Home » Born-again Christian (Page 82)
Category Archives: Born-again Christian
TODAY
HALIFAX, Nova Scotia, July 4, 2016 – I spent the day with flowers and clouds and cool wet sand under my bare feet, splashing in tiny warm pools of ocean water left behind by retreating waves. The tide was out and the sun was high. The fullness of summer was all around me in the warm salt breezes. These are God’s gifts. He gives to all freely, whether they love him or not, whether they seek truth or not, whether they’re going to Heaven or not. Jesus said God sends his rain and his sunshine on the good and the bad alike. God does this because he loves us all the same.
Christians forget that sometimes, that God loves us all the same. They forget that God is the judge, and that our job is not to do his job but to treat all others as we want to be treated, even and especially those who treat us badly. Because we will be treated badly. That’s a guarantee. And the closer we follow behind Jesus, the worse we’ll be treated.
That’s one of the reasons why God made days like today. It’s not the only reason, but it’s one of the reasons. That’s why he made the flowers and the clouds and tiny pools of sun-warmed salt water, toe-deep and just big enough to fit a foot. He made these to comfort us. And to remind us what is waiting for us if we make it home. I hadn’t planned to be standing there today, surrounded by the glory of a Nova Scotia summer, but that’s where I found myself at high noon.
God said: Remember these things. Store them up. These are the treasures you can take to Heaven.
I have seen Heaven. It’s like Earth, only perfect. The memories we treasure come to life in Heaven and remain there forever. The beach I was at today is perfected in Heaven and waiting for me whenever I want to visit. The flowers that are about to fade retain their full glory. The breeze is never too brisk or too cool, but always just right.
I have seen Heaven. And I have caught glimpses of it here, like a rough draft or what art students call a “quick and dirty”. I caught a glimpse of it today in a seagull tracing a perfect circle against the blue sky, and in the whiff of wild white roses sweetening the salt breeze. God puts all these things here for us, to comfort us and to let us build our very own customized Heaven. We do that one glimpse and one whiff at a time.
Tomorrow, if I go back to that same beach at high noon, the tide will be a little farther out. Maybe the pools where I walked today will have dried up already and the sky will have more clouds than blue. Maybe the wind will be blowing a little harder, maybe a little colder; maybe the rose petals will have faded one more day’s worth. The near perfection of today will have turned into a memory and a few digital pics, but not in Heaven. In Heaven, the full glory of today lives on forever.
Go out and see the world. God made it for you. See the mountains and the flowers and the birds and the trees. See everything God made – not what man has made, what God has made. It’s all for you, every last bit of it. It’s for you to enjoy now, and to take with you if and when you go home.
HPIM1359.JPG
WHY LOVE YOUR ENEMIES?
HALIFAX, Nova Scotia, July 3, 2016 – What does it mean to “love your enemies”? Jesus was very specific about what this “love” entailed – he said PRAY FOR YOUR ENEMIES and wish blessings on them. He said if they’re hungry, feed them; if they’re cold, clothe them. He said to choose to forgive them. He was very clear on what he meant by “love”.
He also called these people our “enemies”.
Think about that.
You can pray for someone, wish blessings on them, choose to forgive them, feed and clothe them, and still mostly steer clear of them. The two positions (loving them and staying away from them) are not mutually exclusive.
You don’t hang out with your enemies. Why on Earth would you want to do something as stupid as that?
God gave us a brain and common sense for one reason and one reason only: To use them.
Loving your enemies does not mean hanging out with them or letting them walk all over you or dictate to you. Jesus never said to hang out with your enemies and let them walk all over you and dictate to you. They’re your enemies. Jesus said to love them, and then explained what he meant by “love”.
If you’re still confused by what “love your enemies” means, look at Jesus. What did he do? He had enemies aplenty, and the more he preached, the more enemies he had. He did not go where he was not welcome (i.e., enemy territory), but when he did, he didn’t mince his words or try to ingratiate himself. He called a spade a spade. Followers of Jesus should take their cue from Jesus.
Scripture is always very clear; it’s people who don’t read scripture and then try to preach it who make it unclear.
But what is the point of loving our enemies? What possible good does it do them? What possible good does it do us?
The truth of the matter is – we are to love our enemies for OUR sake, not for theirs. Our loving them (through prayer and blessings and forgiveness and not trash-talking them behind their back) aids our soul, not theirs. We unburden ourselves of sin when we choose to forgive. We bless ourselves when we bless others. Jesus famous cry to love our enemies was an instruction to us on how to heal spiritually and renew our spiritual healing every day through our free-will choice to forgive and bless. Only by forgiving and blessing are we filled with God’s holy spirit, as God’s spirit cannot and will not live in a place that harbors hate and unforgiveness.
Loving your enemies doesn’t mean you let your enemies constantly abuse you; loving your enemies means keeping your distance from them (THEY’RE YOUR ENEMIES, AFTER ALL –WHY WOULD YOU WANT TO BE AROUND THEM????) while all the while praying blessings on them.
If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if your enemy is cold, clothe him: but otherwise, steer clear of him.
You love your enemies for your sake, not for theirs.
Again – YOU LOVE YOUR ENEMIES FOR YOUR SAKE, NOT FOR THEIRS.
That is how you stay holy (that is, filled with God’s spirit), and staying holy is how you get home.
NO LONGER QUITE HUMAN
HALIFAX, Nova Scotia, July 2, 2016 – When you’re born again, you leave the human race.
You are no longer quite human.
Your focus is no longer human-focused endeavors, but God-focused endeavors.
You live somewhere between Earth and Heaven, not completely in either place.
This is God’s Kingdom on Earth.
The closer I grow to God, the farther I grow from humans. This is the natural progression of born-again believers. Jesus also grew farther and farther away from humans. We can see this in how he distanced himself from his family and village, and then from his religion and culture. During his ministry, he engaged with the world not as a fellow human but as God’s suffering servant. Ultimately, he distanced himself even from the so-called normal human response of self-defense. At his crucifixion, he willingly permitted others to abuse and debase him as if it meant nothing to him, because it actually did mean nothing to him.
At that point, Jesus was no longer human.
This is what we are all aiming for – to be no longer human, to get to the point where what people do or say to us no longer matters because we’ve moved beyond being human and responding as a human.
Stephen got there. He was stoned to death for preaching the Word. Just before he died, he saw a vision of God and Jesus. The ecstasy of God’s presence sustained him as his enraged executioners buried him alive under a hail of stones. It’s an excruciating way to die, being stoned to death, and yet like Jesus at his crucifixion, Stephen simply let it be done to him. He didn’t try to flee, he put up no fight, and he even prayed for those who were killing him.
Jesus did the same.
And we’ll be expected to do likewise.
Paul called this process of dehumanization as “dying to the world”. In dying to the world, our focus shifts from desiring the values of the world (buying houses, getting married, building a career, making money, having children, accumulating possessions, protecting our possessions, protecting our loved ones, etc.) to desiring the values of Heaven (mercy, compassion, truth, honor, self-sacrifice, etc.).
Ironically, the farther away we grow from humans, the more merciful and compassionate we become towards them.
This is a great mystery.
We are not hard-wired to understand this mystery, but we are able, with God’s help, to become part of it – to extend mercy to the unmerciful, compassion to the uncompassionate, truth to liars. This is the opposite of what we are hard-wired to do. Being born-again rewires us spiritually and enables us to do what we couldn’t do before.
This, too, is a great mystery but one that we born-agains can understand because we live the reality of our spiritual rewiring every day.
I do not pretend to know how it is, but I do know that it is.
If it were not so, I, a former atheist, would not be writing this to you.
If you are truly born again, you know what I mean.
You, too, are no longer quite human and are aiming to become no longer human at all, like Jesus.
When you get there, nothing will be able to touch you – neither stick nor stone – because you’ll finally see as God sees and you’ll love everyone unconditionally.
And then you’ll get to go home.
A BORN-AGAIN BELIEVER 