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Friday, 19 October 2007

How to be a Heretic

So yesterday, I get into this discussion. Apparently a few years back there were a couple Christians doing a radio program. The program went like this. We won't screen calls. You call in, ask us a question, and we will answer it to the best of our ability. For the first few years, it was only on Christian radio stations, and therefore, very safe. Christians as we know have a tendency to think in the confines of the Christian subculture, and therefore ask the easy questions that are almost answered by the subculture in which we live. The Radio station did not stay on only the Christian airwaves however. It grew, and as it did, the questions began to become less and less "Safe," but also became more and more relevant to our culture as a whole. It included questions such as "Is a homosexual relationship wrong if it is in a committed marriage type of relationship," "Is it a sin for me to cross dress, or if I believe it's what I really am, to get a sex change," and my personal favorite, "Is it wrong to get breast implants for my husband as a Christmas present?" Now, one day they had the following question, "Is it wrong for me to perform oral sex on my husband, as he likes it, and I like giving it to him?" As the story goes, the two men who had this radio program looked at one another, and realized they had a choice. Either they could answer this question with what they believed was the truth, or they could keep their growing radio program. They decided to share what they believed the truth was (though I wonder how many of us would have that level of integrity) and said they believed in a marriage, it was perfectly acceptable, especially since they both enjoyed it, and even quoted some passages in Song of Solomon. Right away they got a myriad of complaints, so many in fact that though the radio show had good ratings, several stations cancelled it.

I relate this story to kind of write out my thoughts on heresy. I've heard it said that heresy is when the beliefs you are expressing are against the bible, or what the word of God says. The thing is, we all have so many interpatations of what the bible really says. Jesus understood this well. In Luke 10:26 he asks, "What is written in the Law? How does it read to you?" He understood that though the words were the same to everyone, the interpretation would be different. In the story I just related about the radio program, the words, the scriptures were all the same, to some people it was freedom in their marriage, to others it was heresy.

Because of this I find it hard to describe heresy as someone who's beliefs differ from what the word of God says, but, I will submit another possibility. Heresy is when someone’s beliefs differ from our Traditions. This is not to say that I don't believe there are some messed up teachings out there. This is only to say that the thing that gets us most riled up seems to be when people come against my tradition.

In a college class (secular one interestingly enough) a professor once told me that you cannot harm the truth by asking questions about it. Truth is truth, no matter what I think or believe about it. The problem is we as a subculture have begun to use our traditions to define ourselves, and our relationship with our God.

Some traditions have a very standoffish god. a god that is looking to blame, a god that is looking for what is wrong with you, and telling you what you have to do to be acceptable to him. A god with a long memory that is planning on showing all your faults in movie form to everyone. If I follow this type of tradition, I become acceptable to my god by my actions only. This is a belief that I don't drink, smoke, have unmarried sex, and to some, only certain types of married sex. These are the things that keep us a good person, and I know I'm a good person because of the things I do. If someone comes against these traditions, then I may loose a sense of who I am, whether or not I am acceptable, and whether or not I am loved by God. The only thing I can do, is to shout heresy, and keep me emotionally safe.

Another tradition says that their god loves them no matter what. That it is the death of Jesus on the cross that makes us acceptable, and no matter what we do our god loves us. It is a belief that says that my sin won't change how our god sees us, but we will still have to deal with the consequences of sin. In this, it can be easy to go on with sin, as god won't be sending any lightening bolts your way. However, we still must know the benefits of a moral life. In this, the one who does not drink, smoke, have the "wrong kinds of sex" however we define that, they can remind us of the fact that we aren't really trusting in God to fulfill all our needs. We can be reminded that we still feel some lack in our lives, and are therefore reaching out to be fulfilled, if not to God. This can also lead to the cry of "Heretic."

I think both camps must be more willing to be understanding and accepting of all God's people. Learn to see the benefits and beauty in each others tradition. This does not mean you have to shift your view, but just to "Love one another" which is what Jesus said would allow others to see that we were disciples of his.

In closing, let me say that I have a friend who was declared a heretic and excommunicated from his church because he believed in healing. This could have been an opportunity for both him and his church. He learning to be accepting of everyone’s beliefs, they learning to accept his, and even possibly watching him to see if his life showed fruit of it. Instead, he was a heretic. Let us love one another. If we truly want to be a positive influence on our brothers and sisters that are full of "Heresy" the only thing we can really do, is to love and accept them where they are at, no matter where that may be. Let God speak and mold them, not you.

Conversations about a blog

Ok, to answer your questions, I think I have to kinda cover the entire bible in a sense. Bare with me, I think you have discovered some important truths.

First, let's look at the old testament law? What was the point of it? The old testament law was the wisdom of God. It showed men how to have a good life. It was rules that would assist in having a good relationship with God, and a good relationship with your fellow man. It had rules to help one be prosperous. Also, when you broke those laws, you were not called a "Sinner" you were simply called "Unclean" and for good reason. A woman on her period was "unclean." Someone who touched a corpse was "unclean." Many of the laws were simple health issues. Not just physical health, but emotional as well. If you sin (Literally to miss the mark) your conscious knows it. You don't feel you are acceptable to God. You think yourself "Unclean." The thing about it, is you couldn't use the law to become "Righteous." The law was clear about that, but people took it to be a kinda status. The clean, and the unclean, the sinners and the holy. We still see this today, as people judge one another quite emphatically, though, I think quite a bit comes from the fact that we don't believe we are who God says we are, and thus, must blow out other Christians "Candles" to make ours shine brighter, but, I digress.

Next came Jesus. Though no one was capable of keeping the law, he raised the bar. The law said don't murder, he said if you have any hate in your heart, you have already murdered. The law says, don't commit adultery, but Jesus said if you lust, you've already done it. The law was already impossible, and Jesus raised the bar. What most people don't understand is the continuum of the thing. How is lust and adultery the same? The fact is, if I have lust, adultery, or any other "Sin" in my heart, the only thing that would need to change are the environment, and I would do it. You know, you were like a sister to me, and I never had any lust for you. If you had thrown us together naked (why do conversations always go to sex...sigh) I would cover up, not look, and mostly be embarrassed. If there was a girl I was lusting after, and I was in the same situation, I know I would try and take advantage of the situation. Another way to think of it is like H2o. It's always h20, if it's cold enough, it's ice, hot enough it's steam, and in the middle, it's water. It doesn't change, only the environment does. Jesus was saying that even though you aren't acting on it, you are still dealing with the conquences.

So, this man Jesus goes to the cross, and dies for the sins of the entire world. Those you have, are, and will commit, even the sins of the ones that will never accept him. This puts the ball in your court, as you now have a choice. When we trust in Jesus, we are accepting him as our righteousness. We have an option you see, I can either be judged for my works (which the old testament refers to as used menstrual rags in God's sight) or I can choose to be judged by what Christ has done. Not being a fan of menstrual rags, I'm gonna have to choose to be Judged by what Jesus did. He died so I wouldn't have to, went to hell so I wouldn't have to go, and raised himself from the dead so I wouldn't have to do that either. Accepting Jesus changes my nature and makes me righteous. People may say, you still sin though? The fact is, I did good things from time to time with a sin nature, I can still sin since my nature is a righteous one. It is now my choice.

Not everyone really gets the word righteous though. Took me quite awhile to get it, but when I did, it reminded me of my sister Erin. My dad had gotten a brand new car. The first brand new car he had ever owned, and he loved it. My sister, had turned 16, and had gotten her license. She would always ask my dad to borrow his car (My mom's older car was a stick, and she couldn't drive it) and my dad always said yes. One day, my sister gets into a small accident. She was ok, but, the car had to have some work done as it had some big dents in it now. Now after it got repaired, my sister walks up to my dad, and says, "Can I borrow the car?" My dad says sure, and gives her the keys as if nothing had happened. Since the price (the repairs/our sins) had already been paid for, there was nothing to think about.

So, now we are righteous, but still have all these rules. The bible refers to these rules whether written, or just our heart beliefs, as the law. The bible also says, "The sting of death is sin, and The strength of sin is the law! To put it another way, that thing that you think you cannot do, you will want to do it more and more. Paul said "that which I do not want to do, I do, and that which I do want to do, I don't do." If you don't believe me, I can prove it. Think about the sin you most enjoy (don't worry, I know you enjoy it, that's why you do it) close your eyes, think about it, and say out loud, "I will never, ever, ever, ever do that again." I guarantee you really want to do it right now.

When we begin to understand our righteous nature, we understand that no matter what, God is not holding something against you. You realize that you can, if you choose, to go do drugs, sleep with everything with a pulse, and generally bring all kinds of destruction into your life. God won't be yelling at you about it. He will say, "You are righteous, you don't Have to do this. We begin to realize, that yes, in a sense we are free to sin, but, we are also free to live in righteousness. We are indeed free.

Now, I'm not saying we should use this as an excuse to sin. Sin still has conquences, that was the point of the old testament. The wisdom of God knows how this thing he created works. God knows that if my life is full of sin, that sin brings death and destruction, but, God isn't sending it. It's no different really than pouring water into my gas tank. It's not Toyota's fault my car isn't working like it is supposed to, it's the conquences of my actions.

Do I really care if someone smokes? Only if I were making a habit of kissing them, or they were smoking indoors around me. I just don't like smoke. Also, I enjoy going to some bars. I say some because some are just kinda a meat market atmosphere, and frankly, I don't really enjoy that, but, I have also had some great discussions around a table, in a bar, after having a couple beers. The bible talks in many places about the approateness of drinking. It does say not to get yourself drunk all the time, but it also says, if you have a heavy heart, have a drink. This is more a US cultural thing anyway. In Australia, they go out after church and have beers, but, coffee is looked down upon as a sin. We have decided that God is like us, so, in a sense, people aren't arbitrary about what is "Good" and what is "Evil" it's just they are basing it on themselves and their circumstances, rather than the truth of Gods word. Finally, as for someone saying "Good Christians don't want to do this or that," I'd have to say that good Christians don't judge other Christians. Good Christians trust God to complete the work in them, and that good Christians wouldn't be laying a heavy burden on them. The early church faces it. "Why should we put such a heavy burden on the gentiles that neither we nor our fathers before us could bare." Walk with God, know that he is deeply and madly in love with you. He is not sending bad things into your life, he is only judging you in the since that he finds your righteous. The rest of it, pay attention to the cost. What are the conquences. Like I said in my blog, "All things are lawful, but not all things are profitable."

P.S. I think I'm gonna throw this on my bog, after I remove your name.

Brian

----------------- Original Message -----------------

Date: Feb 3, 2006 2:38 PM

That goes along with a theory I have, and I think you'd be a good sounding board. The things the Bible says we should or should not do are taken very literally and very seriously by many people. They're taken so literally that it seems to become more about following the letter of the law rather than the spirit of it. I wonder if God's laws are really simply common sense instructions. So the law to not have pre-marital sex may not be because the act of sex outside of marriage was arbitrarily deemed wrong by God, but rather that he saw all the complications and potential havoc that came come from it and warned us not to even go there. It seems common sense that sleeping around can have very serious consequences and that's why God said not to do it, not because the act itself is sinful. Does that make sense, or sound more like justification for something sinful? Not that I'm stuck on the sex subject either, but I think it's a perfect example of how following God's laws is really just common sense.

One that drives me crazy is smoking. Christians really look down on smokers, but why? I know the "body is a temple" argument, but if that were really taken to heart, there's a lot of things "good" Christians wouldn't do. But somewhere along the way, smoking got a really "sinful" stigma. I know it's a disgusting habit and I dislike it as much as the next person, but I also dislike the looks of disdain that circulate through a church group when a smoker walks in. I've actually heard people say, "He/She is a really nice person... but they smoke." (insert shocked look of disgust here) It makes good sense to treat your body like God's temple, but since when did a cigarette become a vehicle for sin?

Going out to the bars is another one (oooh, I'm on a roll now!). "Good" Christians don't go play pool in a bar and share a pitcher of beer with friends. Enjoying a nice microbrew with friends is wrong in Christian circles. Why? I actually really like good beer, and I'd love to have some good Christian friends that I could go to pizza with and sip on a yummy pilsner and discuss God and the Bible and all that. But going to a bar isn't even something "good" Christians bring up.

Over the years of questioning religion vs. faith, I've found that I have less and less patience with churches and have relied more solidly on my personal time reading the Bible on my own. (I won't try to pass myself off as a good Christian here - I don't spend that much time reading the Bible, and after a few drinks I start talking like a sailor, but do you get my point?) I used to get really mad at my dad for saying that good Christians don't want to go see Rated R movies, so why would I want to see them? I don't understand the arbitrary assignments of good and evil.

----------------- Original Message -----------------

Date: Feb 3, 2006 2:02 PM

Paul said "All things are lawful, but not all things are profitable." In a certain sense the question isn't "Is it a sin" but rather what will the conquences be? Will the outcome be good or bad? Not what will people say or think, but what are the real conquences?

Besides, didn't you smoke right before you went to sleep? Probably not what I would call "Getting wasted" more silly really.

Brian

----------------- Original Message -----------------

Date: Feb 3, 2006 12:15 PM

Hmmmm, I seem to remember a long, deep conversation with you years ago saying that all that stuff was bad. Ok, so maybe when you're 16 you're not supposed to be getting wasted and smoking pot, so maybe you had a point. (I never had sex, though, so I wasn't entirely evil.) Actually, I very much appreciated your frankness with me when all I wanted to do was shake that darn "good girl" image and be a rebel. Silly me. =)

----------------- Original Message -----------------

Date: Feb 3, 2006 10:47 AM

I suppose, though it doesn't spell it out, it is in a way saying oral (or any other type of sex) can be ok, as well as drinking, and anything else that isn't evil, you can (and knowing you probably do) do :)

3:54 PM - 1 Comments - 1 Kudos - Add Comment - Edit - Remove

I choose the appearance of evil.
Category: Religion and Philosophy

Culture is an intersecting thing. Culture is something that we use to define ourselves, other people, and even God. We use it to define what is good, and what is evil. We use it to judge people and things, and I do believe we have a tendency to give it more weight than what God speaks to our hearts, or even what is written in his word. We judge other Christians as living a good life, or being in sin, or even just use the word "Dysfunctional" to separate them from us, because we must, it our own self-righteousness not have any "Appearance of evil." I'm here today to say that that's all crap, get off your high horse, read your bible, actually listen to God, and enjoy all the different flavors his people come in.

You know, so many times, when my conscious had no problem with what I was doing, I was told to "Avoid the appearance of evil" according to 1 Thessalonians 5:22. I'm not saying I was a bad kid out doing all kinds of messed up things, I'm saying some people would look at me and judge me, and actually say, "You need to avoid the appearance of evil." Oh, how I would respond now. I find it interesting that people quote this all the time, yet the 30+ New Testament scriptures that tell us not to judge one another, but to leave judgment to God, those we ignore. Specifically we are told not to think ill of one another and to not judge appearance.

So, what do I think of this "abstain from all appearance of evil?" I mean to say, if it is in the bible, it must be true, and it can't really contradict with the other 30 verses, so how does it all work together? Most scholars today agree that the verse you find in the King James version was translated incorrectly, and that a more correct translation, one that by the way is in most current bibles goes more like "Avoid all Kinds of evil." It is not admonishing us to look like good little Christians, but only telling us to act according to our nature, a nature that is now righteous because of what Jesus did on the cross.

It's interesting to think about the fact that Christ himself would not have passed the appearance of evil test. He spent his time with prostitutes and tax collectors and the worst kind of sinners. Because of this, he was guilty by association. How many of us are even willing to go down and spend time with the prostitutes, gang members, thieves, or even to go hang out at the local "Gay bar." Most people that I know would be afraid of being seen. Why?

Are we servants of the one that made this life worth living, or are we servants of our church and our culture. Do we put more trust in what people think, or in what is right. Dumbledore put it something like this. "We are coming to a choice, between what is easy, and what is right." It is not always easy to see God's view of you as what is true, and what is real. The people around us can be so very loud about their thoughts and judgments. We have a tendency to believe we are less, our thoughts are less, and that what God is speaking to our hearts may not be true. The truth is, we will probably be wrong about it from time to time. But, you know, I think I'd rather be a tremendous screw-up that trusted God, and loved his people, than a "Success" surrounded by people who thought what I was doing was "Right."

Something to keep in mind with all this, is that the first Christians who went to the gentiles, were appearing evil to the Jews, even though they were doing good. Over the past 2000 years there have been many reformissions in the church that at one time, seemed evil to the majority, but in the end was seen as a great thing. We need to remember there are many cultural differences. I know some cultures where women don't wear bras, and everyone goes out and drinks with every meal, and they think it "Evil" of women who wear any kind of makeup and people who drink coffee. Don't be a slave to people, your church, or your culture. Listen to the leading of God, and do what you know he is leading you to. It is wise to listen to the counsel of others, but, God is our only judge. For this reason, I choose the appearance of evil, and to have my life be one that has a positive impact on the people around me. Obviously, you can make whatever choice you want to, I promise, I won't judge you.

Brian

Who do we think we are

I was recently at a bible study, and I found the discussions quite interesting. Eventually, as always happens when you get a group of Christians together to talk about God, the topic of how to reach people came up. It was a good discussion, in that there was also talk about not judging people based on your first impression.

The person may have tattoo's, more piercings than I can count, or maybe they are just nice and Goth with lots of black and white makeup on their face. What conclusions have I come to about them? Most of us, even if we are willing to approach people that are different than us (I wonder how different we are to them) approach them with an idea.

The idea is though they are scary and different, there is something wrong with them, and as soon as they get to know God, he can fix them, and then great things can happen. As I see it, there are a few problems with this. First, most people's definition of being "Broken" and "Fixed" have to do with how much they are like them. I have to say if the person who loves tats and piercings were to become like you who seems to enjoy kakis and polos, only then would they become broken, as they were no longer being true to themselves or God, but trying to be something they are not, and probably not ever meant to be.

The second thing is that when you approach someone as in need of changing, they know it. We are continually saying that you will only have value when you decide to conform to what I think God likes, until then, you don't really have a full value, if any.

This is not the model Jesus has given us. The model is that every individual has an intrinsic value. It is apart from what they do, or how they act. It is not about what they think or believe or even say. They have value because they are a person, because they have been made in the image of God. This value is so high that when God looked between Charles Manson and Jesus, he chose to sacrifice Jesus so that he could have Manson. He did not choose Manson when he was saved, but in the mist of his sin, in the midst of every horrible thing, God had a tremendous amount of value for Charles Manson. Do we have this kind of value for the people around us, or do we only look at them as it is such a pity that they are not saved, and as such not "Fixed?"

If stay in the midst of my most sickening sin, or by the grace of God walk out of it, that doesn't change the value God has for me. Why then does it change the value we have for one another? This is not an encouragement to continue in a path that leads to destruction, but only an encouragement to see each other as God sees us, and to know the incredible value he has for you, me, and everyone around us who can be quite different from us.

Lets just enjoy each other. We are incredible if we would just stop fixing and trying to be fixed. Let's enjoy God, walk with him, and see where it takes us.
A Parable

There once was a man who worked for the king. I'd tell you about his job, but it wasn't all that exciting, nor interesting, but it did allow him to be in the court of the king. This allowed him to be known to the king (and to tell the truth, the king liked him, and having him around even if he wasn't going to get him a new job.)

One day there were some entertainers before the king. They had brought all kinds of animals before him (think the tonight show, but just for the king) and there was a large tiger among them. The king began to walk closer to get a better look at this tiger, as did some among his court and someone (still to this day we are not sure who) stepped on the tigers tail.

Now, this tiger, being as all tigers all got quite upset at it's tail be stepped on, and began to run toward the king. Now our man who worked for the king, saw this, and ran in front of the king and at the tiger. Needless to say, before the tiger could be subdued, our friend was heavily injured. Actually, he was dieing. The king, realizing that this man had saved his life, at the cost of his own asked if he had any dieing wish, and he would grant it.

The man responded, "I have only one wish O' king. I have a son, a newborn, and his mother died giving birth to him, will you take care of him? The king responded, "This is a favor I will most earnestly grant," and sent his servants to bring the child to the castle, so that he could be under the care of the king.

Time passed, and the child grew up, as children naturally He played in the courtyard (hurt himself a number of times falling out of trees he was not supposed to climb, but not to badly) ate the kings food (overstuffed himself on occasion) and generally had a wonderful life (except for the little things that would happen when he decided to disregard the kings rules, such as jumping off the castle wall into a cart full of hay.)

On day though, this child got it into his head that the king was not a good king. He decided that the king was full of strange and stupid rules that were there for no reason. He decided that the king really didn't like him, and to make it worse, he decided that the king really had done nothing for him (as he was a baby when he came to live at the castle, he didn't really remember what life was like outside its walls.)

Due to all this, he decided to go before the king. He told the king that he no longer wanted to live at the castle. He said the kings rules and edicts were stupid, and controlling, and that he wanted no part of it. He told the king that he wished to leave. The king agreed to let him go (though it saddened him greatly.) The king knew that this childs father had purchased the right to live in the castle with his life, but that if the child didn't want this gift, he was not going to force it upon him. The king wished him well, and even gave him a horse for his travels.

The child was excited. He packed up his belongings (it went more quickly than he thought, for he did not have many belongings as all was provided him within the castle walls.) He got upon the horse, and began to ride. He thought to himself, this air feels different; it is the air of freedom. Though he had ridden out of the castle many times prior, he always felt that he was still under the thumb of the king.

Shortly though this child got hungry, thirsty, and alone. He didn't have much skill for earning money, and frankly, other people didn't like him. He always had something bad to say about the king, and the people liked their king. The king didn't overtax, over work, and only had enough rules to keep the people safe, he was a good king.

The child decided to travel to a far land. As it was, the only thing he had left was his horse, as his few belongings he had sold for money for food. On his travel he ate berries that didn't sit quite right, and drank water that was a little to green to be stomached by this writer, but, if you are thirsty enough, I suppose it would do.

Finally he got to the distant land, and, he was partly right. The people there liked him. They liked all the bad things he spoke of the king. Though he couldn't do much, he did keep them entertained. Eventually, he was brought before their king. This king was not a nice king. Truth be told, he was a very jealous king. He was not a good king, or a smart king, and he hated the other king for being both of these.

When the king heard the story of this child, he said, "You are one of two things. Are you a traitor, or are you a spy?" The child said, "I am neither, I am just a traveler who, like you, hates the king." At this, the king of this foreign land decided he had a spy, and threw him into the dungeon until such time as the child would "Spill the secrets of this so called king."

Now there were a couple problems. First, this child did not know any secrets. He had just grown up in the kings castle, and between you and me, wasn't paying all that much attention to anyone besides himself. The second problem for this child was that there were no chamber pots in the dungeon. The third was that as added humiliation, it quickly became his job to clean up the cells.

Several years passed, and two things happened. The king forgot about the "Spy" in his Dungeon. The second thing was that this child became very good and cleaning the most awful messes you and I have the luck of not seeing.

One day, the dungeon keeper fell asleep while he was "Keeping an eye" on our child cleaning the dungeon. The child took his keys, and escaped. When they realized he was gone, they began to look for him, but to be honest not that hard, for non even remembered why he was there in the first place.

The child had escaped, and began his long walk to the home of the king. He had grown up, in that dungeon, and had realized his king was a good king. Sure he had rules, but they were there for his protection, and even when he broke the rules, the king had still taken great care of him. Even though he could no longer live in the castle, he thought it would still be a good thing to live in the kingdom of such a wise king.

After eating lots of berries, and drinking lots of water (sadly, the years had made it no less green) he was back in the land he grew up in. It was long before he had a job, (you see, people liked him, and he was an amazing stable keeper. In fact, the stalls had never looked so good.) One day, the king came to inspect the horses; he saw the child and said "What are YOU doing HERE?"

The child was afraid, bowed his head, and told his story to the king. The king replied, "I know all that, you see, I do have spies in his land. In fact it was my spies that drugged the dungeon keeper so that he would fall asleep, and you could escape, but, what are you doing here?"

The child was now confused, it was obvious to even him that the king
was not angry or upset with him. "I don't understand," was all the child could mutter out.

The king smiled, and said, "With his life, your father purchased your place in my courtyard. It is and will always be there for you. It is a gift I gave your father, not to you. It is your choice to use that gift or not, but, it is not something that you can give back. It is not yours. If you wish, you may stay here the rest of your days, cleaning out the stables, or, you may join me at my table. The choice is yours."

With that, the king left, and added as he left, "The horses, and the stables, look great." The child, after picking his jaw up off the floor, decided to eat at the kings table. He moved back into the palace, back into his old room, which was just as he had left it. The food tasted better that night then even he had remembered it (For he now realized how much it had really cost...what his father had paid for it.) He became a wise man of the court, and even ended up being a kind of spy for the king (Thieves and criminals do talk in the dungeon after all.) He loved his life, but, every once in a while, he could be found in the stables, cleaning. "Least I forget" would always be his answer when asked why. "The best I could do was the stables, but, in one selfless act, my father brought me to great importance in the kingdom...I don't want to ever forget that."
Wedding Banquet

    The last few days I've been thinking about the parable of the wedding banquet. For those that don't remember it, feel free to scroll down and read, for those that do remember, let me let you in on my intellectual ramblings.
    The first thing, is that Jesus is talking about "God's Kingdom." This is something that I feel is so misunderstood. Years ago, when I read that, I thought Christ was speaking of being saved. I totally missed the point.
    It's an interesting thing to compare how Jesus talks about getting saved, and how he talks about entering in the Kingdom of God, or the Kingdom of Heaven. When talking about getting saved, he always talks about how easy it is. Just ask, just believe, just trust. Just do anything and accept the gift that is being given to you. This however is in stark contrast to when he is speaking about entering in the Kingdom of God.
    The kingdom of God isn't here or there. It's easier for a camel to enter the eye of the needle. You will never be able to say here it is, or there it is. At the same time however, in the parable, it seems as though God (the king) is roaming the streets looking for anyone to enter in.
    I don't think I can really do the kingdom of God justice in a paragraph or two, but, I'm gonna try anyway. The Kingdom of God is a realm in which we can live. It's a way of life, lined up with the principals and ways of God in such a matter that the blessings he has simply flows. It's not to say that everything always goes perfect, but it's a realm in which his grace (Gods ability) is able to work in and through us.
    There were times when the Apostle Paul cried out during difficult times. God's response was, "My grace is sufficient for thee." This is not a negative answer. This is God saying, though the circumstances aren't changing, I'm going to make you an overcomer within those circumstances. Even if it didn't look it on the outside, Paul knew he was blessed, and was no longer bound by his circumstances.
    This realm of blessing is the Kingdom of God, and it was paid for by the death of Jesus. Jesus, who died and paid the price for All sin. The meaning of this all, strangely enough, is all. This means that the sins you haven't even thought of yet, they are paid for. This means that the sins of someone who will never accept the gift, they to are already paid for. Remember, the banquet was prepared, all the food was ready, yet still many chose not to attend.
    The final thing I was thinking about is the part that has always made little sense to me. Here the King is (God) inviting everyone to his banquet, and he finds someone without the wedding garment, and he violently thrown him out. I tell you for the life of me, I just couldn't figure it out. I have thought about this on and off every time I had read it, and it never made since. Just the other day it finally hit me. The garment is righteousness.
    You see, to be in the presence of a perfect God, we have to be perfect. We have to be righteous. Often, I have had trouble understanding what it really meant to be righteous, so let me take a short rabbit trail, which I think will make it all make sense
    When my sister Erin was young, she was not a good driver. She thought she was, but she was mistaken. Now my Dad had purchased a new car. A Toyota Avalon. He loved that car. I remember when he first got it, he almost never let me drive it. My sister on the other hand, who couldn't drive a stick, when she needed to use a car, always drove the Avalon with the automatic transmission.
    One day, she got into a small wreck. As I said, she "Thought" she was a good driver. The car had to be taken to a body shop, and had some small work done. After a few days, my Dad got the car back. My sister, the following day, needed to borrow a car. She said, "Dad, I need to borrow the car." He of course handed her the keys to the Avalon. This is righteousness.
    You see righteousness is being in right standing with someone. It means that when they look at you, you have their complete blessing, there is absolutely nothing wrong with or in you. They have no reason at all to hold back on their most treasured blessings, after all, you're righteous. Now, back to the Wedding Banquet.
    You see, to stay at the wedding, we need to be righteous. We have two options here. We can either choose to be judged on the life we have lived, or we can be judged upon the life that Christ has lived. I for one would much rather be judged on the life of someone perfect, as opposed to myself, whose best efforts the bible refers to as used menstrual rags.
    It's interesting to note that the man was able to enter into the banquet without the garment. The same is true for the kingdom of God. There are areas of it that you can experience simply by living a life in line with God's principals. A daresay however, that you will not experience the best of it. We can choose to be judged on our every day clothes, filthy as they are, or a wedding garment that was given to us, one paid for by the death of a son.
     I ask you now; accept both the wedding garment, and the banquet, for the king is reaching out to you. If you've never taken the wedding garment, take it now, it's simply yours for the asking. Additionally, whether you have the wedding garment or not, I ask that you yield to God, and let his grace take you to the banquet.

Matthew 22:1-14
The Story of the Wedding Banquet

    Jesus responded by telling still more stories. "God's kingdom," he said, "is like a king who threw a wedding banquet for his son. He sent out servants to call in all the invited guests. And they wouldn't come!
    He sent out another round of servants, instructing them to tell the guests, 'Look, everything is on the table, the prime rib is ready for carving. Come to the feast!"
   They only shrugged their shoulders and went off, one to weed his garden, another to work in his shop. The rest, with nothing better to do, beat up on the messengers and killed them. The king was outraged and sent his soldiers to destroy those thugs and level their city
    Then he told his servants, 'We have a wedding banquet all prepared but no guests. The ones I invited weren't up to it. Go out into the busiest intersections in town and invite anyone you find to the banquet.' The servants went out on the streets and rounded up everyone they laid eyes on, good and bad, regardless. And so the banquet was on-every place filled.
    When the king entered and looked over the scene, he spotted a man who wasn't properly dressed. He said to him, 'Friend how dare you come in here looking like that!' The man was speechless. Then the king told his servants, 'Get him out of here-fast. Tie him up and ship him to hell. And make sure he doesn't get back in.'
    "That's what I mean when I say, 'Many get invited; only a few make it."