But…

Oftentimes, we are very aware of what we do not have. If we believe there is a God out there, we are tempted to think He must be stingy. But He gave His own Son that we might experience blessing and joy and life. He gave His Son that we might know Him and have all that is worth having.

Stories

You may have heard that the Bible is a love letter from God and this is kind of true. God is speaking of His love for us, but on other hand it would be the strangest love letter ever. “Let me count the ways I love you by detailing the wanderings of a group of complainers in a desert and telling you about a guy with long hair and super strength who eats honey out of a lion carcass…” That’s not normal. It would be more accurate to say that the Bible is a story. It’s the true story of God and His love for His people.

We too have stories that we tell others and ourselves about…ourselves. For example, we may see ourselves as the hero with a heart of gold who is always misunderstood (i.e. Wreck it Ralph), the one whose love is so strong that it changes bad guys into good guys (i.e. the kids in Despicable Me), the under appreciated genius surrounded by idiots (i.e. Belle in Beauty and the Beast), or the nice guy who always finishes last (The Hunchback of Notre Dame).

Sometimes the story we live is a story someone else has told us (you are smart, dumb, good, bad, etc.). Regardless of where it comes from, we tend to live out (or try to live out) whatever story we tell about ourselves. It shapes how we see everything around us and even if we don’t know what the story is, there is always a story.

Now due to sin (or natural inward bent), we are always the main character of the stories we tell. Most often we are the hero, though we can be a Napoleon Dynamite type of loser anti-hero. But we are at the center of the story.

In Luke 24, Jesus dies on the cross, resurrects from the dead, and ends up walking with two of his disciples who don’t understand what is happening. Jesus teaches them that the Bible, from beginning to end, is about Him. The Bible tells us that the main character of every story in the Bible and in the world today is actually Jesus.

We are created by God so our stories fit into His bigger story – kind of like how there’s dozens of movies in the Marvel Universe but supposedly there is one larger, overarching story. Given this, God is also the main character in my story. This means He is doing something in my life. He is not an abstract idea or irrelevant philosophy but He is involved, speaking, working, and acting. And what He is doing in my life is central. Given this, the most important thing about how I live is how I’m relating to Him.

The Depths of His Great Love

In John 2, Jesus turns water into wine. This miracle is not about drunkenness but celebration. They are celebrating a new marriage. If we have no reason to celebrate, we might hope that things like wine might make us happy. But these things don’t help, they actually make things worse. Afterward, we are less happy than when we started. Some of us wonder if pleasure or success will make us happy. Others of us know from experience that those things alone cannot give us lasting joy but we go after them anyways because we don’t know what else to do.

In Acts 16:25, Paul and Silas are in jail. Yet rather than complaining or making a plan of escape, they are singing. The measure of joy is what it can survive. If my joy disappears when I stub my toe or when someone criticizes me then my joy is small. Paul and Silas have a joy that prison cannot steal.

Jesus tells us that this joy is to be found in Him. In Ephesians 3:18, Paul prays that we may have the strength to comprehend the love of God. This is odd. We could understand if Paul prayed for the strength to love others. Loving others is hard. But instead he prays that we would have the strength to understand God’s love for us. This means it is not easy for us to understand or receive God’s love.

But Paul prays for that strength. And I pray for myself and you for that strength. And I believe Jesus will give us the strength we need to understand the depths of His great love that gives us everlasting joy.

Evidence of the Grace of God

Hebrews 6:9–10

[9] Though we speak in this way, yet in your case, beloved, we feel sure of better things—things that belong to salvation. [10] For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints, as you still do. (ESV)

One way all of us need to grow is in our ability to recognize when God is at work in our lives. The Christian life is not like a movie in which we’re the Grinch in the beginning and an hour and a half later we have a heart of gold. Change may not be dramatic or immediate.

One of the brothers was sharing how before this year he had assumed that he was ok. He considered himself to be a nice and loving person, but he found out he was wrong. And so he’s learning how to love even when he doesn’t want to. So after a year, is he now perfect at loving? No, but his awareness, his desire, and his attempts at love are all evidence of the grace of God at work in his life.

For the First Time in This Story

Ephesians 4:28

[28] Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need.

There are many reasons why a thief might stop stealing. Perhaps he wants to avoid jail or maybe he finds more effective ways to become rich. When the thief is stealing, he is thinking about…himself. If the thief starts working an honest job in order to avoid jail and buy himself things, he is still thinking about…himself. But if the thief works hard so that he has more to share with anyone in need, he is thinking about other people. Jesus transforms us so we can think about others.

There’s a book titled The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. In it, four children stumble upon a magical world of talking animals, goblins, and an evil witch. A normal kid named Edmund complains, lies, and mopes around. At one point in the story, he witnesses the evil witch attack harmless animals and the narrator says, “And Edmund for the first time in this story felt sorry for someone besides himself.” Jesus offers us this same freedom to see others and love them.

Grumpy Muppets

Ephesians 5:1–2

[1] Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. [2] And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

We could assume that as we become older we automatically become wiser. Though, perhaps you’re familiar with these grumpy muppets?

As we become older, it’s possible that we’ll just become more stubborn, critical, and bitter. But by God’s grace, we can ask, “Oh Lord, what is Your will? What is important to You? What is life really about?”

If we have ears to hear, probably the first thing Jesus will tell us is that life is about love.

If We Will Let Him

Ephesians 3:14–19

[14] For this reason I bow my knees before the Father…that you, being rooted and grounded in love, [18] may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, [19] and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Paul prays that we might have the strength of God to understand the breadth, length, height, and depth of the love of God. It’s interesting that we need strength to receive love but it’s true.

When it comes to other human beings, we often choose to make it harder for them to love us. We hide our true needs, fears, and worries. We do not ask for help and avoid admitting that we even need it. We have to learn how to let other people love us, care for us, weep with us, encourage us, and even disagree with us in love. It does not come naturally. It is not easy to let people into our lives enough for them to actually be able to love us well. We imagine that exposing our weakness is just giving people an opportunity to condemn us or harm us and since we’re all imperfect that is sometimes true.

There is probably some overlap with God. Of course He already knows everything so we can’t really hide. But at the same time we don’t want to go to Him, admit our needs, and ask for His care. We imagine that exposing our weakness is just giving Him an opportunity to condemn us or harm us. But He is not like us. He knows all of who we are and chooses to love us if we will let Him. As He gives us strength to trust in Him we will find that His love is even better than we imagined.

Surprising Joy

Ephesians 3:20–21

[20] Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, [21] to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

When my children were infants, they did not know what Hawaii or Disneyland even were. Their brains could not conceive that places like that could exist. So often our prayers and hopes are incredibly limited. We know only what we have seen or experienced. But the Father is not only all powerful and generous but endlessly creative. He is able to bless us in ways that we did not think to ask for and could not have imagined. Many of the best things in life we do not plan for but are wonderful surprises. God is the expert on giving surprising joy.

We See

John 19:16–18

“…So they took Jesus, [17] and he went out, bearing his own cross, to the place called The Place of a Skull, which in Aramaic is called Golgotha. [18] There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, and Jesus between them.”

In the cross, we see the glory of Jesus Christ. We see the humility of the eternal God. We see the sovereign Lord of all use His authority, not to crush His enemies, but to suffer for them. We see the rightful King who deserves the worship of every creature full of patient love. We see the rejected Messiah losing His life to bring sinners into His family. There is no other God like this. None so good. None so worthy of our trust and our worship.

Only Saints

The Way of the Righteous in the Muck of Life
Dale Davis

Psalm 11:1 In the LORD I take refuge…

Psalm 11:7 For the LORD is righteous; he loves righteous deeds; the upright shall behold his face.

Derek Kidner has said it well: ‘If the first line of the psalm showed where the believer’s safety lies, the last line shows where his heart should be. God as “refuge” may be sought from motives that are too self-regarding; but to behold his face [RSV] is a goal in which only love has any interest.’  There are many who are interested in safety, but only saints care about fellowship.