New Thoughts: (07/17/24-07/22/24)
Do to Be (07/18/24)
It seems that some degree of division, or at least debate had arisen
in Philippi. I suppose it’s inevitable, human nature being what it
is. But when we Christians come up against our human nature, the
proper response is not to accept the inevitability of it all. The
proper response is to recognize a place in us that needs work, a
place, perhaps, that God is exposing to our observation in order that
we might come alongside Him in that work which He is now intending to
do in us. Recall, after all, that we have just heard Paul’s reminder
that God is at work in us all, both to will and to work for His good
pleasure, and as such, we should be working alongside Him with utmost
care and attentiveness. This isn’t some sudden veering of thought for
Paul. The points come together for a reason, and the reason is that
this is still an integral part of what has been said before.
So, here we are. We know ourselves to be called of God, and one
hopes we know that this being God’s doing, it is a matter that is
settled. We are His. I’ll come back to that, I expect. But we also
know that we are far from the perfection that He requires. And we are
not called to become passive loafers, just waiting for God to do His
thing. We’ve been called to action. Work out your salvation! Don’t
just assume it, even though you have absolute reason to be assured of
it in that it comes of God’s own divine determination, and that, from
before the beginning. Yes, you are assured. No, you are not granted
to idle away the interim until He comes. That was the issue over in
Thessalonica. Trust in faithful God had become excuse to set aside
all the necessary work of life. This may have some differences in
focus, but it’s the same issue. Trust in God was leading to distrust
of other believers at some level, at least those other believers who
did not see things precisely the same as we do. And Paul’s not having
it. There’s no place for this in the family of God. We serve one God
in one Spirit towards one Purpose. No, we are not all identical in
our giftings. No, we are not robots programmed to our task and
incapable of doing otherwise. We are moral agents, whose minds are
being renewed. We are coming to know better, and if we know better,
it’s high time we behave better. If we are maturing in Christ, it’s
past time we stopped acting like spoiled children.
Hear the call, then: “Do all things without
grumbling or disputing.” Understand that there is no
complaint department in the church. The pastor is not there to field
your notices of dissatisfaction. He is not preaching, week by week,
to see what sort of scorecards you might hold up. You are not there
to rate him, or to leave likes on his web page, nor to downvote some
message that maybe hit a bit too close to home, and you weren’t
prepared to receive it. He’s not there for you to come with your
issues regarding this or that fellow member, whether it’s family
squabbles, personality conflicts, or even theological distinctions.
Now, if you or somebody else is falling into sin, and a brother has
come alongside to make them aware of this, sought to restore them to
repentance that they might indeed continue in the grace of God, and
the one thus rebuked has refused to change, then yes, there is
Scriptural mandate to bring this to the elders, of which the pastor is
certainly one, that they might, with greater authority, and, one
hopes, keener insight and ability to bring the Word of God to bear,
succeed where you have not. And it may even come to the point of
requiring the extremes of church discipline, making the case known to
the church at large, and expelling this individual from the body until
and unless repentance comes to him.
Understand, then, that there is a distinction between discernment and
discipline rightly applied, and the sort of grumbling and disputing
that is in view here. This is more along the lines of arguments over
carpet color, or the style of music to be played for worship, or
whether pastors ought to be required to wear suit and tie. It might
encompass such things as heated infighting over secondary points of
doctrine. Hey, it happens. And it happens within denominations. It
is possible, if only just, that those of starkly contrasting
perspectives on such secondary matters can yet abide peaceably
together in one body, but it’s not always the case. Denominations, I
have to say, are not some evil failure of the Church, but rather, a
means by which our Lord graciously provides a godly resolution to our
differing without disturbing unity. Seriously, if you cannot abide
others taking a more Calvinistic view than yourself, find a body that
leans Arminian. Or, if it’s Arminianism that so offends your
sensibilities, join with a body more inclined towards a Calvinist
perspective. I understand. I’ve been there from one side, and
observed it from the other. And it’s okay. But let that departure be
without animosity, and without the sort of grumbling and disputing
that is on view here. Let it be with full recognition that despite
these differences of perspective, both parties remain true sons of
God, devoted to the purpose of pursuing His good pleasure.
Within the body? Grumbling must cease. That son who grumbled and
complained of his father’s command in Jesus’ parable did, to be sure,
eventually come into compliance and go work the fields as dad had
instructed. His rebellion was temporary, whereas the other son, who
gave signs of obedience, truly rebelled and, at least so far as the
parable relays events, never did repent. But neither is shown us as a
paragon of righteousness. Rather, it’s an opportunity for
self-assessment. Perhaps you have been resisting the change God is
currently pursuing in your own character. Perhaps you have refused to
change thus far, though you know that change is needed. Well, time to
change. Do in order to be.
I will take this a step further, to life beyond the confines of the
church. When you are at home, do all things without grumbling or
disputing. Perhaps, if you are single and living alone, this is not
so much of a concern. After all, with whom will you dispute? Well,
let’s be honest. We’re pretty good at grumbling and complaining to
ourselves, even when it’s about ourselves. It may be that we resent
the necessities of keeping house, of making meals, of having so little
time to pursue our pleasures. God knows I feel that one often
enough! But add a spouse, and suddenly we’ve got two people with
different priorities. And they have needs for one another. One has
strengths and insights that the other does not. If they come to
loggerheads over a matter, what to do? Well, don’t grumble, and don’t
dispute. Indeed, the call of Scripture is to submit one to another.
We’re right back to the earlier part of this chapter. Treat one
another’s concerns as more important than your own priorities.
Indeed, let their concern be your priority.
How about in the workplace? If you are given a task, do you first
assess the thing to decide whether it’s beneath you? Do you assess
whether in fact it’s worth doing at all, or whether your leader, or
whoever is asking you to do the thing is perhaps out of their
element? Do you tend to your wound, and curry your anger, just
waiting for the opportunity to make this awful thing known to all and
sundry? Oh, you may be sufficiently sly as to keep names out of it,
lest you bring harm to your own future, but ooh, the sweet release of
informing the world at large just what a jerk this guy is, and how you
got yours over him! And what an ego stroke when folks from hither and
yon express their agreement and support.
You may recognize this. Huge swathes of the Internet are, it seems,
devoted to just such airing of grievances. Indeed, we live, it seems
in a culture devoted to grievance. It’s a competition of who has been
the more abused, who’s had to put up with the most. And in such a
culture, combativeness is the natural, fleshly response. The church
is not immune. We live in the midst of this culture. We are drawn
from this culture, and we continue, in spite of our pursuit of the
means of grace, to feel the influence of this culture. This is not
anything new, you see, although, as with so much of life, technology
has made it easier to submit to the influence.
An aside within an aside. I happened to watch a brief video last
week looking to answer why it is that modern music just doesn’t have
the quality, the originality, that it did in past decades. Okay, on
one level, one has to laugh as this has no doubt been the complaint of
every generation since music was discovered. It’s almost a, “kids
these days,” old fart assessment. But his point was more
that the technology that is now available to the average user (of
which I am most assuredly one) makes it easy to churn stuff out, but
it has done so at the cost of demanding less of actual talent and
creativity. If everybody is using software to add drums, maybe
guitar, maybe even piano, to their songs, and this is the end product,
of course it’s going to start sounding the same.
This is, from my limited reading on the matter, the issue that rapidly
besets AI in its current form. All it can do is draw from the sea of
words upon which it has been trained. It cannot be original, only
recombinant. And eventually, rather like the inbreeding of the royals
of old, it leads to artificial insanity.
Okay, let’s try to get back on course a bit. So, technology has made
it easier for us to grumble to a wider audience, and given it’s only
our side of the story being told, we can (and do) present it in those
terms most conducive to our gaining a positive response as to our own
part in the thing. But it’s one side. We have, as the author of this
diatribe likely has, no clue as to what was happening in the lives of
whatever others are involved in their tale. We have no background on
that, and frankly, our author likely has little care for discovering
what lies behind the thing that offended them. I have a brother in
this body to which I am attached, who is, at least by the evidence I
have, far more inclined to seek to understand what’s going on behind
the immediate. If somebody is behaving awfully, what has led to it?
What’s going on in their lives that they hurt so? Take the easy and
obvious example. That one who cut you off in traffic as you were
coming home from work, do you have any idea what may be going on in
his life that he feels the need to drive with such urgency and
disregard? Or do you just jump straight to assumptions as to his
lapse of character and judgment, and call down curses upon his head?
Or this truck that took out the powerline in front of our house a few
days back: What was happening with that driver? Was he suddenly hit
by some affliction? Had he been too long behind the wheel, and had
hoped to pull over before he caused an accident? Did he somehow fail
to notice the sound of sparks as those wires came down, or to observe
the brief clouds of smoke following him down the road? Or do we just
assume he’s an idiot, determined to avoid consequences for what he
just did?
All of this to say, grumbling must cease. You do not walk this world
as one more sad human amongst a mass of sad humans. You walk as a
child of God. You have, if obedience is in you, let it be known that
you serve God, that you love Him and seek to be like Him as best you
can. And as such, those amongst whom you walk contain at least some
who know of your professed faith, and look at your example as the
defining case of what your faith is in reality. If your walk is no
different than theirs, then by their estimation, your faith is no more
beneficial than believing in the Spaghetti Monster. So, then, child
of the light, walk as what you are. Live what you believe. Obey the
One you serve.
Okay, so what do we do with this attitude that arises in us? How do
we deal with disagreement? There may be a place for confrontation
here, if confrontation can be had with an attitude of loving care and
concern, and without being provoked to sin. For my part, I would
advise starting farther back. Start where you really should
be starting, in prayer. And that prayer should not be for
vindication, or with the one-sidedness of those websites I have
mentioned. Be open to the very real possibility that the error is
yours, the need for change is yours. Pray that God would make the
proper resolution evident to both of you. If it’s my brother that has
need of change, Father, may the Holy Spirit speak to his conscience in
such fashion as he will receive and act upon it. And if it’s me? The
same prayer. Speak to me, and grant that I might not only hear You
clearly, but hear You effectually, repenting of my error and setting
myself to pursue a new course. This, dear ones, is far more likely to
lead to a glad conclusion than is your grumbling and disputing. So
many times I have taken this course, and seen the issues dissolve
away. I may not even be clear exactly what has changed, only that the
offense is gone, and harmony has been restored. And yet, I am too
readily moved to forget my own advice, to baste in my offense and then
wonder why nothing gets better. Or, I may be so sure of myself and my
right understanding that I seek to plow over the arguments of
whomever, probably not even giving an honest ear to whatever
explanation may be offered. Love isn’t in it, only the need for
wounded pride to get a bandage applied. So, yes, all of this is
largely talking to myself, and hoping that perhaps I’ll listen in such
a way as to be of advantage to my own maturation.
Grumbling must cease! Wherever it arises. If it is because my wife
has asked for yet another chore to be done, well, first off, let’s be
rid of that ‘yet another’ clause. It’s not
time for keeping accounts. It’s time for serving. If, by my gifts I
can by of service, then, let me serve with cheerfulness, to paraphrase
Romans 21:7-8 just a bit. Let me live as
‘devoted to one another’ (Ro
12:10). Let me indeed do all things without grumbling and
disputing. These are not, after all, requests to sin, nor to violate
conscience. They are just things that need getting done, and most
likely, things that I should have seen the need of doing without such
reminder. Enough, then.
Today, as I go back to the workplace, there will be things asked of
me, just as any other day, but let me respond as one who is a child of
God. Let me respond with this same mindset, a willingness to lend my
gifts and abilities to whatever task arises, willing to accept the
responsibilities laid upon me, whether I think them worthy of my
talents (oh, sinful pride!) or not. Let me be gracious, serviceable,
and oh, for the love of God, free of this cynicism that too much
defines me. Time for a change.
Lord, I cannot but hear what I am preaching to myself in this,
nor can I pretend it’s the first time I’ve heard it, even from me.
You are speaking to me. You are identifying, I
dare say, the place where You are going to work in me, and may it
be, my Father, that I can – this time – lay hold of that power which
You have set at my disposal to be as You intend me to be. Grant
that I may weather such opportunities for improvement as come my way
today continuing to do so as to be that which I am in You. And may
You have both pleasure and glory from it. Amen.
Contrasts (07/19/24)
Paul paints a sharp contrast here between the children of God and the
sons of this world. On the one hand, we have a people blameless and
innocent. On the other, we have a people who are crooked and
perverse. But let us not become prideful and forget ourselves! “For such were some of you; but you were washed,
sanctified, justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in
the Spirit of our God” (1Co 6:11).
We are drawn from that same stock of worldly sons and daughters, and
sadly, sometimes it shows. The question is, as we walk in this world,
does it also show that we are God’s children?
Let’s look at these characteristics we are to have, the things we are
proving to have by what we do. We have first this idea of being
blameless, amemptoi. Live your life in
such a way as gives no grounds for accusation against you. This is
not to say that blame will not come, for it may. Jesus certainly
found Himself blamed for many crimes, and yet in reality He was
sinless, having done nothing against God or man. Having just read
through the jailing of Paul and Silas again in this morning’s Table Talk devotional,
they, too, found themselves blamed, beaten, and imprisoned for what
was in fact no crime, indeed, for having freed a young girl from
demonic possession. So, this isn’t about just trying to get along
with everybody. For, to get along with everybody we should have to be
more like them, and that is precisely not the goal
here.
Paul joins this blameless life with being innocent, akeraioi.
Now, if you have a smattering of Greek, you may recognize that both of
these compound words define their point in the negative. To be
blameless is to be not to blame. To be innocent, is to be not mixed,
unadulterated. This gets to purity, or as we might say, holiness.
And that, clearly, is the goal of this process of sanctification in
which we find ourselves. The goal is to set aside every stain of sin,
having been washed clean by the blood of Christ, to remain so, a bride
without spot or wrinkle. And let us recognize that this shall come
about because of that same Christ Who died for us. For He loves His
Church. He gave Himself for her, so as to sanctify her, cleansing her
with the water of the word, in order that He might present her to
Himself “in all her glory, having no spot or
wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and
blameless” (Eph 5:25-27). It’s
the same thought, isn’t it, the same goal? Holy and blameless is
blameless and innocent. This unadulterated purity of innocence is
holiness.
What does it mean to be adulterated? In the world of products, it
means the thing you purchased is not exactly what it claims to be.
That extra virgin olive oil you bought at no small price is not as
advertised. The flour you bought for your baking has other organic
material in it that did not come of crushing wheat in the mill. The
gas you put in your car is not purely gasoline, but has additives.
Now, that may be accounted a good thing, but then, we can consider the
effects of ethanol on your engine, or for that matter, on our food
supply. Corn that has been burned in the engine is not satisfying
anybody’s hunger, after all, and land that has grown corn for that
purpose cannot grow crops for another purpose. But what if the
adulterating material is water? Your gas has water mixed in. You
won’t notice it at the pump, but guaranteed, you’ll notice it in due
time. And it won’t make you happy.
Now, we have this as our picture of how we are to go through life:
Unadulterated and giving no grounds for accusation. But Paul’s not
done yet. He piles on one more for us; to be amoma,
above reproach. And again, we have the idea delivered in the
negative: Not blemished. Zhodiates points out the relation of this
word to offerings. Here is a call to be such a sacrifice as will give
no offense to God in the offering thereof. Put that back into the
image of the pure, spotless bride of Christ. She is to be a living
sacrifice, as Paul instructs in Romans 12:1:
“Present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice,
acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.”
Different terminology, but same idea. We walk this world as living
sacrifices, yearlings without spot or blemish, suitable for the
paschal altar. Of course, our true spotless sacrifice, the Lamb of
God, has already taken His place upon that altar on our behalf, and it
is thus that we are clean in the first place, His blood having atoned
for our sins not for a year, but for an eternity. But we remain
offerings as His bride, cleansed and preparing ourselves for that
great wedding day ahead. As we prepare, we would give no grounds for
accusation against us. In that setting, I should think we must
recognize the idea of remaining free of any charge of harlotry, of
having dallied with other gods, other worldviews.
And there is your contrast. The world around you, from which you
were drawn and in which you are given cause to remain, is a crooked
and perverse generation. Honestly, it hardly takes much to convince
us of that today, does it? We might know many who are of the world
who seem, from what we can see, to be unstained by the worst of these
perversions and criminal tendencies. But then, we don’t have to look
too far afield to find those who are. The news celebrates them. We
have just recently had a month of the year spent celebrating
perversion, and calling for sin. Pride month? Celebrate your sin?
No thanks.
And here you are. Here is your calling. It’s not to go out verbally
bashing their choices. It’s not to go off to funerals and waltz about
with signs declaring God’s disgust with the one who died. It’s not
about pointing fingers at all, really. It’s about not remaining like
them. It’s about presenting a contrast. It’s about showing, by our
lives and character, that there is a better way. It’s possible to
live godly, perhaps not in perfection, but with full intention of
trying for perfection. It’s a deliberate goodness, an unwillingness
to succumb to offense, to seek vengeance, to seek to boost ourselves
at the expense of others.
Here it is in most basic form: Prove yourselves to be children of
God. How do you prove it? By loud declamations? By insistent
claim? No. You prove it by living it. You do so as to be. What do
you do? Back to the start: No grumbling, no complaining. See? I
told you this went far beyond church. This is life! This is the
contrast. The world around you loves to grumble and complain. The
news, it seems to me, is bent on pushing everybody to just such a
state. Here in New England, we are somewhat notorious for being never
satisfied with the weather, I think. If it’s cold, it’s too cold, and
we’re pining for summer. Summer comes, and ugh, so humid, so hot.
When will fall be here? Oh, but it came too quickly. Trees shouldn’t
be dropping their leaves yet. And every year, it goes on. How about
this, then? God ordained the seasons, and He has promised that they
shall continue in their cycles until that time He has ordained for the
end of all things. All of this about you, the weather, the seasons,
the temperature, the humidity, is by His design. You are
by His design. And will you grumble as to how He has made you? Far
be it from us! His plans and designs are perfect. You and I have
been perfectly fitted for our place in His order. Today has been
perfectly fitted for His intentions. And you wish to grumble and
complain about it? Do you see? You cannot grumble and complain, even
about these most mundane things, without effectively taking it up with
Him. And what sort of bondservant will that make us? What sort of
son would we prove to be, always chiding our Father for what He has
done?
No, I tell you! This will not do. And so, we have a call upon us.
I’ll take the wording of the Message here. “Go
out into the world uncorrupted, a breath of fresh air in this
squalid and polluted society.” You know, we have bad air
days. Hit the Weather Channel, and they’ll let you know. Mind you,
from their perspective, it seems every day is a danger to health, the
most perfect summer’s day is still cause for alarm in their view. But
you’ve got to get your information somewhere, I suppose. Far better,
I think, to just step out the front door. But we’ve been conditioned
to want to know what’s coming tomorrow, or later today, or this
weekend, or what have you. Never mind how often the forecast proves
wrong. We want a heads up. But the whole site is plagued by five
million ways you’re going to die.
I drift. A squalid and polluted landscape. We can recognize that.
We’ve seen it. As beautiful as Malawi could be, can be, there are
aspects of it I would just as soon not deal with. To get to the
church, one must pass through the dump, roll up the windows against
the flies, and so on. Going downtown is a dusty, noisesome business.
But this is not the natural order. Go out to the countryside, and see
what riches God has blessed the land with. Go and keep your focus on
God’s people, and the joy with which they face life. Here are a
people who have heeded this instruction, walking blameless and
innocent, as children of God, even in the midst of the corruption and
poverty, and pollution that permeates the culture. And not as chiding
their neighbors, not as decrying the false religions practices by
others in their villages, but as demonstrating a better way, a pure
way; by being ‘a breath of fresh air.’ I
expect you’ve encountered people that strike you that way. It may be
rare, but it happens. There is just such a simplicity, such a joyful
innocence about them. And no, I don’t suppose that innocence is
perfectly held, but it is typical. It comes to be what we expect of
such a one, so much so that should we find them angry or upset, it
comes as a great surprise, shocking even. But that’s what we’re
called to be! So consistently blameless and innocent, so constant in
rejoicing in our God come what may, that any failure to be so on our
part is seen as out of character, and alarming for its rarity.
Be children of God who cannot be censured, as the One New Man
translation offers it. Or, as Paul instructs the church in Ephesus
(and all churches everywhere), imitate God as beloved children (Eph 5:1). I might say as well, as children of
a beloved Father. Live so as to contrast with the mess around you.
Don’t continue in old habits, nor fall back into them. Don’t go along
to get along. By all means, so far as it lies with you to do so, seek
to be at peace with all men (Ro 12:18), but
that doesn’t require taking up their habits and their ways. It
doesn’t require that you squelch your own practices and beliefs. It
is possible to live godly without being purposefully offensive.
Indeed, I might suggest that it is impossible to live godly if we are
being purposefully offensive. That was never the intent and it never
will be. Just be authentic, children of God beyond reasonable
censure. Give no grounds for accusation. And should accusation come
anyway, continue in purity, continue uncorrupted. Imitate God.
Imitate Jesus who, having committed no offense against any man, was
yet consigned to the cross, even as the judge confessed His
innocence. “Yet He did not open His mouth. Like
a lamb led to slaughter, a sheep silent before its shearers, so He
did not open His mouth” (Isa 53:7).
Here is your example. Seek that you may achieve the same purity of
heart, mind, and soul.
Be the Light (07/20/24-07/21/24)
We come to the reason for this contrast, the purpose to godly
living. It may be surprising, but it’s not for personal benefit.
It’s not so that you can gain entrance to God’s kingdom, having proven
yourself. It’s not even about maximizing the rewards you may receive
upon doing so. No, it’s about lighting up the world. What does light
do? Light allows us to see where we’re going, or what’s coming our
way, among other things. If I get up in the middle of the night, I
must navigate my way without benefit of light, at least of sufficient
light, and the likelihood of bumping into this or that is heightened,
particularly if things have been rearranged lately. But by day, the
same route, however recently established, would be perfectly simple to
follow without incident. Lights may serve as guidance or as warning.
And, not least, light exposes what’s there. And here we are, called
to appear as lights in the world.
The world is a dark place, not because it was designed to be so, but
because of the effects of sin and of its current state ruled by the
prince of the air. That it was not always so, not designed to be so,
is clear in the word itself, going back to the Greek. Kosmos.
As Thayer offers, an apt, harmonious arrangement; adornment. There’s
the basics of the term, and thus, the world is presented to us as a
harmoniously arranged adornment. On what? On the universe? Perhaps,
though we know little enough about it for all our peering and
positing. After all, we keep counting up more and more planets that
would appear similarly situated, and if visited, might be found just
as charming and capable of sustaining life. Or, it may yet prove to
be the case that in fact the earth is unique in all creation from that
perspective. But I suspect we would drive closer to the reality to
suggest it as such an adornment upon heaven itself. Here is God’s
artwork on the fridge, if you will, though not as a childish
accomplishment that only a mother could be proud of. No! As a
masterpiece.
Speak to most any gardener, and what is their pride and joy? It’s
the accomplishment of their garden, the artfulness and beauty of it.
It’s been a long and patient work, but here it is, particularly this
time of year, in full display, and it’s wonderful. Though I do not do
the gardening around here, I must confess to a very real sense of joy
and appreciation as I come home and walk the path to our door. It is
a wonderful walk, flowers all about, the occasional bunny slipping
away among the stems, bees and butterflies happily flitting about the
petals, and birds in and out for seeds. And it just smells like
home. There is the scent of the milkweeds in bloom, which I would
account one of the most pleasing scents to have around. There is the
scent that rises after a rain, or in the heat of the day, and it’s
just wonderful. All the senses are given something to appreciate. Is
all in harmony in this garden? All carefully arranged? Well, no.
It’s not that sort of garden. It’s not the formal, carefully sculpted
thing of a European courtyard. But yes, in that Somebody has arranged
what seeds have taken, which have planted themselves where from last
year’s flowers, and in that there is a certain peacefulness to the
whole thing. All is indeed harmonious and pleasing.
Thus was the world intended to be: God’s garden, and we, its
gardeners. But we proved rather inattentive gardeners, ready to be
the landlords instead, or so we thought. And we allowed the worst,
most incorrigible weed entrance, and as weeds are wont to do, it
choked out much that was beautiful, corrupted the whole works seeking
to take over. And we just let it happen. The garden became a dark
and tangled mess, and thus it has been ever since. No longer can we
just step out the door of the house, grab a bit of this and that for
supper, and relax. It takes work to clear a patch and keep it clear.
But this remains our task. This is the mission of the church, to weed
the garden and let the sun reach those seeds which God has planted,
let the rains nourish them, that growth might come, and the beautiful
harmony of the original order reemerge.
Okay, I’ve probably worked that image more than enough. Back to the
light. We have, of course, the chief reference to this that comes in
the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus speaks in the imagery of light. “You are the light of the world” (Mt
5:14-16). There’s no maybe here. There’s no becoming,
getting to be such eventually. It’s current status. It’s your
purpose. He continues. “A city on a hill cannot
be hidden.” Why? Because of the lights. You set a light on
the mountaintop, and it’s unmistakable in the darkness, however small
the light. If line of sight is clear, as it will tend to be for such
a height, the slightest light will be discernable at great distance.
He gives another example in case this one doesn’t register. If you
light your lamp in the house, you don’t then proceed to hide it under
a bin somewhere. No! You put it on the lampstand so that it can
serve its purpose and light up the house. And, we might add, such
that all in the house benefit by it.
He concludes with application. In the same way, let your light shine
before men. Let them see your good works and glorify your Father in
heaven. Here is your purpose. You are the light, now shine. Let it
be seen. It’s interesting. I was reading a back issue of Table
Talk last night, catching up on articles received while I
was making my way through some other book. At any rate, the article
sought to address the question of how we proclaim the gospel in a
place that does not permit speaking on the subject. Many workplaces
are, as they observe, making it a fireable offense to pursue religious
matters in course of a workday. Well, to be fair, that’s not what
they pay you for, is it? It may be getting more pronounced, this
opposition to such discussion, and it may be done now in the name of
DEI, but it’s been an issue for decades, certainly, in many places.
Somehow inclusion doesn’t include this, diversity doesn’t permit of
faith, and amidst equity, some things are less equal. Be that as it
may. The article observes that our lives are one key means to
proclaiming the gospel. I might even say they are the chief means.
It’s all well and good to hold forth preaching as the fundamental
means by which God reaches the lost, but who will listen unless there
has been the example of a life lived by its tenets, showing its worth?
This is what Paul is getting at in the passage before us. You appear
as lights. For all that they seem to celebrate this
crookedness and perversion, I expect that many out there in the
darkness recognize that it is dark, that something’s just off. They
may not understand what. They may not appreciate the answer when they
come across it, but they can see that something’s wrong. How could
they not? Even the blind, as the saying goes, may stumble across a
bit of truth now and then. But the term we have here is a middle
voice term, and in this case, that has impact on the meaning. It’s
not that you shine. It’s that your light is recognized for what it
is. Like it or not, you are judged based on your appearance. Now,
that’s not a critique of your choice of outfit, or the care with which
you attend to hair and face and fingers and such. It’s an assessment
of character, at least to the degree that character becomes evident.
In the workplace, sloth will become evident. You know the ones who
cannot be counted on to get anything done. And you also recognize
those whose diligence and ability stand out. The manager who proves a
sound guide and takes care of his charges becomes known amongst the
workers, and that one whose proclivities make it an agony to work for
him or her are likewise a byword amongst the workers. You are
observed. Your ways are known. If, as children of God above
reproach, you are making your way in the workplace, doing all things
as unto the Lord, this is going to show, whether you speak of your
faith or not. And such example, as both this article, and
observations of others in the workplace attest, can lead to off-hour
opportunities for the Gospel to be declared more directly. The
article suggests the preparing of the fields, as it were, by asking
open-ended questions, not necessarily with obvious religious tones,
but aimed at giving the one questioned cause to consider their answer,
and perhaps, just perhaps, to seek out opportunity to discuss things
further when not on the clock.
I think that last clause is key. Not on the clock. Evangelizing on
the clock, while it might give one a little rush of adrenaline, and
may feel like showing how carefully you prioritize God in your life,
will in fact tend to tarnish the example you give. If you are
pursuing your vocation as unto the Lord, then you owe your employer
the best attentiveness to your duties that you can provide. There are
other parts of the day, after all. There are other hours in which he
is not paying for your services, and you are perfectly capable of
connecting with this person during those hours, when company rules no
longer apply. Live, then, so as to encourage such connections. Have
you ever wondered why we have so much encouragement to be hospitable?
I think maybe this is a large part of it. It’s not as much about
mutual support amongst the brotherhood, although that is certainly to
be encouraged as well, but it’s about living in a fashion that invites
those wandering lost souls around you to partake of your company, in
order that your hospitable association might lay the groundwork for
deeper discussion, for the presenting of the gospel from someone who
has earned a hearing.
So, perhaps we can come back to our text. Appear in their judgment
to be what you are. That’s what this is getting at. Jesus has said
it. You are the light. Paul is requesting that we
do nothing to disguise or distort that fact. If you, as children of
light, are squabbling over every stupid detail of how the church
looks, what the format for service is, or now, I suppose, what our
website looks like, how are you different than the social club down
the street? What distinguishes you from a theater production? If
they come to your church to hear the truth proclaimed, and find that
you are all squabbling over the accuracy of the message, debating
between yourselves as to whether this point or that point was in fact
correct, on what basis should they conclude that you are in possession
of the truth at all? By all appearances, y’all are just guessing.
Now, I don’t think for a moment that Paul is advising unconsidered
obedience, marching in lockstep regardless of our own conscience.
That would never do! And his express theology in Romans will
not permit us any such conclusion – and how providential to be reading
through that marvelous book again as I pursue my explorations of this
one! “Whatever is not from faith is sin” (Ro 14:23b). That’s it. Disagree as you must,
as faith, through your conscience, insists. You are led by the
Spirit, and so is your brother, though you disagree. That may be hard
to accept, as we seek to hold fast to Truth. Truth, after all, cannot
in fact contradict. A cannot be simultaneously B and not B. And from
our perspective, at least, in these matters of dispute, at least
one of us must be wrong. And yet, Paul says, follow
conscience. Let faith guide, and where disagreements arise, accept
one another as is. There’s an end to disputing. It isn’t about
abandoning reason and conscience to march in blind lockstep. It’s
about pursuing peace, about living in harmony. Harmony, as I so often
take pains to observe, is not everybody on one note with one timing.
It’s multiple notes, and those notes may very well be in tension at
times. But they proceed to resolution, even though the progression
remain distinct.
So, here we are. You are light. Let that be evident. Don’t hide
away. You don’t have to be loud and proud and in everybody’s face
with it. Just be yourself as you are now. There’s that rather
well-known advice from St. Francis. As generally relayed, “Preach
the gospel at all times. And if necessary, use words.”
Okay, so the attribution is questionable, but hey, the thought came
from somewhere. And at root is this same message: Don’t just talk
it, live it. If we claim to heed the gospel, but spend all our time
squabbling and complaining, who’s going to buy our claim. I could add
another time-worn adage. “Actions speak louder
than words do.” Light seen is of far more use than light
merely described as a concept.
And where the light shines best, all is seen with clarity. In the
perfect light of God, all is seen perfectly. Is that not rather the
message James delivers? In Him there is no shadow, no variation (Jas 1:17). He is Who He Is, and He is always
Who He Is. He doesn’t tell you things are one way today, and then
demand something entirely different be believed tomorrow. God doesn’t
gaslight. He Is Light. It is because of this that
we, as we serve our function of being lights in this darkened world,
may prove to be an offense though we seek to be inoffensive. Light
exposes, and the better we reflect the true Light of God, the more it
shall expose. But sin does not wish to be exposed. Sin seeks to
operate out of sight, as it were. Even in such an age as ours, when
it seems sin is celebrated and nigh unto demanded of us, this sense of
operating from a place of hiding still holds. The corruption bursts
forth, but only because of the progress it made while yet hidden from
sight. The boards of my back deck are clearly nearing end-of-life, as
the rot becomes manifest, but that rot began years ago, proceeding
along, hidden beneath the surface appearance of integrity. And now,
the light of day makes clear what has been the case for years. And
those boards must be ripped up and replaced. Sin, once exposed, must
either be addressed with repentance and a turning to faith in God, or
it shall have its final outcome in death. Corruption always ends in
death unless halted and corrected by healing Light.
Okay. So, let’s come around the other side of the picture for just a
moment. Do grumbling and disputing indicate that the light is not in
fact in us? I don’t believe we can make such a conclusion. If that
were the case, Paul’s line of instruction would be quite a different
thing. It would be seeking that they might in fact repent and come to
the Truth, not that they should set aside these remnants of the old
life. The issue here is with tarnishing the light. We are lights,
but as you may observe in your homes, if too much dust has collected,
either on the bulb or on the globe around it, the light dims. I
recall a few years back, having undertaken to clean up the cut glass
dangles around the light on the landing of our stairs. It’s just one
of those things that gets taken for granted, and had been for years.
You turn it on for a moment, just to navigate something, or maybe to
scan the mail you just retrieved. But you never really look at it,
never give it much of a thought. But when the dust of years had been
scrubbed off those little cut-glass pieces, how it shone! It was
lovely, lovelier than we remembered, perhaps than we had known.
That’s kind of the message here, I think. Grumbling and disputing are
a dusty buildup on our reflectors, for we are, after all, reflectors
of light, not generators. And if we are to shine to full purpose,
that dust must be dispensed with. Get rid of it! Let the holy light
of God show clearly in your demeanor, in your interactions one with
another, in your excellent behavior at home and at work.
We are reflectors, then, and another part of the equation for us is
testing what it is that we reflect. There’s the old Bob Dylan tune to
the effect that everybody’s going to serve someone. We could
paraphrase that here to advise that everybody’s going to reflect
something. That’s not to say that the individual, the person
disappears or becomes inconsequential. But we reflect. We reflect
our upbringing in the habits we display. We reflect our society in
varying degree. It may only be in matters of dialect, certain figures
of speech. That, I think, used to be more telling than it is today.
Culture has worked to homogenize us somewhat. But we may also have
come to reflect society in our way of thinking, our way of acting.
And such influencing of our behavior and character may happen all but
unnoticed by us. This is our big problem. We came out of society,
with a lifetime of practice in the habits of society. Such were some
of you, as Paul writes elsewhere. We used to be just like that. Had
not God laid hold of us and brought us to our senses, we would still
be just like those around us, cavorting down the road to ruin.
Well, here’s a warning. That influence is still there. The desire
to fit in remains a strong force in us, and its actions transpire out
of sight, even out of our own sight. Our hearts being deceptively
wicked, as they are, we will convince ourselves that no such thing is
going on. We are devoted to God, availing ourselves regularly of the
means of grace and striving to live godly in this fallen world. But
every now and again, perhaps we find ourselves witness to actions of
our own that bring us up short, force us to question; are we really?
Or have we succumbed to the world just a bit? What are we reflecting,
the light of Christ or the way of the world? And to the degree that
our answer is demonstrated to drift towards the way of the world, our
light dims. For many today, that dimming factor is politics, and it
really doesn’t matter at this juncture which party you prefer, or
whether you give no thought to party. The political has entered into
everything, and we must assume, given the constant stream of such
input, that it seeks to enter into our faith and practice. But it
mustn’t!
We are intended to reflect the light of Christ, to shine as those
clothed in the armor of His service, shining with the glory of
heaven. We do so by holding firm to the ways of our Father in
heaven. We came late to recognition of His ways, so we have to work a
bit harder at it. Yet, not us, but Christ in us. We struggle with
old habits, to be sure, but we struggle in the power of God Almighty,
and how can those old habits continue their hold against such power?
I will tell you. We allow it. We take our struggles around those
habits, because they are too comfortable yet. We don’t let go because
we are not yet ready to let go. It’s not about ability now. It’s
about will. Well, praise God that even here, He is working, yes? We
just read it, that favorite passage of mine. He is working in us both
to will and to work for His good pleasure (Php
2:13), and as we come alongside, as we stop resisting and
start abetting, we begin to shine a bit brighter. Our faith becomes a
bit more evident. Why? Because we are noising it about, turning
every conversation towards an offer of salvation? No. Because we are
living as we are designed to live, as we are called to live, as
servants of God Most High. We have put on the armor of light, and
seen to it that it remains well-polished. And we go about our days as
sons of heaven’s King, seeking His ways and following them, living
examples of His character and influence. We give those around us an
alternative to their alternative lifestyle. We don’t bash them for
their choices. We live to open eyes to the better Way. And then,
when example and fellowship have offered opportunity for earnest
discussion from a place of trust, we have a basis to give answer to
their questions, and to set this gospel before them.
This is our calling, our purpose. Let us, then, seek to hold more
closely to the path of righteousness, to follow the Way, and to do so
with the wide range love and compassion of our Lord. And let us be
ready, in season and out, to give answer for the hope that is in us by
His doing.
Give What You Have (07/22/24)
We are arrived at the final clause of our passage, which the NASB
presents as, “holding fast the word of life.”
Other translations, such as the NIV, offer a different take. “As
you hold out the word of life.” It’s reasonable to ask,
then, which is it? Are we holding on or holding out? The word is
capable of both understandings, so it’s not a question of whether one
translation or the other is outright wrong. It is a question of which
meaning fits the context. Thayer suggests that the idea of holding
forth this word is more in keeping with the progress of Paul’s
thoughts here, and I can see how he would conclude that it is so.
Shining lights don’t do so by shining inwardly, but rather, by shining
forth. Yet, the stars, in shining forth, do not let go of their
brilliance, do they? I suppose, from a purely scientific perspective
it must be that they release a bit of themselves in the act of shining
forth. Certainly, when we hear of solar flares, the sense is that at
least some amount of plasma escapes the gravitational pull of the
star’s core. But in general, our perception is of a light
undiminished by the act of shining.
So, perhaps the answer is to hold that both ideas are intended. Hold
on and hold out. Hold fast to this word of life. That, I should
think, has to be step one. It is certainly our great trial in this
life. As we have been considering, and as yesterday’s sermon
observed, we are influenced by culture, whether for good or for ill.
I might suggest that some of those influences are relatively benign,
mere matters of taste. But where do these matters lead? What do they
reflect? How do they comport with the mandate of a godly life?
Start here. “You hold in your hands the very
word of life.” That’s from the Phillips translation. Seems
like it should end with an exclamation point. How can you perceive
this truth without it exciting your very soul? Here it is! In your
possession. You have been given to know life, to possess life! You
have been granted to come to know your Maker, and to know yourself the
recipient of His love. Well, there’s implications to this. You have
it, this marvelous, unexpected gift. So, attend to it! Apply it!
Live it! That’s where Paul’s been coming from the whole way, isn’t
it? Be like Jesus. You’ve seen how He viewed life, how He
disregarded privilege in order to obey the will of God. You’ve seen
how God Himself is at work in you. That’s part of this word of life
you hold! God Himself is dealing with your issues, changing your
perspectives, strengthening your spiritual spine. As Paul bursts out
when writing to Rome, “If God is for us, who can
be against us?” (Ro 8:31).
There’s a similar perception from Jesus, though coming at it from a
different angle. “Don’t be afraid of those who
kill the body, and having done so, have exhausted their weaponry.
No! Fear the One who, having killed the body, has still the
authority to cast into hell. Oh, yes! I tell you, fear Him!”
(Lk 12:4-5). Tie back to Romans again.
“Give to all what is due them: Tax to whom tax is
due; custom to whom custom. Give reverence to whom reverence is
due, and honor to whom honor” (Ro 13:7).
Reverence. Fear. They are the same term, the same idea. It’s not
scrabbling, cringing anxiousness that’s in view. It’s recognition.
Here is Power and Authority. Here is One with right of command, and
in the case of our God, One who exercises that right rightly. Here is
One, then, worthy of honor and more. He is worthy of our devotion.
“You hold in your hands the very word of life!”
You hold in your hands the very word of God! He Who is far and away
beyond us to comprehend, whose thoughts are above our thoughts, whose
ways are inscrutable, whose refulgent splendor, should we but catch a
glimpse of it, would surely swamp our senses every bit as much as a
computer over-taxed by too much data to be processed. We would curl
up in defense of our overwhelmed senses, driven to our knees, and
driven even to simply lie in the dust and wait for this splendor to
pass us by. But we have word of Him. We have His choice of
self-revelation, informing us of Who He Is, who we are, how we are
intended to be. We have been given life! Real life. Life worthy of
being called life, utterly blessed, eternal and immortal, excelling
the limits of this physical body in which we currently take up
residence.
Look, if you haven’t felt it yet, you will. This body is far from
immortal. The strength of youth, such as it may be, will fade. The
resilience of muscle and bone give way, however much we seek to stave
off the inevitable. Energy isn’t what it used to be. Sight and
hearing are not, perhaps, what they once were. I’m not looking to lay
blame on some habits of youth, or to credit healthier regimens. The
simple fact of the matter is that aging happens. Parts wear out. And
while we may be able to replace and repair, eventually too many parts
have worn out, and this old body is done, no longer fit to hold the
spirit. Then what? “You hold in your hands the
very word of life!” Life goes on. For better or for worse,
life goes on.
For the unrepentant sinner, this is bad news indeed. Most today
would insist that life consists in doing what you please so long as it
lasts, and then annihilation when once the physical factory flames
out. But they are wrong. This word of life warns of the very thing.
There is a resurrection not only for the redeemed, but also for the
reprobate. And whatever pleasures may have been pursued in this brief
time, there remains an eternity ahead, one when justice shall be
served in full and without end. There is something to fear, and this
time, I do have in mind that anxious fear of crippling anxiety, now
finding its worst imaginings barely scratched the surface of what
reality had in store.
But we have hope. We have this word of life. We have life! The Son
of God has breathed forth His Spirit into our weak flesh, renewing our
spirits within us, rebirthing us from the life of flesh to the life of
spirit. He has rendered holiness possible in us, and indeed, as we
see from this most beautiful epistle, rendered it a certainty! “He who began the good work in you is faithful to
complete it” (Php 1:6). “God
is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure” (Php 2:13). You have been plumbed for
holiness. Your wiring has been updated. You have been remodeled for
eternity. Yes, your body remains to be done. Projects like this, it
seems, are never done until suddenly they are. But you have this!
This is your inheritance, your legacy. Hold onto it! Apply it. Live
it!
Living it, I dare say, must bring us to the other understanding of
that term. If you hold on to this word of life, and Him Who is the
Word, Who is the Life; if you have set yourself to humbly obey your
God as He humbly obeyed, then surely, that’s going to include holding
forth this word that has been entrusted to you. If you have Life, it
simply will not satisfy your spirit to rest on your own security. You
will long with the longing of God that all might be saved. You will
see those miserable lost souls around you not as negative influences
to be avoided at all cost, but as blinded by a severe taskmaster, yet
sitting in the darkness of ignorance as regards the hope that is in
you. You will, because your Lord has instructed you and made clear
His desire, desire that they, too, might enter into this life you now
possess. You know it is not yours to impart. That privilege is
retained by God alone. But you can make known what you know. You can
make evident the light of life within you. You can live so as to stir
questions and desire amongst those who encounter you; not the desire
of lustful eyes, but the desire for what is clearly a better way.
Live so as to destroy the blinders your enemy has set upon the eyes of
his enslaved people. Show what it is to live as a freedman. Let them
see! And when they ask questions, let them have the answers. You
have the word! Speak it.
Okay. Word of life. We can develop a propensity for always hearing
the concept of word in that special sense that John uses is, as
presenting to us Christ our Lord as the living Expression of God’s
thought. But that would be a mistake in translation. While we may
have Him in view, must have Him in view, more often, the idea of a
word lies more along the lines of logic, instruction, and preaching.
Now, in the New Testament context, that certainly concerns imparting
knowledge of the reality of salvation through Christ, and of the
nearness and accessibility of the kingdom of God. And here, we wish
to deliver the word with utmost care, not presenting false hopes, not
proffering cheap grace and a get out of hell free card. It’s not
sufficient to run up front one Sunday in some burst of emotion, ‘repeat after me,’ and then, get on with life.
No! There is call for repentance, and that call cannot be answered by
mere chagrin. It needs active engagement with changing course. It
needs determination. And frankly, it needs determination such as is
beyond you to supply. It needs actively resting, if you’ll accept the
improbability of that phrase. You rest in God for the outcome, but
you actively engage in the process.
That’s what this whole section has been about, isn’t it? Know that
God is working, but you! Work! There is again that footnote from my
Harper’s Study Bible, concerning the example of Israel rebuilding
Jerusalem recounted in Nehemiah. Work as
though God will do nothing, and pray as though you can do nothing. I
am doubtless paraphrasing that poorly, and I recently stumbled across
an attribution of that thought to some past hero of the faith, though
I don’t recall who. But the point stands. This is the Christian
life. Work at it as if it all depends on you, but pray hard, knowing
that without God, the effort is doomed to failure. And as you present
the gospel to those who need to hear it, while this may not be your
starting point in such a presentation, it needs to be made clear with
alacrity.
I think again of Paul’s ‘encouragement’ to
the churches he had been planting in the regions of what is now
Turkey. “Through many tribulations we must enter
the kingdom of God” (Ac 14:22).
That’s not an encouragement we care to hear. It’s not the happy
garden path we were looking for. But it is so needful that we lay
hold of this reality. Loretta Lynn, whatever you may think of her,
had this much right. “I never promised you a rose
garden.” No, God. You did not. You promised that in this
world, we would have tribulation. But You also assured us that You
have overcome this world. Great change is coming. Great change has
already been wrought in us. We have the word of life! We have Life!
Hold onto it, do not depart from that which has been entrusted to
you. But give forth from it. Freely you were given, freely give (Mt 10:8). It’s not as if you can run out.
This life is eternal. Make it known. Make it understood. Live it.
Demonstrate it.
If I might be so bold as to apply a common bit of snark to it, “Smile. It makes people wonder what you’re up to.”
This Christian life is no cause for moping. It’s not a giving up of
every pleasure for a life of drudgery and toil. I have been struck
repeatedly in recent weeks by just how high up the list joy is when it
comes to describing this life we now live. I mean, look at it! “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience,
kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Gal 5:22-23a). Now, I cannot say with
certainty that Paul was presenting an ordered list here, but
certainly, by his own exposition, love is the chief article of the new
life, the greatest of abiding gifts, greater even than faith which
saves. And here is joy in second place, as it were. We might equate
it with hope, as concerns 1Corinthians 13:13.
It’s something, isn’t it? As I believe I have observed recently in
these notes of mine, joy is something that transcends language. It is
unmistakable, I think, even where we encounter those whose words we
cannot understand. Assumptions of anger may be mistaken, as also
assumptions of acceptance. But joy? I think not. Joy, it seems to
me, is unmistakable. I may not know the reason for it in this person
or that, but that it is present will not be denied. Even in videos of
young calves or sheep, the evidence is too clear to be missed. It’s
great to be alive! May we learn to live in such a way as makes clear
that we truly believe this is true, that we are truly alive, and that
truly, it is a state most to be desired. There are a lot of dead men
walking out there. They need life. They need to see life. Hold it
out to them. Let them know that all hope is not yet gone. There is
still a God in heaven, and His offer still stands. Choose you this
day.