The 180 Church Podcast with Dr. Sammy and Friends

We generally define blessings as parts of a successful life, such as material wealth or pedigree. By looking at blessings through a Christian lens, they are instead gifts from God, through which we can participate in the flourishing of creation. Through the story of Jacob wrestling with God, we learn we can curse ourselves by taking God's blessing in our own hands. But even if we mistrust God's abundance, God's blessings can still accomplish His plan through us.

As followers of Jesus, our effort to become more Christ-like is not a solitary pursuit, but an endeavor that is built and supported by community. In this lifetime, there are inevitable difficulties. How can we bear life’s problems together as friends along the journey? The community of God is drawn together by the Father to celebrate in jubilee, weather the storms, and encourage one another to stay on the path of being formed in the image of God.

We cannot trust without prior evidence; otherwise our trust is based on assumptions which can be wrong. Indeed, trust needs to be earned, and trust can also be broken. For example, in the parable of the Talents, the servants who proved themselves trustworthy with their master's talents were given more, and the one who didn't was punished. Even God does not demand us to trust Him immediately, but asks us to invite Him into our lives so that He may earn our trust. Thus, it is crucial to be accountable for our actions, to ensure that they are ones that build, rather than break, trust.

We will inevitably encounter moments in our relationships that will require trust and forgiveness. These two extensions of favor and grace can be difficult to distinguish as we bear with one another in the messiness and complexities of life. We are often meticulous with forgiveness, although it is unmerited, and liberal with trust when it should be earned. Through the parable of the unmerciful servant, we’re led to wonder who can possibly be more deserving of our trust than Christ and how we can exercise forgiveness as Christ does.

Our lives are made up of moments which in a vacuum don't seem to have any greater purpose or meaning. But our stories take on fuller meaning in light of the stories that came before us: our parents' stories, their parents' stories, and ultimately the Bible. When we reflect on how our stories link to the stories of the Bible, we are confronted with our darkest fears and deepest wounds. However, it's in the Bible that we also find hope and purpose for our lives, because the gospel narrative is one in which Jesus' crucifixion becomes His resurrection - in which all the world's sin and brokenness shows itself, and Jesus responds with love.

When we need forgiveness from others, it is easy for us to ask for it, yet when others wrong us, it is hard for us to forgive them. During these times, we must remember the sheer magnitude of God's grace, of how we've been forgiven from an entire life of sin. If God could forgive us for such an enormous debt that we can never repay, how much should we then forgive others their mistakes against us, even if we have to do so again and again?

The Great Commission calls believers to make disciples of all nations. Most of us feel uncomfortable with this command because we don't feel like we're good at evangelizing. But instead of trying to be perfect representatives of Christ, it's about inviting someone to experience how Christ has changed us and impacted us. Like the encounter with Jesus and the woman at the well, we are called to open others up to the possibility of finding greater hope in Christ when we invite others along our own journeys of faith.

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As Christians and investigators of faith, we tend to believe that character defects and deficits would miraculously be resolved by our relationship with Christ. However, that could not be further from the truth. Emotional immaturity, ego, and pride are dismantled not by happenstance, but by the effort we exert towards modeling Christ’s character. It’s in this journey with Christ and by developing a depth for emotional maturity, that we as believers and seekers can grow out of the deficiencies of our human nature and love authentically and genuinely as Christ did.

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There are moments when we are toxic to ourselves or to others, which often are our flaws and self-centeredness on display. Therapy is a tool to help us better understand why we resort to toxic patterns of behavior, but it cannot completely rescue us from our sinful nature. We can look only to Jesus for salvation from ourselves because even if we pity ourselves by making excuses for the ways we harm others, his Truth doesn't allow sin to go unaddressed. Instead, He forgives sin and moves us beyond the question of self-help and towards the conversation of how our flawed selves can be redeemed through His grace.