A Few Random Thoughts

It's the end of April, almost a full week after we have celebrated Jesus' resurrection.  So today I thought I would just throw a few random thoughts out here and see what may come of them.

• I've come to the conclusion that I am the kind of person that does not like to simply take someone's word for something.  Instead, I like to dig into whatever it may be, especially when it comes to faith matters.  If someone tells me 'this is the way it is', I want to know how they arrived at that conclusion.  I want to know what other possibilities there are.  Are there parts of what the Bible says that may not completely agree with what they think, and how do they reconcile that?  And I have noticed that I extend that even to matters that have been written down and studied for centuries.  I know that some may think that I am questioning the faith, but the reality is, I want to do the study and make sure that I come to the same conclusions.  I really feel that it deepens my faith, but also allows me to better understand the topic under question, and allows me to then better address people's questions, since I have likely already asked the same question.
• When Jesus says let your yes be yes and your no be no, I realize that I wish we as humans could really be that transparent.  I know that there is usually a question behind the question that I get asked, and I realize that people are often trying to discover how safe it is to ask their real question by asking another one that gauges how well I will answer.  It just seems somewhat deceitful to me to ask a question or make a statement when you are really trying to get at something else.  And the other side of that coin is that I feel flabbergasted when someone assumes that I'm implying something other than what I say.  I really do try to be upfront and state clearly what I am looking for, or thinking, or asking, and not trying to cause people to have to infer what I am saying.  Let yes be yes, let no be no.
• One area that I have discovered that I could benefit from growing in is in showing appreciation toward others.  I recognize that this is not really one of those deep theological matters, but yet, as I have been practicing this more over the past few years, I realize that a good, kind, encouraging word can often boost a weary spirit or help others to see how someone benefits the whole body of Christ.  I know that some see intentional efforts to appreciate others as phony, but I would rather have it come across that way instead of people never feeling appreciated.
• As I have been writing the various "Tension and Faith" posts, I've been led to think about where I tend to fall in each of those tensions.  I have come to realize that I not only swing widely in them from time to time, but from situation to situation as well.  I have come to believe that we often do not spend enough time in reflection to really think about why we believe what we believe, and how that impacts how we come across to others.

Thanks for listening to my rumblings and perusings.  Feel free to chime in if you agree, disagree, have questions, or have rebuttals.

Faith and Tension: Rest and Work

One of Jesus' more popular sayings is recorded in Matthew 11:28-30.  There, He invites the weary to come to Him for rest, and to take His easy yoke (which I think of as forgiveness and hope) upon us.  There we see the heart of God, who wants us to find our Sabbath rest in Him, and not merely in a day away from working for ourselves to focus on God.

But then, we have Jesus telling us other things, such as taking up our cross and following Him (Matthew 16:24-26).  He indicates on a number of different occasions that His followers are to count the cost of following Him (Luke 14:25-33).  So it makes it sound as though being a follower of Jesus is not one of mere rest, but of active following, of living our our lives as Christ-followers, and knowing that it will require a cost on our part.

This tension is a difficult one to balance in our lives.  We may find it challenging to both rest in His promise of rest in the forgiveness of sin and the assurance of life, and yet, to be actively living out our life of faith.  We may find that there are times where we are really involved in activity for God and His people and the people of the world, and then that there are times where we want nothing more than to simply rest in Him.

I would suggest that we would benefit greatly if we found out how to balance these matters more frequently in our life, rather than resting once we have become burnt out.  We tend to swing between the extremes, when it would seem that if we would simply keep a more firm balance regularly, we would be able to both rest more frequently and be very active in our lives of service.

Do you find that you have a tendency toward one extreme or the other?  How do you work to maintain a balance in your rest in Jesus and in the cost of following Him?

Faith and Tension: Proof and Faith

Yesterday I introduced a bit on the topic of proof and faith.  Today, I want to take a look at how we often call for faith on things that can, in reality, have a foundation of proof, and then, how we look for proof at things that we can only take on faith.

Perhaps one of the worst examples of taking something on faith that can actually be proven tends not so much to be matters of faith, but simply, what we believe the Bible teaches about certain things.  I have noticed that people tend to come to me with questions, and I find it really easy to simply tell them "this is what the Bible says and teaches."  And yet, what I do when I answer in that way is to have a person take something on faith that can actually be proven. 

I know we now live in a time where knowledge of the Bible is not very great.  For example, after Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, did you know that the Pharisees plotted to put Lazarus to death?  I'm always amazed at how many people don't know that.  What this points out is that, to some degree, we do have to take the word of those who make it their life's effort to study and know God's Word. 

Yet, I also wonder if that doesn't do a disservice to God's people.  Rather than take the word of someone else, this is actually something that they can look up, which they can find the "proof" of for themselves.  I have found myself more and more directing people to relevant places in the Bible so that they can discover the proof, and to have it stick with them a bit more.

The other side of that coin is looking for proof in matters that simply must be taken on faith.  We as humans have a tendency to look for signs telling us how God is disposed toward us.  If things go well, we tend to think that this is proof that we're good with Him, and if things are bad, we must have done something wrong.  Yet, this kind of "proof" is awfully misleading.  What if God is trying to teach you how to persevere through some situation rather than just make it nice and easy?  Or what if Satan really wants you to think that the easy road is God's way, when it is leading away from God in reality?  Looking for "proof" in such matters often contradicts our belief that God can work and bring good out of any and every situation.

Believe me, there are a lot of different scenarios I can paint on this topic.  These two are simply to help you think about the proper roles of faith and proof. 

Faith and Tension: Proof and Faith

If I told you that I saw a two-headed hummingbird yesterday, would you believe me?  Perhaps not.  After all, nothing in your life experience has prepared you to believe that a two-headed hummingbird exists.  You might think I was crazy, or perhaps had a little too much of the sacramental wine.

But then, what if you ran into two other people who said that they saw the same bird?  They could describe how it looked, and it looked remarkably similar to the one that I had told you about.  Sure, they may have seen it in a different location, but now you suddenly have more than one person who has seen something.  Do you believe it yet?

What if, two months from now, you also have another person tell you that they have seen this two-headed hummingbird?  You still haven't seen it, and nothing in your life experience tells you that such a thing exists.  Now, however, you have heard from three people who saw it in a relatively close location and time, and then from another person at a different location, and at a significantly different time.  What is your thought on the two-headed hummingbird now?  Remember, you still haven't seen it. 

The obvious correlation here is with the resurrection of Jesus.  But we could also extend this to His miracles, and how God has worked in the world at various times.  But because we are a people who have been taught by the principles that come from the age of the Enlightenment, we're conditioned to believe that proof is needed in order to believe something.  If something cannot be proven, then it simply cannot have taken place.

Yet, in recent years, a new line of thinking has started to emerge from this "Enlightenment" kind of thinking.  It is the realization that not everything can be explained or proven.  While there is still a reluctance to make the connection to a personal God who has authority over all things, it has also come to people's attention that not everything can be explained or proven, and that there always seem to be exceptions to what seemed to be a hard and fast "rule".

There are things about our faith that will always be taken on faith.  Jesus resurrecting Himself from the dead will be one of those, as will be His taking the guilt and shame of our sin upon Himself.  Nothing will ever "prove" those things.  Yet, when we see the scope of God's Word, how His servant would suffer and die as Jesus did, and as God ties the bearing of sin to His servant, the proof is that there is one who would undergo such things.  Jesus underwent exactly what was foresaid.  And since we see that fulfillment in Him, exactly as was told ahead of time, our faith is that Jesus did what He said, and took our sin and guilt upon Himself.

Likewise, there were quite a few eyewitnesses of the resurrected Jesus.  If it were only one or two people, we might not take their word as proof.  But the more people who witnessed the resurrected Jesus, in different places, and over a period of about a month and half, lent more credence to the fact that He did what He said.  While we can never "prove" the resurrection, we can believe the proof of those who did see that.

There are always some things that we will have to take on faith, that we can never "prove".  Yet, the more these are corroborated by other things that can be proven, the greater the foundation for those things that we cannot prove.  Tomorrow I will write a bit about how we can have a tendency to stress faith for things that can be proven, and ask for proof for things that we simply need to have faith on.  But in the meantime, I would love to hear your thoughts on the tension between faith and proof.

Tensions and Faith: The Spirit or the Letter of the Law

Now that we have journeyed to the cross and the empty tomb with Jesus, I want to get back to the line of thinking I had before Holy Week.  You may recall that I was presenting a number of different areas where we may find tensions in our faith life (tensions like knowing vs. believing, interacting with culture vs. being different from culture).  I would like to pick up a few more of these to sound out my thoughts on them, and as always, I welcome your thoughts on them.

You are driving down the road and come to a school crossing.  The flashing lights tell you that you must slow down to 20 MPH as you go through the zone.  You're in a hurry, so you try to see if you can get by with going 28, only to find that the officer is actually at that zone that day and caught you.

Maybe we haven't personally done that, but maybe we have seen it done.  This scene sets the stage for my thoughts on the spirit of the law and the letter of the law, with the law instead being God's Law.  We likely know the Ten Commandments (I would argue that instructions would be a better translation, but I'm not here to argue with Bible translators).  They seem pretty cut and dried.  Do this, or don't do this. 

Then, we hear Jesus' words in places like Matthew 5:21-42.  Here, Jesus points out that keeping the law goes beyond merely doing the actions or not doing the actions.  There is a level of intent which God looks at.  We see this also in another place, in Matthew 23:23, that Jesus speaks to the scribes and Pharisees, saying that they had been neglecting justice even though they had been diligent in their tithes.  Then, He gives this very interesting statement: "These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others."

I often hear arguments about how Jesus doesn't look so much at our outward keeping of the law, but at how we obey the spirit of God's law.  I have also heard the argument that we should strive to our utmost to outwardly keep the law perfectly.  Truth be told, I believe that most of us have a tendency toward one side or the other in this.

Going back to the school crossing earlier in the post: do we slow down because the law says, or because our intent is to show the children crossing there that we care enough for them by slowing down to safe speeds to keep them safe?  I believe Jesus would say the same thing as what I just quoted above.  You do it for both reasons.  If you outwardly keep the law, but couldn't care less for the children as they cross, you are not demonstrating love for your neighbor, and are not keeping with the spirit of the law.  If you keep with the spirit of the law, but believe that you have a better ability to control your car than most, so you can go faster, you are not keeping the letter of the law. 

I believe that God intends for us to keep both the spirit and the letter of the law, and to do so perfectly.  However, I also believe that there is not a single one of us who can do this, which is why we find ourselves wrestling so much over this matter, and why it will continue to be a tension in our faith life.

Easter's done, now what?

The authors of the accounts of Jesus' life would probably not be considered great biographers by today's standard.  When you consider that the longest account of Jesus' life is a mere 28 chapters long (Matthew's), it doesn't seem like they spent a lot of time digging into the rich details of Jesus' life.  A few scattered stories, teachings, and miracles, and then a bit of time looking at Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection, and that's about all that we are told.

Today, a person's biography may be several hundred pages thick.  It contains detailed accounts of what happened in that person's life.  It may even include specific notes or quotes that the person made or wrote.  Anything less would seem inadequate to describe their life.

When we look at Jesus' life after the resurrection, we also find that it may seem a bit incomplete.  Jesus continued among His disciples for 40 days after His resurrection, yet we are also told remarkably little about that.  The Gospel writer John hints that Jesus did quite a bit during this time (John 20:30-31), but in terms of actual stories, we don't get a whole lot.

In some ways, that's how life can be after we celebrate Easter, too.  As Christians, we celebrate our big holy day, and then what?  I can almost guarantee that attendance in most churches will drop significantly next Sunday as compared to yesterday.  The focus of many people will turn from Easter to the end of school, the planning of summer vacations and trips, and other distractions of life.

Yet, the reason we Christians believe what we believe is because there was still a great deal to accomplish once the great Easter Event had taken place.  On the cross, Jesus had taken the sins of the world into oblivion, so that their guilt cannot come between us and God.  In His resurrection, Jesus conquered death and the grave so that we can have life. 

Jesus accomplished much, so much more than what we can imagine.  But one thing yet remained.  That story needed to be told to the world so that all would know what God had done for them.  Yes, Jesus alone had accomplished what no other could.  But without that story being told, He might as well have not even done it.

Easter's done.  Now what?  Now you and I have the joy and privilege of telling that story in our lives, with those with whom God causes us to come into contact with.  We don't have to travel to far lands to be missionaries.  In fact, we are missionaries to the people next door, and across the street, and in the grocery store, and at the bank.  Every person who does not yet know and believe that Jesus did great things for them is someone who needs a missionary in their life.

Easter's done.  Now what?  Now find someone to tell the story to.  They need what Jesus did just as much as you and I do.

Holy Week: Easter

The central component of the Christian faith is that of Jesus rising from the dead.  In the history of the world, there has never been any other person who could claim to have raised Himself from the dead.  The words which Jesus had spoken, "No one takes my life from me, but I lay it down of my own accord, and if I lay it down, I have authority to take it up again" are proven true as Jesus rose from the grave.  Unlike Lazarus, no one was standing outside the tomb, calling for Jesus to come out.  In fact, with guards in place, stones rolled over the entrance and sealed, it seemed rather that everyone was determined to make sure that Jesus was dead and gone.

Yet, the first events of that morning likely served to only deepen the confusion surrounding Jesus than to bring clarity to what His life was about.  There was the earthquake as the angel moved the stone away from the entrance to the tomb, which apparently happened as the women approached the tomb early that morning.  The guards were terrified, and ended up running away, only to be told to say that the disciples had stolen the body (which happened to be the very thing that the guards had been put there to prevent).  Some of the disciples came to the tomb, after hearing from the women, but found it empty except for the grave cloths.  And only a couple of people, such as Mary Magdalene, had actually seen the resurrected Jesus.

It is interesting that the biblical accounts of that day don't really say a lot that happened until later that evening, then.  It's likely that the rumors began to circulate in the city, with the Jewish ruling leaders wanting to cast the blame for the empty tomb on the disciples.  Fearing the repercussions, they gathered together in a locked room, only to have Jesus show Himself to them.  He gave them proof of His life by eating with them, and preparing them for the new journey that they would be undertaking.  Jesus had come to forgive the sins of the world, and now they would be His messengers in that task.  He breathed the Holy Spirit upon them, and told them that He was sending them as the Father had sent Him.

If anything, the first Easter did not have the joy and fanfare that you likely have celebrated already today.  Confusion and fear seemed to be the most dominant things from that first day.  Yet, the events of that day have truly served to change the world.  After all, it's not every day that a man raises Himself from the dead.

Holy Week: Saturday

A majority of each of the accounts of Jesus' life spend a great deal of time describing the arrest, trial, and crucifixion of Jesus.  Each account spends multiple chapters on these events, and culminate with Jesus' body being taken down off the cross, quickly wrapped up, and placed in Joseph's nearby tomb.  The tomb was then sealed up, all of which would have taken place before 6:00PM, as that marked the beginning of the special Sabbath day for the Jewish people.

Since Saturday was the day of rest, or Sabbath, very little happened that day.  We are told that some guards came to keep watch over the tomb, as the Pharisees were afraid that the disciples would show up and steal the body, and then claim that Jesus had risen from the dead.  But other than that, we are not told of anything else that happened on that Saturday.

Yet, since we live on this side of the cross and know of the events that followed the next day, many Christians have adopted the tradition of holding a vigil on the Saturday of holy week.  It is a time typically spent in prayer, reflecting on what Jesus accomplished for us in His death, and then in His resurrection.  It is a day to pray for the people of the world to know their God and Savior, and to pray for the message that will resound throughout the world the following day, as God's people celebrate the resurrection of Jesus with much trumpeting and fanfare.

In a way, holy Saturday can almost seem like we are holding our breath, simply waiting to let out the great triumphant shout that Jesus has risen, and that the foundation for our hope and faith has been secured.  May that same hope reside with you as we observe this holy Saturday.

Holy Week: Friday

How do you kill an immortal?

That is perhaps the most relevant question that faces Christians today.  I know that my study of the Bible has led to greater understanding of the meaning of this Friday that we call "Good", and in many ways, that has helped me truly understand better the depth of what really took place on that cross that Friday on the outskirts of Jerusalem.  An immortal, God Himself in human flesh, died.  How can God die?

Jesus Himself told about how it would happen.  "No one takes my life from me; I give it up of my own accord."  That's the essential meaning behind it.  Nothing can kill one who is immortal.  No amount of flogging or time spent up on a cross could do it.  No deprivation of water or food could do it.  (And on a side note, think how silly Satan looked, then, when he tried to tempt Jesus to change stones into bread in the desert.  As though Jesus could starve to death.)  That's just the thing.  An immortal cannot be killed.

The only way for an immortal one to lose his life is to give it up of his own accord.  "I will lay down my life, and I have authority to take it back."  The fact that this particular immortal, Immanuel, God with us, would not only give up His life, but carry our sin and the weight of the curse of the world on Himself is not an act of defeat, but instead, one of triumphant victory.

That's why Friday of Holy Week is "good."  The one and only immortal One to walk this earth did the most powerful and loving action possible.  The immortal God lay down His life for His beloved creation, so that everything broken in it would die, and it could be raised to new life.  Have a very "Good Friday."

Holy Week: Maundy Thursday

One of the questions I seem to get asked every year is why Holy Thursday is called Maundy Thursdays.  This traditional name derives from Jesus' mandate to the disciples after He had washed their feet at the Passover table.  In John 13:1-15, Jesus washes their feet, and then asks if they understood what He had done.  His example of serving His disciples is one that all of His followers are to follow, looking for ways to serve each other.

However, this is only part of what happened that Thursday as Jesus celebrated the Passover.  This special celebration was a time for the Jewish people to remember how the LORD had freed them from Egypt.  Part of this remembrance was a meal which the LORD had instructed them to eat each year.  They ate unleavened bread (without yeast) because of the haste in which they departed Egypt.  They ate a roasted lamb, whose blood covered their doorways, thus causing the Angel of Death to pass over them.  They were to teach this meal and the meaning behind it to their children, and to observe it for generations to come.

This is the meal that Jesus celebrated with His disciples.  Only, this time, Jesus showed how the LORD had prepared for an even greater exodus, an even greater way of serving His people.  This time, Jesus would take the bread and announce that it was His very body, which would be broken for them.  They would now receive the flesh of the Lamb of sacrifice in the bread, and that would bring them Jesus' gift of forgiveness.

In the same way, Jesus took the cup after the meal, and as the disciples drank it, He told them that this cup was now His blood.  The blood of the Lamb would cover His followers, thus allowing eternal death to pass over them.  In addition, God was lifting a restriction He had placed on His people much earlier.  In Leviticus 17:10-17, God expressly forbade the consuming of blood, as it contains the very life of the creature.  Now, in the cup which Jesus would give, the eternal, perfect life of God would be consumed by His people, bringing them that same gift of life.

What we truly see in the Passover, and then, in the celebration of Jesus' body and blood, is that the LORD is a God who serves His people.  In washing their feet, Jesus paints a picture of how He washes all His people, through baptism and through faith.  In giving His body and blood, Jesus serves as He gives the very means of forgiveness to those who receive.  What a great gift from a God who truly seeks to serve His people.

Holy Week: Wednesday: Doom and Gloom

As we continue walking through Holy Week, and joining Jesus on His journey to the cross, we are reminded that the Gospel accounts weren't written to tell us a day by day, this is what Jesus did kind of thing.  Instead, they were written to convey a message of what Jesus had accomplished in His life, His death, and His resurrection.  Thus, we have only a few things that we know happened on certain days during that last week in Jerusalem.

Today, I want to focus for a few moments on some of Jesus' words which can seem rather gloom and doom-ish (okay, maybe I just made up that word, but I like to make up words!).  If you read through Matthew chapters 24 and 25, you get a fairly significant set of sayings of Jesus, especially which tell of the time when He would re-appear to judge the world and claim His own. 

Now, as you read through these two chapters, it can seem that Jesus is a bit of a gloom and doom kind of guy.  Wars, rumors of wars, famines, plagues, destruction, false prophets, and judgment are all things that we tend to find rather depressing.  Yet, Jesus prepares us to realize that these will be constant in the world that we live in.  In fact, as we get closer to the time when He re-appears, He seems to indicate that such things will get worse and worse.

In a way, Jesus isn't telling us these things so that we can know the details of when He will re-appear.  Instead, He is giving the reminder that we need to always be ready, since He can re-appear at any time.  That's the meaning behind the parable of the virgins and the parable of the talents.  Some were caught unaware and unprepared, and faced the consequences.  Others were ready, and so were welcomed into His kingdom.  Rather than giving us a timeline, Jesus gives a warning: Be ready, and always be ready.

As you think about Jesus and His death and resurrection for you, how ready are you for His reappearance?  How do you remain vigilant, knowing that He can re-appear at any time?

Holy Week: Tuesday

Did you ever have story-time when you were growing up?  Maybe it was a time when your parents or teachers read stories to you, or when you picked up books and would read about the exciting tales and adventures from places that only our minds could ever come up with.  Story time was a time filled with joy, and typically, it seems that there was always some kind of point to the story that you were supposed to learn.

We're not told which particular days of the week on which Jesus spoke particular things during that week leading up to the crucifixion.  But one of the things that Jesus did was to tell stories.  Not just random, made up stories, but stories with a purpose and meaning.  He would tell the story of a group of people who rented out a vineyard, but refused to pay their rent to the landowner.  They beat his servants and even killed a few of them, causing the owner to send his own son.  Then, the renters conspired against the son, thinking that they would get to keep the inheritance for themselves if he were no longer in the picture.  (Read Luke 20:9-18 for this particular story.)

Jesus loved to tell stories.  They would describe God's kingdom or what He came to do, but would do so in a way to make people think about what He said and arrive at their own conclusions, even if they didn't like those conclusions.  Take the story above.  The religious leaders didn't like what Jesus was saying because they understood that He was saying that they were the renters and were scheming against God's Son.  In the verses right after that story, it says that they got angry and really started looking for ways to get rid of Jesus.

Stories are powerful.  Jesus told powerful stories, talking about who He is, what He came to do, and why He did what He did.  Overall, the whole Bible tells the story of God and His interaction with a broken, fallen, sinful world.  God's point: that He loves that creation and wants to make it new, and did so through Jesus and the cross.

Holy Week: Holy Monday

If you read through the four accounts of Jesus' life, you will find that there is a great deal of each account dedicated to what Christians now observe as Holy Week.  For example, Jesus entered into Jerusalem in Matthew's Gospel in chapter 21, which means that 25% of his account of Jesus' life is dedicated to Holy Week.  The same is roughly found in the other three accounts, with perhaps the largest amount of time in John's Gospel, where Jesus enters Jerusalem in chapter 12 of 21 chapters, almost half.

Yet, if you were to look through those same readings, you will not find it written in a "Here's what happened on Monday" kind of way.  Instead, what you would find is that Jesus spent a great deal of this time teaching.  Some of this time was simply spent out teaching in public, such as what you would find in Matthew 23:1-36.  At other times, He taught His disciples, such as all of Matthew 24 and 25.  While He would stay at Bethany, a nearby town, during the night, He made His way back into Jerusalem each day to continue to speak God's Word faithfully and truly to the people.

Over the next couple of days, we'll take a look at some of what Jesus taught, who it was directed toward, and why He may have said what He did.  For today, you may want to read Matthew 21:18-22 to get a small idea of what likely took place that Monday as Jesus journeyed to the cross.

Holy Week: A Journey With Jesus

Today is a special day in many Christian circles.  It's a day that's come to be known as Palm Sunday, the day when Jesus entered into Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover, and to institute a new Passover for all who would believe in Him.  Starting today, and going through the next week, I'll pause from my Faith and Tension series to look at the events of this holiest of weeks for Christians.

On Palm Sunday, Jesus began to make His way to Jerusalem with His disciples.  As He started riding in, there were a great number of people who were traveling, either with Him, or approaching the city around the same time.  Many of them recognized Jesus as the man who had been teaching about God, the man who had healed quite a few, and had performed a number of miracles.

In order to show their honor for this man, whom they also believed to be a prophet of God, they began to cut down the branches from the trees and lay them in front of Him.  Some even took to putting their cloaks down on the road, a symbolic gesture much like what you would do in front of a king.  In fact, there is a good chance that these people saw Jesus going in to do something great, perhaps to throw out their Roman oppressors, and to bring a great victory for them.

Why this acclaim for Jesus?  They loved Him.  He had served them.  He had lived among them.  He had told them that God didn't want to punish them and make unreasonable demands, but that God loved them and wanted nothing more than to show His compassion to them.  He served them repeatedly, and therefore, Jesus was dearly loved by the crowds.

Their acknowledgment of that service was to praise Him as He made His way into Jerusalem.  Yet, it's very likely that not many knew what would transpire later on that week.

Faith and Tension: Community and Individuality

One of the challenges that we face in our faith, especially those of us who live in North America, is the balance in our individuality when it comes to our faith and the role of the community of fellow believers.  This presents yet another tension when we think about matters of faith.

In 1 Corinthians 13:12-27, Paul writes about the community of Christians, speaking of it as the body of Christ.  He writes about how each person is an individual member of it, and yet, those members do not exist apart from one another.  This presents a tension that we live with, and in truth, that has existed in God's people throughout their existence.

In North America, this presents a very interesting challenge when we think about faith matters.  We are taught from a very young age that our country is about personal freedom, personal choice, and that you, as an individual, can accomplish anything.  We even have a large number of sayings that describe how we should go it alone.  "If you want the job done right, do it yourself."   This one, and other expressions, become very ingrained, and eventually begin to creep into what we think and believe about God and His community.

That's where some of the things we read in the Bible present some real confusion for us.  We hear of people selling their property and holding everything in a common trust, and we wonder how that would be.  Jesus says that we are to serve others and put their needs equal to, or even, in some cases, above our own, and that goes against what we have been taught and know.  And so we struggle with our individuality and our communal nature in being Christians.

Perhaps you find yourself struggling with this particular aspect of your faith life.  There may be those in your faith community that you really don't get along with or agree with, and you find it easier to practice your faith without the community.  Or you may disagree with the organized nature that develops anytime more than a few people come together in community, so you decide to practice your faith without the community.  Biblically, this is unnatural, and does go contrary to what God desires of His people, and yet, we cannot deny the individual aspect of our faith.  You personally must believe.  You do not receive God's grace simply because you are part of the group, but through faith.

How do you find yourself leaning in this regard?  What tensions have you encountered in your individual faith and in practicing your faith with your fellow Christians?

Tension and Faith: Grace and God's Instructions or Commands

Okay, let's start today with a quick question.  Who here has never, ever, exceeded the speed limit at any time in their life?  (You can bet that my hand isn't raised!)  We think about things like speed limits more as suggestions, until that officer appears in the median or along the side street, radar gun at the ready.  And then, when he pulls us over, we really hope that he'll show some grace to us.

One of the tensions that we face in our faith life is the tension between doing what God says and realizing that our lives are lived completely in His grace.  God makes it clear in the Bible that we are to take what He says seriously.  He even outlined consequences at various times in the life of His people for when they would go against what He said.

Now, part of our trouble with this is a translation problem from one language to another.  A lot of what gets translated into English as "command" actually falls more in line with "instruction".  For example, when God gives Moses the ten writings on the stone tablets, they are God's instruction.  Yet, we often find that word translated as command, and so we tend to take what God says as the way He created us to live more as though it is "Do it God's way or hit the highway."

Yet, the one thing God makes clear is that we cannot do all of that perfectly, thanks to the sin and imperfection passed down from Adam and Eve.  We now live and receive good from God because He is gracious and loving toward us.  In our imperfection, we cannot do anything as He instructed anymore than a cracked jar can hold water.  We live completely by His grace, both now and forever.

 This places us in an interesting place.  We are to take God's commands/instructions seriously, and yet, we live completely by His grace.  To stress one is to take away from the other, which we are not supposed to do (and yes, I even noticed the leaning toward our "doing" in that last phrase).  Grace, and God's commands.  A necessary tension which we will never get exactly right as long as we live in this world.

Faith and Tension: Like the Culture, Separate from the Culture

Over the past century, I don't think anyone can deny that the world seems to have become a smaller place.  Not only have we had the creation of air travel, which makes it possible to get to practically any place on the globe in a day or so, but with the recent advent of the internet, now you can find out about people and how they live simply by typing them into your preferred search engine.

As Christians encounter different cultures, they also come across a strange tension.  We carry a message that truly is not bound by any particular culture.  All people of the world stand in need of God's love, but also the forgiveness Jesus offers through the cross.  This message isn't dependent upon the people group one belongs to, but truly is for all people, just as Jesus sent His disciples to all nations.

Yet, as that Christian faith comes into particular cultures, it quite often takes on the appearance of the culture.  The songs of praise and worship take on the flavor of the culture.  The expressions used to describe God's work are described in ways that are familiar to the local people.  The expressions of love and care "look" different from place to place, even though the attitude and reason behind them may be the same.

As Christians, we also realize that culture is in a constant state of change.  This presents an interesting tension for us.  How much do the expressions of faith change as the culture changes, and how much do we retain the roots of what we have known and loved, expressions which were appropriate for that time and place, but perhaps not so much for a different time and place?  And then, how do we ensure that the message doesn't change, even if the appearances and expressions change?

As I've pointed out in earlier posts, we tend to gravitate toward one end of the spectrum or the other.  Some advocate changing the expressions and tossing aside the old as the culture changes without reservation, though not without danger.  Others advocate maintaining the distinctiveness of the faith by holding on the expressions that have been "successful" before, again, not without danger.  One may fall too far into the cultural expression and lose the distinctiveness of the message, and the other may become disconnected from the culture and thus lose its desired hearers.

Where do you tend to fall on the spectrum?  How can understanding this necessary tension help you to seek out what may be the appropriate balance in a given time and place?

Tension and Faith: Trust and Planning

If you read two accounts from Jesus' life and sayings, you might get the idea that Jesus is a bit confused.  In Luke 14:25-32, Jesus talks about counting the cost of following Him, using two life examples of someone planning out what they are going to do to see if they have the means.  And throughout the Proverbs, we hear about the wisdom of planning and thinking things through before we act (such as Proverbs 12:8, 15:12, for a couple of examples).

But then, we come across Jesus' words in places like Matthew 6:25-34, where Jesus tells us that we don't have to be anxious about God's provision for us.  Jesus says that God will provide, and that we can trust in Him to take care of what we need in this life.  So, if we were to look at these two, it may seem as though Jesus is contradicting Himself.

However, it seems more likely that Jesus is describing one of the tensions we have in our faith life.  We are to trust in God for taking care of our needs of body and soul, and yet, we are also to be involved in planning out that care.  I have noticed how many Christians, uncomfortable living with tensions in life and faith matters, tend to find themselves at one extreme or the other.

On the one hand, there are those who want to know how things will work, how everything will be provided for, and to know all of this before they will venture down that particular road.  While taking God's desire for planning to heart, they also may leave little room for trusting in God to pour out even more than what they may hope for or desire.  They seek certainty and sureness before they act.

The other side of this coin are those who do not plan, but simply step out, saying that God will take care of everything and they don't need to worry about it.  God will be faithful, and will give what is needed, without any work or effort or planning on our part.  And yet, God may be providing a number of opportunities if only they would take a little action and plan out how things will happen, or look for the places that God may be presenting to supply their needs, if only they would look around and take action.

I cannot say where the "proper" tension is in this.  It's very likely that it is different for each person in each situation.  There may be times where God truly wants us to step out in faith, not knowing where He will provide and where it will come from.  There are probably other times that He wants us to take a more active role in planning things out, but to also recognize that we can trust in Him to do far more than what our plans may show or indicate. 

I would suggest that we find ourselves drifting toward one end of this spectrum or the other, and that it is helpful to take a step in the other direction every once in a while, simply as a reminder from God that He doesn't do things the same way every time.

Which end to you tend to fall toward?  How can you take a step and have God show that He also works from the other end of the spectrum?  How do you balance these out in your faith life?

Tension in Faith Matters: Justice and Grace

One of the critiques of the Bible is that it contradicts itself.  There are those who say that God can't seem to make up His mind.  On one hand, He'll say that He loves the whole world and doesn't desire for any to be apart from Him, but then, the other hand shows a God who does indeed declare condemnation upon people.  He spares the life of a widow's son from a distant nation while His chosen people suffer through famine.  And if we simply looked at each instance, we might come to the conclusion that God can't really make up His mind, or that the Bible does indeed contradict itself.

I would assert, however, that what may seem to be contradictions fall more into line of the tensions that we find in life and in faith.  We believe that God is both a God of undeserved love and of justice as well.  So, when we see God demonstrating justice, it will seem to go against His nature as a gracious God.  Likewise, we will see Him demonstrate His grace in a situation where we might feel justice is deserved (see John 8:1-11 for an example where God's people of Israel witnessed both). 

This is a tension we encounter, both in what we believe about God, and how we then live as disciples and followers of Jesus.  There are moments in life where grace is appropriate.  There are also moments where justice is called for.  Properly discerning which one is called for in that particular situation at that time is where we find our challenge and the tension that comes in our faith.

The reality is, the situation and the people involved typically will dictate how we respond.  And our response might be different for a different person.  That's what makes this discernment so difficult.  We may be tempted to confront when simply loving another person is called for, and we may try to be gracious when the person really needs to hear that they were wrong.  Grace and justice do not contradict each other, but merely represent two tensions that we will face as we live out our faith.

Grace and Justice

This week, I have talked about grace quite a bit.  We've looked at specific grace and general grace.  I have just a couple of random thoughts to close out the week.

Grace is giving someone something that they have not earned or deserved.  Sometimes this means providing something for them that they need, and at other times it involves our attitude toward them.  For example, we may give a meaningful, valuable gift to someone, knowing it's something they really way (first part of the previous sentence), or we give someone care, concern, or even love and compassion, even if their actions and words indicate that they should receive something else (our attitude).

And yet, as we read through the Bible, we also encounter a God who is a just God.  There are consequences to our actions, words, and choices in life, and not all of those consequences are ones filled with His grace.  For some, there was indeed a due price that came upon them.  This really is something we shouldn't be surprised at.  God is a God of justice.

So we find a tension in our faith, and in the practice of our faith.  When do we respond with grace, and when do we respond with justice?  Is it possible to respond with both at the same time?  How do we know which one is appropriate for a given situation?  Which one will bring about the desired end which God has in mind, of restoring that person to Himself?

Disconnected from the full knowledge of God's will here in the world, we will mess this up.  We will be gracious when justice was called for, and vice versa.  We will find ourselves gravitating toward one end of the spectrum more frequently than the other.  Since we are not Jesus or God, we simply cannot know perfectly what is the appropriate thing to do in every situation.

I'm planning to look more at some of these tensions in matters of our faith next week.  I hope you'll stick around and follow them, and chime in with any thoughts you may have along the way.

Unfamiliarity with Grace

Quick question: when was the last time someone gave you something of great value freely, without any expectation on your part, and it came as a surprise to you?  Tough question to answer?  Maybe, like me, you have a hard time answering that because it just doesn't happen very often.

There are lots of sayings that describe the lack of grace in our world.  "There's no such thing as a free lunch."  "What's the catch?"  As a society, we actually get really suspicious when someone offers to simply give us something with no strings attached.  If it's too good to be true, it probably isn't, right?

That same kind of thinking then enters our minds when we think about God's grace.  I've heard various reasons why God doesn't simply give His forgiveness or salvation freely from people.  Answers such as "If it's a free gift, then you don't value it."  This makes it seem as though the only things we value in life are the things that cost us quite a bit.  And from a human standpoint, that does seem to make sense.

But that's also where we need to take a look at the situation from God's point of view.  God did pay a very high, dear price to be able to give us His gift of grace (here I'm referencing His specific, salvation type of grace).  He paid the price with His own Son.  He gave His Son into the hands of people who would not believe in His words about God's grace, who would plot against Him, and finally, nail Him to a cross.  That price was multiplied when God Himself poured out all wrath at sin and wrongdoing upon His own Son as He hung there on the cross.

Grace, from God's point of view, is costly.  And because He chose to pay such a high price, He values that gift of grace very highly.  It isn't God's problem when we fail to value His gift of grace, it is ours.  It's that we so often fail to see the cost of that grace.  We sometimes cannot get over the fact that it's a gift, that it doesn't require specific works or ways of thinking or lifestyles, but instead, simple trust that it is a gift from God.

My hope and prayer is that each of you comes to realize the cost of God's grace, and that His free gift is then one that you value greatly.

Accessing Grace

"...for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift..."  Romans 3:23-24.

God's grace is a gift.  This is one of the points that the apostle Paul makes repeatedly throughout his letters to the various churches and people in the New Testament time.  And as a man who received what he knew about God's grace directly from Jesus Himself, we could say that Paul stands as an authority on matters of God's grace.

But this seems to present an interesting question.  If God's grace is a gift, how does He give us that gift?  Over the centuries since Jesus walked the Israeli countryside, that question has been answered in many ways.  Quite a few have said that it requires repentance, and by that word mean specific acts or words which demonstrate sorrow over sin.  Others have said penitence, which means acknowledgment of sin, reception of forgiveness, but then works of atonement.  Yet others have said that it really isn't a gift, but is something that we humans strive for, either by making sure that we do enough good in God's eyes, or, at the very least, having the good in our lives outweigh the bad.

Yet, in my studies of God's Word, I find myself very thankful for the faith that I have been raised in over and over again.  When I look through God's Word, I find three ways in which God has said we can reliably receive this specific grace of salvation through Jesus.  The first one is the gift that God has given to His church, which is the authority to announce the forgiveness of sins.  While many find great comfort in hearing those words of forgiveness from the pastor as though from God Himself (John 20:21-23), that same gift is given anytime one of Jesus' followers tells another that they are forgiven.

The other two involve God tying a physical element to His word of forgiveness.  When Jesus was celebrating the Passover with His disciples on the night He was betrayed, He broke the bread and passed it around to them.  He then included these words: Take this and eat.  This is my body, given for you for the forgiveness of sins.  Also, with the cup served after the meal, He passed it to them and said: This is my blood of the new covenant, shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.  God's grace coming to His followers and believers in the event known as the Lord's Supper.

We see Jesus tying God's grace to another action in Matthew 28:19-20.  As He sent His disciples to take His message of forgiveness to the world, He gave them the task of baptizing and teaching.  Later, in Acts 2:38-39, Peter says that such an action is a promise of the forgiveness of sins and the receiving of the Holy Spirit.  God gives His grace through the means of the event known as baptism.

God does not want His grace to be something that we are unfamiliar with.  That's part of the reason He uses common, everyday things to communicate that grace to us.  And God makes the promise, not just in these few verses mentioned, but throughout His Word, that when He ties Himself to certain actions and words, His grace is accessible there, and He would love for nothing more than that all the people of the world come there to receive that great gift of grace.

A More Specific Grace

"...by grace you have been saved..." Ephesians 2:5, 8

Yesterday, I shared a few thoughts on God's general grace, a grace which He shows to the whole world, providing the things needed to support this body and life, and giving to everyone, regardless of their beliefs, thoughts, lifestyles, etc.  But this also isn't the only kind of grace spoken of in the Bible.  Today, we're going to look at one that gets quite a bit more specific: saving grace.

The above phrase, from Paul's letter to the Christians in Ephesus, appears to be relatively easy to understand.  God's grace is what saves us.  Not some decision on our part, not a number of good actions, not having the good in our life outweigh the bad.  It's completely up to God to give it to us as a gift.  This forms the basis for what I am calling 'saving grace.'

Saving grace is much more specific than God's general grace.  Saving grace is what assures a person of God's favor.  Saving grace grants a person a place with God, both while living in this world, and then, in the life to come when that person leaves this world through the doorway of death.  Saving grace is shown by Jesus' perfect life, sacrificial death on the cross, and victorious resurrection from the dead.

In other words, saving grace is what assures us of life with God when we depart from this world.  And since it is grace, that means that we cannot earn it, achieve it, or do anything in God's eyes that would make Him have to give it to us, as though it were our wages for doing what He wants.  It comes as a gift, and is the kind of gift that God wants to give to every single person in this world.

Tomorrow I'll talk a little bit about what God says in the Bible about how we have access to this saving grace.  But the good news is that this saving grace is not overly difficult to receive, nor does God make it hard to find.  But more on that over the rest of the week!  God's grace be with you today!

God's General Grace

Perhaps the most well-known Bible verse is John 3:16.  There we hear about how much God loves the whole world.  This verse also shows us that there are multiple layers of God's grace.  The first one I want to talk about today is God's general grace.

As I talk about the word grace, I'm going by the meaning of undeserved love and favor.  There is a general sense in which this grace from God applies to everyone in the world.  God loves the world.  It isn't that the world is filled with a bunch of lovable people, but that God looks beyond our sinfulness and shows His love to us.  This general grace comes out in several ways.

Martin Luther explained the first part of the Apostles' Creed (a brief explanation of what Christians believe from the Bible) in this way.  "I believe God has made me and all creatures; that He has given me my body and soul, eyes, ears, and all my members, my reason and all my senses, and still takes care of them.  He also gives me clothing and shoes, house and home, wife and children, land, animals, and all I have."  This describes a general sense of grace, in which God gives all people everything that they need for life in this world.

This grace is shown to the world because God truly loves everything that He has made.  He sends rain down, and it falls upon the wicked and the righteous.  He makes His sun to shine, and it covers the whole earth, regardless of the faith and belief of each person upon whom it falls.  In this way, we see that God has a general sense of grace which He shows to the people of the world.

Amazin' Grace

Perhaps one of the best loved Christian hymns of all time is "Amazing Grace."  Tears may flow as you sing the hymn, or you may find yourself thinking about it at different times in life.  I know it's a regular staple at funerals, especially as people realize that only God can overcome the sting and finality of something as sinister as death.

But here's a thought.  Does the word 'grace' still carry the same meaning as it did when that hymn was composed?  Words change in their definitions over time.  Their use changes, and this then affects what we think of when we hear a particular word.  With that in mind, I want to spend a few posts talking about this word grace.

I grew up hearing that grace was defined as this: undeserved love.  In a biblical sense, it describes God's love to us.  In life around us, it's when someone does something for no apparent reason.  Grace isn't something that is earned, or it would be more like being nice to someone because they were first nice to you. 

I've also heard grace talked about in a number of different ways.  When someone falls or trips, we may sarcastically say that they were really graceful.  What does that use of the word mean?  I also know more than a few people who bear the name Grace.  While I'm not saying that I think this is inappropriate, we do also start to tie what we think of a name with the person who bears that name (do you know any good people named Judas?).

Hopefully, over the next few posts, we'll dig a little deeper into this word 'grace.'  I welcome your thoughts, analysis of my thinking, critique, or whatever else you may have to offer along the way.

Being a Whole Person

Physical.  Spiritual.  Mental.  Emotional.  Each of these is a vital part of how God created us as humans.  When one of these is out of line, hurt, damaged, or lacks maturity, the others are all affected.

Over the last two plus weeks, I have been sharing my thoughts on how these areas affect us as humans, but also providing some thoughts on how to grow in greater discipline in these areas.  I really need to stress that developing a greater discipline with each of these does NOT bring us any closer to earning or meriting God's grace.  God's grace will always be just that: grace, free and undeserved.  However, growing in our discipline of each of these will help us to be a more complete person, just as God created and designed for us to be.

The flip side of that coin is that we will never be able to fully mature in all of these.  First, we simply do not know what full maturity looks like, in God's eyes.  We do know that it requires perfection, which none of us are capable of.  Then, if we focus too much on one area, the others likely will suffer.  Only God can fully live these out perfectly, which He did in Jesus.

Yet, that does not take away from our desire to be a more whole, healthy person.  Doing so not only has some great benefits to us while we live this life God has given, but it also serves to help us develop greater and deeper relationships with others.  This is especially important when we think of taking the Christian message to those whose spiritual natures may truly be out of line with God.

My encouragement to you as I bring this series to a close is to never stop growing in health and discipline as a whole person.  It won't make you more 'godly', but I believe you will discover much more in life because of it.

Emotion, Faith, and Discipline

"Be angry and do not sin..."  Paul writes these words in his letter to the Ephesians, quoting from Psalm 4 (a Psalm that I am really familiar with, as it formed the basis of one of my doctoral papers).  That short little statement brings to mind three things which fit in with my thoughts on discipline and the various areas of life in which God desires for us to be disciplined.

First, our emotions.  As people who were created in God's image, despite losing the perfection of that image, we still share some characteristics with Him.  Our emotional being is one of those characteristics.  Yes, God's emotional state is perfect, unlike ours.  And that is why discipline is needed in our emotional well-being.  We live in full forgiveness for our inability and sinfulness in terms of our emotions, and yet, in response to God's good news, we also strive to keep from sinning in our emotions.  "...do not sin..."

Next, our faith.  As a gift from God, we believe not only in our forgiveness through Jesus and the cross, but also that God created and designed us according to His design.  What God says about our emotions is what is best for our well-being, and His divine expectation.  We aren't able to live up to that expectation, and thus cling to the forgiveness of the cross and Christ's perfect life (and perfect emotional state) as God's means of bringing us to His eternal presence, where our emotional state will be perfected completely.  And, as a response to God's gifts of grace, we then also strive to bring our emotions in line with what He says.

Discipline.  Because we are not perfect or sinless, true, perfect discipline is impossible for us.  We will deny our emotions, or at times, let them get the best of us.  As a Christian response, not out of obligation or the hope of perfection, but as a response to God's goodness and grace, we strive for emotional discipline.  And, let's face it.  Being emotionally disciplined also helps to create better relationships with our fellow man (which, incidentally, is one means in which God spreads His message of Good News!). 

So how do we become more disciplined in our emotional well-being.  Tune in tomorrow for thoughts and discussion!