Thoughts, Recent Work, and Other Nice Things, Part 4

I’ve been thinking about this question lately: what does it mean to have faith as someone who follows Jesus? And faith in what, exactly? And how does that change things? I grew up learning that faith alone in Jesus alone was what saved us. Oh, and “here’s a list of things that people who have faith do, so make sure to do these things to prove you have faith.” Faith was at once something that saved us, but was also a buzzword weaponized against those who didn’t look the part. It was almost as though the spiritual leaders I grew up listening to were worried that faith alone in Jesus alone wasn’t enough, and so they felt it necessary to hedge their bets and make sure everyone had enough “faith” to get into heaven by correlating behavior with levels of faithfulness. After a while, the word lost all meaning for me. I was tired of the “it is finished (but not really)” narrative that seemed to be playing out around me (and within me). It was never enough. I was never enough. I was trying SO hard but never measured up. The dialogue in my head was suffocating: “they told me my behavior would change, that my heart would change if I just had enough faith, so it must be that my faith sucks because I suck. And if my faith sucks, then what does that say about my relationship with God? Nothing changes and it never will.”

But over the last several years, I’ve sought to actually figure out what it means to have faith, and why it actually matters. If Jesus really did come and literally kill the power of sin and death, what does that mean for me? Is it really and truly finished, as He said? What, exactly, is finished? I could talk for hours and days about this topic but I’ll try to keep it short. I believe that when Jesus said “it is finished”, it meant something. IT. MEANT. SOMETHING. When I sat down and tried to read the gospels with fresh eyes (as best one who went to Bible college can lol), I noticed that, during His ministry on earth, Jesus was building an argument, a reason for why He was here. It’s straightforward but extremely powerful. The argument goes like this:

“Mankind has a need.” And that need is universal, regardless of status, religious prowess, “faithfulness,” sinfulness, creed, or worldview. The Sermon on the Mount is a prime example of this. If you’re not familiar, it’s basically where Jesus took the Jewish law and walked everyone in attendance through it with the goal of pointing out that EVERY SINGLE PERSON is guilty of ALL of the law (“oh, you’ve never murdered? That’s great. But I tell you this: if you’ve hated your brother, you’re guilty of murder”). At one point in Jesus’s ministry, the disciples approached Him, distraught, throwing their proverbial hands up in the air as they asked, “ok Jesus, then who can be saved? You’ve gone to great lengths to show everyone that they’ll never be good enough to get to heaven.” Jesus’ response is EVERYTHING: “with man, it’s impossible. but with God, ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE.” I can envision the knowing smile on His face as He said those words. And that brings us to the next part of the argument:

“I (Jesus) meet that need.” Jesus, knowing full well that no one could get to God on their own, died in everyone’s place, thereby ELIMINATING our need to measure up. When He said “it is finished,” He was ONCE and FOR ALL proclaiming victory over darkness and an END to the need for man to meet God’s standards (not that it was a realistic endeavor in the first place). When He said that while hanging on the cross, something clicked within the minds of His followers. He was never there to condemn them or to guilt them into changing their behavior. In fact, it was never about their behavior or their actions or reducing how many sins they committed. It was ALWAYS about giving them the beautiful gift of peace with God. A society that was motivated and ruled by religious fear and piety was instantly turned on its head by this radically good news that MAN’S STRIVING TO GET TO GOD WAS OVER. The veil was torn and the holiest of holies, God’s dwelling place, was shown not to be in a temple made with hands but within the hearts and minds of men. And the best part? All one has to do to receive this gift is have FAITH that IT IS FINISHED. That’s it. There is no work to be done but the work of receiving peace and rest that comes with knowing that there’s nothing we can do that will pull us closer to or push us further from God. And you know what? That’s a radical concept. In our goal-oriented western society, rest, peace, and freedom are things to be earned, not charitably received. It doesn’t feel natural at all. I feel like I need to earn God’s approval still. I’ve always known in my head that faith alone in Jesus alone was enough, but my heart was afraid it wasn’t. I don’t think that’s uncommon for a lot of people who grew up in the church. I believe that the ongoing act of faith is simply to lean into the truth of who I am because of Jesus.

Ultimately, “it is finished” was a proclamation of an identity change. No longer am I a sinner, a faithless failure, a work-in-progress, but rather a brother, co-heir, and friend of God, complete and perfect in His eyes. And that identity is sealed. Nothing I do can make me more or less any of those things. And if that’s true, that changes everything. The voices of “not enough” can go screw themselves. They’re liars, seeking to drag a bloodied Jesus naked through the streets again. His death and resurrection are the final word. Don’t let any voice, internal or otherwise, tell you that they’re merely the first step on the journey or a piece to the puzzle of faith. To hell with that. And if you think that’s harsh, I would encourage you to read Galatians. Never forget that the darkness hates your freedom and seeks to steal, kill, and destroy your peace, joy, and rest by attacking your identity. Don’t entertain the lies. Cling to the truth of the matter: It is, in actual fact, finished, and that is very, very good news.

Sorry for all the words and stream-of-consciousness messiness. This stuff has been bouncing around in my head lately and I felt the need to get it all out on paper (blog post?). My mind is oftentimes a place in which negative narratives thrive, but lately that hasn’t been the case in large part due to this lovely stuff bouncing around in there. I hope this encourages you. Here are a few photos from last week’s proposal session at Manhattan Beach that make me happy: