Two Things Every Christian Should Know

If you’re a Christian, here’s what I know about you:

You have two stories.

Every Christian does.

1. HOW you were saved
2. WHY you were saved

Check out how Paul refers to both stories in Ephesians 2:

[HOW:] “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. [WHY:] For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

Here’s the cool thing: God never saves anybody exactly the same way, and He never saves anybody for exactly the same reason.

Sure, we’re all saved by grace through faith, but the exact circumstances of that salvation—the who and the what and the where that God brought together to bring about your personal salvation—are absolutely unique.

And sure, we’re all saved to do good works, but which good works and where and how? God has things planned for you that He hasn’t planned for anybody else in the world.

I think that’s awesome.

So, what’s your HOW and WHY?

____________
*Many thanks to David Swanger who got me thinking about this recently.

The Only 2-Year-Old I Know Who Got A Lighter For His Birthday

Last night my wife and I threw a surprise party for a good friend.

It was his second birthday.

Two years ago, he came to Christ after almost 40 years lived away from God. So we had a few of his new found family over, a cake with a “2” candle, party hats, and cookies with his name on them.

The people who came even brought gifts: a container of salt (Mat 5:13), a lighter (Mat 5:14), and a car air freshener (2 Cor 2:14-15).

It was a blast.

I hate that this was the first one of these we’ve thrown. But I’m pretty sure it won’t be the last. After all, what’s more worthy of celebration than the total transformation of a soul and a complete alteration of one’s destiny?

Happy birthday, Bill. …And many more.

Shedding the Lizard Brain

Heard a great presentation recently from Seth Godin. He talked about how chickens and other stupid animals have what he calls a “lizard brain“—a very low-functioning brain that’s always 4 things:

• Selfish
• Hungry
• Scared
• Horny (pardon the indelicate word, but it’s his and it best communicates the truth here)

Those four impulses rule the lizard brain. It doesn’t (and really, can’t) think beyond them. Altruism, selflessness, benevolence, peace—the lizard brain has no place for them. This makes wild animals wild, Godin says. They have lizard brains.

The lizard brain was in charge of you in high school.

The lizard brain is still in charge of a lot of people.

And the lizard brain is exactly what Christ came to rescue us from.

I talked just yesterday to a woman who’s on a journey toward God. We’ve been studying through the gospels, and as she’s encountered Jesus she’s been changing. Her behavior, her perspective—they’re slowly being shaped by her new proximity to Christ.

Then, on a trip she took last week with an old friend, she got a close-up view of the life she’s decided to leave behind. It was the lizard brain life. Selfish. Hungry. Scared. Horny. And she hated it.

She hated it because she’s seen the alternative. She’s seen what life can be like with God.

And she doesn’t want to be a lizard anymore.

The Bad News About Good News

While reading the first few verses Psalm 40 recently, I noticed something noteworthy. I’m guessing this passage is usually seen as positive. And it is, certainly, but there’s a catch.

There’s more to this Psalm than what you might see at first glance. See for yourself:

“I waited patiently for the LORD;
he turned to me and heard my cry.

He lifted me out of the slimy pit,
out of the mud and mire;
he set my feet on a rock
and gave me a firm place to stand.

He put a new song in my mouth,
a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear
and put their trust in the LORD.”

Perky enough. But here’s what I noticed: every positive is preceded—even enabled—by a negative.

For instance, notice what happened before the Lord turned to David and heard his cry: he “waited.” In other words, he cried out to God and nothing happened. Or at least nothing seemed to be happening. In fact, David doesn’t just say he “waited,” he says he “waited patiently.”

Patiently!

Patience is only demonstrated over time. Usually lots of time. For who knows how long, David’s petition was met by silence. His faith was tested by waiting. And waiting is tough.

Then David talks about how God lifted him “out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire.” That’s great, but let’s not ignore the implications here. To be rescued from a pit means to have been in a pit.

And that’s no fun.

I see his “new song” stanza the same way—evidently there was an old song that wasn’t so triumphant.

Here’s the thing: life is tough. Yes, there are great stories of victory. But whether it’s a story of rescue, or healing, or even resurrection, there is, of necessity, a flip-side truth.

The rescue followed abduction.

The healing followed a painful sickness.

The resurrection didn’t happen until someone died.

I won’t pretend to understand God’s wisdom, but it seems He works through both positive and negative. There are no highlights without shadows. No mountains without valleys. No resolution without tension.

I wish prosperity gospel preachers acknowledged this.

The Bible certainly does.

Why the Austin Zoo Is Weird…And Strangely Familiar

I recently took my family to visit my sister Jamie and her family in Austin. While we were there we went to the Austin Zoo, which turned out to be …interesting. But I can’t say my sister didn’t warn me.

BUSTED FACILITY
Before we left for the zoo, Jamie kept making comments that made this zoo sound different (words like “small,” “dusty,” and “not good for strollers”). I never came out and asked her about this, though—I just brushed it off and assumed she was being a little overcritical.

Then we got to the zoo.

After parking in the gravel parking area we made our way into the main building—a smallish structure that looked kind of like an old house with a ramp in front of it. We bought our tickets and ventured into the zoo.

Some of the enclosures were nice—water and fake rocks (standard zoo stuff). But others were pretty busted. The iguanas, for instance, were housed in an old shed.

Yep.

BUSTED ANIMALS
Then there were the animals. One of the llamas had a hole in its nose, so that its nasal passage opened up halfway down its head. It was loud when he breathed. The tiger walked with a pronounced limp. The goats’ bellies were oddly misshapen.

Finally, I asked my sister, “What’s up with the animals?” It was then that Jamie told me this was a “Rescue Zoo.” The animals were here because they were injured or abandoned and other zoos didn’t want them.

It was like the Island of Misfit Toys in the old Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer TV special—populated by castoffs like a train with square wheels, a Charlie-in-the-box, a bird that swims instead of flying. Toys nobody wants, taken in by a benevolent flying lion who functions as their king.

Kind of like the church.

CALLING ALL BUSTED PEOPLE
If there was ever a rescue zoo, the church is it, right? Christ saves the broken, gathers those who are cast off. “God shows his love for us,” says Paul, “in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” He chose us when we were wallowing in sin, void of value or attractiveness.

So here we are, like a bunch of messed up animals and misfit toys.

But there’s one great difference. We don’t stay busted. Nor do we remain laughable. I love Ephesians 3:8—”[God’s] intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms.”

A bunch of outcasts rescued, healed, and trusted with the greatest mission of all time?

Yep. Welcome to the church.

Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

The Only Way

“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
-John 14:6

Some think Jesus’ claim here is arrogant and narrow. What right does he have to claim he’s the only way?

But I love how Erwin McManus sheds light on this statement.

Jesus, he says, isn’t being unnecessarily exclusive. He’s simply saying, “I’m the only one who’s shown up to rescue those who are lost. No one else is coming for you.”