There are some things that people just don't like to talk about. I think it goes something like this... in polite conversation you are not allowed to talk about politics or religion... of course that is a very old adage and for the most part it has fallen by the wayside. Because politics is THE topic of the day nearly every day, and rightly so. The actions of the President and Congress and especially our local city or county commissioners effects all of our lives. I mean, whenever there is a new bill about to be proposed we all ask, "How is this going to effect me or my family?"
Now as for religion, the conversations get a little trickier. You can talk about religion. Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, vague far-eastern religions with names you can't pronounce... you can talk about those. You can talk about God. You can talk about your "sense of spirituality" heck, you can even talk about Jesus, and people won't typically care. Even Deepak Chopra has book on Jesus... but the conversations we have about Jesus have to framed in just the right sort of way.
We can believe in and talk about Jesus as a great teacher, philosopher, challenger of the status quo, spiritual guru... even the whole saving-people-from-their-sins part is okay as long as you demystify it and take God's wrath out of the equation so it becomes more of "self-help" tactic than actual salvation. We can talk about what Jesus means to me, how he has given me hope and light, how he comforted children, and told people to be generous. We can put Jesus into our little socially-defined boxes and be just fine in conversation. You can invent your own views about Jesus, outlandish and unsubstantiated as they may be while casting dispersions on 2,000 years of historical tradition, and you will be excepted in academic and social circles and even admired as tolerant and innovative.
But try to talk about the Jesus of the Bible, and you may see some uncomfortable looks and people squirming in their seats. Start quoting passages like "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:6). Or "Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters" (Matthew 12:30). Or any passage that speaks about Christ as the Son of God or that speak about him in exclusive terms or that speak about judgment... speak about the actual Jesus and those are conversations our culture won't let us have.
So, what are we to do? Slink back into the corner? Shut our eyes and ears to the world around us, all the while ignoring the fact that we live in a country that supposedly stands for religious tolerance?
The Church has got to be louder. It has got to be bolder. Christians must refuse to allow for the sanitized, personalized image of Jesus to prevail when we know the truth. For it is "the truth [that] will set you free." Not the lie, not the acceptable version of the truth. But the truth, that Jesus, the biblical, actual Jesus, is the only way... whether we like it or not. The problem is that it is difficult for us to do. It's difficult for Christians to get hyped up about something that with surely ostracize us.
It's not that Christians won't get excited or stand up for against things. Christians have loud and boisterous opinions about the new healthcare package. Christians get excited about the next Joel Olsteen or Tim Lehaye or Chris Tomlin. Most Christians, especially in the southeastern US, have a favorite college of professional football team they will defend tooth and nail against their bitter rivals. And believe me, I'm not speaking self-righteously here... I get jacked up about all those things too. And there is nothing wrong about having passionate opinions about those sorts of things.
But who will defend Jesus against the attacks of syncretism? Who will stand up and say, "that's not the Jesus of the Bible"? "That's not who Jesus was or is." Of course, actions speak louder than words, but silence in the face of lies speaks even louder and it's time for the Church to stand up and be counted... not merely against those religions that we can see, but also against those that would seek to replace the one true faith with a lie.
September 28, 2009
September 23, 2009
eyes wide open...
This past weekend Jules and I were in Tampa for a marriage conference, and during the conference there was an opportunity for us to go on a "date night". We were both looking forward to it, so we went to Channelside... a spot in Tampa with several restaurants, a movie theater, and kind of a party atmosphere. So, we went down there for a little dinner and decided to catch a movie, and it was awesome being with my beautiful wife, talking about things, and just sharing each other's company.
But there was something that both of us found very, very unsettling... All around Channelside were these girls dressed WAY too provocatively in short black dresses... and by short I mean they would be considered long-shirts by most people's standards... and by girls I mean some may have been 12 or 13 years-old. And as you might expect where there are girls dressed that way there are drooling, sweaty boys following far too closely. It was sad to see the looks on these kids' faces. So unsure. So nervous. But trying to hide it with false bravado and posturing. All of them sure desperate to find significance by looking and acting just like everyone else. I felt depressed, and old.
I know there were probably times in my early adolescents where I put out the same sort of false security in my black shirt, or having the right shoes, or because I was just like everyone else and yet spouting off things about wanting to be different. But now I see just how foolish that was.
Something else was going on at Channelside that night which stood out in such a sharp contrast to all that was going on around as to seem like a small but brilliant gem in an otherwise rocky environment. There, in the very middle of the plaza, was an artist who had set himself up a little street studio. Right there on small 18"x18" canvases he dreamed and created beautiful landscapes which he only saw in his own mind. Some were of beaches and mountains, others were landscapes that only George Lucas might fully understand. This artist dreamed with spray paint and a pillow under his knees and as the crowds watched him he could not have cared less if anyone else like what he did, because after each world was created he put it out front and looked up smiling. What he had created was good.
In Genesis, we read that God created men and women, male and female, he created them in HIS image and that he breathed into them the breath of life (ruach in the Hebrew also meaning spirit as used in Genesis 1:2), and you know I have never really had a problem with that, until I really think about it. It means that something in each and every person that has ever lived or will ever live reflects something of the glory of God... something in every single human being has the Spirit of God in them. Now, that's easy for me to accept when I think of the people I know... my friends, my family. And it's easy for me to see that worked out when I think of that artist creating worlds on canvas, but what about those kids? I admit it's difficult. What about convicts in the local jail? What about terrorists in the Middle East? For me, it's downright impossible to comprehend that God made them at all.
So, what does that tell me? It tells me something strange about how I am supposed to respond to situations with other people. It tells me that as God looks on all people and sees the effect that sin has had on the image he has put in us, it must break his heart. Thus the need for a Savior. See Jesus though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. (Philippians 2:6-8). He was the perfect image of God, without sin, without corruption, and yet he gave that up so that through him we, and those kids at Channelside, and the artist, might be covered with Christ's perfection and restore the image of God that has been corrupted by our sin.
It also tells me something else... I am no better than those kids. I still feel lost at times... broken, full of self-doubt, looking around nervously for acceptance. But I know that my worth is not dependent on even my own feelings of worth. It is entirely dependent on my acceptance by God which I can not earn or add to. God has already accepted me because of the life, and ministry, the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. And that is something everyone needs to hear.
But there was something that both of us found very, very unsettling... All around Channelside were these girls dressed WAY too provocatively in short black dresses... and by short I mean they would be considered long-shirts by most people's standards... and by girls I mean some may have been 12 or 13 years-old. And as you might expect where there are girls dressed that way there are drooling, sweaty boys following far too closely. It was sad to see the looks on these kids' faces. So unsure. So nervous. But trying to hide it with false bravado and posturing. All of them sure desperate to find significance by looking and acting just like everyone else. I felt depressed, and old.
I know there were probably times in my early adolescents where I put out the same sort of false security in my black shirt, or having the right shoes, or because I was just like everyone else and yet spouting off things about wanting to be different. But now I see just how foolish that was.
Something else was going on at Channelside that night which stood out in such a sharp contrast to all that was going on around as to seem like a small but brilliant gem in an otherwise rocky environment. There, in the very middle of the plaza, was an artist who had set himself up a little street studio. Right there on small 18"x18" canvases he dreamed and created beautiful landscapes which he only saw in his own mind. Some were of beaches and mountains, others were landscapes that only George Lucas might fully understand. This artist dreamed with spray paint and a pillow under his knees and as the crowds watched him he could not have cared less if anyone else like what he did, because after each world was created he put it out front and looked up smiling. What he had created was good.
In Genesis, we read that God created men and women, male and female, he created them in HIS image and that he breathed into them the breath of life (ruach in the Hebrew also meaning spirit as used in Genesis 1:2), and you know I have never really had a problem with that, until I really think about it. It means that something in each and every person that has ever lived or will ever live reflects something of the glory of God... something in every single human being has the Spirit of God in them. Now, that's easy for me to accept when I think of the people I know... my friends, my family. And it's easy for me to see that worked out when I think of that artist creating worlds on canvas, but what about those kids? I admit it's difficult. What about convicts in the local jail? What about terrorists in the Middle East? For me, it's downright impossible to comprehend that God made them at all.
So, what does that tell me? It tells me something strange about how I am supposed to respond to situations with other people. It tells me that as God looks on all people and sees the effect that sin has had on the image he has put in us, it must break his heart. Thus the need for a Savior. See Jesus though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. (Philippians 2:6-8). He was the perfect image of God, without sin, without corruption, and yet he gave that up so that through him we, and those kids at Channelside, and the artist, might be covered with Christ's perfection and restore the image of God that has been corrupted by our sin.
It also tells me something else... I am no better than those kids. I still feel lost at times... broken, full of self-doubt, looking around nervously for acceptance. But I know that my worth is not dependent on even my own feelings of worth. It is entirely dependent on my acceptance by God which I can not earn or add to. God has already accepted me because of the life, and ministry, the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. And that is something everyone needs to hear.
September 03, 2009
Things I have never believed in...
So, I began to think about friends of mine, maybe some family members, and people I used to know (and because of the beauty of Facebook still keep in some contact with), and I wondered what it is they believed in. I began to think about things they don't believe in and things they used to believe but now don't for one reason or another. Then I began to think about myself, and ask those same questions... what do I believe, what don't I believe, what have I never believed?
It's interesting that I spend a great deal of time thinking about what I believe, but almost no time about the things I don't. The things I don't believe, I just don't... I dismiss them and they are out of my mind nearly as quickly as they entered. There are exceptions of course, but I think that is the way many things are for us.
For example, I have never believed in Santa Claus... Now, I know there was an actual St. Nicolas (I've been to his tomb in fact), but as far as believing there was a fat, jolly man living at the North Pole riding on a sleigh pulled by flying reindeer... No, never believed it. My parents never perpetuated the story with me, and to be honest I am no worse for the wear. In fact, I love Christmas (ask my wife if I don't get into the holiday seriously), and I am not one of those who is anti-Santa Claus and elves... but believing that has never been part of it for me. Some, if not most of you don't share that experience...
I have never believed in the Tooth-Fairy, Easter Bunny, Great Pumpkin (for all you Charlie Brown fans)... but those are easy ones.
I have also never believed the old adage: "You can do anything you set your mind to." You've probably heard that statement as a child, and probably followed a conversation where you said, "I can't..." You may believe that statement, but it needs some serious qualification, because it just isn't true.
Think about it for a moment before you totally write me off... Think about anything that you want to do, anything you want to be, any place you want to go, and right now set your mind to it, walk out the door and do it... see what happens. Take me for example, I love basketball. I play off and on, and still to this day, when I pick up a ball I think about what it would be like to play professionally. But I'm knocking on the door of 30, I'm vertically-challenged, haven't seriously played in years, and have little to no jumping ability left. I could set my mind to it, walk out the door, try-out for some pro or semi-pro team, and do the very best I could, and what would happen? I wouldn't make it. No question. And That's okay.
Now, what's my point? My point is our motivation is all wrong. When we tell kids things like that what we're trying to do is get them not quit simply when things get difficult or tough, and that's a good thing. We should all, even in adulthood, try new things, and we shouldn't quit simply when things don't go well the first time. But to say that on our own we can do ANYTHING, sets us up for false expectations that are impossible to achieve.
See, even the Bible says in Philippians 4:13, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." But we tend to focus on "I can do all things" part and forget the qualifier they must be done in God's strength. With God in control, there are things that he will and things he will not allow us to do. And even the things he allows us to do may not turn out the way we expect. But those things are always for his greater glory and for our ultimate good.
I think Paul gives us a better motto to live by in 1 Corinthians 10:31 when he says, "So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." That will keep us trying hard, trying new things, but keep us humble in the process... realizing we have nothing on our own, and that it all comes from God.
It's interesting that I spend a great deal of time thinking about what I believe, but almost no time about the things I don't. The things I don't believe, I just don't... I dismiss them and they are out of my mind nearly as quickly as they entered. There are exceptions of course, but I think that is the way many things are for us.
For example, I have never believed in Santa Claus... Now, I know there was an actual St. Nicolas (I've been to his tomb in fact), but as far as believing there was a fat, jolly man living at the North Pole riding on a sleigh pulled by flying reindeer... No, never believed it. My parents never perpetuated the story with me, and to be honest I am no worse for the wear. In fact, I love Christmas (ask my wife if I don't get into the holiday seriously), and I am not one of those who is anti-Santa Claus and elves... but believing that has never been part of it for me. Some, if not most of you don't share that experience...
I have never believed in the Tooth-Fairy, Easter Bunny, Great Pumpkin (for all you Charlie Brown fans)... but those are easy ones.
I have also never believed the old adage: "You can do anything you set your mind to." You've probably heard that statement as a child, and probably followed a conversation where you said, "I can't..." You may believe that statement, but it needs some serious qualification, because it just isn't true.
Think about it for a moment before you totally write me off... Think about anything that you want to do, anything you want to be, any place you want to go, and right now set your mind to it, walk out the door and do it... see what happens. Take me for example, I love basketball. I play off and on, and still to this day, when I pick up a ball I think about what it would be like to play professionally. But I'm knocking on the door of 30, I'm vertically-challenged, haven't seriously played in years, and have little to no jumping ability left. I could set my mind to it, walk out the door, try-out for some pro or semi-pro team, and do the very best I could, and what would happen? I wouldn't make it. No question. And That's okay.
Now, what's my point? My point is our motivation is all wrong. When we tell kids things like that what we're trying to do is get them not quit simply when things get difficult or tough, and that's a good thing. We should all, even in adulthood, try new things, and we shouldn't quit simply when things don't go well the first time. But to say that on our own we can do ANYTHING, sets us up for false expectations that are impossible to achieve.
See, even the Bible says in Philippians 4:13, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." But we tend to focus on "I can do all things" part and forget the qualifier they must be done in God's strength. With God in control, there are things that he will and things he will not allow us to do. And even the things he allows us to do may not turn out the way we expect. But those things are always for his greater glory and for our ultimate good.
I think Paul gives us a better motto to live by in 1 Corinthians 10:31 when he says, "So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." That will keep us trying hard, trying new things, but keep us humble in the process... realizing we have nothing on our own, and that it all comes from God.
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