Entries Tagged as 'Sovereignty of God'

Imperfect Unions and the Kingdom of God

The whole human race was created by God and for God. In a sense, all our hungers, desires, and longings are pale reflections of our desire for God. And no less certain, we will never be satisfied with our petty thirsts until such time as we have allowed God to pour himself into us so that we will be full. 

Paul says in Acts 17: God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ 

And Augustine said it equally well, “Thou hast created us for Thyself, and our heart is not quiet until it rests in Thee.” 

This longing is not less pressing in the quest and desire for justice.  All true justice and righteousness comes from God and from God alone, who “judges the world in righteousness and the peoples with equity.” (psalm 98) 

So, in this time of elections and seeking out a greater fairness and perfection for our imperfect union, it is always worth taking a moment to realize that our elections, speeches, and positions are more important in that they point to our need for God who alone can bring justice. They point to our human brokenness in our inability to being about a just order of creation and society. They point to the fact that we lie to one another and to ourselves when we think that this or that party or candidate will somehow bring about the good commonwealth.  

We do not need another Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, or Thomas Jefferson . . . We need God. We need God desperately.

Tags: Politics, Sovereignty of God, God, Kingdom of God by Administrator
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A Lordless Lord

There are some people who are upset about the notion of the “Lord-hood” (to coin an ugly phrase) of God. In a world that has become so democratic and egalitarian, the very notion of someone being a Lord over another seems barbaric and backwards. It seems the very opposite of what God would ever want, or even should want.

The problem with this objection is that it fails to understand God as God reveals Godself to humanity in Jesus Christ. What is odd about this problem is that the very instrument to overcome this misperception about God is found in the most conservative of churches who consistently fail to see it, while the liberal churches who would look for it are theological ill-equipped to discover it.

God’s self-revelation in Jesus Christ reveals that God is the Lord who made heaven and earth but chooses to be the servant of that creation and the redeemer of that creation to the point of self-death.

God is the Lord who shows us what earthly lords ought to be, not what they are. God empties Godself to weakness and oblivion. He does not puts earthly lords to shame by being more brutal and powerful and arbitrary than they. God washes the feet of his friends, gentle kneels at their feet, and offers his life for me and for you.

Tags: Sovereignty of God by Administrator
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Beggars of Nothingness

Redemption cost nothing to humans and everything to God. This is the message of the cross, pure and simple. We human beings were helpless and unable to effect our salvation in any way at all. God, who had the means, took up our cause in the the death of Jesus Christ and redeemed us with the price of divinity’s death that no human could offer.

If as Christians we know nothing else, it should be this: God has everything and we have nothing. There is nothing that we have done to deserve our love by God. And God does not waver in love the way so many humans can.

And this is as it should be. Because, if the love of God were something that we could effect in some way, then it would be possible to lose it. If there was something I had to do to get the love of God, then I might stop doing it and lose the love of God. But since God loves me (and you) without price, there can never be any fear that is founded on anything.

We are beggars with empty hands before a Lord who every morning drops a billion dollars into our bowls.

Tags: Sovereignty of God by Administrator
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Carts, Horses, and Racism

     COSROW, The United Methodist Commission on the Status and Role of Women, has recently called for a new initiative within the denomination regarding sexism and racism. I am all for this. On the whole, I like COSROW.

      One comment and one comment alone. Their press release through the United Methodist News Service on march 20th, 2007, began with the following sentence: “A commitment to justice for all and continued efforts to exorcise sexism and racism are needed if The United Methodist Church is to meet new mission goals.”

     Are you kidding?!

     I like the general sentiment, but they say they have this new commitment to justice for all and end to racism are needed BECAUSE of the new mission goals of the UMC. Effectively they are declaring that they like justice now because of the UMC’s mission goals. That’s why the new initiative comes about.

     Let’s read Galations 3:28: “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” This has been the Word of God since Paul penned it in the first century.

     When a Church board tells you to worry about justice that is a good idea. When a church board forgets to mention it, it is still a really damn good idea. If a church board tells you to fight against justice, it is still a good idea to work for justice. As the God commands: “Let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.” Justice is always a good idea, whether or not someone tells you to do it. After all, whether anyone tells you to do it or not, God is always and everywhere tell you to be about the business of justice.

   This is all one more reason to side with God first and your church second. Measure your church by the Word of God, not the other way around. If your church doesn’t get around to commanding justice for 2,007 years maybe you should do it anyway. Deus vult! God wills it!   This is all one more reason to side with God first and your church second. Measure your church by the Word of God, not the other way around. If your church doesn’t get around to commanding justice for 2,007 years maybe you should do it anyway. Deus vult! God wills it!

Tags: Peace, Discipleship, Sovereignty of God, News by Administrator
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