The Ostentatious and Radical Way God Deals with Our Hearts
As we enter a new year, many of us are filled with anticipation for the fresh opportunities, new beginnings, and renewed hope that come with it. It’s a season where resolutions are made, dreams are envisioned, and goals are set. However, as I reflect on the scriptures through a new lens — I am convicted. This year, I want to talk about something that defies human norms, challenges our justifications, and cuts against the grain of our personal will: the ostentatious and radical way in which God deals with our hearts. But its a hard path.
The Crushing Perspective: A Call to Deny Ourselves
I have recently been drawn to the scriptures in a way that feels almost like a crushing weight. It’s a weight that, in one sense, devastates my self-sufficiency but in another sense, builds a new foundation. The truth that God, in His radical love and grace, confronts our pride, our justifications, and our reliance on worldly wisdom is not just evident in our salvation but in the way He calls us to walk out that salvation daily - True transformation.
In my journey with Jesus, I’ve come to realize that His dealings with us often defy our own perceptions and desires. Yes, we know that God is often contrary to our natural instincts, but over the course of my walk, I confess that I haven’t always taken that to heart as deeply as I should. It’s easy to talk about God’s radical nature from a distance, but when He comes close and begins to deal with the rawness of our hearts — that’s when the true transformation begins. Unfortunately, too many times, we take shortcuts in order to short circuit the hard choices, the pain we feel, and the death we are experiencing. Our world's wisdom and even seeker friendly church mantras often attribute to a lack of finding this path. Sin is justified, agendas are winked at, and the hard questions asked by others that counter our own self interest are shunned.
The Shocking Words of Jesus: Not All Will Enter
There are a few scriptures that rock me to my core every time I read them. One of those is found in Matthew 7:21-23, where Jesus declares:“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.”
What’s sobering about these words is that Jesus is not speaking to the world at large. He’s speaking to those who profess His name, who call Him "Lord." These are people who have likely been part of the Christian community, who quote scriptures, who pray with zeal, and who attend church, even preach from pulpits. And yet, despite all these outward signs, Jesus warns that it’s not enough simply to say the right words or even to have a form of godliness.
But here's where it gets unsettling: Jesus doesn’t just point out outward actions. He exposes the heart. In verse 22, He adds: “Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’” But Jesus responds, “I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!”
This is where the crushing reality sinks in. These are not secular, worldly people rejecting Christ; these are Christians who profess Christ’s name but who live in a way that denies His transformative power. They are content with the appearance of godliness while denying the death of self and the power of resurrection that God so radically calls for in our lives.
Peter's Denial: A Warning Against Worldly Wisdom
A key moment in scripture that illustrates this denial of self and submission to God’s will is when Peter, just after receiving the revelation that Jesus is the Christ, tries to stand against the purpose of God. In Matthew 16:21-23, Jesus begins to explain to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, suffer, die, and be raised again on the third day. Peter, in his love and zeal for Jesus, rebukes Him, saying, “Never, Lord! This shall never happen to you!”
And yet, Jesus responds with a sharp rebuke: “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”
This moment is critical for us as believers, for Peter is not an outsider or enemy of Christ; he’s one of the closest to Jesus. But in this moment, he uses worldly wisdom and self-preservation to try to derail the purpose of God. Jesus’ response is clear: "Get behind me, Satan." This is the same response He gives to the devil when tempted in the wilderness, rejecting all human wisdom, desires, and justifications for the higher call of divine purpose.
Jesus calls us to a radically different way of thinking and living. He calls us to take up our cross — to die to our own wants, desires, and self-interest. In doing so, we allow Him to lead us to the death of our selfishness through the tomb into the resurrection of His will and transformative power. We never get to the resurrection power at work in our lives if we don't endure our cross and die to our self-preserving sinful nature.
The Denial of Power: Missing the Mark
The scripture in 2 Timothy 3:5 speaks of those who have a “form of godliness but deny its power.” This is where the rubber meets the road for many of us. It’s not that these people deny Jesus outright, but they deny the transformative power of His resurrection in their lives. They may say the right words, attend the right places, and even quote scripture, but when it comes to the power of the gospel to radically change them — they resist, even offering a sense of moral high ground as footing.
The power of resurrection can’t just be an abstract theological concept; it must be lived out in our everyday choices as Paul said, carrying around the death of the Lord in our mortal bodies daily. Are we willing to die to self and embrace the power of Christ’s resurrection in our lives? Or are we content with justifying our actions, attitudes, and agendas based on worldly standards and selfish desires?
New Year, New Questions
As we look at the new year, let us ask ourselves some tough questions:
Are we loving the things that Jesus loves and hating the things that Jesus hates?
Are we justifying our actions, attitudes, and agendas, or are we surrendering them to God’s will?
Are we dying to ourselves and living for others and for the Lord?
Are we willing to relinquish our selfish pride and worldly ambitions?
Do we try to justify our self-preservation will with moral virtue signaling like the Pharisees of old instead of following Jesus?
The new year brings with it an invitation to embrace the radical call of Jesus to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Him. It’s not about protecting ourselves; it’s about submitting ourselves to His power, which always comes after death. Jesus offers us the opportunity to die to self and rise to a new life of power, purpose, and transformation.
Let this year be one where we lay aside our worldly wisdom and justifications and embrace the crucifixion of our own will. Let us not just talk about Jesus but live in the power of His resurrection, allowing Him to radically reshape our hearts, lives, and desires.
In the end, it’s not our will that will prevail, but His. And that, dear friends, is the true and powerful way to live. Death-denying justifications never exceed the transformative power of a death-defying resurrection!
