Sanctifying the Sinner

Romans 3: 3-4a "3. For what if some did not believe? shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect? 4a. God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar....."

I sit at Passion conference '07, waiting to hear someone who has been deemed somewhat of a legend within Chrisitian theology, philosophy, and preaching. I've read bits and pieces of his books here in there, and of course was impressed. But I had never heard him speak, an experience, my friends had assured me, that would not be quickly, if ever forgotten. So here I sit. Louis Giglio making the introduction, we're a few days into January. In a few short weeks I'll be turning 18, in fact, before the month is out. I didn't know what to expect really, about this whole, becoming an adult business. From what I saw and obeserved and analyzed, it seemed fairly predictable. But then again, from where I sat, my vision was blurred, my head noisy, and my soul down-trodden with sin. How had I come so far from God? How had I left my intimate relationship with Him at the door to pursue something that destroys me whenever I'm foolish enough to appease my flesh? I was the one all the leaders in the youth group looked to to be a leader, same story at school. I had a lot of friends, both close to Christ and not. My friends who seemed to be actively pursuing Christ thought of me as someone who could offer some cool or deep insights into the Word, and my friends who were not saw me either as their fill of good for the day, or someone who didn't "judge" them, as was told to me. Truly everything was coming to a climax that I thought was a fable to keep teens hopeful: the climax of 18. Yet, though I was suprised to see this apex of adolesence, I felt nothing. Absolutely nothing. No happiness, no sadness, no guilt, no joy, nothing. Actually, I take that back. I felt anger, anger that I couldn't feel. After all, I was the creative type, I thrived on feeling. Yet, it was no where to be found. And I couldn't cry. Have you ever wanted to cry about something so bad, that it made you furious that you couldn't? I had felt this the past year or so, like some disease of the soul had plauged me. Like some leprosy and its legions were leeching the life from me, and that I was near dead. So hear I am, sitting, in utter darkness.
Then, all of the sudden, in the midst of my own self-journey, I hear deafening applause all around me, and I realize John Piper has hit the stage. I stand and clap with everyone else, after all, I was expected to. I remember a lot about what he had said. In fact, as soon as he began speaking, I found myself clinging to his every word. I was interested. Interested? huh, hadn't felt that in awhile. But my ears were perked, and my heart seemed to be beating in anticipation of something I knew not of. But it was coming, I knew it, and right at that moment, John had just begun to utter the scripture, Michah 7: 8 and 9, "Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the LORD [shall be] a light unto me. I will bear the indignation of the LORD, because I have sinned against him, until he plead my cause, and execute judgment for me: he will bring me forth to the light, [and] I shall behold his righteousness." I sit in darkness, in my own darkness. I almost couldn't believe the apparent nature of the verse. here I was, literally feeling hopeless, given over to the enemy, sitting in darkness, and yet, this verse, this truth....THE TRUTH, had been spoken. You know I've come to realize, a year later, after countless experpts from messages of John's, what I love about him....He preaches the Word. And I realized something that day. No man, not myself, nor any other, nor what either of us had to say or do could pull me from where I was, only God could. I realized that misery I was in was not an absence of purpose, nor an absence of guilt. Indeed, it was the outcome of those two clashing together. This misery was the outcome of my sin. My sin that I had brushed under, almost unknowingly now. This misery, of course, was due to my breach in relationship with Christ. It was all I could do to keep from crying the tears that had been quarantined by my blackened heart for this past year from freeing themselves in pure joy of the strength, the love, the righteousness and justice of Christ. I realized now, if I will only bear this a bit longer, and realize what has caused this and what it is, God will bring me to Him. And within a few hours, He had. That night, I read the Word like crazy, going all over the place, but the one that struck me to the quick, was this, Collossians 1: 19, "For it pleased the Father that in Him (in Christ) should all fulness dwell." Why is that so monumental, it seems so simple? That is exactly the point my friend, exactly it! I've entitled this blog paradox ponderings. The purpose for this is that I've found that Christianity and all things related to Christ can all come back to a basic paradox. The fact that our weakness is made strong in him, that what men mean for evil, God will mean for good, that though I can't choose Him, he can choose me, and though I give him no love, his love is unconditional. There are millions of these if we are only careful to look and I find them more than beautiful. Look again at the verse, read it, think it, understand, and perceive it. We, when we are saved, take Christ's literal life, blood, and flesh, for our own (even though we take the literal in spirit. see what i mean about the paradoxes?) We are now part of His inhertance, that means, that our Christ, our intimate lover in Christ, has all fulness dwelling in Him, and we, the church, the Christian, the beloved, the justified, the saved, the glorified, and the sanctified can take all the fulness of God, all of His love, all of His justice, all of His joy, all of His mercy, all of His forgiveness, all of His purpose, all of Him, we can take for ourselves. And Christ who is infinite in these attributes, will never run dry. That isn't even the best way to put it. he is infinitely full, it has no beginning, it has no end, it is exceedingly abundant, and we, the forgiven, must must must realize this, and realize that our relationship with Christ, while being they only factor of our church-hood, is our relationship indeed. The only part of Christianity we can be selfish about, we must realize it is ours to develop with Christ being the one developing, perfecting, sanctifying it. Mine is different than yours, but remember friend, they are all just as infinite and eternal. Confess, forsake, live. live this Christian life, do not survive it. The Word is our only power, without it we sit in darkness, and with it we are brought to the light. May you know the infinite unconditioned love of Christ, our Savior, King, lover, and friend. Amen.

Proverbs 24:16 "For a righteous man may fall 7 times, but he will rise again, but the wicked are brought down by calamity."