Repair and Righteousness

Please enjoy this photo of a damaged wall in my kitchen, badly in need of some spackle, loving care and a little paint. Granted, this space is going to be completely covered by cabinets and a tile back splash, but the surface must be prepped before the pretty stuff can be applied. Did someone ask for a spiritual analogy? Great! I've got one.

Imagine that this wall represents our spiritual state. On our own, we can do nothing to earn God's love or favor. On our best days, our best deeds are not impressive to our holy Creator. In fact, the Bible says our most valiant attempts at being good are like filthy rags to God. (Isaiah 64:6) So without Christ to make a way for us to come into God's presence and have a relationship with Him, we are nothing but wounded, wretched people with gaping holes of need.

However, God, in His infinite love and mercy, did, in fact, send a perfect sacrifice to redeem us from the yuck that kept us away from God. Jesus' death and resurrection not only covered our sin, He removed it and healed us from everything that kept us enemies of God.

Take a look at the following verses Paul wrote to the Roman Christians and see if it makes you think of any aspect of this wall.

²⁰Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.

²¹But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. ²²This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, ²³for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ²⁴and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. ²⁵God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— ²⁶he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus. (Romans 3:20-26)

We are incapable of getting our acts together and sprucing up our souls to be presentable to God. These holes will keep coming back unless they are dealt with. Not just covered, but filled in and smoothed over with God's grace and Christ's perfect righteousness. "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." (2 Corinthians 5:21) We are now not only affiliated with the perfect righteousness of Christ; we have become it. It is in us and through us, identifying us for eternity as God's children.

Of God's many names, this wall makes me think of Jehovah Rapha - the Lord that heals. The gospels are full of accounts of Jesus healing the sick. The Old Testament prophets proclaimed that, although God's hand could strike His children with disease, it was also His hand alone who could heal them. He alone can heal the physical, emotional, mental, and psychological wounds that plague us.

He is also Jehovah Tsidkenu: The Lord our righteousness. The blood of Jesus cleanses us - heals us - and it covers our sin to make us presentable and beautiful to our Father. A friend of mine likes to use the analogy of Christ's righteousness being like a luxurious white spa robe that God puts on us to wear. It is clean and attractive on the outside and it covers a multitude of imperfections underneath. That is Christ's righteousness for us: a flawless garment that clothes us in His perfection despite our sinful nature and behavior.

So if our natural spiritual state looks like a wall with gouges and exposed, unappealing flaws, what kind of physical image might represent Christ's activity in our souls? What about this?

Smooth finish, delicious paint color, flaws corrected. Sinful people covered by and healed by the righteousness of Christ. He is our Redeemer. He is Jehovah Rapha - the God who heals us. He is Jehovah Tsidkenu - our Righteousness. To those who receive Him, who believe in His name, He gives the right to become the children of God. (John 1:12)

Are there still exposed areas that need attention? Absolutely. Is the project complete? Not even close. That's what sanctification is about - becoming more and more holy as we walk with God. But the foundational work has been done. Now we work with God to participate in the process of transforming our hearts so that our passions and behaviors align with His standards.

And even when this spot is covered by new cabinets and new tile, it's nice to know the stuff underneath was taken care of properly. Just like my soul. God has done what was necessary, through Jesus, to place me in a position of confidence before my Maker. Not because of anything I've done, but because of Christ's perfect righteousness. Blessed be His name.

• Read 1 John 2 - 3, the whole chapters, playing close attention to 2:1, 2:29, 3:7-10, and 3:16. What do you notice about the concept of righteousness? What passages convict you? Inspire you? Where are there areas of prayer you could concentrate on this week?

• Think about a verse or a concept from the passages you read from this lesson. What will you share with someone this week? Sharing what we learn is the best way to make sure it's in our brains and hearts for good.

Temporary Kitchen

Since my empty cabinets were taken away last week, and the installation doesn't start until today, I've set up a little makeshift galley downstairs in my laundry room. It's completely adequate for our temporary needs of breakfast and lunch, but we're going out for dinner every night. (I didn't think it would get old this quick, but I'm actually looking forward to cooking again!)

According to our expressed wishes and the images I've compiled in my head and from magazine and internet photos, the new kitchen should be beautiful. But I can't picture it. I only see the brown paper on the floor and painter's tape and boxes of cabinets stacked and ready to install. The sinks should be arriving today and the faucets will follow shortly. Some granite countertops I don't remember will also be a part of the new package. I'm told it will be stunning, but in the meantime, I can only wash a couple of plates at a time and my microwave is on the dusty floor. I just can't imagine what it will look like or feel like in my new space.

Would it surprise you to know I've made a connection to Scripture based on this setup? I didn't think so. Check out what Paul had to say about a temporary situation:

¹Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. ²Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, ³because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. ⁴For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. ⁵Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.

⁶Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. ⁷We live by faith, not by sight. ⁸We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. ⁹So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. ¹⁰For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad. (2 Corinthians 5:1-10)

In his earlier letter to the same church he writes:

⁵¹Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— ⁵²in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. ⁵³For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. ⁵⁴When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: "Death has been swallowed up in victory." 
 ⁵⁵"Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?" ⁵⁶The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. ⁵⁷But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

⁵⁸Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. (1 Corinthians 15:51-58)

We are all living in a temporary kitchen! Even my new kitchen, with all its bells and whistles, will be a temporary one because this earth is not my home. We were made for something so much bigger and better – something our finite minds and vocabularies can’t begin to express.

But meanwhile we groan.

We have unfulfilled longings, but we live by faith.

We are burdened, but we have the deposit of the Holy Spirit, a guarantee of our future, imperishable glory.

My new cabinets, stacked and wrapped, adjacent to the space where they’ll be installed, are my deposit. I’m trusting that there are beautiful, solid, espresso-finished cabinets in there. The guys who unloaded them assured me they were and I’ve peeled back a corner or two of the cardboard to double-check, but I still just have to wait. So it is with the Holy Spirit in us, nudging us toward holiness and service, convicting of sin and reminding us of truth. Oh yeah, we remember. There is more.

So how do we live as if these bodies – these homes, these jobs, this shopping, this eating, this primping and striving and suffering – are temporary? Easter! There was a resurrection and there will be again! The perishable will be raised imperishable and Jesus will come again! Without Christ’s resurrection, there is no hope for us. No hope that we’ll be raised again. No hope that there’s anything better waiting for us than the temporary kitchens we’re living in now.

So in the meantime we make it our goal to please Him. We fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith. We stand firm and give ourselves fully to the work of the Lord. We remember the victory of Jesus Christ over sin and death. And we lean on the Holy Spirit, our deposit and guarantee of future glory, trusting Him to sanctify us and make us fit for our future homes.

Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! And that makes all the difference.

• What are you burdened by or longing for? How does the perspective of future glory and the resurrection encourage you?

For further reading:

• John 14:1-4 • 2 Peter 1:12-15

• Philippians 1:20-30 • Revelation 21

Empty Cabinets

My kitchen cabinets are being taken away this week and replaced next week. I’m also getting new sinks, new faucets and a new dishwasher. Walls will be painted. Countertops will be installed. All of these activities are in passive voice because I’m not doing any of them myself. I’m incapable. I simply don’t have the skills. And to be completely honest with you, I don’t even want to.

My 13-year-old son kept wondering why we were stacking boxes of our belongings in adjacent rooms for the days preceding the demolition. For some reason he didn’t understand that the cabinets were being removed completely. Not painted. Not refinished. Not just having doors replaced. The look on his face this week when he came home from school to a kitchen of exposed appliances and wires hanging out of walls of various colors was priceless.

Being who I am, I can’t help but notice some spiritual analogies in this process. Exhibit A: empty kitchen cabinets.

Before Vitali and the boys came to dismantle my cabinets I spent hours emptying them. That’s the part I could do. I can empty and sort and throw away some of the contents of the cabinets so that Vitali could rip them out and bring me something beautiful and solid and lasting and new. Does it sound spiritual yet?

Could that be what I need to do in my life as well?

Are there attitudes or behaviors in my life that I need to eliminate so God can come in and do what only He can do?

Here’s an example I think He’s been revealing to me lately. For years I have been asking God to help me tame my tongue. (My husband says I have a “tone”…) I want to speak words of life instead of words of death. (Proverbs 18:21) I want to build others up and not tear them down. (Ephesians 4:29) I know that words can spark a great fire that warms or destroys. (James 3) But then I came across this passage in Matthew.

You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. (Matthew 12:34)

Talk about a light bulb moment! It’s not just my tongue that needs taming – I have a heart problem! So my prayers changed from the moment of that realization. “Lord, what do I need to remove from my heart so my words will be different?” How can I empty my heart of what’s wicked so that God can replace it with His love, peace, joy, and compassion?

Spiritual analogy #1:

If I am a kitchen cabinet, I have to empty myself of myself so God can do something completely new and beautiful in my life.

This process is more than just confessing my sin.

It’s sober self-assessment.

It’s about brutal honesty before the One from whom nothing is hidden and everything is laid bare and uncovered. (Hebrews 4:13)

I can’t just say, “Lord, you know I’m a sinner and I’m going to try really hard to be better.” Too easy. Trying harder isn’t the goal and it’s not exactly the Scriptural outline for what God asks of us.

Here’s what Jesus said:

"If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. (Matthew 16:24-25)

Deny myself. Take up my cross. Treat my life like it’s already over and belongs to someone else. Why? Because it does. We were bought at a price and we no longer live for ourselves but we live for the One who loves us and gave Himself up for us. (Galatians 2:20)

If God is going to come and make His home in us and transform us, we need to empty ourselves of the lies, the condemnation, righteous indignation, and the sinful behavior that gets in the way of us abiding with Jesus and allowing Him to do His kingdom work in us.

Even then it can still look pretty on the outside. But that’s a topic for another day.

• What needs to be emptied in your life so God can come in and do what only He can do?