I enjoyed Proverbs. Now it’s time to move on to 1 Thessalonians.
Dr. Jesse Middendorf writes in this week’s exposition: "It has always been true: Shared suffering produces deep relationship."
Shared suffering. Suffering together.
Have you ever been part of a discussion that questioned the significance of our lack of persecution in North America as Christians? I get the feeling that getting along well with those outside the faith community is a sign of anemic faith. Yet, I’ve seen "persecuted" American Christians. Their offensiveness seems to have little to do with being devoted disciples of Jesus Christ, living a cruciform lifestyle. Rather, they’re pushing up against the rules, testing the boundaries and then yelling foul when the boundaries push back. Maybe my faith is too anemic to recognize true discipleship, but I have yet to see obnoxiousness on any list of biblical virtues.
So ... if we’re not suffering persecution because of our faith, how do we develop the deep relationships that are byproducts of shared suffering? Perhaps the answer lies in the groaning of the creation around us.
There is no shortage of suffering in this world, even in North America. Perhaps it’s the child next door who seldom hears a kind word. Or the widow whose children are consuming what few resources she has and leaving her destitute. Maybe it’s the teenage girl who is already losing the glow of youth as she seeks for love in all the wrong places. Or the neighbors whose marriage is slowly dying with no visible remedy. Or the man whose beloved wife is wasting away with cancer. Or the family with no steady income about to lose their home. People all around us are in agony as they face crushing circumstances with no means of escape.
I confess that it’s easy for me to back away from people in great pain. Hearing their stories makes me feel like I ought to do something to help them. How can I listen to their pain and then do nothing more than wish them well as I walk away? Yet, what can I do? I can’t cure cancer or reverse death or fix broken relationships or provide financial support for all the poor people I know. Having such limited resources makes me want to cross to the other side when I see hurting people, as did the priest in the story of the good Samaritan.
Perhaps this is where shared suffering comes in. All around us people are in pain. Rather than being related to their faith, it’s often obvious that sin is involved. Yet, here is genuine suffering – broken hearts, frustration, tears, hopelessness. Is this a suffering in which we can share as disciples of Jesus Christ? Isn’t that what he did? He saw a widow walking in the funeral procession of her only son and stopped and got involved. He wouldn’t have had to do that. He was a busy man. He had his own challenges. But he had compassion on the woman and stopped to restore her hope.
We don’t have the same resources Jesus had. Yet, even his were limited by time and space. He couldn’t personally interact with even a fraction of the multitudes of suffering people in Palestine. Sure, he fed 5,000 people – one meal; or maybe two. But they were hungry again a day or two later and where was Jesus? In another place, walking into the suffering of a different set of people.
Perhaps it’s not only suffering for being a Christian that deepens our relationships, but also drawing alongside those who are suffering the consequences of sin or of simply being human and stepping into their agony with them. When Paul wrote in Philippians (3:10) that he wanted to know "the fellowship of sharing in [Christ's] sufferings," could sharing in the sufferings of those around him have been the avenue to fulfilling that desire?
What do you think?
Wednesday, October 25, 2006
Friday, October 20, 2006
The wisdom of this world
The apostle Paul wrote:
Who are the little children to whom the Father reveals the secrets of the kingdom? Is it those with much learning? Or is it those who don't understand many things but who choose to believe God and trust him?
What do you think?
For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written:Jesus said:
"I will destroy the wisdom of the wise;
the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate." (1CO 1:18-19)
"I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children." (MT 11:25)And:
"I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." (MT 19:23-24)Jesus does NOT indicate that it is difficult for those who are wise in the eyes of this world to enter the kingdom, only for those who are rich. Yet, I wonder ... is intelligence and learning as much a barrier to entering the kingdom as riches? It seems that it may be. After all, where does the light of faith burn the brightest? Is it in academic settings? Among scientists? Among philosophers? Or is it among those who study less and have a simple faith? Is it as tempting to rely on superior intellect for understanding of life as it is to rely on riches for security?
Who are the little children to whom the Father reveals the secrets of the kingdom? Is it those with much learning? Or is it those who don't understand many things but who choose to believe God and trust him?
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom,How many people with strong intellects are willing to set aside their logic and their grasp on reality and embrace the foolishness of the cross where, as Derek Webb puts it, things are upside down?
and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. (PR 9:10)
What looks like weakness can do anythingHow many are willing to ‘buy into’ the precepts of God and start with the fear of the Lord in order to pursue and find true wisdom? How many will set aside what they have learned with their heads in order to start thinking with their hearts? How can we open doors for the intelligent into the wisdom of God which sometimes looks so very foolish? Should we expect the church to include few who are “wise by human standards”? (see 1 CO 1:26) Is there a way to minister effectively to the educated among us, to those who have confidence in their intellect to reveal the ways of this world to them?
And what looks like foolishness is understanding
When what is powerful has not come to fight
It looks like you’re going to war
But you lay down your life. (From What Looks Like Love)
What do you think?
Friday, October 13, 2006
Good versus Evil
I mentioned a couple of weeks ago when considering the nature of the poor among us that good and evil seem so much easier to sort out in stories about oppressed poor people than in real life. Actually, it doesn’t take poverty to complicate the division between good and evil in our day-to-day lives.
The Proverbs (and Psalms) speak often of the reward of righteous living and the ultimate destruction of evildoers. The world seems to be divided easily into good and evil in these passages. In Matthew 25, Jesus speaks of the “sheep” and “goats” being divided at the end of the age. Again, the split seems so clean from the viewpoint of the King. However, the righteous and unrighteous are both surprised by the acts assigned to them. It seems that the division between good and evil that is so easily made by our Lord is not nearly so obvious to the casual human observer.
Drama reflects the division of good and evil. I don’t watch much television. Sometimes if I happen by when my husband has the TV on, I’ll stop and watch for a while. Of course, I’m coming into the middle of the story, which prompts me to occasionally ask annoying questions such as, “Is he a good guy or a bad guy? Are we supposed to like him?” It’s not often that the reply is ambiguous. Once in a while there’s a complex character that isn’t easily identified as either good or bad, but those are exceptions.
I find it interesting that we so easily accept the presence of villains in drama, whether they’re oppressing the poor or plotting murder. Do we observe such people in our daily lives? How many of your acquaintances would you classify as bloodthirsty? Do you know anyone who fits the label of murderous?
The evildoer in this week’s passage has characteristics such as concealing his sins, hardening his heart, lacking judgment, and being unconcerned about justice for the poor. I can certainly think of people who fit that description at times. I might slip in there somewhere myself from time to time. However, many of the people I know who sometimes speak harshly and hurt others and harden their hearts toward people don’t fit the “bad guy” image of drama well at all. Many times they are just ordinary people who are “out of sorts” for some reason.
An elderly man of my acquaintance is rude and demanding. He’s much more concerned about justice for himself than for the poor or anyone else. Any cordial words that come out of his mouth seem designed to bend the will of those around him to meet his needs. As far as I can tell he doesn’t have many friends and my natural inclination certainly wouldn’t lead me to number myself among the few. I’m polite to him if I can’t avoid him, but I prefer to avoid him and save myself the bother of trying to be patient with his manipulative demands. Is this an evildoer? He certainly wouldn’t take kindly to being characterized as such. In fact, he told me just recently that he is a Christian.
I often observe parents speaking harshly to their young children. The child is crying and the impatient parent responds with unkind words and threats as to what will happen if the tears do not stop. I observe no compassion toward the little one, only a hard face. Are these evildoers? Hardness of heart and harsh words directed toward innocent little children is surely one of the worst examples of unkindness, yet how many parents can claim to be innocent in this area?
I meet few people who readily confess their failures. Most seem to prefer to put on the best face possible and conceal their darker side. Are these evildoers?
I can’t tell that compassion and vulnerability and good judgment are more prevalent among those who claim to be righteous or that hardness of heart and disregard for the poor and innocent victims is any less evident in the church than elsewhere.
Until we find a surefire way to distinguish the good from the evil, maybe we can fall back on Romans 3:10, where Paul reminds us that “There is no one righteous, not even one.” Rather than attempt to classify ourselves among the exceptionally righteous, maybe we need to admit that we sometimes fall into the characteristics of the wicked and experience the consequences of wrongdoing. When we harden our hearts toward the poor and oppressed, we can expect the natural consequences for such an attitude as revealed in scripture.
What do you think?
The Proverbs (and Psalms) speak often of the reward of righteous living and the ultimate destruction of evildoers. The world seems to be divided easily into good and evil in these passages. In Matthew 25, Jesus speaks of the “sheep” and “goats” being divided at the end of the age. Again, the split seems so clean from the viewpoint of the King. However, the righteous and unrighteous are both surprised by the acts assigned to them. It seems that the division between good and evil that is so easily made by our Lord is not nearly so obvious to the casual human observer.
Drama reflects the division of good and evil. I don’t watch much television. Sometimes if I happen by when my husband has the TV on, I’ll stop and watch for a while. Of course, I’m coming into the middle of the story, which prompts me to occasionally ask annoying questions such as, “Is he a good guy or a bad guy? Are we supposed to like him?” It’s not often that the reply is ambiguous. Once in a while there’s a complex character that isn’t easily identified as either good or bad, but those are exceptions.
I find it interesting that we so easily accept the presence of villains in drama, whether they’re oppressing the poor or plotting murder. Do we observe such people in our daily lives? How many of your acquaintances would you classify as bloodthirsty? Do you know anyone who fits the label of murderous?
The evildoer in this week’s passage has characteristics such as concealing his sins, hardening his heart, lacking judgment, and being unconcerned about justice for the poor. I can certainly think of people who fit that description at times. I might slip in there somewhere myself from time to time. However, many of the people I know who sometimes speak harshly and hurt others and harden their hearts toward people don’t fit the “bad guy” image of drama well at all. Many times they are just ordinary people who are “out of sorts” for some reason.
An elderly man of my acquaintance is rude and demanding. He’s much more concerned about justice for himself than for the poor or anyone else. Any cordial words that come out of his mouth seem designed to bend the will of those around him to meet his needs. As far as I can tell he doesn’t have many friends and my natural inclination certainly wouldn’t lead me to number myself among the few. I’m polite to him if I can’t avoid him, but I prefer to avoid him and save myself the bother of trying to be patient with his manipulative demands. Is this an evildoer? He certainly wouldn’t take kindly to being characterized as such. In fact, he told me just recently that he is a Christian.
I often observe parents speaking harshly to their young children. The child is crying and the impatient parent responds with unkind words and threats as to what will happen if the tears do not stop. I observe no compassion toward the little one, only a hard face. Are these evildoers? Hardness of heart and harsh words directed toward innocent little children is surely one of the worst examples of unkindness, yet how many parents can claim to be innocent in this area?
I meet few people who readily confess their failures. Most seem to prefer to put on the best face possible and conceal their darker side. Are these evildoers?
I can’t tell that compassion and vulnerability and good judgment are more prevalent among those who claim to be righteous or that hardness of heart and disregard for the poor and innocent victims is any less evident in the church than elsewhere.
Until we find a surefire way to distinguish the good from the evil, maybe we can fall back on Romans 3:10, where Paul reminds us that “There is no one righteous, not even one.” Rather than attempt to classify ourselves among the exceptionally righteous, maybe we need to admit that we sometimes fall into the characteristics of the wicked and experience the consequences of wrongdoing. When we harden our hearts toward the poor and oppressed, we can expect the natural consequences for such an attitude as revealed in scripture.
What do you think?
Wednesday, October 04, 2006
The delight of the Lord
Proverbs 11:1 reads:
The LORD abhors dishonest scales,
but accurate weights are his delight.
The delight of the LORD. You don’t hear much about that. Or at least I don’t. There’s the fear of the LORD, the wrath of the LORD, the justice and righteousness of the LORD. There are things that are an abomination to the LORD. On the other side, the LORD is loving, kind, compassionate, and faithful. But delighted? What sorts of things delight the LORD? Are there other things, besides accurate weights, that bring joy and pleasure to the heart of God?
Psalm 147:10 tells us what does not delight God:
His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse,
nor his delight in the legs of a man;
The next verse tells us what does delight Him:
the LORD delights in those who fear him,
who put their hope in his unfailing love.
Do we delight the LORD God Almighty? Can we delight Him?
It certainly seems that it is possible. All we have to do is revere and trust Him.
So do we? Is God delighted with many of us? Does He rejoice when we turn our faces toward Him and come into His presence?
One of my favorite verses is Psalm 25:14:
The LORD confides in those who fear him;
he makes his covenant known to them.
I can see the picture – mighty king and lowly servant walking down the road together. The king draws up close to the servant and, lowering his voice, shares what he is thinking with him. O to be that servant, to find such a bond with my King, to be the one of whom it is said:
He will take great delight in you,
he will quiet you with his love,
he will rejoice over you with singing." (Zephaniah 3:17)
A song has been stuck in my head today. One line says, "... keep me so close to you that I feel the throb of the great heart of God..." That requires a close proximity, a delight in being together.
We’re often reminded by those who exhort us to draw closer to God of how far we fall short of his glory. I wish I could find a George MacDonald quote I vaguely remember about how God is never satisfied but easily pleased. Here’s the closest I can come with an internet search:
That no obedience but a perfect one will satisfy God, I hold with all my heart and strength; but that there is none else that He cares for, is one of the lies of the enemy. What father is not pleased with the first tottering attempt of his little one to walk? What father would be satisfied with anything but the manly step of the full-grown son?
Yes, I often stumble and fall. I am a child. But as I get back up and try again, as I trust my Father and hold Him in full reverence, as I seek integrity in my business dealings, I rejoice in these verses that hold out the possibility of being a delight to the LORD, even before I reach full maturity.
The LORD abhors dishonest scales,
but accurate weights are his delight.
The delight of the LORD. You don’t hear much about that. Or at least I don’t. There’s the fear of the LORD, the wrath of the LORD, the justice and righteousness of the LORD. There are things that are an abomination to the LORD. On the other side, the LORD is loving, kind, compassionate, and faithful. But delighted? What sorts of things delight the LORD? Are there other things, besides accurate weights, that bring joy and pleasure to the heart of God?
Psalm 147:10 tells us what does not delight God:
His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse,
nor his delight in the legs of a man;
The next verse tells us what does delight Him:
the LORD delights in those who fear him,
who put their hope in his unfailing love.
Do we delight the LORD God Almighty? Can we delight Him?
It certainly seems that it is possible. All we have to do is revere and trust Him.
So do we? Is God delighted with many of us? Does He rejoice when we turn our faces toward Him and come into His presence?
One of my favorite verses is Psalm 25:14:
The LORD confides in those who fear him;
he makes his covenant known to them.
I can see the picture – mighty king and lowly servant walking down the road together. The king draws up close to the servant and, lowering his voice, shares what he is thinking with him. O to be that servant, to find such a bond with my King, to be the one of whom it is said:
He will take great delight in you,
he will quiet you with his love,
he will rejoice over you with singing." (Zephaniah 3:17)
A song has been stuck in my head today. One line says, "... keep me so close to you that I feel the throb of the great heart of God..." That requires a close proximity, a delight in being together.
We’re often reminded by those who exhort us to draw closer to God of how far we fall short of his glory. I wish I could find a George MacDonald quote I vaguely remember about how God is never satisfied but easily pleased. Here’s the closest I can come with an internet search:
That no obedience but a perfect one will satisfy God, I hold with all my heart and strength; but that there is none else that He cares for, is one of the lies of the enemy. What father is not pleased with the first tottering attempt of his little one to walk? What father would be satisfied with anything but the manly step of the full-grown son?
Yes, I often stumble and fall. I am a child. But as I get back up and try again, as I trust my Father and hold Him in full reverence, as I seek integrity in my business dealings, I rejoice in these verses that hold out the possibility of being a delight to the LORD, even before I reach full maturity.
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