There is a Good

Lately, I have been inundated with one of our society's newest fad beliefs, “Good does not exist.” This belief is not all that new in the history of mankind, but it seems to be gaining ground in our culture. Video games are being filled with decisions where all the options available to a player are either a bad choice or a very bad choice. There is no good option. This message is not confined to the video game culture, although being there is enough to influence a whole segment of minds in our nation.

This concept manifests itself in politics where we usually vote for the lesser of two evils. We settle on the church we attend because it is most in line with what we want to be part of despite its faults. One of my friends has expressed that people only do loving things for selfish reasons. We never seem to have a choice between that which is good and that which is evil.

Chris Hedges, a Pulitzer-Prize winning journalist and a frequent guest on NPR, was asked about war being a moral endeavor. He answered, "The world rarely offers us a choice between the moral and the immoral. It's usually a choice between the immoral and the more immoral. That's why moral decision making is so tough."

Do I always have to choose the lesser of two evils? Is there ever a choice for good?

Our society screams that we must choose the lesser of two evils every day; there is never an option for good. Look at the world around us. It makes sense to say that there really is no good. Life does not appear black and white.

But what if my intellectual struggle with the concept of there actually being a good is just the result of having allowed myself to be absorbed into our culture rather than to stand as a witness for something greater in it?

These beliefs -- that there is no good and we must always choose between lesser degrees of evil -- are going to be prevailing thoughts that we are going to continue to wrestle with, especially if we strive to be disciples of Jesus and hope to help others become the same. We must know in the core of our being and live in such a way that we testify that there is good. Jesus taught, "In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven" (Matthew 5:16). For in living for the good, we draw attention to our Father in heaven.

The Apostle Matthew shared a story about a conversation with Jesus.

And behold, a man came up to him, saying, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?"

And he said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments." 

He said to him, “Which ones?"

And Jesus said, “You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness,  Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself."

The young man said to him, “All these I have kept. What do I still lack?"

Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me."

When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.  And Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person 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 person to enter the kingdom of God."

When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?"

But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” (Matthew 19:16-26 ESV).

We must find the good path and walk in it, yet the only good we can ever do is reflect God's ultimate goodness through the lives we live. There is good, but it’s almost never easy to choose. The challenge for us is to be faithful enough that we are willing to sacrifice our own desires and live in the good rather than comfortably choose the lesser of two evils.

A Sacrificial Christmas

Have you ever wondered what the world would be like without you?

Through the mistake of another, George Bailey was going to lose his business. He had hit rock bottom. Despair crept in. He wondered what the world would be like without him

In his despair, as we sometimes feel in despair, George Bailey went to that bridge intending to kill himself because he thought the world would be better off without him.

I once heard the story of a man who was contemplating committing suicide like George Bailey was. But instead of killing himself, he decided to smuggle Bibles into China. If he was caught and killed, that would be fine with him. But instead, through the process, he found meaning in his life.

I don’t know if that story is true or not. It may just be a modern parable, but it illustrates the point that we truly live - we find meaning in our lives - when we die to ourselves and begin to live our lives for Jesus. For when we surrender to Jesus we start living the life that we were made to live. When we despair and everything seems to be crumbling around us, we should commit ourselves or recommit ourselves to picking up the shards of our dreams and letting Jesus put them back together as we head into the future. To find our true destiny, we should surrender our will to God’s will and live for Him.

We impact the world one way or another. The question is whether we will impact it for good.

When Jesus was asked what the most important teaching was, he replied that God is one, that we should love Him with every bit of who we are and to love our neighbors like we love ourselves.

Shane Claiborne shares an old story from the early church. Christians were spread throughout the desert and lived in little clusters of communities. Someone had brought one of the communities a bundle of grapes as a gift. That was quite a delicacy, maybe sort of like giving someone chocolate truffles today. They got so excited, and what happened next is fascinating. Rather than devour them all, they didn’t eat a single one. They passed them on to the next community to enjoy. And that community did the same thing. And eventually, those grapes made it through every community and back to the first community without being eaten. Everyone simply wanted the others to experience the joy of the gift....As Shane says: “The best thing to do with the best things in life is to give them away.” (edited from an excerpt from Shane Claiborne’s The Irresistible Revolution: Living as an Ordinary Radical 167-168).

This kind of love doesn't seem to come natural to us. To love others as we love ourselves. But it is the kind of love we are called to. Actually, Paul makes it a little more sacrificial than just that.

So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy,  complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind.  Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.  Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,  who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,  but emptied himself, by 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. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name,  so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,  and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Philippians 2:1-11 ESV).

This is the Christmas story. God emptied himself and took on the likeness of us. When we refuse to allow the true story of Christmas to be drowned out by all the noise and busyness of this season, we see that this example of God becoming flesh was done to teach us how to live.

But as the Philippians passage shows, there are some obstacles to living the life Jesus lived. Paul shares two obstacles to love.

Obstacles to Love:

- Selfish ambition.

- Conceit.

Abraham Lincoln had a neighbor who was drawn to Lincoln's door one day by the sound of the crying of children. He saw Lincoln passing by with his two sons, both crying lustily. "What is the matter with the boys?" asked the man. "Just what is the matter with the whole world!" answered Lincoln. "I have three walnuts, and each boy wants two. (—London Christian Herald)

But our world teaches us to be selfish. The CEO and Opportunity Shaper at Now Possible says, "Let's get real. If you want a great career and wonderful life, you need to be spectacularly selfish..." We're taught that greed is good. Our society sometimes seems like a bizarro world compared to the teachings of Jesus.

These thoughts go directly against what we were made to be. And if we buy into them, we miss out. Our world misses out. Life isn't about the homes, the cars, the gifts, or whatever physical thing we make it about. Even when we celebrate the birth of Jesus, instead of seeing the culture inundated with profound acts of self-sacrifice, which would be more appropriate in celebrating the birth of Jesus, it's about consumerism, gluttony, Black Friday, and shopping.

Yet Paul unlocks how we can do this. We need to have a new view of ourselves.

New view of self:

- In humility count others as more significant than yourselves.

- Look to the interest others, not just our own.

You may have heard humility described as "Humility isn't thinking less of yourself, its thinking about yourself less." Preachers like to come up with these witty sayings. It's catchy, yet I think that disagrees with the teaching of Paul. It makes humility more palatable, but who said humility had to be palatable? Who says we need an easy faith? We're supposed to respond with surrender, with sacrifice. And in our desire to make the faith more appealing, we cheapen the lofty humility that Paul teaches us to have, a humility exemplified in the Christmas story that we celebrate this time of year. God emptying Himself of all his deserved privilege and taking on the form of a baby. 

It's tough to follow in His steps and consider others better than ourselves. That word, "better" in the original language has to do with something of surpassing or exceptional value. It's the same word Paul uses in Philippians 3:8 when he says, "I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord." This is a radical teaching. Jesus had the attitude that we were better than He was. Jesus viewed us as better than Himself. But that's what love is. And Paul calls us to have same view toward other -- an attitude that cherishes one another; that extols the value of one another; that looks for the best in one another instead of the worst. When we do that -- when we start to love others the way God loves them -- it will be much easier to be humble and sacrifice for them.

Then Paul moves on to two characteristics that Jesus exhibited that we are to adapt to our lives.

 Self-sacrifice:

- Be willing to empty ourselves for others.

- Be obedient to God even in the hard stuff.

"Mary Brenner was a twice-divorced mother of eight children when she began doing volunteer work for the poor in Mexico in the 1960s. She had been active in charity work in California while she was married," living a comfortable life in Beverly Hills "but her devotion intensified after a priest led her to La Mesa state penitentiary, which housed convicted murderers, gang leaders, rapists and other serious felons."

She was faced with a call to self-sacrifice. Or to continue living her comfortable life. She was in her 50s, yet she still decided to heed God's call.

'Mary began providing for inmates’ basic needs, giving them aspirin, blankets, toiletries and prescription eyeglasses. She sang in worship services....If a prisoner died, of illness or in a gang fight, she prepared him for burial."

But this is the amazing part. She didn't just minister to the prisoners at La Mesa. She asked to move in and then actually moved into a cell to live alongside those she was called to minister to. A woman, moving into a male prision because God called her to it.

"Inmates told how Mary once walked into the middle of a prison riot while bullets flew and tear gas filled the air. When the inmates saw her, fearless in her habit, the fighting stopped. She never seemed to stop smiling."

Sadly, Mary Brenner passed away this October. Will you help fill this gap? (quotes on Mary Brenner from Antonia Brenner, ‘Prison Angel’ Who Took Inmates Under Her Wing, Is Dead at 86)

Self-sacrifice makes love real. There is love. We can say we love prisoners all we want. Or we can say that we love so and so. All words without sacrifice. But these proclamations of love are abstract and meaningless to the one we proclaim to love until our words are connected with self-sacrifice. Self-sacrifice makes the love we have toward someone become real to them.

Yet we sometimes do a disservice to sacrifice. Stories like Mary Brenner's story are amazing. Yet we can then fell defeated and unable to accomplish such lofty tasks. Maybe that's what you are feeling right now. "I can't possibly go and live in a male penitentiary like she did. They wouldn't even allow me to."

Your sacrifice does not have to look like hers. If each of us are committed to following God, He will orchestrate us all into a symphony. We will be living out our faith in the places where we need to. Our self-sacrifice may be giving time to make a meal for someone, visiting someone who is lonely, taking care of a sick loved one, or whatever it is you that you sacrifice your own life so that you can give to others. Those acts of love, when they are in response to God and intermingle with the Holy Spirit, are just as meaningful as moving into a prison and ministering to those prisoners. God has this amazing way of meshing our meager sacrifices together to bring Himself glory. One sacrifice at a time, we are being used to create a song of love.

See how this all works.

We are so often, as Christians, focused on receiving the blessing, whether it is a blessing from God or someone else. We may hear people complain about not getting something out of a church's worship gathering or that the church isn't doing this or that. But God is saying, "Stop being the kid at Christmas; it's time to give the presents."

Christmas is about being reminded of the sacrifice God made to live as flesh among us. It's about him emptying Himself of all the privilege and honor that He rightfully deserves to be a blessing for us. We often miss the beauty and majesty of this story and respond by getting hung up on the being blessed part.

This is a difficult issue because being blessed is typically a byproduct of the Christian life. People's lives are often transformed and improved, even by the world's standards, when they become a Christian. But being a follower of Jesus can never be about the blessings. We have this tendency to explain Christian teachings through the framework of selfishness to appeal to the selfish people around. Even to our own selfish natures. But we shouldn't. We have to remove our selfishness to be who God wants us to be.

And this goes against all modern sales methods. In sales, the salesperson tries to show the potential customer a product or service and convince them that their lives will be improved if they just use that product or service. The door-to-door vacuum cleaner salesman tells us how his vacuum will pick up dirt that we didn't even know was there. The gadget manufacturer convinces us that our lives will be better if we have this or that gadget in our pocket. Selling is all about the benefits.

And we fall prey to that tactic as Christians. Being a Christian becomes about getting to heaven. Or the temporal blessings in this life. And we, the church, have made the gospel of Jesus all about the benefits.

But that is not what being a Christian is about. Being a Christian is about following Jesus. And we follow Jesus, not because of the blessings - although the blessings at times are great and the eternal blessing is worth living for - but we follow Jesus, not because of the blessings, but because He is worthy to follow.

We must empty ourselves of our selfish ambitions and vain conceit and just follow Him. And we do that, by doing what He did. He viewed others as better than Himself and looked to their interests, not his own. He was obedient, even when it got hard.

We follow Jesus because His vision of the world is the right one. We follow Jesus because He is worthy to follow. Forget the blessings. Those are just a byproduct of faithfulness. And even if they don't come, we know that we are following the One who is worthy to be followed.

Jesus did not come to be blessed. He came to be a blessing. Likewise, we live not to be blessed but to be a blessing.

On January 13, 1982, Air Florida Flight 90 crashed into the 14th Street Bridge over the Potomac River near Washington DC., tumbling into the icy river in the middle of a snowstorm. All but six passengers were killed. Some 20 minutes later, a helicopter arrived to rescue the survivors.

After getting one man to safety, the helicopter threw a life ring to Arland Williams. He immediately gave it to the passenger next to him. They threw two lines down and Arland helped to strap it on to other passengers who were struggling more than him in the freezing water.

When the helicopter came back a final time, Arland was gone. He had slipped under the water. He’d used his last ounces of strength to save complete strangers. Sacrificial love.

Have you ever wondered what the world would be like without you?

In the end of It's A Wonderful Life, George Bailey was able to see all the lives that he had touched.  And they reciprocated that love and helped him get his business back. It's beautiful.

It's a Hollywood ending. We like it. It's what makes It's A Wonderful Life one of the most popular Christmas movies of all time.

It's stories like this that makes us say to people when they suffer, "It will get better." Because when George Bailey suffered, it did get better.

But Hollywood isn't where we should get proper doctrine.
It may be unpopular, but things may not get better. Many of you know this all too well. Someone who has alzheimers. It's not going to get better on this side of the grave. Or a debilitating disease that you or someone you love is going through. It's not going to get better on this side of the grave. Some of you have experienced tragedy all too much. I have been in too many ICUs and done too many funerals. Things don't always get better. Sometimes they may get worse. Tragically worse. It's true that it may get better, but I don't think we're implying when we say "It will get better" that we may have to die to receive that "better."

We want the better. And we want it now. We think we deserve the better, especially if we're trying to be faithful to Jesus.

The idea that "things will always get better" just shows how inundated we are with concepts like the health and wealth false gospel in Christian circles. But the truth is that it may not get better. I may be the only person to tell you this because everyone is trying to build a facade around you, but the situation you are currently struggling with may not get better. You may be sick, and it could lead to death. You may work hard and not prosper. But even if we don't get better, even if we don't get wealthy, we still serve a worthy King.

We don't worship God because of the presents; we worship Him because He is worthy. When things are going well, we celebrate. We know things won't always be this great, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't ruin the good moments by worrying about their end. Celebrate the moment of beauty if that is what you are experiencing. Celebrate it without worrying about tomorrow.

And for those of you who aren't living in a moment of celebration, remember that He is there with you. Offering you comfort and peace where there should be no comfort and peace. Even in our darkest valley, God is still worthy of our worship.

Being a Christian and following Jesus, isn't about things getting better for us. That may happen. It often does. I've seen crazy, unexplainable blessings come to people who start giving and are blessed in return. God does seem to bless radical faithfulness. But we serve a savior who was executed, along with most of the apostles who followed Him. Being a Christian is really about humbling ourselves and serving others, being Jesus' hands and feet in this world because His hands and feet were nailed to a cross for us. It's about being Jesus to everyone around us. It's about following the example that Jesus set and living for others. That little baby born in a manger in Bethlehem was going to face a lot of pain, discouragement, obstinate people, and a disgraceful death in His days here on earth. Who are we to think we deserve differently?

"It will get better." That's the false gospel of Hollywood, happy endings, and many Christians. The message of Jesus is to humble yourself. To love God and to love others. Arland Williams was doing God's will and it didn't get better for him. The early Christians who gave away those grapes were doing God's will and didn't taste the pleasure. Mary Brenner, imprisoning herself for Jesus, was doing God's will. Jesus, emptying Himself, being born as a little baby, and living a life of suffering for us, was doing God's will.

If you're just focused on life getting better for yourself, then you will be unable to live the life of self-sacrifice that shows the love of Jesus to our world. You will be out of step with the song God is performing.

In The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe one of the children asks one of the beavers about the lion named Aslan.

"Is he safe?"

“Safe?” said Mr. Beaver. “Don’t you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.”

When we teach that things will always go well for Christians, we make it difficult for those who are having tough times. In our bad times, our bad theology makes us ask, "Am I right with God? If I am, why all this pain, suffering, and sorrow? Do others think I am a bad Christian because I am suffering?" The truth is that you are still right with God, even if things are going bad. Even when you think you are a small star, alone, suffering in the darkness, Jesus came to show you love. This is Christmas.

So when we see someone suffering and feel the need to utter "It will get better" to give encouragement, recognize that it may not get better for the person we want to comfort on this side of the grave. But for you--following in the steps of Jesus--you should be willing to follow the teaching of the Christmas story, sacrifice yourself to make it better for them. Jesus was in the form of God yet did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped. Instead, he emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of us. Being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

It may not get better, but like Jesus, we need to be willing to remove our self-perceived loftiness - not self-perceived in His case - , be willing to get dirty, and make it better for others.

We sacrifice so that life is better. Like George Bailey did when he gave up his own plans and stayed in his small town to make it better. Like the people around George Bailey did when George needed loved back. Sacrifice makes the world better.

At this time of year, we celebrate the birth of Jesus. His humble arrival to this world. And this world will not be the same, especially when those who claim to follow Him model his humility and life of sacrifice. You were called to make this world better for others by sacrificing yourself. 

Away From An Easy Gospel

You will be lied to. You will be told that you can follow Jesus without any sacrifice. You'll hear that those you are sacrificing for aren't really worth it. You'll feel that you're wasting your time, that sacrifice is a little too extreme. You could be spending your time on something you enjoy. You will be told that you're wasting your money giving it to God. Imagine how many more things you could enjoy if you would keep that 10%, or even more, for yourself and spend it on things that you want around the house, trips, and whatever else your heart desires. You will hear lies.

And we like the lies. They help us justify our human desire to not sacrifice.

Jesus didn't come riding on a horse, a tactical missile, or a drone and take over the world. He came in love, suffering, eventually bearing a cross that He was nailed to. This separates Jesus from all the other false saviors of this world. They redeem by violence, power, and authority. While Jesus redeemed by love.

Here are a few verses to emphasize that.

He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world (1 John 2:2 .ESV).

For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—  but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.  Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.  More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. (Romans 5:7-11 ESV).

He was willing to sacrifice for everyone, not just those who are worthy.
Are we willing to sacrifice for everyone - our enemies, the poor?

Paul taught,"Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children.  And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God" (Ephesians 5:1-2 ESV).

We are called to follow Jesus' example. He gave Himself up for us. We must be willing to imitate Him and give ourselves up for others. But we have our own personal Gardens of Gethsemane where we often don't concede, "Not my will but your will be done." Instead, we try to take the easy road. We would much rather teach and instruct rather than sacrifice.

It's easy to tell the person considering an abortion, don't have one. It's harder to say, "I will adopt."

It's easy to tell the kid not doing their homework, "Get your homework done." It's harder to say, "I will help."

It's easy to tell someone poorly clothed and lacking in food, "Go in peace, be warmed and filled." It's harder to give them the things that they need.

Our problems aren't anything new. The early church was struggling with similar issues too. Hence the instruction of James.

What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?  If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food,  and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that?  So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.  But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. (James 2:14-18 ESV).

I had a preacher friend who preached on adoption. And as pastors sometimes get, he got a scathing letter about his sermon. The gist of the letter was that adoption is a great cause but that it really shouldn't be a concern of the church. The salvation of people's souls, not adoption, is the focus of the church. Loving actions like adoption should be in the realm of organizations outside the church while the church teaches salvation in Jesus.

You know the problem with that email is that it is so close to being right. Satan won't come into our churches, ask us to chop up pigs, cover ourselves in blood, and dance around singing songs to a pagan idol. He will just take us one step away from the truth. That's damaging enough.

You may be thinking that my preacher friend is wrong and the email writer is right-on because that email at its essence expresses the American gospel from the last fifty years. A gospel that is concerned about the truth over love, getting people saved rather than living redeemed lives. A gospel that surgically removed loving actions to the community and the world into outside organizations from the heart of the church. It expresses the gospel that ushered in the decline of America. It expresses the gospel that created a powerless church. For it's like this was the gospel.

Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.  For I was hungry and you just told me the truth of the gospel so that I would believe, I was thirsty and you just told me the truth of the gospel so that I would believe, I was a stranger and you just told me the truth of the gospel so that I would believe,  I was naked and you just told me the truth of the gospel so that I would believe, I was sick and you just told me the truth of the gospel so that I would believe, I was in prison and you just told me the truth of the gospel so that I would believe.’ 

No! No! No!

The gospel has been spoiled if we think that is what the gospel is. Jesus modeled sacrifice to us. And we must live sacrifically for others.

This is the actual teachings of Jesus:

Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.  For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me,  I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’  Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink?  And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you?  And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’  And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’ (Matthew 25:34-40 ESV).

We can't separate our spiritual life and the telling of the gospel from helping others. Likewise, we can't separate helping others from telling them the gospel. For our help is part of the gospel message. It's not the gospel without our sacrifice. The reason our communities aren't being reached for Jesus isn't because we haven't figured out the right program to reach them; it's because those of us who go to church on Sundays aren't surrendered to Jesus and living for Him. We don't model His sacrifice by becoming a living sacrifice for others.

We want to follow Jesus without any self-sacrifice. We want an easy gospel. But Jesus modeled self-sacrifice. And if we have given our life to following Jesus, to walk as He walks, then we will model that same self-sacrifice. We will give of ourselves so that others may know God. Just like Jesus gave of Himself so that you may know and be right with God.

Words are cheap. Sacrifice is what is needed to walk as Jesus walked. Sacrifice is what is needed to change this world for Jesus. 

The Cross, The Resurrection, The Church

God could have chosen any way to forgive humanity, but He linked forgiveness with blood because blood is costly. He could have asked us to chop down a tree to be forgiven, but He didn't. He chose blood because He likes that imagery. He is a God of story and wants to change our hearts through that story.

He chose blood to be the price of sin. This is all throughout the Old and New Testament. The blood sacrifice brought about forgiveness. Forgiveness is the point of sacrifice. Jesus' death on the cross is the point of forgiveness for all mankind because Jesus was the perfect, sinless sacrifice. He was the end to sacrifice. All sacrifices up to that point were not perfect; His sacrifice was. Our sin is covered through that sacrifice when we have faith and surrender our lives to God.

Now, if we turn around and continue to live in sin, that forgiveness is meaningless. The sacrifice still has meaning, and the forgiveness is there to be taken. Nothing can take diminish the value of that sacrifice. It is priceless and cannot be purchased. But if we do not surrender our lives, then it cannot be attained by us. The price is death. His death. And our death to ourselves.

However, there is grace in that sacrifice, for we do not have to be perfect. We still sin, and the sacrifice covers our sin.

The sacrifice covers the sin of all in the kingdom. It is as if when we walk into the gate of the kingdom of God, the blood of Jesus is poured on us, washing all our sins away. We are then pronounced perfect despite not being completely sanctified. We are God's people now, clothed in His blood.

Sounds kind of morbid. But it's just an illustration. Blood is costly.

The resurrection, the Church, and the Holy Spirit all play a part in us being the citizens in that kingdom. For in the outland we were dead and dying. But the resurrection shows us that in the Kingdom we have life. In the outland, we were living for ourselves. In the Kingdom, we have the Holy Spirit in us, guiding us. In the outland, we were not a people, but in the Kingdom we are the Church. His people. His hands and feet. His life.

Let's learn to live surrendered lives together in the glory of His Kingdom.

Toward True Love

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A reader asked me the question: 

How do we answer the cultural idea that morality should be based upon that which does no harm to others rather than biblical values. (My question is - setting aside the Bible for sake of discussion - how do we offer an effective response to that?) I hear this a lot with college age students.

At the heart of the issue is the question “What is Love?"

Is love giving people what they want whenever they want it, however they want it? I wonder what our children would grow up to be like if we took that approach.

Does love come in the shape of discipline at times? If I tackled someone out of the way of a speeding vehicle, would they not be grateful despite the scrapes and bruises?

One of the things we have been created for is to love people. The problem is that we have morphed love into something that it is not. Love is never giving someone something that will harm them. Love is never telling a lie. Love is never condoning a behavior in someone that is destructive. Love is never enabling someone to continue down the wrong path.

But those statements define love. What do we believe are wrong paths? What behaviors do we believe are destructive? What is harmful to people? How we answer those questions will shape how we love. Well, that is true as long as we aren’t self-absorbed entertainment sponges, vampires who suck life from the world and never give back.

Now in those statements, we see that we believe there is a wrong path. We all believe there is a path that leads to death. Even the most tolerant hippy would tell you that intolerance is wrong. The debate isn’t about whether there is a wrong; the debate is always centered on what is wrong.

We also see in those statements that we believe things will harm people. It is easy to identify the immediate harms. Shooting someone for no reason is harmful. But the discussion gets sticky when we talk about long-term harm and/or psychological harm. Is feeding someone McDonalds every day harmful? Is drinking eight alcoholic beverages a day harmful? Is spending too much time watching television harmful? We all know that they are because we have seen the long-term impact of people who have abused things that were designed for good. Well, McDonalds might not ever be able to be used for good, but I think you get the point.

The immature mind will only look at the now. Does this feel good to me now? Then it can’t be that bad. Does this make me happy now? Then it can’t really be bad. But what happens when we wake up the next day and the man or woman who gave us so much pleasure the night before is gone and our heart is broken? What happens when the hangover comes? What happens when I am dying of liver disease? What happens when I have to face my personal crisis alone? True love has to look at what an action is doing to us, not just today, but tomorrow. Is it building better relationships? Is it making me into a better me? Some things might give a momentary rush or satisfaction, but if continued regularly, the behavior will destroy.

So when it comes to loving someone, we actually have to ask if what we are doing is to their benefit, not just in the moment, but tomorrow and the day after that. [A brief disclaimer. We have to be careful though that we do not stray into never doing any loving actions for others because we have a pull up your own bootstraps definition of love. Not loving is always a terrible definition of love.]

Is it more loving to give someone a free handout or is it more loving to give someone work to earn money to buy the food? Is it better to give someone free housing or is it better to help someone learn the soft skills necessary to hold a job and get their own housing? Now we would always answer the latter on these. But are we willing to make the sacrifice to give the work if it means I pay someone to mow my yard rather than do it myself? This might take away from my date night money or my vacation money. Are we willing to invest the time and energy into a person to teach them the necessary skills for living rather than enjoying another book, movie, or that extra time with the kids?

Now this brings us to biblical values. God gave us biblical values, not to enslave to some outdated moral code, but to free us to be loving. When we are enslaved to bad behaviors we are bad lovers. When we are free, we are empowered to love the way God intended us to live. When the Bible teaches values to live by, those of us who believe in God and his inspired word view those instructions as liberating. They are given to free us from the chains that often bind.

True love is more difficult than the “make me feel good because I have done something” type of love. We need to really make a difference in people’s lives. This won’t usually happen through a quick one time fix. This takes time, training, and a serious relational investment. Love is always sacrifice, our sacrifice. 

His sacrifice. 

“But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth” (1 John 3:17-18 ESV).

Hands and Feet

We are to be Jesus’ hands and feet. That takes a different tone on Good Friday.

Your faith in Jesus was made real to you by others. The only way that the people in your neighborhood are going to have a faith made real in their life is because you choose or someone else chooses to be that other to them. We need to be that person in their life who is proclaiming a different way to live. We must surrender ourselves and become that other to others that someone once was to you. We must become Jesus’ hands and feet.

Just over a month ago, I was in Liberia on a short-term mission trip. Our neighborhoods are not going to be the recipient of missionaries. When was the last time you saw a church started in your neighborhood by missionaries? When was the last time you saw a missionary meeting the needs of your neighbors and sharing the Gospel? Probably never.

Unless we realize that we are missionaries.

The reason that God has put us where we are is to be the missionaries to our neighbors, our co-workers, and our friends. The reason God has placed our churches where they are is to further His Kingdom in our neighborhoods. We are to be Jesus’ hands and feet right where we are.

This short clip illustrates it well:

When we send a missionary overseas, we expect them to share the gospel. But we also expect them to live sacrificially and meet the needs of their neighborhood. Over there, among the “lost,” we expect them to live like the guy who jumped in front of the oncoming Subway train to save a stranger. To be Jesus' hands and feet, we must be willing to die.

Our neighbors, our worklplaces, our families, and our churches can be better. They have to be better. But it must start with us. We are to be Jesus’ hands and feet bringing His will into reality.

Who reading this wants to commit their life to being a missionary to their neighbor or to their workplace? If you claim to be a Christian, then you have already made a commitment to such crazy endeavors. You have already said that you want to be his sacrificial hands and feet.

Our churches are filled with people who live as if making more disciples can't happen. Our churches have some people who won’t allow changes to facilitate that happening. Don’t be one of those people. Actually, ignore those people. The mission that Jesus has placed us on. The mission of being the lifeline to our community is way too important to get it cluttered with doing church rather than being church.

Unfortunately, at times…
…we care more about buildings than we do making disciples.
…we care more about music than we do about living a life of worship.
…we care more about programs than we do reaching out.
…we care more about our own selfish needs than we do about living the calling that God has placed on us.
…we care more about receiving blessings from God than we do about about being His hands and feet.

And because of those bad priorities, we get bad results. In the town I minister in, less than 20% of the people went to church on March 25. That is compared to a national average of 35%. Maybe your neighborhood is doing better than that, but none of our neighborhoods are exactly where God wants them to be. They can always use more people moving and acting like Jesus' feet and hands.

If we actually believe that our neighborhood could be what God intended it to be and began working toward it, that which many view as impossible would become reality. It’s not going to come easily; it’s going to take us being His hands and feet, going where others say those hands and feet shouldn't go.

Dr. Dionysius Lardner, who was a prominent scientist and economist in the early 1800s, is famous for being wrong. He couldn't see the new ordinary. Once he argued, “Rail travel at high speed is not possible because passengers, unable to breathe, would die of asphyxia.” Today, people will regularly travel at 268 mph on the Shanghai Maglev Train. There are no known reports of passengers dying of asphyxia. At that speed, if a similar high-speed rail were in place here, we would be able to get to Chicago from Ft. Wayne in around thirty-six minutes. Or for you Yankee fans, from Ft. Wayne to New York in two hours and twenty-four minutes. 268 mph is a speed that is way beyond what Dr. Lardner thought would kill humans is now routinely in use every day in China. Things thought impossible can become reality.

Wilbur Wright, in a speech to the Aero Club in France on November 5, 1908, said, “I confess that in 1901, I said to my brother Orville that man would not fly for fifty years.” Two years later, the two Wright brothers were flying their first airplane at Kitty Hawk. The impossible became reality.

All around us, what was once thought impossible is reality.

Unfortunately, spiritually speaking, the impossible, when it comes to church, has not become reality in our neighborhoods. Paul wrote, “I can do all things through him who strengthens me” (Phil 4:13 ESV). Yet we languish as if there is no way we can live a selfless life following Jesus here on earth. We subsist, enslaved to the same old sins that others have overcome. We spiritually endure life without experiencing the power of God.

Soren Kierkegaard, a Danish Christian, wrote a parable entitled Tame Geese: A Revivalistic Meditation. It is the story of a community of talking geese who would gather together on Sundays for their religious services. “The essential content of the sermon was: what a lofty destiny the geese had, what a high goal the Creator (and every time this word was mentioned the geese curtsied and the ganders bowed the head) had set before the geese; by the aid of wings they could fly away to distant regions, blessed climes, where properly they were at home, for here they were only strangers.” The geese were made to fly, yet after hearing the goose-changing message, the geese would all get out of their seats and waddle home. Kierkegaard concluded the story with the phrase, “Man also has wings, he has an imagination.” Yet we continue to waddle.

Let’s stop waddling. Let’s start flying. It’s amazing what these hands and feet can do.

This is part of a series that I wrote showing the mission trip I took to Liberia.

I divided the subjects into individual pages, for ease of use.

2012 - Liberian Mission Trip - Economy

2012 - Liberian Mission Trip - Wilfred

2012 - Liberian Mission Trip - A Few Notable Places

2012 - Liberian Mission Trip - Food

2012 - Liberian Mission Trip - Heart of Grace Elementary School

2012 - Liberian Mission Trip - The Children

2012 - Liberian Mission Trip - Water

2012 - Liberian Mission Trip - Monrovia Hope Center

2012 - Liberian Mission Trip - Marshall Hope Center

2012 - Liberian Mission Trip - Leadership Training Institute

2012 - Liberian Mission Trip - Gifts

2012 - Liberian Mission Trip - Our Brothers and Sisters

Here are a few articles that I wrote upon my return:
One Drop

You Shall Love Your Neighbor As...

Sunrise in the Clouds over Europe

Who Will Be God's Ambassadors?

FAQ on Liberia trip from questions asked at an Indiana Tech Sociology class

Hands and Feet

There is a Good

Lately, I have been inundated with one of our society's newest fad beliefs, “Good does not exist.” This belief is not all that new in the history of mankind, but it seems to be gaining ground in our culture. Video games are being filled with decisions where all the options available to a player are either a bad choice or a very bad choice. There is no good option. This message is not confined to the video game culture, although being there is enough to influence a whole generation of minds in our nation.

This concept manifests itself in politics where we usually vote for the lesser of two evils. We settle on the church we attend because it is most in line with what we want to be part of despite its faults. One of my friends has expressed that people only do loving things for selfish reasons. We never seem to have a choice between that which is good and that which is evil.

Chris Hedges, a Pulitzer-Prize winning journalist and a frequent guest on NPR, was asked about war being a moral endeavor. He answered, "The world rarely offers us a choice between the moral and the immoral. It's usually a choice between the immoral and the more immoral. That's why moral decision making is so tough."

I wrestle with this concept. Do I always have to choose the lesser of two evils? Is there ever a choice for good? Our society screams that life is not a choice between good and evil. We must choose the lesser of two evils every day. Look at the world around us. It makes sense to say that there really is no good. Life does not appear black and white. But what if my intellectual struggle is just the result of having allowed myself to be absorbed into our culture rather than to stand as a witness for something greater in it?

This belief that there is no good and we must always choose between the lesser degrees of evil is going to be a prevailing thought that we are going to continue to wrestle with if we are going to be and help others become disciples of Christ. We must know in the core of our being and live in such a way that we testify that there is good.

Jesus taught, "In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven" (Matthew 5:16).

The Apostle Matthew shared a story about a conversation Jesus had. “Now a man came up to Jesus and asked, "Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?" "Why do you ask me about what is good?" Jesus replied. "There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, obey the commandments."

"Which ones?" the man inquired. Jesus replied, " 'Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother,' and 'love your neighbor as yourself.' " "All these I have kept," the young man said. "What do I still lack?" Jesus answered, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.

Then Jesus said to his disciples, "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." When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, "Who then can be saved?" Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible” [Matthew 19:16-26 9 (ESV)].

We must find the good path and walk in it, yet the only good we can do is reflect God's goodness through the lives we live. There is good, but it’s almost never easy to choose. The challenge to us is to be faithful enough that we are willing to sacrifice our own desires and live in the good rather than comfortably choose the lesser of two evils.

What Is Worth Everything?

Last week, the news told us of the incredible story of the dog named Mason. Mason, a terrier mix, was swept away from his family's Alabama home while taking cover in the garage during one of the many tornadoes that have swept our nation in the last few weeks.  Mason’s family scoured the neighborhood, yet they could not find him. Eventually, amidst all the devastation, they gave up their hunt and tried to piece their lives back together.

Three weeks later, on a trip back to their devastated home to continue the cleanup, the family found Mason with two severely broken front legs sitting on the steps waiting for them. Wherever he had been carried away to by the storm, he would have had a tough, painful crawl back to his home.  Yet Mason had not given up.

The story of Mason reminds me of the story of one of our cats, Esa. Esa is a hit-by-car survivor.  That’s like a cancer survivor in the cat world.  Hit-by-car cats are tough. When I saw her by the road after being hit, I thought she was dead.  Over a few days and lots of tender loving care, she was successfully nursed back to health. However, one of Esa’s legs never healed properly, so she walks on three legs.

One day, Esa hopped into our minivan when nobody was looking. Lindsay then took our van and the kids to the Dollar Store in Hicksville. While unloading the kids, Esa appeared from wherever she was hiding and hopped out of the van. Lindsay searched for her and called her name, but Esa was lost in the middle of Hicksville. (Next time you see a crazy lady screaming a name in a parking lot, maybe she isn’t really crazy. Maybe she is just looking for her cat.) 

I even took a turn driving down there and looking for her. Nothing. We lost Esa.

But Esa had not lost us.  Three days later, Esa appeared at our doorstep five miles from the Dollar Store. She had made the journey home on three legs. She knew that this was the home where she was loved. And, probably most important, she knew that we feed her.

Like Mason, she sacrificed and struggled to get back to her family.

This all reminds me of one of Jesus’ teachings.

Jesus taught, “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field” [Matthew 13:44 (ESV)].

Do we want to experience God’s Kingdom as much as Mason and Esa wanted to be with their family? Do we give our quest for the Kingdom of God our all?  Do we give everything up so that we can be smack dab in the middle of God’s will?

Is God glorified by the spending choices we make? Is He glorified by the way we use our time? By the words we say? By all of our strength? By all of our mind? Or do we just give Him a little? Or maybe we give Him a lot? But He doesn’t want just a little or a lot. He wants our all.

Mason and Esa would not have made it home if making it home was not the desire of their hearts. There was much pain, many obstacles, and a neverending perseverance.

Oftentimes, we miss seeing the greatness of God transform our reality because we lack the commitment that these amazing pets have shown. Being a follower of Jesus is not about a moment where we say the sinner’s prayer, raise our hand in response to an invitation, go through confirmation, or participate in baptism. It’s more than just an initial starting point of surrender. It is a life of total surrender.

When we stop just going through the motions, just going to church, just singing songs of praise, just professing Jesus with our mouth, or maybe we are not even doing that much - when we begin to live a life of total surrender to His will, then we will see our world and the world around us start to shape itself into God’s will. The person who is robbed the most from my lack of total surrender to Jesus and His will is me. May we find the strength, like Jesus taught in His parable, to give everything up for the Kingdom of God. It is worth it.  Jesus taught that the kingdom of God is worth selling everything for.  May God help us with our unbelief.