"Why the rules, God?"
So much is wrapped up in that one question.
Disbelief. Accusation. Condescension. Weariness. Disappointment.
This is the kind of question that often comes from an exhausted heart that is forced to face its failures. It comes from the prideful angst of wanting to script our lives differently than He has. It 's ammunition for prosecution against a god we've constructed in our minds that doesn't even resemble the true one over all things.
I was a Christian for far too long before I heard (or perhaps more accurately, listened) that God was for me, and for my joy. This was one of a small handful of truths that changed everything for me. I believe that (on a good day) I relate differently, I speak differently, I rest differently, and I lead differently. That avoiding certain places, people, and behaviors, might be for our best. That embracing others we wouldn't gravitate towards might be for our best. That going without something we love, for a lent season, might be for our best.
I long for my church to know God's favor and to live in that kind of freedom. I myself desperately need the reminder that all Christian doctrine and instruction is for the purpose of God's glory, which will always lead to my own maximum joy. In the time it takes me to read that sentence, I can forget it. Like a puff of smoke, only after realizing that it has taken shape, does it dissipate again. I need reminding. We all need reminding.
This idea that God is for us, and that joy drives obedience, is one of many that inform how we begin our Sunday gatherings together. To that end, as we recently kicked off Lent, I read this modified prayer below over our congregation as a call-to-worship:
Jesus invites us to a way of celebration,
meeting and feasting with the humble, powerless, and poor.
Let us walk his way with joy.
Jesus beckons us to a way of risk,
letting go of our security and self-protection.
Let us walk his way with joy.
Jesus challenges us to listen to the voices
of those who have nothing to lose.
Let us walk his way with joy.
Jesus points us to a way of self-giving,
where power and status are overturned.
Let us walk his way with joy.
Jesus calls us to follow the way of the cross,
where despair is transformed by the promise of new life.
Let us walk his way with joy.
May His divine joy show up in your heart and mind today.