Not for Our Own Righteous Living

"The Law of Attraction" has entered the lexicon of phrases that everyone recognizes and many treat like a creed. At its most extreme, the concept regards positive thinking as magic and human beings as gods. That in terms of the general population, the confident and cheerful are healthier and more accomplished than brooding pessimists is hard to deny; that you must therefore bring on yourself literally everything that happens to you seems a bit of a leap in logic. Nonetheless, the idea has its own attraction, especially for people who have never suffered any real tragedy and like to think themselves safe as long as they keep thinking positive. If Job were alive today, his "comforters," rather than assuming he was being punished for some active evil, might well seize on his statement that "What I feared has come upon me; what I dreaded has happened to me" (Job 3:25, NIV) and tell him that it only happened because he dreaded it.

It isn't only neopagans--those who believe that all physical aspects of the universe, including us, are simply manifestations of one central energy source--who think in these terms. Many people push the same idea in Christian dress: didn't Jesus Himself say many times, "Your faith has healed you" (e. g., Mt. 9:22); didn't He say that faith could move mountains (Mt. 21:21); and isn't it true that the reason He performed few miracles in Nazareth was "their lack of faith" (Mt. 13:58)? So doesn't it logically follow that a lack of faith can block God from doing the good He wants to do for us?

Well, no, it really doesn't, unless we throw out much of the rest of Scripture. If God "can do all things [and] no plan of [His] can be thwarted" (Job 42:2); if "nothing is impossible with God" (Lk. 1:37); if He created the whole universe from nothing and will someday defeat all evil forever and give us a new heaven and earth--it's more than a little ludicrous to think that a single human being could generate enough bad attitude to paralyze Him. Especially since the whole human race together hasn't even figured out how to build a cost-effective automobile that runs without waste or pollution.

Still, we all love our delusions of personal grandeur. We hate to let go of them even when we mature enough to realize that faith is more than a tool for gaining earthly health and wealth; when it comes to genuine spiritual growth, we tend to assume God wants us to get rid of all our own shortcomings overnight. I, for one, know well the "guilt fallout" from doing the same wrong thing for the ten-thousandth time; the discouragement of living with a brain that seems determined to consistently steer my thoughts away from wholehearted worship and into trivial daydreams; the despair of longing for a personal "spiritual progress" yardstick to reassure me I've grown even a little in the past few months; the impatience of wanting to see a few major growth spurts right now; the frustration of not even knowing whether I'm really coming up short or simply expecting too much of myself.

Ultimately, that's where most of our problems lie: ever since Eve fell for the line about a quick bite of fruit bringing omniscience, we've expected too much of ourselves because we've considered ourselves God's equals. John 15:1-7 is worthwhile study for those of us who think we can perfect our own lives (in terms of either worldly success or spiritual maturity) with maybe a little help from God. To paraphrase: first we give ourselves to Christ and let Him cancel the eternal penalty of our sin; then we concentrate, not on making ourselves perfect, but on staying close to Christ and getting to know Him. Then He will do the work of perfecting us--providing we don't forget that we are literally helpless without Him, providing we don't unplug ourselves from our only Source of power by wandering off into self-generated attempts at "making things better." If we let our own plans and ideas usurp His place at the center of our lives, we risk becoming spiritually useless; if we make Him all that counts, then we can pray in faith and see great results. But we must never forget that "asking for whatever we wish" is to be saved for after we submit ourselves and our wishes to His authority.

We all like to think that we can find a way to put God in our debt. But since He owes us literally nothing, shouldn't we be all the more thankful that He gives us so much?

Not for our own righteous living,
Not for good deeds we have done,
But in His own love and mercy,
God sets us free through His Son.

We, who dare think ourselves worthy,
We, who dare call ourselves good,
All are the filthiest sinners--
Not one has done as we should.

Helpless to be our own saviors,
Nor can we, working alone,
Grow into Christlike perfection:
All of our strength is His own.

Even in glories eternal,
Even when sin is no more,
All of our power will be from Him,
He Who our every fault bore.

Trust Him to keep you from sinning;
Trust Him to guide all your days;
Trust Him to hold you forever--
He Who alone earns the praise!

You Cannot See the Wind

The third Person of the Trinity often isn't treated much like a person at all. I've heard even well-versed and orthodox preachers refer to the Holy Spirit as "it"--something we would never consider doing to any other friend who stuck by us through the hardest of times, offering constant support, advice, and encouragement (cf. John 16:5-15).

Perhaps the Holy Spirit is frequently regarded as impersonal because, unlike the Father or the Son, He gave us no specific words that were recorded in Scripture--nor is He ever described, even figuratively, as having any physical aspects. But even in the material world, many things with no solid or visible form are no less essential for that--the air we breathe being the primary example. And the air is not always content with being quietly "there for us"; it can do powerful things when it gets moving. As Jesus said in John 3:8 (NIV): "The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit."

As the wind has its visible manifestations in moving clouds and soaring kites, so should observers be able to discern the Holy Spirit in His work through us. Are you letting His power move you?

You cannot see the wind,
But you can feel its power:
So is it with God's Spirit,
Who moves us hour by hour.

You cannot see the wind,
But it still cools your face:
So is it with God's Spirit,
Who with our hearts keeps pace.

You cannot see the wind,
But you can feel its breath;
So is it with God's Spirit,
Who freshens souls near death.

And just as mighty winds
Are plain through what they do,
The Spirit shows His presence
Through every soul made new.

God's Faithfulness Spans the Horizons

There are no "missing persons" as far as God is concerned; He knows where every one of us is at every moment. That's good news when we feel totally alone and as if no one cares.

It doesn't seem so good when we're dealing with guilt or wanting to do things our own way. It's impossible to hide from God, however much we'd like to. Adam learned that after he ate the forbidden fruit. Jonah learned it when he tried to dodge his duty. David had it brought home when confronted with a sin he'd tried to cover up.

I wonder if it was before or after that incident that David penned Psalm 139: "Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.... If I say, 'Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,' even the darkness will not be dark to you" (verses 7-8, 11-12, NIV). I'd like to think David wrote those words after his repentance, that the experience brought home to him in a new way that God's knowing everything we do--even our sins--is really a blessing. If God were weak enough for us to hoodwink, He likely would also be too weak to catch us before one sin led to another and another, or to help us resist temptation (cf. 1 Cor. 10:13). If He didn't really care what we did, He would be like the weak parent who doesn't love her child enough to teach him self-discipline. Because God is always watching us--and because He cares enough to forgive us, though He would be fully justified in writing us off--He is always ready to help us on a moment's notice.

All we have to do is ask.

God's faithfulness spans the horizons:
If I could run to the dawn,
Even to the far side of the moon,
God's caring eye would look on.

God's love is as high as the heavens:
If I could soar to the sky,
Even fly beyond the Milky Way,
God's love would remain close by.

God's justice is grand as the mountains:
If I could climb to a star,
Or rest on top of Olympus Mons,
God's love never would be far.

God's truth is as deep as the ocean:
If I swam to some far shore,
Faithful Love and True would hold my hand--
How could I dare ask for more!

The Sun Still Shines

In the three years since Hurricane Katrina ripped through the New Orleans area, Gulf Coast residents have regarded the June-November hurricane season with greater-than-ever apprehension. Notwithstanding that 2006 and 2007 were relatively mild, talk of "increased hurricane activity in the face of global warming" continues.

Not that the weather has to unleash an all-out hurricane to cause disaster. Living in Houston for thirty-five years, I have waded through a fair number of floods caused by milder tropical storms, even by small-but-intense thunderstorms. Thankfully, the water has never come as high as my door; but more than once I have seen nearby streets overflowing to the sidewalk.

One characteristic of a really bad storm is the thickness and blackness of the clouds. Sometimes the midday visibility level falls as low as at night. And in all but the lightest rains, every car's headlights go on regardless of the hour.

There are times when one wishes that lighting up one's mood were as simple. Anyone who has ever wrestled with severe depression knows that "misery" is too mild a word for the overwhelming sense that the world is dark and hopeless. Sometimes there is an obvious cause--a death in the family, the loss of a job--but it is also possible to feel "absolutely nothing matters" with no logical reason. Cheering up from such deep depression takes more than flipping a switch (or popping a pill).

Even immersing ourselves in the true light of God's Word (cf. Ps. 119:105) may not be a "quick fix." Those of us in the computerized, high-speed world hate to wait, especially for things that make us feel good. But demanding that God cheer us up "immediately" is not likely to work any better than insisting He make the sun rise at 2 a.m.

But it always does rise--in His time. We need to perservere in prayer and Scriptural meditation through our dark hours, trusting that He will likewise bring light to our souls according to His own perfect schedule.

When the day is dark and wet with rain
And the world seems lost in endless gloom,
The sun still shines behind the clouds,
And will show again as the sky makes room.

When the night shows neither moon nor stars
And the world is lost to human sight,
The sun still shines around the world,
And will rise again with the morning light.

When all life seems dark with bleak despair
And all hope lost in a grim, dull daze,
God's Sun still shines to lead us on,
And will yet break through with His hope's bright rays.

Do You Believe?

The Apostle Thomas gave his name to the phrase "doubting Thomas" when he responded to the news of Christ's resurrection with, "Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it." Jesus eventually gave Thomas the physical proof he demanded, but He also chided him with, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." (See John 20:24-29.)

Lest we be too hard on Thomas, let us remember that he stands out only because he missed the earliest appearances of the risen Christ; not one of the disciples believed the news when they first heard it! If they wanted proof Jesus had come back, His promise that He would--combined with their having personally seen His miracles and never having known Him to be wrong--should have convinced them even before they saw Him in person. They failed to believe, because they were caught up in their preconceived ideas of what was impossible.

And if we want proof that God will always be there for us, His promise that He will--combined with all the times He has provided for us in the past--should be enough. Often we won't let it be, because we remain caught up in our preconceived ideas of how (and how quickly) He should handle a situation.

Our faith doesn't deserve the name if, like the Israelites in the wilderness, we toss it aside every time the least little thing goes wrong.

Do you believe in light,
Even when in the dark?
Do you fear, when the sun sets,
That it is for good?
No; you trust that the day
Will soon come back again:
Do you trust God's own Light, then,
The way you should?

Do you believe in air,
In the invisible?
Do you fear it will sneak off
Before your next breath?
No; though you see it not,
You still have faith in it:
Do you trust God's own Life, then,
Though facing death?

Do you believe in love,
In what no eyes have seen?
Do you fear all your loved ones
Are lying to you?
No, though you read no minds,
You still trust others' hearts:
Do you trust God's own Love, then,
Mighty and true?

Do you believe in God,
In the Unfathomable,
He Who cares for the hurting
And soothes those who grieve?
We, who now walk in faith,
One day shall look at Him:
We, blessed not to have yet seen,
But to believe.