Conditional (Christian) Faith

 I was listening to a comic recently. It was an old video that I had never seen before. In it, the comedian made a bold declaration of his faith in Jesus. That's something you don't necessarily expect to hear from a comedian. However, there it was. Further, during his presentation, this comic made a profession that it wouldn't matter whether his circumstances were good or bad, he would completely and unequivocally trust the God that he was proclaiming.

This comedian told a very powerful story about his son being involved in a bad car accident. He told the listeners how he had been praying on his way to the crash scene, telling God that he wouldn't waver in his previous commitment but that he would trust the Lord completely, no matter his son's outcome. His son survived and thrived in the coming days but not before some difficult days of waiting. So, I guess his declaration that he would trust God even if the outcome wasn't a good one never really got tested (at least in that situation).

However, this isn't the first time that such a declaration has been made. I am reminded of the story in the Old Testament Book of Daniel where Daniel's three friends (three young Jewish boys) refused to obey an order from the king which order directly contradicted their faith in Jehovah God. This order was for everyone in the kingdom to bow down and worship the king (as god) for 30 days. It was a setup if there ever was one. Daniel would later be found in violation of the same despicable order.

The boys were every bit as devout as Daniel later proved to be. They were brought before the king and, since he liked them, he offered them an opportunity to comply and live. If they refused (and he truly hoped that they wouldn't), they would be burned alive. The young men continued to refuse to bow to the king, choosing to die a death by fire rather than to dishonor God. So, the king ordered that the furnace be heated up even hotter, so hot that the soldiers working the furnace died from the heat. Yet, when these three young men were thrown into the furnace, they walked around unharmed and unaffected by the fire. Also, there was a fourth man in the fire with them and he too was unaffected.

The commitment of these young men to follow their God even if it cost them their lives was no casual commitment. There were no conditions on their faith. They were determined to trust this God that they had never seen with their eyes regardless of whatever threats were made against them by those whom they could see right before them. And apparently their faith in God was rewarded by their miraculous deliverance THROUGH the fire rather than OUT of it.

Several years ago, I was introduced to a discipleship movement that has challenged me in ways that I had never dreamed of previously. The type of faith that these young men demonstrated in the Book of Daniel has been the model held up for us to consider, even though we don't actually study anything from the Book of Daniel in a year of studies. Near the very beginning of our study introduction, we are confronted with the concept of entering into a personal, dynamic, intimate relationship with Jesus. The way that this is framed states that such a relationship is only possible to those who are willing to enter into it by "Personal Abandonment and Absolute Trust." 

Either the personal abandonment or the trust would be a challenge all on its own. However, upon a certain amount of reflection, you realize that absolute trust isn't truly possible unless you actually do abandon yourself. As long as you fail to abandon self, you are still asserting your own ability and trusting your own ability. It seems that is where we get ourselves into trouble. It always has been. In fact, Adam & Eve were confronted with this same test in the Garden of Eden, and they failed the test. God said don't eat this one tree or you'll die. A serpent argued that they would actually become as God Himself. Which of us doesn't wish, at some point in our lives, to be as God Himself? To trust him absolutely means that we must abandon our own desires, our own wisdom, and our faith in ourselves. We must renounce our faith in Self in order to fully embrace our faith in the Creator.

I am a failure when it comes to righteousness (with the possible exception of self-righteousness). However, I wish to embrace the grace and mercy of Jesus and all that it entails. What a gracious Savior to accept me in all of my brokenness and failure and to transform me exclusively for His glory! So, I continue to fail... to disappoint. However, I have thrown down the gauntlet. I have entered the battle against self and in favor of the Savior. I am His. Period. He may do with me as He chooses and I remain His. Fully.

Whose are you and in whom do you trust?

The God who is three times Holy!

Isaiah, the Old Testament prophet, had a vision wherein he saw God. He described the Creator of all as being in the presence of many angels, each of which had six wings. With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet and with two they were flying. As the angels were flying and covering their faces and feet, they were crying out, "Holy. Holy. Holy."

I recently heard a preacher from Ecuador preach a message on this passage. His perspective, whether a result of the differing languages or otherwise, prompted some deep thought on my part and some tremendous awe of God as well. I had always thought that the angels were repeating themselves because their sole purpose in existence was to announce the holiness of God to any who would come near. Or, perhaps they were just redundant for some less noble reason. Perhaps it was the only word in their vocabulary.

It never occurred to me that the repetition of this word had a meaning in and of itself. When this Ecuadorian preacher was being translated, he interpreted this as, "The God who is three times holy!" He emphasized (as the angels were apprently doing) that God is holy but He is also much more than that. He is holier than holy. In fact, He is holier than holier than holy. He is THREE TIMES HOLY!

A friend of mine used to like to describe God's omnipresent quality by saying that, "He's more here than we are." He was saying that God is not limited to a single space like we are; rather, that He is everywhere at once and at once He is everywhere. He doesn't fit into a space, He defines space. He created the space that we are in and He is more here than we are.

I think that this is the point of what Isaiah was hearing from the angels. God isn't just holy. He is the very essence of all that is holy. He is more holy than holiness. He is more pure than purity. He is more righteous than righteousness. He is not defined by these terms; rather, these terms are defined by Him.

The conclusion of this is simple. We cannot and dare not define God in terms of our own existence or understanding. We MUST define our existence, our wisdom, our understanding, our goodness or righteousness, our holiness and purity by Him. If we do not understand Him as He really is, then we cannot understand ourselves as we really are. Hence Solomon's wisdom,

Proverbs 1:7

The fear of the LORD is the beginning ^F4 of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction. (taken from Crosswalk.com on October 18, 2007)

Let's stop fooling ourselves and begin to seek his face; learn of Him and from Him. It is only as we begin to gain real knowledge of the God who is really there and who really cares that we can begin to see ourselves for who we really are.

I may have a few days when I can legitimately claim some goodness, some holiness; however, I can never attain to the heights of holiness which the Lord God inhabits, even though He has instructed me to be like Him. May God grant us courage to face our own shortcomings, true knowledge of Him and wisdom to behave as he wants us to behave. Amen.