What's in a name part 2 - aka What's in my name?

I said last time that there would be more, and there is. But a couple of factors have changed the focus slightly from the Church as a whole to us as individuals. Both of these things have really challenged me recently so I make no apologies if this turns in to two blogs in one!

The first is a battle that I've been fighting for a while now, since my pastor told me to work out who I am as an individual. Identity is such a powerful thing, and placing it in the wrong things is dangerous...but all too easy.

"Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God. They are brought to their knees and fall, but we rise up and stand firm" (Psalm 20:7-8)

The Bible is full of stuff about how people put their hope and their faith and their trust in other things besides God, and that is what shapes their identity. I fall in to that category, and it has been a real struggle trying to discover who I am in Christ because I’ve always allowed myself to be shaped by other people and circumstances. Over time, as I’ve been knocked back and rejected by the people that matter most to me, and have failed at the things that matter to me, I’ve been brought to my knees like those in the passage above who place their identity in the wrong things. Recently, as I’ve been working through this with a friend, I’ve been discovering that in fact I am what God says about me, not what the world says about me. Learning to apply that, and to live in the victory of those truths, is going to be a long journey.

“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20)

The second is a conviction that I've had for a shorter time, but nevertheless it’s been a real awakening. My church has recently been working to a new vision based on 2 Corinthians 4, treasure in jars of clay, and seeking to break away the clay that is masking the treasure in this community and in us as individuals. I was struck recently by the thought that if we're to be effective in this corporate task then each of us will need to play our individual part in that (with compassion, sacrifice and desperation as mentioned in my last post). I believe it's time for The Salvation Army to live up to its name. William Booth purposefully stated that we are not just a Christian mission but an ARMY. We're called to take a stand for what is right. We're called to fight for justice and for salvation. And the only way that we will ever be effective corporately is if we're effective individually. I’m reminded of a quote from a military officer in the First World War, who said (roughly) that if a war is to be won it will not be won by the generals but by the privates. Likewise, if this war is to be won, it needs each of us to take our stand, united and upright.

One thing I constantly pray at the moment is that I would be a worthy role model for the young people that I work with, and a worthy representative of God’s Kingdom to the people who I come into contact with each day. I can’t change things in the world by myself, but I can change myself – and unless I do that and constantly measure myself by the standards given by God and not the world, all attempts at anything on a corporate level will be fruitless.

Carrying this point a bit further, let me elaborate on the “Desperate” section of my last post. I was writing about the need for us to be solely dependant on God if anything is to happen. As I’ve been praying about this, one passage has really stuck out to me that really illustrates what I’ve been thinking about – and it uses better words than “desperate”!

“After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully. Upon receiving such orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks. About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everybody's chains came loose.” (Acts 16:23-26)

After being beaten and thrown into captivity, Paul and Silas’ first and natural response is prayer and worship – and they weren’t ashamed to be seen doing so either, the other prisoners were listening to them. We really need to be people who reflect that – who are stirred to pray and press deeper in worship, despite what is going on around us or indeed what is happening to us. That’s something I need to learn. And we need to be doing so in full view of the world. The key word in this passage, I believe, is “suddenly”. Paul and Silas were praying and singing, and “at once” they were set free, and everybody’s chains fell off…not just theirs, but the chains of those who witnessed their prayer and worship.

“I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living” (Psalm 27:13)

I’ve heard it asked recently why we’re not seeing revival and transformation on the scale that the early church saw…and, much more recently, on the scale seen in the early days of The Salvation Army. I believe that a lot of it comes down to our lack of prayer, worship and subsequent expectation. I sense that if we (as a church and as individuals) are wanting to see clay broken away, or chains falling off, whatever you want to call it, central to that needs to be a passion for prayer and an urge to press deeper in worship. When we do that, expect the “suddenly”!!