Romans 8:12Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation—but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. 13For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, 14because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father." 16The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. 17Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.
So we have explored reason number one why God allows the existence of evil (there is another reason we will explore later) and why the existence of evil is not a logical objection to the existence of God. The question that follows is this: if God allows for evil to exist, then does that mean that it is okay to do evil? Does God turn a blind eye to evil? Will bad people get away with it in the end?
These questions can only be answered if we examine the nature of God as revealed in the Bible. We all know from the Bible that God is loving- indeed we know from John 4:16 that God is love. But sometimes we forget some of His other attributes. We will examine four other attributes.
Perfect
We know from Matthew 5:48 that God is perfect. This is an important attribute. It is the attribute by which we can define all of His other attributes for if God is perfect, then His attributes are perfect as well. As we examine His other attributes we will see just how important this is.
Holy
In both Isaiah 6 and Revelation 4 we are told three times that God is holy. If it was not enough to know that God was perfect in His Holiness by inferring it from above, the point is hammered home to us in these scriptures. God is unlike any other (see Hosea 11:9), and His holiness is the essence of that “otherness.” His very being is completely absent of even a trace of sin (James 1:13; Hebrews 6:18). He is high above any other, and no one can compare to Him (Psalm 40:5). God’s holiness pervades His entire being and shapes all His attributes. His love is a holy love, His mercy is holy mercy, and even His anger and wrath are holy anger and holy wrath. These concepts are difficult for humans to grasp, just as God is difficult for us to understand in His entirety.
Faithful and Just
In 1 John 1:9 we learn that God is faithful and just. These two attributes go together for by God being perfect in his faithfulness; we know that we can trust Him- always and in everything. The Greek word used here is pistos and means trustworthy. This is important because we often tend to think that God might not care about some small sin we have committed. But we know that God is also perfectly just. So if God says that He will punish even the smallest sin, then we know not only that we can believe Him, but also that He is just in punishing the smallest sin.
So what does all of this mean? It means that God will not judge us based on human standards but on His holy standards. We will not be compared to Hitler or Mother Theresa when we face God at the judgment. We will be compared to His perfection and we will be found lacking. According to His word, a price must be paid for our sins. No, evil has not and will not go unpunished.
There is a small part of me that wants justice. But then I think about what that would mean for me and I realize that I only want justice for others- and even this is my idea of justice, not God’s. For me, I want mercy. Are you honest enough with yourself to admit that you too would like to have mercy for yourself and maybe, just maybe, for others?
Stay with me. We will look at what God has done to punish evil and what He will do next. Then perhaps we will finally get to the text of the scripture.
Friday, May 29, 2009
Thursday, May 28, 2009
The Problem of Evil- Part Two
Romans 8:12Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation—but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. 13For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, 14because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father." 16The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. 17Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.
Let me back up for just a minute. I seem to have gotten to my conclusion well before I have made my opening statement. Let us address the question of why God allows evil in the first place before we go too far down the road of why evil is still present. It seems that God had four options concerning creation of our world and evil. I am going to paraphrase Ravi Zacharias a bit in my summation:
1. God could have created no world at all- this option does eliminate evil, but there would be nobody here to notice it. Since we are here, we can safely ignore this option (and be thankful that God did not choose it).
2. God could have created an amoral world- in this world there would be no right and no wrong. There would be nothing we could point to and say “that is good” or “that is evil”. Clearly we sense a distinction between celebrating the birth of a child and mourning the senseless murder of the same child. The very fact that we have the words good and evil tells us that we know there is a difference between the two and that we do not live in an amoral world. I think I can safely say that we would not want to live in such a world either.
3. God could have created a world in which we could only choose good- in this world we would be some sort of automaton programmed to always do right and never do wrong. This may sound appealing to some but there are problems with this world as well. There would be no freedom for the creatures of this world. Without freedom, love can not exist. For without freedom one can not choose not to love. If one can not choose not to love, then one can not choose to love either. Clearly we have options here so this is not the world that God created for us either.
4. God could have created the very world that we live in- a world that allows for the existence of evil. You see, without this option at least being available to us, we can not have love. The only possible way you can have a choice to love is to have the choice to hate. You can only have good in the world if evil is possible no matter how awful that evil may seem to us.
The very existence of evil is evidence for God. If you admit that there is evil in the world, then you must also admit that there is good. If you admit there is good, then you must posit some sort of moral law by which to differentiate between good and evil. If there is a moral law, then there must be a moral lawgiver. But this is exactly who you are trying to disprove by your initial objection so I ask the objector- what exactly are you objecting to?
I would like to suggest that perhaps the objector in his denials of God (because of evil) admits evidence that he would rather not admit. My only hope is that the objector will examine the possible reasons that God would allow for evil and explore what God has done and will do about it.
As a side note in case you are wondering- I will eventually return to the text of the quoted scripture. Please be patient.
Let me back up for just a minute. I seem to have gotten to my conclusion well before I have made my opening statement. Let us address the question of why God allows evil in the first place before we go too far down the road of why evil is still present. It seems that God had four options concerning creation of our world and evil. I am going to paraphrase Ravi Zacharias a bit in my summation:
1. God could have created no world at all- this option does eliminate evil, but there would be nobody here to notice it. Since we are here, we can safely ignore this option (and be thankful that God did not choose it).
2. God could have created an amoral world- in this world there would be no right and no wrong. There would be nothing we could point to and say “that is good” or “that is evil”. Clearly we sense a distinction between celebrating the birth of a child and mourning the senseless murder of the same child. The very fact that we have the words good and evil tells us that we know there is a difference between the two and that we do not live in an amoral world. I think I can safely say that we would not want to live in such a world either.
3. God could have created a world in which we could only choose good- in this world we would be some sort of automaton programmed to always do right and never do wrong. This may sound appealing to some but there are problems with this world as well. There would be no freedom for the creatures of this world. Without freedom, love can not exist. For without freedom one can not choose not to love. If one can not choose not to love, then one can not choose to love either. Clearly we have options here so this is not the world that God created for us either.
4. God could have created the very world that we live in- a world that allows for the existence of evil. You see, without this option at least being available to us, we can not have love. The only possible way you can have a choice to love is to have the choice to hate. You can only have good in the world if evil is possible no matter how awful that evil may seem to us.
The very existence of evil is evidence for God. If you admit that there is evil in the world, then you must also admit that there is good. If you admit there is good, then you must posit some sort of moral law by which to differentiate between good and evil. If there is a moral law, then there must be a moral lawgiver. But this is exactly who you are trying to disprove by your initial objection so I ask the objector- what exactly are you objecting to?
I would like to suggest that perhaps the objector in his denials of God (because of evil) admits evidence that he would rather not admit. My only hope is that the objector will examine the possible reasons that God would allow for evil and explore what God has done and will do about it.
As a side note in case you are wondering- I will eventually return to the text of the quoted scripture. Please be patient.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
The Problem of Evil- Part One
Romans 8:12Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation—but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. 13For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, 14because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father." 16The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. 17Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.
I am not the best father in the world. In many ways I fall short. I often lose my temper or fail to discipline my children as I should. I sometimes take comfort in the fact that I do better than some other fathers, but this simply won't do. I feel that I have an obligation as a father to model my theology of The Father when I am parenting. I fall short in this as well.
This was brought home to me this past week. I have a friend who left his father's house. We took him in for a few days while he resolved his issues at home. End result was his father took him back in, but during the time he was at our house, I could not help but question this man's ability to be a father. Even though I am not privy to all of the things that have influenced this father's decision to allow his son to be homeless. Nor was I privy to whether the father even wanted that to happen.
I am lucky today that I can see my own hypocrisy. I have met so many people that have questioned God because of suffering or evil in the world. I have dismissed their complaints upon many occasions without seeing the true issue here. They are not privy to the reasons that the Father has allowed this to happen.
The Father could have destroyed evil and I believe that one day He will. However, if He were to destroy it today, what would become of me (and you if you are honest)? Does evil not reside in my heart as well? If true justice were served would I not suffer the same fate as those that I deem to be "worse" sinners than myself? But if the Father hates evil, why does He allow it to continue? You see, that question is the real key and the only one that matters.
There seems to be an assumption that somehow those that do real evil will somehow get away with it. That God is somehow turning a blind eye to deceit and disobedience. This is simply not the case. You see, true destruction of evil would result in there being none of us left. For all of us have sinned and fallen short of God's plan for perfection. But none will "get away with it". There is a price to be paid for all sin and evil. The question before you is are you willing to pay that price yourself?
I am not the best father in the world. In many ways I fall short. I often lose my temper or fail to discipline my children as I should. I sometimes take comfort in the fact that I do better than some other fathers, but this simply won't do. I feel that I have an obligation as a father to model my theology of The Father when I am parenting. I fall short in this as well.
This was brought home to me this past week. I have a friend who left his father's house. We took him in for a few days while he resolved his issues at home. End result was his father took him back in, but during the time he was at our house, I could not help but question this man's ability to be a father. Even though I am not privy to all of the things that have influenced this father's decision to allow his son to be homeless. Nor was I privy to whether the father even wanted that to happen.
I am lucky today that I can see my own hypocrisy. I have met so many people that have questioned God because of suffering or evil in the world. I have dismissed their complaints upon many occasions without seeing the true issue here. They are not privy to the reasons that the Father has allowed this to happen.
The Father could have destroyed evil and I believe that one day He will. However, if He were to destroy it today, what would become of me (and you if you are honest)? Does evil not reside in my heart as well? If true justice were served would I not suffer the same fate as those that I deem to be "worse" sinners than myself? But if the Father hates evil, why does He allow it to continue? You see, that question is the real key and the only one that matters.
There seems to be an assumption that somehow those that do real evil will somehow get away with it. That God is somehow turning a blind eye to deceit and disobedience. This is simply not the case. You see, true destruction of evil would result in there being none of us left. For all of us have sinned and fallen short of God's plan for perfection. But none will "get away with it". There is a price to be paid for all sin and evil. The question before you is are you willing to pay that price yourself?
Thursday, May 14, 2009
A Challenge or Two
For the past couple of months I have been working with my former classmates from high school to organize our upcoming 25th reunion. There is a great temptation when you are thrown back together with old friends to fall into old habits. One of the temptations is obvious. There may have been old habits that your friends associate with the old you. Maybe you were prone to swearing or gossiping or drinking, but whatever it was the temptation is obvious.
It is also easy enough to overcome when you have been removed from these friends for a long time. You have new habits with your new self that have taken the place of the old habits and just because you are around your old friends that does not mean you have to give in to the old temptations. So you refrain from gossiping, swearing, and drinking and you feel quite proud of yourself and all the while you have neglected the greater command that you have not seen as a temptation.
The Bible it up nicely here in Luke Chapter 10:
25On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. "Teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?"
26"What is written in the Law?" he replied. "How do you read it?"
27He answered: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' "
28"You have answered correctly," Jesus replied. "Do this and you will live."
29But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"
Just who is my neighbor (hint: read the rest of Luke 10)? And what is the temptation that I am referring to that I have to be careful of? One of the easiest things to do when you are with a group of friends is to exclude others. To not show them the love that you so easily show to your friends. So my challenge when I return for my 25th reunion is to not exclude anyone and to show the love of God to all that I meet as equally as I can. This will be far more difficult than refraining from the "obvious" sins.
How about you? Did you see anyone at church recently that you did not know already? Did you make the effort to make them feel welcome? Or did they leave wondering why they bothered to make the effort? My challenge to you is to seek out those that don't already belong more frequently and to make them feel welcome. It is not really that difficult. You can start like this: Hi, my name is _________. I am happy you joined us tonight. Let me know if I can do anything to make your visit more enjoyable.
We are great at hugging our friends, but how about our neighbors?
It is also easy enough to overcome when you have been removed from these friends for a long time. You have new habits with your new self that have taken the place of the old habits and just because you are around your old friends that does not mean you have to give in to the old temptations. So you refrain from gossiping, swearing, and drinking and you feel quite proud of yourself and all the while you have neglected the greater command that you have not seen as a temptation.
The Bible it up nicely here in Luke Chapter 10:
25On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. "Teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?"
26"What is written in the Law?" he replied. "How do you read it?"
27He answered: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' "
28"You have answered correctly," Jesus replied. "Do this and you will live."
29But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"
Just who is my neighbor (hint: read the rest of Luke 10)? And what is the temptation that I am referring to that I have to be careful of? One of the easiest things to do when you are with a group of friends is to exclude others. To not show them the love that you so easily show to your friends. So my challenge when I return for my 25th reunion is to not exclude anyone and to show the love of God to all that I meet as equally as I can. This will be far more difficult than refraining from the "obvious" sins.
How about you? Did you see anyone at church recently that you did not know already? Did you make the effort to make them feel welcome? Or did they leave wondering why they bothered to make the effort? My challenge to you is to seek out those that don't already belong more frequently and to make them feel welcome. It is not really that difficult. You can start like this: Hi, my name is _________. I am happy you joined us tonight. Let me know if I can do anything to make your visit more enjoyable.
We are great at hugging our friends, but how about our neighbors?
Saturday, February 7, 2009
The pure in heart
Matthew 5:1Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2and he began to teach them saying:
3"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
5Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
6Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
7Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
8Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
9Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.
10Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11"Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
I have recently enrolled in college and I apologize for not updating my blog sooner. It is no excuse, but I allowed it to become an excuse. I have been struggling a bit with the topic as well. What exactly does it mean to be pure in heart? How will we see God if we are pure in heart? Is there a method by which we can become pure in heart?
Interestingly there are several definitions for the word translated here as pure and some of our answers can be found there. First of all there are a couple of ways that we can be made pure. The first is by fire. This is how metals are purified. They are superheated and all the impurities get burned off. The second way to be made pure is by pruning. The gardener comes along and trims away the dead branches and we become more suitable for bearing fruit. If I were to be given the choice between the two, I think I would choose the pruning rather than the fire. Of course during the actual pruning, I am sure that I will not be so happy about it. Both of these definitions are pertinent to being clean in the physical sense.
The word could also be used to indicate clean in the levitical sense. This would be doing things that are not forbidden or things that impart no un-clean-ness to us. This would be a bit problematic for me if I were to attempt to become clean in this manner. I do not know the levitical law well enough to know how many of the laws I have broken, but I do know it well enough to know that if I were depending on my own adherence to the law for being clean, I would be in big trouble.
The third way that the word is used is similar to above but from the ethical perspective rather than a legal one. This would mean that we were blameless, innocent, free from sin, and unstained by the guilt of anything. Once again, this is a bit problematic if I look at my own self for satisfying the criteria of being clean.
Ultimately I know that I can only become clean because of Christ and even then it is not me that is clean but Christ's clean-ness is transferred to me. And the master gardener has occasionally pruned some dead branches from my life. However, one of my favorite passages is:
Philippians 4:8Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. 9Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.
Interesting that Paul here tells us that when we put into practice what he has taught us and when we think about the things that are pure and noble and right, that God will be with us. Perhaps, with God's help, this is something that I can do.
3"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
5Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
6Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
7Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
8Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
9Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.
10Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11"Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
I have recently enrolled in college and I apologize for not updating my blog sooner. It is no excuse, but I allowed it to become an excuse. I have been struggling a bit with the topic as well. What exactly does it mean to be pure in heart? How will we see God if we are pure in heart? Is there a method by which we can become pure in heart?
Interestingly there are several definitions for the word translated here as pure and some of our answers can be found there. First of all there are a couple of ways that we can be made pure. The first is by fire. This is how metals are purified. They are superheated and all the impurities get burned off. The second way to be made pure is by pruning. The gardener comes along and trims away the dead branches and we become more suitable for bearing fruit. If I were to be given the choice between the two, I think I would choose the pruning rather than the fire. Of course during the actual pruning, I am sure that I will not be so happy about it. Both of these definitions are pertinent to being clean in the physical sense.
The word could also be used to indicate clean in the levitical sense. This would be doing things that are not forbidden or things that impart no un-clean-ness to us. This would be a bit problematic for me if I were to attempt to become clean in this manner. I do not know the levitical law well enough to know how many of the laws I have broken, but I do know it well enough to know that if I were depending on my own adherence to the law for being clean, I would be in big trouble.
The third way that the word is used is similar to above but from the ethical perspective rather than a legal one. This would mean that we were blameless, innocent, free from sin, and unstained by the guilt of anything. Once again, this is a bit problematic if I look at my own self for satisfying the criteria of being clean.
Ultimately I know that I can only become clean because of Christ and even then it is not me that is clean but Christ's clean-ness is transferred to me. And the master gardener has occasionally pruned some dead branches from my life. However, one of my favorite passages is:
Philippians 4:8Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. 9Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.
Interesting that Paul here tells us that when we put into practice what he has taught us and when we think about the things that are pure and noble and right, that God will be with us. Perhaps, with God's help, this is something that I can do.
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Everyone needs compassion...
Hillsong United- Mighty to Save
Everyone needs compassion,Love that's never failing;Let mercy fall on me.Everyone needs forgiveness,The kindness of a Saviour;The Hope of nations.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rE92VCpTDWg
Matthew 5:1Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2and he began to teach them saying:
3"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
5Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
6Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
7Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
8Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
9Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.
10Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11"Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
I hope that the New Year has dawned on you with hope for tomorrow. I pray that your hope is grounded in Christ and that you are trusting in Him.
The verse that I am looking at today can seem very simple. Everyone needs some mercy thrown their way and we are all in favor of that right? I think most of us want mercy for ourselves and are not quite so quick to grant it to others. Why is that? Why is it that we are so willing to condemn others when we ourselves are pretty worthy of condemnation? I must look at myself first.
I have two cyber friends that I have known for quite some time. One of these friends is not a believer. They are however, very loving and I am particularly fond of the occasion when they came to my defense much to my surprise when I was in the midst of a debate with an atheist. The other friend is a believer and quick to condemn any behavior that does not suit him. I know that he is correct in his orthodoxy but I have doubts about his orthopraxy. How do I balance teaching the word without coming across as condemning?
Luke 10:29But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"
The first thing you notice here is that the expert in the law wanted to justify himself. I see this desire in myself and I know that it is wrong. It is a constant struggle to remind myself that I can not justify myself and that I am only justified through Christ. The question that you have to ask yourself is what is the secondary motive for asking the question of Jesus? Could it be because he only wanted to show mercy to those that were deserving of mercy? Could it be because he did not really want to show mercy to anyone?
30In reply Jesus said: "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. 35The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. 'Look after him,' he said, 'and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.'
36"Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?"
37The expert in the law replied, "The one who had mercy on him." Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise."
The solution here is to show mercy to everyone. Jesus does not define who the neighbor is but how to be a neighbor and that is by showing mercy. I said earlier that I have to look at myself first and the reason is pretty simple. I often feel that my friend who is so quick to condemn is very wrong and could use a good smackdown. But then that puts me right there with him doesn't it? My challenge is to learn how to balance sharing the correct belief (orthodoxy) while showing the correct actions (orthopraxy) out of love in both cases. I pray that God gives me the strength, wisdom, and guidance to do exactly that in the year to come.
Peace, Bruce
Everyone needs compassion,Love that's never failing;Let mercy fall on me.Everyone needs forgiveness,The kindness of a Saviour;The Hope of nations.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rE92VCpTDWg
Matthew 5:1Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2and he began to teach them saying:
3"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
5Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
6Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
7Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
8Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
9Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.
10Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11"Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
I hope that the New Year has dawned on you with hope for tomorrow. I pray that your hope is grounded in Christ and that you are trusting in Him.
The verse that I am looking at today can seem very simple. Everyone needs some mercy thrown their way and we are all in favor of that right? I think most of us want mercy for ourselves and are not quite so quick to grant it to others. Why is that? Why is it that we are so willing to condemn others when we ourselves are pretty worthy of condemnation? I must look at myself first.
I have two cyber friends that I have known for quite some time. One of these friends is not a believer. They are however, very loving and I am particularly fond of the occasion when they came to my defense much to my surprise when I was in the midst of a debate with an atheist. The other friend is a believer and quick to condemn any behavior that does not suit him. I know that he is correct in his orthodoxy but I have doubts about his orthopraxy. How do I balance teaching the word without coming across as condemning?
Luke 10:29But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"
The first thing you notice here is that the expert in the law wanted to justify himself. I see this desire in myself and I know that it is wrong. It is a constant struggle to remind myself that I can not justify myself and that I am only justified through Christ. The question that you have to ask yourself is what is the secondary motive for asking the question of Jesus? Could it be because he only wanted to show mercy to those that were deserving of mercy? Could it be because he did not really want to show mercy to anyone?
30In reply Jesus said: "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. 35The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. 'Look after him,' he said, 'and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.'
36"Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?"
37The expert in the law replied, "The one who had mercy on him." Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise."
The solution here is to show mercy to everyone. Jesus does not define who the neighbor is but how to be a neighbor and that is by showing mercy. I said earlier that I have to look at myself first and the reason is pretty simple. I often feel that my friend who is so quick to condemn is very wrong and could use a good smackdown. But then that puts me right there with him doesn't it? My challenge is to learn how to balance sharing the correct belief (orthodoxy) while showing the correct actions (orthopraxy) out of love in both cases. I pray that God gives me the strength, wisdom, and guidance to do exactly that in the year to come.
Peace, Bruce
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
I am hungry
Matthew 5:1Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2and he began to teach them saying:
3"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
5Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
6Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
7Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
8Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
9Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.
10Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11"Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
On Saturday night we had our work Christmas party. We went to an exclusive restaurant in Buckhead and I was very much looking forward to it. I was very excited about the meal that I was going to have and curious as to what they would serve us. I was not disappointed. The food was excellent. They had various appetizers including shrimp cocktail that was my favorite. For the meal, we started with a crabcake that was perhaps the highlight of the evening. This was followed by a salad that was topped with some fried goat cheese. This was a very interesting concept, but not quite as good as the crabcake. For the main course, I had chicken and filet mignon with potatoes and asparagus all of which were cooked perfectly. Finally for dessert I had a chocolate lava cake with vanilla ice cream on the side. When I was done, I was stuffed. I could not even quite finish my dessert because I was so full of the meal that they had prepared for me.
Now, I enjoyed this meal very much. How strange it would have been if I had not waited for the meal and instead tried to fill myself beforehand. I would have missed out on all of the food prepared for me and I have no doubt that it would not have been anywhere near as good. The very concept is somewhat laughable. Why would I eat before I was going out to eat?
I know that the analogy is not perfect, but don't we do exactly that in our walk with Christ? We try to make ourselves righteous instead of waiting on God to fill us. Wouldn't it be much better to wait to be filled with the only one who can provide us with righteousness? The only one who can satisfy our soul? My prayer for you today is that you can become like Paul who prayed this prayer in his letter to the Philippians:
Philippians 1:9And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, 10so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, 11filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.
Note that it is through Christ that we can obtain righteousness to the glory and praise of God. This passage says nothing about any acts that we do that might fill ourselves with righteousness. Yet every day we get up and try to "do" something to earn God's good favor so that He might be pleased with us. But we should be doing something shouldn't we? Well, yes. We should be growing in the knowledge of Christ so that we can discern His will and then we will know what it is that we should be doing.
Paul prays in his letter to the Ephesians:
Ephesians 3:16I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
This is what I hunger for: to be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. I need to get myself out of the way though. In order to be full to the measure with God, I can't have any other stuff already filling me up. That is why I should not eat before I go out to eat.
Peace, Bruce
3"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
5Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
6Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
7Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
8Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
9Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.
10Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11"Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
On Saturday night we had our work Christmas party. We went to an exclusive restaurant in Buckhead and I was very much looking forward to it. I was very excited about the meal that I was going to have and curious as to what they would serve us. I was not disappointed. The food was excellent. They had various appetizers including shrimp cocktail that was my favorite. For the meal, we started with a crabcake that was perhaps the highlight of the evening. This was followed by a salad that was topped with some fried goat cheese. This was a very interesting concept, but not quite as good as the crabcake. For the main course, I had chicken and filet mignon with potatoes and asparagus all of which were cooked perfectly. Finally for dessert I had a chocolate lava cake with vanilla ice cream on the side. When I was done, I was stuffed. I could not even quite finish my dessert because I was so full of the meal that they had prepared for me.
Now, I enjoyed this meal very much. How strange it would have been if I had not waited for the meal and instead tried to fill myself beforehand. I would have missed out on all of the food prepared for me and I have no doubt that it would not have been anywhere near as good. The very concept is somewhat laughable. Why would I eat before I was going out to eat?
I know that the analogy is not perfect, but don't we do exactly that in our walk with Christ? We try to make ourselves righteous instead of waiting on God to fill us. Wouldn't it be much better to wait to be filled with the only one who can provide us with righteousness? The only one who can satisfy our soul? My prayer for you today is that you can become like Paul who prayed this prayer in his letter to the Philippians:
Philippians 1:9And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, 10so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, 11filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.
Note that it is through Christ that we can obtain righteousness to the glory and praise of God. This passage says nothing about any acts that we do that might fill ourselves with righteousness. Yet every day we get up and try to "do" something to earn God's good favor so that He might be pleased with us. But we should be doing something shouldn't we? Well, yes. We should be growing in the knowledge of Christ so that we can discern His will and then we will know what it is that we should be doing.
Paul prays in his letter to the Ephesians:
Ephesians 3:16I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
This is what I hunger for: to be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. I need to get myself out of the way though. In order to be full to the measure with God, I can't have any other stuff already filling me up. That is why I should not eat before I go out to eat.
Peace, Bruce
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