It can be said--and truthfully so--that power (i.e., electricity) in the barrio is inconsistent. However, it seems that Wednesday evenings, during the study time at el Camino church, the power is pretty consistently non-existent. At times you wonder who "out there in electricity land" wields the power of the switch. Who out there is sitting with their finger on the power switch deciding when the power will flow and when--more often than not--when it won't flow. This remains a mystery.
Now, having said that, I do want to express a certain appreciation for those electricity-free bible studies. There is a certain bonding or unifying element that comes with a candlelit room...where the light from each candle is required to provide sufficient illumination. Over the past month, those gathering at the Wednesday night study have been reading through, thinking through, and challenging each other through a little book called The Cross Centered Life, by C.J. Mahaney. A great book (of Jabez dimensions...so not too demanding) with great content for group discussion, personal reflection, and life application. So, with this in mind, I jot this blog "Cross of Christ by Candlelight".
Recently we were discussing a chapter entitled "Breaking the Rules of Legalism" and I appreciated the following point Mahaney expressed. "It is important to understand that a legalist isn't just someone with higher standards or more rules than you. A lot of us wrongly stereotype a legalistic person as one who doesn't go to movies, or who thinks that music with a beat is evil. Legalism is much more subtle and serious than that. Here's a simple definition that I use: Legalism is seeking to achieve forgiveness from God and acceptance by God through obedience to God." Mahaney goes on to remind us that we are able to approach the Father only because of what Christ has done not because of what we have done or are doing. (Now, we can certainly have another discussion on the process of sanctification and how human agency--our actions--are part of that process...maybe in another blog).
The point is that to be justified before the Father I need nothing more than Christ--to be clothed in His righteousness. It can be tempting to want to add something to Christ's finished work in coming to the Father...to think deep down..but certainly not say!...that Christ's work just isn't quite sufficient. Oh, how completely sufficient it is. I invite you to pray with us in this: That the Spirit of God would melt our hearts to see that Christ's death and resurrection ALONE are sufficient to justify us before the Father. That we could boast in nothing other that the Cross of Christ. That Christ alone would be the light to our path and not the leanings of our own understanding or our own power--it is not only unreliable it is insufficient.
