For a long time I thought there was a bit of a tension between Jesus and Paul. I mean, I knew it didn\u2019t make sense\u2014after all, Paul met with Jesus on the Damascus road, Paul was the apostle sent by Jesus to the Gentiles\u2014but there seemed to be a different emphasis in messaging. Paul writes about how everyone is a sinner, there aren\u2019t any righteous people and we are saved by grace alone. Jesus, though, told people to be better. He even said we should be perfect, as our Father in heaven is perfect.<\/p>\n
That last statement is directly from Jesus\u2019 most famous sermon, the Sermon on the Mount (see, it even gets capitals!). And when I was younger I read it as a call to action. Jesus says not murdering isn\u2019t enough; you need to not even be angry at your brother. Adultery? Of course that\u2019s wrong, but even looking at an attractive person with lust\u00a0is something to avoid. And don\u2019t get me started on the wonderful, idealistic call to love enemies, go the extra mile, never judge, and give so that even your own hands don\u2019t know you did it.<\/p>\n
I suppose that\u2019s how I took them, as ideals. And so that\u2019s what the Kingdom of heaven became, an idealistic place, a place without reality, really, but rather a sort of an ideal held up for us (humanity) to work toward.<\/p>\n
I repent of that. I\u2019ve changed my mind. Probably better (and more hopeful) to say that I’ve grown.<\/p>\n
I am convinced\u00a0that there is a real, actual kingdom of God. The place where he rules and reigns. The place where he is. And to be in that kingdom means that you are a person who belongs there. Who exhibits what the kingdom is about. And Jesus really laid it out for us, so that we would see not only the kingdom, but also ourselves.<\/p>\n
And therefore I see Jesus and Paul talking about the same thing. Because when I consider that the kingdom isn\u2019t an ideal but a reality, I realize that I don\u2019t belong. I realize that you don\u2019t either. And I realize Jesus is doing what Paul is doing: there aren\u2019t any righteous people. We need to be saved by grace alone.<\/p>\n
See, I continue to struggle with lust. Not the in-your-face-adultery kind, but the longing for things that God doesn\u2019t long for. He and I don\u2019t see eye to eye on gut-level things, and that means I\u2019m wrong. I\u2019m twisted. I get frustrated (and yes, that\u2019s just another word for angry) at my brother. I definitely know when I make a sacrificial gift, and I give myself lots of back-pats. I don\u2019t want to love my enemy, I usually want to bring them to justice (as defined by me). I see other\u2019s faults, not even recognizing the tree branch sticking out of my own eyes.<\/p>\n
Maybe I\u2019m being a little hard on myself. But maybe I\u2019m not being hard enough. What I am convinced of is that Jesus\u2019 presentation of the kingdom includes the reality that I will not make it. The summary of \u2018be perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect\u2019 doesn\u2019t push me to greater heights of sanctification. It pushes me to my knees. I puts me on my belly.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m with Isaiah, who famously said \u201cWoe is me! For I am lost. I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
My eyes have seen the King. Glorious in mercy. Awesome in perfection. True and righteous all the way through. And His kingdom reflects his holy perfection.<\/p>\n
And when I see my unworthiness, I see that there is just one message. That we are unworthy, unclean, unrighteous, unable. And yet God, in his great mercy, while we were dead, made us alive in Christ. Jesus loved us in this midst of this state that we are in\u2026 and by what he did, we are united to him, given righteousness, made to belong, adopted, put in the family, sealed with the Spirit, kept for heaven, admitted into the holy Kingdom where God rules.<\/p>\n
We need to grow in wonder. That Jesus says how happy are the spiritually bankrupt, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. How Jesus came for sinners. How Jesus heals the sick, makes the blind see, cures the leper, conquers the demons, raises the dead.<\/p>\n
Come, see what it means that God has a heart for mercy, not sacrifice.<\/p>\n
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For a long time I thought there was a bit of a tension between Jesus and Paul. I mean, I knew it didn\u2019t make sense\u2014after all, Paul met with Jesus on the Damascus road, Paul was the apostle sent by Jesus to the Gentiles\u2014but there seemed to be a different emphasis in messaging. Paul writes … Continue reading Jesus, Paul, and Me<\/span>