My Morning Meal

I’d almost defy any blood-bought believer to sit down with Romans 8 . . . read it in one thoughtful sitting . . . and not be in a different place when they finish the chapter from where they were when they began it. It is a chapter about the wonder of life in the Spirit and the way of the Spirit’s help in our weakness . . . how could anyone filled by the Spirit not be moved as their indwelling Comforter says, “Behold! That’s Me! In you!” It’s a chapter about adoption and the implications . . . if we are children of God then we are heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ. It is a chapter about an unimaginable future . . . about a the glory that will be revealed to us . . . and the reminder that not only are we longing for it, but all creation as well. And, it is a chapter about a God, who for His own glory and purposes, is for us . . . and has loved us with a love that will not fail.

This chapter begins with NO CONDEMNATION and concludes with NO SEPARATION . . . and they are the promises of God for “those who are in Christ Jesus.”

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. . . . For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.  (Romans 8:1, 38-39 ESV)

In Christ Jesus . . . oft repeated . . . as such, in danger of becoming commonplace. But pause, but for a moment, and consider again the basis for . . . and the benefits of . . . being in Christ Jesus . . . and a compelling desire to bless God starts to flow forth.

What cost was paid that we might be in Christ? What mercy was shown to sinners at war with God that they might be in Christ? What grace was extended to lost, wayward sheep, that they would be sought and wooed to the Great Shepherd . . . so that they might be in Christ?

And that, in Christ, there is no condemnation . . . for the Lamb of God has paid, once for all, the debt of sin that was ours. That, in Christ, there is no longer any subjugation to the old man and the flesh . . . for now we live in the power of the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead. That, in Christ, there is no longer any hesitation to approaching a holy, holy, holy God . . . His majestic, awesome throne having become a throne of grace providing help in time of need. That, in Christ, there is no longer any separation . . . for our great High Priest lives to ever make intercession at the right hand of the Father. That, in Christ, the work He has begun in us through predestination, . . . He will complete on that day of consummation when, as the Bride, we, the church, are received unto the Bridegroom.

And you could go on . . . and on . . . and on.

In Christ . . . What glorious words! . . . What a mind-bending thought! . . . What a praise invoking reality!

To Him be all glory . . . in the Church . . . those who are in Christ Jesus!

Amen?

Recently I watched part of a Mark Driscoll sermon in which he talked about his early days in the church. As a new believer he didn’t know much, but God had shown him enough that he knew he needed to read his bible and that he needed to be part of a gathering of believers. At one of their meetings they had a “sign up Sunday.” Different bible studies were talked about and offered . . .different opportunities to serve in the church were highlighted . . . and people were invited to sign up. And so Driscoll did . . . for everything! This full-time university student, who was working to put himself through school, signed up for multiple studies, a small group, mid-week children’s ministry during the ladies’ bible study, and Saturday morning grocery delivery to elderly shut-ins.

You listen to this guy, anticipating the conclusion of his “I didn’t know you weren’t supposed to sign up for everything” days, and you’re thinking, “Burn out!” . . . this guy’s going to warn us about taking on too much and burning out. Uh, not so much. Instead, this was his conclusion, “And it was awesome!” Through engaging in the church and serving the church, Driscoll says that he fell in love with the church.

Now, not many of us are Mark Driscoll’s in terms of mental capacity and physical stamina, but it makes you wonder what the “secret sauce” is, such that “walking in a manner worthy of our calling” results in “Awesome!” rather than burn out. I think a clue is found in something I read in Romans this morning . . .

But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code.   (Romans 7:6 ESV)

In Romans 7, Paul speaks to those who grew up with the law and the crushing weight of its condemnation of sin. But when these law-raised people become born again believers, they died to the old man and the old ways. Just as a widow or widower is released from their marriage vows when their spouse passes, so too, when the old man was pronounced dead through the work of the cross, they were released from the bondage of “have to” . . . and raised again in the new way of “get to!” And I think that’s part of what allows a young Mark to invest so much and end up at “awesome!”

The new way of the Spirit is the way of response . . . not requirement. The new way of the Spirit is more than just our discipline, it’s the way of His divine dynamic in our lives. Less about our sense of duty and more about His grace producing in us a sanctified devotion. We attend meeting . . . we serve . . . we seek the kingdom not because some new form of law demands it, but because a new Spirit-infused nature desires it.

To be sure, we need to be wise stewards of our time . . . and thoughtful managers of our physical capabilities . . . but whatever we decide to do for the kingdom it should be because we “get to” and not because we “have to.” That’s the new way of the Spirit. The written code, and even the unwritten code, is no longer what drives my “to do” list. But Christ living in me through the blessed Spirit, draws me in and forms within me a desire to pursue the things of heaven . . . a longing to worship the One who alone is worthy of worship . . . a heart for the people of God . . . a willingness to serve where He’s pointing me to serve. Looks different for each brother or sister in the Family, but when we’re serving in the new way of the Spirit . . . when it’s no longer about what we “have to” do and more about what we “get to” do . . . then, to quote Mr. Driscoll, “It’s awesome!”

Awesome by His grace . . . Awesome for His glory. Amen?

He may not have known how it was gonna happen . . . but he knew it was gonna. To be sure, the timing became a bit of stumbling block. A promise of children when you’re seventy-five and your wife is sixty-five . . . you gotta think it has to happen pretty quick. Apparently not . . . twenty-five years they waited. And I know, that because of the waiting, they came up with an alternative way to “make it happen.” But the divine commentary of Scripture would seem to indicate that it was a plan born not so much out of a lack of faith in the promise, but of a confusion as to how it could happen within their barren circumstance. In fact, says the divine commentary of Romans 4, Abraham was fully convinced.

He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead (since he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb. No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what He had promised. That is why his faith was “counted to him as righteousness.”
(Romans 4:19-22 ESV)

Approaching a hundred years old . . . a son and a maidservant reminding him of a “plan B” that kind of went south . . . a wife whose womb is more barren now than it was twenty-five years earlier when they had first received the promise . . . but, so says the Spirit through Paul’s writing, though Abraham was out of options and, naturally speaking, out of seed, he still trusted. In fact, though he had no idea how it could happen, Abraham was fully convinced that God was able to do what He had promised He’d do.

It says that he grew strong in faith. Maybe that’s what happens when you’ve tried everything you can think of and still nothing. When you’ve exhausted your bag of tricks, maybe then all you can do is believe that He who made the promise will be the One to fulfill the promise. Makes sense that if you’re going to keep on keepin’ on when you don’t know how . . . or for how long . . . all that you have left to draw on is faith in the One who is ever faithful to His word.

Fully convinced . . . fully persuaded . . . most surely believed.

That’s where we need to be as we wait for God . . . as we try and make sense of circumstances which make no sense . . . as we imagine a future that we’re not sure how to navigate. Fully convinced.

If we’re walking in the way we believe the Father has led and it becomes cluttered with unforeseen distractions . . . or obscured by unpredictable circumstances . . . or a detour appears where we never it saw it coming . . . what’s left but to be fully convinced? As we walk with the Lord . . . as we look back and see His hand of leading . . . and yet find ourselves in a place that makes no sense . . . or things taking longer than we ever expected . . . or complications arising that we never imagined . . . what else is there to do but give glory to God and to be fully convinced that He is able to do what we believe He’s said He will do? Answer: Nothing.

O’ for the grace to be fully convinced. For every failure and “plan B” that doesn’t work to propel us to a place where we can do nothing but believe in the God of promise.

Fully convinced . . . by His grace . . . for His glory.