@ the crossroads

In Jesus’ interaction with the religious leader Nicodemus regarding new birth (see the encounter in its entirety in John 3), the question emerges from the lips of Nicodemus, a member of the Sanhedrin, “How can a man be born when he is old?  Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb to be born!”  Nicodemus is puzzled by Jesus’ words concerning new birth and his mind is fixated on the impossiblity of old men re-entering birth canals.  Fortunately, Jesus begins talking about the Holy Spirit at this point in the conversation–a good strategy, by the way, when any conversation is beginning to take a strange turn!  Here is what Jesus says:

“I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit.  Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.  You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’  The wind blows wherever it pleases.  You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going.  So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”  (John 3:5-8)

So, here is the headline news: The new birth is the work of the Holy Spirit.  The completely free and sovereign Spirit of God is moving to draw people to Christ so they can experience new birth.  John 16:13 tells us that one of the main functions of the Spirit is to guide us into all truth, or, to put it another way, to guide us to Jesus Christ since Jesus is the truth.  In one sense, the Spirit is the Divine matchmaker, wooing us and beckoning us to seek, love, receive, and trust Christ as our Savior. 

When Kristie and I first met at Wheaton College, there were times when some of our mutual friends would say things or do things to “facilitate” the initial stages of the dating relationship and draw us together.  They were serving as matchmakers and am I ever thankful for the help I was given!  I was considered relationally challenged in the area of dating and romance.

In looking at the matchmaking quality of the Spirit’s work, it’s important to draw a few practical conclusions for the life of the church and individual Christ-followers:

1) The Spirit cannot be manipulated, controlled, or coerced.  The wind imagery that Jesus uses is perfect; just as we cannot see the wind, but we do see and feel the effects of the wind, so the Spirit is invisible with visible effects.  Our responsibility is to cultivate a posture of yieldedness to the Spirit’s flow and to stay in step with the Spirit, not try to control the work of the Spirit for our own purposes.

2) New birth is on God’s timetable, not ours.  One of the marks of maturity in our walk with Christ is the ability to trust God’s timing and his transforming power.  Reliance on human coersion often occurs when impatience is allowed to reign.  We want what we want NOW.  Jesus says, “the wind blows wherever it pleases.”  Before his ascension, Jesus told his disciples, “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about” (Acts 1:4).  Waiting for the Spirit of God to draw a loved one to the place of new birth can be a faith-stretching experience.  Don’t lose hope.  In God’s perfect time, the wind will blow.  Just keep praying.   

Jesus declared, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.” (John 3:3) 

Two of the most profound and moving times in my life revolve around the births of my two children.  When they were born, I was literally brought to tears because I realized that I was witnessing the life-changing miracle of new human life being released into the world.  God is the great giver of life and the birth process brings that powerful truth home like no other experience.

However, it does not take a parent very long to realize that not everything is perfectly innocent with these new little lives.  Children, from a very young age, begin to show signs of self-centeredness, temper, manipulation, deception, and aggressiveness.  Human beings appear to require a second birth, or a new birth, or to use larger theological language–a regeneration–a being born again.

The Greek word for “again” (anothen) implies that the One who did the work the first time does the new birthing as well.  This particular word indicates the action of the original source.  The original Creator recreates his creation.  When Jesus clearly states that only those who are born again actually enter the Kingdom of God, he is using language that communicates truth with far reaching ramifications.  Here is one of those implications:

1) If the One who recreates is by necessity the One who originally creates, then human life is sacred in the sense that all humans have been created in the image of God.  Thus, followers of Jesus Christ have a responsibility to uphold the sanctity of life in a culture that is increasingly enamored with the convenient murder of the unborn.  The church is pro-life, not in the sense of embracing a political slogan, but as an issue of faithful discipleship and consistent theology.  We can’t preach the new birth and forget about preaching texts such as Psalm 139 ( “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.  I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.  My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place.  When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body.”). 

As abortion becomes more “acceptable”, at least in the larger socio-political climate, one of the best way for Crossroads and other churches to make an impact is the same way most indelible marks are made–through the extension of transforming love and grace on a grassroots relational level.  Providing an unwed mother with basic necessities for her unborn baby and practically showing the love of Jesus in other tangible ways as an object lesson of the Gospel will communicate sanctity of life in a powerful and subversive way, potentially drawing the overwhelmed mother to the cross of Christ where hope, healing, forgiveness, and new birth are found.

When I was in high school I played on the school basketball team.  During a few of those years, the team was fortunate enough to have a dominant center.  The ability to have a productive, powerful inside game was one of the keys to securing consistent victories.  When the team lacked a true center, the guards would have to try and pick up the slack by shooting more from the outside.  Consequently, the team shooting percentages went down and the overall number of losses increased.  Lesson learned: develop dominant centers!

Christ the Center is the title of a rather short theological book written by German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer.  As the title suggests, the person of Jesus Christ is celebrated as the center of human existence.  Bonhoeffer writes, “Christ as the centre of human existence means that he is the judgment and justification of man.”

I believe a good definition of a follower of Jesus Christ is one who seeks to place Christ at the center of life.  Often times, we place Christ at the periphery of our lives and, as a consequence, fail to experience the fullness of his life, love, and power.  Our witness is weakened and we don’t represent the King very well to a watching world.

The next time you watch a basketball game (the NBA playoffs are in full swing), focus on the center; analyze all the important things that happen in the core area of the court–”in the paint”–and think about the center of your life.  Who is ruling and dominating?  You or Christ?

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.  For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.  He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.  ~Colossians 1:15-17

I have the bad habit of sneaking a peak at the ending of books even before I begin reading them.  Also, I often read magazines starting in the back and then progressing toward the beginning.  There is something about working backwards that intrigues me in the reading process.  In Luke’s gospel, the physician-theologian writes a summary of his message on the last page.  If you’re a backwards reader like me, you’ll get a flavor of the Lukan gospel by attacking the book back to front:

This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations…   (Luke 24:46-47)

 There it is-the core of the good news-on the last page. 

The Christian life is one that can be lived in great confidence and assurance because it is lived in the present in light of a known future.  We know the end of the story; we have read the final page.  Jesus Christ, the victorious One who has conquered sin and death through his death on the cross and resurrection from the dead, will one day come back for the final time and establish the new heaven and the new earth.  We really do live today in the hope of a realized future!

If you are struggling today with all the “unknowns” of your life, don’t forget that your future is secure because the last page has been written–and it’s a page full of promise and hope.  Learn to live back-to-front.

When Jesus faced the most challenging portion of his mission, he chose to pray.  When the cross was looming before him, he made the intentional decision to fall on his knees.  I think it’s important to note that Jesus did not try to face his most painful moments with human resources, but rather with supernatural power.  The Holy Spirit equipped Jesus to faithfully live the mission.

Luke writes these words in his gospel:

Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him.  On reaching the place, he said to them, “Pray that you will not fall into temptation.”  He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.”  An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him.  And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.  When he rose from prayer and went back to the disciples, he found them asleep, exhausted from sorrow.  “Why are you sleeping?” he asked them.  “Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.”  (Luke 22:39-46)

Here are a few observations about prayer from this passage:

1) The posture of prayer can help facilitate deeper, more intimate times of prayer.  Jesus humbly knelt down in reverence to the Father.  Physical posturing can have a tremendous impact on one’s prayer life.  If you are struggling to pray, try getting down on your knees.  You will soon realize that you are not in control of your life.  God is, and he is a compassionate Father who hears the cries of your heart.

2) Prayer is about molding our heart into the heart of God.  Jesus calls his disciples to pray that they will not fall into temptation; the temptation warned against was the temptation to glorify self rather than glorify God, or, putting it another way, to take the path of least resistance in the search for safety over sacrifice.  We are all tempted to make our own way.  Jesus told his disciples about the danger of falling prey to the enticements of self-will over God’s will.  To grow as a person of prayer is to finally say, “Lord, I trust that your way is supreme and that your will is perfect.  May your will be done.”

3) The best response to anguish is prayer.  Jesus prayed so intensely that his sweat “was like drops of blood falling to the ground.”  He responded to his impending arrest, beating, and crucifixion with gut-wrenching cries to God.  How do you respond when confronted with an exceptionally difficult situation?  What is your instinctual reaction when dealing with incredible pain?  Do you turn your pain into prayers?  Or do you inflict pain on others with your own wounds?  Ask God for the strength and grace to make prayer your primary response to your pain.

In my studies I recently encountered this quote:

Whatever happens to me in life, I must believe that somewhere, in the mess or madness of it all, there is a sacred potential–a possibility of wondrous redemption in the embracing of all that is.

I love that phrase sacred potential because it captures so many biblical truths: God’s “in charge-ness” of all that takes place in our lives; His ability to mold us in our messes; God’s grace as our sufficient source to move us toward our God-given potentials.

One of the great examples of sacred potential from the pages of scripture is the Apostle Paul’s experience with a thorn in the flesh.  God spoke to Paul in the middle of his messy pain and said, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9).  Paul’s sacred potential was realized on the road of suffering.

Perhaps you are walking a thorny path today and you are being tempted to resist the potential that lies underneath the surface.  Remember, God’s grace-given potential is found underneath the wounds of this life.  Taking the next right step with Christ involves fresh eyes that can see the sacred potential in all circumstances, especially the painful ones.