Wholeness: Make A Move

When I first started this series, I had maybe three or four posts in mind. Nearly one year and 50+ posts later here I am finally wrapping up; or am I? Every time I think I get close to the end, more ideas would suddenly be there. Whether this is the last official post or not, I'm sure the concept will come up again. It's just that important. But, somehow it seems right to wrap up just after Christmas since the Messiah is the gateway to new beginnings.

There has been a surprising amount of posts that deal with the why not just the how. Then again, the how is irrelevant if we refuse to move forward just because we can't see past our preconceived notions about the why. I honestly believe false assumptions of many varieties are a big obstacle to true discipleship and spiritual growth. Not to mention that how often involves facing things we just assume avoid when specifically addressing this subject. Wholeness can only happen as inner wounds are healed after all, and those inner wounds are indeed the primary obstacle to genuine righteousness. As Isaiah 61 reveals the Messiah came to proclaim good news to the poor, bind up the brokenhearted, proclaim freedom for the captives, and release from darkness for the prisoners. I'm sure the language is as figurative as it is literal too, Jesus was always just as concerned with our spiritual well-being as our physical one. The poor in spirit are held captive by more than just physical chains after all. So Jesus didn't just come to "should" us to death with a systematic definition of righteousness without actually equipping us with the means to live up to that standard as the legalists do.

I have also seen other teachers around me delving into some of the same outlying ideas as I have. What better confirmation that the spirit is moving, and seeking a remnant among the mediocre masses.

Let me leave you with this. Back in the 19th Century emerged "The Holiness movement" an ideal that centered around entire sanctification, and perfection. Yet, here in the 21st century, this notion of perfection is often viewed as impossible, even in the denominations that sprang from this movement. If we acknowledge only one dimension of holiness, it is quite impossible. It's like raising the walls on a house before pouring a concrete foundation. The house is inevitably going to be weak, and prone to damage and rot. This seems to fit the state of the church universal right now I'm sad to say.

Maybe it's time to call for a new holiness movement. One that embraces all three dimensions of holiness, and doesn't try to skip over the transformation process it takes to become genuinely righteous. Or just tries to apply a merely cosmetic surface faith. True full spectrum holiness is what we truly need for a genuine revival that will delight and inspire the lost again. This is clearly what this broken world so desperately needs right now. I suggest you start with yourself and face the brokenness in your heart that makes you captive to the ways of darkness. So you can find true wholeness in a way that makes people take notice and say to themselves “I want what they have.”

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Wholeness: Abide

As I begin to wrap up this series, let me make one thing perfectly clear, if I haven’t quite done that already. It is very easy to get the goal of holiness mixed up with the means and exercises it takes to become holy. Consider these words of Jesus and what they reveal about the result versus the means.

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prune so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love.-John 15:1-10

We do not mature as disciples by forcing growth. Instead, the fruitful Christian life is the natural result of focusing on Jesus in a sincere way, and being mindful of his inevitable "pruning" in our lives. (James 1:2-12) Just as we cannot force trees to produce fruit overnight, we cannot coerce holiness by enforcing a definition by the strength of the flesh. (1st Corinthians 3:6-7) Our main goal in discipleship is to abide in Christ or dwell with Jesus to use simpler terms. By actively seeking Christ, we find the path to wholeness. By enduring the path to wholeness, we eventually arrive at the path to righteousness. As we walk the path of Righteousness, the path of purpose in God's kingdom which we are set apart is revealed. Thus, the cycle of three-dimensional holiness is engaged. Are you truly walking with Jesus, or just observing from afar?

The Visual PARABLEist

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. -Matthew 6:33

When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, “Who then can be saved?”
Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” -Matthew 19:25-26

I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength. -Philippians 4:12-14 (written from prison FYI)

Wholeness: Cyclical

The other day I was reminded of why I am putting so much effort into this series when I saw an Instagram post that said something like “Christianity isn’t about joy, prosperity, or fulfillment, but holiness.” If this person truly understood the full scope and cyclical nature of holiness he would realize that holiness is spiritual prosperity, and that leads to joy and fulfillment as we find our place in God’s kingdom. Such a bleak perception of the gospel. A perception rooted more in human understanding and pride than righteousness. Which only delights and inspires those who want to claim religious superiority over others, not help the lost as we were set apart for.

It also took me back to a previous series Complexity where I address the atheist claim that religion is inadequate to answer life’s complex questions. If we oversimplify holiness and only address it as a standard of righteousness, we need only define and enforce the standard. Which is indeed inadequate to truly counter mankind’s fallen nature at its root. This is also how things like love, forgiveness, and grace get neglected. Leaving the gospel incomplete and too simple to address life’s difficulties. Without grace and what goes with it, Christianity really is no different than any other simplistic pagan belief. The question is, why are so many trying to make Christianity more like the other beliefs of the world?

So let me lay out the cycle of holiness for you so you know what I mean by spiritual prosperity. We need to first find wholeness to live the righteous life since it’s our brokenness, that derails our ability to live the way of righteousness. As we walk the path of righteousness, our purpose for which we are set apart comes into greater focus as the spirit guides us. (Psychologists have found that those who seek a meaningful life are much happier than those who seek happiness for happiness' sake do. Not all psychologists appreciate these findings, especially those following the unproven theories of Abraham Maslow. Yet the evidence doesn’t lie, living out your philanthropic purpose does indeed lead to more fulfillment than self-centeredness does.) As this cycle is engaged we are in a better position to maintain our wholeness. Maintaining our wholeness means we are in a good position to maintain our righteousness. If we continue to maintain our righteousness, we can put more energy into what we were set apart for, and actually expand God’s kingdom as a result.

It takes three elements to produce this cycle. Try to leave anything out, you will stagnate. Or worse yet find yourself in a self-destructive cycle, causing you to believe that there is no room for, joy, prosperity, or fulfillment in your one-dimensional overly simplistic faith. Which has only driven people away from the church in droves. You often hear people say we need to break self-destructive cycles. But perhaps what we really need to do is replace it with a holy one.

The Visual PARABLEist  

The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes. -Psalm 19:8

Blessed are those who have regard for the weak; the Lord delivers them in times of trouble.-Psalm 41:1

We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.” - Acts 5:32

But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. -John 16:13

Wholeness: Unconditioal?

We live in a world that often equates unconditional love with unconditional acceptance. While it may sound great on the surface, it really does potentially open us up to some traumatic things if we make the concept as all-inclusive as the terminology demands. For example, if a person finds out that their spouse is being unfaithful to them, they may still love them unconditionally. However, few would expect them to accept the ongoing betrayal. If a person's spouse is being physically abusive to them, they may still love them unconditionally despite that. Again, unconditional love should not require that they accept the violent treatment without question. If someone is convicted of a terrible crime, they may have parents who still love them unconditionally. This does not mean that the parents have to accept or rationalize their child's crime. If we discover our child is being molested by a family member, we should under no circumstances accept that at all let alone unconditionally.

In the same way, God loves you unconditionally, yet he doesn't necessarily accept everything you do. In the end, because of his love for you, he wants you to be whole again. That means he can't accept anything that is hampering you spiritually, just as a mortal parent will not accept their child's shortsighted, selfish, and immature choices. Granted, our mortal parents can often project their fears and insecurities onto their children when wrangling their kids choices. So mistakes are often made. Meaning we can sometimes project those negative experiences onto God. However, God isn't prone to such shortcomings, so we should always take his discipline seriously, and recognize it as beneficial.

Unconditional love is simply not basing it on performance. Meaning it is not only offered to those who we deem worthy since the lost need loving guidance the most. Being unconditional also means not withdrawing love because of a failure, but rather helping people through the trial. If anything, attaching such conditions to our love has probably left us longing for this unconditional acceptance that has tainted our love.

I hope this puts things into greater perspective. That this notion of blind acceptance often stems from an attitude of expecting the world to change to meet you where you are just so you don't have to change yourself. An attitude of wanting to avoid the growing pains of maturity. An attitude of fear that keeps us from facing the brokenness in our spirit. Such attitudes often stand in the way of real personal progress, and ultimately wholeness. Without wholeness, we cannot achieve complete holiness, and without holiness, we fall short of true spiritual prosperity. The lack of understanding of this point can lead us to find relief in toxic relationships that expect us to accept things that ultimately only damages our wholeness even more. The people who truly love you would never expect you to accept that.

The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. -Psalm 103:8-12

The Visual PARABLEist

One of the ways the rejection sensitive says I love you. While the concept of rejection sensitivity is easy enough to understand, their behavior is not. While they are capable of being warm and caring when the relationship they are in feels secure. They can turn quite hostile and controlling when they do not feel secure. The irony of this is that they often destroy the very thing they are trying to preserve. While they expect you to accept them unconditionally, they will not offer you the same.

Wholeness: Becoming

In my Heart of Worship video, I said that holiness is something that you become, not just something that you do. This is a critical detail in the creed of Christianity. Not understanding this distinction is at the center of so many common errors in our discipleship, as well as failures as a church. So I think we should have a closer look at this detail.

If holiness were simply a matter of what we did then our motivations wouldn't matter at all. Yet, scripture is clear that where our heart is at does matter. Yet, if we believe that sincerity is unimportant in the actions of others. It can lead us to force submission. We do see people in the church trying to force righteous actions continually. We see it in everything from on an individual level, to petitioning the government to make laws to force holy behavior. Obviously, their approach indicates that they believe if you force a person's behavior to be right, then they will be by default in the right. Despite that their heart is not in it, that's it's not sincere, that the change is more about being bullied into it, than pleasing God. Such things definitely do not please God, only shortsighted people. (Matthew 15:17-20, Mark 7:6)

Looking at holiness as an action instead of an inner change often leads us to only look at the surface of people, as well as their sin. This leads us to rank righteousness by visibility, and mere appearances. Leading us to make the biggest deal about what is the most noticeable, but giving little consideration of what takes effort to discern. The problem with basing righteousness on appearances is that it is easily faked. Manipulative people know this if only more church people understood this. Look at any church that treats holiness merely as only something you do, instead of becoming. You will likely find more than a few well-dressed fakes. (John 7:24, 1st Samuel 16:7)

Living by the appearance model of holiness tends to make us act very judgmental. Those that only look at the surface will never consider the brokenness behind the sin. Trying to change the actions of others without dealing with the brokenness behind them is like trying to fix a person with two broken legs by pushing them out of their wheelchair. It is unhelpful and just plain cruel. Yet, we are essentially just pushing people over and attempting to take away their emotional crutches by judging them for their actions. That is not how a true disciple should operate. Jesus was so very clear about this one, yet it's an often neglected teaching. If we better understood three-dimensional holiness, we would be better equipped to not violate this truth, because we would realize that holiness is really something you become and not just do. (Matthew 7)

This leads to my final point. The fact that righteousness is but one aspect of holiness, and wholeness is another, really brings this concept home. It illustrates that acting righteous is connected to becoming whole. Yet it's no wonder that all the impatient, unkind, rude, critical, unloving, and judgmental teachers try to bypass the concept of wholeness by only addressing our behavior and appearances. Yet, we wonder why the church is lacking in power and influence. Well, I don't wonder at all. Mere surface righteousness won't really delight and inspire anyone. It won't change or transform anyone either. So nobody is becoming truly holy that way, the best we can hope for is whitewashed righteousness. At worst people are only going to resent the church and everything we stand for, which is happening with alarming frequency. Consider this passage.

“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean. -Matthew 23:25-26

Notice the wording. It doesn't just say start with the inside, then move to the outside. It says clean the inside, and the outside is clean by default. Unlike the reverse order that people tend to gravitate to that leaves the job incomplete. So if you treat holiness only as something you do, you will naturally neglect the wholeness part of it. Then, your cup is likely still full of hidden brokenness and sin. So I challenge you to take a long hard look at what's in your vessel. It may just explain why you are so unloving, critical, and judgmental of the lost. If you dealt with your own faults, then you might actually know how to address the specks from the eyes of the lost in a Christ-like way.

The Visual PARABLEist

Wholeness: The truth is blood red

Some people say the truth is black and white, many of them being Christian educators and theologians. So let me outline black and white doctrine for you in the most literal sense. Righteousness should be rewarded, wickedness should be punished, period. There really is no room for much else with such a rigid definition. So it’s no wonder that is the world’s stark perception of the church and feels unwelcome in it.

When we hold to a strictly black and white doctrine, we don't really leave room for forgiveness since we just haven't earned it. Maybe that is why legalists deny it to others, they don't believe they deserve it and expect them to earn it through obedience. So they condemn sinners for their failures, instead of offering the forgiveness we ourselves rely on. We could never truly make restitution for all the people we have treated so badly for the sake of self. Not to mention shutting the door to the kingdom of God in their faces. (Matt. 5:22, 6:33 & 23:13)

According to strictly black and white theology, only the righteous deserve love. So no wonder legalists are so hateful, choosing to be contemptuous of the lost. Yet, if God denied us, love, we would be left to the wolves for straying from the path of patience, kindness, politeness, and agape. (Luke 15:1-7)

In a strictly black and white view of Christianity, holiness has but the singular dimension of holiness that is righteousness. Denying that it is built upon a foundation of wholeness, or it setting us apart for a place in God's kingdom beyond just obedience. Yet, we wonder why people are knocked over so easily with only one leg to stand on. (Matthew 15:17-20 & 23:25-26, Romans 12:3-8)

For many of these strict people, they know of such concepts, but they are not put into action; they are just given lip service. (Matthew 15:8) For that reason, their gospel is functionally incomplete.

That is why I never say the truth is black and white. Rather I say the truth is black and white and red all over. It is the red blood of Christ that blots out the darkness and allows us to approach God despite our sin. It's the red blood that wipes the slate clean and gives us a chance to start over. What but the unconditional love of God would he offer up the cleansing blood of Christ to such undeserving people such as us? (2nd Timothy 1:9) So if we dare call ourselves Christ-like, we cannot deny forgiveness and love to the undeserving. Who are we to expect people to live up to a standard, yet not show them the way to do just that as Christ did for us? (Ephesians 4:11-13) For our hearts need to be renewed, to make way for a transformation of the mind to have any genuine desire to seek said standard. (Ezekiel 11:19-20, Romans 12:1-2) It's only through the red blood of Christ who grants us access to the Holy Spirit, which gives us the strength to do what we cannot in the flesh. (John 16:7) Again, nothing but the red blood of Jesus makes any of this possible. Not a critical black and white standard that only defines right and wrong and judges those who fail to live up to it in the strength of the mere flesh. (Matthew 7:1-12)

The Old Testament was the sad story of the Israelites failures to live up to a black and white standard. Yet, we want to continue to live out this same scenario without the benefit of the tools granted to us by the New Covenant. Tools that can make us whole again, tools that can dramatically change the course of our story, the red tools of renewal and rebirth.

The Visual PARABLEist.

Wholeness: Backsliding

“When an impure spirit comes out of a person, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that person is worse than the first.”-Luke 11:24-26

This is one of a handful of the sayings of Jesus where he uses rather dark imagery. Which begs the question why? It doesn't seem to go with how we try to portray him. As some have suggested, by speaking in parable and figures of speech he separated those who were genuinely seeking truth, and those who just wanted easy answers. Also, being a disciple of Christ and seeking holiness is not a surface pursuit. If you can't go to the effort of discerning a simple parable, you won't likely get very far in righteousness either. So it only seems fair to assume, he saved the ghastly imagery that people would tend to shy away from, for the most profound truths. Let's face it, humanity has a bad habit of getting hung up on the surface. To this day, the most outspoken people are often just reacting emotionally to the surface, instead of acting rationally to the heart of the issue. Trying to explain anything to such people is really like casting "pearls before swine." (Matt 7:6) to use another of his blunt sayings. As disciples, we should strive for better.

So naturally, this passage reveals an important truth and one that says something about how wholeness is vital to our holiness. It’s a truth I’ve touched on before, but let’s take it head-on by tackling this creepy passage.

The first implication is that simply getting rid of evil is inadequate by itself. As dysfunctional as sin is, it's still a far cry from nonfunctional. Is this not what legalists do and teach? They think since righteousness is the ultimate goal, we need to focus on that alone, and not worry about replacing what we removed with something functional to guide people to wholeness. What if the person who built the foundation of your house thought way. Since concrete is the most valuable part, let's skip the forms and steel reinforcement and call it good enough. That would lead to a sloppy and weak foundation. Everything we tried to build on it would suffer as a result.

Consider what the passage says about the impure spirit itself. While you may think who cares about the impure spirits' motivations? This is often our same attitude towards our sin. Who cares why it's there, it doesn't belong, get rid of it, end of the story. Well, Jesus took the time to say something about it, so there must be an important detail relayed by it. His exact words are "it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it." There are real longings behind our sin, and they can make us restless and unable to rest easily. If we don't find a righteous place to direct these passions, they will manifest in unholy ways because of this restlessness. We need to be more strategic in dealing with our sin, because we won't find wholeness, otherwise.

Then, Jesus goes on to warn us what will happen if we don't heed the implications of his words. We can end up far worse than before. Backsliding is a real thing, and it's a strong indicator that we haven't found our ultimate wholeness yet. Without wholeness, our righteousness will just not stick.

With that being said, let me remind you of the truth behind the truth of this series. Wholeness is but one leg in the tripod of holiness. Take but one leg away, and it all collapses. Just like there is more than one dimension to dealing with sin. If we just remove it without dealing with the voids it leaves behind, it all collapses. We really need to approach it smarter, not harder as the legalists tend to. Fix the proverbial cracks in the walls that the impure spirits are sneaking in through. Then, we will find true holiness.

The Visual PARABLEist

Wholeness: Restoration

Classic car TV shows that revolve around customization, and restorations are all the rage right now. Many of their client’s starter cars are total junkers too. As bad as they may be, at least they know exactly what they are getting into. Sometimes they start with a car that's already been restored. Yet, often when they find one of these so-called "restored" cars, the work is only surface. This can be an even bigger problem than a rust bucket. There are many backyard mechanics that just do not have the means or talent to do a proper restoration. Often, piling on a ton of filler putty into dents, instead of repairing them properly. Painting over rust, instead of welding in new metal. Not straightening out frame and body issues, nor replacing beat-up trim and badging.

The point I’m getting at is our search for wholeness is often like these restorations. We can take the long difficult path to full on, down to every nut and bolt restoration. Seeking to work out our salvation completely. (Phil 2:12) Or we can do a sloppy backyard mechanic job with our discipleship. Then hope nobody looks too close, or that the floor doesn’t completely rust out from under you.

There are a few things we need to remember when engaging in the restoration of wholeness. The first is to seek God. (Psalm 14:2, Matt 6:33) Ecclesiastes 3:11 tells us that God put eternity into our hearts. So it can be very easy to get lost, or barely scratch the surface of it without a guide. So we need to seek him through both prayer and scripture, not just one, or the other. Both have an important role that relies on the other. We need the scripture as a standard to hold what we receive via prayer to. Otherwise, we may confuse self, emotions, or something much worse for God. Where scripture without prayer makes it much harder to see how it applies to us, never really getting to the root of our brokenness.

The second is motivation. (Proverbs 10:5) If we are not self-motivated to seek God and his wholeness, procrastination can set in, and time can slip away from us more quickly than we realize. I learned the value of this at college when doing independent study. With no fixed time or schedule to work on projects. I had to constantly remind myself why I was doing this, and why it was important to keep on track. Not to mention strategize my efforts to completion of said project. There are many backyard mechanics that often neglect their projects for weeks or even months at a time. That will get you nowhere, and corrosion may continue to get worse while you wait.

The third is patience. (Psalm 40:1-3) We got to be patient with ourselves as well as others. Even in a physical restoration, there are times we got to wait for things to dry before moving on to the next step. Or redo things we didn't get right the first time. A spiritual restoration has holding patterns as well. There are no shortcuts to wholeness. We can either do it right, or we can do it fast, but not both. Shortcuts lead only to surface restorations that hide a lot of inner damage that works their way back to the surface, eventually. Having a judgmental attitude often only encourages others to follow this shortcut salvation of surface holiness.

Finally, connect with the right people. (Proverbs 18:15) While backyard mechanics always think they know everything, they frequently don't know as much as they think. They really need to drop the pride and seek expert advice and outsource when necessary. Those that only teach one dimension of holiness, are no better than the mechanics that paint over rust. So they are definitely not the right people. If you can't find the right people, then read the right books.

Our immortal soul is far more important in the long run than the proverbial dream car that I used as a comparison. But do you treat it that way? What do you really want for your Christian walk, a show-quality life that delights and inspires others to seek holiness as well? Or will you settle for an unfinished project that is but an eye sore for the neighbors? The choice is up to you.

The Visual PARABLEist

Wholeness: Directions

When one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. A woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume. As she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them. When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner.” -Luke 7:36-39

The woman in the story didn’t need to be told she was broken. Clearly, she knew that already. Yet I’m willing to bet that is all anyone ever did for her was point out her mistakes. Yet nobody ever showed her how to become whole again. I’m sure a big part of the reason she was there, was because she craved some real answers, and thought this Jesus was where they could be found. This begs the question, are we as the church being more Christ-like than Pharisee like? Or are we effectively telling people they need to go to righteous street, but never giving any directions on how to get there.

Now consider Jesus's response.

Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.” “Tell me, teacher,” he said. “Two people owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he forgave the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?” Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt forgiven.” “You have judged correctly,” Jesus said. -Luke 7:40-43

Jesus does not judge the Pharisee’s judgment or hate on his hatred. Nor does he just say this is how you should feel about this, now start feeling that way. (The two extremes that most fall back on.) Instead, Jesus points him in the right direction to finding the right answer for himself. He does it in such a way so that that he could start to understand the why, not just the what.

With that being said, are we merely defining righteousness as a standard of morality, then just telling them to live it with no direction on how to become holy in every dimension? Then criticizing them for their failure despite our poor directions. This brings me back to a question I posed way back at the very beginning of my ministry. Why are we not teaching as Christ taught? Apparently many are getting lost by the church deviating from his example. People are not finding lasting righteousness rooted in Christ’s wholeness that way. Clearly, this is an issue that needs to be addressed, since the effects are trickling down to every aspect of the church.

“A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.” — John C. Maxwell

The Visual PARABLEist

Wholeness: Unwritten Stories

Many years ago there was a short-lived reality show called The Messengers. In it people competed to be the next big motivational speaker. In one particular episode, one of the judges took issue with how dark one contestant's speech about a past trauma was. Long story short, it's okay to be a bit dark with your message, as long as it leads to a ray of light in the end. As the show progressed it became apparent that the speaker in question just hadn't found her ray of light concerning that trauma just yet. So she couldn't offer it to others either. You have stories to tell as well, but have they reached the light at the end of the proverbial tunnel yet, so that they are fitting to inspire others?

The Bible isn't just a systematic set of rules, it is presented with stories, many even get dark. So why do we try to systematize it? Jesus didn't just proclaim the good news via a formula; he did it through parables. So why do we try to turn the gospel into a formula? As disciples, salvation is a big part of our story, but are you leaving the narrative unfinished? Have we accepted the forgiveness part and called it good enough? Yet left the wholeness, born anew part of it incomplete. Leaving us with few inspirational experiences to share. Leaving us to rely on cold definitions for outreach.

“Nobody cries at the end of a movie about a guy who wants a Volvo. But we spend years actually living these stories, and expect our lives to be meaningful. The truth is if what we choose to do with our lives won’t make a story meaningful, it won’t make a life meaningful either.” -Donald Miller

Let me stress one thing, a meaningful life does not necessarily mean fame or putting ourselves in the limelight. Too many people leave their talent in the ground because they're comparing themselves to celebrities. With that out of the way, let me ask you, what makes your favorite movies and songs your favorites? Isn't it being able to connect with it emotionally? To be able to identify with it? To see yourself in it? That is why wholeness is critical in discovering our purpose; it gives us a story to share and connect with. Finding wholeness is a story of overcoming after all. It is those stories that delight, inspire, and connect with people. How people find salvation themselves through them. Unlike the mere explanations, many rely on.

Take, for example, the movie, I Can Only Imagine. I like it better than most recent faith-based films because it doesn't oversimplify the Christian experience by stopping at the initial glory of salvation, or just making about making the right choices. This story goes past all that into the struggle to find wholeness. Although the main character Bart Millard had removed himself from a toxic environment and was working in music ministry, his scars still haunted him and hindered his walk. Only by facing his past and reconciling with his father was he able to move forward, and ultimately connect with his audience, and make the truth he professed relatable.

Yet, we live in a culture that tells us not to believe in fairy tales anymore, because we don't believe that happily ever after really exists. Granted, sometimes their definition of happily ever after can be pretty shallow, but is that the real issue we have with them? Or are we trying to gloss over the part where we must fight the dragon or defeat the witch to get to happily ever after? While there will always be another goblin around the corner, but by overcoming them we grow as disciples, find wholeness, as well as our mission, and ultimately inspire the next generation with our story.

So let me leave you with this question. Have you overcome the demons in your life, or are you settling for the Volvo, because you think that is as good as it gets for you? Or would you rather never have to face the troll you thought you eluded, much like the lady from the beginning of the post was? I dare say there is a genuine lack of wholeness in the church. For that reason, there are few stories of delight to share, no wonder we struggle to understand each other. So people cannot connect with church people anymore. We have just settled for a definition of morality, which is but only one dimension of holiness, let alone broader theology. Which seems only like a standard of judgment to the lost, instead of the love, understanding, and a helping hand they really need. Of course, how are we supposed to help people overcome if we haven't ourselves?

I will open my mouth with a parable; I will utter hidden things, things from of old— things we have heard and known, things our ancestors have told us. We will not hide them from their descendants; we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, his power, and the wonders he has done. -Psalm 78:2-4

The Visual PARABLEist

Wholeness: replacing replacments

As I've eluded to often, people are prone to put their hope in a variety of worldly things. Sometimes people cling to these perceptions to the very end, no matter how much it fails them. I'm sure this is the Genesis of many controlling people. It's an attempt to make their perception of hope and fulfillment finally work. This ironically tends to destroy the thing that they long for, not improve it.

Yet, in other cases, longing and fear collide which leads to a total loss of hope. Yet instead of looking to the creator as they should, they redefine their original source of hope. They simply replace their source point with something else. Hoarding, pornography, and an absurd amount of pets are but a few examples. Usually, it replaces some sort of human relationship. There is still that longing for connection or that feeling of being loved. Yet, there is now that fear of being hurt as well. When we are afraid of what we long for, it can create a huge incongruence in our life; hence, the replacements.

Most alternative sources of hope have a few things in common. One, is they are far easier to control. Second, is they lack the ability to disappoint and betray us. Third, they are very tangible, easy to identify or implement. While they always seem easier and safer to the one doing the replacing, and in the short-term they may very well be. However, in the long term, they can become self-destructive if left unchecked. These things can never truly replace what we long for, nor can they give us what we genuinely need. Leading us to compound our replacements to unhealthy levels.

I know it's really easy to say, all we need is God, but how do we apply that? For a nonbeliever, this seems very intangible and abstract. Even the believers often only treat it as following a list of rules, which is a very one-dimensional approach. But how are we supposed to be righteous, if we don't know who God is? True righteousness is modeled after the very nature of God after all. This is what makes holiness relational, not just systematic. The more we seek God as a living entity; the more he will reveal the truth behind our brokenness. The better we understand our lack of wholeness, the better we understand what it is that we really need to let go of. Instead of just the cosmetic surface behavior, the legalists teach. Once God sees that we are truly sincere about letting go, then he will take it away.

So I urge you to take a long hard look at yourself. Consider what you have replaced God with, or at least settled for. Then have an honest discussion with self and God about it. Then, you find yourself on the right path to wholeness.

Has a nation ever changed its gods? (Yet they are not gods at all.) But my people have exchanged their glorious God for worthless idols. Be appalled at this, you heavens, and shudder with great horror,” declares the Lord. “My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water. -Jeremiah 2:11-13

if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. -2 Chronicles 7:14

The Visual PARABLEist

Wholeness: Never Broken?

If you get a splinter and you don’t remove it, it will swell up and become very sensitive. If you get a laceration and don’t disinfect and bandage it, it may turn necrotic and not heal properly. If you break a bone and don’t set and cast it, it won’t heal straight. Emotional trauma isn’t much different, if we don’t deal with it, there will be lasting side effects. The main difference is that emotional trauma isn’t as easy to identify proper treatment.

The reason I bring this up is that there are many people these days trying to sell you on an idea that you were never broken in the first place. While it feels like a favorable answer because it's an easy answer. However, it's also a very dangerous answer because it rationalizes self-destructive and abusive behaviors. Granted, we need to stop equating brokenness with hopelessness, especially in the church since salvation and recreation are such a big part of our theology. But let's face it, if we weren't shaming the broken, people wouldn't be going to this opposite extreme. So let's have a closer look at emotional trauma and its role in our lives.

As I have said before, it can be a cruel world. Getting through it unscathed is near impossible. This begs the question, isn't all this inhumanity a symptom of mass brokenness? As they say, hurting people, hurt people. The traumas we experience in childhood can often seem the worst and the hardest to overcome, since they occur in that critical foundational time, not to mention a fragile and vulnerable one as well. Sometimes it doesn't matter how much we grow and mature, we still see these events from the vantage point of the children we were when they happened. Even when we don't consciously remember them, they often establish patterns of behavior that wouldn't exist otherwise. All these debilitating phobias, compulsions, obsessions, addictions, hypersensitivity, and another neurosis' will affect the quality of our lives. Such things have a habit of spilling over onto the people closest to us as well. This perpetuates this cycle of trauma. The tragic irony of trauma, is we often become like the perpetrators of it to cope with said trauma. Do you really want to be that person?

Now consider this, if we were never broken in the first place, we would have no reason to take issue with those who abused us. If there is no brokenness, then there is no crime after all. Do you really want to rationalize such people’s actions this way? Indirectly you are justifying your abuser if you deny your brokenness. The unbroken should be emotionally strong enough to shake off anything. So they shouldn’t be exuding hypersensitive, or easily offended behaviors. If we were never broken in the first place, we have no reason to be so cautious, implement coping mechanisms, or control people to cater to our feelings. Going on the offensive or defensive like that implies fear. What do the unbroken have to fear after all? If we are truly unbroken then we should be very secure. Yet it’s insecure people who feel threatened by people who think, feel, or value things differently than they do. It’s insecure people who are desperate for validation, acceptance, and approval. Can you honestly call yourself completely unbroken having read this?

If you are holding onto trauma, then don't be afraid to admit it to yourself. An honest confession of where you really are is key in moving forward. If people shame you for it, they are only revealing their own brokenness and phony righteousness. There is probably a reason things just aren't working out for you, and that reason lies within your own heart, not outside you. Yet, our heart is something we can do something about if we have the courage to face it. Yet we often would rather try to take on the futile task of changing the entire world to cater to our wounds, instead of facing our own brokenness.

If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. -1st John 1:8

My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise. -Psalm 51:17

Wholeness: Prayer

I dare say prayer is one of the most written about subjects in all of Christian education. Yet it is likely one of the most neglected concepts in all of Christianity as well. I’m hardly the first to point this out either. While I won’t be summarizing the entirety of this important concept here, there are a few points I would like to add to the discussion to hopefully help with said neglect. As well as how it pertains to our wholeness.

Many teachers tell you to pray specifically. While there is nothing wrong with this, keep in mind there is nothing wrong with not being very specific either when we just can’t put our finger on the issue. Hence this verse.

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. -Romans 8:26

Those same teachers often tell you to expect specifically as well. In their mind, this is an act of faith, but then again maybe it’s just arrogant. What I have learned, is to expect anything and everything. We can only pray based off of what we know after all. Which is very limited compared to God. Why presume to know better than God or how he will respond? While we may pray for what we want, God will always answer according to our needs. Again if we lack wholeness, our wants will likely be less than mature. So the answer may actually address our brokenness behind the want more than the actual longings. Sometimes what we need is the rest of the story in a given situation. If we are imposing tunnel vision on our expectations, we can very easily miss God’s actual answer.

James also talks about praying with wrong motives. (4:3) For example, we may pray for an abundant harvest for our church. While that may sound noble on the surface. Yet, if we only ask so that we may feed off the harvest without actually tending to the crop, our motives are more selfish than selfless. If you are going to pray for something, be prepared to get involved and be part of the solution. A whole person and devout disciple wouldn’t object to this. Like when Nehemiah prayed for the restoration of Jerusalem, the answer came in the form of an opportunity. An opportunity that Nehemiah had an active hand in. 

It's not much different when we pray for our wholeness. Yet when we actually pray about our shortcomings, do we do so in hopes that the issue would just go away so we don’t have to face them. This isn’t necessarily realistic. While deliverance is sometimes an option, but not if it's going to leave an open wound in our spirit. Like I said in an earlier post, the woman at the well had to face herself, and her choices. Even Peter had to face his denial. (John 21:15-25) What issues are you trying to avoid via prayer?

It’s been said, prayer often changes the individual more than the situation. Now you should have a better idea of why that is. So I repeat, when you pray, keep your spiritual eyes open to all possibilities. Anything is possible when it comes to an all-knowing God after all. Your wholeness will surely benefit if you do. Which means your holiness depends on it as well. Which is of immense importance to God. So your spiritual ears will be the most open when we value all three dimensions of holiness as well.

The Visual PARABLEist

Wholeness: life?

Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. -John 12:25

This is one of those hard sayings of Jesus. One where people try to dismiss the "hate life" part with rather vague arguments based more on feelings than logic. However, let me offer another perspective.

If we engage in reckless self-indulgence and it leads only to emptiness, which it often does. We will likely start to hate life.

If we devout our life to acquiring wealth yet we live in constant fear of losing it. So much so that we are in a constant state of guarding and adding to said wealth that we have no time to enjoy it, we will likely begin to hate life.

If we devote our life to acquiring acceptance, approval, validation, and inclusion we will soon discover trying to control how people feel about us is futile. Not to mention all the ways we inevitably compromise ourselves in doing so. Again, we will likely hate life because of it.

If we look to people and relationships to feel complete, and the people we look to will likely be doing the same right back at us. Yet, we find their expectations unrealistic and overwhelming. So this incongruence often leaves people disillusioned and hating life.

If none of that works for us, we may look to drugs and alcohol to cope, but such people always end up hating life. Just look at how many celebrities end up on this path, despite the fact they seem to have everything this "life" has to offer.

But sometimes, through it all, we realize this life is but a drop in the ocean of eternity. That in the end, this moral life separates us from God. That all these treasures and creature comforts we value in this world mean nothing in God’s kingdom. That what we really need to focus on is our mission in this life that builds for us treasures in heaven, and ultimately closer to God. Treasures we cannot possibly begin to comprehend. (1st Corinthians 2:9)

Yes, we need a place to live, clothes on our back, food on the table, and a time to rest our mortal bodies. However, those are all means to the end. Not the goal. When we get the means confused for the goal, and fixate on the drop, instead of the ocean. Our wholeness and peace of mind inevitably suffer for it. When our wholeness suffers, so does our mission. When our mission suffers, so does our real treasure. Through it all, we can end up hating life while we are still in it.

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. -Matthew 6:19-21

You may notice a very Ecclesiastes vibe to this post. A book many people have a hard time with as well. However, I suggest you try reading through it again with Jesus' opening words in mind. May I suggest The Message translation. Most other translations, even the very literal word-for-word ones go too far and try to interrupt the very poetic words for you. In this case, The Message is far more accurate.

The Visual PARABLEist

Wholeness: self worth

As I indicated in my video warning lights, there is often a strong element of self-hatred in depression. When this ultimately leads to suicide, obviously the victims held zero worth for self.

Which leads to the question, what is our self-worth based upon? People put their self-worth in a wide variety of things, many of which I have mentioned over the course of this series. What we as individuals look to are often established very early in life, latching onto whatever gratifies our feelings. If not from family norms, it's frequently found within the public school social structure. Sometimes we never bother to question or, mature beyond our initial childish inklings that fall short of true wholeness. Sometimes our perception of self-worth is so deeply rooted in us that we try to project it onto others. Sometimes there are just so many voices competing for our attention, it's hard to hear the truth even when we do question it.

As disciples of Christ, we need to consider this question very carefully and dare to question our preconceived notions. Since even church people can get caught up in putting their hope in the created instead of the creator. When we value the gift over the giver, we run the risk of crossing the line into idolatry. This American cultural bias is so strong that we often confuse it for virtue and encourage others to do the same. Yet consider where it has led us all by putting our self-worth into such fragile and temporal things.

Take the rich man from Mark 10 and Luke 18, Jesus made him face his misguided notions of self-worth. Yet, by all indications, he refused to reconsider said beliefs. The woman at the well in John 4 had a similar experience. Yet, she was far more willing to reconsider. I dare say having five ex-husbands; she had her fair share of fall flat on her face moments. It's often those fallen moments that cause us to reconsider. Yet, if we don't go deep enough, and only try to provoke the same feelings in a different way, this can lead to addictive behavior or impulse control disorders.

It's really easy to say our worth is in God alone, people do it continually. While that means something to those who already believe, but for those who don't, it's just a vague platitude. Our reason for this hope we have must go deeper and be expressed more distinctly. (1st Peter 3:15) The outside world simply sees Christianity as a standard of morality; many do little to counter this one-dimensional view. So everyone assumes that their worth by that standard is conditional upon living up to it in an instant. As heirs to the kingdom we must do a better job of educating people about the gospel. That salvation is a gateway to the path to wholeness. That nothing else can absolve us from our past traumas, and the mistakes that haunt us. That through it all you will find a mission that touches the lives of others, which leads to true fulfillment and makes you part of something much bigger. Not an instant gratification path to self-worth, but a more effective one in the long run if we embrace it.

In an age where people are falling on their face left and right, from following their feelings blindly; the opportunities for outreach are there. Yet so many are only using these opportunities to kick people while they are down. Yet, we wonder why they are looking everywhere but Jesus for self-worth.

The Visual PARABLEist

Wholeness: Goals VS avoidance

Have you ever heard of the goal-oriented vs avoidance-oriented spectrum?

You have undoubtedly heard of the goal side of that at least. A simple definition is to decide what you want out of life and devise strategies to achieve or acquire said things. Most motivational speakers center their programs around this idea. The way they tell it, it's a virtue, and it's the only way to live. However, it's not inherently virtuous to be goal-oriented, they are only as good as their goals after all. If their goals happen to be shallow, selfish, and superficial you would be hard-pressed to call them righteous. Such self-centered people can have real tunnel vision with their goals and can end up hurting and betraying the people in their lives. To them, it's just collateral damage, at least until it comes back to haunt them, which it often does. People with natural tendencies of being goal-oriented can also be very impatient as well, and just can't sit and wait when it's needed. They can have an inexplicable desire to force things to happen and can end up spoiling their efforts when delicacy is required. Especially when people are involved, and those people happen to be more avoidance-oriented. They will not respond well to being pushed on.

Then there is the flip side of it; the avoidance oriented. As obscure a term as it may be, it’s actually rather common, just nobody is trying to sell self-help health books based around it. The avoidance oriented identify the things that they don't want to experience in life and devise strategies to avoid them. Again, there isn't anything inherently right or wrong about this tendency. It's just a different way to approach life. There is nothing wrong with avoiding the consequences of the sinful nature of the flesh after all. Yet, sometimes they end up avoiding way too much and miss out on many positive things. They often never find or live out their purpose in the kingdom of God; as a result. These can be the unfaithful servants that bury their proverbial talent in the ground. (Matthew 25:14-30) Generally, such people are more sensitive than the goal-oriented, especially when it comes to external stimuli.

But remember, it's a spectrum; we are all capable of both sides of it. We just tend to favor one side of it more than the other. The reason I bring it up is that the details in how you live this out can be very revealing about yourself. This can give us insight into where our wholeness has gone askew, where we really seek it from, as well as reveal why we are failing in true holiness. For example, when a highly goal-oriented person is actively avoiding a very specific thing, it's a strong indicator of where their brokenness lies. We can even find ourselves with one foot on both sides of the line where our lack of wholeness is concerned. We especially see this in our relationships. We desire connection, but we also want to avoid the parasitic users who have betrayed us before. So when we do venture into a new relationship, we can end up projecting fears upon people who haven't even earned our distrust yet, and judge them by what other people have done. Trying to control relationships this way will sabotage our goals before they even have a chance to take root. Not that we should look at people as goals.

In short, as disciples of Christ, we need to always be evaluating our goals, or lack thereof, and make sure that they are in God's will and holy. When I say holy, I mean more than just sinless perfection. As Luke 11:24-26 reveals, removing something bad from our life, and not replacing it with something good can leave a void, leaving us vulnerable to backsliding. Or as Galatians 5:16-18 reveals, the best way to counter what we shouldn't do is to focus on doing what we should do. So this post comes back to the same thing that so many others have. To focus on that one dimension of holiness, and forsake the others is to set ourselves up for failure. Every side of holiness helps to support the others.

The Visual PARABLEist

Wholeness: Salad Bar Faith

I recently entered an art for suicide prevention show. Since the show had been judged by the public, I knew I didn't have a chance at winning anything. My entry was just too honest and challenging. I dare say the prizes went to more sentimental and easy-to-understand pieces that made you feel all warm and fuzzy inside, at least for a moment.

But, I have no regrets about it, I had something to say, it needed to be said, and I said it. As I indicated in my artist statement, the last thing I wanted to do is make a depressed person feel as if they have to put on a fake happy face for the sake of the comfort of others. Such actions force people deeper into the darkness, which can lead to more suicide, which is definitely not the point of the show. I wanted to offer a real answer that leads to genuine overcoming, as well as convict the critical people who berate the depressed. Not just offer a palatable yet ineffective answer.

I can assure you; anyone with any kind of ministry must make similar choices continually. I say that because many seem to treat their faith like a salad bar. They load up on the ingredients they like and leave the rest behind. Like the people who get so fixated on love and forgiveness, but not so much on righteousness. For them, salvation is a way to dodge dealing with brokenness. So they end up in this never-ending cycle of making the same mistakes and seeking forgiveness for them. There is no transformation in that, so there is no holiness in that. So we don't really delight and inspire people with our lives that way. The flip side of that is the people who get all fixated on righteousness, but shun love and grace. While there is indeed a certain comfort in a systematic set of rules for some, it falls short of a well-balanced spiritual diet. For them, helping is simply a matter of correcting people's behavior through criticism. Yet failing to recognize the root of said problems. This kind of help can feel like rubbing salt in a wound, not dressing it. So their so-called evangelism discourages and drives the lost away.

Again, I must make that decision myself continually. If I wanted a huge following on social media, I could do so by offering a bunch of vague fluff that makes people feel good for a moment. But that doesn't lead people to wholeness and ultimately fully dimensional holiness. Or I could offer a formulaic set of rules that would attract people who want to be lulled into a false sense of spiritual superiority. But, there is no love, grace, or humility in that. That brand of holiness is tragically incomplete as well. Every church must make this some choice, follow one of these mainstream extremes, or the full gospel with complete holiness as their guide. You have to make a similar decision yourself, and the right one will include seeking wholeness along the path to holiness.

I still believe my current series on wholeness is my most important work to date. But that doesn't necessarily mean the most popular, and it definitely is not. Sometimes you just got to stick to your convictions and have faith that you really are part of the remnant, especially when the mainstream doesn't appreciate you. As I have said before, I'd rather touch a few lives deeply, than many lives superficially.

I did hear it through the grapevine that my entry did move at least one person deeply. That alone made it all worth it.

Once more a remnant of the kingdom of Judah will take root below and bear fruit above. For out of Jerusalem will come a remnant, and out of Mount Zion a band of survivors. -2nd Kings 19:30-31

Wholeness: Testimony 2.0

A common practice in the church is sharing testimonies. However, most of the time they are all about first finding Christ, and occasionally a healing experience. Isn't there more we could be sharing with one another? There is more to salvation than the initial glory after all. We must continue to work it out through discipleship. That is ultimately how we find wholeness, manage to set ourselves apart from the world, and for a mission. As well as genuine righteousness.

Then again, maybe there isn't much to tell. As a Christian counselor once revealed to me, many of his clients think being a Christian is just a matter of being a nice guy or a good girl. Actual transformation and calling never seem to come into it. Why should they think there is any more to it when we aren't telling our full stories of discipleship?

Take Peter; for example, scripture tells more stories of his failures than his successes. That is what makes him relatable. Why don't we afford ourselves the same? Maybe because that also makes us vulnerable. While we do see that as a positive trait in others, we don't in ourselves. If we were really confident in who we are in Christ, then we wouldn’t fear vulnerability.

My point being we need to let ourselves tell all our stories of discipleship. Where we succeeded, as well as how we failed. How we found our purpose, where we misfired with our calling. How we overcame our scars, and how they got there in the first place. How we heard from God, and how we might have misinterpreted his message before that. How we stumbled, how we stagnated, and how we found our way back to the path again. We need to tell the whole story so that we understand. Not just the select bits we share in small groups that make us look good. The whole story that reveals every step of our journey, including the mistakes. That is what can delight and inspire people to move forward, to not give up, and not settle for a painted-on-surface faith. This is what builds a community of whole, set apart, and righteous people. Is that not what a disciple of Christ should want?

The Visual PARABLEist

2nd Corinthians 4:7

Wholeness: Celebration

Moses answered, “We will go with our young and our old, with our sons and our daughters, and with our flocks and herds, because we are to celebrate a festival to the Lord.” -Exodus 10:9

We don't often associate the church with celebration these days, although the concept is constant in scripture. In Old Testament times, every Sabbath was seen as a celebration of the Lord. Not to mention the Torah outlines numerous other celebrations. At one time, The New Testament church was no different. The liturgical calendar is filled with many holy days to celebrate, but at some point, we started to downplay everything but Christmas and Easter. Not only that, certain factions of the church started to disallow specific means of celebration like music and dancing. The question is why, when scripture doesn't support it at all. Much like my post on passion, we make no effort to distinguish worldly celebration, from the celebration of the Lord. Yet, our fears of shallow self-serving celebration have led the church to dismiss most celebration, even if it means extracting the good news out of the gospel.

With that being said, let me pose a question to you. Do your words and actions celebrate the good news of the gospel? Or do you only express your anger, and frustrations for those who celebrate only self? My point being, until we start to celebrate the full scope of holiness, we can't celebrate the full scope of the gospel. Until we start celebrating the full glory of the gospel, instead of just one dimension of it, we won't be able to delight and inspire the lost to seek wholeness in Christ instead of covering up our brokenness with reckless self-indulgence.

Perhaps that is part of the reason many only go to church on Christmas and Easter. They are the only days that seemingly offer the hope of the gospel anymore. A world that lacks wholeness, needs something constructive to redirect their hope too. They can't see it when it's hidden behind this wall of righteousness we are throwing in their faces. All they can see is guilt, shame, and condemnation.

Do you see The Gospel of Jesus Christ as something to celebrate? Do you want to invite as many as possible to that celebration? (Matthew 22:1-14) Or do you see the gospel as a joyless chore? Following only the single dimension of holiness that is righteousness will indeed seem like a chore, with nothing to celebrate. A strong indicator that you have left something vital out of your faith. I assure you, a fully dimensional faith is something to celebrate. 

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” - Matthew 11:28-30

The Visual PARABLEist 

Wholeness: Tangible

I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. -Romans 7:15

I'm sure the above verse is something all believers can identify with. A tendency that points to the specifics of our brokenness, and hinders our wholeness if we don't heed these indicators. If you read the broader context of the verse, you will see he is pointing to the sinful nature of the flesh being behind it all. But the question is, why is the sinful nature so shortsighted? While I am sure there are many variables, one in particular that accounts for much of it is tangibility. The ways of the flesh are more tangible than the ways of the spirit. Our human relationships are more tangible than our one with God. Rules and regulations are more tangible than grace. Inclusion into society is more tangible than approval from God. Works are more tangible than forgiveness. Money and possessions are more tangible than salvation. Emotions are more tangible than faith.

Yet, what we find so tangible is so very temporary. These temporal things we value so much often disappoint and fall short of true wholeness. Yet, at the moment all our sinful nature can see is right then and there, the instant gratification of emotional relief. The assurance of what we can easily wrap our minds around and understand. Completely sacrificing the long term; as a result.

The long-term path to wholeness needs to be a very deliberate one. It will be full of distractions offering quick, but short-term answers. In many ways, it's one of the most pervasive obstacles we face in our walk as disciples. Yet, we often treat it so casually; hence, our repeated failures. Isn't about time we cast off all these self-destructive distractions and focus on what is really important with intent?

A voice says, “Cry out.” And I said, “What shall I cry?” “All people are like grass, and all their faithfulness is like the flowers of the field. The grass withers and the flowers fall, because the breath of the Lord blows on them. Surely the people are grass. The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever. ” -Isaiah 40:6-8

Wholeness: Through not around

According to counselors, people deal with external conflicts in one of three primary ways, avoiding, fighting, and dealing. However, I dare say when it comes to an internal conflict we have a tendency to all become avoiders. There is no point in fighters dumping their emotions on themselves since they are already there. Those same fighters can't shift the blame on internal conflict without turning it into an external one, which they often do. The high amount of interpersonal intelligence that gives dealers the insight to actually understand conflicts with others doesn't necessarily translate to internal ones. That takes the rare trait of intra-personal intelligence, which gives the individual the self-awareness to deal with internal conflicts. Avoiders can avoid, no matter where the conflict comes from. These are the people keeping themselves busy with trivial matters to avoid what's really important right now. As you can see, it's very easy to try to detour around the issues within. The world not only offers many options for this; it encourages it. Yet, if we truly want wholeness, the real answer is to go through it, not around.

The practice of psychoanalysis asserts that all our disorders stem from trauma in our childhood. Then seeks to identify that trauma. While identifying the root cause through therapy will take you to the issue, that in itself will not take you through it. Even modern psychology now recognizes that identifying the core of the issue doesn’t automatically change anything. There are a lot of learned patterns of behavior revolving around said trauma to overcome. Again, that requires going through it.

For the Christian, that means inviting Jesus into it. That is what brings healing to our wounds. Yet, the uninformed believer often does the opposite. They feel that they have to become perfect to invite Jesus in since we are often ashamed of what lies within. What we must remember is that Jesus already knows what you are trying to hide, and it won't be made perfect until you allow him in to fix it. We need to stop projecting these immature Old Testament ideas upon our New Covenant lives. In the end, the putty must go in the gap, not around it, the bandage must go over the wound, not around it. It is no different with our heart,

As I have already indicated, emotional trauma often lies at the heart of our issues. So naturally, we assume facing it will be like reliving that trauma all over again. Even the highly self-aware can become reluctant at the worst of it. So we will often do anything to avoid that, even if it means endlessly circling around the issue in a never-ending cycle that just keeps you static. All the more reason to invite Jesus into it, he is more than willing to hold your hand to guide you through the minefield of your heart. He is eagerly awaiting for you to do so. What are you waiting for?

The Visual PARABLEist 

Wholeness: For your own good

"It's for your own good." We hear this statement a lot, especially while growing up. Sometimes it's actually true, sometimes not. Sometimes we honestly believe it's true when we say it ourselves, even when our motives are not absolutely selfless. Sometimes we can't see past our nose well enough to realize others may need something different from us. Even when it is true, if we frame our demands so negatively, people have a hard time believing it. This practice of saying things are for their own good critically, or when it's more about us, can end up causing people to believe what is actually for their own good, isn't. 

Holiness truly is for our own good. It doesn't always feel that way, but much of that comes back to a poor understanding of the concept, and faulty teaching methods. The often-overlooked wholeness aspect of holiness that I have revolved this series on is proof that holiness is for our own good. Since true holiness leads to healing and completeness, not just surface righteousness. This is how agape love fits into the gospel.

Yet, those who try to bypass this dimension of holiness obviously care not for the brokenness behind the sin or the trauma that caused it. They obviously only care about the part that affects them, your behavior, or their pride. This is how agape love gets removed from the gospel. The irony of this is that such people often act as if they are the superior ones, despite this blatant omission from the gospel.

It's such a basic yet fundamental truth. Yet, its exclusion or inclusion can have a tremendous impact on the effectiveness of our ministry. Notice I used the word effective, not successful. Our craving for success in large numbers can often cause us to cut corners in our holiness, and ministry. Which is absolutely about self, not God's will.

"My biggest fear is that I'll have a good preacher, pretty worship, raise money, and the right people, and not make one disciple."

"If your vision is for a big church and not a big impact, you've got it wrong"

"We've minimized discipleship so much that we tell people what to do instead of walking with them." -Albert Tate

I said this last time, but it's worth repeating. Purpose gives us a place in the kingdom of God. Living out our purpose leads to fulfillment, as well as touching the lives of others in a positive way. This can lead the people we touch to walk the path of wholeness, and eventually purpose themselves. So this model has a self-perpetuating dynamic to it. Not embracing all three dimensions of holiness will absolutely throw off this dynamic. Being more concerned about your own good, than the good of others can derail this vital cycle in the church as well. Yet in our shortsightedness, we have indeed broken the cycle. This heresy has gone on long enough that we are reaping much rotten fruit; as a result. It's about time we revisit our foundation and patch the holes that we have left. It’s for your own good, as well as the church.

The Visual PARABLEist