Consequences

Sometime back in the nineties, a man named Jack Ryan gave reign to his darker impulses and started visiting sex clubs. That he involved his wife – at least some of the time – didn't make his actions any less sordid. But his were victim-less sins – if they were sins at all – right?

Wrong. In 2004 he would run for a Senate seat from Illinois. He would win the Republican primary and have a very good shot at winning the general election. Unfortunately, his wife had divorced him and his sex club shenanigans had found there way into the divorce court proceedings. As a result, Mr. Ryan was forced to withdraw his candidacy and the Republican party fielded a last-minute, less than formidable candidate who didn't even live in Illinois. Still, who did Mr. Ryan harm beside himself, his wife and, perhaps, his kids? No one, right?

Wrong. The damage to the image of the Republican party and the weakness of its nominee opened the door for a local politician from the opposing party to overwhelmingly win the election with a whopping 73 percent of the vote. His name? Barack Obama. His convincing win was a key factor in the meteoric rise that would result in his ascendancy to the Presidency of the United States four years later.

Today, as a result of Mr. Ryan's so-called victim-less sin, many, many more unborn babies are killed than would have been if we had a different President (see our Mexico City Policy). As a result of Mr. Ryan's seemingly private indiscretion, the lives of thousands of American soldiers and their families as well as of countless Iraqis and Afghanis have been changed forever. As a result of what many would think of as a matter between Mr. Ryan and God, the life of almost every person on the planet has been altered by the economic policies chosen by our current President.

When will I learn that my private sins are not so private? When will I realize that my children are affected by my choices? When will I learn to step carefully, listen closely and obey God completely – knowing that my choices can affect the entire world?

Laughter

Names are very important in the Bible (and, I suspect, in everyday life – but that’s a subject for another day). God uses the meanings of names (of places, of people, everything) to teach us important spiritual truths or to confirm and support what He is saying in the text.

God does this when setting up the Patriarchs of the Bible – Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. At the start we have Abraham, the Father of All Who Believe (Romans 4:11), whose name means “Father of Nations”. His grandson has two names that embody the path of the sinner coming to saving faith: he was born Jacob – “cheater”, one of dubious ethics – but God changes his name to Israel which means “God prevails”. The names of both Abraham and Jacob point to the seriousness of God, our King, and of the very serious transformation that must take place in the heart of an individual if he is to be part of God’s Kingdom.

But sandwiched in the middle, an indispensable link between Abraham and his grandson, is Abraham's son, Isaac. Isaac’s name means “he laughs”! I suspect that God is telling us that laughter is more than just good medicine (Prov. 17:22) – it is part of His nature. That while no one can see God without faith (Abraham) and no one can come be saved without submitting his sinful nature to God (Jacob), a life without laughter is one that has also missed God’s plan and even His heart.

God created laughter. He created and gifted the comedian. He gave each of us the ability to appreciate the funny, the ironic and the just plain silly. So when you see the craziness around you today, look for the humor in it. When you have the opportunity to enjoy something that is meant to be funny, do so. And when you look around at God's creation, laugh for the sheer enjoyment of it all!

Gifts

My children love to give me gifts. The younger they are, the more enthusiastic the giving and the more frequent the gifts. And the younger they are, the less recognizable the gift (think of a picture drawn by a two-year-old: what, exactly, is it a picture of?) and the less likely it is something I really need. That doesn't make the gift less appreciated nor does it reduce my enjoyment of it. The gift is from the heart and it always receives a prominent place on my refrigerator or somewhere else in the house.

In Genesis 18:1-8 God appears to Abraham together with two angels. Like a young child with a heart set to please, Abraham hurries to prepare a feast for them. I'm sure that neither God Himself nor the angels had any need of food. But that didn't even cross Abraham's mind. He just wanted to bless his guests so he gave what would have been happy to receive. And just as you and I are with our children, God was delighted to accept Abraham's heart-felt gift. God didn't point out that He had no need for it or chastise Abraham for not knowing Him better. God just enjoyed it.

We have opportunities every day to bless God with our gifts. They can be meals we make, jokes we tell, cleaning we do, even the job we perform (and get paid for!). The gifts we give God can be anything and everything. We needn't wonder if God needs them or if they are something He specifically calls for in the Bible. If we are excited to give them to God, He is delighted to receive them.

God may not need food but I'm thinking He has a big refrigerator that He’d love to decorate :).

Not Always My Favorite Passage

In Luke 22:31-32, Jesus tells Peter that “Satan has asked to sift you as wheat.” As we read the rest of Jesus’ statement it is clear that Satan’s request has been granted. Oh, boy. Poor Peter. Things are about to get rough.

But like everything else in the Bible, there’s a personal application. You see, the “you” is plural. I’m pretty sure Satan has asked to take a run at all believers. And God, in His good wisdom and loving desire to see us perfected and purified, has granted that request. So just as much as Peter was about to be severely tested and even hit rock bottom (see verse 62), we also should not be surprised at the testing of our faith. A severe, hitting-rock-bottom, where-else-shall-I-go kind of trial – where nothing remains but the gold of our relationship with Jesus (see John 6:68).

Just remember that, as He did for Peter, Jesus prays for us so that when we turn back we will be available to strengthen our Christian brothers and sisters who are going through their own similar but different trials. God Himself allowed (even authored) the trial and is keenly aware of it. He is intimately involved every step of the way, catching every tear that falls from our eyes. If our hearts feel broken, His is more so. But He sees the end, knows the end, even if we don’t.

And as He promised Peter, God Himself will get us there.

To the Glory of God

Is it possible for someone who does not know God to honor Him? Is it necessary to have the intent to honor to be able to give glory to God?

There are those who say that Christians should not listen to non-Christian musical groups (for example, The Beatles) because the musicians do not acknowledge Christ and, further, often sing songs with un-Biblical lyrics.

Many would say that Donald Trump or someone like Ted Turner who is openly hostile to Christianity do not bring any glory to God.

I have to respectfully disagree. God made all of us. He gives us each incredible gifts and talents and He does so, not when we came to know Him, but when He creates us.

When I hear the Beatles, I think, “Wow, what talent God gave them. How good of Him to create music for us to enjoy and musicians who are creative in such a beautiful way.” Same with Donald Trump with his talents in finance. Ditto with so many other people who may never know Jesus but who have been blessed by Him nonetheless.

To take another example, I don’t believe comedians have to be Christian for God to receive glory. While too many are undeniably foul and blasphemous, does God not get a chuckle and enjoyment out of his wonderful creation, Bill Cosby? How about a self-proclaimed atheist such as Paula Poundstone? Even if the comedian doesn’t acknowledge that her gift is God-given, can we not still see it as so and marvel at God’s handiwork?

And it’s not just people that honor God. Have you ever looked at an airplane? God made the mind of man that could invent such a seeming miracle! And God had us in mind when He created the atmosphere with the proper density and the earth with the correct gravity – both to allow flight to be even possible!

Yes, there are those who dishonor God and those who do so intentionally. But I suspect that all creation sings of the Glory of God – whether it wants to or not.

Excitement II

Have you ever lain awake at night, unable to sleep, in joyful anticipation of some long-hoped-for event? Perhaps it was the imminent return of a long-absent family member, the start of an exciting vacation, or the youthful anticipation of Christmas morning. I’m sure you have; we all have.

Why do we have this wonderful emotion? From where does it come? The simple answer is that we were made this way. But there is something much more. We are made in the image and likeness of God Himself. Therefore, we can learn something of Him by looking at ourselves. In other words, we have the emotion of joyful anticipation because He has it. (Yes, we also have some very un-Godlike emotions but those can, in every case, be traced back to Godly emotions that have been corrupted by sin.)

So we can know that God gets excited about the future – He gets excited about what He plans in the lives of His children and gets even more excited when He sees those plans about to come true. Just think about it: God has plans and dreams for you, He works tirelessly to bring them about, and can scarcely contain His excitement when all the planning is about to pay off. How do we know this? Because that’s how we feel about our hopes and plans and dreams.

So just think, right now God has something huge and wonderful planned for your life and is doing everything He can (which is quite a lot!) – without forcing you into anything you absolutely refuse to do – to make those plans come true. If God needed sleep, I bet He’d have trouble sleeping tonight!

Walking on Water

Jesus called me out of the boat again today. Told me to keep my eyes on Him, to not look down at the circumstances, at the difficulty – no, the impossibility – of my situation. Essentially, to walk on water.

I have to admit to having a thought, “what, again?” I mean, every time I’m called to step out of the boat I wind up cold, wet and slimy; in short, miserable. Oh, sure, there a few steps of faith – and maybe more than there were last time – but still, leaving the boat seems to sooner or later result in a drowning feeling until Jesus picks me back up.

So today – I’ll be honest – I groaned when He called. The boat is relatively safe and dry and c’mon, it’s going where Jesus wants it to. Besides, what about all the other people in the boat? Why am I the only one who has to get wet again and again and again?

Because He loves me and knows that we’d both rather that I dance on the waves with Him than spend eternity in the boat. (And yes, the others are called to do the impossible as well; I just don’t often get to see it happen.)

This morning, Jesus pointed out to me just some of my improvement in this water-walking thing. He reminded me that I used to become distracted by the wind and fearful of its blasts. Not so much any more. Now I can be distracted by and fearful of the waves. But that’s a huge improvement. And if Jesus can teach me by trial and a lot of error to ignore the wind, He certainly will be successful in teaching me that the waves are there to be stepped on.

Sure, I keep getting cold and wet: the lessons result in great discomfort and I can feel overwhelmed at times. But I have a little glimpse of what Jesus knows for sure: that we’re getting there and that someday, running on water will be just like running on dry land – only it will be even more fun!

Co-Laborers

Lately God has been saying something new to me. Sometimes, when I ask for His direction, He lets me know that I can choose the way to go. This has been unsettling for me. I’ve long thought I should be seeking to hear God more clearly and more often so He can direct my steps. But now He sometimes says it’s up to me.

I really wondered what was going on until God pointed out that He wants us to be co-laborers with Him (1 Cor. 3:9). He desires that we grow in our relationship with Him so that He does not need to treat us as servants but as friends (John 15:15). And He does not wish to direct our every step as one has to with a horse (Psalm 32:9).

But, I objected, don’t You say that we should walk by the Spirit and that the steps of the righteous man are ordered by the You (Psalm 37:23)? Yes, He replied, but there is an incredible freedom when you walk by the Spirit. I did not say that while all things are permissible, only one thing is beneficial (1 Cor. 6:12 and 10:23). Rather, while not all things are beneficial, many things are.

After all, if we are to reign with Christ (Rev 5:10, 20:6 and 22:5) and will judge both the world and angles (1 Cor. 6:2-3), there is an implication that we will be making decisions – not being simple automatons or mouth pieces for God.

I don’t begin to understand all this but it would seem that, in God’s perfect will, there are a multiplicity of paths that are good, beneficial and which further the Kingdom. Free will is not just a choice between good and bad but is also a choice between different Godly paths that are equally good. Maybe this has something to do with why God makes us all unique with different desires, passions and goals – and then seeks to fulfill the desires of our hearts (Psalm 37:4).

I’m blown away by the possibilities!