A Life Worthy

I have been crucified with Christ… (Galatians 2:20).

But…I haven’t.

Don’t get me wrong.  I’m not second-guessing Paul here, and I’m certainly not questioning Scripture.  I get (sorta) the idea that Jesus went to the cross on my behalf, so that it is as though I were in fact crucified.  The Father looks at me and sees my record clean and my debt paid, because of Christ.

But

I did not bear the scorn

or the lash

or the thorns

or the nails

or the shame

or the tomb.

Those were his, and his alone.

Though it should have happened to me, it happened for me.

I am left with so much that I don’t deserve

and

so little that I do.

And that, I suppose, is grace.
Happy Friday, Beloved.

 

Today is a day to sing.

Sing this hymn we’ve been talking about all week. Sing it in your living room, in the shower, walking the dog, on the drive to work. Let it roll over you, and let the Holy Spirit do his work.   If you don’t know the tune, just say the words.  Make it your prayer today, Beloved.

Oh, and leave a comment telling us where you sang it!

 

Be Thou my vision, O Lord of my heart

Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art

Thou, my best thought by day or by night

Waking or sleeping, thy presence my light

 

Be Thou my wisdom and Thou my true word

I ever with Thee, and Thou with me, Lord

Thou my great Father; I thy true son

Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one

 

Riches I heed not, nor man’s empty praise

Thou mine inheritance, now and always

Thou and Thou only, first in my heart

High King of Heaven my treasure Thou art

 

High King of Heaven my victory won

May I reach Heaven’s joy, O Bright Heaven’s Sun

Heart of my own heart, whatever befall

Still be my vision, O Ruler of all

Riches I heed not, nor man’s empty praise

Thou mine inheritance, now and always

Thou and Thou only, first in my heart

High King of Heaven my treasure Thou art

I wish this were true of me.

Oh, I don’t think I worship money—if you saw my car, you would know the truth of that.  But I must say I care a sight too much about, “Man’s empty praise.”

I wish I didn’t.

But I do.

Now, you probably don’t have an unhealthy focus on money or people’s opinions of you.  You seem pretty put-together to me.  But just in case, it’s worth noting that this song gives us an answer to our dilemma.  See, it’s not enough to try not to think about money, or popularity, or whatever worldly thing you obsess over.  Look, I’ll prove it to you.  On the count of three, don’t think about money. Ready?  1…2…3…Go.

See what I mean?

We need to focus on what we do have, the amazing treasure we possess.  If you belong to Christ, you are heir to a colossal inheritance.  You are a child of the King of the Universe.  You have eternal life.  Best of all, you have a relationship with the One who hand-crafted you, who created and chose and loved you before you even knew his name.  Remind yourself of that, today and every day.  That just might help you keep your mind off the so-called riches of this lost world.

He is your treasure.

You are his.

Happy Monday, Beloved.

*note: I’m a teacher and it’s the beginning of the school year and I’m desperate for sleep and so we’re pausing Galatians for the moment.   For the next few days, I’m going to revisit a piece from a year ago about a hymn with special meaning for me.  It may not be Scripture, but I think it has much to teach us about loving Christ.

Be Thou my vision, O Lord of my heart

Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art

Thou, my best thought by day or by night

Waking or sleeping, thy presence my light

I love that it doesn’t say, “Validate the vision that I have for my own life.”

Although that would be catchy.

It doesn’t even say “Lord, grant me a vision for my life,” which is, frankly, about as good as I ever get.

The song says, “Be my vision.”  I gotta admit, I’m not even entirely sure what that means, except that it speaks of total commitment.  The following lines press the thought:

Nothing matters without you.

Be the focus of my thoughts every day.

Being with you is my reason for living.

Oh, Beloved, can we ever reach that level of devotion this side of glory?

I don’t know…but it’s what I want to want.

It will be the song of my heart today.

If, while we seek to be justified in Christ, it becomes evident that we ourselves are sinners, does that mean that Christ promotes sin?  Absolutely not! (Galatians 1:17).

Look, the fact that I still sin does not mean that Jesus is OK with it.

He is definitely not OK with it.

The fact that I still sin means that I, trapped in this frail and somewhat pudgy human flesh, have not yet learned to trust Christ completely.  There remains a piece of me–some days tiny, some days ginormous–that wants to wrest control from God and try the whole “Captain of my soul” thing again.  

It never works

but

still I try.

Call me persistent, or stupid, or…you know…human.

Happy Tuesday, Beloved.