"Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing." -James 1:2-4 (ESV)
When we encounter any kind of difficulty that is naturally part of the fallenness and brokenness of this world, James tells us that the emotion and mind-set which should well up inside of us is JOY.
How is this possible? How can difficulty and pain bring joy?
For certain James is not a sadist. His point is not that the struggle itself is a source of joy. Rather, he explains that the believer can rejoice in the midst of trial because he understands that something bigger is going on.
God is allowing his faith to be tested.
Why?
According to James, this testing produces something in the believer that would have not otherwise been.
One look at my physique and you realize that I'm no body-builder, but I do enjoy starting my day with a good workout. When I look around the gym and see guys with arms bigger than my head, I can't help but wonder how many hours they've spent to build those muscles. Day in and day out, they had to be faithful to get up early, drive to the gym, warm up their muscles properly, eat and drink the right things, push their muscles to the point of pain and then push them some more.
It is only at the point of great resistance that tiny tears occur in the muscles and they are ultimately built up. The pain of doing one more push up, one more bench press, one more squat, is the very pain that builds new muscle.
I think this is what James is trying to get at. It's not that Christians seek out suffering or enjoy it, it's that we understand that our God allows it for His glory and our good.
The Apostle Paul says it this way in the famous Romans 8:28: "We know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose."
This is not simply a trite, warm, and fuzzy statement to put on a Hallmark card. This is the unshakable truth of the sovereignty of our God.
Our fleshly man needs to suffer. We need to be let down by the promises of this world and disappointed by the desires of our flesh. God is gracious enough to allow this in our lives. He's gracious enough to dash our hopes in this temporal life and in its fleeting pleasures.
I've come to believe that there is, in fact, very little that God teaches the believer apart from suffering, for it is only in taking up our cross and following Him daily that we are able to be conformed to His image (Lk. 9:23). It is only in giving up our lives that we are able to find them (Mt. 10:39).
God is taking the fallenness and brokenness of this world and redeeming it by working all of our circumstances and suffering together for His glory and our good. This grows our "faith muscles." It causes us to lean on Him and trust in Him more. Then He proves Himself faithful in the midst of the trail, and we can't help but rejoice!
Tuesday, June 17, 2014
Tuesday, June 10, 2014
the change in James
It's high time I started writing again. Invert Student Ministries has just completed a school-year-long series through the book of James, so I'd like to share some of the highlights from our year. Enjoy!
"James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ..." -Js. 1:1
How did James go from not believing in Jesus (Jn. 7:5) to calling him Lord in this verse, to becoming an authoritative voice at the council of Jerusalem (Acts 15), to (according to church history) dying for the name of his half-brother?
In the words of Tim Keller, "How hard would it be for me to convince you that your brother had been raised from the dead and was God" (paraphrase)? The truth is that James was either part of a movement of mass hysteria and delusion involving hundreds of people, or... he had actually seen his brother die and rise from the dead.
James' encounter with the risen Christ brought him new birth (see Jn. 3), and this new birth set him on the path to becoming the bold witness and leader we see in Scripture.
The truth is that unless we have the same new birth as James, we will not be able to read and understand and obey the words of his letter. James gives many challenging and encouraging thoughts in his book, but to attempt to follow them without the internal change that he experienced will only leave a person frustrated because of failure or self-righteous because of some level of external conformity.
So if you've not experience this internal change, the change that makes it possible for you to live obediently to Christ, I encourage you to seek it out! A great place to start is by reading through the Gospel of John. Ephesians 2:1-10 is also a good, short explanation of the gospel.
The gospel is the truth that God became a man in the person of Jesus Christ, lived a sinless life, died on the cross on our behalf to take away our sin, and rose from the dead to bring us new life. If you want to talk more about this, let me know. I'd be glad to answer any questions that you may have!
"James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ..." -Js. 1:1
How did James go from not believing in Jesus (Jn. 7:5) to calling him Lord in this verse, to becoming an authoritative voice at the council of Jerusalem (Acts 15), to (according to church history) dying for the name of his half-brother?
In the words of Tim Keller, "How hard would it be for me to convince you that your brother had been raised from the dead and was God" (paraphrase)? The truth is that James was either part of a movement of mass hysteria and delusion involving hundreds of people, or... he had actually seen his brother die and rise from the dead.
James' encounter with the risen Christ brought him new birth (see Jn. 3), and this new birth set him on the path to becoming the bold witness and leader we see in Scripture.
The truth is that unless we have the same new birth as James, we will not be able to read and understand and obey the words of his letter. James gives many challenging and encouraging thoughts in his book, but to attempt to follow them without the internal change that he experienced will only leave a person frustrated because of failure or self-righteous because of some level of external conformity.
So if you've not experience this internal change, the change that makes it possible for you to live obediently to Christ, I encourage you to seek it out! A great place to start is by reading through the Gospel of John. Ephesians 2:1-10 is also a good, short explanation of the gospel.
The gospel is the truth that God became a man in the person of Jesus Christ, lived a sinless life, died on the cross on our behalf to take away our sin, and rose from the dead to bring us new life. If you want to talk more about this, let me know. I'd be glad to answer any questions that you may have!
Monday, June 9, 2014
The Gospel and Gender Roles in Leadership
I hope our next President of the United States is a woman. Plain and simple, I think it's about time that we crossed that milestone as a nation. Of course, more than that, I hope we elect the most well-qualified and wisest candidate. I just hope it's a lady.
So I need to start out by saying that I have no bias against women in leadership.
But what should a Christian do with the fact that the Bible teaches that men are to be the heads of their households and the local church?
I've wrestled with this question for years. I've tried to balance the cultural aspects of passages like 1 Timothy 3, Ephesians 5, and 1 Corinthians 14 with my belief in biblical inerrancy, but I've never been able to shake the fact that I believe Paul really does want men to be the leaders in both the home and the church.
Is this because men are always the most qualified? I don't think so.
Is it because they are more naturally gifted leaders? Probably wrong again.
Was Paul's teaching given simply to accommodate the male-dominated societies of first century Palestine and Rome? I believe there is good reason to reject this notion as well.
There is in fact something unique about Christian marriage and about the church that require these particular (even if peculiar in our culture) gender roles. The gospel. Christian marriage is a picture of the spiritual union between Christ and His Bride, the church, and in turn a picture of the gospel.
No biblically faithful Christian would ever argue that anyone other than Christ Himself is the Head of the church. There is no egalitarianism in the Christ-church union. The church submits to Christ as her head without ever thinking to herself, "I only wish I had a more important role." Christ died for her! What else could He do to prove her great worth?!
Not only that, but Christ gave His life as an act of selfless, sacrificial love, the same love that a husband is to have for his wife. There was no thought of insisting on His own way as Jesus was accused falsely, beaten brutally, and mocked bitterly. The witness of the gospel is that the Head of the church consistently suffered loss for the sake of what was eternally best for His Bride. There was not a single shred of oppressive dominance in His love.
Now we could argue for gender-based roles in marriage and the church from other angles, but I believe that this angle helps explain things the most clearly.
In this respect, the roles of husband and wife in Christian marriage and the structure of leadership in the church act very much like baptism and the Lord's Supper. These are all visual pictures of the truths of the gospel.
So if the most qualified candidate for president in 2016 is a lady, I'll be the first in line to vote for her; but in marriage and in the leadership of the church, I still believe wholeheartedly in the model laid out for us in the New Testament.
What do you think? I'd love to hear your thoughts.
Monday, December 23, 2013
Spend Time with Sinners, Show Them Mercy
"And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God." -1 Cor. 6:11 ESV
On more than one occasion in my life, I've held to assumptions about certain "types" of people; and then, after actually spending time with them, my assumptions were radically altered, and my view toward their "type" was necessarily changed. As an inerrantist, conservative, evangelical Christian, I believe that the Bible never changes, but after studying church history a bit, it is obvious that some Christians' "application" of the Bible has been found wanting. Just before the verse I quoted above, the Apostle Paul has given one of his lists of those whose sinful ways will condemn them at the final Judgment, and then he takes the time to remind the Corinthians that some of them too were once in this state. But Christ and His gospel washed them!
Perhaps it is, at the moment, too much for me to ask some of my fellow believers to spend time with those of this world who are enslaved to self-destructive patterns - to take the light into the dark places and be the agent by which such men an women are washed, justified, and sanctified. I understand and honestly struggle with this at times as well. Yet I would humbly and strongly urge you to at least spend time with those whom you call "brother" or "sister," those whom you would claim are washed, but who still struggle with the painful and addictive effects of sin.
For me, it has only taken sitting with a Christian still struggling with alcoholism once. For me, it has only taken one time of talking to a drug addict just after they've fallen again. For me, it has only taken listening to a 40+ year old man talk about the fact that he's only ever been attracted to those of his same sex - listening to his choice to be lonely but chaste because he has been washed, while understanding that God may not free him from this struggle until he is free from his flesh and this world.
Some say we should redefine the Bible's definition of sin. Others say we should condemn all those who struggle in ways that are foreign to us. Neither are helpful or loving.
Why? Because sin is not just a choice, it is not only rebellion. It is also not just brokenness, not only a cause for pity. Those who would embrace only the former will become hypocrites, and those who cling to the latter will never really help anyone - their pity is powerless because it ignores God's holy standard. But if we understand that sin as both rebellion against God and an innate brokenness, we will be presented with an opportunity to be used by God to bring comfort and heart-change.
In all of this, I'm simply asking believers to not only mimic the message of Jesus and the apostles, but also emulate their methods. Sit down with the woman at the well, and since you don't have inexhaustible knowledge about her (as Jesus did)... just listen. Go into the house of Zacchaeus and Mary Magdalene, or, if you are not willing or able at the moment, at least reserve judgment until you do. This is not only prudent but essential, for James give us another warning that Christians dare not ignore: "So speak and so act as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty. For judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment" (Js. 2:12-13 NASB). We show mercy because we have been shown mercy in the gospel, and we show mercy because we are continually being shown mercy as we are both broken and rebellious each day.
Yes, God forbid that we redefine His holy standard, and God forbid that we be found on Judgment Day lacking in mercy after the Son of God left Heaven to suffer crucifixion that we may be washed, justified, sanctified, and (Praise His Name!) shown mercy.
In Christ,
Andy
On more than one occasion in my life, I've held to assumptions about certain "types" of people; and then, after actually spending time with them, my assumptions were radically altered, and my view toward their "type" was necessarily changed. As an inerrantist, conservative, evangelical Christian, I believe that the Bible never changes, but after studying church history a bit, it is obvious that some Christians' "application" of the Bible has been found wanting. Just before the verse I quoted above, the Apostle Paul has given one of his lists of those whose sinful ways will condemn them at the final Judgment, and then he takes the time to remind the Corinthians that some of them too were once in this state. But Christ and His gospel washed them!
Perhaps it is, at the moment, too much for me to ask some of my fellow believers to spend time with those of this world who are enslaved to self-destructive patterns - to take the light into the dark places and be the agent by which such men an women are washed, justified, and sanctified. I understand and honestly struggle with this at times as well. Yet I would humbly and strongly urge you to at least spend time with those whom you call "brother" or "sister," those whom you would claim are washed, but who still struggle with the painful and addictive effects of sin.
For me, it has only taken sitting with a Christian still struggling with alcoholism once. For me, it has only taken one time of talking to a drug addict just after they've fallen again. For me, it has only taken listening to a 40+ year old man talk about the fact that he's only ever been attracted to those of his same sex - listening to his choice to be lonely but chaste because he has been washed, while understanding that God may not free him from this struggle until he is free from his flesh and this world.
Some say we should redefine the Bible's definition of sin. Others say we should condemn all those who struggle in ways that are foreign to us. Neither are helpful or loving.
Why? Because sin is not just a choice, it is not only rebellion. It is also not just brokenness, not only a cause for pity. Those who would embrace only the former will become hypocrites, and those who cling to the latter will never really help anyone - their pity is powerless because it ignores God's holy standard. But if we understand that sin as both rebellion against God and an innate brokenness, we will be presented with an opportunity to be used by God to bring comfort and heart-change.
In all of this, I'm simply asking believers to not only mimic the message of Jesus and the apostles, but also emulate their methods. Sit down with the woman at the well, and since you don't have inexhaustible knowledge about her (as Jesus did)... just listen. Go into the house of Zacchaeus and Mary Magdalene, or, if you are not willing or able at the moment, at least reserve judgment until you do. This is not only prudent but essential, for James give us another warning that Christians dare not ignore: "So speak and so act as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty. For judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment" (Js. 2:12-13 NASB). We show mercy because we have been shown mercy in the gospel, and we show mercy because we are continually being shown mercy as we are both broken and rebellious each day.
Yes, God forbid that we redefine His holy standard, and God forbid that we be found on Judgment Day lacking in mercy after the Son of God left Heaven to suffer crucifixion that we may be washed, justified, sanctified, and (Praise His Name!) shown mercy.
In Christ,
Andy
Friday, December 13, 2013
Wonder in Music and Theology
The past seven days I've been thinking a good bit about music and theology, which is no surprise to anyone who knows me. These are two of my greatest passions. Last Sunday our choir performed one of the most beautiful arrangements of Christmas music I've ever heard. For most of the performance I was able to simply sit back and enjoy worshiping God through listening. One particular piece, sung in Latin, was especially meaningful.
I know that choir music is, for the most part, no longer in vogue in popular church culture, but I'm so grateful that our church preserves this amazing picture of the unity of the body of Christ through music. When I heard that Latin piece, I could not help but think to myself, "There is another place... a better place... than this busted old world," and through music I really believe we got to glimpse into that new creation which is coming.
As the concert ended and the week moved on, my thoughts kept going back there; and I think it was yesterday that I realized how music and theology share some very important characteristics.
First of all, as I mentioned above, music offers an opportunity to gaze into the beauty and majesty of God. Theology, at its best, does the very same thing, for theology is simply the study of God and His ways.
The coolest thing to me though is that you do not have to have a trained ear to stand in awe of beautifully performed music that is glorifying to God. In fact, at times those with "naked" ears may be at an advantage because they are so easily caught up into its beauty. The same holds true for theology. When an untrained eye looks into the heavens or into a microscope and marvels and gives glory to God for His creation, good theology happens.
On the other end of the spectrum, there are those who devote their entire lives to the study of the intricate details of music and theology. Sadly, though, many in both fields lose their sense of wonder as they dig deeper and deeper into the minutia.
Speaking from the vantage point of one who loves theology... we must hold in delicate balance our quest to "figure out" God and His ways and the amazement that a starry night should always cause in us. If ever my examination of details hinders my worship of His Great Mystery, I pray that His Spirit will correct me.
The world needs articulate theologians, and the world needs excellent musicians. As these explorers discover new and exciting terrain, it should lead the whole church to worship and stand in awe. This is the goal after all - that our hearts would be lifted to that new and better place where the Holy One abides.
"How we fail to understand when we think that the task of theology is to solve the mystery of God, to drag it down to the flat, ordinary wisdom of human experience and reason! Its sole office is to preserve the miracle as miracle, to comprehend, defend, and glorify God's mystery precisely as mystery." -Bonhoeffer
I know that choir music is, for the most part, no longer in vogue in popular church culture, but I'm so grateful that our church preserves this amazing picture of the unity of the body of Christ through music. When I heard that Latin piece, I could not help but think to myself, "There is another place... a better place... than this busted old world," and through music I really believe we got to glimpse into that new creation which is coming.
As the concert ended and the week moved on, my thoughts kept going back there; and I think it was yesterday that I realized how music and theology share some very important characteristics.
First of all, as I mentioned above, music offers an opportunity to gaze into the beauty and majesty of God. Theology, at its best, does the very same thing, for theology is simply the study of God and His ways.
The coolest thing to me though is that you do not have to have a trained ear to stand in awe of beautifully performed music that is glorifying to God. In fact, at times those with "naked" ears may be at an advantage because they are so easily caught up into its beauty. The same holds true for theology. When an untrained eye looks into the heavens or into a microscope and marvels and gives glory to God for His creation, good theology happens.
On the other end of the spectrum, there are those who devote their entire lives to the study of the intricate details of music and theology. Sadly, though, many in both fields lose their sense of wonder as they dig deeper and deeper into the minutia.
Speaking from the vantage point of one who loves theology... we must hold in delicate balance our quest to "figure out" God and His ways and the amazement that a starry night should always cause in us. If ever my examination of details hinders my worship of His Great Mystery, I pray that His Spirit will correct me.
The world needs articulate theologians, and the world needs excellent musicians. As these explorers discover new and exciting terrain, it should lead the whole church to worship and stand in awe. This is the goal after all - that our hearts would be lifted to that new and better place where the Holy One abides.
"How we fail to understand when we think that the task of theology is to solve the mystery of God, to drag it down to the flat, ordinary wisdom of human experience and reason! Its sole office is to preserve the miracle as miracle, to comprehend, defend, and glorify God's mystery precisely as mystery." -Bonhoeffer
Tuesday, December 3, 2013
Eternal Perspective in a Used Book Store
Yesterday I walked into a used book store where three very long and tall shelves were devoted to the Christian religion. These shelves were covered with Bibles, topical studies, theology, biblical languages, church history, and more. Some of these books were old...very old.
As I glanced at one particular multi-volume set of books, each book in the set containing at least five hundred pages, I thought to myself, "That's a man's life's work."
Obviously a person's value or contribution to the greater good cannot be boiled down to a set of books, but it's also sobering to think that so much of what this man had worked for now sat neglected on the bottom shelf in a used book store. Chances are... these books may never be read again. It was kinda sad to think about, but it was also sobering.
Having immersed myself for almost four years now in seminary studies while at the same time preparing weekly messages for our youth group, there has, in recent days, been a pull in my heart toward understanding more of the great theologians of church history and producing the kind of writing they are known for. Neither of these ambitions are, in-and-of themselves, absolutely right or wrong, because both carry with them a mixture of both fleshly and spiritual motivation. This is like most anything in life.
But as I looked at that expansive work on the bottom shelf, I wondered if my life's work, whatever it may be, might one day be confined to the bottom of shelf...or perhaps even the backyard bonfire. I stepped back from the shelf and said out loud, "This is ALL going to burn." From Calvin to Swindoll, it's all temporary. The greatest literary accomplishments of man will not last.
Embarrassed, I looked around to see if anyone heard my instinctive outburst. Luckily, I was alone, but as I left the shop, a profound (for me anyway) truth still rattled around in my head. It's a question I ask myself almost everyday, though it takes different forms: "What are you spending your life on?"
The wisest man (except for Jesus) who ever lived said, "My son, be warned: the writing of many books is endless, and excessive devotion to books is wearying to the body" (Eccl. 12:12 NASB). Seminary students offer a hearty, "Amen!"
Do books have their place? Absolutely! Even the Apostle Paul desired to have his books by his side in prison (2 Tim. 4:13). Does writing have its place? Of course! We learn to clarify our thinking and grow in wisdom and are in turn able to share that wisdom most effectively with others through writing. No one would argue otherwise.
The point is... we should do all of these things with an eternal perspective. The number of books you have read is not equal to your value as a human being (You laugh, but I've met many who think this way, and, sadly, have at times struggled with it myself.). If I read, it should be to understand God or life better or to enjoy God or life in richer ways. It should press me toward sanctification and a fuller existence as a redeemed human being. If I write, I should do so to clarify my own thoughts about God and life or as a means to more fully enjoy God and the life He has given me. Reading and writing should be worship!
I'm thankful for the lesson those massive shelves of books taught me. I hope I don't soon forget it.
In Christ,
Andy
As I glanced at one particular multi-volume set of books, each book in the set containing at least five hundred pages, I thought to myself, "That's a man's life's work."
Obviously a person's value or contribution to the greater good cannot be boiled down to a set of books, but it's also sobering to think that so much of what this man had worked for now sat neglected on the bottom shelf in a used book store. Chances are... these books may never be read again. It was kinda sad to think about, but it was also sobering.
Having immersed myself for almost four years now in seminary studies while at the same time preparing weekly messages for our youth group, there has, in recent days, been a pull in my heart toward understanding more of the great theologians of church history and producing the kind of writing they are known for. Neither of these ambitions are, in-and-of themselves, absolutely right or wrong, because both carry with them a mixture of both fleshly and spiritual motivation. This is like most anything in life.
But as I looked at that expansive work on the bottom shelf, I wondered if my life's work, whatever it may be, might one day be confined to the bottom of shelf...or perhaps even the backyard bonfire. I stepped back from the shelf and said out loud, "This is ALL going to burn." From Calvin to Swindoll, it's all temporary. The greatest literary accomplishments of man will not last.
Embarrassed, I looked around to see if anyone heard my instinctive outburst. Luckily, I was alone, but as I left the shop, a profound (for me anyway) truth still rattled around in my head. It's a question I ask myself almost everyday, though it takes different forms: "What are you spending your life on?"
The wisest man (except for Jesus) who ever lived said, "My son, be warned: the writing of many books is endless, and excessive devotion to books is wearying to the body" (Eccl. 12:12 NASB). Seminary students offer a hearty, "Amen!"
Do books have their place? Absolutely! Even the Apostle Paul desired to have his books by his side in prison (2 Tim. 4:13). Does writing have its place? Of course! We learn to clarify our thinking and grow in wisdom and are in turn able to share that wisdom most effectively with others through writing. No one would argue otherwise.
The point is... we should do all of these things with an eternal perspective. The number of books you have read is not equal to your value as a human being (You laugh, but I've met many who think this way, and, sadly, have at times struggled with it myself.). If I read, it should be to understand God or life better or to enjoy God or life in richer ways. It should press me toward sanctification and a fuller existence as a redeemed human being. If I write, I should do so to clarify my own thoughts about God and life or as a means to more fully enjoy God and the life He has given me. Reading and writing should be worship!
I'm thankful for the lesson those massive shelves of books taught me. I hope I don't soon forget it.
In Christ,
Andy
Tuesday, August 13, 2013
Forgetting Sermons (And Why That's Okay)
Do you remember riding home from church as a kid on Sunday afternoon ready to gnaw on your arm because you slept until the last possible moment that morning, skipped breakfast, and now sat famished? Do you remember the regret of realizing that mom (or grand mom) still had to finish preparing lunch, and, for some reason, at that moment one of your parents decided that it was the perfect time to ask a question:
"So... what did you learn in church today?"
Uh.......... (Brain tries to compensate by re-routing energy to memory....... fail........ Time to fake it.)
"Uh... God loves us! Jesus died on the cross for our sins!" Or insert your own default, though nonetheless true and doctrinally sound, Sunday School answers.
Not a few years later, it's sad to say that I still struggle to remember the specifics of even the best of sermons. I even regularly forget the main points of some of my own messages after a few days pass. This used to bother me, but then I began to think about what biblical or spiritual learning should really be about.
We tend to think of spiritual learning with the same categories as any other type of learning, and no doubt there is significant overlap. Learning = knowledge accumulation, application, and regurgitation. We could liken this building up of knowledge to adding books to the shelf of our mind. "I've got the basic gist of the gospel down. Check. Add that book to my shelf." "I've got the basic story line of the Bible down. Check. Add another book to the shelf."
This way of thinking about biblical learning isn't necessarily bad; it's simply incomplete. The reason it is incomplete is because spiritual learning is about both growth in knowledge and formation of character, and it's impossible to separate the two here. Spiritual growth is not only like adding books to a shelf, it's also like placing a rough-edged stone into a river.
When I hear my pastor preach I want to listen intently for new knowledge, and I want to affirm the knowledge that I already recognize as true. Going even deeper though, I want to allow his convicting, challenging, and edifying words from God's Word to wash over my soul. This is why spiritual formation is so much richer than many other learning endeavors, and it's also why remembering the main points of every sermon may not only be impractical but unnecessary.
I don't believe we'll be Bible quizzing on the Day of Judgment. God's word does say however that Jesus will reward each according to what he has done (Mt. 16:27). We understand that only those works done "in God" (Jn. 3:21), while abiding in Christ (Jn. 15) and walking in the Spirit (Gal. 5) will be worthy of reward.
So as I listen to a sermon, I want to ask the Holy Spirit to smooth this rough-edge rock. I want to ask Christ to think and feel and live through me. I want to ask God to do faithful and obedient works through this weak vessel.
Therefore, if we forget the three points of Sunday's message, but were eternally changed by a holy moment in the midst of it, I do believe we can mark that up as a win!
For example, my pastor made, what seemed to me, a passing comment this past Sunday. It wasn't one of his main points, but it struck me... like a brief but powerful torrent over a particularly rough edge of my soul. He said (paraphrasing), "We forgive...Not because the other person has asked for it or even deserves it, but because Jesus forgave us when we neither asked for it nor deserved it."
To close the loop on the point of this post - six months from now, I will not be able to articulate what my pastor said this past Sunday nearly as well as I just did. But I can promise you that his statement changed me, and the heart of it will stick with me, not merely as another book to put on my shelf, but as a life-changing truth that imprinted on my soul.
In Christ,
Andy
PS: I hope that this post doesn't encourage any sort of laziness in regards to listening well to sermons. As I affirmed above, we should all be listening well. I think this involves good note taking and returning to the text and notes the following week. My point in this post is that we should not think it sufficient to simply accumulate knowledge when it is the changing of our hearts that our God is after!
"So... what did you learn in church today?"
Uh.......... (Brain tries to compensate by re-routing energy to memory....... fail........ Time to fake it.)
"Uh... God loves us! Jesus died on the cross for our sins!" Or insert your own default, though nonetheless true and doctrinally sound, Sunday School answers.
Not a few years later, it's sad to say that I still struggle to remember the specifics of even the best of sermons. I even regularly forget the main points of some of my own messages after a few days pass. This used to bother me, but then I began to think about what biblical or spiritual learning should really be about.
We tend to think of spiritual learning with the same categories as any other type of learning, and no doubt there is significant overlap. Learning = knowledge accumulation, application, and regurgitation. We could liken this building up of knowledge to adding books to the shelf of our mind. "I've got the basic gist of the gospel down. Check. Add that book to my shelf." "I've got the basic story line of the Bible down. Check. Add another book to the shelf."
This way of thinking about biblical learning isn't necessarily bad; it's simply incomplete. The reason it is incomplete is because spiritual learning is about both growth in knowledge and formation of character, and it's impossible to separate the two here. Spiritual growth is not only like adding books to a shelf, it's also like placing a rough-edged stone into a river.
I don't believe we'll be Bible quizzing on the Day of Judgment. God's word does say however that Jesus will reward each according to what he has done (Mt. 16:27). We understand that only those works done "in God" (Jn. 3:21), while abiding in Christ (Jn. 15) and walking in the Spirit (Gal. 5) will be worthy of reward.
So as I listen to a sermon, I want to ask the Holy Spirit to smooth this rough-edge rock. I want to ask Christ to think and feel and live through me. I want to ask God to do faithful and obedient works through this weak vessel.
Therefore, if we forget the three points of Sunday's message, but were eternally changed by a holy moment in the midst of it, I do believe we can mark that up as a win!
For example, my pastor made, what seemed to me, a passing comment this past Sunday. It wasn't one of his main points, but it struck me... like a brief but powerful torrent over a particularly rough edge of my soul. He said (paraphrasing), "We forgive...Not because the other person has asked for it or even deserves it, but because Jesus forgave us when we neither asked for it nor deserved it."
To close the loop on the point of this post - six months from now, I will not be able to articulate what my pastor said this past Sunday nearly as well as I just did. But I can promise you that his statement changed me, and the heart of it will stick with me, not merely as another book to put on my shelf, but as a life-changing truth that imprinted on my soul.
In Christ,
Andy
PS: I hope that this post doesn't encourage any sort of laziness in regards to listening well to sermons. As I affirmed above, we should all be listening well. I think this involves good note taking and returning to the text and notes the following week. My point in this post is that we should not think it sufficient to simply accumulate knowledge when it is the changing of our hearts that our God is after!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)