God's Side Now (song)

Note: Here's another old favourite from the archives. I'm still looking as through a mirror darkly but I'm clinging to the Light and awaiting the day I'll see clearly from God's side. In the meanwhile, I try to keep in mind the look at life from both sides now, as Psalms 73 describes too.

* The Bible tells us that now we see God as in a mirror darkly but one day we will behold Him face to face! On that day, we will be able to say like Johnny Nash, “I can see clearly now”, when we are in Christ’s presence in Heaven. But until then, we look at God from Earth’s side now and keep straining to look with an eternal view to the day when we can look at things from God’s side now.

“God’s Side Now” (parody of “Both Sides Now” by Joni Mitchell)
(parody copyright by Nathan Ludwick 11/12/2012)
(Psalms 73, Ephesians 2:8-10, Colossians 3:1-4, Philippians 1:21, Philippians 3:7-14, Romans 6:1-2, 1 Corinthians 13:1-13, 1 John 4:8-10, Galatians 2:19-21, Galatians 3, 2 Corinthians 5:7)

Oh, enthroned with angels there
A nice sea of glass is in the air
I’ll never imagine all that’s there
I’ve looked at God that way

But now I know Him- God The Son
He bade The Holy Spirit come
So many things I could have done
But God stopped me from pain

I’ve looked at God from Earth’s side now
With open heart and still somehow
A cloudy vision- that is all
(But) I will see (then) and know God in full

Cam, Simone and Ferris deals
The Dirty Dancing way appeals
My ev’ry fantasy comes real
I’ve looked at God that way

But now 6:1 and 2 Romans shows
You keep on sinning so grace flows
And you don’t care- you let it go
Don’t cheapen grace away

But look at love from God’s side now
He gives- we take and still somehow
‘Twas God’s Son choosing to give all
So we then could know God, you all

Tears and fears and feeling doubt
He says, “I love you” but somehow
“Needs to see good works first now”-
I’ve looked at Christ that way

2 Ephesians- by grace we’re saved
When Satan hits, I’ll say Christ’s Name
I once was lost but God regained
I’m living by the faith

I’ve looked at life from both sides now
To win, you lose and still somehow
In Christ, I’m losing temporal
I receive God’s life eternal!

I’ve looked to Christ from Earth’s side now
Through ups and downs, He’s with me now
For Christ, I’m choosing to lose all
My real life’s found in Christ, my all!

No Other One Like Jesus (song)

NOTE: Here is a parody song from the archives. I'm still slowly working on pulling together a lot of classics into one place on this blog. Enjoy one from the Queen of rock & roll that points us to The King of Kings over all. :-)
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This one just emphatically reminds us that there’s no other one like Jesus! All other competitors to His title just bite the dust- but He stands alone as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. :-)

“No Other One Like Jesus”
(parody of “Another One Bites the Dust” by Queen)
(parody by Nathan Ludwick 2/7/2010)
(1 Timothy 2:5, 1 Corinthians 8:6, Isaiah 43:3, Isaiah 43:10-13, Isaiah 44:8-10, Isaiah 44:15-23, Micah 7:18-20, Isaiah 49:26, Isaiah 46:3-5, Isaiah 46:9-13, Isaiah 45:5, Isaiah 45:18, Isaiah 45:21-22, Proverbs 16:25, Proverbs 14:12, 1 Corinthians 10:18-22, Job 36:22-26, 1 Kings 18:39, Exodus 20:1-6, Psalms 89:5-8, Luke 11:9-10, Jeremiah 29:11-13, Acts 4:12, 2 Peter 3:9, Revelation 3:20)

Ooh, let’s go
Seems talk’s wavering on the street
When they been polled- “We don’t know”
Ain’t no how from the sound of things
I mean, son- “How can you know?”

Are you ready- hey, are you real serious?
Are you banging and asking as you seek?
He won’t ignore, babe- the honest wish
God is found when you reach- yeah!

No other god like Jesus!
No other god but Jesus!
Ain’t no other one now, ain’t no other one now
No other one like Jesus!
Hey- in Acts four one two (4:12)
No other one but Jesus!

How do you think you’re going to get along
Without Christ on the throne?
You’re looking to everything that you can
To fill that hole in your soul

Are you happy? Are you satisfied?
How long ‘til you sound defeat?
Out at the doorway The Savior knocks
To sit down and then eat
Look now!

No other god like Jesus!
No other god but Jesus!
Ain’t no other one now, ain’t no other one now
No other one like Jesus!
Hey- He’s gonna get to you
No other one but Jesus!

Hey
Oh, trust Him!
Like Jesus- I like Jesus, hey
Hey!
No other one like Jesus!
No other one like Jesus, ow!
No other one like Jesus, hey hey!
No other one like Jesus, heeey!
Ooh, look now

There are plenty of ways that seem right to a man
But bring him to the grave
They will beat him
They will cheat him
They will treat him bad
And leave him there to drown, yeah
But God’s ready- yes, He’s waiting for you
Commanding ‘cause He can’t be beat
Out at the doorway The Savior knocks
Revelation (verse) 20 in 3
Oh yeah

No other god like Jesus!
No other god but Jesus!
Ain’t no other one now, ain’t no other one now
No other one like Jesus, yeah!
Hey- Isaiah 43
No other one but Jesus!
Look now!
Hey, alright!

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A Faith That Works

      It's the classic faith vs. works paradox of Christianity. I've struggled with it much too. 1 Corinthians 3 is true- you can't throw that out. But 1 John 4 is true too. It is primarily about knowing and loving Jesus. When it becomes all about what good works we do for God, it reverts into Judaism, hoping to be saved by keeping the law. But if I'm just loving and knowing God and I'm not doing any good works, am I really saved?
      I mean- James 2 is there for a reason too. Well, if loving and knowing God doesn't naturally drive me to do the good works He designed for me to do all along, then yes- I'd question my salvation experience and my real level of love for God and knowledge of Him. But if I'm always doing good works because I know it's expected and not out of a heart that loves and knows God, then I become a works-based Pharisee. It's got to be both. But the order goes like this- FIRST- Jesus loves me for no reason I can understand except for just being who I am- God's creation.
       Brennan Manning once said that he believed God the Father will ask one question and one question only on Judgment Day- "Did you believe that I love you?" And I think this is why he said that. His love and grace is the foundation for everything else. It's because I believe I am known and loved by God that I put faith in His salvific work through Christ's death and Resurrection. And that love for Him naturally drives me to want to be like Him and obey Him. If Chewbacca can faithfully follow and obey Han Solo because he owes him a life debt, how much more should we do the same with Jesus to Whom we owe an eternal life debt? But Chewie is not Han's slave- he's his loyal friend who loves him fiercely and deeply first and foremost.
    That's a good model of our love relationship with King Jesus. We fall out of fellowship when we sin but the love never ends. (1 Corinthians 13) That's why we have 1 John 1:9 and that's how it is with real true friends. We forgive each other and restore the fellowship. God doesn't love us for what we can do for Him. John 15:5 says we can do nothing apart from Him anyway. Jesus also says that if we love Him, we'll obey Him.
       I know this is true in any good romantic love relationship too. When you truly love someone, you naturally want to know everything you can about them. I can think of a girl that God has blessed me with knowing that I felt this way for and still have a deep philio love for as friends even though the relationship didn't work out. And every time I see anything to do with her home country I get excited. We talked with each other for hours at a time and never got tired of it. There were always new things to learn. I loved to reference her name anywhere I could- just thinking about her made me happy. Just looking at her picture and reading her letters made me smile. I wanted to name drop her everywhere.
       The romantic eros love is representative of the desire God has for us and the desire we should have for Him. (Just read Hosea 2.) And when we love God with that kind of passion, we find ourselves not only learning about Him and knowing Him more but desiring to please and obey Him more- and eventually becoming like Him more. As in the relationship with my friend I described, I found both of us becoming like each other in some ways because we know what each of us likes and our particular emotional needs and such. This is of course exactly what happens in the covenant marriage relationship as husband and wife become one unit that works and operates together. The wondrous thing is that their individuality is not diminished but they become more themselves than ever before, much as our union with Christ, as C.S. Lewis explained it.     
      This brings us to the marriage of faith and works as we see laid out in The Bible in passages like Ephesians 2:8-10 and Philippians 2:12-13. Yes, we are saved by Grace through faith alone. However, as John Calvin said, saving faith is never alone- it naturally brings good works with it. Jesus Himself said in John 8 that we would show ourselves to be His disciples by our fruit. But if it's all about our works, why did He come down on the rich young ruler and tell him he still lacked one thing- he needed to sell all he had and give it to the poor and then follow Him? I think Jesus was trying to get him to do a heart check.
     I think the rich young ruler thought he was following God by law-keeping in itself but it wasn't because he really desired God. His reaction of leaving in sorrow proves that he loved his stuff more than God. In Matthew 13, Jesus describes salvation as someone who finds treasure buried in a field and in his joy, the man who finds it, sells all he has to buy the field and get the treasure. That is a picture if how we are to desire Jesus.
      The grace and faith that save us drive us to do the good works that God had already planned for us to do. We are to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling, knowing that it's God who works in us both to will and to work for His good pleasure. Thus, it's not an either-or situation, but a both-and situation. The order is always paramount though. It starts and ends with God. He draws us to Himself and saves us. He moves in our hearts to be more like Him. When we fall because we have cut off fellowship with Him, His Spirit draws us back and we repent and the fellowship resumes- but the relationship is always intact.
      My parents have often told me an approach in prayer life that is applicable here- pray as if it all depends on God and work as if it all depends on you. I believe God honours our faith and particularly when we demonstrate it by taking action. This is the great paradoxical nature of the faith and works relationship in The Bible and in our lives. It all comes down to the heart and motives.
     We can either fall into two errors, as seen in the two brothers in Jesus' parable of the lost son in Luke 15. One is openly defiant to his father and blatantly lives in sin and then finally comes to his senses and returns in repentance. Note that the Father runs faster than The Flash, Road Runner, Speedy Gonzales and Superman combined to his son as he comes down the robe. The love of the father is totally undignified as he enthusiastically embraces his most likely muddy, smelly, pig slop-covered son and showers him with hugs and kisses before he can get a word of his prepared apology out. Now, make no mistake, the son did admit he had sinned before his father and Heaven and came in humble repentance but the father's love was already there and poured out.
      Too many times we have the attitude of the elder brother who is as lost in his righteousness as the younger son was lost in his wickedness. The elder brother cites his years of service and faithfulness and complains that he never got a young goat to barbecue with his friends. The father explains that he is always with Him and all he has is his but it's fitting to celebrate this lost brother who was found; this dead son who is now alive. It seems both the younger and elder son wanted their father for his stuff- the younger forced his hand in rebellion for it but the elder thought he could earn it through righteous works. The truth is that it's freely given to all of us- it's The Father's good pleasure to give us the Kingdom! (Luke 12:32)
      We must repent of both our errors though. The younger son had to repent of his wickedness and the elder son had to repent of his righteousness. We can't earn God's love or deserve it or pay Him back for it- it's a free gift. (John 3:16-17, John 8:32-36) We are all desperately in need of it and once we've experienced it, it should so change us that we want to live a life of love to God and others in gratitude, with a heart set free to love and know others in agape love as He has known and loved us first!
     P.S. I must acknowledge Rev. Timothy Keller's excellent book "The Prodigal God" for much of the ideas about the parable of the lost son as well as Brennan Manning's incredibly awesome "The Ragamuffin Gospel" book, both of which I highly recommend reading! I have read and reread and reread the latter and cried over it numerous times. As I have said before, the most profound theologically rich Christian song I know is still "Jesus Loves Me". Rest in that Truth today. :-)