Without the Gospel Message of Jesus Christ God’s law becomes unproductive!
Without the Gospel Message of Jesus Christ God’s law becomes behavior modification!
I was reading Matthew as part of a Synoptics Gospel class I am taking. One of the things my instructor said was we often we read scripture through an individual lens. However, Matthew is meant to be read with a community lens. In other words when Jesus is saying you to the disciples he really means Ya’ all. In other words the community of disciples.
If you look at the bigger structure of Matthew the sermon on the mount is not commands to the disciples but they are rather an example of what Gods community should look like. Matthew went to to clarify and fulfill Jesus purpose and mission of the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth. A continual contrast of the the earthly kingdoms vs the disciples heaven on Earth continues to be contrasted in Matthew. Then later on Matthew discusses forgiveness.
21 Then Peter came to him and asked, “Lord, how often should I forgive someone[a] who sins against me? Seven times?”
22 “No, not seven times,” Jesus replied, “but seventy times seven![b]
The above reference was during Jesus’ discourse to his disciples about forgiving others that are a part of our Christian community. I can’t help but think the words of “I forgive” and going through just a “process of forgiveness” falls far short of living in an intimate community of discipleship with other Christians and far short of what I am reading in the book of Matthew. We often neglect the nuances and balance that the Synoptic Gospels offer us, neglecting the weightier matters of scripture for a more simplistic understanding and reading of the Gospels.
For me forgiveness is finally complete when I am back in intimate relationship in the community of believers and the ones I have wronged. Anything less is not what I read as Jesus’ message in Matthew.
Hi Kendra, Aaron,
As you approach a new season in life I felt the urge to share some deep thoughts with you. The purpose of this e-mail is to describe what I would do differently if I was starting out as a new parent today. In other words, if I could go back and re-start my parenting life with what I know today what would I do differently? What have I learned along the way?
I was reading that a book that a friend/author wrote. He said he was talking to a songwriter and the topic they were discussing reminded him of a song titled “If the record does not have the grooves you can’t play the song”. Your a little too young to remember vinyl records but the records had grooves on them and a needle would follow along on the grooves to play a song. Anyhow, this is just a way of saying its difficult to parent any differently than your parents because you bring in your own pre-recorded grooves from your family of origin. Mom brought in grooves from her family of origin and I brought in grooves from my family of origin. The purpose of this e-mail is to share with you the new grooves I had to learn along the way. To share with you the grooves I wish I had when I started out parenting. Many of the grooves I had to learn the hard way. My hope is that you can start out your season of parenting with all these grooves fully intact and you can start out parenting where I left off.
1. Parent between the Pillars of Truth and Grace
In Joshua Straub’s book Safe House he discusses a primarily Christian phenomenon that he calls the uneven house of truth. On these pages he says families heavy on truth and light on grace make it “emotionally unsafe” for Children to share deep thoughts and feelings. Grace gives richness and depth to Gods truth’s that truth alone can not give.
Summary Point: Be good at truth but be great at grace.
2. Parent Between the Pillars of Time-outs and Time-Ins
Summary Point: Be good at time outs (discipline) but be great at time ins.
Even when discipline is necessary it will be important for him to feel emotionally safe. As a young child it will be necessary to discipline at times. But even discipline, when done right, will allow for the child to feel that home is emotionally safe. This emotionally safe attachment to a parent will allow your child to curiously explore the world and to grow into the child God intended him/her to be.
Summary Point: A child with a safe attachment to parents and home will result in a child that is emotionally safe and able to curiously explore the world without fear.
4. Parent between the Pillars of a Narrow Funnel and Wide Funnel
A narrow funnel represents being restrictive and a wide funnel represents giving freedom. As a young child it will be important to not allow him/her access to a hot stove, sharp objects, etc. Your funnel must be narrow and restrictive to make sure the child is safe. As a child matures its your responsibility to let them go and let them grow. Some parents make the mistake of being too restrictive for too long. Then when kids older they get rebellious. Others make the mistake of allowing too much freedom too young. Then when they are out of control they have to reign them in and make the wide funnel narrow and more restrictive. Making the funnel narrow once it has been wide is hard process for a parent. They have given too much freedom before the children had enough self control to handle those freedoms.
As your child grows it will be important to give age appropriate freedoms. You can give them those freedoms when they have the self control to handle those freedoms. The funnel moves from narrow to wide, age appropriately.
Summary Point: Be good at narrow funnel but be wise at wide funnel
Summary Point: Screen time in today’s world can not be avoided, but we must have real relationship to flourish!
I Love You,
So in the aftermath of the landmark SCOTUS decision I find myself in a very lonely spot. First, I want to say I recognize that the LGBT community has been marginalized and often completely rejected. This absolute rejection should never be trivialized…. it is real and I have seen it firsthand. The Christian world has made a spectacle of homosexuals for many years. As a Christian I apologize for that … and I fear that many people look at Christians and say “if that’s what being a Christian is, I don’t want anything to do with that”.
On the other hand I believe that both the biblical and biological definition of marriage and family will always be one man and one woman. A legal redefinition will never change that.
So I often find myself — not being able to take the side of my Christian family — and I can not take the side of the LGBT community. A very lonely spot indeed.
I also believe this is a time where the GOSPEL message of Christ will shine more than ever. Rather than put my own words on my unique stance I will defer to people smarter and wiser than me:
Even though SCOTUS has legally redefined Marriage… God’s definition of Marriage will remain the same. The biblical and the biological story both confirm one man and one woman as the design for Marriage and Family. As Pastor Bill Bohline said today ….”Christianity should always be counter-cultural.” I believe the Gospel will shine more brightly in light of the SCOTUS decision made on Friday.
I think Tim Keller says it best.
“All problems, personal or social come from a failure to use the gospel (“The Good News”) in a radical way, to get “in line with the truth of the gospel” (Gal.2:14). All pathologies in the church and all its ineffectiveness comes from a failure to use the gospel in a radical way. We believe that if the gospel is expounded and applied in its fullness in any church, that church will look very unique. People will find both moral conviction yet compassion and flexibility.
For example, gays are used to being “bashed” and hated or completely accepted. They never see anything else. The cultural elites of either liberal or conservative sides are alike in their unwillingness to befriend or live with or respect or worship with the poor. They are alike in separating themselves increasingly from the rest of society.”
Do I have a Grace and Mercy “narrative” in how I live my life… or do I have performance narrative or self preservation narrative.
Performance narrative … always trying to win, look good. Can be subtle, Today many people have a moral performance narrative. Performance narrative says if I obey and do good I am acceptable. It does not see its own sin but looks at the sin of others,
Self preservation narrative says I need to protect myself from pain and hurt because its not safe (emotionally safe). A person with a self preservation narrative says no matter what I do I will get hurt again. Self preservation narrative does not have emotional safety.
Grace and Mercy Narrative is like wd40. When you pour wd40 on a something “stuck” it soaks deeply into the joint. You never see the wd40 but it makes everything in the joint operate more smoothly. A grace and mercy narrative makes relationships operate more smoothly. It is the wd40 of relationships. Unlike a performance narrative it says I am acceptable, therefore I want to obey and do good. Unlike self preservation narrative it allows me to explore thoughts and feelings safely and gives me the opportunity to grow and change in a safe environment.
However, grace and mercy needs to soak deeply into a person, like wd40 does. The problem we have in todays world is grace and mercy are often understood intellectually… is is not a deeply entrenched narrative in how people live their lives. Often for grace and mercy to become a deeply entrenched “narrative” it must be gained experientially driven vs just intellectually understood.
Do I have a Grace and Mercy “narrative” in how I live my life… or do I have performance narrative or self preservation narrative.
Performance narrative … always trying to win, look good. Can be subtle, Today many people have a moral performance narrative. Performance narrative says if I obey and do good I am acceptable. It does not see its own sin but looks at the sin of others,
Self preservation narrative says I need to protect myself from pain and hurt because its not safe (emotionally safe). A person with a self preservation narrative says no matter what I do I will get hurt again. Self preservation narrative does not have emotional safety.
Grace and Mercy Narrative is like wd40. When you pour wd40 on a something “stuck” it soaks deeply into the joint. You never see the wd40 but it makes everything in the joint operate more smoothly. A grace and mercy narrative makes relationships operate more smoothly. It is the wd40 of relationships. Unlike a performance narrative it says I am acceptable, therefore I want to obey and do good. Unlike self preservation narrative it allows me to explore thoughts and feelings safely and gives me the opportunity to grow and change in a safe environment.
However, grace and mercy needs to soak deeply into a person, like wd40 does. The problem we have in todays world is grace and mercy are often understood intellectually… is is not a deeply entrenched narrative in how people live their lives. Often for grace and mercy to become a deeply entrenched “narrative” it must be gained experientially driven vs just intellectually understood.
