Good guys always win...even if they have to die!

"If Christ if for us....who can be against us?" (Romans 8:31) "...death is turned into victory"(1 Corinthians 15:54)

Growing up my father was a cartoon junkie. We would watch episode after episode as Jerry the mouse would out maneuver Tom the cat. Week after week anticipation would build as we wondered if that would be the episode that he would finally outwit Jerry; only to find Tom in some sort of self-imposed personal crisis once again bruised, isolated, hurting and defeated. As an older child I remember wondering two things,,,First....which of these characters is the "good guy", there is always a good guy...right ? Both characters were crafty, manipulative, self-absorbed and never willing to give the other favor or say "I'm sorry!". Secondly, who would really want to impose that kind of relational disaster on themselves?

My eldest nephew has a phrase that he shares periodically that always catches me when he says it. He shares, "Don't worry Aunt Nanc...good guys ALWAYS WIN...even if they have to die!" He's eleven...can you imagine? The simplicity of this statement possess such profound truth that his theologically trained aunt trips over herself as she tries to process and put application to the statement. Note to self: "Keep it simple stupid!" When he and his siblings come to stay it is customary that we read a bed time story. Inevitability he always desires that I read them a missionary story from a book called Missionary Stories With the Millers. If you don't have this book in your library and you have kids, I highly recommend it. The stories are only a few pages in length and are packed with examples of God's faithfulness. This statement as it comes from the heart of an eleven year old, who loves God, is pure in its observation,uninhibited, honest and self-denying. Simply.... he has a faith like a child (Mark 10:15). His faith is large enough to believe that God is so powerful that He can accomplish those things that we read about. As a matter of fact his faith is large enough to believe that God can superintend ANY circumstance (Romans 8:28). Why is it that as an adult we find ourselves struggling to believe that God can do that? Although we might not say it out loud, does the application of our lives demonstrate that truth? Has life experience taught you that this a dog eat dog world? Are you of the mind that the good guy doesn't win? Does the good guy get left behind, abused, thrown away and left for dead..... is it survival of the fittest? Is life nothing more than a game of cat and mouse?

I would like to suggest that My nephew is right...good guys ALWAYS DO WIN....but who is a good guy and what are the rules of the game?

Most of us strive to do the right thing....we love our families, help others, pay our bills, obey the civil law....but does that make us a good guy? Do these things make us righteous before a holy God? The prophet Isaiah shared that all our righteousness is as filthy rags before God (Isaiah 64:4-9). What does this mean? Isaiah answered when he shared, "This people draw near me with their words and honor me with their lip service, but they remove their heart far from me."(Isaiah 29:13). God desires that we love Him with all our heart. (Matthew 22:37-38). The Apostle Paul shared it this way, "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God"(Romans 3:23). Paul concluded that man is justified (i.e. made righteous) by God's grace as they are redeemed through Jesus Christ alone.(Romans 3:24, John 14:6) This means that God desires to be in relationship with YOU and that the only manner in which that can take place is to be literally purchased by Jesus Christ.(Romans 6:23, Ephesians 2:8-9). Jesus Christ has set us free by paying the bond for our sin with His own life. In return He desires that we confess Him as Lord, and love Him as we obey what He says. This is a life of dying to our own agenda and following Christ! Unlike a "legal bond" that only ensures a temporary release, the bond purchased through Christ Jesus is binding and eternal. Stealing the phrase of an eleven year old child....Jesus Christ is the definition and model of a "GOOD GUY" who DID die so that through His resurrection we would have opportunity to be a good guy.
In this game of life what are the rules of the game? I have already shared rule one: Love God through Christ! The Bible says that the second rule is like the first one....love your neighbor like YOURSELF! (Matthew 22:39). What does it mean to love my neighbor as myself? As I shared in an earlier post, it is that person who lays down his life to serve Christ by loving others as we ourselves would want to be loved....the one who ministers to others. Ministry is revealing God's love to others by meeting their needs and healing their hurts, even if they are self imposed. Ministry in my experience is dying to self, laying down my own pride and being willing to extend a heart of grace, even when I don't want to. It is being willing to prefer another above myself...even those who have hurt me. Nothing characterizes our culture more than fractured, dysfunctional personal relationships. As people we have been created for relationship; both with God and each other. If we lack a personal relationship with God the Bible tells us that we are like Tom the Cat, a self-imposed person who is isolated, bruised, hurting and defeated.(Romans 1:18-20). As a Christian if we have broken relationships and are unwilling to do anything about it (both with God and each other) we too are a self-imposed person who having been released from the bondage of sin, has CHOSEN isolation, hurt and defeat; essentially we have preferred ourselves over God and others (Matthew 18:21-22; Colossians 3:12-13). In concluding this rambling of heart a life ordained by God is one that is a continual dying to self. A life that pursues relationship, is quick to apologize and willing to be the bigger person. The Bible tells us that it is in this type of death, that we ultimately find victory. Good guys always win....and they are required to die! (John 12:24-26).