I think many outside the Christian faith would find the idea of spirituality admirable, even desirable. It has this idea of transcending reality, and I think most would agree that reality isn't often what it should be - brokenness, pain, violence, etc. The problem is, even Christians would say that the spiritual life is elusive, and yet we have the Holy Spirit, the third member of the Godhead, to magnify the saving work of Christ in our lives (Eph 3:16-21), reminding us of the victory that is ours and a future hope to come. Consequently, we are well equipped to live for an eternity beyond this life.  The truth is, we don't feel victorious everyday. We struggle outright with sin, and with ourselves. And we crave a spirituality that transcends all of that. But the Christian faith is described as something we strive for (Heb 4:11), a race (1 Cor 9:24), and a fight (2 Tim 4:7). In other words, the spiritual life is one that is continuous, and not only that, it is met with resistance such that it won't come easily. 

I think a realistic view of sin gives us a better idea for how we are to view the Christian life, and our salvation. Spirituality, then, becomes less of this idealized, often longed for state, and rather one that sees us struggling to live holy lives in a depraved world, knowing that sin has no final victory over us (Romans 6:5-11). 

Rejection packs a blow that grows decisively more wretched as it sinks in. If you've ever watched The Bachelor (this is my admission, yes), rejected contestants go down a predictable downward trajectory (captured ever so deftly on camera) - first shock, then grief, and then the self-pity ("why does this always happen to me?"). Perhaps it's a case of schadenfreude, or delighting in someone else's misery, but there's something in those moments that intrigues me. I think because they are moments which are all too familiar. Rejection stinks, and with it, a resulting pain that is deeply unsettling.  The Book of Isaiah tells us that Christ was "despised and rejected by men" (53:3).  We know this to be true as we read the Gospel accounts of how Jesus was rejected by many, leading to His crucifixion. I have to think that Jesus felt the pain of rejection somehow. Yet we also see that He persisted in his mission and message. He knew the will of the Father (Luke 17:25). And it is through Christ enduring rejection that we are made forever accepted to God - with His wounds we are healed. 

Rejection will still hurt, but Christ turned it around so that we may never face permanent rejection of the Father. This is the good news of the gospel. 

Happy Resurrection Sunday!

There is an innate badness in each of us called sin. Though I state this matter of factly, I realize sin is a loaded term. Not all agree with the assessment of the human condition as sin. But, most would agree, things are not the way they are supposed to be. Sin is key to understanding salvation. We cannot come to recognize Christ as Lord and Savior without first acknowledging that we are messed up, and the only way we are made right is in the death of Christ, who condemned sin once and for all, giving us new life and freedom.

As wonderful as our salvation is, there is a tendency in the church to misunderstand sin.  Here are problematic views:

1. Legalism. This view believes that we we must make up for sin on our own - either through punishment or by doing good.

2. Licentiousness. A fancy word to say that we disregard any accountability to sin and indulge it fully.

These extreme views undermine the work of the gospel. To take sin seriously is to say that we have missed the mark of God's holiness, but we are not our own Savior. Neither is it to say that our sins are so grave that we merely give into them. We were bought with a price, so let us relish this, but not underestimate the offense of sin. To view sin properly is to say that we are absolutely wretched, but unconditionally accepted. I at times cannot wrap my head around this, but when I do there is such freedom!