The Greatest Miracle

Often times we post quotes because they are cute, uplifting or inspiring, even if their theology is a little off.  I came across one the other day, though I think I understand the nice message they were trying to convey, I could not let slide.  It may be this very "letting it slide" mind set that has led to the downward slide of our view of God.  And our view of God is crucial!  I hope to get to that at a later date, but for now I will focus on the quote.

"The greatest miracle of all is that God looks at me, at you,

 in all our dirt and brokenness, and says, 'I choose you.  You are beautiful!'"

author unknown

 

What bothers me about this statement is 1) that it makes God out to be a cosmic grandpa who overlooks our dirt and brokenness, and 2) it diminishes the cross of Christ. 

 



God does not, nor can He, look at our sin and call us beautiful.  On the contrary, we are told in Ephesians 2:3, "Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest."  And Romans 1:18 says, "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness".  From Adam and Eve down to us today, we are by nature children of wrath.  If we say that God can look upon us in all our dirt and brokenness and call us beautiful, then we have no need of a savior or repentance.  We need not the Holy Spirit to examine our inmost being and bring conviction and godly sorrow.  Why then did Christ endure the cross?

 

"For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,  and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures..and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins...But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep." (1 Corinthians 15:3-4,17,20)  Praise God!  Christ endured the cross for the joy of reconciling us to God...so that God could once again look upon us and call us good.  "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him."  (Romans 5:8-9) It is because of His blood that we are redeemed and brought near to God. (Ephesians 1:7, 2:13)  We are now clothed with Christ (Galatians 3:27) and Christ lives in us (Galatians 2:20).  And so Christ became for us, wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption. (1 Corinthians 1:30)  "He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." (2 Corinthians 5:21)

 

The greatest miracle is not God looking at my dirt and ignoring it.  The greatest miracle is that God became flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:14), to be a ransom for our sins and take away our dirt and brokenness!   "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life." (John 3:16)  "Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." (Acts 2:38)  "Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.  Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation." (2 Corinthians 5:17-18)   ^"And He (Jesus) came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read.  And the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. And He opened the book and found the place where it was written,

 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,
Because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor.
He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives,
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set free those who are oppressed,
To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.”

 And He closed the book, gave it back to the attendant and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him.  And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” (Luke 4:16-21)

 

It is true that while we remain on this earth, we groan under the weight of our old nature and the temptation to sin.  However, Christ did not leave us alone, but sent the Holy Spirit to be a pledge and aid for us. (2 Corinthians 5:1-9)  As Paul tells us in Galatians 5:16, "But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desires of the flesh." 

"Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.  For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.  For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.  For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

 However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him. If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness.  But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.  So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh—  for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.  For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!”  The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God,  and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him." (Romans 8:1-17) 

 

All God's promises are yes in Christ!  We are new! We are clean and whole.  When God looks at us, He sees Christ and His righteousness.  And so through Christ, God can look upon us and say, 'I choose you.  You are beautiful'. 

 

*all scriptures are from the NASB

Trapped

Last night we trapped a raccoon, who we suspect of eating our bluebird babies.  After the carnage, I was thrilled at the prospect of the raccoon's demise.  However, when we awoke and I saw the raccoon in the cage, my heart melted.  He looked so scared huddled in the cage.  Now filled with compassion for this cute critter and realizing he was only following his natural instinct, we decided to let him go (not on our property mind you, but we settled him in a nice place down by the river).    This led me to pondering how much like that raccoon we are.

You see, we trapped him with the allure of something pleasing...in this case chicken nuggets. He couldn't resist the temptation and once inside enjoying the spoils, SLAM!  He was caught and in bondage.  We too are often trapped by the allure of the world's pleasures and find ourselves in bondage.  The difference between us and the raccoon, is that we always have a way out.

"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery."  Galatians 5:1  "Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you."  James 4:7

A Three Hour Tour...

We recently visited friends in Michigan and had a great time, but one particular adventure stands out among the rest.  My friends are great!  They know how much I like lighthouses and planned a boating trip to Charity island, on Lake Huron, so I could see and climb the lighthouse there.  They have made this trip several times before and assured us what a fun and relaxing day it would be. 

The day dawned beautifully!  It was 70 degrees, sunny and the water in the marina was calm and empty of any other boats.  Perfect!  We went on a Thursday, so as to miss the weekend crowds.  Everyone climbed aboard and we launched the boat.

Once past the jetty, the waves began to increase.  A little wave jumping just added to the thrill of the adventure!  However, about half way to the island, when the boat hit a large wave sending the driver out of his seat and onto the floor, we all grew very quiet.

We made it to the island with no further complications and were rewarded with a wonderful view of Charity Island Lighthouse.  We waded to shore, climbed the lighthouse and were given a tour of the keepers residence.  The owner of the house was surprised to see us, given the small craft advisory. She had cancelled her own tour boat that was to come that day.  Now the lack of ANY boats on the lake made more sense. Yep, that is right.  We, a small craft, were out in troubled waters.  Oops!

She was kind enough to give us her cell number and said she would leave the emergency radio on.  That was comforting...I think.  This was not exactly how I pictured the end of my life.  So, off we set into the wind and waves.  It was perhaps the longest boat ride I have ever taken, or at least it seemed like an eternity.  The motion sickness didn't help matters.  At least we were all turning an equal shade of green, except our trusty captain, who seemed to be enjoying the ride. 

Once on firm, dry ground I could look back on it as an adventure to remember, even chuckle a little at our folly.  There is a lesson in this, and the scripture that was brought to mind was Proverbs 12:15 which says, "The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, But a wise man is he who listens to counsel."  Next time we will check the marine forecast!