Not My Life

The answer to the first question in the Heidelberg Catechism is this:

"That I am not my own, but belong - body and soul, in life and in death - to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ.

He has fully paid for all my sins with His precious blood, and has set me free from the tyranny of the devil. He also watches over me in such a way that not a hair can fall from my head without the will of my Father in heaven: in fact, all things must work together for my salvation.

Because I belong to Him, Christ, by his Holy Spirit, assures me of eternal life and makes me wholeheartedly willing and ready from now on live for Him."

Is this true of us? Is this how we are living? Are our lives now being lived for Him? Are we not only living for Him, but also living as though we truly believe in eternal life with Him? It is the opinion of this individual that in general my "christian" peers are not living this way. Maybe it's about time we start.

it's okay to cry.

"He did not go to see Saul again, though Samuel mourned for him." - 1 Samuel 15:35

When was the last time you spent tears to mourn over another's sin?
It seems that men in scripture who spent much time with God, who heard from God, who walked with God, tended to be pretty emotional people. David flooded his bed with tears. Paul had unceasing anguish in his heart. Moses sang. They rejoiced, they delighted, they mourned, they cried, they begged. These and others were emotionally invested in God's glory and God's kingdom. And so anything pertaining in some way to God's glory (either affirming it or ignoring it), pertained to them.

What is our spiritual condition that we have so little emotion reserved for God? It seems like for most people--even the relatively calm--emotions are usually triggered in connection with the things most important to them. So what's the deal with us?

I'm not suggesting that we need to heighten emotionality to enhance our spirituality. I'm merely concerned that, in some cases, complete lack of emotion may indicate complete lack of investment.

When was the last time you spent tears to mourn over another's sin?
When was the last time you spent tears over your own sin--and God's mercy?

because the time is short.

"What I mean, brothers, is that the time is short. From now on, those who have wives should live as if they had none; those who mourn, as if they did not; those who are happy, as if they were not; those who buy something as if it were not theirs to keep; those who use the things of the world as if not engrossed in them. For this world in its present form is passing away."

1 Corinthians 7:29-31

Dear friends! What will it take to awaken us to the raw fact of our mortality? You may not survive the decade, the year, the month! Your life is not your own, whether you can say that for you to live is Christ or not.

If the thought that tomorrow is not guaranteed does not inspire us, doesn't the knowledge that neither are the lives of those around us guaranteed? If we knew the hour of Christ's return, or the times set for their deaths, what kind of people would we be? Would we wait? Do we really know so little of the joy of life in Christ that we can't be bothered to see it embraced by others until the time is "more appropriate" or more desperate? Do we not already see the glaring signs of desperation and death and depression and disease and defeat and defiance all around us? What are we waiting for?

Dear friends, what will it take to awaken us to the glorious fact of our immortality? This present world is passing away, and do we prostitute ourselves to a vapor? Already our souls have outlived so many things--clothing, furniture, homes...We are not made for this place.

"Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness. So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him. Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation" (2 Peter 3:11-15).

Does God's patience, for us, merely mean more time to relax?

"How shall I feel at the judgment, if multitudes of missed opportunities pass before me in full review, and all my excuses prove to be disguises of my cowardice and pride?" ~ Dr. W.E. Sangster

But what to do with that cowardice and pride? We cannot shake them on our own, "But the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say 'no' to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives..." (Titus 2:11,12)

May we ever look back to Christ on the cross as we move forward towards Christ on his throne."

A Note on Music

"The music we listen to often carries the message of the world, and the world uses the medium of music to squeeze us into its mold. And a Christian cannot help being gradually influenced if he continually listens to the world's music"

~Jerry Bridges, The Pursuit of Holiness

I don't like this quote. I don't think many Christians my age would be prone to defend its reasoning. I do wonder, though, how Christians who don't actually listen to worldly music would respond. They have less at stake, and so perhaps slightly less bias.

I am challenged, and I challenge you: what are you allowing to shape you? Scripture? Then how? Is your decision to engage secular culture by buying its music and memorizing its lyrics a part of your pursuit of godliness? Have you filtered your CD collection through the grid of God's revelation?

The attitudes expressed in much music--about love, about revenge, about the meaning(lessness) of life--are we really immune to subtle persuasion?

1 John 2:1 says "My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin." Will not sin. Do we live like that's what we want? Jerry Bridges, at one point in his life, realized that all he wanted was "not to sin very much." Do we settle for this unbiblical standard?

James 1:26 says, "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."

In both of these passages, we are addressed as children as we are exhorted to pursue, or desire, holiness. I do not recommend that we publish a list of acceptable bands, or promote an all out ban on any music not labeled CCM. But I do think we should ask ourselves...would we obey if that's what God wanted? Do we even want to keep ourselves from being polluted by the world? Is that desire on our emotional radar screen? Is our father's standard of holiness important to us?

I have to say that often, for me, it is not.

One final thought--the other day the parable of the talents from Matthew 25 came to my mind. In the parable, the master returns and finds that the servant to whom he entrusted one talent has done nothing with it...he has merely buried it. The master's reaction is harsh: "you wicked, lazy servant!" That servant was wicked. He didn't lose what he'd been given. He didn't waste it, or squander it. He merely saved it. And he was wicked.

Many of those privileged to grow up in "sheltered" Christian homes have been blessed with innocence and instruction. And I'm scared--I'm scared that, worse even than the wicked servant, we aren't even protecting those gifts. I'm scared that we're throwing them away.

"Jesus loves us regardless"

Tonight, a lesbian couple walked by while I was passing out tracts…routinely, with my trademarked awkwardness, I handed them a “Ten Reasons Jesus Came to Die” pamphlet.

“What, you gave us it just ‘cause we’re lesbian?” one of them laughed back.

“I’m giving them to everyone,” I said.

“Jesus loves us regardless,” she said dismissively, and they walked on.

In a way, she was right, but I wish she was more aware of what that really means. Christ loved his children regardless. He died for sinners. But he desires, requires, and affects a process of dying to sin in his children, and this does not appeal to the lover of sin. To his enemies, to those who reject him, the real Jesus poses a terrible threat. I wonder what the significance is of people feeling more intimidated by Jesus’ followers than by Jesus himself. The push-over Jesus is easy to dismiss. But he wasn’t a push-over, and that’s part of what makes his sacrifice so incredible. He laid his life down willingly. But his wrath-bearing sacrifice implies the existence of wrath-incurring sin. And that bothers people.

“Jesus loves us regardless.”

She was right, in the sense that he offers his love regardless, but I wish she was more aware of what that really means. Because then maybe she would love him back.

Bits of Folly and Fear

"Will you not revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you?" ~Psalm 85:6

Maybe he will. I'm sure he will. God will be faithful, even when we are faithless. But do you notice this psalmist's intended goal? "That your people may rejoice in you." Restoration of peace, of joy, of faith--to what end do we desire these things?

"I will listen to what God the Lord will say, he promises peace to his people, his saints--but let them not return to folly" (vs 8). How often i return to folly. Today I am sinful, today I am selfish, today I am deaf to the promises of God. I will resolve to listen to what the Lord says:

"Salvation is near those who fear him" (vs 9).

Fear of God...an elusive concept. I think of the "good" thief, crucified with Christ, and aware that he was no good at all:

"Don't you fear God? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong" (Luke 23:41)

The gospel is crucial to remember, as the most intense demonstration of the glory of God--the rupturing of his very unity in the display of his indescribable nature: love. This is the love that should make us tremble.

So fear. Let us not return to folly. May love and faithfulness meet together in our hearts. May righteousness and peace kiss each other in our daily conduct. Let us not return to folly, that his glory may dwell in our land.

A Thought On Prayer

Prayer is often such a self-centered, self-indulgent activity, stimulated by personal desires, trials, or failures. The impulse to ask others to pray for things far removed is often hindered by a strong sense of reluctance. Usually we reserve such requests—about that cousin of ours, or this village in China we heard about, or the economy—for the gatherings when we’re all fishing around for prayer suggestions that deflect attention from any of our real needs.

Why should we pray about people we’ve never met? About places we’ve never been, about individuals we don’t care about because we don’t have the slightest connection to them? Well, if prayer is just about us, then we shouldn’t. But when prayer becomes about expressing to the Father a desire to see him glorified in our lives, the lives of others, and the world at large; when we have a vested interest in the advancement of the Truth because we love the Truth, because we have a vested interest in the glory of God being manifested in the world, then it seems it could be easier to see the point of speaking to God—petitioning him regarding any situation we become aware of where the glory of God is “at stake.” Somehow, it seems to make it worth it. And much more personal.

"Anonymous said . . ."

a response by Jack Roberts
to a comment posted dec. 5th, 2008

Your questions are important and indicate an inquisitive, thoughtful mind; they also touch on the core issue framed by Pilate to Jesus, “What is truth?” In order to address your questions, we need to back up a little and notice a word you used several times: the word ‘know.’ If you mean by the word an absolute, 100% certainty beyond even the possibility of error, then no one can ‘know.’ This is simply because we can’t be everywhere at once and have no way of getting outside of our bodies and minds to verify that what we ‘know’ actually corresponds with what ‘is.’ This means that everyone must have a starting point from which he begins to think, reason, evaluate. That starting point cannot be ‘proven’ with 100% certainty. For example, Des Cartes’ famous dictum, “I think, therefore I am,” assumes there is an “I” to do the thinking. But that is what the ‘thinking’ was supposed to prove. His statement should be more accurately stated thus: Thinking, therefore Thinking. In other words, the experience of thinking does not prove there is an “I” doing it; it may be there is a spirit being that is dreaming or thinking and there is no independent “I” at all.

If I say that logic is my starting point, I run immediately into a problem. I must assume the law of non-contradiction in order to reason, think or even communicate: that ‘A is not non-A’ cannot be ‘proven.’ What logic or ‘proof’ could be offered for its validation that does not assume that words or symbols cannot also simultaneously mean their contradiction? For example, if I say “A is an apple. A is not an apple.” If the terms in the two statements retain the identical meanings at the same instant, how do I ‘know’ that they are not both true? If they can both be true, then communication becomes impossible since my words can also mean their opposite. I cannot appeal to the ‘law of non-contradiction’ because that is what I am trying to ‘prove.’ I must assume that law in order to use logic and to have my words have meaning.

Hence, everyone operates under the rubric of some assumption. The scientific method uses this in order to come to conclusions in experimentation: make an assumption (hypothesis) about some phenomenon, evaluate if the consequences of that assumption correspond to observable, known data. If the conclusions match the expected results, the assumption is ‘proved.’ This is the way we daily live our lives: we do not have ‘absolute proof’ that the labels on cans are accurate but we make buying decisions based on what we read there. This is true at restaurants, medical appointments, lab results, pharmacies and medications – in fact, everywhere. We all live by faith every moment: we believe the car will stop when we brake; we believe that stove will not explode when we turn it on; we believe that the woman we call our mother really is our mother even though there cannot be 100% proof (as Augustine observed 1700 years ago).

Given that an assumption is necessary to live, there are only three possible: 1) this is all a dream, an illusion in the mind of the universal spirit (the religious pantheisms of the East); 2) there is only matter, simply the unfolding of the Big Bang following laws which we do not yet understand (the philosophic materialism of the West); 3) the Tri-Une God revealed in the Bible. Having stated that, the debate is which gives the best explanation for things as we experience them. Let’s take them one at a time.

If all this (the universe of our experience) is an illusion, life is utterly meaningless and it is useless to continue the discussion. In fact, nothing matters at all because it is not actually happening. This view is untenable because it is unlivable: no one can live as if everything is an illusion; as least, no one can live that way very long. I must act as if the truck is real or it will run me over; I must act as if there is a difference between good and evil, truth and error, life and death or my illusionary existence will end, probably quickly and tragically. So although it is theoretically possible that this all is an illusion and no one can prove it is not, no one really believes it is. It is an inadequate starting point.

The second possible assumption, nothing but matter (or stuff in various formulations) exists or ever has or will exist, undergirds the philosophical and scientific belief systems of the educational/social/cultural leaders of the West. Extrapolating backwards from the observations and mathematical formulae of the past several hundreds of years, the best conclusion is that sometime about 13 billion years ago (a few years ago it was 15 billion) everything that is began with The Big Bang. Since there is nothing outside of what can be construed to be part of the space-time continuum, all that is comes as a result of forces perhaps mostly only crudely understood as yet. However, the faith-commitment is that could we know everything at work, all phenomena is simply (though marvelously complex) a part of the machinery of the Cosmos. That means, in practical terms, if we could enter all the data that is into a computer large enough in a single microsecond, all that ever has been, is, or will be could be known. In other words, all ‘decisions,’ feelings and actions of every human being are not ‘free;’ everything and everyone is a robot, an action figure in the computer game of the Universe.

Again, as with the first possible assumption, this is theoretically possible but unlivable. Everything that is important to human beings - relationships, creativity, moral responsibility, achievement, honor, decisions – lose all meaning if they are simply the result of the evolution of “only stuff” from the cataclysmic event of the Big Bang. In fact, no one lives this way, nor can they. Even the ones who developed the naturalistic rationale for all of life want to get credit for their ingenuity. Everyone wants to believe that people choose to love them/be with them because they choose to, not because they are so programmed. No government can function, no human significance can be maintained without living as if people are not programmed but individuals responsible for their behavior. This deterministic view of reality is fatalistic and concludes in hopeless cynicism. It is an inadequate starting point.

The third possible assumption, starting with the existence of the God revealed in the writings of the Old and New Testaments, is the only one that is both internally consistent and corresponds to reality as we experience it. It is important to note that this is not simply a ‘religious’ answer: if the Tri-Une God of Scripture did not exist, hard-core, radical atheism or total, suicidal despair would be the only ‘reasonable’ alternatives. There can be no god but the God of the Bible; all other posited deities are insufficient. For example, the god of Islam, Allah, is a single individual – “There is no god but Allah” - he is all-mighty, all-powerful, all-sufficient in himself. However, there had to be a time when he was alone (or whatever it was, is co-equal to Allah, at least in his timelessness). What was Allah before he created anything else? In our experience of reality, for love or power to have meaning it must be in relationship to something “other.” For Allah, he must have needed to create in order to have an “other” to love or to whom/which he could display his power. Without that, there was no ‘worship,’ no ‘glory’ no ‘love’ as we use the terms; he had to make something to be the sovereign over. No purely monotheistic construction of a deity can resolve this fatal flaw; such religious alternatives to the secular position are nothing more than the clever inventions of the mind of man. Lenin was right: “religion is the opium of the people,”…If that is the best there is.

Enter “In the beginning God.” Immediately in the ancient Hebrew text we are confronted with the hint of something different in the nature of God: plurality in singularity, singularity in plurality. As the Scriptures unfold YHWH’s self-revelation, we are teased with visions of a Creator who is beyond all human conception: the I AM and I AM WHO I AM to Moses, the Shepherd to David, the First and the Last to Isaiah. Here is a starting point which is simultaneously infinite and personal, one and yet three. Given that the Three Persons who are-is God are outside of space and time, they-he are the definition and initiators of all that is (except evil, which must be addressed later). The Scriptures state that “God is love” (I John 4:8), meaning that he is the source of all love and his very nature is love. This makes sense in the relationship of the Tri-Une God of Father, Son and Holy Spirit: three equally infinite persons delighting in one another timelessly without ever being bored because of their equally infinite creativity. In other words, love is the word given to name the relationship between the Three-in-One; to understand love, we must understand something of that God. It also means that instead of a cold, empty universe or a meaningless illusion, the ultimate background of human existence is the breathtakingly exuberant love between the Father, Son and Holy Spirit (e.g., John 17:22-26). Humanity can then be seen as God’s “love-child,” the expression of that eternal love relationship, where creating man in his image was not necessary to have an object of love, but the overflow of the Infinite(s) delight in one another.
Thus, Adam and Eve, each made in the ‘image of God,’ reflect something of each member of the Tri-Unity and together the unity and diversity of YHWH, so that the union of the two becoming one flesh makes a visible statement about the invisible Infinite. Heterosexual marriage, then, is unique in its ability to mirror in a tiny way the mystery of the Tri-Unity of God.

The problem of evil, again, can only be seriously addressed by the God of Scripture.
In the assumption of illusion, real evil does not exist; it is only a temporary misperception of the ultimate nothingness of the all. For the consistent materialist, evil is simply a handle given to particulars that are objectionable to the ill-informed. Things are not ‘good’ or ‘evil;’ they just are. There is no actual evil; it is all part of the Cosmic Reality and all moral judgments are programmed into space and time by space and time.

In stark contrast to this non-moral world-view, the Scriptures proclaim a God who is good and defines good for humanity. In fact, he has not only written it in a series of books/letters (called The Book) but on human hearts. The reason why the Ten Commandments (at least five through ten) are observable in rudimentary form in virtually all cultures is because “the law is written on their hearts” (Romans 2:15). Since God is good, why is there evil and where did it come from? Although the story of the origin of evil is not definitively recorded, we are told that Satan is the evil one, the father of lies, the deceiver. As a person-spirit (angel) created by God he was good also, but there is the hint of an explanation for the creation of evil by this one in Isaiah 14. If that is a record of an event before the creation of the world, evil is the creation of this spirit-being; he is the only one besides YHWH who created out of nothing. There was no evil, no temptation; he brought it into existence. Because God is sovereign and nothing happens apart from his will, he could have prevented or undone the creation of evil. However, since this angel was also a ‘person,’ and thus also reflected something of God’s personal nature, to disregard his creative act or destroy him, would be to dishonor his own image. Since God has always known everything and can do whatever he wants, it is impossible for the human mind to construct a logical sequence of events that would explain how he could simultaneously be sovereign and not be responsible for the existence of evil. Yet, that is the unequivocal position of Scripture.

How can this be? If God is good and evil exists, either God is also evil or he is too weak to prevent it. The self-revelation of YHWH, the I AM WHO I AM, must always be the backdrop of our understanding. There are two perspectives, represented in the Old Testament by Deuteronomy 29:29 and in the New Testament by Romans 9:19-20a.

“The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things that are
revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the
words of this law.”

“You will say to me then, ‘Why does he still find fault? For who can
resist his will?’ But who are you, O man, to answer back to God?’”

The OT viewpoint is that there are things that cannot be revealed to man because they are rooted in the nature of the Tri-Unity of God and are inaccessible to the human mind. If a brilliant genius could explain God, then a brilliant genius could have invented God. The inexplicability of the Triune God makes acceptable the apparently contradictory truths of the sovereignty of God and the responsibility of angels and man. Like parallel lines, they meet only in infinity: the Tri-Une, infinite-personal God of the Biblical record is the infinite reference point. This means that it is not surprising that when the infinite (God) intersects with the finite (man), he cannot be understood. It also means, and gloriously so, that eternity will not exhaust our knowledge of God: there will always be more!

Paul the Apostle in the NT brings the other necessary consideration which makes the ‘mysteries’ palatable: man is the creature; he did not create God. As creatures, we did not invent the rules, define the meanings or determine the outcome. The Creator has the right to do whatever he wants and whatever he wants is good by definition: his definition. This is remarkably consistent with the revealed nature of God. Imitations of the real God who are human constructs may be more amenable to the creature’s sense of justice, goodness and truth, but they are little more than ‘man writ large.’ As such they are insufficient to explain things as they are and impotent to give lasting hope. The revelation of the only true God goes against the grain of humanism’s founding principle: humanity, the apex, center and hope of reality. This sovereign, uncompromisingly holy, inscrutable Tri-Une God would not be the invention of any man; something/someone more manageable and reasonable would be more attractive.

This counter-intuitive revelation even explains why other ‘gods’ are so popular: by nature and by choice man does not want the true God. The created evil has entered the ‘good earth’ by means of disobedience by the first parents and now that corrupt mindset pervades everything. Sin is a rejection of the Tri-Une God and his rule over us; it is inbred in us to be repulsed by this God and prefer virtually anything else. The Scriptures state that in our inner/unseen self we have a committed hatred of God; that we do not see that or exhibit that fully is God’s mercy to us. Because of our inescapable self-deception, to see it fully requires the uninhibited light of God’s holiness; but that holiness would completely shatter us, wither us into utter judgment. If the corruption of our hearts were to be fully manifested, human life would be ‘hell on earth’ and no flesh could survive long. Such is the pronounced verdict of God: “The heart is deceitful above all things and (desperately wicked.” (Jeremiah 17:9)

This brings us to the focal point of human history and God’s intervention into it: YHWH became man. The Eternal Spirit becomes flesh and blood; the Creator becomes the creature. This was not simply to model a better way of life (like Buddha), or deliver a set of requirements demanding submission (like Mohammed): Jesus came to give his life a ransom for many. He came to die a death that would absorb the full and everlasting wrathful judgment of the Holy God. To qualify for that he had to be God and yet man. If he were not a man, his life could not substitute for a man just as a sheep was an inadequate substitute. If he were not God, he could die for only one other life and then his life would have to forever experience the judgment of God. Because he was fully man, he could substitute for man; because he was God, he could substitute for many people. His death as the Lamb of God accomplished what no one else could do: the Infinite One experiencing an eternity of hell in a moment of human time, was equivalent to many (finite) individuals experiencing God’s wrath for an eternity. When Jesus cried out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46), he was separated from the Father and the Holy Spirit for an instant of human time. In other words, he experienced hell, which is being cut off from God and everything good that comes from him. That this was complete suffering to substitute for sinners is proven by his next statements from the cross: “It is finished” and “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” The payment was made; nothing more to be done.

Again, this goes against our natural inclination to do something to make ourselves acceptable to God, something to redeem ourselves and make up for foolish or wicked acts. In this revelation from the Creator, he makes it clear that the only contribution corrupt humanity can make to God’s work of salvation is to nail the Son of God to the cross. There is no room for pride, or sense of accomplishment or self-cleansing; God did it all. There is nothing to do but to bow before this awesome, loving, holy, sovereign God and receive the gift of forgiveness from him.

Where We Are and Where We Need to Go, Part 1

Today America rejoiced. The celebration of my countrymen permeated every avenue of communication with a frigid reality. On this day, January 20, 2009, the man who received a resounding endorsement from Hamas, who was named “the most liberal Senator of 2007” by the National Journal, and who promised to make his first act as President the passing of a radical bill that would wipe out state abortion restrictions (Freedom of Choice Act), was worshiped as he was sworn in as the forty-forth President of these United States. Yes, America celebrated, literally weeping in her ecstasy. I too wept. However, grief ushered forth my tears, not the opium of false hope. I wept and clawed at the anxiety searing my soul.

He is elected; it is done. It cannot be changed. We should be praying for our new president, as we should all our leaders, but this does not mean we turn a blind eye to his priorities and principles. The election of Obama says a lot about this country. It is now clear we live in a country whose people care more about “making history” than about doing what is good and right to build a stronger nation. We live in a country where the color of a man’s skin elevated him into the most powerful position in the world. We live in a country where the black evangelical church used worship services to praise God for their new idol, abandoned Scripture, and failed to embrace the conviction of their own martyr (MLK) that a man should be judged by content and character, not color. We live in a country where God’s people sit at home mourning the direction of this world, yet fail to stand up and fight. We live in a country where laws forbidding cruelty to animals are abundant, while laws forbidding cruelty to unborn babies are constantly opposed. We live in a country where almost 2 million people will brave harsh elements to “make history,” while only 125,000 will show up to fight for life. We live in a country where people mock the outgoing President as he exits with words of praise for his successor, even though he kept them safe for seven years. We live in a country where we claim the color of a man should not be an issue, yet heap effusive praise on a man whose color is at the very heart of the issue. We live in a country where tax breaks are more important to its citizens than the sacredness of human life. We live in a country that condemns voting on a single issue, but that votes the single issue of the economy. We live in a country where more stock is put in financial security than the security for those in a womb. We live in a country where the Church says the government has failed the poor, when it is really the Church’s responsibility and the Church who has failed. We live in an immoral, postmodern country. What are we going to do about it?

Until this point the Christian lawyers, theologians, educators, and the evangelical establishment as a whole have not “been in there blowing the trumpet loud and clear.” On January 22, the March for Life is one tremendous way to help blow the trumpet.

Just think: Today as America raised her voice in celebration there were 4,000 new voices joining the already 50,000,000 silenced voices in the grave.

In the Words of Schaeffer

The following is an excerpt from A Christian Manifesto, which should be on the top of everyone’s reading list.

We must understand that the question of the dignity of human life is not something on the periphery of Judeo-Christian thinking, but almost in the center of it (though not the center because the center is the existence of God Himself). But the dignity of human life is unbreakably linked to the existence of the personal-infinite God. It is because there is a personal-infinite God who has made men and women in His own image that they have a unique dignity of life as human beings. Human life then is filled with dignity, and the state and humanistically oriented law have no right an no authority to take human life arbitrarily in the way that it is being taken.

We must see then that indeed the cry has not been given. We must see that here, on such a central issue as abortion, the true nature of the problem [is] not understood: Christians fail to see that abortion [is] really a symptom of the much larger problem and not just one bit and piece. And beyond this as the material-energy-chance humanistic world view takes over increasingly in our country, the view concerning the intrinsic value of human life will grow less and less, and the concept of compassion for which the country is in some sense known will be further gone.

A girl who has been working with the Somalian refugees has just been in our home and told us their story and shown us their pictures. One million – and especially little children – in agony, pain, and suffering! Can we help but cry? But forget it! In the United States we now kill by painful methods one and a half times that many each year by abortion. In Somalia it is war. But we kill in cold blood. The compassion our country has been known somewhat for is being undermined. And it is not only the babies who are being killed; it is humanness which the humanist world view is beating to death.

The people in the United States have lived under the Judeo-Christian consensus for so long that now we take it for granted. We seem to forget how completely unique what we have had is a result of the gospel. The gospel indeed is, “accept Christ, the Messiah, as Savior and have your guilt removed on the basis of His death.” But the good news includes many resulting blessings. We have forgotten why we have a high view of life, and why we have a positive balance between form and freedom in government, and the fact that we have such tremendous freedoms without these freedoms leading to chaos. Most of all, we have forgotten that none of these is natural in the world. They are unique, based on the fact that the consensus was the biblical consensus. And these things will be even further lost if this other total view, the materialistic view, takes over more thoroughly. We can be certain that what we so carelessly take for granted will be lost.

Pittsburgh International Airport -- gate B37.

What has happened to people?
The waiting area is all but empty. A mother (middle-aged) and her skinny teenage son (with appropriately baggy clothes) sit near the desk. A grubby-looking college student occupies a corner, laptop open. Late-twenties red-head (business woman?) on far side. I come, do the calculations, and sit far enough away from everyone to eliminate all potential for conversation, even in the case of accidental eye-contact. The next six people do the same. Nearly everyone on a cell phone, or eating, or texting.

Real people are scary inconveniences . . . we already know too many.
"I don't have time or energy for you, unless you can prove you have something to offer.
Are you funny? Sexy? Friendly? Impressive? Will you make a good story?"

Has it always been this way? 'Cause I imagine the old days, a station wagon waiting platform-place, gap-toothed, plaid, bearded men exchanging hardy handshakes and "nice-to-meet-yous".

Am I too cool to be excited to meet you, stranger? What can you do to harm me? Any injury to my pride would be a help.

Do any of you think of me? What half-formed ideas about the somber kid with his legs crossed, writing, momentarily distract your brain from its dominant preoccupation?
What are your stories? I'd love to care about you...know that I'm trying--and if that counts for anything, I do care in that small way.

As a child of God, I ought to bring joy to this place. Forgive me stranger--I'm not yet what I should be. I have no real cause to be uneasy, in the grand scheme of things...and certainly I'm of no account, so I don't know why I'm so prone to self-induced social paralysis.
But in another way, there is legitimate cause--the air is thick with fear and sin, the wrecks of mediocrity or malice...hatred sits there, to my left deception. Across against the wall is laziness. But are they happy--generally--or sad?

Are you empty? Or is your void filled with bubbles that make your walls feel like its full?

I do know the Truth. Will you listen if I tell you?

How I Feel About My Lack of Feeling

Brazen. Do you feel you ought to be angry?
Seared beyond disturbance--are you confused?
" 'Trials' are for hypocrites. Life longs to be explained
In terms more universal and less problematic--"
Because--I don't know about you--but
Regardless of possibility, I want to be upset
By pain.
When my own pain subsides,
My nerves take a break.

In the intellectual corners of experience
I rage against injustice -- but the heat
Is trapped there. My fire-pit
Is cold with other emotions
More suited to personal comfort.
"It's unfair! It's unfair!"
Dies down and settles into smug
Self-content in perceiving the convenient Wrong of the world;
It means we're not to blame.

Wholesale on Life

To my peers, friends, brothers and sisters:

On November 4th, just four days from this time, we will all hopefully cast our vote for the next President. This is unarguably a historic election, and would go as far as to say the gravity of this election makes it the most serious since our grandparents generation. It has become clear that the youth of America, the young voters, will essentially decided who will this country for at least the next four years. We have a heavy load upon us. The Christian youth should especially feel this burden. For months now we have heard what the candidates have to say; their policies have been laid before us and we have had a good amount of time to procure glimpses of their character and to examine the positions they stand for and why. As we mull over all the information we have acquired and determine what hole to punch, I pray that there is one issue on the forefront of all our minds and hearts – the issue of life.

Are we, self-proclaiming disciples of Christ, concerned with the moral eternal issues that will not go away? Apparently the evidence proclaims we are not. It is nauseating. Please, please, please read what I humbly, yet unapologetically, have to say.

On August 17, presidential hopeful Barrack Obama told America what he considered to be this nation’s greatest sin. He stated that the lack of caring for the weak and oppressed has been America’s most significant shortcoming. According to Obama “America’s greatest moral failure is that [this country]…does not spend enough time thinking about ‘the least of these.’” This sounds wonderful. In fact he was applauded by the Saddleback audience when Obama used this quote from Matthew 25. You know, I think Obama is right. I do not know if would say this is America’s “greatest moral failure,” but it is up there. However, the problem come in Obama’s definition of “least of these.” Apparently Obama’s grouping of the weak and oppressed does not include within in it the largest persecuted demographic in history: the unborn child.

Theodore Roosevelt, a great man and great President, once said:

“The most dangerous form of sentimental debauch is to giveexpression to good wishes on behalf of virtue while you do nothingabout it. Justice is not merely words. It is to be translated intoliving acts.”

Obama speaks of virtue, speaks of relieving the persecuted, caring for “the least of these.” Yet this same man blatantly and unrepentantly pro-abortion. He is not simply pro-abortion, he is a man who wants to make it legal to kill babies who survive failed abortions. Did you read that? Babies who survive. The facts are overwhelming. Obama wants to keep the killing of unborn children legal. But he does not stop there, he wants to expand abortion.

Right now there is a bill before Congress called the Freedom of Choice Act. This bill will do away with all limitations on abortion (look it up, read it). It is a bill that is meant to expand the practice of abortion. Do you know what Obama said concerning this bill? This is what Obama said just a year ago:

“The first thing I’d do as president is sign the Freedom of Choice Act. That’s the first thing I’d
do.”

Those are his words. If you think this is not an important issue you better realize that it is important to Obama. Protecting the legalization of killing defenseless humans is so important to Obama that his first act of president will remove the little protection unborn children have. His first act will not be to lower taxes, end the war, find Bin Laden, push for clean energy, or even help resolve what he considers America’s greatest failure: the care for the unprivileged. No, on the top of Obama’s list is to make sure it is possible to legally kill a child. Can you believe a man like this had the audacity to quote Christ the Messiah; The One.

Francis Schaeffer, an amazing man, who I honestly believe was what we would call a prophet, wrote thirty years ago:

“In our day, quite rightly, there has been a hue and cry againstSome of our ancestors’ cruel viewing of the black slaves as a non-person. This was horrible indeed – an act of hypocrisy as well as cruelty. But now, by an arbitrary absolute brought in on the humanist flow, millions of unborn babies of every color of skins [and gender] are equally by law declared non-persons. Surely this, too, must be seen as an act of hypocrisy.”

For too long Christians have stood by as Postmodernism has taken over every area of life from government to the arts. Not only have we been idle, but those who have been active (the liberal church) have adopted the postmodern doctrine and no longer hold on to the Truth as the one and only standard and absolute. God will judge those who have watered down and manipulated His word in order to go with the flow and not step on any toes. Those who have separated the material life they lead from the spiritual life they claim are fooling themselves.

Roosevelt once said in reference to abortion:

“Never will I sit motionless while directly or indirectlyapology is made for the murder of the helpless.”

We are not only standing by, we are actively promoting the slaughtering of approximately 4,000 humans in the United States daily, close to 1.5 million yearly, by promoting Obama. A well known supporter of Obama, Oprah Winfrey, was talking on her show one day about the horrors of slavery and how wonderful it must have been for the freed slave to finally wake up and make decisions for himself. Has she ever thought of how the pro-abortion stance she and Obama share makes it impossible for millions of babies to ever make a decision? Those babies are not even given the option of waking up.

In the movie Swing Kids, which is set during the beginning of World War Two, there is a quote that I believe is appropriate to share with the self-proclaiming Christian youth of today:

“We must all take responsibility for what is happeningto our country. If those of us who have a voice do notraise it in outrage at the treatment of our fellow human beings we will have collaborated in their doom. It is notgood enough to raise these voices in our homes…”

The unborn child is as much my “fellow human being” as is the Jew. We all have voices, and we can all raise them this election. Raise your voice in outcry! Why are we sitting by nodding our heads in agreement as Obama talks of green energy while brushing under the rug statements like “the first thing I’d do as president is sign the Freedom of Choice act”! I know our nation, our world, has forgotten that there is such a thing as moral absolutes; a Truth above all else. But have we forgotten that as well? Have we accepted the death of helpless children as the way things are? Polls this year have shown that issues such as abortion and homosexual marriage are not even in the top five issues young voters are concerned with. What is more important than the moral law God has given us?! What issue or policy is more important than a precious life made in his image? Apparently the young American voter considers issues such as taxes and energy more important than protecting the lives’ of millions of weak, oppressed, persecuted babies. It is definitely not a priority of Obama’s.

Christians should be weeping over this wholesale on life. We should be praying for God’s forgiveness. And may God judge the churches that have abandoned the Truth, putting man at the center. This election is serious. If you have looked past Obama’s Marxist doctrine, please do not also look past his total disregard for the life of the unborn.

God have mercy on us.

The foes of our own household are our worst enemies; andwe can oppose them, not only by exposing them and denouncingthem, but by constructive work in planning and building reformswhich shall take into account both the economic and the moralfactors in human advance. We in America can attain our greatdestiny only by service; not by rhetoric, and that dreadful mentaldouble-dealing and verbal juggling which makes promises and repudiates them, and says one thing at one time, and the directly opposite thing at another time. Our service must be the service of deeds. – Theodore Roosevelt

Meditations on the The Matrix

There's a thrill that accompanies the observation of super-human powers. The instinct to worship is fanned into flame by fairy tales of flying men with lightning-fast reflexes.

"If only it were true--if only we had a Neo to follow who could rescue us from bondage into . . . " into what?

We rejoice to see "good" defeat evil with a combination of flare and fury that resembles our abilities enough to fuel day-dreams of achieving such greatness ourselves. But we are sick and twisted fools. Jesus Christ spoke and stilled the storm, commanded and cast out demons. Jesus Christ willed and walked on water.

He didn't need to know kung fu, or how to fly, or how to load a gun (though if He'd wanted to He could've learned without a computer program).

The real hero understood greatness and glory. He didn't come to destroy life to save. He came to sacrifice His own life to save. The Son of God cannot be contained by the tiny longings of men or be compared to the god-men they've invented. Jesus Christ is the infinite source of awe-inspiring power, the ultimate object worthy of complete and child-like and radical devotion.

But men pretend to be bored by Him, and make another movie filled with the glorification of sinful autonomy, faithless sex and dressed-up moral rebellion. They pretend to be bored by the sandaled Jew who talked a lot. They deliberately and desperately try and try to forget that the real God-man didn't stay dead either. And his resurrection was not the illogical result of a weak and human crush-kiss, but the outworking of the eternal plan of the infinite Father who loves his son with the infinite love that the natural man can only weep and wish to taste.

They fear this peaceful man, because there IS a fight between good and evil. And they know, deep down they know, that unlike their self-portraits that they've pasted into fairy-tales, they are the evil ones. And everyone knows the bad guys lose. Christ will return in glory to judge the living and the dead. There will be no contest. He needs no guns--he speaks and it comes to pass.

There is no fear in love though. and there IS a real world--an escape from the darkness into the glorious freedom of the children of God, not into the gloomy dungeons of man-made misery.

Long before someone dreamed-up Neo, the God who is love sent us a savior. Those who have met him know what is real. Those who have not have a choice. But there are no secrets--only the mystery of a God revealed. You can take the red pill, or the blue pill, but there is no uncertainty. This is sure: then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. Jesus says "I am the Truth". Forget the red pill. Christ's crimson blood flows for you.

Life under the Son

"Of course, we do not use the word cool to describe true greatness. It is a small word. That's the point. It's cheap. And it's what millions of young people live for" (John Piper, Don't Waste Your Life).

The writer of Ecclesiastes speaks of "life under the sun"--that is, a world without God. Now whether or not this book has come to us from the hand of king Solomon -- a man blessed with extraordinary wisdom -- or some other prudent character, is not really that important. The indisputable fact remains that the author has demonstrated, in frightfully clear terms, the end result of life without God: meaninglessness.

There's a lot one could say about this. We could examine the relevancy of the the author's experiences to our current lifestyles. We could launch into a chilling description of the sinner's true state of godlessness. We could beg and plead with our fellow Christians to throw off their preocuppation with self and live a life worthy of their calling, to recoil from living a life under the sun without life in the Son.

But what good would it do? Honestly, assuming my experiences are at least relatively close to the norm, how far can such discussion go? Passion fades. Resolve deteriorates. Vision clouds.
When we allow our pleasure to supercede our purpose, how can anything truly great, noble, or good move us?

When we allow our perspective to morph into a Christ-less, self-centered vision, joy cannot last. Without the life of Christ in the soul of man, our world is reduced to a land of missed opportunities and unfulfilled potential; a land of incompletion and imperfection; a land of agravating almosts and disappointing endings. If disappointment is slow in coming, we need only wait a little longer. It's coming. Only the infinite God can fully satisfy.

There's so much more to say. But the writer of ecclesiastes gives a good summary of the correct response to such a potentially meaningless lifestyle: fear God, and keep his commands; remember your creator in the days of your youth.
Such a life cannot be invoked by passionate pleading or clever rhetoric. Only the life of Christ in the soul can produce a life in Christ. And for that, you must go to the cross.

A Return

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.
~John 14:27

I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
~John 16:33


"But I am so weak!" Granted. But turn your eyes upward. Do you not find yourself simultaneaously bending your gaze inward through the lens of scripture and finding there a precious savior, mighty and able--yes, willing--to save? Are you not accustomed to communing with the master rebuilder who has made his home in your heart? Have you not found faithful thus far he who has promised to work a change in you?

Is your answer to all these questions 'no'? Jordan, you are blind! You have been lifted from the foaming waters, and still you thrash and fight and fear and tremble, like one doomed to destruction! Oh, tune your ear to the voice of Christ! He has spoken salvation; he is speaking peace.


Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in every way. The Lord be with you all.
~2 Thessalonians 3:16

I Do Believe

I may be wrong, but my behavior seems ridiculously illogical. Consider if you will my predicament:

#1. I want to be happy. Beneath sundry motives and emotions sits this fundamental desire. I long for joy and contentment.

#2. I know where to find what I’m looking for. I know where true happiness lies. David knew also: “You have made known to me the path of life, you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand” (Psalm 16:11).
I believe with all my heart that ultimate satisfaction awaits me in God’s presence; that communion with Him constitutes joy in its purest form. I am wholly convinced that—my purpose being to glorify and enjoy God—no other occupation can possibly produce more intense contentment.

#3. Here is my problem: I cannot bring myself to strive after that which I most desire. I know what I want and I know how to get it – but I can’t. I find myself attracted to so many inferior comforts, motivated by so many illegitimate desires, and allured by so many trivial experiences.

“I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do” (Rom 7:15).

It’s not just active sin that keeps me from my father’s presence. It’s a kind of lethargy. I know that, “His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us…” (2 Peter 1:3), but I move so slowly towards fuller knowledge of Christ. Here I have His words, His self revelation; here I have His faithful servants around me, constantly testifying to the power and wonder of his love. What a wretched man I am! What a stupid creature I must be! How intense the shadows of my unregenerate heart must have been that they linger still despite this radiant light of Christ and His gospel. And how great must be the love of this God, who bears with such wondrous patience the prayerlessness and lovelessness of His own children, who look up to the cross—the ultimate sacrifice, the symbol of the most intense sorrow ever experienced: the severing of the infinite bond of love between the Father and Son—and respond with such inappropriate apathy, which renders the divine gift a mere accessory to life.
So there’s something wrong with my heart still. But the situation is not desperate; the God who loved me enough to endure hell on my behalf, well aware of the depravity of my soul and the completely inappropriate response I would offer, loves me enough to bear my weakness with patience and gently bring me nearer and nearer to His presence. “Praise be to God, through Christ Jesus our Lord!”
And so my lack of love serves to highlight his unconditional faithfulness all the more, and calls for even more praise—indeed it compels me once again to “make every effort to add to [my] faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly-kindness; and to brotherly-kindness, love.” For my Lord promises, “if you do these things, you will never fall, and you will receive a rich welcome into the kingdom of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 1:5-11). "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you" (Matt. 7:7).

So I encourage you, fellow believer—if you believe his promises, don’t just rest in them. Act on them. Seek Him.

certain things don't mix

“What, reader, is the habitual and supreme bent of your mind? Is it that which is spiritual, or that which is carnal?...You have your mind either set upon the things of the flesh, or upon the things of the Spirit.” – Octavius Winslow

I have gotten to know many Christian youth during my three years of college, at three different Christian schools, and many of the thousands of conversations I have had and many of the observations I have made, raise various questions in my mind about how we Christian youth are living our lives.

During my second year at school there was one piece of a conversation that has stayed in the back of my mind. I was just relaxing with a bunch of friends talking about random things, when one guy said something that caught my attention. He was someone who sang and played the guitar for a lot of the worship times during school events; he did the same for his church, and he professed his Christianity. So when he mentioned that his favorite movie was Wedding Crashers, I was slightly surprised (although I’m not really surprised to hear that type of thing coming from Christians, which is sad).

Now I had never seen this movie (still haven’t and never will), but from what I had heard it was nothing but trash. Since that time I have looked the movie up online and have found that it received its R rating for: Sexuality, Nudity, Sexual and Crude Humor, and Language. So here was a young Christian man announcing that he “loved” this junk, not only in the presence of females but in the presence of nonbelievers. Then, what was even worse, is that other Christian guys there agreed enthusiastically with him!

How is that movie edifying? How does it not pollute your mind? What type of witness are we being? “Well my favorite book to read is the Holy Scriptures and my favorite thing to watch is Wedding Crashers.” Oh yeah, now I see what a powerful example that is; can’t believe I missed it the first time.

I also have a good amount of friends from both highschool and college who put the artist Eminem as one of their favorites. Here’s a guy who has profanity and the F word all throughout his songs, yet these young Christian men hold him up us one of their favorite. I don’t care how great the guy is, or that he is a genius in the area of rap, the guy is singing filth into your ear. There are, of course, more extreme examples; I’m sure there are Christians out there who say Marylin Manson is their favorite.

Not only is that a horrible witness, but it is nothing but hurtful to your personal walk. We are called to live lives that are pure, holy, and pleasing to God. For some bizarre reason I do not see God being too pleased with you claiming Wedding Crashers or Eminem as your favorites. It’s when I hear things like this that I question how serious the Christian youth of today are about their faith.

I do not want anyone to think that I’m sitting up here on my high horse pointing fingers at them and judging. I am extremely far from being a perfect Christian example. I have enjoyed watching movies that I regretted having seen afterwards. This has been an exhortation to me just as much as to my brothers and sisters in Christ. I, however, can not say it better than Octavius Winslow.

“Be exhorted to walk in the Spirit. Be not satisfied with having the question decided in your favor, or with just barely knowing that you have crossed the line that separates the regenerate from the unregenerate, death from life. Remain not where you are; go forward. Be not content with a low standard. Compare not your church with other churches, nor yourself with other Christians; nor measure yourself by yourself. Rather, fix your eye upon Christ; copy His example, imbibe His mind, and place yourself under the government of His Spirit. Strive to go forward!”

This post is in no way limited to media: what we watch or listen to. I hope we all take the exhortation here and apply it to every aspect of our lives. Claiming Christ in name is not enough, you must also claim Him in your actions, in the fruit that you bear. As a Christian you are taking up life with the highest standard, the standard of Christ. We are called to live as Christ did; a perfect life. While this is impossible, it is still the goal, and one we are to strive for.

“For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.” – Romans 8:5

A Tale of Two Psalms

"The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside still waters, He restores my soul . . ." You know the rest. The encouraging and beautiful words of Psalm 23 comprise one of the most widely known, oft-quoted parts of Scripture. People all over, it seems, have memorized it, claimed it as their favorite Bible verse , quoted it in movies, and had it tattooed on themselves. (Nike even featured it in a basketball shoe commercial a few years ago). It seems strange that many of these people--athletes, actors, shoe companies to name a few--are glad to identify themselves with the "inspirational" thoughts of David's song--the Lord will provide rest and comfort, in the face of death there is no fear, etc.--yet cringe at the suggestion that the gospel of Jesus Christ is the absolute truth. Why do so many feel free to pour upon themselves the blessings of the 23rd Psalm (and similar "well-loved" parts of the Bible) yet ultimately consider them the same as many other (secular) "great quotes" or "inspirational literature" and ignore the spiritual reality of the book and God that it comes from.

The irony deepens when one looks at the chapter right before Psalm 23 (Psalm 22 for any math-challenged people out there). If everyone who superficially loved Psalm 23 examined Psalm 22, they would observe some of the clearest Old Testament prophecies pointing to Jesus, specifically the events of the crucifixion.

The opening words "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (Psalm 22.1) are spoken by Jesus from the cross (Matthew 27.46, Mark 15.34).

Psalm 22.7-8 say "All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads: 'He trusts in the Lord; let the Lord rescue him. Let him deliver him, since he delights in him.'" The fulfillment of this verse is found in Matthew 27.39-43: "Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads . . . The chief priests, the teachers of the law, and the elders mocked him . . . 'He trusts in God. Let God rescue him.'"

In verse 16 of the Psalm, King David writes that "a band of evil men has encircled me, they have pierced my hands and feet" fulfilled through the nails of the crucifixion and finally in verse 18 the Psalm states "They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing" as happened to Jesus (Matthew 27.35).

The clarity of the prophecies fulfilled nearly a thousand years later by Christ is both astounding and encouraging. Both psalms are intense and beautiful and both, obviously, are scripture. Yet it is intriguing that Psalm 23 maintains its place as "favorite psalm of all time" (even by those who reject the gospel and have nothing to do with Jesus) a chapter away from another psalm of David that is far less known and loved but that points squarely to Jesus Christ.

Break your mirrors.

“We do not dare classify or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves. When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise” (2 Cor. 10.12).

Sometimes I worry about us. With our conscience as our guide and the mirror as our model, I think perhaps we have come to a dreadful conclusion. Most of us, I would guess, aren’t naïve enough to presume that we’re fine. But I fear that at times we are foolish enough to believe that it is fine that we’re not fine. We rest on God’s promises of forgiveness and patience but close our ears to His exhortations to faith and perseverance. Are we content with our sinful autonomy? Do we refuse to consider our rebellious state? “If you love me, you will do what I command” is often hastily pushed aside in favor of softer, friendlier passages. “If he has made us, if he has redeemed us, if he has preserved us in being, it is but His due that we should be His servants”(Charles Spurgeon. A Good Start. 64). Yet we, God’s very children, continue to say secretly “‘well, I do not want to be a servant.’ You cannot help it my friend; you cannot help it. You must be a servant of somebody. ‘Then I will serve myself,’ says one. Pardon me, brave sir, if I whisper in your ear that if you serve yourself you will serve a fool. The man who is the servant of himself—listen to this sentence—the man who is the servant of himself is the slave of a slave; and I cannot imagine a more degrading position for a man to be in than to be the slave of a slave. You will assuredly serve somebody. You will wear fetters, too, if you serve the master that most men choose” (Spurgeon 67).

These words of Spurgeon are addressed to unbelievers—but are they also true of us? Are we God’s at heart because of Christ yet continuing to live as slaves to ourselves? “Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness” (Rom. 6.16)? “We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer” (Rom 6.1)? Let s stop making ourselves and each other the standard of righteousness. Consider instead the example of Christ and the lives of those spoken of by the writer of Hebrews:

“Others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection. Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated—the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground. These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect” (Heb. 11. 35-40).

Something better for us! But look at our lives in comparison. What would Hebrews 11 read were it written of us? Is this world unworthy of us? No? Then let us strive for perfection! Let us seek to submit ourselves daily to the Lordship of Christ. Let us do something to move away from where we are towards the life of faith modeled for us in Scripture.

Hebrews 12:4 says “in your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.”

This is the kind of devotion we should desire. But if we are our own role models, how will we ever achieve it?

How will we achieve it? How is sin made less and less attractive? Where do we find the power to live like we should—to think and feel like we should? I think we need to pray with Paul that our eyes will be opened to the greatness of the true God; the real riches of His love. I think we begin to escape our self-induced enslavement when we start to see our God as the master he really is; as the master who is worth serving.

“I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come” (Eph. 1.17-21).

Here is our role model; here is our standard, the glorious Son of God. "Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart" (Heb. 12.2,3).