incorruptible

When I was a young kid, my experience of the Bible came in the form of the King James Version, with all of the "thees" and "thous" and "shalts" and "shalt nots." That was just the tradition my family lived in for generations, and something into which I was born. And while I am grateful that I have since grown to embrace more relevant translations of God's words, every once in awhile I am reminded of a King James word that seems to perfectly capture something about God and life with God.

Here's the King James word that has snuck up on me recently:

"Incorruptible."

It comes from 1 Peter 1:4, King James version. Verses 3-5 read like this:

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead to an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time."

Incorruptible: meaning unable to be corrupted. Beyond the reach of impurity. Never can be wounded, broken, soiled, dirtied up with the stuff that dirties up my life.

I have something in me that, despite my best (read: most evil) efforts, remains just as pure and holy as the day it was born in me.

I can't think of anything else in the world that works this way. Something that forever remains just as perfect and complete as the moment it came into being.

Nothing else in my life works this way. On the contrary: I have to keep things from getting dirty, from falling apart, from falling out of working order.

Like:

-I have to work to keep my body healthy--and even then it is becoming more fragile.

-I have to work to keep my house in order--and even then there are things that will eventually need to be replaced.

-I have to work to keep my work habits and spiritual habits disciplined--and even then they go out of wack and out of order more often than they remain healthy.

-I have to work to keep my relationships healthy--whether that means seeking forgiveness from those I have wronged, or confronting those who have wronged me--and even then each has its season, a date in which that relationship will end.

Something impure from the outside always seems to creep in and dirty up what was once good. And unless I do something to clean it up, it'll just be dirty.

But not so with this thing that is in me--this thing that is incorruptible. This thing that was perfect when I received it, and just as perfect today. This thing that does not seem to bow to the rule that seems to govern everything else in my life and my world.

For the first and only time, I have something in me that neither I, my life, nor my world can mess up. Which means that for the first and only time, I have something in me that I don't ever have to fix or to clean up.

I have a hope that doesn't depend on me.

Another King James word in that passage that I love is "begotten." It's this beautiful word that means something along the lines of "proceeded from," or in human terms, "birthed."

So, as weird as it may sound, I am expecting.

Yep. Pregnant.

Pregnant with the hope that this Jesus who I met one day and trusted the next is now within me and can not be rooted out. Pregnant with the hope that nothing I can do will loosen his grasp on my life. Pregnant with Someone who remains good despite my continuing battle with everything about me that is not.

I have Someone in me who refuses to be defined by my mistakes or my wounds. I have someone in me who sees everything I have ever done and never changes the loving expression on his face. I have someone who truly knows how to discipline out of perfect love, a love that casts out fear of rejection or hopelessness.

I'm not saying I'm gonna pop out another tiny ol' infant 9lb. 8oz. baby Jesus, to quote Ricky Bobby.

What I am saying is that my belly is bulging with the hope that he that is within me is greater than me and greater than this world.

A begotten, incorruptible hope that I didn't manufacture and that I don't have to maintain.

It's a beautiful thing.

political

I have to say this.

It annoys me to no end when people unabashedly, self-assuredly, unquestioningly, abrasively, unapologetically, uncritically, and unexamined-ly present their political stance in squarely religious terms.

As in:

"Vote for _______ _______. He/she best represents our Christian values."

You know, I'm a pastor... and I couldn't say that even of myself-- let alone stand for someone else to say that of me. "Vote for Jesse. He'll represent our Christian values." Maybe I'd represent some of them. But not all of them. Not all of everything that Jesus stood for. Not to the extent that he did. Not even me, a pastor.

Think about that, would you, the next time you use a political candidate's name and Jesus' name in the same sentence? Think about:

Which candidate comes closer to Jesus' ethic (do you know what Jesus' ethic was)?

Which candidate comes closer to Jesus' lifestyle and socio-economic status (i.e., homeless)?

Which candidate comes closer to Jesus' way of sacrificial, simple living?

Which candidate demonstrates a better ability to love like Jesus loved?

Which candidate would you say would probably love their neighbor better?

Which candidate would be more likely to extend love to his enemies?

Which candidate is more likely to serve God, and not money?

I don't know how you would answer each of those questions. But I can almost guarantee that your your answers to those questions are not informing your statement about your candidate best representing Christian values.

See, the assumptions behind those questions represent "Christian values." Love your enemy. Love sacrificially. Serve God, not money. Do justice, especially to those who can not do it for themselves. Love kindness. Those are the things that Jesus said and embodied.

So if you claim that I should vote for your candidate because he best represents Christian values, please... let's be talking about the values Jesus himself actually held and lived out--not your own political preferences and views projected on to Jesus' life.

And if you are wondering if I'm trying to sway your vote in a particular direction, you've missed the entire point of this entry.

Because, let's face it: neither candidate comes close to Jesus' values. As much as John McCain has sacrificed, and as much as Barack Obama has organized on behalf of the poor, both of them fall miserably short (just like the rest of us) of representing Jesus.

So who are we to say that one candidate is overwhelmingly more like Jesus than another? We are either misinformed about our candidate, or we are mistaken about our Savior. It's either one or the other.

Sorry for the rant.