I’ve Been to the Mountaintop

“Well, I don’t know what will happen now. We’ve got some difficult days ahead. But it doesn’t matter with me now. Because I’ve been to the mountaintop. And I don’t mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I’m not concerned about that now. I just want to do God’s will. And He’s allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I’ve looked over. And I’ve seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land. And I’m happy, tonight. I’m not worried about anything. I’m not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.”

~Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., From the Speech, “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” delivered the night before he was assassinated.

Gaps

The Christian life is not so much about attaining holiness, but in grabbing hold of the holiness that we already have in Christ. I’ve said that. I believe that.

This being said, there IS a striving for holiness that is required. We don’t strive for this holiness because we are trying to earn God’s favor…we strive for this holiness because of God having shown his favor. It is not a seeking of God’s approval, though for sure, we do want that…but it is more an understanding of the fact that we have God’s approval, and a desire to show that to the world and live in that joy. This is a beautiful place to be…No doubt.

As a child of God, as one redeemed by His blood…I desire to live out God’s call on my life. I desire to live in that joy-filled state. I want to tell people and proclaim what God has done for me. I want to live out all of the implications of a life saturated with the Gospel…

But, I so often don’t.

I want more than anything to close that gap between where God wants me to be and where I am. I want more than anything to close that gap between what I preach, and what I practice…

Some days, I am very successful. Most days I am not. Most days it feels like the gap is getting wider. Today has been one of those days.

So what is one to do? What can I do?

Ask for forgiveness? Absolutely.

Repent? No doubt.

Try to do better? You’d better believe it.

And rejoice…

Wait. Rejoice? How can I rejoice in the fact that I am a miserable sinner? How can I rejoice in the fact that I am often a poor excuse for a husband, dad, son, pastor, friend….and I could keep going, but won’t.

How can I rejoice in that?

Well, that is not what I’m rejoicing in. My sin saddens me, it breaks my heart…though I often feel powerless against it…even though I know that I’m not.

It’s that pesky sin thing getting in the way.

Either way…I’m rejoicing in the fact that the gap has been closed. In Christ there is no gap. When God looks at me, he sees the beauty and righteousness of Christ. Irregardless of my sin. I should continue to preach, proclaim, and talk about what God desires of us. I should indeed talk about what it is to live a Gospel/Grace saturated life. I should indeed strive for that. I should indeed strive to shorten the gap between what I practice and what I preach. But even more than that I have to rejoice that in Christ, the gap is closed.

Should my heart be filled with sorrow over my sin? For sure…and it is.

But even greater than that sorrow, is the joy that the one who redeemed me is even greater than my sin.

Now, by the grace of God, may I live like this is true.

Christmas Reflections

I wonder how many of us truly grasp the miracle of Christmas. This time of year we are filled with warm and fuzzy feelings, there just seems to be joy in the air…Which I think is by providential design…But how many of us truly grasp the gravity of what took place that first Christmas night.

We talk about the miracle of the birth of Jesus…Some marvel at the  miracle of a virgin birth, and rightly so. But God says, “I see that miracle, and I raise you one.”

John 1:1 says that, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” A little later in verse 14 of that same Chapter it says, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

1 John 4:9-10 says, “In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”

The miracle of Christmas, is not a cute little baby boy in a manger that grew up to do some amazing things. The miracle of Christmas isn’t that this baby boy was born to a virgin. The miracle of Christmas isn’t that this baby boy with the miraculous birth is still able to help us feel warm, fuzzy, and full of joy one season out of the year. The miracle of Christmas is that God himself took on human flesh, became a man, lived a sinless life despite being tempted in all things just as we are. This man performed many miracles for sure…this man taught many great things about how we are to live. But this man, was the God-Man who wrapped himself in a human body, who condescended to earth in order to one day die on a Roman cross for the sins of all those who would accept his sacrifice.

Jesus didn’t come to the earth just to allow us to be filled with joy one season out of the year. Jesus allows us to live lives of perpetual joy. To live lives defined by joy, knowing who we are in Him. Knowing that we are reconciled to God because of what He has done…

I don’t think we can grasp this. We may have an idea, but to fully grasp this concept…I don’t think we can. And thank God that we can’t.

All praise be to God.