Accept No Substitute! (Except the ONE)

  For those of you kind enough to humor me by continuing to read these words of sometimes wisdom, I thank you.  I especially thank you because you tolerate all my failures to thoroughly edit my blogs before I post them.  I reviewed my previous work of brilliance only to discover several errors, upon which the English/History teacher inside me cringed and I was immediately filled with self-inflicted ridicule.  "Perfect Grammar and nothing else; accept no substitute," seemed to be my lingering thought upon reading those words from some time ago.

Fortunately, I do not usually linger too long on my faults and failures, and I hope you will not linger on them long either.  But, this thought about accepting no substitutes brought to mind another recent reading where substitutes seemed to play a major role.  The passage in question can be found among the various laws, regulations, restrictions, and blessings given and/or promised to the people of Israel in the book of Leviticus - specifically Leviticus Chapter 27.

I know what you're probably thinking; why is he reading Leviticus? Does he want to put himself to sleep, or is he taking a crash course in how to become a Pharisee?  Actually, neither of the above would be the correct answer.  I am trying to fulfill one of the resolutions I spoke so fondly of last time I wrote. Nevertheless, I found myself in the closing chapters of the book and came across the following verse: "He must not pick out the good from the bad or make any substitution.  If he does make a substitution both the animal and its substitute become holy and cannot be redeemed."  Interestingly, some translations say "neither can be bought back." - Notice why the redemption cannot occur, both the animal and its substitute are made holy, that is they are both now dedicated to the Lord as His.  This passage, of course is set in the context of making offerings and tithes to the Lord, but if we consider ourselves as offerings to the Lord, a larger picture might come into view.

Now I know I am probably taking some liberties with the message here, and I don't normally suggest one do this, but in this case I find a very interesting correlation with another substitution found in the New Testament - a substitution made, not by man, but by God!  In my warped way of seeing a correlation here, God chose to make a suitable sacrifice for our sins, by means of substitution. Jesus became the substitute for us, and paid the penalty owed by us.  By doing so, we were able to made Holy - that is set apart for, or belonging to the Lord.  Christ was already Holy, but because of Him we are made Holy too!  We no longer need to be redeemed because Christ has redeemed us once and for all!  Praise be to the One who would accept no other substitute!

  

Resolution: Redux

Another year has come and gone.  Another year of good intentions and promises to self left unfulfilled.  I am not sure why it is so hard to keep new-year's resolutions.  I mean after all it's not like anyone is intentionally thwarting me in my efforts to post more blogs, lose more weight, exercise more, spend more time with kids; its just that life seems to get in the way.

Fortunately, because this is a new year, I get a fresh start, a do-over, a mulligan, a clean slate.  Maybe this will be the year I lose that unwanted belly fat, to finish the remodeling the bathroom and to grow deeper in my faith and family relationships.  Only time will tell.

As I think about resolutions, I am reminded of some key concepts related to the Gospel message - concepts, like resolutions, I need to be reminded from time to time.

1. My efforts fail precisely because of that - they are my efforts.  Anything I do to earn a better standing with God instantly transforms his His grace-filled, faith-based saving relationship into a man-made journey of religion, which ultimately will fail because He is not the one orchestrating.

2.  Accountability is invaluable.  My resolutions are typically not met, in part, because I don't have anyone walking beside me, encouraging me to keep them.  The same is true in my Christian walk.  While what I do does not earn my salvation, the disciplines I maintain can help me grow in my relationship with the Father.  Having a spiritual brother or sister (my wife in my case) to keep my focus is critical.  There is a reason the Scripture says "as iron sharpens iron. . ."

3 Perhaps one of the most important concepts to remember is that of forgiveness. Failing to keep a resolution is not the end of the world.  If we don't forgive our small missteps, we won't feel good enough about ourselves to continue the pursuit.  In our practice of living like Christ, failing to forgive others will handicap is both spiritually and emotionally.  We need to remember to forgive much, because we have been forgiven much.

4. Finally, remember the clean slate analogy.  Just like each new year provides us with the opportunity to start over and begin anew with fresh resolutions, the so too does the work of Christ on the cross.  I am free to pursue the spiritual life I am called to because of what He has done.  The stains of sin have been washed clean, and I am made a new creation in Him.

May 2016 be a blessed and joy-filled new year, and may the love of Christ fill you as you go and as you grow.