Monday, June 22, 2020
710 - Gimme Shelter, Part 2
Spirituality Column #710
June 23, 2020
Common Christianity / Uncommon Commentary
Gimme Shelter, Part 2
By Bob Walters
“I will say of the Lord, ‘He is my refuge and my
fortress, my God, in whom I trust.’” – Psalm 91:2
If I have a constant pick with modern-day Christianity it is
how much of what passes for doctrinal presentation about God’s goodness,
Jesus’s truth, and especially the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, involves the
secular question, “What do I get in the deal?”
Whether the latest Christian come-on is …
- an evangelical sales pitch – “Your sins are forgiven! Jesus loves you! You go to Heaven! You get rewards! You avoid Hell!” (all true, by the way),
- a holistic self-help proposition – “You’re a mess! You’re scared! You’re guilty! You’re disorganized! You’re a failure! Jesus will make it better!” (nefarious, I
think),
- a health/wealth/success negotiation – “Get right with God
and your problems will go away!” (not even close),
- or any other “What’s in it for me?” scheme of personal
enrichment, Christianity will never work properly if I’m more worried about
what I get than what I give.
The love of God and our salvation in Christ combine to be
life’s essential truth of being. That’s
why we are here. That’s how we can
live. That’s where we can go. That’s our peace, our purpose, and our
eternal joy. Our faith and trust should
be outwardly manifested in praise of God’s glory, not inwardly directed toward
worldly comforts and self-fulfillment.
Twenty-one
times Jesus said, “Follow me.” Never once, “Don’t worry, be happy.”
What we have in Jesus is a calling – an announced opportunity
really – to let go of life’s secular pitches, propositions, and negotiations
and instead cleave to His “truth.” Which
truth? That Jesus brought to humanity
the reality of God, His example of faith and obedience, and the initiation of
God’s kingdom on Earth. It’s a work in
progress, for sure, but Christ shows us the proper direction and application of
our faith and praise.
Often our “refuges” and “fortresses” – things upon which we rely,
we worship, and vigorously defend – are the passing fancies of societal
passion. Our time is replete with political
intrigue, media prevarications, social upheaval, uncivil riots, idolatrous sports
loyalties, entertainment insanity, scientific disingenuousness, and a pandemic
nobody seems to coherently understand.
We pray – fruitlessly, really – for “our Jesus” to make “our
problems” go away on “our terms.” What
actually works is to live with God through Christ in perpetual trust. God’s righteousness, our freedom, and
humanity’s fallenness combine for a relational dynamic that creates for us
great exposure and discomfort. Our
shelter in God is not a pop-up umbrella; our refuge in Him must be a way of
life – the life of Jesus.
I think of Jesus calming storms in the Bible – asleep in the
boat amid panicked disciples (Matthew 8), and then walking on water toward
panicked disciples (Matthew 14). In the
first case Jesus chides, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” (Matthew
14:26), then calms the waters. In the
second, Jesus comforts, “Take courage!
It is I. Don’t be afraid.” (Matthew 14:27), and the waters go calm …
and Peter nearly drowns.
Yes, Jesus can calm storms as we panic; He chides, He
comforts. But He reveals in His
obedience the absolute necessity – and joy – of trusting God with faith and
courage.
What’s in it for me? Knowing that the Lord will always be bigger than my panic.