisdom is the significance. Wisdom not just applies truth to reality, but it brings balance to all things. It tells us which truths to focus on and which truths are less important. Wisdom recognizes what is real and how to communicate reality for the benefit of all. Wisdom does not see fact as a hard-edged, black and white proposition. Wisdom sees truth as being the moldable tool of love and community.

Truth is relatively easy to discover. In many questionable areas we can find the reality, if we would but look. Truth is only difficult because so many people determine to remain ignorant, to leave it unsought. But wisdom, no matter how often or with what effort one seeks it, is always difficult. No matter how many confirmed facts we learn, we do not from that know the fact of what is important for us to know. We can comprehend and communicate millions of true sentences, yet none of them true for us, true for our family, true for our community, true for our world.

Knowledge is not life.
Facts are not action.
Truth is not love.
Propositions are not wisdom.

To focus on this fact can be despairing, which is also in opposition to wisdom. We must not dwell too deeply on the fact that fact is outside of practical reality. Where can we obtain wisdom, love, community, hope and significance? With wisdom God created the world. With wisdom, God saved the world. With wisdom, God decided to give His Son with love. Where is wisdom? It comes from God, and God alone.

Many have looked at God and have reduced Him down to facts. This accumulation of facts—both historic and philosophical—is called theology. Yet God cannot be found in the beauty of theology. God can truly be found in the wisdom of God.

Jesus is the wisdom of God. Jesus, who sat with the sinners and explained the Law as love. Jesus argued against the true facts of the Pharisees to show how insignificant they were compared to the act, speech and love of God. Jesus argued against the priests who put God into the box of the temple, and so tore the veil in two which blocked people’s vision of God. The fact that Jesus was the being of God isn’t what we should look at. Rather, Jesus was the revelation of the wisdom of God. In Jesus the truth of what is important is found.

Because Jesus is the revelation of the Father. The Father wanted us to understand wisdom, so he gave us not a rule book, nor a theology text but a living person. As Jesus is passed to us, it is not in a mathematical formula nor logical propositions, but written lives. Only life can display a wise life.

And Jesus knew that he would not be sufficient wisdom for all the generations to come. A single life, even expressed four-fold, is not enough to give the wisdom for all. So God planted the wisdom in our hearts. The Spirit gives us the teachings of the Father, day by day, hour by hour. These teachings are not the facts of truth, but the wisdom of life. Significance, not proposition.

The Spirit is revelation. The Spirit tells us that which human logic could never convince us of. The Spirit leads us to holiness, to love, to mercy, to humility, to community, to the power of God, which cannot be seen by eyes or measured by instruments.

For wisdom is the direct gift of God. All we need to have it is to open ourselves to receive. All the best of life is ours to grasp, if we would but seek Him. If we would listen to Him, we might have to set aside the facts that we have grasped onto in order to truly have Him. We must surrender our knowledge to Him, so that we can live in love. We must burn the insignificant as a sacrifice, so that God will grant us peace with others. We rest the burdens of our lives upon his arms, so that His wisdom might guide. Give us your wisdom, O Lord, display before us the love you wish us to live.