the Vine with Chris Green

A singular passion has always been the center of the authentic life of faith, but it is always at war with a thousand lesser things. When this passion is restored to us, everything else falls into its rightful place. We begin to discover life and love and belonging and adventure as it was all meant to be from the day of creation. From the day of your creation, you were made to know and love God. Augustine said “Our hearts are restless until they find their rest in Thee.” Every human person on the face of the earth was made to know and love God. Not in a far-off, phony-religious way. Not in a self-serving, self-centered spirituality kind of way. In a way where He Himself is our greatest passion.

It is the rediscovery of that passion that will reorient our lives, reignite the embers of faith in our heart, and puts us on the path of becoming who we were created to be.

Anxiety dominates life in the modern world. Jesus invites his followers to a better way; a way of trust and of giving yourself away.

Jesus’ admonition, his instruction to you and me, is to give and to pray and to fast and to daily practice this better righteousness of the Kingdom in every facet3, not for the praise from an audience of our peers but for the praise from an audience of One. He is the one who sees all that is done, both in public and in secret.

In Matthew 5:38-48, Jesus challenges his followers to break the cycle of anger and payback. He calls us to surprise the world with grace in, well, surprising ways.

When there's so much talking all around us, when everyone is speaking about what they claim is the most important thing, when promises are made and broken, when there's so much noise, how do we keep from adding to it? How do we let our words be meaningful and true? Jesus shows us that, in the Way of the Kingdom, to tell the truth means to (1) say it straight, (2) say it simply, (3) say what you mean, and (4) say no more. 

The Way of the West operates by two principles when it comes to love and sexuality: (1) Do what feels right (2) as long as you have the consent of the other. Then here comes Jesus and pretty much says, “Nope, you weren’t made according to those principles. In fact, that’s pretty much the exact opposite of the principles of your creation.” In Matthew 5:27-31 we see that Jesus holds us to a higher principle; the highest, in fact. 

To love is to will the good of the other. Jesus shows us that on the opposite end of the spectrum from love are two things that are equally evil: murder and anger. Yes, Jesus equates the evil of murder with the evil of anger by exposing the same heart of both. Martin Luther King said that we should "avoid not only violence of deed but violence of spirit." How do come out from under the powerful influence of anger?

Jesus calls his followers to a righteousness that's better that that of the religious professionals; one that isn't just on the outside but that goes all the way to the heart. It's a little like heart surgery. That means this better righteousness requires a better doctor.