Don’t Follow Franklin Overboard

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Franklin Graham has left the Republican party after the last budget vote, which irresponsibly spends money we don’t have and continues funding Planned Parenthood.  I certainly understand Mr. Graham’s disgust.  I have struggled over the years with the difference between what Republican leaders claim to stand for and what they actually do.  He rightly describes the horror of what Planned Parenthood does and the evil of funding them.  Both sides, especially liberals, are fond of slinging the Nazi club when it suits them, but I say the label is too tame for this bunch.  The number of innocent children slaughtered in our country now exceeds the number of people killed in Hitler’s camps five times.

One’s conscience should be affronted by such atrocity and by anyone with power to stop it who chooses not to use that power.  They are complicit in the evil.  Even it writing it down I almost find myself reversing my position.  Do we assume their guilt by associating with them?

However, I must ask you, what is the alternative?  Do we drop out of the political process entirely?  That’s irresponsible.  I believe it is sinful.  We have been given a great resource in this country’s Constitution and we are obligated to steward it well.

Do we form our own party?  How different would its principles be from those of the Republican party?  I’m speaking of what is written down, not what is practiced.  By what means would we insure that we are not corrupted as well?  Libertarians have railed against the two-party system for decades.  What has it achieved for them?  There are other parties who more explicitly state their believes in ways with which many of us would be in complete agreement.  Maybe you’ve heard of one of them.  If not, I rest my case.  If so, have they ever won a significant election?

I respect Mr. Graham’s decision, but I wish he had not made it.  I fear that he will influence others to follow and ultimately destroy our chances for the very kind of reform he seeks.  The system may be sick, but the only way we can hope to bring healing is from inside.  I believe that working within the party to support the kind of leadership we want is the best way to bring about the changes we want to see.

Some day that may no longer be the case.  If the day comes when the Republican party abandons even the pretense of standing for the truth, I’ll be looking for way to support someone who will not.  I don’t think that day has come, and I hope that Mr. Graham’s decision does undermine the efforts of those of us who are trying to make it right.

jump ship, and you may find yourself stranded at sea with only sharks for company.  The better thing to do is take a bucket and start bailing.  You do that by at the very least becoming an informed voter and participating in the primaries.  Let’s get to work!

The World in My Pocket

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I was going back through the blog again today mostly to get rid of old posts that have become irrelevant when I ran into this old post about getting my first smart phone.  It was August of 2009.  The phone ran Windows Mobile 6.1.  I purchased the MobileSpeak screen reader for it , which cost almost as much as the phone itself with contract.  It crashed a lot and worked with only a handful of applications.  I was happy to have it, but how things have changed!  At the time, I was skeptical of the iPhone.  It had already been released with Voiceover built in, but I couldn’t imagine how a touch screen could be used without sight.

My next phone ran Android 2.3 and had a slide-out keyboard.  You still needed a keyboard to get much use from the Android phones.  Google’s TalkBack was available but left much to be desired.  Code Factory, the same company that produced the Windows Mobile screen reader, had an Android app that also included a few basic functions such as phone dialing, address book, and web browsing.  It also functioned as the screen reader for the rest of the OS.  As I became more comfortable with Android and the accessibility improved a little, I got away from the specialized apps and began using the Eyes Free Shell with TalkBack.  Still the experience left much to be desired.

Finally, after listing to podcasts with people successfully using all kinds of apps on the iPhone and reading all the great information to be found on Applevis, a website for blind Apple product users, I got my first iPhone.  It was a 4S.  I’ve never looked back.  Later versions of Android are quite usable.  I rooted my wife’s old Kindle with Jelly Bean and I mess with it occasionally, but nothing beats iOS for accessibility.

I don’t know if one can ever say there’s a good time to be blind, but now is certainly better than ever before.  Accessibility is stil not guaranteed, but chances are that whatever I want to do on my phone I can find an app that will let me do it.  That’s in addition to all the great specialized apps that are designed to meet the needs of people who are blind.  The amount of technology that is replaced by this one phone is amazing.  It represents thousands if not tens of thousands of dollars of technology that would have been required in years past to do the same things.

In one small gadget I have:  A book reader that through the agency of a few apps allows access to just about any book I want to read, Bibles and reference materials, a hand-held magnifier, a product identifier, an OCR capable scanner, a note taker, a GPS navigator catered to my needs, a radio, a TV, a music player, and the list goes on.  I look back at that first post and marvel at how far we’ve come in such a short time.

I am thankful to the God who is responsible for all of this.  I’ve described man’s achievements here, but we done nothing but use the creative minds God gave us to arrange the materials He gave us in new ways.  His is the glory for everything we have.  So as we give and receive gifts this Christmas, I’m thankful for the gift of technology that makes the life I live possible.

Black and White

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This is a reprint from a few years ago that seems worth recycling.  I had recently read and posted to Facebook an article by Walter Williams about race labels. Surprisingly the link is still good.

I tend to avoid such topics overall lest I be accused by one minority or other of speaking from a position of ignorance. There is truth in that. I can never truly understand the experience of being other than what I am. I might lay claim to some experience of prejudice or discrimination because of my blindness, but that’s not the same. By the way, I choose not to think in those terms.

On one level, racial tension is just one more symptom of the fallen state of humanity. If we all had the same skin color, we’d divide ourselves by hair color. I suspect there isn’t a difference among us from what we look like to where we live to how we live that hasn’t been exploited to create disunity. We’re selfish in our unregenerate state and we tend to elevate ourselves and those most like us above the rest.

That reality brings us the present state of affairs in this country, but it’s aggravated by agitation from those with something to gain from racial disharmony and those who have bought the lies they promulgate. Mr. Williams is right. I’ll take it a step further. I think I’ll start calling myself African American. After all, go back far enough and we all originated in Africa.

Allow me to make an example of my own life. Though the topic came up, we were not taught to see differences in people based on race. It would not have occurred to me growing up to make any assumptions good or bad about a person based on color. It’s foolish to ignore statistical realities, but each individual must be received on his own merit. Each is loved by God and must be loved by us.

I regret and resent the fact that I have to work at that same objectivity today. I doubt no less than ever the equality of all men, but the constant focus on the race issue sets up an entirely different set of prejudices. I find myself afraid to speak the truth, lest I be accused of bigotry. I find myself making assumptions about how someone thinks based on what the media has told me they think. If I dare to speak at all I quote someone who happens to be black because he somehow has more right to say it than I do.

I know the answer to the clichéd question, “can’t we all just get along?” That answer is, “No, at least not until Jesus comes back and purges sin from the earth.” We’ll always find a reason to fight. I do wish we could put this one behind us, but as long as someone has something to gain from it, we won’t stop.

It doesn’t help that oppression does continue. The difference is that now we call it compassion and fund it with tax dollars. Some of us who participate in this oppression actually do think we’re helping, but we’ve only replace the evil of discrimination with another evil that masquerades as good. Under the guise of compassion we have set up a system that destroys the family and discourages the very things that would lift the poor from poverty. Blacks who were in times past oppressed by real prejudice and thus make up a disproportionate number of the poor are now presented with the false security of the welfare state. We promote abortion and put clinics in poor neighborhoods where they live. These are the things that should anger us all and move us to demand justice.

I know that there are still problems. I know that there are still old wounds that never healed. I was humbled to speak a few years back with a coworker who can remember having to use separate water fountains and bathrooms as a little girl. I will never know what that feels like. Though I continue to believe that much of who we are and what we experience in life has to do with our own choices, I recognize that there are real problems and real feelings that I can’t fully understand. I would welcome insight from those who have been there.

Good Intentions

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I don’t know who it was that first said, “the road to Hell is paved with good intentions,” but it has taken on new meaning for me. It’s often used in reference to someone who means to do a good thing but never gets around to it. Preachers may use it as they speak of the decision to accept Jesus. Another way to look at it is good people trying to do good things in ways that are not so good. Sometimes the method for obtaining an objective is as important as the objective itself. On a grand scale I think of our government. Many well meaning people embrace socialism because they believe in caring for the poor. Caring for the poor is commanded by God, so it’s obviously important, but how one does so is also important. Stealing from one person to give to another, even under the protection of law, is still stealing. Furthermore, it’s not the best way to help. It foments a sense of entitlement that removes the incentive for them to better their condition through their own efforts. It reduces the incentive for people to provide the kind of help that would be truly meaningful because the government has taken the responsibility. Those being taken from may come to resent those being given to, and so even less is accomplished. It’s also unconstitutional, but no one worries about that anymore.

The same kind of thing happens on a personal level. We can want something that’s good, even helpful to someone else, yet go about getting it in a way that hurts everyone involved. I think it’s appropriate at such times to question our own motivations. Is what we want really for the benefit of someone else, or is it in fact for our own gratification, allowing us to feel good about ourselves or realize some secondary reward? These are questions I ask myself.

Christmas Again

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This can be a challenging time of year for me. I’m always relieved when it’s over. I feel a lot of pressure to do things that have nothing to do with the real object of Christmas, the celebration of Jesus’ birth. I’m not particularly interested in the arguments against celebrating Christmas at all. Yes, the date was adjusted by the Catholic church to coincide with a pagan festival. Yes, many of the traditions now part of Christmas have pagan roots. I’m not convinced that God is much concerned with all of that. He is concerned with the condition of our hearts. For most of us, the Christmas tree has no link to the idolatry that brought it to us. Santa is a different issue. I suppose no harm is done by playing out the fantasy for children as long as we tell them it’s a fantasy. The story does have some Christian roots. However, lying to them that he is real, giving him god like qualities only to have the myth debunked in later years compromises our witness to the real God. As to timing, His birth was probably several months earlier, but we can’t even agree on the year, much less the day. Let’s put all that aside and celebrate His birth.

That leads to the question of how. This is where we’ve gone terribly wrong. Certainly charitable giving goes up, but even much of that is pointless. Myriad organizations exist to give toys to poor children on Christmas. What good is that? It may make them happy for a while, but it only feeds the self-oriented spirit that should be antithetical to a celebration of the One who gave it all. The children receive no lasting benefit while we can feel good about ourselves for giving them a Christmas experience. This is not to say that it cannot be a tool for sharing the Gospel and the love of Jesus or that more practical giving does not occur. In fact, it’s a better use of our resources then spending them on ourselves and our families, who generally don’t need and sometimes don’t want what they end up getting.

Even among Christians, Christmas celebrations are often more about us than about Him. He gets a nod. Some of us might even go to church and a few of those may worship rather than watch a show, but most of us just round up the family and rip into the presents. I’ve used this analogy before, but I think it’s a good one so I’ll repeat it. Let’s say it’s your birthday. It’s amazing how many people are celebrating it. There are parties all over the world. There’s just one problem. You’re not invited to any of them. In fact, if you showed up at most of them you would not even be welcome. Everyone buys presents, but none of them are for you. They are all for each other.

Christmas can be a wonderful time. There’s nothing inherently evil about most of the things we do. Enjoy the fun, but don’t forget why the season exists in the first place. Bring a present for Jesus. Never was the question so appropriate, “what do you get for someone who already has everything?” I think I know a few things He would like.

  • He really loves new creations. If you take this wonderful opportunity to share His story with someone who doesn’t know Him yet and that person turns His life over to Jesus, you’ve just Given Jesus the best gift ever.
  • On kind of a related note, He’s really into forgiveness. Maybe you have friends or family you’re not getting along with. Maybe this Christmas would be a good time for reconciliation. He’d really like that.
  • He likes it when you give. It’s fine to give to those from whom you expect something back, but He’s not real impressed with that. He likes it better when you give to someone who can’t return the favor. Read Luke 14.
  • Share the love. If you know of anyone who won’t have a family this Christmas, invite them into yours. We know He likes that, because that’s what He did for us.

Those are just a few suggestions, but you get the idea. I bet you can think of lot’s more good things Jesus would like for His birthday this year.

Happy birthday, Jesus!

Blessed Are the Peacemakers

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I wrote earlier this month about the recent tempest in a Tall cup surrounding Starbucks’ new plain holiday cups. I won’t reproduce it all here. Suffice it to say the reaction was overblown and unproductive. I hope we’ve put a lid on it.

Now I have to make a confession. I know some of you will be disappointed. What can I say? I don’t usually do it. I decided I would stop earlier this year. But on Thursday the lure of good coffee and good friends was too tempting. +++I went to Starbucks.

I won’t be making a habit of it. There are good reasons why one might want to avoid handing over money to the company. It’s no stranger to controversy. Most egregious is its support for Planned Parenthood. Sadly, it will be hard to avoid doing business with someone that doesn’t, but I’m completely in favor of voting with our dollars when we can.

There’s a difference between choosing where to spend our money and engaging in the very kind of bullying we decry when it’s done by the anti-religionists. I’m nearly blind, so maybe I just didn’t’ see them, but I’m pretty sure they didn’t have manger scenes on their cups before, so I think we should cool this off before we burn ourselves.

This little brouhaha just serves as a sign for us that maybe we need to think about how we are conducting ourselves in the face of mounting pressure from our own society and around the world. How should we respond to the persecution Jesus Himself told us we should expect? Is there a time when we should fight? This isn’t’ about Christmas. This is about following Christ. What will we do when they really start coming for us? This is petty stuff. If we can’t handle this is a Christ like manner, we certainly won’t do so under real threat. I think something He said might give us a clue.

9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. 10 Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. (Matthew 5:9-12 NASB)

What comes to your mind when you hear the word, peacemaker? Two very different images come to mine. The first is that of a mediator. I imagine someone who steps in and resolves conflicts; someone who knows how to get people to settle their differences; a diplomat. The second and seemingly opposite image is of a revolver. Where I picked up this little tidbit I don’t remember, but I looked it up and sure enough there’s a pistol, the Colt Single Action Army Revolver, that was dubbed the Peacemaker. Sometimes that’s what it takes.

What we want to know is what Jesus meant. The Greek word that we translate as peacemaker only appears twice in the Bible. In the form used here, it was typically applied to the Roman emperors who enforced peace. This led St. Augustine to give us the concept of just war from a Christian point of view. If we are protecting peace or punishing wickedness, we may engage in violence. Paul’s letter to the Romans (Ch. 13) provides further justification for this view, but the verses around Matthew 5:9 suggest that isn’t what Jesus is saying to us here. For more insight, let’s look at the other place where a similar form of our word appears.

and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross… (Col 1:20 NASB)

This is the foremost way in which we are to be peacemakers. We are His representatives, carrying the message of the cross into every situation. Wherever we find ourselves, we should be asking how Jesus can be brought into it. Whatever human problem we face, Jesus provides the answer. Without Him, there is no hope. He made peace between us and the Father by His sacrifice. His is the example we follow.

Within the single verse (Matt. 5:9) is both our mission and our heritage. Our mission is to share His peace wherever we go. His promise to us is that we will be called God’s children. He will always be the firstborn with all of the rights and respect due His position, but we are called heirs with Him. That’s a staggering concept. Even though it’s right there in the scripture and you can read it below, I find myself a little reluctant to say it. It seems presumptuous to even think it. But with this priceless gift there is an expectation.

14 For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. 15 For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!” 16 The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him. (Romans 8:14-17)

Time and practicality impose limits on how much I choose to quote, but I urge you to read at least the chapter from which this is taken. It will provide greater depth to the point I’m making. The key is in verse 14. We must be led by the Holy Spirit. In the verses prior we learn that it is a choice we make. We choose to deny our lusts. We choose to turn our focus to God. We choose to learn to hear from Him and to walk with Him. The reward is a closeness that allows us to call out like the beloved children we are, “Daddy!” We don’t have to do it alone. In fact, we can’t. But he made us a promise before He left.

26 “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.” (John 14:26-27)

The Holy Spirit is the source of our peace. That peace can guide us as we make decisions. When it’s not there, we need to be asking why. As we fulfil our mission, we must have the Holy Spirit’s guidance. Without it, we will be at best inefficient and at worst harmful to His cause.

Now comes the hard part. Our calling involves suffering. We see it in the persecution Jesus speaks of in Matthew 5:10-11 and in the self-denial implied by Romans 8:17. We’re going to be rejected. Jesus was. What will be our response? We might become angry at the injustice of our treatment. We might want to do something about it. Sometimes maybe we should, but we should always be checking our motivations. Pride, revenge, and jealousy have no place. If we are motivated by love, then we are more likely to be doing what He would want us to do.

How do we live this out? What does it mean to be a peacemaker? It means all of the above. We should endeavor to quell conflict. We should defend conditions that promote peace and resist evil. Most of all we should seek to bring His peace to every person in every place in every situation.

We are told to pursue peace. This is active. The implication is that peace can be elusive. We are not peaceful by nature and our world shows it. One doesn’t have to pursue something that is easily found. One doesn’t pursue anything by doing nothing. To pursue peace is to actively participate in bringing it about. It starts with us. Look at how Peter says it as he then moves into a discussion of suffering as believers.

8 To sum up, all of you be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted, and humble in spirit; 9 not returning evil for evil or insult for insult, but giving a blessing instead; for you were called for the very purpose that you might inherit a blessing. 10 For,

“THE ONE WHO DESIRES LIFE, TO LOVE AND SEE GOOD DAYS,
MUST KEEP HIS TONGUE FROM EVIL AND HIS LIPS FROM SPEAKING DECEIT.
11 “HE MUST TURN AWAY FROM EVIL AND DO GOOD;
HE MUST SEEK PEACE AND PURSUE IT. (1 Peter 3:8-11 NASB)

When we look for the source of conflict, a good place to check is within our own hearts. Why do we say and do the things we do? Why do people offend us? What is the reasoning, or lack thereof, behind our reaction to the people around us?

13 Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom. 14 But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth. 15 This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic. 16 For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing. 17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy. 18 And the seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. (James 3:13-18)

We may also be motivated by fear from a threat real or imagined. Natural fear is not a bad thing. God gave it to us to protect us. We get into trouble when we allow it to control us. We become paralyzed into inactivity, or we react to the threat in a way that is disproportionate to its gravity. Neither reaction is likely to produce a peaceful outcome.

When is it appropriate to pursue peace through violence? You might have heard reference to Jesus’ words in the Garden when he was arrested and Peter started slashing, “all those who take up the sword shall perish by the sword. (Matt 26:52.) Was He saying that the sword is never appropriate? A little confusion on Peter’s part might be understandable. Just a little while before this Jesus had said, “…whoever has no sword is to sell his coat and buy one.” (Luke 22:36.) If one should never use a sword, or a gun in modern times, why would Jesus say such a thing?

Consider the context of the incident in the garden. Jesus has already told them what is to happen. There is a time for fighting, but this wasn’t it. I may be taking some inappropriate license here, but Jesus might have said, “if you respond to every provocation with violence, you will die a violent death. Besides I don’t need you to defend me. If I want out of this, all I have to do is ask and my Father will show them some real shock and awe! But that would make a lie of everything He has said up to now.”

There is a lesson here about fighting by God’s rules. When we go outside of His will, we invite catastrophe. Sometimes the right move is to endure the wrong for the greater good. But piece at any price is no peace at all. There is a time to fight. The challenge, for which we need the Holy Spirit’s guidance, is to know when and how.

As it relates to taking up arms, God has provided the authority and the commission to do just that in pursuit of justice. That is what government is for. If only it would stick to that. Paul writes, “… it does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil.” (Romans 13:4) Evil must be resisted. If peaceful means are available they are clearly preferable, but we only compound the evil when we allow it to go unchecked.

Peace is always the goal, but it is not always reachable. A few verses back in Romans we read, “If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men.” (Romans 12:18) There are times when it will not be possible. We ought always to seek it, but we also need to be prepared when we can’t find it. Start back at the beginning of chapter 12 for some good advice on how to maintain it, especially in personal relationships.

We are most effective peacemakers when we carry the peace of Jesus to those who do not yet have it. There is no other path to true peace. Without the change that He brings to our lives, our efforts will always fail. They fail because we are selfish. We end up pursuing our own interests at the expense of others. We can even do this in the name of peace. It makes us feel good when we think we’re doing good, so the good becomes corrupted. Our pursuit of peace must always be rooted in the One who gives it. The pursuit of holiness is part of the pursuit of peace.

Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord. (Hebrews 12:14)

In 2 Corinthians 5:20, Paul writes of himself and the other apostles as ambassadors. This is a roll we all have when we commit ourselves to Him. Just as ambassadors of nations seek to maintain peaceful relationships between those nations, we seek to establish peace on behalf of our king, Jesus. The world has been at war with its Creator from the time of Adam until now. He could decide the issue at any time. He created us with a word. It would take no more than that for us to cease existence. It is His right to do so and it would be just, but He desired peace. So He sent Jesus to do what only He could do. He paid the reparations for our rebellion. He cleared the war debt with one selfless act. Our job is to make the offer of piece that He already sealed. There’s no negotiation. There are no secret deals. The transaction is simple: His life in exchange for ours. We can either accept His offer or remain in exile for eternity.

When we understand our mission, “What would Jesus do?” becomes more than a faddish slogan. It becomes the question we should be asking ourselves all the time. Jesus always called sin what it is, but He reserved his harshest words for the religious leaders who knew better. I think we would find Him the same today. I think He would tell us to put our own house in order and get about the business He put us here to do.

Because whatever the question, Jesus is the answer. As we draw toward the end, we’re told things are going to get worse. We can expect persecution. We can expect rejection. We can expect the state of the world to continue declining. But we cannot cease doing what we have been ordered to do. I wonder. Would Moslem terrorists be shooting us in our own country if we had been more diligently sharing Jesus in theirs? Maybe, but we’ll never know. Would atheists in our schools, courts, military and government be systematically erasing the slightest hint of Christianity if our country had remained faithful to the principles that brought it into existence? Would we be in fear of our own government if we had not believed the lie that God has no place there? Would our jails be full and our streets unsafe if we had not abandoned the family that God ordained? There are practical things that must be done to meet the challenges we face, but they will all fail unless hearts are changed. Hearts are only changed by Jesus.

So as you go about your life this season and beyond, remember why you’re here. Be a peacemaker. Defend it when necessary. Spread it everywhere you go. You represent Jesus. He was rejected. We will be too, but never lose sight of the goal. He’s not just the reason for the season. He’s the reason for everything!

Black Friday

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It’s called Black Friday because it has been the time of year when retailers start to turn a profit because of the Christmas rush to buy gifts.  In recent years they have turned it into an event, opening the doors at the stroke of midnight and offering deals to lure in the hordes.  As more people migrate to online shopping, the term may lose its original meaning, but I think it’s appropriate for other reasons.

As the mobs throng the stores and fight like animals over the merchandise, I reflect on how much we’ve lost.  Nothing in those stores is worth fighting over.  You can keep reading.  This won’t be another anti-Christmas or anti-commercialism tirade.  Only a wish that as we enjoy the festivities we would not forget why we celebrate.

Leaving aside the pagan origins of just about everything we do, we’re supposedly doing it in memory of the birth of Jesus.  I used to hate just about everything about this time of year, but lately I’ve come to see it differently.

Though it’s true that anything remotely Christian is being driven out of the public square, the enemies of God have not managed to suppress the message entirely.  Show me another time when you stand even a chance of hearing the coming of Jesus as savior of the world proclaimed so publicly.

So I rejoice that at this time of year we have opportunity greater than any other.  Let’s not blow it.  Let’s not spend our energy fighting over and about things that ultimately don’t matter.  If more of us acted like Jesus, I wonder if we wouldn’t see more of Him in those places where He is now shunned.

Here I Am Again

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Here I am again.  I hoped I had left this place forever, but here I am again.  At least it’s familiar.  It is like a room full of old memories, but they are not precious.  Why must I keep them?  Am I learning from them?  I would burn it to the ground, but I would still be in it.

In front of me is a window facing the future, but no light comes through it.  Curtains of confusion hang over it.  Around me are pictures that show me why what could have been can never be.

My God, are You hear with me?  You have taken me from this room.  I have watched in wonder as You clean up the mess I made.  I cannot doubt You even in the darkness.  But here I am again.

I have seen Your hand of mercy.  I am reaching for it now.  But I cannot see it today.  I am calling out to You.  Find me.  Save me from myself.  Here I am again.

As You Love Yourself

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Have you heard someone quote verse 39 of this passage and then say something like, “How can you love your neighbor as yourself if you don’t love yourself?”

35 One of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And He said to him, “‘YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’ 38 This is the great and foremost commandment. 39 The second is like it, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’ 40 On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 22:35-40 NASB)

It’s hard for me to imagine a more effective way to strip this passage of its truth and replace it with a lie. It takes the focus off of God or even our neighbor and puts it right back on us. Do we really thing that Jesus is advocating self-love here, or is He acknowledging a reality. We don’t need any help to love ourselves.

I believe that the Bible is completely and absolutely true, but there are some passages I stumble over. This one from Ephesians 5:29 has been one of them.

“…for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also does the church,”

I suppose a little word investigation is called for to understand more completely what is being said here, and I should point out that the context is the love a husband is to have for his wife. I stumble over the passage because of its usage of “ever” a word that is rarely appropriate in such a context. Yet it must be appropriate here. I find no alternate translation. So, knowing of people who seem to hate themselves and experiencing a bit of that in my own life, what can I make of this? Putting aside questions of mental illness or even demonic influence, what does it mean?

A couple of years ago I read something that helped me to gain a new perspective. To put it succinctly, self-hatred is really an expression of self-absorption. We do love ourselves. What we really hate are those things that detract from the way we want ourselves to be. There may be room for that much, provided that what we hate is also what God hates, but that’s different. It is motivated by our love for Him instead of love for ourselves.

If there is a place for self-love, it is in the context of God’s love for us. It is in recognizing that we are each unique and beloved creations. How dare we despise that which He has called good! It is acknowledgement of who we are based on who He is. See how the focus shifts? It is about him and not about us.

Now consider again what Jesus said. How is it that we usually love ourselves? We are the center of our universe. Even if we realize the error of this view, we still fight it. We must constantly make decisions to be unselfish. Selfishness comes without effort. Jesus says that we are to put that same kind of attention on our neighbor. I think that what Paul says in Ephesians takes it to an even deeper level with regard to marriage.

If I dare to paraphrase Jesus, He said, “Love God with everything you have and everything you are. Give the same attention to loving your neighbor as you do to loving yourself.” He says these two are alike. God loves them, and so we love God by loving them.

I don’t think I know anyone who is completely happy with who he or she is. Even the most arrogant among us know the truth in their hearts. Often they are the ones who know it best. We’re flawed because of sin. We should always be working to conform our character to God’s. There are things about ourselves we ought to hate, but the key to making them right is not to focus on ourselves. If we are focused on loving God and loving others, we’ll come to see two things. First, those characteristics within ourselves that are truly flaws will be corrected as we walk more closely with the Holy Spirit. Then, we’ll begin to see that those other flaws really don’t matter or are not flaws at all. Never be ashamed of the way God made you. Thank Him instead for loving you that much. Ask Him how you can share what He has given you.

Yahweh

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It is the name God gave for Himself (Ex 3.) Translated it means, “I Am.” In that name, He chose the most complete description of Himself that we can comprehend. He is! Everything that is comes from Him. Without Him nothing can be. He is; so big, so wonderful, so holy, so much more than we can ever put into words.

Throughout the pages of the Bible, men fall on their faces when they encounter even a representative of His power. Do we too easily forget with Whom we have to do? To some of us He appears unreachable. Others treat Him as if He were a fishing buddy. We might call Him that in one sense, when we’re out, as Jesus put it, catching men. Jesus did say, “”You are My friends if you do what I command you.” (John 15:14)

One morning I was reading from the Bible when something jumped off the page at me. It relates to an issue of a personal nature that I won’t relate here, but it spoke so clearly to me that I took it as a direct message from the Holy Spirit. I know that He knows me. I knew the truth of the correction I received before that day.  It was a correction, yet there was joy in it. It spoke love and intimacy to me and I was struck once again with the wonder of it.

The God who created everything that is took notice of me! I had to get out of my chair and on my face in His presence. Aught we not always to live in the wonder of that? Even greater the wonder that Jesus would come and be one of us in order to redeem us, though we constantly rebel against Him. I wouldn’t save me if I were Him, but He loves me that much. He loves you that much! If you have committed yourself to Him, rejoice in that! Rejoice even in the times of correction, because it means He loves you (Hebrews 12:6.) If you have not, don’t wait any longer! The God of all creation has taken notice of you! Will you find judgment, or will you find mercy?