Two Wills

Theology can be a tedious subject, full of complex ideas that leave the head spinning and wondering what it all means. More dizzying are the differences between denominations, who believes what and how and why. It can feel like walking blindfolded through a maze trying to sort through it all.
While reading a book on Eastern Orthodox theology, I stumbled upon an idea that suddenly made things more clear than they have ever been before. A gem of truth about Jesus that brought me to a deeper and more beautiful understanding of the Incarnation.
If I'm understading it right. Here goes.
It begins with the idea of will. Jesus famously prayed, before he was betrayed, “Not my will but yours, God.” Theologians have attempted to define Jesus will. What? You ask. Why does it matter?
Did he have a human will, that simply obeyed God. Did he have the divine will, wrapped in human flesh. Or did he have two wills, one human and one divine, which worked in perfect harmony.
It didn’t make sense to me the first time I heard the idea. If they worked in harmony, why did it matter if there were two wills or one? Seriously, who cares? It doesn’t change what Jesus did. It doesn’t change the life we’re called to live. But now I think this bit of theology can really help bring us closer to Him.
Jesus had two wills. He always had his divine will, but when he took on a human body he also took on human will. So says the Eastern Orthodox church.
Think about it. To become human, the Son of God didn’t just jump into a body. He took on the desires, wants and needs of an ordinary human. The need for food, drink and rest, the ability to get tired and cranky, to make stupid decisions and bad mistakes, fear of death, these are all part of the human will. Jesus added this will to his being in the Incarnation. And he learned to take that human will and line it up with his divine will.
When his human side was tired, he had to turn the will to give up around and press on as God required. When he was sad he wept, as he did when Lazarus died, but he kept at his work, because his god side needed to.
This is where I take a flying leap, going beyond what I read.
When the Son of God became a man, he changed. He learned through experience what it was to be human. And he showed us the best and only good way to live a human life. He did it because in addition of being human, he was also God. The divine will in him kept him from sin.
Now we also have two wills. We are just like Jesus. When we receive the Holy Spirit we receive the divine will within us. Like him we live with two wills. We still retain our humanity, but we also know what God wants. Our job is the same as Jesus’, to bring our human will in line with God’s will. Every day, in every choice we make, we must chose to turn our human will to follow the Holy Spirit’s will.
Amazing.
Jesus became like us, and sent the Holy Spirit to make us like him. He fought the battle of wills, and won. He demands of us only that we do exactly as he did. Bring the two wills within you to perfect harmony so that your will is God’s will.
Paul said, “Work out your salvation with fear and trembling.” Salvation begins with the first step of faith, when we allow the Holy Spirit to enter us. Salvation is complete when the two wills work as one. So we are saved, yet at the same time we continue to work toward salvation.
That is heaven. To be one with God.

Rock the Boat

I love thunder and lighting, a powerful wind and a good downpour. There is something amazing about a storm, a feral beauty in their raw power that I never tire of. Even so, I find it difficult to sleep through one. The noise can keep you up all night, wondering if the roof will fall in. Once it did, at three am--half the kitchen ceiling landed on the kitchen floor.
Jesus slept through storms as if they were quiet, peaceful nights. While his disciples desperately tried to bail the water out of the boat, he snored on oblivious. He wouldn’t have woken up until the boat capsized if the disciples hadn’t roused him. Jesus was never worried about storms. They didn’t bother him.
Obviously he knew he wouldn’t die in a shipwreck. He knew he could stop the wind and rain at any time. But I think there was another reason he didn’t care about the storms.
Jesus made storms. He rocked the boat. Wherever he went he made waves.
Jesus’ entire life was a storm. You could find him by following the line of thundering scribes and Pharisees. Jesus broke all the social barriers of his time. He taught women. He talked to Samaritans. He ate with tax collectors and commended prostitutes for their faith. He touched lepers, and he extended a friendly hand to the gentiles. Jesus did things the wrong way. Nothing he said was socially acceptable. Nothing he did fit into a happy, normal lifestyle.
When Jesus was gone, killed because of his radical ideas and strange behavior, his disciples just kept doing what he did. They had finally learned to stop being afraid of the storms and start making them. The thunder and lighting are ours to command. We should shake up this earth and leave no one standing.
Because this world is messed up, and the only way to fix things is to learn how to walk all over again. To build it up from scratch. Smash the status quo and make something new. Something good. A kingdom of heaven.
Anyone who lives in this kingdom of heaven, the kingdom Jesus brought to earth, cannot live a normal life. They cannot sail on peaceful waters any more. To be a Christian is to rock the boat. Shake things up. Say no to the things that are wrong in this world. Turn polite society upside down.
If we aren’t walking on stormy seas, we aren’t following him.

Broken-down blessings

Did you miss me? I haven’t posted for a while because this week, my truck broke down. Actually, it’s not my truck, it belongs to my roommate. I don’t have a vehicle, or internet. I have to go to the library to get online. No truck = no contact with the outside world.
This week, we both had to rely on many more people.
It started with a phone call at 2 am, because my roommate works second shift, and she couldn’t get the truck to start when she was ready to come home. I had to take it to work the next morning, and she wanted to warn me there would be no vehicle.
I had to call my boss, I had to call my ten o’clock meeting, and I had to get a ride. At 2 am, I couldn’t get back to sleep for worrying about everything.
Jesus told us not to worry, and he was right. Smart man, I really ought to practice his preaching more often. I found more than one person willing to give me a ride. To work, to church, even to the grocery store so that we wouldn’t have to survive on moldy leftovers and canned soup.
It can be frustrating to lose your independence and find yourself entirely dependent on others. However, in this situation we can see our greatest blessings more clearly. Independence is nice, but having relationships and a network of people you can count on is by far the better gift.
Thank you for helping. Thank you for giving. Thank you for simply being there. It makes all the difference.

Thief's Dare

How well do we truly trust in God? Do we trust him enough that we could go anywhere and do anything without fear? Could you walk on the edge of a tall building a not fear falling? Could you walk through a battlefield and not fear getting hit by a stray bullet? Could you live during a famine and not fear starving?

One fiction character with the greatest faith I have seen does not inhabit a 'christian' novel. He is Eugenides, the Thief of Eddis in Megan Whalen Turner's popular series. Eugenides, Gen for short, has no fear. He can do handstands on the edge of the roof, and walk straight into the enemy stronghold and know that whatever happens is the will of his god (the god of thieves, also called Eugenides). His philosophy is this: He knows that one day he will fall, and die. But whether he lives and whether he dies in entirely the gods' decision. So he is not afraid to take risks, not afraid to do whatever is necessary, because ultimately, how things turn out is not up to him. His god will protect him, or he will not, and the choice is his.

We will all meet the afterlife one day. To spend our lives being worried about being safe is to perpetually avoid the inevitable.

How great our faith would be to rely fully on God's will. Not to worry whether we live or die, because the decision is God's alone. This is the faith God wants us to cultivate, the freedom that he wants to us have.

Paul said it in one of his letters. Dying is gain, because then he would be with God, but in living he can further God's work, so that is good as well. Whatever we do, live in the hand of your god. So said Eugenides. Live or die, we are in God's hand, and nothing can change that.

So where is fear?

In a heart of little faith. Perfect love casts out fear.

Take the Thief's dare.

Know that you belong with God, and you will experience true freedom.

Jesus loves me, this I know...

"Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so."
Most Americans know this song, whether they profess to be a Christian or not. It's truth has been ingrained in us since early childhood, and that teaching remains strong to this day.
But lately I have begun to think that these lyrics are not entirely accurate.
Jesus loves me. Yes. This is true. But to believe it simply because the Bible tells me so...just doesn't seem right. It is not adequate. I do not know that Jesus loves me because of words on a page. I do not believe it because it is a red-lettered quote in my NIV. Words on a page cannot show love, cannot share love, cannot give love. They are simply words. They are true words, and I do not want to diminish the importance of the Bible and the truth it helps us understand.
But I do not know Jesus loves me because of the Bible. I learned that song before I could even read the Bible. Yet when I sang the song at age two, I already knew Jesus loves me. I knew this because the people in my life showed it to me. My parents, my grandparents, friends and church and our minister all lived out the love of Jesus. I saw his love in them, and the way they loved him back. That is where my source of knowledge comes from.
Jesus is all about relationships, not Bible study. (Yes, Bible study IS important, but relationships are more important.) We know this because he is Jesus, the incarnation, god who became man. If we were supposed to depend entirely on words in a book, he wouldn't have bothered with the incarnation. But he came to earth to live with us and teach us. He built a relationship with his disciples, he spent time with them while he taught them, and showed them how to live.
Handing out Bibles is good, preaching in the streets is not a bad thing, but most people won't listen, most people won't read. If they do, they still might not understand.
It is when Christians get involved in people's lives and show them love, demonstrate Jesus up close, that is how people get to know him, and learn about his love.
So continue to read the Bible, continue to preach and teach, but never forget to get involved with people. Go to them, meet them on their own terms and lead them into the light. Don't expect to stand up on the pedestal to religion and draw them to you. They won't come.
I know Jesus loves me because of everyone who showed me his love. And to each of you I owe a huge debt of gratitude. Keep it up. Share the faith. Live the love.