The Real Deal

In the midst of the pandemic and social and economic uncertainty, I’ve been deeply burdened for my brothers and sisters in Christ – as well as for all the peoples of the world. This past week I wrote a group of my brothers in Christ a letter – below is an excerpt. Maybe there is something here for you.

 

Dear Brothers,

 

Last week Bill ______ called and said, in essence:

 

“Bobby, I’ve been reading Revelation. For years I haven’t liked reading Revelation because I’ve always been told that it is doom and gloom. But all of a sudden I just realized that it isn’t doom and gloom for me, because I am a child of God. There are good things in Revelation for me, not bad things – and for the first time ever I am enjoying reading Revelation. I just wanted to share this with you.”

 

I rejoiced with my friend Bill as I heard the excitement in his voice, and I rejoiced in his renewed vision that, in Jesus Christ, he is a son of the Living God.

 

More than anything else, I want us to know how much God loves us – I want us to know this in a raw, real, no-holds-barred way. I want us to know this in a way that grabs our guts and won’t let us go, In a way that will not allow us to let Christ go. I am reminded of a time in the Gospels when just about everyone turned away from Jesus, including many of His followers; Jesus looks around and sees just a few left and asks, “Are you leaving too?” Peter replies, “Where else can we go Lord? You have the words of eternal life.”

 

Men, God in Christ did not call us, nor does He want us, to live in insecure relationships with Him. God gets no joy out of fostering and promoting insecurity – He just doesn’t do it, and He sure doesn’t get any joy out of seeing His sons and daughters promoting insecurity among themselves – in fact, this practice is contrary to the Gospel and the Cross of Christ.

 

God our Father did not call us to Christ, and give us  life in Christ, for us to worry about whether we are “good enough” for Him, to worry about whether He loves us, to worry about whether we’re going “to heaven” – He called us and gives us life in Christ so that we can get on with living – living in Christ, for Christ, for God’s glory, and for the blessing of others.

 

Forget about trying to be good enough for God, give it up! Christ is good enough for all of us (the Biblical idea is “righteousness” and “holiness”). Let’s get on with life.

 

God’s love for us in Christ is unconditional, and once we have come into a relationship with the Trinity – however that may have come about in God’s grace and providence – we start learning what it means to live as the sons of the Living God, we can start living out our destiny in Jesus Christ………

 

Boys, when we read the Bible we want to remind ourselves just what we are reading. When Bill is reading Revelation he knows the difference between passages written to the sons and daughters of God and ones written about those in rebellion against God. When we’re Matthew on Tuesday mornings we want to remember just who Jesus is talking to in these passages – sometimes He’s talking to His followers, sometimes to the religious leaders, sometimes to the people in general.

 

Those of us with kids, what would you think if throughout your child’s life he or she kept asking you, “Are you sure I’m your son [or daughter]? Are you sure Mom is my Mom and you are my Daddy?” Suppose your kid asked you this when he was 5, and 10, and 20, and 40, and 50? Suppose this question never went away? What would your father – child relationship look like? How much fun would it be? How much love could you share? What shared experiences could you enjoy? How would you feel if, when on your deathbed, the last words you were heard were, “Are you really my father?”

 

Boys, the Bible is clear that when we come into a relationship with God that we become the sons of God – God’s very life comes to live in us, His love comes to live in us, our souls undergo a change, our spirits come alive – we ain’t the same as we used to be. Yes, we’re still “in process” as they say – but isn’t that a sign of life? We become the brothers of Jesus Christ.

 

Now then, if this is true, which it is – then let’s learn to talk to one another as the sons of God and to read the Bible as the sons of God and seek to encourage one another as the sons of God – and not get confused as to just who Christ is and who we are in Christ - as Bill ____ realized, some passages are written about “family” and to “family” and some are written about the elements of the world that would destroy the “family”.

 

Have you ever encountered a stronger and more lasting motivation in life than love? I haven’t. And we aren’t talking about a generic ambiguous “love” – we’re talking about the love of God in Jesus Christ – boys, when this love, God’s love – gets ahold of your gut you can’t live the same, you can’t think the same, you can’t spend your money the same, you can’t treat people the same, you can’t talk the same – and this love is in each one of us in Jesus Christ and when it starts to come out watch out – it just might be like an oil gusher in Texas!

 

So let’s quit worrying about what we think we aren’t, and focus on who Jesus Christ is and who we are in Him. It is when we look for Him and see Him – and see Him in each other – that we experience transformation into His image.

 

I love you, each of you, all of you…

 

Bob Withers (Galatians 2:20; 6:14)

 

Now here’s a little more:

 

You may have noticed that, unlike my usual writing, I didn’t include Scripture references – I didn’t want to slow the process down. If you would like some Scripture passages about anything I’ve written above let me know and I’ll send you some.

 

Then there is this, you should know me well enough for me not to write this, but just in case…

 

I ain’t talking about cheap Christianity – I’m talking about a way of life in Christ that is a matter of life and death. I ain’t promoting a Dale Carnegie or Norman Vincent Peale or Joel Osteen feel-good cotton-candy way of thinking and living. I’m talking about following the Christ of the Cross and the Cross of Christ and learning to die so others can live. I’m talking about living in holiness for Jesus and others – about denying ourselves for the sake of Christ and the Gospel and the blessing of others.

 

Here’s the real deal boys, “We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.” (1 John 3:16).