Hey, Pete, you got a minute? I’ve got a question for you.

Tags

a string of stories, grace, King David, love, making emotional connection, tell stories-they connect, what is your advice

“Hey, Pete, how long have you been a church goer?”

“Man, the week I was born, so my parents told me, my mother was in church the next Sunday, and I was with her!”

“A little exaggerated your mother, eh”

“I guess.  But, it just goes to show that I don’t remember when I never was a church goer.   But, why did you ask anyway?

“Well, with all your experience of going to church, and with all the sermons, lessons, Bible stories, little talks, faith stories, and testimonies that you have heard, what kind of advice would you give to the person who wants to connect with the people in the pew?”

“That is quite a question.  I am not sure I can say much.  Aren’t there all kind of books that tell people how to communicate in church talks.  I don’t know that I have anything to say that would be of help.”

“Well, you may be right about there being plenty of books.  And, you could also add magazine articles and web blogs to the mix.  But, I want to know what you think, on the basis of having been a church goer for so long.”

“Well, I’ll give it a shot, but it may not be very profound.  If it helps, fine.

“At the top of the list – tell stories, lot of them.  That is what people remember.  They don’t have to be complicated, but they do have to be told well.  You want the folk to have a picture in their mind of the people in your stories.  And, if you put words in the mouth of the people in the story, don’t have them all talking the same way.  In real life, people don’t all talk the same way, do they?

“I remember as if it were just yesterday a preacher fellow whose sermons were basically just a string of stories that put flesh on the ideas he wanted us to think about.  If he was talking about grace, he told stories of gracious people.  If he was talking about love, he told stories about what it cost to love, and what joys love brought to someone’s life.  If he was talking about Christian marriage, he told stories about people who were committed to each other, how they dealt with disappointment, with illnesses, with losing a job, or losing their spouse to cancer.

“Something else I can mention- make emotional contact with the folk.  Our lives are full of emotional experiences.  We sense remorse, doubt, failure, accomplishments, victories, defeats, betrayals, falling in love, of anger, of the joy of helping someone – you get the picture.   Think of the people who populate the pages of the Bible – their lives run an emotional gamut.   For example, think of King David in the Old Testament – what an emotional man he was as he fled from Saul, and later from his son Absalom.  David hurt.  Are we afraid of pain to the point that our pulpit communication is emotionally shallow?  Of course, when stories are told well, they should feed into making emotional connection with listeners.

“BUT, if the speaker uses emotional content to manipulate the audience, that will backfire, as it should.

“That is all I have to suggest at the moment.  Hope it helps.”

“Thanks, Pete, it was just what I was looking for.”

“You’re welcome.”

Christmas, and “Painting Grace” by Thomas Kinkade

Tags

"found in the forest", "safe in His arms", Christmas, grace, light, love

The following, excerpted from “Painting Grace” is found in Thomas Kinkade’s Come Let Us Adore Him, a Christmas gift I received several years ago.  I trust it resonates with you as it has with me.

“On the canvas of my mind, I see the picture clearly. A little child, clothes torn and tattered, stands lost in the heart of a deep, dark forest.  As night descends, his fears arise, heart pounding as he turns to the right . . . to the left . . . and recognizes nothing.  Can see nothing.;  He knows he is as good as dead, for it is only a matter of moments before the night creatures overtake his fragile form.

“But look!  There is a light in the distance, and steadily it comes closer.  Suddenly the boy can see the enormous shape of a man, holding the lantern above his head.  “It is the King,” the boy says to himself.  “And He has come just for me.”

“And with that, the giant but gentle King bends down and scoops up the boy in His big, burly arms.  “Come with Me, My child,” the King says to the boy.  “I have prepared a wonderful place for you.  It is a word full of light and beautiful things – a world that grows in the grace of my love.  it is reserved just for you.  Come, let Me show you the light.”

“Imagine if you were that child – the joy of feeling His arms surround you with a safety and love like you’ve never know.  Buried in His chest there is warmth, peace, and hope.  It is the message of true love, and it is the portrait of Christmas.

“It astounds me that God sees me as that little boy, lost without hope in a dark and dying world.  Then out of the dismal night comes His light of hope – His own Son – who saves me from certain death, and places me in the kingdom of His love.  . . . .

“When I was a child, I saw Christmas only through the eyes of a child.  It was my joy to play with my toys and with my friends on the day when all the world seemed right.  As a parent, now, I get a glimpse of the joy our heavenly Father feels when He gives good gifts to His children.  Though sometimes children respond wrongly – like I always did when I got clothes instead of toys – the gifts from our Father are always for our good.  And His love is the reason I rejoice.

“This Christmas season I hope you find the chance, amid the chaos and crazy schedules, to settle in for the night and shine the Savior’s message of light on your loved ones.  And in your home, and mine, God’s children will discover again the joy of Christmas, for the Light of the World has come.  And, He shines in you and me.”

MERRY CHRISTMAS . . . BLESSED CHRISTMAS . . . MARANATHA

 

 

Is any solution free?

Tags

conditions, grace, salvation, solutions

Is any solution “free”? is the question I am pondering.

For example, our physician has a solution for the infection, and he prescribes an antibiotic.  Someone pays something for both the physician’s services and the medication.

The counselor offers a solution for a broken relationship, and he proposes particular actions that need to be taken.  Someone pays the counselor for services rendered.  The list of solutions goes on.

So, the question – are the solutions free?  It appears that they aren’t.

On one hand they cost the “solver” (physician, counselor, mechanic, teacher, etc.) time, resources, perseverance and other things as well.

On the other hand, the cost to the one receiving the solution is acquiescence to some degree, at least to the point of being willing to “try” the solution.

Does any of this train of thought transfer to the question of salvation by God?  Is salvation some kind of “solution?  Is it exempt from the comments in the first half of this musing?  I don’t know how it can be exempt.

This thinking does not lead to our “saving” ourselves.  The solution (salvation) certainly has been costly for God.  It appears that to go to the point of affirming that anything we do in relation to our salvation is an affront to God’s grace is not warranted.  If I recall correctly, John the Baptist used the expression “prepare the way” in reference to the public ministry of Jesus, our Lord and Savior.

Back to the analogies – patients who follow the doctor’s instructions are not healing themselves.  Being healed and being in the condition to receive the healing are two different things, and should not be conflated nor confused.

In like manner, being saved and being in the condition to receive the salvation are not to be confused with each other.

What do you think?

 

 

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Clearing up some confusion

Tags

"contextualized law", "purpose versus result", apodictic, casuistic, grace, Law

His reply was, “Yes!  This is the explanation I have been longing for!  Thank you!” Perhaps others also have been looking for it.    So, here goes —–

His original question was “I have thought that Jesus preached both law and grace.  But, am I mistaken?”  The following was my “answer / explanation.”

Since your question has various embodied topics and nuances,  I’ll limit my comments, hoping they will help. First, you are correct; Jesus affirms the legitimacy of both grace and law in the Kingdom of God, with the caveat that we properly understand of the purpose of law.  

The Law verbalizes, or concretizes, Kingdom of God behaviors, values, and commitments.  It establishes standards; it portrays Kingdom normalcy.  But, the Law is also multilayered, with some laws arising from underlying laws.  “Love your neighbor” is an underlying law, with many specific laws arising from it.  Picture the layering of laws as an upside down pyramid, with love at the base.  Then specific commands build up from that base in layers.  For example, there was a very specific law in the Old Testament requiring the Jewish folk to put a protective edging around the roof of their house to keep people from falling off.  The ultimate basis of this specific law ( located at the top level of the inverted pyramid) is the underlying (base) command to love. 

The specific laws are binding on God’s children as long as the context pertains.  Said differently, specific laws contextualize deeper laws to the living human conditions at particular times and places.  This same situation is the case in both the New and Old Testaments, no matter who the author or the speaker is (Jesus, Paul, James, John, etc), because it is simply the nature of Law.  Parts of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount command basic law, and other parts of said Sermon command specific applications of the basic laws.  There are terms for this situation.  Basic laws are “apodictic” laws.  Specific laws, which are the basic laws applied to specific situations, are referred to as “casuistic” laws (case laws). 

Law’s function is not to spiritually “save”(regenerate) anyone.  Humans are regenerated anywhere and anytime, by God’s grace.  Law tells us the rules of the road.  Grace restores us from the consequences of violating the rules of the road.  This can be fleshed out considerably, but you can handle that :). 

Living in God’s Kingdom requires both law and grace.  On one hand, we need to know the “rules” of the Kingdom.  On the other hand, we need to “brought into” the Kingdom from our status of being out of the Kingdom. 

The Old Testament is full of grace.  Think of David in the Psalms who repeatedly portrays God as the Responder to the sinner (the one who is paying the consequences of not living the rules of the Kingdom). Has anyone ever been saved by works (doing the law-described behavior) before, during, or after the time of Jesus?  No.  It simply is not the function of the Law to save anyone. 

Law has its purpose; Law has its results.  Those are two different things – Purpose and Result.  The Law’s purpose is to guide humanity in a life that conforms to God’s will for humanity.  The Law’s Results include our being guilty of law breaking, which hopefully will drive us to God’s grace.  But, the purpose of the Law is not to make us sinners.  That is a result of the Law.  

Let me conclude by encouraging all Christians to value God’s law for what it truly is and does, but not expect it to do what is not its purpose.  That false expectation leads to frustration and judgementalism.  Law shows us how to live.  Grace saves us from not living according to the law.  Grace and law are not in competition; it is not a case of having one or the other.  

 

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Generosity as a case in point

Tags

"spiritual growth", causation, consequence, generosity, grace, habit

As we grow spiritually as Christians, will we become more generous?  The question seems forthright, doesn’t it?  The implication is that generosity is a result, or a consequence, of spiritual growth.   And, we all, if we are Christians, are in an inevitable process of growth, aren’t we?

Let’s look at it in another way, rephrasing the question as follows.  Do we grow by becoming more generous?  Or at least, is being generous one of the causes, rather than one of the results, of spiritual maturity?

I opt for the latter way of stating the question.  It focuses on understanding “doing good” (with being generous as one of various good things to do) not merely as an automatic expression, or an automatic consequence of spiritual growth but as being either a cause, or at least a condition of said growth.

It can be taken as a truism that we don’t grow spiritually simply due to a desire to grow spiritually, but by doing the things that contribute to spiritual growth.  A child doesn’t grow taller by desiring to be taller, but by doing the things that contribute to the organism growing, and desiring to grow is not one of those conditions!!

The Christian life is rooted in an act of God’s grace.  Whether or not we are responsible for any of the conditions necessary for that grace to take root in us is debated, and this is not the place to offer a solution to that question.  But, there is no dispute about all the causation belonging to God.  We don’t do anything causative for which we can take credit.

But, from that point on, spiritual growth is not involuntary on our part.  We become what we do, clearly with the involvement of the Holy Spirit.  Back to our case in point – we will not become generous without giving generously long enough that it becomes part of who we are.  Until it becomes part of who we are, we will be going against our nature, but doing so because we know it is the right thing to do.  But, if we don’t fight our nature by doing what is right, we will never become generous people.  We unconsciously don’t grow into generous people.  If we don’t consciously do generous acts, we have no reason to expect that some day we will wake up to find ourselves generous people.

Spiritual growth is not magic!

 

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