The Precious from the Vile (Part 2)
The fact that God redeemed our lives from destruction through the Lord Jesus Christ is what makes our lives unique in all creation. I've heard it said on many occasions by many well-educated Christian scholars that the uniqueness of humanity is that we have been designed as free moral agents. We have the power of choice and free will. I can't disagree with that more!
Psalm 8:4 says, "What is man that You are mindful of him, And the son of man that You visit him?"
Why has so much been made of the fact that we have a "free will?" So what? Your dog has a free will. She can choose to poop in the house, chew on your shoes and scratch up the couch even if you tell her repeatedly not to do those things. Do you suddenly gain some deep love and admiration for your dog because she could "do what she wanted to do?" Of course not! As human beings, God has given us a living soul. We have a mind, a will and we have emotions. But does that make us unique? Many professors and theologians interpret our human position under God as "free moral agents" by saying,
"God wanted a people who could choose whether to love Him or not, not robots or slaves."
In other words, their conclusion is that the uniqueness of mankind in God's creative plan is the ability to choose. I have grown increasingly uncomfortable with this explanation for man's distinctiveness. After the creation of man, God says, "This is very good" (see Genesis 1:31). What is "very good" about the ability to reject someone who infinitely loves you and respects you? Is that what God was aiming for when he made men and women? Besides, God already had beings that could choose whether or not to have a relationship with Him.
Lucifer and one-third of the angels of Heaven acted on their ability to reject God's offer of relationship (see Revelation 12:4; 7-9 and Isaiah 14:12-15). There is nothing "very good" about this ability. "Free" should not be understood as "free to do what I want," or "free to do as I choose." This description of "free" describes the choices and freedom of the angelic beings. Our freedom far greater; we have a better nature than the angels.
Hebrews 1:13 says in part, "To which of the angels has [God] ever said..." God has said things to us and ordained things for us that angels never had available. So we have the ability to "choose" to reject God... so what? Does that make us free? Does that make us special? How does that make us unique in the scope of God's creation? Angels can reject Him if they want to. There is one, primary ability given to humanity that is not given to any other created thing, even angels. Revelation 12:10 says that Lucifer (Satan) has been cast down and will never be restored to his position in Heaven. As a matter of fact, he has already been sentenced and is doomed to an eternity in the lake that burns with fire (see Revelation 20:10). His "freedom" and his choice to reject God has resulted in eternal bondage and torment. What we have to understand is that our unique "freedom" is so much greater than a freedom to choose or reject. God has already been through the heartache of being rejected by His created beings, the angels. There is nothing "very good" about that ability. It is a carnal and even devilish thing to take pleasure in your "power" to choose and cut off a person who loves you and cares for you.
I don't think God takes any pleasure in being "chosen" by mortals, as if there were any other options. Jesus reminds His disciples, "You did not choose me, but I chose you" (see John 15:16). It is God who does the choosing, my friends, not us. First John chapter 4 tells us that we don't love God first, He loves us first (see verse 10). Any love we "choose" to show God is merely a response to the love He has already lavished upon us. It is not the ability to choose that makes humans unique in God's creation and it is not the ability to choose that makes mankind free.
The unique gift given to mankind alone in God's entire created universe is redemption. What was it that got Lucifer thrown from Heaven? Pride... the desire to exalt himself above the throne of God. Are there any humans outside of Jesus who have lived free of this very same sin? Haven't we all tried to exalt ourselves at one time or another? What makes us different from the fallen angels...? Redemption and only redemption. God has made us free, free to return to Him. This is the nature of freedom, the freedom to be restored.
Remember the Prodigal Son? When he realized how far he had fallen he decided to go home and beg for a spot as a servant. He once reveled in his right to "choose," and consequently reject his father, but he now finds himself in greater bondage than he could've ever imagined. Don't be sucked into the trap of believing that God is pleased by your ability to choose or reject Him. This lie will lead you into such self-inflicted misery you will not know how to escape.
God is not pleased with your ability to choose Him; God is pleased by your faith that He has chosen you! (see Hebrews 11:6)
The Prodigal Son could beg to be treated as a servant all he wanted, it would never happen. He's a son! Never forget that his father rushes out to meet Him and embraces him before he ever says that he's sorry. This is what the Apostle Paul means when he says that it is the goodness of God that leads to repentance (see Romans 2:4). If it seems as though you chose God, it is only because He first chose you and opened the way for you to return to Him. If it feels like you decided to love Him, it is only because He first poured His own special love upon you. Redemption is what sets us apart. Restoration is what makes humanity unique and free. It is not our choices. It is that despite our choices God is always willing to welcome us home. Psalm 37:24 says, "Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down" (NKJV). You won't be utterly cast down like the devil and his demons. You are unique; you're human; you are free - free to be redeemed. Free to be chosen.
I believe that this is God's way of taking the precious from the vile. He refuses to give us up to the "vileness" of this life. No matter what you've ever done or what you've ever thought, God still wants you! I know that this didn't make any connections or illustrations about military Special Operations, but this was just burning in my heart. I will, of course be continuing to unfold the Special Forces parable, but I hope you all get into this.
Peace.
SJB
Scott Bane
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I love this article. I love how you can take someone into deep thinking and still use the word poop! I love that about you. Anyway, I want to comment about something in the article. You stated one sentence that really made me think. I am challenged by your comment that it is devilish to reject someone who loves you and wants to take care of you. For the past 3 years now I have been wrestling with the idea of cutting certain people out of my life that have committed hateful things against me. These people would definitely say they love me and want to take care of me. Now, I have chosen in my heart to forgive them and they are not aware that there is even a problem. I don't think anyone would blame me or hold me accountable for cutting these people out of my life. However, I just have not been able to let myself do it. So, at first reading of this I immediately went on the defensive. But soon, I know the Lord spoke to my heart and said, "Why do you thing that I have not let you do this?" It's because I have the Lord in me. It IS of the Devil to reject someone that loves you and wants to take care of you. I know this is not the main point of your blog today but thanks for giving me a bit more clarity into my own inner being.
One way the enemy keeps a person in the state of offense is to hide the offense with pride. Pride does many things, but one thing it does in an offense is that it hides our true condition. Pride will make us say, “No, I’m not mad”, or “That doesn’t bother me a bit”, when inside, that offense is literally sucking the life out of us. Why do we do that? Sometimes we don’t like confrontation; sometimes we’d rather sweep it under the rug. Either way, holding up an offense with a spirit of pride will do nothing good for us, and will only deteriorate who we are on the inside. Given time, that condition of the heart will surface, because like Luke 6:45 says, “out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks"..............See, pride is a dangerous, dangerous thing. Pride can harden us, and not only that, but it can lead to other conditions of the heart, like bitterness, anger, and resentment. The longer we hold that offense, the easier it is for the seeds of resentment to take root, causing nothing but misery. And here’s the kicker in holding an offense: The ‘offender’, as I would call them, might not even know they offended you. Furthermore, and what can be worse, is that they could know they did, and yet not even care. That is when it comes back to the issue of you. How are you going to handle it? What are YOU going to do with the offense? Are you going to harbor it, hold onto it, and hide it, allowing satan to get a foothold in your thoughts, and block what the Lord might have for you? Or are you going to go to that person in love, explaining to them in a Christ-like way why you felt offended, and ask their forgiveness for holding an offense? Wow, now THERE’S a concept. I can hear you now- “Jeff, you mean I have to go to THEM and ask for forgiveness??” Well, what would Christ have done? Would he hold onto the pride that says He was justified in feeling He was wronged, or would He reach out in love?..........Jesus instructed us that our ability to SEE correctly is a key to being free from deception. When we allow our minds to be clouded by an offense, we hamper our ability to see things as Christ sees them, and to act in a Christ-like way instead of acting out of our own selfishness.
I know I personally am WAY guilty of this. And it's a daily thing. But when we put on the mind of Christ, all other things become abundantly clear, and allow us to see things, not with our own eyes, but as He would have us see them.
The first key (I believe) in separating the precious from the vile is in thought. I think MANY Christians spend much more time concentrating on the vile than the precious. We allow the devil to "compartmentalize" our lives and find ourselves "focusing" in 18 different directions, and never finding ourselves effective in any of them. We must make sure our meditation,concentration, and attention is continually on the precious. If we come up to a room, open the door, and see it dark inside, we don't tell those that are with us, "Ok, everybody grab a shovel, let's start shoveling the darkness out of here!". No, we just enter the darkness and TURN THE LIGHT ON. It's the light's JOB to dispel the darkness. When our thoughts are continually on the precious, we "decompartmentalize" our lives and the darkness scatters. (See ISA 26:3)
I like how Paul says in Romans 7:18 - For I know that in me (that is, IN MY FLESH) dwells no good thing.... He would have been absolutely WRONG without that qualifer. He later went on to write in Collosians 1:27- to whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is CHRIST IN YOU, the hope of glory. THAT is the precious that we must continually focus on. We can't live successful Christian lives by CONTINUALLY focusing on "what's wrong, and what are we going to do to fix it". God has placed HIMSELF in us, and as long as He abides, there will ALWAYS be "something precious" in the vile. The apostle Paul of all people I'm sure had to deal with thoughts of anguish and unforgiveness toward himself. However, if God Himself declared Paul righteous and found him "worthy" to place His Spirit within him, who was Paul to argue with God? Paul had to accept himself based on God's position concerning him.
We must allow the precious to win over the vile. That is the only way we can continue in life. I have witnessed personal TRANSFORMATION as I have seen this and applied it in my life. God is truly faithful, truly GOOD, and I am His. All of His attributes are mine. He loves me with an everlasting love. That is the point at which I start each day. Praise His name!!!