Matters of Faith – Page 10

OLYMPIC FAITH

One of the exciting things about the Christian faith is that it challenges the best that is within us. It will never let us be satisfied with inferior living. It reaches into the depths of our inner being with disturbing implications. There is no way we can look into the face of Jesus and be content with halfhearted devotion. He calls us away from everything that would make us less than what we can be. He nudges us toward everything that focuses on our spiritual potential. He inspires us to consider the high road of what is best for us rather than the low road of what is easiest for us. Like an Olympic athlete training for perfection our Lord equips us to dream His kind of dreams. No one expects as much from us and yet comforts us when we miss the mark.

The tremendous challenge of being a Christian gives life its greatest sense of purpose. Without this struggle toward some degree of excellence we would lose ourselves in the monotony of mediocrity. There is more to us than what we normally accept. We frequently underestimate our capacity for godliness. We fail to stretch our humanity because our expectations are too low. We are created to move onward and upward. To sense some progress on the journey is a great source of fulfillment. We have no better gauge of how we are doing than the gospel of our Lord Jesus. It tells us that “nobody” can be somebody and that anybody can belong to everybody in Christ Jesus. The process toward achievement keeps us believing there is a place for us in God’s scheme of things.

Let us, therefore, never minimize the demands of Christianity. It is harder than any other lifestyle because it brings out the best within us. If we sentimentalize our faith and turn discipleship into a syrupy ceremony we miss the meaning of commitment and sacrifice. We must never try to camouflage the cross lest we lose the strength of its dying love. God gave His best to show us what is best for us. Indeed His greatest challenge to us is to be baptized with His baptism and to drink from His cup of pain. In the difficulty of our task we will find His glory as we faithfully pursue His dream for us.

CHURCH INVALUABLE

In spite of adversaries and critics the church of our Lord Jesus Christ continues to have a redemptive role in contemporary society. In no way has modern technology diminished the need for this fellowship of faith. Although our procedures and programs may change, the gospel of grace has an unchanging appeal for all who need love and forgiveness. While church, by no stretch of the imagination, is a majority effort, it does have a healing effect upon the total community. Withdraw the church from society and there is a lost dimension of righteousness that is necessary for stability, productivity and progress.

Church at its best gives the Word of God priority and keeps the Lordship of Christ as a goal for its fellowship. In no way is there a perfect church. No one church can claim spiritual superiority over any other church. Hopefully, each church is a growing, repenting, struggling family of believers who have become church for the glory of God and the service of humankind.

As church we face the future keenly aware we have no future without Christ. “Our hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.” The only way we can venture a dream about tomorrow is because we know who holds that tomorrow. We are secure in His promises and certain in His ability to be with us even to the end of the age. We move forward in faith not because we are so great, but because we serve a great God. Our future is in the hands of Him who said, “On this rock I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”

Therefore, we celebrate the church today as a people who are enjoying the spiritual benefits of our predecessors. Our real challenge is that we pass on this high and holy calling to all those who shall come after us. From the hands of our spiritual parents we reach forth a hand of hope to our spiritual children.

THE PRIVILEGE OF PRAYER

Prayer is an awesome aspect of divine fellowship. In fact, it is the heart and soul of our relationship with God. Although we communicate with our heavenly Father through Bible study, meditation, songs and worship, it is prayer that defines and undergirds each of these. Perhaps the greatest privilege of our Christian pilgrimage is prayer. How blessed we are to be invited by God Himself to sup with Him and He with us. The availability of God to our sometimes awkward and inconsistent faith staggers the imagination. Prayer is our access to the heavenly Father through His Son Jesus Christ. Without it, God becomes a distant deity with no invited input into our daily circumstances.

Prayer is the most personal and private part of our interchange with God. For this reason, no one can ever keep us from praying. It cannot be legislated either in or out of our lives. We can offer our private prayers anywhere and anytime we wish. It is a matter of desire and need to talk to God. Our personal conversation with God need not interfere with anyone else’s religious freedom. God deals with each of us as though we were the only one with whom He converses.

Jesus made quite a case for private prayer as He elevated the prayer closet over the street corner as a better place to pray. Of course Jesus did not eliminate public prayer as a part of our conversation with God. On several occasions He offered beautiful prayers that He apparently wanted others to hear. Jesus did know, however, that public prayer could get twisted and distorted because of improper motives. Praying done to impress others with either words or piety did not receive high marks from our Lord.

Prayer requests that are made primarily to spread malicious gossip do not serve a compassionate purpose. Matters that would embarrass and discredit are better left for the privacy of the prayer closet. Prayer chains are not designed to be hot lines to the latest rumors. They are sources of intercession for the latest needs which can be discreetly announced. Prayers that intimidate and subtly boast of our own goodness fit our Lord’s definition of hypocrisy. Care must be taken that the public aspect of our praying is not weakened by ulterior motives.

Prayer, when used for its intended purpose, is nothing short of a miracle. To think we can talk to God about anything, anywhere, and anytime is super…no, it is supernatural. This does not mean our petitions will always be granted as we desire, but we are heard, loved and given what God deems best. Prayer does not always change reality, but it changes us to adjust to reality. Therefore, pray lovingly without ceasing.

BEING ALIVE

It is a wonderful thing: being alive. To be able to breathe, to see, to smell, and to touch. These things which we take for granted are vital to our health and well being. God in His creative grace has chosen to share a bit of His existence with us and we call it life. He has given the energy of existence to all living things and we are blessed by it. The sights and sounds of life explode before us and we are often unaware of their presence. The laughter of children, the buzz of bees, chirping birds, trees, flowers, friendship and worship are just some of the things that give us a sense of awe and celebration to being alive. Sometimes the crises of life pungently bring to our attention those simple aspects of our daily routine which have a marvelous capacity for our nurture.

Often in our search for the profound we miss the profundity of the simple. In our haste to show up at the important events of life we miss a thousand opportunities to allow little things to prepare us for big things. In our search for the significant we miss some of life’s most pertinent pictures. Life has its own candid camera as well as its serious productions. It is a video victory when we have eyes to see and can really see. It is an audio miracle to have ears to hear and really hear.

Being alive is an event worth celebrating. The more we call attention to our aliveness the more grateful we are for being a part of God’s existence. Every day we receive multiple blessings for being alive. Let us count them.

Belief

If I were to say to you, “I don’t believe in molecules” how would you go about convincing me that you and your certainty that molecules exist are correct?

I have never seen a molecule with my own eyes. Neither have you. No one has. Even those who claim to study such things have not seen them except through the filter of high technology; technology that could be flawed, or a grand conspiracy. I have seen representations of molecules and even atoms, drawn by those who claim intimate knowledge and experience, but no molecule has ever forced itself into my awareness so as to induce in me a belief in its existence.

Yes, situations can be set up where under certain conditions actions result in a predicted and repeatable outcome, but does that prove their theories of why it happens? These priests of molecular physics and chemistry have agendas of their own; perhaps nefarious agendas. They promote science as the ultimate authority. Continue reading “Belief”

THE GOOD OLD DAYS

Sometimes we find ourselves wishing things could be the way they were. However “the way they were” did not last very long. Whatever past circumstances we long for were temporary at best. Nostalgia is a fickle feeling. It can give us pleasant thoughts about days gone by and yet it can cause us to be so unrealistic about the past that we penalize our present and our future. Time moves on and change is inevitable. The “good old days” are but a memory of a time when we thought we had less stress and strain. We tend to forget the complications of life back then because present complications overshadow anything that ever has been. In an attempt to escape the painful perplexities of today we try to reconstruct yesterday according to how we wish it had been.

Even though things never were exactly the way we think they were, we must never stop making beautiful memories. It may be out of the way we think things were that we find the motivation to create a tomorrow in the way we want it to be. In this manner our memories are closely connected to our dreams. Perhaps the only way we can construct our dreams is by remembering the way we wish things had been.

Therefore, as we long for the “good old days”, we can actually prepare ourselves for a better “new day” if we understand that every day has its share of hopes and horrors. The key is to be realistically aware that today we are making memories for the future. Yesterday is but a reminder that today contains the ingredients for a healthier tomorrow.

The major focus of our lives needs to be on the present. It is the only time we have. We cannot honestly reconstruct the past nor can we accurately produce the future. “Today is the day of salvation. Now is the accepted time.” Forgiveness and grace as well as beautiful memories enable us to live with our past. The kind of hope that produces a positive attitude enables us to move graciously into the future. It is the disposition of the present moment that controls our appraisal of both.

Let us, therefore, never minimize this present breath of life, this existing heartbeat of love, and this moment of consciousness. Indeed the psalmist gave us great insight when he wrote, “This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it.”

PATIENCE

As our Christian lives develop, patience becomes the key to the caliber of our commitment. It determines the depth of our perseverance. It controls the quality of our thoughts and actions. Through patience we acquire the skills to face life’s annoying circumstances. Patience creates an inner tranquility that adds smoothness to life’s ruffles. It defeats fear through faith. It controls dissension with love. It conquers despair with determination. It offers hope in the midst of that which seems hopeless. Patience combines the energy of trust with the spirit of obedience to create a godly attitude and lifestyle.

At no other time are we nearer the Lord’s dream for our lives than when we express patience. He calls us into the kind of life which requires us “to wait upon the Lord.” When patience is absent we often move ahead of God with devastating results. We hurry through life unwilling “to be still and know that He is God.”

Our prayers quickly evaporate in selfishness and futility. We lose our quiet moments of unhindered worship. When patience is absent we lose the spiritual stamina to keep God as the focal point of our lives. Our thoughts focus on the trivial and our energy is wasted in meaningless pursuits.

Without patience we run the risk of losing control of all our virtues. In haste we say things we do not mean. In moments of anxiety we do things we later regret. In anger we hurt those we love most. In restlessness we create problems for everyone with whom we share a bit of life. In bitterness and rage we lose the ability and the desire to forgive. Without patience the vision of grace escapes us. Our nervous energy plays havoc with our health and our only hope is for patience to save us from ourselves.

The calming effect of our own personal commitment to God is no doubt the answer to our struggle for patience. In Christ Jesus we experience the ingredients for a patient mentality and the prospect for an unfaltering spirituality. In Him alone is the peace of patience. May our prayer be for the “gentling” power of the Holy Spirit to be obvious in our lives at all times and in every crises.

WHAT ARE WE DYING FOR?

When we reflect upon the cross of Jesus, we are impressed by the fact that He invites us to share death with Him. In following Him we expose ourselves to a cross-like life. His promise is that in losing our lives we will find our lives. Love has no greater expression than laying down one’s life for another. The gospel is a cause worth dying for and many martyrs have made the ultimate sacrifice. The Christian life is a risk-taking adventure. We cannot escape its call to death even as it offers the highest quality of life. Because life is our most precious asset we cannot make a total commitment until it too has been offered. We can never overestimate the power of dying love.

There is a sense in which we are all dying for something. Some folk are dying for cigarettes. They are smoking themselves into the throes of lung cancer. There are those dying for excessive use of narcotics. They are drinking themselves toward alcoholism and cirrhosis. They are popping pills with fatal implications. Some people are dying for their careers. They are exhausting themselves into workaholics. They are losing the joy of their work in the addiction to work. We are beginning to see more and more people dying for food. Poor diets and gluttonous eating habits are creating serious health problems. There are any number of people dying for attention. They worry so much about being neglected it eats away at their nervous system. Yes, in one way or another we are all dying for something.

The big question which confronts us is this: Is what we are dying for, worth dying for? This is where the gospel comes to our rescue and offers us something bigger than ourselves to which we can be committed. Giving ourselves away to worthy causes is what the Christian life is all about. From the time we are born we begin the process of death. Hopefully on the journey we can find a life worth living through the things worth dying for. Some people are dying for no good reason. Other people are dying with a peace and a purpose from God.

The cross of our Lord becomes our model for both living and dying. The spirit of sacrifice is necessary for abundant living and peaceful dying. Our Lord taught us that unless a seed falls into the ground and dies it cannot produce life. Dying daily to ourselves we are resurrected in fulfillment. Giving ourselves away to that which is high and holy exposes us to that which is high and holy. May the Lord God of the cross give us a cross-bearing witness in a world which still crucifies innocence. Since we are all going to die at some time, let us make it worthwhile.

CHURCH BURNOUT

Burnout in the church and with the church is a live possibility for many folk today. They either drop out of church altogether or move to another church they think would be less stressful. Church has a way of overworking the gifts and skill of the over-willing. Some folk have so much to do at church they never have a “Sabbath” experience. They get caught up in “church work” and lose sight of the “work of the church.”

“Church work” is hard and demanding. It requires leaders to be on top of every situation, to manage conflict and to deal with interpersonal problems. These folk try to fulfill the wishes of a diverse body of believers and it is sometimes stressful. On the other hand, the “work of the church” involves everyone in doing missions and ministry. The “work of the church” is a cooperative effort where love, understanding, and shared responsibilities produce an effective witness. The focus is on the many and not the few. We must all be careful that “church work” does not hinder our vision of the “work of the church” or else burnout will occur.

Church burnout may have theological implications. Some may do their “church work” as a kind of penance. It becomes an effort to atone or pay for their sins. If they work hard enough they hope to find some relief for their inner guilt. Church burnout also comes to the overly pious. These folk overextend themselves in order to impress others with their commitment. Their struggle to be humble is frustrated by their proud intentions. They are so weary with “well doing” they lose the joy of what they are doing. Unwilling to accept their limitations they lose themselves in needless guilt. Having no theology of failure they lose their theology of hope.

“Church work” sets us up for burnout because there is no finished product. It is never completed. We never reach all the lost. We never feed all the poor nor heal all the sick. We never fix all people’s lives nor eliminate all their problems. We never learn all there is to learn. We are unfinished participants in a task that is far bigger than our ability to perform. Because there is no closure to our task we can easily become overwhelmed and burned out.

The “work of the church” rescues us from trying to do it all to doing all we can together. We do not have a finished job description because Jesus does not call us to a job, but to an adventure. Only God knows what it is all about. In His love He recalls us, changes our direction, and offers us new challenges. We surrender our burned-out souls to His rejuvenating care and do the best we can for Jesus sake today.

A MIRACLE

A miracle is not a miracle until its source has been recognized and celebrated. A beautiful sunset loses much of its splendor without a grasp of Who causes it to happen. The dawning of a new day is a spectacular event for all who see the divine paintbrush at work. Life is dull and routine if there is no awareness of God’s intervention in its particulars. Every day is full of mystery and meaning. The miraculous is as common as the explainable . The journey of life is one of faith. It requires us to see beyond the natural to the supernatural. Most of life is lived in the context of that which we do not fully understand. We simply trust the process observing much of which we consider is miraculous.

What then is a miracle? A miracle is any aspect of life that has God written all over it. It is not only that which is humanly unexplainable. It is that which has redemptive consequences for us. It is outside our ability to achieve. It is grace in motion as God’s power to perform is recognized. A miracle is capable of many interpretations. All of us do not see the same miracles. They are individualized to minister to our unique circumstances. We must not minimize each other’s miracles simply because we have a different interpretation to some event. Surely it would be a form of blasphemy to ridicule that which another person feels is God’s involvement in his or her life.

We are blessed indeed when we can behold the hand of God at work in His world. When the miracles of life leap out at us in unexpected moments, we can surely praise God for His unmistakable presence. A miracle is not a miracle for us until we have some significant way to celebrate its occurrence. We do not announce every miracle as though we have a more favored position with God. A powerful personal miracle is a humbling experience and we savor the event only for God’s glory. Sometimes it is a moment of grace for private interpretation only. Then again it may be an occasion for others to join the celebration. Let us be mindful of life’s miracles and find ways to share God’s power for God’s glory.