God With Us

I recognized something in a child recently.  We were playing basketball and - looking back - the child wanted nothing more than to impress me with his basketball skills.  When he realized his top skills were not on display, the child broke down crying.  I didn't realize how important my being impressed was to the child.  Maybe I'm wrong, but it left me heartbroken.  I am now hoping for the opportunity to show the child that my approval of him is not dependent on the level of his ability at any given moment.  In fact, I know what he does not know - that we all, as humans - will never measure up.  We just want to be accepted.  For some reason, we also want to be accepted for what we do. 

But truth is, that dynamic of believing I am not acceptable (or will not be found acceptable) to those whose opinion I value, or would value, most is something I deal with as an adult.  More than that, it is something I have projected onto my relationship with God: that God won't find me acceptable if  I don't reach a certain standard that I think He would be willing to find acceptable - an arbitrary standard of my own choosing when it comes down to it; an arbitrary standard that is often situation specific.  A , "given the circumstances, God would/will still find this ok."  If not that, I often look at my track record and find myself acceptable in God's eyes based on what I have or have not done.  But is this what makes sense in light of eternity?  In light of an eternal God? 

How about in light of reality?  I often fail by my own standards.  If that is the case, what about to God's standards? 

John Ortberg, in If You Want to Walk on Water, You've Got to Get Out of the Boat, refers to the biblical story of Elijah fleeing from one queen to a cave after having fearlessly posted a tactical victory over a much larger group.  He states,

After a great wind, an earthquake, and fire came "a sound of sheer silence."  And then came a still small voice, as God asked Elijah a wonderful question: "What are you doing here?"  The best part of the question is that God did not say, "What are you doing there?"  God was with Elijah in the cave.

I wonder whether Elijah was surprised by this.  In times of great success it is not hard to believe that God is present.  I suspect that when Elijah defied the prophets of Baal and saw fire from heaven consume offering and altar in response to a single prayer, he knew God was there.  I suspect that when he foretold the end of the drought, when he revived the widow's child, when he outran the chariot, when he told off the king and got away with it, he knew God was with him. 

But I think perhaps that the cave is the most wonderful place of all to find that you are loved by God.  If you know - really know - that you are loved by God when you feel the weight of failure, then there is no place where you will be beyond the confines of his care.  

One of the great gifts failure can give us is the recognition that we are loved and valued by God precisely when we are in the cave of failure . . . As long as my sense of being valuable and significant is tied to my success, it will be a fragile thing.  But when I come to know in the marrow of my bones that I am just as valued and loved by God when I have fallen flat on my face, then I am gripped by a love stronger than success or failure. 

God is known by many names in the Bible. One is Emmanuel, "God with us."  This is often referred to during Christmas because Jesus, being God, came to Earth to become one of us.    Before He was crucified, Jesus explained that He would not leave us as orphans but would send His Spirit as a helper to be with us and in us.  Later, when Jesus returned to the Father, God did just that: He made Himself available to humanity through His Spirit. When we receive what Jesus did for us on the cross, being God became man, in our place, God makes His abode with us. God becomes "with us."  This is irregardless of the good or bad we have done.  This is not dependent on a standard - someone else's or our own - that we have met or not met, or met part of the time. 

When you look at it in that light, we are limited a few options:

1. Continue in our sin believing we will never be good enough for God (that we will never meet His standard and can do nothing about it);
2. Continue in our sin, but justifying our actions by lowering our personal standard and assigning that lowered personal standard to God as God's standard for us;
3. Continue in our sin, but live not knowing whether God will accept us because sometimes we do good (maybe often) according to our own standard for righteousness, and sometimes we do bad; or
4. Acknowledge our sinful condition - that we will always fall short of God's standard of holiness that He sets for us, but accept what Jesus did by coming to Earth to be one of us ("God with us"), understanding that we will never be good enough for God, but that in accepting Jesus' actions in our place, God recongizes Jesus as being good enough in our place having taken our sins and placed them on Jesus at the cross.  This, because God finds Jesus' atoning sacrifice acceptable for our sin.  Jesus is the only one who will ever measure up to God's standards on his own merits because God became man (Jesus) and dwelt among us . . .  

It's the latter that puts it all in perspective.  The Bible says,

Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God.  And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverence; and perseverence, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. 

For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And not only this, but we also exult in God through our Lord Jesus Christ through whom we have now received the reconciliation.

Today, reflecting on the child I mentioned above, I kept thinking, 'if he only knew that his acceptability in my eyes has nothing to do with his abilities!'  We do similar things with God.  Reality is that we set an impossible standard for ourselves, or lower it based on what we deem achievable, and cower in shame or grow angry with God when we don't live up to that standard.  We also take it up a level and refuse to admit our inadequacies for fear we won't measure up.  We do that both with human standards (our own and those of others) and with God's standard. 

I have found it freeing to recognize that not only will I never measure up to God's standard in this life, but that "God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."  God accounted for my inefficiencies, inadequacies, shortcomings, failures, mistakes and sins by dying on the cross for my sins, in my place.  My adequacy and acceptance before God now rests in Jesus' adequacy and acceptance before God and for that I am eternally grateful.  I no longer have to be good enough.  I can escape from the bondage that trying to be good enough held over me.

I do not have to fear or wonder whether my moral failures separate me from God.  They do!  But I have been reconciled to God through Jesus Christ and I exhult in God for that. 

I do not have to fear or wonder whether my failures separate me from God's love for me.  They never have.  God became man and walked among us.  God loved us so much that He sent His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him (that He is God and accepts what He did for us in our place for the forgiveness of our sins) shall not perish but have everlasting life. 

"In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation (an atoning sacrifice) for our sins." 

By coming to Earth, God dispells the notion of me being acceptable to God in and of myself / on my own merits - I will never be good enough on my own.  Yet God wants relationship with me.  And His love for me is not based on my performance.  Despite all my inconsistencies, inadequacies, shortcomings, failures, quirks and sins, God loves me.  So much so that He sent His Son to die for me, in my place . . .  just so I could have relationship with Him based on Jesus meeting God's standard for me.  Accepting that - becoming reconciled with God through Jesus Christ - "the love of God is poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit given to us."  Then we experience it and start to live it. 

God's love for me is represented in who He is: Emmanuel, God with us.