The Goat vs. The Plant

Well, we are back to the story of the free-thinking goat, who got his owner in trouble by being.


Now the free-thinking goat did not show up for the arraignment of his owner, who violated a village ordinance against the ownership of free-thinking goats. It was, however, just as well, because the goat may have also received due punishment if the village elders deemed that the free-thinking goat was its own master now, and, in ownership of itself, the goat would either have to alter its free-thinking ways or stop being a goat.

Where was the free-thinking goat, and why did it not come to the defense of its former master? In the morning of the day in question, the goat was in fact on the move. The goat was a free-thinking being after all, and its current thought was that it should look towards its hunger, to sate its desire to eat.

Point of fact. Free-thinking goats might be free-thinking and all that, but like all normal, mundane beings, food, drink and rest are quite high on the list of things to think about. Free-thinking goats would be free-thinking dead goats if they did not.

So it was that the free-thinking goat happened upon a tasty-looking plant high on the mountain pass. The plant was certainly tasty-looking - full of juicy berries, lush green leaves, and a milky stalk that looked so crisp and crunchy that the free-thinking goat drooling with anticipation. He had been this way before, so why had he missed this luscious, tasty plant on previous travels? The free-thinking goat started to get anxious. He must eat this plant quickly, before other goats, free-thinking or non-free-thinking, found this perfect plant. The tasty-looking plant had no thorns to pester him, had none of the warning signs of poison that would send chills down the free-thinking goat's back.

The free-thinking goat sighed. He was hungry, and the plant was just about perfect to eat. What more could there be to life? What more could the free-thinking goat ask for?

So with that, the goat turned away from the plant and trotted down the path toward less tasty plants he knew to be down by the mountain stream. The freedom to choose was only good if exercised, and this particular free-thinking goat believed in freedom, even over food.

***

I can understand why some people believe that the murmured discomfort of a small few and plaints about a forced church membership drive is overstated; these people believe, probably quite rightly in fact, that the church membership / vision statement combination is really nothing new or anything to get worked up about.

And, I can understand the polar opposite view, which is that this a fairly big deal, that we are being asked to give our fidelity before God to follow the pastor despite not having a firm idea of where we are going, and that current memberships are being revoked unilaterally and an entirely new process being instituted for everyone without congregational vote, etc.

But I think both perspectives may not be properly focused on what is important, because the meaning of the vision statement is being lost in all of this, and the pastor may not been able to transmit the meaning of the vision statement in a way that gets people to completely understand, or maybe not everyone has been listening or paying attention.

A true application of the vision statement will be an inexorable transformation of reality, and it puts everyone who shall follow Christ into immediate "resident alien" status in this world. And an authentic and consistent living out of this vision statement can be, frankly, incredibly daunting. I say this because if we are to undertake this vision statement, it only makes sense to do it if you do it 100%. And a true and authentic living for the worship of God will make for incredible changes in the way that many of us, or most of us, live our lives, or, if I speak for myself alone, in the way that I, live my life.

But there are questions:

1. Is this God's plan for each of us, as believers.
2. Is this God's plan for the church.
3. Is this an accurate interpretation of the Word, as applied to us?

I would guess that the pastor would answer yes to the first, yes to the second and yes to the third. So that's it.

Yet the greatest question to be answered for Christians who live in this day and age, is how to live in this day and age. Since I know less than the pastor, I would have to say that the pastor is, very likely, quite correct in his interpretation of the Word, but the implementation of his interpretation will be an incredible balance of culture, finance, family values, social networks, employment choices, everything. But is this church spiritually mature enough to undertake this vision at this time? One wonders whether Moses felt the same way about his people and whether they were mature enough to take to the desert and out of slavery.

One wonders whether the pastor sees himself in a Moses-like role, leading the people of this church out of financial, emotional, social and family security, and into a wasteland of nothing, so as to focus our attention on what is important in a God-centered life. I guess the question is, can you live a God-centered life while remaining in this world, in this reality, or is it just the degree of hypocrisy that you are able to swallow.

I would deem any degree of an inauthentic life as hypocrisy, because we are all able to live a God-centered life, if we so choose. The question is not whether we are able, but whether we are willing. And willing to lead an authentic life 70% versus 100% may be noticeable to the outside, but we are talking about the Holy Spirit here, and the Holy Spirit is not fooled by being mostly devoted, as opposed to fully devoted.

But if nobody can be perfect anyway, then is this just about intent rather than actual living, or a mostly pure mind-set? Each answer reveals more questions. I am holding a mirror while facing a mirror, and the stretch is infinite.

-David

The Greatest Commandment, partially summarized.

Wow, it has been a while, hasn't it?

Probably too long, but I've been busy. Bought a home and in addition to the increased workload from work, I am now ladened with the duties of home-ownership. The commute now being further, I have that much less time to think and write.

Still, it isn't like I haven't been thinking.

So here's the restart of my blog, and it comes with a bang.

Here is a summary of a statement of faith, filtered through me, as to why we are all here, and what it is that we should be doing. Knowing, of course, is infinitely different and separate from doing, but like Flint from GI Joe said to kids everywhere, "knowing is half the battle."

What we are, and why are here. A Christian response.

The Bible is God's Word to His people, so that we may understand why we are here, and what we are to do. And the Old Testament and the New Testament are the same in this regard. As man is created in the image of God, so we are created for His purpose, and only proper response to our creation in such an image is to worship God. God's nature, being Perfect, without Sin, and being infinite in majesty, mercy, Goodness, love, and grace, is incompatible with the fallen state of man. But how is man fallen, when made in the image of the Perfect God? The answer is straight out of CS Lewis, with the idea that there is no meaning of Good without Evil, there cannot be choice if you do not have the ability to choose against.

The glory of God is God's nature, and it is beyond argument or compromise. Man's nature is filled with choice, and we are compromised. But God's love for us extends so far and so deep that He would have us with Him, despite our nature. But should this happen directly, would mean our destruction because God cannot abide Sin. The mercy and the grace of God, therefore, extended to us in the form of His Son, who as the sacrifice for all time, gave hope to all of God's people. And the choice for individuals is this: to have faith in God so that we may be saved, and at the same time, to be sealed with the Holy Spirit so that we may be sanctified and properly respond to God.

The Bible, as God's Word, is set up as the Old Testament and the New Testament, a singular document told with a linear viewpoint of time. And being a single document, both the OT and the NT describe the same two things: God's relationship with mankind, and mankind's relationship with each other. As a Christian, we should see our relationships with those two elements in mind: (1) worship as our relationship with God, and (2) missions as our relationship with the rest of mankind. And this is intimately related to the two Greatest Commandments - You shall love the Lord with all your heart, soul and mind, and love your neighbor as yourself. All of the Law and the Prophets hang on these two things (Matthew 22:40).

The reflection of the Glory of God, when we turn our faces toward Him in a spiritual act of worship and obedience, is the process by which we make fellowship with God and how we are sealed with the Holy Spirit. It is also directly connected to how we are to face the rest of the world, because as we are facing God, so then is God's glory being reflected off of our faces unto the rest of the world. It is THEN, that we can live up to the commands to love our enemies, to leave our mother and father (letting the dead bury the dead), to give up all our wealth, to die for the sake of others that they may live. None of these things make any sense, unless we are facing God first.

How we are to accomplish the missions aspect of our life depends entirely on whether we are facing God. This is why worship, as our response to God's nature, is so important. Worship will combine both aspects of the Greatest Commandment, and worship will mean fellowship with the Holy Spirit. And, when an individual faces God and sees the glory of God, the Bible says that the glory of God is a noticeable thing, and it changes both the person and those who view the person. When an individual chooses to turn and face God, so many things happen at once:

1. God's glory is not blocked by the person like a dark silhouette, but it is reflected outward and others can see it. A person who does not face God will be a dark eclipse and those people who are in the eclipse may not see God.

2. God's glory is not just reflected to others, but it is internalized by the person and that person is now changed as well. This is the process of sanctification, which does not come from us, but it comes from God. We are made perfect by God, not by what we do.

3. The person is making his or her spiritual act of worship, and

4. There is fellowship with God.

When Christians turn their faces toward the Lord, there is fellowship with God, and with that fellowship comes a resonance of God's glory. The resonance is what will affect other people, not what the Christian does, but what God's glory does. The resonance effect is definitely something that I will probably blog about in the future.

*****

So, I guess we can simplify everything I've said above into the following, which more or less explains the idea of a Christian response to God. It falls into two categories, Worship and Missions. HOWEVER, this is NOT to say that there aren't more categories that need explaining, but how long of a blog is this going to be?

Worship:
1. as our proper response to God's nature.
2. as our duty to God's command.
3. as our duty to love the Lord.
4. as our duty to love our neighbors as ourselves.
5. as part of the missional aspect of our lives.
6. as a means of fellowship with God through the Holy Spirit.
7. as a means of fellowship with other believers.
8. as a means of sanctification through the Holy Spirit.
9. as a means of sustaining ourselves, our food.
10. as a means of protecting ourselves from sin.
11. as a means of giving us joy, making us happy.
12. as a learning exercise, that we may know Truth from Falsehood.
13. as living sacrifices, that we may die to ourselves.
14. as a means of living by the Spirit.
15. that we may be humbled and be without pride.

Missions:
1. to usher in the new age of Jesus Christ (see Pastor Ed's diagram)
2. to fulfill and as part of our spiritual act of Worship.
3. to shine God's light where there is no light
4. to help save others, as we have been saved
5. to love others as ourselves, as we have been commanded
6. because God said so, directly and without equivocation.


-David