You Were There (8/21/06)
Perhaps in this instance I should call this portion “You Are Here.” Like the maps we find in the mall, or in other such places, we are being shown our situation in the big picture. You are here. You face the King. You have been a part of this rebel force for some time now. In this moment you are being made aware of the futility of your foolishness. Yet, even now the King is not unreasonable. He is still willing to speak of peace, to accept you as a citizen in good standing. What He will not tolerate is your efforts at negotiating this peace. The terms are set. There will be no discussion of maintaining this or keeping that. You will either surrender all and have peace or surrender nothing and have nothing.
I cannot help but think, as I am writing this, how horribly askew this world is in its ways. We have just witnessed a war wherein the terms of peace were not dictated by any country involved in the war. Of all the participants in this sorry affair, it was actually not a country at all that determined the shape of this ‘peace’, but rather a rebel group within one nation on one side of the table and a non-government organization on the other. Sadder still is the blatantly obvious fact that neither side negotiated in good faith, and the two nations who were supposedly at war are left holding nothing. There is no winner here. The world loses.
When God comes to the table, there is none of this foolishness. He is not interested in world opinion. He will not be moved by the threats of impotent rebels. They shall either accept His terms or be eradicated. That’s the only point of negotiation for this embassy. Will you have peace or destruction?
Can you even begin to appreciate the grace of such a King? That He would even offer such a thing as peace in light of all we have done against Him is simply incredible. There is no nation on this earth that would do such a thing from a position of power, and His position is of absolute power. True, we see nations offer amnesties to their enemies at the end of a war, but this is generally done in an effort to avoid the cost that total victory would require. God need not be concerned with such things. He has no public opinion back home to appease. Indeed, if anything the offer of peace that He holds forth has caused no end of consternation there. Surely, the angels would understand a drive for victory much more readily than this! Yet, here He is, with nothing to lose and yet He comes to the table with an offer of peace. Do you see that in the terms of that peace He obtains the total victory anyway?
You are here. You are at this table and the offer is laid before you. The terms of that offer are this: renounce it all, give it all up and disown it. Then, come learn how to be a citizen of this heavenly kingdom. Anything less is unacceptable. Anything less is nothing at all. Take counsel if you will. But, that counsel, if it be counsel and not folly, can only inform you that you cannot hope for a better offer. You cannot hope for any other offer. You can either accept His terms and find life, or reject His terms and find death. That may sound harsh, but that’s the reality of it. You are here. There are two ways to exit. Which will you choose?
New Thoughts (8/21/06-8/23/06)
It was not obvious to me, at first glance, how this parable of the king connected with the point Jesus makes by it. What has a peace embassy to do with giving up all you own? Then, I was put in mind of the story of Jacob’s return to Canaan, and how he approached his brother Esau. Clearly, when Jacob heard that Esau was coming with a large force, he did not see victory. He prepared for defeat and for flight (Ge 32). Recognizing by prayerful consideration that flight was not possible, given the women and children in his camp, Jacob tried another approach. He began sending out portions of his herds to be given as gifts to his brother. These were no small portions, either. Animals were given by the tens and by the hundreds, sent wave after wave to appease his brother’s anger. He understood that peace between Esau and himself would be a costly matter on his part. Yet, he must have peace, however much it might cost him.
The thing that connects the example and the point is the cost. An embassy of peace is a costly embassy. You cannot turn a king from the battle he knows he can win by asking nicely. You cannot appease his anger by abject pleadings. He requires payment. After all, even if he doesn’t have to conclude the war by force, assembling that force and bringing it however far it has come has already cost him. Those expenses would have been covered by plundering your defeated lands. Something must replace that lost revenue. If you would have peace, you will need to make peace worth his while, for he will have peace either way.
In our case, Jesus is that strong King, come to do battle with the rebel forces of sin. Know that He will be victorious either way. Every knee shall bow, whether out of respect or by force. Every tongue shall declare Him Lord, either as Captain of the host or as Master of their servitude. If we would battle Him, we had best understand what we’re up against. His army is an angelic host against whom all the demons in hell cannot hope to stand, and we have not even that power to call upon, though we fight (if we fight) on their side. The battle we would join is a hopeless battle. That can be the only counsel. There is no possibility of victory. Therefore, it’s time to consider what shall He require as terms of peace?
Here is the answer: everything. If we would have peace with God, we must surrender everything. We are not in any position to bargain with Him. He, the Victorious King, dictates the terms and we have only the option of accepting those terms or being destroyed from His presence. It is quite astounding, really, that He will even consider peace. He has no reason to, and whatever we might offer to Him as barter for our lives, it can be nothing that He needs. In truth, all we have to offer to Him we stole from Him in the first place. What? Would we really present Him with stolen goods to convince Him to leave us in peace? It would only recall to His mind the reasons for this war. No, better to simply accept His terms and be glad of it.
Yes, and I tell you there is greater reason still to stand amazed by His willingness to make this offer. This is truly stunning: If we will but surrender all for peace with God, we will discover that we have all. If, on the other hand, we will surrender nothing, we will find that we have nothing. I warn you though, as Jesus is warning us here, that to surrender less than all to Him is to have surrendered nothing at all.
Consider, too, what the King Himself puts on the table of peace. He has willingly offered up His own Son to procure peace with us. Who has ever heard of the victor paying the price of peace, let alone such a price as this? Will we really bicker with Him when He asks us to set aside all this material, temporary stuff of ours in return? How would He not be offended were we to come with unwillingness to such a table as this!
The King tells us that coming under His teaching will be like this in nature. It is a surrender, a surrender of everything. There can be no attachments to distract us from what He is teaching. There can be no competing affection of the heart. It’s a total commitment. After all, if we are going to be the sort of disciple He is inviting us to become, it will be a matter of making this teaching He offers the rule of our conduct. It must become so much a part of who we are, how we think, that it is second nature – no first nature in us to do as He teaches us to do.
Now, I had asked in studying the previous section whether there was some distinction between salvation and discipleship. I see that there is. However, it is essentially the distinction between discipleship and discipleship. It’s a matter of levels. Consider that when Jesus offered up this requirement He was talking in the midst of a crowd of disciples – followers, students listening to the words of a teacher. Yet, not all of these disciples would become disciples on the level He is calling for here. That is reserved for the ones who are willing to give what it takes.
It might be seen as the difference between the C student and the A student. Assuming that both are of similar capability, the difference will be found to lie in the commitment they make to learning what is taught. So, too, with Christ. Salvation is given freely to those who repent and accept His gift. Discipleship is freely offered, but not given for free. To move to this new level of training incurs a certain expense: everything. But, are the terms so severe as all that? When He speaks of giving up all that we own, does that mean we must take a vow of poverty or some such thing? Some have certainly understood it thus. I am not so sure that He requires that extreme, though.
What I understand is that the things we own in this life have a tendency to own us. If we own a house, then we take upon ourselves not only the expense of buying that house, but all the effort required for its upkeep. We will need to care for the lawn, to deal with maintenance issues, to provide for heating and cooling, all the things that go into keeping a house together. If we should establish a business, we take on the responsibility of making a go of that business. We take on responsibility for whatever employees we might hire to keep the business functioning.
This same reciprocal ownership applies in lesser ways with less expensive possessions. In one way or another, they each make a claim on our time and our energy. Jesus is not absolutely requiring us to dispose of everything we own, so far as I can see it. What He is requiring is that we come to a place in ourselves where those things are not so attached to us that they are made part of us. If that requires an outright renunciation, so be it. If there are things we must say goodbye to (and there are) then we must be willing to part ways with them.
There will be other things which, while we need not remove them from our presence, we must bring into subjection to His purposes. These would include, amongst other things, our employments and our artistic endeavors. If these are not in subjection to Him, then they are not fit for our use. If we allow this to continue, we are not fit for His school. There is a certain propriety to the clichéd rule of life that we hear as “what would Jesus do?” That’s not quite right, but it puts us on the right track. There are things Jesus was called to do that we may never be called to do. If that call is not upon us, it would be quite improper to do as He did. The proper question is, “What would Jesus have me do?” The disciple will have been trained so as to answer correctly. In each case, we must understand: has He called me to renounce and dismiss this thing – relationship, habit, or possession, or is He simply requiring me to put it in its proper place?
Having said that not all disciples will come to be disciples at this level, I should probably say as well that Jesus does not call all believers to this level. They are invited, yes. The invitation is open to all who will accept the cost, but salvation will not hinge on that acceptance. That may bother some people. It won’t strike them as fair or accurate. Yet, Paul teaches that even that man who comes to his end with no works to show, all his works burnt up in the purifying fire of heaven, still he shall be saved. He shall suffer loss, yes. He shall lose out on his reward, but he will still be saved (1Co 3:15). Salvation is not about our works. It’s about His work. If it’s not about our doing, then how can we think that our willingness to do has any bearing on it? What benefit is there to being willing to do what is not required.
No, this matter of discipleship of which Jesus is teaching is a choice. If chosen, it shall be a work, but it shall be a work of that sort that is pleasing in God’s sight – a labor of love for Him. I have been writing of the peace treaty that our conquering King has offered us at our conquering. I have noted that the terms are non-negotiable, and the price is all we have. Yet, even that does not fully state the case. The price is beyond our ability to pay, for if we would have life with Him we must die. Our sins against the kingdom demand the death penalty. But, were we to pay that penalty, how then would we find life in it. It was not possible for any man to pay his own penalty, and so peace was out of reach. Yet, God in His mercy determined that we rebels should be at peace with Him in spite of ourselves, so He sent His Son to pay for our crimes against Him. That is a completed matter. The price was paid, and the only requirement placed upon us was that of accepting His payment on our behalf.
We learn, though, that even this was beyond us to do. We could not even make that motion on our own. We needed a certain prompting on our hearts to find the offer acceptable, to really determine that it was time our rebellion was ended. This, too, we discover our God has done for us. He arranged the matter of salvation thus lest any man should think to boast of his wisdom in accepting the Lord. There is nothing of wisdom in that. There is everything of grace. You come to God because He invites you. You come to God because He so moves upon your heart that you desire nothing more than to accept that invitation. It is a foolish man who moves on from that point thinking he has done something grand. It is a grand thing that has happened, to be sure, but it was no doing of man’s.
Likewise with this greater discipleship. If a man is to reach the point of willingness called for by this higher commitment, it will not be by his own effort. It will be because he has been called to it by the Christ, prepared for it by the Spirit, and commissioned in it by the Father. The one who attempts this commitment on any other terms will surely fail.
I have been sitting, these last few days, amongst the mountains of New Hampshire. Around me are thick woods and high peaks – at least as we measure them in these parts. Yesterday, I had opportunity to see Mount Washington, with its peak hidden by cloud even though all the surrounding mountain tops were clear. Here is a region where men test themselves against the forces of nature. Here is a region where men come to climb and explore, as it were, through uncharted lands. It is a place where man can still fail the test, and it is a place where such failure can be deadly. Climbing mountains and wandering the woods in this fashion is not for everybody. Neither is it a requirement for manhood. One can go through life without having tested himself by wilderness survival and remain every bit a man. One need not have shot the rapids in a birch-bark canoe to prove himself manly. For some, however, the call to do so remains. They are called to it, and they who are wise also prepare for it. They are invited to achieve something on a different level than the rest of us. We may honor them for this, or we may consider them rather foolhardy, depending on our viewpoint. But, they have come to a new level because they were called to a new level. To have come without the calling would have been to pursue the grave. To have come without preparation would have been to come ready to fail.
That is what Jesus is getting at here. Kings are not required by some innate law to go fight wars with other kings. The one who will go to war, though, must prepare. He must train up his troops, gather his provisions, and take the measure of his enemy. If forced into a war not of his choosing, he must likewise take the measure of his own troops and those that come to harass him, and determine whether he can expect to win. He must make honest assessment of his situation. The king who will not do this much is not fit to be a king. The king who insists he can win when the opposition must clearly overwhelm his every defense is as guilty of war crimes as the one who slaughters the innocents among his enemy.
We must be honest in our self-assessment. We must face the real cost of pursuit, and decide based on this honest assessment whether it is something we can commit to. No man who reconsiders having once committed is fit to be counted amongst these ranks. No soldier of God who was uncertain of victory was ever invited to stay with God’s army on the attack. That soldier was not shamed for his uncertainty, just kept back where he would not do any harm. He was no less a part of God’s army for all that, just not chosen for the assault. The disciple who sees this cost and decides to remain at his current level is not to be shamed for that choice. He is as much a child of God as those who move up. He has just not been chosen for this special call.
It comes to the question: Can I set everything else aside in pursuit of this disciple? Are there still things that I hold to more closely than to Him? Better still, I ask it this way. What have I allowed to make a claim on me, to become part of me? Certainly, there are any number of things that have done so. Music claims me, is a part of me. If it is allowed to cling so strongly that I can’t let it go to pursue Him as He calls here, then I am not ready for this sort of discipling. This vacation has threatened to be one of those things I can’t let go of, even for Him, yet if I had not put it in His hands, what would it have been like? My daughter – how shall I let go of her? Though her behavior triggers all manner of anger and frustration in me, though I question her future when I see her present, though I fear for her in so many ways; have I really put her in her proper place in my own thinking and affections? She is a part of me, but is she so much a part of me that I cannot let go and leave her to the mercy of my God? Honestly, apart from His mercy there is no hope anyway, so I may as well.
The truth is, we are in a age of things. We are hardly the first, and it remains to be seen whether we will be the last, but the fact remains. This American society is awash in things, drowning in things. To borrow from the old Dennis Moore skit, we’re choking on things. We are so caught up in the deluge of things that we no longer find time to think, let alone to contemplate. Who has time to appreciate what’s around us every day free of charge? There are things to buy, things to fix, things to take out and things to put away. Even the Church is busy with things. We’ve got projectors to maintain, overheads to prepare, all manner of equipment to set up, take down, turn on, turn off. We’re so busy with the things of the temple that we all but lose sight of the God of the temple. Jesus cries out to us to put all these things in their proper place, to regain a holy perspective on the whole situation. Let nothing, nothing, nothing claim our attentions like that. Let nothing, nothing, nothing distract us from pursuing the course He has set for us. Let absolutely nothing get between us and our Teacher.
It’s time we cried the old hymn. I surrender all, Jesus. Everything. All these trinkets with which the devil has distracted me, all these technological beads by which he has bought off our worship; I lay them all down, Lord. You alone, my Jesus, my God; You alone shall I pursue. Everything I have, everything You have given me, I lay it at Your feet. I cry out to you to send me where You will, to command me as You will, to bend me to Your will. I am Your servant. I am Yours by choice, not by force. I have committed myself to serve Your household so long as I may live, and in that service, I give You my all. Anything less would be unacceptable.
This, too, is part of that mystery that Paul wrote of, the mystery Caleb understood. It is a part of the very definition of the peace our King would establish with us. That peace includes in itself a contentedness with whatever lot may be ours. Paul said He had learned the secret of being rich and being poor, of being satisfied with little and likewise accepting and enjoying abundance. I tell you, he could not have been content in any condition if the things of this world maintained a hold on him. I tell you that you, too, will never be content while things claim your attention. It doesn’t matter if you’re rich or poor. You won’t find satisfaction until you find it in Him. That’s the mystery. If you have God, the rest really doesn’t matter. If it serves His purpose to take it all away, what complaint do I have? He still cares for me. He will still see me clothed, fed and provided for. He will still put me to some useful labor in His kingdom. If He chooses to poor out the blessings of life into my lap, shall I complain of this? Shall I lose sight of Him because of this? Have I learned the mystery?
That is the song God sings to me. What would you do if I said to give it all away? Are you that committed to Me? Caleb had to face that question. Nothing much is said of it in the Scriptures, but it’s there. He had stood on God’s promise and walked up to the walled city of Hebron. God had said that where he walked would be his, and he looked at that city and saw some walking that needed to be done. Yet, at the end of his story, it is recorded that Hebron was given to the priests. Where, then, was God’s promise in this? Well, I can offer you two answers. The first is that Caleb never found it necessary to walk into Hebron, that it fell without even that much effort on the part of God’s warrior. See, he kept the surrounding cities, so we can assume he walked there. We could, by corollary, suppose that since Hebron was given away, it was never his. Yet, I would offer another suggestion, one more in keeping with the heroes of faith. If Hebron was his, it was his to give away. Caleb had never seen God’s promises as some sort of ATM, as something to be grasped and held onto with all the strength of greed. God’s promises, in his thinking, had always been about God’s purposes. That’s why he was willing to walk up to Hebron in the first place.
That’s the same mystery that Paul was talking about. He could have it all and yet let it all go. He could do without and yet feel richer than any king. Consider those words that are said of Moses. He considered the reproach of Christ to be much greater riches than all the treasures of Egypt (Heb 11:26). This is ever the mystery of faith. This is ever the paradox of belief. By losing all we gain everything. By letting go of our life we gain life. Have you learned the mystery? Can you make those words about Moses your own?
Holy Spirit, work upon me until I can truly make those words my own. Work upon me until I am in that place where I can truly say that I consider the reproach of belonging to the Christ of God far greater riches than all the treasures of this world. I look to the reward, my God, I look to the reward! Let my eyes be undistracted, let my pursuit be pure. Call me, my God, to this higher level, that I may come to You there. Jesus! I long for a time when these words are not only my desire, but my reality; when You are everything to me. I know I am not there yet. I know I cannot reach that place in my own power. Draw me, Lord. Draw me, and let me find myself running to be with You.
