On Azimuth

⁹ “Woe to him who strives with him who formed him, a pot among earthen pots! Does the clay say to him who forms it, ‘What are you making?’ or ‘Your work has no handles’? Isaiah 45:9 English Standard Version

               In the Army, we lived by checklists and Standing Operating Procedures (SOPs). We had a checklist for everything. Very little was left to “chance.” In fact, we had a checklist to guide the progression of our careers. That checklist contained all the milestones for a successful career; when you should go to certain schools, when you should have certain jobs, when you should expect to move to another duty station, and of course what you should not do. If you followed the rules, good things usually happened to you. Of course, there were inevitable bumps and potholes along the way that we had to navigate. For example, I was supposed to attend a certain school; however, an invasion of Iraq threw me out of cycle, as it did many of us. So many in fact, that the army, recognizing the chaos of an extended deployment, issued a waiver for us. Due to the checklists, structuring a successful Army career was a fairly simple task. The hard part came with performing well in those identified critical positions. If you followed the rules, checked all the proper boxes, and performed well in important jobs, then good things happened to you; good things being defined as promotions. However, the Christian life is very different.

               Perhaps I should have started off the discipleship series with this; but, I did not so let’s plunge ahead anyway. Unlike the military, where much of my career success lay in my hands, my life as a Christians, my growth as a disciple, rests in God’s hands. This is a challenge for a checklist-oriented guy like me. In my military and teaching careers, I lived by checklists. I did certain things at certain times and good things happened to me. In many ways, I was in control. Of course, there were outside influences; but, for the most part I enjoyed autonomy and control. Do what was expected, follow orders, and life was good. In the Christian life, or walk, starting with salvation, control belongs to someone else, and that grates on my nerves. I want control. I want God to give me a checklist and get out of my way. But it just does not work that way. Consider this illuminating passage by Paul.

¹⁸ And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit. II Corinthians 3:18

               Here, Paul reminds us that we are being transformed, not transforming ourselves. Even though as an English teacher I do not like the passive voice Paul uses, it is imperative that I embrace what he says. His use of the passive voice tells me in very clear language that the transformative power of the gospel does not rest in my hands. It does not rest in my ability to conform or obey. The transformation that I so desperately seek, and need, comes from God. In this passage Paul restates the truth that the old prophet Isaiah stated so long ago. We are not in charge. Isaiah used a great metaphor, the pot and the potter, to illustrate our impotence in the hands of God. I love watching a potter work at the wheel. He takes a cold shapeless lump of clay and out of it fashions something beautiful or useful, whatever he desires. The destiny of the clay rests totally in the hands of the potter. The clay merely submits to the pushings, pullings, and spinnings of the master craftsman ,and so it is with us, we bring nothing to the table. Out of our cold misshapen lump, God fashions a vessel for His use and His glory. I do not get to tell Him what I want Him to do. Even my best efforts are nothing.

⁶ We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, Isaiah 64:6

               In the stringent light of God’s holiness, my best is filthy rags. A close reading of the passage likens the phrase “polluted garment,” to used menstrual rags. In fact, a friend of mine who taught Junior High Bible at a parochial school got into trouble by pointing this out to his class. I’m assuming that all of you are old enough to grapple with this phrasing. No matter how we look at it, my best efforts at discipleship are worthless, something polluted and ugly to be cast away with the rest of the garbage. This is why it takes God to make our salvation and discipleship work. I cannot summon enough good to save myself and once saved by God’s grace, it takes His work to transform me into something worthwhile. Notice that in II Corinthians it says, we with unveiled face are being transformed as we gaze upon God. All the things we do as part of our discipleship put us into a place, or posture, to gaze upon God. Our role is to gaze upon Him and then He transforms us. Discipleship does not make us better; it puts us into a place where He can work His will upon us. We humbly submit to His ministrations.

               In Luke 18, Jesus paints a clear picture of what a humble, penitent, and contrite heart looks like. He compares a Pharisee and a Tax Collector. The Pharisee depended upon his own works, all the “good” things he did. The tax collector understood his own failed and lost state, then threw himself upon the mercy of God. We must approach our discipleship path with the same understanding of our own failure and humbly seek God’s help in all that we do. When we approach our discipleship with such an attitude, God takes us to places we never dreamed of going. Returning to II Corinthians, we read.

⁷ But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, to show that the transcendent power belongs to God and not to us. II Corinthians 4:7

This transformation astounds those who know us, especially those who knew us before. They see the new man and are amazed at what we’ve become. God changes us, and He gets the glory for such a wonderous change. I do not praise the pot. Instead, I praise the potter. It is the same in our lives. We submit to the Lord and He changes us. Those around us are amazed at the change and give glory to God. In the end, discipleship is about submission, repentance, and gazing upon the Glory of God. How can we, who gaze upon God, not be changed.

Thought Questions:

1. Why do we find it so hard to trust God to transform us?
2. In what areas of your life do you find yourself trusting “checklists?”
3. Why do you think we continually try and take control of our salvation?
4. Do you think of your discipleship activities as transformative?
5. What does the idea of transformative gospel mean to you?