An Awesome Atonement...

"He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world..."

-1 John 2 v 2

Sometimes we take things for granted. As always, the first sentence in one of my blogs is that of an ambiguous nature. But to me this statement has found a new depth within the past few weeks. I am certain that I have taken the love my parents have for me for granted. I know that I take the education that so many people around the world wish to have for granted. I know that I have taken for granted the basic food that I eat every day. And now the new revelation that I take for granted my nearest and dearest friends has been added to that list.

I am writing this in a broken state. Things have happened in the past few weeks that have turned my world upside down. To some people, they may see these issues as very minor. To me, they are of great importance.

The other thing that I have taken for granted is the work of Jesus. You may not think it, but I have. By growing up in a Christian home, there's a part of me who feels as if the work of Jesus is just an everyday occurrence. OK, that may have been a poor choice of words, but you get the idea. I've taken for granted just how much Jesus can actually do in my life. Saying that brings to me a lot of shame, to think that I've neglected His awesome power in such a way that it has broken me.

Out of all things that I have been struggling with is trust. Trust is a big thing. I think we can take it for granted too. Especially when it comes to Jesus. If I've learnt anything the past few weeks is that faith in Jesus can yield amazing things. I'm not taking about the limp-wristed kind of faith that you see so much of these days. I'm talking about pure, true, full and complete faith. Handing everything over to Jesus is probably one of the most, if not the most beneficial things we can do today. Its also one of the scariest things that we can do.

I don't think people realise just what complete faith in Jesus is, and I also don't think that people realise how scary it is. To let Jesus be in control of every aspect of your life...just think about that...granted, you aren't exactly going to consult with Him when you need to use the bathroom...God did give us brains to tell us those sort of things.

I'm talking about the issues outside of our own control. Finance, college, career paths, family life, church responsibility, relationships, friendships... to put all of these, and probably a lot more than that which is listed into His hands. We as humans want to be in control of everything, and so to surrender up all of our control in our lives is something that I don't think anyone fully understands.

I sound as if I have put my full faith in Christ, and while I'm a lot further on in putting my faith in Him, I haven't put my whole faith in Him. The prospect of someone in control of my life, of the plans for my future still boggles my mind to the point where I'm afraid to take that final step. Granted on occasion I have put my full faith in Him, but only until something has worked itself out, or until something goes in a completely different way to how I imagined it.

The odd thing is that, despite that fear, I think every one in the world wants to put their full faith in Christ. I know I desperately want to not worry about anything anymore because I know Jesus will look after it. I don't think that comes out of the fact that it is what God has asked of us, I think, for me personally, it comes out of love for Him, and a desire to leave everything in His hands.

And like I said earlier on, faith in Christ can bring great things. Through our love, faith and devotion to Him, God blesses us each in an unique way. I was going to focus more on the next few paragraphs, but rather I think I'll take the time to say something that has really been on my heart.

The question that was posed in the chapter of the book "Death by Love" that I am reading at the moment is the following; Who did Jesus die for? On a quick glance, my answer was that of probably a common answer, that He died for everyone. But upon reading through the chapter, I found that actually what I believed turned out to be something different. This chapter was extremely complex in its thinking, so I'll try and explain it as best I can.

There are 5 main views on who Jesus died for. The first two are ones that I shan’t deal with, but to let you know what they are, their names are "Universalism" and "Pelagianism" which are both considered heretic for what they believe. Then there are the next two views. The first is called "Unlimited Atonement," which believes that Jesus died for all sinners, that His work is applied to those who believe in Him, and that those who choose Him will go to heaven, while those who don’t follow sin into hell. The second of these views is "Limited Atonement," which states that Jesus died for the elect, that the atonement was for the elect only, and that God doesn’t need to save anyone from hell, but chooses to save some.

And any of the last two views are fine. But the view that I think makes the most sense to me is that of "Unlimited Limited Atonement." Sounds like a contradiction, but in fact, all throughout my life, I think it is what I have believed in. This view states that Jesus died to provide payment for all but only in a saving way for the elect, that while God desires the salvation of all, he applies the payment to the elect, and that God doesn’t need to save anyone from hell, but chooses to save the elect.

There are bound to be those of you who believe in either "Unlimited" or "Limited" Atonement. That is completely fine. Both are back up consistently through Scripture, but here I’m giving just a slightly different view. Here’s how Mark Driscoll has summed it up; Objectively, Jesus’ death was sufficient to save anyone, and subjectively, His death was only efficient enough to save those who believe in Him and repent of their sin. While it does sound like I am saying that through that statement, there’s no point for evangelisation. On the contrary, we have no idea who God has chosen as His elect, so this gives a great opportunity to reach out to our peers and friends, and see if they too are the elect.

And that’s what I had planned to talk about. But instead, I want to talk about you guys…and by that, I mean my friends. The next few paragraphs are probably going to be the most cheesy pieces of writing my brain has ever conceived, and yet, these words need to be said.
My life so far has been full of sorrow. For my entire primary school teaching, I was severely bullied. Every single day for 8 years, all that I had to look forward to in school was a barrage of torture. I’m not trying to say that my life has been the hardest, but for the next few paragraphs, I need you to understand why I’m not so sociable. People are probably reading this and thinking "Phil, not sociable?" But its true. I can be very awkward most of the time. And if you say other wise, then I know you’re lying, because I have noticed this ever since I was a wee lad.

I’m not a sociable person. I don’t go out to parties, or stay up late with friends every evening. I’m lucky to get up to see my friends once a month. And even at that stage, I always have this feeling that I’m kinda like a third wheel…its because of how I’ve grown up, and its more than likely just my nature. When I moved to Drogheda Grammar, I was so excited to hear in out CU about Ovoca. But even there, at my very first camp ever, I was so afraid that I went home a day early. I was so desperate for people. The odd thing is that, despite not being a sociable person, I thrive on interaction with people. I’m desperate to be around my friends as much as possible.

It was the summer of 2006, and it was then that I finally started to pray the prayer that I wanted to pray for so long; I prayed that God would give me a friend, not just an acquaintance, but a true friend, someone who I could share anything with, someone I could trust completely. I talked earlier on about how putting our faith in Jesus can yield tremendous blessings, and this too would be the case that year.

I walked into my very first GAP camp with very few friends. I walked out with another 10. It seemed as if God had answered my prayer, and yet that was only the tip of the iceberg.

The friends I had made in GAP 06, while they were amazing, and some of which have become really good friends, the majority of them were the acquaintances that were not what I was looking for. It was the next year, GAP 07, where the friends that I had always longed for, finally came. I was pondering whether or not I should include names, but I think I shall. Don’t fret if your name is not on the list, I love you guys just as much, and I would be delighted to one day have a list with you on it.

This is to you, Lorcan, Damo, Mike, Bernard, Phili, Leanne, Ali, Edel, Nicole, Jane and Cat. You are the friends that I have always dreamed off, and I thank God everyday for Him giving me your friendship. Words cannot describe the joy I feel whenever I think of you, and the immense honour it is that you would even consider me your friend. Like I said, I thank Jesus everyday for you, and the new way that I have come to praise Him is to be the best friend that I can to each one of you, even if it means choosing you over my own life. I write this broken, and yet joyous for the friendship I have in each of you. I pray with all my heart that these years will be only the beginning, and that we may share the rest of our lives together, friends till the end…