Easter 32 The Resurrection and Attitude

[HKHaugan]

Since we have talked about mission it's really necessary to recognize what affects the way we undertake our mission. It's our attitude. Attitude is a reflection of the heart. It is comprised of the invisible conclusions about who we are, who other people are and the way we choose to exhibit those conclusions. The problem too is that our conclusions are usually reinforced with emotions. And people pick those up fairly quickly. So we need to look at the roots of our attitude. Where they begin is in the mind where we draw those conclusions. For most people they remain hidden but constitute behavior that will inevitably be seen. They can be understood in terms of the biases and prejudices we have chosen to follow based on our past personal experience. The Bible calls them strongholds (2Cor.10:4-5).

Attitude is a spiritual reality because it involves belief. We believe we have a reason for what we think and do. Our minds spend a lot of time justifying why we draw a conclusion, the trust we have in it and how we express it. It is something we live with all the time. Attitude is who we believe we really are inside, who and what other people are all about and about the world in general. Attitude is all about how we interpret life and the way we live it.

Attitude is a multiplex of strong to weak conclusions that can be measured by the emotions invested in them. One can 'feel strongly' and be willing to 'die in the ditch' of a conclusion like “No kid of mine is going to have long hair” or a weaker one like “I may not like it but he's just going through a phase he'll grow out of.” The first may result in a child's increasing rebellion or grudging obedience. The second could end up with worse behavior or growing maturity. You don't know. You trust either in an aggressive or passive approach which is shaped by a number of influences along the way like parental and social conditioning. Notice here that it was the choices we made about our past conditioning that structured who we are attitudinally.

As disciples of Jesus we know Scripture informs us that all of what we have become in the world is governed by the spiritual condition of our heart. Attitude before Jesus came was solely influenced by sin and its fear ridden self-centeredness. Every next moment was approached based on what would get us socially and materially acceptable in that moment. Social marketability being the goal, we were driven by the fear of failure and the need to 'fit in.' We were socially and materially dependent not spiritually dependent.

In Jesus something new happened. Our attitude of self-reliance was challenged from within because the Holy Spirit was getting us to look at the way Jesus approached life and compare where we are with Him. Paul found out his attitude was full of hate and its justification was based on religion and its lack of fulfillment in his heart. After Jesus confronted him that 'something new' engaged his heart and he wrote this, “Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus who being in very nature God did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made Himself nothing taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man He humbled Himself and became obedient to death, even death on a cross (Php.2:5-8).” Jesus made this very clear when He said, “For I have come down from Heaven not to do my will but to do the will of Him who sent me (Jn.6:38).”

What Jesus did was to use every next moment to do His Father's will. That was His attitude, complete submission to His Father. It's the attitude He died to give us and rose to prove it. It's His attitude that transforms us by submitting every next moment to His presence as the Holy Spirit brings His words to bear on our heart through Scripture. His was a singular attitude that is always looked forward to what every next moment brought so He could reveal His Father's will. It was a faith attitude that looked ahead. He was always on the ready. Think of His raising Lazarus from the dead. He heard the news. He didn't go right away. He waited and then went 4 days later. He was obeying His Father's will. Why can only be surmised but look what happened. He had to face unpleasantness from Lazarus' family, questions from His disciples and the general hostility of the religious authorities. Yet being obedient to His Father's will, was it not more effective in showing the love and power of Jesus, the love and power of the Father and the Holy Spirit as well as the spiritual power of our Trinity God?

4 days, Lazarus' body wreaked of death, the grave clothes were stuck to his body, he was gone, the social atmosphere was one of depressed hostility, disillusionment, mourning and grief. In the midst of this darkened atmosphere of despair Jesus called Lazarus forth. It was Jesus' next moment and it was the next moment for all present including the dead Lazarus. Jesus wept tears of love. In that moment of faith, Jesus' special faith, he called Lazarus to come forth. Lazarus answered His call and rose to be the living example of Jesus' power over life and death.

It was Jesus' perfect attitude, His Father before Himself, His Spirit yielded consistently as the Father willed and then through the faith of Jesus, raised Lazarus. If there ever was a picture of the equality of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit complete in unity, it was in this miracle. This miracle says so much more but for right now it was Jesus' faithful attitude that set the stage for how we approach every next moment in spite of our surrounding circumstances. It's letting Him be central. It's by our faithful attitude in Him, an attitude we let Him shape in us, the only attitude we need. Now we are prepared for our mission.