Peace!?

" 'Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says: Because of your false words and lying visions, I am against you, declares the Sovereign LORD. My hand will be against the prophets who see false visions and utter lying divinations. They will not belong to the council of my people or be listed in the records of the house of Israel, nor will they enter the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Sovereign LORD.

" 'Because they lead my people astray, saying, "Peace," when there is no peace, and because, when a flimsy wall is built, they cover it with whitewash, therefore tell those who cover it with whitewash that it is going to fall. Rain will come in torrents, and I will send hailstones hurtling down, and violent winds will burst forth. When the wall collapses, will people not ask you, "Where is the whitewash you covered it with?"

" 'Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says: In my wrath I will unleash a violent wind, and in my anger hailstones and torrents of rain will fall with destructive fury. I will tear down the wall you have covered with whitewash and will level it to the ground so that its foundation will be laid bare. When it falls, you will be destroyed in it; and you will know that I am the LORD. So I will spend my wrath against the wall and against those who covered it with whitewash. I will say to you, "The wall is gone and so are those who whitewashed it, those prophets of Israel who prophesied to Jerusalem and saw visions of peace for her when there was no peace, declares the Sovereign LORD." '
Ezekiel 13:8-16

Written so long ago, but oh how relevant for today. How familiar are those comforting but ultimately false words: 'peace, peace', when there is no peace. Because when we reduce the gospel to a simple 'God loves you', that is in effect what we are saying. We're saying 'sin isn't a problem, you don't really need to change anything to be made right with God, his love covers everything and you're ok as you are. You just need to believe you have peace with God already and then you will have it'.

This belittles both God and people. It belittles God because it does not do justice to the true Holy love of God that demands justice but makes our rescue possible by punishing sin in Jesus on the cross. And it belittles people because it is false hope. It isn’t even good news; it just lures people into a trap. It is exactly like building that flimsy wall described in Ezekiel above, and whitewashing it over, hoping no-one will see the holes. But it will not stand. It may fool people for a while but on the day of the Lord it will NOT STAND.

Not to go into too many details, or go off on a rant (which isn't really my thing) I believe this false 'peace, peace' theology is ultimately the message of the book The Shack, and I am very concerned about this, especially because of the way it has been embraced by many people.
"...they lead my people astray, saying, "Peace," when there is no peace." Declaring peace when there is no peace is not good news. It is a death trap.

So if we're not to preach false peace, what are we to preach? What is the good news?

“We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” 2 Corinthians 5:20-21

The good news is that although we are separated from God because of our sin, we can be reconciled to Him, because Jesus became sin instead of us, bearing the wrath we deserve and crediting God’s righteousness to us instead. It is with urgency that we must make this appeal to be reconciled to God, not simply announcing that everyone is already reconciled. If we announce such a message I believe we are just like those false prophets in Ezekiel 13.

So, House is my new favourite TV show.

For those unfamiliar with House, it is an American medical drama about a Dr (called House) who, through the means of controversial yet ingenious methods, complete with outrageous sarcasm and hilarious one-liners, figures out various mysterious illnesses that no-one else can work out. It has me laughing out loud frequently. But it also makes me think. House thinks differently to most people, and he’s not afraid to say things the way he sees them. Here is something that made me think:

Patient: I just wanna die with a little dignity

House: There’s no such thing! Our bodies break down, sometimes when we’re 90, sometimes before we’re even born, but it always happens and there’s never any dignity in it. I don’t care if you can walk, see, wipe your own ass, it’s always ugly, always.
We can live with dignity, we can’t die with it.

I think House is spot on here.

Death is always ugly.

It shocks us and it horrifies us, because it is just that: ugly and horrible. And it wasn’t meant to be here, it’s a trespasser. It steals from us, it robs us, it takes EVERYTHING we have. And whether we’re expecting it or not, there is nothing we can do to stop it. We have no control over it.

We like to think we can ‘dignify’ it because that makes it easier to manage. It makes us feel like we have some control over it. But the reality is that it is our greatest enemy and whether we think about it or not, we are decaying. This life that we love, that we pour everything into, that we cling to, that we try and figure out as we go along, that we believe is all there is….is temporary.

It is our biggest enemy, but there is a bigger reality. There is more than this life. And even better than that, there is victory. Death has been crushed. It came into the world because we invited it in at the beginning; and we chose these small, frail, pitiful lives that revolve around ourselves and each other instead of our Maker, and in doing so we forfeited the pure, satisfying life that never ends.

But that’s not the end. We weren’t left to just get on with it and get over it; ‘you’ve made your bed, now lie in it’. No, we’ve been given a second chance. This is where House would probably disagree with me.

The One who made us, entered the mess, took the brokenness, the sin, the punishment we justly deserve for our rebellion, and the great enemy of death on himself and then, in victory turned death on its head as He was brought back to life.

“since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him. Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death.” – 1 Corinthians 15:21-26

So death is always ugly, House is right. I agree 100%. But there is more that needs to be said. Even in death there can be life, even after death we can be made alive. But only through one man: Jesus Christ. The defeater of the enemy.

Still beholding...

Skype conversation just now:
[22:38:16] Alison says:
I wanted to write something meaningful on my blog today as its my Christian birthday....
...but i need to iron...
...and sleep
[22:38:28] Jill says:
You could write that
...that Jesus is and should be in all our everyday life
...even ironing!
[22:38:46] Alison says:
i could...and may well!

And so I am.

5 years ago today my life changed very drastically. Jesus stepped in. Not that He wasn't always there, knowing me and loving me, but on that day He burst into my life and enabled me to start seeing Him for who He really is.

I didn't deserve it...quite the opposite! I was determined to live only for myself, to accept no help from a Saviour, to go my own way. And so left to myself I would have wallowed in that horrible pit of lonely darkness forever. Literally forever. And I would have deserved it.

But He didn't leave me there.

And so this beclouded soul didn't stop being beclouded...but it did begin to behold the Light. It stopped seeing only itself, it stopped delighting in fading realities and started to see and love and delight in something that will never end. Something wonderful no-less. It couldn't do that on its own...believe me it tried...and failed miserably...again and again. Sight and life and hope and light could come to me only because Jesus was willing to take on my horrible, ugly, dark, messed-up-ness on Himself as He was crushed and pierced and stricken in my place. My soul was able to behold light out of its darkness only because He came in and opened my eyes.

And 5 years on, it is still beholding…beholding the same wonderful Light…

"When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." "John 8:12

But as my soul is thrilled with this truth it is not paralysed. I do not mean you to think that the last 5 years have been spent entirely in private contemplation, thought and prayer, meditating on some kind of abstract ‘light’ that makes me feel better about things. Life with Jesus isn't that inward.

Jesus is a part of all of life - not just in feelings, not just in thoughts, not just for that first day when He rescued me, not just for bad days when I feel like I'm back in that dark pit again....but He is part of my life every day when I eat, when I sleep, when I am happy, when I am sad, when I go to the post-office, when I chat to students, when I am on facebook, when I am listening to music, when I am cleaning my teeth, when I am shopping, when I’m playing badminton, when I am washing dishes, when I’m playing the guitar......and when I am doing ironing.

All these things were meaningless before – just a means to an end. But now they are bursting with purpose! Because all of life is from and for Jesus!

So to the ironing I go. As one who has been rescued by Jesus, and is alive because He gives me each breath that I take.

Thankful.

Only one word left...

Well...I have run out of words.

I guess there's only one I need to remember right now:

GRACE

This is why I am here...

Grace, grace, grace

“Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behaviour. But now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation - if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel.” – Colossians 1:21-23

Sometimes I have moments where everything seems wonderfully clear. It doesn’t seem simple or easy, but it seems obvious what it is all about. Life is drenched in God’s glory, flooded by grace. Even now as I sit at my desk, my room beset with shadows, and life feeling similar, I feel so utterly covered by wonderful grace.

Once I was far away from God, even opposed to Him…and yet He saw fit to send wave after wave of mercy washing over me, opening my blind eyes to enable me to see and gaze on the beauty and worth of Jesus Christ; lifting me out of the mud and cleaning me up; giving my heart a new song to sing, a song of joy where before there was only despair; shining His light into the shadows of this dark heart; wrapping His arms of love and forgiveness around me; welcoming me into His family; taking away my guilt and shame; giving me clothes of righteousness to wear instead of those old filthy rags I had been clutching at; and giving me an indestructible hope, the hope of the gospel, the hope of glory, the hope of peace with God, of eternity with Him.

And do I deserve any of it?

A resounding NO!

Because this is grace…this is God’s undeserved mercy on a sinner.

And there is nothing I am more thankful for right now.