Archie Quotes

1.

The cross presupposes the fact that we’ve got broken circuits (for instance: envy, how men view women). We are all broken at the foot of the cross.

2.

It’s not that we need sex, but our marriages need sex. Our sexual desires do not need to be expressed, just because we have them.

Envy

The green-eyed monster played a part in Jesus' death.

"... it was out of envy that the chief priests handed Jesus over..." Mark 15:10

Were they envious that people liked Jesus better? Were they that infantile? Perhaps.

In The Parable of the Tenants, the envy of the Jewish leaders has a murderous edge:
"But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, 'This is the heir. Come, let's kill him and take his inheritance.' So they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him."

They wanted Jesus' inheritance.

We could point our fingers at the Bible's arch-villains and forget that we have roots of envy, too. Eve's enticement, which represents ours, is "You will be like God" in Genesis 3:5.

There's a subtle but crucial difference between admiration and envy. It's
"I want to be like you" vs "I want to be you".

And there's a difference between jealousy and envy. It's "desiring what rightly belongs to you", vs "desiring what belongs to someone else".

There's nothing wrong with wanting to be like God. God thinks this is a great idea and encourages his people to be transformed more and more into his image.

But there's definitely something wrong with wanting to be God ourselves. Sounds crass, huh? Who would dare take God's place? But don't we do it when we kick God out of the drivers' seat of life and drive off? Do we treat our words as more authoritative than his? Do you presume to enter heaven without asking him first, as if he didn't own the place?

Next to our grasping and selfish aspirations, Jesus is so amazing. He had all the entitlements to Goddiness, but gave it up to become a lowly human. He did the backwards of jealousy. Actually, it's probably us who has got it backwards! So it may be hard for us to get our heads around Philippians 2:5-11:

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death— even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Dying well

Eliz spoke at her mother's memorial service a few weeks ago. After a very long battle with cancer, June died well. Eliz's thanksgiving speech is a glowing example of doctrine being the most amazing comfort.

--

She was very very ill and in hospital for 10 days. One day as I was sitting beside her bed she said, "I worry that when I get to heaven Jesus will be disappointed with me."

I looked at her and said, "No! That is simply not possible!"

I moved and sat on the bed with her and held both her hands and looked her in the eye. I said, "You will be absolutely perfect."

She wasn't convinced. I said, "Mum, You will be as perfect as Christ's work on the cross. If there was to be anything about you that God could find disappointing, then Christ's redeeming work and his offering of his blood for your sins was not sufficient. But we know that Christ's sacrifice was sufficient because God raised him from the dead and exalted him in heaven. You are IN Christ, so you will be as perfect as Christ's work on the cross was perfect!"

--

How wonderful! Christ's perfection, death and resurrection is of critical importance at the most important time. What a glorious application of a doctrine often overlooked, being "in Christ".

Eliz closes by saying:

--

So it is amazing what you see when your eyes are open -- God's hand held mum's through everything - he never let her go - and she was fully aware of it.

And then, in the early hours of Sunday morning, that hand of God scooped her up. June is glorified --absent from the body but present with the Lord (Paul: 2 Corinthians 5:8) - in heaven with her Saviour and saints from every tribe, language people and nation - where there is no sickness or suffering or sin or heartache or tears - all because of the everlasting love of God, cross of Jesus Christ and the resurrecting power of the Holy Spirit.

Let's pray:

We give thanks to God the Father who chose June in love before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him.

We give thanks to to God the Son, Jesus Christ who redeemed June and gave his body to be broken for her, and poured out his blood for her so that all her sins could be forgiven and she could be united to Christ and filled with the Holy Spirit.

We give thanks to God the Holy Spirit who faithfully ministered to June, empowered her through her life, sustained her in her death, and now has raised her to be with God.

We give thanks to God for his everlasting love, mercy and faithfulness - for the way he ministered to June by his Spirit to her heart and mind, and through his appointed servants at every turn.

The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases;
his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.

~ Lamentations 3:22-23, ESV

Amen.