A clay jar is made of clay

Do you, like me, have a severe dislike of hypocrisy? Are you highly suspicious of those who present as perfect suspecting that you might not be getting the whole truth? Those of us who belong to a religious tradition often feel like we need to compensate for out private flaws by denying to others (and to ourselves) that they exist. We cling to an erroneous idea about ourselves and actively promote it to the world thinking the whole time that we're doing God a favour. After all, if we the chosen can't get it right then how are our righteous ideas going to be attractive let alone credible; right? Wrong.

Recently a friend was in a quandary. Having done something he was ashamed of, should he suppress it as best he could or admit it to those affected and possibly discredit Jesus who he openly professed to follow. The right way is often the hard way and this friend chose to come clean which was by far the best approach- the honest approach. The voluntary confession proved to those affected that he was truly contrite as well as a man of integrity. He benefited as well; receiving their forgiveness he learned about grace and the courage he showed went to character growth.

True religion, or the religion that we should be aspire to is not pretentious. It doesn't pretend to be that which it is not. It still holds up ideals which drive self-improvement but it does not lie. In fact the pretence we often adopt in the interest of protecting the good name of God does more harm than good. Most of us can smell pretence well before we meet it and we either shun it or we are infected by it - both are bad outcomes.

Shakespeare always impressed me for his write characters I could identify with - each had their warts plainly visible. Hamlet for all his moral certainty upon discovering the truth of his father's murderer vacillates between madness and genius triggering the suicide of Ophelia and causing the accidental slaying of her father. Likewise the bible is chock full of imperfect souls used by God in the most extraordinary ways. Take David for example; his Shepard-boy faithfulness kills Goliath when an army failed, becomes a great King, writes the psalms (an inspiration to Jews and Christians alike) but also commits adultery and sends the woman's husband to a convenient death in the front lines of Israel's war. Jonah needs a whale of a miracle to illicit obedience. The great Apostle Peter; first fisherman, then disciple (the rock on which the church is built) denies Jesus three time when it counts most. Thomas doubts, Paul kills Christians before seeing the light. These are the heroes of many who profess a faith in Christ and few will argue that their lives were ineffectual with regards the Kingdom of God yet the religious of us think it better to present to the world as perfect.

1 Corinthians 1: 26-31
"Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: "Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.""

It's not because we have it all together that we are able to receive God's grace. We recognise the need for God's grace because we haven't got it together and we receive grace as a free gift flowing from the sacrifice Jesus made two thousand years ago (give or take). Paul writes to the Corinthians that not only is their imperfection not an impediment but that it resulted in them being chosen by God to reveal the perfection of the Christ.

What if we chose transparency instead of the pretence of perfection? What if we welcomed all people equally into our troubled worlds (and let's admit that we all have them) and continue to hold fast to the hope we have in Jesus? I know from experience that a transparent life has the affect of drawing in people not driving them away. We all love a genuine person or if we can't have that a genuine moment. The openness that this step of faith (letting the guard down) engenders becomes a tendon of relationship which strengthens like a muscle with use. The relationship becomes the vehicle by which Christ reveals himself to the other, through the revealed broken life.

2 Corinthians 4:7
"But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us."

The ignoble jar of clay, used for everyday purposes in fact contains a treasure of immeasurable worth. Letting someone close allows them to find the treasure for themselves. In this life, the jar will always be made from clay and no amount of effort on our part will make that jar be made of anything else. Representing our clay jay as something other than clay only works if everyone is kept at a distance - closer inspection reveals the jar for what it is. Pretence dissuades access to the treasure that is Christ revealed because it alienates us from others. But the openness, the embodiment of love, reveals Christ at work despite our flaws and his redemption on which we all depend.

Let's face it, we will not be perfect this side of heaven - let's not pretend to be.

Stoking the fires of faith

I facilitate a small bible study group of about 5 guys each in their early 20s. Over the last year we've trekked through James and allowed ourselves to get side-tracked on topics that engage us or where I feel there would be some benefit. The fact that the group has actually grown throughout the year is encouraging. That one of the guys has decided on bible college for this year and another can't help but tell anyone who cares to listen about what Jesus means to him (to the extent of having bumper stickers made up) is cream on the cake. Not that I can claim any direct credit but I'm sure I am having an influence - and this is heartening.

I've spent some time lately thinking on the whole point of the exercise. I don't mean this in the sense of why bother, but rather - where do I want this to go and why? So far I've been working at winning their respect as well as teaching them some of the things I've learned about the bible and the application of faith in the every day. The whole approach, though reasonably well prepared each week, has been disjointed. Not surprising really as there's been no master plan. Instead I've just responded and reacted and talked about what's been on my heart for them and/or for my life etc. It's an honest approach but I'd like to be a bit more deliberate for the sake of have a truly enduring impact in the lives of these embryonic great men of God.

So naturally I considered a curriculum of sorts. Which is another way of saying a list of the concepts or information I think should be imparted. A quick brain-storm brought up things like faith, love, prayer etc (fairly pedestrian!). Then I thought about categories and ended up with a matrix for considering the problem which kind of made sense. Very systematic you might say. I'm sure a web search or an hour browsing a Christian bookshop would have produced a complete and authorised guide but not coming up with it myself (even if I don't hit upon an original idea) seems somehow - dishonest. It certainly lacks informal authority which is much more persuasive in another's life than quoting someone I've never met and who is probably well outside my league.

I decided on a walk to clear the thoughts. Like you my life is very full and my mind inclined to accumulate clutter. While I walk I pray and free-associate which is good when you're pontificating on matters of faith.

Here's where I got to: what really counts is not information but motivation. What is the drive, the reason, the raison detre for what we do. If I want to produce enduring positive change in another's life I need start a fire not educate. We can have all the head knowledge but no reason to do anything with it. We know what is right and wrong, or what our calling is but don't care enough to choose the better way. Jesus was principally interested in the orientation of the heart, was it for him or not. Was it submissive, eager, thirsty for living water or ambivalent, proud, egotistical, distracted etc.

If I could somehow start a fire in the inner place that would burn it's own fuel and even with a little luck in time burn brighter the information and education would follow as required. The wise life of proverbs would be sort out with hunger. The asking, seeking and knocking would be granted, found and opened as promised. And the whole life would be self-sustaining and even auto-propagating.

Now fortunately for me there is a natural order of things designed, when properly used, to light fires. And as I think about it, it fits snugly into the most fundamental of Jesus' commands: Love one another. Love you see has imbedded within it the power to change the heart of a man. When I say love I mean the love described in Corinthians 13 (love is patient, love is kind, it keeps to record of wrongs etc). Not that soppy conditional feelings-based love but the tough and meaty type which sticks through thick and thick.

Here's how I think it works. I enthrone Jesus in my life and live to the best of my meagre ability according to his model and teachings and that of his apostles (a.k.a like the bible says). The result of this act of genuine heart-felt devotion is the glint of Jesus shining through those cracks which most of us treasure-filled jars of clay inherited from our apple-eating progenitors. Love is the channel by which another gets to know the real you and in the process can't help but noticing Christ-in-you. And this revelation of Christ in your life inspires change in another's life. This is how it's supposed to work. It all starts with Christ in you, producing love, producing Christ in another.

So let's now swing back to the question I posed to myself at the beginning of this diatribe: where do I want to go with this (group) and why? I can tell you that I don't want "mini-mes" nor do I want to see a whole lot of Christian experts wielding their religious arrogance at the world. There is a narrow way that we sense when we're walking right with Christ. I want these guys to walk the narrow way for their whole life at a steady and sustainable pace. I want to produce in them a vision of might be, what they might aspire to in Christ. I want them to take ownership of their own journey, that is to become spiritual men. To take on the mantle of leadership (as servants) in whatever field they find fits their talents and interests. To do this I need to keep my house in order (so that Christ can be clearly seen) and I need to love (allowing them to draw close enough to see Christ in me). Doesn't sound like much of a curriculum does it? I suspect however that this approach will achieve what a wonderfully complete curriculum could never achieve; light the fire of faith and fan it until the clay pot itself begins to crumble.