2023-01-05 A Meditation on Saved In Victory

“The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.” (1 Ti 1:15 ESV)

In any victory is just as much occasion to make confession and come to Jesus, as in any defeat. We are creatures urgently trying to find something good about ourselves. The gift of clarity of mind, is a fruit of giving the credit to someone else. We long to be used and appreciated by God the Father. We long to give, give, and give. That is, when once we’ve experienced Love, we are sold to the cause and company woman or company man.

That is, our victories can be pyrrhic, as we, of a sudden, experience it all as so empty. Something new is here, we achieved our objectives, and that achievement suddenly leaves us ever more empty inside. We are now empty inside because the success and victory didn’t “fix us”: we are still slaves to emotion and pettily opinionated and reluctant givers. We are mocked, for having accomplished what never seemed possible, yet now to find that this attainment has not created world peace in our minds. Put in those terms, it can make a bit of sense that we need Jesus! We have high aims!

Collectors of self-imagery, we shy from the wrong-headed and sinful memories. We have healthy self-image and confidence, but this in and of itself is a gift from Above. It sounds like an unreligious doctrine, to say we live on the back of our deeds, but it is how things materially play out. Jesus comes in insofar as we do allow Him to, in small deed and loving insight. And as we begin fully to let Him in, His traits illuminate and inspire our own memories. Maybe we weren’t so rotten after all. Maybe we can for once give up on ourselves, and know we can trust in Him.

For we are pathetic and in need. He is a gift almost too rich, for our more despondent times. We scarcely need to know He went to the Cross, if only we know He came alongside of us. We scarcely need to know He rose from the dead, if only we know He gave His own life for us. We scarcely need to know He was ascended to be with the Father, if only we know there is some one person out there who is godlike, that is, Jesus is godlike. And we scarcely need to know He is godlike, if only we know He is strong, mighty, big Man, loving parent, healthsome friend. If only we know He is a little more than us, we are signing up and newly eager.

This is no blasphemy but a reflection of just how married we are to memories and occasions in life. He gives those back to us. He makes healthy friendships speak now a salutary word. He makes family dynamics, focus on mutual forgiveness and fellowship. He makes outlays in the community into warm greetings and friendly passing-by. So He nearly writes Himself out of the equation: “You did it!”; “You rose up!”; “You are a good kid, after all!”. We lean on fragmented, fractured storylines, sequences comprising pride and denial, denouements mercifully sheltering us from the deeper truths of what we have done. For Man is sinful, and the Spirit gifts us with contrite heart, so that Jesus’ story can become our story.