Intriguing Grey

     The neglect of my blog can be justified by my marriage in July and my subsequent focus on my bride and our burgeoning relationship as man and wife.  Now approaching six months of marriage, I could discuss many things that the Lord has shown me, but one lesson seems so applicable to all areas of life.  I must consider my wife's situation, feelings, history, and many factors when I speak to her.  And she seeks to to the same for me.  We have to be careful what we say to one another. 
     Now, I could talk about communication theory and the importance of a shared world  of ideas and experience in order to communicate effectively.  I could also say that speaking with kindness shields me from negative consequences.  These are valid things to consider when seeking to communicate with a view to the perspective of the hearer, but ultimately it boils down to love.  If I love my wife, if I want to demonstrate that love, I must speak in a way that doesn't just say nice things, but says them in a manner that will allow her to hear the words for what they are.  Many of us know this, and seek to speak with love, kindness and compassion.  We choose our words carefully that we don't hurt our loved ones or promote misunderstanding.  It is obvious for us to love those that love us, but of what benefit (before God) is it to us? (see Luke 6:32) Do we love our neighbors, our enemies in the way we speak to them?
     Unfortunately, I and so many of my Christian brothers and sisters fail to speak the truth in love.  I was recently reading a blog debating the issue of abortion.  I knew it would be heated and I expected some vitriol, especially from those that can't understand a Christian perspective and Christian obedience to God's commandments.  But, I was shocked to see that the debate posts from those claiming to serve Christ were punctuated with name calling, profanity, and all manner of abusive language.  Again, abortion is an important issue that should produce zealous prayer and action, and I acknowledge that many non-Christians will be offended by a stance against it.  But it should be the truth, the gospel that says we serve the risen Christ as Lord, which should be the offense, not the way we state it. 
     Why should we care about how we speak to those who are lost, to those that may even hate Christians?  Simply, because Christ commanded it.  Jesus said, "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you" (Matt. 5:44).   Yet there is more at stake in our obedience then simply checking off a good deed.  Loving our enemies, with deed, word, and thought, images the very nature of our God, who loved us and sent Jesus to redeem us when we were His enemies. God cares for his Creation, his creatures, and so should we.  Every human being bears the image of God, whoever marred by sin.  Does it not anger God, to have us belittle and disrespect those to whom God gave his very likeness? Of course it does.  Christians argue for the sanctity of life with respect to euthanasia, abortion, stem cell research, and so many areas.  And that is good.  But we can't fail to value our fellow human beings, who are perishing in sin.  If we do, we commit the same sin we are so quick to accuse them of.  Jesus taught that hatred for another is equivalent to murder.  Matthew 5:22 reads, "But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire."  The words are not hyperbole; such is the extent of our sin.  It is only by the lavish grace of God that His judgment is withheld, and that those of us who call on Jesus will be saved from our hatred.  Still, Jesus does not give us the option of hating our enemies if we are to claim Him as our King.  So, how are we to speak, how are we to withstand the false ideas of the world?
     We must start by asking that the Lord changes our hearts towards others, that he creates within us a new heart capable of loving our enemies.  As we seek to grow in Christ and do his work in a lost world, we must be seeking the Spirit's sanctifying power to make us like Jesus who asked God's forgiveness for those that put him upon the cross.  This put's us in the place of truly acting like servants of the Lord.  Paul describes how the Lord's servant (a slightly technical term in Paul, but one that I think we can to apply to ourselves in ministry) is to act, in his second letter to Timothy.  Timothy was pastoring in Ephesus, a city with a reputation for superstition, idolatry and worldliness (see Acts 19).  Even more than that, he faced false teachers that were spreading untruth about the true gospel of Christ.  Yet, Paul did not encourage Timothy into verbal combat with these false teachers.  Rather, he calls Timothy to properly handle Scripture (II Tim. 2:15) and to avoid foolish, ignorant controversies (2:23).  In verses 24 throus 26, Paul writes, " And the Lord's servant  must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil,  correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth,  and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will."  Now, I won't unpack all these verses contain.  But Paul, says that Lord's servant, when facing enemies, must be kind, must be able to teach, and must patient, even patiently enduring evil.  It is God who grants repentance and frees the mind of the sinner from the grasp of Satan.  When you enter into dialog with an opponent of the gospel are you asking that God give you a kind, instructive and patient heart?  Are you praying that they repent?  Am I?
     Communication is more than getting ideas from Point A to Point B.  Communication is a relationship wherein two or more people are connected for the purpose of understanding.  Do we promote understanding when we communicate or do we allow carelessness, pride, or even hatred to color our words?  We should consider our words and seek to understand how they are understood.  This does not mean failing to speak the truth.  We should proclaim the gospel and all it's implications for our life with boldness, being prepared to give a defense for what we believe.  But, it may mean changing the words we use, our tone of voice, or even how much we say instead of listening.  I know how hard this is.  I am praying for God's grace to show me how to do this for the woman I love most in the world.  Yet, if I don't do this when communicating with those who annoy or attack me, I still fail.  I fail to obey Christ, I fail the work he has called us all to, and I fail to live up to the reality that I am a new creature in Christ.   The gospel of Christ is foolishness to the ears of those that are perishing, but let its foolishness be our wholeheartedness in serving a God who would condescend and die for us, to be risen as the first fruits of what is to come.  Let the foolishness of the gospel be in our love for our enemies as we call them to repent and know Christ, our example, our King.
    

What does a 23 year-old have to say to a congregation of 340 ranging from 2 to 82?  Nothing.  What does the Word of God have to say to them?  Everything.  

            Yesterday, I had the wonderful opportunity and privilege to stand up in the congregation that raised me and open God’s Word with them.  While I have preached a few times cross-culturally in Uganda and as a seminary student in a classroom setting, is an entirely unique thing to proclaim God’s Word before my fiancée, friends, family, teachers, elders, and pastor.   It is a task for the brave of heart and poor in spirit. 

            As I stood at the back of the sanctuary and received the thanks and encouragement of men and women who had known me for 18 years plus, I still didn’t believe it had happened.   I had stood up, read God’s Word, taught from it, and apparently impacted the hearers.  Or had I?  My sermon was of moderate construction and presentation (for one at my stage, but of insignificances in the grand scheme of the wonderful ministry of the Word), but even the most skillfully crafted statement of truth cannot change the hearts of human beings.  Only God can do that and that is the wondrous power of His Word.  Not only was it that God’s Spirit used God’s Word to change impact God’s people.  The very fact that I was able to stand there was due to God’s sovereign use of His word to form His people.

            I had preached on 1Corinthians 12:12-26 which discusses how God has shaped His people, by His Spirit, to be many members united in one body.  With emphasis on the importance of our youth (it being Youth Sunday), I preached on the need to embrace the community God had shaped us to be.  I briefly illustrated that I had received the blessing of my church embracing itself as a community of many members as one body, and embracing my family and I into that community.  Yet, as I have reflected since, I realize that God’s Word and truth had shaped those people.  His truth had transformed them into followers of Jesus.  His Word had guided and shaped them into disciples seeking to be obedient children.  His Word had strengthened them to grow into men and women who fed on the word and then drew others to feed upon it as well.   His Word had shaped the community by which I might be raised up as a follower of the King, and in turn, proclaim the Word back to His people.  What a mighty testimony to the power of God’s Word.  Though I be naught, God’s Word shall not return void

If you have any interest the sermon is available at this link: .Ian's Sermon 6/1/08

     To tell you the truth, sometimes, I feel like Spiderman in a Superman world. You see Spider-man has a limited number of gifts and talents.  Don't get me wrong, they're great.  He can climb wall, swing from webs, and that spidey sense is pretty cool. But Superman, well the list goes on and on.  He can leap tall buildings, run as fast as a train, stop a bullet with his pecs, shoot lasers out his eyes and start a tornado just by doing the twist.  And in a world in which Superman exists, well Spiderman is nice, but he doesn't quite cut it.
     Sometimes as I look at the task of ministry, I can't help feel that everyone expects Superman.  Someone entering in the ministry should be devoted to study and sound biblical interpretation.  A pastor should be a superior family man and serve as a relational counselor to his flock. He should be an able administrator and a great team leader. He should preach, counsel, serve, motivate, lead, teach and fund raise  Sometimes these expectations are just felt, but sometimes they are communicated loud and clear.  Sometimes I have heard that a minister of God's Word is to be all of the above, and more. 
     I admit I'm a Spiderman (no offense, I'm a big fan).  I have my gifts, but they are definitely not all of the above.  I mean what's swinging from a web compared to flying?  Sometimes when I look at my skills versus what can be expected I feel a great sense of foreboding.  I'm worried that I'll get into the ministry and people will find out that my pecs don't stop bullets.  I understand.  It is a Superman world.  The Church needs leaders of all sorts of skills to build the churches, proclaim the gospel, and equip the saints. We are seeking to serve as God's vice-regents, to bear his image in his world.  That is a lot of responsibility.  It requires a lot of gifts and skills.
     Yet, as I look around me, I see a lot of Batmen, Aquamen, and Green Arrows.  I see a lot of my brothers and sisters who aren't Supermen.  They have different gifts than I do, but they don't have them all.  Two things come to mind.  First, teamwork.   We are meant to work together as the body of Christ and our diverse skills and giftings are meant to work together to do what God has set before us.  A league of heroes, if you will.  Second, Superman does exist as I said before.  Tim Keller, John Piper?  No and no.  They, we, are just men.  We need a super man to save the world.  In my fretting about my lack of gifts and power, I forget that all that I'm called to do is fully reliant upon the grace and power of Jesus Christ.  It is his ministry I participate in, it is his grace by which I have any gifts at all.  Jesus Christ has already won the battle and in my reliance upon him I don't need to worry about the narrow range of my gifts.  I need to remember that it is not what I do, but what Christ does through me. 

You wouldn't know it from the clothes strewn about my bedroom, but I like precision.  I like to be precise in my word choice. I desire to understand precisely what a person is trying to communicate.  I want to be on target, on topic, and on time.  The same is true for my theology.  I think that my faith in God must be anchored in truths founded in Scripture.  It is irresponsible to me to make sweeping theological generalizations, instead of doing the hard work of searching out God's Word and conforming one's minds to God's truth instead of convenient presupposition.  Perhaps, I sound like a hard man.   Well, I can be, especially with myself.  But my love of precision for what can be known, the responsibility proven therein, grants me a reciprocating freedom.  By seeking to precise in the things God has made clear, I am free to imagine in the realm of things not so clear.
      As with everything else in this world, imagination is a gift from God. I do not claim to have the greatest imagination, or any artistic means of expressing what little I have.  But I do have an appreciation for the spirit of wonder and adventure that dwells within those that do.  And it is most appealing to me when it comes from someone who knows our Creator.  I mean someone who knows the triune God who sent his Son to redeem this world.  I mean someone who knows that they are graciously loved by God, though they are a sinner.  Granted, all sorts of people have wonderfully creative imaginations.  All sorts of fable, fantasy, adventure, and legend come from the imaginations of myriad storytellers.  But the freedom I enjoy is in exploring a world that starts with the seed of Truth and then explores what could be considering the amazing God we have.  Whether it be historical fiction like Wallace's Ben-Hur, fantasy like Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia, or Madeleine L'Engle's science fiction, such works explore what might be, knowing what is.
     Now I don't claim to agree with all of the theological foundations of the above authors.  But I know that they loved the Lord, and that their works flowed from that.  I know that I have enjoyed their explorations of the possibilities based on the realities.  I know that with a firm foundation in what God has truly said about himself and this world, I can let myself bask in the wonder is yet for me to know about our amazing King.
    So, give me precision in theology.  Give me Greek exegesis and grammatico-historical hermeneutics.  Give me mutually sharpening dialog on the nature of the covenant. And then let me think, let me explore, let me muse on the glories of my God.  Let me think this Easter day not only on what I know my savior has done for me, but on what such a loving God is capable of.
    

I realize most who read my blog are friends or family.  However, I would like to invite those few strangers who read my blog to feel free to comment on my blog entries.  Whether critique, disagreement, or question, I'm glad to hear from you.      

    A new view of heaven?  I winced inwardly.  ABC nightly news was teasing their next story.  I worried what new attack on Christianity had presented itself.   Who should Martin Bashir be interviewing upon return from commercial break, but N. T. Wright.  Wright is a well known New Testament theologian with multiple influential works in the field.  And while his work has created some rumblings in Reformed circles over views of justification, his work stands out as  markedly orthodox in the context of the very diverse, but largely liberal Church of England.   The view he presented on heaven was the same that I have been taught from birth.  Upon death, Christians enter heaven with God, until the time of Christ's return at which  there are made a new  and united heaven and earth as the culmination of God's redemptive work.  (See interview here http://youtube.com/watch?v=AA0NLb0pXGI)
 

    Why the tagline?  Well, Bashir says, "For centuries, Christians have believed that their destiny after death is heaven: a spiritual place where they -- along with a myriad of angels, -- sing praises to God for eternity."  The newscast identifies American Christianity, primarily, with dispensational evangelicals.    A theological movement that is only a few centuries old is seen as the predominant historical view of the Christian Church.  At first I was upset at ABC.  How could they be so stupid?  Why couldn’t they do their research?

    I don't want to deny the need for more responsible reporting practices, but I find that the fault does not lie with the reporters.  Nor does it necessarily lie with those denominations which have put forth this over-spiritualized interpretation of God's promised redemption.  It's not Scofield or Tim LaHaye's fault, but largely it is the fault of the Reformed church.  It is the failure of orthodox Christianity to make itself known in the culture.  The Reformed church has been quite willing to involve ourselves in theological debate, we have been able to make distinctions in doctrine in order to preserve that which is biblical.   The rest of the Church knows us as those prickly dogmatists.  But, are we known outside the Faith?  Our failure is not a failure to change the minds of other denominations, but our failure is that we are not in the world proclaiming the truth of the Scriptures.  I don't believe that there should necessarily be active competition between denominations for the minds of the non-Christian.  However, we fail if we let those with poor (yes, I'll say poor) theology dominate the work of evangelism, and consent ourselves to correct their errors once they are under the umbrella of Christianity.  The world, the culture, must see that the Bible speaks in real and comprehensible ways about life, the world, sin, redemption, and heaven. 

    I imagine ABC's reason for presenting Wright's statement of this classical doctrine is a perceived connection it has to this present age.  Our world is in fear over terrorism, it is afraid of the environmental repercussions of its actions.  And while the first days post 9/11 saw a run to church, the "pie in the sky" view of heaven was not ultimately fulfilling.  ABC sees a "novel" view of heaven which speaks to these problems.  It speak of the significance of responsibility for this world, as understanding that God cares about the physical world and not just inner spirituality.  God cares about us here and now and does have a plan by which he not only redeems individual souls, but the entirety of his Creation.   This is the great treasure of what the Bible teaches.   We are not to hide it under a bushel but proclaim it loudly and proudly.   Let us not add to the world's misconception but confront them (in love) with the entirety of the truth.  This has been our heritage in days past, let it be our future and the legacy we leave behind.

    I have learned many things from my intended, Rebecca.  What I have learned most recently, is the glory of submission.  In Ephesians 5, Paul instructs Christians to submit to one another and then goes on to instruct wives to submit to husbands, children to parents and slaves to masters.  Likewise husbands are to serve and love thier wives, parents are not to exasperate their children, and masters are to treat their slaves well.  We are given a picture of mutual service, mutual submission.  This is no servile degradation, but loving service.  Dr. Bryan Chapell provides a helpful interpretation of the Greek word as meaning to "organize under" (I highly recommend the book he co-authored with his wife, Each for the Other).  Organizing under or structuring under displays the supportive design of mutual submission.  As Christians we are to structure our lives for the benefits of others.  We are to serve their needs over ours.
    Rebecca has been such a wondrous example of this in our relationship.  She has organized her work schedule to come visit me, her sleep schedule to talk to me, and her finances to travel and plan our wedding.  All these aspects of her life have been structured to serve our relationship, to serve my studies at seminary, and to serve me.  Does she do these things because I demand them or because I'm better, or she less?  Absolutely not.  She does these out of a gracious heart and a love beyond my understanding.  She does these because she has seen fit to utilize her intelligence, her experience, her kindness, and her gifts for my benefit.  The question is how I am to treat her.  Of course I am to be appreciative, to thank her, to tell her I love her.  But is that all?    Paul says that I am to love Rebecca as Christ loved the church and presented her sanctified (or glorified).  Rebecca's acts of loving submission call me to glorify her, to celebrate her gifts and talents. 
    This brings me to Valentine's Day.  Yes, it is over-commercialized, yes, it has become about money spent instead of love communicated.  That doesn't meant it is a piece of culture that I can't seek to redeem.  I can take the opportunity to express my love, to express my appreciation, to express my admiration for the woman who loves me so well in her submission.  Everyday I should seek to lift her up, to sacrificially love her.  Yet, I don't do it enough.  No man does.  Whether a woman is as Christ-like as Rebecca is to me in submission, all wives are to be loved and built  up by their husbands.  Christ showed us how in the way he lifted up a weak and sinful church and is shaping her into a glorious bride.  Valentine's Day may be a hyped up Hallmark holiday, but every man has a duty to appreciate the woman in his life, to lift her up and show his love.  Will you submit yourself to another in the time in planning, the money in purchasing, or the silliness of over-the-top expressions?  Glorify the woman in your life through submission.  Redeem Valentine's Day and lift up the one who so lovingly serves you.

    As a Christian, I believe what the Bible says.  I believe that one day those from every tribe, nation, and language will bow down before our Lord and Savior.  I believe that even now God is working to redeem creation, which will be fully restored upon Christ's return.   I look for signs that  things are getting better, not because I anticipate earthly utopia, but because I know God is faithful in the establishment of His kingdom.
    It's a bit dangerous or at least egotistical to claim to understand the details  of how God is sovereignly working in history.  However, I can't help be intrigued by a certain global trend and its potential implications.  Languages are dying out.  According to some news coverage I heard on NPR (I realize they are not inerrant, but they are pretty thorough), half of the world's languages have died and and the trend is continuing.  While I heard no claims that the world will one day share a single language (again), I wouldn't expect this trend to reverse itself.  With the forces of globalization, it seems that people exposed to the "modern world" make conscious decisions to communicate in the means most convenient. 
    Now, I don't necessarily think the death of language is a positive thing.  In fact I understand much of the concern that certain cultural knowledge may be lost with a language.  Yet, I can't help to take this as a reason to get excited about the return of Christ.  Languages are diminishing, cross-cultural communication is improving, and I can't help see these as an opening of doors to the spread of the Gospel.  Sure, many bad, sinful things are communicated with the breakdown of language barriers.  But, I know the power of the Gospel and I am looking to the reversal of Babel.  I am looking forward to humanity coming together not to glorify themselves, but to glorify God.  I don't dare claim that the sky will open up the second that there is a believer in every culture and tongue.  But I do know that Christ is coming, and whether through the means above or those I can't see, he will establish his eternal kingdom.

Devastation and destruction. Death and despair.  The fruit had been tasted and sin entered the world.  Death entered in where it did not belong and God's magnificent creation withered under its newfound curse.  Did God gather a task force, did He begin a long range planning committee to solve the problem of sin?  No, He issued his promise.  He said he would send one who would crush the head of the serpent.  In those first few hours when Adam and Eve hid in shame, when they were afraid of what they had done, when sin seemed to declare victory over the world, God reassured His children with a story.  He told them the story of his redemptive plan, summed up in the victory of Jesus.
    The celebration of the Jesus' birth and the expectation of the coming New Year fill me with musings on ends and beginnings.  I am months away from the end of my bachelorhood and the beginning of a marriage.  I am at the beginning (so it seems) of a life of ministry.  Yet, what is the connection to beginnings and ends, to thens and yet-to-bes?  I'm not interested in philosophical discussions, but a real knowledge of the significance of beginnings and ends. 
    To be simple, I think they are one and the same to God.  God works in time, he has given us the Word to record the story of God's work in His creation, but I do not think the beginnings and ends are separate in God's mind.  Is Christmas separate from Easter, Christ's birth separate from His death and resurrection?  I think not.  I think God continually shows forth his consistent plan. God made all creation to be good, to give him glory.  When creation was stained by sin, did He punt his plan and start over?  No, He provided the means to fulfill His will.  In those first moments of pain, he spoke of the coming salve.  When fear reared its head, God gave us hope.  That is how he works every day.  Every second is under God's sovereign will and by our free will we cooperate in bringing about the fulfillment of God's promises.  This is exciting.
I do not live in a choose your adventure story.  Yes, I make decisions with consequences.  Yet I can not change the story of what God is doing.  He made creation good, sin entered in, God sent his Son, and all of creation will be renewed to its former state when Christ returns and makes all things new.  I cannot change God's plan, only seek to live in that story, to live out the chapter that has been given to me.  When I get nostalgic, when I miss the past or fear the future, I need to remember that God's story marches on.  Even my earthly demise, my end, will the beginning of new chapters in God's unfolding story for His world.  The beginning of my marriage will be a picture of the end, a picture of the glorious love that will be fully disclosed when Jesus comes to gather his bride, the Church, to himself.  Christ's birth was the confirmational statement that God is with us and He will give all that we need to be restored to relationship with Him.  And when Christ died, he declared the end of death's reign and proclaimed the glorious future of a life with him, confirmed in his resurrection. 
Brothers and sisters, all my celebrations of beginnings and ends are warranted.  There is, indeed, a time for everything under the sun.  Yet these beginnings and ends cannot be divorced from what our loving, omnipotent God is doing.  Praise be to God, the Alpha and Omega.

    It's yet to happen, but having reached the end of my first full semester at seminary, I imagine someone will ask me about what I learned this semester.  It's a good question.  If I'm studying for three years instead of earning money, I should probably be learning something.
    I have most certainly learned a lot.  I have learned about a storied hermeneutic approach to the OT. I have learned about thinking of Greek verb tenses as dealing with aspect instead of time.  I have learned about counseling people with depression and how to interact with various views on sanctification.  All of these things have been profoundly beneficial and I imagine that it will all serve me well in a future serving God's Kingdom.
    Yet, I am learning much of a different sort.  I am learning that I have deep control issues, that responsibly reading the Bible is difficult, that the ministry of the Word is a frightening task.  I am continuing to learn to depend on the community of believers God has given me, and to appreciate the blessing of my wonderful fiancee, Rebecca.
    The Christian walk is so much more than devotions, singing, and prayer.  It is a living out of my faith that Jesus Christ died to conquer sin, that the world might be redeemed.  This means making God king over every second of my life.  That means subjecting myself to His will, being obedient to His call to be holy, being a representative of Christ.  I think more than ever I am learning that the Christian walk is not easy.  It is no wonder that Hebrews 12 tells us to run the race with endurance, or that Philippians 1:29-30 tell us that suffering is a gift from God.  We are in a world bent by sin, in bodies which seem more inclined towards depravity than the good for which they were created.  We are fighting to restore that which we lost.  If suffering, sacrifice, and endurance was all I learned, it would be insufficient.  I would be left to struggle on in my weakness.  Yet, the truth is that I am united to Christ, I am in Christ.  He has conquered sin, he will bring about the consummation of our redemption, and it is his righteousness which I have as a Son of God.  I have learned the depths of sin and the heights of God's gracious love.  May I repeat this lesson, not only every semester, but every day of my life.