In our gathering this week, we continued our study of the Apostles’ Creed.
Worth Advisor
A while back, I saw a sign at a local bank advertising the services of a “Worth Advisor.” I had never seen the position of worth advisor advertised before, so I began to think about what that might involve. I came to the conclusion that the only thing a worth advisor could help me with would be my finances. Now I know that is the job of a worth advisor. I may be crazy but I’m not dumb. Folks do need help with planning for the future and so on. The only thing I would say is that a person’s worth is not in the amount of money or possessions that they have.
What is a person’s worth? Considering that we are created in the image of God, I would say that the worth of an indivdual human being is inestimable. Psalm 139 tells us that we are fearfully and wonderfully made. Think of the beauty and majesty of this world and the compexity of all that is in it. Then, think that the Creator not only made human beings complex and beautiful, but that he made them in his image. You can debate all you want about what the image of God is. but the fact is; we are a special creation. When God created man, he pronounced that this was very good.
Now, that image has been broken and marred by sin. But it is still there. When we look at another person, we are looking at someone who is a special creation of God, who is of great worth. If we truly believed that, how would we treat others? We cannot say we believe that people are God’s image bearers, and turn around and say, by our actions, that it doesn’t apply to someone from a different country or different ethnic group. When we mistreat a person becasue of the color of their skin, or their citizenship status, or their country of origin, we are attacking the image of God and are turning our words into a lie.
When we look in a mirror, we are looking at someone who is fearfully and wonderfully made. With all our physical, emotional, and spiritual flaws, we are still individuals who bear the image of the Creator. Our worth is not in how we look, how high we have climbed, or in how much money we have. It is not in position or fame. Our true worth is simply in who we are as God’s creation. Think about it. You are worth more than all the wealth of this world. You are the part of creation that God pronounced very good. Yes, that image is broken because of sin, but Jesus died on the cross for you to restore that image and reconcile you with God.
Scripture tells us to not think of ourselves too highly. That is a result of the Fall. When we truly realize whose image we bear, we give glory to the Creator for what he has done. We have the ability to look at ourselves with clear eyes. We recognize that we are not perfect, but that we are being remade into something that will fully reflect God;s glory. When we truly realize whose image is borne by others, we give God glory for his wonderful work, and we are led to treat others with dignity. We realize that they are flawed, as we are, but we see the potential in them.
Look in the mirror. See yourself as in God’s image. See your worth. If you want to go to a financial advisor for advice on money, feel free. Just remember that those things are not where your true worth lies. Try to see others as people of great worth, as indivuals created in God’s image. I am convinced that if we did that, a lot of our problems would be solved.
Apostles’ Creed: Crucified, dead and buried
What does it mean that Jesus was crucified, dead, and buried? We talked about that this morning.
1 Corinthians 13 for the Election
I first posted this in 2008, and unfortunately it is relevant just as much this year. We who call ourselves Christians don’t seem to have learned the lessons of the past.
If I speak with a silver tongue and can sway hundreds, but have not love,
I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.
If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all polls,
and if I have a faith that can move political mountains, but have not love,
I am nothing.
If I give all I possess to the national committee
and surrender my time to run a phone bank, but have not love,
I gain nothing.
Love is patient with those of the other party.
It is not jealous of opponent’s fund raising,
it does not boast of its candidate, it is not proud.
It does not rudely argue political points, it is not self-seeking,
it is not easily angered when others disagree, it keeps no record of wrongs.
Love does not delight in negative campaigns
but rejoices in the truth.
It always protects the reputation of Christ, always trusts God is in control,
always hopes for the best, always perseveres in living as a disciple of Jesus.
Love never fails. But where there are campaign promises,
they will be broken;
where there are silver tongued orators,
they will be stilled;
where there is knowledge of how to govern,
it will pass away.
For we have partial knowledge and we govern with that knowledge,
but when the True King comes, imperfect government will disappear.
When I was a partisan, I talked like a partisan,
I thought like a partisan,I reasoned like a partisan.
When I recognized who the True King is,
I put partisan ways behind me.
Now we see but a poor reflection;
then we shall see face to face.
Now I know in part;
then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
And now these three remain:
faith, hope and love.
But the greatest of these is love.
Blast From the Past: Another Political Post (Sort Of)
This post first was published in 2009. It has been edited somewhat to bring it more up to date.
here’s a lot of words flying around the airwaves, the internet, and in public. Some of them are good words, some of them are not good. Some of the good words are spoken by Christians and, unfortunately, some of the not good words are spoken by Christians.
I’m not going to get into the debate over all the ideas and policies that are being argued over. I do have my ideas, but this is not the forum for that. I have friends and relatives on both sides of the debate, and my relationship with them is far more important than which side is right.
What I do feel strongly about is the way folks who claim to follow the King of Kings have forgotten that we are citizens of a kingdom that is not of this world, a kingdom that has an agenda that is far different than that of any kingdom of this world, including this one. Christians on the right and on the left have invested far too much emotion in ensuring that their side is in power and their agenda is pushed. There is nothing wrong with folks supporting and working for whatever party fits their political views, but when that causes them to call opponents names, to angrily shout down those on the other side, or to even bring into question their spiritual life, then there is something wrong.
We are Christians before we are Republicans or Democrats. We are God’s children before we are conservative or liberal. We are citizens of Christ’s kingdom before we are citizens of any country on this earth. We are part of the same Body. To paraphrase the Apostle Paul, would the eye scream at the foot across a barricade? Would the ear call the elbow a racial slur? Would the nose tell the knee that it’s not part of the body? This little toe has a hard time hearing parts of the Body belittle and disparage other parts because of their view of what this part of the kingdoms of this world should look like. Didn’t Jesus say that the world would know that we are his because of our love for one another?
I believe that whatever happens in the coming years should ultimately make little difference in how followers of Jesus conduct their lives as citizens of heaven. We are called to spread the Gospel and make disciples who will follow King Jesus and in turn make more disciples. Christians through the centuries have done that regardless of the government in power, whether the Roman Empire, the Soviet Union, China, or an Islamic dictatorship. If they can do that, surely we can do what we are called to do whether a liberal Democrat or a conservative Republican is in charge.
Follow your political persuasions. Be passionate about your ideas. Just remember that your first allegiance is to the One who told Pilate that his kingdom is not of this world. The agenda of the kingdom of God is not the agenda of earthly governments.
Forty Years and Counting
It was a different time. The nation had experienced some healing from Vietnam and Watergate. The economy was not in very good shape. Iran held Americans hostage. The Reagan Revolution was just a soon to be realized dream for the Republican Party. The Miracle on Ice was a recent memory and the Summer Olympics would take place without the United States, as well as a number of other countries.
We were different as well. We both were much younger and both of us had more hair. Jan’s hair is simply shorter, while mine is simply gone and my beard is now white. We were both teachers then, and while Jan has kept her hand in, I have bounced around among a variety of jobs.
During these last forty years, we have lived in a number of different homes in three cities. We began life as a couple in the Washington, DC area, spent some time in the Cincinnati area, where our family grew from two to four. For the last twenty five years we have called the small city of Rock Hill home. Our son and daughter grew up here, and left the nest to pursue their own path. In the ensuing years, we buried our parents, moved on to new jobs, and found a community of faith that has become a family.
Through the years, much has changed. We have been on the heights, and we have been through the valleys. This journey together has not always been an easy one, and the road has always been winding. There have been times of plenty, and times when we struggled financially. We have never been “wealthy” in the usual sense, but God has always provided. We have argued and been angry with one another, and made up and moved on.
What has never changed is our love and commitment to each other. As our lives took the twists and turns, we knew that the other one was with us and we were on this journey together, come hell or high water. We learned to communicate and that has been a major factor in our marriage. We still face the challenges of life. Both of us are growing older and dealing with those issues. Jan’s HD is a big challenge. But we are facing these things together, as we have always faced life. We are trusting our heavenly Father to take care of us, as he always has.
Forty years. It seems like a long time, over half of our lives, yet it somehow feels like a blip on the screen of time. We may celebrate another forty years, we may not. No matter how many more years God gives us, I know that I am truly blessed to be married to a beautiful woman who is a wonderful partner.
Jan, I am so thankful to the Father for bringing us together and allowing us to spend these years together as one, and I pray he gives us many more years to journey through this life.
I love you more than yesterday, and less than tomorrow.
Father’s Day 2020
Thirty seven years ago, our son was born and I became a father. Even though thirty seven years seems like a long time (it is over half my life), as I look back it really doesn’t feel like all that long ago. Because there are so many memories, they crowd together and make the time seem somehow compressed, as if the years have joined together and decreased their number.
There have been a lot of changes over those years. We added a daughter three years later. There have been different jobs, as I went back and forth between working as a teacher and coach and various other jobs. Some times were tough financially, and I felt sorry that we couldn’t do everything we wanted as a family, or for our children. God has always provided for us, but there were times when there wasn’t any extra. What I value most about the teaching/coaching gigs are the opportunities provided when it came to Josh and Jennie. We all had the same vacation schedule, and went to the same place every morning during the school year. I had the opportunity to coach both of them, something I will always cherish.
It has been an absolute joy to see both of them grow up into responsible, caring people. I have always been proud of them, no more so than now. I see Jesus in them in the way they interact with others, and in the way they care for those around them. When they were growing up, I was always known as “Josh’s and Jennie’s dad,” and I am still proud to wear that title.
Now I am blessed to have another title: “Granddaddy.” That makes this day even more special. I get to participate in some way in the raising up of the next generation, and for that I am grateful. I have no worries because I know that my grandchildren are in good hands.
Josh and Jennie, I am so proud and thankful for the privilege of being your father. I thank God for you and pray that you will know his love in increasing measure in the days and years ahead. I love you.
Blast From the Past: Thoughts on Les Miserables
This was first posted in March of 2013.
A little while back, Jan and I went with some of our church family to see the movie, Les Miserables. We thoroughly enjoyed it. It’s one of those movies you want to see on the big screen and then want to see again on DVD because the story is so good. A lot has been said and written about the theme of grace vs. law and the triumph of grace. The movie was saturated with grace, and the embodiment of grace in Jean Valjean and law in Javert was thought provoking and emotion producing.There were a lot of tissues used, and hopefully a lot of thinking about God’s grace. My thoughts after the film, while still including grace, were a bit different than others that I heard.
There were many scenes in the film that made folks cry, and I choked up many of those times myself. However, what brought me to tears was the scene near the end when Javert dove off the bridge, finally holding on to law all the way to death and rejecting the grace that was offered. Now, keep in mind that I had not read the novel or seen any of the stage or film productions. In my wild-eyed optimism, I hoped that Javert would see the light and be transformed by grace as Jean Valjean was. It broke my heart.
My heart still breaks when I think about the many people who reject a grace that gives life and cling to law which brings death. Some don’t know any better, having been raised in religions that are all about human effort. I would include the American religion of pull yourself up by your own bootstraps self-sufficiency. Many however, should know better. There are multitudes of churches and organizations that will say they are all about grace but then proclaim rules to follow to be “right with God,” or any number of steps to be a better whatever. This includes those “ministries” who proclaim grace but then tell you what to do to have any number of “blessings” in your life.
If those things worked, churches would be full of perfect, completely fulfilled and whole people. Do you know any of those? I don’t. Law doesn’t work to bring life, whether it’s religious commands or simple human effort to get better. Our effort, whether it’s obeying regulations, following steps, or trying to have more faith, will not change us. It is only God’s grace that transforms us, making us into people who show love to others, who trust God, and who sometimes do the right thing. This comes about because the Spirit of the living God dwells in us and changes us from the inside out. We no longer live by law, but we live by grace, out of a heart consumed with love for our Father because he loves us with an unchangeable, everlasting love.
Let us reject law, with its striving and death. Let us embrace God’s grace, which does what we could never do and transforms us into the new creation God means for us to be.
Don’t Assume: Joshua 22:10-34
Today we talked about the problems that happen when we assume things.
Christians and Statism
One of the biggest problems I see in the church in America is the problem of statism. A classic definition of statism is “concentration of economic controls and planning in the hands of a highly centralized government often extending to government ownership of industry.” I am not going to use that definition. I would define statism as I see it in this country as the the belief that the state will solve our problems, and that our job is to work to elect the people that will take care of those things.
Usually, statists are thought of as being on the left side of the political spectrum. These are the folks that are accused of wanting the government to control everything, from the economy to health care to individual rights. What some may not realize, is that statists are found on the other side of the aisle as well. Theses would the folks that see government as the means for restoring, or at least protecting, Christianity and ensuring our rights.
Statists can be found all across the spectrum, from the individual who told Bill Clinton that we are his children, to the almost worshipful praise given to Barak Obama, to the statements made about Donald Trump comparing him to King Cyrus or even King David. Look at the way politicians are idolized by the members of their party, and the way they are vilified by the members of the opposite party.
Statists believe that the most important thing in life is ensuring that their candidate is elected to office so that life will be better. Whether it’s returning to some fabled yesterday when we and those who agree with us were on top, or moving on to a new utopia, the prevailing thought is that if our side doesn’t win the country is headed for hell in a handbasket. As our country heads down that dark road, our faith will go down with it, and Christianity will suffer greatly.
When Christians put that much faith in whatever political system we think is best, we forget that we are not just citizens of this nation. We are not just under a certain political system. We are citizens first and foremost of the Kingdom of God, and our first allegiance is to King Jesus. Our King told Pilate that his kingdom was not of this world. he was not afraid of the man who represented the most powerful empire of that day because he knew that Rome was not really supreme or in control. He knew that what would happen to him would usher in the Kingdom of God and that Rome’s empire would pass away, as do all empires. The early Christians did not get in trouble with the political powers because they proclaimed that people could go to heaven when they died. They suffered persecution because they were proclaiming that the real King had come, that the kingdom of Rome was not in charge. They didn’t pledge allegiance to the empire. Their allegiance was to the King of Kings.
The kingdom we are a part of is a kingdom that grows and rules differently than an earthly kingdom. It does not operate by force, whether force of arms or force of opinion and criticism. The kingdom of Jesus operates by a love that sacrifices self for others. It is a kingdom that does not force change, whether by passing laws or ostracizing. Christ’s kingdom grows in ways we don’t always see, much like yeast spreading through a lump of dough. We can’t build for this kingdom by making America great again, or by any other plans a politician may have on the right or the left.
Can we participate in this kingdom of this world? That is up to each person’s individual conscience. You can vote, or not vote. You can work for a particular candidate, or opt out. But whatever you do, as a follower of King Jesus keep in mind that he deserves your allegiance, that all of the political movers and shakers are part of a kingdom of this world and can never build the Kingdom of God, and that other Christians are not only fellow citizens of heaven but are also brothers and sisters who we are to love as Jesus loved us.If we have to make a choice between party and a brother or sister in Christ, we should choose the latter.
The vitriol that is directed toward those who disagree with a particular stance (and I confess that I have been guilty of this) is not right. It is not what should be coming from those who follow Jesus. We can and will disagree on particular points. But we must not forget that we are called to love and serve others. We can and will call out those who are doing wrong. But we must make sure that we do the same when the one doing wrong is a member of our party. We must also remember that, while God may well use a leader we agree with, he can just as easily use someone with whom we disagree.
The early Christians turned the world upside down , not through rallies and revolution, but through the unstoppable power of the gospel of King Jesus and the love they showed for others, even their enemies. May we proclaim that same gospel in our day and time.