(friday)

I’m not sure what it is about friday… maybe it’s cuz i’m generally off work so have some space to think… whatever it is… I always have these deep thoughts on fridays.  Not that I’m generally not a “deep thinker” (whatever that means) but generally theology doesn’t naturally come accross my mind during the corse of a week.

Today I was in Marion, IN with my sis who graduates this weekend from Indiana Weslyan University.  I’m chilin at Bob Evans with the whole family.. I mean the WHOLE family (both grandparents… man they love Bob Evans) and I find myself in this conversation about the glory of God.

Hmmm…. so what is the ultimate point of life, the cross, Jesus’ life, etc. etc.  Seems like we’re always at the center.  I don’t know, I guess as I’ve grown up in the church, I always thought that I was in the middle. I mean, God is obviously God, Jesus is God, and God is all powerful, but what happened at the cross and what life is about essentially revoloved around me.  Jesus died for Me.  Life is about Me telling people about God.  Church is about growing ME.  MY quiet time.  MY prayer life. etc. etc.

Maybe you’ve grown up like that and the words to this song feel wierd now… or maybe this is the first time you’ve thought about this:

Like a rose, trampeled on the ground
you took the fall
and thought of me
above all

makes sense right?  right?  The problem with this theology, yes THEOLOGY, is that it does revolve around me, and the reality of the story of God is it DOESN’T revolove around me.  (sidebar:  I am eternally grateful for Michael W. Smith, he was making Chrstian music accessable and trying to make God famous before I was even born) I know I won’t convice you of some new theological thought, but just hear me out for a sec.  Life isn’t about YOU.  In fact, I would say your own LIFE isn’t about YOU.  And I would say that the CROSS wasn’t about YOU.  And Jesus’ LIFE wasn’t about YOU.

Oh God Loves you… don’t miss that.  It was His idea to redeem us.  And GRACE… washing away in a flash every terrible thing you’ve ever thought and giving us life we don’t deserve… HIS IDEA.  But there’s something bigger… a life, a cross, a church, a faith… that points to GOD.  Above all Christ was gloryfiing GOD, not saving us.  YES, he was saving us, YES he paid the price for us, YES.  But above all, he was gloryfiing GOD… following His Father… loving His Father with action and justice throughout His whole perfect Life.  It’s just that are focus is a little off.

I know… you might be calling me a heretic… or saying this is just symantics… but hang on… doesn’t life make more sense when we’re really not at the center?  If you realy look at what church’s teach, or what Christianity looks like here in America… can’t you trace things back to us?  The point of Jesus’ life was this:  to make his father famous.  Our lives have the same point: to make Him famous.  So the cross ultimately points to GOD, not to us.  So the story of the UNIVERSE is not with us at the center, but we play a SMALL PART of the story of GOD.  Hopefully our lives ultimately don’t point to US, but to GOD.  Hopefully our Church’s are more about making God famous, then making this faith we share revolve around us.

Doesn’t it feel good?

It does to me.  It just feels right to be put in my place somtimes.  To think about how small I really am.  To think about the God of the Universe not needing my help, not needing me to do anything, but CHOOSING to use me, to love me, to save me.  It just feels right to not be at the center.  Life just has to be bigger than me… it just has to mean more that whatever I can bring to it.

This weekend… think on FAME.  Think about making your life point to God.  Helping your church point to God.  Helping this story we tell all the time turn back to the main character being GOD, not us.  And think on how small we are… and how that makes GRACE and the CROSS all the more unbelievable.

“Yes God, walking in the way of your truth, we wait eagerly for you.  For your name and your renown is the desire of our souls.” Isaiah 26:8

now my head hurts…haha… just a thought for your friday, now I’m out for the weekend.

cheers,

j