Thinking about God's Will, Law, and Design for Life

"You shall not lie with  a male as with a woman; it is an abomination."  Leviticus 18:22

"You shall not round ff the hair of your temples or mar the edges of your beard.  You shall not make any cuts on your body for the dead or tattoo yourselves; I am the LORD."  Leviticus 19:27-28

"When a stranger sojourns with you in your land,you shall do him no wrong."  Leviticus 19:33

Okay, what do these various Bible readings have in common?  Well, they all come from the book of Leviticus, which outlined much of the will and commands of God pertaining to His people and how they should live with one another.  They outline God's will and design for life in this world, which speaks to how He created us and what He look for from His creation.

Yet, one of our human tendencies is to look at certain parts of God's law and to see some of what He says as "more serious" than other matters.  In the context of our life in the United States, the first prohibition has received a lot of attention in recent weeks, with the state defining marriage as it will be recognized in the nation.  Rightly, Christians are worried about how far-reaching the state will seek to go in pushing that upon us.

Yet, I often find it interesting that we "play up" some specific commands while downplaying others.  Think about the one above concerning the stranger in the land.  You shall do him no wrong.  Yet, I hardly see the fervor on the part of those who stress the vital importance of the command against homosexuality when it comes to seeing that immigrants among us are treated as fairly as the native of the land. 

Could it be that we pick and choose particular sins to be outraged against, while we turn a blind eye to others?  Could it be that we don't really want to look to our own sin in our own hearts, but rather find it more comforting to point out the obvious sins of others?  Of course we do this.  It's in our sinful nature to do so.

I do believe that we should all struggle greatly with the variety of commands that our God gives.  Every single one of us fails to follow through on any number of these each and every day.  And that, I believe, is really what Jesus points out for us in the Sermon on the Mount when He talks about trying to get the speck out of the other's eye, while ignoring the log in our own. 

Tomorrow, I plan to post about how we can approach the whole command of God with humility, recognizing that we are called to correct one another when we stray from God's law, but always with the recognition that we ourselves are, as St. Paul wrote, the chief of sinners.

Reaction to Recent Events

Over the past week or so, there have been a few events that have challenged the thinking of Christians in North America, in the United States in particular.  With the re-defining of what is a legal marriage in the eyes of the state, many Christians simply do not know what to think.  Some celebrate equality, while others deplore how the state takes a different view of what marriage is than what the Christian Church understands it to be from God and His Word.  And truthfully, some actually fit both of these descriptions, and that leaves many others wondering what to make of it all.

Then, on top of that kind of news, we also mourn as another racist shooting happens in a church building, in a place where racial tensions have run high for decades.  We look around and see the hatred that some have toward people of different skin color, which likewise is contrary to the universal grace and compassion that our Lord would have us have toward others.  In many respects, this leaves many Christians wondering about matters of their safety, even in their places of worship (and which challenges the old word used to describe the gathering place as a sanctuary).

In some ways, we are always having to react to the sinfulness of the world in which we live.  There will never cease to be challenges to the Christian faith so long as sin, death, and the devil still exist.  Our own nature will resist the things of God, and the devil continues to prowl around.  And so we keep a wary eye, knowing that these kind of challenges really are nothing new.  The Christian Church has faced them from the earliest of times.

At the same time, we do not stand idly by.  This could mean many things.  It could mean actively working to change the laws of this country, though I would suggest that such an attempt would be futile for the foreseeable future.  But perhaps it also means that we extend a hand of grace out to those who may consider the Christian faith to be about a bunch of laws and rules.  If we show that God's design for our lives is a good thing, but that God also reaches out with grace and forgiveness, we could possibly cause those who are opposed to God's way to reveal that they actually have a degree of intolerance about them.

Is it going to be easy?  Will there be agreement throughout the Christian church as to how to go about this?  No.  And yet, one thing stands sure.  Our unchanging God, who has forgiven the world in the death and resurrection of Jesus, has withstood even greater challenges than these.  He has promised that His Church will endure, no matter what the devil and the world may throw at it.  Nothing can remove us from the nail-pierced hands of our Savior, even if the worst should come to pass in our nation.

Intentionally Crossing Generational Lines

It's a phenomenon that I have seen on many occasions in my life.  You have some kind of event in which people from different ages are gathered.  As you look around the room or place, you likely notice a peculiar thing.  In general, you have the group of older people who are gathered together, talking about matters that are common among them.  In fact, you may have two or three of these groups, depending on their interests.  Then, in another spot, you have the group of parents, watching over their kids, but sharing matters that are common among them.  Again, there could be multiple groups like this present.  And then, in yet another place, you have the group of youth that really don't want to be there, but are gathered together, talking about how unfair it is that they get dragged to events like this where the old people talk together, and they don't really have any interest in what is going on.

When we are left to our own devices, we naturally seek out those that are most like us.  This goes for things such as nationality, interests, and age grouping.  We don't find it very natural to cross over to that group where we don't "fit in" very well.  It requires intentional effort to make such a move.  And without that intentional effort, it most often simply doesn't happen.  (Sure, you can point out there there are times that it does happen, but by and large, those are the exceptions rather than the norm.)

As God's people, we may think that such situations wouldn't happen, and yet, since such things are so deep in our human nature, they still do happen, even among God's people.  Look around your church next time you are there.  How many older people are "hanging out" with the youth?  Are there people of grandparent age who are interacting with people who have younger children?  Do you see groups forming up around age, or opinion, or interest?  Shoot, I would even say you probably see women in one group and men in another group too.  Our ability to segregate ourselves comes so naturally that we often fail to even notice that we do it.  (Oh, and by the way, notice how we group ourselves with those that we know, so that our guests or visitors that God sends our way often find themselves standing all alone.  Think we should do something intentional about that?)

I bring this to our attention because, as God's people, we benefit greatly when we intentionally cross those generational lines to interact with one another.  As a research nerd (someone who reads and enjoys reading research), I can tell you that research has shown that lasting faith is more often built in those who have interactions that cross generational lines.  So when we start wondering what happened to all the young people, could it possibly be that the older people stopped interacting with them, and sent the message that they didn't want them there, even if it wasn't intentional?

As a leader of God's people, I will be putting together a few groups in our congregation that will work to intentionally cross these generational lines and come together.  Even more, these groups will not only do that in the context of the congregation, but will also have an eye toward inviting others who do not yet know what Jesus has done for them to be a part of the group.  If that sounds like something you would be interested in commiting to, please let me know, and I will make sure you are part of it.

There is so much that we can learn from one another, and so much of that will inevitably help us cross those lines, so that we find those "others" not quite so scary.  I pray that you will take some of those steps on your own to see just how blessed it can be to intentionally cross generational lines.

Thinking Between Generations

There's a saying that I have heard in recent years.  "If you can't figure out some kind of technology, just ask a teenager to show you."  The reality truly does seem to be that the younger generation is more up to date on technological advances.  After all, that is the world that they are growing up in.  For kids, even as young as elementary school, computers, tablets, and the like are already in use when it comes to the education task, so it makes sense that they would know more about such things than those of us who don't have that extensive of a background in them.

Yet, one thing we also recognize is that, with age often comes wisdom.  Those who have been there, done that, actually do have some wisdom and knowledge that they can pass down to the younger generations.  Even as they may struggle to relate to those younger than them, the effect that they can have when they take a younger person or two under their wing can truly be a remarkable thing.

However, when you look at a typical Christian church in our day and age, you are more likely to find that the ages and stages get somewhat segregated from each other.  There is Children's Ministry, Youth Ministry, Single Adult Ministry, Family Ministry, Senior Ministry, and perhaps many other flavors.  While the intent behind these is actually a good thing, the one side effect that they can have is to isolate one generation from another, and in doing that, actually increase the distance between people of faith.

Think of how these often come to light.  One generation finds their worship life enhanced by traditional music and liturgy, while another generation finds their worship life ehanced by more contemporary expressions.  Instead of working together to see how they can praise God with a new song, these often end up sitting in opposite corners, each saying that the other just simply doesn't get it. 

What if these generations were to come together in a study of God's Word, actually listen to each other, and calmly discuss what they hear the other saying, and expressing what their thoughts are?  Wouldn't that seem more conducive to building up the body of Christ, rather than having them cast their flaming arrows at each other from opposite corners?  It's a worthwhile thing to consider.

As a pastoral leader of a congregation, this is the shape of some future ministry directions that we will be going.  It will not be easy as we engage on this journey, but one thing I have noticed is that the most worthwhile things in life are not the easiest to do. 

Wilderness Roamings

Over the past week and a half, I have been on the go a lot.  Back on the 12th, I headed down to Orlando, Florida, for the every-three-years worth of business that our church body engages in.  It was a great convention, headed under the theme "Engaged in the Master's Business."  I will be sharing a bit more on this in a few future posts.

Then, once I returned from that trip, I had a one day turn-around before my family and I hit the airport all together.  We flew out to the church that I had formerly pastored at, in northern Utah.  The congregation there was celebrating 50 years of God's work in Utah, and we were privileged and humbled to be part of that work and time.  It was a joyous celebration, as well as a great time to reconnect with many caring relationships that we had made over the course of more than a decade.

In a way, the past week and a half has me feeling as though I have been in the wilderness roaming around.  When you are traveling, it's always hit and miss with internet time, and so my blogging took a back seat over the past two weeks or so.  In a sense, I relate just a tiny bit to those Israelites who left Egypt at God's deliverance, who then doubted that God could deliver the Promised Land into their hands.  They were without a permanent home for a period of 40 years, wandering around in the wilderness.

Yet, even in that time period, and even though that generation of adults had been told that they would not inherit the Promised Land, God still proved faithful to His people.  They continued to be His people, and He dwelt with them.  It's much the same for us when we find ourselves wandering, so to speak.  We have the promise that our Lord Jesus is with us.  We have the promise that nothing in this world can take us out of His nail-pierced hands. 

That's a great promise for us to remember when we find ourselves wandering in the wilderness.  That time of wandering also helps us appreciate even more the gift of a permanent home that our God delivers us to.  That's why I revel in God's presence with me in the wilderness wanderings, and just as much as I return to home, and to the work that He has prepared for me to be engaged in doing.

Whose is it, Anyway?

As I've been perusing the thoughts of what it means to be inclusive this week, I think that there is an underlying thought that we need to examine a bit to guide us in this.  We often will talk about the church we attend as "our" church.  We hope and pray that God will grow "our" church.  When we invite others to walk along with us, to grow in knowing what God has done in Jesus, it's typically with the hopes that they will join "our" church and that "our" church will grow.

You may have noticed that there are a lot of quotes in that paragraph around the word "our".  That is intentional.  While using "our" helps us to differentiate between the church we attend and the one down the street, an unintended side effect of this is that we start to think of it as "our" church.  But there is a big reality that we may know, but can sometimes forget.  The church is God's.

So what does that mean?  Do we throw out the word "ours" completely?  Well, perhaps not.  But one thing we do need to change is how we view God's work in the church that we happen to be part of.  It doesn't belong to us.  It belongs to God in Christ Jesus.  That means that God is going to do with this church what He will.  Yes, you and I play some vital part in what happens with it, but the truth behind that is that God is going to do with it what He designs and wills. 

That's why I would suggest something a little bit different than how we typically think.  When we ask God to grow the church, let's ask Him to grow the full number of those who belong to Him in Jesus.  That may or may not include people coming to our local gathering.  But guess what?  That doesn't matter.  That's in God's hands.  Sure, we can hope that He will send them our way, and He likely will.  But our focus is to be on the bigger kingdom and to trust that God will do with our local gathering what He will.

That doesn't mean that we stop planning programs, or growing in how we can draw people to God in our particular gathering.  But as we do that, we keep our eyes open to the eternal kingdom, knowing that God is going to care for us.  It may not be what we want, or what we hope, but if our eyes are focused on the right thing, then we may just discover that God can do far more than we could ever do if our eyes were fixed on too small a thing, such as "our" church!

Getting to Know You

Quick introductory question: How well do you know your next door neighbors?  And once you think about that, how well do you know the people up and down your street, or on the same floor of your apartment?  If you think about those questions and realize that you don't know the people there very well, then I would throw in a follow-up question.  What is preventing you from getting to know them?

I suppose we could ask the same thing about the people that we worship with.  How well do you know the people who sit in front of you, behind you, or at the other end of the row?  How well do you know the people that sit across the aisle from you?  And, as you consider those, I'd toss in the same follow-up question.  What is preventing you from getting to know them?

I recently heard an interesting thought that came out of some research on churches and how they interact with newer people in their midst.  The common thought out there is that people want a friendly church.  But the researchers found that this statement isn't exactly accurate.  What they discovered is something that I think we all sort of know in our minds and hearts.  People don't want others to merely be friendly with them.  They want to develop friendships with the people they worship with.  They don't want merely a smile and a handshake; they want to get to know God's people as they worship.  They want friends, not merely friendliness.

The problem that many new people discover is that the people already there seem to have their fill of friends already.  It's pretty true that God's people spend time with the friends that they already have, and I absolutely do not want to discourage that.  However, I would also suggest that it is necessary to get to know those who make their way among us.  We need to reach to them with the hope that God is sending us a new friend, one with whom we can share our faith and hope, as well as our lives.  While this isn't the saving Gospel message, it is often a key factor that keeps people coming so that they can hear the Gospel message, in worship, but also from God's people.

Getting to know you.  That's what we are about as we gather together.  Yes, there are many reasons we come together as Christians, but one that we shouldn't overlook is how we get to know those who are new among us.

So, this coming Sunday, to whom will you reach out a welcoming hand and say, "I'd like to get to know you"?

Walking Together

Yesterday, I posted a little bit about what it could mean to be inclusive as Christians.  Today, I want to follow that thought up a little bit more.  Specifically, as we think about the things that we do as Christians, how do we seek to include those who may not yet know Jesus, as we hope for the Spirit to do His work of changing their hearts to faith.

I'll start off with a quick question.  What would you think if a new person, not yet a Christian, but interested and open to learning more, came into your church and had a wonderful voice?  Would you welcome that person into the church choir prior to their becoming a "member"? (At some point, I'll talk a little bit about membership and what all it means, but for the moment, we'll say that it means they are instructed in the faith and say that they believe what they have learned)  If you say no, what are your objections?  If you say yes, what is your reasoning for including them?

I'm not going to say that there is a cut and dried solution to such a question as this.  I will also say that we are called to proceed in caution when we think of ways to have people not yet Christian walking alongside us.  For example, I would suggest that it would be inappropriate for a non-Christian to teach in the Sunday School class, regardless of how skilled they are as a teacher.  There is an element of sharing what you have learned in teaching, and if they have not yet learned and know Jesus, how can they share about Him?

At the same time, I would also suggest that we should look for more ways to include those not yet in Jesus in walking together with us.  Could they sing in the choir?  Perhaps there the Spirit will work through the words and the music to draw them to faith.  On the other hand, if they only see it as an opportunity to show off their voice, then perhaps it isn't fully appropriate.  How do you discern between these?  Well, as with most things, it gets back to connecting with the person, growing in a relationship with them.

Ultimately, the reason that we include people in our walk together is because we want them to know the hope of Jesus in their lives.  That means that we need to do the necessary work of getting to know them, of relating to them, of loving them as the neighbor that God puts among us.  Only as we get to know them can we understand which roles are appropriate for them to participate in as they walk along with us.  Sure, we may make mistakes about that from time to time, but that is where we rest even more on the forgiveness of God in Jesus.

What it Means to be Inclusive

When we think about God's message of grace and forgiveness through Jesus, we see that God intends for this gift to be inclusive.  God wants all people to have access to their forgiveness in Jesus and to eternal life.  God wants all people to be included in offering their prayers and praise, as they receive His grace and goodness.  God is inclusive in this sense.  He wants all people to be part of His eternal, enduring kingdom.

Yet, we find that which may, in some ways, seem contradictory.  God tells us that those who make up His kingdom are indeed an exclusive group.  They are those who believe in what Jesus has accomplished for them, and who make that the center and anchor of what they believe and how they live.  God is exclusive in that, not all roads lead to God.  Only the road that goes through the cross and resurrection of Jesus leads to God.

That impacts how we go about our lives together as God's people.  In a way, we strive to be like God in this.  We want all people to hear the message.  We want to be an inclusive group, reaching out with that message to let all people groups know that God has redeemed them and made them His own.  And sometimes, that means that we also bring them alongside with us to learn about this one named Jesus, and what He has done, and how that impacts our lives lived together in faith.

That's what it means to be inclusive.  It means that we tell all people that this message is for them, and we walk along with them as they explore this message, as they ask questions about this message, and as they work with what that means for how they live their lives.  Sometimes it means that we ask them to work alongside us, learning how our God would have us live as forgiven people with an enduring message for the people of the world, sharing God's compassion with others. 

In one sense, that means that we should probably look more at ways, as Christians and as congregations, in which we can include people rather than exclude them.  Yes, there are elements of our faith in which God calls for some level of exclusivity, and we honor those, even as we explain them to those who do not yet know of them, seeking to bring them to a point where they are welcomed with us in those.  Yet, when it comes to such matters as feeding the poor, working on compassionate ministries, and the like, including them to work with us will likely provide more avenues for God's Spirit to work in their hearts than if we were to exclude them.

As I would explain it, inclusive means that we invite them to walk along with us as we all learn more about this God who has seen fit to forgive us in Jesus, and who wants all people to know of this forgiveness for them.