Listen up, it's important

This week, I quoted A.W. Tozer with a statement that may be familiar to many of you:

What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.

Tozer's idea is that our conception of God defines who we are as individuals, establishes our values and priorities, and locates our meaning. Therefore, Tozer posits, we'd better have very clear and accurate ideas about who God is - it's essential for us to enjoy the human experience to the fullest.

Whether someone believes that God exists or not, one could agree with Tozer on this point. An atheist who is quite convinced there is no god could concur - that what comes into my mind when I think about God is that he doesn't exist is the most important thing about me. An agnostic, a Muslim, a Catholic, a Protestant, a polytheist, a social gospel adherent, a liberation theologian, or an evangelical - all could conceivably concur.

If Tozer has a point, then it becomes imperative for me to listen to you (the "I and thou" of Buber's existentialism). Reflexively, it is imperative for you to listen to me. If the most important thing about you is what comes into your mind when you think about God, then in order for me to know what's most important about you, I need to listen to what you say about God. I need to hear what comes into your mind on this topic. I cannot learn what is most important about you if I don't listen to what's in your mind about the divine.

Even if you don't believe any god exists, I must listen. Even if you think he's vastly different than I do, I need to listen. Even if you think he's horrible, mean, unfair, uncaring, uninvolved, I need to listen in order to know what's most important about you. But not merely listening in order to effectively shoot down your points - really listening.

If I jump right in and disagree (to "set you straight"), I don't listen. And then I don't learn the most important part of you. If I argue, get defensive, get offensive, or otherwise shut down what you have to say on this, I won't know you. No, I must listen, whether I think you're right or wrong or somewhere in between. It's the only way to value the You that you are. I would hope that you would listen, too, in order to know the Me that is me.

I want to know you. Specificallly, I want to know what's most important about you. Shutting up and listening is not my natural bent, but it is imperative for me to do so, if Tozer's got it right.

I also want you to know the God I know. I do think He's awesome. But I know that if I don't value you and learn what's most important about you, I'd be conveying to you something about God that isn't true - that He's not a listener.

There goes another one...

In our recent sermon on Colossians 3:3-4, we told the story of the imago Dei (the "image of God"). The quick run of the history is: the image was created Unspoiled, then it was Spoiled (but not destroyed) by sin, and therefore was Incapacitated to unspoil itself. Then in Christ, the perfect image was Incarnated, and then it was Hidden in the "new man" of all who believe, and it will be Revealed in them in perfect glory with Christ's return.

In the research that Jimmy Larkin has been doing in "lifestyle discipleship," he has been impressed by a number of writings that describe discipleship as the process of restoring that image within us, allowing more and more of that hidden image to be revealed now. The Complete Disciple by Ronald Habermas is entirely about this idea.

In a conference I attended last weekend about the church contributing to the Common Good in Kansas City, keynoted by Andy Crouch (http://www.culture-making.com/about/andy_crouch/), the image of God was a fundamental theme throughout the conference. Bearing God's image includes the God-reflecting activities creating and cultivating through our ministries, our work, and even the arts. The image of God is also what gives others value, making them worthy of our attention to invest in them, no matter what their station in life may be. We contribute to the Common Good by helping to restore that image in others.

Throughout the years, I've pondered the impact of being created in the imago Dei. It's what distinguishes us from the other living members of creation. It gives us a unique relationship with the Creator. It is something that everyone has, no matter what they do or what they believe. As rich as these explorations have been, I've never felt like that I've even come close to plumbing the depths of this incredible reality. But lately, I have been surrounded by people talking about it.

As we go forward with making discipleship an increasing part of the rhythm of Grace Fellowship's journey, we are going to explore the imago Dei more and more. I pray that we can discover new and significant truths about the image, truths that change our thinking, our ministry, our lives at home and at work, and our worship.

Everyone you talk to, meet, see, and buy groceries from bears the image of God. Every person you see, you can say, "There goes another one." And because it's God's image they bear, they are worthy of dignified respect, our love, and our attention.

Knowing God's Will 101

What would life be like if we always knew God's will for our lives? Would things be radically different if we had a clear understanding of what it was that God wanted us to do? Would I work differently? Would I be busy about different things? Would I sell some of my possessions or take risks I don't presently take? Would my relationships be more genuine and less judgmental? Would I be more forgiving, more focused, more on fire, more prayerful, more active, more faithful, more generous? It seems like life would have more clarity and be simpler if I just knew what God's will for me was.

I work on the assumption that God always gives us everything we need in order for us to do as He pleases. It's just a basic assumption about the nature of God - that He always equips us to do, say, and think what He wants from us. He may equip us with natural talent, with supernatural gifting, with divine help, with His Word, with wise counsel and good friends, and with knowledge. This doesn't mean that He gives us now everything we will ever need for the rest of our lives, but for the day and for the moment, He supplies all that we need one way or another. Psalm 16:11 has this same confidence, "You will make known to me the path of life."

If this assumption is true - and the bulk of Scripture seems to bear it out - then that means that God is in fact also giving us all the knowledge we need of His will for the moment. At any given moment, God has already revealed enough of His will for you to act, do, think, and speak according to His pleasure - for that moment. Perhaps not enough for the moment that follows, but for this one. When that next moment comes, He will have revealed enough for that one, too. Every Biblical hero lived a life of having enough revelation for the moment, even if not for the next. If He always gives us all that we need, then that means He always gives us enough revelation, too.

That may not be all the revelation that we want to have. We may want to know what we're supposed to do for a big life decision, but not sense Him revealing an answer. But if He never fails to provide for the moment, that means we have access to enough to live that moment well, even if we don't see the answer to the big question written on the wall. We may want to know which college to attend, but instead of revealing the answer to that question, God has revealed what to do right now - seek counsel, pray, listen, and wait. We may want to know about a career choice, but He's already revealed to us to work today with integrity, to work diligently to help the company succeed, and to see our coworkers as people who need Christ's love and forgiveness.

There are many things about us that may affect our ability to access His revelation: unwillingness to do what He wants, lack of interest in knowing His will, the distraction of sin that blinds our eyes and clogs our ears, or even just not being well-practiced in paying attention and heeding His will by faith. But He always gives enough.

This means a shift in thinking. To live with the assumption that God has in fact at every moment revealed enough to me to live that moment well, then I don't need to think, "I would do God's will if I just knew what it was." Rather, I need to think, "God has already revealed to me enough of His will for now. What has He revealed? What can I do to be a better listener and follower? I'm asking Him to reveal X, but He's not done that, so what has He revealed? What do I already know about His will to just get busy?"

I find that most often, we already know most of what we're supposed to do. We already know the character and manner in which we're supposed to relate to people and work. We already know that each of us has some responsibility for the Great Commission to make followers of Jesus throughout the world. Sometimes, we even know which decision He wants us to make - we just don't want to or are afraid to.

If we busy ourselves with what we already know to do and practice better and better listening skills through experience, then so many times I've found He uses that kind of faithful action to reveal more of what He wants us to do with our lives. In other words, as you search out His will, be busy doing what He's already revealed for you to do, and I believe He will use that to reveal even more of His will to you. I've seen it way too many times to even doubt this idea any longer.

What would life be like if we always knew God's will for our lives? Would things be radically different if we had a clear understanding of what it was that God wanted us to do? Would I work, think, act, speak, relate, risk, witness, live, pray differently? Yes! And if this assumption is correct, then we already know enough to work, think, act, speak, relate, risk, witness, live, and pray differently. We already have enough to have Kingdom priorities that are radically different than the world's priorities. It begins with the assumption that God will always reveal enough for every moment.

The Gospel from 35,000 Feet

The most common way that we look at the Gospel is from the ground up. Man is a sinner, sinners are unfit for the presence of God, Jesus came to earth to pay for our sin, and we can have his eternal righteousness and fellowship by faith. It's not a bad way to look at the Gospel - it's clear, accurate, and something we easily identify with. But ... I was wondering today what the Gospel looks like from the top-down. There are many ways to answer that, but one way that struck me as curious centers on the idea of the image of God.

In the beginning, God created man (man and woman, but "man" to refer to the whole lot of us). God had created many other things already - angels, stars, planets, plants, and critters. But He created man to be different that the rest. He created man in the image of God (Gen 1:27). Man is the "image bearer" - he uniquely has this thing called "God's image" imprinted on his being. That image is a reflection of God's glory.

Then, man sinned. Adam and Eve disobeyed God's design and God's clear word. When this occurred, that image of God was not lost, but it was "vandalized." We still bear God's image, but that image in us has been severely distorted, mangled, and disfigured. It can become so distorted that it becomes very difficult to recognize that image at all in someone. This, of course, is grievous to God - not only for our loss, but also for what has happened to a reflection of His own glory! He had image bearers that reflected His great glory, but now after the vandalization, instead of a glorious reflection, it is a tarnished, blasphemous semblance of His glory.

The Old Testament teaches us the futility of man trying to restore that image on his own. How can an inglorious reflection repair itself? It's not possible.

Then Jesus came. Jesus was unique in that first, He bore the image of God perfectly. That's something no one had done since Adam and Eve before the Fall. Second, He is the God whose image we bear! He's both fully God (the glorious One) and fully man (the perfect image bearer). He alone bore the image perfectly on behalf of the entire human race.

When He died on the cross and rose again on the third day, he defeated sin and death - the very things that marred the image of God in man. In other words, the mission of Jesus was to restore the image of God in us. That image can be perfected in us. It begins with salvation (putting our faith in Christ). It continues through sanctification (the process of becoming more like Christ). It is complete in glorification (when Jesus returns and completes the image of God in us).

The Gospel from 35,000 feet is that Jesus came to make us perfect image bearers again, fully glorifying God as we were intended. We can become perfect image bearers only by faith in Jesus Christ, the glorious One and perfect image bearer.

Scripture shows the Gospel from 35,000 feet in a couple of places:

Romans 8:29:  Those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son.


1 John 3:2:  Dear friends, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet been revealed. We know that whenever it is revealed we will be like him, because we will see him just as he is.


Perhaps this can be a fresh way for you to share the Gospel with others who do not respond to the Gospel from the ground up.