considering John Bolton for UN Ambassador. What an odd little soap opera this
is turning out to be in our nation’s politics. If there was ever a field of endeavor
that revealed the complete and utter depravity of man it is the political arena.
What makes this whole discussion is not whether John Bolton is qualified
or has the right temperament or has good manners or whatever story is being
circulated. That really isn’t the issue. Neither is his pedigree, his credentials, his
body of diplomatic work or his character – all of which are seen as a plus or a
minus depending on what side of the aisle you happen to stand on.
And that, dear friends, is the real issue. It isn’t about John Bolton’s ability
to conduct foreign affairs, it is about power – who really holds the reigns.
Now, why do I find this fascinating? Because the arguments for and
against continue to focus on John Bolton and whether he will make a good
ambassador. The reality is, as an ambassador, Bolton will be duty bound to take
in the domain of his ambassadorship in the absence of our duly elected leader.
Which means, of course, that for all intents and purposes, when he speaks in the
course of his work, it is not his words he speaks, but those for whom he works.
to those to whom he is sent without muddling the message with his own ideas.
So in reality, his ability to work and play nice with others is secondary to his
ability to faithfully transmit the message the leaders of our nation have entrusted
to him. It seems to me that the job of ambassador is more about accuracy than
acumen. Probably more important than his diplomatic skill is his backbone –
does he have the stoutness of heart to stand up for what someone else believes
is right?
Now, before anyone gets nervous, I am not going to spend the morning
talking about the confirmation process or ranting about who is right and who is
wrong in the world of politics. But it strikes me what a difficult job being an
whether ideologically you agree with them or not – having to have such a grip on
another person’s mindset that you can, with conviction, argue, persuade, even
to me that he only way to perfectly do the job would be to have like Vulcan mind-
meld – for you non-Trekkies that means having a direct psychic link to another
person’s brain so that you can literally feel what they feel and think what they
seems too great. Without the ability to really “get inside another person’s skin,”
human will, pride, and that adolescent desire we never really outgrow to be
another well. It occurs to me that part of the problem with living a holy life is the
asking the question, “Is holiness passé?” We wondered if holiness was simply a
mirroring Jesus Christ in every area of our lives. We also found that holiness
begins with repentance and that a life of holiness means developing a discipline
The Christian life is one marked by holiness. The more our lives look like
Jesus’ life, the further along we are in sanctification. And holiness brings power
into our lives. The power of holiness is God’s power at work in us and not some
spiritual battery pack that we recharge and discharge at our discretion. It is not
that we become powerful in the Spirit rather it is God’s Spirit that is powerful in
Sunday – that would be today! If holiness is mirroring Christ in our life and
seeing the power of God at work in us, how do we keep up such a life? Let’s be
honest – for most, if not all of us, if we compared our spiritual lives to a car, we
would have to admit that we have problems with our fuel injection. Our engines,
as it were, spit and sputter, have fits and starts – lunge forward and wheeze to a
standstill. Growing in holiness or witnessing the active power of God seems like
a far stretch for us. We find it nigh on to impossible to live as Jesus lived, despite
our bracelets there to remind us “What would Jesus do”. How do we “get into
God’s skin,” so to speak, so that we can faithfully represent or mirror him? And
do well to note that in the Scriptures we have the mind of God revealed to us – at
least in as far as we are able to understand it. That is why we refer to the Bible
as the Word of God – it is God’s thoughts simplified and cast within the limitations
of our language. In the same way we lisp to a baby, God lisps to us through the
Scriptures. Through the pages of the Bible we come to know the heart of God as
well as our own and can shape our character, our thinking, and our actions
So what does the Word of God say about remaining strong? Well, a lot
actually. But I am going to boil it down to three simple elements. The first
contentment, confidence, and good cheer, knowing that they test the
genuineness of your faith and produce resolve. That resolve must have its
work completed in order that you may be complete and whole, lacking
nothing.”
growing in holiness. The test of our desire to be like Christ comes in the
difficulties of life. Quite frankly, when things are going well it rather easy to think
and act like Christ. We tend to be more generous, more loving, more accepting
when we feel like life is dishing out good stuff. But let life hand us a lemon – we
become different people. That is why James in this passage essentially says,
“Receive the tough times in life like friends!” Because like any good friend, the
tough times shape our character – they add to us. Chuck Swindoll often says
that he has yet to see anyone grow from good fortune, when things go our way.
pain to endure we would coast through life on auto-pilot, never learning how to
really live.
And it is only when our desire to be like Christ comes into conflict with the
way of the earth that we grow in Christ likeness. In other words, pain forces us to
put our money where our mouth is – to put up or shut up, as it were. As Hebrews
13:7 says, God uses affliction, trial and suffering as discipline to teach us how to
Last Wednesday, on Law and Order, the legal argument that was being
explored is “Can a person who committed a crime before he surrendered his life
to Christ be convicted and punished after he accepts Christ and literally becomes
It was a fascinating story. And for a time it looked as if the lawyer who was
arguing for the defendant would actually make the case. To be honest, I was a
bit nervous that the guy who became a Christian would win. Wouldn’t that send
Try the conversion defense! Gee, judge I am a different person now – the Bible
tells me so!
But just as the defense was preparing to launch into a full-scale assault,
creature in Christ doesn’t absolve us of bearing the responsibility for the crimes
we committed prior. He realized that the way to honor Christ was to walk the
more difficult road – by revealing Jesus Christ through the way he dealt with
adversity.
The pivotal moment, you see, is the Christian making up his mind to follow
Christ no matter what. Putting aside the fear of looking like a fool, putting aside
the fear of how your life will be changed, putting aside fear of the pain, the
suffering, the dis-ease that standing up for Christ may cause and doggedly
deciding to follow Jesus. When you make that kind of commitment to Christ –
the same kind of commitment, by the way, that he made to you – you will
encounter countless and miscellaneous adversities that snow you under. James
tells us to receive them with good cheer, knowing that God uses them to deepen
us in holiness. But we must make up our mind to follow Jesus, no matter what.
The second element for remaining strong throughout the journey and
growing in holiness is the person of Jesus Christ himself – really the witness of
his life. If you want to know what it is to “get into God’s skin” read the Gospel
Divine Person and Nature – God in human flesh. Take time to really sit at the
feet of Jesus by reading about his life over and over again. Become so familiar
with his ways and responses that they become ingrained in your character and
The real challenge comes when you begin to notice that everything that
Jesus did was couched in love – real love, I mean. Not the sentimental, mushy “I
love you” stuff that Hollywood tries to sell us, but love that has real action behind
it. The kind of love we read about in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 – Love is patient, love
is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not
self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not
delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always
hopes, always perseveres.” Real love always has others in mind first – real love
forgets about itself. That’s why the cross is the ultimate expression of love.
sort of love life – the sort of love life Jesus had and made manifest in the cross –
as a necessity for true holiness. He says, “But serving the Lord by being there to
seek the good of others, and to help where they have need help, will involve us in
being ground up small in the mill of God’s providence for other’s sake…. True
demur.”ii
That’s a tall order, huh? Just taking those two elements into consideration
a holy life seems a bit out of reach doesn’t it? Expecting to suffer and be happy
about it. Pouring out our lives for others who may or may not grace us with a
thank you – doing it simply for the joy of helping others. We may as well paint
“Doormat” on our chests and expect to be miserable in this existence! But that
doesn’t add up when you remember that Christ said that he came to give us life
and give it abundantly. How do we “get into God’s skin” and remain content? I
mean considering what is expected of us, the temptation will always be to crawl
Well, first let me say that once in “the skin of God,” if you abide there – if
you stick it out – you find that the trials really do teach us how to live by faith. We
learn how to wait on God, how to be patient, how to trust him to protect his
servants. We learn how to run the race with endurance. And we are shaped in
our character and responses to be more like Jesus – we grow in holiness. But
surrender our pride – our identity, how do we die to our desires so that the
desires of Christ can come alive in us? Every fiber of our being is twisted by the
job perfectly – to really get into the skin of the nation’s leader that you are
The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For
who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the
man’s spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the
thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. We have not
received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God,
that we may understand what God has freely given us…. The
man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come
from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he
cannot understand them, because they are spiritually
discerned …. “For who has known the mind of the Lord that he
may instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.
In John chapter 14, Jesus promised to send us another Counselor, one who
would remind us of the things he said and lead us into all truth. That promise
came true on Pentecost when the Holy Spirit was poured out upon the church.
Through his ministry, the Spirit of God overcomes the nature twisted by the fall,
giving to us the mind of Christ – changing and shaping our desires to be like his.
cannot – even more, we will not – make up our minds to follow Jesus no matter
what. We will cut and run at the first sign of trouble. And we certainly won’t
surrender our lives, our comfort, our desires for the good of another. If we’re not
gaining something from it – even if it is just a warm fuzzy – we won’t do it. True
But because of Pentecost – because God poured out his Spirit upon us to
indwell his people – we can get into God’s skin. We can smile in the trial and
love as God has loved us. God knew we would need help following in the steps
of his Son – help becoming and being holy. He has provided all we need in the
presence and power of Holy Spirit. Through him we can have strength for the
journey.
i
All Scripture texts taken from The New International Version, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan
Publishing House) 1984.
ii
J.I. Packer Rediscovering Holiness Servant Publications, Ann Arbor MI 1992 p. 265.