Author: Robert
How Can I Possibly Imitate Him???
The death of Christ was not cute. It was bloody, gory, filthy, stinky, painful, and deeply sad. He was spit on, stabbed, made fun of, and ridiculed. He was not afraid to die; he was not afraid to suffer and he was not afraid to pay the penalty for something he did not do.
I don’t know about you but whenever I spend time thinking about the resurrection, I sometimes feel a sense of guilt. That should have been me on that cross. Maybe I shouldn’t feel that way at all. Maybe it’s a sign of spiritual immaturity in me. Regardless of my feelings, the truth is, Christ hung where I should have hung. But because of his graciousness and his love for his Father, I didn’t have to die.
So when I reflect about what happened that day, I am reminded about the following passage:
For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps. (1 Peter 2:21)
What is the purpose Peter tells his readers they have been called for? Suffering (1 Peter 2:19-20). Whenever I seriously reflect on this passage I am amazed at the fact that he expects us to follow in his steps. Just as Christ suffered, Jesus expects us to suffer. But here’s why he expects us to suffer: because he told us that we would (John 15:18).
Peter says that Christ suffered as an example for us. Here is where things get even more insane. Christ did not suffer because he was forced to. He chose it. That’s right. He chose to suffer (John 10:18).
So let’s put this all together. If Christ suffered as an example for us and he said that we would suffer as well, then we can look to Christ as our example when we suffer. More than that, if Christ is our example of suffering then that seems to suggest that in the same way that Christ chose suffering we are to choose it too.
What Peter is trying to get his readers (as well as us) to understand is that our lives are to be an imitation of the life of Christ (1 Peter 1:15). In the same way that Christ suffered, we are to suffer too.
So then, how did Christ suffer? I think that answer can be found in Luke 9:22-23. In this passage Jesus is telling his disciples that he will go to Jerusalem and be killed. Read the following verse, paying close attention to the verbs (bold).
“The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes , and be killed and be raised up on the third day.” And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me. (Luke 9:22-23 NASB95)
Christ says that he will suffer by being rejected, killed, and raised. And then in the very next verse he tells his disciples that if they want to follow him they need will need to deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow him. Notice the parallel of the verbs between the two verses.
In verse 22 Christ is explaining what will happen to him. But in the very next verse he tells us what should happen to us. In doing this he is laying out the pattern for how we are to live the Christian life. In other words, he is telling us how we must also suffer if we are going to follow him.
There is something else we need to take note of regarding these verbs and that is their order. Notice that rejection and death precede resurrection. Before Christ can be resurrected he must die. There can be no resurrection without their first being a rejection and death.
In the same way, if we are going to follow Christ we must first deny ourselves and take up our cross. There can be no following of Jesus without self denial and cross-bearing.
Please do not miss the implications of this passage. As we reflect upon the cross this week there are a few things I would encourage you to keep in mind.
The Proper Way to See The Cross
We should no longer see the cross as just a symbol of our salvation but a reminder to us of how we are to live the Christian life (Luke 9:23). Jesus laid out the pattern for how we are to live our lives as Christians. When people look at us, they should see self denial as a characteristic of our lives. We should aim for this. For this to happen, we need to embrace suffering with joy.
Suffer with Joy
We are told in Hebrews 12:2 that Christ embraced suffering with joy. We should strive to become infatuated with it. Why? Because suffering is one of the ways we glorify God and find favor with him (1 Peter 2:20). Our suffering puts a smile on the face of God.
Choose to Suffer
Jesus “chose” to suffer. He expects us to do the same. As we go through life, I think it is important that we try to develop a regular habit of choosing to do the hard things instead of always taking the easy road.
I know this is not easy stuff to swallow. But as you reflect this week about the life of Christ, ask God to help you become the kind of person whose scars are as visible as the Son. Ask him to help you embrace suffering with joy. Because the life that is modeled after the life of Christ is the life that experiences the true depths of joy.
People who embrace suffering take greater risks. They move their families to neighborhoods that aren’t safe so that they can be close to the people they minister to. Singles who are infatuated with suffering forego marriage for a season in order to fulfill the Great Commission. Pastors who embrace suffering take the risk to teach the truth knowing that it could possibly cost them their job. Guys who embrace suffering tell their girlfriends about their sexual struggles and maybe even break the relationship off because they know they are not right with God and cannot bring their sin into the life of another person. Young women who embrace suffering take the risk of going overseas for a year knowing that it may mean they would not be married for a long while.
You get the point? We are to live and model our lives after Jesus. He is our example. Just he chose to suffer, we should also. Just as he embraced it with joy, we should also. The cross is not just a symbol of salvation, it’s a reminder of how we are to imitate the one who gave his life for us.
The 3 Nails Starts This Sunday
I hope you will join me this Monday as we start Holy Week. I have asked some friends of mine to contribute some articles about the significance of the death addn resurrection of Christ on our lives. I am looking forward to sharing these with you. There is some great stuff! The focus of this site next week will be on Christ so the home page will change significantly. But I will make sure you will still be able to get to the old stuff. After Holy Week, things will somewhat return to normal. See you Sunday!!
Something You Will NOT See at The Next Church Social
Update: I removed this video because it is probably not the most appropriate thing to show. When I originally saw it, I saw it for its humor and did not see the inappropriate nature of it. – Robert
This Ain’t Right
Last week the Republican National Committee Chairman, Michael Steele was quoted in an interview with GQ magazine’s Lisa DePaulo saying that he believes abortion is an “individual’s choice”. Here is the excerpt from the interview:
L: How much of your pro-life stance, for you, is informed not just by your catholic faith, but by the fact that you were adopted?
M: Oh, a lot. Absolutely. I see the power of life in that. I mean, and the power of choice! The thing to keep in mind about it, uh, you know, I think as a country we get off on these misguided conversations that throw around terms that really misrepresent truth.
L: Explain that.
M: The choice issue cuts two ways. You can choose life or you can choose abortion. You know, my mother chose life. So, you know, I think the power of the argument of choice boils down to stating a case for one or the other.
L: Are you saying you think women have the right to choose abortion?
M: Yeah. I mean, again, I think that’s an individual choice.
L: You do?
M: Yeah. Absolutely.
L: Are you saying you don’t want to overturn Roe v. Wade?
M: I think Roe v. Wade–as a legal matter, Roe v. Wade was a wrongly decided matter.
L: Okay, but if you overturn Roe v. Wade, how do women have the choice you just said they should have?
M: The states should make that choice: that’s what the choice is. The individual choice rests in the states. Let them decide.
Michael Steele is set to speak at a pro-life banquet event with Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. An Indiana Bishop, Gerald Andrew Gettlefinger of Evansville, has stated that he will boycott the event if Steele speaks. This event is expected to attract 4500 close to people. The Catholic Charities director of Evansville also said he plans to boycott the event as well. I have a problem with this and I would like you to tell me if you think I’m being unreasonable here or not.
Michael Steele has since clarified his position stating “I am pro-life, always have been, always will be.” But apparently this was not enough for the Catholic Bishop who intends to continue his boycott.
What I do not understand is that Steele has made his position on abortion abundantly clear yet the Bishop completely ignores it all. Now I see what so many people get so frustrated with the religious right.
Do you think the Bishop should stand his ground or accept Steele’s response?
The 3 Nails
What do the sufferings of Christ teach us about how we should live? What would the world be like if Christians were actually infatuated with suffering?
This is the focus of a new article series I am working on for Holy Week called The Three Nails. I hope you will join me and the guest pastors and other professionals who will help us think through and hopefully answer these questions.
This is the season of Lent. Many are taking this time to fast from certain things such as food or entertainment. This season is to some a sort of a spring cleaning. My old church used to progressively reduce the number of instruments on the stage during worship from week to week and minimize lighting and other visuals as a visual expression of what it means to get to the heart of what worship is really all about.
So, during the next couple of weeks, you will see this website slowly become increasingly minimal. Think of it as a digital way to practice lent (“digital lent”). Some of it has already taken place (the background is gone). During Holy Week, the focus will be solely on the articles related to The 3 Nails series.
I hope you will join me during Holy Week as we discover what it means to live the Christian life.
A Helper is Not Enough
It’s not enought to have a helper. You need something more.
I wrote previously about how important it is to have a good understanding of what God wants to do with your life (and be active in it) before you start a romantic relationship. I argued from Genesis how I believe this to be a wise practice and God’s intent from the beginning. You can read that article if you want to understand where I am coming from here.
I Genesis 1:18 God says, “I will make him a helper suitable for him.” A suitable helper is the kind of helper that actually helps. She was to compliment him.
One of my favorite foods is the potato. I do not know what I would do without it. I also love hamburgers but I can’t imagine eating one without French fries on the side. Why? Because french fries complement a burger in a way nothing else can. They are the perfect complement. I just don’t get how someone can eat a burger without fried or some form of a fried potato on the side. They just go great together.
In the same way, Eve was the perfect complement to Adam. Adam already had a mission from God. God saw that in order for Adam to fulfill that mission, he needed someone who would be able to help him by bringing to the table ideas, insights and abilities Adam did not have.
It’s not enough just to have a helper. God’s design is that we have a suitable helper. Please note that there is no way Adam could know if she was suitable if he did not know his mission. There is a serious danger in dating/courting then marrying someone when you do not know God’s mission for your life.
How tragic would it be for you wake up one day only to realize that the person you’ve been sleeping next to is not the person you should have married? Even worse, imagine you have been married a few years. You discover God’s plan for your life only to realize that you cannot fulfill it because your spouse is not cut out for it. God did not make him/her to have the same desire for missions as you. I promise you this would not be a fun experience. You will have to live the rest of your life knowing that you can never fulfill your life’s passion.
I do not believe it was random that the author of Genesis chose to use the word suitable. This was a deliberately chosen word because God wants us to understand that a helper is not enough.