Yesterday, the sermon at church was from Luke 14:16-24. It's the parable of a man who gave a great banquet, but none of the people he invited would come, so he sent his servant out to "compel" people to come.
There are a lot of layers to this sermon, which I may get into later, but the one thing that struck me yesterday was the fact that Jesus, in telling this story, uses the metaphor of a banquet, a huge, lavish party to describe the Christian life. A joyous celebration with food, wine, laughing, eating, music, and lots and lots of fun! And I was amazed at just how much this fit into what I've been thinking about in terms of a more balanced Christian life recently.
See, here's the thing: the Bible gives a lot of metaphors for describing the Christian life (e.g. a race, a battle, a pilgrimage, a journey, a marriage), and it's definitely right and good to think of the life of a believer in those terms. But, the degree to which I gravitate to one or the other of those metaphors says something about my view of the Gospel at any given moment. The convicting thing is, most of the time, I have no trouble thinking of the Christian life as a race or a battle. I mean, it's hard, it's exhausting, and it's a fight that I have to constantly be alert in. Rarely, though. . . maybe never, do I think of the Christian life as a banquet. I don't taste the good food and wine, I don't hear the music, I don't laugh at the jokes, or get blessedly lost in the din of the noise of all the conversations.
I need balance in my life. I need to live in the reality that all the metaphors the Bible offers to help me understand this life I've been called to are true, and yet, I can't help thinking today that I might need to, just for a while, live more on the side of the banquet, the party. The feast that I don't deserve to be at, but the one that guy sitting at the head of the table with that enormous smile on his face, laughing at the jokes and encouraging us all to have seconds and thirds, our host, was so gracious to bring me to!
Showing posts with label Happy Medium. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Happy Medium. Show all posts
Monday, March 30, 2009
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Happy Medium: The Balancing Act
As you know, I've been listening to Chris Rice's CD What a Heart Is Beating For, and I'm just blown away that God in his merciful Providence sent this CD my way at this particular time. I've read the liner notes in the CD booklet, and Rice doesn't really say what the album as a whole is supposed to be about, so I'm going to take that as liberty to come up with my own theory. What I'm learning from the songs is that there is a lot of joy in the Christian life, and it's okay to enjoy it and be happy.
See, for most of my life, I've bounced between two extremes. One is that the Christian is supposed to "rejoice in all circumstances," no matter what those circumstances are, and that your lack of joy or rejoicing is somehow a lack of faith in Christ and therefore sinful. The other is that suffering is real, this world is sinful, the Christian life is a race, and believing in God's sovereignty almost becomes fatalistic so that you start to shut down all emotion. . .just in case the other shoe drops. Both of these are wrong.
Over the past few months, there's seemingly been little in my life to rejoice about, and yet, Chris' songs have reminded me that there is much to be thankful for and even happy about, even in the midst of suffering, trials, and the storms of this life. The first track is titled, "So Much for My Sad Song," and it's about a guy who decides before he ever gets out of bed to write a sad song. . .in other words, no matter what, he's gonna be in a bad mood! And so often I find myself feeling this way. Here's the thing: I am very good at living in the first half of the "Lament Psalms," you know, all the "woe is me," "My God, why have you forsaken me," parts. And while there's nothing unbiblical or sinful about this attitude, I have to be balanced enough to make it to the end of those same psalms where David (or one of the other authors) chooses praise and finds his heart inclined to singing and praising before the Lord.
The singing and praising comes, not from denial about the circumstances we find ourselves, and it's certainly not out of a feeling that if we try hard enough to be happy and joyful, we will be. Instead, like Chris' song says, "Let's make this a love song, instead, 'cause I'm so in love with you." The praising comes from this deep, passionate love affair that's going on, through the good times and bad, with our God who is in control.
See, for most of my life, I've bounced between two extremes. One is that the Christian is supposed to "rejoice in all circumstances," no matter what those circumstances are, and that your lack of joy or rejoicing is somehow a lack of faith in Christ and therefore sinful. The other is that suffering is real, this world is sinful, the Christian life is a race, and believing in God's sovereignty almost becomes fatalistic so that you start to shut down all emotion. . .just in case the other shoe drops. Both of these are wrong.
Over the past few months, there's seemingly been little in my life to rejoice about, and yet, Chris' songs have reminded me that there is much to be thankful for and even happy about, even in the midst of suffering, trials, and the storms of this life. The first track is titled, "So Much for My Sad Song," and it's about a guy who decides before he ever gets out of bed to write a sad song. . .in other words, no matter what, he's gonna be in a bad mood! And so often I find myself feeling this way. Here's the thing: I am very good at living in the first half of the "Lament Psalms," you know, all the "woe is me," "My God, why have you forsaken me," parts. And while there's nothing unbiblical or sinful about this attitude, I have to be balanced enough to make it to the end of those same psalms where David (or one of the other authors) chooses praise and finds his heart inclined to singing and praising before the Lord.
The singing and praising comes, not from denial about the circumstances we find ourselves, and it's certainly not out of a feeling that if we try hard enough to be happy and joyful, we will be. Instead, like Chris' song says, "Let's make this a love song, instead, 'cause I'm so in love with you." The praising comes from this deep, passionate love affair that's going on, through the good times and bad, with our God who is in control.
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