I am still processing the Sermon on the Mount. I have gone through the 25 posts and edited them for clarity and to revisit them for myself. Now I want to look at the applications I should be making for myself.
I want to begin by reiterating something from yesterday, being blessed is not something we receive as a result of performing or having the said behaviors here, it is something that we are and the reason we have these behaviors. Jesus said, "You will recognize them by their fruits." (Matthew 7:16) Grapes are not grapes because they behave like grapes, they are grapes because they come from the grape vine, it is what they are. Blessed, happy, or satisfied is not the result of things like humility or meekness or a desire for righteousness, it is a result of who you really are. Jesus continues His thoughts in Matthew 7 says that healthy trees bear good fruit, and cannot bear bad fruit, and that diseased trees cannot bear good fruit. He says that we will recognize "them" (those who are wolves) by their fruits. (Matthew 7:17-20) He is not talking about actions, for the wolves dress up as sheep to blend it. He is not talking about possessions or blessings, for there are many who are more blessed in possessions that are not Christians. He is talking about in their spirit. They are blessed, joyful, satisfied, and not because of circumstance but because of who they are in Christ.
So what is my take away for today? This is a tough one, because it kind of flies in the face of what most would call religion. In one way or another, most religions boil down to something that we do to appease God's wrath. This varies from following strict codes of behavior to just asking Jesus into your heart. I do not believe either of these are the path to the relationship with God that He desires us to have with Him. It seems to start with a fundamental change of who we are. How does that happen? It is through surrender. Surrender is something that really goes against our basic instinct of self-preservation. Think of prisoners of war, or slaves who have surrendered their rights and as a result faced tremendous suffering and abuse. But we are not surrendering to an enemy, but to a loving friend. There is one thing about surrender that strikes me here. When I have been attempting to do something on my own, and finally surrender to the idea that I might not be able to do it on my own so I seek help, there is a bit of peace that comes with that kind of surrender. Surrender to a friend, surrender to one who loves me is not a bad thing. I think again of the 12 steps of AA. The first step is that realization that we cannot do it, our addiction has a greater power over us than we can handle. The second is to believe that God (a power grater than ourselves) can. Step 3 is surrender to that power. It is only through surrender that change can occur. It is not surrender, then go back to trying again. It is surrender, period.
Here is where I struggle: What does that surrender look like? It is not the typical surrender to the enemy, where you are imprisoned and can no longer do the things you want to do. It is a surrender where you are still "free" in a sense. Like house arrest, but with no ankle monitor. You are on the honor system. It is a voluntary surrender. For some, they do not choose to surrender until they have reached a certain point of despair. Some might call it hitting rock bottom. Others do not seem to hit that point. It seems to look different for different people. But the commonality is surrender.
It is a process. It is a struggle. Sometimes it is not pretty. It is a process that we take on our own. No one can do it for us. We can, should, and need others as we take this process on, and yet we are only accountable for our own choices. It is a hard process to watch in others, and we can be there and offer encouragement, but we cannot make choices for others either. Sometimes I do not feel blessed or happy or satisfied in the process, but in an ironic twist, that too is part of the process. It is not a perfect process. It requires effort and honesty, yet ultimately what keeps me travelling on this road is the fact that all my effort and all my honesty are not enough. So I again surrender my efforts to Jesus, the reason I am and can be on this journey.
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