Realign our allegiance to Christ

Luk 14:25-35  And there went great multitudes with him: and he turned, and said unto them,  (26)  If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.  (27)  And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.  (28)  For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?  (29)  Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him,  (30)  Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish.  (31)  Or what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand?  (32)  Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an ambassage, and desireth conditions of peace.  (33)  So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.  (34)  Salt is good: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be seasoned?  (35)  It is neither fit for the land, nor yet for the dunghill; but men cast it out. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

Paul is an example of one who forsook all.  He was a Jew of Jews, Pharisee of Pharisees, as zealous as they come for the culture that he adhered to, but he recognized that what Christ offered to Him by faith in Him was worth loosing all the "tenure" that he had built up in the system he was raised in:

Gal 1:9-16  As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.  (10)  For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.  (11)  But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man.  (12)  For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ.  (13)  For ye have heard of my conversation in time past in the Jews' religion, how that beyond measure I persecuted the church of God, and wasted it:  (14)  And profited in the Jews' religion above many my equals in mine own nation, being more exceedingly zealous of the traditions of my fathers.  (15)  But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb, and called me by his grace,  (16)  To reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood:

Christ, loving us, calls us to forsake all, and follow.  Paul thought that it was a "good bet" to give up his station in life, and the presuppositions and values of the elite culture of the Pharisees in order to place his faith in Christ, and to cease to trust the "merit" he had attained by his previous high standing among his peers.

I propose that it is a way of loving our wives to lead them to Christ, and turning from our trust in what we have received, if what we have received is not Christ and his Kingdom.

Movies

Loving your wife is giving up things for her.

For a long time Patty and I have watched movies, upon further discussion and just plain observation of this love. I have concluded it is our method to escape from much of the pain we both go through. I am referring to the emotional pain of watching my daughter hurt. I know Abby is in a lot of pain but we really don't know why. Is it the cerebral palsy, maybe stiffness of joints or muscles, do her eyes hurt from ROP or glaucoma, does she just ache from sitting and lying down all day, could it be pain in her gums (seizure medicine causing swelling), constipation, what is it? We did identify she is hurting from reflux and she had a second surgery to correct it. It could be so many things; Patty and I would do anything to help her. All that being stated, by the end of the day we just want to escape.

So here is the problem, I felt like I was watching too much TV, well not TV per say since we do not have cable, but hulu, netflix, itunes rentals and so on. The Lord convicted me to stop. So I did 6 weeks ago. This video entertainment fast has been great for me. Patty misses watching/escaping with me.

So now that the foundation is laid. I have inadvertently taken her "escape" away. So, tonight we will watch. What, I am not sure.

Does this qualify as loving my wife as Christ loves the church? I am not sure, but it is loving her.

Renewed Minds

Luk 12:34  For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

Reading through the Gospels, trying to figure out how Christ loved the church, I can see several ways, several trends.  One of those trends, or ways that Christ loved His church was by redirecting their focus to the TRUE.  He is constantly trying to help them see life from the true perspective, and to set their hearts on things that are real and eternal. 

This did not seem to mean that they were to ignore the world around them in order to look at the spiritual world only, but rather, that the truths of an eternal nature were to rightly align how they dealt with the incarnational life that they had been given.  Christ’s life…his human life, is a prime example.  THE prime example, I should say.  The fact that God chose to become human is itself a fact of intense meaning for us.  It seems to show us that we, as Christians are not to be trying to become NOT human, but rather that the divine reality of God can be expressed in our human lives.

So as we look in Scripture and the Spirit gives us understanding, it is not so that we can live disembodied lives, but rather so that He can transform our understanding of what it means to be human, so we can live our lives for His glory.

We set our minds on things above, considering what is true, and then live our lives in light of those truths, storing up for ourselves treasure based on the realities of eternity, as we live our lives with our families. 

So as husbands, I propose that under the headship of Christ, we are to be transformed by the renewing of our minds, and then lead our families accordingly

Seek first the kingdom

Luk 12:27-34  Consider the lilies how they grow: they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.  (28)  If then God so clothe the grass, which is to day in the field, and to morrow is cast into the oven; how much more will he clothe you, O ye of little faith?  (29)  And seek not ye what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind.  (30)  For all these things do the nations of the world seek after: and your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things.  (31)  But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you.  (32)  Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.  (33)  Sell that ye have, and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth.  (34)  For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

Sometimes I feel like I have completely flip~flopped this passage…consider what I am going to eat and drink and wear, and then once I have all this settled, I think about the Kingdom a little bit.

God placed Adam here on Earth to bear His image, and establish God’s kingdom on earth by ruling over it for Him, trusting and obeying Him.  FAIL.

God then told Noah, after the Earth was covered with water and the waters had receded, to fill the earth with his offspring, who are God’s image-bearers as well as Adam and Eve were,  and subdue it…have dominion over it.  This is the same instruction He gave to Adam. FAIL.  Some deep wrong was commited by his son, and his son’s offspring became a curse, rather than a blessing.

God then told Abraham that He was going to establish His covenant in His character…and what was He going to do?  Give Abraham offspring that would be numberless, and bless all the world through him.  Same thing he told Adam to do.  The mission was still the same, all the way through.

Then He told the Israelites that He was going to be their king…establishing His kingdom, and then gave them the Levites as priests to the Israelites…and then He told them that they were all a kingdom of priests!  To whom?  To the world…so here is God establishing his rule, and telling the Israelites to be His image-bearers and carry His rule, as priests to all the earth.  FAIL.   They instead turned inward, hoarding God to themselves, and becoming proud of who they thought they were, but missing the whole point.

The came Christ, as the fulfillment of the Abrahamic covenant, the fulfiller of the Mosaic covenant, bearing the image of the Father, and demonstrating Him to the world, while at the same time, redeeming the sinful traitors who had failed to obey the commands of God.

Christ came, bearing His image, and establishing God’s kingdom in the world, and by his death, burial and resurrection, blessing all the nations who believe in Him, who recognize their own dangerous situation as traitors, and gratefully rest the weight of their trust on the fulfilling righteousness of Christ who took their penalty.

Okay, so I am excited about this, and it comes back full circle to the verses at the beginning of this post.  Seek first His kingdom, be His image-bearers, and have dominion over what He has given us to rule for Him.  He is our head, and we are the head, under Him, on our homes.  We are there not to carry out our “kingdom ideas” but rather to recognize and submit to His authority in our home. 

Seek first the Kingdom of God in our homes, and for our families, and His righteousness, not worrying about what we are going to eat, drink or wear.

How do you think this works out in our lives?