CHRISTIANITY 101: GOD, WHO DO YOU WANT US TO BE?
It was 20th century philosopher George Santayana who said, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” Last week we examined the history of the nations of Israel and Judah. We noted that when those nations fell away from God, they fell altogether. They were besieged and conquered by neighboring military powers. We noted also that there is not a nation in the world today that could stand up to the military might of the United States of America. But then we asked the question: “Is it possible for a nation to fall without a single shot being fired?” Given the current state of our national debt, the level of depression and despair amongst the general populace, and the spiraling suicide rate in America today, I think we all agreed that it is. It is possible for a nation to fall without a single shot being fired.
Our own nation seems to be at an impasse, and political solutions are not entirely convincing. What I proposed is that maybe what we have is not so much a political problem as it is a God problem. Maybe the only One who can keep us from suffering the same fate that befell Israel and Judah is God. Maybe the only One who can solve all the problems we seem to have is God. Yet all the while – in ever-increasing numbers – Americans are turning their backs on God and trying to go it alone.
We noted that when change swirls and anxiety looms, our temptation is to look for easy answers and cry out to God, “God, what are we supposed to do?” But maybe that’s the wrong question. Perhaps the real question is: “God, who do you want us to be?” That’s where we left off last week. Call it an unfinished sermon. Today we’ll try to take it the rest of the way as we wrestle with the question, “God, who do you want us to be?”
On Tuesday, September 11th, 2001, nineteen al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four American passenger jets. Two of those jets were flown into the World Trade Center towers in New York City. One was flown into the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia…and one crashed in a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. It was the most atrocious act of terrorism ever carried out on American soil.
In the aftermath, many questioned the providence of God. “How could God have allowed such a thing to happen?” they cried. Two days after the events of nine-eleven, Jane Clayson interviewed Anne Graham Lotz, the daughter of Billy Graham, on The Early Show. According to a transcript of the broadcast, Clayson asked, “I’ve heard people say – those who are religious and those who are not – if God is good, how could God let this happen? To that, you say?”
Lotz replied, “I say God is angry when he sees something like this. I would also say that for several years now, Americans – in a sense – have shaken their fist at God and said, ‘God, we want you out of our schools, out of our government, and out of our business. We want you out of our marketplace. And God, who is a gentleman, has just quietly backed out of our national and political life – our public life – removing his hand of blessing and protection. We need to turn to God, first of all, and say, ‘God we’re sorry we have treated you this way, and we invite you now to come into our national life. We put our trust in you.’ We have our trust in God on our coins. We need to practice it.”
In the aftermath of the events of nine-eleven, America experienced a religious revival. I was serving a church in Salem, Ohio at the time. On Sunday, September 16th, 2001, my church was packed to the rafters. We had an Easter Sunday crowd in the middle of September! Yet by Sunday, September 23rd, everything returned to normal. Our religious revival lasted only about a week.
Let me tell you about another religious revival that occurred in the nation of Judah in 622 B.C. Yet before we get to that, I think we need to set the scene a little bit. The nation of Israel was led out of Egypt by Moses around 1300 B.C. High atop Mount Sinai, Moses received the Ten Commandments. There God promised to be their God as long as they remained faithful to God’s law. Three hundred years later, when David was king over Israel, they were the most powerful nation in the world. And because of David’s faithfulness, God blessed them and promised to bless them forever. The nation of Israel came to align itself more with the blessing David received than it did with the covenant Moses received. In other words, they saw themselves as chosen and blessed by God, but they came to neglect their part of the bargain. Do you see the problem here?
The nation of Israel – and later, the nation of Judah – believed they were the chosen people of God. They believed they were blessed by God, but they no longer abided by the Ten Commandments. In time, the Law of Moses was lost….literally. Thus, there came to be little difference between the chosen people of God and the rest of the world…save for the fact that they still believed they were the chosen people of God.
Enter King Josiah. Josiah became king over the nation of Judah in the year 640 B.C. Josiah tried to reverse the policies of some of Judah’s previous not-so-godly kings. Among the things Josiah attempted to do was to restore the Temple in Jerusalem. While the Temple was being repaired in the year 622 B.C., a priest named Hilkiah found an old book. That old book contained the lost Law of Moses. Scholars today believe it was, in fact, the book of Deuteronomy. When Josiah heard the words of the book, he tore his clothes. You see, he realized how far the nation of Judah had fallen away from the ways of God. He also realized that its curses could fall upon Judah if she remained unfaithful.
Thus began Josiah’s Reform. He removed idols and pagan priests from the Temple in Jerusalem. He destroyed the houses of religious prostitutes, put an end to child sacrifice, centralized worship in Jerusalem, and reinstituted the celebration of the Feast of the Passover. Now you would think that the nation of Judah was well on its way to a national revival. It all came to a screeching halt, however, when Josiah was killed in battle a mere thirteen years later. The nation of Judah itself fell to the Babylonians twenty two years after that.
Why did Josiah’s Reform fail? As the biblical record makes clear, the reform was largely a matter of externals. In other words, the people were only going through the motions of following the laws of God, while their hearts remained unchanged. Why, it was almost as if they realized that their nation was at an impasse, and they cried out to God, “God, what are we supposed to do?” But like I said before, maybe that was the wrong question. Perhaps the question they should have been asking is this: “God, who do you want us to be?”
Who does God want us to be? As San Francisco Theological Seminary professor Howard Rice put it in his book, Reformed Spirituality, “Except for attendance at church on Sunday mornings, it is often impossible to tell Christians apart from the rest of society by any external standard.” Perhaps it should be. Perhaps it should be possible to tell Christians apart from the rest of society. And the only way that is ever going to happen is if we become disciples of Jesus Christ. There tends to be a small problem with that, however. After all, for many in America today, success is defined as having what you want. Thus, for many, the Christian life simply becomes a matter of trusting in Jesus Christ in order to have everything work out the way they desire. Yet truth be told, in spite of our wish that it might be otherwise, even devout Christians are not exempt from the suffering, the perplexity, and the doubt that are common to all. Sadly, the Christian faith does not exempt anyone from the tragedies of existence.
Consider the passage we read from the gospel according to Mark. There Jesus says, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow me.” In other words, what matters most is not what I want. What matters most is what God wants. It kind of reminds me of one of my favorite sayings. That saying is: “If you want to make God laugh, just tell him your plans!” Along those lines, I recently came across an essay that is believed to have been written by an unknown Confederate soldier. Listen closely to the words:
I asked God for strength that I might achieve.
I was made weak that I might learn to humbly obey.
I asked God for health that I might do great things.
I was given infirmity that I might do better things.
I asked God for riches that I might be happy.
I was given poverty that I might be wise.
I asked God for power that I might have the praise of men.
I was given weakness that I might feel the need for God.
I asked God for all things that I might enjoy life.
I was given life that I might enjoy all things.
I got nothing I asked for, but everything I hoped for.
Almost despite myself, my unspoken prayers were answered.
I am, among all men, most richly blessed.
Perhaps that simple essay by an unknown Confederate soldier gets at what Jesus was trying to say in the passage we read from the gospel according to Mark. The discipline of the cross contrasts our love of worldly things with our love of godly things. Thus, while success may be defined as having what you want, perhaps happiness is defined as…wanting what you have. Ladies and gentlemen, there is a difference.
So how do we get there? How do we achieve the discipline of the cross? I think we achieve the discipline of the cross through the use of what we call the means of grace. The means of grace are the distinct disciplines God has given us that we might draw closer to God. Thus, our use of the means of grace is not for the purpose of satisfying God. Our use of the means of grace is for the purpose of drawing closer to God.
What are the means of grace? I can think of no better list of the means of grace than the seven covenants of a disciple of Jesus Christ that form the mission statement of this church. They are:
I. Worship regularly. Worship is integral to the life of faith. It was Jesus’ custom to worship and it should be ours as well. Communal worship is the primary way Christians connect with God and with each other. We Begin By: Worshipping with a congregation on a weekly basis. We Aspire To: Worship God in every moment of life, and join with God’s people as often as possible.
II. Pray daily. Prayer is communication with God. It ushers us into communion with God. We Begin By: Setting aside at least one time period each day when we will communicate with God. We Aspire To: Live lives guided by God through continual prayer.
III. Study diligently. We study Scripture in an attempt to shape our minds to become more attuned to the will of God. We Begin By: Setting aside a small block of time each day to read the Bible and participating in at least one group learning experience each week. We Aspire To: Spend a significant amount of time in Christian study every day, and take part in two or three learning experiences each week.
IV. Live faithfully. Our lives should be lived with integrity and holiness. We strive to live in harmony with the will of God. We Begin By: Taking to heart that which we read in Scripture, comprehend in worship, and sense in prayer. We Aspire To: Live lives reflecting the faith we profess, looking to Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith.
V. Serve joyously. Each of us is called to ministry. We seek the field of ministry most closely aligned with the call of God on our lives that hauntingly stirs our deepest passion. We Begin By: Engaging in some form of ministry with others. We Aspire To: Create ministries in which we engage others as partners in ministry with us.
VI. Give generously. The way we give of ourselves and our resources should reflect the self-giving love of God in Christ. We Begin By: Committing to giving a set proportion of our time, talent and financial resources to God. We Aspire To: Live lives in which our giving is sacrificial.
VII. Witness boldly. In his Great Commission, Christ challenged his disciples to make disciples of all nations. To make disciples of all nations, one must spread the gospel of Jesus Christ. We Begin By: Sharing our faith and values with family, friends and neighbors. We Aspire To: Fearlessly encounter situations where we have the courage to speak, and our Christian witness can truly make a difference.
Such are the means of grace. They enable us to move our faith out of our heads and into our hearts and lives. Like I said, we use the means of grace not for the purpose of satisfying God. We use the means of grace for the purpose of shutting out the clamor of culture, and drawing closer to God. That’s how we take up a cross. That’s how we transcend the curse of superficial faith. That’s how we become disciples. And that’s how we answer the question, “God, who do you want us to be?” Amen.
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