I will not pretend to have stumbled upon anything earth-shattering or unique. Rather, I believe the Holy Spirit has granted me the gift of a picture to help me understand how I should live as a Christian in the world.
Before I continue, however, I must share that I feel I may be rather "exposing" myself in a vulnerable way with this post. I realize I'm hitting on some hot-button issues, but I honestly-and-truly have no desire to start a fight, debate, or argument. I'm simply trying to share a truth I've stumbled on as I've studied the Bible and lived life. So, for now, I implore my readers (if there are any), to please do me the honor of the following...
~ Recognize that I know there is much to be explored as it relates to these thoughts.
~ Recognize that I am not a seminary-trained theologian. I am simply a lay-person communicating her thoughts and discoveries as I spend time each day in the Bible and try to learn how to live in light of it. (I figure if it's good enough for the likes of C.S. Lewis, then it's good enough for me.)
~ Recognize that no good can come from harsh criticism, debates over semantics, or defensive argument in response to what I've written. I value relationships with those who read my work MUCH more than you probably realize and I don't want the thoughts shared here to be the cause of brokenness.
In other words, should you choose to respond or comment...please, be kind. And please, give my intentions the benefit of the doubt.
Additionally, I am happy to explore this topic further with others, but would probably prefer to do so in face-to-face conversation (for now), rather than in writing (i.e., emails or comment strings).
The Cross has TWO Pieces...
On Purpose!
Premise:
The cross of Jesus Christ represents the complete picture of how Christian faith ought to be lived out in a believer's life.
Religious Faith
The upright post in this picture represents the vertical piece of the cross of Christ. This vertical piece points my eyes toward heaven, to the God who created and is sovereign over all of the universe. To God, Who was, and is, and is to come. To God, Who created humanity in His own image and, in so doing, gave humanity a special place among all of creation. To God, Who lovingly and with unfathomable wisdom communicated His nature to humanity through nature and through Scripture and Who "set eternity in the hearts of men" (Ecclesiastes 3:11), that we might desire to know Him. Not only did He communicate His nature to us, He communicated also that which humanity must know and do to come into and remain in right relationship with Himself.
This vertical piece includes the foundation of our faith. It is firmly planted in the ground in order to hold other parts up.
But, on its own, this post is not a cross.
And, like this post, a faith that focuses always, only on God and which expends no energy to understand our place in the world of people, is an incomplete faith. *I* call this Religious Faith.
Religious faith is concerned with following rules and performing works in order that the follower maintain a right relationship with God and, thereby, gain something from Him, be it blessing from heaven in this life or entrance to heaven for the next. Religious faith concerns itself entirely or mostly with high theological concepts and practices that keep the follower "clean" of sin. Have you ever heard someone say of another, "The man is so heavenly minded that he is no earthly good." A person whose faith is wholly fixed on the vertical post of the cross is, I believe, like that man. They are so totally focused on knowing and believing the right things, but there is something lacking, so their faith, at best, falls flat or, at worst, comes down like a 1,000 pound hammer of guilt on others. Either way, I do not believe this is the complete life of faith Jesus intended for us to live.
A vertical post is not the whole picture.
Practical Faith
In my experience, practical faith is the kind that focuses its effort almost entirely on doing what Jesus did: serving others, righting injustice, giving, healing, reaching out, meeting needs, and declaring the need for peace among and between peoples of every race and tribe. This faith expresses itself in extraordinarily practical and people-centered ways and can, in fact, be wondrous in its beauty in our communities.
However, I have observed too often practical faith losing its faith and simply becoming "practical." That is, what started out as a sideways expression of a vertical belief becomes a sideways expression lacking Truth for its foundation. It becomes, like this log, a stick lying on the ground. This faith is willing to make itself "muddy" for others (like the underside of this log), but ultimately, it is still a stick on the ground and going no where. It's ends point those who see it to other people and other people cannot fill the God-shaped void in every heart. Sometimes, this stick-on-the-ground may, in fact, become a stumbling block to others on their way to seeking God. Those who see the good works of those with practical faith can end up missing entirely the God who inspires the practical and loving work done by these people. They may end up worshiping, in a sense, those doing the good deeds, rather than turning their own eyes to the One who inspired the good works in the first place.
A horizontal post is an essential piece of the cross, but it is not the whole picture.
I firmly believe that both Religious (vertical-only) and Practical (horizontal only) faith are incomplete pictures of the Gospel of Jesus. With both, one or the other main messages of Jesus' earthly ministry and of the Bible as a whole is missing. That's why I seek to live out what I call Transforming Faith.
Transforming Faith
Transforming faith is both pieces of the cross: the vertical post AND the horizontal bar.
The vertical post points my eyes toward heaven, as I described above. And once my eyes are fixed on heaven, on the God who created, loves, and redeemed me, the horizontal bar points my attention to the side: to people who need Jesus' love and ministry just as much as me.
I believe that Transforming faith...
~ allows the believer to come into and remain in right relationship with both God and others.
~ works out head- and heart-knowledge in acts of service and generosity toward others so that those others will also find the blessing of peace with God and with others through the cross of Jesus.
~ is what makes us a "City on a Hill," shining forth the LIGHT of God (Truth) by doing the work of Jesus in the world (healing, serving, giving, building up, encouraging, bringing peace, etc.)
For scriptural "backing" for this idea, let us turn our attention to the The Ten Commandments:
(See the book of Exodus for complete context).
It was many years into my Christian walk before I noticed that there's a distinct pattern in the 10 commandments: the first four commandments keep us in right relationship with God while the last 6 keep us in right relationship with others.
Hmmm...a representation of the vertical relationship (between God and man) AND the horizontal relationship (between man and man).
After I reread the commandments this morning, I went looking for a New Testament passage wherein Jesus answers what the Sadducees thought was a tricky question, "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?" (Matthew 22:36)
Here is how Jesus answered:
"You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. The is the great and foremost commandment."
Matthew 22:37, 38
{"Ah-hah!" thinks I. "The vertical piece of the cross!}
"The second is like it, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself."
(Matthew 22:39)
{"By Jove! There's the horizontal piece!}
"On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets."
(Matthew 22:40)
And that, my friends, is the WHOLE Gospel. Did you catch it? "On these TWO commandments..." Jesus came that we might come into and remain in right relationship with God AND my being in right relationship with Him ought to mean that I come into right relationship with others by living out practical love toward others, which puts me in right relationship with others!
And this is there I come to a sudden, jolting halt in my written explanation and exploration of this idea...for now. I know that there should be SO much more written to completely explore this word picture, but -- to be honest -- I just don't have it in me right now! This concept needs a lot more time and attention, but I want to get the idea out there, to some specific people for now and so, for now, I'll be content to end this here.
