KILLING COWS

I find it both obvious and scriptural that Christians are not immune to nor exempt from the adversities of life, be it physical, financial, relational, or emotional. Trouble, difficulty, hardship and affliction are as prevalent among the saints as among non-Christian populations. Saints have no entitlement to escape what is clearly part of the curse from the fall of mankind – God’s judgment on mankind for disobedience -- any more than we can escape death, the curse’s ultimate penalty. Now it is true under Old Testament Law God’s covenant people, the Jews, were exempt from much of life’s adversity as long as they remained obedient to the Law. But this entitlement is covenant and people specific and was done away with by the Cross of Christ.

Adversity knows everyone’s address as Jesus clearly stated: “Narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life.” The Greek word translated “difficult” here is likewise translated trouble, adversity, affliction, hardship and other “Bad” words. Yes, our way home to eternal life will be fraught with difficulties.

Many saints believe God wants believers to have their best life now – health and wealth -- and that He is no respecter of persons, implying an entitlement. When adversity strikes and things don’t work out they use cobbled up half-truths about the role of faith and sin to protect their sacred cow “beliefs.” Well... It’s time to kill some cows: The seven passages describing God as “no respecter of persons” deal, contextually, with Salvation, Judgment, and Rewards: It is in these and only these areas that God is no respecter of persons. And our “best life now” is the life that brings about our greatest degree of transformation -- conformation into the likeness of Christ -- regardless of the circumstances.  This transformation is the rich and glorious mystery of the New Covenant, “Which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” 

IT’S ALL ABOUT TRANSFORMATION