LIVING THIS SIDE OF THE CROSS: PART V
Soren Kierkegaard was a 19th century Danish philosopher. He once told a story about a couple of thieves who broke into a jewelry store one night, but who did not steal a thing. Instead, they rearranged the price tags. Thus, the next morning, worthless jewelry was sold at a very high price…while priceless jewelry was sold for next to nothing. The point he was trying to make is that we live in a world where culture has rearranged the price tags on human beings.
Perhaps nowhere is this switching of price tags more evident than in the realm of self-esteem. In our culture today, for example, people are valued for how they look, for how far they can hit a baseball, or even for their material possessions. Rarely are they valued for who they really are.
This issue of self-esteem tends to have particularly devastating consequences in the lives of young adults. Young men perform outrageous, life-threatening deeds just to prove to someone that they are a man. Young women get involved in unhealthy, even self-destructive relationships…because they believe they are nothing unless they abide by the expectations of their peers. The question now is: Who puts the price tag on the value of a human being: culture…or God? You see, when you know what you’re really worth, your life somehow changes. When you know what you’re really worth, your values are transformed. Keep that thought in mind as we move on.
This is the fifth in a series of sermons entitled, Living This Side of the Cross. The thesis of the series is pretty much summed up in verses 14 and 15 in the 4th chapter of the book of Ephesians. There the Apostle Paul writes, “We must no longer be children tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine. But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head…into Christ Jesus, our Lord.” In other words, this is a sermon series on growing up in Christ.
Five weeks ago, we talked about how the church is meant to represent the kingdom of God on earth. We said that the kingdom is here…but not fully here. Thus, could it be that the church we have is exactly what God intended when he created the church? Could it be that the church we have provides the very conditions necessary for growing up in Christ? While we live in a throw-away society these days, perhaps there are some things we shouldn’t throw away. After all, the providence of God means that wherever we have gotten to – whatever we have done – that is precisely where the road to heaven begins.
Four weeks ago we talked about living a worthy life. A worthy life – a life that is truly growing up in Christ – is a life formed in community. Christian maturity develops as we form friendships with the friends of God…not just the friends we prefer. You see, God chooses to act and intervene in the world through us. We see God acting in the world today when we witness the heartfelt convictions of those who serve him.
Last week we encountered Paul’s roadmap through the cosmos. As Christians, we are blessed by God, chosen in Christ, destined for adoption, bestowed grace, lavished redemption and forgiveness, made to know the will of God through Christ, and gathered up to God in the end. We are precious children of God – created in the image of God – and destined for eternal life. Do not let anyone ever tell you otherwise.
In the passage we read from the book of Ephesians today, Paul begins by saying, “I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and your love toward all the saints.” Your love toward all the saints? Who are these saints to whom Paul refers? Let me say, first of all, that they are not a professional football team from New Orleans. Nor are they people who have been venerated by the Pope in Rome. The saints to whom Paul refers are average, ordinary, faith-filled Christians.
The word “saint” itself literally means, “holy one.” The word “saint” is actually Paul’s word of choice for the people of God – men and women who follow the way of Jesus Christ. Paul uses the word “saint” to describe the people of God nine times in the book of Ephesians. It wasn’t until many years later that the word “Christian” came to supplant the word “saint” as the common designation for the people of God. In fact, the word “Christian” only occurs three times in the entire New Testament, and not once in Paul’s writings. As time went on, the word “saint” came to designate only outstanding Christians. Eventually it was even further restricted to persons officially designated, after rigorous examination, to a kind of spiritual hall of fame. The early usage of the word “saint” as depicted in the Apostles’ Creed – you know, “I believe in the Holy Ghost, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints” – the early usage of the word “saint” is all but lost to our modern-day vernacular.
Yet Paul refers to us as saints. Paul refers to us as holy ones. Paul deliberately chooses a word that identifies us not by what we do for God, but rather, by what God does in and for us. He is retraining our imaginations to understand ourselves not in terms of how we feel about ourselves, and not in terms of how others feel about us, but rather…he is retraining our imaginations to understand how God feels about us. In God’s eyes, we are saints. In God’s eyes, we are holy ones.
So let’s go back to Soren Kierkegaard’s price tag analogy. Culture says that you are a collection of cells that evolved from a monkey. Now don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying anything against evolution here. We’re not talking about how we came into being. We’re talking about the value of a human being. Culture says that you are a collection of cells that evolved from a something else. Well, if that’s the case, then why not live for the moment? Why not engage in promiscuity for the thrill of it all? Why not step on whoever we have to step on in order to get ahead? After all, if we are nothing more than a collection of cells, then life must solely be about what I can glean from it. Ladies and gentlemen, culture has put a very low price tag on the human being.
God says you are a saint. God says you are a holy one. God says you are of infinite worth. How does that affect your values? Suddenly, life isn’t solely about what I can glean from it, is it? Now, perhaps, the value of life is life itself…and how I might serve the One who created me. Therefore, I ask you now: Does God exist to serve us, or do we exist to serve God? Get the answer to that question wrong…and you’re never going to get any of the rest of it right either. The price tag God puts on us is very high. Don’t let culture switch the price tags.
After designating the people of God as saints, the Apostle Paul goes on to tell them that he is praying for them. Have you ever thought about how much that means? What does it mean to you when someone says, “I’m praying for you?” Of course, I remember in seminary when I once got into a theological disagreement with someone. In my mind, I was winning…because at the end of the conversation he said to me, “I’ll pray for you!” I wanted to say, “No! Don’t pray for me! I don’t want God to make me think like you!” But seriously, what does it mean to you when someone says, “I’m praying for you?” It means a great deal, does it not?
The Apostle Paul prayed for the church in Ephesus. He prayed to God that God might give them five things. The five things were: wisdom and revelation, an enlightened heart, hope, the riches of his glorious inheritance, and the immeasurable greatness of his power. The five things Paul prayed for the church in Ephesus, he prays for us as well. These are the things the saints can expect to receive from God: wisdom and revelation, an enlightened heart, hope, the riches of his glorious inheritance, and the immeasurable greatness of his power. As Paul notes, they come not because of some great accomplishment on our parts. They come through what God achieved in the person of his Son, Jesus Christ. The shame of it all is that there are people these days who fail to see that…and who suffer the consequences of it.
I’m going to tell you two quick stories now that I think will make what I’m trying to say a little bit more clear. The first story is about an out-of-town couple that recently came to me and asked me to perform their wedding. They wanted a civil ceremony. They wanted no mention of Jesus Christ at all. Jesus Christ was not a part of their lives and they did not want him to have a part in their wedding either.
While we were talking, I noticed a series of numbers tattooed up the bride’s left arm. Not being particularly shy, I asked her what they were meant to represent. She said, “These are the death dates of four of my good friends.” I said, “I am so sorry. How did they die?” She replied, “Two died from cancer…and two committed suicide.” Do you sense a certain irony here? The bride and her friends refused the gifts God gives in Jesus Christ – wisdom and revelation, an enlightened heart, HOPE, the riches of his glorious inheritance, and the immeasurable greatness of his power – and a couple of them felt that the only way to escape their problems…was suicide.
Contrast that story with a story I want to tell you about our own Julia Marshall. Julia Marshall was born in 1914. She had a Ph.D. in psychology. She taught at colleges and universities all across the country. She used to sit right in front of me here in the sanctuary, nearly every Sunday morning. She wasn’t able to stand for the hymns, but she sat there and sang every one of them without even opening a book. I think she knew every hymn in the hymnal by heart. Julia Marshall was a woman of deep faith. She died on the 6th of April.
I went to see her in the hospital shortly before she died. She was having a wonderful day and we had a terrific conversation. In fact, she told me something that I will carry with me for the rest of my life. The next day, however, she took a sudden turn for the worse. When I went to see her, she had an oxygen mask over her face and I was having a hard time understanding her. She said to me, “I want to go home.” I said, “You want to go home?” She said, “I want to go home,” as she pointed toward the sky. And it wasn’t long…before she did.
God gives gifts to his saints thanks to what he accomplished in the person of Jesus Christ. Of course, they matter in the life to come. But as I think you can clearly see…they matter in this lifetime as well. Amen.
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