"Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect."
-Matthew 5:48
WARNING: THIS POST IS VERY HONEST.
I wasn't going to write about this, but I figured it'd be a good thing to do. On Sunday my church plays soccer together, and I join almost every time they play. Yesterday the weather was super nice, so I was really excited to play soccer. I haven't been able to wear shorts and a t-shirt in a really long time, so I was really looking forward to soccer.
So what happened? Well, if you've ever played soccer with me, you might know that I like to yell. I don't know what it is, but I just really like to yell while playing soccer. Perhaps it passes the time when I don't have to ball. In any case, yesterday was just a normal day of soccer. However, I think I took my yelling a bit too far. I started saying quite mean things to the people on my team. The people on the other team started to tell me to chill out, which somehow made me more angry. While it seems that I just yell at people unreasonably, I normally am trying to make the team better (believe it or not).
At a point in the second half, I had enough. I decided to walk out of the game. I know, that makes me sound like a loser, quitter, uncommitted, etc. The truth is, I probably am all of those things. So you may ask yourself, "why did you quit a pick up game of soccer?" The answer is that I don't treat it like a pick up game. People always tell me, "hey man, just play to have fun." The problem is, the only way I have fun while playing soccer is by playing my best. When I don't see my teammates reciprocating my effort and hustle, it bothers me. I demand a lot of myself when I play, so I expect a lot from my teammates as well.
You have to understand that the people who play soccer have various skill levels. Some are quite good, while others, well, the less said the better. The people who are less skilled normally say to me, "we're just not good enough to play better!" Now, I don't think of myself as unreasonable. Maybe I come off that way, but I never expect more than I know people can handle. When I yell at my teammates, it's because I know they can do more. I'm not criticizing their level of skill; no one can change that during the course of a game. I'm trying to help them play better, and trying to make them play with more hustle and energy. I tell them where to pass, where to dribble, and generally what they could do that would benefit the team. While it sounds nice when you read it here, I will admit that I seem very demanding and unreasonable while I am playing.
Interestingly, I recently saw a movie titled "Whiplash". The premise is that there a young man trying to become a great drummer. When he enters the best music school, he finds that the teacher is really demanding of his musicians. The teacher is really over the top, even throwing chairs at the drummer because he was off tempo. When I thought about the movie, I wondered why anyone would ever stay in that band. I realized that the only reason someone would put up with the teacher is that they wanted to get better, no matter the cost. Even though the teacher was cruel, he would make them better musicians.
I kind of felt like that teacher yesterday. I yelled at my teammates, demanding their very best. However, my teammates are not like the drummer in the movie. They just want to have fun, and enjoy the weather while playing soccer. They're not trying to become elite soccer players. They probably don't appreciate being yelled at, especially in a pick up game. Unfortunately, it's really hard for me to turn off my competitiveness, so I continued to have high expectations for my team. When they couldn't meet my expectations, I left them.
I realized that soccer stopped being fun for me. I demand so much from myself, and from others. There are very few things more frustrating in life than to have your expectations let down, especially when you put so much effort into something. I decided that I should take a sabbatical from soccer (I know, sounds kind of weird). If I continue to play like I am now, I will only end up not having fun and taking away from other's enjoyment of soccer. I'll probably take a couple weeks off to clear my mind and have some rest.
One thing I thought about after playing soccer is how much God expects from us. God is holy, righteous, and perfect. As His disciples, we should strive to be like Him. He wants us to be holy, righteous and perfect. However, we can never meet those expectations. Unlike myself, God doesn't demand that we be like Him, but He does expect us to become more like Him. What if God was like me, and just walked out on me when I inevitably fail His expectations? I would lose any opportunity to gain eternal life. However, I thank God that He is not like me. He continually teaches me and lovingly guides me in the path of righteousness. I pray that I can somehow be more like God, and that He would lead me all the way.
-Smart
Off with the Old (Ephesians 4:17-32)
"You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness."
I know I haven't been keeping up with these Ephesians posts, and I apologize. I skipped a couple passages because I wanted to write about chapter 4 while it was still fresh in my mind.
So what is Ephesians 4 about? You may have noticed that in the first three chapters of Ephesians, Paul talks about what Christ has done for us (He chose us, brought us from death to life, reconciled Jew and Gentile). Ephesians 4 now changes gears a bit and talks about what we are to do for Christ. Paul starts off by saying that we are not to be like the Gentiles. The Gentiles were not receptive to God, and hardened their hearts. They sinned against God without feeling any sense of responsibility. At first, it seems like Paul is saying "don't be like this group of people". However, Paul wrote this letter to the Ephesians, who were Gentiles. So what Paul is really saying is "don't be like yourselves."
How can someone not be like themselves? The answer is that they have to change. They have to put off their old self. Paul describes the old self in the beginning of the passage; darkened understanding, separated from the life of God, ignorance, etc. In other words, the old self is one that has no regard for God. The old self has no concept of right and wrong, and just does what feels good. The old self has no direction or purpose, and as a result remains separated from true life.
So how does one "put off their old self"? The answer is by putting on the new self. Change doesn't happen by trying to stop being your old self. Change happens when you put on your new self. When you put on your new self, you naturally will put off your old self. It's like changing a tire on your car; there is only room for one tire. You cannot have an old and a new tire on the same axle. In the same way, you cannot be both the new and the old self.
What is the "new self"? We basically already know what the old self is, since we are all naturally sinful and rebellious towards God. Paul says that the new self is one that is "like God in true righteousness and holiness". What? How can we be like God? That is a natural question to ask. The answer is to look at Jesus. How did Jesus live? Paul writes in verses 25-32 about how we are to live, and I noticed that these are all thing Jesus did when He lived. I don't have time to talk about them all, so I encourage you to read the passage on your own. The way to true righteousness is through Christ.
You may think, "no matter how I try, I can never really become a new self". And you would be right. We can never truly become righteous and holy. Only God is righteous and holy. However, we have to remember what Paul said earlier in Ephesians, "He chose us to be holy and blameless". God chose us to be holy and blameless. Why would God give us an impossible task? It's because He gave us the impossible solution; sending His Son to come and die for us. Now, does this excuse us from living a righteous life? Absolutely not. God called us to live according to His Spirit. We must give every effort to put on our new selves, and God will accept our efforts through Christ.
-Smart
I know I haven't been keeping up with these Ephesians posts, and I apologize. I skipped a couple passages because I wanted to write about chapter 4 while it was still fresh in my mind.
So what is Ephesians 4 about? You may have noticed that in the first three chapters of Ephesians, Paul talks about what Christ has done for us (He chose us, brought us from death to life, reconciled Jew and Gentile). Ephesians 4 now changes gears a bit and talks about what we are to do for Christ. Paul starts off by saying that we are not to be like the Gentiles. The Gentiles were not receptive to God, and hardened their hearts. They sinned against God without feeling any sense of responsibility. At first, it seems like Paul is saying "don't be like this group of people". However, Paul wrote this letter to the Ephesians, who were Gentiles. So what Paul is really saying is "don't be like yourselves."
How can someone not be like themselves? The answer is that they have to change. They have to put off their old self. Paul describes the old self in the beginning of the passage; darkened understanding, separated from the life of God, ignorance, etc. In other words, the old self is one that has no regard for God. The old self has no concept of right and wrong, and just does what feels good. The old self has no direction or purpose, and as a result remains separated from true life.
So how does one "put off their old self"? The answer is by putting on the new self. Change doesn't happen by trying to stop being your old self. Change happens when you put on your new self. When you put on your new self, you naturally will put off your old self. It's like changing a tire on your car; there is only room for one tire. You cannot have an old and a new tire on the same axle. In the same way, you cannot be both the new and the old self.
What is the "new self"? We basically already know what the old self is, since we are all naturally sinful and rebellious towards God. Paul says that the new self is one that is "like God in true righteousness and holiness". What? How can we be like God? That is a natural question to ask. The answer is to look at Jesus. How did Jesus live? Paul writes in verses 25-32 about how we are to live, and I noticed that these are all thing Jesus did when He lived. I don't have time to talk about them all, so I encourage you to read the passage on your own. The way to true righteousness is through Christ.
You may think, "no matter how I try, I can never really become a new self". And you would be right. We can never truly become righteous and holy. Only God is righteous and holy. However, we have to remember what Paul said earlier in Ephesians, "He chose us to be holy and blameless". God chose us to be holy and blameless. Why would God give us an impossible task? It's because He gave us the impossible solution; sending His Son to come and die for us. Now, does this excuse us from living a righteous life? Absolutely not. God called us to live according to His Spirit. We must give every effort to put on our new selves, and God will accept our efforts through Christ.
-Smart
Christ Died for Me
"But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."
-Romans 5:8
I recently attended my church's spring conference, where I was very encouraged. One thing stuck out to me though: "Christ died for me". One of the messengers said this during his message, and it stuck with me. There's something so profound in this simple statement. I want to talk a bit about my thoughts on this statement today.
Jesus died on the cross. That is a fact. However, the question to ask is who is responsible for crucifying Him? Was it the soldiers who placed the nails in His hands and feet? Was it Pilate, who handed Him over to be crucified? Was it the crowd, who called for Him to be crucified? Or was it even us, who sinned and therefore required Jesus' death on the cross? All of these are correct, but there is one more significant person to remember- Christ Himself. Christ is responsible for His crucifixion. Jesus was crucified by those around Him, but He let them crucify Him. If Jesus didn't want to be crucified, He could have easily escaped it. He could have even not come to earth. However, thank God that Jesus did not do that.
Why did Jesus let Himself be crucified? Again, Christ died for me. Christ died for us. He saw how helpless we were, and His love called Him to action. He couldn't let us suffer and die for our sins. He chose to allow Himself to take on our suffering and death. He did this because He so loved us. Sometimes I forget that Jesus died for me. Of course I know it, but I don't always understand it completely. Sometimes I feel guilty because Jesus had to die for my sins. However, when I remember that Christ chose to die for me out of His love, it brings me peace and joy. It's hard to put all my thoughts about this into words, but I hope you are able to meditate on this simple yet profound statement: "Christ died for me".
-Smart
-Romans 5:8
I recently attended my church's spring conference, where I was very encouraged. One thing stuck out to me though: "Christ died for me". One of the messengers said this during his message, and it stuck with me. There's something so profound in this simple statement. I want to talk a bit about my thoughts on this statement today.
Jesus died on the cross. That is a fact. However, the question to ask is who is responsible for crucifying Him? Was it the soldiers who placed the nails in His hands and feet? Was it Pilate, who handed Him over to be crucified? Was it the crowd, who called for Him to be crucified? Or was it even us, who sinned and therefore required Jesus' death on the cross? All of these are correct, but there is one more significant person to remember- Christ Himself. Christ is responsible for His crucifixion. Jesus was crucified by those around Him, but He let them crucify Him. If Jesus didn't want to be crucified, He could have easily escaped it. He could have even not come to earth. However, thank God that Jesus did not do that.
Why did Jesus let Himself be crucified? Again, Christ died for me. Christ died for us. He saw how helpless we were, and His love called Him to action. He couldn't let us suffer and die for our sins. He chose to allow Himself to take on our suffering and death. He did this because He so loved us. Sometimes I forget that Jesus died for me. Of course I know it, but I don't always understand it completely. Sometimes I feel guilty because Jesus had to die for my sins. However, when I remember that Christ chose to die for me out of His love, it brings me peace and joy. It's hard to put all my thoughts about this into words, but I hope you are able to meditate on this simple yet profound statement: "Christ died for me".
-Smart
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)