Sin is like smog

I live in the LA area, so I know all about smog. I was born and raised here, so I remember when the air quality was actually worse than it is now (thank you, emission standards!). But still, we do have some pretty smoggy times down here.

A few years back, I was in a bible study, and we were talking about sin, and the insidious nature of it, and how it can ensnare us so easily, without our truly realizing what is happening. Over the course of the conversation, I came up with an analogy that is straight from the LA basin.

We have local mountains here that rise very high very quickly, so you can go from tanning at the beach to skiing down the slopes in one day and still have time for a movie and dinner back home. This also means that you can see the "lowlands" clearly on your descent from the mountains. On most days - especially if you are heading down in the afternoon - you see a striking scene: where you are, there is a clear blue sky, and visibility for miles and miles. Where you're heading, there is a solid light-brown sea of smog. You can't see the lowlands through all the smog. It looks like fog, or cloud cover when you are flying, but it is really, truly, smog in the LA basin.

Yuk.

Your first thought is always the same: no way am I going down there! I will die a horrible, choking death is seconds. But, you head down anyways, because that's where you live.

Now, here's the other striking thing: you never hit the smog.

You get home, and things seem just like you left them. You are breathing just like you did yesterday, and the day before.

So what happened to the smog? It's still there, it's just that the descent into it was so gradual, that you didn't even realize when it happened. Your body adjusted, your eyes adjusted, and all seemed normal.

This is what sin is like. Very seldom do we jump from the clear air of purity into a thick, globular morass of sin. Usually, we subtly, slowly ease into it without truly realizing what we are doing. The air seems fine down here, thank you. Sin, what sin? Leave me alone.

Only when we are lifted back up into the pure air through repentance and forgiveness are we able to look down at where we were living, and see the "smog" of sin.

What are we to do? Repent early, repent often. Forgiveness is always waiting for you. You won't know how much you needed it until after the fact when you look back down.

The yoke's on me

Bad puns R us!

Anyway, back to the topic of Christianity being an easy yoke, a light burden.

What does Jesus mean? Elsewhere, He talks of persecutions, suffering. If we look at His own path, the suffering was immense. So, it can't mean the physical events of this life - bad things do happen to good people. In fact, they have to - otherwise, following Jesus would deteriorate into a kind of "get out of jail free" faith. Believe so life will be easy and pain-free! God wouldn't have our hearts, just be our contingency plan.

Then what was the burden? The yoke?

The religion of the Pharisees.

I put it this way, because I don't want to confuse what the Pharisees were doing with the Jewish faith. It was like a thick coating of man-made junk put over the top of Judiasm. Law upon law, rule upon rule, burden upon burden, yoke upon yoke. A life dominated by the dictates of those who made it their profession to follow those dictates, while the average working person had no hope of being able to devote the time and energy needed to "measure up".

Jesus hated this.

It's clear to me by His statements to and about the Pharisees. I won't repeat them here, but He called them "sons of iniquity" for starters.

Then what was Jesus' yoke? His burden?

"I love you. Come to me. Rest. You are forgiven."

So, my former student, who walked away from the Christian faith because it was too hard, walked away from what? It certainly wasn't the words of Jesus.

We, the Christian community, have become the Pharisees, with our official and unofficial lists of what a "good Christian" should be (don't drink, don't smoke, don't watch The Simpsons, whatever...). You could probably write out a list of "shoulds" and "shouldn'ts" from your own experience. Some biblically defensible, but really, bottom line, a thick coating of man-made junk laid over the top of "I love you. Come to me. Rest. You are forgiven."

God was courageous enough to give us the freedom to walk away, or walk to Him. Why do we insist upon junking this up?

Is there more to the Christian life that this? Certainly. But let us let that be the work of the Holy Spirit and the Scriptures upon each of our hearts.

We would each be a bit messier on the outside, but probably a lot cleaner on the inside.

An easy yoke? A light burden?

More on this later, but I wanted to start my mind spinning on this one.

Jesus said that "My yoke is easy, My burden is light" (paraphrase, close enough for late posting).
Living within the Christian community, all too often, this phrase seems a million miles away from what we are asked - by others - to do. I had a former student talk to me once about the fact that they were walking away from the Christian faith. When I asked why, the answer was not what I expected. I was ready for a debate on the validity of the claims of Christianity, and instead, I was told that life was just easier not being a Christian. Relying on oneself made them happier.

How do you argue against this?

It's not a matter of propositional truths - it's a matter of personal experience. Someone in my students' life made the yoke hard, and the burden heavy.

Shame on them. Shame on us.

Can the Christian faith be an easy yoke, a light burden?

More later. Comments more than welcome.

Howling at the wind

I know, I know, mixing metaphors. But it fits the point I want to make.

Is anybody reading this? By this, I mean this site, not just this post.
I've only told a few friends (very few) about this, so it's really up to random chance if anybody will read what I've written.

Now then, two questions arise from this: Is it worth it to write to (potentially) nobody? Is it random chance that would lead someone here?

The second question first. Answer: I don't truly know, but I think not. Being an orthodox (not Orthodox) Christian, I believe that God is in control. Of everything. Always. Yes, that raises a TON of issues regarding Tsunamis and parking tickets, but ultimately, it provides a solid foundation for secure reasoning. If one thing is random, then anything could be random, then nothing is secure - including God's love - which means that a lifetime of dedication/work/devotion could be vaporized by randomness. "Sorry! You were supposed to make it to Heaven, but oops! Tough luck old chap." There is offered to us security and certitude. There is an ultimate order and sense to things, even if we don't see it on this side of life.

So, to anyone reading this: Welcome, you were expected. I wrote this just for you. I hope it helps.

I guess that answers the first question also.

What can I say to you?

For anyone who scrolls down past this post, you'll see that there has been a looooong gap between this post and the last. My struggle seems to be this: what do I have to say? Amplified: what do I have to say that would be worth someone else's time?

Of course, life is busy. I was down for 3 weeks(!) with the flu - no kidding, just ask my wife - and then, just last week, our 4th child was born.

I am now the father of 4 boys (ages 7, 4.5, 2.75 and .1). Wow. This is an immeasurable blessing, and a hassle greater than I have ever known. Holding a child in your arms who adores you is achingly wonderful. Cleaning vomit from the van is also aching, just not wonderful. We try so hard to raise these children up in the way they should go: to love God, to serve Him, to be sharp of mind, strong of body. But then, when you just want to make it to 7:45 bedtime, an hour or so of Boomerang (TV channel that shows The Flintstones, Tom & Jerry, Looney Tunes, etc) is seductively easy, and wins more times than I care to think about.

And maybe that's the point of my ambivalence: I find myself mostly a disappointment to myself. I am a selfish, self-absorbed, lazy, constantly-sinning man who has staked my life and eternity upon serving Christ. I have no special wisdom that I know of. My deep insights tend to look pretty shallow when re-examined in the light of day. I'm not a doer.

If there is any wisdom in this post, it would be this: How does the Enemy keep me ineffective? Inactivity.

I read, I think, I watch, but I don't do much. Definitely not as much as I would want.

Why?

Fear. Mostly fear of failure in all it's myriad manifestations.

And maybe that's what I can offer you: transparent reflections on the life of a wholly inadequate disciple. I have entrusted my eternity to Jesus, and my service to Him is pockmarked at best. I am a lamb, but I am defiant. Most importantly, I am forgiven and redeemed in the midst of my failures: falling on my knees again and again.

Let me show you my stumbles, and through this, remind us all that no stumble cannot be followed by getting up.