Tuesday, January 31, 2017

The Beginning and the End

There are some unhappy parallels between the beginning of life and its ending. When we are infants, we come into this world largely dependent on others for the basic activities of life. And for many, it ends up that way as well. But there is a sad difference.

Babies are gradually introduced to new foods: first, mother’s milk, and then soft foods, and on from there. The process of feeding is a mess. All over their face, and down their front, and under their chairs at the table. Part of the mess is due to their enthusiasm to taste new foods, or to react to the ones they don’t like. At the end of life, we may also need help eating, and we may have to resort to gentler foods. But we also hear, “nothing tastes good any more.” There is a difference.

And think about communication. Every new sound from a baby, which corresponds to no recognizable word, is examined and repeated with anticipation for what comes next. And the box of words will only grow. There may come a time when we would wish for a little quiet. But then, how many conversations have you experienced with your elder friend, who stops in frustration, because he/she cannot retrieve a word that they have always known, but cannot grab hold of now. You can feel their frustration.

And we at first have little minds that are becoming ever more active and inquisitive, contrasted with older ones that are sometimes content to sit in silence. “What are you thinking about?” And the answer comes back, “Nothing.” That’s where we came from. And that’s where we are headed, should we live long enough.
But the good news is this: in Christ, our best days are always ahead of us. To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord, and then, there will be no pain or disability; no fear or frustration. At the resurrection, those in Christ receive new bodies that will enjoy heavenly foods to the fullest. We will get up and get down, and jump for joy without hindrance; no fear of breaking a hip. We will be whole. Forever new. Better than at birth.

We may grown at the hardships of old age. We realize that the pathway to death is often beset with pain and indignity. But, in Christ, who died and rose again, we also have a rock-solid hope that this is not all there is, and that the end is only the beginning. And thank goodness, we don’t have to go back to being babies again. It’s better than that.

Friday, January 20, 2017

Getting out of the Gloom

I guess it’s kind of gloomy around here. If you have only lived in Michigan, perhaps you don’t know. We have more gray than most any other state. During the (long) winter, we may not see the sun for days on end. We may need to get our Vitamin D in pill form from November to March. It can affect our mood. We get gloomy.

But there is hope of a sunrise. I’m not referring to a change in weather. There is something that has happened that can change the gloominess of our souls, no matter if we live in some sun-baked state, or one surrounded by water and covered with clouds. Jesus is come, and Zecharias sings out from the midst of these events and says, “the Sunrise from on high will visit us, to shine upon those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death.”

These words were not original to Zecharias. He was quoting (Old Testament) Scripture. “The Sunrise from on high” is taken from Malachi 4. This is the last chapter of the last book in the Old Testament. That is, this is the last thing God said through His prophets, followed by 400 silent years in which the people had not heard from God. They lived in darkness and soul-gloom, and could only hope that one day, the Sun would come up. And now, here it is! The Lord is coming! His advance herald, John the Baptist, has just been born, and Jesus, the Sun Himself, is six months from birth. The gloomy fog is about to be cleared away!

This must have an affect on followers of Jesus. We are not to be gloomy, because we do not live in darkness. Another Old Testament passage, Daniel 12, says this: “And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.” It is not that we, in our brightness, become sources of light. No, we become the reflectors of the Light that has shined upon us: “Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life”” (John 8:12). 

Paul teaches us in Philippians 2 to “do all things without grumbling and disputing.” Don’t be gloomy. Why? Because we live in the light. We live as children of God in a world that does not know God, “among whom you shine as lights in the world.”

Tired of the darkness? Come to the Light. Living in darkness? Get out of the shadows, and notice that Jesus has paid us a visit.

Saturday, January 14, 2017

Self-Control

It is difficult to do marriage counseling. You sit with a couple and listen to their stories, and then give them some advice. Then you go home and realize that often times you don’t follow very well the advice that you give. We find it is easier to give advice than to practice it. 

It is also difficult to teach children. In children’s Sunday School, we have been studying together “The Fruit of the Spirit,” a list of nine qualities created by the Spirit within the lives of believers, features of our union and relationship with Christ. The list starts with “love,” which is expected, and not all that painful to talk about. But it ends with “self-control.” That is the quality for this coming Sunday, when I will be explaining to the children how self-control is really God-control, and when we don’t practice self- or God-control, then we have to admit that there is some other factor, some other power at work in us, perhaps called the flesh, and maybe even the devil. That sounds pretty strong, but if we admit that a spiritual force, the Holy Spirit, can influence us for good, then why should it be so difficult to admit that another spiritual force, Satan, could influence us for bad? But then, maybe we don’t even need the devil’s help to resist handing control over to God, and instead man-handling ourselves, which, oddly, does not result in self-control.

So, before my own children tell you the story, I will tell it myself, on myself. We were traveling somewhere, the four of us, and were in a motel room. This was several years ago, and the kids were younger, watching TV or something. I had to get an email sent out on my laptop, something dreadfully important, I am sure. In that era, the mystery of establishing a working internet connection in motel rooms was buggy at best. And I tried, and I tried. I was muttering away, and the kids did their best to ignore me, at least until I slammed the lid of the laptop down in disgust. That got their attention. And so they were watching closely when I opened the laptop again to find that the screen was now a ruined, fractured mess. I’m pretty sure God-control was not much involved in my actions.

So pray for me this week, as I sit with this class of children and teach them about the Spirit and the fruit He produces, especially self-control. And pray that I would learn the lesson as well, and maybe you too. And then, maybe I can come over and give you some advice about your marriage. I know it will be difficult.

Prayer and Purity


The two, prayer and purity, seem to go together. Samuel certainly thought so.

Samuel, from the Old Testament of Scripture, was one of a long string of prophets, and the last of a shorter line of judges. He served as a bridge between the tribal setting of the early occupation of the Promised Land, and the national identity that came with the anointing of a king. He fought the idea of kingship, and yet was the instrument God used to anoint, not just the first king of Israel, but also the second.

At the end of his ministry, Samuel addresses the people of Israel, and charges them, no matter what the politics or leadership, to commit themselves to purity. One translation reads, “Don’t turn away from following the Lord with all your heart. Don’t turn away to follow worthless things that can’t profit or deliver you; they are worthless.” 

Purity for the people of God is non-negotiable. God insists on it, and He will bring it about, even though the process may be slow and difficult. Have you and I heeded Samuel’s direction? Are we pursuing purity in fervent worship of God?

Then Samuel says, “I will not sin against God by ceasing to pray for you.” His prayers and their purity must go together. So must ours. When Paul says to Timothy, “fan into flame the gift of God that is in you,” this ‘fanning’ must include both prayer and purity. Without both, the flame dies.

What do we have when a man prays, but without purity? Impurity can be a life of sensuality or immorality. But it can also include malicious thoughts. It can be the pursuit of things, of stuff. It can be the admiration of that which is worldly and against God, or even, absent of God. But the man prays, right? Isn’t that good? Probably not. His are not real prayers. They don’t make it even through the roof. He is a liar, and his prayers are lies. Prayers must be accompanied by purity.

And then, what about the man who is pure, but who does not pray? Here we have a moral man who must be so proud of the morality that he has achieved apart from God’s help. He is self-righteous and a Pharisee. Why? Because prayer is the key indicator of one’s dependence on God. The fire of God’s purity must needs be supplied with the oxygen of prayer to God. They go together.