What are the things in life that bring you the most fear? That hold you back from experiencing new things? That stifle your abilities and God-given curiosities?
Are they things that really do
deserve your fear? By
not doing, do they keep you and/or your family safe? Are
they merely a form of protection from letting others know what you are
afraid to try?
I know when I see the Citicard commercial of
the lady climbing and standing on the pinnacle of the rock ledge looking out
over God’s beautiful creation, I feel the tension stirring inside me. I
feel the queasiness of knowing how I can’t stand heights, and how that despite
the magnificence of the adventure, you will never find me there - which is okay
because my fear keeps me safe.
Yet, there are areas where I know my
fear of the unknown keeps me at arms distance – a safe distance – from
experiencing some of the greatest beauties out there. I
know my fear of driving in big cities keeps me from experiencing some of the
great things a city has to offer.
So there is a tension within all of
our lives to keep MY SPACE, MY SPACE, and to establish boundaries
that won’t let others into that space. And
so we compartmentalize life into convenient categories.
But we find that it’s a struggle to
balance these compartments in life because some areas spill over into other
areas. For
example, what about the frustrations at work that I bring home? Or, what about the argument last night at
home that I took to work today? What
about the depleted checkbook that robs me of my Christmas cheer? We try so hard to guard our fragile compartments.
And safe to say, we also do this with
God. We
have compartments for Him like: Sundays
before noon, grace before dinner, in moments of crisis, an occasional prayer
after we hit a golf ball or while stuck in traffic. God
has His place in our life; church fits into our boundaries, where we keep
things from getting too uncomfortably close.
We certainly don’t let God invade our
whole world, rock our status quo, or give Him the keys to every door and closet
in our home.
Well, let’s look at a
young lady who did just the opposite of what we do with God in the routines of
our lives.
In Luke 1: 26-38 we see Mary, a young teenage
girl minding her own business and doing the normal, when God interrupts. He
disrupted her normal routine with an invitation to become uncomfortably close
and intimate with the Christmas experience.
This
invitation was going to profoundly alter and interrupt her life.
Yet Mary sets an amazing example and
provides and incredible challenge to us. And through her example we see God’s Big
Idea: Allow Christ IN Every Part of
Life
Why?
Why should we let Christ into every compartment of life? Why
should we be willing to break down those compartments when it comes to
God? Why
should we accept God’s invitation to live within us?
We should because God’s presence within us is far greater than
God’s presence with us. When
He is in us, He is with us all the time and everywhere we are. But
when we compartmentalize Him and only desire His presence be with us, we limit
His ability to actively help us when the miracle can’t be seen, found, or
heard.
God in me provides me with peace when my world is falling
apart. God
in me provides me with strength
when I am being attacked. God
in me provides me with joy
when I should be crying. God
in me provides me with love
when I feel like hating those who’ve wronged me. God
in me is freedom – freedom to
be the person God intended me to be.
And because Mary willingly submitted
to allow God to be in her, literally, Mary’s life became blessed to the point
we still tell of her story today.
Did she become an image of
worship? No! But
her example is truly one for us to follow with God because she said “yes” to
something that ridiculously made no sense then, and still makes no sense to
many today.
Think about it: She
was betrothed to be married to Joseph – she was a virgin – and yet by agreeing
she would now become pregnant with the child of God.
What
did this mean? It
meant she could be considered mentally insane, that
she was no longer of value, that
she would not be cared for the rest of her life, most
likely considered an outcast by her
people and her own family, and could
possibly mean being stoned to death for her promiscuity – her adultery. I
mean after all, how else does pregnancy happen in their day without the union
of male and female – let alone saying the conceived child is God? It’s all blasphemy! Blasphemy!
Yet with all these risks, she let God
into every compartment of her life, by saying, “I am the Lord’s servant. May it be to me as you have said.” She
willingly said to God in my words, “You can have all of me. I will do as you want me to do.”
How often do we say what Mary
said?
I
think we often say, “God, you can have this part or that part, but You can’t
have it all. You can have this part
because I’m comfortable with giving you this part. But don’t ask me to do something that will
push the boundaries. Don’t ask me to
teach children. Don’t ask me to give up
addictions. Don’t ask me to preach or
lead worship. Don’t ask me to serve. Don’t ask me to make a commitment, to get
married to my fiancé, and to love him/her when trouble comes. Don’t ask me to love my wife and children as
Christ loved the church. Don’t ask me to
communicate with others when I feel like going into a shell. Don’t ask, don’t ask, don’t ask.”
Jesus said in speaking about his
coming death, “Unless
a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single
seed. But if it dies, it produces many
seeds. The man who loves his life will
lose it, while the man who hates his life (the man who understands his need for
a Savior) will keep it for eternal life.
Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will
be. My Father will honor the one who
serves me.” John 12: 23-26
God wants us to be like Mary – to
willingly submit ourselves –
to die to self and gain – so
that we can be honored in the
presence of God Almighty. God
wants us to be transformed from just learning
about Him to knowing Him
intimately. God
wants to move us from mere knowledge and romanticized feelings about Him to pure obedience when He calls
us. God
wants us to say, as shared with us in Galatians 2: 20, “I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.”
In order to be all that God wants, we
can neither resist nor assist. If
we resist, we’re not open to God’s calling.
And
if we think we can assist God, then we believe we can tell God what to do,
which is a little pridefulJ
All we can do is be like Mary who responded willingly and completely, and then offered herself in full service.
Are there areas in your life that you’ve tried to do God-size things on your own? Like trying to quit a life-controlling habit or addiction, overcome past hurts, forgive the abuser, heal the marriage, conquer a fear, defeat the worry?
We can’t do it on our own.
We can try, but as always, God’s grace cannot shine through if we’re trying to resist by doing it all on our own or trying to assist by telling God how to do it. We must be willing to openly surrender our will and allow the Invitation – the Christ - in every part of life. Then, and only then, will we see the true gift of what Christ can overcome in our lives.
IMAGINE IF WE LIVED LIKE THIS.
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