Idealistic Notions and the Beauty of Grace

Posted On: 10. 12. 12 | 1 Comment

As a young(er) woman I thought I had the motherhood thing all figured out. Before even being married I knew which books I would read and what “Biblical” methods I would follow in order to ensure my children were well behaved and godly. We (my future husband and I) would be the heads of a perfect Christian family. Our children would obey the first time, every time, and with a happy heart. There would be no embarrassing tantrums thrown at the local Target Super Store (by child or parent!) and we would never find ourselves repeating ourselves over and over and over again, gradually and consistently being tempted toward anger as our children struggled to obey even the simplest of commands. We certainly would NEVER find ourselves losing control and YELLING at our precious, obedient children. And yet, this sin nature that we are all affected by turned out to be much stronger than I ever imagined it would be.

When the Lord brought my husband and I together I had visions of a “perfect” Christian marriage. We were both passionately in love with the the Lord and hopelessly enraptured in one another. With the Word of God as our guide and a “comprehensive” understanding of our Biblical roles as husband and wife, we felt confident that we would have a marriage marked by unadulterated bliss, not by struggles against selfish, self-serving tendencies. And yet, sooner than later, we found out that this sin nature we are both affected by is much stronger than we ever imagined it would be.

Today I stand on the cusp of delivering a third little boy into our family and with the “experience” of 6 years of marriage behind me. Women who are just beginning their marriage journey or who have recently held their first positive pregnancy test might look toward someone in my position thinking I have it all figured out.

I have this blog where I love to talk about how the Word of God applies to real life and how the Gospel message is the lifeblood of all our salvation and sanctification and you may think that means I have this Christian life all figured out–that I am a perfect wife and mother.

But as I stand here (ok, ok, I am sitting), on the brink of adding another baby boy to our family who will grow to be a man one day who will either worship the Lord with his life or follow the course of this world, I am painfully aware of my inadequacies.

The reality of my own sinful heart and my complete and utter dependence on the Holy Spirit to transform me and work through me for the good of my husband and children is ever before my conscious meditations. I am not perfect by any stretch of the imagination. BUT, perhaps that is why I take so much joy in this God who lavished his love upon me anyway, this God who, though I consistently find myself failing, has bound himself to me forever.

Perhaps that is why I love to share this grace with you and encourage you to grab hold of it with me. Not because any of us are worthy of Christ, but because we are all so utterly unworthy and in need of his precious blood. Mostly it is because he is so kind to offer such an invitation to sinful women like us, to take us in our filthiness and minute by minute, day by day, month by month, and year by year beautify us, transforming us into the glorious image of his perfect Son.

Looking back at the expectations I had for my own Christian life as a young woman, I can’t help by laugh at how unrealistic they were and at how unlike my daily life they are. The interesting thing is that even as I am tempted to be disheartened by my own inability to embody the perfect wife and mother (let us not mention daughter, granddaughter, sister, church member, and friend), I am lifted to the highest of heights by the riches of the Father’s love for me in Christ Jesus. I am overwhelmed by the powerful work of the Holy Spirit within me and the rich fellowship I am granted through my adoption as a child of God.

My view of God is greater and higher today than it ever was as a young, idealistic woman. Perhaps that is precisely because I know now that this sin nature I am continually affected by is stronger than I could have ever imagined back then, but I think above all, it is because in seeing the painful reality of my sinful heart daily on display, I am consistently brought into the overwhelming presence of his great love and mercy. –And that is a majestic view that can’t help but enrapture this sinful woman’s heart!

In this upside down kind of way, I am lightyears ahead of where I ever imagined I would be.

 

What Place Does the Trinity Have in Your Theology?

Posted On: 05. 12. 12 | Leave a Comment

This is a book that every Christian should read–new Christians, old Christians, theologically illiterate Christians, and theologically astute Christians will all benefit and enjoy the gems of truth found in Delighting in the Trinity.

I hesitate to begin this book review in such a way because each review I have read has said the same thing, but it is the honest truth so here we go… Delighting in the Trinity by Michael Reeves will rock your theological world and give you a renewed vision for who God is and how we as his children relate to him. Before going on, I want to say two things: 1.) Buy this book and 2.) Read it, underline it, and digest it. You will be so glad you did.

I am usually wary of claims that a book contains something “new” or “unique” within its pages because I usually equate such a claim with the book containing unorthodox theology, but I can honestly say that unless you have spent much time studying and meditating on the doctrine of the trinity, this small little book will give you a vision of God that you hadn’t dared understand before.

So what “new” information does Michael Reeves bring to the table? Nothing truly new to the theological community, in fact many of his arguments and explanations are drawn from the marvelous meditations of historical Puritan minds, but rather, it is the manner in which he seeks to share the beauty of the Trinity with his readers that sets this work apart from others. His method for instructing our hearts in the doctrine of the Trinity is reflected in the subtitle of the book: “An Introduction to the Christian Faith.” At first I was a little put off by this title. After all (not to seem prideful), I don’t see myself as one in need of an introduction to the Christian faith. I wanted to get into the nitty gritty theological issues surrounding the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit! How do these three persons of the Trinity exist together and how do they individually impact my life? In Reeves’ book I found answers to all these questions, but most importantly I was challenged to view my Christian life as being fundamentally shaped by my understanding of the God who is three in one. “For it is only when you grasp what it means for God to be a Trinity that you really sense the beauty, the overflowing kindness, the heart-grabbing loveliness of God. (Pg.9)”

With this premise in place–that the doctrine of the Trinity is the foundation of our understanding of God--Reeves takes his readers on a marvelous journey exploring the different facets and implications of this God who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Rather than a dry, inconvenient, and burdensome doctrine to study and make a place for in our theology, we are taught how the trinitarian understanding of God is a most joyful and life-changing truth meant to be feasted upon by the children of God. Here is one example of how Reeves emphasizes this:

This is salvation with jam on top. In fact, the more trinitarian the salvation, the sweeter it is. For it is not just that we are brought before the Father in the Son; we receive the Spirit with which he was anointed. Jesus said in John 16: 14 that the Spirit “will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you.” The Spirit takes what is the Son’s and makes it ours. When the Spirit rested upon the Son at his baptism, Jesus heard the Father declare from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” But now that the same Spirit of sonship rests on me, the same words apply to me: in Christ my high priest I am adopted, beloved, Spirit-anointed son. As Jesus says to the Father in John 17: 23, you “have loved them even as you have loved me.” And so, as the Son brings me before his Father, with their Spirit in me I can boldly cry, “Abba,” for their fellowship I now freely share: The Most High my Father, The Son my great brother, the Spirit no longer Jesus’ Comforter, but mine. (Pg. 75)”

If there were any drawbacks to Reeves’ book it would be that at times arguments are forcefully made from logic rather than strictly Biblical evidence. The main argument I am thinking of is that if God were not triune–if he didn’t always exist in this relational way–then he could not be a loving, benevolent, outward focused deity. I found the Biblical argument and evidence for this point to be compelling and encouraging (how marvelous that this is our God, that he exists in this way!), but wasn’t convinced that his trinitarian existence was the only logical explanation for why God is love. Even if the one true God were simply one person (rather than three in one), if the Scriptures revealed him to be love, then he could, in fact be love. God, by definition is self-attesting and self-revealing. He is what he says he is, because he is God, not because he makes sense and not because he fits into our understanding of reality. For this reason, at times I found myself questioning if Reeves was arguing more from a philosophical understanding of the Trinity than a purely Biblical understanding. I didn’t, however, find these logical arguments to be at odds with biblical data, and so have no reservation in recommending this book to you.

Delighting in the Trinity is beautifully written and Reeves’ writing style is reminiscent of the Puritan authors he is clearly influenced by. However, that doesn’t mean it is a difficult book to read or that it would be ridiculous to hand this book to a new believer or an unbeliever even. It is incredibly accessible and at times even funny. Overall, it was a book that I looked forward to picking up every chance I got and one that has dramatically altered and enlivened my understanding of the Trinity and thus God himself. I look forward to reading more works by Reeves and wholeheartedly recommend this one to you!

You can purchase Delighting in the Trinity here at Amazon.com.

Did you read Delighting in the Trinity with me in the month of November? If so, please share your thoughts and reflections on the book in the comments below! How did it impact your understanding of the Trinity? What was most encouraging to you? Did you have any qualms with the book? I would love to hear your thoughts!

Delighting in the Trinity was November’s Book Club selection. To make sure you don’t miss out on all of the fun and encouragement of The Book Club at Desiring Virtue, be sure to “Like” our FB page by clicking here!

We Were Outsiders Until Christmas

Posted On: 03. 12. 12 | 1 Comment

Many Christians share at least some Jewish heritage…, but most American Christians are Gentiles. Most of us are the descendants of pagans, not Israelites. Centuries ago, our ancestors worshiped Zeus or Thor, natural or ancestral deities. We were outside the covenant-strangers and aliens to God. The promise to Abraham that “all peoples on earth will be blessed through you” was our sole hope. We are sons of Abraham, sons and daughters of the covenant, through the grace of God that reaches out to the lost.

A funny thing happens to churchgoers in America. It begins to seem obvious to us that we are Christians. It seems like our birthright…most of us need to remember that we are Gentiles, not Israelites-outsiders, not insiders. The God of Israel is our God, even though we are German, English, French, Dutch, African, Irish, and Russian. Therefore we should still marvel at this grace. If we marvel, if we give thanks that we are included in the family of God, then we will include others and give thanks for the presence of them as well.

The Christmas season, along with Easter, certainly affords us an opportunity to welcome outsiders into our church. It is tempting to joke about, to mock, even to scorn the “Christmas and Easter Christians.” But why? In ourselves, none of us is a whit more spiritual or sincere than they. We should welcome all who stand outside the covenant, for the Lord calls outsiders to himself.

…What a joy to enter the family of God. Let us hold the blessing with humble, grateful hearts and pray “Thank you, Lord, for making me a child of Abraham. Thank you for including me in your family. Help me remember that your family is always open. Help me welcome to it both those who seem worthy and those who seem unworthy. for I know that I am not worthy, but I am beloved.”

-Daniel M. Doriani, The Incarnation in the Gospels

Our Advent Tree

Posted On: 30. 11. 12 | 13 Comments

No family’s traditions are exactly the same. In fact, most of the traditions I shared with you in the Cultivating a Christ-Centered Christmas series are not ones that we personally use and among the ones that we do use, some we have tweaked or recreated to fit our personal needs and desires. That is the point of family traditions right? They are your family’s traditions!

I am going to share with you the way my husband and I combined the Christian “Jesse Tree” tradition with our the traditional “Christmas Tree” tradition to provide a beautiful and unique way to worship and celebrate the Christ of Christmas.

Our Tree’s Backstory

Four years ago we decided to assess our Christmas tree. I’m sure it had something to do with me reading “Treasuring God in Our Traditions” by Noel Piper. In the book she explains that there never was a Christmas tree in their home. They didn’t really see a point since it had nothing to do with the incarnation. Rather than simply accepting cultural norms, they decided to only include traditions that truly pointed to the Christ and encouraged meditation on the Savior. My head started reeling the first time I read this. No Christmas tree?

My mother’s Christmas tree is a paradigm of Christmas trees. It is always very large, perfectly adorned by bows, ribbons, lights, and beads. The ornaments that decorate its fragrant branches range from porcelain ballerinas to fantastical glass blow fish.

Picking out the perfect tree every year growing up was a family affair (a battle that my brother somehow always won) and decorating the tree was a major event, one that my mother always seemed to make special. I loved our tree. I am still utterly enchanted when I walk into my parent’s home and take in the beautiful job she has done each year.

Would our home not have that same tradition? Would our children not walk through isles of trees searching for the perfect one to adorn our family room? This was something I would have to think and pray about.

As I researched more and more traditions that were specifically Christ-centered I came  across the Jesse Tree tradition. I loved the way it encouraged us to celebrate redemptive history, the way it caused us to think about the waiting that God’s people experienced as he fulfilled his promise of salvation. As I began to consider implementing it in our Christmas celebration I couldn’t help but feel that having a little tree (or even a branch as some use) that focused on the Savior and a very large, mostly arbitrary (beautifully arbitrary mind you!) Christmas tree during the celebration of Christ’s incarnation was a little lopsided.

Since we were already reassessing our Christmas tree to begin with, we decided to give the tradition an overhaul and meld the two trees together into one Christ-centered tree that would spur us on to love the Savior more every time we decorated it. And so our Christmas tree was born.

Our Christmas Tree Tradition

“There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD. And his delight shall be in the fear of the LORD. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide disputes by what his ears hear, but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist, and faithfulness the belt of his loins.” (Isaiah 11:1-5 ESV)

“O Ephraim, what have I to do with idols? It is I who answer and look after you. I am like an evergreen cypress; from me comes your fruit.” (Hoseah 14:8 ESV)

We will begin decorate our tree tomorrow night on December 1st. As Richard brings it in and sets it up, I will prepare the hot chocolate and treats. We will start in the same way most do by stringing lights around the tree–a beautiful reminder of Christ’s illuminating character and sinless life (the more lights the better!).

Once the lights are strung, we will begin putting our ornaments on. One by one we adorn our tree with simple, beautiful ball ornaments that display the names of Christ. On each ornament I have written one of the ways the Bible refers to the Messiah as well as the scripture references. As we hang each name we say it out loud reminding each other of the many attributes of Christ. As our children get older and the tradition can last longer, we hope to take time to read several of the references associated with the names.

Next we hang cross ornaments to remind us of the reason Christ was born as a baby in the flesh of men. This is a collection we have just begun and look forward to adding to. I love to see the crosses amongst the various names of Christ as well as amongst our advent ornaments as it reminds me that every event in Biblical history points to the mission of God to redeem his people.

Once all of our ornaments are hung, we add red ribbon that cascades down our tree reminding us of the precious blood that was shed for our forgiveness.

And of course, the last thing to be added is the star, reminiscent of “his star” which the wise men followed to find the Christ-child.

Now comes the advent part. I have made ornaments using picture frame ornaments that capture various biblical characters and events (most can be found in a typical Jesse Tree listing). These ornaments trace through the course of redemptive history beginning with Creation and ending at the coming of the Messiah. Each night leading up to Christmas we add one ornament to the tree and read the corresponding account in the Bible. Slowly, but surely, they fill the tree with the story of salvation as they wind up from the bottom of the tree to the top where they meet the glowing star. This wonderful tradition is helpful not only for the children, but for us as well. Together we remember (and our children learn) the need we, as a fallen race, had for a Savior. Through learning the anticipation of God’s people, we too build anticipation for Christmas day when we celebrate the Messiah’s coming.

As the advent ornaments continue to be added to our tree, a wonderful story of God’s interaction with his people begins to unfold. All the while this incredible story is nestled in among reminders of the Savior, to whom it all belongs.

I love our tree. 

I love that it has a purpose and that every time I look at it I am stirred to think on the amazing truths of salvation. When I look at it I think of my Savior.

Our prayer is that God would use this tradition in our children’s lives to not only teach them the story of salvation, but captivate their little hearts with the joy we have in God’s goodness to his people.

My Challenge to You

As I mentioned at the beginning of this post. Every family’s traditions will look different. My hope in sharing our Christmas Tree Tradition with you is not say, “You should do this too,” but to encourage you to be intentional about your celebration and don’t be afraid to step outside the box a little in an effort to honor the Lord and worship him through your traditions. I have found so much joy in coming up with creative ways to make our Christmas about the One who is worthy of so much celebration.

A Peek into One of Our Family’s Favorite Traditions

Posted On: 28. 11. 12 | Leave a Comment

Today I am privileged to guest post at one of my favorite websites, Redeemed Reader! Here is a snippet from the post…

It’s that wonderful time of the year again when our home are filled with the scents of cinnamon and pine and the twinkly lights give off a familiar, joyful glow. For the redeemed children of God, this season is marked by more than warm feelings and family get togethers–it is a time to celebrate our Heavenly Father sending his Holy Son, so that we could be adopted into his family! More than anything I want to take advantage of Christmastime and share the wonderful truth of the incarnation of Christ with my little boys. I want for them to be caught up in this magical (and praise God real) event rather than the imaginary and at times frivolous stories of Santa Claus and Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.

One of the practical and oh-so-fun ways we try to direct their attention to the miraculous birth of Christ during this season is by filling our home and their imaginations with special Christmas picture books that make an appearance only once a year. As I unpack all of our Christmas decorations and prepare for the month of December I also pull out a (growing) collection of story books that focus–in various ways–on our Savior and the true reason we celebrate Christmas.

[To find out how we celebrate with these special books and how you can incorporate this tradition into your own family's jump on over to Redeemed Reader with me!]