Are You A Zombie?

Our society is fascinated with zombies. On Sunday, October 16, Season Two of Walking Dead, a television drama showing the life of a small town policeman after the zombie apocalypse premiered and broke a ten year-old ratings record for the most watched drama in basic cable history. Zombies are the thing.

In case you have been holed up in a time capsule, a zombie is a creature who is still here on this earth, wandering around, feasting on flesh, yet for all intents and purposes, they are dead. Hence the name, walking dead.

Now, you might be wondering, “Why would a pastor be writing an article about zombies?” Even if you aren’t wondering, I will tell you. I think we have the walking dead among us. Now they don’t go around and literally eat flesh, but they don’t really live.

Last week we talked about vampires and how we can be like them and be life suckers rather than life givers. Zombies take us in a different direction. Zombies can be wandering around but not really living. They are the walking dead.

Jesus came so that we could have life and live it to the fullest extent (John 10:10). All too often we focus on His work of salvation, that he died on the cross so that our sins could be washed away and we can have a right relationship with God. Now that is important, but he also claims that he came for us to have a better life before we die. It’s not just about some great, future reward.

Now, you might be thinking, “The Christian life sucks. Who would want to live that way?” In regards to many “Christian” lives you may be right. But all Christians fail to live the life that Jesus wants them to live. This isn’t some great conspiracy of hypocrisy. It is just that we are human. We fail to do the things we know we should do and continue to do the things we shouldn’t do. The difference between a Christian and others is that a Christian should never be prideful about their life because they should recognize that they fail to live up to the ideal they are striving to attain.

Struggling to arrive at the ideal life of Jesus is what makes one a follower of Jesus. Oftentimes we get confused into thinking that a theological position, a intellectual belief, reciting some prayer, or being baptized makes us a follower of Jesus, but those things, although important, just don’t get us there. It is the day in and day out struggle to live the life of Jesus in the here and now, with the understanding that God’s grace covers the ground between where we are at and the place we are supposed to be.

That doesn’t sound too fulfilling though, does it? A day in and day out struggle. Who wants that? But we have no problem struggling for things we really want and know will pay off in the end. Many of us have struggled through years of school in order to get to where we want to be, and then we continue to struggle in our careers to be successful. Others of us struggle to raise good children. Some struggle to master a sport. We have no problem struggling for the things, even if we are deluded, that we really believe will make us and those around us better.

It is in this struggling that life is really lived. And that is what makes the difference between zombies and the living.

Some of us have faced tragedy, tough circumstances, or even success, by pulling back into ourselves, focusing solely on our own selfish world. We have become zombies of sorts. When our world becomes about meeting our desires and ignoring the needs of those around us, we become the walking dead. Others go through similar terrible circumstances and continue to strive after who they were made to be; they are the truly living.

It’s your choice. Will you be a zombie, devouring those around you? Or will you be the living, striving for the best in a world that is falling apart. We are called to be the living, not the walking dead.

A Hell of Good News

Among Christian circles there has been much debate over a book called “Love Wins” by Rob Bell.  I’m not going to get into the book here but examine the controversy surrounding the book.  

Adrian Warnock, a British blogger and critic of the book wrote, "My concern is that without the bad news the good news is not really good!" My initial thought was, "This guy must have never been lost." The good news, even without hell, is still great news for the lost. It was for me, and I don't remember the people sharing the good news with me mentioning hell.   I was mired in sin, lost in the pursuit of success, and drowning in the pleasures of this world.  From this wasted and fruitless life, Jesus freed me, freed me to a life of loving God and loving my neighbors.  That might seem somewhat superficial and meaningless, but, at its core, it changes everything.  It brings hope into hopeless situations.  It brings meaning to the meaningless.  It brings redemption to the irredeemable.   

When Jesus walked the earth he taught, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” [Matthew 4:17 (ESV)].  Following Jesus is more than just having right doctrine.  It’s about making the right choices, right now.  It’s about turning from the mistakes we are making and living in the right path.  That’s what repentance is.   This message is urgent.   Every day that we live for ourselves we continue to damage ourselves and the world around us.  The great news is that Jesus’ message makes our life better now, not just in the future of eternity.  Don’t confuse this with a message of health and wealth; it’s one of joy, peace, and security.  

This kingdom that Jesus said was at hand is the place where God’s will is done on earth as it is in heaven.  As Christians, we believe the kingdom is here now, but not fully here.  It’s a paradox.  In practice, this means that we, as followers of Jesus, attempt to bring about the perfect kingdom as much as we possibly can into the here and now while understanding that which we strive for will not be fully realized until after our deaths.  Living in this paradox should make Christians live differently than those around us.  The kingdom of heaven is at hand, and we want, as we pray in the Lord’s Prayer, God’s will to be done here on earth as it is in heaven.    

This idea of bringing about God’s will here on earth rather than just pursuing our selfish interests reminds me of a story.  Parade magazine told the story of self-made millionaire Eugene Lang.  In 1981, Mr. Lang had been asked to speak to a class of 61 sixth-graders in East Harlem.  The principal told Lang that statistics showed that three-quarters of the students he was to address would not graduate high school, let alone go to college.  What could he say to inspire these students, most of whom would drop out of school?  Being an older white guy, he wondered how he could get these predominantly black and Puerto Rican children even to look at him. Scrapping his notes, he decided to speak from his heart. "Stay in school," he admonished, "and I'll help pay the college tuition for every one of you." At that moment the lives of these students changed. For the first time they had hope. One student said, "I had something to look forward to, something waiting for me. It was a golden feeling." Nearly 90 percent of that class went on to graduate from high school.  60% pursued higher education.  Instead of just using words to motivate, Lang used his wealth to do great things.  He brought hope.  He made a difference.   

Back to Love Wins and Warnock's comment, "My concern is that without the bad news the good news is not really good!"  I searched further on his website to see if my assumption about him not ever living without God was right. And it was. He became a Christian at the age of four and was kept on a "short leash." That doesn't discredit his faith, but he does need to realize that the good news is even good news without hell.  This is something that all of us who have lived in the dark but now live in the light realize.

In the end, the good news is great news, right now. Not just in some future after our death.  This needs to be part of the message we proclaim as followers of Jesus.  We don’t endure a faithful life wishing that we could live like the world.  We live a message of hope that redeems this world through the message and life of Jesus.  We, like Mr. Lang, need to make sacrifices for others.  In living for others rather than ourselves, we will see glimpses of what eternity in heaven will look like.

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly”[John 10:10 (ESV)].

If you want to read my review of Love Wins by Regan, you can check it out here:  Freedom Wins.

God Has No Grandchildren - A Challenge to Raise Our Children In Jesus

As a pastor, I run across people who want their children to be spiritually-minded, loving toward their neighbors, and in love with God.  These are great and noble goals for a parent to have.  They are better than wanting your child to be smart, a great athlete, or the most popular.  But when it comes down to it, we, as parents, invest in the lesser goals rather than the more important ones.  Unwittingly, due to the pressure of society, we do this to the detriment of our children’s souls.  We must remember that the most dangerous distractions are usually not the most obvious actions.  Danger waits in the good things, for when we focus on them, at the exclusion of the great things, we stray off course. 

We have been steered off course into thinking that the spirituality that was passed on to us will automatically transfer to our children without the investment that our parents, grandparents, neighbors, and teachers made in us.  On the other hand, maybe we didn’t have a spiritual life growing up, but we want our children to.  The harsh truth is that they will not be spiritually-minded unless we make the investment and model it ourselves. 

God has no grandchildren.  He only has children.

John wrote, “The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.  He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God” [John 1:9-13 (ESV)].

To be born of God.  This is what must happen to our children for them to be called “children of God.”  Total rebirth, dying to their old self, is the investment that it takes.  And it starts with us.  We must die to our old selves, the one where we believe that our intelligence, our sports, our cars, our house, our money, our job, and our popularity are the most important aspects to our life.  We must be born of God. 

Throughout history, churches have argued and fought over exactly what it takes to be born of God.  I am not going to go into that here.  What I want to briefly show is what your life will look like after you have been born of God. 

Jesus tells a story of the final judgment in Matthew 25.  In the story he talks about people who thought they were in with God.  I can imagine the dire face that many scornful churchgoers will face some day.  They will be like those people in Matthew 25 who are told that they do not know God because they have not fed the hungry, given water to the thirsty, helped the immigrant, given clothes to the naked, nourished the sick, and visited prisoners.  On the other hand are those who do know God and done those things. 

So if you want your children to be God’s children, take time out and invest in them spiritually.  Take them to church with you.  Study the Bible with them.  Pray with them.  Feed the hungry, give water to the thirsty, help immigrants, give clothes away, nourish the sick, and visit prisoners with them.  They won’t just learn to be God’s child through wishful thinking.  It’s going to take hard work on your part.  Invest in your children spiritually more than you invest in their sports, their careers, or their education.  All of those things will fall in their proper place in a life that has its highest priority properly aligned. 

A Swiss government study published in 2000 showed that if a mother and father go to church regularly, 74% of their children will attend church as adults, with 33% of them regularly attending.  But if the mother goes without the father, only 39% of their children will attend church as adults, with only 2% of them regularly attending.  Where neither father nor mother attend church, only 19% of their children will attend church, with only 4% of them regularly attending.  What that tells me is that we, fathers, must step up. (from “The demographic characteristics of the linguistic and religious groups in Switzerland” by Werner Haug and Phillipe Warner of the Federal Statistical Office, Neuchatel. It appears in Volume 2 of Population Studies No. 31, a book titled The Demographic Characteristics of National Minorities in Certain European States, edited by Werner Haug and others, published by the Council of Europe Directorate General III, Social Cohesion, Strasbourg, January 2000.)

Now some will be thinking church attendance is irrelevant to spiritual growth.  That might be true at an unhealthy church.  But the writer of Hebrews wrote that the purpose of gathering together is to spur one another on toward love and good works.  If that is what happens at church, which is what should be happening at church, then the church gathering together is an  irreplaceable tool to encourage one another on to be who God destined for us to be.

God has no grandchildren, but he does want your grandchildren and children to be His children.  This happens through parents and grandparents stepping up and being the people God wants them to be.  I pray that you will find the strength to do that. 

Jesus, Forgiveness, and Suicide

The other day, while counseling students at the school after the tragic and unfortunate suicide of Dalton Skeens, I was asked whether a person could go to heaven who committed suicide.  This is a much more exhaustive answer to that question.

The Bible does not address the subject of suicide directly.  

First, I will start by debunking a false idea that floats around.  Sometimes suicide gets labeled as the unforgivable sin (Mark 3:22-30, Matthew 12:22-32).  "Whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin" [Mark 3:29 (ESV)].  The context shines light on what this means.  After Jesus healed a demon-possessed man, the Scribes and the Pharisees who were out to get him claimed that Jesus was in league with Satan.  Blaspheming the Holy Spirit is to claim that an act that you know is from God is from Satan.  The unforgivable sin has nothing to do with suicide.  

  

I like what the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches on suicide.

Everyone is responsible for his life before God who has given it to him. It is God who remains the sovereign Master of life. We are obliged to accept life gratefully and preserve it for his honor and the salvation of our souls. We are stewards, not owners, of the life God has entrusted to us. It is not ours to dispose of.

Suicide contradicts the natural inclination of the human being to preserve and perpetuate his life. It is gravely contrary to the just love of self. It likewise offends love of neighbor because it unjustly breaks the ties of solidarity with family, nation, and other human societies to which we continue to have obligations. Suicide is contrary to love for the living God.

If suicide is committed with the intention of setting an example, especially to the young, it also takes on the gravity of scandal. Voluntary co-operation in suicide is contrary to the moral law.
Grave psychological disturbances, anguish, or grave fear of hardship, suffering, or torture can diminish the responsibility of the one committing suicide.

We should not despair of the eternal salvation of persons who have taken their own lives. By ways known to him alone, God can provide the opportunity for salutary repentance (2280-2283a).

In the end, the only thing that prevents people from going to heaven is not knowing Jesus.  It seems kind of strange, but it's like going to an invitation-only party without the invitation.  Hopefully, the guy that invited us will be at the door, but we don't know that he will be.  We have all been invited, but we need to bring the invitation.  

But it's more significant than that.  Jesus claimed to be "the way, and the truth, and the life."  He followed that up by saying, "No one comes to the Father except through me" [John 14:6-7 (ESV)].  It is through him that we receive forgiveness of our sins.  At the very core of the message of Jesus is that we are all sinners.  This sin separates us from the presence of God because God is holy and only allows the purified into his presence.  God became flesh in the form of Jesus to show us how to live and offer the perfect sacrifice for our sins that when accepted, covers our filthiness in holiness.  We accept that forgiveness through giving our life over to him.  He is the way, the truth, and the life.  He is worth living for.

Jesus taught, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep [John 10:7-11 (ESV)]. 

The thief comes to steal and kill and destroy, but Jesus came so that we might live an abundant life.  Committing suicide is an act of theft, murder, and destruction.  However, that does not mean that committing suicide is unforgivable.  It just puts us face-to-face with a grace that is bigger than we can comprehend.  The grace of God expressed through Jesus is bigger than the greatest sins that we can think of.  

We just need to realize that no setback is to big too overcome.  We need to follow Jesus and live in the hope and the knowledge that life goes on no matter what the circumstances.  Paul wrote in his letter to the Romans, "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" [Romans 8:1 (ESV)].  What kind of grace would grace be if we were condemned to hell when we died while committing a sin?  The grace we receive from God covers all past, present, and future sins.  One might feel that this gives us a license to sin, but exactly the opposite happens when you experience this grace.  It isn't a license to sin; it's a freedom to live. 

God's grace is big enough for suicide, but God's plan for your life is so much greater than the permanent setbacks that emotionally engulf you.  There is always another change that can be made and another road to go down.  Don't give up.  We serve a God of hope. 

Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us,even as we hope in you.

                       Psalms 33:22 (ESV)