For the consideration of young people, their parents, and older singles, the following is a biblically wise alternative to the “Dating Game” that I've put together through years of study and discussion with church groups and Christian school classes. I hope you find it helpful, or at least challenging to your thinking. It's based on the basic idea that romance should wait until you're ready to get married, or in other words, "don't shop until you're ready to buy." (If you want to see more of a critique of the usual approach to dating, see Josh Harris’s book I Kissed Dating Goodbye, and for more about the parents’ role, see Doug Wilson’s book Her Hand in Marriage.)
If you are not ready to get married yet:
Relate to members of the opposite sex as brothers or sisters (1 Tim. 5:1-2), and guard your heart against other thoughts and feelings. Be open with your parents about all of your relationships, and ask them to fulfill their responsibility of providing counsel, protection, and accountability for you (Eph. 6:1-2, 1 Cor. 7:36-38).
Stay in groups, don’t spend much time alone with any individual of the other sex (Prov. 4:23, Matt. 6:21). And be friends; if you do spend time together, do it as friends not as a “couple” or “boyfriend/girlfriend.”
If you do get too far along (“too close too soon”), mutually agree to separate totally for awhile (principle of “radical amputation” from Matt. 5:29-30).
Commit yourself to serving Christ with the time and energy you have (1 Cor. 7:32-35), and find ways to fill your life with learning, work, and other ministry.
Stay away from media and other influences that will cause you to long for romance or will generate sexual desires (Rom. 13:14).
Use this time as a single young person to grow in Christ, and to learn and practice what the Bible says about good relationships, and to pray and prepare for the right kind of marriage based on biblical principles (Prov. 31, Eph. 5:22-33, 1 Timothy 3, Titus 2, etc.).
Evaluate carefully, and with godly counsel, the reasons why you think you are not ready to get married. Determine if they are really biblical, wise, and legitimate reasons, especially if you are good friends with someone who could be a good life partner for you (Prov. 31:10‑11).
When you are ready to “date/court” for the purpose of marriage:
Pray a lot about this and prepare your heart and life to be a godly partner for someone, and evaluate any possible partners according to biblical principles and godly counsel from others—not according to feelings, physical attraction, pressure to get married, etc.
Until you meet someone that you want to “date/court,” or if a relationship doesn’t work out, learn and practice being content with the situation of “singleness” you are in (1 Cor. 7:17-24, Phil 4:11).
If a man wants to pursue a relationship beyond friendship with a woman, he should seek permission/approval from her father (or her pastor/elders, if the father is not fulfilling his responsibility). They should continue to be accountable to the protection and guidance of her father, and should again seek His permission/approval for engagement, if things go well (1 Cor. 7:36-38).
Fill the dating/courtship stage with worship, Bible Study, prayer, and ministry together, rather than merely the world’s ways of “dinner and a movie,” etc. Communicate openly about your intentions and plans, focus on serving the other person, and stay away from sexual sin, so that if it doesn’t work out it will not result in a debilitating “heartbreak” for either party.
When you get engaged, make it a short engagement, and get married even earlier if sexual sin is an issue (1 Cor. 7:8-9). But practice self-control and purity even in the engagement period, because if you don’t the problem will carry over into your marriage.
Get some good biblical premarital counseling, don’t go into debt on the wedding, and live happily ever after (for the glory of God)!
Friday, October 28, 2011
Monday, September 12, 2011
Age of Accountability?
A friend sent me an email asking if I believed in an "age of accountability" for children, saying that it didn't seem to be in the Bible anywhere. Here is my response...
The first part of my answer is not pleasant to think about (even to me), but hang with me, because the second part gets a lot better and shows the "silver lining in the cloud."
I do not believe in an “age of accountability,” first because it's not in the Bible, as you pointed out, but also because I believe that all humans, except for the virgin-born Christ, became sinful and separated from God when Adam fell in the garden. “Just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned” (Rom. 5:12, also 1 Cor. 15:21-22).
This is called “covenantal headship” or “federal representation”… the word “Adam” in Hebrew is the same word for “man” or “mankind,” and he and Eve were mankind at the time, so their penalty of death (primarily spiritual, as explained above, but with physical death beginning as a result) passed down to all of us at conception, because we are “in Adam.” “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me” (Psa. 51:5, also 58:3).
We do not become sinners because we start sinning at some point in our childhood; we sin because we are already sinners by nature. “You were dead in your trespasses and sins…and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest” (Eph. 2:1-3)
That’s why we don’t have to teach children (cute as they are) to say “NO!” or “MINE!” Instead we must teach them to obey and share. They are born sinners, and therefore are eligible for the just punishment that sin deserves. God may choose to save young children who die, but it would not be based on their "innocence," but merely because of His grace and mercy in Christ. (The Bible doesn't speak clearly to that issue of young children who die, which is probably intentional because if it did, people throughout history would have killed their children to ensure them a place in heaven, or grieved hopelessly if they were known to be in hell. We must simply trust that "the Judge of the earth will do right" as Abraham said in Genesis 18:25, and leave the "secret things" to God as Moses said in Deuteronomy 29:29.)
But back to the principle of representation (or "original sin"): it is admittedly a tough pill to swallow. “I became sinful and separated from God because of what someone else did?! That seems unfair!!” But I have come to accept it because it’s clearly taught in the Bible, and even more because I’ve realized it’s the only way I can be saved from my sins and guaranteed a place in heaven forever. If God didn’t relate to us through this principle, then Jesus couldn’t have lived a perfect life and died on my behalf… but as it is, I can receive all His righteousness and be forgiven of all my sins because of what someone else did. So my destiny is not dependent upon my performance, but on His.
If I had to “stand on my own” before God, like Adam in the garden, I’m sure I would eventually fall like he did... if not right away! And that could happen even if I somehow managed to get to heaven. Who’s to say that after a week, a year, a hundred or a thousand years in, I would not blow it like Satan and Adam did and be cast out? I would never know if I was there for good! But because I am “in Christ” (arguably the two most important words in the Bible), I know that God relates to me through this representative and I am safe forever. How long will Jesus be perfect? Forever. How long will Jesus be loved by His father? Forever. How long will Jesus reign in the new heavens and new earth? Forever. So I will enjoy all those things just as long as He does, because by faith I am in union with Him!
This is the good news (or “gospel”) of grace, which unfortunately many people don’t grasp yet, even many Christians (I was one of those for a long time). It’s been put well this way: “In myself I am more sinful and undeserving than I ever feared to admit, but in Christ I am more loved and accepted than I ever dared to hope.” And that understanding of grace helps us to relate to others in the same way, loving them fully and continually even when they don’t deserve it.
The first part of my answer is not pleasant to think about (even to me), but hang with me, because the second part gets a lot better and shows the "silver lining in the cloud."
I do not believe in an “age of accountability,” first because it's not in the Bible, as you pointed out, but also because I believe that all humans, except for the virgin-born Christ, became sinful and separated from God when Adam fell in the garden. “Just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned” (Rom. 5:12, also 1 Cor. 15:21-22).
This is called “covenantal headship” or “federal representation”… the word “Adam” in Hebrew is the same word for “man” or “mankind,” and he and Eve were mankind at the time, so their penalty of death (primarily spiritual, as explained above, but with physical death beginning as a result) passed down to all of us at conception, because we are “in Adam.” “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me” (Psa. 51:5, also 58:3).
We do not become sinners because we start sinning at some point in our childhood; we sin because we are already sinners by nature. “You were dead in your trespasses and sins…and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest” (Eph. 2:1-3)
That’s why we don’t have to teach children (cute as they are) to say “NO!” or “MINE!” Instead we must teach them to obey and share. They are born sinners, and therefore are eligible for the just punishment that sin deserves. God may choose to save young children who die, but it would not be based on their "innocence," but merely because of His grace and mercy in Christ. (The Bible doesn't speak clearly to that issue of young children who die, which is probably intentional because if it did, people throughout history would have killed their children to ensure them a place in heaven, or grieved hopelessly if they were known to be in hell. We must simply trust that "the Judge of the earth will do right" as Abraham said in Genesis 18:25, and leave the "secret things" to God as Moses said in Deuteronomy 29:29.)
But back to the principle of representation (or "original sin"): it is admittedly a tough pill to swallow. “I became sinful and separated from God because of what someone else did?! That seems unfair!!” But I have come to accept it because it’s clearly taught in the Bible, and even more because I’ve realized it’s the only way I can be saved from my sins and guaranteed a place in heaven forever. If God didn’t relate to us through this principle, then Jesus couldn’t have lived a perfect life and died on my behalf… but as it is, I can receive all His righteousness and be forgiven of all my sins because of what someone else did. So my destiny is not dependent upon my performance, but on His.
If I had to “stand on my own” before God, like Adam in the garden, I’m sure I would eventually fall like he did... if not right away! And that could happen even if I somehow managed to get to heaven. Who’s to say that after a week, a year, a hundred or a thousand years in, I would not blow it like Satan and Adam did and be cast out? I would never know if I was there for good! But because I am “in Christ” (arguably the two most important words in the Bible), I know that God relates to me through this representative and I am safe forever. How long will Jesus be perfect? Forever. How long will Jesus be loved by His father? Forever. How long will Jesus reign in the new heavens and new earth? Forever. So I will enjoy all those things just as long as He does, because by faith I am in union with Him!
This is the good news (or “gospel”) of grace, which unfortunately many people don’t grasp yet, even many Christians (I was one of those for a long time). It’s been put well this way: “In myself I am more sinful and undeserving than I ever feared to admit, but in Christ I am more loved and accepted than I ever dared to hope.” And that understanding of grace helps us to relate to others in the same way, loving them fully and continually even when they don’t deserve it.
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Jesus Calms the Storm
When I think of Hurricane Irene now on the morning after, with my “cup half empty,” I am regretful that we canceled our church service today. That decision was really out of my hands, however, because the building where we meet was closed and a number of families said they would not be coming anyway, or at least didn’t want to. That is very understandable because of the possible flooding, blocked roads, and power outages that we were warned about. But now after the anticlimax of last night (our power didn’t even go off), it seems like this may have been another example of the media “manufacturing news.” I just finished watching Andersoon Cooper on CNN ask his weatherman “What happened to the hurricane?”—he seemed a bit embarrassed or even regretful that it turned out to be more of a speedbump for New York, the city where he was “on location” in his deluxe windbreaker. (But I won’t judge…)
On the other hand, when my “cup is half full,” I can look at it this way: Jesus calmed the storm! It could indeed have been much worse, but he spared us from that by His gracious providence. The weatherman’s answer to Cooper was that North Carolina “got in the way,” meaning that area took the brunt of the hurricane’s force and it diminished after that to a mere tropical storm. And that itself is an illustration of what Jesus did for us on the cross…we still have to face some troubles and trials in this life, but we never have to worry about the horrible hurricane of hell, because He bore that penalty in our place (2 Corinthians 5:21, Galatians 3:10-14, 1 Peter 2:24). So we have many reasons to worship the Lord today, by ourselves or together with our families, which would be especially good to do if your church didn’t have a service! Here are a few suggestions for how you could do that…
Even though the storm did not affect us as badly as was feared, we still had to face our fears of the storm, so you could start by listening to or watching a video for the song “Praise You in this Storm,” by Casting Crowns. You can simple google it to find the audio, or better yet check out one or more of the nice videos for the song on YouTube. Then you could read Luke 8:22-25 and other parallel passages about Jesus calming the storm, and listen to my friend Dyke Habegger’s message on those verses, appropriately called “Jesus Calms the Storm.” The message can be found under July 13 on this page: http://www.faithchurchpca.net/sermons_2008.html. Finally, spend some time in prayer, thanking God for His gracious providence that keeps us from disaster in this world, and His gracious provision of Christ that keeps us from ruin in the next. And ask God to give you the opportunity to be His “hands and feet” to provide help and hope for others, both physically and spiritually. Pray for those you know who have needs in one or both of those areas.
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:13).
On the other hand, when my “cup is half full,” I can look at it this way: Jesus calmed the storm! It could indeed have been much worse, but he spared us from that by His gracious providence. The weatherman’s answer to Cooper was that North Carolina “got in the way,” meaning that area took the brunt of the hurricane’s force and it diminished after that to a mere tropical storm. And that itself is an illustration of what Jesus did for us on the cross…we still have to face some troubles and trials in this life, but we never have to worry about the horrible hurricane of hell, because He bore that penalty in our place (2 Corinthians 5:21, Galatians 3:10-14, 1 Peter 2:24). So we have many reasons to worship the Lord today, by ourselves or together with our families, which would be especially good to do if your church didn’t have a service! Here are a few suggestions for how you could do that…
Even though the storm did not affect us as badly as was feared, we still had to face our fears of the storm, so you could start by listening to or watching a video for the song “Praise You in this Storm,” by Casting Crowns. You can simple google it to find the audio, or better yet check out one or more of the nice videos for the song on YouTube. Then you could read Luke 8:22-25 and other parallel passages about Jesus calming the storm, and listen to my friend Dyke Habegger’s message on those verses, appropriately called “Jesus Calms the Storm.” The message can be found under July 13 on this page: http://www.faithchurchpca.net/sermons_2008.html. Finally, spend some time in prayer, thanking God for His gracious providence that keeps us from disaster in this world, and His gracious provision of Christ that keeps us from ruin in the next. And ask God to give you the opportunity to be His “hands and feet” to provide help and hope for others, both physically and spiritually. Pray for those you know who have needs in one or both of those areas.
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:13).
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Problems with Christianity and Atheism
I came across a quote in Neal Stephenson's novel Snow Crash recently, which will be offensive to most Christians and also to most atheists (what fun!). It said, "Ninety-nine percent of everything that goes on in most Christian churches has nothing whatsoever to do with the actual religion. Intelligent people all notice this sooner or later, and they conclude that the entire one hundred percent is bull___, which is why atheism is connected with being intelligent in people's minds."
I think "ninety-nine percent" is hyperbole or overstatement, but the basic sentiment is true. As always, Christianity is in dire need of reformation, though many of its adherents don't seem to notice. Recently I've had a number of conversations with or about young people who are "disappointing" their very sincere parents by not following in the traditions of their faith. And it occurred to me that in these situations this difficulty only exists because the traditions they are rejecting are not even found in the Bible! If only the older generation would not invent or perpetuate "standards" that originate from man rather than the Holy Spirit, the consciences of the believing younger generation would not have to conflict with what they have been taught so often. On the other hand, parents who are careful to draw the line between what are scriptural convictions and what is mere wisdom and preference find that they share a sweet fellowship with their grown children, because the main thing is the main thing and that is what bonds them together. (I'm not saying it's easy, however...in my own case I have had to say, "I wouldn't do it that way, but he has freedom before God and I'm determined to not be legalistic about this.")
The quote above also waylays atheists, in case you didn't notice the subtle implication. The character in the novel says that intelligent people can see there is a lot wrong with "Christianity" as it is commonly practiced, so they reject the whole kitten caboodle, and thus atheism has become associated with intelligence (wrongly, because atheism only goes "halfway" toward a more thorough intellectual investigation that would reveal true biblical Christianity to be reasonable). A friend said to me recently that she discovered by reading the New Testament that Jesus was not nearly as concerned with "right-wing politics" as many of his followers are today, and so she was also questioning "the whole Son of God thing." But these are apples and oranges. The connection between Jesus and right-wing politics is not one that can be made by a careful exegesis of Scripture, but nothing is more clear on its pages than Jesus' own claim that He was the Son of God. Christians do misrepresent what the Bible says (because we are all sinners, as the Bible says), but that doesn't mean the Bible itself is wrong. That widespread leap of logic is understandable, but fallacious nonetheless.
Another example of atheism being "halfway intellectual" is Penn Jillette, who has a new book out called God, No! in which he says that atheists (shouldn't it be agnostics?) are humble and Christians are arrogant, because the latter claim to know the truth about God. "I don't know," he says, "so I'm an atheist." Well, I don't know either...so...I would need someone greater and more knowledgeable than myself to tell me what the truth is, like someone who made the universe and then condescended to communicate with us by inspiring human literature that could then be available for people of later generations to study as an objective source of truth. And therefore I am not being arrogant when I say I believe something to be true based on those books, I am actually being humble because I am admitting that I do not have the ability in myself to determine what is true. In fact, I not only am incapable of observing or comprehending enough to discover or discern truth on my own, I am very likely to misunderstand it because of my many biases. So I am utterly dependent on outside revelation and supernatural illumination. This is hardly self-aggrandizing, in fact it goes against my natural pride to admit that I am so pathetically helpless without God's grace.
I think "ninety-nine percent" is hyperbole or overstatement, but the basic sentiment is true. As always, Christianity is in dire need of reformation, though many of its adherents don't seem to notice. Recently I've had a number of conversations with or about young people who are "disappointing" their very sincere parents by not following in the traditions of their faith. And it occurred to me that in these situations this difficulty only exists because the traditions they are rejecting are not even found in the Bible! If only the older generation would not invent or perpetuate "standards" that originate from man rather than the Holy Spirit, the consciences of the believing younger generation would not have to conflict with what they have been taught so often. On the other hand, parents who are careful to draw the line between what are scriptural convictions and what is mere wisdom and preference find that they share a sweet fellowship with their grown children, because the main thing is the main thing and that is what bonds them together. (I'm not saying it's easy, however...in my own case I have had to say, "I wouldn't do it that way, but he has freedom before God and I'm determined to not be legalistic about this.")
The quote above also waylays atheists, in case you didn't notice the subtle implication. The character in the novel says that intelligent people can see there is a lot wrong with "Christianity" as it is commonly practiced, so they reject the whole kitten caboodle, and thus atheism has become associated with intelligence (wrongly, because atheism only goes "halfway" toward a more thorough intellectual investigation that would reveal true biblical Christianity to be reasonable). A friend said to me recently that she discovered by reading the New Testament that Jesus was not nearly as concerned with "right-wing politics" as many of his followers are today, and so she was also questioning "the whole Son of God thing." But these are apples and oranges. The connection between Jesus and right-wing politics is not one that can be made by a careful exegesis of Scripture, but nothing is more clear on its pages than Jesus' own claim that He was the Son of God. Christians do misrepresent what the Bible says (because we are all sinners, as the Bible says), but that doesn't mean the Bible itself is wrong. That widespread leap of logic is understandable, but fallacious nonetheless.
Another example of atheism being "halfway intellectual" is Penn Jillette, who has a new book out called God, No! in which he says that atheists (shouldn't it be agnostics?) are humble and Christians are arrogant, because the latter claim to know the truth about God. "I don't know," he says, "so I'm an atheist." Well, I don't know either...so...I would need someone greater and more knowledgeable than myself to tell me what the truth is, like someone who made the universe and then condescended to communicate with us by inspiring human literature that could then be available for people of later generations to study as an objective source of truth. And therefore I am not being arrogant when I say I believe something to be true based on those books, I am actually being humble because I am admitting that I do not have the ability in myself to determine what is true. In fact, I not only am incapable of observing or comprehending enough to discover or discern truth on my own, I am very likely to misunderstand it because of my many biases. So I am utterly dependent on outside revelation and supernatural illumination. This is hardly self-aggrandizing, in fact it goes against my natural pride to admit that I am so pathetically helpless without God's grace.
Monday, August 15, 2011
Philip K. Dick, A Scanner Darkly, and The Meaning of the Universe
I've been going through some of Philip K. Dick's fiction catalog lately (I won't call it science fiction, because it defies categorization), and I read A Scanner Darkly completely for the first time (I guess my tastes have matured enough that I could finally get through it). I also watched the movie adaptation, which I found to be unique and interesting (I have an edited version that omits the completely unnecessary nudity).
If the term "God-haunted" fits anyone, it fits Dick. Even before he ended his career, and life, with a trilogy of "theological mysteries" (Valis, The Divine Invasion, The Transmigration of Timothy Archer), he invented the religion of Mercerism in Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (the basis for the movie Blade Runner) and named this award-winning novel after the verse in the Bible that says, "We now see through a glass darkly" (I Cor. 13:12, KJV). A Scanner Darkly has too much rambling and seemingly random content for me to call it a favorite (my favorite Dickian titles are Androids, Ubik and the early Vulcan's Hammer). But there are some classic passages in it, like the one below, which captures well the truth about how the universe started out and what has happened to it since. It's toward the end of the novel, when Donna is bemoaning the fact that her employers in the narcotics division have manipulated her fellow undercover agent Bob Arctor not only to investigate and inform on himself (!) but also to become addicted to Substance D and fry his mind so he could be their mole in the New Path recovery program, which they suspect of producing the very drug that they are treating (!). (And, of course, because it's Philip K. Dick, neither Donna or Bob know that the other is a narc, even though they are "dating.")
"How can justice fall victim, ever, to what is right? How can this happen? She thought, Because there is a curse on this world, and all this proves it; this is the proof right here. Somewhere, at the deepest level possible, the mechanism, the construction of all things, fell apart, and up from what remained swam the need to do all the various sort of unclear wrongs the wisest choices has made us act out. It must have started thousands of years ago. By now it's infiltrated into the nature of everything. And, she thought, into every one of us. We can't turn around or open our mouth and speak, decide at all, without doing it. I don't even care how it got started, when or why. She thought, I just hope it'll end some time...I just hope one day the shower of brightly colored sparks will return, and this time we'll all see it. The narrow doorway where there's peace on the far side. A statue, the sea, and what looks like moonlight. And nothing stirring, nothing to break the calm.
"A long, long time ago, she thought. Before the curse, and everything, and everyone became this way. The Golden Age, she thought, when wisdom and justice were the same. Before it all shattered into cutting fragments. Into broken bits that don't fit, that can't be put back together, hard as we try."
As I've always said, people without a Christian worldview can see what's wrong, very astutely at times. Unfortunately Dick, like many such astute observers, did not seem to find the answer. Here are some passages from an even better Author, which contain both the problem and the solution:
"Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned....Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin. There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death....For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body....And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the first-born among many brethren; and whom He predestined, these He also called; and whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified. What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?" (excerpts from the book of Romans)
Now we do see through "a scanner darkly," but one day we will see "face to face" with the One who bore the curse for us (Gal. 3:13)! My prayer is that all who share Dick's observations about this fallen world will not only see what he saw about its disease, but will also learn about the only true cure.
If the term "God-haunted" fits anyone, it fits Dick. Even before he ended his career, and life, with a trilogy of "theological mysteries" (Valis, The Divine Invasion, The Transmigration of Timothy Archer), he invented the religion of Mercerism in Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (the basis for the movie Blade Runner) and named this award-winning novel after the verse in the Bible that says, "We now see through a glass darkly" (I Cor. 13:12, KJV). A Scanner Darkly has too much rambling and seemingly random content for me to call it a favorite (my favorite Dickian titles are Androids, Ubik and the early Vulcan's Hammer). But there are some classic passages in it, like the one below, which captures well the truth about how the universe started out and what has happened to it since. It's toward the end of the novel, when Donna is bemoaning the fact that her employers in the narcotics division have manipulated her fellow undercover agent Bob Arctor not only to investigate and inform on himself (!) but also to become addicted to Substance D and fry his mind so he could be their mole in the New Path recovery program, which they suspect of producing the very drug that they are treating (!). (And, of course, because it's Philip K. Dick, neither Donna or Bob know that the other is a narc, even though they are "dating.")
"How can justice fall victim, ever, to what is right? How can this happen? She thought, Because there is a curse on this world, and all this proves it; this is the proof right here. Somewhere, at the deepest level possible, the mechanism, the construction of all things, fell apart, and up from what remained swam the need to do all the various sort of unclear wrongs the wisest choices has made us act out. It must have started thousands of years ago. By now it's infiltrated into the nature of everything. And, she thought, into every one of us. We can't turn around or open our mouth and speak, decide at all, without doing it. I don't even care how it got started, when or why. She thought, I just hope it'll end some time...I just hope one day the shower of brightly colored sparks will return, and this time we'll all see it. The narrow doorway where there's peace on the far side. A statue, the sea, and what looks like moonlight. And nothing stirring, nothing to break the calm.
"A long, long time ago, she thought. Before the curse, and everything, and everyone became this way. The Golden Age, she thought, when wisdom and justice were the same. Before it all shattered into cutting fragments. Into broken bits that don't fit, that can't be put back together, hard as we try."
As I've always said, people without a Christian worldview can see what's wrong, very astutely at times. Unfortunately Dick, like many such astute observers, did not seem to find the answer. Here are some passages from an even better Author, which contain both the problem and the solution:
"Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned....Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin. There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death....For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body....And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the first-born among many brethren; and whom He predestined, these He also called; and whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified. What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?" (excerpts from the book of Romans)
Now we do see through "a scanner darkly," but one day we will see "face to face" with the One who bore the curse for us (Gal. 3:13)! My prayer is that all who share Dick's observations about this fallen world will not only see what he saw about its disease, but will also learn about the only true cure.
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Far Beyond (Song for Jaclyn's Baptism)
I wrote these words (from Psalm 127:3-5) for my daughter Jaclyn's baptism (five months old), and they were put to music by my son Nathan (college student). Yes, we have quite a variety of ages in the olive branches around our family table. The song and the psalm it's based on apply to all my seven children, of course, and to all other covenant children as well. It struck me as I was studying the passage one day that arrows enable the warrior to reach far beyond where he could without them...they increase his "range," if you will. And that is exactly what our children do in the spiritual battle, when they are raised according to God's Word. So here are the words for "Far Beyond," and if you want to hear the music, go to Nathan's Facebook page and you'll see a video of him singing it.
CHORUS:
I believe that you will go
Far beyond where I’ve been
I believe that you will see
Far beyond what I’ve seen
I believe that you will try
Things I’ve never tried
And I believe you will fly
So much higher than I
VERSE 1:
Like arrows in the hands of the warrior
Can make his reach so long
So the children of our youth
Will carry the battle on
Further up and further in
To well outside our range
And having many blessed weapons
Will bring a world of change
CHORUS
VERSE 2:
Like allies in the face of aggression
Will stand and defend your name
So the man with many children
Will not be put to shame
Further up and further in
And to the very end
The reward is that our children
Will end up as our friends
CHORUS
CHORUS:
I believe that you will go
Far beyond where I’ve been
I believe that you will see
Far beyond what I’ve seen
I believe that you will try
Things I’ve never tried
And I believe you will fly
So much higher than I
VERSE 1:
Like arrows in the hands of the warrior
Can make his reach so long
So the children of our youth
Will carry the battle on
Further up and further in
To well outside our range
And having many blessed weapons
Will bring a world of change
CHORUS
VERSE 2:
Like allies in the face of aggression
Will stand and defend your name
So the man with many children
Will not be put to shame
Further up and further in
And to the very end
The reward is that our children
Will end up as our friends
CHORUS
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Pray for the Prosperous
If we would learn to profit [spiritually] from our prosperity, we should not need so much adversity. If we would gather from a kiss all the good it might confer upon us, we should not so often smart under the rod... Charles Spurgeon
"The squeaky wheel always get the grease," they say, and all too often that is true in our relationships and ministries to others. But in my recent studies for teaching the book of Ephesians, I noticed again that the apostle Paul took time to pray for those who were spiritually prosperous, not just for those who were hurting. In Ephesians 1:15 he begins his prayer saying that he had heard "of the faith in the Lord Jesus which exists among you, and your love for all the saints." Many members of the Ephesian church were walking by faith and showing sacrificial love to all Christians without discrimination (even those in other cultures). These are marks of spiritual maturity and stability, so some of us might think that Paul was wasting his time by praying for them when there were so many others trapped in sin and doctrinal error. Shouldn't we primarily pray for those who are especially "needy"? Not according to Paul; in fact, a study of his other prayers recorded in the New Testament reveals that he actually seems to have prayed more often for those Christians who were succeeding spiritually. He did pray for people with problems, but he certainly did not take them off his prayer list when they had "conquered their problems" and were living in a manner pleasing to God.
One reason for this is that Paul knew there is always room for growth in any believer's life. None of us reaches perfection while we are in this world. We trust Christ but we do not trust Christ as much as we should. We love the saints but we do not love the saints as much as we should. We serve Christ, but we do not serve Him as much as we should. We know some of the Word of God but none of us knows as much as we ought to know. No church is as spiritual as it could be, and no individual Christian will get to the point in this life where he or she does not need our prayers any longer. On the contrary, there is actually a serious danger in withholding or removing prayer support from people simply because they are "doing well." First Corinthians 10:12 says, "Let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall."
How do you think the Notre Dame football team took a 24‑0 halftime lead over USC in 1972, only to lose 55‑24? And how do you think the Buffalo Bills accomplished the greatest comeback in National Football League history in 1993 when they beat the Houston Oilers 41‑38 after being behind 35‑3 in the third quarter? Part of the answer must be that the Notre Dame and Houston players became overconfident with their big leads and relaxed their efforts enough to allow such debacles to occur.
Unfortunately, that kind of defeat can happen in the spiritual dimension as well, in the lives of churches and their individual members. The history of the church at Ephesus itself is a testimony to that sad fact. Paul wrote in his letter that it exhibited great faith and a love for all the saints, but not many years later Jesus had to speak these words to the church: "I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Remember therefore from where you have fallen" (Rev. 2:4‑5). And not only can churches or individuals "lose their first love," but they can also fall hopelessly into a spiritual deadness or even an outright denial of Christ (Rev. 3:14‑18; cf. Demas in Philemon 24 and 2 Tim. 4:10).
That danger should motivate us to not only pray fervently for churches and individual members who are in the midst of crises, but also for those who are currently in a spiritually prosperous condition. They can lose their enthusiasm, their stability, and their commitment to Jesus Christ and His truth. But through our prayers God can deliver them from such a fate and grant them His continued blessing (cf. 1 Cor. 1:11).
"The squeaky wheel always get the grease," they say, and all too often that is true in our relationships and ministries to others. But in my recent studies for teaching the book of Ephesians, I noticed again that the apostle Paul took time to pray for those who were spiritually prosperous, not just for those who were hurting. In Ephesians 1:15 he begins his prayer saying that he had heard "of the faith in the Lord Jesus which exists among you, and your love for all the saints." Many members of the Ephesian church were walking by faith and showing sacrificial love to all Christians without discrimination (even those in other cultures). These are marks of spiritual maturity and stability, so some of us might think that Paul was wasting his time by praying for them when there were so many others trapped in sin and doctrinal error. Shouldn't we primarily pray for those who are especially "needy"? Not according to Paul; in fact, a study of his other prayers recorded in the New Testament reveals that he actually seems to have prayed more often for those Christians who were succeeding spiritually. He did pray for people with problems, but he certainly did not take them off his prayer list when they had "conquered their problems" and were living in a manner pleasing to God.
One reason for this is that Paul knew there is always room for growth in any believer's life. None of us reaches perfection while we are in this world. We trust Christ but we do not trust Christ as much as we should. We love the saints but we do not love the saints as much as we should. We serve Christ, but we do not serve Him as much as we should. We know some of the Word of God but none of us knows as much as we ought to know. No church is as spiritual as it could be, and no individual Christian will get to the point in this life where he or she does not need our prayers any longer. On the contrary, there is actually a serious danger in withholding or removing prayer support from people simply because they are "doing well." First Corinthians 10:12 says, "Let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall."
How do you think the Notre Dame football team took a 24‑0 halftime lead over USC in 1972, only to lose 55‑24? And how do you think the Buffalo Bills accomplished the greatest comeback in National Football League history in 1993 when they beat the Houston Oilers 41‑38 after being behind 35‑3 in the third quarter? Part of the answer must be that the Notre Dame and Houston players became overconfident with their big leads and relaxed their efforts enough to allow such debacles to occur.
Unfortunately, that kind of defeat can happen in the spiritual dimension as well, in the lives of churches and their individual members. The history of the church at Ephesus itself is a testimony to that sad fact. Paul wrote in his letter that it exhibited great faith and a love for all the saints, but not many years later Jesus had to speak these words to the church: "I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Remember therefore from where you have fallen" (Rev. 2:4‑5). And not only can churches or individuals "lose their first love," but they can also fall hopelessly into a spiritual deadness or even an outright denial of Christ (Rev. 3:14‑18; cf. Demas in Philemon 24 and 2 Tim. 4:10).
That danger should motivate us to not only pray fervently for churches and individual members who are in the midst of crises, but also for those who are currently in a spiritually prosperous condition. They can lose their enthusiasm, their stability, and their commitment to Jesus Christ and His truth. But through our prayers God can deliver them from such a fate and grant them His continued blessing (cf. 1 Cor. 1:11).
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