The Call To Real Christianity--Dangerously Good Kindness

The world doesn't need more nice people.

The world doesn't need more friendly people.

The world needs more kind people.

Niceness, while certainly good, often wilts in the face of meanness.

Friendliness, though essential for societies to function, often recoils in the face of nastiness.

Kindness stands up against unkindness with a power that stops nastiness and meanness in its tracks.

Kindness always goes on the offensive, striking blow after blow against unkindness.

Kindness is no wimp, but a transforming power that brings goodness and light.

When the kindness of God our Savior appeared, God saved us...(Titus 3:4-5).  God's kindness was proactive.  It reached out with lavish, unconditional grace and grabbed us out of death into life.

Do you not know that it is God's kindness that leads you to repentance?...(Romans 2:4).  God's radical kindness, seen in the death and resurrection of Jesus, breaks through our sin and lostness and leads us into God's grace.

God's kindness is always proactive, always on the offensive, driven by love, in order to push back the nastiness of life to set you free for real life.

Kindness dares to love your enemy.

Kindness dares to treat that nasty person as you yourself want to be treated.

Kindness goes on the offensive in the face of unkindness, not by simply smiling, nodding, and moving on, but by offering a radically kind alternative in its place.

Paul says it this way:

Your love must be real. Hate what is evil, and hold on to what is good. Love each other like brothers and sisters. Give each other more honor than you want for yourselves…Wish good for those who harm you; wish them well and do not curse them… Live in peace with each other. Do not be proud, but make friends with those who seem unimportant. Do not think how smart you are. If someone does wrong to you, do not pay him back by doing wrong to him. Try to do what everyone thinks is right. Do your best to live in peace with everyone… Do not let evil defeat you, but defeat evil by doing good.  (Romans 12:9-21)

Imagine if every follower of Jesus practiced that form of dangerously good, real Christianity!

In the words of Dr. Who #12: Just be Kind!

The Call To Real Christianity--Dangerously Good Generosity

Without giving...life would not exist.

Giving is the foundation of human existence.

The Creator gives life to creation.

A man and a woman give themselves to each other in a deeply intimate act that brings forth life.

Moms give birth to babies.

Ideas give birth to realities.

Justice gives birth to freedom.

Without giving...there would be no:

Forgiving

Thanksgiving

Christmas 

Easter

Christianity

Faith

For all of the above are wrapped up in God so loving the world that God gave Jesus.  And Jesus gave his life for us.

Without giving...

The hungry would never be fed.

Those held captive would never be freed.

Those living in underserved or war-torn countries would never be healed.

_______________

Without giving life would not exist.

Giving is the essence of what it means to be human.  

And it is certainly the hallmark of one who follows Jesus.  

_______________

Ironically,  talk of giving often upsets and even angers Christians.  I say ironically because Christians should be the most cheerfully generous people of all because they know first hand the lavish generosity of God's grace.

And yet, for a variety of reasons the topic of giving touches a nerve in many Christians.

Here's a counter-intuitive thought:  Might that anger be another of God's gifts?  Might it be that that anger is God's way of saying that our resistance to generosity is getting in the way of a full, rich life? That we're robbing ourselves of cheerfulness?  

Might it be possible that the God who always gives is generously rescuing us from the false trappings of me-ism and consumerism, setting us free for the life-giving, cheerfulness-producing, power of generosity?

I've said it many times before.  I've never, ever met a crabby giver.  There is no downside to generosity.

_______________

1.3%-2.3%: Average Lutheran Giving Percentage

18.1%: Average Tip by Americans

_______________

For Jesus, giving is never about demand, or guilt, or coercion.  It's always about response to God's lavish, generous grace.

Hence my question in my last blog post:  How would your check book answer the question: Do I really believe God loves me?

Real Christianity is rooted in giving.  Real Christianity is built on generosity.  On God's giving.  On God's generosity.

The Spirit of Generosity, Jesus, lives in us.

That means that you have been filled with lavish generosity.

Jesus invites you to be who you are.  To let that generosity have its way in you.  To be a dangerously good person who, in response to God's lavish grace, is turning the world upside down with outlandish giving.

Let me paraphrase an old quote I used on gratitude in a recent sermon:

_______________

If you've forgotten the language of generosity

You will never be on speaking terms with cheerfulness

_______________

That's what Real Christianity looks like.

The Call To Real Christianity--Part 2

I have a question for you.

It's a big question.

For many of you it will also be a highly personal question.

So pull up closer to the screen so that no one else will hear your answer.

Here goes:

Do you believe that God loves you?

Do you really believe that God loves you?

Do you really believe that God loves you?

Do you really believe that God loves you?

Do you really believe that God loves you?

Do you really believe that God loves you?

OK...that was more than one question.  Or technically, it was one question asked in several ways.

I'm going to assume the answer is yes.  You really believe that God loves you!

Here's the next question:  Based on what?

How do you know that God really loves you?  There are lots of folks who don't believe that.  Who don't believe that God is loving.

There are many people who once believed it, but no longer do because life proved to them that God doesn't love them.

How do you know that God really loves you?

Lisa Gungor tells a moving, compelling story of how she no longer believes in God after years of a working in a mega-church and singing to huge crowds of Christians.  She freely admits that she believed in a transactional God, a God who would act in her best interests if she lived the right kind of life, did the right kinds of things, and believed the right things.  When she did all of that and God did not seemingly bless her, her faith in God began to erode.  On top of that, she grew up in a religious system that didn't allow doubt.  Put those two things together and she says she's lost her faith.

It's a heart-breaking story.  And it happens too often in the church.  When we worship an if-then God, a God who will only love us if we prove lovable and worthy, we're set up for disappointment.  If we worship a God who allows no doubt, we can't be human.

Do you...really...believe...that...God...loves...you?  How do you know?

There is only one place where that kind of hope can be rooted:  In the promise of the cross.

For God so loved you that he gave his only son...

No matter what life throws your way...no matter what doubts you have...that God, that promise, will always cling to you!  It will always hold you regardless of the ups and downs you experience.

God expresses his love for you in this...Christ died for you!

Faith is not first and foremost a feeling...or a belief...or an action.  Faith is a gracious God-given gift that holds us, breathing life, hope, peace, and forgiveness into us whether we feel it or not.  Faith is rooted in a God who gives.

Do you really believe that God loves you? 

Now...one last question that will probably make some of you yell at me, delete this blog link, or throw up your hands in exasperation.  But I have to ask.

Do you really believe that God loves you?  

How would your check book answer that question?

If you're still with me...we'll dig deeper into that next time!

The Call To Real Christianity

This fall we have been diving into what it looks like to follow Jesus.  The title of the series:  Would the Real Christians Please Stand Up! A Reckless Guide to Dangerously Good Faith.  It's a daunting topic because it seems to suggest that there is one way to be a real Christian...and that I know exactly what that is.  (It's a good thing I'm your pastor!)

However, that's not the point at all.  Part of the point is to say that all too often we Christians behave badly.  We don't always reflect the grace of Jesus in the way that we speak, act, or treat others.  In fact, many times Christians act the exact opposite of how Jesus would act, turning people off to any consideration of Jesus and the reckless love he offers.

In one of my sermons I told the story of my kids and the challenges they faced growing up as PK's (preacher's kids).  Sometimes they would hear their friends' parents ripping on me or on the church I served.  And it not only hurt them deeply, it called into question the whole Christian experience.

I kept telling them that Christians are imperfect people and that they should look at Jesus and make their decisions based on him, not on the actions of some mean-spirited Christians.  Their response:  It's not that easy because Christians keep getting in the way.

I've heard this many times: If it weren't for Christians I might give Jesus a look.

Ouch!

We need to hear that as Christians.  We need to be mindful that how we live and interact with others is a reflection, at least to others, of who Jesus is, or of how seriously we take Jesus, or of how transformational grace is.  (Not to mention the impact we have on our kids and grandkids!)

But that's a lot of pressure.  That makes grace our responsibility.  And that can lead us into a behavior-oriented Christianity that leads to perfectionism, legalism, and a loss of true freedom.

So what is a Real Christian?  We'll spend a few more weekends in worship looking at that question and will continue to wrestle with it in these blog posts for a time...because it is one of the most important questions of our day as Christianity seemingly declines and those rejecting the church grows.

But let's start here...and build here:

A real Christian is a sinner who has been claimed by Jesus; an imperfect person in whom Jesus chooses to live by his grace; a lost son or daughter to whom Jesus has run, throwing the robe of unconditional love over his/her shoulders, putting the ring of sonship or daughterhood onto his/her finger, and putting the shoes of forgiveness onto his/her feet.

A real Christian is the object of God's favor, kindness, and mercy.

You are a real Christian.  You have been claimed by Jesus.  You belong to him through his death and resurrection.

So live like you're loved.  Live like you're graced.  Because you are!  That's the starting point for living a life of dangerously good faith.

More to come.

Gospel What Ifs...

1) What if grace is more radical, more inclusive, deeper, wider, and higher than we currently imagine it to be?

2) What if God’s will that all be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth actually happens?

3) What if every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father?

4) What if Jesus comes not as a punitive judge but a restorative judge?

5) What if grace is not bound by time or space or human lifetimes?  What if God has all of eternity to win us over with his finally irresistible love?

6) What if God’s grace is stronger than unbelief?

7) What if repentance is not our action but God’s work in us?  What if repentance is the response of faith to the kindness of God?

8) What if, the more orthodox, the more liberal (lavish, generous) one's understanding of grace?

9) What if God isn’t angry at us because of our sin but heartbroken over it?

10) What if the death of Jesus was not the act of an angry God venting his fiery wrath meant for us onto Jesus, but the act of our creator rescuing us from sin, death, the flesh, and the devil? 

11)What if the death of Jesus is an act of supreme love not anger?

12) What if the power of prayer resides in the faithful character of God and not in our words, persistence, boldness, or consistency?

13) What if hell is not a place of eternal damnation but “last stand defiant” face to face encounter with all that is holy and good and gracious, a meeting with the finally irresistible grace of God that purifies one as silver is purified through fire?

14) What if we’re really dead in our trespasses and only the grace of Jesus can raise us from the dead…not our repentance, not our confession, not our sinner’s prayer?

15) What if the will is in bondage and can only choose against God?  What if Jesus frees us from that bondage through a pure act of grace?

16) What if the faith to believe is God’s work in us vs. our decision?

17) What if God loves sinners…and only sinners?

18) What if God will have the final word over all of us in eternity…and that word is the Gospel?