We don’t celebrate a baby’s birth, only to then leave him at the hospital. Nor do we take him home, only to then put him in a closet or on a shelf like some new accessory. We bring him home and build our lives around him. Our lives are never again what they were before his birth. Everything is now marked by his presence, because he is now part of who we are. We were individuals; now we are parents.
Christmas is a wonderful time to celebrate the birth of the world’s only Savior, King Jesus; the child “given to us” according to God’s promise, and according to God’s purpose to send His own Redeemer to deliver men from their sins. But we aren’t supposed to leave the Baby in the manger, or put away the nativity set for another year, returning meanwhile to life “as usual.” He didn’t come to be put on display as an artifact of our religious culture, much less a name that some repeat when distressed. He didn’t make the trip from heaven to Bethlehem to be merely remembered, but to be revered and honored and obeyed for who He really is, the Lord of heaven and earth.
To remember His birth without including Him in every aspect of our lives, making His presence and His desires for us a factor in everyday life, is really no different from what we do with some other notable figures of history. We still remember the birth of some American presidents, even making the date as a holiday for office workers and mailmen, among others. Would Washington and Lincoln have been pleased, if they had known their birthdays would someday give many of their countrymen a reason to stay home from work and busy themselves with more enjoyable duties? Perhaps. And, in a similar way, the birth of Christ has been a boon to the economy , as countless merchants depend on seasonal spending to keep themselves in business.
Now, the annual holiday period surrounding Christmas is, in many ways, a wonderful montage of traditions for family and friends. But, for most of America, is it really about Christ? After the trees, lawn decorations and nativities are put back into the garage or under the stairs, and after the gifts are put away (or exchanged and/or re-gifted), what then? Is there a noticeable difference in our day-to-day existence that gives evidence of a new Life in our midst, a new Spirit in our hearts?
If Christ’s birth leaves a permanent and life-changing impression on our lives, then we can truly celebrate the King’s nativity, for we are remembering His miraculous entry to our world, His humble condescension to assume a Servant’s form, and His gracious mission to take our place on the cross. But if the Son of God’s birthday doesn’t leave our hearts any more changed than the birthday of a president, then, aside from the extra parties and food, it’s pretty much just another day without mail.
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Thursday, December 20, 2007
God is always right on time!
Galatians 4:4 When the fulness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law.At the time of the angel Gabriel’s visit to Mary, over 400 years had passed since the last prophecy of Messiah was given to the nation of Israel. That's like how long it's been since the Mayflower landed on the shores of Massachusetts. For many in Israel, it may have seemed that the promise was just a relic of the distant past, like the Pilgrims are for most of us.
Even the most elderly among the people could not recall hearing the prophets’ message. What had become of the word of the Lord to His people? It would have been natural for people to feel forgotten, perhaps to wonder if the prophecies were just a story passed from one generation to another, the way fables and legends are kept in popular use. Was it all just a moral lesson, repeated to keep faithful minds in step? Perhaps some just went on with life and effectively "forgot" the ancient pronouncements.
But in reality, nothing had been forgotten in the mind of God, and nothing had changed of His plan, first stated to Adam and Eve, to deliver His people through the seed of the woman. But, in God's wisdom and sovereign plan, much had to be in place on the world’s stage before the Son could make His timely entrance. His coming was not like a package delivery, to arrive “as soon as possible.” Rather, the Son of God, Immanuel, was to arrive at the pinnacle of history, when time was at its “fullness.”
Speaking of the promise of Christ's return visit to our world, Peter advises, "The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness. (2 Peter 3:9) God could have chosen to resolve the corruption and injustice of this world in a more expeditious manner; and in fact the most appropriate way, from a strictly legal point of view, might have been to simply wipe the planet clean of the offending humans and start creation over again with more compliant creatures. But ease and efficiency, as we conceive them, was apparently not in God's manual of redemption.
Christmas reminds us that God always acts faithfully, and in “the fullness of time.” His sense of time and schedule is nothing like our own. He has no clock to watch but that of His own wise purposes; and He’s never late. We may wait anxiously for His promises to be fulfilled, especially when the clock of our own understanding is quickly approaching the "zero hour" of disaster or frustration. But, despite the appearance of this world's events, it’s always best to let God complete His plans when the time is “just right.”
Monday, December 17, 2007
A Garden View of Bethlehem
The world of man's serenity had just fallen apart. The perfect world God had created and given to Adam and Eve was now a broken world. The garden God gave to Adam to tend and manage was soon to be only a memory. All that God had pronounced as “good” was now under the corrupting influence of sin.But in that moment, as God spoke heavy and ominous words of punishment to a disobedient man and woman, the black clouds of judgment were parted just enough to give a glimpse of hope. Indeed, before God passed sentence upon the offending humans, He first predicted an ultimate sentence of death for the serpent who had deceived the pair.
Genesis 3:15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise him on the heel. "
Not that day, as Adam and Eve were expelled from their first home, nor in the near future, as they and all their children tasted the bitter fruit of their rebellion, but someday and most certainly, God promised to stage history’s greatest and most decisive battle, pitting the serpent against one of the woman’s human descendants. The man would suffer a wound “on the heel”; serious but not beyond healing. The serpent would suffer a wound “on the head”; fatal and permanent.
It would take thousands of years for the battle scene to take shape, but for all those who waited for that day, the promise had been given, and would be kept. A man would be born of a woman, a man who would enter the world as the Baby of Bethlehem, the subject of the angels’ song; and He would be the One to slay the serpent of sin and death.
Every person born since that day in the Garden begins life under the weight of that burden laid upon Adam and Eve; a burden that remains despite every effort men might make to undo it by their works of religion or altruism. But hope was given from that day unto our own. Christ came, and lived, and died, and rose, and defeated Satan's power of death. And hope remains for all who will receive, in sincere and surrendered faith, the King of kings and Lord of lords, born to a woman, that night in Bethlehem.
Thursday, December 13, 2007
What's this world coming to, and why?
It's been just over a week since Omaha was jolted out of its "That kind of thing can't happen here" comfort, by an act of violence that still seems unthinkable and unexplainable. In just a few minutes, eight lives were abruptly ended by a very sad, sick-minded young man, bent on being "famous" at the expense of innocent and unsuspecting people.
My wife and I were among several hundred people at the Westroads shopping center that day, enjoying a bit of holiday atmosphere and shopping. In fact, my wife left the Von Maur store at the exact time Robert Hawkins was entering to "check out" the scene, before leaving and returning with his rifle six minutes later. I heard the shots from just outside the store's interior mall entrance, and saw one of the victims lying motionless on the first floor. It was too much for the mind to absorb all at once. It's still like a bad dream, and that's not to equal the outright nightmare it's been for the victims' families, friends and co-workers.
It would be tragedy enough if this sudden loss of life was, say, an accident or freak of nature that swept those eight people away without so much as a farewell. But to have it come by a senseless act, the twisted reasoning of a mind entirely detached from the feelings and hopes and desires of other human beings who contributed nothing to their killer's misery, this just seems to defy any rational explanation.
It seems to me that people favor and seek for explanations, however, and it's tempting to rush to any number of convenient places to put the blame. Too many guns, too little attention paid to our children by overly busy parents, too much violence in our culture, too little security and law enforcement to keep the innocent safe. Perhaps any or all of these might be implicated in the overall theory that makes such events possible; but none satisfy my mind as a comprehensive theory which, if it could somehow be resolved, would leave us, at last, free from the threat of history repeating itself.
But, we should at least give some thought to the possibility that something in the social and cultural climate of America, not to mention other nations, has given rise to an alarming and increasing number of seemingly random incidents of violence in the past 40 or so years. I say "random" because they do not immediately suggest a more obvious explanation such as gang rivalries, organized crime, terrorism or other causes that do sometimes result in horrific acts of violence. But the lack of a clear and consensus-building reason doesn't mean there is no reason.
One thing seems evident. As you survey a history of such multiple murders of people unknown to their killers, a profile stands out of people who are angry, detached, depressed, and therefore quite disinterested in the harm and life-changing injury they are about to set loose upon their victims and all related to them as they prepare to carry out their execution-style murders.
Sure, there's a lot of other angry, detached, depressed individuals who don't take assault rifles to the mall. So maybe we should just take comfort in the rarity of these events and figure we can't do much but shake our heads and try to carry on. But that won't solve anything, if indeed this can be solved by anything short of a total renovation of human society and culture; a renewal that would, once and for all, deal with the things that leave so many of our people, and especially our young people, with unmanageable levels of anger, hopelessness and self-loathing.
I won't claim that religion alone would make such a renovation, for we all know that religion can be distorted by human minds just like anything else, and sometimes more so. But I have no doubt whatever that the presence and power of Jesus Christ in a human heart can perform such a renewal. And I don't mean getting into a church, but inviting Christ into my daily thoughts, motives and attitudes to the point that I have an answer for the things that make me feel angry or bitter or hopeless. Knowing Christ in such a personal and powerful way doesn't remove all the sources of anger or unhappiness, but it sure changes how I deal with them.
It's too bad, to say the least, that Robert Hawkins could not have found this life-changing power for himself, before he took his rage and hatred of an unsuspecting world around him to such an extreme. Let's pray some other "killers-in-the-making" will find a new heart and hope, before it's too late for them, and for some of us.
My wife and I were among several hundred people at the Westroads shopping center that day, enjoying a bit of holiday atmosphere and shopping. In fact, my wife left the Von Maur store at the exact time Robert Hawkins was entering to "check out" the scene, before leaving and returning with his rifle six minutes later. I heard the shots from just outside the store's interior mall entrance, and saw one of the victims lying motionless on the first floor. It was too much for the mind to absorb all at once. It's still like a bad dream, and that's not to equal the outright nightmare it's been for the victims' families, friends and co-workers.
It would be tragedy enough if this sudden loss of life was, say, an accident or freak of nature that swept those eight people away without so much as a farewell. But to have it come by a senseless act, the twisted reasoning of a mind entirely detached from the feelings and hopes and desires of other human beings who contributed nothing to their killer's misery, this just seems to defy any rational explanation.
It seems to me that people favor and seek for explanations, however, and it's tempting to rush to any number of convenient places to put the blame. Too many guns, too little attention paid to our children by overly busy parents, too much violence in our culture, too little security and law enforcement to keep the innocent safe. Perhaps any or all of these might be implicated in the overall theory that makes such events possible; but none satisfy my mind as a comprehensive theory which, if it could somehow be resolved, would leave us, at last, free from the threat of history repeating itself.
But, we should at least give some thought to the possibility that something in the social and cultural climate of America, not to mention other nations, has given rise to an alarming and increasing number of seemingly random incidents of violence in the past 40 or so years. I say "random" because they do not immediately suggest a more obvious explanation such as gang rivalries, organized crime, terrorism or other causes that do sometimes result in horrific acts of violence. But the lack of a clear and consensus-building reason doesn't mean there is no reason.
One thing seems evident. As you survey a history of such multiple murders of people unknown to their killers, a profile stands out of people who are angry, detached, depressed, and therefore quite disinterested in the harm and life-changing injury they are about to set loose upon their victims and all related to them as they prepare to carry out their execution-style murders.
Sure, there's a lot of other angry, detached, depressed individuals who don't take assault rifles to the mall. So maybe we should just take comfort in the rarity of these events and figure we can't do much but shake our heads and try to carry on. But that won't solve anything, if indeed this can be solved by anything short of a total renovation of human society and culture; a renewal that would, once and for all, deal with the things that leave so many of our people, and especially our young people, with unmanageable levels of anger, hopelessness and self-loathing.
I won't claim that religion alone would make such a renovation, for we all know that religion can be distorted by human minds just like anything else, and sometimes more so. But I have no doubt whatever that the presence and power of Jesus Christ in a human heart can perform such a renewal. And I don't mean getting into a church, but inviting Christ into my daily thoughts, motives and attitudes to the point that I have an answer for the things that make me feel angry or bitter or hopeless. Knowing Christ in such a personal and powerful way doesn't remove all the sources of anger or unhappiness, but it sure changes how I deal with them.
It's too bad, to say the least, that Robert Hawkins could not have found this life-changing power for himself, before he took his rage and hatred of an unsuspecting world around him to such an extreme. Let's pray some other "killers-in-the-making" will find a new heart and hope, before it's too late for them, and for some of us.
Friday, November 30, 2007
A new definition of "double standard."
This story caught my eye on the web this morning:
APPLETON, Wis. - Authorities charged a married man Thursday with slipping his girlfriend an abortion drug that caused her to miscarry twice. Manishkumar M. Patel, 34, of Appleton, was charged with seven felonies and two misdemeanors, including attempted first-degree murder of an unborn child, stalking, burglary and two counts of violating a restraining order. (emphasis added)
The drug Mr. Patel gave his girlfriend was "mifespristone, the abortion pill also known as RU-486." Currently, any woman can take that drug on her own, according to our present "pro-choice" abortion laws. But for Mr. Patel to "slip" it to her on the sly is considered "attempted first-degree murder of an unborn child." So, for the girlfriend to take the drug, that's a "choice." For someone else to make such a choice for her is not simply "coercion" or "extortion" or even "assault" in respect to the woman and her choices; it's "attempted murder of an unborn child."
How does a fetus remain mere "tissue" or "potential life" when under the control of the mother, but it becomes an "unborn child" if someone other than the mother makes the choice? Is there not some kind of illogical double standard at work here? Or is it something like, "If I take my life, it's suicide; if you do it, it's murder." That would be valid if it's my life you're talking about. But the "unborn child" is a third entity (dare we say "person"?).
Isn't this simply another instance of the double-talk of the judicial advocates of the "pro-choice" position , who are so eager to protect the prerogatives of an individual woman that they will abide such obvious flaws in their arguments? Either the fetus is a "child" or it's simply a "potential child." It can't be both, depending on who does the killing. It doesn't become less of a child when it's aborted by a mother than if it was unintentionally miscarried. If it's a "mass" subject to the mother's choice, then a miscarriage, even if caused by someone other than the mother, is perhaps some kind of crime against that mother, but not a "murder" of a person. You don't "murder" a non-person.
Maybe it's time to stop the double-talk and take God's word for it: Every "unborn child", at whatever stage of development, is still precious in God's sight, for each one is "fearfully and wonderfully made," and known already by the same God who knows the rest of us who were not aborted.
APPLETON, Wis. - Authorities charged a married man Thursday with slipping his girlfriend an abortion drug that caused her to miscarry twice. Manishkumar M. Patel, 34, of Appleton, was charged with seven felonies and two misdemeanors, including attempted first-degree murder of an unborn child, stalking, burglary and two counts of violating a restraining order. (emphasis added)
The drug Mr. Patel gave his girlfriend was "mifespristone, the abortion pill also known as RU-486." Currently, any woman can take that drug on her own, according to our present "pro-choice" abortion laws. But for Mr. Patel to "slip" it to her on the sly is considered "attempted first-degree murder of an unborn child." So, for the girlfriend to take the drug, that's a "choice." For someone else to make such a choice for her is not simply "coercion" or "extortion" or even "assault" in respect to the woman and her choices; it's "attempted murder of an unborn child."
How does a fetus remain mere "tissue" or "potential life" when under the control of the mother, but it becomes an "unborn child" if someone other than the mother makes the choice? Is there not some kind of illogical double standard at work here? Or is it something like, "If I take my life, it's suicide; if you do it, it's murder." That would be valid if it's my life you're talking about. But the "unborn child" is a third entity (dare we say "person"?).
Isn't this simply another instance of the double-talk of the judicial advocates of the "pro-choice" position , who are so eager to protect the prerogatives of an individual woman that they will abide such obvious flaws in their arguments? Either the fetus is a "child" or it's simply a "potential child." It can't be both, depending on who does the killing. It doesn't become less of a child when it's aborted by a mother than if it was unintentionally miscarried. If it's a "mass" subject to the mother's choice, then a miscarriage, even if caused by someone other than the mother, is perhaps some kind of crime against that mother, but not a "murder" of a person. You don't "murder" a non-person.
Maybe it's time to stop the double-talk and take God's word for it: Every "unborn child", at whatever stage of development, is still precious in God's sight, for each one is "fearfully and wonderfully made," and known already by the same God who knows the rest of us who were not aborted.
Friday, November 23, 2007
Thanksgiving: More than a holiday?
Psalm 92:1 It is good to give thanks to the Lord, and to sing praises to Your name, O Most High.
No doubt about it. It's good to celebrate Thanksgiving - making memories with families and friends, serving others with acts of charity to the less fortunate, to say nothing of a ready-made excuse to eat more delicious food than, most would agree, is healthy for everyday practice.
But, while it's good to have an annual place on the calendar to refresh the mind's sense of generic gratitude, you have to wonder how much of this thankful spirit is left among the general populace by the first week of December. It's a similar question to that of wondering what happens to all the "good will to men" talk when everyone returns to work after the Christmas holiday.
Indeed, if Thanksgiving is just a holiday, it's a worthwhile one, if only for the occasional nudge to our collective conscience in the direction of acknowledging the source of our blessings; or at the very least to see that we have been well blessed. But, according to the inspired witness of the Psalms, there is much good in the simple and most appropriate act of giving thanks.
Think of thanksgiving, not as an obligation of courtesy, (and so we train our children to say it), but as a means of keeping the soul centered on the most fundamental fact of our existence: We owe nothing of our lives or possessions or accomplishments exlcusively to our own actions or merits. Even our simplest acts or thoughts are made possible in part by the contributions or gifts or assistance of someone other than ourselves; and ultimately to Someone who gave us even the capacity to think thoughts that are contrary to His will.
Giving thanks keeps our perspective in proper alignment. Humility is a natural result of acknowledging our indebtedness, first to God, and second to others. Foolish pride and arrogance are simply incompatible with gratitude as a consistent theme of our hearts and practice. So, as the psalmist said, "It's good to give thanks." Yes, it's the right thing to do, and therefore it's wrong not to give thanks. But, like all things God calls "right", thanksgiving is also "works for me."
It is not simplistic to say: A grateful heart cannot wander far from the truth of God; and the heart that wanders into darkness, far from God's truth, is an ungrateful heart. As Paul summarized the errors of a lost humanity, he said, "Even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God, or give thanks; but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. (Romans 1:21)
Gratitude - God says it's right for you!
No doubt about it. It's good to celebrate Thanksgiving - making memories with families and friends, serving others with acts of charity to the less fortunate, to say nothing of a ready-made excuse to eat more delicious food than, most would agree, is healthy for everyday practice.
But, while it's good to have an annual place on the calendar to refresh the mind's sense of generic gratitude, you have to wonder how much of this thankful spirit is left among the general populace by the first week of December. It's a similar question to that of wondering what happens to all the "good will to men" talk when everyone returns to work after the Christmas holiday.
Indeed, if Thanksgiving is just a holiday, it's a worthwhile one, if only for the occasional nudge to our collective conscience in the direction of acknowledging the source of our blessings; or at the very least to see that we have been well blessed. But, according to the inspired witness of the Psalms, there is much good in the simple and most appropriate act of giving thanks.
Think of thanksgiving, not as an obligation of courtesy, (and so we train our children to say it), but as a means of keeping the soul centered on the most fundamental fact of our existence: We owe nothing of our lives or possessions or accomplishments exlcusively to our own actions or merits. Even our simplest acts or thoughts are made possible in part by the contributions or gifts or assistance of someone other than ourselves; and ultimately to Someone who gave us even the capacity to think thoughts that are contrary to His will.
Giving thanks keeps our perspective in proper alignment. Humility is a natural result of acknowledging our indebtedness, first to God, and second to others. Foolish pride and arrogance are simply incompatible with gratitude as a consistent theme of our hearts and practice. So, as the psalmist said, "It's good to give thanks." Yes, it's the right thing to do, and therefore it's wrong not to give thanks. But, like all things God calls "right", thanksgiving is also "works for me."
It is not simplistic to say: A grateful heart cannot wander far from the truth of God; and the heart that wanders into darkness, far from God's truth, is an ungrateful heart. As Paul summarized the errors of a lost humanity, he said, "Even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God, or give thanks; but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. (Romans 1:21)
Gratitude - God says it's right for you!
Friday, November 16, 2007
Now landing in the blogoshere!
I've decided it's time for me to get into the "aughts" (or whatever you want to call this first decade of the 2000's). So, as Pastor of a small Baptist church in Omaha, NE, I'm going to try to add something meaningful and Christ-centered to this expanding universe of blog-ness.
As the title of this blog implies, my view of life is "Christ-centered." I want to live in a way to follow after Paul's pursuit of a life that is all about "laying hold of that for which He laid hold of me."
More than that, life just is "Christ-centered", simply because He is the Architect and the ultimate Object of life, the "Alpha and Omega." Whether you choose to believe in and follow Him, that's your decision; your reaction to the truth of His Word. But nothing any man can do or say changes the fact of His Lordship; any more than a skeptic might object to, and thereby overthrow the Laws of Nature.
These are crucial days. Hardly an original statement, but nonetheless true. The idea of truth as an absolute value is quickly becoming for many an anachronism of a distant and unwanted past. But that has in no way altered the fact of truth. What scientists, skeptics, celebrities, talk-show hosts and many others believe about reality does not establish reality.
But, that claim aside, God presents His truth with compassion and an eternal love for all He has created - and that's all of us. So in the days to come, I'll hope to add some thoughtful comments to the web-discussion. But the only thing I can possibly contribute is what is Christ-centered, for that's the only truth I know.
For now, grace and peace, from Christ our Savior and Lord, is yours for the asking.
Larry
As the title of this blog implies, my view of life is "Christ-centered." I want to live in a way to follow after Paul's pursuit of a life that is all about "laying hold of that for which He laid hold of me."
More than that, life just is "Christ-centered", simply because He is the Architect and the ultimate Object of life, the "Alpha and Omega." Whether you choose to believe in and follow Him, that's your decision; your reaction to the truth of His Word. But nothing any man can do or say changes the fact of His Lordship; any more than a skeptic might object to, and thereby overthrow the Laws of Nature.
These are crucial days. Hardly an original statement, but nonetheless true. The idea of truth as an absolute value is quickly becoming for many an anachronism of a distant and unwanted past. But that has in no way altered the fact of truth. What scientists, skeptics, celebrities, talk-show hosts and many others believe about reality does not establish reality.
But, that claim aside, God presents His truth with compassion and an eternal love for all He has created - and that's all of us. So in the days to come, I'll hope to add some thoughtful comments to the web-discussion. But the only thing I can possibly contribute is what is Christ-centered, for that's the only truth I know.
For now, grace and peace, from Christ our Savior and Lord, is yours for the asking.
Larry
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)