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The Light that can be found – reflections on a lyric by 3 Doors Down

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3 Doors Down Logo

The song “When I’m Gone” by 3 Doors Down begins this way:

There’s another world inside of me
That you may never see
There’re secrets in this life
That I can’t hide
Somewhere in this darkness
There’s a light that I can’t find
Maybe it’s too far away…
Or maybe I’m just blind…

What struck me about this lyric is the comparison with light and darkness. The Bible uses this same image in describing the light of the Gospel (Gospel means “good news”) shining in the darkness of the world. In Matthew 4:16 it says, “The people who were sitting in darkness saw a great Light, And those who were sitting in the land and shadow of death, Upon them a Light dawned.”

There are two problems identified which cause someone to not see the light. The first is blindness: “The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it” (John 1:5). This is the starting point for all of humanity. We are all born in spiritual darkness. God shines the light of his love into that darkness and we have to choose our response to it. The difference between believers and unbelievers is that believers choose to respond to the light of the Gospel.

The second problem is willful blindness: “This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil” (John 3:19). Some choose to reject Jesus Christ and remain in darkness. Often this rejection is in reaction to the behavior of some who claim to follow Jesus. I empathize with this reaction and would like to offer a response.

Even though believers have responded to the Light, Scripture teaches us that until death or rapture some of the darkness remains in us and we say and do things that are wrong. True believers do not think themselves better than unbelievers. Even the Apostle Paul, the writer of much of the New Testament, struggled with this. He writes, “For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want” (Romans 7:19).

The only difference is that believers have accepted the love and grace of Jesus Christ. If we are changed, it is a result of that love and grace changing us; we can claim no credit. While our motives may be improved sometimes our results are not. Some of the cruelest things ever said to me were said by believers. That is the icky truth.

My point is that believers still hurt people, say stupid things, struggle with addictions, act in selfishness and generally struggle with the same stuff the rest of humanity struggles with. This does not make the Gospel less true.

The fact that we are changed at all is testimony to the power of the Gospel.

If you are an unbeliever, I would ask you to consider Jesus based on what He said and did. He is the truth and the light. We believers are sometimes good reflectors and sometimes poor reflectors of his light. Please do not reject Christ because of our poor reflection of him.

I can tell you that life with Jesus, in spite of our failures, is good. Paul follows his lament about his own struggles with this statement, “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1).

No condemnation, peace, forgiveness. Life is good (not perfect) in the light. Please join us. The Light wants to be found and is always available.

Toward the conquest of fear

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We have nothing to fear - FDR

In his first inaugural address, Franklin D. Roosevelt used the oft quoted phrase, “the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” The first time I heard this quotation, I thought it rather silly since there are many things to fear. But as I’ve gotten older (I hesitate to say matured), I see the wisdom in this.

In the New Testament, the verb phobeo (fear) is used as an imperative 62 times (list).  If I counted correctly, 59 of those instances the command is used in the negative; we are commanded to not fear. In the 3 remaining uses of phobeo we are commanded to fear God.

Why does God tells us so many time to not fear? It is because we are prone to experiencing fear. Fear is a powerful, if short term, motivator. Since it is so powerful and since we have an enemy, it should not surprise us that The Enemy uses fear as one of the primary weapons in his arsenal. That is why Peter tells us to “Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8)

In this election year we see fear used as a campaign tool. The ads tell you about all the bad things that will happen to you if you elect the other guy. Political commentators make a lucrative income by playing to these fears. We as believers must not give in to them. We can’t panic. God has not given up control.

In 1 John 5:4 we are told that our faith is able to conquer the world. That faith is rooted in an understanding of the nature of God. We can be confident in God’s ability to remain in control and complete his plan for the world. His love and justice will not be thwarted by any scheme of the enemy.

If that is the case, then why do we fear?

I am not a trained counselor so you may think my answer to this question is simplistic. If so, I ask your pardon. Yet I have a sense that we fear because we do not understand nor appropriate God’s love and power. The Apostle Paul proclaimed this great love for us when he penned these words:

“But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.” (Ephesians 2:4–9, NASB95)

God made us alive, raised us up and seated us with Jesus Christ. By his resurrection, Jesus displayed his destruction of the most powerful source of fear that the Enemy has, that is death.

So I must remind myself, if Jesus has conquered death, what could be worse than that? If God is master over death, can he not get me through whatever trial that comes my way? Yes he can. I simply need to live as though this is true despite what my fears tell me.

The Illusion of Security Apart from Christ

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Security is Elusive

 

TightropeIt is in the best interest of politicians and merchants to maintain the illusion of security. They tell us that if we elect the right person or party into office, if we invest properly, if we follow the prescribed diet, if, if, if . . . then we will experience security.

The problem is that those activities never provide the peace of mind that they promise.

We are heading into a presidential election year, promises will abound. Watch to see how much of the campaign rhetoric is geared toward promises of security. We have governmental departments and programs with “security” in their titles. The entire government purportedly exists to enhance our security as individuals and as a nation. We long for that security and will vote for the people we think best qualified to give it to us.

Since Genesis 3, mankind has been trying to establish his control over his own destiny. Yet, most of a man’s circumstances remain beyond his control. In spite of great scientific advances, we are at the mercy of our environment and other people. Where then can security be found? Is there a source?

Security can be Found

If you take the New Testament documents to be reliable (I do), they show us a good place to start our search for security. In a physical sense, death is the ultimate enemy. If a man proved that he could conquer death, that person might be a good resource in the quest for security.

Death has been conquered by Jesus Christ. His resurrection from death displays his power over death. He promises to provide this power for those who are willing to believe in him an surrender to him.

It is the death and resurrection of Jesus which provides the means whereby death can be robbed of its sting (1 Corinthians 15:55). Jesus also promises to be with us forever (Matthew 28:20). Paul asks the question, “if God is for us who then can be against us?” (Romans 8:31), the implication being that no-one can be against us if we are in Christ.

Why then do I often respond in insecurity? Why does much of the rhetoric of Christendom resound with fear and insecurity? It is because we fail to believe and appropriate the promises that God has given us.

May we go into this weekend believing the promises and living them out. The world needs us to do this.

The Fellowship of the Obtuse

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Luke 18:34 (ESV)

34 But they understood none of these things. This saying was hidden from them, and they did not grasp what was said.

You Just Don't Get ItTwo lines of thinking present themselves to me in reaction to this verse.

First, I am comforted that the men who God used to turn the world upside down had moments when they just did not get it. They, at times, were just as obtuse and blind as I often am. I feel as though I am in good company and take encouragement from it.

My second thought is concerning the veracity of the Gospel accounts. One of the lines of argument of atheists is that the New Testament was compiled by church leaders in later centuries to support the claims of the faith. In other words, the leaders made up stories to support their theological positions.

If I were making up stories about the men from whom I inherited my authority, I don’t think that I would include any statements that would denigrate those men.

Why would Luke include this statement in his Gospel? The only logical answer is because it was true and shows that the spread of the Gospel is not due to the incredible wisdom of the Apostles. They were regular men, just like you and I. They had the same periods of stupidity and struggled in their faith like we do.

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