Attempts at Honesty

Reflections on the interplay of the Bible and Culture

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Scary Love

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Scary LoveI recently saw a pair of Tweets by @GAfamily with the hashtags #scary and #love. (For those of you who are not into Twitter, using hashtags is a way of identifying key words so that someone searching on that word will find it) It struck me that these are two words that I would not have put together. Scary love.

Today I began reading Genesis for an assignment for our church’s ministry training class. It strikes me that God created us in spite of the fact that He knew that beginning with Adam, we would choose badly and rebel. To me this is the epitome of scary love. It is scary because it is so selfless. It is scary because the love that would create in spite of the certainty of rebellion is a love that is consumed by its object with no expectation of benefit in return.

In our human interactions, we do not give or receive completely selfless love. Consciously or subconsciously when we experience love or the approximation of love, we are wondering what’s in it for the other. This feels normal because it is a universal experience.

Along comes a man named Jesus a little over 2,000 years ago who breaks normality and opens up the possibility of experiencing selfless love in a human interaction. Jesus’ selfless love proved to be a blessing to those who recognized their need for love and a curse to those who didn’t.

So why is this so scary? It is scary in part because we don’t understand selfless love. Another possible reason is because, in our pride, we are unwilling to come to grips with the depth of our unlovliness.

When I reflect upon the selfless love of Jesus, when I read the gospels and see what he did and said, I am confronted with the festering recesses of my heart that are yet to be cleansed and healed. This self revelation is scary and many run from it. Yet, to be confronted by this revelation is the most loving thing that a loving God can do.

May we embrace this Scary Love and be cleansed and motivated by him.

Responding to doctrinal weeds (some thoughts on discernment)

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419162-dandelion-fieldI recently was asked about how to respond to a spouse who is enthralled by some false teachers. The points I gave for consideration are these:

  • The Bereans were praised (Acts 17:11) for checking to see if what Paul was teaching is true to Scripture, so it is clearly not wrong to determine if a preacher (or a blogger) is speaking in accordance with Scripture.
  • We are called to exercise discernment. All through Paul’s epistles, he deals with issues within the Church and gives his readers the foundation they need to make good decisions. In some cases, Paul calls people out by name so it is clearly not wrong to exercise discernment with regard to people and doctrine.
  • We are called to be wise as serpents and innocent as doves (Matt. 10:16). We should not be tricked by deceivers but we need to be innocent in the way we respond to them and speak about them.
  • In Ephesians 4:15, Paul commands us to speak the truth in love. Love must be the guiding principle as to how we respond to the false teaching. See also 1 Corinthians 13 for a check list to see how you’re doing with regard to a loving response toward the preachers and your spouse.
  • James 1:20 reminds us that the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. Be honest with yourself as to whether your spouse is sensing and responding to anger which prevents your spouse from hearing your legitimate concerns.
  • It is not wrong to be concerned about what these preachers are teaching. It is also not wrong for you to share your thoughts with your spouse. You will need wisdom (James 1:5) and love to share your thoughts in an appropriate way.
  • While these preachers distort Scripture for their own ends (and will be judged accordingly), they are using Scripture. The Holy Spirit can use the Scripture to show your spouse the error in what they teach.
  • Above all else, I encourage you to pray for your spouse so that the Holy Spirit will reveal the error. Remember that “a man convinced against his will is of the same opinion still.” No amount of argument can subdue the will. Only God can do that.

Anything else that should be considered? Please comment back to add to the list, I would like your input.

Conflict is inevitable

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Demonstrators-in-egypt A few days ago, I read 1 Thessalonians 3:4 where Paul writes, “For when we were with you, we kept telling you beforehand that we were to suffer affliction, just as it has come to pass, and just as you know.”

Why would Paul anticipate suffering? I believe the answer lies in his understanding that Christianity is a radical departure in world view from the pagan culture of the Roman Empire of his day. To follow Christ, who claimed to be the only way to God, requires a commitment to believing and proclaiming the exclusive claims of Jesus.

Growing up in a pluralistic society (that owes it’s philosophy of tolerance to a Judeo/Christian heritage), I struggle to connect with the level of animosity and conflict that a challenge to world view can bring. Yet, when I watch the news reports of the chaos that radical Islam is spreading around the globe, I see that a difference in world view will often result in violence, oppression and suffering.

I am reminded of Jesus’ command to embrace the Cross as the means of following Christ. Inherent in the Cross is an understanding of conflict and death. To embrace the Cross, implies that we are willing to experience physical death as a consequence of belief. The culture around us, be it neo-pagan, Islamic, pantheistic or materialist, will not tolerate being told that Jesus is the only way. Jesus is truly counter cultural.

Much of the “church” in America has lost the sense of being counter cultural. We capitulate to the surrounding culture on a wide variety of issues in order to be at peace. But the peace that this brings is the peace of the ostrich who does not know that the hunter is about to strike him down. This is the peace of those who capitulated to Hitler in the 1930’s. It is a false peace.

I am not suggesting that we go looking for trouble. Paul encourages us to live in peace with everyone if possible (Rom. 12:18). I am suggesting that if we are doing the work of making disciples, if we are accurately teaching Scripture, if we are proclaiming Christ, there is a high probability that trouble will find us. We should enjoy the freedom that we currently have and use it to make disciples before that freedom is taken away.

We can be disappointed when freedom is abolished, but we should not be surprised. We have been warned.

P. S. This post is first and foremost a reminder to myself. My affinity for comfort and people pleasing  makes me predisposed to compromise.

The Skill of the Craftsman

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I was reading Augustine’s Confessions this morning where he mentions a treatise by Cicero called Hortensius as the means by which God began to change Augustine’s heart.

Thinking that it would be interesting to read this work, I searched for a copy only to find out that Hortensius is a lost work.

My initial reaction was sadness to loose the tool that shaped the life of a great man like Augustine. The thought then struck me that the value of the creation depends less on the quality of the tool than on the skill of the craftsman. A skilled craftsman can use inferior tools to produce a good result.

Had we a copy of this work, we might find it to be inferior to other works of that period. The fact that God, in his sovereignty did not see to its preservation would seem to support this premise. Yet, it was used my God to shape a mind that has left a huge positive impact on all of Christendom.

From this I conclude that I should not mourn the loss of the tool, but praise the skill of the Craftsman who can use whatever tool is available to bring His vision into being.

The greatest virtue of the tool is availability to the Craftsman. If we are available, we get to participate in the bringing about of something beautiful.

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