If You Love Me . . .

One of the verses I memorized as a child was John 14:15 "If you love me, you will keep my commandments" (RSV).

I need to admit that when I memorized that verse, what I thought it meant was something a bit passive aggressive like this: "If you really loved me, you would obey me." It was that sort of subversive, jab that made me feel like I could never do enough--especially since we were taught growing up that we could never keep His commandments perfectly.

But that's not what the verse says, does it.

As I was soaking this morning, this verse came to mind again and I heard it a different way. What I hear now in this verse is something like this: "I don't want your obedience, if you don't love me. If you love me, keep my commandments, otherwise don't bother." (I obviously exaggerated the meaning a bit to make my point.)

What the Pharisees got so incredibly wrong about God and about the Torah (the law of Moses), was that they thought that obedience not motivated by love was valuable to God. It isn't. It never was. God was never interested in mere obedience for the sake of obedience. He never was a control freak. What He always wanted was our hearts. Did you know the phrase "all your heart" occurs nine times in Deuteronomy? God is more interested in our hearts than certain actions. He wants us to follow His ways as an expression of our love for Him - He has always wanted that. Just doing what He says, without love, means nothing to Him.

David picked up on this greater truth when he writes: You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise (Psalm 51:16–17). What David knew was that the sacrificial acts, prescribed by the law, meant nothing to God in themselves. He understood that God was always after our hearts.

When Jesus tells us "If you love me, you will keep my commandments" (in the context of a larger discourse), He is not saying He's more interested in our obedience than our hearts. He's saying He's only interested in our obedience, if our hearts are turned toward Him in love.

Actually, the word "obey" isn't even in that verse. It's the word "keep" (τηρέω). In context it can have the practical translation of "obey" (as some translations have), but that's not the heart of this word, and in my opinion not the best translation. To keep a command is not merely to obey it, it's also to keep watch over it, to guard it, to preserve, in short: to treasure. While we would not treasure a command by ignoring it, neither should we obey a command without holding it dear. We hold it dear, we keep it, we guard it, we preserve it, because we love Him. Because we keep them carefully, we show that we love Him (see John 14:21).

Another thing to point out is that the word for to keep is in the future tense: you will keep. It's almost like a natural or necessary outcome. It's sort of like this: "Do you want to keep my commandments? Just start loving me and the rest will take care of itself." Not that we can claim to love Him and then not pay attention to what He says! No! If we love Him, we'll hang on His every word--everything He's ever said or done. And because we love Him, we'll want to do all He says.

And you know what? When, out of our love for Him, we do what He says, we can know that we have His love and the Father's love too; not only that, we'll have a revelation of Jesus himself who says to the one who loves Him, that He will show myself to him (John 14:21). How cool is that!

Stir up you love for Jesus today and watch what happens!

Does God "Show Up" or is He Omnipresent?

I was asked this question recently (not an exact quote): "What do we mean by God 'showing up' isn't He with us all the time?"

That's a good question. I hope I can dignify it with a good answer.

The Omnipresence of God

One of the basic teachings on the nature of God is that God is omnipresent. That's a compound word from "omni" a Latin word meaning "all,"  and present (meaning exactly what it means); so omnipresent means all-present, or (clearer English) present everywhere. Not only is God present everywhere, He is everywhere there is, all at the same time. This is one of the ways God is not like us, nor anything else in creation. There are many passages of Scripture that teach this. I'll mention two here.

Psalm 139 demonstrates this truth:

Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. (Ps. 139:7–8)

As does Jeremiah 23:23-24:

“Am I only a God nearby,” declares the Lord, “and not a God far away? Can anyone hide in secret places so that I cannot see him?” declares the Lord. “Do not I fill heaven and earth?” declares the Lord. (Jer. 23:23–24)  

We cannot hide from God because He is everywhere. At the same time, wherever we go, we can be assured that God is already there.

The doctrine of God's omnipresence might sound a bit terrifying for those who are in rebellion against Him, but a great comfort to those who are serving Him, who are His children.

Once asserted, the truth about God's omnipresence would seem to silence any discussion about God "showing up." I mean, He didn't really "show up" because He was already here/there, right? This seems to be a matter of simple logic that if God already is somewhere, He can't go there. As I am writing this in my study, I'm in my study. It would not make any sense to say that although I already am in my study, I'm "showing up" in my study now. It's pretty simple. Right?

Yet God Does Come, Appear, "Show Up" in the Bible

In Genesis 3:8, after Adam and Eve ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, we read this: 

Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. (Gen. 3:8)

Apparently, (or at least most Bible scholars agree) it was God's custom to take a walk with Adam and Eve in the cool of the day. He was always there, nothing was hid from Him (as it says in the passages above), and yet He seems to "show up" with them to go for a walk.

In Deuteronomy 12 God tells His people about the uniqueness of the tabernacle (later it was replaced by the temple). The people were to bring their offerings and sacrifices there, not just anywhere. In verse 7 we read this:

There, in the presence of the Lord your God, you and your families shall eat and shall rejoice in everything you have put your hand to, because the Lord your God has blessed you. (Deut. 12:7)

God is everywhere, but if that's true, He seems to be especially present in His tabernacle (later temple). In fact, God appeared in a special way to Moses on the mountain to tell him these things (and much more, of course). The pillars of cloud and fire were said to be the Lord guiding them (Ex. 13:21, e.g.).

One of the most dramatic examples of the Lord "showing up" is in 2Chronicles 7 at the dedication of the temple of Solomon:

When Solomon finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the Lord filled the temple. The priests could not enter the temple of the Lord because the glory of the Lord filled it. When all the Israelites saw the fire coming down and the glory of the Lord above the temple, they knelt on the pavement with their faces to the ground, and they worshiped and gave thanks to the Lord, saying, “He is good; his love endures forever.” (2Chron. 7:1–3)  

This is to say nothing of the numerous times God appears to people, or of angels who stand in the presence of God--I could go on, but I think I made my point. The Bible talks about the omnipresence of God, but also talks about His presence on certain occasions, and makes no apology for asserting both truths. Is it a dilemma, a paradox, or what?

God's General Presence and Special Presence

One way of thinking about this to resolve the apparent contradiction is to consider God's omnipresence as a sort of general presence, and these other occasions as instances of God's special presence. 

Imagine a family patriarch or matriarch sitting in a chair in a living-room full of family members. Imagine everything is going well, and this patriarch or matriarch is enjoying the get-together immensely, though up until now has remained silent, simply enjoying the laughter and fun. Now imagine that patriarch or matriarch in the middle of a conversation, standing ready to speak. All eyes turn to him or her and the conversation stops. What just happened? He or she was already in the room, but now his or her presence fills it in a new way. Grandpa or Grandma was there, but now something else about them, some purpose or awareness "shows up," and all sense it.

In a similar way, though God is always and everywhere present, sometimes He seems to get up out of His chair (so to speak), and we notice. In fact, we may not have noticed God's presence before but now we do. We may even say "God just showed up." He was always there, and in a general sense, we may all know that. But now, something happened to draw our awareness toward Him.

A simple answer to the puzzle would be to simply assert that our experience of God "showing up," is merely a subjective matter. That is, He always was "in the room" it's just that we now experience that more clearly. That's a real possibility. This is Jacob's response to the place where he used a rock for a pillow, when God "showed up" in a dream about a stairway to heaven (Gen. 28:17). I suppose that many times this is true.

But that doesn't seem to fit the entire picture in the Bible. There are times when God's presence seems to be intensified, as during the dedication of the temple (as noted above). In those cases, God's presence is intensified and unmistakable. It's sort of like always being in the room, but standing up in order to be noticed because He has something important to say, do, or demonstrate.

Does God Still "Show Up" at Our Meetings?

I've heard the idea of God "showing up" referred to as something silly, since God is always at our meetings, in fact Jesus promised "Where two or three come together..." (Matt. 18:20). So God is present in our meetings, perhaps in more than the general sense of God's omnipresence, but in some special sense, whether we know it or not. Right?

Well yes! That's right! Now, Jesus isn't actually talking about gathering for worship in that passage, He's probably talking about people coming together in agreement (perhaps after resolving conflict-check the context). But I do think it applies in the sense we usually quote this verse as well: whenever and wherever we gather in His Name. We even have the promise at the end of Matthew that He is with us always and forever with us (28:20).

Yet, there seems to be times, from at least a subjective perspective, when God's presence seems more real, more obvious, easier to experience. I am willing to grant that this may be entirely subjective, but I would be more comfortable saying that God's Spirit, Who lives within us, opens the eyes of our hearts so that we can know (experience) Him and His goodness more clearly (cf., Eph. 1:7-8). 

In Paul's injunction to keep on being filled with the Spirit (Ephesians 5:18), the results are authentic worship and authentic relationship (vv.19,ff). But there's something else going on there: being filled. "We already have the Spirit within, so how can we be filled?" one might ask. This looks like yet another example of the general and special special presence of God (this time in the person of the Holy Spirit). But it's not merely subjective; it's not "tuning in" to the Spirit. This is a passive imperative in the Greek text, meaning that this is something that happens to us (passive), that we are instructed to let happen (imperative). We don't do it (subjective), God does it to us. Further, we shouldn't read this as happening merely to individuals, but to people gathered together as the Church.

So yes, the Bible teaches both the omnipresence of God and that God at times seems to, or really does "show up" in our lives and in our meetings. It's not silly or nonsensical to say so, though some assert that it is. Furthermore, it follows the Bible's teaching about God and how He is at work among His people.

God "Turns Up the Volume"

Let me end this blog entry on an entirely subjective note (why not, right?). There have been times when I have experience God's special presence in a way that seemed like God's presence was not only felt, but seemed to intensify as the meeting progressed, or as the personal prayer time continued. It felt like God turned up the volume of His presence. 

This echoes the often heard refrain of many Pentecostals and charismatics: "More, Lord!" A prayer God sometimes (often?) answers by increasing the volume, or intensity of His presence. It's happened too often for me to dismiss as mere wishful thinking, or self-delusion. Too much good stuff happens when God "shows up" in this way: physical/inner healing, prophetic words/visions, supernatural peace/comfort, wonderful and amazing worship, and more!

This is sometimes called "the manifest presence" of God. That is God's presence made known, visible, able to be experienced. But I no longer understand this as sort of an on/off switch, as if God is all here, or not here. In my experience, it's more like a volume level on an audio device. Maybe we 'hear' better and better as we become aware of Him, or maybe He intensifies the manifestation quality of His presence so that we 'hear' better and better. But that's what it's been like for me many, many times.

In some meetings, I think folks get too satisfied with low levels of God's presence, when God is ready to "turn up the volume" even more. I've even been in meetings where God's presence fills the room, hearts are awakened to His presence, people begin to respond to His love and grace, and then we move on to the regular agenda for the meeting. [sigh] To be honest, I've done it myself: I thought I was supposed to. [deeper sigh] I've learned to always ask for more--for God to turn up the volume.

In the stories of revivals and awakenings throughout history, there are so many accounts of the manifest presence of God "taking over" a meeting. I think we should allow it in our meetings too. If all we have to offer the world and each other are truths about God, or moral imperatives from Him, we can expect the yawns and disinterest we get. But if God is among us (1Cor.14:25), then we have something to offer that everyone needs and wants more than anything else (even if they don't realize it) , since the God who "shows up" is amazingly, wonderfully, completely and in every way good.

The Normalcy of the Supernatural

This blog reflects some pondering on my part, not any definite conclusions (but some tentative ones).

Uh... Is This Supposed To Be A Model For Us Too?

When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power,so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power. (1Cor. 2:1–5)

We know that Paul went to Corinth after making his famous Mars Hill (Areopagus) speech (Acts 17:16-34). It's the message Paul spoke to a group of philosophers in Athens in which he notes that the Athenians even have an altar to an unknown god. In his speech Paul connects their experience, and even their history and philosophy with the Gospel, building a bridge between their culture and the good news of Jesus. It is artfully done. That speech has been often held up as a model for cross-cultural evangelism. A few churches have even been named after this famous speech.

However, when Paul gets to Corinth, he doesn't do what he did in Athens. One might think that if he was successful in Athens, he might have tried it again in Corinth. And to a degree he did - in the synagogue at least (Acts 18:5). 

And while we don't see in Acts what Paul actually did in Corinth that qualified as a demonstration of the Spirit's power, Paul's words in 1Corinthians suggest that this demonstration of the Spirit's power was more significant to him than his words. In fact, Paul clearly states that he didn't want their faith to rest on wisdom (eloquence, persuasion, words), but on God's power.

Here's my question: What if that's supposed to be a model for us?

We live in a time that is full of words, eloquence and competing wisdoms. Religion is treated often as one option among many for dealing with life's problems. Truth is seen as relative, if not altogether unimportant. A scientific mindset believes nothing that is not empirically verifiable (a view which doesn't stand up to it's own test, but is believed nonetheless). While the term "new age" is almost never used anymore, the concepts still dominate those who are "spiritual but not religious."

A few months back a young man came to our house to do some electrical work. When he found out I was a pastor he said he believed in science. He was a practical guy. If you hook it up right, it works. That's what made sense to him. I let him talk wondering about how to challenge his mindset. A few apologetic arguments came to mind, but I didn't think they'd work on him. So as he was talking I prayed, asking God how to engage this likable and talkative young man.

What came to mind was that he liked evidence, so I gave him some: a man who had a broken forearm, where the radius and ulna were both broken as confirmed by x-ray. But the tissue was too swollen to cast, so he had to wait a few days (Friday to Monday). On Sunday he came for prayer, we prayed. The next day he and his wife came to our house honking their horn; they did a second x-ray (normal procedure), and one bone was not broken, though the other was. (I know that seems bizarre to me too--why one and not the other?)

I also told him of a few other healings I witnessed or participated in, some of which had definite, scientifically verifiable results. His response was "Man. You just rocked my world!"

That is one example of several similar conversations I've had with "pre-Christians." It's amazing what a miracle--a demonstration of the Spirit's power--can do. In the above case, I'm not sure where that young man is. The important thing for this blog is that the recounting for direct evidence of God's power did more than an apologetic repartee was likely to accomplish.

The Big Questions: Is God Real?

50 years ago, it seems like the big question was: Is the Bible true and reliable? People wanted to be convinced of the truth of Scripture, or the truth of Christianity as opposed to competing truths. That's not the big question anymore (at least not in my experience). Nor was it the big question in Paul's day. That means the battle for truth won't win many converts, because that's not where the questions are--it's not where the open doors are. 

The big question about God is: Is He real? Does He exist? How could we know? The failure to come up with a sure-fire argument for the existence of God has led many to conclude that agnosticism (not knowing whether God exists) is the most rational position to take. All the other arguments, whether from design, ethics, universality of religion, etc., don't persuade, because all of them have a way around them. There's always some way for people to rationalize away whatever they don't want to believe.

However, when a verifiable supernatural event happens, there is no argument left. Two x-rays side-by side, don't lie and are not subject to subjective interpretation. A woman whose Achilles tendons are torn, who after prayer can do toe lifts and knee bends is hard to argue against. A woman who leaves her walker behind for the first time in years (with a poor prognosis for ever walking unassisted) is more than "mind over matter."

A physical healing miracle is a pretty powerful persuasive tool in today's world. Yes, this 'argument' can also be resisted, but only at the expense of accepting empirically verifiable evidence as one's standard for truth. 

A physical healing miracle also demonstrates that God cares about us in very specific and observable ways. It's not just a truth to hold on to, it's a truth we can sometimes see with our physical eyes.

If the supernatural is meant to be normal for us and even identify us as followers of Jesus (Mark 16:17-18), then maybe we should put at least as much effort into exploring supernatural ministry as we do exploring careful theology. 

Let me be clear that I'm still on this path of experiment, discovery and understanding. I'm pondering here, but I'm becoming more and more convinced that living a supernatural life-style will do more to advance the Gospel than writing a clever tract, memorizing a evangelistic argument, or hauling someone to church. In fact, if we're not cessationists (those who believe that miracles have ceased), then I wonder whether we can see the supernatural as even optional; either it's not available to us, or it is, and if it is, and if it is God working in our world, who are we to set it aside?

A Good Father (?)

Is God Always Good?

It was recently reported that a father, acting alone, deliberately gave his own child a life-threatening illness that could cause permanent damage to his liver and possibly other internal organs. The child, a well-liked, outgoing, star basketball player, is now in intensive care. When asked why he did it, the father is reported to have said, that his child was in danger of becoming prideful; the illness, he hoped, would teach him humility, and remind him of what is really important in life.

The above story, thankfully, is fictitious. But what do you think should happen to such a father who would do this to his own daughter, or son? I'd say he should be evaluated for psychiatric problems, if not simply jailed on charges of child abuse. Would you agree?

Yet, this is the very thing folks sometimes say about God, when someone gets a deadly illness: "I got sick, because God must be teaching me a lesson."

A few years ago I'd led a group in this responsive declaration: L:"God is good!" P:"All the time!" L: "And All the time," P: "God is good!" (maybe you've heard or done this too). Someone challenged me by saying, sometimes what God brings into our lives isn't good. He then went on to talk about some of the hardships he and his family had faced. I wasn't quick enough then to challenge him in return by reminding him that maybe it wasn't God who was the source of that hardship. But I recognized the perspective. Some of the following is a result of my pondering that discussion.

There are ways of construing the Calvinist idea of Providence, Predestination, or God's Sovereignty that effectively makes God the source of the pain, suffering and hardship of His own children. In my opinion, it takes God's sovereignty too far, attributing to Him what the devil is doing, what a fallen humanity is doing, or what is the result of the fall into sin has done to a perfect creation, or whatever other source of suffering their might be. It can even construe God a responsible party in the sinful behavior of human beings (e.g., "It was God's will that the drunk driver hit my car and put me in the hospital."). The idea that God causes sinful behavior would be vehemently denied by those who assert it, but you can't have it both ways: either God does not cause murderers to kill people, or there are some things that happen that God does not cause to happen.

I grew up within Calvinism and know the mental gymnastics performed to get out of the above conundrum. Such convoluted logical systems never satisfied me, however many times someone might invoke the word "mystery." Something can't be both a cause and not a cause at the same time and in the same way. The argument often sounded to me like this: "God caused it, but God didn't cause it in such a way that He is the cause of it." Huh? That doesn't make sense.

I've come to understand the Bible's teaching on God's sovereignty as it intersects with the evils of this world this way:

All that happens is within God's will, but not all that happens is God's will.

In Romans 8:28 we read "...in all things God works for the good of those who love him..." Notice it does not say that everything that happens to those who love him is good. Nor does it say that whatever happens, it is the best thing that could ever happen to us, once God gets a hold of it. It certainly doesn't say whatever happens to us is God's will. God doesn't kill babies in their sleep (SIDS), give people cancer, or Alzheimer's, blow the legs off of young soldiers, direct the insane to throw their children off of bridges, or any of those things! That's not God our Father's best plan for His children!

What we do read in Romans 8:28 is that whatever happens, God will work it out for good. In other words, no matter what happens to us, no matter it's source, no matter how evil, God will work it out for our benefit. I wouldn't want to use this verse as a sort of "quick-fix" for genuine emotional or physical pain, or anything of that sort. But as a statement it does ring as a promise to hold onto, as the good God will workout of the situation unfolds, often slowly, over time.

Sometimes the good that comes out of it is that those who were the objects of evil behavior become advocates or counselors for others who are. That in no way suggests that God wanted someone to get bullied, beaten up, or raped. It does mean that God will find a way to turn it around for some good. It certainly doesn't mean it will be easy. It just means that (unless we resist Him) God meets us wherever we are and brings us out of brokenness into wholeness; making us stronger in the end than we were before, and perhaps able to be a part of His ministry to heal others who have shattered hearts (cf. Isaiah 61:1).

I don't believe our Father in heaven ever gives His children illness or injury.

God is a Good Father to His Children

In one parable, Jesus compares God to a human father who is asked for bread, or fish. Such a father would not respond to the request with something useless (a stone) or harmful or unclean (a snake). Then he says that since human father's, who are evil, know how to give good things, "...how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him?" (Matthew 7:11). There's that word "good" again. God our Father gives good and perfect gifts (James 1:17); whatever isn't good and perfect isn't from Him.

In Jeremiah 32:40, we read this promise from God "I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never stop doing good to them..." This promise is for us. In fact all God's promises are "Yes!" in Christ (2Cor.1:20). This promise tells us of God's character and His plan. He is good! He is good to us! He will never stop doing good to us! I think that makes it pretty clear: if it's not good, it's not from God.

It's certainly true that there is more of God than we can know. But it's also true that what God reveals about Himself to us we can know. God knows how to speak our language. When He says He's good and won't stop doing good, we can take Him at His word, without trying to redefine "good" to include "bad stuff." No! Good means good. God knew what He was saying. He didn't fudge on it or leave room for ambiguity. It's as plain as it could be. If it doesn't fit with our theology, then what should change: our theology, or His word? I trust I don't have to answer that for you.

Some might suggest that if there are things that happen here that God isn't doing, then I feel less secure or certain. Okay. I get that. If God controls and is the source of everything that happens, then I can rest easy. It would be nice (though we still would have to figure out how to talk about sinful behavior, etc.). The bigger issue though is that it's not what the Bible teaches.

But I've got good news for you: the devil may be active, people may do bad things, creation may be disordered enough to give illness, earthquakes, tornadoes and the like, but God promises that whatever comes at you, He can turn to your good. I also believe that nothing can happen that will thwart His ultimate plans or purposes for you or all of humanity.

But doesn't God chasten His Children? Yes He does. Hebrews 12:5-13  reaffirms that truth. Notice what's going on here though. In this passage the author, in the context of resistance to living faithfully before God, perhaps persecution against the church, encourages us to endure whatever happens as discipline. Further the term for discipline here means to train, instruct, correct (it doesn't mean punish). That is, endure it as if through it God were training you to become a better person. In other words it's saying the same thing as Romans 8:28: whatever happens, God will make you a better person out of it.

Now, if we sin against Him, there is another kind of discipline that comes (for example, 1Cor.11:32). In these cases, God seems to withdraw His protective covering over us so that we get a taste for the reality we are living out of when we sin. But He only does that in a way that He knows we will ultimately be driven back to Him. Let me put it another way: if we begin walking away from Him, at some point He let's us go, so that we'll find out how dumb that was and run back to Him. There may be painful consequences to our choice to walk away from Him, but He will limit even that to what He can turn into something to ultimately benefit us!