What the Shrink says...

While earning my degree at Saint Ambrose University, I remember studying about a psychiatrist named Karl Menninger.  He was quite well known for his presentations and lectures about mental health.  Upon completing one of his talks, Dr. Menninger answered questions from the inquisitive audience.  Someone stood and inquired, “What do you advise if a person feels like a nervous breakdown is coming on?”

His educated reply would shock not only the audience but also me as I expected a new theory/treatment.  He responded, “Lock up your house, go across the railroad tracks, find somebody in need, and help that person.”

His words of counsel instantly draw up the Scripture, John 13:34 “Love one another…”  However, it also linked with my Bible reading this morning of Proverbs 28:27, which states:  “Whoever gives to the poor will lack nothing, but those who close their eyes to poverty will be cursed.”  When we are giving, we lack nothing!  How awesome is that?!  Lacking nothing means God can and does fill us with His heavenly peace and stability of mind.  Dr. Menninger prescribed a remedy that Jesus, the Wise Counselor, has already taught us. 

Getting our minds OFF ourselves can often be the best thing mentally we can do FOR ourselves.  God reveals to us the benefits and joys of loving others.  In the moments that we focus on others through His compassion, we drastically witness the ceasing of our spiraling negative thoughts and self focus.  It opens us up for HIS light to pour in and our lives to pour out!  I think this is why God called “loving” to be a commandment and not a suggestion.  Our Father’s requirement will not only bless those around us but also give us some much needed “warm fuzzies.” 

So I challenge you…If you’re feeling a little depressed, anxious, or scared, go out and love in/through His Name.  There is always someone who could use your smile, kind words, or hugs. 

I promise our Great Physician’s guidance and care for you will bring the most profound healing.  AMEN.

 

I Double Dog Dare You!

Romans 6:4-10:  For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives.  ⁵ Since we have been united with him in his death, we will also be raised to life as he was.  ⁶ We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin.  ⁷ For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin.  ⁸ And since we died with Christ, we know we will also live with him.  ⁹ We are sure of this because Christ was raised from the dead, and he will never die again. Death no longer has any power over him.  ¹⁰ When he died, he died once to break the power of sin. But now that he lives, he lives for the glory of God.

The Lenten Season is a time for reflection, repenting of our sin and returning to God. During Lent we confront the presence of evil in the world, the reality of temptation and human sinfulness. However, it is in acknowledging human sinfulness and the need for repentance that we find our way to return to God who is merciful and gracious.

When was the last time you felt really alive? Like all your senses were on “high alert,” your energy up, enthusiasm radiant, you felt “on top of the world?” Can you even remember the last time you enjoyed life so much that you laughed till your stomach ached, or the last time the alarm went off in the morning and you smiled when you heard it because you just couldn’t wait to launch into another day?

Or do you more often feel like life is dull, dull, dull.  Insignificant. Unexciting.  You find yourself hanging a poster of Ecclesiastes 1:2 on your fridge door – “‘Meaningless! Meaningless!’ says the Teacher. ‘Utterly meaningless!  Everything is meaningless.’”  Do you feel that life is drudgery and disappointment.  Nothing but routine.

I’m not talking about temperament here – we all know people who are just naturally “bubbly” and seem to be really “alive” all the time. That is often a function of temperament – I’m talking about more than that. I’m talking about how you feel about your life – does it feel full, meaningful, significant and alive or does it feel empty?

I don’t what I call “TV commercial” living. You know what I mean – beautiful people, nothing wrong, happy happy happy, fun fun fun. That is not reality, its marketing. It is a deliberately false image carefully designed to sell a product.

I AM talking about how you feel about your life in those quiet moments of reflection – those moments, however brief, when someone who cares about you looks you in the eyes and says, “how are you really doing?”

Jesus said, in John 10:10: “The thief comes only to steal, kill, and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it more abundantly.”  By “the thief,” He means, of course, the devil.  He contrasts the devil’s desire – to steal, kill, and destroy, meaning to rob us of life, joy, and happiness – with His desire, which is to bring us life “to the full.”

So it is clear to me from Scripture, both Romans 6 and elsewhere, that God’s desire for us is to know a fullness in life here on earth. His desire is that we could in all honesty respond to that question, “how are you really doing?” across the coffee shop table by saying: “life is good.  It isn’t easy, it isn’t uncomplicated, but at the root, it is good.”

As you ponder through Lenten reflection, what is your answer to my question?  Think a moment.  How are you really doing?   Is it possible that you have been robbed of the life and the joy that God desires for you?  The thief has slipped into your life and stolen something that does not belong to him, and has replaced the true life that God desires for you with misery, disappointment, and disillusionment.

Let me clarify once again: I’m not talking about an easy life devoid of difficulties or challenges. I’m not suggesting that Jesus is here promising a life of luxury and without any pain.  I’m talking about how you feel about your life one step deeper: in the midst of all that is “life” here on earth – which includes challenges, disappointments, sickness, and loss – in the midst of all that, are you still truly alive?  Alive like Jesus!

As we walk through Lent, towards the Easter season, I want to focus on the fact that Jesus is Alive, what it means to us, and how we live.

There is a deliberate progression: it begins with belief. Believing brings the gift of the Holy Spirit.  When the Spirit comes, there is freedom.  When we are free, we can journey with Jesus again.

And that brings us here tonight: in the journey, Jesus’ desire is that we have “life to the full.”  Will you begin to live for the first time or again?  I double dog dare you.

In the beginning of this message I read part of Romans 6; these Scriptures talk about the life we have in God because of what Jesus did on the cross.

A. Life begins with death (vs 1-4):

The first four verses talk about the effect Jesus’ death on the cross has on our sinful nature.  He talks about us being “buried with Jesus” – about participating in His death – and uses the imagery of baptism to convey this idea.  As we go under the water, we participate in Jesus’ death – we become partakers of it.  Verse 4 makes the reason clear:  “We were therefore buried with Him through baptism into death.   And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live NEW lives.”  The point is we can live and should live “new life” DAILY…the new life Jesus talked about in John 10 which is abundantly full, rich, and satisfying.

B. United in resurrection (vs 5-10):

Verse 5 makes the transition: “…We will certainly also be united with Him in his resurrection.”  Paul completes the circle – since we are united in Jesus’ death, we are united in His resurrection.  This is the second part of the baptism imagery…we rise again.

If you stop and think about this, it is really an amazing thought.  We share – not just for eternity but now as well – in the resurrection of Jesus Christ.  We participate in it on a spiritual level…we are part of it – it effects us.  The next couple of verses clearly state – our old nature, the sinful nature, is crucified with Jesus on the cross and now, since it is dead, it no longer holds us in slavery.  Instead, we have new life – life no longer controlled by our nature but rather by the new creation that God gives us.  We are “in Christ,” both in His death and His resurrection.

I think many of us kind of grasp the first part – being united with Jesus in His death. We understand that He took on Himself our sins, and our old nature is buried with Him through His atoning death on the cross. That part we sort of understand. But this second part needs work – I don’t think we really understand what it means to be united with Him in His resurrection.  We start to think perhaps that part of it is in the future.  You know when we will actually participate in resurrection ourselves after our own death.  But that is not what Paul is talking about here in Romans 6 by being united with Jesus in His resurrection – he isn’t talking about the future... He is talking about the new nature we have NOW after our old nature is put to death.  He is speaking about how we are to live and experience life NOW as a result of participating NOW in the resurrection of Jesus.

To put it simply, NOW we are NEW.  Now we are re-created, we have a new nature that is not manipulated by sin but controlled by the Holy Spirit.  The Gospel is not just that our sins have been paid for – but it is also that we now have new life!  We have resurrection life!!

Imagine for a moment that you live in an old, run down, dilapidated shack.  Like the ones you see on World Vision pictures from 3rd world countries – rusty metal kind of thrown over top of a couple walls full of holes.  No running water.  No toilet.  Dirt on the floor when it’s dry, mud when wet. Crude fire pit in the middle for cooking…when there IS something to cook.  Imagine that is where you live.  Spiritually speaking, that is the old nature.  When we are united in Christ’s death, that rusty shack is instantly removed, and in its place we receive a gorgeous, beautiful palace.  Clean, spacious, elegant, and extravagant.  When we are united in Christ’s resurrection, we receive the incredible gift of a new nature that is as different as an old shack to a palace.

And all of that means…we are to live differently.

C. New life lives differently (vs. 11-14):

Romans 6:11-14 cover this principle…Paul basically says, since you have new life in Jesus’ resurrection, live like it!  He says: “count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God” (vs. 11); “do not let sin reign” (vs. 12); “Do not offer the parts of your body to sin” (vs 13); and “sin shall not be your master.”  In other words, stop living in the shack and reside in His mansion instead.

He describes what our new life looks like: “count yourselves ALIVE to God in Christ Jesus” (vs. 11); “offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer yourselves to him as instruments of righteousness” (vs. 13); and of course, this wonderful truth, “you are no longer under law, but under grace.”

He is talking about living a holy life.  Living a life in service to God instead of in service to our own selfish desires and thoughts.  He is trying to teach us that this old, sinful part has been put to death and we need to LIVE in the new life instead of returning to the old.  Our new life is so much better than the old one!!

What does it mean to “live”?

Let me get really practical. If you feel like you “exist” more than you “live”, what can we do about it?  The first is to know the truth – and that is why I walked through Romans 6.  The truth is that we participate in the new, resurrection life of Jesus. In practical terms, let me suggest four quick things that I observe as characteristics of fully living:

1. Love with abandon.

This new life is characterized by holiness, and the secret to living a holy life is to be abandoned in love for God.  Guilt doesn’t work. “Striving” in our own strength doesn’t work.  The only motivation powerful enough to sustain us is to love God with everything.

In challenging us to “live abundantly,” I’m really challenging us to love deeply. And I know that is risky. I know sometimes that hurts. It means being open, being vulnerable. And it means being really alive. When we love deeply, we experience life like God wants us to.

Isn’t that the heart of the cross and the empty tomb – a love we didn’t deserve but was lavished on us anyway?  God loved us with abandon – without borders or limits!  Truly living means loving God with abandon.

It also means loving others with abandon.  Start with those closest to you – your family, your church family, your friends. Love them deeply, with abandon!  Do something a little bit unexpected to demonstrate the depth of love you have for them.  Do it for your family.  Or if it is for someone else, do it with your family!  Because you see it is never enough for us to just feel deep love without expressing it.

The other day I had a good conversation with someone at the nursing home where I serve on Saturdays, and at the end of it all, I said, “I really care about you.”  This friend replied, “That is the most important thing I’ve heard this whole conversation.”  So love with abandon, and express that love.

2. Invest in relationships:

This is very similar to “love with abandon,” but I don’t mind being repetitive.  I’m going to go out on a limb and guess that most of the times you have felt truly alive were experienced within the context of relationships.  Even for those few that weren’t – a personal victory for example – you probably couldn’t wait to share it with someone close to you.

If you want to truly live, invest in relationships. Take time to be with people – make a new friend, kick-start a friendship that has been on the back-burner, get together with one of those good friends that you never spend enough time with. I know it takes time – that is why I use the word “invest!”   Take the conversation to a deeper level – talk about what you are experiencing in God, share your joys, and pains. Share your soul.

This action too is at the heart of the cross and empty tomb.  Jesus walked through all of that so that we could be restored in relationship with God.

3. Do something really significant:

If you want to experience more of the abundant life that Jesus talked about, spend your time on things you know to be significant.  Serve God, help someone in need, do the things that are important rather than the ones that are urgent. It goes without saying that this is also demonstrated in the cross and the empty tomb.

4. Take a risk:

Finally, take a risk. God does – every time He creates a person, He takes the risk that they will not return His love.  I’m not advocating doing something foolish here, but doing something that you know will be beneficial to you and others that is outside of your comfort zone. Step out, take a risk in your relationship with God and watch what happens!

So I double dog dare you to live abundantly!   To know the life that is united with Christ in His resurrection and to live it “to the full!”  If your life is more “empty,” I want to encourage you to make a change. Begin right now –Allow your “old self” to be crucified with Jesus according to Romans 6.  Receive the “new life” united with Christ in His resurrection.

If you look at your life and feel like your joy has been stolen by the “thief,” Call out to Jesus and claim it back!  Because God’s desire for us is to experience life “to the fullest” in and out of this Lenten season!  Amen.