Skip to main content

'Tis So Sweet To Trust In Jesus

You could pick bones with the statement, "It's not a religion, it's a relationship." In fact, evangelicalism gets hammered for being like an overwrought Manilow record all the time. On the other hand, Christianity is a relationship with a divine Person, the second Person of the Blessed Trinity, who took on flesh.

I won't hector you with thoughts about sacred music and goodness of form; you can find others to do that for you. But one thing missing (other than empathy) in the discussion of much-maligned "Jesus is my boyfriend" songs is that we don't have better analogies for just how much God loves us in Christ. You can hardly blame folks for trying. They say analogies break down. No kidding. I hope so.

The first thing you feel when you realize Jesus loves you personally is complete unworthiness. Well, yes. Have you ever been truly thankful for something you were owed? It's completely absurd in its goodness, the whole story. We read that Jesus turned His enemies into friends and brethren. This would be like two sides signing an armistice to end a war, and then the losing side joins up with its former adversary to fight someone else entirely, and as if the first war never happened. Take a moment to reflect on that. We have become too familiar with things that are jarring, shocking, and otherwise inexplicable.

May our joyful surprise at God's mercy not overwhelm us, but may we overflow with love for others.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Dear Alyse

 Today, you’re 35. Or at least you would be, in this place. You probably know this, but we’re OK. Not great, but OK. We know you wouldn’t want us moping around and weeping all the time. We try not to. Actually, I guess part of the problem is that you didn’t know how much we loved you. And that you didn’t know how to love yourself. I hope you have gotten to Love by now. Not a place, but fills everything in every way. I’m not Him, but he probably said, “Dear daughter/sister, you have been terribly hard on yourself. Rest now, and be at peace.” Anyway, teaching is going well, and I tell the kids all about you. They all say you are pretty. I usually can keep the boys from saying something gross for a few seconds. Mom and I are going to the game tonight. And like 6 more times, before I go back to South Carolina. I have seen Nicky twice, but I myself haven’t seen your younger kids. Bob took pictures of the day we said goodbye, and we did a family picture at the Abbey. I literally almost a...
Post a Comment
Read more
Hilarious Com-Box Quote of The Day: "I was caught immediately because it is the Acts of the Apostles, not the Acts of the Holy Spirit Acting Erratically."--Donald Todd, reacting to the inartful opposition of the Holy Spirit and the Magisterium. Mark Galli, an editor at Christianity Today, had suggested that today's "confusion" in evangelicalism replicates a confusion on the day of Pentecost. Mr. Todd commented after this reply , and the original article is here. My thoughts: By what means was this Church-less "consensus" formed? If the Council did not possess the authority to adjudicate such questions, who does? If the Council Fathers did not intend to be the arbiters, why do they say that they do? At the risk of being rude, I would define evangelicalism as, "Whatever I want or need to believe at any particular time." Ecclesial authority to settle a particular question is a step forward, but only as long as, "God alone is Lord of the con...
17 comments
Read more

A Friend I Once Had, And The Dogmatic Principle

 I once had a friend, a dear friend, who helped me with personal care needs in college. Reformed Presbyterian to the core. When I was a Reformed Presbyterian, I visited their church many times. We were close. I still consider his siblings my friends. (And siblings in the Lord.) Nevertheless, when I began to consider the claims of the Catholic Church to be the Church Christ founded, he took me out to breakfast. He implied--but never quite stated--that we would not be brothers, if I sought full communion with the Catholic Church. That came true; a couple years later, I called him on his birthday, as I'd done every year for close to ten of them. He didn't recognize my number, and it was the most strained, awkward phone call I have ever had. We haven't spoken since. We were close enough that I attended the rehearsal dinner for his wedding. His wife's uncle is a Catholic priest. I remember reading a blog post of theirs, that early in their relationship, she told him of the p...
Post a Comment
Read more