God is...?

There are a lot of things we attribute to the character and being of God. As an experiment, which is done out of curiosity and in an effort to learn, can everyone PLEASE just really quick post a ONE-WORD summation for who God is. What is the most essential thing? What is the best way to capture God's being with one word? If you had to tell someone who God is in one word, what would the word be? Thanks all. I'll post mine too.

All Will Be Redeemed.

"Let each of you look not to your own interests, but even to the interests of others. Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in the form of a human, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death- even death on a cross. Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." (Phil. 2:4-11, translation from the GNT)

The Form of Jesus is God. 

The Form of Jesus is Slave. 

The Form of Jesus is Human. 

Fully human and fully divine, right? 

Then, what does fully human mean? 

Fully slave? 

Interesting.

Peterson thinks of it this way:

"Don't be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand. Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself. He had equal status with God but didn't think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at all. When the time came, he set aside the privileges o deity and took on the status of a slave, became human! Having become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn't claim special privileges. Instead, he lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death- and the worst kind of death at that: a crucifixion. Because of that obedience, God lifted him high and honored him far beyond anyone or anything, ever, so that all created beings in heaven and on earth- even those long ago dead and buried- will bow in worship before this Jesus Christ, and call out in praise that he is the Master of all, to the glorious honor of God the Father." (Phil. 2:4-11, according to Eugene Peterson's paraphrase The Message).

I love it.

Jesus emptied himself, humbled himself, and died in the worst way. And because of this, he lived in the best way. His name was given to him by God, above even the names Yahweh, Jehovah, Adonai, Allah, Buddha, Confucius, Calvin... And that name, what happens to that name, the name of Jesus Christ? Then what?

All will bow.

All will confess.

All will be redeemed. In Heaven, on Earth, under the Earth.

"If then there is any encouragement in Christ, any consolation from love, any sharing in the Spirit, any compassion and sympathy, make my joy complete: be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind... Therefore, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed me, not only in my presence, but much more now in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure. Do all things without murmuring and arguing, so that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, in which you shine like stars in the world. It is by your holding fast to the word of life that I can boast on the day of Christ that I did not run in vain or labor in vain. But even if I am being poured out as a libation over the sacrifice and the offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you- and in the same way you also must be glad and rejoice with me." (Philippians 2:1-2 & 2:12-18, NRSV)

The Problem of Richness #2

In the last post I talked about how Mark 10 discusses taking from oneself and giving to others as a sort of "pre-requisite" to following Jesus. It might be that the most definitive thing we can say about God is that he cares deeply for the oppressed. And, if we care about God, our response has to be to care for the oppressed. 

 "God is with the poor, and God is with us if we are with the poor." (Bono)

And while this quotation seems to capture the issue, it might also completely miss the point. The point being: God is with us if we become the poor, or if we find ways to reconcile the rich and the poor; to make them one in the same; to erase them. 

But, the duty is not our own. Today, being inspired by a discussion in class, will revolve around the Book of James...

First off, one of the most significant themes in James is the need to rely on God. There's a challenge we face as humans: we think we have power, and we think we know how to use it. We think we can nail things down, in fact its because of this that Himself was nailed down. 

But James has a different message. He urges us to be patient with God, as he will be the one who exercises the power. 

James 4:13-5:11

Those who pursue wealth should not be too confident in tomorrow. They assume that God will provide them safe travel, they assume that their life is long enough, they have goals that are inspired by their own will. They boast, then, in themselves.

Those who have no need to pursue wealth, the rich, allow their wealth to store up. Their food rots, their clothes are eaten with moth, and their gold rusts. Their richness is unused and wasted, and yet they oppress those who work their land. They have the means to be fair, and yet they keep what they do not need and those around them need so much. 

Those who have no hope of wealth, the poor, the peasant class, must be patient. God is like the seeds that they plant, that while nothing visible is happening, life is imminent. The Lord of the Army of Angels, the real commander-in-chief, is coming to slaughter the fat and the rich. 

Here's where it gets sad for us.

We're the fat and the rich that are doomed to be slaughtered. 

We were born into richness, we do not have to pursue it. We are the 1% of the world that has the chance of a college degree, we are the 1% of the world that own a computer. Our nation has 13% of the world's population and 60% of its resources. If we must differentiate the rich from the poor, we are without a doubt the rich. Doomed for slaughter.

We do not need hope, for we are perfectly happy with what we have and not really willing to do anything about it. We might not be able to escape our richness if we wanted to. 

We are not Israel, we are Babylon. We are not God's chosen people, we are God's unrelenting foe. We aim the Beast's flames instead of cutting off its head. 

It's only when we know this truth that we can begin to shape what it looks like to be a Christian... 

I am lamb, but destined to be a lamb-chop. You are what you eat.