Funny how
initially bad things can turn out beneficial.
In the throes of an illness, I was forced to put aside all my
responsibilities: no laundry, no
cooking, no computer, no Bible reading, no word-filled prayers. I finally had permission to set everything
aside … with no guilt. My prayers
consisted of, “Here I am God, in your hands.
I’m listening.” All I heard was …
peace. No worry, anxiety, or fear. Stripped down, peeled back, exposed, I lay
before God, not pursuing, not striving, not doing anything.
Looking back, I suspect, in
part, I’ll miss that week of being sick.
While I’m up to my neck in school, family, and church life, I’ll look
for those quiet reprieves, longing to be still in mind and spirit. Getting away from the noise of life sometimes
comes in unexpected forms. Not realizing
how I was striving, I was surprised at what God revealed.
Too often “doing” defines our faith. We do the right things initially for the
right reasons, only to be left frazzled and tired. Author, Sue Kidd, remarks, “Maybe we are meant to journey not only toward
God or even for God, but with God.
With.” What a huge difference
a preposition makes. “My yoke is easy and my burden is light,”
Jesus reminds us in Matthew’s Gospel.
However, certain sly behaviors and expectations get added to what God
says.
Slapping on frill and superfluous deeds, we burden ourselves. Sometimes our lives develop such a routine
and rigor that joy is squeezed dry. The
antidote is Christ, our rest. “We must not put any confidence in the
righteousness of works, and we must not ascribe to works any glory,” the 16th
century reformer, John Calvin, reminds.
Nothing we do can earn our salvation.
Our good works are like dirty wash rags when compared to the purity of
God. We cannot be right with Christ if
any part of us remains tainted with an attitude of “I can do it myself.” Being right with God by faith is
contradictory to trying to earn right standing with God by deeds.
Now hear me loud and clear, I am
not talking about the deeds that stem from an intimate relationship with
God. The Holy Spirit is not silent and
stirs believers into action who bear the sweet, ample fruit of the Spirit. If believers are not in engaged in such acts,
then you wonder if they have any faith at all.
No, I am not talking about that.
What I am talking about is works righteousness: where we rely on our strength to draw us
closer to God: “… [To] appear before God’s face unto salvation we must smell sweetly
with his odor, and our vices must be covered and buried by his perfection.”
(Calvin’s Institutes).
So how often do we find
ourselves striving and reaching instead of waiting on God? How often do we pick up our faith on our
shoulders and try to grow it through self-will?
We cannot make our hearts upright.
That’s God’s job. Only when
united with God’s Spirit can any work be seen as pleasing God. No one can fulfill the perfection of
God. Too vast a separation exists
between God’s holiness and our humanness.
That gulf exists because of our self-will, pride, sin.
Our acts don’t make us right,
only faith can do that - faith imparted through the blood of Jesus. God begins our faith; God will grow our
faith. We simply need to respond: to seek to know and be known by God. But I know that no matter how persistent or
studious or tenacious I am in my pursuit of godly things, I cannot grow my
faith or even make myself love God more.
That’s God’s job! I’ve crossed
the line. Back up, back down, and
relax. More importantly trust God’s
rhythm. Sometimes all I do is
hinder.
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