"I read this today:
"They had difficulty seeing the possible distinction between objective moral truth and relative human invention. That is not because they are dumb. It seems rather that they simply cannot, for whatever reason, believe in - or sometimes even conceive of - a given, objective truth, fact, reality, or nature of the world that is independent of their subjective experience and in relation to which they or others might learn or be persuaded to change." - page 222
And this as well:
"The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so." -Romans 8:6-7
They seem eerily similar, don't they? Is it possible that words like "citizenship", "moral responsibility", or "helping others" don't show up in their vocabulary because they aren't able to truly understand it based on the "laws" (or lack of) they have chosen to submit to? You don't see them as hopeless, do you - Zach? Have you thrown your hands up in the air toward them?"
My response
They seem eerily similar because, in fact, they are the same.
1 Corinthians 1:
18 For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written,
“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.”
and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.”
1 Corinthians 2:
14 Those who are unspiritual[e] do not receive the gifts of God’s Spirit, for they are foolishness to them, and they are unable to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.
1 Corinthians 3:
18 Do not deceive yourselves. If you think that you are wise in this age, you should become fools so that you may become wise. 19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written,
“He catches the wise in their craftiness,”
20 and again,
“The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise,
that they are futile.”
that they are futile.”
Perhaps a darker image from Ecclesiastes 10:
"5 There is an evil that I have seen under the sun, as great an error as if it proceeded from the ruler: 6 folly is set in many high places, and the rich sit in a low place. 7 I have seen slaves on horseback, and princes walking on foot like slaves."
My using the last bit from Ecclesiastes is more for imagery than anything, yet, doesn't it bear a striking resemblance to our culture today? We worship foolishness, the idea of a carefree society where we can and should do anything we please just for the hell of it. YOLO! (I cringe every time I hear that). We treat the slightest notion of authority as despotism, and liming oneself as weakness. Privilege has been warped to inalienable right, unless it is extreme (in the cases of the rich), where it is a result of some societal disparity, rather than hard work, discipline, and ingenuity. A friend of mine put up a post recently on facebook that sums things up pretty well, I think. (I linked it to your wall.)
Do I see these people has hopeless? Have I thrown up my hands at them? At times, yes. I am frustrated and angry at the depravity of what I read in Lost in Transition. It is why I despair when I stumble, or when I see my friends, true Christians to the core, buy into the empty pleasures this world has to offer. It makes me ache, because the kind of selfishness that worldly logic, which can seem so innocent and inconsequential in some situations, is the same logic that leads to all the travesties we see in the world: slavery, prostitution, rape, murder, etc etc etc etc etc. Perhaps my reactions are extreme; I'm sure one can find it easy to point me out as a judgmental person. I very well could be! I catch myself leaning away from grace once in a while.
Perhaps it's because I don't like the image of cheap grace. This grace that is extended to humanity came at a cost, after all. It cost Jesus, the very son of God, his life. Even more, his life was taken in one of the most disgraceful of ways. He bore the cross of shame, whipped beyond human recognition, and died as the lowliest of criminals. When I sin, I stand with the crowd that watched him die, that mocked him, that spat at his agony. I am equal with those quoted in Lost in Transition. In this event humanity is unified; we all stand under that tree, watching the son of God bleed.
Yet, there on that hill rests our hope. Out of an unmarked hole in the rock walked our strength. Do I see those in Lost in Transition as hopeless? No, because the hope they might have is the same hope that we have. The grace extended to us is one in the same with the grace extended to them. To say that they have no hope is to mark myself as hopeless. It is in this that we find the beauty of the Gospel:
Perhaps it's because I don't like the image of cheap grace. This grace that is extended to humanity came at a cost, after all. It cost Jesus, the very son of God, his life. Even more, his life was taken in one of the most disgraceful of ways. He bore the cross of shame, whipped beyond human recognition, and died as the lowliest of criminals. When I sin, I stand with the crowd that watched him die, that mocked him, that spat at his agony. I am equal with those quoted in Lost in Transition. In this event humanity is unified; we all stand under that tree, watching the son of God bleed.
Yet, there on that hill rests our hope. Out of an unmarked hole in the rock walked our strength. Do I see those in Lost in Transition as hopeless? No, because the hope they might have is the same hope that we have. The grace extended to us is one in the same with the grace extended to them. To say that they have no hope is to mark myself as hopeless. It is in this that we find the beauty of the Gospel:
"10 And as he sat at dinner[a] in the house, many tax collectors and sinners came and were sitting[b] with him and his disciples. 11 When the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” 12 But when he heard this, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 13 Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have come to call not the righteous but sinners.” -Matthew 9
It is for these people, the Lost in Transition, that Jesus came! It is why He is here! It is why He died! How glorious will it be when people such as these come to faith?! How gut-wrenchingly beautiful will it be when they might know the truth of these words?
"3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4 just as he chose us in Christ[b] before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love. 5 He destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace that he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace 8 that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and insight 9 he has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ, 10 as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. 11 In Christ we have also obtained an inheritance,[c] having been destined according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will, 12 so that we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ, might live for the praise of his glory. 13 In him you also, when you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in him, were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit; 14 this[d] is the pledge of our inheritance toward redemption as God’s own people, to the praise of his glory.
"3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4 just as he chose us in Christ[b] before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love. 5 He destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace that he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace 8 that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and insight 9 he has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ, 10 as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. 11 In Christ we have also obtained an inheritance,[c] having been destined according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will, 12 so that we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ, might live for the praise of his glory. 13 In him you also, when you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in him, were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit; 14 this[d] is the pledge of our inheritance toward redemption as God’s own people, to the praise of his glory.
-Ephesians 1
This truth, this promise (which is making me want to weep in Starbucks as I read it) is why we proclaim the Truth. Because for some who are lost, the word of Truth will be to them like the breaking of the dawn in their hearts, and the Spirit of God will stir in their guts and rattle their bones and free them, at last, from their chains of slavery to sin and self.
There is hope. Even for me. Even for you. Even for them. To God be the glory. Amen.
