Our Biggest Problem: Part 2

"The greatest peril facing every person (of every sexual persuasion, of every gender), in every ethnic group, in every place on earth, and at every time in history, is the righteous wrath of God against guilty sinners, leading to everlasting suffering — unless God himself rescues us from his own judgment. Poverty, hunger, disease, war, crime, climate change, addictions, homelessness, ignorance, sex trafficking: these bring great global suffering — and they pale in comparison to the peril of being under the wrath of God. They are all tragic, but they are all temporary. They may last a lifetime, but the wrath of God lasts forever." 

-John Piper, pastor, theologian, scholar

The wrath of God - the concept is laughable nonsense to some, debilitating terror to others. 

To prevent misunderstanding or confusion it's important to flesh out what "the wrath of God" means. This has been done well here: Five Truths About the Wrath of God

One last thing from Piper: “Now, let me make something really clear here, because this is so important. Don’t make the mistake of defending the love of God by denying the wrath of God. Because what you do when you try to defend the love of God by denying the wrath of God is destroy the love of God. Why? Because in the Bible, the highest point of the love of God is his rescue from the wrath of God. If there’s no wrath, the whole fabric of the Bible unravels. The greatest love that God ever showed you was rescuing you from wrath.” 

Put to death therefore what is earthly in you:  sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming. In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all. 

Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Colossians 3:5-17 

ok, child?

There was song playing earlier this morning and this lyric stood out: "give me a childlike heart."

I feel like we're constantly told to mature, grow-up, handle it, be independent, be strong, if you aren't progressing or advancing or hitting it with maximum effort every second - you're failing God, failing the world, failing your family, failing your friends. 

In a class I was in recently the teacher said she wants God to look at her and be proud of what she did at the end of the day. That rubbed me wrong. As if our own efforts and actions are to be praised and found what, worthy of what we don't deserve in the first place? Found worthy by our efforts of what we mercifully have by God's grace through faith in Christ? Who am I to say that I did "good" today; what do I know of good but what I know through Jesus our savior. 

Life is hard and complex and messy. It's a wrestling match. Found best in the struggle, the weighing tensions of life. 

“Give me a childlike heart” with that I felt something inside saying:

I don’t need you to be Me. 

I’m the Father. 

That makes you the child. 

And with Me, that is ok, right, and safe.

Ok, child?

xo