From Confusion to Clarity

As I was soaking today, thinking about writing another blog, it seemed to me that the Lord wanted me to write about confusion. Why write on confusion? That was confusing to me.

So I got out Logos and started looking at the word confusion in the Bible. This is the result of a rather quick word study and some reflections on it.

Understanding Confusion

The first time we find the world “confusion” in the English Bible is in Genesis 11:7-9, when God comes to confuse the languages of the people so that they would fill the earth (Genesis 1:28; 9:1), as God had originally intended. Interestingly, the same word translated confusion here (Hebrew: בלל - balal), is also used in some of the “recipes” in Leviticus (Lev. 2:4, for example) where the oil is poured in and mixed with flour to make different kinds of breads.

The first time we find the word “confusion” in the English New Testament varies by translation (sometimes synonyms are used), but in Acts 2:6 we read about the crowd at Pentecost that came together in "confusion" (NRSV) or "bewilderment" (NIV) (Greek: συγχέω - suncheo). In this case as well the term originally meant to pour together, to mix. (It would be really interesting to explore the reversal of the role of confusion in both the Babel and Pentecost stories – in the first confusion disperses them, in the second confusion brings them together – but that would be a whole other blog post.)

Interestingly the English word “confusion” comes to us from French, where it is derived from the past participle of the Latin word “confundere” (from where we also get the word “confound”), which means to pour together. Sometimes in English when we are confused we might say that we are “mixed up.” The connection between mixing and confusion is common to all three languages!

Confusion happens when things are poured together and mixed. Generally speaking, confusion happens not when we don’t have enough information, but when we have information we can’t sort out properly.

What Confusion Looks Like

In Galatians 1:7 and 5:10 Paul addresses a problem in the churches in the province of Galatia saying that some were throwing them into confusion by trying to stir into the mix what didn’t belong. They were trying to mix Christianity with traditional Jewish practices, which was based on a traditional Jewish way of understanding how our relationship with God works.

Paul has a very strong term for describing this enemy of Christianity. He calls it the basic principles of this world (NIV84), or the elemental spiritual forces of the world (NIV11). [The Greek term is stoichea (στοιχεῖα).] According to Paul what’s going on is that unchristian spirits are bringing in foreign spiritual principles, and trying to mix them with the Gospel.

In Colossians he names some of these things these elemental spirits are trying to do. They bring in judgment about what people eat, religious festivals, new moon celebrations and Sabbath observance (Col.2:16) – all of which were Jewish religious practices. More specifically, he describes these elemental spirits as enforcing rules about what people should hold, or taste, or even touch. Apparently these things were being taught there and in the Galatian churches as ways to restrain the flesh. Paul knows it doesn’t work that way (Col. 2:23, see also Romans 7:7-25).

Out of Confusion

Paul’s remedy for this confusion is to remind us of who we are, and how we are supposed to live.

We are God’s sons and daughters (Gal. 3:26-27; 4:6-7). Specifically, we are not God’s slaves (see also Romans 8:15-16). That means that God is more like a Father to us than a task master. As a Father, He is a good Father who gives good gifts to His children (for example, see Matt.7:11). Our heavenly Father loves those people who are His enemies (Matt.5:44-45). He gives good and perfect gifts to His children (James 1:17). Our relationship with Him is not to be governed by fear of punishment (Rom. 8:15; 1John 4:18).

If we already are God’s children, His very own sons and daughters, we do not have to position ourselves for blessing by doing certain things in a certain way, probably using certain words, accompanied by certain gestures. Those who suggest that we can only approach God that way, are promoting a false Christianity. That is what Paul is saying in Galatians and Colossians. Through Jesus, the unapproachable God becomes approachable; we can approach the throne of grace with confidence and boldness, without a need to hide anything of who we are (Heb 4:16).

But what about behavior? Aren’t Christians supposed to do certain things and not do others?

  

How are Christians supposed to live, if we aren’t afraid of being punished for doing something wrong? The answer is simple: love God; love people. I don’t mean that as a parody of an answer. That really is the answer. It's simple, but it's not easy.

In Romans 13:8-10 Paul says three times in three verses that living in a way that loves others, is actually what the Old Testament law was really all about. In fact, he says something astounding: “Love does no harm to its neighbor, therefore love is the fulfillment of the law” (Rom. 13:10). In Galatians he says something that is just as shocking: “The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love” (Gal. 5:6).

To follow Jesus means we know who we are, as He did (two of the three temptations by the devil had to do with his identity: “If you are the Son of God…”), and love people as He loved them (John 13:34).

As long as we don’t allow anything to be added to these two things, as long as we don’t let anything get mixed in with our identity as sons and daughters, and the simple call to love God and people, we at least won’t be confused about what it means to be a Christian. Yes, working that all out takes time and there is a maturing process that goes on. For example, loving people living a life of sin, while not enabling them in their sin, isn’t always a simple thing for us to figure out. We can get it wrong from time to time and probably will, but if we know who we are, and if we’re following Jesus in applying that, what else is there?

Our identity is sons and daughters, our assignment is: love God and people.

Empowered for Freedom

Thankfully, we have the Holy Spirit to help us remember who we are, and empower us to love as Jesus loved. We couldn’t do it without Him, and aren’t even supposed to try. Only legalists and those live by other forms of religiosity believe it’s really all up to them to “get right with God.” Christians know that Jesus already made us right with God, and as Paul said, the only thing that counts now is faith expressing itself in love.

Politics and the Evangelical

How do we who hold to an Evangelical understanding of the Bible deal with politics? I want to write today about a few things that I think are important for us as we think about how we view our nation, how to vote, and how we talk about those with whom we disagree.

Evangelical Nationalism

There is a tendency among some Evangelicals (and in some other Christian groups), to view the United States as some sort of ultimate expression of God's will for the nations of the world. In these churches one may hear the US national anthem sung on or near July 4th, and perhaps that other patriotic song "My Country 'Tis of Thee" (...of thee I sing). The worship of God is placed along side of, if not temporarily displaced by the worship..., er, uh... adoration..., no I meant... Well, what is it to sing "of thee I sing" in the context of worship, if not worship of what we're singing about.

I wouldn't say that every kind of patriotism is incompatible with Christianity, or that it's incompatible in every way with it, but whenever patriotism trumps the concerns I raise above, or dismisses them as unpatriotic, left wing, or (gasp) liberal, then there actually is a problem. A big problem.

Jesus said we can only serve one master. It's true that he said that about God and money, but it is just as true about God and [fill in the blank]. Paul reminds us in Philippians 3:20 that our citizenship is in heaven. That citizenship has everything to do with how we behave in a world that has different alliances.

This sort of (what I call) blind nationalism, expresses itself far too often in the rhetoric of Christians in the political sphere, or as non-politicians comment on politicians and policies.

Something is out of alignment.

(Thankfully, the above is not true of all Evangelicals, perhaps not even a majority--though I don't have any specific data.)

The Politics of Protection (for/from whom?)

What I'm also seeing is that many Evangelical voters are flocking to the rhetoric, if not the policies of protectionism. I don't mean merely economic protectionism (although that is being promoted too), but how we need to protect ourselves from our own government, from illegal immigration, from gun laws, from health policies (or from those who would seek to overturn them), from big business, from the 1%, from corruption, from [fill in the blank again]. It seems we have a big problem in this country, and obviously someone else is to blame.

There is a Christian value to protect. In 1Corinthians 13:7, it says "Love protects" (among other things). But who does love seek to protect? 

Maybe you've already heard about the Greek word for love most often used in the Bible: agape. That word does not have the same breadth of meaning as the English word for love. In English I may say that "I love that car." If I did, I might mean that I want to own, to possess that car. But the Greek word for love (agape), as it's used in Scripture, never means that I want to possess, let alone control someone. It means I want the object of my love to flourish, to excel, to be the best they can be, to be the person God created them to be. New Testament Biblical love is always more concerned about the other than it is about oneself.

Jesus tells us that whatever we do to the least, we do to Him (Matthew 25:40). As we look at the candidates for President of the US, who is looking out for the least? Who is protecting those who cannot protect themselves? On the one hand we have Republicans (allegedly) protecting the unborn, on the other we have the Democrats (allegedly) protecting the poor and the foreigner. 

Do we vote for self-protection and out of self-interest, or out of the kind of selfless love Jesus exemplified: "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another" (John 13:34)? What's it going to be folks?

Slander

Paul tells Titus this: "Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and always to be gentle toward everyone"(Titus 3:1–2, emphasis mine). That word "slander" there doesn't mean merely to bring false charges (as the English word usually does). Other versions translate this more accurately (IMHO). The NRSV (followed by the ESV) translates this "speak evil of no one." My lexicon (Greek-English dictionary) defines this word (generally) this way: "to speak in a disrespectful way that demeans, denigrates, maligns." (BDAG). It can mean slander, in the sense of speaking lies. But anyone who's been through junior high knows that there are folks who speak the truth in ways designed to inflict the most damage.

One of the problems in the Evangelical world is also seen in the way that these folks embrace disrespect and character assassination for all those they disagree with. Even setting aside the distortion of what their opponents actually said, or did, even if they are totally (and technically) correct, the truths are not spoken in love (cf. Ephesians 4:15), but with vitriol. 

But such behavior, such talk is plainly and completely unchristian regardless of its motives. Paul encouraged the Roman Christians, sometimes persecuted by their own government, to remember that "The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling agaisnt what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves" (from Romans 13:1-2). He finishes his teaching on dealing with the horrid, corrupt and idolatrous government of his day by saying this: "Give to everyone what you owe them: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor" (Romans 13:7). In other words, we pay our taxes and respect and honor those to whom God has given places of respect and honor - even if they are 100% wrong, as they were when Paul wrote this.

Be a Christian in the Political Sphere too!

I won't tell you who to vote for, or who to vote against. I haven't made up my mind yet either. But that's not the point of today's blog. I just want to remind us Christians to keep our Christian values in the realm of politics too. Whatever happens next November, remember God is still in charge, and our citizenship is still in Heaven.

Once in Royal David's City

I'll continue blogging about lesser known Advent and Christmas hymns, turning to one of my favorites: "Once in Royal David's City." You can listen to a beautiful version from King's College, Cambridge by clicking here. The music was composed by Henry Gauntlett in 1858, and the lyrics by Cecil Alexander in 1848 (also the author of the lyrics to the hymn "All Things Bright and Beautiful").

Here are the lyrics to this wonderful hymn:

Once in royal Davids city,

Stood a lowly cattle shed,

Where a mother laid her Baby,

In a manger for His bed:

Mary was that mother mild,

Jesus Christ, her little Child.

He came down to earth from heaven,

Who is God and Lord of all,

And His shelter was a stable,

And His cradle was a stall:

With the poor, and mean, and lowly,

Lived on earth our Savior holy.

For He is our childhood's pattern;

Day by day, like us, He grew;

He was little, weak, and helpless,

Tears and smiles, like us He knew;

And He feels for all our sadness,

And he shares in all our gladness.

And our eyes at last shall see Him,

Through His own redeeming love;

For that Child so dear and gentle,

Is our Lord in heaven above:

And He leads His children on,

To the place where He is gone.

Not in that poor lowly stable

With the oxen standing by

We shall see Him, but in heaven,

Set at God's right hand on high:

There His children gather round

Bright like stars, with glory crowned.

What I love about this hymn, besides the music (which is beautiful and stirring, without being sentimental), is the simple way in which the humanity and deity of Christ are put together. Christmas hymns usually emphasize one of these aspects of Christ

Notice in the second verse: "He comes down to earth from heaven, Who is God and Lord of all" emphasizing His pre-incarnate divinity. Yet the rest of that verse goes like this: "And his shelter was a stable, and His cradle was a stall. With the poor and meek and lowly, Lived on earth our Savior holy."*

The juxtaposition of His divinity and humanity continues in the next two verses (3 & 4), one beautifully emphasizes His humanity, the other His divinity. Verse 3 notes (among other things) that He was "little, weak, and helpless." We more often prefer to reflect on Jesus' power and strength, His majesty and authority - all of which He certainly has! But there was a time when He became very little, very weak, and completely helpless. Philippians 2:6-7 emphasizes this point, which sends some Christian thinkers and theologians squirming for reinterpretation. How can this be!

Yet if He became one of us, truly one of us, He had to grow up "Day by day, like us..." He had to learn to speak, to eat, to dress Himself, to take care of His bodily needs. Even at 12, when He was at least beginning to understand something about Who He was, He was still growing in favor with God and people (Luke 2:52 - the Greek imperfect tense emphasizes that His growing up took place over time).

Did He shed tears and did He smile? Yes He did! In Luke 10:21 we read that Jesus was "full of joy through the Holy Spirit." This joy was noticed by those who reported it to Luke. It's likely that His facial expression was much more than a mild grin! He wasn't just happy, He was "full of joy!" He also shed tears next to the grave of His friend Lazarus. The shortest verse in the Bible records that "Jesus wept" (John 11:35). Unlike the perhaps sentimentalistic "No crying He makes" of Silent Night, Jesus probably cried as an infant too. How else does an infant let its mother know that its hungry, or needing a diaper change, or needs to be burped, or is in some other way in need of something?

Do I even need to mention Hebrews 4:15-16?

That third verse needs to be set along side the fourth, where this same dear and gentle Jesus is now our Lord in heaven above. For those who prefer their Jesus merely human, Mrs. Alexander re-emphasizes His divinity. She reminds us that this very same Jesus has gone to prepare a place for us, and will return to take us there (John 14:2-3).

The last verse (lamentably absent in some versions of this hymn), points us to the whole purpose of the incarnation: the family reunion of God the Father with His children. Not only that, but God's intention and plan is that we will be crowned with a never fading glory (1Peter 5:4). Like the prodigal son returning home to be a slave, the Father will greet us with joy, welcome us as His children, clothe us with righteousness and crown us with glory and we will dwell in the house of the Lord forever (Psalm 23:6)!

He came down and became one of us, to lift us up to be with Him and the Father and the Holy Spirit, and all the heavenly hosts in never ending bliss and glory!

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*For the purposes of this blog, I'll disregard the likely inaccuracy of a cattle shed, a stable and stall (verse 2). He was laid in a manger, but there is no other indication that this birth took place in anything we would recognize as a barn or cattle shed (regardless of the traditional manger scenes so familiar this time of year). It's very unlikely that it was a "shed," since wood is very scarce in the region. Most homes were built of stone (limestone, basalt, and similar indigenous material). Even the manger was likely hewn from a block of limestone, rather than built of wood (many of these mangers, dating from even before this time, have been excavated in the holy land). Certainly the Biblical account does emphasize the poverty into which Jesus was born and these cultural reinterpretations certainly don't damage that important part of the message.

Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence

I'd like to reflect on another Christmas hymn that isn't full of smiles and denials. Okay. I'm not trying to say anything negative about joyful Christmas hymns. Really. I love them and enjoy singing them. My only problem with the hymns we usually sing, is that what they evoke from our hearts and our spirits is pretty much the same thing: joy, happiness, and other up-beat sorts of emotions and attitudes. I'm not objecting to that per se, Only to the monotone happy-clappy expectations and experiences of the Advent and Christmas seasons, which too often become a mask for those emotions and attitudes not quite so welcome this time of year.

So here's another hymn that draws out other parts of us as we contemplate the amazing event of the incarnation of Jesus.

Let all mortal flesh keep silence,
and with fear and trembling stand;
ponder nothing earthly minded,
for with blessing in his hand,
Christ our God to earth descendeth,
our full homage to demand.

That's a little different than Joy to the World, or Go Tell it on the Mountain, isn't it? Remember: I've got nothing against those songs and hope we all sing them with gusto! But notice how different it is: keep silence, stand with fear and trembling, stop thinking as earthly minded... As we sing it, the hymn pulls out of things we didn't know we wanted to say until we sang them.

Here's a version of this sung by Fernando Ortega: Click here.

Hymn History

This Christmas hymn wasn't originally a Christmas hymn at all. The lyrics were translated from an ancient Greek and Syrian Orthodox liturgy that traces possibly as far back as James the Lesser, bishop of Jerusalem. The Greek text could be as old as the 2nd Century, though some date it as late as the 5th. Either way, it's a very old song!* Originally, the words were chanted as part of the Eucharist (Lord's Supper) liturgy, and as far as I know, still are in parts of the Orthodox world. This connection is evident in the second stanza (see below).

In 1864 the words were translated (paraphrased really) into English and set to poetic meter (8.7.8.7.8.7), by Gerard Moultrie, It was more than 40 years later that Ralph Vaughan-Williams connected the lyrics of Moultrie with the French tune "Picardy" in 1906, revising the harmony of that tune in the beautiful way we have it today.

Comments on the Hymn

The opening line takes it's cue from Habakkuk 2:20 But the Lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth be silent before him.” The connection to the birth of Jesus is in the fact that when Jesus became incarnate, his body was the temple (John 2:21). He was the place where the presence of God was among His people. 

The fact of the incarnation is such an astounding doctrine, that it would be blasphemy to suggest it, if Scripture did not reveal it to be true. Imagine this: God is born. This truth is so astounding, theologies have been developed which avoided the mind-whirling truth it proclaims. Very early, some began to suggest that Jesus wasn't born Divine, but became Divine through his obedience. Others suggested he wasn't really in the flesh at all, but only seemed to be. Both of those doctrines were challenged and declared heresy by the early church. 

We accept the truth of the incarnation (God made flesh) without pondering it much. Which is one of the reasons I love this hymn: ponder nothing earthly minded as we stand before our incarnate God. Ponder heavenly things. 

Ponder the truth of God made flesh. A God who could be seen with human eyes, be touched with human hands, be heard with human ears (1John 1:1-4). The same God who created the universe (John 1:1-3) emptied himself and took on human form (John 1:14; Philippians 2:6-8). 

John 1:14 hints at something our English versions tend to gloss over in their translations. The first part of that verse literally says "The Word became flesh and pitched His tent among us." If we wanted to use an Old Testament term, we could translate that verse this way "The Word became flesh and tabernacled among us." 

That's right. When Jesus was walking around on this planet, he was the tabernacle of God: the place where the presence of God dwelt with His people.

Let me give you the other verses:

King of kings, yet born of Mary,
As of old on earth He stood,
Lord of lords, in human vesture,
In the body and the blood;
He will give to all the faithful
His own self for heavenly food.

Rank on rank the host of heaven
Spreads its vanguard on the way,
As the Light of light descendeth
From the realms of endless day,
That the powers of hell may vanish
As the darkness clears away.

At His feet the six winged seraph,
Cherubim with sleepless eye,
Veil their faces to the presence,
As with ceaseless voice they cry:
Alleluia, Alleluia
Alleluia, Lord Most High!

Let me comment briefly on the Biblical background for these verses:

In the second verse we remember that Jesus is the Bread of Life (John 6:35, 58), who as incarnate, will give himself for us ultimately on the cross. The third and fourth verses take their cue not only from Luke 2, but also from Isaiah 6 and Revelation 4, the actual throne-room of God. There angels surround the throne, attend the King of kings and sing constantly in His presence.

We also see in these verses that one of the reasons Jesus came is to destroy the powers of hell (1John 3:8), as the light overcomes the darkness (John 1:5).

The song begins in contemplative silence and ends in  joy-filled, angelic praise! But as it does so, it draws that praise out of us from a deeper place than we often find it. The hymn also pairs joy and adoration in a way rarely found in any hymn, or other song of worship.

I don't know what the wind is blowing through your life during this Advent and Christmas season. Maybe it's the sort of stuff that makes joy easy to find. Maybe not. Either way, stop. Quiet yourself to contemplate until you gasp at the staggering truth of the incarnation: God made flesh. Because when we find our joy in Him, in Who He is and what He has done, rather than our always changing life circumstances, that joy can never be taken from us.

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*If you're interested, the original opening line in Greek is this: Σιγησάτω πᾶσα σάρξ βροτεία (literally: "Let keep silent all flesh mortal").

O Come, O Come Emmanuel

In all the razzle and dazzle of the North American Christmas season--with the lights, the songs on the radio, the red and green decorations, the shopping, a large man with a white beard and funny clothes., etc.--it's not hard to see how the Christ of Christmas often gets forgotten, or simply assigned an important seat among many.

I don't want to be a Scrooge or a Grinch, and I'm not calling for a ban on Christmas, as the Puritans did. Although it could be argued that the secularized Christmas they objected to, isn't all that different from the secularized Christmas observed in our day.

What I do want to do is call to mind that Christmas isn't all about nice feelings, family and presents. It's not even simply about Christ being born. It's also about our need for Christ to be born--our need for a Savior.

Somewhere around or before 1100 A.D. an anonymous poet created a metrical version of an even older song, which was later set to the tune we now know as "O Come, O Come Emmanuel." Strangely, this hymn, more than any other, is subject to a great amount of variation. I've not yet found two hymn books that agree on the lyrics! Searching the internet finds multiple versions that include different verses, or variations on verses. Still there is one common theme in all of them: Come, O Come Emmanuel, because things are really bad without You, and You are our only hope.

Maybe you missed that about this familiar hymn (if it is familiar to you). You can listen to a traditional choral version of this here. Here are the lyrics (at least one version of them) to the verses:

O come, O come, Emmanuel,

And ransom captive Israel,

That mourns in lonely exile here

Until the Son of God appear.

O come, Thou Day-spring, come and cheer

Our spirits by Thine advent here;

Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,

And death’s dark shadows put to flight.

O come, Desire of nations, bind

In one the hearts of all mankind;

Bid Thou our sad divisions cease,

And be Thyself our King of Peace.

O come, Thou Branch of Jesse's stem

Unto Thine own and rescue them!

From depths of hell Thy people save,

And give them vict'ry o'er the grave.

There's also a chorus, but let's consider the verses on their own for a moment. Do you see the words: captive, mourns and lonely in the first verse? How about gloomy clouds of night and death's dark shadow in the second? Now take a look at the other verses. What do you see there?

Now, there are other, less mournful verses sometimes associated with this song, but did you ever notice the desperate pleading in this hymn before (assuming you've heard it)?

One of the reasons I love this old hymn is that it reminds us of how much we need a Savior: our situation actually is overwhelming; we cannot save ourselves; without a Savior, we are doomed. Few Christmas hymns capture that desperation, let alone celebrate it!

But we do have a Savior and He has come to us and He will come again!

Here is the chorus to that same hymn (to be sung after each verse):

Rejoice! Rejoice!

Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

These days, it's becoming more popular in some circles to once again embrace the Biblical concept of lament. We find Psalms of lament (Psalm 5, 102, for example), and poems of lament in some of the prophets (the whole book of Lamentations, for example). In lament we give voice to our pain, our loss, our desperation and neediness. Lament is entirely proper.

Yet, I would argue that lament that doesn't resolve to or point toward hope at some point, isn't Christian lament. Lament that merely wallows in self-pity is ultimately a self-centered lament; it is the selfishness of Jacob losing Joseph and refusing to be comforted (Genesis 37:35). Christian lament must yield to faith and trust in God, it must go beyond experience to the Truth that puts experience in its proper place. 

This hymn captures that well. Even while Israel is captive, mourning and lonely, even when the gloomy clouds of night feel like death's dark shadow, even while our sad divisions are not ceasing, or when hell and the grave seem to claim more victories than they ought, even then "Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee...!"

This is what faith in a good God looks like when things aren't good. We rejoice, knowing--knowing!--that Emmanuel (God with us) shall come to us. He will! Standing in faith, we re-align our emotions with the Truth of Who God is. Truth, that first piece of the armor of God--the belt that is placed over our guts (where we feel emotion!). We turn our face from our pain, our loss, our desperation, and our neediness, toward the One Who heals, Who blesses, Who comforts, and Who is Emmanuel, God with us.

During this advent season, my wife is going through chemotherapy. It's not all razzle-dazzle, blinking lights and happy songs in our house. But there is rejoicing. Emmanuel has come! Emmanuel is with us now! Emmanuel will come again! Of this we have no doubt.

Maranatha, Come Lord Jesus!

Lessons from a Little One

Last week Marcia and I visited our first grandchild and his parents. Joshua Conrad DeRuiter is about a month old and doing very well.

Joshua Conrad DeRuiter

Of course it was wonderful meeting him, taking care of him and being with his parents, Jon and Laura in West Olive, Michigan. We convinced them to leave a couple of times so we could have grandparent time with just him (they thought we were being altruistic). Most of the time we had with him was marvelous and amazing.

And Then Again...

Little ones come to young parents for a reason, I think. They aren't all coos and wonder. Sometimes they have needs, or wants, or discomforts, or hurts, or combinations of the above and you're not sure what to do. Infants aren't very good at taking other people's needs into consideration either; they're high maintenance creatures.

Jon and I both reflected on this, as pastors/preachers (my son Jon is also an ordained minister in the CRC). The little guy sometimes knows he needs something, but he's not even sure what it is he needs, or what will take care of that need. In fact, sometimes he gets so upset that he will reject the thing will actually take care of the need (feeding or sleep) - though with some insistence he'll eventually calm down enough to give it a try.

Typical.

How often do we do the same?

Joshua is older and more mature in relation to his father and grandfather--by percentage--than we are in relation to the Everlasting God. Think about it. How old is God compared to us? How much more does He know, by experience alone! Yet we think we know our needs and how to meet them, or just as arrogantly: how God should meet them. And when God gives us what we actually do need, how often do we slap it out of His loving hand as irrelevant?

I don't mean that we should accept everything that comes our way. No! Some things come to us from our and God's enemies: the world, the flesh and the devil. If it comes to steal, kill or destroy, it comes from the thief (John 10:10) and we should resist it with all we have (even though God can turn every one of those attacks to our advantage - Rom. 8:28).

However, sometimes an opportunity comes our way, or a friend, or a spiritual gift, or something else that seems to come unexpectedly and in a season when we're asking God to help us through some struggle. At first glance we might pass over what comes because it doesn't seem relevant to what God is doing, or what we want and are asking Him to do. Yet, it comes as God's gift to meet the actual need of our heart.

I don't know about you, but sometimes, just like little Joshua, I'm not sure what I need. I think about it and decide what I need is a new job, or a certain spiritual gift, or someone to co-write songs with. What He gives doesn't seem (at first) to fit: I get changed, He changes my thinking and experience with spiritual gifts and He builds a worship band that takes what I write to a whole other level.

I know. I know. We can get good things or opportunities for them, that are actually distractions from God's actual calling on us (in fact, they come all the time). It sometimes takes careful discernment (usually in the context of community) to know what is from God and what isn't. On the other hand, when skepticism (or unexamined optimism) begins to substitute for discernment, we get into trouble: we reject a genuine gift from God, or accept what God isn't giving in exchange for what He has given, or is giving.

Returning to Trust

At some point, even when we know we cannot be 100% certain about how well we discern, we have to trust our Father in heaven. He knows our imperfections; He knows we sometimes miss it; He knows us and yet He gives knowing what we need. He knows what we need before we even ask (Matthew 6:8). He knows our hearts and the actual needs of our hearts, even if we, like little Joshua, don't know how to express those needs, or even get it wrong! Joshua has no word for pain or tummy, so if he has gas pains he just cries (very loudly!). We may not know that the need of our heart is for intimacy with Him, and so we cry out for recognition by our peers. We may not know that the need of our heart is to be genuinely loved in the community of God's people, and so we cry out for the sort of companionship (or whatever) that can never satisfy.

At some point, we need to cry out in faith, and then wait in faith for God's response. When we need to cry out, we need to cry out trusting that a loving, responsive and all-powerful Father is listening. A "cry-baby" might cry out to manipulate his/her parents, and there are those who would cry out to God that way. That's dumb. You can't put God on a guilt trip; He never goes down that road. But we don't need to manipulate an all-powerful Father Who is both loving and responsive. He will meet the need of our heart, even if we don't know what it is, or if we get it wrong. That's what God is like.

Unlike human parents (and grandparents), God doesn't need to guess and use trial and error to figure out how to meet our needs. He knows our hearts. He knows them better than we do. And He knows how to meet those needs.

Do you believe that?

Changing the Way We Think

I want to do some reflecting on this passage (and a few others) today:

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. (Romans 12:2 - NIV)  

Here's the same passage in the New Living Translation:

Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.  

The Power of our Cultural Worlds

Each of us live in a world. I don't mean merely on a planet, but in a world of thoughts, ideas, assumptions, customs and perspectives. We do certain things the way we do them, because "everyone knows" that's how they're supposed to be done. For example, in the United States, when we meet someone it is customary to shake hands. In parts of Asia, in meeting someone it is customary to bow. In parts of Europe and Latin America in meeting someone it is customary to kiss the cheek (or the "air" next to the cheek). In all of these worlds, "everyone knows" the most polite way to meet someone.

The same is true of how we understand the world works. In parts of India one is born into a caste, and that determines the limits and opportunities of one's entire life. One is not expected, and in some places not allowed, to break out of one's caste. In the U.S. we celebrate individuals who rise from poverty to success in business, medicine, or politics and see the circumstances of one's birth as challenges to overcome, not the assignments of fate.

Further, nearly everyone who grows up into their world, believes their world's ways of doing things are the "right" ways--the best ways. I could go on, and talk about how we understand punctuality, marriage and family, economics, individuality and family/cultural duty, and more, but I hope you get the point. Sociologists call this system of values and behaviors "culture." It is impossible to grow up in this world and not learn a culture. We do this as naturally as we learn the language we consider our mother tongue.

Those who have lived in more than one culture understand this in ways that those who haven't cannot. Am I right?

Adopting Heaven's Culture

I was first exposed to the concept of a culture of Heaven at a conference at Bethel church in Redding, California. I don't know why I'd never thought of it this way before. Without going into the content of that conference, I'd like to talk a bit about how that concept intersects with our verse above.

The "pattern of this world" (NIV) or the "behavior and customs of this world" (NLT) is a direct reference to what we would call "culture." While we could (and must!) say that each culture contains within it elements of the culture of Heaven, we cannot say that any culture fully expresses the culture of heaven. In fact, as we speak of individuals being fallen image-bearers of God, so we must speak of cultures as fallen as well.

To adopt Heaven's culture, we must change the way we think. In fact, we must change the very framework within which we think. We need to change our paradigms of thought. As our text above puts it we must be transformed by the renewing of [our] minds (NIV). This does not mean to think better so much as to think differently.

In Western culture one of the ways we are captive to our culture is the pervasive "scientific" and "naturalistic" mind-set that leaves no room for God, a spiritual realm, or the miraculous. Everything must have a "scientific" explanation (meaning: an explanation that doesn't need God or spiritual beings to work). The Bible does not have that mindset. Neither does Heaven. (I wrote about some of this before here.)

The culture of Heaven is a set of values and behaviors that actually does shape reality (and not merely our perception of it)! But what are they and how do we find out?

Probably the best way to begin to understand the culture of Heaven is to look at Jesus. In the gospel of John Jesus says “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself. He does only what he sees the Father doing. Whatever the Father does, the Son also does" (Jn 5:19). At least in terms of behaviors, we can learn something of the culture of Heaven by looking at Jesus. We can also learn something of the values of Heaven by interpreting why and how He did the things He did. As we do, we see in Scripture that a huge motivating factor for in the life of Christ is love. In fact, love explains the entire enterprise (John 3:16). 

However, I don't think we can get there from here without some serious help! We cannot transform our own minds. We don't have the power, nor the "raw materials" to do it. 

David, when confronted by his sin with Bathsheba composed Psalm 51, in which he writes Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me (Psalm 51:10). Just a little later he adds: grant me a willing spirit to sustain me (Psalm 51:12b). David realized that he didn't just need to try harder, he needed to be changed from within. He needed more than an adjustment, or a remodeling, he needed a remake. 

Paul has a similar lament in Romans 7 (verses 7,ff). His way out of the dilemma is not to redouble his efforts and "do better next time" (how many of us have tried that!). The solution for him is the Holy Spirit: The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. (Romans 8:6). Literally that verse says (my translation from the Greek text): The mind of the flesh is death, but the mind of the Spirit is life and peace. I wouldn't argue about control or governance here, but I would point out that the difference is not merely control, but of substance. The mind of flesh doesn't need a mere adjustment; it doesn't need to be run better; it needs to be changed into something that it is not. It needs to become the mind of the Spirit, sometimes called the mind of Christ (1Cor. 2:16).

Our western world tells us that with hard work we can become whatever we want. Without thinking, we assume that if we have not become spiritual enough, or moral enough, or do not exhibit the fruit of the Spirit enough, that the solution is to try harder. But no matter how hard we pull on our bootstraps, we cannot lift ourselves out of the mud! We need help! In fact we need a transformation. Our mind needs to be remade in order to align it with the culture of Heaven.

So What Do We Do?

If we can't do it and the Spirit must, what must we do so that the Spirit will do what only He can do? 

The answer to that, I'm convinced is simple, but not easy. We must submit our minds to the Spirit, and we must pray, asking the Spirit to transform our minds. These are really not two separate things, but two aspects of one thing. Feel free to reverse the order, if it helps.

Submitting our minds to the Spirit includes laying down all of our assumptions and letting Him speak Truth into us. When Jesus said You will know the truth and the truth will set you free (John 8:32), He was talking about holding to (literally remaining/continuing in) His his message (see Jn 8:31). By "truth" here John doesn't mean simply that which is not false, but that which conforms to the culture of Heaven--that which is most truly true. In contrast to half-truths, or partial truths, or even things that are mostly true, that which is fully true. Jesus described that truth this way "I am telling you what I have seen in the Father's presence" (John 8:38a)

We need the Truth of Heaven, not only because it can fill our minds, but because it transforms our minds, it changes them. The Truth of Heaven is not only the content of that Truth , but the shape of it (its paradigms) as well. Yet we can only appropriate that truth and hold onto it as true as empowered by the Spirit to do so. Only the Holy Spirit can transform our minds so that we can begin to think the way Heaven thinks.

Sometimes we try to behave our way into the Kingdom (change from the outside, in). But what we hear the Scriptures saying is that we can't do it that way. We need our hearts and minds changed (change from the inside, out). The changed heart will do the things Jesus asks because the changed heart is designed to do so--it prefers to obey: Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires (Romans 8:5).

Pray with me:

Create in me a pure heart, O God. Renew a right spirit within me. Give me a willing spirit to sustain me. 

I submit my mind, my heart, my will, my thoughts and the very way I think to You. Holy Spirit lead me in the way of Truth. I choose to let go of the pattern of my world, with it's behaviors and customs and hold on instead to the culture of Heaven. Renew me by the transformation of my mind. Give me the mind of Christ. Conform me to the image of your Son.

 I pray this believing that You desire to answer this prayer even more than I desire that You do. I pray this believing as You answer this prayer, it will bring glory to the Name of Jesus.