The Greatest of These…

Anyone who has ever gone to a church wedding has probably heard someone read the “Love” chapter from 1 Corinthians 13.  You know, “Love is patient and kind … So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” It is just so sweet and gives you a warm, fuzzy feeling.  Never mind that the passage is in the middle of a teaching on spiritual gifts or that as soon as the wedding ceremony is over, everyone forgets the passage.  But it seems standard fare for all weddings.  I understand the point, but there are plenty of other Bible passages that would be appropriate.  How about this one, “A continual dripping on a rainy day and a quarrelsome wife are alike; to restrain her is to restrain the wind or to grasp oil in one’s right hand” (Proverbs 27:15).  OK, I’m KIDDING! Don’t send me hate-mail.  My point is not actually about the use of Corinthians in wedding ceremonies, but about the Biblical teachings on faith, love and hope.

I read recently this passage from Paul’s letter to the church in Thessalonica,

…remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Thessalonians 1:3)

This passage, written before the Corinthian letter, provides remarkable insight into the foundations of the Christian life.  It starts out as Paul’s expression of thanksgiving for the Thessalonian’s commitment and perseverance in living out the gospel but then comes the richness of understanding what faith, love and hope mean for the Christian.

Note first that the “work of faith” is singular.  It is not “works” of faith, but one work.  It means the business, the undertakings or occupation based on faith.  It means that our faith is not just a theoretical, intellectual construct, but a lifestyle of being engaged in our Father’s business. It’s what occupies our thoughts and time and resources.  Not only that, but this faith is centered around a Person, not a set of doctrinal statements.  It is because of our faith in Christ, in His life, death, resurrection and teachings that we choose to “work” in response to all He has done.

But there’s more.  There is the “labor of love.” This word, labor, means an exertion or “intense labor united with trouble and toil.” It is not a fuzzy, smiley, puppy dog love, but an intensity of loving at the cost of difficulty, exertion and trouble.  It is a love that goes beyond the superficial and does whatever it takes to reflect God’s character and will for people.  Come to think of it, isn’t that exactly what Christ did?  He labored at great cost to Himself to love us and that is how He would want us to live also.  The labor of love is simply our way of demonstrating Christ’s love.

Finally, Paul mentions the “steadfastness of hope.” We often confuse hope with wishful thinking, as in, “I hope things go well today.” But the Christian hope is the expectation of good, the joyful knowledge that there is a good and loving God who works all things out for our good; the confidence of knowing that, after all is said and done, God wins and we are with Him.  And this hope is centered and focused on Christ Himself. Because of this hope we can be steadfast, we can persevere, we can hang in there. We know how the story ends.

So look at this again.  Faith in Christ results in our life work.  The love of Christ motivates intense labor.  Hope in Christ inspires perseverance. That pretty much sums up the Christian life.  Faith, Hope and Love and the greatest of these is…Christ.

Smile, God loves you- blah, blah, blah

I became a Christian during the heady days of the Jesus Movement in the early ’70s.  It was so new, so simple.  We rebuffed the stogie, boring old time denominational churches and just loved Jesus, smiled a lot and hung out at the beach singing our new worship songs.  I remember I had a sticker of a smiley face with “Smile, God loves you” emblazoned around the edge.  Yes, that was true and it was all we needed to know.  It was the hippies high on Jesus.  However, the faith was real, the conversions miraculous, the impact on our generation significant.  It many ways I miss those days.  But then I went to college and I started to really understand what all this meant.  Then I went overseas on a mission project and that was exciting but I had to decide if I could really live this Christian life in the “real world,” so I came back.  I got a job, got married, had kids, and my faith became more settled, more anchored as it was tested throughout life.  And the longer I lived, and the longer I learned and the longer I was put to the test, the more I knew – knew at the deepest possible levels of my heart – that God did indeed love me.  It wasn’t just a slogan or a logo.  It was so real and so foundational; it has kept me going for all these years of ups and downs.

Why am I telling you all this?  Because I get so frustrated with Christians sometimes.  It is so easy to say “God loves you” to someone, but it comes across so superficial and patronizing, that I think we actually turn people away from Him.  Instead of getting a glimpse of God’s heart, they get a plastered-on smile.  We throw a sanitized Bible verse at them instead of sitting with them silently holding their hand or simply saying, “I’m sorry you’re going through this.”  We have the most powerful message the world has ever known, yet we have overused “God loves you” to the point that it has become trite and corny and people don’t really even hear it.  All they hear is “God blah, blah, blah…”

I want people to know just how much God loves them, how much they mean to Him, how much He has done to restore relationship with Him.  I want them to know the depths, heights, and breadth of His love.  But I want them to know the reality of His love, not just the warm, fuzzy words.  It’s what drives me to teach, to write, to go to my secular workplace and live differently than the world does.  For me it’s not enough just to tell people, we have to tell them in a way that they will get it.  Yes, God loves them, but tell them why and how.  Then show them.

Showing them may simply be – or should start – with explaining the meaning of the cross.  “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13).    Showing them may mean reading them the words of love and affirmation found in the pages of His Book – His love letters.  Showing them may mean pointing out the grace available every day to confront the highs and lows of life.  Showing them may also mean reminding them that every time they wake up in the morning means another day – another gift – to see Him change their life in some way if they would just look.  Showing them may simply mean a kind word, an act of service or a dozen cookies, whatever they need from us at that moment.

And when we are done showing them, we tell them, “Look, God loves you.” Then…we smile.

Because I Said So!

It really is one of the most aggravating questions we get from our kids.  “But WHYYYYYY?” they whine at us when we’ve told them to do … or STOP doing something.  At first, we want to be the good parent and explain in a calm, rational way the wisdom of what we are asking of them.  Then comes the inevitable retort, “How cooooome?”  So we explain again, this time in shorter, more direct sentences.  Then we get the, “But Why?” again.  You see, kids only have two modes – BUT WHY and HOW COME – and they seamlessly switch between them. 

After many attempts at reasonable discourse with our lovely angel who challenges our every word, refuses to accept our wisdom, and remains defiant in the face of much greater authority, we resort to our most powerful parental weapon – “BECAUSE I SAID SO!”  (This last tactic is a better alternative to shooting lasers out of our eyes).  And that ends the conversation, at least for now.  I must admit, though, that after four children, I found myself jumping to the end of that conversation more often than I care to admit.  But the reality is that most of the time, we really do have a good reason for what we ask of our children.  It’s just that their little minds don’t and can’t understand it.  All they know is what they want right then and there.  They don’t have the life experience, wisdom or the perspective that comes with time to appreciate our directions.  The bottom line is that we love our kids enough to try to mold their attitudes, behavior and values so that they can grow up well.  If that means pulling out the “Because I said so” when necessary, we hope, in the long run, it has the effect we intend.

The prophet Isaiah captured this same tendency we humans have to question authority, to question God, much like our children question us.

“Woe to him who strives with him who formed him, a pot among earthen pots!  Does the clay say to him who forms it, ‘What are you making?’ or ‘Your work has no handles’?  Woe to him who says to a father, ‘What are you begetting?’ or to a woman, ‘With what are you in labor?’” (Isaiah 45:9,10)

We ask why.  “Why, Lord, did this happen to me?  Why, Lord, can’t I do what I want?  Why, Lord, won’t you give me that job, car, house, (insert your own example here)?  Why, Lord, do I have to love that person?  I don’t even like them.  Why, Lord, do they get – whatever – and I don’t?  Why Lord?  Why, Why, Why?”  We seem to think that God owes us an explanation for what He is doing as if the world revolves around us when, in fact, it is all about Him.  When we actually step back for a moment, we realize that Because-He-Says-So is a perfectly valid reason. As we move along in our Christian journey, instead of stomping our feet and holding our breath, we must come to embrace and delight in His Because-I-Say-So.

That should be enough and the conversation should end there, but amazingly it doesn’t.  Earlier in that passage from Isaiah, God says,

I am the Lord, and there is no other, besides me there is no God;
I equip you, though you do not know me, that people may know, from the rising of the sun and from the west, that there is none besides me; I am the Lord, and there is no other.  I form light and create darkness, I make well-being and create calamity, I am the Lord, who does all these things. (Isaiah 45:5-7)

Here God answers the Why’s of our life.  He reveals His deepest motivation for everything He does in our lives: that “people may know there is none besides me.”  Ultimately, God does everything so that people will know Him.  Ultimately, it is about His desire to be known. 

“Why, Lord?  Why did You send Jesus to earth?  Why, Lord, did He have to die like that?  Why, Lord, did Jesus rise from the dead?  Why would you do that? Especially to Him, to Your Son?  Why Lord?  Why would you do that for ME?” 

He answers, “Because I said so.”

So instead of asking God to justify His actions in our lives, let’s take those “Why” moments and turn them into opportunities to know Him better and to make Him known.  How about turning “Why” into “Who.”

Loveable Me

When I was dating my wife, I did not feel very loveable.  True story.  I just could not get over the fact that this woman could actually love me.  Why would she?  Especially if she really knew me.  This became a subject of conversation during one of our premarital sessions we had with our pastor.  I distinctly remember him saying to me, “Albert, you just need to believe that she loves you.  You need to believe her when she tells you she loves you.” Over the years, his advice has proved invaluable.  I just believed her.  At first, it was just a choice I made.  I may not have felt it, but I believed her.  Over the years, I have experienced and reveled in her love.  I have grown in the security and constancy of her love, and as a result, my love has grown greater.  That one piece of advice has helped us weather the ups-and-downs of life and drawn us deeper.

I tell you this story because I want you to simply believe that God loves you.  I know that we may not feel loveable or may not even feel loved.  It may seem like all the external “evidence” in our lives – all the trials, all the worry, all the circumstances – does not look like God loving us.  I can only tell you that we simply have to believe Him.  I am not trying to be flippant and say, “Smile, God loves you.” I’m not trying to be naive, patronizing or simplistic.   I know that life can be hard.  But there has to be a rock bottom truth and through my 60+ years of life and 34 years of marriage, that truth is that God loves me, has loved me and will continue to love regardless of how my life looks at the moment.  And when I sink into despondency, this is the only truth, the only thought that pulls me out.    It is something we need to nurture and cultivate.  We actually need to keep reminding ourselves of this.  And as we do, it sinks deeper into our hearts.  It becomes more comfortable, more secure.  We begin to doubt less and celebrate more.

Sometimes, when I lie in my bed next to my sleeping wife, I think to myself, “What a blessed man I am,” simply because I believed that she loved me.  Sometimes, when I sit in my chair and think about God loving me, I am overcome and say to myself, “What an incredibly blessed man I am,” simply because I believed what He said.

I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you. (Jeremiah 31:3)

He still says that to us today.

Love is Doing the Dishes

I have to admit to a pet peeve, a practice among Christian groups that really drives me crazy – the foot-washing ceremony. I’m sure you’ve seen it or experienced it.  For me it has been in the context of a weekend retreat or conference.  At the end of the event, the leaders break out a bunch of water basins and wash our feet or have us wash each other’s feet.  It is supposed to be a dramatic, meaningful, and inspiring end to a wonderful weekend.   I know this may offend some of you, my readers, but I truly believe that the way this ceremony is currently done completely misses the point of what Jesus was trying to teach His disciples – and us.  The practice is based on the narrative found in the Gospel of John.

It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love.

The evening meal was being served, and the devil had already prompted Judas Iscariot, son of Simon, to betray Jesus. Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him…

When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.  (John 13:1-5,12-15, NIV)

One of the keys to understanding this passage is the last verse, “…do as I have done for you.” He did not say “do what I have done” but “as I have done.” I think this is an important distinction.  Jesus was not telling us to duplicate His actions but to embrace His attitude.  What is so remarkable is the context in which John places Jesus’ action.  At this point, Jesus knew He was about to die a horrible death.  He knew He was about to be betrayed by a man who spent 3 years with Him.  He knew that He was about to experience again all the glory He had known with the Father.  And He knew that everything in the universe was under His authority.  In light of all these contrasting and seemingly conflicting experiences, there was one thought foremost in Christ’s mind – to show His disciples, His friends, the full extent of His love.  The foot-washing wasn’t about humility or establishing a new Christian liturgy. It was about showing what love looks like.  Being fully secure in His own mission, calling, position and relationship with the Father enabled Jesus to take on the posture of a servant.

Unfortunately, we have turned this most powerful demonstration of love in action into a show.  Too often, it has become a spectacle designed to demonstrate our “humility;” trying to imitate Christ by going through the same motions, but without the power and without the love.  If we are truly secure in our relationship with the Father, if we understand the fullness of what it means to be “in Christ,” then we don’t need to resort to the occasional ceremony to demonstrate servanthood.

Let me suggest some more meaningful and, I think, more appropriate applications of Jesus’ example.  How about you husbands doing the dishes for your wives after supper.  Is that not more loving and serving?  How about watching the kids of a single mom in order to give her a night out or babysitting for a young couple who can’t afford to go out but need a date night?  How about mowing the lawn for a neighbor, cooking a meal for a friend, fixing a car, helping paint a church member’s new home?  How about doing some home repair for an elderly couple or driving them to the grocery store?  I hope you get the point.  Washing each other’s feet is an act of love based on the fullness of our life in God.   It is not a demonstration of our humility, nor do we aim to get credit for a good deed.  Having been the recipients of the “full extent of His love,” is it not appropriate to show the same to others?

TBT: The Art of Judging Others

Today’s Throw-Back-Thursday post comes from July 13, 2012

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Probably the most often quoted Scripture verse, perhaps even surpassing John 3:16, is “Judge not, that ye be not judged.” And, I would guess, equally quoted by Christian and non-Christian as a weapon to deflect criticism.  What a person is actually saying when they quote these words of Jesus is, “Let me do what I want without being held accountable or making me feel bad about myself.  I don’t want to face my own sinfulness so don’t point it out to me.”  In fact, they want to continue in their chosen behavior and not be condemned by others, especially Christians, whom they regard as hypocritical.  So faced with Jesus’ very words, we back off and let them go on.  “It’s true,” we think to ourselves, “who am I to judge.  I am no better.”  And we walk away cowed into accepting almost any behavior.

But I think we’ve missed the point of Jesus’ instruction and have become so myopic in applying this verse that we have lost the bigger picture.  The problem is confusion about the word “judge.”  If you look at the parallel passage in chapter 6 of the Gospel of Luke, Jesus is quoted as saying,  “Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven; (Luke 6:37)

The point of Jesus’ instruction is to keep us from condemning another person.  Condemnation is an evaluation of the other person’s heart and pronouncing them morally or spiritually defective.  By condemning, we immediately elevate ourselves to a position of superiority and usurp God’s prerogative.  When a person says, “Don’t judge me,” they are rightly asking not to be condemned.  However, that does not mean that we are forced to accept any behavior or teaching that comes along under the guise of Christianity.

There’s the challenge: to judge without being judgmental.   It is possible, even necessary, for Christians to evaluate – to judge if you will – the fruit of a person’s word and actions to determine whether they are consistent with the Gospel message.  It is acceptable to approach another person and challenge their conformity to God’s Word, not from a position of self-importance, haughtiness or condescension but humbly, graciously and mercifully.  Perhaps there is a misunderstanding or a difference in the application of the Christian walk that can be cleared up.  It is possible to differ with another and yet both be genuinely biblically-based.  In his letter to the Romans, Paul reminds them that those who had differing views on “meat sacrificed to idols” are still to be considered genuine brethren and not be condemned.  The same principle can be applied today to multiple situations, views, and practices.  Right after Jesus says, “Judge not…” we read in the rest of that passage in Matthew,

Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye. (Matthew 7:3-5)

The point is not that we cannot or should not take the “speck” out of our brother’s eye, but that first we must deal with the “log” in ours.

Not condemning another Christian does not mean simply accepting sinful behavior.   The unapologetic must be held accountable.  The immoral must not be tolerated.  The “fruit” of a person’s life must be evaluated and action taken, especially if they call themselves Christians.  Later in Matthew chapter 7, Jesus instructs us to “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits.”  We must be able to judge – to discern and evaluate – in order to recognize the fruit.  And in Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, he says,

But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler—not even to eat with such a one. For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? (1 Corinthians 5:11,12)

Paul expects the Church to judge those within the church.  So, how are we to understand our “judgeship?”  First, there is never a place for us to condemn another believer.  We must remain humble and gracious in all our relationships.  Second, we must evaluate whether a clear principle of Christian behavior or teaching is being violated.  Just because I don’t agree with you doesn’t mean what you are doing it is unbiblical.  We must allow our brethren the freedom to pursue God in a way that is genuine and up-building, but biblically sound.  Finally, if the fruit of a person’s life is clearly inconsistent with the Christian walk, then we must challenge them (if we are able) and if they remain unrepentant we must refuse further interaction with them.  However, I would certainly pray for God’s intervention and mercy.  No one is beyond God’s grace.

I understand that this short post barely scratches the surface of this complicated and important topic, but my hope is that it would make you think.  Perhaps start a conversation, but don’t simply ignore it.

An IMAX view of Jesus

Did you know that an IMAX theater screen measures 72 ft. by 53 ft.?  The largest one in the world, in Sydney, Australia, measures a whopping 117 ft. by 97 ft.!  What I love about sitting in an IMAX theater is that it is such an immersive experience.  The screen is so large that it takes up your entire field of view – it completely overwhelms your senses, and watching a 3D IMAX movie is even more immersive; you feel that you are there in that world.  In his letter to the Ephesian church, Paul prays that the Ephesians would have an IMAX-like view of Jesus’s love for them.

For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. (Ephesians 3:14-19)

Paul prays that the Ephesian’s “field-of-view” of Jesus would be completely filled with all the dimensions of His love; that wherever they look in their lives they would see Jesus; that they would be entirely immersed in His fullness.  This is a prayer I’ve been praying for myself and my church lately.  It is too easy to be distracted by all the noise around us.  Our social media feed or news media vie for our attention and make us think that what they are feeding us is ultimately important.  Thinking about world situations or our own future, thinking about our career and finances, worrying about our health – all of life’s weight – skews our perception of the world…and of God.  Paul’s prayer is the antidote to the distractions that life throws at us.  It is a reminder that there is One who can show us the only thing that is truly important and fulfilling: His love.  And it is a promise that the very thing we crave is attainable.  I want that.  I want Jesus to be so “big,” so all-encompassing, in my life that all else is blotted out.

To get there, Paul, earlier in the passage, tells what is needed.  First, he says we need the empowering of the Spirit in our “inner being.”  We need to give the Spirit access to our hearts; to ask Him to give us the power to submit everything in our lives to Him and ask Him to empower our choices and actions to align with His will and standards.  We can’t live this Christian life without Him and we certainly will not grasp the fullness of Christ’s love without the Spirit empowering us.

When we ask the Spirit to strengthen our “inner being,” we also prepare a worthy place for Jesus to dwell, to abide in us; that is the second aspect of Paul’s prayer.  We want Jesus so close, so intimate, that we hear his whisperings of love to us.  He will give us the needed “3D” glasses so that we can be fully able to recognize the expansiveness of His love for us and for others.

Won’t you take up Paul’s prayer for yourself and make it your own?  Won’t you ask for the empowering of the Holy Spirit and the indwelling of Jesus in your heart?  Jesus will show you the outer edges of His love and then take you beyond them.  It is an experience no IMAX movie can match.