THE RIGHT WAY UP IS THE LIVING WAY
06/09/24 10:14
A not-so-subtle attitude embedded in some Christianity is that we ‘earn Christ’ – that Christ makes Himself available and it is then up to us to ‘receive’ Him’ by devotions and disciplines, moralisms, off-loading idols, forsaking habitual sins and generally accumulating a self-earned intimacy with Jesus.
These efforts may be expressed as ‘keeping close to Jesus’ or in our making ‘steps to Christ’. The latter phrase is replete with self-effort. Theologians call it Arminianism. In simple terms it means that Christ has graced us with salvation and our work is to make ourselves worthy of it – which means you must earn Christ before you can enjoy life in Christ. Needless to say this undermines entirely a life in God.
GOD FINDS YOU
“It is a fairly common phenomenon in some Christian circles to describe our relationship to God as a process of “searching” for God, perhaps as a journey at the end of which someone eventually finds God. And, of course, journeys make sense to us. Our brains enjoy compelling stories of discovery. What would J. R. R. Tolkien’s perennial favourite The Lord of the Rings be without its fellowship of motley companions embarking on an epic journey to Mount Doom?
“However, this way of framing things presumes that people are basically in control of their own salvation. We formulate our goals and set out on our expeditions and adventures.” We can take up this load as an overarching discipline such as a monastic life or make it easier on ourselves by formulating ‘a contract’ of a few denominational/icons and customary legalisms. This is the essence of some sects.
GOD IN CHRIST FINDING US
“We can see at this point, however, that Paul understood humanity’s relationship with God the other way around. It may be construed as a journey of sorts but it is a story of God journeying all the way down to us. In the person of Jesus, God comes to humanity, coming still further through the Holy Spirit, gathering people into his family. In this journey God finds us and discloses to us what he is really like, so a Trinity of divine persons is working together to draw us back to God.” (1)
So, the point is that it is less about us and our endeavours at receiving Christ and more about us agreeing with Him that He has included us in His life. We are talking participation in Christ.
(1) Campbell, Douglas; DePue, Jon. Beyond Justification: Liberating Paul’s Gospel (pp. 39-40). Cascade Books, an Imprint of Wipf and Stock Publishers. Kindle Edition.
These efforts may be expressed as ‘keeping close to Jesus’ or in our making ‘steps to Christ’. The latter phrase is replete with self-effort. Theologians call it Arminianism. In simple terms it means that Christ has graced us with salvation and our work is to make ourselves worthy of it – which means you must earn Christ before you can enjoy life in Christ. Needless to say this undermines entirely a life in God.
GOD FINDS YOU
“It is a fairly common phenomenon in some Christian circles to describe our relationship to God as a process of “searching” for God, perhaps as a journey at the end of which someone eventually finds God. And, of course, journeys make sense to us. Our brains enjoy compelling stories of discovery. What would J. R. R. Tolkien’s perennial favourite The Lord of the Rings be without its fellowship of motley companions embarking on an epic journey to Mount Doom?
“However, this way of framing things presumes that people are basically in control of their own salvation. We formulate our goals and set out on our expeditions and adventures.” We can take up this load as an overarching discipline such as a monastic life or make it easier on ourselves by formulating ‘a contract’ of a few denominational/icons and customary legalisms. This is the essence of some sects.
GOD IN CHRIST FINDING US
“We can see at this point, however, that Paul understood humanity’s relationship with God the other way around. It may be construed as a journey of sorts but it is a story of God journeying all the way down to us. In the person of Jesus, God comes to humanity, coming still further through the Holy Spirit, gathering people into his family. In this journey God finds us and discloses to us what he is really like, so a Trinity of divine persons is working together to draw us back to God.” (1)
So, the point is that it is less about us and our endeavours at receiving Christ and more about us agreeing with Him that He has included us in His life. We are talking participation in Christ.
(1) Campbell, Douglas; DePue, Jon. Beyond Justification: Liberating Paul’s Gospel (pp. 39-40). Cascade Books, an Imprint of Wipf and Stock Publishers. Kindle Edition.
