Sunday, February 22, 2009

1 John 1:7

I tend to be a mathematical thinker -- linear, logical, analyzing the known to discover the unknown. The logical process behind computer programming fits me.

One of the most useful programming commands is the if/then statement. If A is true then do B (or go to C, or delete D). Everything depends on A being true. IF A is true, the THEN is automatically executed.

There are several if/then statements in the Bible. I like them. They speak to me.

John 15:7 -- "IF a man remains in me and I in him, [THEN] he will bear much fruit."


So if we want fruit, the key is to "remain" in Christ. The remaining is the action required to trigger the fruit-bearing, which is a natural byproduct. If we want fruit, we must focus, not on straining to push out some fruit blossoms, but on remaining in the vine.

Acts 1:8 -- "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses ...

It's not a command to be witnesses; it's not even presented as a choice to be witnesses. Rather, it's an if/then statement. If (when) the Holy Spirit comes on us, then we WILL receive power and be witnesses.

Of course, there remains the work of figuring out what it means to "remain" and what the process is to have the Holy Spirit come on us, but recognizing the if/then nature of these verses helps us to focus our efforts on the IF, knowing that the THEN will take care of itself.

This week's scripture passage from the first chapter of 1 John has several if/then statements. My favorite is the beginning of verse 7:

"If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another..."

We could paraphrase John here as saying: Are you looking for friends? Would you like to enjoy true fellowship with other believers? Here's the secret: Walk in the light as God is in the light.

But what does it mean to walk in the light? That becomes our question. There's much room for exploration here. One aspect of light is that it reveals things that would be hidden by darkness. Perhaps one requirement for fellowship is the courage to let people see us as we are.

What do you think?

Friday, February 20, 2009

1 Corinthians

We're finishing up a series of lessons from 1 Corinthians this Sunday. Where I am, we're actually a week behind and will skip the last lesson in order to stay with the curriculum calendar. The passage that slipped into a second week concerned disagreements within the Christian community as addressed in 1 Corinthians 6. I wasn't there for the first week's discussion which the clock cut short. The second week involved some "rubber meets the road" questions. Does the church really want to deal with business deals gone sour between members? How do we balance charity toward even our enemy with our responsibility to spare others the harm our enemy has done us? If we continue to distrust someone who has wronged us, does that mean we haven't forgiven them? It made for some interesting discussion.

That puts us in chapter 8 this week, dealing with meat that has been sacrificed to idols. I haven't seen any of that in the marketplace lately. It will be interesting to figure out what analogies we can draw with today's marketplace.