You find yourself having some interesting conversations when you have two young sons who enjoy superheroes and comics. The other day the boys were asking me some rather pointed questions about one of their favorite superheroes, Wolverine. The funny thing is they were asking me questions as if Wolverine and I were old friends. I guess they thought I had a deeper understanding than they did about the mutant abilities of one of Marvel Comics more popular heroes. Here is the Reader's Digest version of his superpowers for those that aren't familiar with Wolverine or his abilities. Wolverine heals ridiculously fast, meaning he's nearly indestructible. He also has a fictitious but indestructible metal coating his skeleton. He also has three razor sharp blades that extend from his hands. Needless to say, he is pretty impressive when it comes to superheroes.
Since I'm always on the lookout for sermon illustrations and ideas for blog posts, I couldn't help but notice the correlation between Wolverine and how the church is supposed to be. Now I know in a perfect world with perfect people we would have a perfect church. Unfortunately we live in a sinful world full of imperfect people which results in a flawed church. But just because we live in a broken world doesn't mean we can't strive towards being a part of a great church that stands out from the world. To do so I think the church (the people not the building) needs to imitate the abilities of Wolverine and here's how...
Heal Quickly.
The church is full of sinful people. None of us are immune to sin and we'll all continue to sin until this life is over. The reality of our sinfulness plays itself out in the church. At times we can all be selfish, prideful, controlling, slanderous, or downright mean. When that happens people are hurt. The best way for Christians in the church to handle this type of situation is to expedite the healing process. That means don't go to everyone and their brother complaining and gossiping about what someone did to hurt you. Take it directly to the person and address the issue with them as quickly as you can. What you'll find is that Satan will use that difficult situation to cause more problems if you give it time hoping it will go away. Deal with it quickly, speak honestly, and work towards a resolution (Ephesians 4:26-27).
Have a Strong Backbone.
One of the more challenging aspects of dealing with people, inside and outside of the church, is speaking up for what is right. Sometimes that means an injustice has been done and we need to speak out against it. Usually we don't have trouble speaking up in that way. But when we hear people gossiping and slandering others, we need to be just as quick to speak up. What I've witnessed over the years, and I've seen myself do it too, is that someone makes a comment and you know you should say something to defend the person or stop the gossip, but instead you go silent. We've all been there, but that doesn't make it right. What we as a church need to do is to be bold in calling a sin a sin and standing up for what we know is right. Even if we have to stand out from the crowd to do so.
Use Your Weapon Wisely.
Some in the church have no problem cutting others down and then finding some obscure and out-of-context bible verse to support their mistreatment of others. Regardless of what they did to hurt you, two wrongs don't make a right. Two wrongs simply leave more people hurting and a bigger problem for all involved. The greatest weapon for dealing with people who have hurt us is not a sharp tongue, foul language, or gossip. The greatest weapon is the Bible. The Bible teaches us how we are to relate to God and to others. We are to treat others like we want to be treated (Luke 6:31). If I've hurt someone I would want to know about it so I could seek their forgiveness and make things right. If they respond with hatred and anger, chances are I'll never see the error of my ways. But if they were to respond to me with forgiveness because God had forgiven them (Ephesians 4:32), then I would be moved to seek restoration of the relationship. If we don't use our greatest weapon, the Bible, to help protect our church and the relationships we've built in it, then we haven't done our job as Christians.
It might be a bit much for some to compare the superpowers of a superhero to how the church can take a stand to standout in this world. But the truth of the matter remains the same, the church needs to learn to heal quickly, stand up for what is right, and put the truths of the Bible into practice. When the church does so, it will definitely become a church with awesome superpowers.
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A few weeks ago I started a series on "Difficult Questions for Christians." Here is where you can view the last four posts: "Why doesn't prayer work, when the Bible promises that it will?", "Why does the Bible record scientifically impossible events as factual?", "Where is the justice in punishing us for Adam's sin?", and "Why aren't Christians doing greater works than Jesus did, since He Himself said they would?" This week I'll attempt to answer one more of the thousands of difficult questions posed by skeptics and Christians alike. Remember a few things though as you read. 1. This is a short answer to a difficult question that has probably plagued the human heart for thousands of years. 2. God's Word is the ultimate authority with answers, not a fallible pastor. 3. The Bible doesn't give us the answers to every question we have. It tells us what we need to know, not necessarily what we want to know. With that being said, let's jump into our next question in the series.
Why is the Bible unclear about how to be saved?
This is a great question. The argument that will arise from this particular question is, if there is nothing more important in the Bible, then why is it ambiguous and contradictory? Why doesn't Jesus clearly explain the process in a step-by-step manner if salvation is so important? If the apostles were tasked with sharing the Gospel and leading people to salvation why didn't they write more clearly about it? I think to start off with you have to consider the role that perspective has on clarity.
Clarity or understanding something is dependent on your perspective. I am very unclear on the science behind how a rocket can leave the earth and make it into space. A rocket scientist doesn't have the same problem. It is the same with spiritual matters. Those who have completely shut God out and want no part of their life influenced by His Holy Spirit, they will not see the clarity of what the biblical texts show about how to be saved. To understand spiritual matters, which is what salvation is, a person must have their spiritual eyes open to what God wants to show them. Otherwise God's plan of salvation will seem unclear, convoluted, ambiguous, and contradictory.
Would things be much simpler if Jesus had given us a step-by-step process, then the Holy Spirit inspired the biblical writers to record the exact words and process? Sure it would. Can I tell you why God didn't work things out in that way? No I can't. Does it really matter? No it doesn't. The reason it doesn't matter is because the overarching theme of the Bible is God's plan for repairing the broken relationship between Him and man by dealing with mankind's sin. When you read the Bible from Genesis 1:1 to Revelation 22:21 what you find is an interconnected series of events that show how man has broken their relationship with God by disobeying Him (sin) and how God has provided a way to restore that relationship. You can read more about how to repair your relationship with God here.
If a person reads the Bible by skipping from this chapter in this book to another chapter in another book, yes the plan of salvation can be lost in the mix. But when a person studies the Bible, not simply reads it, then they will begin to see what God says about salvation. Yes there are four specific verses in the book of Romans that when pieced together helps to clearly explain how to be saved (Romans 3:23, 5:8, 6:23, 10:9-10,13). The important thing to remember is that everything between those verses helps to explain those specific verses and how they impact our understanding of salvation. In John 3, Jesus explains to a Jewish religious leader named Nicodemus the hows and whys of salvation. Even Nicodemus, a man trained in the Jewish faith, didn't easily grasp Jesus' teachings. Remember, picking up the Bible and expecting to fully understand salvation from a randomly picked verse is like reading a few sentences in the Lord of the Rings and expecting to know the difference between a Hobbit and a Dwarf. It doesn't work that way.
One other thing to consider is that a person can be led to salvation by reading and understanding the biblical texts. But the salvation message, or Gospel, is meant to be shared from person to person. The biblical text is to give authority to the message of the Gospel when it is shared by Christians. Don't hear me saying the Bible is not important when it comes to the plan of salvation because it is very important. But God's design for the spreading of the Gospel was primarily person to person, not book to person. This is why Jesus told the apostles in Acts 1 to go into all the world and preach the Gospel (my paraphrase). The Christian is to help bring clarity and understanding to the Gospel message as the unbeliever reads the biblical text and has their heart illuminated by the Holy Spirit.
I'll close with this. There are plenty of verses in the Bible, when carefully studied and considered in regards to others, that help explain God's plan of salvation. The best way to fully understand how to be saved is to talk to someone who has experienced salvation. They can explain to you what it takes to be saved and what it means for you to be saved. The Bible will give you a clear understanding of salvation if you read and study the text. But you must encounter it with a desire to see what God wants to do in your life through His free gift of salvation.
I hope this brief look at "Why is the Bible unclear about how to be saved?" will help you see how God reveals His plan of salvation through the Bible. As always, I'm open to comments and questions, either here on the blog or via Social Media. If this question brings to mind another difficult question about faith, then by all means ask it.
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Three weeks ago I started a series on "Difficult Questions for Christians." Here is where you can view the last three posts: "Why doesn't prayer work, when the Bible promises that it will?", "Why does the Bible record scientifically impossible events as factual?", and "Where is the justice in punishing us for Adam's sin?" Over the next 2 weeks I'll attempt to answer 2 more of the thousands of difficult questions posed by skeptics and Christians alike. Remember a few things though as you read. 1. This is a short answer to a difficult question that has probably plagued the human heart for thousands of years. 2. God's Word is the ultimate authority with answers, not a fallible pastor. 3. The Bible doesn't give us the answers to every question we have. It tells us what we need to know, not necessarily what we want to know. With that being said, let's jump into our next question in the series.
Why aren't Christians doing greater works than Jesus did, since He Himself said they would?
This particular question centers around a statement Jesus made in John 14:12 during His time in the Upper Room and just prior to His crucifixion. This verse says, "I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father" (NIV). Now the argument will be made by the one asking the question that the context of Jesus' statement is referring to miracles. Therefore the concept of the question is why aren't Christians doing greater miracles than Jesus did if that is what the text implies. Like the other questions we've tried to answer in this series, you have to take a few things into consideration to come to a more complete answer.
Jesus wasn't referring to miracles. Was He?
Bible scholars have struggled with this statement for nearly 2,00 years. Jesus had just mentioned miracles in verse 11 but was it in the context of doing miracles that He makes this comment? It really doesn't seem to be so. The context of verses 9-12 (read them here) has to do with people putting their faith in Christ as their Lord and Savior. Jesus references His miracles as another sign that He is the Son of God and the Savior of mankind. So when we look at the wider context of what Jesus was talking about in these verses (not to mention verses 1-8), we see that Jesus wasn't referring to His miracles in verse 12. What He seems to be referring to here is leading people to faith in God through a relationship with Him.
The apostles did do greater works than Jesus.
Hear me out before you hang me for heresy because of the line above. One regular view that you find from bible scholars and bible commentators is that the best view of verse 12 is to take it at face value with a literal interpretation. That means when Jesus told the disciples that they would do "greater works" (NKJV, KJV) than Him, He meant they would accomplish more than He did during His time on earth. Jesus had a ministry of three and a half years. He covered an area of roughly 4,400 square miles during His ministry. Due to the fact He physically could only be in one place at a time, Jesus was limited as to what He could accomplish during 3.5 years and geographically limited to less than half the nation of Israel. That being said, Jesus trained 12 men to do the same things He had been doing and then sent them out. The 12 (Matthias taking Judas Iscariot's place) went out and performed miracles like Christ did. More importantly the 12 disciples took the Gospel message to the ends of the known world. They started churches in countries as far away as India. They led rich and poor people to faith in Christ. They started the spread of Christianity outside the walls of Jerusalem. From that perspective, the apostles did do greater works than Jesus did.
Christians are still doing greater works than Jesus.
Look around the world today and you will see that Christians are still doing greater works than Jesus did in His short ministry. Christians are able to reach every inch of the globe with the Gospel by sending correspondence electronically or sending missionaries into the most remote jungles. There are companies such as Chick-fil-a, Hobby Lobby, and others who are unashamedly using their corporate platform to advance the Gospel. There are ministries such as Samaritan's Purse, The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, and The Gideons International who are spreading the message of Christ around the globe. No, Christians aren't walking on water or turning water into wine these days, but they are still performing miracles with the help of God. See the greatest miracle that can ever occur is the miracle God performs in a person's life to bring them from spiritual death to spiritual life. Through Christians sharing the Gospel, God is still performing miracles and doing greater works through them. (Follow this link if you want to learn more about the miracle God performs to bring a person from spiritual death to spiritual life.) From this perspective, Christians are still fulfilling Jesus' statement and doing greater works than He did.
I hope this brief look at "Why aren't Christians doing greater works that Jesus did, since He Himself said they would?" will help you see what Jesus expects from His followers. As always, I'm open to comments and questions, either here on the blog or via Social Media. If this question brings to mind another difficult question about faith, then by all means ask it.
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Two weeks ago I started a series on "Difficult Questions for Christians." Here is where you can view the last two posts, "Why doesn't prayer work, when the Bible promises that it will?" and "Why does the Bible record scientifically impossible events as factual?" Over the next 3 weeks I'll attempt to answer 3 more of the thousands of difficult questions posed by skeptics and Christians alike. Remember a few things though as you read. 1. This is a short answer to a difficult question that has probably plagued the human heart for thousands of years. 2. God's Word is the ultimate authority with answers, not a fallible pastor. 3. The Bible doesn't give us the answers to every question we have. It tells us what we need to know, not necessarily what we want to know. With that being said, let's jump into our next question in the series.
Where is the justice in punishing us for Adam's sin?
When I was a kid my parents punished me for carving my name into the window sill of our main living room window. Problem is, I didn't do it. First off, my name wasn't spelled correctly. Secondly, I knew I hadn't done it but my parents didn't believe me. Years later my younger sister confessed to the crime. It was not "just" for me to be punished for my sister's sin. This is the viewpoint from which this week's question is being asked. Another argument made by this person would be that Deuteronomy 24:16 says a child cannot be punished for their parents' sins. At the heart of the matter is the justice of the punishment, and how can such a harsh punishment (death) for Adam & all his children be considered just? As with most difficult questions about faith there are a few answers that help point us in the right direction. Here are some for today's question.
We are not punished for Adam's sins. We are punished for our sins.
You can read about how sin entered the world in Genesis 3. We read about Adam & Eve's willful decision to disobey God. We call disobedience to God sin. Adam and Eve exercised their freewill and went against God's commands. With sin introduced into the world, all of creation was affected by it, including their children. You can read about Paul's explanation of sin coming from Adam in Romans 5. But the reality of it is that we all sin because sin has been passed down from Adam to you and me. Think about it this way, do we have to teach babies and small kids to be selfish, greedy, or discontent? Do we have to teach them to lie to avoid getting in trouble? No we don't. Why? Because sin is passed along like a genetic trait from Adam all the way to us. Paul tells us in Romans 3:23 that we've all sinned. That leaves no one out, he means everyone has sinned. We're also told in Romans 6:23 that the punishment for sin is death. So if we've all sinned, then we all deserve the penalty for sin, which is death. That death is both a physical and spiritual death and you can learn more about the way to avoid that spiritual death here. Just so we're all clear, when we are punished for sins, it's not Adam's sins we are being punished for but it's our own sins.
"Justice" depends on your perspective.
There are Muslim countries around the world where someone practicing homosexuality could be executed. In the United States, regardless of your religious views, the great majority of us see that penalty as excessive. Many of us, from our perspective, couldn't imagine such a punishment for that action. From the perspective of those in the aforementioned Muslim countries, it is not excessive. Justice depends on your perspective. From the human perspective death, both physical and spiritual, does seem a bit excessive. We look at it as God could surely come up with something different to punish us with, rather than allowing us to die for our sins. But that is the view of justice from earth looking towards heaven. The view from heaven is vastly different. God is the holy One who created everything and sustains everything. The fact that He is holy means he is perfect and free from evil. Holiness is a basic character trait of God. What that means is that God's holiness is part of His DNA. He is holiness. He is holy. Why does that matter? Since God is holy and perfect and free from evil (sin), He cannot be in the presence of sin. This means that He must do away with those who sin and not allow them to enter His presence in heaven. From God's perspective of maintaining His holiness, physical and spiritual death are a just punishment for sin. If you want to read more about how God offers you a way to get rid of your sin and enjoy heaven with Him, then check out this link. What we have to understand is that from God's holy perspective His punishment for sin is just.
Disobedience must be punished.
What do you get when children (and adults) are not punished for their mistakes and disobedience? The answer: "The world we live in today." We live in a society and culture where many have been raised with an entitlement viewpoint that does not punish the wrongdoer. Instead of being punished for disobedience they've been given "things" to appease them and make them feel "loved." The problem is we have people who are now adults that were raised without punishments and they feel they're entitled to say, do, and have anything they want. The problem is they weren't punished as children and taught to respect the authority of those who seek to discipline them. And now society is worse off for it. Why the rant? Because what we see in our society is a microcosm of what the world at large would look like if God didn't punish us for our sins. The only difference is by now, thousands of years after Adam & Eve's sin, the entire world would look MUCH worse than our society is today. Justice isn't about doing what is fair, justice is about doing what is right. We tell our kids "Life's not fair!" because it isn't. What matters though is that things are done right. For things to be done right, according to God's standards, disobedience must be punished. Our disobedience towards God is met with God's right or just punishment which is physical and spiritual death. But God has given us a way to avoid the spiritual death. By doing so, God has done the right thing by us. He's shown us love, grace, and mercy by giving us a way out of the punishment of spiritual death. You can find out more about God's grace by going to this page. Your disobedience towards God must be punished according to God's standards. Thankfully, He loves us enough to punish us and He loves us enough to show us some grace as well.
I hope this brief look at "Where is the justice in punishing us for Adam's sin?" will help deepen your understanding of why God has to punish us for our sins. As always, I'm open to comments and questions, either here on the blog or via Social Media. If this question brings to mind another difficult question about faith, then by all means ask it.
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Last week I started a series on "Difficult Questions for Christians." Here is where you can view last week's post on "Why doesn't prayer work, when the Bible promises that it will?" Over the next 4 weeks I'll attempt to answer 4 more of the thousands of difficult questions posed by skeptics and Christians alike. Remember a few things though as you read. 1. This is a short answer to a difficult question that has probably plagued the human heart for thousands of years. 2. God's Word is the ultimate authority with answers, not a fallible pastor. 3. The Bible doesn't give us the answers to every question we have. It tells us what we need to know, not necessarily what we want to know. With that being said, let's jump into our next question in the series.
Why does the Bible record scientifically impossible events as factual?
You can't get past page one of the Bible without encountering an example that may be used as an argument for this question. The Bible is chocked-full of events that absolutely defy science. Here are a few examples and references should you want to read these awesome stories: God spoke and created everything (Genesis 1&2), a flood that covered the entire earth (Genesis 6-8), God confused the languages of man & dispersed humans around the world (Genesis 11), the Israelites walked on dry land through the Red Sea (Exodus 13-14), the earth quit rotating for a full day (Joshua 10), Jesus physically healed people who were blind, deaf, & lame (Matthew-John), Jesus walked on water (John 6), Jesus fed more than 5,000 people with 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish (Matthew 14, Mark 6, Luke 9, John 6), and Jesus was resurrected from the dead (Matthew 28, Mark 16, Luke 24, John 20). And that is just to name a few.
According to our modern understanding of science and the way the natural world works, it is easy to see why some would be skeptical of what the Bible says is a factual historical event. The easy answer is because they actually occurred. But to those who don't agree with the Bible that answer will only start an argument that is similar to a fight on Facebook. Its just a bunch of words that end up making everyone look worse. Since that won't get us anywhere let's look at these answers.
To a believer in Christ whose heart has been changed by God their view of the Bible should be different than someone who hasn't been changed by God.
The Bible talks about this in 1 Corinthians 2:14 where Paul wrote, "The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned." To those who's hearts have not been changed by Christ, spiritual matters seem foolish, including supernatural events that go beyond the limits of the natural world. Once we've had our eyes opened through faith, we are able to see what God did for what it is. It's a miracle or in other words, something only God can do.
God is a supernatural, all-powerful being that is not limited by our understanding of the way the natural world works.
If you don't believe in God then you won't believe what the Bible says about supernatural and spiritual matters. That being said, from the Christian standpoint God is viewed as the One who spoke and created everything (Genesis 1-2). Christians view God as an omnipotent (all-powerful) being capable of doing anything. If He is capable of speaking everything in the natural world into existence, then why wouldn't He be able to manipulate it with minimal effort? So from the view of an Almighty God who can is all-powerful, it makes sense that He could cause things to occur outside of our understanding of the natural world.
These events happened to help bring about God's plan for mankind, including providing salvation.
God doesn't do anything without a purpose. There is an order and a purpose to everything God does and everything He has created, including you. All of the science defying events in the Bible were done at their time in history to move along God's plan of redemption for mankind. The Bible is not a scientific textbook, but instead a love letter written to mankind showing God's love and plan for redeeming mankind. From the perspective of faith or one who is spiritually discerning, God weaves the story of sin, redemption, and love throughout the Bible. His whole purpose in the Bible is to point out to mankind their sinfulness, their need for a Savior, and how Jesus is that Savior.
You can't believe just part of the Bible.
I'll end with this. When I was a Youth Pastor I used to tell my Youth that you couldn't believe the back part of the Bible (New Testament) where it talks about Jesus & salvation and not believe the front (Old Testament). The Bible is not a buffet where we pick what we want to believe because it fits our understanding of the way things should work. We must believe what the Bible says, even in times when we don't fully understand it. Does it sound ludicrous that some 2 million Jews walked across the floor of the Red Sea on dry ground that was dried by a strong east wind? Yes it does. Do I believe it happened? Yes I do. Why? Because the God who provided me with salvation through the miracle of Jesus' resurrection, is the same God who tells me in His Word that 2 million Jews crossed the Red Sea on dry ground.
I hope this brief look at "Why does the Bible record scientifically impossible events as factual?" will help strengthen your faith in God the next time you begin to wonder about the reality of God's miracles. As always, I'm open to comments and questions, either here on the blog or via Social Media. If this question brings to mind another difficult question about faith, then by all means ask it.
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Google search "Difficult Questions Christians Can't Answer" and you get 71,300,000 results. Needless to say there are many questions out there that skeptics and even Christians have about the Christian faith. Does that mean they can't be answered? No, it doesn't. Does it mean the skeptic, and possibly the Christian, will like the answer? No, it doesn't. With so many difficult questions where would someone start to try and get some answers? Over the next 5 weeks I'll attempt to answer 5 of the thousands of difficult questions posed by skeptics and Christians alike. Remember a few things though as you read. 1. This is a short answer to a difficult question that has probably plagued the human heart for thousands of years. 2. God's Word is the ultimate authority with answers, not a fallible pastor. 3. The Bible doesn't give us the answers to every question we have. It tells us what we need to know, not necessarily what we want to know. With that being said, let's jump into our first question in the series.
Why doesn't prayer work, when the Bible promises that it will?
I don't know the context of the question being asked, but we can assume that someone prayed, asked God to do something, and God didn't answer the prayer in the way the person asked for it to be answered. This person would probably claim that John 14:14 ("You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.") says their prayer must be answered. There are a few ways to answer this question that help lead us to an overall answer.
Prayer isn't a magic spell that gives us everything we want.
I could pray right now "God, I want to fly like Superman. I ask this in the name of Jesus. Amen." Does that mean I will fly like Superman? For many reasons the answer is no. We can ask for anything in Jesus' name but that doesn't mean God will necessarily grant it. Scriptures like 1 John 5:14-15 clarify Jesus remarks so that we better know how to pray. Those verses say, "This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us — whatever we ask — we know that we have what we asked of him." We have to pray according to God's will when seeking an answer. Jesus showed us in the Garden of Gethsemane that it is okay to tell God what our will is but that we must submit to His will (Matthew 26:36-44). The Christian faith is about submitting to God's will for our life rather than living according to our own will and desires. Why wouldn't the answers to our prayers be subject to the same expectations?
Answered prayers are designed to bring glory to God.
When you look at the context of John 14:14 mentioned above, we see that Jesus is telling us that our answered prayers are designed to bring glory to God. Verse 13 says, "And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father." God answers all prayers. Even when we don't understand the answer, God is still answering our prayers. As a youth pastor I used to tell my Youth, "God answers all prayers. He answers them with Yes, No, and sometimes Wait." God's answer to our prayers, regardless of what the answer is, seeks to bring glory to God. Because His ways are higher than our ways (Isaiah 55:8-9) we may not understand or agree with His answers, but His answers to our prayers bring Him glory and seek to fulfill His will.
God is still answering prayers even when His answer is "No".
In the movie Bruce Almighty, we get a glimpse of what it would be like if everyone received a "Yes" to every prayer they prayed. Chaos ensues and the lottery winners each get about a $1.50. The movie gives us great insight into what happens when we get everything we want. Like a loving parent, God has to sometimes tell us "No." When He does, it's not that He doesn't love us. It's not that He doesn't want the best for us. It's because answering "Yes" would go against what He has planned for us. Why doesn't God heal the person dying of cancer when we desperately ask in Jesus' name? I don't know. But He does know and part of living a life of faith means trusting God even when we can't understand why He's told us "No."
I hope this brief look at "Why doesn't prayer work, when the Bible promises that it will?" will help strengthen your faith in God the next time you have a difficult prayer to lift up to God. As always, I'm open to comments and questions, either here on the blog or via Social Media. If this question brings to mind another difficult question about faith, then by all means ask it.
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When I was a kid I grew up in the country. We had acres and acres of hay fields, pastures, and woods to play in. One day, as my mom recounts, I picked a handful of "flowers" in the hay field behind our house. I came and gave them to my mom. Every mom needs flowers from their kids and I guess I thought my mom would love the blue "flowers" I found in the field. Now every Mother's Day I go into our hay field and I pick a small bouquet of these flowers for my mom and for my wife. The irony of it is these beautiful blue flowers are nothing more than a weed in our hay field. Yes, you can call them a wildflower if you want (they're actually called Ragged Robin), but for all intents and purposes on the farm, they're a weed. A weed, plain and simple. There is no real nutritional value to them and they keep good hay from growing where they take over. But try to tell that to a small kid picking flowers for his mother and it won't matter. Why? Because there is beauty in that weed.
The beauty of a weed like the Ragged Robin helps us see the beauty in God's creation. I'm not talking about mountain vistas or endless ocean horizons. What I'm referring to is what God has done in mankind. What we would call useless, God calls useful. What man calls ugly, God calls beautiful. There are plenty of people out there that look at their life and see something useless. They see something ugly. What God sees is completely different. Remember what God said in Genesis 1:31, "God saw all that he had made, and it was very good." That includes you and I because we were created by God. God doesn't see us as the world sees us. God doesn't even see us as we see ourselves. What God sees is something good. He sees something useful. He sees something of beauty. He sees someone He loves.
Here's a dose of encouragement to wrap up today's post. The next time you're struggling with the way others view you or even the way you view yourself, remember how God sees you. He doesn't see a weed. He sees a beautiful flower He's watching bloom. When you see yourself from His perspective it will change the way you see your self.
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My wife and I have an interesting little game we like to play. If we're together as a family, watching TV or riding in the car, one of us will make a flirtatious "Hmmm..." sound at the other. The other will respond with the same sound. We will do it back and forth until one of our boys notices. Then they will try their best to interrupt what they see to be mom and dad flirting with each other. But how they interrupt is the amusing part to me and Misty. They will start acting like little mockingbirds making exaggerated "Hmmm..." sounds. When I say exaggerated, I mean Cooper sounds like he's choking on something. Misty and I get a kick out of it because the boys always make us laugh with their "interruptions."
Recently after one of these times playing the "Hmmm..." game, I started to think a little more deeply about what was happening to our kids when we played this game. One thing that is obvious is that our kids are seeing mom and dad "flirting" with each other. As grossed out as they are at the sight of us kissing, what all of this does for them in the long run is far more beneficial than they realize. What it shows them is an example of how they are to treat their future spouses and how they should expect to be treated by those future spouses. What they see is a healthy marriage relationship and hopefully one they will want to imitate. Have our boys seen arguments between Misty and I? Sure. Have we tried to show them how to resolve arguments in a healthy way (Ephesians 4:26-27)? Definitely. But they definitely see much more of the mutual respect and love (Ephesians 5:22-33) that is commanded in the Bible. The other thing I thought about was the fact that our boys were mocking or imitating us. Regardless of what a couple shows outside of the house, their children see it all. They see the good, the bad, and the ugly. And what they see is what they will imitate in their own marriages. If they see dad being abusive or condescending, then they will either act that way towards their wife or allow their husband to treat them that way. If they see mom being non-committal towards dad, home, or family responsibilities, then they will expect the same from their wife or will treat their husbands the same way. When our boys grow up, I hope they copy our actions when it comes to "flirting" with their spouses. I hope they want to continue to date their spouses. Most importantly I want them to treat their spouses with respect and love because they are commanded to do so in the Scriptures and they saw their own parents trying to live that out in their marriage.
I usually try to end my posts with some sort of encouragement and here's today's dose of encouragement. I realize that no one has lived out a perfect marriage in front of their children, myself and Misty included. But what you can do is make a fresh start today. You can start working towards setting an example for your kids that you are proud for them to follow. And what better example to set than one where your kids can tell a noticeable difference between the old way of doing things and the new. Then you can share with them how God is the one who changed you and your marriage.
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Yesterday, during Sunday School at our church, I walked into my office to find a mixed up Rubik's cube on my desk and a note. The thing is my Rubik's cube was a completed puzzle with all 6 sides showing only one color. My first thought was the cube I saw wasn't mine and someone was trying to prank me. Then I saw mine was missing from my desk and started to read the note. The note said, "I am sorry. Me and Cooper were playing with it. It was my turn and I did it. Sorry dad." It was signed by my oldest son Dru. Now for most people they'd say, "Big deal! It's a toy!" For years though I've told my boys not to mess with that Rubik's cube. I learned several years ago how to solve it and once I finally did I've kept it as something of a trophy. Again, "Big deal!" Honestly I'm not bothered by the fact he messed up my Rubik's cube. I can fix it. What I am amazed at is the fact that he owned up to his mistake and didn't try to blame his brother for it.
In the past, Misty and I have been regularly challenged as parents to get our oldest son to own up to his mistakes and not blame his younger brother. It has driven us crazy sometimes trying to get the truth of a situation out of him. But after some recent heart-to-heart talks with him, our son seems to have turned a corner and is starting to own his mistakes. To us that is huge. As a father, I am pleased that my child is owning his mistakes.
No one likes to mess up. We all want to do things right and not mess up. No one likes to be blamed or reprimanded for mistakes. That is human nature. So what do we sometimes do to keep the blame off of us? We "pass the buck". We shift the blame. In the worst of situations, we lie about what happened. The best thing you can do is to own your mistakes, seek forgiveness, seek restoration, and use it as a learning experience. The real lesson to learn from your mistakes is forgiveness, primarily how to seek it and how to extend it. It's hard to ask someone for forgiveness, regardless if its a boss, co-worker, spouse, or friend. But if we mess up, we need to ask for it. When we do our Heavenly Father will be pleased with us. It's even more difficult to extend forgiveness. We too often want to hold onto the pain and harbor a grudge. But that isn't the Christ-like response we ought to have when someone has messed up and hurt us. Jesus said in Luke 17:3 that if someone sins against you and they repent, then you are to forgive them. Paul advised us in Colossians 3:13 (NIV), "Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you." The right response to the hurt is to forgive as God has forgiven you. When we do we will really please our Heavenly Father because we will be acting like Him.
It is difficult to own up to your mistakes. No one likes to do it. But when we do we find the opportunity to seek forgiveness and repentance. When others seek our forgiveness for their mistakes, then we have the opportunity to be more like Christ and extend forgiveness like it was extended to us.
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Yesterday afternoon I sat in my office checking my email. One of the emails I received was a newsletter from the website, churchleaders.com. The main article was titled, "Joel Osteen just explained why he refuses to preach on hell." You can read the entire article here. Of course being a pastor that title caught my attention and I clicked through to read the article. The basis of the article is a statement Osteen made when interviewed on CBS Sunday Morning that aired on Easter Sunday. When asked about why he didn't preach on hell, Osteen said, "[People] already feel guilty enough. They're not doing what they should, raising their kids--we can all find reasons. So I want them to come to Lakewood or our meetings and be lifted up, to say, 'You know what? I may not be perfect, but I'm moving forward. I'm doing better.' And I think that motivates you to do better." When a preacher, one called to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ, does not preach the entire Gospel message, then the message isn't the Gospel.
When I was growing up, I had a saintly grandmother who would sometimes pull one over on you. She wouldn't tell you a lie, but she might not tell you all of the truth either. Her actions were always done in fun and with no serious consequences. It's no laughing matter when ministers of the Gospel do not preach the full message of the Gospel. Don't hear me bashing Joel Osteen or any other minister who doesn't preach the Gospel as it is presented in the scriptures. They will have to answer for their actions, just like I will, and just like you will. As a pastor that does preach the uplifting parts and the hard parts of the Gospel message, I encourage you to reconsider the message and the messenger if you aren't getting both the uplifting and the hard to swallow parts.
The whole truth of the Gospel message is shared through the pages of the Bible. You find it most concisely in Matthew, Mark, Luke, & John. The message is simple: Humans are sinful beings separated spiritually from God. Because of that spiritual separation you are destined to spend eternity in hell. The only way to fix that spiritual separation was for Jesus Christ, the Son of God, to die on a cross for the sins of humanity. Through belief in Jesus Christ, that He is who He says He is, you can have your sins forgiven. When you put your faith in Jesus you receive salvation from God, a right relationship with Him, and you will spend eternity in heaven with Him.
Any preacher who does not share the entire truth of the Gospel message, hell included, is only sharing half of the truth. Without an understanding of the penalty for your sins (eternal separation from God in hell), you never truly understand your need for salvation or a relationship with God. Yes, God wants to bless you and do wonderful things in your life (John 10:10), but that isn't the entire view that God wants us to have of Him. He wants us to love Him, serve Him, and have faith in Him, all because He sent His Son to die for us. He did it so we could avoid hell and experience His love.
Few things rile me up as a pastor like someone teaching heresy or omitting to teach Biblical truths as the Bible teaches them. My encouragement to you today is this. If you ever find that your preacher is not preaching the full message of sin, hell, grace, and redemption, then talk to him about it. If he isn't willing to teach the entire message of the Gospel, then you need to find a new preacher.
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