Life Gets Better After Accepting These Faith Cliches (6.21.12)

Psalm 11,4: "The Lord is in His holy Temple, the Lord's throne is in heaven: His eyes behold, his eyelids test the sons of men."

Like a teenager who hasn't learned to clean his own room, so are we in faith who haven't moved beyond the most basic cliches of it: "But I don't want to, but I'm too busy, but I'm too important."

Besides, cliches are boring. They outlive our attention spans. They make up too many sermons. And there's no place to hide from them. They are in every walk of life, at home, at work, at church, everywhere.

So since we're stuck with them, and like the teenager missing out on soooo much because his room is not cleaned, here's seven of the biggest faith cliches.

We'll see if we can get over them once and for all:

1. God Is Not Going To Fall Off His Throne (see Psalm 11,4 above).

This is usually and aptly preached when we humans miss the mark or otherwise come up short in our service. Yes it is strangely interesting when folks start fussing and fighting about whose sins are worse, as if the supposed bigger sinner's sins are going to make God like fall off his throne and not forgive!

This cliche truly helps us get over ourselves, like already please.

And if you slip and fall, oops yet again, take a breath, cut it out, and get right up and trust Jesus! Again.

One of my favorite preachers would also ably use this not falling off His throne thing every time he spoke of the character of God being like that of a good parent. The good parent is less concerned with the apparent perfections and great successes (or not) of his child, and instead prefers the child to trust, and always come back to the parent.

In other words, God is loving, faithful and holy, and while he sees our sins, his real happiness is in the return of the faithful son or daughter who trusts Him and the mercy of His shed blood on Calvalry.

2. Let Go and Let God

Joseph forgave his brothers who ditched him and let God work it out. And so became Israel's first savior in Egypt. "What man meant for evil God meant for good."

About fifteen years ago a brother Gary gave me a beautiful cliche, with a shiny wooden frame and everything: "Tobin, Trust Me. I have everything under control- God. "

What a thoughtful gift. Thank you very much brother Gary, bless your clicheing heart.

And praise Jesus' NAME-God is way out in front of and sees all the control freaks in our lives, so to triple down on this cliche: "chill out."

3. After You have Done All You Can Just Stand

Faith is not some kind of titan-superhumanity-church-action figure fantasy. It's confidently acting on the promises of God again and again, come what may.

It's about an empowered witness, a life of picking up our cross and following Jesus. Life is not all kittles and sausages as they say across the pond. Or parades down Main St. in the good old USA  in honor of our wordly success.

4. Your Cross Is Not Big- It's Just Yours

Surprise, surprise nobody is too interested in somebody's else's cross (unless it's a really good story), so comparing and complaining about it is useless.

The point about any cross is not to run hot footed circles around it, or talk it, but to pick it up.

5. God Won't Give Us More Than We Can Bear

Just like a little kid at Wall-Mart- we really think we can't take another step- until we do. Like a Mexican, on foot, looking for work.

6. Yesterday's Gone Sweet Jesus

This one goes well with "Let the dead bury the dead" and "today is the day of your salvation." Yes and Amen to these liberating Spiritual realities.

So many folks live today planning the future based on someday burying all that has happened in the past.

You can't always get what "YOU" want. So love the ones God gives you today, not who might be around after that, whenever that is, like when you and others are perfect and you have a better job, and a new car. 

7. Before You Take The Speck Out Of Your Brother's Eye, Look In The Mirror

Objects in your brother's eye are actually further away than they appear. And objects in our own eyes are closer, and sometimes prove our own blindness.

Conclusion

So many cliches. So little time to deal with, and get over, them.

They teach us that we are all still creatures in need of constant encouragment and correction, and someone to perhaps tell us to clean up our own "room" once in awhile.

Because God is watching, trying and testing us (see Psalm11,4 above), and defintely not falling off His throne.

And by the way, I am thinking that after we've gotten over at least some of these, God wants us to then move on to receiving 'every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realm' that is ours, by faith in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 1,3).