The Bungee Cord. 5-9-24

Hello,

How to get to heaven.

It seems to me that for many people, that would be their answer to the question, “What is the purpose of the Christian faith?” In truth, I think, that answer is what the focus of the church’s teachings have been during many years of the life of the Christian faith. As a Lutheran in seminary, I learned that that was certainly the case in Martin Luther’s lifetime when people were being taught that the purchase of an indulgence would release a loved one into heaven.

I know that even for myself, that would have been my answer in my younger years. “If you want to go to heaven, be a Christian.”

That, however, would not be my answer today, nor has it been my answer for all of my ministry. It has become clear to me that God did not send his Son, Jesus, to be a guide in our steps to the grave, but rather Jesus came to demolish the grave and make every one of our steps a step out of the grave. (Romans 6) In my mind that is what Jesus was trying to tell Nicodemus who asked him, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?”, to which Jesus responded, “You must be born again (or literally, “from above”).” And Jesus was soon to make that happen for Nicodemus when Jesus escaped the womb of death by destroying death on Easter morning when he was resurrected, and it was a destruction that will remain forever.

For me, the Bible is not a road map leading to a treasure. It is, instead, a magnifying glass giving us sight to see what God is up to. And what is God up to? God is like a sculptor that takes a lump of clay and turns it into a beautiful work of art. God is and has been shaping his handiwork to be an awe-inspiring work of grace. It is a work of art that embodies in itself and elicits in the viewer hope, peace, joy, love and abundantly so much more. It is the kind of thing that when one sees it, one’s breath is taken away and the following breath that one takes in fills one’s lungs with new life. The Bible helps us see God doing this in each of our lives and in all of creation.

I hope that the Bungee Cord has been a similar magnifying glass, albeit quite scratched up by me, for you. I hope that when you read the Bungee Cord, you see with a little more clarity a bit of the artistic work that God is doing in you and in the world. You see, I do not believe that the Christian faith is meant to be a guidebook on how to get to heaven, but instead I believe that being a Christian is being part of the unfolding grace of God. And I hope that you, like I, when you get a glimpse of what God is doing in you and all of creation you will be awash in hope, peace, joy, loved and abundantly so much more, and with your lungs filled afresh with new life you will join me and say, “Wow!”

Have a great week.

God’s grace and peace, (ggap)

Like

Comment

Share