The Humiliation

I was struck by the following quote regarding Christ's humiliation.

"What Jesus gave up in coming to earth was immense. From a position of "equality with God," which entailed the immediate presence of the Father and the Holy Spirit as well as the continuous praise of the angels, he came to earth, where he had none of these. The magnitude of what he gave up is beyond our power even to imagine, for we have never seen what heaven is like. When we arrive there, we will probably be overwhelmed by the splendor of what he left. He who became a pauper was the highest prince.

Even if Christ had come to the highest splendor that earth could afford, the descent would still have been immense. The greatest of riches, the highest of honors in any court, would be nothing compared to the conditions he left. But it was not to the highest of huamn circumstances that he came. Rather he took the form of a servant, a slave...." (Ericksons theology, 788)

Think about it. What must heaven be like? How much Christ gave up in the humiliation. Bring on heaven.

Tunnel Vision

Observe with me the following conversation.

Manny: The church is biblically illiterate! Drop everything, we need to teach the church to interpret Scripture!

Moe: Well sure, but we live in an anti-intellectualism culture struggling with doubt, what we really need is philosophy and apologetics!

Jack: You’re missing it, believers are spiritually dry! They long for the rivers of living water! We need true sanctification and spiritual formation!

Get the picture? Everyone seems to think they have it down. They dogmatically believe they know exactly what the church needs. Yet, the church needs all these things.

I find that in my past experiences, I often get into a "tunnel vision" mentality, where I think I know the one and exact thing that is needed for the body. It really is pride, thinking that I've got it down and I am all discerning. Luckily I often don't get my way, for God has different plans. Especially at such a young and inexperienced age, I cringe at times thinking upon the past, where I had a "my way or the highway mentality." I may be right at times, but I still need to have the humility and wisdom to realize that my perspective isn't all encompassing.

I'm probably the Manny of the above conversation, dogmatic to what I believe, while completely ignoring the Jack's, Moe's, Meg's, Monica's etc of the church who also bring a great perspective. I remember before I was on pastoral staff I would be so critical of the staff, wondering why won't they setup that which our church so "obviously" needs. Man how thats changed. What the heck do I know, I sit in most pastoral meetings silent, because most of the time, we're dealing with stuff beyond my ability. I'm almost afraid to ask it, but I do pray that God would teach me humility.

I'm a seminarian!

I recently started going full time at Talbot seminary. I finally feel like i'm a seminarian. I absolutely love it. Love it. Love it. Love it. However, for the one who loves seminary, I am in the midsts of what some may call a great temptation. One can easily be tempted to find one's identity in the things they are discovering. I am a seminarian. Therefore, as a seminarian that loves what he is doing, I strive for nothing less then excellence. I strive to be an excellent NT scholar. I will accept nothing less than being a capable preacher. For these things I strive for are not bad things. But the temptation is to find one's identity or center in them. My unconscious prayer is that "God I don't want to be a nobody. I want to be a Luther, or a Calvin.

We recently discussed Philippians 3 in class, and I felt thoroughly rebuked as I meditated upon it. In Philippians 3, the Apostle Paul reflects upon his pre-conversion days where he had in the Jewish eyes the perfect resume.

Phil 3:5-6 says
...circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless

Paul goes on to describe how he now views his past sense of self-concept and his accomplishments.

Phil 3:7-9 says...

7 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith

Paul here informs us that he considers all things from his former manner of life to be rubbish, not necessarily in themselves, but in comparison with finding his true identity "in Christ." Consequently, whatever field I find myself excelling in, whether for me it is biblical studies, preaching, or for you it is art, mathematics, biology, these things are not bad in themselves. But our accomplishments and competency in such things is rubbish compared with having Christ as the core object of our self identity. For I am a seminarian, but that truly is rubbish compared to the surpassing worth of knowing Christ.

It is my desire, that as I strive for excellence as a seminary student, that I will continually remind myself of this truth. May I always refocus upon ultimate ends, not satisfying myself with mere earthly pursuits.