Saturday, December 23, 2006

Love is Nails

They say that pictures speak a thousand words. It's true.

There's a photo on our countertop of a foreign pastor and his family. His little children stare at the camera, unsure whether to smile or be frightened. The pastor himself does not satisfy the popular image of a pastor. He does not pose. He emanates no suave charisma or toothy grin. In reading the article alongside the photo, I find that the pastor's teeth were knocked out by persecutors in his village, who wanted the pastor to leave and take his Christ with him.

Such are the Christ followers—those who bear Christ's image on their hearts. A few, such as the pastor, bear His image outwardly as well. The village pastor's face reminds me of Him who was also beaten and lived His life in humble circumstances as well.

Not many children born in barns are likely to be voted 'Most Likely to Succeed' or are on the 'Fortune 500' list. Yet His birth in the stable will never be forgotten. He entered life surrounded by a cloud of suspicion and disgrace—the son of an unmarried woman.

Yet His coming was heralded by the stars.

He was openly criticized, hated, and betrayed by a friend's kiss. Then He was crucified, beaten until so bloody that He no longer appeared human.

God's Son took the likeness of Man, and in His death even that likeness was torn away from Him. He became "one from whom men hide their face." (Isaiah 53:3) For what purpose was the One who was called the "Morning Star" and "Prince of Peace" beaten to a pulp?

1 John 4:9:

"In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him."

Because He loves you.

The foreign pastor was beaten brutally for the sake of the gospel. He suffered insults, disgrace, and great physical pain. And yet, he and his family have chosen to remain in his village, despite the persecution that they must face. Right now, they live in constant danger. No obligation ties this pastor to the tribe, and no one would ever blame him if he decided to immigrate to a safer location with his family. After all, how could anyone possibly expect him to love the ones who had cruelly assaulted him?

There can be but one explanation for his decision to stay. This pastor became a missionary because God placed a great love in his heart for his countrymen. This love has not faded, despite mistreatment at their hands. In a small way, this pastor’s story is a reflection of what God has done for us. The very Son of God suffered so much more. His actions were confusing—even a paradox. The All Powerful God surrendered Himself into the violent hands of those whom He came to save. Such is the nature of God's love.

God loves the world with an intense, passionate love—a love so deep and so pure that we can hardly begin to fathom it. On the day of Jesus' birth, God Himself entered the world—to die. And He did it out of love for you.

C.S. Lewis penned a poem, marveling at this as well:

Love's as hard as nails, Love is nails

Blunt, thick, hammered through
The medial nerves of One
Who, having made us, knew
The thing He had done,
Seeing (what all that is)
Our cross, and His.


by Hannah and Lindsey

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Friday, May 19, 2006

Guest Post by Kimi Harris

When the ladies at Beauty from the Heart first asked me to consider doing a guest post answering the question: "If there was one thing that you could impress upon Christian girls, what would it be?", my mind raced with possibilities. There are so many important, vital aspects of godliness that God has been teaching me about. But there was one aspect of the Christian walk that kept coming back to me — servanthood.

Servanthood is not very admired in our culture. From early on in childhood, we hear phrases like "Follow your heart", "You can be whatever you want to be", "Find yourself", and "Pamper yourself--you deserve it." If we follow the world's advice, we are seeking temporal self-glorification by fulfilling our heart's evil desires. We will serve self, not others.

But Christ had a radically different message. He called us to something quite the opposite. Christ calls us to follow Him.

Christ's life would not be valued or esteemed if measured by our culture's standards today. He would not be a 'hero' in our eyes. In fact, He was often reviled by the world's most successful people when He was here. Why? Because the focus of the world then was not much different than it is now. The world at that time expected a leader who would serve himself and promote himself as king.

This attitude of self-promotion and self-service was even seen in the behavior of Jesus' disciples. Matthew was a tax collector, having an occupation infamous for cheating. James and John debated which of them would sit in the highest place in Heaven. Above the rest of the disciples, Judas demonstrated the cruelest selfishness in his betrayal of Christ. The disciples were clearly not always dedicated to servanthood. The self-serving way of life held by Jesus' contemporaries stood condemned by His perfect life of servanthood.

"Calling them to Himself, Jesus said to them, 'You know that those who are recognized as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them. But it is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant, and whoever wished to be first among you shall be slave to all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.'"

(Mark 10:42-45)

Christ then went on to show us what He meant by His words. He knelt down —taking the lowest job of a servant or slave— and washed His disciples' feet. This was the demonstration of an amazingly radical attitude. Not only did the Son of God "take on the form of a servant" (i.e. a human form) and come to earth, but He did not demand His rights. Instead knelt to wash the filthy feet of His arguing, prideful, sinful disciples! And He did not even stop there! He was beaten, crushed, wounded, and killed for us! This is the way of a servant. As Christ said, "The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many." By His blood and by His Resurrection, we have the great privilege and honor of following in His footsteps--and they are the footsteps of a servant.

But it is a battle. Let us not naively think that the world's view on life has not affected us. I know that it has greatly affected me. As the world will urge us to promote self, we are called to serve God by serving others. As the world will try to encourage us to value beauty and popularity, a mind set on heavenly principles will value servanthood. As the world fights to be on top, we are to fight to serve others. This is not a principle to be simply talked about, but it is a principle to be lived out. It is a principle that will get our hands dirty.

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Kimi Harris lives with her husband, Joel, in Oregon. She maintains a wonderful blog-- http://kimiharris-nonconformist.blogspot.com

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