In the book ŇGrasslandÓ by Richard Manning the author
expresses wonderfully the beauty and productivity of GodŐs tapestry of the
grasslands. That mosaic is also true for all of creation. In many places
Manning uses Old Testament passages, primarily from Job, to describe the
harshness of some of the conditions encountered while living, working,
studying, or just enjoying a natural grassland biome. He likens the severity of
this environment with the judgements of the Old Testament God, he then
contrasts that with the God promoted by the church which can in no way appease
this requirement for justice.
So what is the problem? I would submit that the God of
much of the church is not the God of creation at all, but an idolatrous
imagination of platitudes for living the successful life. To utilize the
thoughts of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the church has substituted a God of cheap
grace, for the God of the Bible. In other words if the Bible is true, the
harmony of the Old and New Testaments, law and gospel, must find its appeasement, its
justification, its propitiation in the finished work of Jesus Christ. To the
extent that this grace is watered down into seeker sensitive gruel, it looses
itŐs taste, but more importantly its saving value.
We have a large population of Americans, with a knowledge
of natural creation, who are self described as Ňspiritual but not
religious.Ó They turn to the so
called wisdom of the east, and look to the Himlaya as the place where eternal
wisdom may be found. And there they find what they are looking for, a religion
with millions of gods, that demand appeasement, so that the ant, or grasshopper
of man can continue to scratch out a living from the cruel earth. The modern
church of the west and the cities, has no answer for this because in the quest
to be accepted, she forsook the specific revelation of God, described in the
full context of the Scriptures. It is not too hard to draw the parallel that
when you loose the God of creation, you also loose the meat of the gospel.
In survival situations, those who return safely share one
thing in common, no matter what their background, religion, or host of other
characteristics. That one common denominator is that virtually all who returned
safely prayed. Which begs the question, what about those who did not return? A
survival situation simply scares the hell out of you. And hell is the path of
freedom we all have the ability to pursue, except for the costly grace of Jesus
Christ. Upon returning to a more normal life, some well meaning Christian asks
the survivor to Ňjust ask Jesus into your heart.Ó
Now where is the disconnect here? I would say that it is
in Christian evangelism. No one really needs to be saved from a God promoted by
a plastic filled church. But out there when all that is stripped away, Not only
does a plastic Jesus not solve the problem, but this gospel is nothing other
than words of cheap grace! Now it is truly wonderful that God does save people
from a lot of heartache, sorrow, and suffering. But that really is not the true
gospel of the heartache, sorrow and suffering of Jesus Christ, to redeem fallen
mankind.
Now have you ever ask? ŇGod, scare the hell out of
me.Ó What is the weak link here?
You, or God? In this situation, you shall learn about the reality of hell and
your own desire to follow that path, but also the price of true grace. On the
other side of this tribulation, you learn that the trial was truly beyond your
capacity to handle, but GodŐs grace was sufficient. But somewhere in the whole
situation, God gave you a part to play in the whole endeavor, and that role was
perfectly suited for who you were, in that time and space.
This gets us back into a tapestry of GodŐs creation, the
role of natural creation, the role of man and the sovereignty of God, is all
woven into ones life by the grace of God himself and is only viewable from his
perspective in heaven. If man does not play a significant part within the work
of GodŐs weaving, there would be no need for a Bible. But there is a Bible and
in its pages you find wisdom and knowledge, written primarily for GodŐs chosen
people. But like all knowledge and wisdom it too has common application. But
primarily it discusses GodŐs specific will for mankind and so is set in contrast
with all other literary works, both in content and in application.
The great commission commands the believers in Jesus
Christ,and in unity the church, to make disciples and preach the gospel of the
kingdom of God. To that end we see GodŐs desire for the church. There is no
commandment to build edifices, and institutions, or for focusing upon them,
however wonderful they may be. To a certain extent, this is part of the reason
that the church as lost its vision. But the commandment of the New Testament is
to love one another. It is in that love that the true body of Christ becomes
one body and all the parts function in unity. The Old Testament standard was to
love your neighbor as yourself, but the New Testament standard is to love your
neighbor as Christ loved the church as each individual part.
So in Romans 11:33-36 we find a verbal application of
GodŐs role in the tapestry of our lives.
Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and
knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgment and His way past finding
out!
For who has known the mind of the LORD?
Or who had become His counselor?
Or who has first given to Him
And it shall be repaid to him?
For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things,
to whom be glory forever. Amen.
In the gospel and the New Testament, we find the finished
work of God in Jesus as a statement of adoption, a legal document, or covenant.
That covenant appeases the wrath of the Old Testament God, the God of creation
that can scare the hell out of you. That hell of death and sin has forever been
nailed to the cross with Jesus Christ and this judgement allows us to walk
within creation knowing that there is nothing out there that exists which this
loving God does not use to weave in His tapestry of our lives. Our job is to
walk forward in that wilderness of grassland, forest, or job, profession,
calling, or ministry and through that walk begin to understand the riches of
that adoptive application. Then our God, the God of the church, and the God of
creation will again become one and the church will be restored to the true
costly grace that the world seeks but does not understand.
Things are coming together, but for now I am busy with my
work and do not have the time to go over and make an offer on the Little Dalles
property. To a certain extent, the role of that facility is just a way, as we
used to say in the Army, to raise your pucker factor, without scaring the hell
out of you. In that way you are able to push yourself beyond your ability,
knowing that your faith has made you secure. That part is what is learned by
trying and failing. The Little Dalles facility is just a place where certain
limits are imposed so that time for reflection and true learning can take
place.
I have gotten to the place with the details in the
monetary numbers that it looks such that the Little Dalles can bring glory to
God. I truly would like some understanding of how the whole thing would be
financed before I go over to make the offer. That however, is beyond my ability
to bring into existence, as are the special people who can help with making
this adventure a reality. Please intercede for the provisions of reality.