Humanity

Readings for today: Psalms 6, 9, 10, 14, 16, 21

The good news of the gospel is that God became a human being. He took on human flesh. He took on human nature. He experienced everything you and I experience. He knows hunger and thirst. He knows hardship and poverty. He knows pain and suffering. He knows what it’s like to feel tired and overwhelmed. He knows what it’s like to be abandoned, betrayed, and denied. He has suffered injustice. He has been falsely accused and falsely tried and falsely convicted and falsely condemned. He knows what death feels like. He knows what it’s like to be laid to rest in on a cold slab in a tomb.

I try to read the Psalms backwards. In fact, I try to read the entire Old Testament backwards. What do I mean by that? What I mean is I try to read it through the lens of Jesus Christ. With Jesus as my “hermeneutical key” - as my professors in seminary might have said - it all makes sense. A whole new world of meaning opens up. My understanding deepens. My connection to the people of the Old Testament becomes stronger. Take King David. Imagine all he must be experiencing as he expresses himself through prayer set to music. “Be gracious to me, Lord, for I am weak; heal me, Lord, for my bones are shaking; my whole being is shaken with terror. And you, Lord, how long?” (Psalms‬ ‭6‬:‭2‬-‭3‬ ‭CSB‬‬) Is he suffering from disease? Depression? Adverse life circumstances? Is he fearful of the future? Afraid of his enemies? Is he having a hard time being patient for God’s will to come about? Or the flip side, what happened that caused David to write, “When my enemies retreat, they stumble and perish before you. For you have upheld my just cause; you are seated on your throne as a righteous judge. You have rebuked the nations: You have destroyed the wicked; you have erased their name forever and ever. The enemy has come to eternal ruin; you have uprooted the cities, and the very memory of them has perished.” (Psalms‬ ‭9‬:‭3‬-‭6‬ ‭CSB‬‬) Had he just won another victory? Had he just put his enemies to flight? Is he referring here to the Philistines or to the people who were still following the house of Saul in Israel? Can he sense the fulfillment of God’s promises are near? And as always, I love David’s honesty and transparency...“Lord, why do you stand so far away? Why do you hide in times of trouble?” (Psalms‬ ‭10‬:‭1‬ ‭CSB‬‬) He’s not afraid to cry out to God from the depths of his heart. 

Throughout history, the people of God have returned over and over again to the Psalms to learn how to pray. They have used them as a guide for prayer. They have prayed these words back to God. Made them their own. Prayer can be difficult. It’s challenging to move beyond the rote prayers we learned in our youth. It’s challenging to be honest and real with God. Frequently it can feel like our words are inadequate. Self-centered. Foolish. Like they bounce off the ceiling back into our laps. So many Christians I know and love struggle with prayer. Often when they ask me how they should pray, I will point them to the Psalms. Not just to repeat the words but to reflect on them and make them their own. Reflect on the feelings and emotions. Reflect on the heart of what David is saying. Let his heart’s cry resonate with your heart’s cry and lead you to express your deepest thoughts to God. And most of all, remember God has felt every feeling you feel as well.

Our God is safe. He is a refuge. A stronghold. Our deliverer. We are the apple of His eye and He hides us in the shadow of His wings. He is our protector. Our comforter. Our friend. We can tell Him anything. The deepest desires of our hearts are not hidden from Him. Nor are the wounds. The hurts. The disappointments. The fears. The failures. God rejoices with us when we experience success. When the victories come in our lives. God weeps with us when we struggle. When we grieve. God fights our battles for us. We may not always understand His ways. We may not always agree with His timing. His answer can be “No” just as easily as it can be “Yes.” It can even be “Not Yet.” Through it all, God is God and we are not and prayer reminds us the best place to be is at His feet. 

Readings for tomorrow: 1 Chronicles 1-2, Psalms 43-44

Wilderness

Readings for today: 2 Samuel 1-4

In my sermon yesterday, I said, “Humanity has always wandered in a moral and ethical wilderness.” Despite all the technological and medical and scientific advances, we have no idea of where we’re going or why or what we’d do when we get there. We are ethical and moral adolescents, constantly fighting against God’s created order. I think the root of the problem is that we want to be gods ourselves but that’s probably another post for another day. However, today’s reading felt very familiar to me. Probably because I see many of the same dynamics playing out in our world today. Humanity seems just as prone to violence, greed, power, selfishness, hatred, and anger as ever.

Today’s reading includes political intrigue, civil war, and assassinations. Israel was in chaos as different parties jockeyed for influence and power. An Amalekite lies about killing Saul in order to curry favor with David and ends up being executed. Abner tries to preserve Saul’s legacy by marshaling Israel on Ish-Bosheth’s behalf only to split with his master over a perceived offense. Joab and his brothers have it out for Abner, perhaps seeing him as a potential rival for position and power in the new kingdom. The sons of Rimmon take matters into their own hands to bring about the end of the civil war and gain favor with David only to suffer the same result as the Amalekite who killed Saul. It’s a brutally honest account of the politics of the day and the only silver lining is that God is using even this sinful raw material to fashion His will for His people.

Our politics aren’t much different. The intrigue and jockeying for power and influence and position continues. The civil war between Republicans and Democrats, conservatives and progressives is as brutal and hateful as it has ever been. Thankfully, mass violence has yet to break out in our country but we certainly see it in different parts of the world. About a year ago, I was supposed to board a plane for Ethiopia. We were heading to a northern region of the country to a city called Dessie to train church planters but violent protests broke out as one particular tribe pushed back against the decisions of the national government. Two aid workers were killed. All US State Department personnel were evacuated from the area as fears of a resumption of hostilities in the area grew. It was so heartbreaking. And yet, it served as a great reminder that our only hope is the same God who was at work in ancient Israel bringing about His will through the sinful choices of human beings was still at work in our world today.

I love the line from Romans 8:28, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” (Romans‬ ‭8‬:‭28‬ ‭CSB‬‬) All things. The good. The bad. The ugliness of life. God uses it all according to His sovereign power and wisdom to bring about His will for you, for me, for the world in which we live. No matter what circumstances you find yourself in. No matter what choices you made that brought you to this place. No matter what forces you find arrayed against you. No matter what lies in your control or outside your control. Trust that God is taking the raw material of your life to make you more and more into the image of His Son and prepare you to spend eternity with Him.

Readings for tomorrow: Psalms 6, 9, 10, 14, 16, 21

Inheritance

Readings for today: Joshua 11-14

I remember sitting in a class at the University of Colorado and discussing anthropology with our professor. The history of Homo Sapiens is a violent one. From the moment our ancestors began to populate the earth, they engaged in all kinds of warfare, especially with other hominid species. Some historians argue that violence and conflict is an intrinsic part of being human and there are very few periods in history where we haven’t been at war with someone, somewhere around the world. Perhaps this helps put into context our readings for today.

Israel, like every other tribal nation in the ancient near east, fought wars. They fought to establish themselves in the Promised Land. They fought to secure a future for themselves and their children. They fought to accumulate land and wealth and resources. They fought to secure the inheritance God had promised them. This is what every tribe did in the region at that time. It was either kill or be killed. It was a war fought for survival. In fact, many of the tribes listed in the Book of Joshua would return the favor and attack Israel at different points in her history. And while it may seem strange to us in the 21st century, it is the norm throughout human history.

God works through human culture. You’ve read those words time and time again on this blog. God refuses to work apart from the creatures He made in His own image. He refuses to revoke the mandate He gave us at creation to be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and exercise dominion over all He has made. He refuses to absolve us of our responsibility to act as His chosen instruments in the world. At the same time, He will not override our freedom. He will not force Himself on us nor will He coerce us into doing His bidding. He works through even our bad choices, sinful choices, evil choices to make Himself known. He works through our brokenness and corruption to make His will known. So even as Israel invades the Promised Land and puts entire cities and tribal groups to the sword, God is at work. Does it mean He approves of everything they do? Clearly not. But God is capable of using all things - the good, bad, and ugly - to bring about His sovereign purposes.

We still live in a world at war. Conflict rages all over the globe. Gaza. Ukraine. Azerbaijan. Turkey. Syria. The list goes on and on. There seemingly is no end to the violence. Man’s inhumanity towards man knows no boundaries. It is perhaps comforting to remember that God is at work even when we cannot see Him. He is at work even when we cannot hear Him. He is at work even when we cannot understand His plan or purposes. He is bringing His Kingdom to earth. He will set all things right. He will make all things new. And we will receive the inheritance He has stored up for us in heaven.

Readings for tomorrow: Joshua 15-18

The Beautiful Complexity of Humanity

Readings for today: 1 Corinthians 9-10, Psalms 145

Human beings are deeply complex creatures. We are an inscrutable mix of desires, passions, thoughts, life experiences, and core beliefs. We cannot be flattened into two-dimensional caricatures. We resist broad categorization. We refuse to conform to general stereotypes. Each person is unique. Each person fearfully and wonderfully made. I love how sociologist Christian Smith defines “personhood” in his book, What is a Person?

“By person I mean a conscious, reflexive, embodied, self-transcending center of subjective experience, durable identity, moral commitment, and social communication who - as the efficient cause of his or her own responsible actions and interactions - exercises complex capacities for agency and intersubjectivity in order to develop and sustain his or her own incommunicable self in loving relationships with other personal selves and with the non-personal world.”

If you are like me, you had to read and re-read that statement several times to really understand it and that makes perfect sense. After all, we are made in the image of God. We are finite creatures created to reflect the infinite. We are temporal creatures created to reflect the eternal. We are mortal creatures created to reflect the immortal. As such, we should expect complexity. We should expect intricacy. We should expect enigma and inscrutability. This is normal when one speaks of the human creature. It’s also why we have to meet each person where they are. We cannot make assumptions. We have to lay aside any expectations. We have to approach each person individually with a heart to listen and learn.

This is the genius of Paul. He treats each person as a unique creature worthy of God’s unconditional love. He believes with all his heart that no one is beyond the reach of God’s amazing grace. Listen to how he describes it from our reading today, “Although I am free from all and not anyone’s slave, I have made myself a slave to everyone, in order to win more people. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win Jews; to those under the law, like one under the law — though I myself am not under the law  — to win those under the law. To those who are without the law, like one without the law — though I am not without God’s law but under the law of Christ — to win those without the law. To the weak I became weak, in order to win the weak. I have become all things to all people, so that I may by every possible means save some. Now I do all this because of the gospel, so that I may share in the blessings.” (1 Corinthians‬ ‭9‬:‭19‬-‭23‬ ‭CSB‬‬‬) If Paul were using today’s categories, he might say, “To the Republicans, I joined their convention in order to win Republicans. To the Democrats, I joined their administration in order to win Democrats. I invited both conservatives and progressives into my life, listened and loved them well, in order to win them with the gospel. I spent time with those who saw the world differently, refusing to use shame or fear to coerce or change their behavior, instead choosing to embrace both grace and truth in order to win them to Christ. I have become all things to all people that by all means I might save some.” This is the way of the Kingdom. This is the way of Jesus.

As we near the end of yet another challenging election cycle, my heart is broken by the divisions that fracture our families, churches, communities, and nation. Rather than walk in the way of grace, we walk in the way of the world. We judge our neighbors. We exclude and divide. We isolate and separate. We rarely, if ever, look in the mirror. We rarely, if ever, acknowledge our own contributions to the toxicity of our social environment. We shift blame. We externalize responsibility. Our problems are always someone else’s fault. Even more tragically, we treat those who think differently than us as not just wrong but evil. We treat them as if they are beyond the reach of God’s forgiveness and grace. Unworthy of our time or attention. This is not the way of Jesus. Friends, Jesus came to us. He met us in the depths of our broken condition. He came to us while we were still sinners. While we were still dead in our trespasses. While we were still at war with Him. He became our peace by tearing down every wall that separated us from Him. How can we - who call ourselves Christians - not do the same for others?

Readings for tomorrow: 1 Corinthians 11-12, Psalms 146

Radical Inclusivity

Readings for today: Romans 9-10, Psalms 137

It’s hard to overstate the radical inclusivity of the gospel. It includes people from every tribe, tongue, and nation. It includes people from every social and economic level. It includes men and women and children. It includes people from every political party. It includes people from every sexual identity. Whatever the world marks as a “distinction” that sets a group of people apart - for good or for ill - the gospel breaks down those barriers. And that’s why the Apostle Paul can say in Romans 10:13, “For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

This was a shocking idea in first century Roman and Jewish society. The Romans had a well-established caste system. Those with wealth and power advanced in society. Those who were poor and powerless were trampled on. Men were esteemed and honored. Women were limited in what they could and could not do. Following Aristotle, slaves and free people were both born into their condition. It was incredibly rare for anyone to break through all these barriers. For the Jews, the “system” was religious. People were divided into clean and unclean categories, depending on the particular sect you followed. Pharisees, Sadducees, zealots, Essenes, etc. all had their different rules and customs that a person had to follow if they wanted to be included. Of course, we see many of those same dynamics in play in our culture today. There are still vast differences between the rich and poor, powerful and powerless. People still divide along ethnic, social, and political lines. Careers depend on influence and access. Success depends on the circles one runs in. Inclusion requires conformity to a certain set of norms determined by those who are in charge.

The gospel pushes us beyond all these human-made barriers. It pushes us to reach across the aisle and expand our tent to include all who call on the name of the Lord. The only entrance requirement into the Kingdom of God is belief in Jesus Christ. Anyone who confesses with their mouth that Jesus is Lord and believes in their heart that God raised Him from the dead will be saved. This is as radical today as it was when Paul and the other apostles first proclaimed it all those centuries ago. And any church that is truly seeking Christ will soon find themselves crossing all kinds of barriers. This isn’t easy work, of course. There will be a lot of resistance as the Spirit breaks down the barriers we have created in our own hearts towards those who are different than us. There will even be conflict as people naturally try to reinforce certain social patterns or cultural norms and impose them on others. But through it all, God keeps working with us. He keeps breaking us down and building us back up in His image. He keeps breaking down our churches and building them back up so they might become the inclusive communities He’s called them to be. God is faithful! He will keep doing His work so He can accomplish His goal which is to offer the gospel to all who would trust in Him.

Readings for tomorrow: Romans 11-12, Psalms 138