perfect love, imperfect fear

Remember that time when you were a kid? You know… that time that you and some other kids (friends, siblings, whatever…) were horsing around and something broke. It wasn’t even your fault, but when dad came to see what happened you just knew that you were in trouble.

Oh boy, was your dad mad!

His nose flared and the veins popped out in his forehead. Instantly everyone was afraid of the wrath that was to come.

You, and everyone else just froze.

Since nobody wanted to own up to the horseplay that resulted in the [whatever it was] that got broken, everyone was going to be punished. Nobody wanted to take the punishment so each one of you pointed your finger at somebody else. Maybe it was you that ‘fell’ into it, but it was your brother that pushed you. Everyone had an excuse as to why it wasn’t them that should get punished.

So everyone was sent to their room to wait for the final judgement. Remember that feeling?

Sitting there alone.

Shivering.

Waiting.

Every second feels like an hour. Things start running through your head, and the fear overtakes you. The waiting is somehow worse than whatever the punishment could end up being.

Then dad steps into the room where you’re waiting. He says things like, “this hurts me more than it hurts you.”

What?

You think, “How can it possibly hurt him more than it hurts me?”

You forget that the thing that broke was a priceless [to him] heirloom that has been passed down in his family for generations. It was something that connected him to the very essence of who he is. And now you must pay for the damage that has been done.

At that moment it’s hard for you to understand what your dad is feeling. You are devastated because of what you are about to loose, but he has to deal with something that he just lost AND having to punish you for loosing it. Still it is hard for you to look past what’s about to happen to you, especially considering that you don’t think that you were to blame.

Then it happened…

Just before you are about to receive your punishment, your brother walks into the room. He’s crying. He tells your dad that you didn’t do anything wrong. He takes responsibility for the whole thing. He steps in and takes your punishment.

Remember how you felt?

The fear was gone.

Instantly.

The Apostle John talks about this same feeling when he speaks about the Lord:

There is no fear in love [dread does not exist], but full-grown (complete, perfect) love turns fear out of doors and expels every trace of terror! For fear brings with it the thought of punishment, and [so] he who is afraid has not reached the full maturity of love [is not yet grown into love's complete perfection].

                                                                                                                     – 1 John 4:18 (Amplified)

I’ve always looked at this verse without fully understanding how to apply this idea that “love casts out all fear”. I guess that I always tried to figure out how I should love others, but still struggled to make the connection with how exactly it was supposed to cast out fear. But John wasn’t talking about us.

He was talking about Jesus.

Remember that sin that you have in your life? Jesus stepped in and took our punishment. He didn’t want us to have to pay for it. He stepped in because of His [perfect] love for us.

When Jesus showed His love for us by stepping in like He did, we no longer have a reason to be afraid of the judgement to come.

Perfect love shreds our imperfect [and immature] fear.

.

Note: The idea for this post came out of one was developed in an exercise in the Spring 2010 Homiletics class I’m teaching at Sarasota Bible College. The idea was a group effort, so I cannot take full credit for developing it. Special thanks to Anita Gerbig and Todd and Jeri Schliecher for brainstorming this with me!

[the case for christmas] conclusion

As Lee Strobel closes the book, he points out that even with all of the evidence that indicates that it was the Messiah that was born in that manger, it is all meaningless unless you consider it in light of Easter. It’s not enough to believe that a great teacher, healer, or even a prophet was born. Easter was the reason that this child was born. And THAT is what makes this child different than all the rest…

A Savior for all mankind was born!

Strobel’s book The Case for Christmas is an amazing presentation of the evidence about Jesus being born. This evidence is the kind of work that helps the logical mind believe that the Bible might actually mean what it says about Jesus. And this is an important step in coming to faith.

But one thing that this project has shown me, is that each of the contributors has their own testimony about who Jesus is. Each has a story, and can share how Jesus has changed their life. And I do too…

I’ve lived most of my life far away from God. I’ve spent a lot of energy only trying to do what was in my own selfish interest. And eventually I started to realize that no matter what I did to fill my selfish pleasures, nothing truly satisfied me. I was always striving for more. It was like eating a meal that left you hungry again shortly after you finished eating. It wasn’t until I surrendered my life to this Savior that we are talking about that I found the fulfillment, purpose, and hope that my life lacked before. That doesn’t mean that my life has been easy, only that it has been fulfilling.

For me, THIS is what Christmas is all about! It is about my testimony and how He has changed my life. It is about the things that He has done for the others who contributed to this project. And it is about what he has done, or can do, for you!

If you know Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, then I ask that you join us in taking a moment to praise the God who came to save us from ourselves. I pray that you be richly blessed with His presence as you continue to walk out your faith.

But if you do not know Him as your personal Lord and Savior, then I encourage you to ask Him to reveal Himself to you. The Bible tells us to ask and it will be given.

All you have to do is ask.

It also tells us that the Truth will set us free. This is not entering into any sort of bondage, but into a relationship that frees you from the bondage of the junk that holds you down. So ask God to guide you into the Truth.

The Bible also teaches us that all it takes to accept this free gift of salvation is that we must turn from our sins, ask His forgiveness, and follow Him. Pray these things and you will be among those of us who have a hope that surpasses all understanding!

So may we all celebrate the TRUE meaning of Christmas, and give honor to the One who came to give us the greatest gift that we could ever hope or ask for! And may we never forget that the reason for Christmas was so that there could be an Easter.

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[the case for christmas] introduction

I think that everyone knows why we celebrate Christmas…  at least generally speaking. Most people can tell you all about how Jesus, the supposed Son of God, was born in a manger in Bethlehem. Even those who are not certain about who Jesus is still recognize that it is a time when we celebrate things like peace and hope and goodwill towards men.

But most of us also know that this religious celebration has become an over-commercialized celebration, and much of the real meaning for this celebration is lost in ancient and modern rituals.

Even those of us with the best intentions of keeping with the true meaning of this Holy Celebration, still get wrapped up in events and activities that cause us to loose focus on how important this day really is.

Simply put, the Christian view is that this is the day that God became man in order to save us from our own self-destruction. This God-man was named Jesus, and His entrance into this world changed everything, forever.

His impact on history is unmistakable. He has changed my life. And if you are reading this right now, then he has changed (or is in the process of changing) your life. His presence on this Earth has caused nothing short of a revolution in the human condition.

But we are here to talk specifically about Christmas. What does this holiday really mean? Why do so many celebrate the birth of this man? What I can tell you is that the answer to these (and many more) questions depends on what you believe about who that child in the manger was over 2,000 years ago. If he was just a man, then Christmas is just an old tradition when families get together and try to be nice to each other.

But…

If Jesus really was the Son of God who came to save us from our sins, then Christmas is a day that should drive us to our knees in worship of the Creator who would sacrifice of Himself in order to be with us for eternity.

This distinction is a big deal. I mean a really big deal.

So as a team of amazing bloggers works through Lee Strobel’s book The Case for Christmas, I just pray that your heart is open to the Truth. And as we explore the eyewitness, scientific, profile and fingerprint evidence, I pray that the Holy Spirit give you the discernment to know the Truth not only in your mind, but also in your heart. And as you know the Truth, may the Truth set you free!

So, who do you say that He is?

 

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group blogging project: the case for christmas

It’s the reason for the season…

How many times do Christians make this very statement about the ‘holiday season’? There are so many traditions that surround the Christmas holiday, that sometimes the Truth about the birth of a Savior gets lost. Worse yet, many of us fall into the consumerism trap that we get even further away from the real meaning of this sacred holiday. Christmas is a time when we pause to remember and celebrate the moment in time when God stepped into our existence in a whole new way.

In order to really understand the significance of this event, it is important to understand who this new-born baby really was. And that is exactly what Lee Strobel does in his book The Case for Christmas: A Journalist Investigates the Identity of the Child in the Manger. In this book, Strobel explores some key evidence about the identity of Jesus, the prophesied Messiah. Check out this overview from the back cover…

Some say he would become a great moral leader. Others, a social critic. Still other view Jesus as a profound philosopher, a rabbi, a feminist, a prophet, and more. Many are convinced he was the divine Son of God. Who was he — really? And how can you know for sure? Consulting experts on the Bible, archaeology, and messianic prophecy, Lee Strobel searches out the true identity of the child in the manger. Join him as he asks tough, pointed questions you’d expect from an award-winning legal journalist. If Jesus really was God in the flesh, then there ought to be credible evidence…

Each day for the week leading up to Christmas, a different guest blogger will share their thoughts on one chapter of The Case for Christmas. Feel free to follow along in the book with us, and to share your thoughts, comments and questions. But most of all, take a moment to reflect with us ‘the reason for the season’…

• introduction: who was in the manger that first christmas morning? - Dan King, @bibledude (bibledude.net)

1. the eyewitness evidence: can the biographies of jesus be trusted? – Laura Chase, @WOMAudio (Life 89.1 FM)
2. the scientific evidence: does archaeology confirm or contradict jesus’ biographies? – Mike Kress, @tursiopsguy
3. the profile evidence: did jesus fulfill the attributes of god? – Kyle Bryner, @KyleBryner
4. the fingerprint evidence: did jesus – and jesus alone – match the identity of the messiah? – Sean Wrench, @forsakengen (Forsaken Generation)

• conclusion: the verdict of history – Dan King, @bibledude (bibledude.net)

So stay tuned for some great discussion, and please feel free to jump into the comments and share your thoughts! In the meantime, here are a few things that you can do right now…

• Buy the book. It will be a much better experience for you if you follow along in your own copy of the book.
• Subscribe to updates. Get the latest posts in this series in your email inbox or favorite feed reader. This is the best way to keep up with everything!
• Tweet it up! Follow @bibledude and retweet updates from this event. If you want to share your own tweets, make sure that you use the #christmas hashtag.

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