@ the crossroads

Archive for March, 2010

Transaction vs. Transformation

Friday, March 19th, 2010
As we consider the important topic of worship, I believe we must ask ourselves whether we are guilty of allowing our worship of God to degenerate into a form of transaction, whereby we come to God not primarily because He is worthy of praise and adoration, but because we are consumed with a premeditated desire to extract something from Him or bargain with the Almighty for something we want. In the words of St. Augustine (354-430):
When you turn to God, do not seek some favour from him. Seek the Lord himself and he will hear you. He will interrupt your prayer saying, “Here I am. Yes, surely, here I am, here. What do you want? What is your request? Everything I can give you is nothing in comparison to the gift of myself. Accept me, find your joy in me, talk with me. Touch me with the hands of your faith and you will be united to me.
Living in a society that allows us access to just about any conceivable item in a 5 minute drive is a wonderful blessing, but it can also present potential pitfalls when it comes to the way we view our worship. If God doesn’t seem to deliver what we want (there is a breakdown in the transaction), suddenly we find ourselves doubting the goodness and faithfulness of God; our consumer confidence has been shaken. At the core, biblical worship is not transactional. The focus is rather on the glorification of God that will ultimately lead to the transformation of the worshiper. The Apostle Paul begins his definition of worship in his letter to the Roman church when he writes:
Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him? (Rom. 11:35)
Notice Paul’s question, which begs the answer nobody and, consequently, serves as a statement against any notion of worship as consumer-driven transaction. Paul goes on to write:
For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen. Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God–this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is–his good, pleasing and perfect will. (Rom. 11:36-12:2)
One of the visible outcomes of a group of Christ-followers (the church) passionately and humbly exalting the King of Kings is the transformation of the individual worshipers; worldly patterns of living are spurned so that transformation, marked by the renewal of the mind, may be embraced. Truthful and acceptable worship will create a community of nonconformists who are committed to standing apart from worldly patterns of living that are not pleasing to Christ.
As we prepare for another worship gathering this Sunday, here are a few questions to prayerfully consider:
*How is my life currently conforming to worldly patterns of thinking and living?
*Is my worship more transactional or transformational?
*Am I frustrated with God because the circumstances of my life seem to be contrary to what I desire? Or, can I honestly say I am viewing challenges as opportunities for spiritual formation and growth in Christ-likeness?
*In what ways do I need to allow God’s Spirit to continue the work of transformation in my life?
I look forward to worshiping with you this Sunday! Let’s continue to keep our eyes on Jesus as we walk the road of transformation together.

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

Pleasure

Thursday, March 4th, 2010

 

In his book, Thrilled to Death: How the Endless Pursuit of Pleasure is Leaving Us Numb, Dr Archibald Hart describes an interesting scientific experiment that was conducted many years ago:
 
In 1954 two researchers, Olds and Milner, were experimenting with implanted electrodes in a rat.  They discovered that when they sent a small electric signal in one particular location in the brain, the animal would go into an unaccountable rage.  They had discovered that the brain had a rage center.  One day, quite by mistake, the researchers put the electrode into an adjacent area.  When they applied the signal, instead of creating a rage response, the animal seemed to like it.  Really like it!  So they set up a lever that the rat could press and deliver electrical signals to this newly discovered part of the brain whenever it chose to.  And it chose to, all right.  Again and again.
 
The potency of this electrical stimulation is most dramatically illustrated in a classic experiment where the rats suffered self-imposed starvation when forced to make a choice between obtaining food and water or electrical brain stimulation.  They chose pleasure to the point of dying.
 
The results of this experiment are quite tragic, and we may ask ourselves how a rat could possibly choose pleasure to the point of death; however, this pursuit of the pleasurable, or at least what appears to be a source of pleasure, at the expense of life itself, is nothing new.  In the Garden of Eden, Eve experienced the serpent’s temptation to pursue the middle of the garden and eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  Genesis 3:6 says:
 
When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it.  She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.
 
Theologians have made the connection between Eve’s battle with temptation in the Garden and the lust of the flesh (tree was good for food), the lust of the eyes (pleasing to the eye), and the pride of life (desirable for gaining wisdom).  Eve was being tempted to pursue what appeared to be pleasurable food for a very pleasurable end (in the words of the serpent, “your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil”).
 
The result of pleasure seeking outside God’s established boundaries was death (”but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die”).  Humans chose pleasure–or at least the pursuit of attractive, forbidden fruit–to the point of dying, thus making the human race very much like, well, the rat race!
 
The Bible paints a crystal clear picture regarding the consequences of sin: the wages of sin is death, the Apostle Paul writes to the church in Rome; yet, these words are followed by one of the most important words in scripture: but.  But the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.  In other words, once the pursuit of pleasure is acted upon to the point of death, there remains the possibility of resurrection, new life, forgiveness, and redemption.  Jesus Christ, through his empowering grace, brings hope and healing to those who have quite literally pleasured the life right out of themselves. 
 
What a pleasure it is to know this Savior!
 

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »