Fire and Brush

A father and his son went out one day to cut a path through the forest. After working a while, they started a fire to burn the brush they had already cleared. The father lit a match and, starting small, added more and more brush to the fire. Then they went back into the woods. When they returned with another load, the fire was almost completely out, just a few flickers and some hot coals. To the son's surprise, the father threw an entire bundle of brush onto the fire at once. Surely what was meant to be fuel for the fire would put it out completely! The boy was wrong, however, and the father knew exactly what he was doing. If he understood anything, he understood fire. In his wisdom, the father would never put too much brush on it. What's more, the fire that began small was larger this time...and even larger the next!

Sometimes it may seem that God has put too many trials and sufferings on the hearts and lives of his children. Surely the suffering he has allotted to us with quench our faith. And if not, what's the purpose anyway? I'd like to remind you of two things. First, the loving father who struck up your flicker of faith will never let it burn out. There will be times when the brush lays heavy. When you can't see a flame. When all there seems to be is some hot coals. But God will not allow your faith to burn out. The second thing is this: God intends to strengthen your faith under the brush. When this trial is through (or even in it's midst) it will burn brighter than you ever have before. True faith, when tested by trials, always burns through.

Learning from Unbelievers

Although much about how the world is makes sense through a biblical lens, I've come to realize the value of hearing things from an unbelievers perspective. It can be tempting to write off most of what they say because we think it's 'not true.' But just because they don't have the same picture of the Creator and his creation that we do, doesn't mean they don't have genuine experiences or know true things about this world. 

For example: I've heard the cry of an unbelieving heart against the injustice that runs rampant in this cruel, sin stricken world. I've seen the hurt of an unbelieving heart over the betrayal of a friend. I've heard the helplessness of an unbelieving soul apart from the sustaining life and guiding hand of God Almighty. I've watched unbelievers offer up true thanksgiving, though they do not know who to thank for their life, their food, their family. 

Don't tell me that they see no truth
Their broken hearts still work
While they may not have answers yet
True questions still do lurk

I believe we have much to learn from our fellow humans. A good friend told me the other day that we are all born with a natural bend toward good. After some original sin red flags shot up, I realized that she was right. People do seek to do good. Yes, sin is always present, and all are guilty before God. But that doesn't negate the fact that people are born knowing good and evil, and that they ought to practice the good. Now that's grace. 

Prayer

Matthew 21:22 says, "If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer." Verses like these which are meant to encourage genuine faith often leads into a vert dangerous way of thinking. When our prayers seem ineffective, we begin to question whether we had ‘enough’ faith. This leads us to think that if we just work up a little more faith, then God would answer our prayers. The fundamental problem here is that we shift our attention from God, who is the object of faith, to faith itself. We turn faith into a work, thinking that prayer will only be effective if we know how the system works. We can’t create faith for ourselves; it’s is a gift of God. However, our faith will be strengthened by setting our eyes on God himself. We must see God as a loving Father, and we must trust him to give us the faith we need to pray rightly. We must have a bigger view of God than someone who will only work for us if we get things right. He’s the one working in us and enabling us to get things right. And even if we don’t have the proper faith, God is not bound. Nothing prohibits him from answering the prayers of selfish and doubting saints. He often does exactly this with me in order to show me his love, power, and freedom. Prayer is not the key to a machine to get what you want, it’s the key to a loving relationship where God where we can freely come to God and freely be blessed by him.

How We Love God

The main question I want to answer is this: How do we love God? If the greatest commandment is to love God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength, then we ought to have a really clear idea of what loving God looks like. I believe this is where having fellow humans (especially brothers and sisters in Christ) becomes more essential than we often think.

In Matthew's depiction of the final judgment, the reason believers receive salvation is because of their love and service toward the saints, which Christ equates to loving and serving himself (Matt 25:31-40). I believe that truly loving fellow humans is at the heart of loving God and growing in a love for God.

1 John 1:12 poses a dilemma. "No one has ever seen God." While it's not impossible to find ways to love a God whom you've never seen (e.g. prayer, Bible reading, meditation), it's not at all easy. This is why God gives us family and friends. Loving one another is like a crutch, or a significant handicap, aiding us in our love and devotion to God and allowing us to live more faithfully. In other words, I believe the first and greatest commandment is largely fulfilled by faithfulness to the second commandment. While solitary devotion to God through prayer and reading the word are essential, the act of loving other people is also a huge means by which we love God. For this reason John says, "No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us" (1 John 4:12). It's through the love we share with other humans that God abides in us and perfects his love in us.

So don't undermine the value of human relationships. If you want to express your love to God and expand your love for God, your interactions with other people are essential. After all, you aren't truly loving God if your spending all of your time being a jerk toward other people. "Whoever loves God must also love his brother" (1 John 4:21).

Also, God uses your family, friends, classmates, roommates, and fellow church members not just to express your love to him, but to expand your love for him. I've spent hours reading, studying, and memorizing the book of 1 John. But the moment I was moved to tears by realizing God's love for me was when I was holding a 6 week old baby. All I could think about was how much I would do to keep that baby safe from harm and make sure he had everything he needed. When the realization came that God loves me even more than I cared for that child, I hit the breaking point. The love we feel toward others teaches us about the love that God has for us. When we allow ourselves to grow closer to others, to feel more deeply toward them, and to care for them in a more significant way, we are not separating ourselves from God by drawing closer to another. Rather we are drawing closer to God by expanding our hearts for him and for others.

Resurrection

When thinking about the resurrection from the dead, we need to strike a balance between what we can know and what we can't.

Many theologians who teach the resurrection from the dead rightly emphasize the fact that we will have bodies in the new heavens and the new earth. We will not be floaty spirits which are finally set free from the material world. Material things are not inherently bad, and so our body is just waiting for the physical (and the spiritual) to be redeemed and re-made.

Although we can affirm that we will have bodies, we will eat, work, and do other physical things, there are still many things we don't know about our future resurrection. What indeed will we be? Will we be just like we are now with a few modifications and a remission of our defects? Paul actually answers people who come to him with this very question (cf 1 Cor 15:35). He describes our bodies as a seed that is sown. We must die (be buried) and be raised. The difference between the seed that is sown (your body) and the plant that it grows into (your resurrected body) is extraordinary. Paul says, "And what you sow is not the body that is to be, but a bare kernel" (1 Cor 15:37). In some regards, what we will be in the resurrection is completely different. It's not perishable, dishonorable, or mortal, rather it's imperishable, glorious, and immortal. But there's only so much we can know, for as John says, "what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is" (1 Jn 3:2).

While continuing to affirm what we do know (we'll have imperishable bodies, not just spirits), we can continue to wonder and marvel at what our resurrected bodies might be like. Indeed, the difference between a seed and the tree it grows into is very great. Be ready for an incredible future. Be prepared to be raised in power and glory. Be ready to see Christ as he is and to become as he is.

Here's the main point: Although your resurrected body will not be the same as the body you have now, it will still be yours and it will still be a body. 

Spurring One Another

Hebrews 10:24 says, "And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds."

The author of Hebrews is exhorting Christians to use our minds and imaginations to consider a variety of ways to encourage one another to love and good works. Besides vocally encouraging someone toward love and good works, are there more creative (and possibly more effective) forms of exhortation?

I would suggest that allowing someone to see your good works is one form of godly exhortation. Although we should be wary of the dangers of man-pleasing driven obedience, we should also recognize that there is a place for allowing others to see our good deeds. My own experience is that seeing the faithfulness of fellow believers is one of the strongest motivations for my own obedience. When I see the connection between their heart-orientation toward God and the spiritual blessings that they experience, there's nothing that I want more than to be like them. I think that's one of the reasons why we have the hall of faith in Hebrews 11. We're supposed to witness inspiring stories of Christian faithfulness in order to be . . . well . . . inspired. For this reason, I think it's appropriate at times to allow others to witness your own faithfulness, given the right heart attitude. Didn't Paul himself boldly declare how much he labored and prayed for other people? Whenever someone tells me they've been praying for me, not only am I encouraged but I'm also exhorted to imitate them in a more prayerful lifestyle.

So this is my suggestion. Rather than going around telling other Christians to live a more holy life in order to fulfill Hebrews 10:24, perhaps you should simply seek to be a godly witness. As others see your faithfulness and the blessings you receive, they will undoubtedly be encouraged to follow in your footsteps. This concept has implications for how we worship on Sunday morning, but I'll save that for another blog. ;)

Element of Trust

In my mind, trust may very well be the most important characteristic of a healthy, loving relationship. Trust has many elements, and I'd like to bring up a couple.

First of all, trust is grounded in the past. It's not that you can't choose to trust someone you just met, or recently met, but the more someone proves themselves to be the kind of man or woman who remains true to their word, the more you can trust them. Even when someone abuses your trust, this can be quickly mended if they have a strong track record.

It's interesting that we often seem to trust people for the big things more than the little things. For example, you may trust my word more if I promise to bring your seizure medications than if I promise to bring your mittens. I think the reason is simply because one promise is more important than the other promise. Which is a bigger issue, your life being at stake or your hands being warm?

The irony is that it seems like the little promises (like remembering to teach someone a Spanish song) should be easier to keep than the big promises (like a marriage vow). The truth of the matter is that little promises are easier to fudge on. The first goal is to find a person who cares so much about the reliability of their word that you can trust them to keep even the smallest of promises. The second goal is to be that person for everyone else.