Reflection 2: A warning from Ezekiel to those rich in faith, knowledge, or money. The verse, “For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required (Luke 12:48) is one commonly cited, but God takes it to the next level with Ezekiel. In Ezekiel 3, God lets Ezekiel know that if he doesn’t tell the rebellious in Israel God’s warnings against their actions, “[their] blood I will require at your hand.” Ezekiel is given great knowledge and vision and access to the words of God Almighty. He is expected to use it. Without any attempt at boasting, I have lived a privileged life in terms of parentage, money, and education. Much is expected. . .
Reflection 3: I’ve read and heard about Christ’s healings in the gospels hundreds of times, and they often end with the statement, “Your faith has made you well.” Only today did I consider that he meant the word “well” to mean much more than physically well. Luke 17 describes the cleansing of the ten lepers, and only one comes back to thank Jesus. And Jesus says to him, “Your faith has made you well.” The others were physically well, unless the text is leaving out some major recurrence of leprosy down the road due to their self-centeredness. But the one who came back immediately glorified God. He recognized his true treasure and the source of complete joy for his life. He was not just physically well. His faith had made him spiritually well, a condition more necessary for his eternal well-being.
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Reflections from today's Bible reading, Part 1
I noticed a couple of things in my Scripture reading from today that I wanted to share, but I’ll do so in pieces.
Reflection #1
I’m someone who analyzes decisions to death, agonizing over whether or not I should do something or not, or whether or not it is “God’s will” for me to do something. Right now, getting another masters degree falls in that category. I found a better way to approach decision-making in 1 Chronicles today. In I Chron. 19, Israel’s army is facing an intimidating battle. Joab, the man David has placed in charge of the army, has made a tactical decision. This decision has life or death consequences for thousands, a decision much more consequential than the ones I agonize over. His statement before the battle (verse 13) reveals a better way to approach decision-making: “Be of good courage, and let us be strong for our people and for the cities of our God. And may the Lord do what is good in His sight.”
The man is able to act with conviction. First, he says, “Be of good courage,” a statement in the Bible that is almost always followed with, “. . . for the Lord your God is with you.” Next, he speaks of motive: “. . . be strong for our people and for the cities of our God.” The action comes down to motive. If the action taken is done for the betterment of one’s family and one’s church family, the motives are in the right place. If my decision can bring glory to God through improving my family’s situation or the situation of some in the family of God, it is an action worth taking. If it is an action for the sake of pride, it is wrong. The same action/decision can be good or bad depending on the motive of the individual.
Joab ends by recognizing God’s sovereignty: “And may the Lord do what is good in His sight.”
Bottom line – I can act with conviction and confidence knowing that the Lord is with me if my motives are proper and I am working for the glory of God. It may or may not work out how I want; the Lord will do what is good in His sight. But the end result is nothing in comparison to the glory given to God in the process.
Though it will not be easy, I think I need to simplify my decision-making process to look more like Joab’s.
Reflection #1
I’m someone who analyzes decisions to death, agonizing over whether or not I should do something or not, or whether or not it is “God’s will” for me to do something. Right now, getting another masters degree falls in that category. I found a better way to approach decision-making in 1 Chronicles today. In I Chron. 19, Israel’s army is facing an intimidating battle. Joab, the man David has placed in charge of the army, has made a tactical decision. This decision has life or death consequences for thousands, a decision much more consequential than the ones I agonize over. His statement before the battle (verse 13) reveals a better way to approach decision-making: “Be of good courage, and let us be strong for our people and for the cities of our God. And may the Lord do what is good in His sight.”
The man is able to act with conviction. First, he says, “Be of good courage,” a statement in the Bible that is almost always followed with, “. . . for the Lord your God is with you.” Next, he speaks of motive: “. . . be strong for our people and for the cities of our God.” The action comes down to motive. If the action taken is done for the betterment of one’s family and one’s church family, the motives are in the right place. If my decision can bring glory to God through improving my family’s situation or the situation of some in the family of God, it is an action worth taking. If it is an action for the sake of pride, it is wrong. The same action/decision can be good or bad depending on the motive of the individual.
Joab ends by recognizing God’s sovereignty: “And may the Lord do what is good in His sight.”
Bottom line – I can act with conviction and confidence knowing that the Lord is with me if my motives are proper and I am working for the glory of God. It may or may not work out how I want; the Lord will do what is good in His sight. But the end result is nothing in comparison to the glory given to God in the process.
Though it will not be easy, I think I need to simplify my decision-making process to look more like Joab’s.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Reputation
One of the things I repeat almost daily to both my students and my basketball players is that every day they are building a reputation. Every day counts, and their actions that day will determine what they as individuals (and in basketball, us as a team) are known for. Because everyone is known for something. I emphasize this in my teaching and coaching because I believe it matters, almost certainly more so than comma usage or a jump shot.
I was listening to a sermon the other day about the life of Jonathan Edwards, icon of the Christian faith from the 18th century. His biography is interesting, especially the amount of strife he often faced in his own church. What is most memorable to me, though, is a statement the speaker made about Edwards' reputation amongst some in the his community. Many said of him, "He's too heavenly-minded to be of any earthly good."
What a ridiculous statement, and what an honorable reputation. I can only hope to be "criticized" in that way at some point in my life.
I was listening to a sermon the other day about the life of Jonathan Edwards, icon of the Christian faith from the 18th century. His biography is interesting, especially the amount of strife he often faced in his own church. What is most memorable to me, though, is a statement the speaker made about Edwards' reputation amongst some in the his community. Many said of him, "He's too heavenly-minded to be of any earthly good."
What a ridiculous statement, and what an honorable reputation. I can only hope to be "criticized" in that way at some point in my life.
Friday, July 24, 2009
My sermon in a barn: It's not me
I posted this on the church website that I'm trying to get going - thought it might be worthwhile here. A little lengthy, but certainly an edifying journey. I've pasted it below. . .
My wife's family had a family reunion this past weekend. This reunion occurs every other year, and it is a major event. It lasts for 3 days, and this year we had 70 people attend. Some people complain about family reunions - not this family. And I have loved being a part of it the past several years.
The reunion ends on Sunday morning with church in the barn. The reunion is on my in-law's farm, and we go up to the hay mow and have church on Sunday morning. We carry chairs, an electric keyboard, hymnals, and whatever else is needed up there. Two years ago, my father-in-law used the bucket of his tractor as a makeshift "elevator" up to the window of the hay mow for those unable to climb the steps. It's pretty crazy, and no one would miss it for the world. It's very special.
A few months ago, Emily's parents asked if I would give the message. It was a very intimidating task, but one I took up. The service went very well, and I hope my message was worthwhile. God certainly was with us in that barn, and I thank Him for allowing us the opportunity to worship together.
For anyone interested, I've included the sermon below:
The Scripture text read before the message was Philippians 4:1, 4:4 – 9, but the message was based on Philippians 3:17 – 4:9.
As I was thinking about what to talk about today, the most intimidating thing is that I’ve got so much less life experience than most of the people here. What do I possibly have to offer you in terms of words of wisdom? In just about everyone’s job or experience, you’ve encountered some young hot shot who tried to impart all their wisdom on you about how to do things better. Nobody likes that. I don’t want to be that. But I also couldn’t miss the opportunity to talk about God this morning. So what I’ve come up with is less of me saying let me show you how to do things, and more of me saying, “Look at what I’ve done – and learn from my mistakes.”
As I was writing my notes for this, I kept referring to my theme as a thesis statement. As a teacher of writing, I know all things must start with a statement that will guide the speech, and I want to start with that. Once we get past that, we can talk about how I’ve often missed this truth, and why this truth is so important.
There are two parts to my thesis statement, and I don’t think many of you will debate the first part. Most people in the world don’t debate the first part. My thesis statement begins with the words, “There is a God.” That’s the easy part. The second part is more complicated. It’s the part I’ve gotten wrong over and over and over, and every time I do I limit the possibilities in my life – the professional possibilities, the relational possibilities, and mostly the possibility for immense joy. The second part is simply this – “It’s not me.” So there it is: There is a God, and it’s not me. The question is, do I embrace that and live accordingly, or do I ignore it? And which is a better way to live?
The writer Blaise Pascal wrote this:
“All men seek happiness. This is without exception. Whatever different means they employ, they all tend to this end. The case of some going to war, and of others avoiding it, is the same desire in both, attended with different views. The will never takes the least step but to this object. This is the motive of every action of every man.”
This is one of the truest statements I’ve ever read. Think about it. The motivation for everything we do is our own happiness. Some of you work very hard for your children’s happiness, but that’s because it makes you happy. Some of you hate your job, but you work hard at it to make money with the hope that you can use that money to bring you more happiness by paying the bills, taking care of your family, taking a trip, or seeing a movie. Some of you here even find happiness by voluntarily sitting on some frozen piece of lake in the dead of winter looking for fish, which I have yet to understand. We all want happiness and work endlessly to get it. The problem is that people like me shortchange themselves over and over and over again.
We shortchange ourselves every time we forget that there is a God, and it’s not me. You simply cannot have the same level of joy when you forget that you’re not God. You can certainly have brief moments of pleasure; but you will be missing deep, intense, lasting joy. Why would we ever settle for the brief?
This happens to me because so often, my focus is constantly on me. And the difficult and ugly truth of the matter is that when my focus is on me instead of God, I have made myself a God. My actions say, “There is a God, and it’s me.” For instance, there were a lot of days this spring when I struggled. When the alarm clock went off, I began the day grumpy. There were many questionable decisions made by the leadership of the high school where I work. I also felt I had been treated unfairly and disrespectfully in some ways. And when I woke up in the morning, I began by counting the ways I thought I had been wronged, and I then moved to predicting what moronic decisions would get made that day by those in charge. Needless to say, my day didn’t have a chance to be successful from the minute my alarm clock went off. And the reason is because I didn’t see God. I saw myself. I believed in God, but my actions and attitude showed that I believed that it was me. And it’s a sad mistake I’ve made over and over and over again in my life.
In the first book of Proverbs, Solomon writes, “Widsom calls aloud outside. . . ‘How long, you simple ones, will you love simplicity?’” It hurts me to read that. How long will I love simplicity, love seeing only myself, attempt to live in a way that ignores that God exists? And when watching the rest of the world, I see this is a common problem. Watch people’s actions on a daily basis, and they seem to constantly be saying, “Look at me! Look at what I did!” They don’t do this because it feels great, but because it doesn’t. They have to continue to search for happiness, and they have yet to look elsewhere other than the empty, self-serving, thirst for attention. This is silly. We don’t need attention from others. God clearly notices us – and that’s easy to see when we look around at all the gifts he’s given us instead of how other people in the world have wronged us.
There is a God, and it’s not me. When you recognize that, you live differently. You live better. One way you live better is in your relationship with others.
Oswald Chambers is another of my favorite authors, and he wrote this: “If we believe in Jesus Christ we will determine to make our relationship to men what Jesus Christ was to us.” The quote doesn’t say that if we believe in Christ, we should act like Christ to other men. It says we will. What do your actions to others say about your belief in God?
If I believe that there is a God, and it’s not me; then I won’t let pride and anger get in the way of my relationships with others. I will love them sacrificially. Those we love the most often hurt us the most. Do you act like Christ in that situation, or do you act like you are God? When you believe that there is a God, and it’s not me, you quit counting up the number of things you’ve done for your spouse or your significant other or your friend today, and instead you ask yourself what else you can do to love them sacrificially. You don’t seek to avoid the person at work who annoys you, because you know that you can’t show them the love of God if you’re nowhere near them. And you don’t hold long grudges, regardless of how badly you were treated. Instead you take the first step towards reconciliation. The happiness we all seek will be multiplied many times over if we will just take this approach.
That doesn’t make confrontation with others bad. That doesn’t make arguments bad. Those happen, and they are necessary. The question when confrontation occurs, however, is one of motive. In this argument, is my goal to help the individual and our relationship, or is my goal to prove to them that I am God?
Another way you live better is when hard times come. And hard times most definitely come. I don’t have to tell you guys that. And hard times don’t change the fact that there is a God, and it’s not me. God is not in the business of providing my self-indulgent pleasures. He wants way more for me than that. Following God does not guarantee comfort, because in the end comfort will provide us with less joy and will convince us further that we ourselves are God.
Oswald Chambers wrote that suffering or real loss often puts us face to face with God. This is because the world is a tragic place, and evil does exist. That’s why we need God, the only source of redemption in this fallen world. We forget that in comfortable times, unfortunately. Later Chambers includes this quote: “When a man is at his wits’ end it is not a cowardly thing to pray, it is the only way he can get in touch with reality.” When I make myself a God when difficult times come, I complain to whoever will listen. I beat my brains out trying to figure out how I’ll make it, or what I can do to fix things. I give myself an excuse to treat others poorly. When I focus on God, I get God’s peace. I get to feel close to the One Sovereign Creator of all the world. It seems like a simple choice.
I said earlier that suffering puts us face to face with God. Frankly, so does celebration. God felt celebration to be so important that there are several commanded celebrations in the Bible. Events just like this one – this weekend. Celebrations like this give us some of the most memorable pictures of God. This has been a great weekend. The question is, do you see it as just that – a great weekend; or do you see God? Do you see just one weekend out of your life that happened to be positive and fun and full of good food and nice conversation? Or will you remember seeing the face of God and feeling his embrace of blessings each and every moment you got to be here and celebrate this family? Celebrations are wonderful. But you limit the immense joy available to you if you forget that there is a God, and it’s not me. You limit the experience when you forget that you were given this experience so that you might see Him.
Since we were little kids, we’ve been taught that sin is bad, that we should avoid sin. That instruction is usually followed by a list of “don’ts.” What people tend to not realize, though, is that sin isn’t wrong doing. Sin is wrong being. Regardless of what you do or don’t do, sin is doing without God. Regardless how good an act, it is sin if we forget that we aren’t God. Regardless how many “bad” things we don’t do, we have not avoided sin if we live a shallow, self-serving life.
The world screams to us that this is not true, that we are our own gods. The world tells us to serve ourselves and buy as much self-focused joy as possible. There is a huge market for this message because the same people remain unsatisfied by the same things over and over and over. They, and I, often forget where true joy comes from.
My challenge to myself, then, and to you today, is to live each day with actions that exhibit your true belief. And if there is a God that isn’t me, then each day is a gift. It may be and most likely will be difficult at times, but it is a gift. And it is an opportunity. No one, at the end of a day, says, “Man, it felt good being stagnant and dull today. I was lucky to do without God today. It was wonderful to just survive! I’m so happy! I’m so glad I’m holding grudges. I’m so glad I feel wronged. I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart.” Those people don’t sing. They don’t sing “Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!” The don’t sing, “It is well, it is well, with my soul.” They don’t sing “Great is they faithfulness, Oh God my Father. . . Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow.” And they don’t sing it because they don’t have it. There is no strength for today, and there is no hope for tomorrow.
When we look to God each day, we get to sing it. And it brings tears to our eyes, because we know it’s true. When we do the things Paul suggested in his letter to the Phillipians – rejoice in the Lord always, let your gentleness be known, be anxious for nothing, pray, focus on what is good – then we get what he promised: the peace of God.
Look around this room. Look at the quality of people we have in here. It’s not by accident. So many of them are what they are because their actions are a daily testimony to the fact that there is a God, and it’s not them. When I’m with this family, with these people, I get to see God. Why would we choose to be anything less?
Thank you for listening today, and thank you to the many of you who show me the love of God every time I see you.
My wife's family had a family reunion this past weekend. This reunion occurs every other year, and it is a major event. It lasts for 3 days, and this year we had 70 people attend. Some people complain about family reunions - not this family. And I have loved being a part of it the past several years.
The reunion ends on Sunday morning with church in the barn. The reunion is on my in-law's farm, and we go up to the hay mow and have church on Sunday morning. We carry chairs, an electric keyboard, hymnals, and whatever else is needed up there. Two years ago, my father-in-law used the bucket of his tractor as a makeshift "elevator" up to the window of the hay mow for those unable to climb the steps. It's pretty crazy, and no one would miss it for the world. It's very special.
A few months ago, Emily's parents asked if I would give the message. It was a very intimidating task, but one I took up. The service went very well, and I hope my message was worthwhile. God certainly was with us in that barn, and I thank Him for allowing us the opportunity to worship together.
For anyone interested, I've included the sermon below:
The Scripture text read before the message was Philippians 4:1, 4:4 – 9, but the message was based on Philippians 3:17 – 4:9.
As I was thinking about what to talk about today, the most intimidating thing is that I’ve got so much less life experience than most of the people here. What do I possibly have to offer you in terms of words of wisdom? In just about everyone’s job or experience, you’ve encountered some young hot shot who tried to impart all their wisdom on you about how to do things better. Nobody likes that. I don’t want to be that. But I also couldn’t miss the opportunity to talk about God this morning. So what I’ve come up with is less of me saying let me show you how to do things, and more of me saying, “Look at what I’ve done – and learn from my mistakes.”
As I was writing my notes for this, I kept referring to my theme as a thesis statement. As a teacher of writing, I know all things must start with a statement that will guide the speech, and I want to start with that. Once we get past that, we can talk about how I’ve often missed this truth, and why this truth is so important.
There are two parts to my thesis statement, and I don’t think many of you will debate the first part. Most people in the world don’t debate the first part. My thesis statement begins with the words, “There is a God.” That’s the easy part. The second part is more complicated. It’s the part I’ve gotten wrong over and over and over, and every time I do I limit the possibilities in my life – the professional possibilities, the relational possibilities, and mostly the possibility for immense joy. The second part is simply this – “It’s not me.” So there it is: There is a God, and it’s not me. The question is, do I embrace that and live accordingly, or do I ignore it? And which is a better way to live?
The writer Blaise Pascal wrote this:
“All men seek happiness. This is without exception. Whatever different means they employ, they all tend to this end. The case of some going to war, and of others avoiding it, is the same desire in both, attended with different views. The will never takes the least step but to this object. This is the motive of every action of every man.”
This is one of the truest statements I’ve ever read. Think about it. The motivation for everything we do is our own happiness. Some of you work very hard for your children’s happiness, but that’s because it makes you happy. Some of you hate your job, but you work hard at it to make money with the hope that you can use that money to bring you more happiness by paying the bills, taking care of your family, taking a trip, or seeing a movie. Some of you here even find happiness by voluntarily sitting on some frozen piece of lake in the dead of winter looking for fish, which I have yet to understand. We all want happiness and work endlessly to get it. The problem is that people like me shortchange themselves over and over and over again.
We shortchange ourselves every time we forget that there is a God, and it’s not me. You simply cannot have the same level of joy when you forget that you’re not God. You can certainly have brief moments of pleasure; but you will be missing deep, intense, lasting joy. Why would we ever settle for the brief?
This happens to me because so often, my focus is constantly on me. And the difficult and ugly truth of the matter is that when my focus is on me instead of God, I have made myself a God. My actions say, “There is a God, and it’s me.” For instance, there were a lot of days this spring when I struggled. When the alarm clock went off, I began the day grumpy. There were many questionable decisions made by the leadership of the high school where I work. I also felt I had been treated unfairly and disrespectfully in some ways. And when I woke up in the morning, I began by counting the ways I thought I had been wronged, and I then moved to predicting what moronic decisions would get made that day by those in charge. Needless to say, my day didn’t have a chance to be successful from the minute my alarm clock went off. And the reason is because I didn’t see God. I saw myself. I believed in God, but my actions and attitude showed that I believed that it was me. And it’s a sad mistake I’ve made over and over and over again in my life.
In the first book of Proverbs, Solomon writes, “Widsom calls aloud outside. . . ‘How long, you simple ones, will you love simplicity?’” It hurts me to read that. How long will I love simplicity, love seeing only myself, attempt to live in a way that ignores that God exists? And when watching the rest of the world, I see this is a common problem. Watch people’s actions on a daily basis, and they seem to constantly be saying, “Look at me! Look at what I did!” They don’t do this because it feels great, but because it doesn’t. They have to continue to search for happiness, and they have yet to look elsewhere other than the empty, self-serving, thirst for attention. This is silly. We don’t need attention from others. God clearly notices us – and that’s easy to see when we look around at all the gifts he’s given us instead of how other people in the world have wronged us.
There is a God, and it’s not me. When you recognize that, you live differently. You live better. One way you live better is in your relationship with others.
Oswald Chambers is another of my favorite authors, and he wrote this: “If we believe in Jesus Christ we will determine to make our relationship to men what Jesus Christ was to us.” The quote doesn’t say that if we believe in Christ, we should act like Christ to other men. It says we will. What do your actions to others say about your belief in God?
If I believe that there is a God, and it’s not me; then I won’t let pride and anger get in the way of my relationships with others. I will love them sacrificially. Those we love the most often hurt us the most. Do you act like Christ in that situation, or do you act like you are God? When you believe that there is a God, and it’s not me, you quit counting up the number of things you’ve done for your spouse or your significant other or your friend today, and instead you ask yourself what else you can do to love them sacrificially. You don’t seek to avoid the person at work who annoys you, because you know that you can’t show them the love of God if you’re nowhere near them. And you don’t hold long grudges, regardless of how badly you were treated. Instead you take the first step towards reconciliation. The happiness we all seek will be multiplied many times over if we will just take this approach.
That doesn’t make confrontation with others bad. That doesn’t make arguments bad. Those happen, and they are necessary. The question when confrontation occurs, however, is one of motive. In this argument, is my goal to help the individual and our relationship, or is my goal to prove to them that I am God?
Another way you live better is when hard times come. And hard times most definitely come. I don’t have to tell you guys that. And hard times don’t change the fact that there is a God, and it’s not me. God is not in the business of providing my self-indulgent pleasures. He wants way more for me than that. Following God does not guarantee comfort, because in the end comfort will provide us with less joy and will convince us further that we ourselves are God.
Oswald Chambers wrote that suffering or real loss often puts us face to face with God. This is because the world is a tragic place, and evil does exist. That’s why we need God, the only source of redemption in this fallen world. We forget that in comfortable times, unfortunately. Later Chambers includes this quote: “When a man is at his wits’ end it is not a cowardly thing to pray, it is the only way he can get in touch with reality.” When I make myself a God when difficult times come, I complain to whoever will listen. I beat my brains out trying to figure out how I’ll make it, or what I can do to fix things. I give myself an excuse to treat others poorly. When I focus on God, I get God’s peace. I get to feel close to the One Sovereign Creator of all the world. It seems like a simple choice.
I said earlier that suffering puts us face to face with God. Frankly, so does celebration. God felt celebration to be so important that there are several commanded celebrations in the Bible. Events just like this one – this weekend. Celebrations like this give us some of the most memorable pictures of God. This has been a great weekend. The question is, do you see it as just that – a great weekend; or do you see God? Do you see just one weekend out of your life that happened to be positive and fun and full of good food and nice conversation? Or will you remember seeing the face of God and feeling his embrace of blessings each and every moment you got to be here and celebrate this family? Celebrations are wonderful. But you limit the immense joy available to you if you forget that there is a God, and it’s not me. You limit the experience when you forget that you were given this experience so that you might see Him.
Since we were little kids, we’ve been taught that sin is bad, that we should avoid sin. That instruction is usually followed by a list of “don’ts.” What people tend to not realize, though, is that sin isn’t wrong doing. Sin is wrong being. Regardless of what you do or don’t do, sin is doing without God. Regardless how good an act, it is sin if we forget that we aren’t God. Regardless how many “bad” things we don’t do, we have not avoided sin if we live a shallow, self-serving life.
The world screams to us that this is not true, that we are our own gods. The world tells us to serve ourselves and buy as much self-focused joy as possible. There is a huge market for this message because the same people remain unsatisfied by the same things over and over and over. They, and I, often forget where true joy comes from.
My challenge to myself, then, and to you today, is to live each day with actions that exhibit your true belief. And if there is a God that isn’t me, then each day is a gift. It may be and most likely will be difficult at times, but it is a gift. And it is an opportunity. No one, at the end of a day, says, “Man, it felt good being stagnant and dull today. I was lucky to do without God today. It was wonderful to just survive! I’m so happy! I’m so glad I’m holding grudges. I’m so glad I feel wronged. I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart.” Those people don’t sing. They don’t sing “Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!” The don’t sing, “It is well, it is well, with my soul.” They don’t sing “Great is they faithfulness, Oh God my Father. . . Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow.” And they don’t sing it because they don’t have it. There is no strength for today, and there is no hope for tomorrow.
When we look to God each day, we get to sing it. And it brings tears to our eyes, because we know it’s true. When we do the things Paul suggested in his letter to the Phillipians – rejoice in the Lord always, let your gentleness be known, be anxious for nothing, pray, focus on what is good – then we get what he promised: the peace of God.
Look around this room. Look at the quality of people we have in here. It’s not by accident. So many of them are what they are because their actions are a daily testimony to the fact that there is a God, and it’s not them. When I’m with this family, with these people, I get to see God. Why would we choose to be anything less?
Thank you for listening today, and thank you to the many of you who show me the love of God every time I see you.
The Sun Also Rises
I just finished Hemingway's novel The Sun Also Rises this morning. I've been working on it off and on for about 3 weeks. I woke up this morning at 5, and unable to go back to sleep , I decided to be productive and finish the book off. I teach Hemingway in my Modern American Literature course, and I thought I'd teach him better after reading what many consider to be his most important novel. Maybe I'll be better, maybe I won't. Either way, I think Hemingway is dead on.
Hemingway spent a lot of time in Paris with other writers and artists. They were known as the Expatriates, and they were influenced heavily by a woman named Gertrude Stein. She called the Americans there the "Lost Generation." They were "lost" because they had become disillusioned about life. The American Dream wasn't producing joy. The first World War had exposed them to awful realities. They figured out life was meaningless, and they didn't know what to do about it. In The Sun Also Rises, they mostly get drunk and watch bullfights. Hemingway is notorious for including autobiographical elements in his writing.
Shockingly, the characters never find happiness. If you've never read Hemingway, you keep waiting for the happy ending to occur. If you've read a lot of him, you know from the beginning that it probably never will. Hemingway sought to write about life as it is, not as it should be. And he, as well as many others in his generation, didn't see much hope in life. They didn't see much as worthwhile. Hemingway's biography shows a man who was a relentless adventurer who sought a celebrity lifestyle. Then he committed suicide.
Two pages from the end of The Sun Also Rises, the main character is in a conversation about finding happiness with the women whom he will always want but will never get. He mentions that some people have found God and seem to be happy about it. Her response is that "He never really worked very well for me." And then the subject changes, and two pages later, the book ends, with no one happy. (Sorry if you haven't read it. It's still a worthwhile read, despite the fact that you know going in that no one really gets what they want).
As I said, I finished that this morning. When I think about it, it sounds a lot like today. A lot like several current generations. Lots of money out there. Lots of toys and gadgets. Lot of luxuries, despite all the "Great Recession" news. Lot of people trying to barhop their way to happiness, or work their way to happiness, or date their way to happiness, or even play softball in an attempt for happiness (I just came from a slow-pitch game I played in: it often amazes me how much pride often gets in the way of a good time in these games).
Perhaps we are the new "Lost Generation." Or perhaps every generation has been this, just lost in something different, finding some other way to acknowledge God for one line out of 250 pages, and wondering why things just don't work out. Or maybe I'm reading too much into a novel.
Hemingway - I'm sorry you went through life feeling this empty. And I'm sorry so many others are destined for this fate. May God save us all from living a life this devoid of meaning.
Hemingway spent a lot of time in Paris with other writers and artists. They were known as the Expatriates, and they were influenced heavily by a woman named Gertrude Stein. She called the Americans there the "Lost Generation." They were "lost" because they had become disillusioned about life. The American Dream wasn't producing joy. The first World War had exposed them to awful realities. They figured out life was meaningless, and they didn't know what to do about it. In The Sun Also Rises, they mostly get drunk and watch bullfights. Hemingway is notorious for including autobiographical elements in his writing.
Shockingly, the characters never find happiness. If you've never read Hemingway, you keep waiting for the happy ending to occur. If you've read a lot of him, you know from the beginning that it probably never will. Hemingway sought to write about life as it is, not as it should be. And he, as well as many others in his generation, didn't see much hope in life. They didn't see much as worthwhile. Hemingway's biography shows a man who was a relentless adventurer who sought a celebrity lifestyle. Then he committed suicide.
Two pages from the end of The Sun Also Rises, the main character is in a conversation about finding happiness with the women whom he will always want but will never get. He mentions that some people have found God and seem to be happy about it. Her response is that "He never really worked very well for me." And then the subject changes, and two pages later, the book ends, with no one happy. (Sorry if you haven't read it. It's still a worthwhile read, despite the fact that you know going in that no one really gets what they want).
As I said, I finished that this morning. When I think about it, it sounds a lot like today. A lot like several current generations. Lots of money out there. Lots of toys and gadgets. Lot of luxuries, despite all the "Great Recession" news. Lot of people trying to barhop their way to happiness, or work their way to happiness, or date their way to happiness, or even play softball in an attempt for happiness (I just came from a slow-pitch game I played in: it often amazes me how much pride often gets in the way of a good time in these games).
Perhaps we are the new "Lost Generation." Or perhaps every generation has been this, just lost in something different, finding some other way to acknowledge God for one line out of 250 pages, and wondering why things just don't work out. Or maybe I'm reading too much into a novel.
Hemingway - I'm sorry you went through life feeling this empty. And I'm sorry so many others are destined for this fate. May God save us all from living a life this devoid of meaning.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Marriage
Encouraging and disheartening news from recent TIME magazine articles. . .
In the July 13 edition, an article titled “Why Marriage Matters” explores the difficulties Americans encounter in having sustaining and successful marriages, as well as why having successful marriages is essential to our cultural well-being. I was curious as I began the article, because in the news media, traditional values (such as marriage) are often treated as out of touch with reality. I find this especially, in my random encounters with the publication, in NEWSWEEK, which often treats Christianity as a bit of hocus-pocus whose followers are simple-minded and misguided. However, the author Caitlin Flanagan makes some bold, encouraging, and research-based assertions:
“There is no other single force causing as much measurable hardship and human misery in this country as the collapse of marriage.”
“Few things hamper a child as much as not having a father at home. . . ‘As a feminist, I didn’t want to believe it,’ says Maria Kefelas. . . ‘Women always tell me, I can be a mother and a father to a child, but it’s not true.’”
“. . . the middle class has spent the past 2 ½ decades - during which the divorce culture became a fact of life - turning weddings into overwrought exercises in consumer spending, as if by just plunking down enough cash for the flower girls’ dresses and tissue-lined envelopes for the RSVP cards, we can somehow improve our chance of going the distance.”
“A lasting marriage is the reward, usually, of hard work and self-sacrifice.”
Those I find as encouraging. It’s what the Bible, which has much to say on the topic, has stated very clearly and much more eloquently than I can begin to here. However, the article ends with the assertion that although marriage is tough and full of sacrifices, there is a reason to stay and to sacrifice and work out problems. It was here in the article that I waited (although I knew in vain) for the author to state: “It’s worth it because if you love sacrificially, you will gain great joy. It will no longer be a burden, but a blessing. If you follow a biblical model of marriage, infinite joy and an opportunity to display Christ’s relationship to the church will be yours. No affair or divorce will come close to the joy of what your union can be.”
Instead, Flanagan states that it is important to stay married, even though you’re miserable, because the kids will suffer if you don’t. The next generation will be significantly scarred and troubled. In this assertion, there is no hope of joy. There is no sign of how good marriage can be. God is nowhere in that answer. What she writes is true and important, but in it I found the final message to be, “Marriage, after a while, is no fun at all. You won’t like it. But you better stay.” To me, this is a tragic view.
The view got even more tragic, as in the July 20 edition of TIME, an unrelated article described a website whose sole purpose is to make getting away with marital affairs easier. The website, similar in some ways to Facebook or some singles websites, allows users (for a membership fee) the opportunity to seek others with the same affair goals in a way that provides protection from spouses finding out. Apparently, the site’s managers seem to be saying the cheating is normal and at times necessary, so we’ll make it easy for you.
I was a groomsman in a wedding in Costa Rica this summer. I love this friend of mine, and he has picked himself a wonderful spouse. We had a terrific time celebrating their upcoming marriage. During the rehearsal dinner, there was an open mic portion during which many offered well-wishes and advice. The best man, an individual I’ve come to really like and respect, stood up and gave some advice. Despite my positive affinities for this individual, I thought he gave some awful advice.
He stated that if you have the right partner, marriage isn’t hard - it’s exceptionally easy. It’s a joy-ride. There is nothing hard about it. I understood his sentiment, and I believe he has a great marriage, but I believe that is far from reality.
Marriage is not easy. And marriage isn’t designed to be easy. Full of love, yes. Full of passion and laughs and joy and inside jokes, absolutely. Easy, however, is a fallacy. It’s not easy to love sacrificially. Our fallen nature isn’t made that way. It isn’t easy, men, to love so deeply as to give up everything for the well-being of your spouse and your family, as is the requirement established biblically. It isn’t easy, women, to submit leadership to a flawed husband and trust that he will listen to all you have to say and do what’s ultimately best. It's not easy to speak well of him in a culture that values "Whose husband is more inept?" competitons. These things are not native to our sinful nature, and without daily power from prayer and our relationship with God, they may in deed be impossible.
Inside I weep at all the troubled marriages I see around me, all the individuals I see holding selfishly on to their own comfort and sinful desires and in so doing, denying themselves tremendous God-given joy.
Having read what I’ve written up to this point, I hope I don’t come off as sounding as if I’ve got marriage figured out, as if I have the perfect marriage. I don’t. I have a wonderful wife and a marriage I love, but I know every day I have to struggle against the sinful nature in me that wants to be in it for me, not for us. I simply saw these things and wanted to write about them.
The news media and the world wants to know why so many marriages struggle? Only when they can include the biblical vision of marriage will they discover the answer.
Side note: for anyone interested in what I’ve found to be the most biblically sound commentary on marriage, listen or read John Piper’s sermon series on the topic. The sermons are free on his "Desiring God" website. See http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Sermons/ByTopic/45/.The sermons I refer to are in the series that begins in March 2007.
In the July 13 edition, an article titled “Why Marriage Matters” explores the difficulties Americans encounter in having sustaining and successful marriages, as well as why having successful marriages is essential to our cultural well-being. I was curious as I began the article, because in the news media, traditional values (such as marriage) are often treated as out of touch with reality. I find this especially, in my random encounters with the publication, in NEWSWEEK, which often treats Christianity as a bit of hocus-pocus whose followers are simple-minded and misguided. However, the author Caitlin Flanagan makes some bold, encouraging, and research-based assertions:
“There is no other single force causing as much measurable hardship and human misery in this country as the collapse of marriage.”
“Few things hamper a child as much as not having a father at home. . . ‘As a feminist, I didn’t want to believe it,’ says Maria Kefelas. . . ‘Women always tell me, I can be a mother and a father to a child, but it’s not true.’”
“. . . the middle class has spent the past 2 ½ decades - during which the divorce culture became a fact of life - turning weddings into overwrought exercises in consumer spending, as if by just plunking down enough cash for the flower girls’ dresses and tissue-lined envelopes for the RSVP cards, we can somehow improve our chance of going the distance.”
“A lasting marriage is the reward, usually, of hard work and self-sacrifice.”
Those I find as encouraging. It’s what the Bible, which has much to say on the topic, has stated very clearly and much more eloquently than I can begin to here. However, the article ends with the assertion that although marriage is tough and full of sacrifices, there is a reason to stay and to sacrifice and work out problems. It was here in the article that I waited (although I knew in vain) for the author to state: “It’s worth it because if you love sacrificially, you will gain great joy. It will no longer be a burden, but a blessing. If you follow a biblical model of marriage, infinite joy and an opportunity to display Christ’s relationship to the church will be yours. No affair or divorce will come close to the joy of what your union can be.”
Instead, Flanagan states that it is important to stay married, even though you’re miserable, because the kids will suffer if you don’t. The next generation will be significantly scarred and troubled. In this assertion, there is no hope of joy. There is no sign of how good marriage can be. God is nowhere in that answer. What she writes is true and important, but in it I found the final message to be, “Marriage, after a while, is no fun at all. You won’t like it. But you better stay.” To me, this is a tragic view.
The view got even more tragic, as in the July 20 edition of TIME, an unrelated article described a website whose sole purpose is to make getting away with marital affairs easier. The website, similar in some ways to Facebook or some singles websites, allows users (for a membership fee) the opportunity to seek others with the same affair goals in a way that provides protection from spouses finding out. Apparently, the site’s managers seem to be saying the cheating is normal and at times necessary, so we’ll make it easy for you.
I was a groomsman in a wedding in Costa Rica this summer. I love this friend of mine, and he has picked himself a wonderful spouse. We had a terrific time celebrating their upcoming marriage. During the rehearsal dinner, there was an open mic portion during which many offered well-wishes and advice. The best man, an individual I’ve come to really like and respect, stood up and gave some advice. Despite my positive affinities for this individual, I thought he gave some awful advice.
He stated that if you have the right partner, marriage isn’t hard - it’s exceptionally easy. It’s a joy-ride. There is nothing hard about it. I understood his sentiment, and I believe he has a great marriage, but I believe that is far from reality.
Marriage is not easy. And marriage isn’t designed to be easy. Full of love, yes. Full of passion and laughs and joy and inside jokes, absolutely. Easy, however, is a fallacy. It’s not easy to love sacrificially. Our fallen nature isn’t made that way. It isn’t easy, men, to love so deeply as to give up everything for the well-being of your spouse and your family, as is the requirement established biblically. It isn’t easy, women, to submit leadership to a flawed husband and trust that he will listen to all you have to say and do what’s ultimately best. It's not easy to speak well of him in a culture that values "Whose husband is more inept?" competitons. These things are not native to our sinful nature, and without daily power from prayer and our relationship with God, they may in deed be impossible.
Inside I weep at all the troubled marriages I see around me, all the individuals I see holding selfishly on to their own comfort and sinful desires and in so doing, denying themselves tremendous God-given joy.
Having read what I’ve written up to this point, I hope I don’t come off as sounding as if I’ve got marriage figured out, as if I have the perfect marriage. I don’t. I have a wonderful wife and a marriage I love, but I know every day I have to struggle against the sinful nature in me that wants to be in it for me, not for us. I simply saw these things and wanted to write about them.
The news media and the world wants to know why so many marriages struggle? Only when they can include the biblical vision of marriage will they discover the answer.
Side note: for anyone interested in what I’ve found to be the most biblically sound commentary on marriage, listen or read John Piper’s sermon series on the topic. The sermons are free on his "Desiring God" website. See http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Sermons/ByTopic/45/.The sermons I refer to are in the series that begins in March 2007.
Monday, July 20, 2009
Introduction
The title of this blog is from the hymn, "Come Thou Fount." I know of no better way to describe myself and the purposes of this blog than these lyrics:
"Prone to wander, Lord I feel it
Prone to leave the God I love
Take my heart, oh, take and seal it
Seal it for Thy courts above."
I am a simple man, hoping that through writing I will be more prone to see events, literature, media, and people through a biblical worldview. I do not intend to preach or offer advice; I simply want to explore the world through writing. Christians may find this blog more palatable than non-Christians, though I do not intend to be exclusive. I've learned so much from my friends who do not follow Christ, and I will write about those conversations in here as well. I seek to see the world through your eyes as well. You have a lot to teach me.
Thank you for reading, and thanks for any responses or challenging discussions brought about through comments.
"Prone to wander, Lord I feel it
Prone to leave the God I love
Take my heart, oh, take and seal it
Seal it for Thy courts above."
I am a simple man, hoping that through writing I will be more prone to see events, literature, media, and people through a biblical worldview. I do not intend to preach or offer advice; I simply want to explore the world through writing. Christians may find this blog more palatable than non-Christians, though I do not intend to be exclusive. I've learned so much from my friends who do not follow Christ, and I will write about those conversations in here as well. I seek to see the world through your eyes as well. You have a lot to teach me.
I started blog writing on a website I'm trying to create for my church based on writings from the congregation. The going is slow; and I've found with no audience, it's easy to not write. So I've begun writing here with the hope of increasing my productivity. I will post some of my early writings from that blog here as well.
I am an English teacher and a lover of literature, so those will likely be common sources for topics of writing. But all is fair game here. I will write what I see and what I think. In so doing I hope to be challenged.Thank you for reading, and thanks for any responses or challenging discussions brought about through comments.
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