A couple of weeks ago, I posted my list of things I have to remind myself of every Monday morning. I thought it may be helpful to explore a bit of each of the items on this list, and help talk through some things that we feel on Monday morning, and how the Gospel speaks into these realities. I wanted to start, however, with one I didn’t include on the list. One that both you and I need to be reminded of often, and that is essential for the Christian life.
Now, prepare yourself, friends, because this is a life-changing reality that has the potential to alter your joy level for today and for all life. So, take a deep breath.
OK, did you breathe? Here we go. The first reality I have to remind myself of on Monday morning is this:
God is REAL.
Wait, did you get that? Let me say it again.
God is REAL! He really exists! He really reigns on His throne, He really created the universe. All these things are really true. Now, I would like to point you to some Bible verses to prove this point. So, maybe Genesis 1:1 is a good place to start. You can just keep reading from there, and it keeps moving under the same general assumption: God is REAL! Through the rest of the Bible, we see that this REAL God (I am using caps there because I am yelling this word; feel free to yell it to if it helps you believe it) has revealed Himself through Creation, made promises to His people, fulfilled those promises through the coming, person and work of Jesus Christ, gave the Church the Holy Spirit as the Comforter, and has promised to return. Everything I just said there is true, and is evident in the unfolding story of the Bible, but throughout the Bible, there lies the underlying assumption of Genesis 1:1 – God is REAL.
But why, you may ask, do I start my Mondays by reminding myself of this fact? Well, I can think of a few helpful ramifications of this fact:
1. Because God is real, I am not God. The world, my family, and the people around me do not owe me either allegiance nor worship. I am not the center of my universe.
2. Because God is real, I am not God. There will be things that just can’t get done today, or this week, or this month, or at all. I can’t help that. I am not all-powerful. God is. And I serve Him, but I am not Him.
3. Because God is real, I am not God. There will be things that will happen this week that will change my schedule, frustrate my plans, and disrupt my train of thought. God is not bound to operate according to my schedule. I operate according to His.
4. Because God is real, I am not God. No one is obligated to take my advice, change their lives because of some thing I said, take me seriously, treat me kindly, or even acknowledge my existence. But they are obligated to respond to God this way. I point people to Him, not to me. That’s my job (and yours too. Christian. That’s not a pastor thing, it’s a Christian thing).
5. Because God is real, I am not God. I will say dumb things. I will say sinful things. I will offend people. I will make mistakes. Sometimes, I will make big mistakes. But I have to be careful to not confuse the pursuit of personal holiness with the pursuit of personal omnipotence. When I sin, I need to ask forgiveness. People need to see the power of the Gospel, not the perfection of the pastor. When I make mistakes, I need to admit them and learn. People need to see imperfect vessels so that they will more clearly see the perfect Savior. My ego most likely needs to take a hit today, and this week, so that others can see the perfect grace of Christ manifested in my life.
6. Because God is real, I am forgiven. I have been forgiven of sins, I have been cleansed, and even though my Monday morning is sometimes the day when all my failures from the last week have been brought to bear, I am accepted and loved and forgiven by the God who loves me. More on this one next week, when we talk about identity, but this reality is essential for me to remember.
7. Because God is real, my work means something. If no one else ever sees the work I do, the unseen things that take so much effort, or the good deed I did for someone else, or the amount of effort that went into that very small thing, God sees. And He is honored. This same God who loved me enough to open my eyes, adopt me as His own, and set me back out to be His ambassador sees every little thing I do. Even when others don’t recognize what I do this week, God does.
8. Because God is real, my priorities matter. I have been given direct instruction from the Almighty Creator of heaven and earth to love my wife just like Jesus loves me. I have been given direct instruction from the Great Speaker to speak words of encouragement and kindness. I have been set apart by the Great Worker to do works of righteousness. These things are to be a priority to me because they are a priority to God.
9. Because God is real, my life has meaning. When I question whether any of this is worth it, or why I am here, or I lament how much better I could be at my job, or how much better someone else is at my job, or whether or not anything I do matters, I remember this: Jesus gives my life meaning. Not my job, or my family, or my reputation, or my abilities, or my perfections, or even the praise of others. Jesus, and Jesus alone gives life meaning.
10. Because God is real, I get limitless, boundless, infinite, superabundant grace. Grace upon Grace is what John calls it (Jn. 1:16). Here is the reality: I will sometimes forget that any of the points on this list are true (and so will you, by the way). I will fail, and lose my temper, and sin, and make mistakes, and fall so far short that it’s almost silly. But God won’t, can’t, and doesn’t. And He gives more grace than I could ever need. When I start to compare my work, my ministry, my preaching ability, my cleverness, or my perfection to others, I become blind to the reality of grace. When I start to try to control things, I forget grace. When I work really hard to cover up my imperfections, I forget grace. Because God is real, I get grace. And that is the good news that fuels all ministry, from the pastor, to the accountant, to the stay-at-home mom to the schoolteacher and so on. God is real, and He is gracious.
I was at a preaching conference about a month ago, and the lecturer told a story I had heard several times before. Charles Spurgeon is widely considered to be one of the greatest preachers ever, and likely the greatest English-speaking preacher the world has ever known. As a discipline, as he would climb the stairs to the pulpit, he would say to himself “I believe in the Holy Spirit” as he took each step, until He finally got to the top. This couldn’t be more helpful for me because, in effect what Spurgeon was reminding himself of the very same thing I am reminding myself of here:
God is REAL.
May we live this week like this is true.
Best. Writing. EVER.