I don’t often get the chance to respond to comments that people make about my posts, quite honestly because it is rare that anyone leaves a comment. So I truly enjoy these kinds of opportunities for dialogue about where I am and what I believe about Christ.
A few days ago I put up a post that I entitled “We Exist…“. If you have not read that one yet you should probably do that first so that you can better understand the conversation, and in reading it, read the comment by my friend Jon at the bottom of the page. You might also want to read a mini poem that I wrote during the month of December (it’s very short), called “The Reason for the Season” because he references it.
I normally would have left another comment below his to answer what he said, but I quickly realized my opportunity to clarify and expound upon my position to everyone and not just respond to one comment, and the little space that a comment allows would not be enough. So, here goes…
First of all, the poem does nothing to decentralize Jesus in life. It was written as a response to a culture who values everything else more than Him and does it in His name. It was also written to be an argument against this game that “Christians” and non-Christians have been playing the past few years about what to call the thing that we all do from November through January.
My point in the poem was that we as Christians should not be offended that the rest of our culture wants to celebrate things other than Christ. Getting upset that Lowe’s calls it a family tree instead of a Christmas tree is infantile. Getting angry that people say “happy holidays” instead of “merry Christmas” is just plain ridiculous. Christians who fight this fight, I think, miss the point. You don’t bring people to Jesus and show people His glory by arguing about what we are going to call the holiday. You show them by living out His love. I don’t care what greeting people, Christian or not, use to greet me with during that time of the year. Truth be told it is actually nice to get any greeting at all, unlike the rest of the year when we go around ignoring each other.
So the poem wasn’t designed to make Christ less important, but rather to make the argument that it is pointless to rest our faith on something so insignificant as what we call a holiday. It is what it is. The Christmas season (holiday season, winter season, or whatever you want to call it) has become a time of celebrating stuff. Each year, it is more about the creation and much less about the Creator. And that is the way of the world. The sooner Christians can come to grips with this, the sooner we can stop assuming that because somebody celebrates Christmas that they know Christ. Jesus is more than a new bike or a new tie, or even Christmas. If Christians could understand this, we wouldn’t look like such fools arguing about how the lost world sees Christ. But instead we would focus more efforts on seeing the lost world the way that Christ does; with compassion.
So, the poem was designed to be an attack on surface level Christianity and not on Christ. Everything about life is designed to point us toward Him, but so often we live like those things are an end in themselves. The seasons, the smells, the tastes, the memories are all from God designed to show us His greatness, but sometimes we make winter about gifts only and miss Christ and His beauty for the craziness of it all.
Secondly, I apologize to any one of you that I might have ever mislead you in this area. I will say it plainly. If I have ever given any of you the impression whether in word, print, or deed that I believe that anything other than Christ is the single most important thing in my life, I am sorry, and I seek your forgiveness. There are times, and have been many throughout my life, when I have not lived with this all consuming passion for the glory of Christ. And, there have been times when I lived as though things that God created where more important than He was.
But, in those times, I have struggled greatly to be more Christ centered (or Christocentric as Jon puts it). But those times don’t last. I have never gone long without Christ revealing Himself as infinitely more valuable than whatever it is that I had replaced Him with. The Holy Spirit will not let me live like the things that I have been given by God are more important or more satisfying than He is. And I think that this is the testimony of most Christians who would speak honestly. Most truly regenerated Christians would describe a life of struggle against sin, a constant battle of the wills, as Paul did…
14 For we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am of flesh, sold into bondage to sin. 15 For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate. 16 But if I do the very thing I do not want to do, I agree with the Law, confessing that the Law is good. 17 So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. 18 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. 19 For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. 20 But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me.
21 I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good. 22 For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, 23 but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members. 24 Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? 25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin.
Romans 7:14-25, NASU
There are those who would describe the Christian life as trying to follow a list of rules, but that is not me. I don’t believe that moralism impresses God. I would describe it like Paul did in the passage above and in this next one from Galatians…
“I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.
Galatians 2:20, NASU
So then, I have died to the life that I lived in sin, through the death of Christ on the cross. And now I have a new life, born in His resurrection from the grave, with new desires, passions, and dreams. It is Christ in me that changes my heart and mind to desire the things that He desires, and I do. But it is that part of me that I have not yet fully died to, that wars against those desires that I have for godliness, that every once in a while rears its ugly head, and must be killed.
Which brings me to why I believe that being Christ centered is everything and not being that way is a great tragedy. The reason lives in the victory that Christ has over sin and death. You see, the great hope for someone like me, who can’t win in my own strength, is that Christ has already won. And He won greatly. Though His work will continue in my life, to make me more like Him, until I die, what was purchased for me on the cross assures victory.
See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ. 9 For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, 10 and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority; 11 and in Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, in the removal of the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ; 12 having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. 13 When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, 14 having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. 15 When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him.
Colossians 2:8-15, NASU
How can any heart, let alone my own, see what Christ has done and not be moved by it? Well, because of sin. Sin is devastating. It blinds most people from ever seeing the true worth of Christ. But the amazing love of God is that while we were not only blind, but spiritually dead and unable to respond in our separation, God sought us out. He sought me out.
So, knowing that, how could I walk away and claim that anything other than God is worthy of my worship? How can I not love this God who rescued me? How can I not be obsessed with the glory of Christ who at every level of my salvation was victorious? How can I not worship the Holy Spirit that spoke into me the truth of the gospel and gifted me with faith?
Yes, there will be times that I will not do what I want to do, and there will be times I will not live to make Christ central, but it is my great desire. There is nothing that I want more than for the name of Christ to be made famous and that the world would see Him for who He really is, not who Christianity has made him out to be.
Yes, Lord, walking in the way of your laws,
we wait for you;
your name and renown
are the desire of our hearts.Isaiah 26:8, NIV
I exist to live out the life of Christ in my body, living for His glory, and dieing to the things that once robbed me of joy. I exist to make His name known and to live in the truth of His word. And I exist to enjoy everything, that He has given me for my enjoyment, as one who worshipfully knows He deserves nothing from the king. No matter if it is steak or mountains or the color green, Jesus created them and I exist to live and enjoy them to the glory of His name.
So, if you ever sense that I am not living centrally focused on Christ please let me know, that I might reorganize my life around Christ and enjoy the fellowship of love that is in Him more fully. Nothing in life satisfies me like Christ. Nothing in life is as important as His name and renown. Nothing is as important to genuine Christian life than being centered around Christ. So, call me Christocentric. I pray that I am.
6 Responses
Stay in touch with the conversation, subscribe to the RSS feed for comments on this post.
So many times I see myself stumble and fall, losing sight on what is most important in my life…My relationship with Christ. We live in a world where it’s all about “me” and not about Christ, and I admit I have felt that way many times. My prayer is that God will break me of who I am and make me the man He sought me out to be. A man after God’s heart, to live my life for Him and not for myself. God showed me His ultimate love when He Killed His only Son so that I would not suffer His wrath for my sins. My existence is only because of one reason: to serve God. To be that soldier in His army who will lay down his life for the One who laid down His life for me. How awesome is it to know that no matter how difficult life is, whether its our struggles, our doubts, or even our fears that as Christians Christ will never falter or fail us, like we so many times have failed Him. As Paul states in Php 1:21 “For me to live is Christ and to die is gain.”
Living for Christ being Christ-centered has a reward greater then anything this world has to offer, being with Him forever in paradise praising and worshipping the Almighty. It is because of Christ and thru Christ we serve others. It is not because of others we serve Christ. May His will be done in my life so I may serve others by showing them the love and compassion Christ showed towards me. I exist for Christ; to live, love and serve Him. May it be that I put myself to death and pick up my Cross daily and follow Him.
Dustin,
I appreciate your candor and passion to communicate clearly and completely. It is a fine line to live a “Christocentric” life, while not projecting religion or a denominational dogma. That should be your goal in working with others. Help them understand that life can be lived through a filter; all the while meeting people where they are and helping them see Jesus in creation, hope, grace and in you. Most find it easier to relegate their ‘Christianly’ life-expression in the midst of other believers. Obviously this is important, but walking through the everyday life with the skin of Christ on will be a challenge - a challenge that all of us should embrace. It provides us chances to better understand the Kingdom and why Christ chose to spend his days with those searching and not in the synagogue.
Love you bro!
JOEY
D-
I read this tonight off of my best friend’s blog. He lives in NoCal and had this to say this evening.
http://stevencole.org/?p=110
Joey, I totally agree that religion and dogma are useless and actually probably very harmful things to the very message of the gospel. Nothing turns more people away from the truth more than “Christians” and their rules, but such is not the way of Christ. He didn’t come to set up rules or seek political power, He came to set the captives free, not enslave them all over again.
And, I too would stress the importance of the Christian life to be lived externally (toward other people), but I would say that more importantly is to have our hearts truly transformed (internally) to desire Christ, which I believe, in any one who has truly met Christ and has been changed by Him, would then work itself out externally as well. My big worry (which seems to be implied by you also), is that Christians would live a life of outward Christianity, but have no real relationship with Christ. And that’s a tragedy.
It is my great desire to see people, truly changed from the inside out, living out the love that is the good news. But going along with that, I constantly feel like the church is becoming more and more like the Pharisees who saw it more important to be clean on the outside (where people can see), but being dead on the inside (were it really matters, and from where the love of Christ should overflow).
hey bro.
im not sure that i agree with your last comment. it does not seem true in my life that i “have my heart truly transformed (internally) to desire Christ, which I believe, in any one who has truly met Christ and has been changed by Him, would then work itself out externally as well.”
i dont think my heart is done being transformed, but i cant sit around and wait on this “contemplative spiritual mood” or whatever to begin doing the works of Jesus. in fact i think it is in doing the works of Jesus that my heart becomes transformed.
i dont mean petty things like “reading three chapters a day” or “getting my weekly memory verse down.” i mean feeding hungry people. leading groups in discussions about Jesus. doing all i can to get justice for those that i know have been wronged. being kind to my wife, and loving my children.
there is nothing wrong with bible reading or scripture memory, but to me, those rules are the marks of pharisaism. the “works” im recommending are never attributed to Pharisees, but many of them are attributed to Jesus.
i appreciate your words, and ill see you soon.
adam
Hey Adam, it’s good to hear from you. I guess I have really ruffled some feathers with my last few posts and comments (I have never had a topic that had so much response). I think each of us is arguing a side of the “which came first, the chicken or the egg” question.
And I get the idea, and believe it, that faith without works is dead. My concern is that there are a lot of people out there who think they are Christians because they do the works that Christ did. I am arguing against the idea that feeding the poor, or getting medicine to the sick, makes you a Christian. I think there is too much emphasis on telling people, who we assume are Christians because they come to church and do “good things”, to do this or that and not enough of an emphasis on Christ transforming lives.
And like you said, “I don’t think my heart is done being transformed” either, but that’s why I need the person and power of Christ to continue His work in me.
The other issue that I am always fighting for is the idea that Christians should hunger and thirst for God. We should desire to know more about Him and His glory. But I am not saying that Christians should be told that their Christianity is dependent upon the amount of scripture that they have memorized.
The thing that confuses me so much is that it seems like there is a knee-jerk reaction to the mention of scripture. It seems like there are a lot of people in this area who are afraid to tell people to read their bibles, as if telling them that scripture reading is important would be a bad thing. I have never said that people who don’t read their bibles are not Christians. Yet every time I mention a hunger for the word people think that that is a bad thing.
Anyway, my argument, is, and will continue to be, that Christianity is much more than doing good. And doing good doesn’t make a Christian, but Christians do good, because of Christ alive in them.