world
Spirit Immersed and Spirit Filled
by Linda Rex
May 28, 2023, Pentecost—A while back I visited a bookstore to try and find a gift book for a friend. As I was wandering the aisles, I came across an entire section of the store dedicated to the supernatural, spiritualism, and gothic themes. The literature available included a full spectrum from white witchcraft to Satan worship, new age to eastern meditative practices.
The size of this section has grown in recent years. It seems there is a deepening hunger for something beyond our physical world, and a longing for there to be some way in which we can control the chaos and turmoil of our lives. We adore our human freedom, but we have not yet learned that freedom is something that must be laid on the altar of love, and used in relationship with Jesus with grace and humility in the service of others rather than of ourselves.
Unfortunately, even our Western religion has fallen prey to our adoration of all things self-focused and self-indulgent. We often talk about having the Spirit move in our world to bring about healing and change. This is good. We like the effects of the Spirit’s presence, to gather in worship and have ecstatic experiences. This is also good. But we’re not always as equally welcoming to the Spirit’s movements to bring about healing and change in us, in our churches, and in our communities. We’re not always immediately responsive to the repentance and change the Spirit is calling us to when the Lord is wanting to do something new.
In 1 Corinthians 12:3b–13, the apostle Paul sought to help the church at Corinth to understand that they were not given the Spirit so that they could impress each other with their spiritual abilities or gifts. They were not given the Spirit so they could cast curses on each other or so they could lord it over one another. Rather, they were given the Spirit for the common good.
In this passage Paul uses the metaphor of the parts of the human body making up a whole as a way of showing that the Church, the body of Christ, was meant to reflect God’s way of being. As the body of Christ, the Church is immersed in the Spirit and filled with the Spirit, enabling its members to participate in Christ, in God’s way of being. Our Father, his Son and his Spirit, are three Persons in one Being. We find within God what is to be reflected within the body of Christ—diversity with equality in unity.
In the divine Being, we see the Spirit’s graces of love, joy, peace, gentleness, goodness, and so on. We see the Son’s sacrificial service as the Person who came to manifest God’s life and way of being in sacrificial service for others. We see the Father’s actions at work in this world, manifesting his kingdom and his will being done even now, through his Spirit and his Son Jesus. All of the Spirit’s graces, the Son’s sacrificial service, and the Father’s creative and restorative actions are meant to be expressed in and through the Church as the members of the body of Christ receive the Spirit and allow the Spirit to work through them to benefit the world in which they live.
Individually and as congregations, it’s important to make to effort to learn how God has uniquely created us, and how he has specifically gifted us and blessed us with certain abilities. It is also good to grow in our own personal relationship with the Holy Spirit, to learn to listen for the “still small voice” of the Spirit and how to distinguish it from all of the other often louder and more insistent inner voices of self, sin and Satan. We want to get in step with the Spirit, and walk in the Spirit, no longer following our own human inclinations, which way too often get us in trouble.
We were created for so much more than just a rational, fleshly existence. As we follow the Spirit’s lead, we participate in what Jesus is doing in this world to bring healing, restoration, renewal and transformation. We aren’t doing things for God, but rather are doing things with Jesus in the Spirit—participating in God’s life and love, allowing him to love and serve others through us. What begins to happen when we get ourselves out of the way and allow Jesus to live in and through us in this way is that the power of God begins to be manifest in tangible ways in this world. This isn’t magic, because we are not the ones in control—God is. As we respond to the Spirit’s lead, God’s life and love is expressed in and through us in caring for those around us and for the world in which we live.
Heavenly Spirit, forgive me for all the ways in which I take you for granted, and the ways in which I grieve, insult, or offend you. Come, heavenly fountain of life, and pour over me anew, immersing me again in your living streams. Each and every day, may I be a ready conduit through which you may change and heal this world, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
“… no one can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ except in the Holy Spirit. Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually has he wills. For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.” 1 Corinthians 12:3b–13 ESV
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Giving Homage
by Linda Rex
May 21, 2023, Ascension Sunday—As I was listening to the Archbishop of Canterbury give his sermon during the recent coronation service for King Charles III and Queen Camilla, I was struck by his reminder that our leadership must always be grounded in a spirit of service, specifically, the Spirit of Christ. He pointed his listeners to the humble servant leadership of Jesus Christ, who willingly wore a royal robe of suffering rather than the rich robes of a kingly wardrobe. He noted our Lord’s attention to the widows, orphans, and captives of the world.
Whether or not the oaths the king and queen took during the coronation ceremony penetrated deeply and set the course of their service we cannot know. In any case, the reality is that they answer to the Supreme Sovereign, Jesus Christ, who reigns forever as Lord of all. How they respond to his lordship in the Spirit will determine the outcome of their leadership going forward. And indeed, they and every other leader in this world must answer to King Jesus Christ, who reigns over our cosmos as King of kings and Lord of lords.
As the king and queen walked out of the church to sit in their royal carriage, I noticed how few people gave them the customary nod or curtsy due to royalty. In the Conmmonwealth, the king and queen are more figurehead than actual rulers, so it is understandable that people no longer strictly attend to the customs of bowing to them. But this made me think of our own response to our divine King Jesus.
The Lord of all, Creator and Sustainer of all, took on our human flesh to live our life and die our death at the hands of sinful people. Jesus Christ rose from the grave and ascended to our heavenly Father’s right hand. There in the Spirit Jesus reigns supreme, bearing our glorified human flesh in the presence of the divine Majesty.
Even though the resurrected Christ has been crowned Lord of all, how many of us live indifferent to Jesus’ sovereignty? How many of us refuse to bow the knee or acknowledge that Jesus has the right to dictate our actions and behaviors, our decisions and choices? Are we willing to offer Jesus the customary nod or curtsy at church and then live our life as we please the rest of the week?
It is instructive that even our modern approach to the acknowledgment of royal position reflects our common human attitude towards the Divine One. Perhaps what we need most of all in our world today is the true humility of submitting ourselves completely to Jesus Christ, to the sovereign will of his Holy Spirit. Perhaps we need to commit ourselves to obeying his instructions as the living Word, following him by the Spirit through death of self into new life in service to others. It is possible that our struggles today on every level of society are simply because we have refused to submit to Jesus Christ as our Lord, the King of kings. May God by his Spirit restore to our hearts a humble submission to Jesus Christ.
In truth, just as there were those who pledged their allegiance to the king and queen and offered them homage, there are many today who faithfully seek to honor and obey our Lord Jesus. Leaders who approach their role in such a spirit of humility and service are an inspiration to all of us who seek to follow Christ. We follow such leaders as they follow Christ and serve others. May God provide us with many such leaders in every walk of life. And in this way, may God’s kingdom begin to transform our world in a real way even today.
Heavenly Father, forgive our irreverence and pride. Lord Jesus, forgive our rebellion and disrespect towards you. Heavenly Spirit, grant us the grace to bow our hearts and submit our lives every moment to our Living Lord Jesus Christ. May your kingdom, Father, Son, Spirit, be realized even now here on earth as it is in heaven. Amen.
“For this reason I too, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which exists among you and your love for all the saints, do not cease giving thanks for you, while making mention of you in my prayers; that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.” Ephesians 1:15–23 NASB
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Come, and You Will See
by Linda Rex
January 15, 2023, 2nd Sunday in Epiphany—This morning as I write this blog for Epiphany, I find myself still in the season of Christmas. One of the songs running through my head is a hymn called O Come, All Ye Faithful. Part of the hymn goes like this:
“Yea, Lord, we greet Thee, born this happy morning
(John Francis Wade; trans. Frederick Oakeley)
Jesus to Thee be all glory giv’n
Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing!
Oh come, let us adore him
Oh come, let us adore him
Oh come, let us adore him
Christ, the Lord!”
As you can see, the emphasis of this hymn is on the incarnation, on the coming of the Word of God, the Son of the Father, as God in human flesh.
What struck me this morning as the song rolled through my head is that this hymn calls us once again to come to the side of the manger, to gaze anew upon the wonder of the Christ child–God’s gift to humankind—and calls us to worship. Once again, we kneel in adoration as we look upon this precious and wondrous gift to all of us.
Our Old Testament reading for today is full of prophetic pointers to the coming of this child: “The Lord called Me from the womb; from the body of My mother He named Me”; “…the Lord, who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant, to bring Jacob back to him…”; “…I will also make You a light of the nations so that My salvation may reach to the end of the earth” (Isa. 49:1b, 5a, 6b NASB). When we take the time to prayerfully and reverently observe this holy child, to contemplate what God has done in coming to us in this way, we are moved to worship in gratitude for God’s faithfulness and goodness.
Who is this marvelous child which sparks such celebration and wonder? Who is Jesus? Epiphany, then, is an expression of this wonderful sense of “Eureka” we get when we discover the amazing treasure of God in human flesh. God comes to us in a real and personal way, to join us in our mess, to raise us up into a new existence with him in the Spirit and one day in glory. What a good and compassionate and gracious God we have!
The apostle Paul calls us to a deep appreciation of God’s gift to us in the New Testament reading for this Sunday. He reminds us of “the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus, that in everything you were enriched in Him, in all speech and all knowledge, even as the testimony concerning Christ was confirmed in you, so that you are not lacking in any gift, awaiting eagerly the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will also confirm you to the end, blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor.1:4b-8 NASB). Jesus, in his incarnation, came to live a truly human life, to forge within our human flesh our capacity to live in right relationship with God (and others). When Jesus is fully revealed in glory, we will be found blameless, because of what he has done. We lack nothing—because of him.
In our gospel reading, John 1:29–42, John the Baptizer saw Jesus approaching and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” The first word is “Behold.” To behold something is to gaze upon it with intense attention. Here, in the Greek, it is used to point to what is being said next—that this man is the Lamb of God, the one who takes away the sin of the world. We need to pay attention to this reality about who Jesus is. Jesus is this one—the one who takes away the sin of the world. Not just the sin of a few special people. Not just the sin of the people who get their acts together. But the sin of the world.
This is a eureka moment—a moment when we pay attention to a revelation about who Jesus is—the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Jesus is the one unique Son of God, the One who left the benefits of divinity for a time to join us in our humanity, in order to do what only he could do—free us from sin, from all that stands in the way of being rightly related to God.
There were a couple of John the Baptizer’s disciples who were profoundly affected by the prophet’s words regarding Jesus. They heard that this man, Jesus, was the one who baptizes in the Spirit. And they heard John say that Jesus Christ was the Son of God. So they did what each of us needs to do—they followed Jesus. As they did, Jesus asked them what they were seeking. They asked where Jesus was staying, perhaps in hopes of having a deeper conversation with him. So Jesus said to them, “Come and you will see.”
If we never take the time to come and see, to stop long enough to listen and learn more about who Jesus is and why he came, we will continue upon our life’s path, never any wiser regarding what really matters. But if we slow down and come to Jesus and sit at his feet awhile, gazing upon him and pondering all he has done, is doing, and will do, we will begin to see the truth about who he is and why he came. As we take time in his presence to converse with him, to dialogue with Christ through prayer, study of his Word, meditation, and the other spiritual disciplines, the Spirit will enable us to see more clearly who Jesus is. And the Spirit will even enable us to begin to see more clearly who we are, and how much we need Christ to transform, heal, and renew us. We will begin to see we are beloved of the Father, and are included in Jesus’ own relationship with his Father in the Spirit. And we will have even more reason to celebrate and worship the Lord.
Thank you, Father, for sending your Son to us, to bring everyone of us salvation. May we turn away again from all the things in this life which distract us and draw us away from focused attention on our Lord Jesus. Throughout this new year, may your Spirit enable us to have many eureka moments when we see anew and embrace again the wonder of your most perfect and precious gift—Jesus our Lord. Amen.
“The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, ‘Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! This is He on behalf of whom I said, “After me comes a Man who has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.” I did not recognize Him, but so that He might be manifested to Israel, I came baptizing in water.’ John testified saying, ‘I have seen the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and He remained upon Him. I did not recognize Him, but He who sent me to baptize in water said to me, “He upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon Him, this is the One who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.” I myself have seen, and have testified that this is the Son of God.’ Again the next day John was standing with two of his disciples, and he looked at Jesus as He walked, and said, ‘Behold, the Lamb of God!’ The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. And Jesus turned and saw them following, and said to them, ‘What do you seek?’ They said to Him, ‘Rabbi (which translated means Teacher), where are You staying?’ He said to them, ‘Come, and you will see.’ So they came and saw where He was staying; and they stayed with Him that day, for it was about the tenth hour. One of the two who heard John speak and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He found first his own brother Simon and said to him, ‘We have found the Messiah’ (which translated means Christ). He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, ‘You are Simon the son of John; you shall be called Cephas’ (which is translated Peter).” John 1:29–42 NASB
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Christ the Image of God
By Linda Rex
July 17, 2022, PROPER 11—Yesterday, my son told me about another mass shooting that had occurred—a heart-rending devastation for innocent people just going about their everyday lives. These aches joined with angst over the increasing inflation and some recent experiences of rampant disrespect expressed by the loss of simple courtesies, made my heart ache even more than ever.
The Old Testament reading for this Sunday, Amos 8:1–12, as well as the psalms, Psalm 52 and 15, express a cry from God’s heart against all that is destructive and evil in this world. The evil one seeks control, disunity, and destruction, while Christ seeks to express his love, restoration, and unity by his Spirit through human hearts. Too often we respond to the inner cry to do as we please, to seek self-gratification and self-glory rather than to humble ourselves to be who we really are, the ones created to reflect the love and other-centered way of being of the God who made us.
How easy it is for us to get sucked down into the vortex of self. Its cry is siren and its influence is strong. It is seductive—we are often halfway into our surrender to the pleasure before we realize that we may never get out again. What we defend as our freedom to choose is so often a lie. What we lose sight of is that God has given us freedom—but in Christ he has freed us to truly be ourselves—children of God who love him and one another, who are free to know and be known by God down to our deepest level. This is true freedom.
We shine with the majesty of God’s nature when we are being true to who we are as God’s children. When we live in other-centered ways, making room for one another, we shine out as lights in a world darkened by satanic self-absorption and self-will. The darkness does not appreciate the entry of true light into its sphere. We cannot shine with our own light, though—it is too easily dimmed or refracted. We must draw the light with which we shine from the true Light, Jesus Christ, in order to be true reflections of God’s glory in this dark world.
This is an incredible mystery—how we shine with the light of God’s very being as we open ourselves to the Spirit of Christ, allowing him to live in and through us that life which he forged in our humanity when he walked the earth. What we used to believe about God is held up to the mirror of Jesus who is the exact image of the Father, being God in human flesh. We discover, when looking into the mirror who is Jesus Christ that we are not alienated from God or hostile to him, but we are held with Christ in God by the Spirit, participants in his very life and love.
It was the Father’s good pleasure that the fulness of the divine One dwell in Christ, in his human flesh, living our life, dying our death, and rising up into new life. God was pleased to have his Son dwell among us, taking our human flesh upon himself to be redeemed, restored, and renewed, enabling us to be fully reconciled with God in every way. And indeed, in Christ, we discover that God has reconciled all things, in heaven and on earth—an incredible thought that I struggle to get my mind around. How far is the extent of the reconciliation or peace God achieved for us in Christ if it includes both heaven and earth? Apparently, it has no end.
The mystery arises again—how can we shine brightly when our flesh so often seems to fill this world with darkness? We live in that complex place where the kingdom of God reigns and yet the kingdom of darkness attempts to maintain control of what God has declared is his. We are in the midst of the already-but-not-yet of God’s kingdom, where we only experience bittersweet glimpses of the world to come. We are ambassadors of Christ—finding ourselves as foreigners in a world that doesn’t understand or accept us at times. Our customs and ways of living may seem odd to those around us, because we have adopted a design for living—our true way of being—which is often counter-cultural.
We need to stay focused on Jesus Christ, the true Light. We draw our real existence or life from him. We are held with Christ in God (Col. 3:3), and what matters most is that in Christ, we live face to face with the Father in the Spirit. It is Christ in us by the Spirit who holds us safely in the presence of the Father, in his eternal embrace of love. No person, no force, no created thing—nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ (Rom. 8:38-39). This is God’s word to us as his children.
Just as the Father is the fulness of Christ in their divine oneness in the Spirit, we find our fulness in Jesus’ humanity held in the presence of the Father in the Spirit. All things in heaven and earth were created by Christ, through Christ, and for Christ. He has always existed, and holds all things together. He is the beginning and the end—the Lord of all. He has done, is doing, and will do, all that is needed to finish what he has begun in us. That is our comfort and peace—thank you, Jesus!
Heavenly Father, thank you for delighting in us and for making us your very own. Thank you, Jesus, for holding us ever in the eternal embrace of the Trinity, enabling us to participate in your life and love. Thank you, Spirit, for making all that is ours in Christ individually our own, enabling us to see the face of the Father in the face of his Son. Amen.
“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything. For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven. And although you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds, yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach—if indeed you continue in the faith firmly established and steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the gospel that you have heard, which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, was made a minister. Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I 1do my share on behalf of His body, which is the church, in filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions. Of this church I was made a minister according to the stewardship from God bestowed on me for your benefit, so that I might fully carry out the preaching of the word of God, that is, the mystery which has been hidden from the past ages and generations, but has now been manifested to His saints, to whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. We proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ.” Colossians 1:15–28 NASB
“Now as they were traveling along, He entered a village; and a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home. She had a sister called Mary, who was seated at the Lord’s feet, listening to His word. But Martha was distracted with all her preparations; and she came up to Him and said, ‘Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? Then tell her to help me.; But the Lord answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.’ ” Luke 10:38–42 NASB
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Not Under Our Own Power
By Linda Rex
April 18, 2021, 3rd SUNDAY IN EASTER—This morning my son was telling me about a volcano which is erupting right now in St. Vincent, Grenadines. Although I cannot imagine what it is like to live in a place that might at any moment be disrupted dramatically by the power of a volcano, I do know how frightening and powerful a violent earthquake can be. Watching a glass of water walk across the table or frantically trying to dive under the heavy desk in my room to protect myself are two of my own distinct memories that remind me of how small we are in comparison with these powerful natural forces.
What about the human heart? It seems that we as human beings underestimate the power of our own passions and drives. We find ourselves deeply moved by an event such as September 11, 2001—it brought me to my knees. We are devastated by the death of a loved one or a favorite pet. Little do we realize the power God has placed within us as human beings to impact ourselves, our world and the people around us. And so often we use this power in unhealthy and destructive ways. Sadly, there are times we neglect to control what in time begins to control us, and we become addicts to all types of substances, behaviors, and habits.
When Jesus showed up in the upper room, he made a point of showing the disciples that he was still very human, bearing the marks of the beating and crucifixion in his body. This image of Jesus testifying to his humanity after the resurrection reminds us that he understands the struggle we have in believing what makes absolutely no sense to the human mind. It also shows us the extent God is willing to go to in order to prove that he loves us and has made us his very own adopted children (1 John 3:1–7). One day, as loving children, we will look just like Jesus in glory—what tremendously wonderful things will we be capable of then?
This world is an amazing place in all its natural glory. God made all this beauty for our enjoyment and for our pleasure. And we are amazing creatures with all the human glory God has given us, with our ability to live in relationship and to think, create, and love. I believe this is why we as human beings often need to be reminded of the cost of idolatry in all of its forms. Too often we ignore the who while focusing on the what—ignoring the divine One while focusing on the physical, tangible reality of the world he gave us to enjoy and steward. Our tendency is to worship the creation and all of its benefits rather than the One who created and sustains it.
It is a shame that so often we (note, I said we) fritter away our power to affect change, to build relationships, to heal and transform with trivial pursuits that do nothing to make our world a better place. I find too often that it is easier to entertain myself than it is to invest my gifts and talents, to do something that will make our world a better place to live in, or to exert myself on behalf of another person who is in need. Isn’t it more comfortable and convenient to stay in our cocoon than it is to take a risk or do something challenging? How easy it is to pursue pleasure, rather than pursue what is eternal and lasting!
My point isn’t to be critical or to condemn but simply to remind us anew to turn away from ourselves and the distractions of this world and to turn to Christ. Following the crucifixion of Jesus came the miracle of the resurrection. This offers us such comfort when facing the reality of our weakness and sin. It is in repentance and turning back to Christ that we find renewal and refreshment.
Peter, when reminding the crowd of how they delivered Jesus up to death told them they acted in ignorance, not realizing that their offering up of Christ was part of God’s predetermined plan for the salvation of humanity. We don’t always understand God’s reasons or methods, but we certainly can trust his heart. While we live in a world which is in a constant state of flux or change, we have the bedrock of Jesus Christ to settle into, putting down deep roots into God himself by faith as we respond to the Spirit in trust and obedience.
In Christ we have been given the capacity for true relationship with God and one another that is other-centered and truly free. By the Spirit we have the power to take the risk to love boldly, to courageously stand against evil, and to endure hardship and the struggles of life. As Christ lives in our hearts by faith, we are empowered to reflect the divine glory of self-sacrifice, service, humility, generosity, and compassion. With God’s heart, we can tend the earth with respect, understanding, care, and responsible stewardship.
In Christ we have been given a new heart and mind on which God’s will and ways are written. We can participate by faith in Jesus’ work in this world to heal, transform and renew. There is great power given to God’s people in that they can appeal to the Father through Jesus in the Spirit for healing, change, and renewal, in themselves, their circumstances, their culture, and the world. What a gift we have been given, that we can participate in what Christ is doing to make all things new!
We do all of this in Jesus’ name. It is Christ in us, the hope of glory, who empowers us to bring his kingdom life to realization in a world that rejects Jesus as a myth or a fable. The Spirit of God at work in us and in this world enables us to live as citizens of heaven, when it is much easier to live as citizens of a world in which sin and lawlessness reign. Today, we can ask ourselves—what does the Spirit want us to do right now? What words would Jesus have us say in his name? What change is God is doing in the world that we will participate in by faith? How can we live more boldly in this world while not being a part of it? How can we tangibly offer God’s grace and love to this person right in front of us?
God of glory, you have given us such dignity and worth as those made in your image to bear your likeness and share your life as your beloved adopted children! Grant us the grace to refuse to waste the gifts you have given us and to embrace the challenges of living as image-bearers of Christ in today’s culture. May we fully participate in your kingdom work in this world, through Jesus our Lord and by your Spirit. Amen.
“And He said to them, ‘Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? See My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself; touch Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.’ And when He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet. While they still could not believe it because of their joy and amazement, He said to them, ‘Have you anything here to eat?’ They gave Him a piece of a broiled fish; and He took it and ate it before them.” Luke 24:38–43 (36b–48) NASB
See also Acts 3:12–19.
The Illusion of Control
by Linda Rex
I love it when I get up in the morning and every devotional and scripture reading I look at has to do with that one thing God is dealing with in my life. Like this week when I was feeling so much of my life was out of control, everything I read seemed to be on the topic of control. When something like this happens, I get the sneaky suspicion I’d better be listening to what God is trying to say to me.
I believe we as humans go to great lengths to maintain control over everything in our lives and even in our universe. How much of our research into the intricacies of our bodies, our environment, our earth and our universe has to do with our desire to have some way to manage and direct what happens to us as human beings? I think we would be surprised at how much of what we do and think about every day has to do with this desire to be in control of ourselves, our lives and our world.
We get even more fanatical about holding tight to the things, people and events in our lives when we have experienced a lot of chaos and dysfunction in our early years or significant attachments. Sometimes this manifests itself in obsessive compulsive disorders, co-dependency and other mental or emotional struggles and illnesses.
In my opinion, the irony is the harder we try to control things and even to control ourselves or other people, the less in control we really are. Our efforts to be self-disciplined may work for a while, but often they fail us when we need them most. Our efforts to manipulate, manage or micromanage other people may give us an illusion of control, but they will end up destroying the very relationships and organizations we are trying to build.
It is true we were given the responsibility by God to steward, tend, and care for our world. This stewardship by necessity requires some measure of control over what is being cared for and tended. But I don’t believe God ever meant for us to assume it was all up to us. The only way it could be all up to us is if we were self-sufficient self-existent beings like God, and that’s not what we are.
As many of you are aware, I’ve been sharing the Celebrate the Grip curriculum in my preaching in recent days, and we’ve been talking about how each and every human being is held in the grip of grace. Since before creation, God determined we would be his adopted children and he planned his Son would enter our humanity and by the Spirit, bring us up into the Triune life. And through Jesus, God accomplished what he set out to do, forging for us a true humanity in and by his Son. Through Jesus and by his Spirit, God has made and is making all things new.
Talking about the grip reminds me of the many lectures and readings in which the concept of contingency was discussed in seminary. Contingency is showing up more and more in modern science and mathematics. It’s that thing some people want to call chance, but doesn’t work like chance does. It’s a whole lot more—like Someone designed and is designing things to work a certain way. And it’s something we can’t manage or control. It’s beyond us.
We don’t like things to be beyond us. Because when something is beyond us, it means that quite possibly there may be a divine Being Who has the right to call the shots in our world. We love our freedom so much—we don’t want anyone messing with our efforts to do what is right in our own eyes.
When our existence, or our future, or our daily existence, is contingent upon some divine Order or Person, then we are faced with the reality we are not lords over our own lives. This means someone else can change things in our world in such a way we may lose something we value, or we may have to struggle to do without things we think we should have. We may have to do difficult things or repent of unhealthy ways of thinking and being, and change. When Someone beyond our human existence has that much control over us and our world, we don’t like it.
Sure, we love God to be control as long as he keeps order in the world, makes the weather nice, and makes sure all the people are friendly and kind and respectful. But only because we want the world to be the way we want it to be for our convenience, comfort and pleasure. See? We’re still trying to be in control.
What about when everything in your life or mine seems to be in chaos? It can be hard to imagine God is still in control when everything in our lives seems to be totally out of control. But that kind of control is just an illusion. God has a grip on you and me which does not change. He won’t let go of us at all—we just need to trust him. And Jesus even gives us his faith so we can trust God in the midst of chaos and confusion when it seems impossible to do so.
So God says to you and to me, “Rest in me.” He calls to us by his Spirit to lay down our burdens of anxiety and fear, and to surrender all the control we imagine we have over the circumstances, people and things in our lives.
We need to be intentional about this. I find this letting go of control and fully resting in Christ is a journey. It’s a decision which is constantly being put before us—we’re tempted to try to do it all ourselves and to do it our way—or we’re called to lay down all illusion of control and to rest fully in Christ, and in his perfected humanity.
This verse which has been constantly popping up of late is found in Proverbs 3:5-6. As I remember it, it goes something like this: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge him, and he shall direct your paths.” It is a passage full of comfort and promise, and I thank God Jesus has already done all the trusting and leaning and acknowledging in my place. Now all that is left for me is to rest in his perfected faith in Abba in and by the Spirit. And that’s when my life is really under control.
Abba, thank you for being Lord over all, and thank you, through your Son and by your Spirit, you have ensured our perfected humanity and our eternal relationship with you. Grant us the grace to release all control to you and to rest fully in your perfect love. Through Jesus and by your Holy Spirit we pray. Amen.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5–6 NASB
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