The last scene in Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ is nothing if not brief. It lasts all of about two minutes. But those one hundred and twenty seconds, coming as they do on the heels of the betrayal and violence of Jesus’ last few hours on earth, are heavy with meaning.
Sunlight streams into the tomb, cascading down its walls as the stone, just off camera, rolls quietly out of the way. The light lands finally on the linens slowly collapsing on the ledge, no body in place now to fill them out. The camera pauses there and then slowly zooms out to the foot of the ledge, taking in the profile of seated Jesus, eyes closed, face to the light. His eyes open, looking up into the brightness, reflecting recognition, vulnerability. They close again, quiet, composed. Then they reopen, slightly narrowed, focused, horizontal, purposeful. He rises. The camera catches one last fleeting glimpse, the top of a nail scarred hand. Then in one stride he is gone, out of the tomb and into history. The scene is brief but the message is unmistakable. Nothing on earth, not even brutal death, is as it seems.
I spent some time musing on that this week. I hope that you will too. Here is what came to mind. I’d appreciate it if you would share what comes to yours.
The world as we know it, with all of its chaos and confusion, greed and brutality, disaster and tragedy, is not all there is. There is more, so much more goodness and peace, order and kindness, prosperity and joy that in the Apostle Paul’s words, we cannot even begin to imagine it.
The tiny glimpses of Jesus, the moments of spiritual clarity that have come during times of worship and prayer and meditation; the consciousness of the Presence, transcendent power manifesting itself in ultimate stillness as if one were sitting at the foot of the Red Sea watching the fish swim as Moses and the Israelites walked through on dry ground, feeling the weight of the wall of water yet not fearing it; that all of these things have been but the briefest shadow of the magnificent Power that watches over us flitting across the soul. The reality waits on the other side.
The Word of God, with all of its predictions, all of its promises, all of its wisdom and all of its judgments will ultimately be fulfilled to the wonder and awe of all the earth.
I will see Mike again, and Steve and Joseph and Dad.
And we – all of us - will see Jesus no longer, “through a glass, darkly” but face to face, and that will be enough.
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Sunday, April 17, 2011
THE PROSTITUTE AND THE PHARISEE
It’s a simple story told in Luke’s characteristically lucid style. Jesus is dining with a Pharisee named Simon. A woman who has obviously heard Jesus’ preaching steps into the room. Her name is not given but it is not needed. Everyone knows her, the town prostitute. But she is not composed, not there to impress or seduce. She is weeping with gratitude, on her knees over the feet of the reclining rabbi from Nazareth, pouring out years of pent-up guilt, little rivers of happiness, down upon his ankles and between his toes. She bends further now and wipes the watery dirt away with her hair. Then she withdraws an alabaster jar of expensive perfume and empties it on his feet, rubbing it in with her hands as the sweet aroma fills the room.
Simon is aghast. The Pharisees were known for their righteousness, their religious purity and high moral character. They were the successful middle class evangelicals of their day. They didn’t hang out with sinful people and didn’t approve of those who did. Scenes like this were too much for such men. “If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is…” he groused within.
Jesus heard Simon’s thoughts. He knew exactly what she was, a broken woman who had experienced forgiveness and freedom through her faith. But Jesus also knew something else: exactly what kind of man Simon was, a successful man in need of humility, a man every bit as lost in his pride as the prostitute had been in her immorality. The only difference between the two was that the woman knew her sin and knew she needed a savior. Simon’s success blinded him to both things in his life.
Jesus tells Simon a story of two forgiven debtors, one who owed eighteen months wages and one who owed about two months. “Now which of them will love the forgiving moneylender more?”
Simon can’t help but answer, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt canceled.”
Then Jesus said the most important thing in the whole story, the thing that reveals who he really is. “Correct!” He looked at the woman. “See this woman? I came to your house yet you have not offered to me the least of common courtesies. But she has not ceased, since the moment I walked in, to show me the greatest love and devotion. Therefore I tell you, her sins which are many have been forgiven, for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little.”
In other words, “Simon, in the grand scheme of things I’m the lender, I’m the one that everyone is indebted to. I’m God. Your achievements in life and religion matter very little. Your relationship to me is all important.”
And as if to put an exclamation point on it he said to the woman something only God has the authority to say, “Your sins are forgiven. Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”
It isn’t what we’ve done or not done in life that determines our salvation. It isn’t how religious we’ve been or how irreligious. The only thing that matters is our ability to acknowledge our sin to the one who “holds the note” on it and trust him to forgive it. Then every room we enter will be filled with the aroma of our love for him.
Simon is aghast. The Pharisees were known for their righteousness, their religious purity and high moral character. They were the successful middle class evangelicals of their day. They didn’t hang out with sinful people and didn’t approve of those who did. Scenes like this were too much for such men. “If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is…” he groused within.
Jesus heard Simon’s thoughts. He knew exactly what she was, a broken woman who had experienced forgiveness and freedom through her faith. But Jesus also knew something else: exactly what kind of man Simon was, a successful man in need of humility, a man every bit as lost in his pride as the prostitute had been in her immorality. The only difference between the two was that the woman knew her sin and knew she needed a savior. Simon’s success blinded him to both things in his life.
Jesus tells Simon a story of two forgiven debtors, one who owed eighteen months wages and one who owed about two months. “Now which of them will love the forgiving moneylender more?”
Simon can’t help but answer, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt canceled.”
Then Jesus said the most important thing in the whole story, the thing that reveals who he really is. “Correct!” He looked at the woman. “See this woman? I came to your house yet you have not offered to me the least of common courtesies. But she has not ceased, since the moment I walked in, to show me the greatest love and devotion. Therefore I tell you, her sins which are many have been forgiven, for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little.”
In other words, “Simon, in the grand scheme of things I’m the lender, I’m the one that everyone is indebted to. I’m God. Your achievements in life and religion matter very little. Your relationship to me is all important.”
And as if to put an exclamation point on it he said to the woman something only God has the authority to say, “Your sins are forgiven. Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”
It isn’t what we’ve done or not done in life that determines our salvation. It isn’t how religious we’ve been or how irreligious. The only thing that matters is our ability to acknowledge our sin to the one who “holds the note” on it and trust him to forgive it. Then every room we enter will be filled with the aroma of our love for him.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
THE BIBLE, THE KORAN, AND THE KING HEARINGS
Congressman Peter King (R) New York is the chair of the Homeland Security Committee who’s recent hearings —"The Extent of Radicalization in the American Muslim Community and that Community's Response"— stirred great controversy. One of the reasons that they were controversial is that America is a pluralistic country. We accept all faiths. And most Americans would like to think that there isn’t much difference between one religion and another. But there are significant differences and the confusion over the differences is more widespread than you would think.
This came home to me forcefully one day when I was sitting in our local radio station office, explaining the differences between Christianity & Islam to the station manager and a friend. One statement that stuck with me was, “Hey, one religion is as good as another. The Bible and the Koran are essentially the same kind of book.”
The truth is very different. Christianity and Islam are entirely different religions and the Bible and the Koran are completely different books. But imagine that you are sitting in the office or shop of a friend and that topic comes up. Would you be able to say anything in reply? Would you be able to offer, in simple language that anyone could understand, what distinguishes these two books that are the basis of two of the world’s great religions?
I’d like to make one observation about authorship quickly and then spend more time on the impact of the two books because of its relevance to Mr. King’s hearings.
The Authorship is Different
The Koran was dictated by an illiterate man over the course of twenty-three years who claimed that he was hearing the voice of an angel. The Bible was written by dozens of men over more than a thousand years who claimed to be moved by the Spirit of God to write. Some were scholars, some poets, some Kings, some shepherds, some were priests, and some were prophets. Yet all had a uniform message: That God would save his people from their sins. The Bible is thus connected to thousands of years of human history. The Koran is connected to three decades in the 7th Century. Muhammad believed that he was reciting a book that already existed in heaven. It is like an assortment of instructions and advice not specifically tied to any historical event. The Bible, through all of its authors, tells one story of God’s work over time through actual historical events, most of which have been validated by research.
But most importantly for the King hearings, the impact of the two books is different.
The Impact is Different
In 2006 England arrested 24 suspects in a plot to blow up 10 U.S.-bound passenger jets with liquid explosives. In 2007 German authorities broke up a “massive” bombing plot against American interests in Germany. And of course, no one will forget the Fort Hood murderer or the would-be Times Square bomber. All of these actions were perpetrated by Muslims in the name of Islam.
Not everyone who reads the Koran ends up being a terrorist. But that’s not the issue. Why would anyone - why do so many who read it - end up believing that God authorizes terrorism and murder?
I’m a conservative, evangelical Bible teacher. That means I believe the Bible is God’s word and that it is my authority for faith and practice. It also means that I’m very careful about interpreting it. I use the historical, grammatical, critical method of interpretation. I’m looking for historical context – who was the author? When did he write? To whom was he writing? What did he actually say (vocabulary, grammar)? What did it mean then? How does that meaning apply to our cultural context?
Because of what the Bible teaches people from our church and many others participate in: Habitat for Humanity, Samaritan’s Purse, The Good Samaritan, Hurricane recovery, Crisis Pregnancy centers and countless other acts of love and service.
That’s the impact of the Bible – properly interpreted and taught - in our culture. Why does the Koran not have the same affect? I’ll let my friend Samer, a former Sunni radical and now a Christian missionary to the Islamic world, conclude.
"As Christians we must be very emphatic that Christians have and continue to do many shameful things in the name of Christ, BUT the issue is this: Christians who use violence in the name of God to destroy their enemies have no justification for their actions from Jesus Christ, his life and teachings as found in the New Testament. Whereas, Muslims who are engaged in violence and destruction of anyone who opposes Islam, have ample justification for their actions from the Qur'an (using the same Historical /Grammatical /Critical approach to interpretation that I would use were I interpreting the Koran D.S.) and the life and sayings of prophet Muhammad…it is beyond doubt that the prophet of Islam did encourage the killing and intimidation of his enemies, not just in self defense as it is commonly reported by Muslims, but in the promotion of the cause of God and the spread of Islam. Needless to say, the actions of the prophet were in direct contradiction to the teachings and actions of Jesus Christ and his disciples. So the point is not that Christians have never resorted to violence and other horrible atrocities. They have indeed committed many horrible acts, but when they have done this, they have betrayed the very person that they claim to follow. But when Muslims commit such acts, they can in fact claim that they are following the example of their prophet and thus fulfilling the will of God and promoting His cause. That, certainly, is a big difference!"
So hurray for Mr. King, I’m glad that he had the courage to investigate. I hope the rest of us will be as thorough in our thinking about Christianity and Islam.
This came home to me forcefully one day when I was sitting in our local radio station office, explaining the differences between Christianity & Islam to the station manager and a friend. One statement that stuck with me was, “Hey, one religion is as good as another. The Bible and the Koran are essentially the same kind of book.”
The truth is very different. Christianity and Islam are entirely different religions and the Bible and the Koran are completely different books. But imagine that you are sitting in the office or shop of a friend and that topic comes up. Would you be able to say anything in reply? Would you be able to offer, in simple language that anyone could understand, what distinguishes these two books that are the basis of two of the world’s great religions?
I’d like to make one observation about authorship quickly and then spend more time on the impact of the two books because of its relevance to Mr. King’s hearings.
The Authorship is Different
The Koran was dictated by an illiterate man over the course of twenty-three years who claimed that he was hearing the voice of an angel. The Bible was written by dozens of men over more than a thousand years who claimed to be moved by the Spirit of God to write. Some were scholars, some poets, some Kings, some shepherds, some were priests, and some were prophets. Yet all had a uniform message: That God would save his people from their sins. The Bible is thus connected to thousands of years of human history. The Koran is connected to three decades in the 7th Century. Muhammad believed that he was reciting a book that already existed in heaven. It is like an assortment of instructions and advice not specifically tied to any historical event. The Bible, through all of its authors, tells one story of God’s work over time through actual historical events, most of which have been validated by research.
But most importantly for the King hearings, the impact of the two books is different.
The Impact is Different
In 2006 England arrested 24 suspects in a plot to blow up 10 U.S.-bound passenger jets with liquid explosives. In 2007 German authorities broke up a “massive” bombing plot against American interests in Germany. And of course, no one will forget the Fort Hood murderer or the would-be Times Square bomber. All of these actions were perpetrated by Muslims in the name of Islam.
Not everyone who reads the Koran ends up being a terrorist. But that’s not the issue. Why would anyone - why do so many who read it - end up believing that God authorizes terrorism and murder?
I’m a conservative, evangelical Bible teacher. That means I believe the Bible is God’s word and that it is my authority for faith and practice. It also means that I’m very careful about interpreting it. I use the historical, grammatical, critical method of interpretation. I’m looking for historical context – who was the author? When did he write? To whom was he writing? What did he actually say (vocabulary, grammar)? What did it mean then? How does that meaning apply to our cultural context?
Because of what the Bible teaches people from our church and many others participate in: Habitat for Humanity, Samaritan’s Purse, The Good Samaritan, Hurricane recovery, Crisis Pregnancy centers and countless other acts of love and service.
That’s the impact of the Bible – properly interpreted and taught - in our culture. Why does the Koran not have the same affect? I’ll let my friend Samer, a former Sunni radical and now a Christian missionary to the Islamic world, conclude.
"As Christians we must be very emphatic that Christians have and continue to do many shameful things in the name of Christ, BUT the issue is this: Christians who use violence in the name of God to destroy their enemies have no justification for their actions from Jesus Christ, his life and teachings as found in the New Testament. Whereas, Muslims who are engaged in violence and destruction of anyone who opposes Islam, have ample justification for their actions from the Qur'an (using the same Historical /Grammatical /Critical approach to interpretation that I would use were I interpreting the Koran D.S.) and the life and sayings of prophet Muhammad…it is beyond doubt that the prophet of Islam did encourage the killing and intimidation of his enemies, not just in self defense as it is commonly reported by Muslims, but in the promotion of the cause of God and the spread of Islam. Needless to say, the actions of the prophet were in direct contradiction to the teachings and actions of Jesus Christ and his disciples. So the point is not that Christians have never resorted to violence and other horrible atrocities. They have indeed committed many horrible acts, but when they have done this, they have betrayed the very person that they claim to follow. But when Muslims commit such acts, they can in fact claim that they are following the example of their prophet and thus fulfilling the will of God and promoting His cause. That, certainly, is a big difference!"
So hurray for Mr. King, I’m glad that he had the courage to investigate. I hope the rest of us will be as thorough in our thinking about Christianity and Islam.
Monday, March 14, 2011
Where Is God When Disaster Strikes?
Recent stories in the news bring to light how unexpectedly, how quickly disaster can strike. I listened with sadness last week as the morning news reported the beating death of a 28-year-old pastor in Texas and worse, the loss of seven children from one family in a house fire in Pennsylvania. Then Friday I watched in horror as the tsunami swept over northern Japan, carrying all away before it. As Phillip Yancey poignantly asked: Where is God when it Hurts? (That book is worth your while by the way).
The Bible is clear about the ultimate source of suffering – (See Genesis 3:17-19; and Romans 8:18, 22-25). Briefly, it teaches that we live in cursed bodies, with cursed psyches (souls) and cursed spirits, on a cursed planet under a cursed system in a cursed time. Men will commit crimes against one another. Accidents will burn houses down. Even the earth will oppose us and challenge us at every turn until we return to dust.
The Bible is clear about all of that. We should therefore adjust our expectations accordingly. We may not like the answer. But the question is not whether we like it. Rather, does it make sense of reality, as we know it? I believe that it does.
But all of that is abstract. Suffering is very personal stuff. I want to spend the rest of this article being personal.
God’s ultimate answer to suffering is the Cross of Christ.
Nine years ago last month I accompanied my friend Phil Ramsey to the spot where his 18-year-old son Joseph had just died in a totally inexplicable car wreck. My heart wrenched as I watched my friend implode in grief. I spent the next three months so angry with God that I could not speak to him except on a professional basis. How could he let that happen?! Two years later I buried one of my best friends, Steve Kotter, victim of a car hitting his bicycle. Two years after that I answered the phone late one night to the wails of a grieving friend. I then buried her twenty-year old son, a drowning victim. Last August I buried my brother, dead of a sudden heart attack. There was no explanation for any of these losses that made any sense to me. I grieved to the bottom of my soul, just as you do in your losses.
What is God’s answer to that? Where is God when that kind of stuff happens to us? Philosophers offer two basic answers: Either there is no all powerful all loving God. Or there is an all powerful God but he just doesn’t care.
But the Bible offers a third alternative. We can hear it in one of the most important, yet overlooked things Jesus ever said, one of the last things he said before he died. Theologians call it “the cry of dereliction,” something Jesus wailed aloud from the cross: “My God! My God! Why have you forsaken me!?” (Matthew 27:46).
This is God’s answer to our suffering. He is not ‘up there’, distant, aloof, impassive while we suffer. He is ‘down here’ suffering with us. He has taken every single pain, every ounce of tragedy, every shred of injustice, each moment of mindless terror, ‘rolled it into a ball and eaten it, tasted it, fully digested it, eternally.’ (Peter Kreeft, quoted in ‘The Case for Faith’ by Lee Strobel, pg. 63). God is in Christ, suffering with and reconciling the world to him self. (2 Corinthians 5:18-19).
Where is God when we suffer? Suffering with us.
The Cross is the most stunning proof that God cares about our pain. It is the universal image of Christianity. The problem is that we are so familiar with it that we forget how violent, how brutal it was. But the Cross is one of the vilest tormenting and barbaric forms of cruelty and death the world has ever known. Our word ‘excruciating’ comes from the Latin for crucifixion. Yet we wear it around the neck like a trophy. Mel Gibson’s ‘The Passion’ met with much criticism because it portrayed the Cross in all its X-Rated gore. “Modern day executions are quick and sterile things. This one stretched on for hours in front of a jeering crowd.” (Yancey, Phillip. ‘Where is God When it Hurts?’ p. 231) In his death Jesus, God in the flesh, fully identified with our suffering. He didn’t have to do that. He chose it. He chose full identification with suffering humanity.
When tragedy strikes the promises of God often seem empty. Words on a page, or even from a friend, can’t fill the breach in our souls. Surely the words of Jesus to his friends must have seemed like empty promises as he hung there and died. They hung back in the crowd and slowly dispersed. It was after all, an empty hope they had clung to.
But that was Friday. Easter Sunday was yet to come. When it did come, the world, suffering, life and death itself was turned on its head. The Cross tells us that God fully identifies with all the suffering of the world. The resurrection tells us that one day he will turn it on its head.
This has had a profound effect on me. It reawakened within me a truth I once knew, a knowledge I once held dear. God, my God, my heavenly father, is not holding me at arm’s length. He is not a careless cosmic thug. He is embracing me. He is beside me holding me up. He is weeping with me. He knows the emptiness of my grief the hollowness of my soul. He knows these things and shares these things with the whole world of suffering. On the cross he absorbed it and through us he absorbs it still.
This knowledge restored my hope in God. It did something else too. It renewed my understanding of the uniqueness of Christianity. If you take the Cross out of the center of Christianity you remove that which makes it peerless among religions. It becomes just another system of morals and principles. But if you embrace the Cross you find a God there who is unlike any other, a God who will go to unimaginable lengths to commune with his creatures. He will commune with us to the death on Friday so that we can conquer death with him on Sunday.
The Bible is clear about the ultimate source of suffering – (See Genesis 3:17-19; and Romans 8:18, 22-25). Briefly, it teaches that we live in cursed bodies, with cursed psyches (souls) and cursed spirits, on a cursed planet under a cursed system in a cursed time. Men will commit crimes against one another. Accidents will burn houses down. Even the earth will oppose us and challenge us at every turn until we return to dust.
The Bible is clear about all of that. We should therefore adjust our expectations accordingly. We may not like the answer. But the question is not whether we like it. Rather, does it make sense of reality, as we know it? I believe that it does.
But all of that is abstract. Suffering is very personal stuff. I want to spend the rest of this article being personal.
God’s ultimate answer to suffering is the Cross of Christ.
Nine years ago last month I accompanied my friend Phil Ramsey to the spot where his 18-year-old son Joseph had just died in a totally inexplicable car wreck. My heart wrenched as I watched my friend implode in grief. I spent the next three months so angry with God that I could not speak to him except on a professional basis. How could he let that happen?! Two years later I buried one of my best friends, Steve Kotter, victim of a car hitting his bicycle. Two years after that I answered the phone late one night to the wails of a grieving friend. I then buried her twenty-year old son, a drowning victim. Last August I buried my brother, dead of a sudden heart attack. There was no explanation for any of these losses that made any sense to me. I grieved to the bottom of my soul, just as you do in your losses.
What is God’s answer to that? Where is God when that kind of stuff happens to us? Philosophers offer two basic answers: Either there is no all powerful all loving God. Or there is an all powerful God but he just doesn’t care.
But the Bible offers a third alternative. We can hear it in one of the most important, yet overlooked things Jesus ever said, one of the last things he said before he died. Theologians call it “the cry of dereliction,” something Jesus wailed aloud from the cross: “My God! My God! Why have you forsaken me!?” (Matthew 27:46).
This is God’s answer to our suffering. He is not ‘up there’, distant, aloof, impassive while we suffer. He is ‘down here’ suffering with us. He has taken every single pain, every ounce of tragedy, every shred of injustice, each moment of mindless terror, ‘rolled it into a ball and eaten it, tasted it, fully digested it, eternally.’ (Peter Kreeft, quoted in ‘The Case for Faith’ by Lee Strobel, pg. 63). God is in Christ, suffering with and reconciling the world to him self. (2 Corinthians 5:18-19).
Where is God when we suffer? Suffering with us.
The Cross is the most stunning proof that God cares about our pain. It is the universal image of Christianity. The problem is that we are so familiar with it that we forget how violent, how brutal it was. But the Cross is one of the vilest tormenting and barbaric forms of cruelty and death the world has ever known. Our word ‘excruciating’ comes from the Latin for crucifixion. Yet we wear it around the neck like a trophy. Mel Gibson’s ‘The Passion’ met with much criticism because it portrayed the Cross in all its X-Rated gore. “Modern day executions are quick and sterile things. This one stretched on for hours in front of a jeering crowd.” (Yancey, Phillip. ‘Where is God When it Hurts?’ p. 231) In his death Jesus, God in the flesh, fully identified with our suffering. He didn’t have to do that. He chose it. He chose full identification with suffering humanity.
When tragedy strikes the promises of God often seem empty. Words on a page, or even from a friend, can’t fill the breach in our souls. Surely the words of Jesus to his friends must have seemed like empty promises as he hung there and died. They hung back in the crowd and slowly dispersed. It was after all, an empty hope they had clung to.
But that was Friday. Easter Sunday was yet to come. When it did come, the world, suffering, life and death itself was turned on its head. The Cross tells us that God fully identifies with all the suffering of the world. The resurrection tells us that one day he will turn it on its head.
This has had a profound effect on me. It reawakened within me a truth I once knew, a knowledge I once held dear. God, my God, my heavenly father, is not holding me at arm’s length. He is not a careless cosmic thug. He is embracing me. He is beside me holding me up. He is weeping with me. He knows the emptiness of my grief the hollowness of my soul. He knows these things and shares these things with the whole world of suffering. On the cross he absorbed it and through us he absorbs it still.
This knowledge restored my hope in God. It did something else too. It renewed my understanding of the uniqueness of Christianity. If you take the Cross out of the center of Christianity you remove that which makes it peerless among religions. It becomes just another system of morals and principles. But if you embrace the Cross you find a God there who is unlike any other, a God who will go to unimaginable lengths to commune with his creatures. He will commune with us to the death on Friday so that we can conquer death with him on Sunday.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
THE DO’S AND DON’TS OF LOVE part 2
We all want love. The problem is that some of us don’t realize the things we’re doing that quench it. As the DC Talk song says, “We all wanna be loved.” But some of us don’t know how.
The Apostle Paul articulated the do’s and don’ts of love in 1 Corinthians 13:1-8. Last week I wrote on the “do’s.” In this post we’ll look at the “don’ts.”
1 Cor 13:4-5: Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. (NIV)
You would think that the opposite of love would be hate. But you would be mistaken. The opposite of love, the thing that undermines and weakens and ultimately destroys it is not hate, it is self-centeredness. Self-centeredness is the destroyer of loving relationships. The “don’ts” of love are self-centered attitudes and behaviors, things guaranteed to destroy love. Here they are.
LOVE IS NOT JEALOUS Vs.4 –Love feels no loss at another’s gain. Love does not see the world as a zero sum game the way I see pecan pie in the fridge. Something comes over me. It is MY PIE. I know that for my kids to get more means that I get less. Instead, love rejoices in the goodness of God to a brother or sister. Love knows God’s goodness is limitless. Love doesn’t compare. It doesn’t measure itself against others. Love shares the pie without the envy.
LOVE IS NOT ARROGANT - “Does not boast, is not proud.” – “Boast” means ‘Trash talk’. Think WWF or the kind of stuff that goes on before a NFL championship game. Love doesn’t blow its own horn. It doesn’t need to.
The self-centered person is arrogant because she believes one of two things.
Number one: She really believes that she is better than everyone else. A young woman went to her pastor and said, "Pastor, I have a besetting sin, and I want your help. I come to church on Sunday and can't help thinking I'm the prettiest girl in the congregation. I know I ought not think that, but I can't help it. I want you to help me with it."
The pastor replied, "Mary, don't worry about it. In your case it's not a sin. It's just a horrible mistake."
Number two: The self-centered person is arrogant because he believes he’s less than everyone else. More often than not arrogance is as much a sign of insecurity as it is over-confidence. The blow fish only puffs itself up when it’s in danger – when it feels insecure – and wants to scare off intruders. Rude, selfish and hot-tempered people are usually very insecure. They just don’t want you to know and sometimes can’t even see it themselves.
See those next three words in vs. 5? Rude means literally ‘bad form’, intentionally discourteous. Self-seeking is literally ‘grasping’, trying to be first in everyone’s eyes. Easily angered is ‘hot-tempered’, short-fused, no patience. All these are the elements of arrogance.
These are pretty good diagnostic tools for your relationships. In other words, if you find yourself being rude, grasping and hot-tempered it’s probably a mistake to tell yourself, “well I need to practice courtesy and generosity and patience.” It’s better to think of these as symptoms of self-centeredness and start looking for the source of it.
LOVE IS NOT RESENTFUL - Keeps no record of wrongs.
The self-centered person keeps a record because the scales must always be balanced in his favor. It is really idolatry. It ignores the Cross of Christ (forgive and you will be forgiven. Matt. 6:14-15). The resentful man believes that it is his job to bring about justice. He takes God out of the picture. He is unconscious of the mercy he has received therefore he cannot extend it to anyone else.
Resentment does to relationships what battery acid does to blue jeans. I took a battery out of a car and carried it to the garage. It touched my jeans in a few places. In just a few weeks the jeans had holes every where the battery touched. You can’t see resentment. You didn’t notice when the battery touched the blue jeans of your marriage. But it eats away at the fabric of a friendship until one day it can no longer hold the weight of everyday wear and tear. The relationship falls apart.
If you feel resentful, if you’ve been hurt, take your grievances to the Cross first. Contemplate the justice that was done there for your sins. Live free of resentment.
LOVE DOESN’T DELIGHT IN EVIL – literally ‘takes no joy in what is against or contrary to righteousness.’
Apologist, author, and speaker Josh McDowell writes:
Tolerance says, "You must approve of what I do." Love responds, "I must do something harder: I will love you, even when your behavior offends me."
Tolerance says, "You must agree with me." Love responds, "I must do something harder: I will tell you the truth, because I am convinced 'the truth will set you free.'"
Tolerance says, "You must allow me to have my way." Love responds, "I must do something harder: I will plead with you to follow the right way, because I believe you are worth the risk."
Tolerance seeks to be inoffensive; love takes risks. Tolerance glorifies division; love seeks unity. Tolerance costs nothing; love costs everything.
The love that we are to have for others is not empty headed, devoid of truth and blind. It is not tolerance of anything in the name of love. It is boundless in its understanding but not clueless in its compassion. It knows the difference between loving a sinner and hating what sin does. It is a love that honors goodness and seeks what is best for the beloved.
That’s a love that refuses to rejoice in evil.
Relationships are like gardens. You reap what you sow. Sow unselfishness, sow truth, sow humility, and you will sow love.
The Apostle Paul articulated the do’s and don’ts of love in 1 Corinthians 13:1-8. Last week I wrote on the “do’s.” In this post we’ll look at the “don’ts.”
1 Cor 13:4-5: Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. (NIV)
You would think that the opposite of love would be hate. But you would be mistaken. The opposite of love, the thing that undermines and weakens and ultimately destroys it is not hate, it is self-centeredness. Self-centeredness is the destroyer of loving relationships. The “don’ts” of love are self-centered attitudes and behaviors, things guaranteed to destroy love. Here they are.
LOVE IS NOT JEALOUS Vs.4 –Love feels no loss at another’s gain. Love does not see the world as a zero sum game the way I see pecan pie in the fridge. Something comes over me. It is MY PIE. I know that for my kids to get more means that I get less. Instead, love rejoices in the goodness of God to a brother or sister. Love knows God’s goodness is limitless. Love doesn’t compare. It doesn’t measure itself against others. Love shares the pie without the envy.
LOVE IS NOT ARROGANT - “Does not boast, is not proud.” – “Boast” means ‘Trash talk’. Think WWF or the kind of stuff that goes on before a NFL championship game. Love doesn’t blow its own horn. It doesn’t need to.
The self-centered person is arrogant because she believes one of two things.
Number one: She really believes that she is better than everyone else. A young woman went to her pastor and said, "Pastor, I have a besetting sin, and I want your help. I come to church on Sunday and can't help thinking I'm the prettiest girl in the congregation. I know I ought not think that, but I can't help it. I want you to help me with it."
The pastor replied, "Mary, don't worry about it. In your case it's not a sin. It's just a horrible mistake."
Number two: The self-centered person is arrogant because he believes he’s less than everyone else. More often than not arrogance is as much a sign of insecurity as it is over-confidence. The blow fish only puffs itself up when it’s in danger – when it feels insecure – and wants to scare off intruders. Rude, selfish and hot-tempered people are usually very insecure. They just don’t want you to know and sometimes can’t even see it themselves.
See those next three words in vs. 5? Rude means literally ‘bad form’, intentionally discourteous. Self-seeking is literally ‘grasping’, trying to be first in everyone’s eyes. Easily angered is ‘hot-tempered’, short-fused, no patience. All these are the elements of arrogance.
These are pretty good diagnostic tools for your relationships. In other words, if you find yourself being rude, grasping and hot-tempered it’s probably a mistake to tell yourself, “well I need to practice courtesy and generosity and patience.” It’s better to think of these as symptoms of self-centeredness and start looking for the source of it.
LOVE IS NOT RESENTFUL - Keeps no record of wrongs.
The self-centered person keeps a record because the scales must always be balanced in his favor. It is really idolatry. It ignores the Cross of Christ (forgive and you will be forgiven. Matt. 6:14-15). The resentful man believes that it is his job to bring about justice. He takes God out of the picture. He is unconscious of the mercy he has received therefore he cannot extend it to anyone else.
Resentment does to relationships what battery acid does to blue jeans. I took a battery out of a car and carried it to the garage. It touched my jeans in a few places. In just a few weeks the jeans had holes every where the battery touched. You can’t see resentment. You didn’t notice when the battery touched the blue jeans of your marriage. But it eats away at the fabric of a friendship until one day it can no longer hold the weight of everyday wear and tear. The relationship falls apart.
If you feel resentful, if you’ve been hurt, take your grievances to the Cross first. Contemplate the justice that was done there for your sins. Live free of resentment.
LOVE DOESN’T DELIGHT IN EVIL – literally ‘takes no joy in what is against or contrary to righteousness.’
Apologist, author, and speaker Josh McDowell writes:
Tolerance says, "You must approve of what I do." Love responds, "I must do something harder: I will love you, even when your behavior offends me."
Tolerance says, "You must agree with me." Love responds, "I must do something harder: I will tell you the truth, because I am convinced 'the truth will set you free.'"
Tolerance says, "You must allow me to have my way." Love responds, "I must do something harder: I will plead with you to follow the right way, because I believe you are worth the risk."
Tolerance seeks to be inoffensive; love takes risks. Tolerance glorifies division; love seeks unity. Tolerance costs nothing; love costs everything.
The love that we are to have for others is not empty headed, devoid of truth and blind. It is not tolerance of anything in the name of love. It is boundless in its understanding but not clueless in its compassion. It knows the difference between loving a sinner and hating what sin does. It is a love that honors goodness and seeks what is best for the beloved.
That’s a love that refuses to rejoice in evil.
Relationships are like gardens. You reap what you sow. Sow unselfishness, sow truth, sow humility, and you will sow love.
THE DO’S AND DON’TS OF LOVE
Did you know that lonely people live shorter lives than people with healthy relationships? Scientists have learned that people with poor relationship skills are more likely to develop disease, less likely to achieve financial success and much more likely to be fired from their jobs. One study showed that even in technology fields, 15% of financial success is related to technical ability. 85% is determined by people skills. Building healthy relationships is one of the most important things we do in life.
The best way to build healthy relationships is to practice the do’s and don’ts of love found in 1 Corinthians 13.
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails… (1 Cor 13:4-8a NIV)
First Corinthians 13 is showing us how to “Do Love.” In this post we'll look at the "do's" of love. In the next we'll examine the "don'ts."
LOVE IS PATIENT – Patience means long suffering. The Greek word translated “patient” here is Macro-Thumos meaning long tempered as opposed to short- fused. Patience is the acquired ability to suffer physical or emotional pain without complaining or striking back.
When you’re sick you’re “patient”:
• With your body while you feel bad.
• With the doctor when his treatments feel worse.
• With the insurance company, when they tell you how much they aren’t going to pay.
Patience comes when I recognize that I am not in control. I cannot guarantee the outcome by effort or will power. I may have an influence, but I do not have the ability to force a result. Patience is bearing with the painful things you can’t change.
The second “DO” in the “do’s and don’ts is:
LOVE IS KIND – The great theologian and sometime country singer Clint Black said this:
Love is certain love is kind
Love is yours and love is mine
But it isn’t something that we find
It’s something that we do
We often think of love and kindness as feelings of compassion and tenderness. But love is more than feelings. Love, according to the Bible, is kind and kindness is something that we do. One of the best definitions of kindness is: Make one self useful.
The third ‘Do’ in the ‘Do’s and Don’ts’ of Love is:
DELIGHTS IN TRUTH - TRUTH is “the reality lying at the basis of an appearance; the manifested, veritable essence of a matter."
Truth is what is real as opposed to what is not real. It’s the genuine article as opposed to the fake. It’s sincerity as opposed to hypocrisy. It’s honesty as opposed to deceit.
We often become pretenders in our relationships because we fear what transparency might do. But delighting in the truth is taking the risk to share the real you.
Love is not something that we feel. It is some things that we do. It’s patience. It’s kindness, it’s taking a risk and sharing the real you. It’s’ the best Valentine gift that you can give any day of the week and any month of the year.
The best way to build healthy relationships is to practice the do’s and don’ts of love found in 1 Corinthians 13.
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails… (1 Cor 13:4-8a NIV)
First Corinthians 13 is showing us how to “Do Love.” In this post we'll look at the "do's" of love. In the next we'll examine the "don'ts."
LOVE IS PATIENT – Patience means long suffering. The Greek word translated “patient” here is Macro-Thumos meaning long tempered as opposed to short- fused. Patience is the acquired ability to suffer physical or emotional pain without complaining or striking back.
When you’re sick you’re “patient”:
• With your body while you feel bad.
• With the doctor when his treatments feel worse.
• With the insurance company, when they tell you how much they aren’t going to pay.
Patience comes when I recognize that I am not in control. I cannot guarantee the outcome by effort or will power. I may have an influence, but I do not have the ability to force a result. Patience is bearing with the painful things you can’t change.
The second “DO” in the “do’s and don’ts is:
LOVE IS KIND – The great theologian and sometime country singer Clint Black said this:
Love is certain love is kind
Love is yours and love is mine
But it isn’t something that we find
It’s something that we do
We often think of love and kindness as feelings of compassion and tenderness. But love is more than feelings. Love, according to the Bible, is kind and kindness is something that we do. One of the best definitions of kindness is: Make one self useful.
The third ‘Do’ in the ‘Do’s and Don’ts’ of Love is:
DELIGHTS IN TRUTH - TRUTH is “the reality lying at the basis of an appearance; the manifested, veritable essence of a matter."
Truth is what is real as opposed to what is not real. It’s the genuine article as opposed to the fake. It’s sincerity as opposed to hypocrisy. It’s honesty as opposed to deceit.
We often become pretenders in our relationships because we fear what transparency might do. But delighting in the truth is taking the risk to share the real you.
Love is not something that we feel. It is some things that we do. It’s patience. It’s kindness, it’s taking a risk and sharing the real you. It’s’ the best Valentine gift that you can give any day of the week and any month of the year.
What is Your Perception of God?
Think of some of your favorite people, the people you most want to be with, the people you will go out of your way to meet, rearrange your schedule to spend time with. What is it about them that make them so desirable to you? I’ll bet that they share some of these characteristics.
1. He makes you feel welcome. He’s the kind of friend that waits out in the driveway for you to arrive and greets you with a handshake or a hug.
2. He makes you feel intelligent. He’s the guy that appreciates your take on the situation. He makes you feel like what you have to say is worth hearing.
3. He’s powerful. He is self sustaining. He isn’t needy, she isn’t clingy.
4. He’s good company. He understands you. He has those two qualities so necessary to a real friend: He takes your concerns seriously but he knows when not to take you too seriously. He knows the difference between the real you and the cartoon you – taking the first one soberly and the second like Bugs Bunny doing the Barber of Seville.
How many of us would have a problem with prayer if we felt as comfortable and attracted to God as we do to our best friends? There is certainly much more to a relationship with God than that, more than what we would ever have with a good friend. But it’s never less than that. And we lose out - we miss all that is there for us in prayer because we are convinced that it is less, that God is more to be feared than to be loved.
Jesus went a long way to dispel that rumor, to show it up for a lie. He did it by teaching us about God as Father. Look at the emphasis he puts on understanding God as our Father.
Matt 6:6-9 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. 9 "This, then, is how you should pray: "'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,…(NIV)
Matt 6:14 For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.(NIV)
Matt 6:17-18 But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. (NIV)
Seven times in seven sentences, four short paragraphs, Jesus repeats this phrase “your Father”. Do you think he’s trying to tell us something?
"If you want to judge how well a person understands Christianity, find out how much he makes of the thought of being God's child, and having God as his Father. If this is not the thought that prompts and controls his worship and prayers and his whole outlook on life, it means that he does not understand Christianity very well at all." J. I. Packer
It is the special privilege of believers in Jesus Christ to address God, to know God, as Father. As a king’s son has access to the throne that is unknown by others so Jesus makes it clear that we have an open door to the presence of God and a right to familiarity with him that is unknown to people outside of the kingdom. So spend some time today in prayer. Your Father in heaven is waiting to hear from you.
1. He makes you feel welcome. He’s the kind of friend that waits out in the driveway for you to arrive and greets you with a handshake or a hug.
2. He makes you feel intelligent. He’s the guy that appreciates your take on the situation. He makes you feel like what you have to say is worth hearing.
3. He’s powerful. He is self sustaining. He isn’t needy, she isn’t clingy.
4. He’s good company. He understands you. He has those two qualities so necessary to a real friend: He takes your concerns seriously but he knows when not to take you too seriously. He knows the difference between the real you and the cartoon you – taking the first one soberly and the second like Bugs Bunny doing the Barber of Seville.
How many of us would have a problem with prayer if we felt as comfortable and attracted to God as we do to our best friends? There is certainly much more to a relationship with God than that, more than what we would ever have with a good friend. But it’s never less than that. And we lose out - we miss all that is there for us in prayer because we are convinced that it is less, that God is more to be feared than to be loved.
Jesus went a long way to dispel that rumor, to show it up for a lie. He did it by teaching us about God as Father. Look at the emphasis he puts on understanding God as our Father.
Matt 6:6-9 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. 9 "This, then, is how you should pray: "'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,…(NIV)
Matt 6:14 For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.(NIV)
Matt 6:17-18 But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. (NIV)
Seven times in seven sentences, four short paragraphs, Jesus repeats this phrase “your Father”. Do you think he’s trying to tell us something?
"If you want to judge how well a person understands Christianity, find out how much he makes of the thought of being God's child, and having God as his Father. If this is not the thought that prompts and controls his worship and prayers and his whole outlook on life, it means that he does not understand Christianity very well at all." J. I. Packer
It is the special privilege of believers in Jesus Christ to address God, to know God, as Father. As a king’s son has access to the throne that is unknown by others so Jesus makes it clear that we have an open door to the presence of God and a right to familiarity with him that is unknown to people outside of the kingdom. So spend some time today in prayer. Your Father in heaven is waiting to hear from you.
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