the unlikely tale of Jonathan and Charlotte

watch this first...            

 

This video’s been doing the facebook rounds lately and I thought I’d add to the giant recycling bin that is the internet by linking and commenting on it.

The story of Charlotte and Jonathan struck me as an amazing illustration of grace.  Firstly Charlotte shows grace (unmerited favour) by loving the unlovable Jonathan.  In doing so she discovers there is much to love in Jonathan that no one else has discovered because they were busy judging his outward appearance.  Her love gives him the courage to do the outrageous – sing in front of millions of people and submit himself to their judgment.

What the millions discover is that he is an astounding opera singer!  But at 4min50 along comes the personification of law (the standard) himself; Simon Cowell.  He tells them “Charlotte, I think you’re good; but Jonathan, you are unbelievable, you are a future star… but I’m worried that Charlotte is going to hold you back” to which Jonathan replies “we came on here as a duo and we are going to stay as a duo.”

Jonathan was tempted in that moment to dump Charlotte to gain the world but what does he do?  He gives up the world to keep a friend and support her – he gives grace back to Charlotte at the expense of himself.  This is profound love and it reminds me so much of Christ who gave up the world to gain his enemies and at the expense of his life. 

Whoomp! there it is: a sermon by Jesus

A friend and I have been going through the book of Luke and we got to Jesus’ first sermon: the sermon on the plain. At first reading it’s like “So Jesus is a great teacher huh? What on earth is he talking about?” Here’s my two cents…

I think the sermon is one of those three point deals. The first point is a description of two groups of people: true and false prophets. What is a prophet? Someone who tells others about God. This section is a reversal of the Deuteronomy blessings and curses. In Deuteronomy the obedient people are blessed and the disobedient are cursed. But Jesus says that the “disobedient” people who realize that they have nothing to offer God, weep over their sin and are persecuted by men because they believe in Jesus will be the blessed ones. The “obedient” people who think they are making it in God’s eyes and teaching others that they can keep God’s laws are loved by men but they will be cursed by God.

Then Jesus goes on to lay down the heaviest law you have ever heard on his listeners; Love your enemies, give to those who steal from you, do not retaliate when you are insulted, give away your stuff, don’t look down on others, forgive others. All this law comes with a large side helping of hardcore self examination: look at your heart, is it good or evil? You correct your neighbour for tiny sins but you have a huge log in your eye called self righteousness etc. Just when you can’t take it anymore Jesus finishes the sermon with the “two builders” parable.

If you obey all of the law Jesus has just laid out, you will be sitting on the “solid rock” of righteousness (perfection). When God’s judgment sweeps through like a flood you will be safe. But if you examine yourself and you have broken any of it then you will be swept away like a man who builds his house on sand when a flood comes. Well I’m screwed, so much for Jesus meek and mild.

But this is not the end of the story. Go back to section 1. Doesn’t Jesus start the sermon by saying that the person who knows they are on sinking sand before God (poor) and weeps over their sin will actually be blessed by God? Huh?

Yes!  And Jesus can say that because this sermon is not the end of the story. Jesus' whole reason for coming to earth was to look for people despair because they can’t keep His laws, then save them and He’ll do it by dying on a cross. His original listeners don’t know about this yet but we do! On the cross He took your sinfulness and gave you His righteousness. So if you recognize that you are on sinking sand because of your sin and you put your trust in Jesus to save you from God’s judgment then you are actually on solid rock and blessed because you wear Jesus’ righteousness! You are safe!

I think legendary 90’s hip hop group Tag Team sums up Jesus’ description of God’s kingdom best:

“Upside down and inside out

I’m bout to show all you folks what it’s all about”*

(*If you click on the link be prepared for some bad language)

Dance Monkey, Dance!

Head under water

And they tell me to breathe easy for a while

The breathing gets harder, even I know that

Made room for me but it's too soon to see

If I'm happy in your hands

That’s the first verse from “Love Song” by Sara Barielles. When Sara wrote these lyrics she felt like she was under pressure from her record label to write a popular love song so that they would continue her career. The resulting song speaks about her resentment at being put under pressure to perform to others expectations, OR ELSE!

Sara nails the nature of human relationships, especially when it comes to business. Why is it that so often celebrities crash and burn? (Charlie Sheen anyone?). Perhaps it’s because their relationships with their agents and the press are conditional. The major condition of these relationships is that the celebrity is expected to sustain certain level of performance and if it is not achieved then the celebrity will find themselves dropped like a hot coal into the oblivion of D-list status. They are slaves to obey the law of “perform or see you later”. 

Maybe we’ve experienced this when someone we thought was a friend abandons us when we let them down.

The solution to this problem isn’t “choose your friends better” or “perform better” but it’s that there is someone out there who loves you despite the fact you don’t come anywhere near his required standard of performance. He once said to those who felt like they were drowning because of the burden of their sinful hearts “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” We can be happy in His hands because He demands nothing from us; instead He did it all for us.

Usher's got us falling in love again?

Before you panic and think I’ve fallen off the Christian bandwagon I need you to know that I in no way endorse listening to Usher’s music. Whew! Cleared that up. Have you had one of those times when you blob out in front of TV and flick channels? Well I was feeling that way the other day and stumbled across Usher’s catchy tune “DJ got us falling in love again”.

Cause baby tonight, the DJ got us falling in love again

Yeah, baby tonight, the DJ got us falling in love again

So dance, dance, like it’s the last, last night of your life, life

Gonna get you right

The rest of the lyrics are basically about two people who meet in a club at the end of the week and do what people do in clubs on the weekend if you know what I mean… But is love the feeling we get when we are dancing with some attractive stranger? Or is love something more substantial?

Paul argues in 1 Corinthians 13 (the wedding passage) that love is something far deeper than mere attraction. “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things”. In other words true love is expressed in one way unconditional giving to someone else. In contrast, Usher’s definition of love is one way taking from the other person. He enjoys the woman because of the pleasure her body gives him, not because he wants to please her. And the implication is that if her dancing does not please him, her life with him is over. His “love” is totally conditional.

As a married sinner I am reminded often that my love for my better half is badly flawed. But there is One who has perfectly kept the demands of 1 Corinthians 13 for me. His name is Jesus Christ. He loved you and me perfectly to the point that it cost Him His life on the cross. “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13)

For a pop song that does lay down one way unconditional love:  Choose You by Stan Walker