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Focus on His Face ~ Everlynn’s Lesson for Daddy
Life can cause us to lose our focus. The busyness of this life and the myriad stressors we often place upon ourselves can blur our vision of what really matters, what really lasts, and what ultimately satisfies.
We run up the ladder, tighten our schedule, and race to the next meeting or project in order to gain that extra capital, pay that impending bill, or plan for our possible retirement. Or maybe for some of us our focus is blurred by less trivial concerns: the pile of laundry that is turning into a mountain, the unruly toddler who won’t stop tearing the house apart, or the broken head-gasket on an aging vehicle. All these sharp edges of life can slowly (or sometimes rather quickly) pull our attention off the One who has given us life and away from the beauty of the love-relationship we have in Him.
Now to be clear, the tasks of the day and the stressors that life can pile up cannot be ignored. Neglecting personal responsibility is not a sign of genuine spirituality; in fact, it’s quite the opposite. The apostle Paul wrote, “But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” (1 Timothy 5:8)
So the duties of the day and the depth of our devotion to Jesus Christ are not to be at odds with one another. Instead there must be a holistic joining of the sacred and the secular. Rather than a “work life” standing separate from a “church/Christian life,” all of life is to be completely joined with the Way of Jesus and driven by His grace and truth. Scrubbing pots and pans, chasing toddlers, fixing a car, and closing a sales deal are all to be spiritual acts of worship… in relationship with the One who has given us new life. But seriously now, how does this actually work? To be honest, I all-too-often find myself grappling with ideas rather than putting them into real-life practice.
Everlynn’s Smile Lesson
Over the last six months we have been filling almost every spare moment of every week with all sorts of house repair projects, attempting to make our new-ancient house (built in 1870) into a clean and comfortable home for our little family. As our excitement turned to exhaustion I felt my focus slipping away. Can you identify?
My fuse grew shorter. My joy dissipated. Peace turned to worry and anxiety. Financial pressures tightened my stomach. It was not a pretty picture and I couldn’t stop looking at the picture. All I could see was the pile of problems and tasks and issues flooding our path.
And then our little Everlynn reminded me of a lesson I thought I had learned long ago… Each morning our now three and a half month old “baby princess” wakes up with a beautiful, big smile. Her sparkly eyes light up with the morning sun and spread joy around our house. But there is something unique about Everlynn’s infectious smile: she first sets her gaze on the eyes of those who love her. And when her eyes meet ours, then her smile beams from deep within and spreads its joy around. The amazing thing about Everlynn’s smile is that it will come no matter where we are and nearly regardless of what is going on (even if our toddler, Hudson, is screaming at the top of his lungs). When she sets her gaze on the eyes of those who love her, the smile is sure to come.
This past week God used Everlynn to remind me that the way to peace and joy in the midst of stress, anxiety, or chaos is to focus on the face of Jesus Christ. Somehow in all of the busyness of life I forgot that real joy comes when we set our gaze on the eyes of the One who loves us.
There is something unique and amazing when you and I focus on the incomparable beauty and worth of God’s Son, Jesus Christ. Fear dissipates. Worry subsides. And the smile of His joy returns.
So I encourage you: let’s focus on His face through this picture of Jesus Christ:
“For He [the Father] rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom [Jesus Christ] we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. He is the image of the invisible God, the chief heir of all creation. For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities – all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything. For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven.
And although you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind and engaged in evil deeds, yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach…” (Colossians 1:13-22)
Just as Everlynn finds a simple, infectious smile when looking into the eyes of those who love her, let’s focus on the One who loves us and has given us new life in His name. Instead of living a two-part, polarized life with a work-face and a church-face, let’s look at His face and live out our love for Him, regardless of where we are or what may be going on around us.
Find in Him life in all its fullness. Rest in Him through His grace. His smile may surprise you.
In Christ Alone,
Michael
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The Beauty of Grace
:: The Beauty of Grace ::
“The beauty of grace is that it makes life not fair…” ~ Dr. Glenn Kreider
The evening before I headed back from Dallas after my last seminary class on “last things” (how ironic, yet wonderful), I prayed a simple pray that God would be pleased to bring me an opportunity to share the Gospel of grace with someone during my journey back home. Little did I know what would transpire…
When my flight arrived in Chicago for a short stopover, most of the passengers exited the plane, making way for dozens of new passengers for the short flight to Detroit. As I sat pondering the recent discussion I had during the prior flight with a rather liberal professor from Eden Seminary, a young woman with a big smile sat down next to me. I returned her smile, politely said hello, and thought about getting back into a text I was reading on interpreting the book of Revelation.
However, in short order, she asked me how I was doing, where I had come from, why I was going to Detroit – which led to a half a dozen more questions. In return I asked her where she was from, her background, etc… and this is where it just became astounding. It just so happened that she was raised in the small city of St. Clair (just south of Port Huron, MI), where my family lived for several years. She was also a friend of some of my best friends from childhood there. Still more amazing, I realized I had played pick-up football with her brother when he occasionally joined in with some of my good friends when I was just 11 and 12 years old. And one more thing: she turned out to be the exact same age as me. I probably competed with her in the junior track and field competition when I was a kid. It truly is a small world. Or do we, perhaps, serve a big and amazing God?
As we discussed life and these crazy connections, I kept noticing her glance over to my Bible that I had placed on top of my laptop case. I silently prayed there would be a chance to share the Gospel with her. She went on to tell me she had left St. Clair after finishing up college, had decided to be a nanny for a year in London, met an Italian guy – whom she then ended up living with for six years. They traveled and lived in various places in Europe and Australia, and eventually wound up in California where they planned on getting more graduate-level education and “settling down”. Yet life did not quite go as planned. She went on to explain how their relationship ended, how she then transitioned to a new job in Chicago, and how she was currently going through a rough time emotionally because of several “let down” experiences.
The Karma Equation
As I sat quietly listening to her story, she suddenly interjected with a question, “So, what do you think about God and stuff? You know, since that’s what you’re studying at the seminary thing.” I briefly explained the hope of Christ and the Gospel, and then asked her, “So, what do you think about all that?” She responded, “Well, I basically believe in Karma… you know what goes around, comes around. Like, when you do a nice thing for someone, you will eventually get a return “nice thing” too… and when you doing something uncaring or unkind, that will eventually come back around, too.” She then went on to tell my a detailed story about how she had recently experienced her version of Karma, in relation to not helping a friend through a break-up experience, and then finding the same treatment when she found herself in a similar situation….
Then it hit me, this is the biggest difference between the Gospel of grace and the message of any other religion or “belief system” like Karma! Grace does not operate on a “fair scale”! If we got what was fair, we would all be facing death and eternal punishment right now. I then asked her, “So, with this idea of Karma, what hope is there if you do something really bad?”
Her response, “Well, I don’t know, I guess you would get a really bad return?”
Crazy Amazing Grace
And then it hit me again, the Gospel is a message of hope because it offers TOTALLY underserved, unmerited, kindness – grace to anyone who receives this gift of God. I then asked her, “So, what about the guy I met in the Huntsville prison complex in Texas, who was just a few years older than me, and had been sentenced to 325 years in prison for murdering two people and involvement in narcotic sales? Is there any hope for him? Or is there just one big, whopping “bad Karma” waiting for him?”
You see, as I was then able to share with Jessica that morning on a flight back to Detroit, the message of the Gospel is different than any other religious offer because it is a message of grace. As my teacher, Glenn Kreider says, “The beauty of God’s grace is that it makes life not fair.” No other religion offers undeserved, unmerited, unearned, divine favor. So, even for a guy who has committed the most grievous offense – there is hope. Even for a young woman who has messed up her life and knowingly rejected what she knows to be “right” – there is hope in the Gospel of grace. We are not bound to a vicious cycle of duty. For the believer in Christ, what goes around doesn’t come around, because the blood sacrifice of Jesus Christ has circumvented the vicious cycle of our sin and says, “no more!” And when the Father looks at us He says, “What sin? What sin? It is as far away as the east is from the west.”
This unbelievable and beautiful grace has been offered simply because of God’s great love. You see, as I shared with Jessica that morning, God doesn’t expect us to be like a selfish guy who buys a dozen roses, an expensive bottle of perfume, a box of fancy chocolates, and a five-star dinner for his woman, only in order that he might get a good “return on his investment” later on. Nothing is more irritating to women than when a man simply lives for a good return, instead out of pure love.
God loves us because He loves us. Pure and simple. He doesn’t love us because we can do nice things for Him. He doesn’t love us because of anything we can do. He loves us so much that He died for you and for me. That is grace. We can’t earn it and we can’t buy it. We simply must believe that it is really true. Believe in grace instead of Karma. Live in grace instead of duty. Administer grace instead of legalism. Grace is not a good return on investment. It is a gift of God’s love. In this Gospel of grace anyone can find hope.
The prophet Nathan understood this grace (see 2 Samuel 7:1). King David understood this grace (2 Samuel 12:1, 11-13). Paul understood this grace – maybe that’s why he couldn’t stop talking about it and living in light of it – he mentioned the grace of God more than 150 times (see Acts 7:54-8:3; 9:1-8; 19b-30)!
If God’s blessings are earned through our actions, then they are not blessings but wages. God gives blessings by His grace.
There is a huge difference between being motivated by love and being motivated by fear or duty. The Gospel is a Gospel of grace, not fear. It’s a gift, not a laundry list! Let’s rejoice in the shocking and radical grace of our great God and thank Him that life in Christ is not fair.
In Christ Alone,
Michael Breznau
Listen here to the Podcast “The Beauty of Grace” for the full message. I’d love to hear your thoughts!
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Shouting the Gospel… Without Words
Imagine with me for one moment… that you cannot speak.
You have completely lost your ability to sing, speak, or even utter one audible sound. Through a strange and irreversible virus, you have totally become mute. This crazy virus, weirdly enough, only attacked your vocal chords, numbing the nerves that control your voice box, and you’ve been left with only an indiscernible whisper.
It was a great and tragic shock to my system when a vocal specialist, from the U of M medical complex, told me that I had contracted a virus similar to the one described above. During my time in India, a virus infected my body and left me with a semi-paresis of my upper-superior laryngeal nerve. That’s just fancy medical language for this: a nerve that helped control my left vocal chord was semi-paralyzed or numb.
Croaking sounds that resembled a bullfrog seemed more common out of my mouth than normal human sounds, let alone my previous 2.5 octave range. For more than 8 months, tears streamed down my face on a regularly basis, as I wondered if I would ever be able to speak or sing normally again.
But What If…?
By God’s grace my condition did not last forever, nor was it ever as far-reaching as our moment of imagination above. I never completely lost my ability to speak, although my voice was severely limited for quite some time. But think about this: what if I had become entirely mute? What if I lost complete control of my voice box? What if I had been left with only an indiscernible whisper?
What if you and I became entirely mute, unable to speak? Would we be unable to ever again share the Gospel of grace with the lost? How could they hear the Good News from you, if you could not be heard? Remember, in Romans 10:13-14 the apostle Paul wrote, “For ‘whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.’ How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher?” So it would seem the Gospel has to be audibly heard in order for someone to be saved. And this would be an accurate supposition from this text. The lost must hear, understand, and believe in the truth of God in Christ in order to be saved.
Shouting without Words…
But I wonder if there is another way to shout out the Gospel… without using words. Certainly, the special revelation of God, the Bible, is necessary for saving faith in Jesus Christ. Yet we would all agree that we could betray the amazing value and worth of Christ by the way we live. We can choose to put ourselves first, live for our desires, and run after our passions instead of God’s will. Yet on the flip side, we can display the amazing value and worth of Christ by the way we live as well! In this way, you and I can shout out Christ through beautiful “good” works.
We can proclaim the immense worth and power of Christ without using words. In fact, the myriad lost people across our country seem to most often “hear” more loudly through what they see, rather than through what they catch in their eardrums.
I believe this is exactly what Peter was getting at when he wrote to believers scattered throughout a hostile environment:
“Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul. Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good [kalos – “beautiful” or “excellent”] deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation.” (1 Peter 2:11-12)
The dozens of on-lookers who watch you from next door, across the classroom, or in the neighboring cubicle may actually come to recognize God as God (“glorify God…”) through the way you and I live. Wow. Certainly, we are saved through the Gospel of grace, not good works; however, good works show that the Gospel of grace is at work in us. So let’s take the challenge from God’s Word to not betray the amazing worth of Christ, but instead shout out Jesus Christ through what we do with our hands and feet, and not just with our mouths.
Most people are “sick of hearing it.” For far too long, people who claim the name of Jesus have been all talk with little action. So let’s give them something to “hear” with their eyes. The impact of shouting the Gospel without words might leave you and I quite amazed… and make God known in this world.
How will you shout out the worth of Christ with attractive actions?
In Christ Alone,
Michael Breznau
Click below to listen to the full message entitled “Shout out Christ with Attractive Actions” (1 Peter 2:11-12) from the series First Peter: Radical Living in the Hope of Christ. I delivered this message to the 7-12th graders of Evangel Baptist Church on 4/4/12.
