Consider Mary's attitude:  "And Mary said, "Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word." (Luke 1:38)

We don't always get to choose our role.   The announcement to Mary that God had chosen her as the mother of the Messiah must have been a shock.  In some ways it was a great assignment; a great honor.  In other ways it was a very painful assignment, as she would have to endure a lot of grief from her friends and family thinking she had committed fornication, then later experience the pain of seeing her son Jesus rejected and killed by her nation.

The world is currently watching as the heroic Japanese "Fukushima Fifty" nuclear workers risk huge doses of radiation and subsequent cancer, repeatedly entering damaged nuclear power plants that randomly explode every few days... all because they are faithful to their duty and their country, and because they are the only ones who can help.

You may be in a situation right now that you would extremely rather not be in.  But if we belong to Jesus, we can simply submit to whatever assignment He gives us.   It may be painful here and now, but the end result of submission to God is great beauty, the salvation of other precious souls, and greater eternal joy.

"For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison..."
                    2 Corinthians 4:17

Two and a Half Topics Tonight...  Economics, Forgiveness, and the Connection between them...

1.  Here is a nifty graph showing the income and expenses of the current United States federal budget, at a glance.  It comes from this link, of a financial consulting group's analysis of the USA as if it were a corporation: http://www.businessinsider.com/mary-meeker-usa-inc-february-24-2011-2

That huge entitlement load, and huge $1.3 trillion deficit (the difference between spending and income) does not even take into account the fact that tens of millions of Baby Boomers are about to retire and start tapping into Medicare.

Consider how difficult it is to withdraw "entitlements" once they're given.  Look at Greece's protests about its 'austerity measures', and Wisconsin's public sector union protesting governor Walker's budget cuts and collective bargaining limits.  It takes a VERY bold politician to cut entitlements for the sake of being fiscally responsible, knowing that millions of people will be outraged at the loss of their handout money.

Pennsylvania governor Corbett recently announced $850 million in budget cuts, trying to balance the PA state budget.  Rather than being hailed as a bold politician trying to put PA back on a financially sound footing, he is being widely castigated.  Penn State president Spanier said "Abraham Lincoln is weeping today", trying to lay the blame for Abe's tears upon the cuts, rather than upon the previous tragic escalation of yearly deficits and ballooning debt which inevitably always causes weeping when the debts come due.

2. Here's a quote from Mary Poplin about unforgiveness and how it is harmful to your own health:  Holding a grudge against someone is "like drinking poison and hoping that the other person dies."   How unfortunately true!

And how fortunately true the opposite!  God gives us the grace to freely forgive those who hurt us (who believe in Jesus), knowing how much we have been forgiven.   It seems like I have encountered a lot of nonChristian friends lately who have been talking about how angry and full of hate they are toward someone who has hurt them.   Not only do they see no need to forgive and "love their enemies", but they DON'T WANT to forgive them.

For us, though, who have been forgiven completely by God through Jesus Christ for all the sin and evil and corruption in our lives, how can we not forgive those who insult us and hurt us?   We have caused God SO much pain; we have messed up our and others' lives SO much, yet He forgave us fully and completely - forever.   He himself paid the penalty for our sins.   In light of this, how fitting and natural it is for us to forgive those people who hurt us.

3. What's the connection between the struggling economy (national debt, unemployment, gas prices, layoffs, job pressures) and the love and forgiveness that we followers of Jesus Christ are free to dispense in all directions because of the love with which He has loved us?

Simply this - in times of darkness the light shines more brightly.

Everyone is starting to 'feel the pressure' more and more these days, because of the bad deficit-growing entitlement-expanding financial decisions made by certain political leaders.  The pressure 'trickles down' into all jobs, into family interactions, into classrooms, into sidewalk interactions, etc.   In times when the veneers of civility and niceness are stripped away and people scrabble to survive, those of us into whom God has poured His lavish, rich, indescribably awesome love and approval through Jesus Christ can be beacons of joy and love and hope to others who are still stumbling around outside in the darkness.

"You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.
"Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven."
-- Jesus Christ, Matthew 5:14-16

Consider these 4 passages from the Torah -

Exodus 1:8-14
8Now a new king arose over Egypt, who did not know Joseph.
9He said to his people, "Behold, the people of the sons of Israel are more and mightier than we.
10"Come, let us deal wisely with them, or else they will multiply and in the event of war, they will also join themselves to those who hate us, and fight against us and depart from the land."
11So they appointed taskmasters over them to afflict them with hard labor And they built for Pharaoh storage cities, Pithom and Raamses.
12But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and the more they spread out, so that they were in dread of the sons of Israel.
13The Egyptians compelled the sons of Israel to labor rigorously;
14and they made their lives bitter with hard labor in mortar and bricks and at all kinds of labor in the field, all their labors which they rigorously imposed on them.

Exodus 2
23Now it came about in the course of those many days that the king of Egypt died. And the sons of Israel sighed because of the bondage, and they cried out; and their cry for help because of their bondage rose up to God.
 24So God heard their groaning; and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
25God saw the sons of Israel, and God took notice of them.
Numbers 11
1Now the people became like those who complain of adversity in the hearing of the LORD; and when the LORD heard it, His anger was kindled, and the fire of the LORD burned among them and consumed some of the outskirts of the camp.
2The people therefore cried out to Moses, and Moses prayed to the LORD and the fire died out.
3So the name of that place was called Taberah, because the fire of the LORD burned among them.
4The rabble who were among them had greedy desires; and also the sons of Israel wept again and said, "Who will give us meat to eat?
5"We remember the fish which we used to eat free in Egypt, the cucumbers and the melons and the leeks and the onions and the garlic,
6but now our appetite is gone. There is nothing at all to look at except this manna."
 7Now the manna was like coriander seed, and its appearance like that of bdellium.
8The people would go about and gather it and grind it between two millstones or beat it in the mortar, and boil it in the pot and make cakes with it; and its taste was as the taste of cakes baked with oil.
9When the dew fell on the camp at night, the manna would fall with it.
10Now Moses heard the people weeping throughout their families, each man at the doorway of his tent; and the anger of the LORD was kindled greatly, and Moses was displeased.
Numbers 13
17When Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, he said to them, "Go up there into the Negev; then go up into the hill country.
18"See what the land is like, and whether the people who live in it are strong or weak, whether they are few or many.
19"How is the land in which they live, is it good or bad? And how are the cities in which they live, are they like open camps or with fortifications?
20"How is the land, is it fat or lean? Are there trees in it or not? Make an effort then to get some of the fruit of the land." Now the time was the time of the first ripe grapes.
21So they went up and spied out the land from the wilderness of Zin as far as Rehob, at Lebo-hamath.
22When they had gone up into the Negev, they came to Hebron where Ahiman, Sheshai and Talmai, the descendants of Anak were (Now Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.)
23Then they came to the valley of Eshcol and from there cut down a branch with a single cluster of grapes; and they carried it on a pole between two men, with some of the pomegranates and the figs.
24That place was called the valley of Eshcol, because of the cluster which the sons of Israel cut down from there.
25When they returned from spying out the land, at the end of forty days,
26they proceeded to come to Moses and Aaron and to all the congregation of the sons of Israel in the wilderness of Paran, at Kadesh; and they brought back word to them and to all the congregation and showed them the fruit of the land.
27Thus they told him, and said, "We went in to the land where you sent us; and it certainly does flow with milk and honey, and this is its fruit.
28"Nevertheless, the people who live in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large; and moreover, we saw the descendants of Anak there.
29"Amalek is living in the land of the Negev and the Hittites and the Jebusites and the Amorites are living in the hill country, and the Canaanites are living by the sea and by the side of the Jordan."
30Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, "We should by all means go up and take possession of it, for we will surely overcome it."
31But the men who had gone up with him said, "We are not able to go up against the people, for they are too strong for us."
32So they gave out to the sons of Israel a bad report of the land which they had spied out, saying, "The land through which we have gone, in spying it out, is a land that devours its inhabitants; and all the people whom we saw in it are men of great size.
33"There also we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak are part of the Nephilim); and we became like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight."
14:1Then all the congregation lifted up their voices and cried, and the people wept that night.
2All the sons of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron; and the whole congregation said to them, "Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or would that we had died in this wilderness!
3"Why is the LORD bringing us into this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become plunder; would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?"

So the story starts with Israel groaning because of its forced slavery and oppression in Egypt...  God has compassion on them and rescues them to freedom with awesome miracles, like the 10 plagues against Egypt (each one pointing out the impotence of a specific Egyptian "god") and opening up a canyon through the ocean for the Israelites to cross through on dry land (after having received lots of gold and other valuables from their Egyptian neighbors as a "parting gift"...)

When the Israelites get a couple days into the desert, they run out of food.  God promptly begins sending "manna" every morning, enough to feed some 1-2 million people.  They run out of water.  God splits open a rock and provides a stream to flow out of the rock in the middle of the desert.

One would hope that the Israelites would begin to "get the picture".  God has provided for them in every way in the past, turning all their almost-disasters into amazing-deliverances.

But instead they complain, because they want tastier food.  Yeah sure God had promised "a land flowing with milk and honey" in the future by-and-by-pie-in-the-sky, but they wanted it NOW.

After a while, they arrive at the Promised Land.  The spies tell them that gee whiz, sure enough, the land actually IS "flowing with milk and honey"!   God hadn't been lying to them!   One sample cluster of grapes from their Promised Land was so heavy that it took two men to carry it home.   The days of good food were here at last.

But no.  There were big scary Canaanites in the land.  "Who knows, after taking care of us for many months, God might decide to stop helping us right as we start fighting battles!  How do we know this God really cares about us?  Or how do we know he's even there at all?  Oh for the days of peaceful bliss back in Egypt, when we could eat garlic and melons and we didn't have to fight (because we just shrank back in helplessness when they beat us into submission and killed our babies)."

--

Aren't we a lot like the Israelites?   God leads us from trying/maturing situation to trying/maturing situation, with lots of miraculous provision and gratuitous pleasure along the way, with every past promise kept and lots of amazing promises written for the future.  But we often focus on how we used to have it better in the past...  when (fill in the blank) life was easier, we had fewer challenges/problems/heartbreaks, etc.

Each day however, for those of us who belong to God, He is leading us into situations full of blessings and victory just waiting for us to experience, by His power.  And we are heading to an unspeakably awesome "Promised Land" with Him after this earthly life finishes.

--

Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, "We should by all means go up and take possession of it, for we will surely overcome it."  Numbers 13:30

--

Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take;
The clouds ye so much dread
Are big with mercy, and shall break
In blessings on your head.
- William Cowper

Some bad reasons to work:

• To make money in order to be rich and live in luxury
• To become famous
• To feel significant by having accomplished something in the world
• To be socially accepted

Some good reasons to work:

• To make money to give away to other people in need ("He who steals must steal no longer; but rather he must labor, performing with his own hands what is good, so that he will have something to share with one who has need." Eph 4:28)
• To "subdue the earth", exercising our God-given talents and abilities with creativity, doing what we were designed to do / tasked to do, bringing the earth into more and more order and beauty ("God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. God blessed them; and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth."" Gen 1:27-28)
• To set a good example of a disciple of Christ to nonbelieving peers, in financial stability and diligence ("But we urge you, brethren, to excel still more, and to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life and attend to your own business and work with your hands, just as we commanded you, so that you will behave properly toward outsiders and not be in any need." 1 Thess 4:10b-12)
• To set a good example of a disciple of Christ to our supervisors ("Slaves, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in the sincerity of your heart, as to Christ; not by way of eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart. With good will render service, as to the Lord, and not to men, knowing that whatever good thing each one does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether slave or free." Eph 6:5-8)

Thoughts?

"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

Philippians 4:6-7

Here is a letter from a friend of mine who helped in Haiti, and a response by me.   How would you respond?  What are your thoughts on this topic?

________ wrote:
> Bonswa once again,
>
> It's hard to believe that our trip is coming to a close. In all honesty, I'm really unsettled about coming home; I'm fairly certain that most of us would never be able to sustain this pace or make Haitian reality our permanent reality, but I've felt sick for the past two days and have a sense of overwhelming guilt about not being able to perform at my peak in the last hours. It's gotten harder to take pictures of Haitians and even tell stories of horrible patient scenarios as I'm reminded that I can quickly jump a plane and go home to my comfy life and they have no way out. I'm not sure if my thoughts completely make sense, but the only comfort I'm finding through prayer is the reminder that Christ was fully God, but he was also fully human. The enormity of his healing work regularly tested his human nature and I'm sure he fell into physically illness and exhaustion. He can relate to the stress felt whenever and wherever we encounter overwhelming need, in America or in foreign lands. He repeatedly holds us accountable, disciplines us, and perhaps lays guilt in our hearts so that we may be tested. I have faith that His aim is not to destroy me through this experience. I'm sure that He will actually do the opposite and even though I'm sitting with this horrible feeling of worthlessness, I pray that He allows it to pervade all facets of my life and allows me to realize just how weak I really am (II Cor 12:9-10). Please pray for safety as we journey home and that we may all have to peace of mind to settle any internal struggles. Your prayers have been with us and I can't wait to give and receive your hugs. I thank God for the girls that I have been able to share this experience with and thank you for all of your encouraging letters and emails. They have meant the world to me in time when I needed them.
>
> Love,
> ____________

Hey ________,

Yes....  thanks for the update...  praying for you all...

Regarding the poor and abused, I have wondered similar questions and felt guilt too.  I lived for six months in Africa when I was a child and traveled briefly in Thailand in college, and lately I've learned more about the persecuted church and the slaves trafficked around the world and have been trying to help in what little ways I can.  For what it's worth, this passage comes to mind:  Mark 14:6-7

But Jesus said, "Let her alone; why do you bother her? She has done a good deed to Me. For you always have the poor with you, and whenever you wish you can do good to them; but you do not always have Me.
At first it almost seems callous, when Jesus says "you always have the poor with you...".  Somehow Jesus was able to fully comprehend the suffering of the poor, and even the fact that there will always be poor, suffering people in this world until the end comes, yet he stayed sane and trusted in God through the knowing.   Perhaps His implication is "Don't despair...  put Me first in your life, and then secondly keep helping other needy people all your life long whenever the opportunity arises, knowing that there will never be an end to the poverty and need until the new earth comes."    ?

I'm not trying to give an easy answer to the questions you're wrestling with because of Haiti.  I know it's not just about poverty in Haiti, but about the earthquake suffering, and the violence and abuse there, etc.  Surely they need the gospel more than any other type of aid there, especially long term.  But as I've been pondering these things myself over the past few years, I'm coming to the conclusion that for me it's a matter of doing my little daily part to help the poor (out of love because of the love with which God has loved me first)... like the man walking along the beach tossing stranded starfish back into the ocean before they dried out and died, and the passerby who told him "you can't save them all", and his answer "I know, but I can save THIS one (toss), and THIS one (toss), and THIS one..."

Other related passages that come to mind - Isaiah 58,  Proverbs 19:17,  Luke 13:1-6,  Psalm 37...  and there are obviously many more.  Also if you have time and interest, I recently posted some thoughts on my blog about Psalm 37 - http://tim223.xanga.com/726147754/psalm-37/   I'll be interested to hear more of your thoughts on these things and some passages that you find helpful, as things become clearer some time after the Haiti trip.

With esteem, Tim

Quote: "Most churches have no idea what to do with spiritually mature men in their 20s, so they wrongly direct them to seminary or to a ministry with kids, hoping these guys will rub off on the youth and keep them coming to church and out of trouble."

This is an extremely fascinating and thought-provoking article!  http://online.worldmag.com/2010/06/02/mishandling-twentysomethings/   What are your thoughts on it?

I have lots of thoughts... too many to categorize.  Here goes an attempt anyway:

• First, the author (Anthony Bradley) raises lots of good points.
• Why send men away to seminaries so they can become full time vocational "pastors" (as in a full-time "clergy job") in the first place?  Is this Biblical?
• If it is necessary to train men for future ministry, why not train them within the church?  Why send them away?
• The article presupposes that there are "youth groups" (collections of kids whose parents have dropped them off for some form of age-segregated training) that need extra "helpers" to take care of all the kids.  Why would the parents abdicate their own responsibility to spiritually train their own kids?  Why regularly separate the kids from the parents for their weekly teaching/spiritual edification in the first place?  Is this Biblical?
• Fascinating phrase-quotes from his article: "...church communities were confused about what is normal for men in the church..."  and  "the whispers of church people who confuse spiritual maturity and vibrancy in young men with a “call to ministry.”"   Well said.  The problem is not "ministry" (service) in the literal sense, but in the cultural baggage of the word "ministry" as meaning salaried "clergy" work.   It may not be "normal" in churches for young twenty-something plumbers, electricians, landscapers, and computer technicians to be fervently concerned about the kingdom of Christ and about edifying and teaching their brothers and sisters, but it ought to be normal!   Paul's description of the "normal" church in 1 Corinthians 14 says that "When you assemble, each one has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has a tongue, has an interpretation."  Not just the 'professionals.'
• Quote: "When a younger brother says to me that “he feels called to ministry,” I usually understand that to mean that he craves and needs validation and would like to use the church to make him feel good about himself.   Ha ha.  Understandable.  Reminds me of a graduation charge I once heard.  The speaker got right to the point quickly, saying something like this: "Your parents and friends are all telling you these days how wonderful you are.  One of the most important things you need to learn to do as part of graduating and growing up is to stop believing their compliments."  That is, to have an accurate understanding of oneself, neither too high or too low, and to focus on God's opinion rather than humans' opinion.  Bradley is correct that there is a big danger for young and talented twenty-somethings to experience too much praise and commendation by their church acquaintances, and to become proud.  "craves and needs validation"... yes... don't we all...
  But I think the solution is not to avoid putting young men and women into ministry, but rather to provide more mentoring for them.  For example, Barnabas mentored Mark in the Bible, taking him along with him on their missionary trips.  Mark bailed out once, but Barnabas patiently took him along again on a future trip.  Eventually his patience was rewarded as Mark became a mature and strong Christian man.
  One thing Bradley didn't mention was the all too common experience of a young twenty-something encouraged into "ministry" who ends up falling into public sin, such as fornication or heresy.  The Bible talks so much about this, from the requirement that overseers be "not a new convert, so that he will not become conceited and fall into the condemnation incurred by the devil... These men must also first be tested; then let them serve as deacons if they are beyond reproach" (1 Tim. 3)  to the warning to "Do not lay hands upon anyone too hastily and thereby share responsibility for the sins of others..." (1 Tim. 5).
  Also, the Bible talks about those who have fallen... and the need to "restore" them!  Don't just write them off.
  In summary as I see it: if you see a new Christian or young Christian who seems to have lots of zeal for God, (1) understanding the depth of human depravity, expect them to be full of latent evil (like King David! and others), (2) by all means put them into service in various ways (like Mark, and like 1 Cor 14 "each one"... no exceptions!), (3) put godly older mentors by their side, constantly probing and asking them and challenging them to grow in Christ and keeping them humble and accountable, (4) don't be surprised if / when they fall into sin and failure, and (5) be ready to continually encourage them back to Christ and back into (appropriate) service afterward....
• One other reason in favor of having young people get involved in youth work is that sometimes they honestly don't know what their spiritual gifts are, and sometimes putting people in various service roles allows them to 'try out' various things and discover their gifts.  When Bradley talks about people "working in vocations that they originally set out to do before they were misdirected by the whispers of church people", he seems to be warning more about the problem of telling young people who already understand their own gifts to instead go into youth work or seminary/clergical work because of their evinced fervent love for God.  I personally know some people who do not know where God wants them / what gifts He's given them, so for these people, trying out various avenues of ministry might indeed be helpful.   However, as mentioned above, intentional mentoring seems extremely important.

Your thoughts are welcome.

Have you ever had someone tell you that you needed to "find yourself"?   What does that phrase mean?

When high schoolers or college students use the phrase of themselves, as in "I just need to take a year off before more schooling and find myself", they typically mean they are confused about life ("what's it all for") or are disillusioned with hard work and studying at school, and want to travel, see the world, experience some different situations than they experienced growing up, etc.  Especially, they may be in search of a 'metanarrative' - a big story that makes sense of all the little stories of their life - which they can 'plug into'.

Another meaning of the phrase might be more literal: someone who doesn't know themself very well... someone who doesn't know their own interests, their history, their skills/abilities, etc.

Yet another meaning might be more like: "You need to develop yourself and formulate a more defined personality.  You need to make for yourself a more interesting life.  You need to get yourself a hobby or two that you can spend money on and develop a passion for.  You need to pick some favorite sports teams to root for.  You need to understand the types of foods and entertainments you naturally enjoy, and then start investing lots of time and money in them, and begin to make your preferences known loudly to other people.  You need to become more opinionated.  You need to become more passionate about earthly matters.  All in all, you need to 'get a life.'"

One person once told me, in all seriousness, that I needed to find myself.  At the time I merely accepted the advice, storing it away.  What I should have done instead, I think, is to ask the person precisely what was meant by the advice.

Meant in this last sense, the recommendation that someone needs to "find themself" seems to conflict with the example set by Paul:

For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a slave to all, so that I may win more.
To the Jews I became as a Jew, so that I might win Jews; to those who are under the Law, as under the Law though not being myself under the Law, so that I might win those who are under the Law; to those who are without law, as without law, though not being without the law of God but under the law of Christ, so that I might win those who are without law.
To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak; I have become all things to all men, so that I may by all means save some. I do all things for the sake of the gospel, so that I may become a fellow partaker of it.  (1 Cor 9:19-23)

Paul's chameleon-like adaption of himself to whatever people he was with had several interesting implications:

• It was not a sign of weakness (although it may have looked that way to observers who didn't know him well)
• It did not mean that he didn't have likes and dislikes and preferences, but rather that he subjected his own desires and preferences in order to win more people to Christ
• His bending over backwards stopped at the point of where God's truth and directions began... e.g. when the Galatian Judaizers tried to add small cultural requirements to the gospel, Paul "did not yield in subjection to them for even one hour" (Gal. 2:5)
• The reason for his relegation of earthly passions to the back burner was apparently the "surpassing value" of Jesus Christ.

Apparently, Paul was so obsessed with the value of Jesus Christ that everything else was basically irrelevant to him.  Or, put another way, the relevance/value of anything and everything else in life was only in how it helped him bring other people to Jesus Christ, enhance the reputation of Jesus Christ, and assist him to properly delight in Jesus Christ.  Related verses:

"But this I say, brethren, the time has been shortened, so that from now on those who have wives should be as though they had none; and those who weep, as though they did not weep; and those who rejoice, as though they did not rejoice; and those who buy, as though they did not possess; and those who use the world, as though they did not make full use of it; for the form of this world is passing away." 1 Cor 7:29-31

3for we are the true circumcision, who worship in the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh, 4although I myself might have confidence even in the flesh. If anyone else has a mind to put confidence in the flesh, I far more:
5circumcised the eighth day, of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the Law, a Pharisee;
6as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to the righteousness which is in the Law, found blameless.
7But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ.
8More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ,  9and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, 10that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; 11in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.  (Philippians 3)

Matthew 13:44
"The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field."
Finally, those of us who belong to Jesus are truly and permanently "found"... our identities are secure in a way that others' will never be.

1Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.  2Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.  3For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.  4When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory. (Colossians 3)

Here's a powerful and well-worth-reading excerpt!!

Taken from http://www.monergism.com/acidtest.html

The Acid Test of Being a Christian

"See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is." (1 John 3:1-3)

The mark of knowing God is that you see God's love for you as a miracle. Notice this [text]: it says "how great". In the old King James it says "behold, what manner of love." Here it says, "how great a love" [NAS]. There is a Greek word that is used here that they are translating as "great" and the problem with the word is that it is an idiom. Idiomatic expressions are very hard to translate literally. We have an idiomatic expression: "its raining cats and dogs." Ok so if you are trying to translate that into Cantonese, German or into Japanese -- if you just say literally in those languages "it's raining cats and dogs" they will look at you: "what are you talking about?" You will have to find an idiomatic expression that is parallel or coordinate to that. Literally it says "behold, what country this love comes from" What this statement is really saying is "from what planet... how unreal...off the scale".

Remember there was a movie called "The Fisher King"? You wouldn't since hardly anybody saw this. Amanda Plummer plays this really klutzy, mousy, wallflower who has no friends. Robin Williams takes her out. At the end of the day he takes her in and says "I want to talk to you". She says "no, no, if you got to know me you would not like me. I am tired of rejection ... it was nice to go out. But everyone who gets to know me doesn't like me, so thanks." And Robin Williams says, "I do know you. I know that you think you are awkward. I know that you think you are clumsy. I know that you are kind of clumsy but I want you to know that I know who you are and I love you, and I will never leave you and I will never or forsake you." And she looks at him and its as if she is looking into the heart of what she thought was an enemy and she sees there understanding and love and she says, "Are you real?". This is a miracle that you love me.

[like this movie] This is saying, here is the way you can tell whether you are a Christian or just a moral person ... a Christian or a religious person. A real Christian is a person who says, "it is an absolute miracle that God's loves me. "It's just a miracle that I am a Christian." This is actually an acid test; let me just lay it on you here at the end. There are two kinds of people that go to church: there's religious people and real Christians. And the way you can tell the difference is that a Real Christian is somebody who sees everything that comes as a gift. In other words a real Christian sees that you are totally in debt to God, but a religious person is someone who is working hard and making an effort and trying to be good, going to Bible studies and just saying "no" everywhere, and denying themselves a lot of pleasures, and so forth, and a religious person is someone who is trying to put God in their debt. That is the difference. A religious person is someone who is trying to save themselves through their good works. A religious person is somebody who thinks they are putting God in their debt since they have tried so hard. A Christian is somebody who sees themselves as in God's debt.

Here is the acid test: If you are a Christian you have a spirit of wonder that permeates your life. You are always saying "how miraculous", "how interplanetary", "how unreal". You are always looking at yourself and saying, "me a Christian ... incredible, miraculous, unbelievable, a joke!!! " but a person who is trying to put God in their debt - there is none of that spirit of wonder at all. For example, when you show up to get your paycheck. I am assuming that most of you work hard for your money. When you show up for your paycheck do you say "Ah, BEHOLD!!!, you've paid me, you've given me money!!! Oh!! Are you real?." No, you don't do that, you say "of course you paid me, I worked." If you ask a religious person who does not understand the grace of God. you say, "Are you a Christian?" They say "Of course I am a Christian, I have always been a Christian. Sure I am a Christian. " My friends, if you are a Christian there is no "sure" about it and there is no "of courseness" about it, not a bit.

The acid test is your spirit of wonder stays there even when things go bad. You see when things go bad, when problems happen, here you can tell the difference between a moralist and a Christian. A moralist says, "what good is all my religion, what good is going to God, I have tried hard to be a Christian, I am trying hard to be obedient to God, and what good is it? God owes me." And you see you get mad. You say, "I have been trying hard and look what's going on in my love life, look what's going on in my career", and you get bitter. Why? because God owes you. But A Christian keeps that spirit of wonder. A Christian may say "my career has not gone too well, my love life has not gone too well, it's astonishing... Its amazing that God is as good as He is to me. Its all grace. Its all grace. That spirit of wonder. That sense of being a miracle. That everything that comes to you being an absolute mercy. That is an acid test.

In fact, in some ways I have made a dichotomy that is unrealistic. Christians, to the degree that you behold the free grace of God, to the degree that you meditate on it and you let it become a holy fire in your heart, to the degree you experience and behold the love of God, to that degree you are going to find that to difficulties you will be able to say "oh well, my Father must have a purpose here because He loves me, and besides that, He does not owe me a good life. He owes me a far worse life than I've got." You can handle anything. And when good things come you will say "Behold! what a miracle" And the very fact you can get up in the morning and say, "I am a Christian. Who would have thought it?" There is a spirit of wonder about you, and if you have lost that you are slipping back into moralism, you are slipping back into thinking "well I guess what it means to be a Christian is just to do." Here is Christianity:

And can it be that I should gain
an interest in the Savior's blood!
Died he for me? who caused his pain!
For me? who him to death pursued?
Amazing love! How can it be
that thou, my God, shouldst die for me?

The wonder is a mark that you know the Lord. The ability to handle anything with that sense of almost childlike wonder. That sense of being a miracle. That tells you that you know him.

Let us love and sing and wonder,
Let us praise the Savior's Name!
He has hushed the law's loud thunder,
He has quenched Mount Sinai's flame.
He has wash'd us with His blood,
He has brought us nigh to God.

1 Corinthians 7 is a beautiful part of the Bible....    Consider this section from the middle of it:

^"But to the married I give instructions, not I, but the Lord, that the wife should not leave her husband (but if she does leave, she must remain unmarried, or else be reconciled to her husband), and that the husband should not divorce his wife."

How much heartache would be spared to couples and their children in this world if they only followed God's instructions...

What a phrase of powerful hope here:   "....reconciled to her husband...."

We tend to pass over that phrase - "yeah, well, maybe that happens rarely, but not usually...  usually one of them gets remarried, and very little 'reconciliation' happens the rest of their lives..."

But God gives only two options - remain unmarried, or be reconciled.   Those of us in His Church need to help our brothers and sisters to remember this...    that reconciliation is not only possible, but it is to be expected!  Let's pray to that end.... and in fact, not only for the couples we know, but for that "50%" of American couples who have experienced divorce and continue to do so... hundreds every day, thousands every year....   God may well bring about not only a handful of reconciliations here and there, but REVIVAL across America, of which perhaps one of its corollaries will be marital reconciliations between millions of people....

...and of course, the main and far more important reconciliation that needs to happen is between so many of these people and their God.   The eternal reconciliation....

Dear God, please bring revival here.....   Please bring me closer to You too....