The perfect formula for God.

By Jon Acuff at Stuff Christians Like Blog. If you haven't visited his site, it is worth a read. Hilarious and inspired.

God keeps refusing to fit into my formulas for him.

Just when I think I’ve got him figured out, he throws a curveball.

For years, I’ve secretly believed that if I do my quiet times the “right way,” God will be happy with me and bless me and not smite me.

What’s the right way? What’s the recipe for a quiet time that “counts.” I’ll tell you:

30 minutes of prayer
Smidge of writing in a moleskine notebook
At least three pages of Bible reading

Debate all you want about the moleskine, but I’m pretty sure the book of Joel specifically mentions those notebooks are extra holy.

I used to set my timer on my iPhone to 30 minutes, sit down and then try to get my quiet time on. If for whatever reason I could only grab 15 minutes that day, I felt like God was 50% less happy with me. If I missed an entire day, I imagined he was picking out the right lightning bolt to get me with like a golfer picking a club.

My formula was:
“10 minutes of prayer + 10 minutes of writing + 10 minutes of Bible reading = Happy God.”

That sounds so silly when you write it out. That God’s heart is controlled by how I spend my morning is ridiculous, but I honestly thought that. That was my formula and for years I held on to it.

But the more you actually read the Bible, the more difficult it is to hold onto formulas about God. Especially when it comes to the thief on the cross.

Remember that guy? You should. Every time you mutate James’ “faith without works is dead” into “works equals salvation,” you should think about the thief on the cross.

He makes a brief, but spectacular, cameo in Luke 23. As Christ hangs on the cross, the two thieves next to him have a conversation:
One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself and us!”

The first criminal tried to use a formula on Christ. Here’s what he was saying:
“The power of God + Threat of a brutal death = Get down off the cross.”

I understand what he was saying. Why would you suffer the worst possible death if you had the power
not to? That is so illogical.

The second thief responds to the first:
But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”

He uses a formula too:
“Criminal deeds + justice = death on a cross.”

They were getting what they deserved. The formula for that one was easy. He continues speaking:
“We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.” Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”

That’s his second formula. He’s saying:
“The innocence of Christ + justice = freedom from the cross.”

By all forms of earthly logic, it made no sense for Christ to be on that cross. We are criminals. We are exactly where we should be. This man hanging next to us, is not.

What does Christ say in that moment? When formulas are flying? When formulas are ruling the conversation? When formulas are loud? He breaks them all.

Jesus answered him, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.”

Jesus Christ is the formula killer. He won’t behave according to our formulas. He won’t fit into our incredibly tiny expectations. He refuses to be controlled by our logic.

How do we know? Because the thief didn’t get off the cross in order to pay for his grace. The thief didn’t climb down and have the right types of quiet time. He didn’t volunteer for 14 activities at his church that year. He didn’t join a small group.

All he did was bump into Christ and receive grace.

At some point, a voice of doubt, the voice of the enemy, the voice of fear is going to try to tell you that you’re not a good enough Christian. That there’s a formula to God. That if you’d just try harder to be perfect and quit messing up, maybe, just maybe you’ll be good enough.

But when you hear that voice, think of the thief, think of Christ, and think of grace.

Question:
Have you ever thought you’re not a “good enough” Christian?