Wednesday, June 11, 2008

The Victorious Life

Paul made a bold statement to the Roman church, to describe the triumphant quality of the everyday Christian life. He said, in connection to the suffering we all go through in this world - a world that is deeply opposed to the true Word of God, "But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us." (Romans 8:37) The nature of "all these things" he likened in the previous verse to being "considered as sheep to be slaughtered." And all that "for God's sake".

The idea of suffering as normative for the Christian life has a very old and very Biblical history, yet it remains one that the average believer is troubled by. And all the more so, in a culture like ours that becomes accustomed to "the good life." Believers, for the most part, have been more likely to respond to their suffering with a cry of "Why, Lord?", as opposed to "Praise the Lord!"

In other words, the concept of a "victorious life" for the Christian is something that happens in their suffering, rather than instead of their suffering. Where would the victory be if there was no enemy, and a very clever, determined and powerful one at that? Victory is the power of the Holy Spirit giving us the peace "that passes understanding" in the midst of troublesome and confusing times. Victory is the power of God to "Take up the full armor of God, that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm." (Ephesians 6:13) To be victorious in the Christian life is to not be defeated; downcast, discouraged, disheartened to the point of giving up and caving in to the desires of the flesh.

How different this is from some preaching that suggests that the victorious life is riding the crest of our personal happiness wave. And worse, one very popular preacher teaches that the secret is to tap into the inner resources of our souls, drawing out the innate power of our confidence and personal strength. Says Joel Osteen, "Remember, God has put in you everything you need to live a victorious life. Now, it's up to you to draw it out." (As quoted on whitehorseinn.org) Where does "when I am weak, then I am strong" fit into that scheme?

It might be more appealing to the masses to proclaim a Christian version of the "American Dream," but it doesn't stack up to the Biblical evidence. Our victory takes place "in the presence of my enemies," not in their absence. Our victory is being "...afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed." (2 Corinthians 4:9)

Our unchurched neighbors don't really need another testimony of how to succeed in prosperous America. Many of them are managing just fine to do that without ever setting foot inside a church. What they need is to see someone going through the kind of experience that can leave some people bitter and angry with God and life itself, and still be, not only holding their faith intact, but also displaying the fruit of the Spirit, instead of the gut reactions of the human mind. Now that's victory!

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