No Bad Days

As I rode in my car on the way to Louisville today, I was in a fantastic mood. As in, one of those irrationally good moods. Music was blaring, I was dancing, the sunroof was down, the skies were clear, my smoothie was refreshing and temperatures were up from the past few days. As one of my friends loves to say, “things were going my way.” Even when the gas pump wouldn’t work quite right, and when the clouds rolled in, and when traffic began to back up, I was not to be deterred, as my mantra over the past few days has been “No Bad Days.” 

 I don’t mean that in the obnoxious “happy Christian” sentiment, where many of my brothers and sisters seem to believe that the only way to be a good witness is to always have a smile on your face and not let the world see you down. They might even say that a person that isn’t happy isn’t close to God. I would, only somewhat respectfully, disagree. David wrote some pretty sad psalms to be a “happy Christian,” and they called him the “man after God’s own heart.” Paul wept for his nation, Nehemiah pulled his beard out in sorrow and Jesus Himself wept. If Jesus weeps, then he’s either a bad Christian or it’s ok for Christians to have an emotion beyond “happy.”

Instead, we pursue joy and contentment. We don’t always have to be a little ray of bubbling sunshine, like I was this morning. Instead, when I say “No Bad Days,” I mean that I am seeking to find some sort of positivity, some kind of trace of my good God and loving Savior's grace in the midst of even the worst days. Philippians 3-4 preaches a message of contentment and the pursuit of joy. This is the Christian's goal.

A particular Scripture of meditation on this topic is Philippians 4:13, which has become a real foothold in my walk with Jesus. A few years ago, when mom had cancer, the fourth chapter of Philippians became a real lifesaver for me. I repeated turned back to this chapter of God’s Word for encouragement during that time, and it gave me a much truer appreciation of this famous verse. So many people assume that this verse is all about pulling ourselves up from our bootstraps and becoming all we can be, either in the office or on the football field (sorry Tim Tebow). However, this could not be further from the truth.

Rather, Philippians 4:13 is the culmination of these two chapters of encouragement from Paul to what could have been his most beloved of church plants. The previous thirteen verses in chapter four, specifically, all speak of putting aside worry and praying, all in the name of fostering a deeper trust in Him, not in us. When the storms of life hit us (see Matthew 7:24-27), we need a solid foundation. We get our content and peace and security from others (Philippians 4:10) and from learning how to deal with stuff (v.11-12), but it is ultimately (even in those three verses) the Gospel of Jesus Christ that gives us a foothold when life tries to sweep us away in the currents of strife and hardship.

So, with all of this said, let's have No Bad Days. Not in a ridiculous, unbiblical manner that ignores the pains in our lives. We will certainly have some very rough, painful, cripplingly-awful days. However, let's not lose track of Him in the darkness. Don't get so focused on the water swelling around you that you forget who your Savior is. When Peter saw Jesus walking on the water, he called out to Him, asking if he could walk out to Jesus. When he actually hopped out of the boat and began towards Him, though, Peter realized that the waters were thrashing about him and that if he fell in, he'd probably die. So he lost track of what was in front of him (Jesus) and instead was swallowed up by the seas. Don't be swallowed up. Instead, look for Jesus in even the most violent of waters. He's there; walk towards Him.

Like a Child

Yesterday, I read Matthew 18:1-9 and 19:13-15. Both of these passages feature Jesus speaking about how to inherit or enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Take a look:

At that time the disciples came to Jesus and said, “Who is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”
² Then He called a child to Him and had him stand among them. ³ “I assure you,” He said, “unless you are converted and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. ⁴ Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child—this one is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. ⁵ And whoever welcomes one child like this in My name welcomes Me.
⁶ “But whoever causes the downfall of one of these little ones who believe in Me—it would be better for him if a heavy millstone were hung around his neck and he were drowned in the depths of the sea! ⁷ Woe to the world because of offenses. For offenses must come, but woe to that man by whom the offense comes. ⁸ If your hand or your foot causes your downfall, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life maimed or lame, than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into the eternal fire. ⁹ And if your eye causes your downfall, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye, rather than to have two eyes and be thrown into hellfire. -Matthew 18:1-9

Then children were brought to Him so He might put His hands on them and pray. But the disciples rebuked them. ¹⁴ Then Jesus said, “Leave the children alone, and don’t try to keep them from coming to Me, because the kingdom of heaven is made up of people like this.” ¹⁵ After putting His hands on them, He went on from there. -Matthew 19:13-15

You see, He claims that we must come to Him like a small child to enter the Kingdom of God. We must have the trust and faith in God and in Jesus that a small child has in his/her father. We are completely dependent, relying on Him for everything and having ever-flowing love for Him. 

But, we often times are not like this. Our dependence and love for Jesus can be muffled by many things, including earthly possessions. I don't think it is a coincidence that in Matthew 19:16-22 we find the story of the rich young ruler. He claimed that he wanted to follow Jesus, but could not let go of his money. He was not able to part from possessions:

 Just then someone came up and asked Him, “Teacher, what good must I do to have eternal life?”
¹⁷ “Why do you ask Me about what is good?” He said to him. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.”
¹⁸ “Which ones?” he asked Him. Jesus answered:

Do not murder;
do not commit adultery;
do not steal;
do not bear false witness;
¹⁹ honor your father and your mother;
and love your neighbor as yourself.

²⁰ “I have kept all these,” the young man told Him. “What do I still lack?”

²¹ “If you want to be perfect,” Jesus said to him, “go, sell your belongings and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me.”
²² When the young man heard that command, he went away grieving, because he had many possessions. -Matthew 19:16-22

Money brings safety and security, so we trust Him less. Money brings distraction and entertainment, which sucks away from our love for God. This is why Matthew 19:23-25 is such a somber passage:

²³ Then Jesus said to His disciples, “I assure you: It will be hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven! ²⁴ Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.”
²⁵ When the disciples heard this, they were utterly astonished and asked, “Then who can be saved?” -Matthew 19:23-25

 The good news is that there is a flipside. In verse 26, Jesus says that all things are possible with God. That is then followed up with a quick back-and-forth between Jesus and Peter: 

But Jesus looked at them and said, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
²⁷ Then Peter responded to Him, “Look, we have left everything and followed You. So what will there be for us?”
²⁸ Jesus said to them, “I assure you: In the Messianic Age, when the Son of Man sits on His glorious throne, you who have followed Me will also sit on 12 thrones, judging the 12 tribes of Israel. ²⁹ And everyone who has left houses, brothers or sisters, father or mother, children, or fields because of My name will receive 100 times more and will inherit eternal life. ³⁰ But many who are first will be last, and the last first. -Matthew 19:26-30

You see, we as Christians are called to be completely devoted to Jesus. We are willing to leave it all and be totally dependent on God, relying on Him day-by-day, step-by-step. We must walk by faith, trusting that we will be held tight by our Father and that the One who loves us won't let us go.

We can be confident in that because He loved us so much that He gave up His Son on the cross, and it was through that act that the impossible happened. The ones who were far from God, separated from Him by sin, were brought close. We were impossibly separated from God until God made it possible for us to draw near to Him.

So, it is no longer impossible for us to trust Him, walk with Him, love Him, be with Him and depend on Him in all things. It is no longer impossible for us to give up all we have to follow Him. It is no longer impossible to come to Him like a small child, and it is no longer impossible for us to inherit eternal life. The Kingdom is ours.