Author: Kirk Lewis

All Who Labor

Background Passages: Genesis 2:15; Ecclesiastes 3:9-13; Colossians 3:23-24; Matthew 11:38

From the time we are children, we eagerly anticipate holidays. Thanksgiving brings us a parade and a feast of turkey and dressing as it reminds us to express gratitude for all God has provided in life. Christmas excites us with its time of gifts and giving, of family and the celebration of Christ’s birth.

New Year’s Day brings its new beginnings and more than its share of doomed resolutions. Easter is a time for hunting eggs with the kids and wearing our Sunday best to church as we remember all Jesus did as his gift of salvation. July 4th is all about picnics and fireworks as it instills its sense of patriotism and love for country.

Then, comes Labor Day…with its day off and the certain knowledge that proper women can no longer wear white.

Labor Day, enacted as a national holiday by President Grover Cleveland in 1882, commemorates the labor rights established to protect workers from the exploitation of way too powerful corporations and greedy industrial moguls concerned only with profit. It recognizes the many contributions workers have made to America’s strength and prosperity. I’m often reminded on Labor Day to express my gratitude for those who do the dirty and necessary work to keeps our society functioning.

I’m grateful for those men and women in my life who taught me the value of hard work. My first examples were my Dad and every other farmer I ever knew in that small West Texas community where I grew up. Hard work was an expectation. A life commitment.

My Mom spent the early years of my life as an equally hard-working farmer’s wife. No one who hasn’t lived that life should scoff at that. It was never easy. Her later years were spent as a medical director of a retirement community where her skill and compassion brought comfort to her elderly patients.

My thoughts this Labor Day weekend are less about the holiday and more about the work we are called to do and how we are called to do it.

Work is hard. Whether we work at home, at school, on a factory floor, in a petrochemical plant, on a farm or in a nice, air-conditioned office, work can be difficult.

Unreasonable deadlines. Computer crashes. Difficult customers. Demanding bosses. Baffling regulations. The list of challenges faced in the workplace is endless. From labor shortages to the difficult decisions to let employees go, it never seems to get easier. Even at home there is always another dinner to cook, another pile of clothes to wash and a lawn that needs mowing.

Despite the fact that we may be doing work that we typically enjoy, there are days when you wonder if it’s worth the effort.

It wasn’t supposed to be this way. In the perfect world God created, work would have been, well, perfect because the workplace was perfect.

“The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it…” (Genesis 2:15)

The life God planned for us went quickly off the rails because of sin’s devastating folly. The nature of work changed.

“Cursed is the ground because of you, in painful toil you shall eat food from it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow you shall eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken. For dust you are and to dust you will return. (Genesis 3:17-19)

Brutal!

The wisdom of Ecclesiastes describes the writer’s work experiences…the disillusionment that comes when his work leaves him unfulfilled.

I hated life because the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me. All of it is meaningless, chasing after the wind. I hated all the things I had toiled for under the sun because I must leave them to the one who comes after me. And who knows whether that person will be wise or foolish? Yet they will have control over all the fruit of my toil in which I have poured my effort and skill under the sun. This too is meaningless. (Ecclesiastes 2:17-18)

If that wasn’t sad enough, the writer continued to share his heart’s despair.

What do people get for all the toil and anxious striving with which they labor under the sun? All their days their work is grief and pain; even at night their minds do not rest. This too is meaningless. (Ecclesiastes 2:22-23)

His lament begins to sound like the gospel of the Rolling Stones, “I can’t get no satisfaction…but I try, and it try, and I try…

Let me stop there or we’ll be too depressed to get out of bed Tuesday morning. The writer of Ecclesiastes doesn’t completely despair. He doesn’t hit the snooze button on his alarm, refusing to get up for work the next morning. He tells us in Chapter 3 that there is a time for every activity under heaven.

What do workers gain from their toil? I have seen the burden God has laid on the human race. He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has set eternity in the human heart; yet, no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live. That each of them may eat and drink and find satisfaction in all their toil…this is the gift of God. (Ecclesiastes 3:9-13)

What changed in the writer’s heart?

It was the certain understanding that everything God created, even work, had its time, place and purpose. As we learn to trust him in all things, even work, we start seeing the work he has given us through our talent and skills as his work…doing good while we live.

So natural was this idea of work in God’s plan for us that when God sent his son to live and dwell among us, he toiled beside his father and brothers in the family business long before he began his ministry.

While the scripture tells us nothing about the 18 years between Jesus’ appearance in the temple as a 12-year-old and the beginning of his ministry as a man of thirty years, Jewish culture expected boys to begin working as apprentices in their father’s business. Joseph, Jesus’ earthly father was a carpenter, a worker in wood and stone.

It takes little imagination to feel the callouses on Jesus’ hands and see the muscles bulging as a result of many years wielding a hammer. You can see the tiny scars that represent every time the chisel slipped and cut his fingers. It takes little imagination to see the joy on his face as his friends and neighbors delighted in the house or table Jesus built for them with his own hands. It was a good work. A work God called him for when he sent him to Mary and Joseph. A work as much about his Father’s business at that time in his life as the redemptive work he would do later on the cross.

As he preached the gospel, Paul worked as a tentmaker to help pay his way. As someone who took pride in his work, Paul saw his vocation as an extension of his ministry. His way of setting himself apart from others as a witness for Christ. It was a word he extended even to the slaves of his day. This is what he told his brothers and sisters in Christ in the church at Colossae.

“Whatever you do work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.” (Colossians 3:23-24)

We spent easily one-third of our adult lives working. Paul tells us to pour our hearts into our work. Give it our absolute best, even when we might feel mistreated. Work each day as if the Lord himself was your boss because, he says, “It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”

It is the apostle’s way of reminding us that in a broken world, work will never be what it was intended. The good news is that Jesus changes everything. When we begin to see that our work, whatever it may be, is an extension of our ministry and mission given to us by God, then we’ll see the true value of every hour spent in his service.

• Farmers feed and clothe.
• Teachers develop and teach.
• Doctors and nurses heal.
• Industry workers create and build.
• Homemakers love and comfort.
• Police offers and firefighters protect and serve.

I don’t care what you do for a living. Your work is rife with opportunity to be the hands and feet of Jesus, touching the lives of all you encounter. What we do on Monday through Friday cannot be separated from the one we worship on Sunday.

It is the Lord Christ we are serving.

I don’t think I fully appreciated that truth as a young man. Work was work. Ministry was ministry. It didn’t often occur to me that those worlds should exist in the same space. God opened my eyes during a Halloween poster contest at one of the schools in our district.

I had been invited to judge a Halloween mask contest at one of the elementary campuses in my school district where I served in a low administrative role. Most of the masks hanging on the wall were decorated elaborately with obvious parental help.

Standing with the principal who was also judging, we came across one mask that was little more than a Kroger paper shopping bag with a crudely painted face upon it. Holes were raggedly cut for the eyes and mouth.

Thinking nothing of it, I sarcastically told the principal that it was obvious the parents didn’t help on this mask. She gave me a wry smile and told me that the father of the little girl who made this mask was in prison. The girl had been removed from her home because the mother had a severe drug addiction.

That timid, third grade girl had been sent to live with two elderly grandparents. Shortly after her arrival the grandmother died, leaving the little girl in the care of a grandfather who lived his life confined to a wheelchair and a bottle of oxygen.

By the time she finished the story, I fought back the tears of my insensitivity and heard clearly God’s gentle reminder that I was in this business to serve him. That I was to be about his business while doing my business.

I spent a few minutes that morning, my heart broken, but at the same time buoyed, sitting and talking with a smiling little third grade girl whose only refuge in life was the classroom. Whose only stability was her teachers.

God rocked my world that day, opening my eyes to the possibility that every minute of my work was my field…and the field was ripe for harvest. He reminded me that every day presented chances to show his love and grace to people who needed to feel his touch through me.

I hope you’ve had that moment in your career when you began to understand that it is the Lord Christ you are serving no matter what your job or profession might be.

It’s easy to do just enough work to get by. I watched a few people do exactly that during my 40-year career. However, God asks something different of those who he calls his children. As you start your work each day, be reminded that the writer of Ecclesiastes said to recognize our work is a “gift of God and to “do good while we live.”

When the alarm goes off each day, remember that Paul said that “whatever you do, work at it with all your heart,” as if you’re really “working for the Lord.” Find ways to express his love through the work you do.

If you’re doing it right, I’m convinced work will always be difficult, but it will never be drudgery. There will be times when “Thank God It’s Friday” will be less in anticipation of a weekend of celebration and more a prayer of praise that you survived another week. However, if we work each day as if we’re working for God, then the burden will not be all that heavy. There will be joy in the labor.

As a carpenter and stonemason, Jesus knew what it meant to work long, back-breaking hours in the blistering sun. He knew the burden of responsibility would take its toll some days…especially if we remember that it is the Lord Christ we’re serving. I think that’s one reason he told those who would listen…

Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28)

So as we enter this Labor Day holiday weekend, I pray you find the deserved rest and peace of Christ that will recharge your batteries and enable you to punch the clock on Tuesday with the resolve of one who knows for whom he is working.

Happy Labor Day!

I Must Become Less

Background Passages: John 1:29-31; John 3:23-30; Matthew 16:24-26

The classical music world generally considers Italian conductor Arturo Toscanini as the greatest and most influential musician of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Known for his intensity and his quest for musical perfection, he had an ear for orchestral detail, He was, at various times, the orchestra director for La Scala in Milan, Italy, and the New York Philharmonic Orchestra.

One evening after a performance of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, the audience gave Toscanini and the orchestra a prolonged standing ovation. Filled with great emotion, Toscanini turned to his musicians and whispered, “I am nothing. You are nothing.” Then, in a reverent tone, the conductor said, “But Beethoven…Beethoven is everything!”

For the gifted conductor, he and the amazingly talented musicians of the orchestra shined only as instruments through which the genius of Beethoven could be heard. Their presence and performance were subordinate to the music so brilliantly put together by the famed composer.

It’s a humility that John the Baptist understood in his relationship to Jesus.

In his Bible dictionary compiled in 1901, Dr. William Smith calls John the Baptist “the most theologically significant individual in the Bible” apart from Jesus Christ. Like Jesus, his birth is meticulously recorded in scripture and carried with it a miraculous conception reminiscent of Abraham and Sarah with its divine proclamation and intervention.

John is the only person recorded in scripture, other than Jesus as the fully divine expression of the Holy Trinity, to experience the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit from conception. Luke told us so as he described the angel’s message to John’s frightened father.

He will be a joy and delight to you and many people will rejoice because of his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is to never take wine or other fermented drink and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born. (Luke 1:14-16)

Prior to Pentecost, God’s spirit came to specific people for a specific time and a specific purpose. When that time and purpose had been accomplished or when the person turned away from God’s calling as Saul did, the Spirit left them. In John’s case, he lived his life from birth to death with God’s spirit ever present in his life.

Born into a priest’s home in Jerusalem, John the Baptist was Jesus’ cousin. Separated by the distance between Jerusalem and Nazareth, I doubt that the cousins saw each other much more than once a year when Jesus’ parents brought him to the holy city for Passover. Though they had much in common, they were intensely different people.

If Jesus’ mother Mary was like my mom, she would have lovingly called John an “weird onion” as she hugged his neck. He lived life differently from most boys. John might have teased Jesus about his studious love of scripture and Jesus might have joked with John about his camel-haired sense of style and his penchant for snacking on honeyed locusts. (Matthew 2:4) It would have been a fun relationship to watch develop over the years.

John began his public ministry before Jesus as a “voice crying out in the wilderness” preparing the way for the coming Messiah. He preached repentance to the Jewish people, telling them that the days in which they were living marked the culmination of the law and the prophets and heralded the dawn of God’s kingdom.

As a result of his ministry, people flocked to John’s side, listening and responding to his message. Hundreds, if not thousands, sincerely turned back to God and were baptized by John in the Jordan River. His was a simple, but powerful message. Someone asked him one day if he was the promised Messiah. In his response, you get a sense of John’s understanding of his role in God’s plan.

After me comes the one more powerful than I, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit. (Mark 1:7-8)

Now, imagine this day. John stood waist deep in the river, water dripping from his camel-hair shirt, as he baptized one person after another who confessed their sin and asked for God’s forgiveness. As he looked up to welcome the next person into the water, he saw the crowd part as Jesus walked carefully down the slippery riverbank.

In the booming voice of a wilderness evangelist, John declaresdto all who can hear…

Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. Reminding them of his earlier proclamation, John said, “This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.'” I did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel. (John 1: 29-31)

Jesus smiled as he stepped into the water in front of John and asked to be baptized. Dumbfounded, John couldn’t imagine any way that Jesus’ request made sense. Drenched in unworthiness. John refused.

“I need to be baptized by you, and yet, do you come to me?

I can see Jesus taking his cousin by the shoulders, staring intently but gently into his eyes.

“Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” (Matthew 3:14-16)

Afterward, John continued his ministry in the wilderness, calling the people to repentance and pointing the way to Jesus. At the same time, Jesus began to teach and preach. His teaching and his miracles drew crowds equal to and sometimes greater than John’s.

While John was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, along the Jordan River, about midway between Judea and Galilee, an argument developed between John’s disciples and a Jew over ceremonial washing. The Jewish man came to John and indicated that Jesus, whom John baptized, had been baptizing also and seemed to be drawing people away from John’s following.

It’s hard to tell whether the man was genuinely curious about what he felt like were competing ministries or whether he was trying to sew discord between John and Jesus. It could be that he was trying to pit one against the other for the benefit of the Jewish religious leaders who perceived both men as threats to their standing with the people.

John’s response caught my attention this week despite having read the passage many times. Listen to it.

A person can receive only what is given them from heaven. You yourselves can testify that I said, “I am not the Messiah but am sent ahead of him.” The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. He must be greater: I must become less. (John 3:23-30)

Because of God’s spirit within him, John the Baptist knew he played the role of best man in this story. Jesus was the bridegroom and those who believe in him his bride. That Jesus had now burst on the scene brought joy to John’s heart. Then, he said a few words you and I need to say every day.

He must be greater; I must become less.

Those eight words are easy for us to say, but so incredibly hard for us to live. Yet they need to be a constant refrain in our hearts.

If we’re honest with ourselves, we want Jesus to increase in importance to the world, but we kind of want to increase along with him. To decrease, to become less, makes us feel unimportant or forgotten. John took none of that into consideration. He wanted to live in such a way that people didn’t think of him at all. He wanted to live so people would think only of Jesus.

In those words, he challenged us to make Jesus greater in our lives, to take a back seat and let the light shine on Jesus. To let others see Jesus in and through us. Subordinating our will to his. Then, as John expressed, to find joy when we hear his voice louder than we hear our own.

John the Baptist expressed words of humility and I don’t always do humility well. Yet, the way of decrease is deeply engrained in scripture.

For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. (Romans 12:3)

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus. Who, being the very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. Being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on the cross. (Philippians 2:5-8)

Paul recognized his need to decrease in his life committed to Christ, telling the people of Galatia…

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I lie in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)

If I am to put Christ first in my life, let him increase, that means surrendering my will to the will of God. Becoming more like Jesus as I follow him. Living my life in complete and absolute faith in him.

You hear Paul’s words stemming from Jesus’ own words to his disciples as he explained the life God requires of all believers. It resonates just as clearly today.

Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. For what good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Matthew 16:24-26)

When I am willing to share the cross with Christ and follow his lead; when I am willing to lose myself in Christ’s shadow, only then will I find the abundant life he promised.

The praise of this world means little absent the presence of God in our lives. Putting him first. “Magnifying his name,” as Paul says when he sent his letter to the Philippian church.

When we use the word “magnify” today, we talk about making something bigger or larger like with a telescope or microscope. It was Paul’s desire that Christ would be magnified (made larger than Paul), so Christ would be honored, exalted and lifted up before all people.

Had he lived long enough to know Paul as the mighty missionary he came to be, John the Baptist would have agreed with him. To magnify Jesus means we must decrease while he must increase.

It is a sobering thought when I realize I’ve not always lived that way. With every temptation to exalt myself, I need to paraphrase the words of Toscanini. “I am nothing. You are nothing. But, Jesus…Jesus is everything.”

Let’s pray that God might help us live with the echo of John’s words in our hearts. “I must decrease; he must increase.”

Amen?

Amen.

Words of Godly Wisdom

Background Passages: Proverbs 2:3-6; Proverbs 3:3-6

Have you ever wondered who is the most often quoted American?

If you think about that question, you might respond with Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson or Dr. Martin Luther King

It might or might not surprise you that the most quoted American is actually Lawrence Peter Berra, “Yogi” to his friends. Yogi was a professional baseball catcher, coach and manager. He spent most of his Hall of Fame career with the New York Yankees. People consider him one of the greatest catchers in the game.

If Shakespeare wowed us with “the most unkindest cut of all,” Yogi mesmerized us with “We made too many wrong mistakes.” The catcher turn philosopher also gave us these gems of wisdom.

“No one goes there nowadays. It’s too crowded.”

“It’s like deja vu all over again.”

“Baseball is 90 percent mental and the other half is physical.”

“Always go to other people’s funerals otherwise they won’t go to yours.”

And, my personal favorite,

“I’m not buying my kids an encyclopedia. They can walk to school like I did.”

I guess I’m just a sucker for a good quote. Maybe that’s why I was drawn to Proverbs this week as I read through my Bible. When looking for a word of practical truth, it’s a good place to start.

One survey I read said that Proverbs 3:5-6 is the most often read and quoted Proverb. It says…

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, In all your ways acknowledge him and he will make straight your paths.

The verse’s strength rests in its simplicity. Put your faith in God’s divine guidance. Trust him as he leads you through life. Walk in humility and do not rest solely on your judgment and your grasp of the situation. Lean on God and your direction in life will be a lot clearer.

Simple to say yet so difficult to do.

You can glean a lot about life throughout the Proverbs. In fact, Solomon, the accepted author of most of these morsels of wisdom, states clearly why he wrote these down under the inspiration of God. Read what he says in Chapter 2.

…if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding. (Proverbs 2:3-6)

The simple truths the writer shares are answers to our call for insight and understanding. Proverbs is written to help us discern God’s truth and his will. Our diligent quest for the wisdom that comes from our Father in heaven. As the old children’s show on television said, “The more we know, the more we grow.”

Here are a few of my favorite Proverbs and a few thoughts on each.

A quarrelsome wife is like a constant dripping on a rainy day; restraining her is like restraining the wind or grasping oil with the hand. (Proverbs 27:15-16)

Okay, that one just makes me laugh and was written by a man who, in sync with the kingly culture of the day, had many wives. I’m guessing one of those women wasn’t his favorite.

I’ll just counter it with my personal experience found in Proverbs 31.

A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies. Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value. She brings him good all the days of her life. (Proverbs 31:10-12)

Sticking with the family theme…

Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he shall not depart from it. (Proverbs 22:6)

I think what this verse tells us is that we should create in our children a desire to know God, to whet their appetite for the things of God. If we do that well enough, the probability of them straying from that path is small. It stresses the importance of the role parents play in guiding their children through the formative years of life.

I like how the Proverbs also speak to our relationships outside the family.

If a man loudly blesses his neighbor early in the morning, it will be taken as a curse. (Proverbs 27:14)

It may not be a favorite, but it’s a good reminder to not call a retired person before 9 a.m. and disturb his “easing into the day” time.

As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. (Proverbs 27:17)

People are shaped by their relationships with other people close to them. I think this proverb speaks to the importance of companionship and friendship in our growth as a person of God. So many men and women, young and old, molded my life over the years through the friendships we developed. I continually learn from others how God desires me to live. I live in gratitude to so many.

That thought leads to another great proverb that teaches me that a humble spirit is the heart of those relationships that help us grow as people of faith.

Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall. (Proverbs 16:18)

Others cannot mold and shape us if we are too proud to listen to their sound advice. Humility, the essence of the spirit of Jesus, the one which we should follow as we walk “humbly before God” and our fellow man.

A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. (Proverbs 15:1)

Regarding relationships, this proverb really tells us that our words and our tone matter as we try to help each other grow in Christ, resolve conflicts and mitigate anger. Being temperate and tactful keeps issues from growing out of proportion.

These represent just a few of my favorite words of wisdom shared in Proverbs. I’m drawn to Proverbs because of the practical advice wrapped in the endless metaphors strung together in catchy phrases.

In serious study, I find the Proverbs far more than that, however. The Book of Proverbs communicates a distinct world view or set of values to which most of us can easily relate. They speak to what it means to be godly in a fallen world.

Because the book of Proverbs succeeds in giving us an idea of how God designed the world to work, abiding by these pearls of wisdom sure makes life easier. Don’t mistake the Proverbs as simply sound advice. If we use the Proverbs as a source of godly wisdom rather than human advice, they begin to speak to the heart in ways that change the way we live and relate to others.

In the general course of a life lived for the Lord, the words of Proverbs 3:3-4 seem most relevant.

Let love and faithfulness never leave you. Bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and men.

What’s your favorite proverb? Share it in the comment section below.

Deep Roots

Background Passages: Matthew 13:1-23

Reading through the Bible gives us a marvelous glimpse into the teachings of Christ. The truth revealed remains as universally true today as it was then. However, I can’t help but feel that every conversation recorded in the Bible that Jesus has with the people who followed him from place to place is a concisely edited synopsis of what was actually discussed.

I enjoy reading between the lines and imaging the scene unfold. Jesus spent some time one day telling a parable about how differently God’s truth is received by those who hear it. As the day closed, his disciples struggled to understand so Jesus took the time to explain the truth they needed to know.

I sometimes like to put myself around the campfire, listening in on the conversations Jesus had with others. Read the passage in Matthew 13. Then, read the story below. Don’t worry about the format. I promise it’s not poetry. It’s just style.  I certainly don’t know if it happened this way, but it seems to be in keeping with my image of my Lord.

“Like locusts,”
Peter marveled,
“descending on a field of grain.”
The disciple commented on the crowd
gathering for the Master’s teaching.
Another day.
Another multitude.

James.
A disciple of Christ.
The son of Alphaeus.
Not the fisherman.
Raised his head.
Glanced back at the mass of humanity
spreading out across the mountain.
Muttered his agreement.
“Give them credit,” said James.
“They’ve come a long way in this heat
just to hear his words of wisdom.”

James watched Jesus working his way
among the crowd.
So full of energy.
Eager to engage each person on a personal level.

Stretching almost as far as he could see,
hundreds of men, women and children
congregated on the dusty hillside.
Turned its landscape into a
blossoming field of flowing robes.
Stretching their necks to catch a glimpse of the man who…
Worked miracles.
Fed thousands.
Healed the infirmed.
Spoke more clearly than any rabbi.

James shook his head in wonder.
Leaning hard against the prow of the boat,
He and Peter
pushed the small fishing vessel
into the warm waters of the Sea of Galilee.
Gave their Master a platform from which to speak.

The multitude settled at last to understand more about
the carpenter turned rabbi.
Many shouted out.
Sought answers to their most pressing questions.
“Who are you exactly?”
“Why are you here?”
“What must we do?”

Questions James heard since the
Jewish leaders began their disinformation campaign
accusing Jesus of every type of heresy under the Law.

James watched.
Jesus waited.
The tide of questions ebbed.
Amid the silence of anticipation,
Jesus pointed to the distant hillside.
“See that farmer?”

The crowd turned to look.
James chuckled under his breath
at the sound of rustling robes turning in unison.

A Farmer.
Stood straight against the weight of the
heavy seed bag tied around his waist.
Every two or three steps he stopped.
Dipped his hand into the sack.
With a casual and practiced flick of his wrist,
he cast seeds across his small plot of land.

“My work is much like his,” said Jesus,
“Sowing seeds of God’s truth to those who will hear.”
As the crowd turned back, he asked,
“Will you listen?”

“A farmer went out to sow his seed…”

James sat at Jesus’ feet as he always did.
Mesmerized
by every word.
Marveled
that the simplest illustration held such elaborate truth.
Awestruck that Jesus could pull a lesson of
immortal value from the
most mundane acts of life.

Sermon ended.
Service began.
Jesus and the disciples moved through the crowd.
Helping in any and every way they could.

James thought about the parable
throughout the day as he worked.
Unsettled.
Uncertain.
Uneasy.
He missed something.
He was sure of it.

At last,
the crowd dispersed.
Jesus sat around the campfire surrounded by
his most trusted followers.
Exhausted from the day’s ministry.
As was their habit,
they sat around the campfire…
Talking quietly.
Reflecting privately.
Discussing intimately.
Debating meaning and intent of the words they heard.

Jesus.
Rested against a fig tree.
Arms across his chest.
Head back.
Eyes closed.
Listening, but not looking.

James.
Shuffled from group to group.
Listened intently to the conversations.
Contributed little as he processed what he heard.
He found himself standing beside the tree where Jesus sat.
More nervous than usual when alone with Jesus.
Kicked the toe of his sandal against a root,
hoping that Jesus would notice his presence.

Finally, he cleared his voice.
“Jesus.
Are you asleep?”

Jesus.
Didn’t move a muscle though
a rueful grin broke across his face.
One weary eye opened.
One eyebrow raised.
“I wish!” He groaned.
Glancing up at the young disciple,
“What do you need,
my friend?”
.
James looked sheepishly at the others around the fire,
feeling inside that they knew things he did not know.
“That parable you told today…
about the farmer…
What exactly did it mean?”

Jesus arched his back.
Pushed away from the trunk of the tree.
Grasp his knees and pulled them to his chest.
Speaking in a voice loud enough for all the disciples to hear,
“Among all men, you are fortunate.
The secrets of the Kingdom of God have been revealed to you.”
James chuckled again as the rustle of their robes
reminded him of the crowd on the hillside.

Closing his eyes as if thinking of the multitude,
Jesus shook his head.
“The others…the people…
I speak in parables to help them understand.
So they can see what they may not see.
Hear what they may not understand.”

He paused for a moment.
Searched their eyes.
Sensed their uncertainty.

“This is what the parable means…”

The explanation.
Lengthy and to the point.
The disciples listened.
Some nodded in agreement.
Some probed with further questions.
James sat silently.
Getting the point,
but still sensing a gap in his understanding.
Innate shyness prevented him from pushing for clarity.

Later.
Jesus leaned again,
alone against his tree.
The others congregated in small clusters around the camp.
Again in quiet conversation.

James.
Paced the edge of darkness.
Hands behind his back.
Deep in thought.
He found himself once again
standing beside the tree.
Silent.
Still.

Jesus again wearily opened one eye.
Raised one eyebrow.
Smiled slightly at the timid intrusion.
Spoke in a quiet, reassuring voice.
“Something bothering you, James?”

The young disciple
leaned against the tree.
Facing east to Jesus’ south.
Slid quietly to the ground,
letting the course bark scratch his back.
He settled in silence into a comfortable spot.

Always patient,
Jesus waited for his friend to speak.
After a moment, James said,
“I get most of it, I think.
You’re the farmer…at work in your world.
The seed…God’s truth. His word.
The different kinds of soil…hearers of His word.
Hard.
Rocky.
Thorny.
Fertile.”
James paused again,
unsure of his next thought.

James pressed Jesus for clearer understanding.
Deeper insight.
About the soil…the listeners.
“How can they hear the same word so differently?”

“What do you think?” Jesus asked,
“always answering a question with a question.”

“The hard soil.
On the surface, no pun intended,” he smiled.
“it seems to talk about the…
Determined opponent of God.
Disinterested in godly things.
Hard. Bitter. Beaten down by life.
Refusing to let any ounce of truth penetrate the surface.
Hardened to any possibility of faith.
Clearly, an unbeliever.”

“But, I think there’s more to it than that.”
Turning to Jesus he said,
“Isn’t it possible a person could be so wrapped up in doing good,
that he may no longer hear a new word from God?
So focused on his ministry that he misses other opportunities to serve?

Jesus.
Eyes still closed.
He said,
“True enough.
Look at the Pharisees.
So busy with ritual they never get to know God intimately.
So involved in ‘worship’ they never practice what they preach.
Worship must be personal.
Must breech the hardness of our hearts
or it’s meaningless.”

Encouraged,
James pressed on.
“The soil on top of rocky ground…
Enough sustenance to sprout.
Not enough to grow.
Some listeners,
excited about the work of God,
try to live it daily.
Yet when crisis comes,
when they fall upon hard times,
they fall away.
Faith withers and dies.”

Jesus nodded.
“We must be grounded,
rooted in our faith,
if we are to withstand the difficulties
we will inevitably face.
Life is not easy.
A true life of faith even more difficult.
Setting our roots means we must be so grounded
in our study of God’s word
that we never lack for spiritual nourishment that sustains.”

James quietly quoted something Jesus said
in another time,
another place.
“If I say I love God and don’t evidence it in my life,
I’m a liar.”

Jesus laughed,
“You have been listening.”

The two men sat in silence for a while as James thought
deeply about what Jesus said.
The disciple took another deep breath.
“Let’s talk about the third soil…
Full of weeds and thorns.
Choking the life out of the good grain.
Bad attitudes and actions strangle life.
Good intentions get choked out by disbelief.”

James.
Energized.
Engaged.
Eager.
Sat cross legged now facing Jesus.
Hands gesturing to punctuate his excitement.
“Lives get smothered by things that ultimately don’t matter.
We nit-pick each other over inconsequential things.
Kill our own spirit and the
spirits of those around us.”

Jesus.
Fully awake and animated
mirrored James’ posture.
Cross legged and leaning toward his friend.
He reached across the distance between them.
Slapped him on the knees.
“Now, you’re getting it!”

Jesus added,
“There is a tendency to lose the joy of salvation.
The dogs of life nip at our heels.
We let bias and prejudice get in the way of loving relationships.
Arguments over things…
great or small…
just don’t matter in the end.
It chokes our relationships.
Get in the way of our ability to love one another.”

Jesus’s eyes danced.
“Go on, James,” he urged,
“What about the good soil?”

James sat for a minute.
Stunned that he was enmeshed in this conversation.

“The good soil…
Fertile.
Rich.
Bountiful.

“Represents those of us who get it.
Those who understand what God desires of us.
Understand more clearly who you are.”
Those who take part in the harvest.
Bringing people to know you.
To accept your truth.”

Jesus.
Shook his head.
“The kingdom needs more people
connected to the vine and
producing fruit.”

James sat back,
basking in Jesus’ praise.
It was a good feeling.

Jesus stared at him with an intensity
he had never sensed from his master.
“Think, James.
“It’s deeper than that. There’s more.
Keep digging.”

James found himself…
Prodded.
Probed.
Propelled beyond
convenience and conventional wisdom.
His mind raced.
Vaguely aware that other disciples had gathered around.
Listening intently to the dialogue.

His finger punched in frustration at the ground beneath him.
“I don’t understand.
You’re not making sen…”
James stopped in mid-sentence.
Sat back.
Mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water.
His mind processing a new thought.

Quietly.
Thinking aloud.

“The farmer broadcast his seed in the field.
The field…
The field…
It’s the same field…
All of the soils.
Hard packed.
Shallow.
Thorny.
Fertile.
They’re all in the same field!”

Jesus leaned in…
Broad smile on his face…

“Sooooo…”

James looked at Jesus.
Tears of understanding welled in his eyes.
“They’re all me.
Every soil is me.
It’s not about how the multitude responds to the gospel,
it’s about how I respond.

I can be at times too hard…
too busy even in service to be of service.
I can be shallow and artificial in faith…
fainting at the first sign of adversity.
I can be overly concerned with things
that don’t matter in God’s grand scheme.
Hypercritical of others.
Or,
I can be productive, fertile…
fully responsive to the will of God in my life.

Jesus looked at James.
Eyes sympathetic and understanding.
“Knowing our capacity for failure is the
first step in avoiding the pitfalls.
Like I said before,
‘All have sinned and fallen short of the
glory of God.”

James wiped away tears with the sleeve of his tunic.
Embarrassed by his display of emotion.

Jesus.
Grasp the hand of his disciple.
Firm and reassuring.
“Don’t worry about the tears, James.
You’re in the good soil now.
You’re just watering your roots.”

I’m not sure about you. This parable speaks to my faith…crisply and clearly. Identifying my life, at best, as a spasmodic attempt to respond to the call of God.

Any honest evaluation of my life shows that I am sometimes…self-absorbed. Too busy acting good, rather than doing good. Sometimes…false and artificial. Exhibiting a show of faith, without the substance of faith. Sometimes…Nit-picky and hypocritical. Judging the speck of sawdust in the eyes of others, while ignoring the plank in my own.

Sometimes…fertile and productive. Stretching my roots into the deep, loamy soil of God’s truth. Fully responsive to his will.

My prayer for me and for you is simply this. That we find time to listen to the voice that tells us we’re missing something important in God’s word. To find the courage to sit at the tree where Jesus sits, asking for clarity and understanding. To dig deeper into familiar scripture. To sink our roots into the fertile soil of truth.

May our tears of understanding water the roots of our faith.

Author’s note: Life intervened this week. While I studied God’s word as I normally do, I could not find the time to write a new word. So, this is a slightly edited version of a study I wrote back in 2016. It served as a great reminder to me to keep digging for God’s truth.

We the People…

 

Background Passages: I Peter 2:11-17; Titus 3:1-2; Matthew 22:37-40 and Micah 6:8

“We the people of the United States of America, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, ensure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution of the United States of America.”

Mr. Watts, my history teacher back in Ropes High School, required us to memorize the Preamble to the Constitution. Despite it being over 50 years since I committed those words to memory, most of them came easily during this 4th of July week as I prepared to lead a discussion with a group of young adults from my church on the topic of politics, government and Christian citizenship.

The opening words to the Constitution seemed a good place to start since they pretty much establish government’s responsibility to its citizens. This curious group of men and women who gathered at my house had questions about our responsibility as Christians in a world that does not often reflect Christian values. Given the divisive tone echoing in most political debates today, it seems a good question.

The early history of the church was a tangled mess of politics and religion. Once the Roman emperor Constantine gave Christianity legal status in 313 AD and Theodosius declared the Christian faith the official religion of Rome, the next 1400 years found the political leaders across the centuries engaged in a constant battle for power with the Church, each dominating the other at various times through history.

As European culture expanded into the New World, ostensibly searching for religious freedom, each British colony established an official church and restricted religious freedom to that specific denomination or sect while ostracizing or persecuting those who believed or worshipped differently.

When the founding fathers drafted the Constitution, there was only one reference to religion in Article VI that prohibited any religious test as a requirement for public service. Those early colonies with their official church limited public service to members of the official church.

Interestingly, it was a couple of Baptist pastors who pushed Thomas Jefferson and James Madison to include a statement on religious liberty in the Bill of Rights which were later amended into the Constitution.

The First Amendment, known as the Establishment Clause, declared that “Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…”

In its strictest interpretation, the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment prevents the federal government from establishing a national church or religion and more broadly says that the federal government cannot adopt a stance in favor of or against any religion. Nor can the federal government prohibit the free exercise or expression of religion. It gives everyone the right to believe and practice one’s religion or to have no faith at all.

It wasn’t until the late 19th century that the 14th Amendment placed similar restrictions on state governments. Until that time some states still provided public support to the state’s officially recognized church.

Jefferson wrote that the First Amendment “built a wall of separation between church and state.” As he introduced the First Amendment, Madison said the amendment would make it possible for “each individual to decide for himself whether or not he wants to be religious, and if he does, what religion best suits his conscience.”

We could engage in very real conversations about whether the government is making it harder to practice one’s faith, but that conversation ultimately leads to a discussion about what Christian citizenship should look like. The biblical writers provide a glimpse into what God desires of his people as they wrestle with the balance between politics and faith.

Jeremiah certainly understood this tension between government and religion. He proclaimed God’s word in a time when the people of Israel had been conquered and taken into exile by Babylon. He wrote a letter to the elders, the priests and the people carried away by Nebuchadnezzar telling them how to live as God’s people while in exile.

He encouraged them to settle down, build houses, plant gardens and have families. He told them to live life to its fullest even under these extraordinarily difficult circumstances. He wrote,

“Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper. (Jeremiah 28:7)

God’s people found themselves in a foreign land, one that lived and believed differently than they did. Yet, God put them there for a purpose. (…I have carried you into exile…) He told them to pray for the peace and prosperity of the city that took them from their homes because in its welfare they would find their own welfare.

It seems then that the first order of business for a Christian citizen is to pray for those in power and for the welfare of the nation because if it prospers, we too will prosper. The writer of 2 Chronicles added to that element a need to make sure our hearts are right when we pray.

…if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. (2 Chronicles 7:14)

Given that we aren’t always privy to God’s purpose and plan and that we need to be acting within God’s purpose and plan, it seems proper to pray and trust his providence no matter how long it takes for that to be realized. God’s timing is not always our timing.

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. (Jeremiah 28:11)

Christian citizenship also requires us to put a little trust in our leaders…to a point. If you believe that God is in control, then no one rises to power without his allowing it. Living under authority of Rome, Paul urged the people of the early church to be subject to the governing rulers for there is “no authority except that God has established.” (Romans 13:1)

It was an idea echoed by Peter in one of his letters to believers, many of whom were facing some level of persecution at the hands of the Roman authorities.

Dear brothers, I urge you as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us. Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human authority, whether to the emperor, as the supreme authority, or to governors who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people. Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover up for evil; live as God’s slaves. Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, honor the emperor. (I Peter 2:11-17)

That doesn’t mean that Christians give blind obedience to those in authority. There may be times when obedience to Christ calls us to put our lives at risk as we oppose evil. I’m thinking about necessary Christian opposition to all that Hitler and a host of tyrants like him represented.

I also don’t believe that Peter suggests that we should not question and even speak against policies and laws that we believe run counter to what is morally and spiritually right. However, I think both Paul and Peter would agree that there is a Christ-like way of dissenting against those who rule over us.

When Paul tells the Roman believers to submit to authority, he does so within the context of words spoken in Romans 12. He talks about “blessing those who persecute you,” “living in harmony” with those outside the faith, “repaying no one with evil for evil,” but give thought in what is “noble in the sight of all.” He urged them, “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

Both Paul and Peter teach that a Christians response to government ought to advance the cause of Christ. That cannot be done if we behave like someone who doesn’t know him.

Peter’s idea of good Christian citizenship was to live such good lives that those in authority would see a difference in how they lived compared to the rest of the empire. He wanted their lives to serve as a guiding testimony that might lead others to know Christ. They could do that by showing proper respect to all, loving each other, revering God and honoring the emperor. It was a tall order.

Lest you think it was just Peter’s opinion, Paul wrote a similar thought to Titus.

Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and always be gentle toward everyone. (Titus 3:1-2)

It’s a Christ-like attitude he describes when he talks about obedience, doing good for others, and talking badly about anyone. He wanted them to live in peace, being considerate and gentle in their dealings and their disagreements with their fellow man and the authorities. Expressing our opinions and beliefs in ways that advance the cause of Christ rather than diminish it.

In his book Back to Bedrock: Messages on Historic Baptist Faith, Dr. Paul Powell, dean of Truett Seminary at Baylor University, suggests that if we truly believe in religious liberty, that everyone is free to receive or reject the gospel, our opposition to laws we believe run counter to God’s law must be expressed, as Paul suggested to Titus, in love and gentleness, peaceably and with respect and consideration for the beliefs of others.

Powell wrote, “This was Jesus’ style. He never coerced, bribed, deceived or threatened people. He made his position known and respected their freedom of choice.” He said, “We are to share the gospel, not shove it.”

In a time when many Christians feel the government is shoving new laws down their throats, the natural human reaction is to shove back. Ramp up the rhetoric, vilifying the laws and those who support it. The conversations become rancid and rancorous…wholly un-holy.

That’s not to say Christians should not oppose issues that go against what we believe. However, there is a Christ-like way of doing so. One that glorifies God. One that keeps the door open for healing and redemption. One that expresses love for others.

In our group Bible study this week, we talked about some of those pressing cultural issues like abortion, sexuality and gender issues, gay marriage, race relations and divorce. A whole host of societal questions. They wondered why the church does not speak out more about things many Christians might think of as issues that definitively run counter to Christian teaching.

I don’t know if I had the right answers. The older I get the more I struggle with things I once thought of as black and white issues. The shades of gray become more prominent with each passing year. Most issues seem more nuanced now than the simple right or wrong of my younger years.

I know Christian people who have had an abortion. I know Christian people who live an alternate lifestyle to my own. I know Christian people whose views of many of these critical issues of the day are tempered by their own personal experiences. Judging those perspectives is not my call.

Every individual is God’s creation, one who the father in heaven loves. Someone with whom God desires a relationship. If my opposition to a lifestyle or issue gets in the way of God’s redemptive work, I’ve probably failed in my responsibility to love. I’ve failed to leave the door open for God to be at work in my life and the one who believes differently than I.

What I know with certainty, if my words and actions amid the debate over these critical issues push people away from Christ, my sin is more egregious. Jesus embraced those who would not embrace him. He never pushed them away. He loved them anyway. He ate dinner with them. He offered his friendship.

He talked to them gently about the living water he offered while encouraging them to be set apart and different than the world around them. That ought to be my model for every relationship and on every topic up for debate.

George MacDonald, a Scottish poet and pastor, called Christianity a “two-handed religion.” He said Christians are to “hold fast to God with one hand and open wide the other to your neighbor.”

Think of what Jesus taught in his parable of the Good Samaritan. Life is like the Jericho road. It is a place where people get wounded. We, as Christians, play the role of the Samaritan, people who help others in need, whether they find themselves tossed into a ditch or have fallen into it by their own choices. No accusations. No name-calling. Just a willingness to open wide a hand to a neighbor.

The church ought to be like the inn in Jesus’ story. A welcoming place where the lonely, confused and hurting can be accepted, helped and healed.

I believe Christians ought to be knowledgeable and involved in government, politics and social action. There is a clear call in the Bible for Christian citizenship. It’s how we approach these things that makes the difference. Will we be reactionary or redemptive? I think God calls us to be the latter.

In Matthew’s gospel he tells of a time when a Pharisee tried to get the best of Jesus by asking him to name the greatest commandment.

Jesus replied, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: “Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:37-40)

If all of God’s law hangs on these two commands from God, including those Christians use to support our arguments against various laws of our land, then my response to those issues needs to be tempered first and foremost by my love for God and my love for my neighbor. These commandments will change the way I talk about these issues and change the way I relate to those who think differently than I do.

Then, I fall back on one of my favorite verses in the Bible that outlines clearly what God demands of me as a Christian citizen.

He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. (Micah 6:8)
.
If nothing else, it’s something to think about during this Fourth of July week.

Raise the Bar

Background Passages: 2 Peter 1:5-9; Galatians 5:16 and Philippians 3:10-14
The streak of laziness that runs through my bones was never more evident than my high school track career. I tried out for every field event in an effort to escape any serious running events. While I had a small measure of success in the shot put, my efforts at the broad jump, high jump and pole vault might be classified as dismal.
I found the sand pit too far from the foul line and the pole vault abjectly frightening. I really wanted to do the high jump, but my technique and general lack of skill ended that dream.
A few years after my high school efforts, my cousin Paul advanced to the Texas state championship in the high jump and eventually took his skill to college where he set a personal best of 6’10”. He fell just short of the world record…had he been jumping in 1937. (I hope God will forgive me for that family dig even if Paul doesn’t.)
I don’t know for sure how high the bar was when the competition started back when Paul was back in college. I’d be stunned if they started the event at 6’10”. Paul most certainly worked up to his personal best in incremental steps. Each jump built upon the success of the preceding jump. Chances are my cousin never would have cleared his personal best without raising the bar along the way.
I found myself wondering this week if that’s what Peter had in mind as he began his second letter to the early Christian churches. To grow in our spiritual maturity, Peter said we need to be willing to raise the bar along the way.
Peter tells those early Christians and those who follow them, that God has given us everything we need to live a godly life. We just have to keep raising the bar of excellence and spiritual maturity. Read his words.
For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith, goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control, and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and brotherly kindness, love. 
For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But, if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from past sins.” (2 Peter 1:5-9)
Because God has given us everything we need to live a godly life, we must keep pushing ourselves toward a deeper faith…a deeper and wiser spiritual maturity. We’ll never make that move if we keep the bar low.
Peter says we make an initial leap of faith in our trust of Jesus Christ as savior. We learn in Hebrews 11:6 that “without faith it is impossible to please God. “
Far too many seem to think that’s all that is required…and it is to a point…a true expression of faith in Jesus as savior puts you on the list of God’s redeemed.
That’s a little like clearing the bar at its opening height. Elite high jumpers have little difficulty clearing that first jump. Had any of them been content with that first jump, they might not have tried higher heights.
Placing our faith and trust in Jesus as savior is a great first jump. Staying at that height does not grow our faith. It does not allow us to stretch our understanding of who God is and what he asks of us.
Read through that list of character traits Peter shares. Nothing within them suggests a random order. Each trait builds upon the preceding trait. He says make sure you add to your faith a life of goodness. Making right choices. Virtuous. Pure. Live a life that reflects Christ in you. Letting God’s way be your standard. That seems a natural evolution of our faith commitment. Declare your faith then live a life of virtue and purity.
As you begin to live a life that reflects Christ, you gain knowledge into his teachings, discerning what is right and what he requires of those who follow him. You gain an understanding of the nature of God and thus the nature he desires for us.
Paul’s words to the Philippians would reinforce this thought.
“Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, if anything is excellent or praiseworthy, think about such things. (Philippians 4:8)
As time passes and we invest ourselves in God’s word, we gain an understanding and knowledge of how he lived and the words he spoke. Such understanding enables us to deepen our faith and expand and enhance the good we are doing.
Then, we raise the bar higher. Finding the self-control or discipline to resist our former way of life and the temptations that will surely come. It is getting a grip on our passions in order to stay focused and committed to what we’ve been taught in God’s word. This, then, leads to a stronger faith, a goodness that seldom wavers because we continue to grow in our knowledge of his will and way.
Perseverance speaks to the ability to stay the course when days get more difficult. To persist in our pursuit of godly character even when it is hard to do so. It is the patience to keep exercising our faith, goodness, knowledge gained and discipline to remain strong during hard times. The ability to fight off the temptation to abandon what we believe and know when circumstances don’t go our way.
“Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross… (Hebrews 12:2-3)
Raise the bar yet again because as we stay strong in the face of hardship, we are demonstrating a deep respect for God and his love for us. The call to live a life of godliness suggests a faith that is practiced and practical. It is simply the faith we put into practice. We determine to be more and more like him in pursuit of the godliness…being Christ-like…in the way we live and relate to those around us, especially those who are outcasts.
James put it this way in his brief letter.
Religion that God our father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. (James 1:27)
It is this raised bar of Christian living that demands we love those who persecute us. Insists that we love the sinner but reject the sin. Encourages us to wrap our arms around those society pushes aside.
Jesus raised the bar for his disciples when he told them that the evidence of their godliness is in the gentleness, kindness and grace extended toward our fellow believers. In their love for one another.
A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”  (John 13:35)
It is a picture of grace and forgiveness within the body of Christ that builds up the church rather than tearing it down. Our brotherly kindness and love is the light of Christ reflected through the church that invites the unbeliever to consider a life with Christ. It is this light that opens the door of salvation to a lost world.
It is the love that allowed Peter and Paul to embrace the faith of the Gentile believers. It is the love that forgives the hurt caused by our fellow believer so that church continues to model God’s love for the world. It is the love that makes a church a church.
“And, now, these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” (I Corinthians 13:13)
Peter raises the bar one last time in this passage. Read the words again.
…add to your faith, goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control, and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and brotherly kindness, love.
Peter goes beyond brotherly love when he suggests that we will reach new heights when we learn to love each other as God loved. This is agape love. It is a love abounding from our hearts by the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit. It is the spark that compels us to go out of our way to share our faith, to love those who others deem unlovable. To reach into the community to meet needs expecting nothing in return.
May the Lord cause you to increase and abound in love for one another and for all men, just as we also do for you. (I Thessalonians 3:12)
The list Peter shares may seem daunting. Who could live a life like this other than Jesus Christ? Each characteristic he asks us to pursue reflect the character of God himself. Take a look at verse 4 immediately preceding our primary passage in 2 Peter 1. Peter declares that God gave us his gift of salvation and his promises so that we might “participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world…”
These traits of our heavenly father are the traits he wants to see evident in the lives of those who believe in him. The list Peter shares is not a “how to,” but rather a statement about what is possible. That a focused and committed life can keep raising the bar of excellence as we become more Christ-like. It is a process and is something to which we can strive. Peter is giving us a picture of what we can become if we make spiritual maturity a priority.
I’ve lived almost seven decades on this earth. I wish I could declare that I’ve cleared the bar set by God. I’m certain I have not. It is a growth process, even until the day we die.
Christian growth and maturity is neither automatic nor a matter of time. Growth occurs as we consistently and obediently seek to grow…as we hurdle each bar…with the power and help of God’s spirit and the faithful study of God’s word.
Peter offered us both an encouraging word and a warning in 2 Peter 1:8-9.
For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But, if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from past sins.”
We said earlier the reason we seek after these traits is to understand the character of God and participate in that divine nature. Then, we must consistently demonstrate these traits in our lives in increasing measure each day we live. To be effective and productive in our knowledge of Jesus.
To simply let that initial faith commitment slide suggests we’ve forgotten what Jesus did for us on the cross.
I’ll make one last connection. Peter’s choice of character traits in his second letter to believers is similar to the fruit of the Spirit Paul discusses in some of his letters. Paul lists the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5 as the qualities God produces in us through the work of the Spirit.
The key to manifesting the fruit of the Spirit, according to Galatians 5:16, is to walk in the Spirit. A spiritual lifestyle choice. This passage in Peter tells us how to walk in the Spirit, constantly jumping the higher bar of spiritual maturity.
I want to know Christ and the power of the resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings…Not that I have attained all of this or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me…but one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining forward to what is ahead. I press on… (Philippians 3:10, 12-14)
I hope you will join me in making that thought a commitment in the days to come. Maybe we can clear the next bar together.

Choose to Remember

Background Passages Lamentations 3:21-26,40; Romans 15:13

If you opened my Bible, you’d find the margins dotted with editorial comments of lessons learned from personal Bible studies and notes taken from sermons preached by my pastors over the years. It is study method I learned from my parents who both taught Sunday School. I watched them make those margin notes and began to follow their lead.

It got me in trouble with my pastor when I was 10 years old. I sat with some other children near the front of the sanctuary listening to the sermon. The pastor said something I thought was significant so I jotted it down in the margin of my Bible, just like my Dad often did.

After the sermon the pastor fussed at me for writing in my Bible. I needed to treat it more reverently, he said. I remember being near tears as he scolded me. I’m pretty sure my Dad had a “come to Jesus” meeting with the pastor after I told him what happened. He had that look in his eye.

Dad just told me to keep taking notes as long I was writing things that I felt like God was teaching me. He said, “I’m quite sure God won’t mind.”

Today, the margins of some books in my Bible are a jumbled mess of handwritten notes and lines drawn from one verse to another. A few books in my Bible are dotted with little more than a scattering of comments notated in the margin.

Lamentations is one of those books. Obviously, I’ve not spent a lot of time in Lamentations and, frankly, not many of my pastors over the years delivered a sermon with Lamentations as its source.

Most Bible scholars believe Jeremiah wrote Lamentations. As a witness to the destruction of Jerusalem and its temple in 586 B.C.E., his grief over Israel’s loss was palatable.

The name of the book in Hebrew is “ekah,” literally “How…,” the characteristic beginning of a funeral dirge. It makes sense as Jeremiah’s sorrow expressed his laments as he witnessed the political and spiritual death of his beloved nation. The word Lamentations derives from the book title as it appears in the Greek Septuagint and the Latin Vulgate translations of the Bible.

A lament is a crying out…a song of sorrow. More than simply crying, a lament is a form of prayer. A conversation with God about the pain you’re experiencing. The hopeful outcome of a lament is trust. A recognition that God hears your sorrow and remains present throughout the experience.

Mark Vroegop, a pastor in Indianapolis, said “Laments turn toward God when sorrow tempts you to run from him.” He said there are four essential elements to a lament. Turning to God by laying your heart at his feet. Sharing your sorrows and fears. It is the moment when a person who is pain chooses to talk to God.

A lament brings a complaint to God and asks boldly for his help in finding a path through the circumstances. Sorrow is when we give in to despair or denial and find no hope. A lament dares to hope in God’s presence and promises.

The final element of a lament is a sense of renewed hope. It is an invitation to renew our trust in God amid the brokenness we feel.

The first verse of Lamentations sets the stage for the prophet’s internal suffering.

How deserted lies the city once so full of people! How like a widow is she who once was great among the nations! (Lamentations 1:1)

Jeremiah’s feelings run downhill from that somber beginning. As you read through the verses, you hear the shock and despair in the prophet’s voice. The devastation he witnessed was real.

To make matter worse, Israel brought this destruction upon itself, by its own rebellion and sin. That’s the burden heard in the prophet’s lament. The author knows that the Babylonians who conquered the people of Israel served as human agents of God’s divine punishment because of the sinfulness of the Hebrew people. It is a bitter pill.

The value of Lamentations to modern day Christians is its underlying belief in God’s redemptive and restoring work in our lives. The hope of a lament recognizes that God is both sovereign and good. Vroegop said lamenting is one of the most “theologically informed things a person can do.”

Life is messy and hard. Most of us have witnessed the destruction of our metaphorical Jerusalem. Circumstances and events don’t turn out as we planned. Relationships fracture as bridges burn in the background. Physical suffering saps our strength. People we love die. The hurt we feel drills deep into our soul.

Under those circumstances it might be far easier to feel embittered and angry. Expressing pain and confusion to God rather than becoming resentful and cynical requires a spiritual strength we can’t always muster. Laying our troubles at the throne of God and asking God repeatedly for his help requires a faith grounded in his word.

After reading through Lamentations this week, I found Jeremiah’s words both instructive and encouraging. Knowing that I can lay the cries of my heart at God’s feet, even when I am responsible for my circumstances, provides a sense of comfort. Hearing the words of hope and promise from Jeremiah’s own heart gives me hope that my cries will be heard.

Jeremiah struggled with the things he witnessed. The destruction. The suffering. The confusion. The judgment that came as God allowed Israel to suffer the consequences of their spiritual rebellion. He detailed his misery in verse after verse until he gets to my favorite verses in the entire book.

This I call to mind and, therefore, I have hope. Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. 

I say to myself: “The Lord is my portion, therefore I will wait for him.” The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; It is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord. (Lamentations 3:21-26)

Hear the beauty of the passage. That which the prophet remembers gives hope. What he remembers is not all he reported in the previous verses. What gives him hope is the truth he shares next.

He remembers “God’s great love.”  Other translations use “God’s steadfast love.” Steadfast suggests something that is firmly fixed or immovable. Something unshakable.

This steadfast love keeps Jeremiah from feeling consumed. With all that happened, every step Jeremiah takes is labored. It would be easy for the prophet to feel as if he hangs precariously at the end of his rope. Unable to go on. God’s unshakable love does not lead him into a dark place that overwhelms, but to a hope that endures. It is the silver lining in the storm clouds over his head.

Jeremiah’s life experience tells him that God’s compassions…his mercies…his grace…never failed him in the past. He sees no reason why they would fail him now, even in this most personal loss.

In the beauty of passage, Jeremiah says that God’s compassion renews every morning. Every new day is a reminder of God’s faithful love and his desire to extend his grace and mercy to all who seek him. God is a faithful and fair even when it is unmerited.

As a result of this understanding, Jeremiah knows God is sufficient in all things….his portion. It allows him to wait, even in his distress, for God to reveal himself…for God to bring an end to the suffering. For God to bring him through. He rests his hope in the promise of God’s goodness, trusting that God will cover him through his sorrow and trouble.

That’s the truth I often need to hear. You can find example after example of God’s extended love, compassion and grace toward those who are hurting in both the Old Testament and the New Testament.

I think the key in this is what Jeremiah says in the beginning of this passage. Do you see it?

“This I call to mind…”

After all the horror and pain he shared from his opening words until this point in Chapter 3, Jeremiah said, “This I call to mind…” or “This I choose to remember…”

What is he calling to mind?

His declaration points forward to God’s great love and mercy. To God’s faithfulness and goodness. To his sufficiency and salvation. This is what he chooses to call to mind.

There isn’t a Christian among us who hasn’t dealt with tears. Our world is broken and brings its own special brand of hardships that we all must bear…believers and non-believers. It often consumes our thoughts. Darkens our spirit.  Often our sorrows make us feel we cannot take another step.

It seems the difference is what we choose to remember. What we choose to call to mind. You can dwell on the sorrow or you can dwell on God.

Dealing with the struggles and trouble of life will always be easier when we choose to remember God’s steadfast love and his mercy that renews itself with each new day. When we choose to remember God’s faithfulness instead of dwelling on our sorrow, we will find hope, as Jeremiah did, instead of bitter despair.

I love the truth this teaches. Life’s circumstances may make us feel as if we can’t go on, but God is not done. He is not finished. You will not fail because his love and compassion never fail.

I don’t know where your heart is today. If it is breaking…if it is filled with sorrow and despair. As real as that pain may feel, choose to trust in God’s great love and compassions that renew every morning. Choose to wait on him to work his will in your life. Trust his timing. Choose to remember God’s faithfulness.

As you make that choice, even in the middle of life’s most troublesome times, you will find hope in a Creator God who loves you without reservation.

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit (Romans 15:13)

A Little Mustard; A Little Leaven

Background Passages: Matthew 13:31-33; Romans 10:14-15 and James 2:15,17

We all love a good story. Great storytellers connect with us on a personal and emotional level, finding ways to engage, influence, teach and inspire all who really listen. While storytelling is both art and science, some folks are naturally gifted storytellers. Others learned the craft over time.

As I’ve studied the Bible over the years, I find myself wishing I could go back in time to walk down the road with Jesus or sit on a rock around his campfire as he was sharing a truth to everyone within earshot. Jesus rarely lectured. To get his point across, he told stories. The Bible calls these stories parables.

If you’ve read enough scripture, you know Jesus was a master storyteller. I also suspect that Jesus’ parables recorded in scripture are probably Cliff Notes versions of the real conversations, edited to the quotable parts that we might actually hear. Listening to Jesus spin his tales would be an experience unlike any other.

Drawing upon images from everyday life, he shared truths about God’s heart and about kingdom living. While we can’t hear him speak, reading his stories in the Bible is the next best thing.

The 13th Chapter of Matthew is filled with story after story that Jesus used to teach about God’s kingdom. Verse 3 says, “Then he told them many things in parables…” And, he did… especially in this chapter.

The parable of the sower and the seed. The parable of the weeds. The parable of the hidden treasure and the pearls. The parable of the net. You’ll also find the parables of the mustard seed and the leaven bread. Two quick parables in three short verses.

Take a look.

And he told them another parable: The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all your seeds yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and perch in its branches.

He told them still another parable: The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and mixed into a large amount of flour until it worked all through the dough.” (Matthew 13:31-33)

Now, had I been that fly on the deck of Jesus’ rowboat that day, I might have asked, “Jesus, would you care to elaborate? What are you getting at?” If anyone asked, scripture doesn’t tell us. So, we have to think…just as Jesus intended.

To be clear, the mustard seed is not really the smallest seed used in Jesus’ day, but it was proverbial in the first century for “smallness,” a convenient and recognizable example for something tiny or small.

The mustard seed was a garden herb common in regional cuisine of the first century. It does grow into a tree-like bush sometimes as high as 12 feet. Because of its tree-like structure, it would have not been uncommon to see birds resting, nesting and feasting on the little black seeds.

Jesus followed his tale of the mustard seed with another familiar picture drawn from everyday life. Bread was the staple of life in the first century. Leaven is nothing more than fermented dough kept over from a previous baking of bread.

Bread without leaven, unleavened bread, always baked flat, dense and hard. Leaven served the same purpose as yeast does today. Mixing leaven into fresh dough made the bread soft, porous, spongy and delicious. (I can smell it baking, can’t you?)

What truth is Jesus conveying when he used this imagery as he taught?

It could not have been easy for the disciples to watch great crowds gather around Jesus and have the majority of them walk away unaffected and unchanged by Jesus’ words. Earlier in Matthew’s gospel, they asked Jesus, “Why do you speak to the people in parables?” It’s as if they were saying, “Why do you tell these stories? Just tell them how the cow ate the cabbage.”

Jesus, in essence, told his disciples that the hearts of the people had grown calloused to the point of not hearing anything remotely resembling a sermon.

By virtue of being Jewish, they were God’s chosen after all. They could not and would not understand the unvarnished truth about the changing nature of God’s kingdom. Jesus told his disciples that he spoke in parables because “…they hardly hear with their ears and they have closed their eyes.” (Matthew 13:15)

At the end of other parables, Jesus sometimes says, “He who has ears, let him hear.” In other words, Jesus is saying, if you’re paying attention and if you’ll think about it seriously and how it fits into your life, you’ll see what I’m trying to tell you with this story.

In these verses, the picture Jesus paints with his stories is about the stunning and exponential growth of God’s kingdom.

Now, it might be helpful here to define “God’s kingdom.” When you and I declared Christ as Lord and have gave him control of our lives, we entered the kingdom of God. A group of believers who trust him as savior and live each day in the “righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 14:17) It is the community of faith allowing God, through Christ, to govern the way we live.

These two parables run parallel teaching about the stunning growth of God’s kingdom. when the tiny mustard seed becomes a large tree and the lump of leaven permeates the whole dough.

Think about how it all started. Jesus and a handful of disciples working throughout Galilee and Judea, taking a message of repentance and hope to all they encountered as they lived out their lives. Each step along the way, the kingdom grew as more and more people believed in and trusted Jesus.

After Jesus’ ministry, the New Testament church began in the upper room in Jerusalem with about 100 followers, none of whom were great religious scholars. Fishermen. Tax collectors. Zealots. Poor. Uneducated. Frightened. A bunch of nobodies who found themselves with the one person who was the glue holding them together.

Through the power of the Holy Spirit and over the span of 2,000 years, the kingdom of God has grown beyond expectation. From this mustard seed, this lump of leaven, the gospel of Christ has spread throughout the world. In doing so, it has become a place of spiritual food and rest for the birds in its branches and a transforming power in the world’s lump of dough.

Yet, there is a reason why these parables still speak to us today. It’s the same reason Jesus told them in the first place.

We live in a world today in which the hearts of people have grown calloused. By virtue of living in a “Christian country,” we assume some favored status in God’s kingdom. We’ve become some hard-hearted in our culture that we “hardly hear with our ears and we have closed our eyes” to his truth.

Recent statistics show that the number of non-churched, unchurched and de-churched people is growing at about 10 percent each decade. In other words, the population non-believers, believers who have never plugged into a church after committing their lives to Christ increases a bit each year.

The number of those believers who left the church because they were hurt by someone or something within the church keeps growing as the church itself is shrinking. It is an alarming trend.

That phenomenon becomes more and more evident over the past 50 years. We could easily list the reasons behind the decline, but that’s not really the point here. I think the only reason that matters is that the church quit consistently reaching out in ministry and love.

We open our doors, very willing to love and help all who enter our doors, but we rarely do as Jesus did and go out to meet them where they live. To ministry in the neighborhoods.

In Paul’s letter to the church in Rome, he told them how to become a part of the kingdom of God.

If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved…Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Romans 10:9, 13)

Then, Paul issues the challenge that reverberates from the 1st century to the 21st.

How then, can they call on the name of the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one in whom they have not heard? And how they can hear without someone preaching to them? And. how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, how beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news.” (Romans 10:14-15)

Author Cecil Northcott once told of an international evangelical convention he attended to discuss how the gospel might be spread. The people in attendance talked about the distribution of literature, large scale revivals and other means available in the early 20th century. Then, one girl from Africa spoke.

“When we want to take Christianity into one of our villages” she said, “we don’t send them books. We send a Christian family to live in the village and they make the village Christian by living there.”

That’s how it’s supposed to work, I think. We can’t wait for the lost and the hurting to come to us first, though some do. We most often must go to them.  We must be there ready to love and care for them. We can’t ignore their existence or fail to meet their needs.

“Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well. Keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” James 2:15-17)

If we fail to be the church outside the walls, we will soon become the empty church within the walls.

As we recently visited many churches throughout Eastern Europe, it was profoundly sad to see these churches become little more than museums of time gone by. How different would it be if they were more mission and less museum?

As more and more people become disillusioned and de-churched, I fear our own churches throughout America will become these cold museums, relics of a time in history.

Jesus told his parables to connect with people. His stories used the ordinary to teach extraordinary spiritual truths. He didn’t print them up and hit them over the head with a tract. He told his stories. Made connections. Built relationships. Met needs. Then, he loved them into the God’s kingdom.

You and I and all who profess a faith in Christ, have a story to tell. It is the good news of Christ…his free gift of grace available to all. It is also the love expressed by God’s people as we go out into our respective communities on mission to love and serve.

I think that’s the challenge of these marvelous parables. God’s desire is for the world to be saved and for his kingdom to grow. Be the mustard seed. The only way for that to happen is for his people to be the leaven that causes it to rise.

———

I’ll beg your indulgence and forgiveness for this personal note.

I am a member of South Main Baptist Church. We’ve been blessed for almost seven decades with wonderful pastors and a service approach to ministry and missions. I’ve been blessed by the preaching of our new pastor, the worship through singing and praise, the great Bible teaching and the opportunities to serve.

Our people recently adopted a new mission statement. It promises that our church is in an ongoing mission to be “engaging and equipping others to experience and share God’s transforming love.”

The desire is to keep stepping outside the physical confines of the church to build relationships with our community and encouraging others to join us as we grow together in the work of Christ. Our desire is for the kingdom of God to increase as more and more people discover God’s grace and love.

Toward that end, we will be gathering at 5:30 p.m., Wednesday, May 31, at Pasadena’s Crenshaw Park Softball Fields for “First Pitch”–a little kick ball, a bunch of free hot dogs, family games and an open invitation to let us get to know you.

For the better part of four decades, South Main has made two promises to those who come to us. “We promise to love you and let you love us” as we serve our Lord together.

We’re not perfect, but we strive to be more Christ-like every day. If you’re longing to find a church where you can serve and be served, drop by for a visit. We’d love to get to know you and let you get to know us.

Hope to see you there.

Check Your Plumb Line

Background Passages: Amos 7:7-9; Isaiah 28:16-17; Matthew 5:1-12

I have a vague recollection of my Dad building some kind of shed near the barn on our farm. The extent of my help on the project was dragging a 2 x 4 from a nearby pile, handing him a few nails, and picking up the hammer he dropped.

What I do have a memory of is watching him determine that the walls were absolutely vertical by using a plumb line.

A builder might use a plumb line as an alternative to a level to find a straight vertical line. In simplest form, a plumb line consists of a piece of string with a weight called a bob at the bottom.

When you hang the line downward, the weight, with an assist from gravity, pulls the string taut and creates a straight, vertical line. Measure your wall against that line and, if it’s equal top to bottom, your wall is plumb.

We know the ancient Egyptians used plumb lines thousands of years ago. I suspect they were used by others long before the Egyptians.

The prophet Amos, a sheepherder and farmer of figs from Tekoa, would have known how to use a plumb line. It’s natural that God would use a plumb line to reveal an important truth to his prophet.

Amos told the people of Israel that they were headed in the wrong direction. He said they “sold the righteous for silver and the poor a pair of sandals.” (Amos 2:6)

God was pronouncing judgment against Israel for its continued rebelliousness as they failed to live up to his standards and had failed to repent and return to God.

Twice as God declared his intent to punish his people, Amos begged him to relent. God then spoke to Amos a third time.

This is what he showed me. The Lord was standing by a wall that had been built true to plumb, with a plumb line in his hand. And the Lord asked me, “What do you see, Amos?”

“A plumb line,” I replied.

Then the Lord replied, “I am setting a plumb line against my people Israel. I will spare them no longer. The high places of Isaac will be destroyed, and the sanctuaries of Israel will be ruined. With my sword I will rise against the house of Jeroboam.” (Amos 7:7-9)

It’s not my intent to talk about the prophecies of Amos and how God followed through on his punishment. This passage intrigued me in what it says about God’s plumb line.

“I am setting a plumb line against my people Israel.”

I think it serves as a great reminder for us to make sure we measure up to God’s standard.

Rodney Johnson, pastor of New Light Christian Church in Kansas City, called God’s plumb line the standard by which God measures our faithfulness; our righteousness.

He said, “The kinds of instruments we use to measure our life will often determine what we uncover and how we face life in general.

“When we begin to examine our plumb lines, if they are faulty – based on the world’s standard of right and wrong – our assessments of where we are will be faulty. When our assessments are off – when they are different from God’s assessments – we cannot course correct to mirror our plumb lines to God’s.”

Years ago, I built a four-foot brick wall to shield my pool equipment from the pool. I used a plumb line. It only took a few rows of bricks to see that something was off. When I looked closer, the bob at the end of the plumb line was just barely resting on the ground. I was basing the uprightness of my wall on a faulty plumb line.

I think this is what Johnson was talking about. We too often measure our righteousness, our uprightness, if you will, by a faulty standard…parental expectations, cultural morality, friendships, legal requirements. In every one of those situations, the plumb bob is touching the ground, skewing the standard. Until and unless we use God’s plumb line, we will never measure up.

So, what’s the plumb line? What’s the standard?

In his prophetic message, Isaiah gave us a hint.

So this is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation; one that relies on it will never be stricken with panic.” (Isaiah 28:16)

“A tested stone,” one already measured against God’s plumb line, will become the “cornerstone for a sure foundation,” level and plumb. Isaiah is talking about the coming Messiah…Jesus Christ.

You see, if we’re trying to live by God’s standard, his plumb line, then we have to be able to see it. God revealed his plumb line through Jesus and through his word. To see Jesus as he lived, to hear God’s word as he preached and taught, to be able now to listen to the voice of God through the words of the Bible…that’s the plumb line against which our lives are measured.

Isaiah continues with the illustration.

I will make justice the measuring line and righteousness the plumb line…” (Isaiah 28:17)

Righteousness can be defined as “living in right relationship with God” or living “upright and obedient lives.” Letting our words and our deeds measure up to God’s plumb or standard.

It is a theme that runs throughout the New Testament. Paul told the Ephesians, “Therefore, be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave himself up for us… (Ephesians 5:1-2)

We live up to God’s standard when we imitate the life of Christ and walk in love for one another.

John’s first letter declares the same. “This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did.” (I John 2:6)

The life of Jesus, his faithful obedience, his servant’s heart, make him the perfect plumb line against which we can test our own lives. We should strive to be like him.

“To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.” (I Peter 2:21)

Clearly Jesus is the standard for even Peter asks us to emulate Jesus as our perfect example of how to live our lives.

Jesus is not the only way God tests us against his plumb line. He uses his word to assess how well we are following his commands.

Look at 2 Timothy 3:16-17.  It says,

“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.”

It is his word that tells us how we are to live our lives as his hands and feet in ministry.

You don’t need to read a lot of scripture to find this truth. It is there, at the turn of every page, a guide to tell us how to live, how to be measured against God’s standard and not found to be out of plumb.

It sounds so easy. Walk in Jesus’ footsteps.  Live in his image. Read the Bible. One of my favorite authors explained this in his book God’s Mirror Image:

“To live in the image of God seems to be such a deep theological concept. Yet, the promise of Jesus resonates in its simplicity. “If you have seen me, you have seen the Father.”

Once we get past the wonder of Emmanuel, “God with us,” and embrace the character and teachings of Christ, we can see exactly how we are to exist as God’s reflected image in the world. We mirror the image of God by imitating the character of Christ.”

What is the character of Christ? Look no further than the Beatitudes in Matthew 5. Look at this passage and then think about the life of Christ. He modeled every character trait described in those verses in his daily walk.

Every instance of Jesus’ life and ministry on earth recorded in the Bible is a blueprint on how we should live our lives. It’s up to us to live as he lived.

Here’s my thought. God has a plumb line and his message to Israel long ago and to us today is that he uses it as his standard to measure our faithfulness, our obedience and our righteousness.

God knows his will for us, where he wants us to be and how we should get there. The standard modeled in the life of Jesus and reflected in God’s word tells him if we’re in plumb. If not, his plumb line shows us how far we must go to get back on track.

When I read that passage this week, I had to think about that plumb line in my life. I had to make sure the plumb line I was using was not something other than the life of Jesus and God’s word.

If I’m honest, my plumb bob has been dragging the ground a bit and the what I’m trying to build of my life has been a little off vertical.

Let me go back to what the Rev. Johnson wrote. “When we begin to examine our plumb lines, if they are faulty – based on the world’s standard of right and wrong – our assessments of where we are will be faulty. When our assessments are off – when they are different from God’s assessments – we cannot course correct to mirror our plumb lines to God’s.”

I discovered I need a course correction. I need to make sure God’s plumb line is unobstructed, free to show me where I don’t measure up to his standard. In those areas of my life where I am off, I need to get back into proper alignment with his will and way for my life. That’s my commitment this week.

How about you? When’s the last time you checked the plumb line in your life? How well do you measure up to God’s standard?

It feels like a question all of us should ask every day.

The Proper Response to Easter

Background Passages: Philippians 3:9-10; Ephesians 1:19-20; Ephesians 3:20; John 15:5,7

A week after we celebrated Easter with friends and family at our home church, we found ourselves experiencing Easter again while on vacation in eastern Europe. The majority of folks in that part of the world are Eastern Orthodox Christians who use the Julian calendar on which Easter falls one week later than it does in the States.

It was interesting to see and participate in some of their Eastern traditions. One local guide shared with us that they decorate eggs with their children just as we do. When we asked if they hide their eggs for the children to find, she gave us a look of shock and asked, “Why would you do that?” I guess it sounded mean-spirited to her.

Another Croatian family invited us to participate in their traditional “egg war.” To play this game you each hold an egg and tap the two eggs end to end. Usually, one egg will break and the other will not. The one whose egg does not break continues to test the egg against other members of the family. If yours is the last egg unbroken you are assured of one year of good luck. I lost quickly only to find out that our host was using a wooden egg.

The people we visited with indicated they would be attending church at midnight on Easter Eve and then again early Easter morning. The rest of the day would be spent with family. Our guide told us the churches would be quite full Easter Sunday, but she said, once Easter is over very few people would attend church again until Easter rolls around again.

Like those churches in eastern Europe, Easter is the most well-attended Sunday of the year in most American churches. And like those European churches, far too many American worshippers will not return to church until the following Easter holiday.

It is a sad reality of faith that far too many people acknowledge the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ but find too little time to understand what it means to live as though it mattered.

So, the question every believer must answer is what is my proper response to Easter? What is my proper response to the resurrection?

The Bible records the reactions of the individuals who encountered the resurrection. Depending on the person, the response was disbelief, fear, confusion, paralysis, and at some point, joy and celebration. For the person committed to Christ, the resurrection must be a call to action.

In his letter to the Philippian church, Paul told them that everything he had gained in life up to that point was “garbage” when compared to what he had gained in Christ. He also knew he had not received everything that Christ could offer. His life as a follower of Christ continued to be shaped and molded by the work of Christ in him. He recognized he still had much to learn so he turned to the source of all knowledge.

“I want to know Christ–yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in death, and so, somehow attaining the resurrection of the dead. Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.” (Philippians 3:10-11)

It is an interesting turn of phrase in this verse that I’ve not given a great of thought to prior to the past few days. “…to know the power of his resurrection…” As a believer in Christ, we accept by faith that the resurrection Jesus’ experienced will be ours someday. That the promise of eternal life is the hope of all who believe.

The power of the resurrection is a future reality for every Christian, but I don’t think that was what Paul was thinking here. Before we can explore what he meant by the phrase, though, Paul said the surest way to avoid having an Easter-only faith is to harbor a deep desire to know the resurrected Lord. Not simply to acknowledge who he is, but to know him personally and intimately.

You hear the longing in his note to the Philippians. “I want to know Christ.” Paul’s idea of knowing Christ was to connect with him, to interact with him on a personal level. It was his passion. Absent the opportunity to walk with Jesus as his disciples did, Paul longed to see into the heart of Jesus. To understand how he could love so deeply, care so tenderly and live so faithfully. Paul earnestly and passionately wanted to have an intimate relationship with Jesus.

Any good relationship takes time spent with the one to whom we wish to connect. To get to know Jesus, takes that faith commitment as a starting point and then spends time learning the things he taught, figuring out how to apply what he taught to our lives. It speaks to the idea of following so closely in his footsteps that we become like him in the way we think, behave and the way we minister and relate to others.

To know Christ is the heartfelt goal toward which we ought to set our own lives, knowing that he is the perfect example of kindness, justice and righteousness. God said as much to Jeremiah,

“Let not the wise boast of their wisdom, or the strong boast of their strength or the rich boast of their riches but let the one who boasts boast about this: that they have the understanding to know me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight.” (Jeremiah 9:23-24)

So, our first response to the resurrection is to do what it takes to know God, to know Christ. The second part of it is to know the power of his resurrection. As I said earlier, it seems to me that Paul uses that phrase not to suggest an eternal answer, but to suggest a “here and now” experience. Paul talks about knowing the power of Jesus’ resurrection…as if it is a power and strength available to us if we can just find a way to plug into it.

I’m pretty sure we won’t find a way to connect to the power of the resurrection dressed in our Sunday best once a year on Easter.

Paul’s realization is my own. None of us has exhausted the possibilities of what God is willing to do in and through us when we plug into the power of the resurrection of Christ. Take a look at another letter Paul wrote in which he lays claim to that promise.

His opening prayer for the church in Ephesus was for enlightened hearts that see and understand the hope to which they were called and the inheritance they would receive as God’s children. He defined the hope and inheritance as…

“…the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe…that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead.: (Ephesians 1:19-20)

The power of the resurrection.

Paul prayed that the Ephesian Christians would come to understand and tap into the unfathomably awesome power stored up for those who believe in Jesus Christ as Lord…the same power that God used to raise Jesus from the dead.

With the power of God Almighty already at work within us, we can do all things, anything, everything, he desires us to do. Just look at what he says just a little later in Ephesians.

“God is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us.” (Ephesians 3:20)

Paul is telling us we most often dream too small. Limit what we think we can do. Never really knowing what we might accomplish for God if we just plugged into the source of our strength and power or fully committed to the work he puts in front of us.

Famed 19th century theologian Charles Spurgeon called the act of raising Jesus from the tomb “as great a work as creation itself.” Jesus entered the tomb a captive of death. By the power of God, he exited the tomb as a conqueror.

Spurgeon said Paul’s desire to know the power of the resurrection was less about the power displayed in the resurrection as it was about the power that derives from it. That’s the power that Paul wanted to tap into. The power available to us today.

The power that allows us to do more than we dream we could is the power of God that he worked through Christ when he raised him from the dead. The power that allowed Jesus to conquer death is the same power available to equip us to do “far more abundantly than all we ask or think.” It is the power that enables us to be used by God to accomplish his will and purpose in and through us.

If you’re wondering how to tap into the power of the resurrection, Jesus explained it clearly to his disciples.

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing…If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” (John 15:5,7)

It is the connection to the vine that enables the branch to bear fruit. The branch gains its strength through its connection to the vine, its source of growth and power. The power of the resurrection is available to those who attach themselves to the vine, to Christ, drawing our growth and strength through him.

What is our proper response to Easter? What is our proper response to the resurrection?

First, we must know Christ. Not just acknowledging his presence and who he is but getting to know him personally and intimately. Striving to become more like him every day. God’s word reveals Christ in every way that matters. Hearing God’s word proclaimed every week, studying his word regularly and deeply, provides insight we need to his character and his way. Spending time with him in conversation about our hopes, our fears, our joy and our sorrow, provides that intimate connection to our Creator and Lord.

Second, we must tap into the power of his resurrection. When you read that original passage, Paul isn’t asking for more power. He’s asking for the power already available to him. We have all this power at our fingertips, but we keep acting as if we are too weak…as if we are still slaved to our past. It’s probably the biggest reason we go to church only on Easter Sunday. We have not plugged into the power at our fingertips.

The power of the resurrection…our response to the resurrection… ought to be directed more outwardly. Christianity is not just about forgiveness and overcoming sin. The Christian faith is not just an eternal solution to our sin problem. God saved us for a reason, a purpose. We are to be his agents in the world…his voice, his hands, his feet. And he gives us the power to make it so.

Through our knowing God and making that intimate connection with him, we tap into the power to not only defeat sin and gain everlasting victory over death, but we get to share in his message of love and grace to the world, to minister to the hurting and disconnected…not in our own power, but the power of the resurrected Lord.

I think that’s the idea Paul is leading us to understand. You’ll never find it in an Easter-only world. Living in the middle of all of it all…that’s the proper response to Easter.