Does food deserve to be blessed before we eat it?

The protestant christian world is quite used to prayer before main meal consumption. This is not necessarily a useless ritual, but it probably is. Any moment is appropriate for a comment of our thanks to God for His intervention in our lives, but if the prayer attempts to invoke or request God's special care for our food so that we don't die from its potential toxins, then the prayer is misguided.

ALL of our prayers are thanksgiving. I suppose that the feeble human spirit will also occasionally express to God anguish for earthly events. However, requests for God's specific action deny many things that God has already said He would do, or has already done. God knows what needs His intervention, and we can rely on His word above all else. Sometimes I think we have more faith in the electric company than in God to act.

The presence of food in the kitchen already strongly suggests that God has already blessed His children.

Those who feel the need to ask for another "blessing" on the food so that it will take on magical powers and "be used" in those who eat it can remember that christians already have every blessing God ever could give us in the gift of the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit.

Was Lemony Snicket right?

Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events is a book series in which the three orphaned children protagonists are constantly on the verge of destruction by nature and especially their distant relative Count Orlaf. The local government has entrusted the children to the Count's care, most of the time. The series author is open about he own difficult childhood and wanted to write stories that didn't end like a 1970's sitcom with smiles and everyone having a pillow fight in joy.

Still, there is an amazing expression of God's grace in the stories. Just at the point at which the children are doomed a small ray a change prevents serious calamity. In a way that can feel very true-to-life, the children are buffeted on all sides, yet not broken. Paul's recounting (to clarify the legitimacy of his message of grace and the end of the law that Christ spoke on the cross - IT IS FINISHED) of his own near-death encounters:

2 Corinthians 11:23-27 (Darby Translation)

Darby Translation (DARBY)

²³Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as being beside myself) *I* above measure [so]; in labours exceedingly abundant, in stripes to excess, in prisons exceedingly abundant, in deaths oft.

²⁴From the Jews five times have I received forty [stripes], save one.

²⁵Thrice have I been scourged, once I have been stoned, three times I have suffered shipwreck, a night and day I passed in the deep:

²⁶in journeyings often, in perils of rivers, in perils of robbers, in perils from [my own] race, in perils from [the] nations, in perils in [the] city, in perils in [the] desert, in perils on [the] sea, in perils among false brethren;

²⁷in labour and toil, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness.

Given the well-known terrible behavior of Paul prior to his being saved and God's grace invading his life, it was evident to all those at Corinth reading the above passage that Paul had done nothing to deserve the ongoing rescue from his own "series of unfortunate events". And for the "ultraists", please note a couple of things:

1. Not one of the the above calamities does Paul attribute to Satan. Life is way bad enough on its own. But God preserved him.
2. Paul does not suggest that he is especially the best person to carry God's truth (he says just the opposite is true). Paul does not speak of "doing God's work". Just a statement is exactly the opposite of what Paul says. The message is almost that in this hurricane of life in which we find ourselves, God sustains and "LOOK! God is doing good things too, even in spite of me!"
   

The children in Lemony Snicket are held from harm by seeming accidental help. So the analogy with them and God's grace must end. Paul was sustained by God. We are sustained by God. Not to fend off Satan (We are Christ's children). Not so that we will have one more healthy week so we can do such and such thing so that God's message will get through (Sorry folks, God doesn't really need us).

No. We are cared for by God because He loves us. Suffering is not right. It is not pleasant. It can lead a person to distrust and reject EVERYTHING he/she previously held true. God made us and He knows that about us. That is why He settled the nature of our relationship once forever at the cross.

Thanks to Lemony for a glimpse at God.

Life without rules?

Living with God's grace in one's life as the controlling force is much superior socially. Social rules here on earth exist to help people manage relationships when interests conflict. With grace, a person understands that God is taking care of them even when they aren't perfect, and even when they don't get their way when in conflict with others.

So, the rule is God writes the rule on your heart, and shows God's love for you in it's application in all situations.

These no longer apply

With the Holy Spirit in our lives, the following do not apply:
tithing.
Water baptism.
Going to Church.
Asking for forgiveness from God.


More later.

How churches get by financially

Most Christian churches imply financial obligation on the part of the member/attenders. Some churches/ministries directly ask for money. And not like Pepsi does. Advertising in the corporate world is a cultural menace, but at least it is honest. Their message is "Buy out product because we want to be rich and look. . . it tastes really good." Kind of a win-win.

Churches ask for money (Generally a percentage of total income that should make the almond growers' "a can a week" request look very small) with very little in return. Some Christians "sense" that there is a social obligation to support the educational aspects of the church programs. Some live with the message that God follows our lead: if a person gives, God will give; if a person buys a nice tv instead, God/life will let it break the day after the warranty runs out.

God has said that He will work out our lives. Either He is taking care of us, or He isn't. I believe that He is taking care of us, irrespective of what I do or who we are. Feel free to consider all the scripture references that come to mind about God rejecting us, or spitting us out of his mouth, or our working out of out our own salvation. If you read them as God spurning you, I believe you are mistaken. I do not think that the last few decades, perhaps back to the third great awakening of the 1880's here in America, Christians have really believed that God taking care of them unless they were "really good". Thus the message that if someone is wealthy, God must want it that way. Get a clue: God doesn't care if we are wealthy, ugly, blind, native american, or if we speak tagalog.

Churches will be fine even if they stop asking for money. By churches, I don't mean corporate-like entities. I mean Christians. They may need to re-think their lives, but God is the active agent, not we ourselves.

Where is my sense of Responsiblity?

If God is living through me, then I should never sense nervousness or guilt (or shame from the past) about what I should or need to do. My sense of responsibility was taken away at the moment of salvation when God said, "Now it is my turn."

Ephesians 2:6 "And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus,"

First, notice, we are sitting down. Other of Paul's writings say we should stand. To me, these are similarly passive positions.

Second, if the core of who we really are is already in heaven, then what big change should we expect when we are fully moved there? I don't think we will be surprised, except by the intensity of the joy (C.S. Lewis( Link to Amazon)). This life is a shadow of things to come, just as life in the Old Covenant (up to Pentecost) was a shadow of what was to come now that the Holy Spirit abides in us. I am quite sure of several things that will NOT be a part of the heaven experience ever:

Rememberance of our sin here on Earth (link)
Crying, any at all (link)
Condemnation for anything we have ever done (link)

Finally, if the core of who we really are is seated in Heaven, then Satan can't touch us.

Let go, Let God.

There Are No Principles in Salvation

Modern Christianity has been trying to master the "principles" of proper Christian living. Paul's writing in the New Testament suggests that such a pursuit is not only not necessary, but is in fact counter-productive. For Paul (and by extension the post-pentecost Christian church), principles for living worked well when Christ did not live through us. Principles were a nice shadow of Christ. Principles gave guidance in decisionmaking. Now Christ lives through us and doesn't see our sin when we don't let Christ live through us while we try to live by "principles".

This is a big topic for me right now. I am frankly beyond the Christian acts that I grew up with: baptism (shadow of being completely bathed in Christ 24/7), titheing (I think God is big enough to take care of the Church light bill-maybe even through me, if I see joy in such giving), etc. But what is more difficult for me is that God isn't interested in my reliance of general principles, Old Testament, Hammurabi's code, Roman Law, or the Quran. He wants to BE the principle to which I look every second of the day. Every other principle for living is secondary.

Practical applications? Life is very personal, and lacks overarching principles that easily apply to all people. In essence, ethics, morals and other principles for living are fixed and too inflexible for life. The only true principle is that God doesn't change, and our life right now is to see Him express his love for us as we go through life.

Three Examples
ok, a big one.

1. Abortion.

First, just like any other part of life, if I am not letting God live through me, THAT is the sin, not the abortion as such. Is it possible to make a bad earthly decision? Of course, but the concequences are only here on earth, and nothing we do can deter His love for us. We can fall into too much principle/legalism and not realize God's moments of caring, but the truth stands that we already have (and can't ever lose) every blessing God had for us. Is abortion always a bad decision? Well, that is a principle question and God wants to live through people to answer these questions individually, so I can't say if it is always bad or not.

2. Best Governmental system

Modernists assume republican democracy is the best governmental structure, and that all others are inferior. God, when the people of Isreal wanted a government like the other people of the world, didn't institute democracy. He gave them a despot. The monarchy lasted through exactly 3 rulers: Saul, David and Solomon. (Interesting that many Christians enjoy following certain Old Testament lifestyle guidelines, but no one is talking about asking for a Monarchy here in the States. Maybe Idi Amin was right - just kidding!!)

Where does that leave us on the governance question? God tells individuals how best to live every second in the world around them. The principle of governmental forms is not all that significant. It isn't immaterial, is just pales compared with the much bigger issue of Christ's living through us or not.

3. Slavery.

I believe that in "Principle" slavery is more bad than good. Realize that my biggest concern with slavery is the lack of recourse for an abused Slave, and not the concept of "Slavery" as such. Concepts don't harm people, individuals and circumstances do. Paul never spoke against slavery. Does that mean he was for it? No, it means that a Christian slave can still have her/his life completely worked out by Christ. A Christian slave does not need the institution of slavery to change for his/her joy to increase. Joy comes from seeing Christ work in our lives. I dare say that EVERY life has difficulties which give Christ opportunity to speak to us by His working out of our lives. Every life can be joyful in Christ.