The Difficulty of Faith and Believing

 "And Jesus said to them, 'Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?'" Matthew 8:26a

Over the next few posts, I'm going to ponder a bit about just how difficult this thing called faith really is. For many of us who grew up in faith-filled households, we may never really have considered how difficult it really is to believe in something.Or, we fail to fully appreciate the challenge that others may face when they critically examine our faith and want to know how we can believe such things. 

At the heart of this, since I am a Christian, I truly believe that there are some things about Jesus that those of us who have "always" been Christians simply take for granted that are actually really challenging to believe when we think about it. I'll be including some of those in these posts, not to cause any reason to doubt, but rather, to simply give us pause to think about how the things we believe may sound to someone who doesn't share the same background as we have.

So, to kick things off, let's look at the central action of the Christian faith. Jesus rose from the dead. Now, right from the start, this really is a challenge. Who of us has ever seen someone who was dead come back to life? Even more, who of us has witnessed someone who was beaten, whipped, nailed to a cross, and died in that horrific manner come back to life about 36 hours later? There have been many times when I have been at a viewing of someone who has passed from this life, and as I look at the shell of the person who has left, there have been times when I truly believed that this person could live again. At the same time, there have been many times when I have this same view, but instead am challenged to think just how incredibly difficult it is to believe that what I see can and will come back to life some day.

The resurrection of Jesus is the center of the Christian faith, but that is not something that is easily believed. Why do you think there are so many who try to find the "historical Jesus", or to come up with reasons that He didn't really die, but was only unconscious and became aware once in the cool of the tomb? It's because we live with the hard, cold fact that death is the end of this life. No one comes back from death. It's permanent, at least from what we can see. The graveyards are filled, and continue to get more full, not less so. 

When I think about that first Easter morning, I have come to really relate to the disciples and appreciate them. Jesus had prepared them for this day, but it was still so incredible to think that He had come back to life that Jesus Himself had to come and literally breathe His Spirit on them to bring that belief. And then, Jesus would say that those of us who haven't seen and yet believe are, in some ways, even more blessed than they. That's because we put our faith, our belief, in something that we will not see in this lifetime.

Perhaps you have never really considered the challenge of believing that a dead person can come back to life. Or, perhaps you are reading this and that is the thing that you are struggling with when it comes to the Christian faith. When I think about the resurrection of Jesus, that is when I really come to realize the truth of what Martin Luther wrote about the Holy Spirit in his explanation of the third portion of the Apostles Creed. "I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ my Lord, or come to Him, but the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel..." I cannot believe something that my senses and reason tell me is unbelievable. In the end, it has to be God who brings such faith to me.

As a final note for this long entry, let me just say that I have also come to have a lot more lenient view of the disciples overall as I study the Scriptures. They were very much just like us, and being there with Jesus didn't really change the difficulty of believing in Him all that much. For example, just read the expanded context of the verse at the beginning and tell me if you would have little faith, just like them. If we're honest, we have to admit that believing Jesus and what He does and says is indeed rather difficult.

When Their Soul Is At Stake

I was recently asked a really tough question in a lengthy conversation I was having with another person.  As he was challenging me to consider what and how I communicate in my role in the congregation, he asked me this question.  "What is at stake here?"  I will admit that, for a few moments, I had to think through the question in silence. 

We are God's people when we have been washed in the blood of Jesus.  Our life now takes on a very deep meaning, as we become the rescued of God, the children of God, and the ones who receive the promises of God.  For us, that interaction with God had nothing less than our eternal souls at stake.  God would not spare even His own Son because our souls were at stake.  And then, to give us what His Son earned and purchased for us, God makes us of simple, everyday things to give that great gift to us.

As God's people, it seems that we sometimes lose sight of this.  It becomes easy to get tangled up in the things that don't really matter.  We make arguments about styles of worship, about who should teach our studies, about who gets the pastor's attention, and other things like this.  Yes, these are all important, and have their time and place for discussion. 

Yet, this question is one that really should get asked, even in the midst of these conversations.  "What is at stake here?"  Is a form of music really the thing that is most at stake?  Are God's people going to lose their faith if a different style of music is introduced?  If someone other than the pastor leads a bible study, will that make the study "less" because it is led by a layman, and not a trained pastor?

Ultimately, this also comes to impact our whole life together in Christ Jesus.  What is at stake here when we come together?  Well, we come together to be reminded of God's price to make us His own, and of His continued work to purchase and redeem souls of those who do not yet know Him.  We come together to be strengthened by each other, to build each other up, reminding each other that we belong to God through Jesus Christ, crucified and risen from the dead.

That also impacts our daily lives within our communities.  What is at stake when you talk to your neighbor?  What is at stake when you are buying groceries at the store?  Only their eternal soul, one that God valued enough to send His Son to redeem and purchase, and whom God valued enough to send you, His child, into their lives to let them know that.

What is at stake here?  Their souls.  Maybe that's a reminder that we need in our lives quite often.  I know I need it in mine for sure!

Continuing the Message

This past Sunday in worship, God's people and I focused on the story of Sodom and Gomorrah.  You can read all about it in Genesis 18 and Genesis 19.  Also, if you check the blog entries, you can even find a link to the youtube recording of the message.

I did want to follow up on the message with one very important point.  We can look at events such as what happened to Sodom and Gomorrah, as well as all the different events that we see in life, where it seems as though God's justice and judgment come to visit us in this world.  You also don't have to look very hard to find preachers who find it pretty easy to declare, "such and such is God's judgment upon those people", especially when bad things happen to them.

It really calls for us to consider a question that is rather important, though.  What is God's inclination when it comes to dealing with the people of this world?  Really, when we think about it, there are two realities that will occur as people leave this world to go to their eternal destination.  They will either be with God in joy, or they will be separated from God forever in agony.  So the question we are really asking is this: Does God want people to be with Him, or does He want people to be separated from Him?

If we declare that God visits justice and judgment on our lives in this world, we are essentially saying that God wants to condemn.  But is that the way that God wants to deal with the people of this world?  If God simply wanted to condemn the world, would He have sent His Son to die, taking the sins of the world upon Himself?  That hardly seems to be the prevailing attitude of God, if He would do such a thing.

One of the prime teachings that Lutheran Christians especially focus on is that God's overwhelming desire is to save, rescue, and redeem the people of the world.  God doesn't want people separated from Him.  God wants people to be with Him forever, regardless of what they have done, regardless of the direction their lives took in this world.  He wants to forgive.  He wants to show compassion to them.  No, He doesn't overlook how they have gone contrary to His will, design, and Law, but in the grand scheme of things, God wants to restore them to Himself.

I think that this thought frames how we do everything we do as God's people.  Yes, it's easy to point out sins and faults.  It's far more difficult to show people that God wants them drawn to Himself, and that He forgives them, since so often, it causes us to face our fears and uncertainties.  Truth be told, sometimes we want "those people" to receive God's justice rather than God's compassion and forgiveness.  We don't want to face that ugliness in ourselves, and so we may come across as though God wants to condemn.

However, this vitally important teaching reminds us that, as God's people, we have a God who wants to rescue people, not visit His divine justice and vengeance upon them.  And as His messengers, that means that we give a great deal of thought to how we come across to others.  After all, if the image of Christ is being restored within us, that's what we want others to see, and not our desires to see them pay the price.

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.

When Not To Tell The Truth

In the Gospels, Jesus says that He is the way, the truth, and the life.  We have a commandment from God that tells us that we are not to bear false witness (i.e. lie) about our neighbor.  God delights in truth in the inward parts, and even calls us to be such an honorable people that our word is good, so that our yes actually means yes, and our no actually means no.

So we are to tell the truth.  But I put a question before you.  Is it always appropriate to share the whole truth?  For most of us, the quick answer is to say, of course.  We should always share the truth, and not tell lies.  And I agree with that.  However, I want to have us think about this a little deeper.

Let's say that you are over at some friends' house.  In the midst of your time there, the husband and wife have a sharp disagreement, which leaves one stalking out of the room in anger.  With the uncomfortable situation, you decide that it's best if you give them some space to work things out.  As you leave, you call another friend, whom you had been planning to chat with a bit later.  This person is surprised that you are calling early.  After all, weren't you at so and so's house? 

How much of what you witnessed do you share?  Sure, you could tell the whole truth, that they got into a fight and one of them left angrily, but does that do any good for anyone?  Do you want to introduce that into their reputation, as though they are angry people at each other in the eyes of others?  Or, do you say something like, my time got done there early, so I wanted to see if you were available? 

I believe that this is where Martin Luther's explanation to the eighth commandment (You shall not bear false testimony) comes in helpful.  He says that are not to betray our neighbor (as in, spill the beans on everything we know of them), slander them (as in, tell outright lies about them), or hurt their reputation.  Instead, we are to speak well of them and explain everything in the kindest way.

Sometimes that charge is more difficult to do than at other times.  Sometimes, we have to make major decisions without being able to tell others the full extent of what we know.  That can be difficult, and yet, as we seek to build up each others' reputation, can we do less in the eyes of God?

"Real Life" and Faith

There are times in life where "real life" gets in the way of what we hope to accomplish or achieve.  In recent months, the birth of a baby has truly impacted what I would like to accomplish in my professional and occupational life.  Transitions involving naps, tantrums, and adjustments to the regular routine cause that part of my life to be impacted as I deal with "real life" at home.

Believe, this isn't something I am complaining about.  The fact that I have an occupation and situation where I can spend that extra time with my family is something that is truly a blessing.  Even when my shoulder is wet with spitup (yet again), I find very little to complain about.  Okay, lack of sleep can be something to complain about, but thankfully, inroads are being made to resolve that issue!

Okay, rambling man, so what's the point?  "Real Life" often has an impact on our lives outside our home.  The thing is, it also has an impact on faith.  What do you do with the tempermental teen who doesn't want to go worship on Sunday morning?  How do you have a discussion with your child about God's commandment against stealing when their "real life" friends are involved in breaking the commandment?  What do you do when "real life" leaves you tired, depressed, and struggling, and your faith may seem to have relatively few immediate answers?

One thing I would suggest when "real life" happens and faith gets impacted.  Don't stop talking about it.  In fact, far too often, real life situations arise because we haven't talked about faith matters and what they have to do with real life.  Why is God so adamant about stealing?  That discussion could lead to a greater appreciation for how God distributes His gifts, and what that means in terms of ownership.  Talking about what coveting is may actually lead to discussion about contentment, and may actually have an impact on spending habits and envy toward friends and their possessions.

Basically, the more we can talk about faith (not just church, but faith, a distinction I intend to make in a coming post), the more we open up to talking about the role our faith plays in our real life.  That's when we start to see how faith can impact "real life" rather than having "real life" impact our faith.

How Well Do You Draw?

"And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself."  Jesus, as recorded in John 12:32.

We've all known that person who just seemed to draw a crowd to themselves.  They had something about them that just seemed to attract others to them.  And, truth be told, we've all probably had those moments where we had a bit of envy toward them.  We wonder why we can't naturally draw people to us the way that they are able.  They seem to naturally converse with others.  They seem to set people at ease.  People actually like to be around them, and look for opportunities to be around them.

It's not a stretch at all to say that Jesus was like this.  When you read through the Gospel accounts, you find that people were coming to hear Jesus, and people were generally saying good things about Him.  And then, in the verse we have above, we also see that Jesus is eventually going to draw all people to Himself.  Everyone in this world will eventually stand before Him, on the day of judgment, and will be drawn to Him, whether they want to or not.

But as we await that day, I want to put a different thought before you.  How well do you draw?  How well do you draw others to yourself?  And right there, some of you might stop reading.  You might not want to draw others to yourself.  You may comfort yourself by saying that you are an introvert or something along those lines, but really, that's no excuse.  You really do want others to notice you and to like you, you just may find that you aren't as comfortable in doing that as other people seem to be.

Here is where this also hits us as Christians.  How well do you draw others to yourself, because, when you bear the name of Jesus, what you do is what also gets associated with Jesus.  If you are a Christian and you avoid others, those others will inevitably think the same of Jesus.  As Christians, we aren't called to live lives of isolation.  Instead, just as Jesus was sent to draw people to Himself, we are also sent to draw people to Jesus.

So how well do you draw?  It might not be the most natural thing, but you know what?  It doesn't have to be dynamic or anything like that.  In fact, I would even suggest that you start off by choosing one person that is newer to you, and taking a genuine interest in their life.  When you get down to it, that's actually the heart of what makes you a drawing person.  You are interested in others.  You ask questions about them.  You want to see them, and to spend time with them.  They are drawn to that.

Who is there that is newer at your local body of believers that you can work to draw to Jesus by drawing them to yourself?  Simply start showing an interest in them that isn't just superficial, but that truly wants to get to know them.  You might even just find that others start to see you as one of those people who seem to draw others as you grow in thise!

That's the Way the Cookie Crumbles

I find some of the worldviews out there fascinating.  I won't say that I'm drawn to them, but I find their particular approach to why things happen fascinating.  We all want to know why the things that happen to us in life happen.  We want to know and understand if there is some element of it that we can control, and if there are things out of our control, then who exactly is controlling them?  And I truthfully find such views of this fascinating, because they point out that we humans really do want to make sense of things.

The thing that I have noticed is that a lot of these views may sound appealing, but may not necessarily be the most helpful.  Let's say, for example, the worldview according to karma.  Karma says that what you do has an impact on what happens to you.  What goes around comes around.  So, if you are a very nice person, then that kindness and niceness will be returned to you.  Likewise, if you're a mean person, then mean things will happen to you.

Now, there does seem to be a rather large hole in this idea.  If you are a typically good person, then what does it suggest if something bad happens to you?  If you are a mean person, but good thing regularly come your way (likely because people are afraid of upsetting you), then how does karma explain that?  It doesn't really have an answer.

There's another view out there that basically says that what happens, happens.  The Muslim faith tends in this direction, saying that God will do what God will do, and there's nothing to be done about it.  Basically, God could be good to you, or God could be bad to you, but it's not worth complaining about, because it just happens.  But if that's the case, then why is it that you can work hard and change your circumstances, or on the other side of the coin, why can you be well off, but then be lazy and lose it all?  If it's just supposed to happen, then is there any sense in actually trying to do something?

Is that the way the cookie crumbles?  As you can see, there are some holes in these ideas.  Tomorrow, I intend to bring this back to the Christian faith, which seems to actually have an answer to these matters, even if it's not always one that might think. 

Renewing the spirit, the mind, and the body

From Acts 3:19-20, "Repent therefore and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus,..."

You haven't heard from me for a few days.  In part, this is because I have been undertaking a bit of a time of refreshing.  So often in life, we find that our particular careers and vocations make us hit the ground running, and I have experienced some of that over the past several months.  It isn't that we dislike our work, or that we find it burdensome, but rather, we discover that you can be doing something you love, but as you give your best and your all to it, every once in a while you need to have some time to just sit back and take a brief break from it.

My break is in the form of a class that I am taking.  But more than that, it's a time away from the hustle and bustle that comes with my chosen vocation (or maybe I should say the vocation chosen for me).  Time away doesn't mean that I'm uninvolved, but rather, that I take the opportunity for a bit of renewal of the mind, the spirit, and the body.  In fact, a couple of days ago, I found it very refreshing to simply sit in a church building for a time of prayer and of Bible reading.  In a way, it truly seemed as though the Spirit was doing some measure of cleansing of my mind and my spirit, which truly did cause my body to feel refreshed as well.  I hope to do that a few more times.

God's Spirit refreshes our spirits.  But more than that, I also believe that He does the same thing to our minds and our bodies.  Sometimes we need to feel the burdens of our vocations lifted for a time, to be re-invigorated for what God prepares ahead for us.  That refreshing then allows us to re-discover the joy of our vocation, as well as a greater focus.  For me, the academic portion of it also serves to sharpen my mind, which provides endless benefits when it comes to ministry.

Are they lenient, or forceful?

Matthew 20:25-28: "Jesus called them to Him and said, 'You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and that their great ones exercise authority over them.  It shall not be so among you.  But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many."

You've probably read those words at least once already in a previous post, if you have been following along.  They are part of the point that I am making overall as we talk about God, country, rules, laws, and how they pertain to things such as the recent Supreme Court non-action on the issue of homosexual marriage.

As I've already stated once, in a perfect world, what God desires and designs, and what rulers desire and design, would be exactly the same.  But we don't live in a perfect world.  Therefore, rulers will see the value in some things that God designed for life, but will not see the value in others.  In the presence of an imperfect, flawed, sinful world, rulers will often simply settle for those things that mostly serve to keep people at peace with one another.

It's great to live in a place where the governing authorities see mostly eye to eye with what God designs and desires.  But what about when those two really fail to see eye to eye?  Well, some of that depends on the particulars at work.  Rulers may be more 'lenient' than God in some things, and Christians would find that they aren't really that imposed upon.  Take, for example, the issue of adultery.  God is pretty precise about the practice of our sexuality.  But rulers tend to be more lenient about it.  Sure, we may wish that it were otherwise, since sometimes leniency is taken as permissiveness, but for the most part, we aren't protesting that our rulers don't set up laws against adultery.  We may wish that they would, but we'd have to admit that enforcing that particular law would be pretty tough to do.

Part of our problem as Christians comes when the governing authorities go to the other side of the coin.  What about when they enforce that people should do things that run contrary to their beliefs?  Much issue has been made in recent years about the Health Care Reform Bill that mandated that everyone make abortion-causing drugs available through their health plans.  Many Christians protested loudly, and rightly.  When the rulers lord it over us to force us to do things that run contrary to our faith, we should speak up.  Granted, we hope to do so in both a faithful and a loving fashion, but at such times, it is appropriate to let the authorities know that they have crossed their lines.

However, we often simply throw up our arms in the air when it comes to the authorities being more lenient than what we want.  In some respects, this kind of situation presents a challenge to us.  How do we work so that people see that God's design is better and more appropriate than that which the authorities may allow?  Do we work toward more laws?  Do we try to find ways to enforce the things our belief system calls for upon others?  Or are there other ways that we go about the task?  More on that one in the next post.

Doing Good And Fear

"For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer."  Romans 13:3-5

The Bible teaches us that God makes a new creation spring forth within us through the water of Baptism.  A new creation arises, one that is connected to the death and resurrection of Jesus.  This new creation is perfect, guided by the Holy Spirit, and has the gift of eternal life in Jesus.

This new creation lives to do God's will perfectly.  And I should mention that, if you have been baptized into the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, you have this new creation life within you.  It lives to do God's will.  It wants to live in line with how God created us to live.  It doesn't engage in sin, but strives to be in line with living the way God designed us as His human creation to live.

The new creation does what is good and right in God's eyes.  Therefore it has no need to fear, either to fear God and His wrath and condemnation at sin, nor to fear human authority, as it seeks to do good.  For the new creation, things such as laws or rules carry no fear or terror, because the new creation does them.  That's its nature.  It does good, and perfectly loves God and our neighbor.

Part of our trouble in this world is that we possess this new creation, courtesy of God through the waters of baptism, but at the same time, we still inhabit the sinful nature that is ours courtesy of our first father and mother.  Tomorrow I'll spend a little time talking about how that old nature looks at things like God's will and the laws of this world.

Demons, Exorcisms, and the Like

You don't have to read very far in any of the four Gospel accounts of Jesus' life to come across demons and exorcisms.  In fact, in the life of Jesus, it can almost seem like He was encountering a demon possessed person practically every other day.  (Okay, maybe I exaggerate a bit, but you do come across quite a few of them.)

I remember a time growing up where I heard many "theories" being presented as to these demon possessions.  One that has stuck in my mind deals with the psychological.  It's the idea that the people that Jesus encountered were dealing with some kind of psychological illness rather than demon possession, and that Jesus really did nothing more than set them free from that illness, through some kind of psychological assistance.  The idea behind this whole theory seems to be that there really aren't demons, just psychological disorders that need to be dealt with, and the people of Jesus' time didn't know the difference, so they just assumed that the people had demons.

In recent years, I've thought a lot about this particular theory regarding demons and exorcism.  One thing that stands out to me in this is the denial of unexplainable spiritual beings.  This theory seems to indicate that there is no such things as demons.  Demons are only psychological disorders.  We don't need exorcisms, we need a cure to the illness.

To me, that's way too easy of an answer.  It also seems to fit with the modern mindset that we can get to the root cause of illness and then get rid of it.  But for some reason, the more we seem to dig into illnesses, the more we seem to discover that we don't really know all that much about them, much less how to eliminate them.  Plus, it seems that there are many who are starting to lean back in the direction of unknown spiritual forces at work in the world that simply cannot be explained.

In one way, this is a good direction for us to go.  It means that our minds are opened up to things that we can't necessarily explain or prove, and most things of a "spiritual" nature fall along those lines.  That would seem to open the door toward the belief in God a bit more than what modern science had done.

Yet, there are also dangers to this.  You may have noticed the recent number of movies and books that highlight werewolves, vampires, and the like.  An acceptance of the spiritual world is not without its dangers, as we humans seem to have a tendency to be drawn toward the darker side of things.  And these things don't draw us closer to God, but rather away from Him.

Dangers, and opportunities.  How will we, as Christians, respond?  Silence doesn't seem to be an answer.  It seems that the fallback is what it has always been for Christians.  We fall back on God working in this world, and especially in Jesus, God in human flesh, who overcame those unexplainable things through His life, death, and resurrection for us.

Seriously!?!?!

The title word for today's blog post is one that comes from my mouth fairly often.  Usually, it's while I'm driving, especially when I see someone do something that just simply doesn't make sense.  For example, last week I was driving along one of our local neighborhood roads and was behind another car.  We were driving along a residential area road, and there was a person on the side of the road who wanted to cross the road.  The car in front of me stopped in the middle of the block (without a crosswalk or any other sign indicating that the pedestrian could walk there) in order to let the person walk in front of them, even though no one was coming the other way, and that car and I were the only ones on the road.  They stopped merely to be "nice" to the pedestrian and not have them wait the extra 5 seconds it would have taken for us to pass and for that person to walk across the road after us.  And out of my mouth came the word: "Seriously!!!"

As a Christian, there have been any number of times when I have had to say this about something that I have done which affects my relationship with God and with my fellow man.  As a student of God's Word, I know a great deal about what God says we should be doing, what we should be avoiding, and how we should be acting toward one another.  And yet, despite that knowledge, every once in a while I find myself doing something that calls for me to say "Seriously!?!?!?" to myself.

I also see this in the lives of so many other Christians.  In one way, it really is quite shocking how often we do things that are blatantly against God's will and word, things that we expect that we should know better than to do.  And I have uttered that word "Seriously" on more than one occasion when I have witnessed how God's people act regarding their faith and the living out of that faith in their lives.

In some ways, I expect that God desires for all of His people to take their faith and the living out of that faith seriously.  It's not merely an expectation on my part, but it's found throughout the Bible.  God calls for His people to be holy people, to be perfect as God is perfect.  Granted, we all know that we are incapable of that, a condition which the Bible calls sin.  And yet, when God's people fail to take their faith and life seriously, history shows us that God will often allow us the quite firm reminder that being His chosen people doesn't mean we don't take Him or our faith seriously.

Let's face it.  It's easy to fail to take our faith seriously.  Instead of being kind to another person, it's far easier to say what we are really thinking about them.  Instead of recognizing our neighbor in need, it's far easier to find an excuse not to take the time or effort to help them.  Instead of taking time to pray or focus on God's Word, it's far easier to find time to do other, more enjoyable things.  And the list could go on and on and on.

I think this is one of the reasons why so many see Christians as hypocrites.  It's not that we fail to do these things, but rather, we present the image that we take these things seriously, but then, when people look at our lives, they don't see the evidence of it.  If we were seen to be honest and admit that we fail at it more than we actually succeed, and that we turn to God for forgiveness, the charge might be much less daunting.  But when we put forth the image that we are doing it, and yet, the evidence of our lives presents the contrary, then we are far more open to the charge of hypocrisy.

That's why I need the frequent reminder that I need to heed this word too.  When it comes to my faith and life, I really need to take it more "Seriously!"  I think it's something that all Christians can grow in, and so don't be surprised to see it popping up as a common refrain on this blog. 

So I close today with one simple question.  How seriously do you take the living out of your faith?  And as you answer that question, just picture me looking at you saying, "Seriously?"

Why should I be good if God forgives me through Jesus?

The basis of the Christian faith is that the whole world fell into sin and stands in condemnation because of Adam and Eve's fall.  If no action was taken, we would all be condemned from God, no matter how good or bad we would be as we lived in the world.  If God didn't do something about the situation, every single person would be separated from Him forever, with no hope whatsoever.

That's where the good news of the Christian faith comes in.  God did something so that we all wouldn't have to be condemned.  He sent His Son Jesus, who rescued us from that certain condemnation and death.  Jesus killed our sins, rose to new life, and now promises to give that new life to everyone who believes that He has rescued them from that certain destruction.  Yes, He also makes the claim that He is the only way to be rescued, which is why those of the Christian faith so much want to share their faith with others.

So you hear that message, and God works faith in your heart that you believe the message.  You have been rescued from death and destruction because of Jesus.  The reality is that you still find yourself living in this world alongside so many others who are destined for that destruction that the Bible tells about.  You're forgiven.  So why should you be good as you live your life?  After all, doesn't God promise that He is faithful to His people?

Well, there are quite a few reasons why Christians try to live their lives in a way that is in line with God's will.  In part, they do so because it IS God's will.  God has rescued us through Jesus, and has told us what the life looks like which He created us to live.  As His people, part of our life is to live according to that will.  So Christians are good because God has basically said that we are to be good as we live our lives.

We're also good because we recognize just how great the sacrifice was that God made for us.  We would have been condemned, and yet God saw fit to rescue us through Jesus' life, death, and resurrection.  If someone would go to such great lengths to rescue us, a good and proper response would be to live in such a way that reflects our gratitude.  It isn't to make us better in God's eyes, but instead is a response to His kindness and graciousness to us.

We also do good because we now live with an eye toward our neighbor (and by neighbor, I mean every person whom we encounter in life).  We do good because we recognize that one of the best ways to share that message of hope and rescue is by showing that it makes a difference in our lives.  We want our neighbors to know that same hope, and we recognize that, if we are good to them, we're much more likely to gain their hearing than if we are jerks, or offensive, or judgmental (and by judgmental, I mean acting as though we take joy in telling them what their sins are and what will happen to them if they are found in their sin at the time when they stand before Jesus).

In the end, being a Christian is not merely about living a moral or ethical life.  If that is the foundation of Christianity, then it will only be for those who are the best people in life.  And the reality that the Bible paints is that none of us can live up to God's standards.  Even the best moral, ethical people would still fall far short. 

Yet, we still strive to be moral and ethical as we live.  Not because it makes God's rescue unneccesary, or as though we can do part of the rescue and God does the rest.  We do it because we see that our life is going to be a part of our message to our neighbor, both those who are Christian and those who are not.  We live good lives because we see the impact it has on our neighbor. 

Is the Messenger also the Message?

Over the past week, I've been writing a little bit about how we, as Christians, basically try to let God speak for Himself through the Bible.  I firmly hold the belief that, when we take it upon ourselves to pronounce God's judgment rather than simply telling people that they have to wrestle with what God says is right and wrong, we are overstepping our bounds.  We can say that God says this is right or wrong, and then let that person take it up with God.  After all, He's the one they disagree with.

But what is our role in that process?  Yes, we're called to faithfully proclaim the Word that God has spoken.  That's part of the reason why reading the Bible and knowing God's Word is so important in the life of the Christian.  And yet, there really is something wrong when we completely disconnect our selves from the Word that we speak.  If we say we are a Christian, and yet we neglect to try to live as God wills, that will also have an impact on how the words we speak are received.

If I declare that God says it's important, for example, not to have sex until a person is in the union of marriage, but then say that I live under God's grace while engaging in sexual activities of my own, my self is giving a contradictory message to what I say I believe.  Likewise, if I say I believe that being a follower of Christ is important, but I neglect to do what He says regarding such things as worshiping with my fellow believers, or supporting God's work through a local congregation with my offerings and service, I'm sending the message that, what I believe is important, but not important enough to change my life to take it into account.

Here's where we have a challenge as Christians.  We will never live perfectly according to God's will.  We're sinful.  That's why we are so thankful for the forgiveness we have in Christ Jesus.  And, since we see how much God values us, in that He sends His one and only Son for us, we then strive to live according to His will. 

But this brings us to what is perhaps the most important point.  Rather than trying to find an excuse for our own sin by pointing out the sins of others, we also admit it when we sin and mess up.  When we ask for forgiveness, it shows the kind of humility the God really does want from His people.  Now, that humility springs up from our recognition that we are not perfect.  We're not the ones who stand in judgment of others.  However, that also doesn't exclude us from sharing what God says is right and wrong.  We can admit that we are sinful, and ask for forgiveness for our sin, and yet, in a caring way, point out what God says about the sin that we see in the lives of others. 

We do this because we realize that we, as God's messengers, are also part of the message.  Yes, God is the one who has done the action of declaring what is right and wrong, and in forgiving the sin of the world through Jesus.  As His messengers, we will never be able to step into those roles.  However, as His messengers, if we present ourselves as people who have the right and authority to judge others without also acknowledging our sins and faults, we're hypocritical in the eyes of those who receive such judgment, and our role as the messenger then interferes with the message.  That's why the Christian not only can declare God's judgment on the sin of others, but lives in such a way that he or she is humble because he or she recognizes the fact that sin is a part of our lives, and we need God's forgiveness just as much as the other person.

"But I really like what God calls a sin!"

In one of the standard corporate confessions of sin that many Lutherans say, we have the phrase, "I, a poor, miserable sinner..."  Over the years, I've had people make a number of different comments on this.  Some have said that they aren't miserable in their sin at all; in fact, they actually like what they're doing, even if God calls it a sin.  Others have said that it isn't exactly the most welcoming of wordings for those who may be new to the Christian faith.

I'm not here to debate wording today, but I would like to spend a few moments talking about what we do when God says something is a sin, but we would rather it not be.  Now, from the get-go, I should mention that I happen to believe that the Bible is God's Word to us, and that it says what He means.  So, when it says something is wrong, I understand that to mean that God says it is wrong, and there really isn't any wiggle room around it.  That may not be a popular view nowadays, but I'm comfortable with people saying that I'm a stick in the mud about matters like this.

Here's the thing.  We will find that God has a lot to say about what we do with our lives, and how we go about living them.  And because the Bible says that we start off life as a sinful person (by our nature, not merely by the things we do or fail to do), we all are going to be inclined to things that God says are wrong.  Admittedly, some will seem more minor than others, or some are more noticeable than others, but we all have that inclination to sin because we have sin ingrained as part of our nature.

That's why we can say that we are a poor, miserable sinner.  Just flipping through the pages of the Bible will reveal that we really shouldn't be all that pleasing to God, since we not only do many things that He says not to do, but we take some joy in them.  That shows that we aren't right in God's eyes, and that should cause us a bit of misery.  Anytime we realize that the Big Man who calls the shots shouldn't be happy with us should be an occasion to engage in a little misery.

And that's when we start to realize that our sin truly is something that we should be miserable about.  In this regard, it shouldn't matter if it's a "big" matter or a "small" matter.  Anything out of line with what God says should bring misery to the forefront.  We aren't living like God says, and He's the one who makes the rules and who gets to determine the winners and losers at the end.  That really should introduce at least a little misery into us as we reflect on our lives.

Now, here's the thing.  Yes, God lays down the laws for our lives, and He gets ultimate say.  And yes, we will find that we are sinners.  The thing is, God's desire isn't that He have to stand in condemning judgment of everyone.  That's the whole reason for Jesus, and the cross, and the resurrection.  God killed sin, and even as He brings the gift of forgiveness, He still maintains that He gets to call the shots.  No, you and I will not escape that inherited inclination to sin until God kills our physical bodies and raises them, as Jesus has promised, but we have the hope that God will introduce that new life to us because of what Jesus has done for us.  That truly is a reason that we Christians are not miserable!

Miracles and Believing

'He [Abraham] said to him [the dead rich man], "If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead."'  Luke 16:31

"His [Jesus'] resurrection also was no demonstration for the world.  The empty grave as such convinced no one who did not believe in Him."  Herman Sasse

"If only I could see a miracle, then I would believe."  A few years back, I read a quotation along these lines in a book written by an atheist.  After basically trashing the Christian faith throughout his book, he finally comes to answer the "question" of what would cause him to believe.  His response is that, if he saw something that would be defined as a miracle, then he would believe.

In some ways, that's an understandable human response.  We want to see something great to prove something that we cannot see.  And yet, there is a very distinct line here that must be drawn.  That line is this: would you believe in something you saw that was unbelievable if you didn't believe that it was possible?

We humans have a way of trying to explain away things that don't make sense.  Try to convince someone that you saw a UFO, and you'll probably fight an uphill battle.  Who are the only ones who will believe you?  The ones who believe in UFOs.  For the person who doesn't believe in UFOs, you're probably not going to convince them, no matter how much evidence you may have.

That's why I find this quote of Jesus from the story of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16: 19-31) so interesting.  Basically, Jesus says that if you don't believe in what God has told us through the words of His book, then you won't believe a miracle, even one as pronounced as a dead man rising back to life.  Seeing is not necessarily believing.  In fact, it seems that believing that it can happen is necessary to seeing it for what it really is.

I see this in many of Jesus' miracles, as I think about it.  How often was Jesus' response to the person, "Your faith has made you well."  He didn't make them well, and then they believed, but rather, they believed that He could do it, and He responded to that faith.  Maybe that's something along the lines of what Jesus meant when He said that if you have the faith of a mustard seed, you can move mountains.

Faith and Technology: Communication

Imagine that you were living back in the B.C. times.  You wanted to find out how a family member was doing in a distant village, let's say about 150 miles away.  What are your options for being in touch with that person?  Pretty much, you have two options.  You can travel there yourself, or you can write a letter (assuming you are one of the literate people of the time).  Those are pretty much your options.

Now contrast that with today.  If you want to get in touch with the person on the floor above you, you can do any of the following: call them on their landline, call them on their cellphone, text message them, email them, facebook them, walk upstairs to see them, or have a memo sent to them.  So many more options to communicate with others today than some 2,000 years ago.

The ability to communicate well and rapidly has changed the world.  Think of it from this perspective.  If you had to write a letter, and that was your only real means of communication with someone far away, you would probably take your time to write out what you are thinking.  You'd make sure that you used appropriate words to convey what you wanted to say, perhaps thinking them through before you put them down on paper (after all, no erasers yet!).  You would probably add anything extra in that you could, since it might be some time before you wrote another one, or when you would hear back from this person.

Again, contrast that with today.  How many times have you sent off an email or a message to someone, and then a few minutes later, realized that you forgot to include something?  So you easily sent off another message.  Or how many times did you quickly write something out, only to have the other person misunderstand what you said because you didn't take a great deal of care in choosing your words? 

I would imagine that most Christians would look at communication technology and say that it is a good thing.  I would heartily agree with them.  One of the things, however, that I see as a weakness with this rapid ability to communicate is that we tend to give less thought and care to the words we use.  And that can have some fairly dramatic impact.

Communications technology is a very useful thing for sharing our faith and growing in our faith.  Just think, you can email your pastor or someone who can help you answer a question about your faith and get an answer back fairly quickly.  That's a good thing.  But then, also think about this.  You get upset at someone who shares your faith with you, and rather than waiting for things to cool down, you zip off an email to them to explain how upset you are and why.  They receive it, perhaps misunderstanding a few things you say, and suddenly the situation is worse.  Now a lot more hurt feelings and matters of forgiveness need to be dealt with.

One other thing that I can see as dangerous with our current communications technology is that it has greatly impacted our ability to actually talk to people face to face.  I see it happen where people get so used to zipping off a brief idea or two that they lose the ability to relate to people beyond a mere idea or two.  Just think about the impact that this can have when we Christians start to lose our ability to talk with and interact with one another.

I am a huge proponent of communications technology.  I do also think that we all would be better served by, at times, slowing ourselves down and thinking about how this technology impacts our lives and our faith.

Faith and Technology: Sound and Sight

If you happen to venture into a larger church facility for worship, you probably expect that the pastor or worship leader will be wearing a microphone.  You'll also have speakers which convey that voice around the sanctuary so that the speaker can be heard throughout, and perhaps those speakers are also wired in to whatever musical instrument is being used for the music of the worship service.

Most of us would hardly blink an eye at this kind of technology.  We see the rationale for making use of it, and, for the most part, adopt it whole-heartedly.  It just makes sense, and it doesn't seem to detract from what happens during our worship times (except for those times when it chooses not to work!).

However, throw up a screen and a projection system, and suddenly, there are many who would say that you have crossed the line.  I've heard some of the arguments against such technology in a worship setting, and I've heard some of the arguments for such technology.  But it seems that, where sound technology is viewed as good and right, sight technology is a much more mixed bag.

I've thought long and hard on this, and I understand a bit of both sides of the argument.  When you have sight technology like screens and projectors, the "entertainment" factor of seeing images that are intended to add meaning to the message can easily slip into the object to which people pay attention.  Images that enhance the message being proclaimed are good.  Images that become the focal point instead of the message are not so good.

And yet, much research has been done to demonstrate that we humans tend to be visual and sound learners.  When you only hear something talked about, you retain a fairly small percentage of what you heard.  When you see something, you retain a higher percentage.  When you both see and hear, you retain almost 80% of what you see and hear!

The reason that this is so controversial to many is that it seems that the technology is taking the place of the Holy Spirit and His work.  If we rely upon the technology to bring about change in the life and faith of those who gather, then we have gone too far.  That is something that the Bible says only the Holy Spirit can do.  Only the Holy Spirit can create and nurture faith. 

At the same time, it's also important that we remember and take to heart the things we see and hear during our worship times.  While the Holy Spirit works as the words are heard, if we leave the worship time and really take nothing away with us, sure, our faith may have been strengthened while we listened, but the Holy Spirit is also about transforming our lives.  If we hear and walk away unchanged, well, the Bible says that is a pretty futile thing.

So I close with this thought today.  When Jesus was speaking many of His parables, it's likely that there were some of those very objects around as He spoke.  For example, as He gave the parable of the sower, one can almost picture a man with his bag of seed, tossing it into the ground.  The listeners could hear Jesus talk about the seed that landed on the path, or among the rocks, and see the sower in the distance, knowing that those same things were happening over there.  That image would help the story and its meaning stick with them even better than if Jesus had just spoken to them in a sterile environment.

I also was reading a book written by one of my seminary professors recently (That I May Be His Own, by Dr. Charles Arand), who talked about the reason that Martin Luther included woodcuts in his catechisms.  The purpose of the woodcuts was to enable people to better remember what they were learning.  Luther basically asserted that we people remember better when we have something to see that ties in with what we are learning, and that we should adopt these kind of things to better enhance our learning. 

It seems that images and teaching/preaching are made to fit together.  Of course, you always have to be cautious that the image doesn't overwhelm the message, but when the image(s) enhance the message and make it more memorable, then, it seems, we have hit upon something that fits with how God made us as humans.

Faith and Technology: Drawing Lines

A lot of medical technology is of the type that causes Christians to wonder where lines need to be drawn.  For example, this morning, I was watching our local news.  They have that little line of constant news at the bottom, and one of the flashes that came across it talked about the supposed successful use of embryonic stem cells to restore some people with a degenerative eye condition.  I would imagine that this is viewed as a great success in the medical community, as one of their theories may seem to be in the process of being proven.

And yet, I still find myself uncomfortable with that.  Really, it boils down to one word in the above paragraph that makes me uncomfortable.  Embryonic stem cells.  In other words, to bring about healing in these people, a life was cut short before it even grew large enough for the mother to know or to feel.  For some reason, the medical community has seized upon the thought that embryonic stem cells are the solution, and not other stem cells, which can be found in the body. 

Here is where I find one line that most Christians will probably agree with.  If the saving or healing of another person comes at the expense of another's life, then I have a serious problem.  This is why so many in the medical community don't look at an embryo as a living being.  It soothes their consciences that they are doing something for the good of mankind, and not at the cost of a living being.

I will admit that there are many lines in terms of medical technology that are difficult to define.  Surgery seems to be a very acceptable use of God's creativeness and healing.  Most treatments don't cross over into us "playing God", but make use of God's creativeness.  And yet, every once in a while, as a Christian, I find myself uneasy when I hear of some new breakthrough.  But in general, one fairly firm line that I draw is that of not taking a life to save or restore another person's life.

I realize that this is not going to be a consistent line among Christians, and then among people who have different faiths and beliefs than we do.  But I also think that failure to discuss it leaves a great deal more confusion out there.