“We have not king but Caesar!”
It was an empty boast:
Thus heretics wrung empty justice
From their Roman host.
And empty-hearted followers
Grieved empty prophesy:
An empty throne. The empty king
Instead had filled a tree.
But empty exposition,
Assumed in empty pride,
Keep them from recognizing
The Peacemaker who died:
The Emptied God who overcame
The Self-willed’s empty doom.
And peace with God is now restored.
The proof? The Empty Tomb.
Sources:
John 19:15 ❦ Luke 24:17-27 ❦ Luke 7:19-23
Hebrews 1:1-2 ❦ Psalm 22 ❦ Philippians 2:5-11
John 3:16 ❦ Romans 5:1-2
One of the things that impresses me most about the story of Jesus is the prophetic aspect. According to Christian understanding, Jesus fulfilled all the prophesies associated with the snake-stamping deliverer first promised in Genesis 3, yet even his own disciples couldn’t see the connection until He explained it (Luke 24:17-27). The main reason they didn’t recognize the fulfillment was because, over the previous four hundred years of prophetic silence, the commentators had figured out exactly what their Messiah would be like and what He would do. They were certain of their interpretation’s correctness – after all, they had scripture on their side! But, when the Messiah actually did turn up, He was everything prophesy had predicted, and not at all what they had expected. The commentators had put more faith in their interpretation of scripture than they had in the scriptures themselves. (That’s one reason I don’t get too excited about eschatology: so many interpreters were positive that their exposition of Revelations was the right one, and lived to be disappointed. When the time does come, it’ll be exactly what was predicted, and, as with Jesus, not necessarily what we expect.) In the coming year, I hope we all can hear God speak through the Bible: that we can see what it says, and not be misled by what we think it says!
He is Risen Indeed!
Friday, April 3, 2015
Tuesday, April 15, 2014
A Modern Easter Carol
"Spring bursts today!
For Christ is Risen and all the earth’s at play,"
Christina signed.
Yet brutal men strive as if their god had died.
There is no fun
Where Eden once bloomed, but bomb and blood and gun.
The peace on earth
Longfellow’s bells rang is not where Christ saw birth.
Yet the One Light
That played in Eden there rises just as bright.
He will suffice,
Who, through His eclipse, has assured Paradise.
That Christmas chime
Still reminds the faint the Live God acts in Time:
For Easter said
There is no god but God, Whose Son rose from the dead.
-------------------------------------
Referenced Hymns:
An Easter Carol (Before 1896) Christina Rossetti : http://www.yourdailypoem.com/listpoem.jsp?poem_id=1062
I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day (1863) Henry Wadsworth Longfellow : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Heard_the_Bells_on_Christmas_Day
Morning Has Broken (Circa 1931) Eleanor Farjeon : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morning_Has_Broken
--------------------------------
For years, our church had a banner that read: "Spring bursts today! For Christ is Risen and all the earth’s at play." And I thought it was as sappy a sentiment as I had ever seen. Years later, I looked through a book of Christina Rossetti’s poems, and was stunned to discover that saccharine observation was the opening of one of her Easter Carols. That banner rose considerably in my estimation, but not for the reason you may think. I was not moved by the poem, and still thought that stanza sounded silly, but it stands a an reassuring reminder that even great poets have off days.
Longfellow wrote his Christmas poem during the fiercest days of the American Civil War. He understood that, at such times, the sweeter sentiments of holiday celebrations are more likely to nauseate the heartsick, instead of encouraging them. But the bells’ essential song – "God is not dead, nor does He sleep" – remains truer than any pretty word pictures.
Morning Has Broken is another pretty song that, in my circles anyway, is considered too sentimental to be used in a worship service. Such dogmatic thinking deprives a congregation of the inspiration of a genuinely beautiful melody, and the artfully expressed doctrine and praise it supports. As with that funny old banner (which I wheedled away from the banner ladies when they were going to throw it out), what appears to be threadbare frivolity in grim times, can be, in fact, eternal Joy dressed in lace.
Wishing you undisguised joy this Easter! He is Risen, Indeed!
For Christ is Risen and all the earth’s at play,"
Christina signed.
Yet brutal men strive as if their god had died.
There is no fun
Where Eden once bloomed, but bomb and blood and gun.
The peace on earth
Longfellow’s bells rang is not where Christ saw birth.
Yet the One Light
That played in Eden there rises just as bright.
He will suffice,
Who, through His eclipse, has assured Paradise.
That Christmas chime
Still reminds the faint the Live God acts in Time:
For Easter said
There is no god but God, Whose Son rose from the dead.
-------------------------------------
Referenced Hymns:
An Easter Carol (Before 1896) Christina Rossetti : http://www.yourdailypoem.com/listpoem.jsp?poem_id=1062
I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day (1863) Henry Wadsworth Longfellow : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Heard_the_Bells_on_Christmas_Day
Morning Has Broken (Circa 1931) Eleanor Farjeon : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morning_Has_Broken
--------------------------------
For years, our church had a banner that read: "Spring bursts today! For Christ is Risen and all the earth’s at play." And I thought it was as sappy a sentiment as I had ever seen. Years later, I looked through a book of Christina Rossetti’s poems, and was stunned to discover that saccharine observation was the opening of one of her Easter Carols. That banner rose considerably in my estimation, but not for the reason you may think. I was not moved by the poem, and still thought that stanza sounded silly, but it stands a an reassuring reminder that even great poets have off days.
Longfellow wrote his Christmas poem during the fiercest days of the American Civil War. He understood that, at such times, the sweeter sentiments of holiday celebrations are more likely to nauseate the heartsick, instead of encouraging them. But the bells’ essential song – "God is not dead, nor does He sleep" – remains truer than any pretty word pictures.
Morning Has Broken is another pretty song that, in my circles anyway, is considered too sentimental to be used in a worship service. Such dogmatic thinking deprives a congregation of the inspiration of a genuinely beautiful melody, and the artfully expressed doctrine and praise it supports. As with that funny old banner (which I wheedled away from the banner ladies when they were going to throw it out), what appears to be threadbare frivolity in grim times, can be, in fact, eternal Joy dressed in lace.
Wishing you undisguised joy this Easter! He is Risen, Indeed!
Saturday, March 15, 2014
Heaven at Disneyland
It always amazes me what interesting things can happen when you’re expecting something else. A couple of years ago, while waiting for a podcast to post a particular interview, I accidentally discovered just how well Walt Disney understood human nature.
At that time, I had learned that a podcast* that specializes in theme park analysis was planning a program of interviews with some of the artists responsible for the relaunch of the Disney attraction Star Tours. Although amusement parks and themed entertainment don’t hold much attraction for me, I had heard a little about the redevelopment process and wanted to know more, so I kept an eye on their program list. Now, these podcasters were clever! The first announcement about those interviews was made in March. The actual program was not released until May! During those two months of waiting, I gained a new respect for the breadth of subjects that affect the planning and management of themed entertainment. It’s a whole lot more than popcorn and roller coasters! Issues range from engineering, to personnel management, to logistics, to history; but, most of all, the business is about real people, whether they are customers, managers, or designers. The anecdotes related during those two months of waiting were as inspiring at that promised podcast was likely to be.
One of those intervening episodes managed to combine history, logistics, people, and philosophy. It described Walt Disney’s hopes for building a model city in Florida, which was to have been called "Progress City." This reminder of the extent of Disney’s imagination was, in itself, interesting. But, while relating the history of the project, the guest included an unexpected anecdote about the time Walt Disney escorted the evangelist Billy Graham through Disneyland.
The story goes that, while Rev. Graham admired the park, he commented to Disney that it was a nice fantasy. This statement irritated Disney, and he turned to Graham with some heat, saying, "This is reality in the park. The fantasy is out there, People are real when they come to the park. They’re friendly, they talk with each other, they help each other. They’re clean here, they work with each other when they’re inside the park. That’s where people are real. Outside of the park is where the fantasy is: where they have to put up facades, and act like they’re something that they’re not to get ahead."
When I heard Disney’s response, I smiled indulgently. "How optimistically naive he is," I had thought, "to think that people, at heart, are naturally good." After all, just looking at the world, the evidence of Original Sin is unavoidable. Didn’t Jeremiah observe that the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked (Jeremiah 17:9), and Paul remind the Romans that "No on is righteous, no not one" (Romans 3:10)? No, I thought, people are basically evil, and poor Mr. Disney was the victim of a wishful delusion.
But then, something apologist Ravi Zacharias had said suddenly made sense, and I realized that I was wrong. Walt Disney did understand the human heart; even better than Rev. Graham, and his description of Disneyland was the reality!
Ravi Zacharias had defined evil as that which is contrary to purpose***. Something that behaves contrary to its nature is behaving in an evil way. We don’t criticize a dog when it barks, digs holes, chews up things, and, well, acts like a dog. We expect a dog to act like a dog. We do criticize a man who acts like a dog, because he isn’t a dog. Behaving like a dog is contrary to a man’s purpose, and is therefore evil. Man’s heart has been described as evil. In order to be evil, it must be acting contrary to purpose. But the only way it could be acting contrary to purpose is if it were made to be good! Admittedly, the Apostle Paul (and Rev. Graham) would point out that, when given the choice, people will choose evil over good (as Paul says, "For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do." (Romans 7:19)), but such statements only go to prove that their natures are evil: that their natures may not be good, but they were supposed to have been that way.
Going back to Disney’s statement, the world beyond the park was a place where people, for whatever reasons, were compelled to be someone they weren’t. In short, to be evil. His dream for Disneyland, in contrast, was for a place where people could be themselves: where they could act according to their purpose. He insulated the park with kind, helpful staff, considerate construction, and facility maintenance that was excellent enough to reinforce guest self-respect. In a way, he tried to make Heaven on Earth. After all, if we are free from the influence of evil when we’re in the eternal presence of God, would we not act the way Disney described his guests as acting? In Heaven, we will act according to our purpose, not contrary to it. Before God, we can be who we really are. With his artificial park, Walt Disney tried to help his guests experience that same reality.
After recovering from my initial amazement, I was struck with how simple it would be to transform this dismal fantasyland we call "real life" into a heavenly place. If, rather than being sullen and uncooperative, we act in friendly kindness; if, rather than pressing a selfish advantage, we give the other guy a break…it would be that easy! Bu then I remembered one more thing about Disneyland: people go there by choice. The guests are attracted to a place governed by kindness. People who enjoy being what they aren’t, and prefer to rebel against their purpose will select lawless venues, and the two groups need not mix. In the Real World, however, they must mix. Without the protection of shared friendly expectations and modeled cooperation, that godlike reality that Disney honored does tend to be the target of the evil phonies. No, Heaven itself cannot be achieved on earth, because too many people prefer their dark fantasies†. But we should be grateful to Walt Disney, and idealistic realists like him, who remind us that the "nice fantasy" is, in fact, the ultimate reality.
----------------------------------
References:
*The Season Pass Podcast #199, posted May 12, 2012: "Chad Emerson takes over for another episode of Emerson’s Disney Files! This episode dives into the book "Walt and the Promise of Progress City" with the author Sam Gennawey" Available at: http://seasonpasspodcast.libsyn.com/tspp-199-emerson-s-disney-files-3-gennawey-walt-progress-city-5-11-12
The anecdote is told at about 26:00 min. When I checked the source**, it admitted the story was possibly apocryphal, but it was described as being in keeping with Walt Disney's philosophy.
**The story was mentioned in
Findlay, John M. Magic Lands : Western Cityscapes and American Culture after 1940. (Berkeley, Calif. : University of California Press, 1992) p. 70.
*** Ravi Zacharias uses that definition regularly, and, most recently, alludes to it at the end of his Let My People Think broadcast for March 8, 2014, "Life’s Inescapable Questions", Pt. 1 (of 2). As of this writing, available at http://www.rzim.org/let-my-people-think-broadcasts/lifes-inescapable-questions-part-1-of-2/
† "And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil." (John 3:19)
At that time, I had learned that a podcast* that specializes in theme park analysis was planning a program of interviews with some of the artists responsible for the relaunch of the Disney attraction Star Tours. Although amusement parks and themed entertainment don’t hold much attraction for me, I had heard a little about the redevelopment process and wanted to know more, so I kept an eye on their program list. Now, these podcasters were clever! The first announcement about those interviews was made in March. The actual program was not released until May! During those two months of waiting, I gained a new respect for the breadth of subjects that affect the planning and management of themed entertainment. It’s a whole lot more than popcorn and roller coasters! Issues range from engineering, to personnel management, to logistics, to history; but, most of all, the business is about real people, whether they are customers, managers, or designers. The anecdotes related during those two months of waiting were as inspiring at that promised podcast was likely to be.
One of those intervening episodes managed to combine history, logistics, people, and philosophy. It described Walt Disney’s hopes for building a model city in Florida, which was to have been called "Progress City." This reminder of the extent of Disney’s imagination was, in itself, interesting. But, while relating the history of the project, the guest included an unexpected anecdote about the time Walt Disney escorted the evangelist Billy Graham through Disneyland.
The story goes that, while Rev. Graham admired the park, he commented to Disney that it was a nice fantasy. This statement irritated Disney, and he turned to Graham with some heat, saying, "This is reality in the park. The fantasy is out there, People are real when they come to the park. They’re friendly, they talk with each other, they help each other. They’re clean here, they work with each other when they’re inside the park. That’s where people are real. Outside of the park is where the fantasy is: where they have to put up facades, and act like they’re something that they’re not to get ahead."
When I heard Disney’s response, I smiled indulgently. "How optimistically naive he is," I had thought, "to think that people, at heart, are naturally good." After all, just looking at the world, the evidence of Original Sin is unavoidable. Didn’t Jeremiah observe that the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked (Jeremiah 17:9), and Paul remind the Romans that "No on is righteous, no not one" (Romans 3:10)? No, I thought, people are basically evil, and poor Mr. Disney was the victim of a wishful delusion.
But then, something apologist Ravi Zacharias had said suddenly made sense, and I realized that I was wrong. Walt Disney did understand the human heart; even better than Rev. Graham, and his description of Disneyland was the reality!
Ravi Zacharias had defined evil as that which is contrary to purpose***. Something that behaves contrary to its nature is behaving in an evil way. We don’t criticize a dog when it barks, digs holes, chews up things, and, well, acts like a dog. We expect a dog to act like a dog. We do criticize a man who acts like a dog, because he isn’t a dog. Behaving like a dog is contrary to a man’s purpose, and is therefore evil. Man’s heart has been described as evil. In order to be evil, it must be acting contrary to purpose. But the only way it could be acting contrary to purpose is if it were made to be good! Admittedly, the Apostle Paul (and Rev. Graham) would point out that, when given the choice, people will choose evil over good (as Paul says, "For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do." (Romans 7:19)), but such statements only go to prove that their natures are evil: that their natures may not be good, but they were supposed to have been that way.
Going back to Disney’s statement, the world beyond the park was a place where people, for whatever reasons, were compelled to be someone they weren’t. In short, to be evil. His dream for Disneyland, in contrast, was for a place where people could be themselves: where they could act according to their purpose. He insulated the park with kind, helpful staff, considerate construction, and facility maintenance that was excellent enough to reinforce guest self-respect. In a way, he tried to make Heaven on Earth. After all, if we are free from the influence of evil when we’re in the eternal presence of God, would we not act the way Disney described his guests as acting? In Heaven, we will act according to our purpose, not contrary to it. Before God, we can be who we really are. With his artificial park, Walt Disney tried to help his guests experience that same reality.
After recovering from my initial amazement, I was struck with how simple it would be to transform this dismal fantasyland we call "real life" into a heavenly place. If, rather than being sullen and uncooperative, we act in friendly kindness; if, rather than pressing a selfish advantage, we give the other guy a break…it would be that easy! Bu then I remembered one more thing about Disneyland: people go there by choice. The guests are attracted to a place governed by kindness. People who enjoy being what they aren’t, and prefer to rebel against their purpose will select lawless venues, and the two groups need not mix. In the Real World, however, they must mix. Without the protection of shared friendly expectations and modeled cooperation, that godlike reality that Disney honored does tend to be the target of the evil phonies. No, Heaven itself cannot be achieved on earth, because too many people prefer their dark fantasies†. But we should be grateful to Walt Disney, and idealistic realists like him, who remind us that the "nice fantasy" is, in fact, the ultimate reality.
----------------------------------
References:
*The Season Pass Podcast #199, posted May 12, 2012: "Chad Emerson takes over for another episode of Emerson’s Disney Files! This episode dives into the book "Walt and the Promise of Progress City" with the author Sam Gennawey" Available at: http://seasonpasspodcast.libsyn.com/tspp-199-emerson-s-disney-files-3-gennawey-walt-progress-city-5-11-12
The anecdote is told at about 26:00 min. When I checked the source**, it admitted the story was possibly apocryphal, but it was described as being in keeping with Walt Disney's philosophy.
**The story was mentioned in
Findlay, John M. Magic Lands : Western Cityscapes and American Culture after 1940. (Berkeley, Calif. : University of California Press, 1992) p. 70.
*** Ravi Zacharias uses that definition regularly, and, most recently, alludes to it at the end of his Let My People Think broadcast for March 8, 2014, "Life’s Inescapable Questions", Pt. 1 (of 2). As of this writing, available at http://www.rzim.org/let-my-people-think-broadcasts/lifes-inescapable-questions-part-1-of-2/
† "And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil." (John 3:19)
Thursday, March 21, 2013
"Awake, Sleeper" — A Poem for Easter
Maybe I don’t shop at the right stores, but, this year, I couldn’t find enough suitable Easter cards fro all the friends, relatives, church people and shut-ins to whom I send cards. Well, when you care enough to send, and can’t send Hallmark’s very best, you may end up sending your very best. Here is the verse from the cards I ended up making this year. Christina Rossetti and Adelaide Proctor have nothing to fear, but it was my best. With it goes my best wishes that you a lovely Holy Week, and that you’ll keep the joy of Easter all year long!
* * * * *
The wailing filled the doleful night.
The daughter never stirred.
Then spoke the Voice that first roused light,
And then Talitha heard:
Awake, sleeper, and rise from the dead,
And the sun will shine on you!
Leave myrrh in the forest,
No need for it here.
Let nard scent a wedding
Instead of a bier.
Awake, sleeper, and rise from the dead,
And the sun will shine on you!
In stony cell the captive lay.
Outside, his sisters grieve.
Parole denied, but the fourth day
The Judge read the reprieve:
Awake, sleeper, and rise from the dead,
And the sun will shine on you!
Come forth, be untied
From that grim robe of fate!
When I buy the pardon
It’s never too late!
Awake, sleeper, and rise from the dead,
And the sun will shine on you!
To all us stillborn spirits who
In deadly darkness grope,
The Judge and Maker calls us to
Life, Light, and Mercy’s hope:
Awake, sleeper, and rise from the dead,
And the Son will shine on you!
Your passions are bondage,
Delusions are lies!
Don’t study the dungheap;
Look up to the skies!
Awake, sleeper, and rise from the dead,
And the Son will shine on you!
Awake, sleeper, and rise from the dead,
And Christ will shine on you!
* * * * *
As we say at our church, He is Risen! He is Risen, Indeed!
* * * * *
The wailing filled the doleful night.
The daughter never stirred.
Then spoke the Voice that first roused light,
And then Talitha heard:
Awake, sleeper, and rise from the dead,
And the sun will shine on you!
Leave myrrh in the forest,
No need for it here.
Let nard scent a wedding
Instead of a bier.
Awake, sleeper, and rise from the dead,
And the sun will shine on you!
In stony cell the captive lay.
Outside, his sisters grieve.
Parole denied, but the fourth day
The Judge read the reprieve:
Awake, sleeper, and rise from the dead,
And the sun will shine on you!
Come forth, be untied
From that grim robe of fate!
When I buy the pardon
It’s never too late!
Awake, sleeper, and rise from the dead,
And the sun will shine on you!
To all us stillborn spirits who
In deadly darkness grope,
The Judge and Maker calls us to
Life, Light, and Mercy’s hope:
Awake, sleeper, and rise from the dead,
And the Son will shine on you!
Your passions are bondage,
Delusions are lies!
Don’t study the dungheap;
Look up to the skies!
Awake, sleeper, and rise from the dead,
And the Son will shine on you!
Awake, sleeper, and rise from the dead,
And Christ will shine on you!
* * * * *
As we say at our church, He is Risen! He is Risen, Indeed!
Monday, March 4, 2013
Your Church May Need Missionaries, Too
Most of us can't go to a foreign mission field, but, have you ever realized, we have a mission field right here? I don't mean merely among our friends and neighbors, I mean at your own church. It occurred to me once that church board members are, in a sense, missionaries to the rest of the church. Board members do for the church what field workers do for the believers in te communities where they serve: they help organize this church, and work to provide direction, guidance, and opportunities for spiritual growth to the rest of the congregation.
Now, you may think, "Why would a church need missionaries for itself? We're all saved here!" The prophet Jeremiah gives the answer: : The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?" (Jeremiah 17:9) We don't know what's really going on in the minds of the people we know. For instance, in Sunday School, we got to talking about Ananias and Sapphira. You remember them from Acts 5. When the couple saw what a reaction Barnabas got when he gave the church the money he had made on the sale of some real estate, they wanted some of that admiration, too. So, they sold a piece of land, and brought part of the money to the church, claiming it was the whole price. Peter rebuked them, not because they hadn't brought more money, but for lying about the portion they did bring. They were lying to God, not to Peter, and, as a reminder that God takes the rightness of those who claim Him seriously, they both died.
What was startling, though, was that, before they lied to God, they were already lying to the church about their relationship with God. By all indications, they were fine, upstanding members of the church, but, it turns out, they weren't there to worship the God who Redeemed them; they were trying to make people think they worshiped Him. Otherwise, they wouldn't have been so eager to draw attention to their offering. When that thought occurred to me, it frightened me a little. How many people might be doing the work of the church, not because they love Jesus, but because they want others to think they love Jesus?
Church boards work to provide the structure through which the people of the congregation can come to know themselves – and come to know and truly worship God. Those willing to serve on boards, like any other missionary, have to sacrifice some of their time and energy. But they serve God's purpose in ways just as important as those working in foreign lands. And you don't need a passport to do it!
Now, you may think, "Why would a church need missionaries for itself? We're all saved here!" The prophet Jeremiah gives the answer: : The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?" (Jeremiah 17:9) We don't know what's really going on in the minds of the people we know. For instance, in Sunday School, we got to talking about Ananias and Sapphira. You remember them from Acts 5. When the couple saw what a reaction Barnabas got when he gave the church the money he had made on the sale of some real estate, they wanted some of that admiration, too. So, they sold a piece of land, and brought part of the money to the church, claiming it was the whole price. Peter rebuked them, not because they hadn't brought more money, but for lying about the portion they did bring. They were lying to God, not to Peter, and, as a reminder that God takes the rightness of those who claim Him seriously, they both died.
What was startling, though, was that, before they lied to God, they were already lying to the church about their relationship with God. By all indications, they were fine, upstanding members of the church, but, it turns out, they weren't there to worship the God who Redeemed them; they were trying to make people think they worshiped Him. Otherwise, they wouldn't have been so eager to draw attention to their offering. When that thought occurred to me, it frightened me a little. How many people might be doing the work of the church, not because they love Jesus, but because they want others to think they love Jesus?
Church boards work to provide the structure through which the people of the congregation can come to know themselves – and come to know and truly worship God. Those willing to serve on boards, like any other missionary, have to sacrifice some of their time and energy. But they serve God's purpose in ways just as important as those working in foreign lands. And you don't need a passport to do it!
Sunday, February 17, 2013
How I Came to Be a Christian
Last year, you heard how I came to be a church lady. But church ladies are not redeemed by their talent for making hot dishes or organizing bake sales. They, too, must be redeemed by grace through faith in the atoning death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Sometimes, when I want a laugh, I speculate on what my testimony would sound like as an episode of Unshackled. If you’ve ever heard that long-running dramatic radio program from Chicago’s Pacific Garden Mission, you know the dreadful circumstances from which the profiled men and women are delivered; and the wonderful things that God has done through them.
By contrast, my life has been idyllic. It won’t come as any surprise that I’ve grown up in churches. My earliest memories were of nursery Sunday School at an local Methodist church. My childhood stories were Bible stories, I was interested in knowing what the Bible said, and always preferred a regular church worship service to "children’s church." But all that grounding in the Faith led to one problem. I knew about Jesus, I knew about church ritual, I knew about doctrine, and I knew and believed the Plan of Salvation. But, by the time I got to high school, I wasn’t sure whether I was saved. Yes, even "nice" people need to be Unshackled.
The issue was that, though I knew what the Bible said, and I trusted it was true, I wasn’t entirely sure whether I really believed it, or whether I just thought I did, or whether I just wanted other people to think I did. It may sound odd to tell, but when you’ve always belonged to a group, it’s sometimes hard to tell whether you belong because of habit or whether it's your own choice. I had been confirmed, and had stood up a number of times at altar calls, but I also knew what counts with God is attitude, not action.
Well, in high school, one of my friends was asking me regularly how I knew I was saved. I had been around church long enough to know the right answers, but I wondered whether I gave them because it was expected, or because I really believed them. I thought I really believed them, but, because they were a habit, I wasn’t sure. Finally, when the church youth group was planning to do a study on other faiths, the leader said solely that, because of what we were going to be discussing, all of us needed to be sure we believed in Jesus. When he said that, it was as if a voice inside of me said, "You’re not sure!" And it frightened me, because I wasn’t. But then I heard another internal voice – a voice that was not mine – say impatiently, "Well, Sarah, if you aren’t sure, ask Him now!" Until then, though I would have trusted God with my soul without wavering, it had never occurred me to give God my uncertainty. I prayed silently something to the effect of, "Heavenly Father, I know You are true, and I do want to belong to You, irrevocably, now and always. If there’s anything wrong with my attitude or my faith, fix it, because I do want to belong to You." And He did fix it, because I haven’t been troubled with doubts about my salvation since. In fact, since then, whenever I have any doubts about my attitudes or motives, I present them to God for appropriate alteration.
I tell this story, because we had a situation at our church recently in which someone needed assurance, and, due to an aggressive brain tumor, needed it fast. He knew that Jesus died for rebellious sinners; that He rose from the dead, proving He had paid the price for their rebellion, and that He gives eternal life to all who completely trust Him. But he wasn’t sure he really believed it. I tell this story now, as a reminder to anyone who might share this dear man’s uncertainty: that God can be trusted even with that.
When I think of my story of coming to assurance, I also think of that silly old joke about the married couple trying to go to sleep one night. The man tossed and turned, so much that his wife finally asked him what was bothering him. He said, "I borrowed money from McGee next door. I'm supposed to pay him back tomorrow, and I don't have it." The wife got up, opened the window, and shouted, "Hey, McGee! My husband can't pay you the money he owes you!" She got back into bed and said,, "There. Now go to sleep and let him worry for a while." That's one more lovely thing about God: we owe him everything and He already knows we can't pay Him back. We can let him worry about that, too!
Incidentally, if you’re wondering about the man who needed assurance, his story has a happy ending – at least by eternal standards. At his funeral yesterday, one of his friends told how he had been with him in the hospital when he committed his life to Jesus. We had been praying for his assurance, and through that reassuring story, his assurance became our assurance: God does answer prayer, and it’s never too late to pray for redemption.
By contrast, my life has been idyllic. It won’t come as any surprise that I’ve grown up in churches. My earliest memories were of nursery Sunday School at an local Methodist church. My childhood stories were Bible stories, I was interested in knowing what the Bible said, and always preferred a regular church worship service to "children’s church." But all that grounding in the Faith led to one problem. I knew about Jesus, I knew about church ritual, I knew about doctrine, and I knew and believed the Plan of Salvation. But, by the time I got to high school, I wasn’t sure whether I was saved. Yes, even "nice" people need to be Unshackled.
The issue was that, though I knew what the Bible said, and I trusted it was true, I wasn’t entirely sure whether I really believed it, or whether I just thought I did, or whether I just wanted other people to think I did. It may sound odd to tell, but when you’ve always belonged to a group, it’s sometimes hard to tell whether you belong because of habit or whether it's your own choice. I had been confirmed, and had stood up a number of times at altar calls, but I also knew what counts with God is attitude, not action.
Well, in high school, one of my friends was asking me regularly how I knew I was saved. I had been around church long enough to know the right answers, but I wondered whether I gave them because it was expected, or because I really believed them. I thought I really believed them, but, because they were a habit, I wasn’t sure. Finally, when the church youth group was planning to do a study on other faiths, the leader said solely that, because of what we were going to be discussing, all of us needed to be sure we believed in Jesus. When he said that, it was as if a voice inside of me said, "You’re not sure!" And it frightened me, because I wasn’t. But then I heard another internal voice – a voice that was not mine – say impatiently, "Well, Sarah, if you aren’t sure, ask Him now!" Until then, though I would have trusted God with my soul without wavering, it had never occurred me to give God my uncertainty. I prayed silently something to the effect of, "Heavenly Father, I know You are true, and I do want to belong to You, irrevocably, now and always. If there’s anything wrong with my attitude or my faith, fix it, because I do want to belong to You." And He did fix it, because I haven’t been troubled with doubts about my salvation since. In fact, since then, whenever I have any doubts about my attitudes or motives, I present them to God for appropriate alteration.
I tell this story, because we had a situation at our church recently in which someone needed assurance, and, due to an aggressive brain tumor, needed it fast. He knew that Jesus died for rebellious sinners; that He rose from the dead, proving He had paid the price for their rebellion, and that He gives eternal life to all who completely trust Him. But he wasn’t sure he really believed it. I tell this story now, as a reminder to anyone who might share this dear man’s uncertainty: that God can be trusted even with that.
When I think of my story of coming to assurance, I also think of that silly old joke about the married couple trying to go to sleep one night. The man tossed and turned, so much that his wife finally asked him what was bothering him. He said, "I borrowed money from McGee next door. I'm supposed to pay him back tomorrow, and I don't have it." The wife got up, opened the window, and shouted, "Hey, McGee! My husband can't pay you the money he owes you!" She got back into bed and said,, "There. Now go to sleep and let him worry for a while." That's one more lovely thing about God: we owe him everything and He already knows we can't pay Him back. We can let him worry about that, too!
Incidentally, if you’re wondering about the man who needed assurance, his story has a happy ending – at least by eternal standards. At his funeral yesterday, one of his friends told how he had been with him in the hospital when he committed his life to Jesus. We had been praying for his assurance, and through that reassuring story, his assurance became our assurance: God does answer prayer, and it’s never too late to pray for redemption.
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
On Village Idiots – and Praying for Celebrities
A couple of years ago, my adult Sunday School class studied the Gospel of John. I have seldom felt more inadequate; but seldom learned more about the Bible, and about God. For instance, Chapter 10 is a complete refutation of the idea that God is a cranky old grandpa looking for reasons to punish people. Chapter 1 uses language that combines Greek philosophy and Jewish sensibilities to show that Jesus was the answer to both. And, in the upper room, Jesus tells His disciples about the Holy Spirit, saying, "And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever. Even the Spirit of truth… .: (John 14:16). William Barclay's commentary explained that the word translated "comforter" also had the idea of encourager (for, by derivation, com-fort-er means "with-strength-er"), and advocate. Advocate, he pointed out, included our idea of professional advocate: in other words, a lawyer. Barclay elaborated by showing how the Holy Spirit doesn't force people do things: He reasons them into doing them, much as a lawyer reasons with witnesses when presenting evidence.
That news startled me. Not because the information was so surprising, but because, suddenly, an event from my childhood made sense.
One day, while I was a young teenager, I was working in the kitchen. Suddenly, for no good reason, I thought of a character in a movie I had enjoyed. "You really like that character, don't you?"I could almost hear someone say. I did like the character, so I agreed. "The fellow who plays him must be pretty nice, don't you think?"the almost-voice continued. Again, I agreed. "Why don't you pray for him?" it suggested. I thought that was a wonderful idea, and agreed to the urging enthusiastically. Then I had, not exactly a doubt, but an uncertainty. "But what if he's a jerk?"
"Then don't you think he'll need it even more?" was my answer. I couldn't argue with that. And that's how the Holy Spirit reasoned me into including celebrities in my prayers: something I've been doing earnestly ever since.
I tell this story, because it was the first time it had ever occurred to me to pray for a celebrity. After all, they're celebrities! Why would they need prayer?
Over the years, the answer has only grown more obvious. They need prayer for the same reasons you, and your family, and your friends, do. They get sick, and tempted, and bewildered, and convicted, just as much as anyone else. Perhaps even more. What gets attention these days like celebrity news? And what kind of stories make the news? Scandalous, sordid, disappointing foolishness. Things that would never make it to any church's prayer chain for sounding too much like gossip! Celebrities often carry on like a band of village idiots! Why pray about that!
But even village idiots have their place in society, as Monty Python's Flying Circus so insightfully pointed out in the skit "The Idiot in Society" (Monty Python's Flying Circus: Just the Words - Episode 20: http://www.ibras.dk/montypython/episode20.htm#13.). At one point, the village idiot, upon whom the "investigative report" focuses, remarks, "There is this very real need in society for someone whom almost anyone can look down on and ridicule." Judging from the tone with which the celebrity news is repo9rted, this seems to be a role frequently filled by our poor celebrities. If we didn't feel superior to them, we wouldn't shake our heads over them, or roll our eyes, or chuckle at their misfortune. We would pity them for being, well, jerks. And, as was pointed out to me so many years ago, then don't you think they need prayer even more?
So the next time you're tempted to laugh at, or rage against, some notable's poor decisions, or indecorous behavior, or idiotic life choice – or, for that matter, the anonymous village idiots who cut you off in traffic, or have too many items in the checkout line, or … well, you fill in the blank – try praying for them, instead. God changes lives through prayers, not curses. The life He changes may turn out to be be your own!
That news startled me. Not because the information was so surprising, but because, suddenly, an event from my childhood made sense.
One day, while I was a young teenager, I was working in the kitchen. Suddenly, for no good reason, I thought of a character in a movie I had enjoyed. "You really like that character, don't you?"I could almost hear someone say. I did like the character, so I agreed. "The fellow who plays him must be pretty nice, don't you think?"the almost-voice continued. Again, I agreed. "Why don't you pray for him?" it suggested. I thought that was a wonderful idea, and agreed to the urging enthusiastically. Then I had, not exactly a doubt, but an uncertainty. "But what if he's a jerk?"
"Then don't you think he'll need it even more?" was my answer. I couldn't argue with that. And that's how the Holy Spirit reasoned me into including celebrities in my prayers: something I've been doing earnestly ever since.
I tell this story, because it was the first time it had ever occurred to me to pray for a celebrity. After all, they're celebrities! Why would they need prayer?
Over the years, the answer has only grown more obvious. They need prayer for the same reasons you, and your family, and your friends, do. They get sick, and tempted, and bewildered, and convicted, just as much as anyone else. Perhaps even more. What gets attention these days like celebrity news? And what kind of stories make the news? Scandalous, sordid, disappointing foolishness. Things that would never make it to any church's prayer chain for sounding too much like gossip! Celebrities often carry on like a band of village idiots! Why pray about that!
But even village idiots have their place in society, as Monty Python's Flying Circus so insightfully pointed out in the skit "The Idiot in Society" (Monty Python's Flying Circus: Just the Words - Episode 20: http://www.ibras.dk/montypython/episode20.htm#13.). At one point, the village idiot, upon whom the "investigative report" focuses, remarks, "There is this very real need in society for someone whom almost anyone can look down on and ridicule." Judging from the tone with which the celebrity news is repo9rted, this seems to be a role frequently filled by our poor celebrities. If we didn't feel superior to them, we wouldn't shake our heads over them, or roll our eyes, or chuckle at their misfortune. We would pity them for being, well, jerks. And, as was pointed out to me so many years ago, then don't you think they need prayer even more?
So the next time you're tempted to laugh at, or rage against, some notable's poor decisions, or indecorous behavior, or idiotic life choice – or, for that matter, the anonymous village idiots who cut you off in traffic, or have too many items in the checkout line, or … well, you fill in the blank – try praying for them, instead. God changes lives through prayers, not curses. The life He changes may turn out to be be your own!
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