Growing healthy and whole is a never-ending cycle. We never grow beyond our need to change and grow.
Only Jesus can change us, and we can only grow as we trust in Him, continually.
—adapted from James Ryle, “Healthy Things Grow.”
[HT: Jon Furman in real-time.]
Our son loves to make up math equations. For some reason, he likes to insist that two plus two equals five. He may end up being a genius, become a trusted expert in the field of quantum mechanics, or write, prove and publish theorems in differential geometry. But we all know that his math right now is not so good. Of course, 2 + 2 = 4, just as 5 – 1 = 4.
But what about when 5 – 1 = 0 ?
A quick lesson in divine mathematics, for all of us; or, at least for me.
First Corinthians 13:1-3:
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.
Paul makes the same point five times:
Do you see that? If we have the five, but lack the One, then we have zero. In this way 5 – 1 = 0. I love math, and have always felt I’ve been apt to do well in problem solving. The issues here are not so simple, though, because without God’s Love at work in my heart I have nothing, because I am nothing.
If you’re like me, you long to have the gifts described — eloquent speech, prophetic powers, great faith, treasures to share with others, even the courage to give up your life when needed — but can be certain none of those are ends in and of themselves. Each is meant to be used in the service of others, motivated by a deeper motivation of sacrificial love. This will no doubt take determination and courage, coupled with true generosity to embody the grace given to us in Jesus. It is far easier to do that other five than the One.
Who will join me in living a love of love, no longer okay with being a zero?
The British Museum. Four enormous statues of Buddha lined the far wall. They towered, enormous, yet frozen in place. Mere idols. Powerless. I turned the corner to head out, into another gallery, then noticed that Jeff was intrigued by something else, clicking a photo with his phone.
Two tall statues stood on either side of a walkway. Shiny with glaze, standing tall and proud with Asian faces and elaborate Chinese dress. The one on the left held a hefty book, probably 8-10 inches thick, like two or three phonebooks all put together. His face looked severe, judging.
The other statue held a slim booklet, more like a magazine, rolled up into a small cylinder in her hand. The plaque explained that in the first century AD the concept of hell was introduced into China. From where it was unknown. But from that time on it was clearly understood that after death there would be judgment. The severe statue with the thick phone-book type volume was holding the person’s evil deeds. The statue with the magazine rolled up was holding the person’s good deeds.
The statues:
Final judgment statues from the Meng Dynasty in China, housed in the British Museum. Statue on the left holds large book making note of "evil works"; statue on right holds small magazine with record of "good works."
They got that part right.
If You, O LORD, should mark iniquities, O LORD, who could stand?
—Psalm 130:3Where, I wonder, have we lost the reality of guilt? Today guilt is a dirty word, something we’re encouraged to shake off, leave behind, free ourselves from.
But isn’t guilt a critical component of the gospel?
Isn’t guilt the black backdrop that allows the glorious diamond of the gospel to be seen in all its glory?
If I didn’t understand guilt, how could I understand grace?
“If I only had an enemy bigger than my apathy,
I could have won.”
—Mumford & Sons, “I Gave You All”
It’s often remarked by those in the West how happy people seem when they visit developing nations. They have so little, and yet they are so happy!
(Really? Being poor and living hand-to-mouth makes one happy? I thought being comfortable was necessary for a joyful life.) Perhaps they have developed more strongly what we miss in our comfortable bubbles: contentment and gratitude. While we may think that a mixture of a perfect environment, coupled with optimal opportunities will make for a great life when combined with the dreams of our parents. You know, the one’s where we accomplish everything they envisioned for us. Call it living vicariously through one’s child, and I call it pretending. Have you noticed how grateful pampered kids are today? Are spoiled kids content with what they have? I’ve said it before, kids are just mini versions of us adults, and ingratitude and greed run in our family.
Being ungrateful comes from our having unmet expectations, specific desires that go unfilled. More to the point, ingratitude means we think we deserve better. Reality is what remains when all we hoped for disappoints us. Since we know that true hope does not and cannot disappoint (Romans 5:5), our shattered dreams must instead be a sorry substitute for the life God envisioned for us.
Why do we resist His grand vision for our lives, and pursue our own tiny versions?
I tend to think we do this because we desire to be the heroes of our own story. All our lives we are told we can do anything with our lives, that we can do amazing things. If only each of us would choose to replace our “old” life for a brand “new” one. Simple as that. Believe in yourself, try new things, and whatever you desire can be yours. Yes, we are a big deal.
Of course we think we’re a big deal. Consider how much history is being made … right this moment:
Population-weighted history of the past two millennia.
Source: The Economist
You know what happened at the beginning of that graph? A poor man born in Bethlehem and raised in Nazareth made more history than we would. He didn’t carry much economic clout back then, though He owns the whole universe.
It’s been said it’s not the number of our days that matter, it’s the worth of our days. In Jesus’ short three decades He accomplished more than we ever will in our medically-augmented 72-plus. His life is not even a tiny dot on that graph. Ours show up collectively as two tall lines, part of the economic output and years lived. On this scale, we could easily think we are better. Or at least we live in a better world now, right? The world was cruel back then, and remains just as cruel today as 2,000 years ago.
Even in our global village, we keep ourselves confined to our family-friendly edge of the village, in climate-controlled palaces and carriages. All the while — remember the graph — more history is being made today than ever before. More people means more opportunities for good, and for suffering. As we near 7 Billion people on planet earth, multiplied by 3,600 seconds every hour, and every moment carries more weight than every before. The question, do we want to stay apathetic, or get involved? Mumford and Sons is on to something; I think apathy is the strongest “force” in the first world today.
Consider the following, brought to us by Richard Stearns, president of World Vision, in his great book The Hole in Our Gospel:
“When Evangelical Christians where asked whether they would help children orphaned by AIDS, assuming they were asked by a reputable Christian organization that was doing this work …
- only 3 percent said that they definitely would help;
- 52 percent said that they would probably or definitely would not help!”
—ch. 17, “AWOL to the Greatest Humanitarian Crisis of All Time”
And this on the current plight ongoing in our little space in history:
“Fifteen thousand Africans are dying each day of preventable, treatable diseases — AIDS, malaria, TB — for lack of drugs that we take for granted.
This statistic alone makes a fool of the idea many of hold on to very tightly: the idea of equality. What is happening to Africa mocks our pieties, doubts our concern and questions our commitment to the whole concept. Because if we’re honest, there’s no way we could conclude that such mass death day after day would ever be allowed to happen anywhere else. Certainly not North America or Europe, or Japan. An entire continent bursting into flames? Deep down, if we really accept that their lives — African lives — are equal to ours, we would all be doing more to put the fire out. It’s an uncomfortable truth.”
—Bono, quoted in The Hole in Our Gospel, ch. 8, “The Greatest Challenge of the New Millennium.”
Since we know, there is no longer any excuse.
The question remains: what are we going to do about that?
Let’s make history.
… to be continued …
Love that will not betray, dismay, or enslave you,
it will set you free;
be more like the man you were made to be.
There is a design, an alignment,
a cry of my heart to see
the beauty of love as it was made to be.
—Mumford & Sons, “Sigh No More”
Are you past-, present-, or future-oriented? When someone asks you to explain why something is the way it is, do you envision would it could be (future), should be (present), or do you dig deep in the past to see the string of events that brought about the present? Like, when asked, “What’s the deal with the housing market?” how do you process an answer? Are you prone to think of how bad it is right now (perhaps if you are selling a home), or where the market could be going, or the myriad factors that brought us up to this point?
(I am past-oriented, by the way, prone to consider the history of successive events up to the present. More on past-present-future-orientation here.)
We are all born present-oriented hedonists. Think about it: we crave food (milk), must be cared for constantly, and cannot even fathom what shall be in the future and quickly forget what just was. We live according to our strong cravings. Somewhere along the line, we must be weened off our self-centered nature and develop into responsible, mature adults. Plenty of factors play into this, such as encountering difficulties and overcoming them, devoting ourselves to faithfulness and perseverance. Though we try to find them, there are no shortcuts to true maturity. Parents may try to enter their kids into the best schools, pay their way onto the optimal select sports teams, and protect them from the big, bad, dark world.
The problem?
You cannot do all of that and properly school the human heart, or train yourself to unselfishness by taking the easy route. Environment alone, however refined and optimal, does not produce a refined and optimal man. Again, there are no shortcuts.
How many times have you watched a movie that displays all our vein attempts at the great life — of success, power, money, and pleasure? Consider the popular Limitless, and the more critically-acclaimed Lincoln Lawyer. The latter, starring Matthew McConaughey highlights the attempts of Ryan Philippe’s character to live a secret life of perverted pleasures. Philippe’s journey shows how pride destroys a whole family as they refuse to deal honestly (and personally) with their inner evil. The former stars the upstart Bradley Cooper chronicling a desperate grasping for significance and riches. (What if you could take a pill and instantly become awesome?) Both men lived in the fast-line, greedily trying to ADD a new life to their present one. Instead of confessing their faults and building a new life by turning from their sins, they sought to hide their former self and pretend their new awesome lifestyle was their true self.
Both characters — Philippe’s and Cooper’s — came across as future-oriented mature men in society, though they were secretly present-oriented hedonists. These were not men; they were juveniles not challenged in life to move past their childhood folly. Every pursuit was for pleasure — their own — and in the one more legally-minded tale, justice was served in the end. I think the reason we make, and watch, movies like this is that they reflect a deep longing in our souls. And a reflection of our arrogance. We want to be like them, because we are like them. We are thirsting for more, and wish we were more.
Too bad we cannot set aside our old lives and live new and better ones.
… to be continued …
I’ve been remiss on writing up a reflection of our final day in Scotland. We arrived back in London late on our anniversary, It’s a challenge to move all these people around this island without some delays, and so we braced for a few. There were some sweet moments (like finding Kari’s sunglasses at the check-in desk as we boarded the plane — someone was kind enough to put them there after finding them someplace nearby). And there were some funny moments (like when about 100 newspapers previously handed out as we boarded the plane were eventually tossed into the rubbish bin; as an avid recycler from the ‘crunchy’ Pacific Northwest, I cringed). As I told the conference attendees, I am a people-watcher. Apparently, I watch what they throw away as well.
More fun than all that rubbish is watching what people value, that is, where they focus their time and energy to see cultivated. I mentioned the Burns family in Glasgow, who is endeavoring to see Glasgow flourish by the preaching of His Word and the praising of His Name (true to the city’s motto).
Our stay in Scotland was a quick jaunt, a mere 48 hours perhaps. The first half with the Scott and Monica Burns was followed by a night and day with Brian and Shauna Luse (and their amazing five kids). Brian was actually the first person we saw as we got off the plane in Glasgow on Sunday evening. With a smile and a hug we hopped into their van and headed to downtown Glasgow, on the west side. The Sunday night gathering of RE:HOPE was winding down, and we caught part of the closing responsive worship time. About 21 hours later Brian picked us up and we were off to Renfrew to get a glimpse of their life.
Although brief, both visits have stirred my soul. They let us peek in on their lives — and gave up much of their time — and we are better for it. I pray we were a blessing to them as well.
A sunny day in Scotland
In short, I left that time resolving to be a more intentional father, loving, caring… present. Brian loves his kids, leads his family, and set an example for me to follow. This is where discipleship takes place.
Renfrew is a royal burrough, which from what I am told, means back in the day they had unique authorization from the monarchy to organize a marketplace, for the buying, selling, and trading of goods. It would become a happening place to be, and a privilege to live there. Just down the River Clyde from Glasgow (westward, towards the sea), Renfrew these days looks positioned for a comeback. Business is booming; there were malls and construction all around, and it seemed that young professionals will want to settle down in this attractive city.
We are praying for the leaders and saints of Renfrew Baptist Church to be faithful to Christ’s call to be and make disciples, and for God’s grace to be upon them as He prospers them to be in the city, and because the Gospel is good news for all who encounter Christ, they shall be for the city.
Few things in life are ‘as advertised,’ and far fewer are better than expected. As my wife often writes about, expectancy is better than having expectations. True Hope does not disappoint, though we live in constant disappointment it seems, a frustration on our ill-fashioned ‘hopes.’
This week Kari and I celebrated eight years of marriage, and I must say that life with her is better than expected. I did have ‘high hopes’ for our life together, yet the trajectory of our shared life, growing in gratitude and humility together daily, as Christ leads us, has been the true joy of this adventure. Here’s to eight times eight more years together in this life!
View from the Burns' flat
After the Single-Minded conference wrapped up, we said our goodbyes and take a ride with some new friends to the Stansted airport. Sunday night we hopped on a plane bound north to Glasgow, Scotland.
The story goes on, but I would be remiss to mention that on Monday morning I apparently hit ‘snooze’ on my phone 17 times. A normally-would-be-sleeping-in 7:00 AM alarm turned into a 10 AM wakeup. Apparently the jet lag was finally being overcome! We were spent quite well from the conference, which was a pure joy. And the second leg of our journey had begun. In Glasgow we are visiting two missionary families, friends we know from the States, and who serve alongside one another albeit in two uniquely different church contexts in neighboring cities.
The ever-joyful Brian Luse picked us up at the Glasgow airport and drove us to join the end of the Sunday evening service at RE:HOPE Next Generation Bible Church in west Glasgow (Partick neighborhood). There we joined in the worship gathering until greeted with a hug by our gracious hosts, Scott and Monica Burns. We met “Scottica” when they were two single seminary students back in Portland at Multnomah Biblical Seminary. As God crossed our paths, our hearts were knit, and we knew that any trip to the UK must involve a glimpse of life and ministry of both faith-inspiring families.
Continue reading
As we rebuild this site with archived posts from the old deTheos.com, some of the my favorite posts will appear in a ‘Featured Posts’ sidebar. A few are linked now:
Proverbs 31:10-31:
10 A wife of noble character who can find?
She is worth far more than rubies.
11 Her husband has full confidence in her
and lacks nothing of value.
12 She brings him good, not harm,
all the days of her life.
13 She selects wool and flax
and works with eager hands.
14 She is like the merchant ships,
bringing her food from afar.
15 She gets up while it is still night;
she provides food for her family
and portions for her female servants.
16 She considers a field and buys it;
out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.
17 She sets about her work vigorously;
her arms are strong for her tasks.
18 She sees that her trading is profitable,
and her lamp does not go out at night.
19 In her hand she holds the distaff
and grasps the spindle with her fingers.
20 She opens her arms to the poor
and extends her hands to the needy.
21 When it snows, she has no fear for her household;
for all of them are clothed in scarlet.
22 She makes coverings for her bed;
she is clothed in fine linen and purple.
23 Her husband is respected at the city gate,
where he takes his seat among the elders of the land.
24 She makes linen garments and sells them,
and supplies the merchants with sashes.
25 She is clothed with strength and dignity;
she can laugh at the days to come.
26 She speaks with wisdom,
and faithful instruction is on her tongue.
27 She watches over the affairs of her household
and does not eat the bread of idleness.
28 Her children arise and call her blessed;
her husband also, and he praises her:
29 “Many women do noble things,
but you surpass them all.”
30 Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;
but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.
31 Honor her for all that her hands have done,
and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.
[Today is my wife‘s birthday.]
Kari,
You are an amazing woman, fully of godliness, abounding in joy, overflowing with wisdom, and committed to faithfulness and perseverance in our family. (Proverbs 31 describes the trajectory of your life. You are a woman of noble character.)
May our kids come to embrace and embody the Gospel which you adorn so well. And may others behold the beauty and goodness of the one true God whom you serve.
A wife of noble character who can find? I did. (Somehow. Still amazed.) God brought me you.
In Christ,
Me.
New college grads enter a world full of uncertainties, in a system not structured to automatically achieve their perceived “success.” Even in a first world, the job market will not cater to new grads’ every whim. And yet, what consistent message has the millennial generation heard? It’s all about you.
They’ve been coached, tutored and coddled into thinking the world is in fact their oyster. Who’s to blame them if we’ve trained them to think their role is the key one, and we’re all just minor characters in their big story? The vocabulary of ‘self,’ of ‘freedom’ and ‘autonomy’ are what makes up an illusory world, one we’ve built for them. (‘They’ are us, and we are them.) Perhaps I’m a bit cynical, but the consistent message spun by boomers to their kids (in general) will actually lead to their demise. The problem here is not early twentysomethings, it’s the raw bill of goods we’ve sold them. We have told them half-truths we needed to say to feel good about ourselves.
Once again, David Brooks of the NY Times hits the nail on the head:
Worst of all, they are sent off into this world with the whole baby-boomer theology ringing in their ears. If you sample some of the commencement addresses being broadcast on C-Span these days, you see that many graduates are told to: Follow your passion, chart your own course, march to the beat of your own drummer, follow your dreams and find yourself. This is the litany of expressive individualism, which is still the dominant note in American culture.
But, of course, this mantra misleads on nearly every front.
Memorial Day is formerly known as Decoration Day, which was first recorded to have been observed by Freedmen (freed enslaved southern blacks) in Charleston, South Carolina in 1865, at the Washington Race Course, to remember the fallen Union soldiers of the Civil War. Today, what is now known as Memorial Day, is a day of reflection and recognition to commemorate all U.S. Service Members who died while in military service.
Our nation has lost many heroes on the field of battle:
I am grateful for those who courageously laid down their lives for the freedoms I enjoy (and often take for granted). We trust, like Augustine wrote, that the ultimate purpose for war is for peace.
photo © stock.xchng contributor theoneill
