david bazan (of pedro the lion)

why do i always forget this part?

Ultimately, and what Paul says is, “the law was given to bring death so that we might see our need for Christ.” That very thing that was kind of wired into the way things work, is what ultimately would cause our death. And yet, we cling to reaping and sowing as our means of preserving ourselves because it’s something we can have control over and it’s something we can take credit for when we’re successful, temporarily, with it.
You have people who are concerned with their rights. There is a phenomenon that we’re all pretty aware of in this country, [which] is considered entitlement. You feel entitled to certain things, you feel like you’ve earned certain things, that you deserve certain things. And that’s all based on the law of reaping and sowing. We perceive that, because we’ve done this and this and this, we’re entitled to this and this and this. Again, reaping and sowing becomes our only means of self-preservation and all of that is done in rebellion to God because God’s message to us is that he created us and created us to be taken care of by him, that he would be our self-preservation.

Then comes in God’s pursuit of us, his plan to redeem us, and his love for us. The basic tenet is, somewhere along the line our failure [at reaching God through] reaping and sowing causes us to realize that we have been imprinted in that way, we do need God and yet he’s unattainable. So comes God approaching us on his terms, saying: “Here’s the story. I’m willing to substitute Jesus’ perfect success in reaping and sowing for your failure in reaping and sowing so that we can hang out, so that I can pour out my love to you and so that you can be full. All of these things that I meant for your good originally—which are still good, yet are ultimately torment to you because they’re only shadows of me and they only remind you of me and how much you need me—now these things will be redeemed to you.” The ability to reason, the ability to love, the ability to understand abstract beauty, the ability to pursue and accomplish some sense of temporal calling—all of these things previously were shadows of and reminders of God’s likeness in us and the very things that ultimately torment us and draw us to him. He then redeemed all of these things back to us. It’s in the context of a secure relationship with him, our Creator, and is not based on anything but his pursuit of us and our acceptance of this gift of Jesus’ success as a reaper and sower. In the Sermon on the Mount, [Jesus] said, “I haven’t come to do away with the law and the prophets, I’ve come to fulfill them,” and the implication is, “because you’re incapable of fulfilling them.” In the end, we have this undeserved access to the very thing that we longed for.
There’s another aspect of God’s pursuit of us that really appeals to another aspect of his likeness in us, which is this sense of romance and a sense of wanting to be loved and accepted. All the while, he’s the one who’s pursuing us. We didn’t just realize one day, “You know, I think I do need God. I’m going to go to him and try to figure this whole thing out.” We’re aware of God for no other reason than that he approaches us and he says, “Look at me, I’m what you want.”

And really, that’s the freedom that makes the creative process work the way that it really can and should because in that context, the fear of failure is kind of irrelevant. Failure on the temporal level and on the physical level is guaranteed, it’s absolutely certain. But, in the realm that really matters, in that thing we long for—our relationship with God remaining secure—failure in that arena, if we approach God on the basis of faith, is impossible. Our failure is hidden behind Jesus’ success. So there is no fear of failure anymore. Why be afraid of the inevitable when it’s been taken care of? It’s as though your failure doesn’t exist. So we’re able to move forward in a way that is totally free and liberated. And not alone, either, [because] God is constantly pursuing us and communicating his love to us in a way that is just thoroughly inspiring to love him in return.