Last week I told you how we have been ruined--how God has so
challenged and changed us that we will never, ever, be the same. Much of the
ruining came through struggle, and I mentioned that we have wounds that may
never heal. This statement was shocking to some, yet, I do not see it as
entirely negative. Even the resurrected Christ, though fully alive, still bore
scars on his hands and his side. To be ruined is to be just a little bit more
like Jesus, and as one of my favorite cousins remarked, "I pray that I be
ruined for Christ also. Nothing else satisfies." Indeed. Nothing
else.
But in many ways,
ruining us was also a way of rescuing us. He has not rescued us from embarrassment
or sickness or financial ruin. All of those he has allowed us to bear to some
extent. Instead he has rescued us from complacency, from superficiality, and
from autonomy. He has rescued us from the rat race, from keeping up with the
Joneses, and from envy. He has rescued us from ourselves. And he keeps on
rescuing us as we follow him each day.
This rescue has little to do with moving to France, though that
happened to be part of the rescue mission that God used in our lives. God’s
rescue has much to do with surrender, and being willing to leave those things
in life that appear to be friendly but in reality, are hostile. Hostile to God’s
kingdom, hostile to God’s people, and hostile to God’s plan. They’re subtle
little buggers, and probably take a different form for each person, but I’m
sure they exist in your life, too.
How can you tell if you have dangerous liaisons? Do you hold anything
back from God? If you do, that thing has a hold on you and you need to be freed
from it. Do you cherish self-righteousness or indignation? I know I do. But God
is showing me that these emotional pacifiers are wicked cancers from which I
need to be rescued. Do you live like a Lone Ranger, taking care of yourself and
proud of it? This type of independence
is at odds with God’s call to interdependence. You need a rescue.
I loved my autonomy, until God rescued me by placing me in a
community. I was driven to achieve personal success, until God showed me that
building his kingdom was much more enjoyable than building my kingdom. I was
firm in my understanding of things like politics and economics, until God
rescued me from my own world-view to show me his world-view. Now I’m more
confused than ever about how to vote, but more sure than ever about how to
live.
God rescues us because we can’t rescue ourselves. But his way of
rescue rarely looks like the primrose path. The way out of our own lost-ness is
often a way that is fraught with thorns and mud puddles. The rescue wagon
appears unsafe, and many will call you crazy for getting on board. But in the
upside-down kingdom of the servant king, I promise that his rescue is worth it.
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