I Wonder As I Wonder

Hello readers!

It has been so long, I may need to reintroduce myself. That may come later. I apologize for the silence; this past year has been incredibly busy and difficult to balance, and I’m not exactly Wonder Woman-- which brings me to today’s topic.

I recently went to see the new Wonder Woman movie, and I’ll spare you a plot summary and movie review, but if you have not seen it, I would highly recommend. The rest of this post will explain why, but if you have not seen it, you might want to see it before you continue reading. I won’t intentionally spoil anything, but little spoilers may slip out.

There was a lot to love about this movie, and also a few things not to love. The dialogue was patchy in some places, and there were some small holes in the plot that were not filled by the end of the movie. However, the action was breathtaking and well presented, characters were developed cleanly and in good detail, and Gal Gadot is absolutely perfect for the role of Wonder Woman. But what really stood out to me in this film was not any good work of cinematography, performance, or effects. The elements of this film that pleasantly surprised me most were the undertones of spirituality and the subtle but effective proclamation of the gospel.

This is not the first time this has been evident in a DC storyline. Batman vs. Superman, the film in which Wonder Woman is reintroduced, explored the storyline of resurrection and of the role of a god (implying a capital G in many places) among his people. These elements of Christianity, though refreshing to observe, were not carried out particularly artfully, but an effort is an effort. However, this effort pales in comparison to the masterful work in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight, the second installation of the recent Batman trilogy. The Dark Knight addresses the idea of a hero who saves people despite the fact that they do not, have not, and will never deserve it. This concept was such a dramatic turn from all other hero storylines (at least in recent years) in which the hero takes out the “bad guys” so humanity can be its inherently good self again. The Dark Knight’s premise was that humanity is not inherently good, and is in fact so broken it is beyond self-redemption. Nolan’s Gotham City does not need a helping hand, it needs devastation and destruction, the only way through which it can be truly saved and redeemed. Gotham serves as a symbol for all people. Our only hope for redemption is to be put to death in our sin and be made completely new in Christ. The Dark Knight could just as well have ended with scripture recitation with how accurate a portrayal of the gospel it is.

In all honesty, I never expected another superhero, or any movie, to proclaim the gospel as beautifully or effectively as is done in The Dark Knight. But then I saw Wonder Woman.

Yeah. It’s that good.

Wonder Woman’s character arc is primarily centered around the fact that she is a deity, but no one bothers to tell her this information. However, she thinks like a goddess without knowing she is one. She desires to protect humanity and destroy evil. Her reasoning for this initially is a naive belief that humanity is inherently good, but that people have been corrupted by external forces. The climax of this story occurs when she thinks she has destroyed the external forces, and the war and corruption continues. She soon realizes the external force she sought was actually elsewhere, but as she fights this force, she begins to understand that humanity truly does not deserve her. However, she does not stop fighting. As she fights, she explains to her adversary why she fights-- not because she is required or obligated to, and certainly not because anyone deserves the salvation she is able to deliver, but because of love. She loves people. So though they truly do not deserve a redemptive hero, she carries out her act of redemptive heroism for no other reason than because she wants to. It is her great expression of love for people.

So often we find ourselves watching movies and reading books about great heroes and wishing they were real, and that they could swoop in and save us. And while we can be pretty certain Wonder Woman will not be crossing No Man’s Land for us any time soon, we have a far better and more beautiful reality: our savior Jesus descended into our broken world and even into the grave so he could save us, and he did not do it because we deserved it or because he had to. He sacrificed himself willingly and with joy, for no other reason than because he wanted to. It was his great expression of love for people.

The greatest art is not necessarily that which expresses ideas the most clearly. Great art effectively and beautifully begins conversations about the ideas it expresses, whether these ideas are explicitly stated and elaborated on in that art or not. By this definition, Wonder Woman is a beautiful work of art because it opens up an area of conversation as to its meaning and implications about our world, our philosophy, and our faith. The gospel proclamation may not have even intentional (although it certainly appears to be), but Jesus said if the rest of the world was silent, the rocks would cry out his praise. Sometimes the most effective reflections of the gospel are those that happen unintentionally, because our world exists for the glory of God, and the glory of God is always ultimately achieved.

I look forward to seeing Wonder Woman’s  impact on the superhero movie industry and on viewers everywhere who may or may not have been previously introduced to the truth framed in beauty that is Christianity: that though we do not deserve a hero, our hero already came. And no matter how many plot twists we may come upon, we have something citizens of the superhero universe do not: our hero is already victorious.

“He answered, ‘I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.’” -Luke 19:40

The Art of Christianity

Hello, readers! It has been several months, and for that I sincerely apologize. I had been busy with my school newspaper, and when school got out I traveled to Italy, both my excuse for spotty blogging and my topic of choice. That said, I will attempt to blog more regularly from here on out, so please keep coming back.

As I said, I recently traveled to Italy with my school choir. We visited Verona, Siena, Florence, Venice and Rome with performances in the latter two. The climax of the trip was in Rome, and more specifically, the Vatican. We spent a full day in the Vatican touring the museums and churches and finishing the day as the choir in Mass held in St. Peter's Basilica, a most unforgettable and reflective experience.

As many of you have guessed either by knowing me or by reading prior posts, I am not Catholic. As I make my points, please know that my intention is not to offend or argue-- merely to proclaim the gospel. Please interpret my words as nothing more or less than that.

A sweeping glance of the interior of St. Peter's filled me with awe and reverence toward Peter, the other apostles, and Mary, but I couldn't help but feel something was missing. Everywhere I looked a new beauty overcame me, but still there was a hole. Suddenly it occurred to me: I did not see a cross or any other representation of Christ anywhere. After more searching, I managed to find three representations of Him, but it did not ease my mind. There was one painting of Jesus, not on the throne, but rather as an infant in the arms of Mary on the throne. There was one statue of Jesus as a man, lying dead in the arms of Mary. And there was one cross, with Jesus hanging on it.

Regarding the painting: there is absolutely nothing wrong with portraying Jesus as an infant. Luke 2:12 clearly describes Jesus as a seemingly helpless child wrapped in swaddling cloths: literally portraying a little lamb. The problem does not lie in the helpless demeanor of infant Jesus, but in the question of who sits on the throne. Mary was chosen by God to be the mother of Jesus, not because she was special in any way, but specifically because she was not special. In Luke 1:46-49, Mary acknowledges God's marvelous grace in choosing to do great things through her. She explicitly states her unworthiness and His greatness. Jesus, however, is one with the Father, and is forever seated on the throne. Mary is not above Jesus; she is not even his equal. John 19:25 paints a picture far more real and far more somber: Mary is not above or level with Jesus, but beneath him at the foot of the cross. When he took his last breath and all the sin of humanity died with him, Mary's sins were included just as completely as yours and mine. Just like us, she inherits the Kingdom of Heaven, but unlike Christ, she did not inherit the throne of God.

Regarding the statue: Christ died, and our sins died with him. The wrath of God was poured out on Christ in our place and he died the death we deserved. As incredible and unfathomable as this is, however, it is not the ultimate cause of our joy as believers. See, Christ died, but he also rose again, defeating death. Ephesians 2:1-3 tells us we are all born into this world spiritually dead, but the passage goes on to describe how we are made alive (Ephesians 2:4-9). We rejoice as believers because  we have been brought to life through the death AND resurrection of Christ. As vital as it is to convey the significance of Jesus' death, it is even more important to acknowledge that he did not remain dead. In Revelation 1:17-18 Jesus tells John he has conquered death, sin, and hell and is alive forevermore. So although portraying Jesus as dead is certainly not wrong, the image is not complete without His resurrection.

Regarding the cross: In Galatians 6:14, Paul says he cannot boast in anything except in the cross of Christ. We as believers still use the cross as a symbol of the lengths to which Christ went to reconcile us to our King. Furthermore, the cross symbolizes our own death: our death to sin. Our death to death. The cross is indeed a powerful symbol, but it is powerful, in large part, because it is empty. When Jesus died, he said "It is finished." In saying these words, Jesus preached the Gospel even to the men who nailed him to the cross, in that the work of the cross was finished. The wages of sin were paid, the atonement had been made, and Christ's mission to rescue us from death and sin was complete in that moment. Our death, too, was finished. Though we will still die a physical death, we have been made alive spiritually for eternity. Before Jesus, the cross symbolized death, but because of Jesus, the cross now symbolizes life. Therefore, the cross is empty. It is finished.

One might wonder why it matters so much that art portrays Christ a certain way. Art is expression-- expression of thoughts, feelings, and most importantly, beliefs. If we believe Christ belongs anywhere other than the throne, we sin in diminishing the authority and power of Christ. If we believe anyone else belongs on the throne, we sin in diminishing the sacred and set apart nature of Christ. If we believe Christ died and nothing more, we sin in diminishing the sufficiency of Christ. And if we believe the cross means nothing to us, we sin in diminishing the grace and mercy of Christ. In an attempt to appeal to the world around us, we cannot sacrifice the powerful, sacred, graceful, all-sufficient miracle of Christ's death and resurrection.

"We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus." --Romans 6:9-11

Kick-Drum Complex

There's just something about a kick drum and a lead singer with a moderately priced haircut that really opens hearts to the work of the Holy Spirit.

At least that's how it always feels. In that moment, those who gathered to worship become aware of their desperate need for grace and hearts change. Yet they then return home. Some might read the Bible the next day. Others may be able to keep it up for several months, but eventually most people fall away. As it turns out, hearts weren't really impacted- only eardrums and tear ducts.

I use the word they because it's not really considered proper writing technique to speak in first or second person. Forgive me for breaking that rule, but I would be lying if I said I hadn't experienced the Kick Drum Complex myself. So, what went wrong? Obviously we know change is necessary because we felt convicted, and we know that the end result of this change is Christ-likeness. We know where we finish, but we don't know where to start.

It's always possible because we serve an omnipotent God; nevertheless, it's highly unlikely that anyone can go from a spiritual drought to daily sincere time spent with God. The reason for this is not that God cannot or does not work in us quickly, but generally that we tried and expected to do it ourselves. To put it simply, if we set out to grow in our faith alone, we set ourselves up for failure. A flower does not grow because of its willpower. It requires sunlight and water, and it grow faster if fertilized. Plants may be considered autotrophic, but they don't provide their own water or fertilizer. The caretaker of the plant must provide for basic needs in order for the plant to become something as opposed to shriveling up in death. Ephesians 2:1-9 describes Christ in a similar fashion. He provides for our spiritual needs not so that our lives can be sustained, but so that we can be given life in the first place.

As Ephesians 2:9 says salvation is not a result of our own works. Sanctification works the same way. The motto of my youth group is "Gospel, Community, Mission." The first of those is always the starting point. Have you been changed by the gospel? That's something only you and God truly know. If the answer to that is no, you physically cannot go further until God makes you alive. In spite of what AMC says, dead people don't walk anywhere. Those who are spiritually dead cannot start down the path of sanctification. The good news is that in spite of what you did, what you do, and what you will do, God does make you alive by grace through faith in Christ. That's where transformation has to start; you can't skip it. Once you are alive, however, you begin to transform beginning with the next word in the motto: community.

Genesis 1:26-28 briefly describes the creation of man. In this description, God makes two very important things known: first, God is in three persons, hence the use of the pronoun "us." Secondly, God created man in his image. In essence, humanity was created to desire and to need community, obviously with God, but also with other believers. That's why God designed the church. We need accountability. So if we want our faith to grow, we cannot settle for just a daily quiet time. It is important to be actively involved in a church and to dig into the word not just alone, but also with fellow believers. Pray for each other and hold each other accountable. Find someone more spiritually mature and ask them to be your accountability partner. Be at church and don't just go out of obligation. Go joyfully, and pray for God to use his word and his people to work in you. Ask God for wisdom. Ask Him for faith. Ask Him to change you.

Most importantly, don't just ask. Ask in faith; in other words, expect God to work in you. Ask him and know that he will. That's what faith is. Faith is not just abstractly or intellectually believing something. It demands to be put into action. Certainty does not come instantly, but the phrase "leap of faith" doesn't generally refer to certainty. When we begin to leap, we begin to see God's faithfulness not to provide earthly reward, but to constantly change us and sanctify us. Once dead, we have been made alive, and day by day we become more beautiful. That's what faith looks like from the seemingly invisible starting point to the beautiful finish that is yet to come.

"If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord." -James 1:5-7

Desperate Soles

When you think about it, shoes say a lot about a person. When you look at someone’s shoes, you can probably guess an approximate age, and usually if you are dealing with a he or a she. For example, little pink Crocs generally fit young girls. Massive black Nikes are more likely to go on a massive young man, and so on. If you take a closer look, you might be able to tell a person’s hobbies. Cleats suggest a football, baseball, soccer, or softball player. Jordans and the works suggest a basketball player. Stilettos suggest a businesswoman, black dress shoes, a business man. If you read the brand name, you can get a pretty close guess at a person’s financial life. Off brand shoes cry out, “This person has a low income!” while Chacos, Uggs, and Sperrys might as well be sandwich boards that say, “I just got a raise!” And then, if you get really, really close, you can find out the most important thing about a person—what kind of road he has been on, and how long. As you read this, it might be occurring to you that your shoes might need replacing. So if the shoe fits, maybe we should stop talking about footwear.

A common mistake Christians can make (and I’m not immune to this myself) is getting so caught up in the theology and theory that the gospel gets stomped down to irrelevancy. In the attempt to be wiser, we make ourselves fools—the gospel is the center of the relationship between God and man, and therefore the only reason we have any theology to argue about.

So, what is the gospel? In as few words as possible, I would point you to the Bible. Before you agree with or argue against anything I say, give it a read. Many people reject the Bible as an antiquated instruction manual. In reality, nothing could be further from the truth. I’m sure I’m not the only one who searched everything in my home closely related to a wardrobe for Narnia and rummaged through the mail for a Hogwarts letter at least once. Many people want nothing more than to be a part of an epic story. Little do they know the Bible IS that story. It has a beginning, in which everything that was and is in existence was created except for the Creator, who is uncreated. The creation was perfect for a time, until the first ruler of the world disobeyed God for the first time. All of our past, present, and future hinged on the moment Eve took a bite of that fruit. The centuries following were filled with rape, murder, war, and death… not so different from the world we live in now. Man tried to climb back up to perfection through sacrifice and obedience, but always fell short. God’s people were thrown into slavery not once, but twice. And then… silence. Man didn’t hear from God for three-hundred years. So ends the Old Testament.

All seemed hopeless. Man had fallen too far. Had God given up? So begins the New Testament. But then one night in the town of Bethlehem, a baby was born in a barn. How climactic, right? But alas, this baby wasn’t born to be a shepherd and lead a flock of sheep; the ruler and king, the son of man God had promised as early as Genesis 3 had come. He came into the world and claimed to be the Messiah. After many witnessed miracles and sermons, he died on a cross. But he didn’t stay dead. After three days in the grave, he rose again. He later ascended into heaven with the promise to return.

One certainly can’t argue that these events were at the very least supernatural, but how did an entire religion stem from them? That’s where the gospel comes in.

As Christians, we do not merely believe that Jesus died on the cross. Something happened there: something we call the Great Exchange. Before his death, all the sin of the past, present, and future was placed on him. God himself took on every sin. That includes that time you looked your parents in the eye and disobeyed them. It includes the time you lied to your best friend, even though it was just a “little white lie.” It includes the murder and adultery you have committed in your heart. Every sin ever was on Jesus’ shoulders. He saw it all, felt it all, and took the blame for it all. How could he see that and still love us? I guess you could say God only knows. Because he does. Your sin was on his shoulders because you were on his heart. It wasn’t a general love for humanity that led the King of the Universe to die on the cross, it was you. It was me. It was each individual person that deserves death and hell but instead receives Christ’s righteousness in the Great Exchange. This is the gospel.

So what does all of that have to do with shoes? Well, if you thought your Converse sneakers needed some polishing, look at your life. Look at all of us. It doesn’t take a shoe expert to know our soles aren’t the cleanest, and it doesn’t take a moral expert to know the same is true of our souls. But Jesus Christ put himself in your shoes. Not your best dress shoes or your ratty old sneakers, but your own physical state of sin and death. Now you get to put yourself in his shoes and stand before God as a son or daughter. So stop looking at your shoes, and lift up your eyes to the Father.

"Ponder the path of your feet,; then all your ways will be sure." -Proverbs 4:26

"Good News Changes Everything"

This weekend, my church had a youth event called Impact. It's similar to what other churches call Disciple Now. The theme at Impact this year was "Good News Changes Everything."

In light of the Gospel, this really is true. The Gospel changes everything.

The Gospel isn't just about how we are saved. It isn't just a cute little list of steps that gets us to heaven.

The Gospel is the great story of God's incomprehensible, incredible, mind-blowing miracle designed before the beginning of time and fashioned entirely out of love.
The Gospel the front page headline that we don't even deserve to be alive to read that says "SIN IS DEFEATED, WE ARE FREE."
It is the victory in a war mankind fought and continuously lost from the early chapters of Genesis to approximately 33 A.D.
It is the story of Jesus Christ, who, according to Ephesians 2:1-9, didn't merely save us, but makes us alive.
The Gospel is a massive, flashing arrow back to the King of the Universe who made you and me and everybody else and the world we live in for the sole purpose of his glory, which is our sole satisfaction. It is only through Jesus's blood and righteousness that we are made righteous before God. Through this God is glorified, and through this and only this we are satisfied. Not only that, but now we are truly alive and truly free.

We are free to enjoy God's creation as it was intended.
We are free to feel unspeakable sorrow and rest in Christ.
We are free to feel indescribable joy and sing loudest praises to our King.
We are free to love one another unconditionally.
We are free to build each other up.
We are free to proclaim this good news of freedom from the rooftops and along with the mountains.
We are free from sin,
free from death,
free from hell.
We are free to live eternally with our creator.
We are free to someday see our savior face to face.
We are free to enter the courts of the King unashamedly robed in Jesus's righteousness.
We are free to rejoice,
free to love,
free to hope.

Good news changes everything.

"We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus." -Romans 6:6-11

A Question of Vacancy

"Each of us is an innkeeper who decides if there is room for Jesus." -Neal A. Maxwell

This time of year, the story of Jesus Christ seems to get more attention than it does throughout the year. Families all over the world here the story of the birth of Jesus, beginning with the census all the way to the wise men and everything in between. Most everyone is familiar with the story of the innkeeper and how he told Mary and Joseph there was no room in the inn. So now we have turned this story outward, and each of us now decides if there is room for Jesus. But that isn't how it really works.

Each of us does not decide if there is room for Jesus. There IS room for Jesus. In fact, Blaise Pascal said, "There is a God shaped vacuum in the heart of every man which cannot be filled by any created thing, but only by God, the Creator, made known through Jesus." A vacancy in the heart is not optional or dependent upon anything. Each of us has a God-shaped hole inside of us. Our role then is not to decide if there is room for Jesus, but to boldly proclaim that there IS room for Jesus in every heart and in every place, and nothing else can fill it.

This Christmas, as you open your gifts and spend time with family and friends, keep in mind that the conflict that led to the coming of Jesus was not the lack of vacancy in the inn, but the vacancy in our hearts that we have attempted to fill with sin. Bear also in mind that Jesus didn't come to earth and fill just any vacancy. He filled the vacancy on the cross as the atoning sacrifice for the sins we commit attempting to fill the God-shaped hole with other things. This Christmas, celebrate that there is room for Jesus, and as a believer, celebrate that the hole in your heart is filled.

If the empty space in your heart is not filled, I implore you to look nowhere else. This season, we are reminded that a baby boy came down to earth, but we often neglect the purpose. He came for us, so someday we can stand before our Creator and no longer have a space in our heart. Because of the baby boy we celebrate this time of year, we will one day stand before the throne of the king of the universe pure and whole. That's the true reason we celebrate Christmas.

Where Sin Runs Deep

The internet is a scary place. Now, you have accessed this blog through the internet, and hopefully you don't view that as a bad thing... But let's use this blog as an example. These are my words, but I have put them on the internet. Now you and everyone else in the world can read them. I can delete them, but they won't really go away. You will have read them, and they will be permanently stored somewhere in cyberspace.

Words are a scary concept. Various arrangements of the same twenty-six letters build us up and tear us down so quickly and easily. Word vomit happens, and you can't take it back, and you may have just destroyed a life with those words. You can crush self esteem, end friendships, break hearts, and totally lay waste to lives.

The internet is just a big cloud of these words, sitting here saying things to us and about us. The words on the internet can criticize our race, our gender, our politics, our actions, our faith. That's what everything comes down to: our faith. We all believe in something, and none of us wants anything said to hit close to home. But one of the scary things about the internet is that it always does.

Right now, people everywhere are hurting because of today's tweets, posts, and headlines. Right now, people everywhere are confused, angry, sad, and even apathetic. Right now, that might be you. If that is you, dear reader, I pray that you will hear what I am about to say.

From the national television to the lunch table at school, Christianity takes a lot of heat these days. Someone makes a mistake and naturally, a lot of unanswerable questions arise. Is there a God? If so, why did he let this happen? How could a Christian do that?

We could have a walk-through on apologetics, but I will be honest with you and say you might not find the answer to your questions there. You might not find them anywhere. But I can guarantee that if you are looking for answers in a person here on Earth, you aren't going to find them. Because here on Earth, we are not free from the presence of sin. Romans 3:23 says that all have sinned. That exempts a sum total of one: God himself. That, dear reader, is the gospel. That we couldn't be perfect. We couldn't attain righteousness. And Romans 6:23 says that the consequence of that is death- permanent death. Separation from God. But Ephesians 2:4-9 says that God sent Jesus and only through him are we saved. Only by faith are we made righteous.

That said, it is obvious that we still sin. We still mess up. There are two responses when that happens: we can run from God, or we can run to him. We can say that God must be angry or that he is too confusing or lofty or that we just flat out don't love him, and we can run. Hear me when I say to you that this will never satisfy. The farther we run, the emptier we will feel because we were made to love something greater than ourselves. Our only other option then, is to run to Jesus. Oh, I pray that you would today.

The simple fact of the matter is that there are some things we just cannot understand. I promise you that there is nothing more comforting than to throw your hands up and acknowledge it. It's okay to be honest with God, because he knows your heart right now. It's okay to tell him you are angry or confused or hurt, because he knows. He isn't surprised or angry. He loves you. He came down to Earth to die on the cross for you. He didn't come with the promise that things would be easy or fun; in fact he promised that they wouldn't be. And that's obvious in our lives today. But oh how he loves you in the midst of that. Romans 8:28 says that he is working all things together for your good, and you need to understand that he means that in the eternal sense because he is eternal and he loves you eternally.

Words can still hurt. Tweets, posts, and headlines can still shock and destroy. To say that it shouldn't affect you would be cliche and false. But when you are shocked, confused, hurt... When you don't know where else to go or what else to do, run to Jesus. You may not find answers, but you will find peace.

"And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you." --Psalm 9:10

What Makes You Beautiful

Beautiful is a very powerful word. It is used to refer to such a wide variety of things; there are beautiful songs, beautiful art, beautiful culture, beautiful clothing... Beautiful people. Naturally, such a strong word has an opposite. Music can be called unappealing. Art can be called unpleasing. Culture can be called grotesque. Clothing can be called unattractive. And people can be called ugly. Words can profoundly affect people, but none are more potent in today's society than these two antonyms: beautiful and ugly.

As a girl in a public high school, I have some personal experiences with these words. Beautiful. It builds people up. It lifts shoulders and corners of the mouth. It inspires people. Ugly. It tears people down. It crushes confidence and lessens laughter. It motivates people to be more or less of certain qualities they have. This doesn't seem so terrible, but consider this: What constitutes true beauty, and who decides?

Girls years younger than I am are dealing with self-esteem problems because they don't think they are beautiful in society's eyes. By the time they reach my age, some girls have given up. Boys and girls alike try to change their identities to fit in with this mold society has for them. If that's you, I say to you: Break the mold. Society's definition of beauty is so drastically twisted and wrong, and you will never be satisfied while you pursue it. There is a better beauty to pursue.

The beauty of the gospel is that society has one thing right: we aren't good enough. We aren't flawless. But the gospel refers to flaws in God's eyes. God is not looking at how well we can apply makeup or what clothes we wear; God sees the flaws on the inside: the insecurity and the idolatry of this concept of beauty that we pursue. The Bible says that we were created in the image of God, but the history of mankind up to the life of Christ is us pursuing God in all the wrong ways, and running completely the wrong direction. But then Jesus came. He lived a righteous life, and he died on the cross, trading the sin of those who are in him for his righteousness. So now God looks at us and doesn't see flaws. Instead he sees the righteousness of Christ, which is true beauty by definition because it is flawless.

God himself came down to earth for each of you. Still feel like you aren't worth it? If yes, you're still looking in the wrong place. Proverbs 31 says that charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting. So rather than looking to be some molded plastic thing created by people's standards, look to Jesus. True beauty is found in Christ alone. So if you are in Christ, know this: You are covered with Jesus' righteousness, and therefore you are beautiful.

In This World...

Where is the line?

As Christians in a broken world, many would say it is completely impossible to be in the world and not of it. And besides, what difference does it make that we try to avoid submerging in sin if we are knee deep in it anyway? Some book makes a mockery of my worldview, but it doesn't change it. Why shouldn't I read it? Some movie is completely inappropriate, but I know what is right and what is wrong, so why shouldn't I watch it? When it seems that no one else in the world cares about holiness, where else can you turn? And why does it matter?

When Jesus first called his disciples, he didn't immediately demand perfection. His first call was for proximity. "Come follow me," he said. It was that simple. Naturally, as we follow Jesus, we should become more like him. But even at the cross, Jesus's message was not that we should be perfect and therefore we might be accepted. The message of the cross is that we are accepted, and therefore we can be perfect. If acceptance required perfection of our own accord, there would be no need for the cross. Jesus willingly went to the cross because we cannot be perfect on our own, and he went knowing even before taking on all of our sin that we would sin anyway, and that the world will not be completely sin-free until he returns for the formation of the new heaven and new earth

 In this world we are not free of sin. That has been established through scripture, through common sense, and through day-to-day struggles with sin. We are not free of sin, but in Christ we are free from it. That is a purpose of the death and resurrection of Jesus, and it is the hope we have in him. From the moment Christ said, "It is finished," we have been free from both the power and the penalty of sin. The only thing we are not free from is the presence of sin. This explains the phrase made famous by Martin Luther, Simil iustus et peccator, which, simply put in English, means that we can be simultaneously righteous and sinners. In Christ, we have been made righteous, but we still live in a world full of sin.

So what's the point? If we can't be perfect, why should we try? That's where the fault is. We are free from the power of sin because of Jesus, and he can tell us to go therefore and sin no more. Jesus's first call is for proximity, but he doesn't call us to him so we can live a life of sin. He calls us to him so we can learn from him and truly live out our calling on the earth.

The best example there is for how this ties in to the line is alcohol, of all things. Many people drink without getting drunk. There is nothing wrong with that. But how do they do it? There are only two ways. The either stay far away from their limit, or they know their limit because they have exceeded it before. In the same way, how far can we go with sin before we have gone too far? The only way to find out is to go too far. It is simply wiser to avoid the risk entirely.

Regardless of what you are struggling with, it is important to know that Jesus lived the perfect life we were incapable of living and died the death we deserved. Your sins have been paid for. Don't take that news as an excuse to run from Jesus. The first call, after all, is proximity. To deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow Jesus. Not because you have not sinned, but because you have been drawn near, you may go therefore and sin no more.

"And he said to all, 'If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.'" --Luke 9:23

A Reason for Hope

From Phil Robertson to Pope Francis to an average day in high school, confrontation is a very controversial issue. So what is an appropriate response for a Christian to the controversial trends of the modern world? For example, how do you respond to the unit in biology that directly states that God does not exist? What is your reaction to pressing moral issues such as abortion, homosexuality, drug abuse, and everything else? Where is the line?

In the words of C. S. Lewis, "Jesus Christ did not say, 'Go into all the world and tell the world that it is quite right.'" As Christians in the world today, it is our job according to the great commission to go therefore and make disciples of all nations. But in order to do that, we need to understand where the lines are. Some people say that the majority of Christians are intolerant and unloving. This reputation comes from those who choose to say that in every aspect, "I am right and you are wrong." And they do so more often than not in a rather harsh way. As Christians we are not supposed to be tolerant, in the postmodern sense*, because tolerance is the least loving thing we could possibly do.

Imagine this: You are a doctor. A patient comes to see you and it is evident that he is deathly sick. You have the cure for his sickness, but you don't want him to be upset, so you choose not to even tell him he is sick. What is the consequence of this choice? The patient dies. That choice makes no sense. In the same way, seeing that someone you know is in desperate need of a savior (because we all are) and choosing to ignore that for the sake of not hurting feelings and staying good friends, you're missing the point of loving your neighbor.

So now say you're in the same scenario, but this time you realize your patient needs to know he is sick, so you tell him he is sick. That's all. There is no hope in that. You can make a sign with Romans 3:23 on it, and people will know they are sinners. But odds are they probably already knew that, and telling them so probably only offends them. If someone openly claims they don't believe in God, you can say they're wrong and that they will end up in Hell, but the only thing that might convince them of is that they want nothing to do with you or your faith, because saying something like that is malicious and hateful.

In this doctor scenario, the only right thing to do is to tell the patient he is sick, and to offer him the only cure. The same is true of making disciples. You are not accomplishing anything by convincing someone he or she is wrong unless you include the message of hope that is the gospel of Jesus Christ. You have to convey that, "Yes, you are a sinner. I am a sinner. Neither of us is worse than the other, and we are both so bad that Jesus had to die for each of our sins. So that's what he did. Our sins are paid for, Jesus has defeated sin and the grave, and by grace we have been saved!" You can't just give a part of the message. The message of the fall is desperate and dark, but the gospel gives us a reason for hope.

This is a decent illustration for what we need to do, but it isn't the best. Ephesians 2 does not tell us that we are deathly sick in sin; rather, it tells us that we are dead in sin. That is not something you or I can cure, and it's not something any of us can choose to fix. It's only in Christ that we are alive, and that is a point that needs to be made. I couldn't save myself, and I can't save anyone else. If people are dead in sin, only God can save them. All we can do is follow God's commandment and share the gospel. God will has rescued us, and will rescue in his perfect timing in accordance with his perfect plan.

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. --Ephesians 2:1-7


* Tolerance in the classical sense means that all ideas and values may be expressed; tolerance in the postmodern sense is that all these are equally valid and must be celebrated by all.

Before the Throne of God Above

Before you read the rest of this post, take a moment to finish this sentence on paper or in your head:

"The God I believe in would never..."

Think about that for a moment. The omniscient, omnipotent, sovereign God of the universe would never... do what? Our God is in the heavens; He does all that he pleases. What can we say he would never do? Yet many people have an answer to that question, and it often comes in the form of another question:

"How can a loving, merciful God send people to Hell?"

When people ask themselves this question, they are leaving out several important attributes of God and some important background information that answers itself.

The first thing we need to understand is that God is holy, and we are not. Holiness is perfect, spotless righteousness. If God came into contact with sin, He would no longer be holy. Since every single person is a sinner, we must therefore be eternally separated from the holy God. The physical place where God is not found is Hell. People don't choose whether or not they are going to Hell, but rather we all have no choice aside from Hell due to our unholiness.

Okay, so God is holy. But He is still loving, so how can He send people to Hell?

A second important attribute of God is that he is just. People often confuse 'just' with 'fair.' We must realize that they are not the same thing. Fairness means everyone gets the same thing. Justice means everyone gets what they deserve. In this case they would originally result in the same thing: everyone would go to Hell. In fact, everyone is born headed straight there. However, we must remember the attribute we are more comfortable with: God is merciful. While justice means everyone gets what they deserve, mercy means everyone gets more than what they deserve. Therefore God sent His son Jesus, who lived a righteous life and took on all of our sin, and died on the cross as punishment for them. The illustration my youth pastor used today was that we are all in a river to Hell. God is not sending to Hell, but we are making our own way there. This is not merely due to rejecting the gospel. We are making our own way to Hell because of all of our sins, that sin included. But God, being rich in mercy, rescues us by pulling us out of the river of our sins.

If we were comparing this to a court of law, we would see it in this way: God is the judge. He looks at us and says, "You are guilty, and you deserve death, but I forgive you." That explanation makes sense. But that's really not the best explanation of what happens when those in Christ are judged. A better illustration would be God the judge looking at us and saying, "You are NOT guilty." It has to be this way because if we were guilty, it wouldn't matter if we were forgiven. We would still not be holy and therefore would still be unable to stand in the presence of God. The only way to stand in the presence of God is to be holy; to have no guilt. And only through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ can we say that our sins are dead, and we are hidden in Christ's life, and therefore not guilty.

The best way I have heard it worded is in the song, Before the Throne of God Above:

Before the throne of God above
I have a strong and perfect plea:
A great High Priest, whose name is Love,
Who ever lives and pleads for me.

My name is graven on His hands,
My name is written on His heart;
I know that while in heaven He stands
No tongue can bid me thence depart
No tongue can bid me thence depart.

When Satan tempts me to despair,
And tells me of the guilt within,
Upward I look, and see Him there
Who made an end to all my sin.

Because the sinless Savior died,
My sinful soul is counted free;
For God the just is satisfied
To look on Him and pardon me
To look on Him and pardon me

Behold Him there, the Risen Lamb
My perfect, spotless righteousness,
The great unchangeable I am,
The King of glory and of grace!

One with Himself I cannot die
My soul is purchased by His blood
My life is hid with Christ on high,
With Christ, my Savior and my God
With Christ, my Savior and my God

We will never be able to fathom the depth Christ's love for us. How can we even try to understand God's grace? We could never count the vast amount of sin in our own individual lives. Yet Jesus paid for all of it, and we have been given the gift of salvation. One day we will inhabit the New Heaven and the New Earth and our creator, the one, true, holy God will dwell among us. That is not something that ought to be taken for granted.

The final attribute of God that is important to answering this question is that God is sovereign. He is in complete control, and He does whatever pleases Him. We struggle to understand this sometimes, and I think we probably always will. We simply need to understand that God does whatever he wants to do, and he doesn't have to explain it to us. The illustration in Romans 9:20 puts it into perspective nicely. God is the potter and we are the clay, and we have no right or reason to ask God why He does something. We should always remember Romans 8:28. No matter what the situation is, God is working it together for our good on the eternal scale because we love Him, even if we cannot see it.

So we should not be asking ourselves how a loving, merciful God could send people to Hell. We should be in awestruck wonder that the holy, just, sovereign God rescued us from Hell. And we should more importantly be sharing it with others and glorify God in everything we do because He has rescued us.

"For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ." -1 Thessalonians 5:9