Domesticating Jesus

Luke 4:16-30 "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me...to proclaim good news to the poor. ...to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor" (vv. 18-19).

Even those who have not formally studied the doctrine of Christ have constructed some kind of Christology. Many Americans think Jesus came to give them a "better life" in the here and now and to help them make friends and win influence. Others say Jesus would join movements to protect and conserve the earth's resources or engage in other "environmentally-friendly" practices. Innumerable people understand Jesus to be the supreme ethical teacher who is concerned with accepting all into His kingdom even if they never repent of sin.

Friendship, the stewardship of creation, and the love of others are all praised in Scripture (Gen. 1:28; Prov. 17:17; 1 John 3:16); however, reducing the purpose and teaching of our Lord to any of these things ends up domesticating Him. A domesticated Jesus embraces the culture's values without challenging them; He is a "safe" Jesus who is no threat to the established way of doing things.

Yet Christ did not come into the world to be "nice" or "safe," and the Jesus we find in the Gospels cannot be domesticated. He brings a salvation that turns our values upside-down. Instead of the proud and arrogant, He exalts those of humble estate ( Luke 1:52). Christ's coming produces peace among His people, but it also sets the fallen world against His own (4:16-30). The scandal of the cross brings with it the promise of a final, cosmic redemption that will include all who believe. At the same time it becomes a stumbling block to unrepentant Jews and foolishness to hardened Gentiles (1 Cor. 1:18-31).

Though we know these truths, we also run the risk of domesticating Jesus, albeit in a different way. Often we limit His work to giving us a clean heart so that we may live forever in heaven. Certainly, our Savior is concerned with individual redemption, and only individuals who put their faith in Christ alone will be saved, But individual redemption is only part of His intent to redeem all creation. Our Lord's full purpose is to bring a new heavens and earth in which we will dwell with Him forever (Isa. 65:17-25; 2 Peter 3:13). A Christology that does not take into account the reality of future, resurrected life and the renewal of all things is one that is severely lacking.

***this was taken from Tabletalk Devotions with R.C. Sproul

Stars and Whales

Every time I watch and hear this I get chills.  The praise-worthy magnificence of our God and Creator is absolutely mind-blowing!!!

Movie Night

My freshman year of college I walked out of a dorm room movie night with my friends, an act that resulted in a major scene that left certain friends bewildered and others angry even.  As a result of my refusal to watch The Ugly Truth, I was bitterly called everything from “critical” and “ridiculously naïve” to “fun-sucking”.  For the first time in my life I was even called a “prude”.    Now a junior, I still receive flack for that night two years ago where I walked out of a “great” and “funny” movie which “accurately” portrays our world.  I believe that movie, however, and our fascination with turning towards others like it for “entertainment” only testifies to the crudely depraved and sin-filled world we live in.

Just recently, I was put in a similar situation to what happened my freshman year.  Only this time, the night went quite differently. I was with the same group of friends, and we were only minutes into our movie before I knew that I had no business sitting in that living room.  The movie was beyond distasteful—it was vulgar in the most extreme sense of the word, containing foul language, lusty young men and loose women.  As a whole, the messages it portrayed stood in direct opposition to everything I claim and hold to be true.  It was my freshman dorm room movie night all over again. 

And so, what was my response?  Did I say something to the others?  Did I get up and leave?  No.  I was given the opportunity to reflect Christ to my friends, an opportunity from which I fled.  I believe at one point I said “This is awful!” and then I continued to sit there.  Rather than face the criticism of my friends (both believers and non-believers) or go through the arduous process of explaining myself and thereby causing a huge disruption, I sat passively by through a movie I was out of line to watch. I was wrong to be there, but I took what I thought to be the easy way out.   My cowardly response was to compromise. 

Needless to say, I felt dirty and sick to my stomach, deeply aware of the fact that I had blatantly ignored the convictions of the Spirit inside me.  As a result, I failed to live as Christ—I was not watchful and I did not stand firm.  Rather, I acted in complete cowardice and selfishness.

Since then, I have acknowledged my wrong and sought the forgiveness of each of my friends present that night.  I am still, however, left with this question: As a Christian, what should my thoughts, words, and actions look?  I am called to be “in the world but not of the world,” yet this is a hard line to walk.  My prayer is that Christ will continue to pour His Spirit into me, thereby granting me not only the wisdom and discernment to know His truth, but also the boldness to stand firm in that truth.