Who Jesus Is vs. What Jesus Did

I read John 8:28-30 the other day.  It says, “So Jesus, said, when you lift up the son of Man, then you will know that I am he, and I do nothing on My own initiative, but I speak these things as the Father taught me.  And he who sent Me is with Me; He has not left Me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to him.  As he spoke these things, many came to believe in him.”

This passage fascinated me.  Jesus Assures his death here…and this point of death is his guarantee of the beginning (of faith). 

What confidence and control Jesus demonstrates over his life and cosmic events, and his death is a sign of who he already is…Belief here, is possible now, In fact it seems that to Jesus, salvation is not hinging upon his death—or the cross event but more so on his identity itself!  For Jesus, belief happens here and now, and someone’s life is hanging upon it before Jesus even goes to the cross because he is connected with the father now (before death) (vv24).

If this is true, then it is imperative that we weigh our teaching on salvation not just on the cross event but especially on the identity of Jesus himself—that in the identity of Jesus, there lies salvation, not just in what he did.  Our Salvific celebration services must celebrate identity, and character, and must be well informed in that, because whatever Jesus did flowed out of who he already was/is. 

Also, what intrigued me was verse 29.  Jesus holds himself to a principle worthy of note…If the question arises, “Is God with us in what we do, or are we left alone.” One needs only to ask, “Am I doing the things that are pleasing to him?”—A question which should be continually asked in order to protect yourself from God disassociating himself from you (II Tim 2:12). 

Interested to see what you think.

Should I Give Him Money?

Every time that a beggar asks me for money, I have a hard time deciding what to do. A part of me wants to give my money, knowing that I am relatively well-off and should use it to help my fellow men. Another part of me hesitates, asking if my donation will enable an addiction or another equally ungodly behavior, either directly or indirectly by allowing the recipient of my money to not get the help he/she needs. In these situations, my mind is often drawn to some of these scriptures:

Proverbs 17:19 He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the Lord; and that which he hath given will he pay him again.

Proberbs 21:13 Whoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor, he also shall cry himself, but shall not be heard.

Luke 3:11 He answereth and saith unto them, He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none; and he that hath meat, let him do likewise.

Matt. 25: 37-40 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

I also find these verses from the Book of Mormon moving: (Mosiah 4:16-19)

Perhaps thou shalt say: The man has brought upon himself his misery; therefore I will stay my hand, and will not give unto him of my food, nor impart unto him of my substance that he may not suffer, for his punishments are just—But I say unto you, O man, whosoever doeth this the same hath great cause to repent; and except he repenteth of that which he hath done he perisheth forever, and hath no interest in the kingdom of God. For behold, are we not all beggars? Do we not all depend upon the same Being, even God, for all the substance which we have, for both food and raiment, and for gold, and for silver, and for all the riches which we have of every kind?

So, recognizing that the scriptures insist that we should be charitable with our means and that we have an obligation towards our fellow men, and also recognizing that sometimes giving money may not be the best way to help, what should we do? What have you found to be helpful in deciding whether the most Christian thing is to give away your money or withhold it?

Should we vote for the president based on his/her morals?

With candidates already campaigning for the 2012 presidential elections, I've been thinking about this question. How much should a candidate's moral perspectives factor into my decision? Should I consider his/her religion or lack thereof? There are currently two Mormons running for the Republican nomination--does that raise any issues? If you had to choose between an atheist who was a respected economist and a religious person without significant experience, who would you choose? Is that answer black and white for you or is it gray?

What is Christian Tolerance?

It seems to me that tolerance has become the north star of our society. In many ways, this is to be celebrated and encouraged. In other ways, I think it is dangerous. I worry that this standard we've set for ourselves is not as infallible as we seem to think. What behaviors should we tolerate? When should we confront or oppose an opinion we feel is wrong? What is Christian tolerance? With issues like gay marriage and abortion consistently in the national spotlight, what would Christ have us tolerate, and what would He have us oppose? 

As I've thought about this, I looked in the Bible for pertinent passages. The word tolerance itself appears only twice in the New American Standard Bible--one reference is about God's tolerance (Romans 2:4) and the other is about disciples' (Ephesians 4:1-3). It reads, "Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace."

Then, of course, there are the synonyms of "tolerance" like forebearance, long-suffering, patience, etc. Most famously is the Savior's exhortation that we "turn the other cheek." However, most of these references seem to address forgiving the people who wrong us and not holding grudges, rather than simply tolerating a certain behavior. It would be easy to say that we are simply supposed to tolerate others--we'll do our thing and let them to their thing--but I don't think that is what the Bible teaches. Obviously, we are not supposed to be judgmental, in the negative sense of the word, but I don't believe a Christian life is a passive, "whatever" kind of life. For example, what are we to do with Christ's cleansing(s) of the temple which, coincidentally, is included in all four gospels? When should we too should oppose some societal tendency?

Isaiah 49:24-25

I read these verses yesterday, and I keep thinking about them, so I thought I'd do a blog post: 

"Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the lawful captive delivered? But thus saith the Lord, Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered: for I will contend with him that contendeth with thee, and I will save thy children."

Isaiah begins by asking something like, "Will anyone take a lion's pray away, or will a prison let one of its convicts leave?" The answer is obviously "No"--I could not overpower a lion (excluding the possibility of modern weaponry) and our nation's system of justice insists that prisoners who are found guilty complete their sentence. Isaiah's answer is, I think, meant to be a surprise--"Yes. Even the captives of the mighty will be taken away, and the prey of the terrible will be delivered." The reason for this, as Isaiah points out, is that it is God, not man, who will deliver and save the captives. I love that even the lawful captives will be delivered. Even when we deserve to be punished, even when justice demands payment, we can be delivered--mercy and grace can replace justice. Finally, could there be anything more comforting to a parent worried about a child than the last clause? "And I will save thy children." 

Religious Art

I just got back from a trip to Italy and France where I saw incredible works of religious art. The mosaics in the Basilicas of San Vitale and San Marco were awe-inspiring, the facade of Milan's Duomo was overwhelming, and the almost omnipresent scattering of paintings and sculptures was amazing.  Then, at an unheard-of church in a small Italian city, I saw this touching crucifix. It was much simpler than many of the works I'd seen, but I thought it was beautiful. I appreciate how it shows Christ ascending from the cross--triumphing through what seemed defeat. The arms are both wings that lift Christ away from the fallen world and an embrace offered to each of us, an invitation to come to Him.

Become as Little Children

In Matthew 18:3, Christ says, "Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven." Interestingly, there is a very similar passage in the Book of Mormon: 3 Nephi 11:38--"ye must repent, and be baptized in my name, and become as a little child, or ye can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God." What do you think that means? In what ways should we become as little children? What would a childlike person be like?

Covenants

I was recently asked to give a talk in church about "making and keeping covenants." I don't know exactly what other Christian churches teach about covenants, but they are central to Mormon theology. What is your understanding about covenants? Does God still make covenants with men, as He did in the Old Testament? What is the "new covenant" Christ speaks of? Why did/does God interact with men through covenants?

Conversion

At the Last Supper, Jesus said to Peter, "When thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren" (Luke 22:32). This was after about three years of apostleship. Peter had left his livelihood and followed Jesus. He had declared his witness that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the Living God. He had been persecuted. But still, after all of that, Jesus suggested that Peter had not yet been converted.

Am I reading this correctly? If that's true, what does it mean to be converted? Can we too go through the motions without really being converted? What's the difference between a converted life and a life of going through the motions?

What is worship?

We read in the scriptures that we should "worship the Father in spirit and in truth" (John 4:23). What does that mean? My church is pretty conservative in a lot of ways, and our services are generally quite restrained.  I know that some of your church functions are markedly different than mine. As I've attended worship services in a variety of churches, I've been surprised at the different ideas about what all worship entails. What are your thoughts? What does it mean to worship God and how should we do it?

Everyday Religious Symbols

A scripture in the Book of Mormon states, "all things which have been given of God from the beginning of the world, unto man, are the typifying of him [Jesus Christ]" (2 Nephi 11:4). Another scripture says, "all things denote there is a God; yea, even the earth, and all things that are upon the face of it, yea, and its motion, yea, and also all the planets which move in their regular form do witness that there is a Supreme Creator" (Alma 30:44). Do you agree that all things are types/symbols/denotations of God? Whether you do or don't, what things remind you of Christ or give you a point of reference for understanding him?

Mother's Day

Since Mother's Day is this Sunday, let's dedicate this post to our mothers. What has your mom taught you about faith and God? What do you think about the role of  mothers in general in God's plan? I'd love to read any and all of your mother-related thoughts.

Easter

Yesterday was Palm Sunday, the day in which we remember one of the most poignant moments of Christ's life--the triumphal entry. On that day, He rode into Jerusalem on a donkey and was greeted by thousands of people who began to shout hosanna, wave palm branches, lay clothes on his path and welcome Him into the Holy City as their king. This day marks the beginning of the week leading up to our celebration of Easter. I would love to hear your thoughts and feelings about Easter. What does it mean to you? What would you share if you were asked to give a devotional thought about Easter?

What is your religion all about?

I am curious to see your responses to this: How would you explain your religion to someone who knew nothing about it? Starting from scratch, how do you articulate the message of Christianity?

Tender Mercies

Both the Bible and the Book of Mormon use the phrase “tender mercies.” In my church, this phrase is often used to describe the simple, day-to-day blessings of the Lord—the moments when we are reminded that God is not only merciful at the Last Day, but every day, and that He is aware of and involved in the details of our lives. What are some of the tender mercies you have noticed recently?

Why the Church?

I've been asked many times why we need a church--"Why can't I just worship God personally and privately? Why do I need an organized religion to stand between me and God?" I don't think those are the right questions because I do believe that we can worship God personally and privately, and that an organized religion should not "stand between" us and God, however, I also believe that the Church is a necessary part of Christianity. Do you agree? If so, what does the Church give us that we couldn't get by ourselves?

How do you come to Jesus?

In Matt. 11:28, Christ invites us to come unto Him and He tells us that if we do, he will give us rest. Recently, I've been studying scriptures like Matt. 11:28 in which Christ invites or commands us to come unto Him, in order to understand a bit more what that really means. What does it mean to come unto Christ? How do you do it? I have come to some conclusions from my personal study, but I would love to hear your thoughts.

The Story

The other day in my Christian History class, we were discussing the doctrine of the atonement. There were some interesting things, but by the end of our discussion, I felt like it was somewhat empty (if not of substance, at least of emotion). As I thought about it, I decided that one of the problems was that we were trying to reduce the atonement of Christ to doctrine.  This is not necessarily a bad thing--I think doctrine is often undervalued in contemporary Christianity--but by so doing, we had pulled several aspects of that atonement out of their original context and attempted to analyze them "in a vacuum."  Almost all of the scriptures are narratives, not explanations of doctrine--God did not reveal them in a vacuum, but intimately tied to people and stories. While I think we need to decide what the "moral" of these stories is (i.e. reduce them down to doctrine), I think we lose something in that reduction.  In the end, Truth is not reducible down to neat list; it is embodied in Christ who is "the way, the truth and the life."

Hunger

The first Sunday of every month is, for my church, set apart for fasting and bearing testimony (is that a Mormon term?). I generally begin my fast after lunch on Saturday and don't eat until mid-afternoon Sunday. My church meetings currently begin at 12:30 on Sunday--right at the conclusion of my fast. I find it beautifully symbolic to come to church fasting and to partake of the Sacrament (the communion).  My body rejoices in the morsel of bread and I feel the cool water trickle down my dry throat.

I found it very appropriate that the open song of our church services had the following lyrics: "In fasting we approach thee here/ And pray thy Spirit from above/ Will cleanse our hearts, cast out our fear,/ And fill our hunger with thy love." 

 I think that the way I experience the Sacrament on Fast Sunday gives me a glimpse into a spiritual reality: I come to Christ's table symbolically starving and He offers me a feast of love; He offers me Himself--the bread of His body and water of His blood (I don't believe in transubstantiation, but I appreciate the symbolism). That is the only thing that fills my hunger and quenches my thirst. The food and drink He offers me is more real than everything I eat physically.  No matter how well I eat, if I do not partake of His food, I will starve. 

There are many things I don't know or understand, but I have tasted God's love in my life and I have found it to be delicious. It has filled my hunger and quenched my thirst.