White Christmas - IT’S A GIFT!!!

My father bought me a gift…a TV.  I did not want him to buy me a TV; I felt I could do that on my own just fine.  Compared to my old TV this one is leaps and bounds more superior in every way.  To find out just how much better things are with this TV I had to give it a fair comparison (size, color, clarity, etc.).  I played a movie on both sets, a movie that my whole family has memorized, a movie I probably see 2-3 times a year, White Christmas.  The differences just piled up.

Naturally one of the first things I saw was the actual color of Bing’s and Danny’s eyes; then details on the people’s faces (like any wrinkles, moles, etc.).  Then, during the club-car scene, I could see the pattern of Bing’s tie!!!  Even more, I could see that he had a tie-tac on!!!  Just when I thought I had seen it all I saw a little flicker towards the bottom of the screen…it was Bing’s buttons and cufflinks reflecting off of the shiny tabletop!!!  WHO KNEW THAT THE TABLETOP ACTUALLY SHINED?!!

The list goes on and on.  After a while my surprise and joy started turning to puzzlement.  How come I had not noticed these things before?  Was the quality that this movie was recorded in far superior to the TV sets that it had been playing on….since the move had been produced!  If the technology of years ago was so good to make a movie of such great quality why is it that people weren’t enjoying that quality years ago when those movies came out?

The answer of course lies in the TV set.  For reasons beyond my comprehension movies were made great but the way we saw them wasn’t; our vision was broken and in need of repair before we could see things clearly.  My vision was fixed by my father.

My father gave me my TV.  It was a gift which allowed me to see clearly.  I didn’t ask for it, it wasn’t on any wish list; it was free of charge and obligation.  I was content with my old TV; but maybe that’s because I didn’t know that things could be better than my old TV.

As humans we are born into the world as sinners, broken, unable to see clearly, and even if we were presented with a way to see clear, to fix our broken sight, our sinful nature would not let us choose to do so.  We only know what we have, which is sin, and don’t know that there is something better out there.  In short, since we are broken, we cannot fix anything, including ourselves.  We have to be fixed, made whole, given sight, and we cannot do it to ourselves.

The gift that Christ has for us could only be paid by him, a man that knows no sin.  The gift that Christ has for us is the only remedy for our broken state.  The gift that Christ has for us is a beautiful and glorious thing; something that the world cannot offer or match.  Out of all things, however, that the gift that Christ has for is, I think the best part is that it is what it is…a gift.

This gift cannot be purchased by man for we cannot pay the price.  This gift cannot be given by man for it is not ours to give.  This gift cannot be requested or chosen because 1)our sinful nature will not let us choose to do any good and 2) if we could attain it by a merely asking or choosing…IT NEGATES IT BEING A GIFT!!!!  There are no requisition forms for the gift that Christ offers.  It is a gift given to man by God, period.

We must submit to the fact that salvation is a gift.  We don’t deserve it and we can’t do anything to get it.  If we reduce the weight of what Christ has done for us on the cross we reduce the worth of Him as well.  By believing that one can take an active role in their own salvation one sets themself up for confusion in their spiritual life; confusion that the devil will take hold of and continue to weave doubt into the believers mind with.

As I write this I anticipate the celebration of the baptism of my two sons, Jayden and Kaelis.  On Easter Sunday, March 31, 2013, my boys will receive the free gift of Christ through the water and the Word.  Praise to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit!

W.W.J.D.

When I was in junior high my father took my two brothers, two of our friends and me to a 3-day Christian Rock festival in Minnesota.  3 days, 3 stages and a circus tent full of audio adrenaline….and yes Audio Adrenaline was also there.  I remember making a checklist of all the bands I wanted to hear.  The list came from our exposure to Z Music Television from our GIANT satellite dish.  That year there were countless emerging Christian bands of all different styles.  One of those bands was Big Tent Revival, author of the hit song What Would Jesus Do?

Now I’m not sure if Big Tent spurred the whole W.W.J.D. movement into action but it’s safe to say that their audio-hit-sensation probably didn’t hinder it in any way.  (To this day I can still play the whole tune, intro and all.)  There were hats, shirts, cds, bracelets, pencils, banners, heck I even saw a WWJD VW bus!  This was movement was as catchy as the flu in a public school.

Fast forward a bit….ok, a lot, to present day.  I still hear people spouting the ol’ What Would Jesus Do anthem, some very seriously and but some sarcastically.  I’ve noticed how this phrase has changed from that of a message of encouragement and such to an imposition of moralism; used as a verbal knife to jab in the side of others when they are not performing up to strict religious or moral expectations.  I’ll admit I’ve had this phrase used on me a time or two and in my general disgust with the people wielding it I end up removing myself from their ever-so-awesome presence.

So I get to thinking.  Cedric, says I, what does this triune God of yours do?  A pretty relevant question if everyone is always asking what He would do….or insinuating that they already know. 

Well, there’s all this carrying people’s stuff an extra mile, washing people’s feet, forgiving and healing people that I’m constantly being “preached” about, but is that all God ever did?  What about Jesus’ Olympic Gold medal in Temple Table Tossing?  How about God kicking the peeps out of Eden and putting an angel with a fiery sword on guard to keep out any squatters?  Was Sodom and Gomorrah just a bedtime story?  Wandering lost in the desert?  Slavery under the Pharaoh?  The ten plagues?  Flooding and destroying the earth?  Are we getting both sides of the coin yet?

I’m a little confused (not really, I’m being facetious).  You’re shoving all this WWJD Law in my face about what I should and should not do and thus imply that the Law is what my Savior is all about (side one of the coin), and after attempting to bury me in guilt and despair you neglect to inform me of the Gospel of Christ, the grace He gave to us all that wipes our sins out (side two of the coin).  So here’s my conclusion: 1)WWJD is a pile of crap.  Jesus is the only one who could do what He did; you can’t do it, I can’t do it, don’t try to guilt me into trying to be my Savior with your sarcastic slogan….I can’t save anything or anyone...including myself. 2)God/Jesus wasn’t warm and fluffy all the time like WWJD implies He is.  Read your stinkin’ Bible and find out.  3) The Law of which you so ardently preach with your WWJD does not mean a thing without the Gospel.  Yes, as born sinners we do deserve a sinner’s death, we deserve to carry our shame, our guilt, our despair, our death, but Christ’s selfless sacrifice paid our debt, forgave our sins, and claimed us as his own.

So please, don’t try to integrate your works-based moralism into my faith; they are non-compatible and quite frankly it’s insulting.  Instead of “doing,” why don’t we perform the opposite, rely.  Let’s rely on the fact that it is by grace alone, faith alone, Christ alone that we are saved.  Let’s rely on the fact that our salvations lies solely in Him, not in anything we do.  Let’s rely on what the Bible says and not what our emotions want.  Instead of living under the Law, let’s use it to remind us to rely on the Gospel.