It has been on my heart lately to write down some thoughts on the legalistic nature that so much of Christianity seems to practice.  I’ve been exceedingly busy, so these have just been thoughts the past few weeks that I am now finding some time to get typed up in a more coherent format.  I wanted to start this series by pointing you to the movie Chocolat, released in 2000 with Juliette Binoche, Alfred Molina, Johnny Depp, Carrie-Anne Moss, and Judi Dench (all fabulous actors).

The movie Chocolat takes place in a small French town, where “everyone knows what is expected of them.  And if anyone should forget, someone would be quick to remind them.”  The town is very dark and gray with very little color.  It is controlled by the Comte (Count) de Reynaud, who is the mayor and who demands a strict adherence to the Catholic services and to the traditions of the town.  He even writes and critiques the priest’s sermons.  The town is held together through rigid obedience to rules and tradition.

One day, a lady, Vianne, and her daughter, Anouk, relocate to this town, coincidentally during the season of Lent.  Vianne and Anouk move from place to place as the “Great North Wind” directs them.  They immediately bring some color into the little town, wearing bright red cloaks.  She rents a shop and opens a chocolaterie (again, during Lent).  Reynaud immediately marks her as an enemy to the way of life he has sought to preserve.  He even tells her that his predecessor had successfully dispelled the Huguenots from the town and that she and her truffles presented much less of a challenge.  Reynaud spreads rumors through the town to poison anyone from associating with her.

Vianne, on the other hand, does not live in such a rule-oriented, legalistic manner.  She tries to get to know the people in the town and tries to help where she sees needs.  She accepts the people as they are, even when they have obvious problems.  She encourages them to restore relationships and to enjoy life.  Her presence in the town begins to awaken various passions in the people there who were otherwise, well, quite boring.

Reynaud realizes this and works even harder to destroy her.  He crafts the priest’s sermons to specifically target Vianne and her chocolate treats as temptations from Satan.

A lady in the town who is physically abused by her husband comes to Vianne for help.  Reynaud comes to retrieve the lady, defending the husband until he sees the marks left on the lady’s face.  Vianne proceeds to restore and heal this woman by befriending her and sharing life with her.  Reynaud on the other hand is determined to convert the husband into a gentleman through coerced repentance and classes on manners and religion.  While the husband struggles with strict rules, his wife flourishes in a place of love and acceptance.

At this point in the movie, Count de Reynaud is further frustrated by river drifters who port at the city.  They live on houseboats and sell various trinkets to the townspeople.  Again, the Count sees a challenge to the way of life he is preserving in the town.  They call them River Rats, and Reynaud begins a campaign in the town to “boycott immorality” and abstain from doing any business with the River Rats so that they will move on.  According to the Count, these “ruthless, godless drifters” would “contaminate the spirit of their town”.  Again, Reynaud reveals his legalistic mindset by only being willing to accept someone else according to how willing they are to keep his rules.

I won’t spoil the ending in case you haven’t seen the movie.  I encourage you to watch it with these ideas in mind.  I have found Chocolat to be a rich picture of the life of rule-oriented legalism versus a life of loving, accepting, and forgiving others.  I’ve been unlearning my tendencies to be legalistic and judgmental the last few years.  These are usually not easy things to lay down.  (At least it hasn’t been easy for me.)  Some Christians are determined to rule over others by forcing them to maintain a set of “laws”.  These may be particular behaviors to perform or avoid, or beliefs that must be shared.  Regardless the form that these laws take, they are completely inflexible.  Breaking of the laws is grounds for ending relationships and often slandering the person seen as the offender.  And the legalistic lifestyle leads directly to self-righteousness, which Jesus clearly detested in the gospel stories.

I’ll post a follow up to this article soon, which will be a look at why Jesus was called the “Friend of Sinners” and why he was often harsh with the religious legalists of his time and culture.

I’ve been thinking of sharing some questions here on the blog specifically for you all to respond to. One of the things that I like about blogging is the potential for interaction. I don’t really have a lot of readers, so there’s not a whole lot of participation at this point.  I thought these questions would stimulate some discussion.

So here is the first “What’s Up With That?” Question:

What does it mean (practically, in daily life together) to hold Christ as the center of a marriage?  What do you do to keep yourselves and each other focused on Him?

I’m looking forward to all your thoughts on this. Please consider sharing this post via the share links to get more people involved.

UPDATE: Answering My Own Question

Thank you so much to y’all who ventured to post some thoughts on this question.  I really appreciate it.

Personally, I’ve realized that I used to try to get my wife and I to do certain things out of the wrong motivation: a religious spirit.  I might suggest that we sit down each night and do a devotion or pray together, or read the Bible because it was what (I thought) good Christian couples do.  And so we’d buy a book or something and awkwardly struggle through reading it and trying to force some discussion.  Sometimes this would even end in arguing over some topic or idea that was in the reading.

Now, I’m not against anyone doing devotions or reading the Bible together.  But remember my motivation: the religious spirit.  I was doing this to perform for God and then expecting God to deliver to me a perfect marriage.

One thing I realized about this approach is that I was assuming that God always wanted to teach us both the same lesson.  However, I’ve learned that my wife and I are vastly different people.  We spend time with the Lord in different ways, and we are not necessarily learning the same thing at the same time.  It is interesting how the Lord will often reveal different pieces of the same situation to my wife and I.  We only learn what the other person has received when we share these things with each other.  Together, we have a more complete picture.

What I believe we (my wife and I) have learned together is to be sensitive, aware, and on the lookout for what Jesus is up to in our lives already.  So, if we have an issue, or someone comes to us for help with a problem, or there is something to discuss with the kids, finances, health, and so on (the list is endless), the underlying question behind it all is “what is Jesus up to here”.  We share the Lord now without relying on devotional study guides for couples.  We share the Lord as he presents himself in a myriad of different ways each day.

Let me tell you, it is electric when something happens and my wife and I realize that it has Jesus written all over it.  And there is so much life when we share this with each other.

Again, I’m not against devotional times, quiet times, praying together, and so on.  We do these things when we feel the Spirit leading us in that direction.  These are usually for very short seasons in our experience.  Sharing with each other what we see Jesus doing every day is for the long haul.

So, we keep Jesus in the center of our marriage by being aware and sensitive to what he is doing in our midst and sharing with each other.

Additionally, something that I have done personally is to ask Jesus to help me understand his character so that I can recognize when I am and am not allowing him to express his character through me.  As a Christian, I desire to allow Christ to express his character and nature through me.  I want to love, play, be honest, compassionate, tenacious, and faithful as he is.  It’s a dangerous request, because I believe Jesus will take you seriously and you will have to lay down certain behaviors, ideals, and expectations.  But as with anything with Jesus, his solution is always best.

Part 4 of this series, written by Jackie Dukes is here.  It is a great article and important aspect of living life and pursuing Christ together.

You can find the excellent next installment of this series here.

Please venture over to Marc Hardy’s blog, check out the article, and leave a comment.

The following are song lyrics that I rewrote to focus on our life in Christ.  The original song is called Amazed and has been performed by the bands Lonestar and Boyz II Men.  I’ve included a link below the lyrics to the Boyz II Men version.  Listen to the video and read the words below at the same time to get a feel for how the song sounds.

Amazed (by Jesus)

Jesus that You fill me
Your Spirit lives inside me
Is almost more than I can take
Jesus when you touch me
I can feel how much you love me
And it just blows me away

I’ve never been this close to anyone or anything
I can hear Your thoughts
I can see Your dreams

I don’t know how You do what You do
I’m so in love with You
It just keeps getting better
I want to spend the rest of my life
With You as Your bride
Forever and ever
Every little thing that You do
Jesus, I’m amazed by You

The sound of Your Word
Like nothing we’ve heard
The way You whisper in our hearts
Your Spirit all around us
Jesus You surround us
You bind us all in Your heart
Oh, Your love, it consumes us, all of us
We want to spend the whole night in Your eyes

Chorus

Every little thing that you do
We’re so in love with you
It just keeps getting better
We want to spend the rest of our life
With you as your bride
Forever and ever
Every little thing that you do
Jesus, we’re amazed by you

I’ve found that when people hear about a church that gathers without a designated leader to present a prepared sermon or teaching, it is difficult for them to imagine how else the church would gather.  The pastor-pew format is so ingrained in today’s church culture, it is hard to picture anything else.  But there are, in fact, “organic churches” who meet together with no human person designated as her leader, where all of the saints gather together and share the riches of her Bridegroom, Jesus Christ, and allow Him to be the head of the church meeting.

Frank Viola has described organic church as this:

By “organic church,” I mean a non-traditional church that is born out of spiritual life instead of constructed by human institutions and held together by religious programs. Organic church life is a grass roots experience that is marked by face-to-face community, every-member functioning, open-participatory meetings (opposed to pastor-to-pew services), non-hierarchical leadership, and the centrality and supremacy of Jesus Christ as the functional Leader and Head of the gathering.  (Full article here.)

The following illustration is how I have tried to describe what happens when an organic church meets together to express Christ with every member functioning:

Paul says in Ephesians 3:8 that there are “unsearchable riches” in Christ.  Imagine with me that the Louvre Museum in Paris is a picture of all of the riches that are in Christ.  The Louvre has approximately 35,000 exhibits in its massive museum grounds, not to mention the architecture alone is stunning.  Many of the most famous pieces of artwork in history are housed within these walls.

Now, imagine a group of people setting out to explore and experience the riches of this museum.  To give 5 minutes to each of the 35,000 pieces of art would take 243 twelve hour days!  Picture this group entering the museum in awe of its beautiful architecture.  They gather around a famous art display and take in its beauty and uniqueness.  After some time, they share with each other what aspects of this piece of art stood out to them and how it affected them.  As they go around the group taking turns sharing, they find that no one saw quite the same thing, even though they were all certainly looking at the same piece.  Some were astounded by the colors.  Others were captivated by the fine detail in the work.  Some were focused on one particular aspect, such as the expression on a face.  Some wondered about the meaning of the painting.  Others pondered the artist’s motivation for the piece.  As the group shared their varied insights, everyone saw much more of the artwork than any one person saw themselves.  As the group moves through the museum, gazing upon the beautiful art and sharing with each other, they grow closer as they share together, and even begin to see the artwork from other people’s perspective.

Additionally, the group may decide to disperse in random directions to search out some artifact that catches their interest.  They may ponder this piece alone or with just a few from the larger group.  Later, the group comes back together and shares with each other what they have found.  Many times, a very discernable theme will appear as they share, even though there was no intention to seek a common theme.  (I’ve been in meetings where this happens and it is truly electrifying!)  As each person shares about the treasure that they found, many different aspects of this massive museum may be revealed.  The group may decide to venture together through some of these areas and behold together the treasure that some have brought to the group.

It is much the same as this when a group of people gather to express the Lord Jesus Christ together.  Rather than getting only one view (such as from a pastor), many people bring many various views that are woven together into a beautiful picture of Christ that is much more rich than only one person’s view.  In other words, Jesus Christ is the art piece that this group beholds.

Imagine if the same group went to the Louvre Museum, but when they made it into the foyer, they elected only one person to go in and view the artwork and then come back and share with the group what he alone saw.  Without entering in to the museum together, the group’s ability to fully understand what the one person saw is difficult and limited.  Week after week, they gather in the foyer and listen to this one person describe more of what he has seen.  As the weeks and years pass, this person appears to be so much of an expert in the Louvre artwork, the group is intimidated to think about going inside themselves, lest they be expected to come back and expound on what they saw as well as the expert does.

In my view, this is similar to what happens in a church that depends on a select few clergy to minister Christ.  Certainly, there are many pastors and clergy members who have a great depth of knowledge of Christ and a rich relationship with Him.  But when the duty of exploring Him rests completely or mostly on the clergys’ shoulders, the rest of the body becomes passive and underdeveloped.  In an organic expression of the church (as I’ve defined here), this duty is shared among the priesthood of ALL believers.

You may read this and not believe that Christians can live in this way together with each other.  I can affirm by experience that they can, but only when their focus is learning together how to live by Christ’s indwelling life.  But that, of course, is another story for another day.

And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.”       (Luke 22:19-20 ESV)

As Jesus shared the bread and the cup with his disciples, He established a new covenant.  But what is a covenant? Truly, a lifetime could be spent researching the Jewish practice of covenants and the references to this throughout the Scriptures.

In Jewish culture, a covenant was a binding agreement in which the two parties essentially become one flesh, as in a marriage covenant.  Individual rights are forfeited.  The two now live for each other as one person.  Jewish covenant was not entered into lightly because of the cost involved by both parties.

The covenant between Jonathan, the son of King Saul, and David is recorded in First Samuel.

As soon as he [David] had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. And Saul took him that day and would not let him return to his father’s house. Then Jonathan made a covenant with David, because he loved him as his own soul. And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was on him and gave it to David, and his armor, and even his sword and his bow and his belt. And David went out and was successful wherever Saul sent him, so that Saul set him over the men of war. And this was good in the sight of all the people and also in the sight of Saul’s servants.     (1 Samuel 18:1-5 ESV)

There is much to be seen in this act of love between Jonathan and David. The knitting of their souls translated literally says “The soul of Jonathan bound itself to the soul of David.” The NIV renders this as “became one in spirit with”.  It goes on to say that Jonathan loved David as his own soul.

The phrase “made a covenant” is literally “cut a covenant” and implies the mingling of their blood.

Jonathan further demonstrates his love for David as he gives David his royal robe.  David is symbolically “putting on” Jonathan, with his identity and royalty now covering him.  In essence, the two have become one person.

In giving David his armor and weapons, Jonathan pledges to protect David.  Jonathan defended David, even before his own father.  To attack either party in a covenant is to attack both parties, as they are now essentially one person.

This new relationship now means that they will no longer live for themselves, but that they will live for each other.  There is a surrender of self-interest.  Jonathan even gives up his right to be king!

The Apostle Paul writes in Galatians that we put on spiritual royal garments when we enter into the everlasting covenant of Jesus Christ:

for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.     (Galatians 3:26-29 ESV)

In Philippians, Paul writes:

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.     (Philippians 2:5-8 ESV)

Jesus Christ “put on” humanity so we could “put on” divinity.  Jesus switched the robes!

Because Christ switched the robes, we can now fellowship with Him personally and spiritually as He now dwells in us. He has cut a covenant with us, becoming a blood brother with us before His Father. He has clothed us in royal robes and has given us a new identity!

As Paul wrote, let us put on the same attitude as that of Christ Jesus.