Instead, put on Jesus Christ..." Paul to the church in Rome...and Upstate NY
(Thank you to Pr. Steve Biegner for today's blog post. It was first posted in the Upstate NY Synod's Mid-week Musings.)
I'm sure this will come as a huge surprise to most of you reading this...except for those who have actually met me... and those who've heard me spell something...and those who've asked me a question concerning history, important names of any classic literature...but...here's the breaking news...I was never a huge fan of studying.
Now, for those of you who are in an academic setting or journey right now...studying is good...Steve was/is just bad at it.
I call myself an "experiential learner" (read: would rather go golfing with someone who already did the assignment and have them tell me the oral report of the book). I found over my academic career (read: purgatory) that the library and me just didn't click. It was a bit too quiet and dark. Very helpful for naps, not so much for learning.
I was known as "well rounded" by my dad...not great at anything but could survive everything.
I was never a supporter of "tests" but loved the concept of "independent study."
Long story short...I was never a big fan of studying. At least, not in the "classic" sense of the word.
For those of you who a church frequent flyers, you're going to hear Jesus speak about forgiving others AGAIN this weekend. Like one week wasn't enough for us to totally learn it?? Probably not. Because this week, instead of counting how many times we are to forgive, Jesus invites us into practical applications of forgiving: being experiential forgivers. No more studying. Yea!! Now it's time to do it. Gulp!!
Paul told the Roman church one way to live into it: Put on Jesus Christ. Not from a book or a quote or a mantra, but instead the whole Jesus for the whole person in the whole world.
It's not the language of cramming for a test! That's the language of immersing one's self into God's active presence through the Holy Spirit.
It's living with God...not learning about God.
It's Jesus sent into our lives for real life stuff...not passing high above with a magic wand.
It's the Holy Spirit poured out over you in baptism, working through you in the world...not a holy ghost blowing by in the wind.
Can you experientially study that and then live it out? Can you experience the God that has been, is and will forever be in your story in a very real, present, non-quiet-dark-library sort of way?
A guy walked into my office early this morning and we ended up talking about this same text because of a situation going on in his family. It became his 15 Minute Moment of the day. He decided to try out Paul's advice and "put on" his faith and Jesus-like forgiveness toward the family members that hurt him.
It's not cramming for a test. It's not memorizing verses. It's practical application and lifestyle change and risk and challenge for our lives and for the life of the world.
Lord, help me study and experience your presence in my life. Amen
15 Minutes of reflection:
- What does "putting on Jesus" look like practically for me this week?
- What are the other things I "put on" instead of Jesus?
- Who is one person that I can encourage this week in their journey toward forgiveness?
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