Posted by Randy Peterman on 11/24/2009
When you’ve got a heavenly perspective you don’t mind seeing believers as co-saints, no matter how gnarly they are, because you have an eternal perspective. In fact the fact you get to fellowship with someone who is a co-believer is exciting. A positional aspect is judging a lot of extraneous stuff that just doesn’t matter, but a heavenly, positional aspect builds up the believers and they rejoice in their eternal security, their eternal position, and their seating with Christ in the heavenlies.
Posted by Randy Peterman on 7/31/2009
When i see failure, in my own life or other believers, I can stop and just see failure, or I can have a heavenly perspective. Looking down means seeing that the failure is in light of growth and grace. Looking down means loving the person in the failure, and knowing I’m loved in my failure.
Posted by Randy Peterman on
I’m going to start a new series of posts called “Things You See Looking Down.” This is based on Colossians 3:1-3 which tells us that we’re seated in the heavenlies with Christ. This calls us to have a heavenly viewpoint on earthly scenarios. Thus, we’re looking down from a heavenly viewpoint on life. This will be a series of short posts and I don’t know how long they’ll last, but as I see things from a heavenly perspective, I’ll try to post them here.
Posted by Randy Peterman on 5/31/2009
This year I’ve really gotten into watching baseball. I think its in part because of my brother-in-law Kurt’s excitement for sports and my grandpa’s love for baseball. Baseball is a pastime in this country and I am a fan. I live near the Colorado Rockies’ stadium in Denver (20 minutes or so away) and I keep track of their activities with some regularity. This last Friday their head coach, Clint Hurdles, was released from his position and was replaced by their bench coach as the interim coach. This change is one I don’t agree with as a fan, but they didn’t ask me. Here’s where the theology comes in: the first basement Todd Helton, a believer, was interviewed and had this to say:
“We should be held just as accountable as anybody. Obviously, he takes the sword for us. He didn’t have any bad at-bats, he didn’t throw any bad pitches. He’s the same manager he was two years ago [editor: when the Rockies went to the World Series]. We realize that. We realize that ultimately we are the reason he got fired because we played bad baseball. We definitely feel responsible.”
There are times when one person takes the fall for a group. Christ, being the only acceptable sacrifice for the sins of mankind made the sacrifice. We all deserved the penalty for our not ‘playing well’ – there is no minor leagues for real life where you get to figure out this being a human thing and then bring it to the big game. Instead you get to screw up in front of everyone, blow it miserably in front of anyone, and ultimately stand before God as having failed to live up to His glory (Romans 3:23) – accept if Christ took your place in judgment on the cross. Then you were identified with His crucifixion, death, burial, resurrection, ascension and seating. The Rockies players know that they were saved from being dropped into the minor leagues because of their coaches sacrifice.
We know that without the sacrifice of Christ we would have nothing to stand before God with that would give us any confidence. Instead of the worry of judgment for punishment, we look forward to a judgment for rewards. One where heaven will become a place for a bride and the bride groom. It will be a perfect game, one with no outs, endless innings, and no injuries. Oh, and I think that there will be no stealing of bases ;)
Posted by Randy Peterman on 12/22/2008
Recently at Bible Study I had the opportunity to teach through Ephesians 4:1-3. The verse reads, “Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” in the King James version. What struck me about this was that I had failed to endeavor keeping the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace on so many occasions that I was hardly qualified to speak on the topic from experience. Instead I would have to humbly teach with examples of past failure: my life being an example of what not to do. Without going into every failure, which could take far more time and introduce too much confusion, I abandoned unity because I had learned that doctrine divides and that good doctrine was to be prized above all and at the cost of anything. While I’m still passionate about doctrine, the Lord has humbled me with the doctrine of Grace and its application in my own life.
You see Paul doesn’t start chapter 4 on its own, instead he starts it after a prayer that outline believers as family. And before that he outlines who the individual is in Christ. Nothing about the context of Ephesians allows for my radical and aggressive departures from various churches due to doctrinal differences. Paul reminds the believer in 4:1 that he should be walking in a manner worthy of the calling to which he was called. What calling is that? The life of Christ being lived out through moment-by-moment relationship. Each believer is called to this relationship with God first and foremost. That way the life of Christ can be manifest in a daily walk.
Paul, not wanting to stop with the profundity that is a walk that is worthy of our calling, hits the believers up with an immense request in verse 2, “With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;” BAM! Its as if Paul was shooting for the very foundation of the fleshly nature and goes in for the kill: no more pride. Pride is what hits me and causes me to want to be right and dogmatic about things. I have dear friends who have endured this pride and still love me (and my family) despite this intensity. My parents told me growing up that I should consider being a lawyer because I loved to argue. Over time my love for arguing has disappeared. I’ve seen the arguments tear people down, destroy relationships and ruin church bodies. It is not that the doctrine was not important, it was, but that the way that things were discussed rapidly escalated to the point of injured soldiers who were wounded from once friendly fire.
Paul writes that the believers should be lowly or humble, meek or gentle. With patience the believers should forebear or tolerate with love. Love! I hate the term tolerance because it is so often used outside of the context of love. We tolerate neighbors with house colors and decorations we don’t care for, but we don’t often love them. Worse is that in the church we could ignore love and simply tolerate brothers and sisters whom we should know intimately enough that we could pray for them without ceasing (I Thes. 5:17), and as the Lord does things in the life of the body we never stop rejoicing (I Thes.5:16). What wound can be caused between friends when they’re gentle and humble with one another? What blow struck with the slowness of patience can be described as cutting and haughty?
It is with this attitude of moment-by-moment relationship, walking in a manner worthy of our calling, being humble, gentle, patient and tolerating in love that we are called to then endeavor or preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. If I were to say, “Hey brother (under the Father Eph.3:14-15), I have been walking with the Lord and meditating on His word and contemplating this doctrine for a while (in patience), and I think that we don’t see eye-to-eye and I would love to spend some time going over God’s word with you to see what He says about it so that we can preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace,” then you would say that I have come with a noble and yet humble attitude. I didn’t come with a sledgehammer, but instead with graciousness and love.
Doctrine is critical. It is the clear delineation of what should be God’s revealed truth. But doctrine does not give us the right to depart or destroy others in the body at the onset of a disagreement. Yes, there are biblical grounds for separation. Yes, there are times when believers should part ways because one or more of the parties involved are not behaving in a manner worthy of the calling, but we don’t jump to that conclusion with haste. We rest in Christ, we seek to preserve the unity.
The Greek for the word preserve or keep there implies a guarding or maintaining of something that is whole, to prevent the decay of that thing. Unity is fragile, but in Christ it is not only positionally existent, but very easily possible for Him to preserve. The Holy Spirit has preserved His word for thousands of years and there is not much of a chance that you or I could ruin that. We’re called to a life that is rich and abundant together. Consider that togetherness the next time you start to feel your blood pressure rise. Consider tolerance in love. Consider the opportunity you may have one day in the future where your failures could be offset by the illustration of God’s work in your life to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.