Taken to Extremes...

July 3, 2009

Danielle Joyner Kelley

“Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life.” 1 Timothy 1:15-16.

Humans thrive on extremes. Extremes are what capture attention and become the stories we are most likely to repeat. Yet when we are seeking understanding of a problematic event in our own lives, extremes are the last thing we usually want to hear. Rarely will a person think it is beneficial to hear an extreme of how much worse someone else’s story is than their own.

Ironically, those are the stories that will make us see our situations for what they really are. For example, if your problem is that you cannot afford something of great material worth, hearing a story about starving children overseas who have nothing material to their name will shed light on the importance of your own dilemma.

God knew long ago that those extremes would help us to understand His purpose in any situation, and allow us to apply it in our own lives. The Bible is full of stories that many would call extreme. Peter walked on water, Jesus fed 5,000 people with five loaves of bread and two fish, and God parted the Red Sea for Moses and the Hebrews to cross and escape Egypt.

The enemy is skilled at getting others to think stories as extreme as those in the Bible could never apply to their own lives, but that is precisely why God knew the stories must be extreme. He created the human mind, and is aware that we are more likely to understand His purpose and benefit when we compare ourselves with those stories. Rest assured, that is the last thing your enemy wants to happen.

The stories people are convinced are too extreme to apply to us today are told to us for a reason. Life is a test of faith and forgiveness, and you will see those principles repeated throughout the Bible. Out of the many stories the one that is the most striking and the hardest for some to believe is the story of Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection. Among those who do believe, there are some who wonder why God would ever allow such an event to take place.

As complex and involved as the story of Jesus Christ is, God gave you the extreme for one important reason, and that is the ultimate demonstration of His love. That demonstration was to allow Himself to experience the pain to save your soul from the real extreme that you cannot see right now, an afterlife that would be spent in never ending torture completely separated from God.

Through a story so extreme in both its importance and its brutality, God shows us that even in our own problems, He is not watching us take on any suffering that He was not willing to bear Himself. Although we do not always know the reason for our suffering, He always knew the reason for His, and the reason was you.

The point of extreme for many people is grappling with the answer of how sinners could ever be worth the sacrifice. The answer comes from one of the most simple words that we, as humans, often twist and misuse, and that word is love.

God created us, has always loved us, and always hurt with us through our struggles. With a love so perfect and unfailing that is completely unconditional and selfless, He showed us all the extreme He would go to for us. Such a concept of love is hard for the human mind to comprehend because we put conditions on our love, and we are often selfish in our motives, but He is not. He is love, and the concept of love, in its entirety, does not exist without Him.

Jesus told everyone His purpose. “On hearing this, Jesus said to them, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners." Mark 2:17.

Even when many people come to terms with the event that took place, some still see the events taking place after as too extreme to make sense. After Jesus died and rose from the grave, the message of Christianity would spread beyond Jerusalem and throughout the rest of the world. The Apostle Paul was a frontrunner in lighting the spark. Paul wrote many of the books of the New Testament, and frequently spoke to an unfavorable audience including those who did not believe in Christ. The fact that it was Paul who wrote some of the most influential books of the Bible and spread Christianity further than anyone could have imagined shows God’s true meaning of His Son’s sacrifice, which was the salvation given to sinners through His grace.

Prior to Paul’s conversion to Christianity he persecuted followers of Christ, and admittedly was one of the worst sinners of all. After Jesus’ death, Paul, then Saul, continued in his persecution of others, until Jesus appeared to him. Paul had a conversation with the Son of God that would change not only his own life, but the lives of all future Christians to be. “As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" "Who are you, Lord?" Saul asked. "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting," he replied. "Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do." Acts 9:3-6.

Jesus Christ, who died for the sins of mankind, came to the person whom most would never expect because of his sins. However, the fact that He did shows whom His sacrifice was for, and He came to call not the “righteous” but the “sinners”. “I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me faithful, appointing me to his service. Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.” 1 Timothy 1:12-14.

And therein lies the true power of God’s love. He did not just create forgiveness, but as a holy, perfect, and loving God, He shows us that He practices all that He preached.

Through what many would call an extreme story where Jesus, after His death, appeared to a sinner and did not only forgive him of his sins, but called him to serve and preach God’s word to so many, we see our own doubts over whether or not we are worthy of forgiveness in a completely different light.

Though Christ’s sacrifice and God’s promise of forgiveness should have been enough for us, God never gives up. He shows us through His actions with Paul and through the stories of so many others that seem so extreme that even we can be forgiven ourselves. When we think we are so unworthy we belittle His sacrifice to the world, and such a sacrifice is not worthy of anything less than our total acceptance, praise, and obedience.

The enemy is masterful at convincing many that the Bible condemns sin to the point where we cannot be forgiven for our sins. At that moment, the biggest sacrifice that ever took place on Earth is forgotten by the person convinced, and they turn away from God in shame.

God’s word already provided the defense to this attack. The Bible tells us that the devil tempted Jesus in the desert. Some who are not familiar with the story will hear that this event took place, and assume that the devil would only tempt Jesus in some sort of recognizable evil way. That is because humanity seeks the extreme. God uses our love for the extreme in a way that shows us how to shed true light on our own battles. However, the devil is also aware of our obsession with the extreme. With this in mind, if the devil came at us in a way that let us know the attack was evil from the start we would think it was extreme but that God shows us the extreme to allow it to shed light on our problems. However, the devil knows not to tempt you in any way that would allow you to give credit to God in a positive way, and he knows that when you are encountering a problem in your own life that you do not want to hear the extreme. In turn, he disguises his attack, and you don’t see it coming. Thus, he appears as a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

How the devil accomplishes this is to correctly present God’s word to you, but twist it out of context. In this manner, there is no extreme, which is what we want in our own lives. As easy as it would be for many of us to fall in this situation, God again shows us the extreme to apply to our lives. The extreme was that although many would fall in this instance, Jesus did not, and God presents the story in the Bible in a way that shows us the devil’s ability to tempt us with correct scripture, but also Jesus’ ability to put it in context. “The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple.”If you are the Son of God," he said, "throw yourself down from here. For it is written: “‘He will command his angels concerning you to guard you carefully; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.'" Jesus answered, "It says: 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'" Luke 4:9-12. The devil cited scripture to Jesus that was correct and contained in the book of Psalms. However, Jesus cited correct scripture back because he knew that the devil had taken a correct scripture and used it out of context.

The importance of this story is that the devil was not the one appearing extreme, as he disguised his attack. Jesus’ response appears as the extreme because we know that we may have fallen victim to the devils temptation. That is where we have to remember God uses the extreme for us to understand what His will is for our lives.

The point is that with sin, the devil throws many scriptures at us about what we should or should not do, and moreover what we should not have done in the past. Expect those scriptures to be correct, but remember the context.

Although he tries to convince you that your sin bars your forgiveness based on scriptures condemning sin, do not take your eyes off of Jesus. If you do, the devil just beat you over the head with your own Bible. If he presented such a scripture to Jesus about sin, what would Jesus most likely have said? "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16.

Always remember the rules against sin are for your benefit in life. The reason not to sin is because when you do, you give the devil a foothold. "In your anger do not sin": Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.” Ephesians 4:26-27. To recognize the footholds he can gain, look back over your life at the weaknesses created by your own sins and also the weaknesses created in your life by the sins of others. If you are prone to lust, alcoholism, abuse, anger, greed, or any other sin because of a weakness in your past, whether created by your sin or that of someone else, remove yourself from any situation that would feed into that sin. Removing yourself does not mean that you have to quit living. For example, if you are prone to anger that does not mean that you duck your head in the sand and stop everything you are doing, but do not focus on the things that make you angry unless you are focusing on them with God or seeking help from believers. While you should stay away from those things, realize the enemy will not let them stay away from you. Learn to recognize those weaknesses and take them to God for the answer.

If the devil gets a foothold, he will affect you and others as well. For example, if your boss is prone to anger and takes it out on you at work, and then you go home and yell at your spouse because you are angry, you just put yourself up to taking the sin committed against you and committing it against someone else.

When you see that you have given him a foothold and he is using it to convince you that you are not forgiven, remember to look at the Cross. That story encompasses everything that has to do with your life past, present and future, and is the most extreme example of love and sacrifice you will ever know.

God took your salvation to the ultimate extreme, and when you get down on yourself remember one thing over all.

That extreme was for you.