I recently received a query from an excellent friend from days past when I served as a Seventh-day Adventist pastor. He discovered that I now pastor a Free Methodist Church and he asked me this question: "Do you still think the Sabbath is an important part of the commandments?"
In this entry I share briefly some thoughts related to the Sabbath. My prayer is that each of us focuses more clearly on the blessing of God's gracious gift of Sabbath in our lives.
Yes, I feel the Sabbath is an important part of the commandments. I feel the commandments are all equally true and that God's good and wise counsel remains good and wise.
I don't see the ten commandments as "binding" on the Christian in relation to our gaining salvation. St. Paul makes clear our salvation is "not by works of the law" but by receiving the Gospel of justification through faith in Christ. But the commandments reflect God's excellent principles lovingly given to help us live the good life with God, self and others.
I recently read a fun little story on this topic: A country pastor is out fishing on his day off. A parishioner spots him and says, "You know pastor, the Devil doesn't take a day off." "And if I didn't take a day off," replies the pastor, "I'd be just like him!"
In Deuteronomy the Sabbath command is repeated as part of the 10 commandments, only its justification is different (than the one given in Exodus 20). Deuteronomy 5:15 states: "Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm; therefore the LORD your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day."
In other words, not only are rest and relaxation necessary for staying creative (Gen. 20), but without them, we're little more than than slaves in this world. The most important event in the Old Testament is God's liberation of the Hebrew slaves from bondage to Pharaoh. Linking the Sabbath command to this liberation event effectively says, "If you don't integrate at least one full day of deep rest into your life, not even God can liberate you!"
God does not want us to view rest as a luxury but rather as a necessary part of a balanced, free lifestyle.
In Jesus' day, when a particular day (Saturday) was commonly recognized among Jews for Sabbath observance, Jesus continually reminded people to see beyond its legal requirement to the heart of what it was all about: "The Sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the Sabbath" (Mark 2:27). When the Pharisees challenged Jesus for healing on the Sabbath, Jesus countered, "Is it lawful to do good or to harm on the Sabbath, to save life or to kill?" (Mark 3:4).
Christians need to be dialoguing openly with one another about what Sabbath means in our day and age and what the integration of rest, relaxation, prayer, worship and play in everyday life really looks like on a personal and communal level. Individually, we must evaluate our own priorities and Spirit-led convictions, then live by them.
May the Sabbath experience lived-out in our lives liberate and refresh us both spiritually and physically.
Blessings!
Duff
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Living The Law of Love
There are questions within the Christian community about the relationship of a "New Covenant" believer in Christ to the "Old Covenant" law of Moses. Let's think briefly on God's law in its "old" and "new" contexts. Application of any meaningful truth into a person's lifestyle requires contextualization.
God gave the ten commandment law to Moses and the children of Israel as they wandered in the wilderness. They needed to be liberated between their own ears from a tyrranical slavery under which they had lived for over 430 years. They didn't know how to live well and love well of their own free will. They needed clear guidance and a specific framework for morally constructive living in relation to God, self and others.
The content of the New Testament moral law is identical to the Old Testament, but the context is different. The Old Testament law applied in the context of a theocratic nation. The moral commandments in the New Testament apply to individual believers in Christ.
It is important to know that the eternal ethical principles embodied in the Mosaic Law are the same ones restated in the New Testament. But the context in the New Testament is GRACE instead of judgment, since Christ has taken the judgment on our behalf. If a person commits adultery under grace, they have violated God's law, but they won't have to pay with their life as they would have had to under the Mosaic law 3,000 years ago. Christ paid with his life once for all (Hebrews 10:10). That is why St. John wrote: "The law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ" (John 1:17).
Christians are not under Moses' particular edition of God's ethical directives. When a Christian lies or steals, they are not breaking Moses' law, nor do they pay the consequences of Moses' law. They are, however, breaking God's eternal law of LOVE.
God has not changed (Hebrews 6:18; 13:8). He is still the God of love in the New Testament as he was in the Old Testament. The moral principles that express his love to us and show us how to share that love with God and others are still the same.
Jesus spoke of at least two laws of love: one for loving God and one for loving people (Matthew 22:37-39). He also said he came to fulfill the law, not to abolish it (Matthew 5:17). There is synergy between the Old law and the New because when we truly love God and our fellow humans, we will find ourselves not breaking the ten commandments (Romans 13:10).
Each of the ten commandments gives us the loving thing to do and the unloving thing to avoid in our relationship with God, self and others. Each law is love put into words!
1. "You shall have no other gods before me" says that loving devotion to God is a pure and wholehearted lifestyle unrivaled by any person, idea or thing.
2. "You shall not make for yourself an idol" says that loving devotion to God focuses on God, not on religious or secular practices, props or substitutes.
3. "You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God" shows that loving devotion to God includes respect and reverence for God's unique person and identity.
4. "Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy" says that loving devotion to God includes time spent each week (regularly) in worship and rest.
5. "Honor your father and your mother" says love for parents is expressed through recognition, respect and showing them high esteem.
6. "You shall not murder" says that love for others respects their right to have their life preserved.
7. "You shall not commit adultery" says that love for spouse (or future spouse) is demonstrated through sexual purity and faithfulness that empowers intimacy.
8. "You shall not steal" says that love for others is expressed by respecting their property, possessions, reputation and identity.
9. "You shall not give false witness against your neighbor" says that love for others is shown through dealing in relation to them honestly and truthfully.
10. "You shall not covet" says that love for others focuses on what we can give to others through our personal investment and service, rather than considering what we might be able to get that belongs to them.
Love is the heart of each of God's commands.
In both the Old and New renditions of God's moral requirements we see that LOVE is the only life-giving way to respond and be in constructive relationship with God, self and other people.
God wants us to be clear on his call to live lives fully committed to love, so he spelled out what the life of love looks like in very specific terms in his laws. God's law is love put into words.
We can say, "Love is the one moral absolute."
God is revolutionizing our individual lives and this world with his love!
Praise God!
I love you,
Duff
God gave the ten commandment law to Moses and the children of Israel as they wandered in the wilderness. They needed to be liberated between their own ears from a tyrranical slavery under which they had lived for over 430 years. They didn't know how to live well and love well of their own free will. They needed clear guidance and a specific framework for morally constructive living in relation to God, self and others.
The content of the New Testament moral law is identical to the Old Testament, but the context is different. The Old Testament law applied in the context of a theocratic nation. The moral commandments in the New Testament apply to individual believers in Christ.
It is important to know that the eternal ethical principles embodied in the Mosaic Law are the same ones restated in the New Testament. But the context in the New Testament is GRACE instead of judgment, since Christ has taken the judgment on our behalf. If a person commits adultery under grace, they have violated God's law, but they won't have to pay with their life as they would have had to under the Mosaic law 3,000 years ago. Christ paid with his life once for all (Hebrews 10:10). That is why St. John wrote: "The law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ" (John 1:17).
Christians are not under Moses' particular edition of God's ethical directives. When a Christian lies or steals, they are not breaking Moses' law, nor do they pay the consequences of Moses' law. They are, however, breaking God's eternal law of LOVE.
God has not changed (Hebrews 6:18; 13:8). He is still the God of love in the New Testament as he was in the Old Testament. The moral principles that express his love to us and show us how to share that love with God and others are still the same.
Jesus spoke of at least two laws of love: one for loving God and one for loving people (Matthew 22:37-39). He also said he came to fulfill the law, not to abolish it (Matthew 5:17). There is synergy between the Old law and the New because when we truly love God and our fellow humans, we will find ourselves not breaking the ten commandments (Romans 13:10).
Each of the ten commandments gives us the loving thing to do and the unloving thing to avoid in our relationship with God, self and others. Each law is love put into words!
1. "You shall have no other gods before me" says that loving devotion to God is a pure and wholehearted lifestyle unrivaled by any person, idea or thing.
2. "You shall not make for yourself an idol" says that loving devotion to God focuses on God, not on religious or secular practices, props or substitutes.
3. "You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God" shows that loving devotion to God includes respect and reverence for God's unique person and identity.
4. "Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy" says that loving devotion to God includes time spent each week (regularly) in worship and rest.
5. "Honor your father and your mother" says love for parents is expressed through recognition, respect and showing them high esteem.
6. "You shall not murder" says that love for others respects their right to have their life preserved.
7. "You shall not commit adultery" says that love for spouse (or future spouse) is demonstrated through sexual purity and faithfulness that empowers intimacy.
8. "You shall not steal" says that love for others is expressed by respecting their property, possessions, reputation and identity.
9. "You shall not give false witness against your neighbor" says that love for others is shown through dealing in relation to them honestly and truthfully.
10. "You shall not covet" says that love for others focuses on what we can give to others through our personal investment and service, rather than considering what we might be able to get that belongs to them.
Love is the heart of each of God's commands.
In both the Old and New renditions of God's moral requirements we see that LOVE is the only life-giving way to respond and be in constructive relationship with God, self and other people.
God wants us to be clear on his call to live lives fully committed to love, so he spelled out what the life of love looks like in very specific terms in his laws. God's law is love put into words.
We can say, "Love is the one moral absolute."
God is revolutionizing our individual lives and this world with his love!
Praise God!
I love you,
Duff
Monday, March 24, 2008
God's Self-Revelation
My heart burns with the desire for loved ones, friends, and people I've never met to know God and God's saving, healing love for them. I've often wondered how God's wrath can be expressed toward the unrighteousness and disbelief of people who seemingly don't even know the truth about God.
In studying Paul's letter to the Romans in recent weeks, I've been reminded of an amazing spiritual truth that I'll touch on briefly today. St. Paul speaks to the question about how God deals with people who have different levels of exposure to divine truth. He seems to be answering my objection as to how God can rightfully "be angry" at people, and "punish" people for suppressing truth that they've never had.
Paul says that when it comes to the awareness of God--to knowing the truth of God's existence--all humans are without excuse. He teaches that God reveals Godself to every person on the planet. In other words, my objection is not valid! There are no people on the earth who have an excuse or a warrant to protest the wrath of God against their unrighteousness and sin.
This is because God has made Godself evident--God reveals himself. The Apostle says: "That which is known about God is evident among them; for God made it evident to them" (Romans 1:19). How did God do that? In the middle of verse 20, St. Paul says, "being understood through what he has made." God makes sure that a knowledge of himself does not just happen coincidentally. God does something to make himself known--he provides self-revelation through his poetic, (Greek: poiema), creative works. He made the world out of nothing and created the universe and everything in it as his own artisitic, poetic expression of himself.
God planned, designed, acted, crafted, created and made. And in doing that, Paul says in verse 19, God made himself evident to all humankind. The universe is an inescapable poem about God!
In summary, In Romans 1:19-21, Paul is arguing that:
1. The Creator's power and deity are evident (verses 19b, 20). God is the creator of all things and the master communicator of himself.
2. All people know God! Paul says in verse 21: "They knew God." Yes, the truth is suppressed (by science, philosophy, secularism, ...), but it is there--distorted though it might appear to be--for God does not leave himself without a witness to every mind and heart.
3. Humans tend to suppress the knowledge of God. They suppress this knowledge and do not glorify or give him thanks (verse 21b).
William Dembski in his book The Design Inference (Cambridge University Press) points out that many well-known scientists must continually suppress the suspicion that there is design (poiema) in the universe. For example, he quotes Richard Dawkins, an "arch-Darwinian" who says: "Biology is the study of complicated things that give the appearance of having been designed for a purpose." And he quotes Francis Crick, the co-discoverer of DNA, who says: "Biologists must constantly keep in mind that what they see was not designed, but rather evolved."
Paul said that the truth of God's "designed things" must be constantly suppressed (lest scientists come face to face with their Maker and be compelled to glorify him and give him thanks). Those of us who love and worship God and revel in his glory labor with all our strength, in the power of the Holy Spirit, to help open people's hearts to the beautiful truth of God and his loving, creative presence around and within us.
4. Everyone is without excuse before God. Every person on the planet is deserving of being under God's wrath. We are all "without excuse." Nobody can bring a legitimate protest against God's justice in this. The greatest tragedy in our culture is not so much the use of illegal drugs, participation in illicit sex, murder, theft, poverty, homelessness or abuse. The pivotal tragedy is that people are trying to "live" without the hope that comes from hearing the Gospel--the good news of God's love for us and his full provision through Christ for our escaping the wrath we certainly deserve.
You and I have the remedy--we're walking, running, skipping joyfully the path of escape. We're trusting God for salvation, healing and freedom! The free gift of God's perfect righteousness [not God's wrath] is offered to all and can be freely received through trusting our loving God.
We have in our heart and in our mouth the most powerful strategy for healing the world through connecting people to God's saving love for them--this powerful truth is called he Gospel of Jesus Christ! Let's believe and be transformed by the Gospel, and take God's constant, loving, saving presence with us into our world and beyond!
Grateful for Jesus and his clear revelation of God!
Duff
In studying Paul's letter to the Romans in recent weeks, I've been reminded of an amazing spiritual truth that I'll touch on briefly today. St. Paul speaks to the question about how God deals with people who have different levels of exposure to divine truth. He seems to be answering my objection as to how God can rightfully "be angry" at people, and "punish" people for suppressing truth that they've never had.
Paul says that when it comes to the awareness of God--to knowing the truth of God's existence--all humans are without excuse. He teaches that God reveals Godself to every person on the planet. In other words, my objection is not valid! There are no people on the earth who have an excuse or a warrant to protest the wrath of God against their unrighteousness and sin.
This is because God has made Godself evident--God reveals himself. The Apostle says: "That which is known about God is evident among them; for God made it evident to them" (Romans 1:19). How did God do that? In the middle of verse 20, St. Paul says, "being understood through what he has made." God makes sure that a knowledge of himself does not just happen coincidentally. God does something to make himself known--he provides self-revelation through his poetic, (Greek: poiema), creative works. He made the world out of nothing and created the universe and everything in it as his own artisitic, poetic expression of himself.
God planned, designed, acted, crafted, created and made. And in doing that, Paul says in verse 19, God made himself evident to all humankind. The universe is an inescapable poem about God!
In summary, In Romans 1:19-21, Paul is arguing that:
1. The Creator's power and deity are evident (verses 19b, 20). God is the creator of all things and the master communicator of himself.
2. All people know God! Paul says in verse 21: "They knew God." Yes, the truth is suppressed (by science, philosophy, secularism, ...), but it is there--distorted though it might appear to be--for God does not leave himself without a witness to every mind and heart.
3. Humans tend to suppress the knowledge of God. They suppress this knowledge and do not glorify or give him thanks (verse 21b).
William Dembski in his book The Design Inference (Cambridge University Press) points out that many well-known scientists must continually suppress the suspicion that there is design (poiema) in the universe. For example, he quotes Richard Dawkins, an "arch-Darwinian" who says: "Biology is the study of complicated things that give the appearance of having been designed for a purpose." And he quotes Francis Crick, the co-discoverer of DNA, who says: "Biologists must constantly keep in mind that what they see was not designed, but rather evolved."
Paul said that the truth of God's "designed things" must be constantly suppressed (lest scientists come face to face with their Maker and be compelled to glorify him and give him thanks). Those of us who love and worship God and revel in his glory labor with all our strength, in the power of the Holy Spirit, to help open people's hearts to the beautiful truth of God and his loving, creative presence around and within us.
4. Everyone is without excuse before God. Every person on the planet is deserving of being under God's wrath. We are all "without excuse." Nobody can bring a legitimate protest against God's justice in this. The greatest tragedy in our culture is not so much the use of illegal drugs, participation in illicit sex, murder, theft, poverty, homelessness or abuse. The pivotal tragedy is that people are trying to "live" without the hope that comes from hearing the Gospel--the good news of God's love for us and his full provision through Christ for our escaping the wrath we certainly deserve.
You and I have the remedy--we're walking, running, skipping joyfully the path of escape. We're trusting God for salvation, healing and freedom! The free gift of God's perfect righteousness [not God's wrath] is offered to all and can be freely received through trusting our loving God.
We have in our heart and in our mouth the most powerful strategy for healing the world through connecting people to God's saving love for them--this powerful truth is called he Gospel of Jesus Christ! Let's believe and be transformed by the Gospel, and take God's constant, loving, saving presence with us into our world and beyond!
Grateful for Jesus and his clear revelation of God!
Duff
Monday, March 17, 2008
The True Light Coming Into The World
In St. John the Evangelist's words, "The Word...the true light...was coming into the world...that had its being through him, and the world did not know him. He came to his own domain and his own people did not accept him" (John 1:9-11).
In our world today it seems the darkness is thicker than ever. Our church is called "PHOENIX LIGHT & LIFE" and we must continually ask ourselves what is required of those who desire to bring light into the darkness, "to bring good news to the poor, to proclaim liberty to captives and to the blind new sight, to set the downtrodden free, to proclaim the Lord's year of favor" (Luke 4:18-19). What is required of the person who responds to God's call to enter fully into the dark realities of this present time and speak a word of hope?
Henri Nouwen, years ago, noted the challenges of ministering with a presence and message that are "counter-culture." He wrote (specifically to pastors): "The pressures in ministry are enormous, the demands are increasing, and the satisfaction is diminishing." How do we continue in the direction of being a vital witness of Christ during times that are often filled with temptations to unfaithfulness, the comfort of self-centeredness, and discouragement or despair?
In a world that continues to prefer the darkness to the light (John 3:19), let us heed the counsel of St. Paul: "Do not model yourselves on the behavior of the world around you, but let your behavior change, modeled by your new mind. This is the only way to discover the will of God and know what is good, what it is that God wants, what is the perfect thing to do" (Romans 12:2).
In a nutshell, we gain a new mind by turning from the world's darkness--going into times of solitude, being silent, and praying. These are three time-tested ways of preventing the world from shaping us into its image. These are three paths to a vital, energized, life in the Spirit!
So, we can bring light and life into this dark world as we discipline ourselves in the spiritual path of 1) Turning away from the world's darkness--developing a lifestyle that includes the discipline of solitude; 2) Regularly going into times of silence, and 3) Praying always.
Nouwen in his classic book, "The Way of the Heart" emphasizes that solitude shows us the way to let our behavior be shaped "not by the compulsions of the world but by our new mind, the mind of Christ" (p. 91). He suggests that silence prevents us from being "suffocated by our wordy world and teaches us to speak the Word of God." Finally, Nouwen points out that "unceasing prayer gives solitude and silence their real meaning." In prayer we enter, through our heart, into the heart of God and we connect to God's powerful creative and recreative love.
This Easter, and always, my prayer is that the true light of Christ will be known within us and then shown through us!
Happy Easter!
Pastor Duff Gorle
In our world today it seems the darkness is thicker than ever. Our church is called "PHOENIX LIGHT & LIFE" and we must continually ask ourselves what is required of those who desire to bring light into the darkness, "to bring good news to the poor, to proclaim liberty to captives and to the blind new sight, to set the downtrodden free, to proclaim the Lord's year of favor" (Luke 4:18-19). What is required of the person who responds to God's call to enter fully into the dark realities of this present time and speak a word of hope?
Henri Nouwen, years ago, noted the challenges of ministering with a presence and message that are "counter-culture." He wrote (specifically to pastors): "The pressures in ministry are enormous, the demands are increasing, and the satisfaction is diminishing." How do we continue in the direction of being a vital witness of Christ during times that are often filled with temptations to unfaithfulness, the comfort of self-centeredness, and discouragement or despair?
In a world that continues to prefer the darkness to the light (John 3:19), let us heed the counsel of St. Paul: "Do not model yourselves on the behavior of the world around you, but let your behavior change, modeled by your new mind. This is the only way to discover the will of God and know what is good, what it is that God wants, what is the perfect thing to do" (Romans 12:2).
In a nutshell, we gain a new mind by turning from the world's darkness--going into times of solitude, being silent, and praying. These are three time-tested ways of preventing the world from shaping us into its image. These are three paths to a vital, energized, life in the Spirit!
So, we can bring light and life into this dark world as we discipline ourselves in the spiritual path of 1) Turning away from the world's darkness--developing a lifestyle that includes the discipline of solitude; 2) Regularly going into times of silence, and 3) Praying always.
Nouwen in his classic book, "The Way of the Heart" emphasizes that solitude shows us the way to let our behavior be shaped "not by the compulsions of the world but by our new mind, the mind of Christ" (p. 91). He suggests that silence prevents us from being "suffocated by our wordy world and teaches us to speak the Word of God." Finally, Nouwen points out that "unceasing prayer gives solitude and silence their real meaning." In prayer we enter, through our heart, into the heart of God and we connect to God's powerful creative and recreative love.
This Easter, and always, my prayer is that the true light of Christ will be known within us and then shown through us!
Happy Easter!
Pastor Duff Gorle
Thursday, March 6, 2008
An Alien Righteousness
Dear Friend,
We are presently in a teaching series on Paul's letter to the Christians in Rome. As you probably know, the book of Romans has a central theme of faith, or trust in God. All God's good gifts are received by us through exercising faith in Jesus Christ.
Christianity is a community of believers in Jesus Christ. We belong to God and one another through and in Jesus Christ.
The Christian is a person who finds her salvation, deliverance and justification (being made right with God) in Jesus Christ alone. We Christians know the Word of God pronounces us guilty, even when we may not feel guilty, and God's Word pronounces us righteous, even when we do not feel that we are righteous at all. We no longer trust in our own judgment on spiritual matters, but live by the claims of God.
I've recently been reading some of Dietrich Bohnhoeffer's wonderful thoughts on Christian Community. He noted that if someone asks a Christian, "Where is your salvation, your righteousness?" he can never point to himself. He points to the Word of God in Jesus Christ which assures him salvation and righteousness. The Christian view is that help must come from outside ourselves--and it does come to us daily and in fresh ways through the Word of Jesus Christ who brings us into connection with God's precious gifts of redemption, righteousness, a renewed innocence, and a joyful inner blessedness. The Reformers referred to this righteousness as an "alien righteousness" that comes from outside us (extra nos).
The fact that we are brothers and sisters in the Christian community only through Christ is of immeasurable significance. We each belong in this blessed community solely by reason of what Christ has done for each of us. We are who we are by reason of Christ. God is teaching us to meet one another as God has met us in Christ (Romans 15:7).
Christian fellowship is not an ideal that we must reach; rather it is a beautiful reality created by our loving God in Christ where we have the privilege of participating for our own healing and growth in love.
We are presently in a teaching series on Paul's letter to the Christians in Rome. As you probably know, the book of Romans has a central theme of faith, or trust in God. All God's good gifts are received by us through exercising faith in Jesus Christ.
Christianity is a community of believers in Jesus Christ. We belong to God and one another through and in Jesus Christ.
The Christian is a person who finds her salvation, deliverance and justification (being made right with God) in Jesus Christ alone. We Christians know the Word of God pronounces us guilty, even when we may not feel guilty, and God's Word pronounces us righteous, even when we do not feel that we are righteous at all. We no longer trust in our own judgment on spiritual matters, but live by the claims of God.
I've recently been reading some of Dietrich Bohnhoeffer's wonderful thoughts on Christian Community. He noted that if someone asks a Christian, "Where is your salvation, your righteousness?" he can never point to himself. He points to the Word of God in Jesus Christ which assures him salvation and righteousness. The Christian view is that help must come from outside ourselves--and it does come to us daily and in fresh ways through the Word of Jesus Christ who brings us into connection with God's precious gifts of redemption, righteousness, a renewed innocence, and a joyful inner blessedness. The Reformers referred to this righteousness as an "alien righteousness" that comes from outside us (extra nos).
The fact that we are brothers and sisters in the Christian community only through Christ is of immeasurable significance. We each belong in this blessed community solely by reason of what Christ has done for each of us. We are who we are by reason of Christ. God is teaching us to meet one another as God has met us in Christ (Romans 15:7).
Christian fellowship is not an ideal that we must reach; rather it is a beautiful reality created by our loving God in Christ where we have the privilege of participating for our own healing and growth in love.
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Love and Faithfulness
Happy Valentine's Day!
As we focus on LOVE, let's remember the connection between faith and love. Where there is no faith, love cannot flourish. Love, like faith, demands confidence without assurance. As with all spiritual reality, certainty is not the point; rather faith goes beyond reason and evidence, and Scripture states that love is even above these (1 Cor. 13).
For those who need them, there are many simple proofs that love exists. In our daily lives we notice how a seed planted in the earthy soil grows into a colorful, fragrant flower. We touch or are touched by someone and new strength emerges. Tears are wiped away and smiles return with a sparkle in the eye. These are small examples of the miraculous power of love.
It takes faith to accept and become comfortable with the reality of love deep within our heart. A faith-full love is our experience of releasing the questioning about love's existence, and ceasing to require validation. Pascal stated: "Faith is different from proof; the latter is human, the former is from God."
May our hearts be faithful in continually accepting God's gift of love!
As we focus on LOVE, let's remember the connection between faith and love. Where there is no faith, love cannot flourish. Love, like faith, demands confidence without assurance. As with all spiritual reality, certainty is not the point; rather faith goes beyond reason and evidence, and Scripture states that love is even above these (1 Cor. 13).
For those who need them, there are many simple proofs that love exists. In our daily lives we notice how a seed planted in the earthy soil grows into a colorful, fragrant flower. We touch or are touched by someone and new strength emerges. Tears are wiped away and smiles return with a sparkle in the eye. These are small examples of the miraculous power of love.
It takes faith to accept and become comfortable with the reality of love deep within our heart. A faith-full love is our experience of releasing the questioning about love's existence, and ceasing to require validation. Pascal stated: "Faith is different from proof; the latter is human, the former is from God."
May our hearts be faithful in continually accepting God's gift of love!
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Christians and Politics
On July 10, 1822 James Madison wrote in a letter to Edward Livingston: "I have no doubt that every new example will succeed, as every past one has done, in showing that religion and government will both exist in greater purity, the less they are mixed together."
The majority of Christians in America have traditionally agreed with James Madison and stood in staunch support of "the separation of church and state." The resistance to comingling religious and political power comes not only from a commonly shared American heritage but more importantly, from our shared Biblical tradition. In recent times, certain branches of Christianity have departed from this view. Christian leaders have become more political in their publically stated views. Recently, James Dobson, the founder of Focus on the Family, a well-known and respected family-values group said he will abstain from voting if Senator John McCain is the Republican nominee.
The relationship between religion and politics in the Bible is marked by skepticism, challenge, and at times down-right opposition. In the Book of Judges, for instance, there is a humorous parable of a group of trees who go out seeking someone to rule over them (Judges 9:8-15). They approach an olive tree, a fig tree and a grape vine, asking each in turn to serve as their king. All decline the proposition, explaining that they're too busy producing oil, figs, and wine to concern themselves with kingship. Then the trees approach a thorny bramble bush. The bramble, which produces nothing of value, is only too happy to rule over them! This parable takes a jab at political leaders, suggesting that if they had anything better to do, they wouldn't seek positions of governmental authority.
There was a period in Israel's history when the people were so skeptical about human political power that for about 200 years, they chose no king at all. God alone was thought to be sovereign. It was cause of much anguish to the faithful prophet Samuel when the pressure of surrounding nations moved the people to request a human leader to act as king.
It's true the biblical prophets were not always adversaries of the state. The prophet Nathan, for instance, served as a close friend and advisor to King David during his reign. However, this same prophet is responsible for one of the harshest criticisms of David in the entire Bible.
In the New Testament, we see that Jesus' relationship with the state is clearly not a comfortable one. And Paul repeatedly goes to prison for his beliefs and is eventually executed by the very government about which he writes in Romans 13.
What is the prudent path of political participation for today's Christian? We would do well to follow Jesus Christ's admonition to "Give to the emperor the things that are the emperor's, and to God the things that are God's" (See Matthew 22:16-22).
The bottom line is, when we give the emperor what properly belongs to God, we must bear in mind that the emperor will always seek to use his enhanced power to play God. American Christians, having escaped the tyranny of medieval Europe, have always found it far better to err on the side of safeguarding religious freedom than to err on the side of empowering the emperor.
The wall of separation between church and state protects the church more than it does the state. Let us be politically involved, without allowing politics to distract us from "being about our Father's business."
The majority of Christians in America have traditionally agreed with James Madison and stood in staunch support of "the separation of church and state." The resistance to comingling religious and political power comes not only from a commonly shared American heritage but more importantly, from our shared Biblical tradition. In recent times, certain branches of Christianity have departed from this view. Christian leaders have become more political in their publically stated views. Recently, James Dobson, the founder of Focus on the Family, a well-known and respected family-values group said he will abstain from voting if Senator John McCain is the Republican nominee.
The relationship between religion and politics in the Bible is marked by skepticism, challenge, and at times down-right opposition. In the Book of Judges, for instance, there is a humorous parable of a group of trees who go out seeking someone to rule over them (Judges 9:8-15). They approach an olive tree, a fig tree and a grape vine, asking each in turn to serve as their king. All decline the proposition, explaining that they're too busy producing oil, figs, and wine to concern themselves with kingship. Then the trees approach a thorny bramble bush. The bramble, which produces nothing of value, is only too happy to rule over them! This parable takes a jab at political leaders, suggesting that if they had anything better to do, they wouldn't seek positions of governmental authority.
There was a period in Israel's history when the people were so skeptical about human political power that for about 200 years, they chose no king at all. God alone was thought to be sovereign. It was cause of much anguish to the faithful prophet Samuel when the pressure of surrounding nations moved the people to request a human leader to act as king.
It's true the biblical prophets were not always adversaries of the state. The prophet Nathan, for instance, served as a close friend and advisor to King David during his reign. However, this same prophet is responsible for one of the harshest criticisms of David in the entire Bible.
In the New Testament, we see that Jesus' relationship with the state is clearly not a comfortable one. And Paul repeatedly goes to prison for his beliefs and is eventually executed by the very government about which he writes in Romans 13.
What is the prudent path of political participation for today's Christian? We would do well to follow Jesus Christ's admonition to "Give to the emperor the things that are the emperor's, and to God the things that are God's" (See Matthew 22:16-22).
The bottom line is, when we give the emperor what properly belongs to God, we must bear in mind that the emperor will always seek to use his enhanced power to play God. American Christians, having escaped the tyranny of medieval Europe, have always found it far better to err on the side of safeguarding religious freedom than to err on the side of empowering the emperor.
The wall of separation between church and state protects the church more than it does the state. Let us be politically involved, without allowing politics to distract us from "being about our Father's business."
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