Crosswalk.com--The Devotional

[Judy Harder]

August 6, 2010

From Middle of Life to Center of Truth
Shawn McEvoy

Do not withhold your mercy from me, O LORD; may your love and your truth always protect me.
Psalm 40:11, NIV

I turned 40 a couple months ago. Woo-hoo.

You'll pardon my "enthusiasm," I'm sure. What nobody tells you about turning 40 is that you ask yourself a lot of questions, sort of a checklist of making sure you have certain things right before proceeding to the most meaningful half of the game. It's like you're in the locker room at halftime of life - bandaging injuries, reflecting on the strategies of the first half - both failed and successful - and considering your options as you re-emerge to the field.

One upside of this odd time (one of my most awkward since adolescence; think of me as a teenager plus a modicum of wisdom, confidence, and gainful employment. I even found a couple of zits this week for goodness sakes) is empathy. I wouldn't call what I'm going through a "mid-life crisis"... but I now understand why some people have them. I wouldn't say that agnosticism is any kind of answer to the meaning of life... but I now understand why people gravitate to it, conscientiously or not. I wouldn't say this life is the point or that this world is our home... but I get why people begin to make the most of the time they have left as they see the clock running down.

The downside, however, is that I find myself prone to thinking I'm smarter than I am, to thinking so much depends upon me, to buying into answers that are all at once beyond biblical teaching in both complexity and sanity. My like-it's-on-hormones brain has me wondering about...

Dinosaurs, definitions of marriage, death, love, whom I've loved, whether I've loved, addictions, exercise, accountability, honesty, privacy, sexuality, inerrancy, accuracy, cosmology, biology, psychology, mighta-beens, coulda-beens, shoulda-beens, woulda-beens, fairness, facts, food, euthanasia, hip dysplasia, adoptions from Asia, character, selfishness, and yes... even shiny new sportscars.

Good gracious.

Take any one of those categories - plus many more - and I've been bogged down thinking about it. Some of my thoughts challenge my own beliefs, beliefs I've long held as established, settled. Some of my thoughts wake me up to new possibilities, or things I haven't done yet that I may still be called to. But in the end all these ideas remain merely...

My. Thoughts.

Biblically, those just aren't very trustworthy words. So what do I do now?

The same thing I've always done - come back to first principles. Study the old verses from childhood. Memorize scripture. And be really, really honest with friends and acquaintances. That authenticity, though, is a new ingredient, one that is making this halftime speech much more meaningful, bearable, and shared.

But at its root is just the same formula from which I deconstruct everything: something happened in Jerusalem and the surrounding areas over 2,000 years ago that sent plain old uneducated men to the corners of the earth convinced that everything - life, meaning, all time and all space - was on the line, and there was a Truth worth dying for. They did this because they knew a man who was also God, whom death could not hold, and who offered an amazing gift to anyone who would faithfully open it. And there's this book about those men, and the One in whom they believed, and no matter how many questions you seem to have about this book or how it was put together or who wrote it or whether its teachings are fair or right, one thing is for sure - it spoke in advance of the One who came, and in Him it becomes a whole lot clearer.

And the same God who caused all that to happen wanted the rest of the story told in certain ways. He told us some things were good for us, some bad. He told us some things were right in His eyes, some wrong. He told us He created this place we live in a period of days. No matter how confusing any of that may seem (and make no mistake - child-like faith is one of my favorite things, but growing in wisdom is a stretch to that faith, and stretching is almost always a good thing to do with aging muscles), it holds that there was a Truth. And the God that foretold, sent, and raised this Truth is the one telling the story in a way that might make you scratch your head, puzzle out how things piece together, but before you know it, you have been thinking, praying to, and meditating upon Him and how He did it, how it all might paradoxically mesh.

Simplicity out of complexity. Youthfulness out of age. Truth out of confusion. Beauty out of chaos.

So far, I have to tell you, the 40s just rock.

Intersecting Faith and Life: No matter how old you are, make a list of what's behind you and what you think or hope lies ahead. Admit the concepts with which you struggle, and the bedrock that does not move, and find the place they meet for you. And move forward from there.

Further Reading:

John 18:37-38
What is Truth?

[Judy Harder]

August 9, 2010

Romans 8:28 Does Not Mean Giving Thanks with a Plastic Smile
Alex Crain
Editor, Christianity.com

"And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those
who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose."
Romans 8:28

Catastrophes like recent earthquakes, hurricanes, and even terrorist attacks remind us that, indeed, we live in a sin-cursed world. Not only do tragedies like these cause many to lose their lives, they often leave countless others in their wake---roiling in doubt and disbelief. The horrors of human suffering can stain our minds and souls and often obscure our vision of the God who is there. How are we supposed to respond?


Closer to home, we experience the curse of sin in personal ways through losses or disappointments that grieve the heart. We may wonder in all honesty at such times what verses like Romans 8:28 mean. Does Christ call His followers to simply put on a plastic smile and somehow grin and bear it?

Hardly.

Francis Schaeffer offers a helpful explanation to this dilemma in the first chapter of his classic book, True Spirituality. In fact, he says that a proper grasp of Romans 8:28 is crucial to understanding the world.

First of all, he takes care to point out that the Bible's view of life in the world is clear-eyed and realistic: At the Fall of man, everything became abnormal. The whole world is not what God made it to be. Therefore, Scripture verses like Romans 8:28 cannot be calling us to think...

"...that in some magical way everything is really fine when it isn't. Rather, we are to say "thank You Lord" knowing that God will somehow bring good ultimately, though we may not know how all the pieces fit together. 

"It is not that Christians are to give thanks with a plastic smile, saying things are wonderful when they are hard. It is knowing that the hard things are really hard things, a result of the abnormality of the Fall, yet not revolting against God when the hard things come." 

"We do honor to God and the finished work of Christ as we throw the words 'all things' in Romans 8:28 like a circle around all things..." 

"...we are contented before God... yet not complacent about the suffering of the world." 

In other words, Christ neither calls us to be indifferent nor to put on a plastic smile. Rather, we are to face the facts of hard reality and then sink our roots more deeply in who He is.

What a privilege that we who are naturally God's enemies can even have a relationship of trusting Him—this faithful, sovereign, covenant keeping God who is incapable of failure. He makes and keeps great promises not only for His glory but for the ultimate good of those who are His.   

Intersecting Faith & Life:

In what situations are you tempted to be shaken from trusting God?

Clearly, this is a sin-cursed world.  Still, do you sometimes catch yourself expecting a rosy path? Why? What do we really deserve? (Read Romans 3:10-20)

Further Reading

Jonathan Edwards' sermon: "Men Are Naturally God's Enemies" 

[Judy Harder]

August 10, 2010

Down-size Me

John UpChurch, Editor, Jesus.org

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of God. (Matthew 5:3, ESV) 

You're blessed when you're at the end of your rope.  With less of you there is more of God and his rule.
Matthew 5:3, MSG

Let's try to regain the shock value in the way Jesus opened His Sermon on the Mount. We're too familiar with the statements and too far removed from the time to hear it like the original listeners. Imagine going to a fast food restaurant, ordering an enormous value meal, and the cashier hitting you with this question: "Would you like to down-size your meal for a dollar less?" Or imagine a car salesperson pausing before you sign the papers and saying, "You know what? That extended warranty is overpriced. Let's get rid of it."

Now you have an idea how much impact Jesus had and why the audience was so astounded. Just like we expect people to push us to buy more, the Jews at the time expected their rabbis to tell them the things they needed to do, the rules they needed to abide by. They came expecting to learn the ten steps required to earn God's favor, but Jesus crumpled up that idea and threw it out. Instead, He revealed that God's favor and blessings come to those who are poor in spirit.

There's more to it, however, than simply feeling beaten down or contrite. The poor in spirit—the ones at the end of their ropes—are those who realize they've gone as far as human effort can get them. In terms of salvation, that's not very far. Here's how John Gill puts it:

The greater part of mankind are insensible of this their condition; but think themselves rich, and increased with goods: there are some who are sensible of it, who see their poverty and want, freely acknowledge it, bewail it, and mourn over it; are humbled for it, and are broken under a sense of it; entertain low and mean thoughts of themselves; seek after the true riches, both of grace and glory; and frankly acknowledge, that all they have, or hope to have, is owing to the free grace of God. (John Gill, Commentary on Matthew 5:3)

The poor in spirit don't just feel bad; they feel bad because they realize how destitute their condition. When we truly understand that "karma points" and charitable acts amount to nothing more than drops of food coloring in the ocean, then we've gotten the point: We can't even approach the kingdom of God, let alone enter it, through our own efforts.

But those who look down and see the filth (and pre-salvation, our spiritual appearance is just that) are those who realize the need for God. And with that realization comes the increase of God in our lives and the decrease of self.

Intersecting Faith & Life:  The beatitudes are much more than good ideas or suggestions. They crush preconceptions and expose us as we truly are. Each one reveals our need for God, our need for the work only He could do. When we're poor in spirit (that is, realizing our condition), we're rich in Him.

Further Reading

Matthew 5

Luke 6

[Judy Harder]

August 11, 2010

Let Me Help You with That Speck
Laura MacCorkle, Crosswalk.com Senior Editor

You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.
Romans 2:1, NIV

Don't you just love it when God gently smacks you upside the head?

You think you've got something learned and don't really struggle with it anymore.  And you've also got the framed certificate of achievement hanging on your wall to prove it. Until ... you open your mouth.

That was the case for me recently when I judged someone based on their outward appearance at my church.

But before I share that "fun" story with you, let's back up even further than that to a couple of years prior, when someone made a judgmental comment to me in church about someone else's outward appearance.

My church friend said:  "You know, the congregation seemed really dead this morning. No one was smiling while they were singing or looking joyful AT ALL." 

To which I said:  "Yeah, I hear you.  But how do you know what's going on in their hearts? Just because they're not raising their hands, doesn't mean they're not praising God on the inside. Right?"

To which the friend then replied:  Oh. I guess you're right.

And now, let's come back to the present when just a few weeks ago, it was my turn to point out something ...

Here's what I said:  Hey, it cracks me up that that guy is wearing shorts and a T-shirt in the church service, while everyone else is wearing dress pants and button-downs. And ESPECIALLY while standing up in front of the congregation during a "ministry moment."  TOO funny. Right?

To which my friend said ... [pause] ... Yep, that's right.  A big fat NOTHING.

So naturally it dawned on me a few days later what I had done. I realized that my friend was probably thinking what I had been thinking a few years prior when I called someone out for being judgmental.

Matthew 7:3-5 says:

Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.

Ouch.  Looking back, I can see that I was so focused on what surely looked like a speck in someone else's eye, that I couldn't even see the plank in my own. How did I know what was in the heart of the guy wearing the T-shirt and shorts at my church? Maybe he was wearing the very best that he had. And how wrong of me to assume that he was not!

God judges what lies in each of our hearts. He sees what is truth when he shines the light inside of our lives. 

So the next time, before I go looking to point out specks of sawdust in the eyes of others, let my example be a reminder to us all to remember God's kindness in spite of the planks in our own eyes. And may that knowledge lead us to repentance and in turning our hearts back to him.

Intersecting Faith & Life:  What's the best way to see the plank in your own eye? A trusted friend or family member (someone who knows you well, loves you and can gently offer constructive criticism) is a good mirror for that. If you really want to know, schedule some time to sit down together and ask what is stuck in your own eye. It might confirm what you already know or you just might be surprised by what is found.

Further Reading

Psalm 51:10

Proverbs 27:19

[Judy Harder]

August 12, 2010

True Testimony
by Katherine Britton, Crosswalk.com News & Culture Editor

"Don't lie to each other, for you have stripped off your old evil nature and all its wicked deeds. In its place you have clothed yourselves with a brand-new nature that is continually being renewed as you learn more and more about Christ, who created this new nature within you." 
Colossians 3:9-10

The seminary dean of Liberty University recently lost his position, despite tripled enrollment during his tenure. In fact, Liberty University's investigation into Ergun Caner's past life uncovered no secret tapes, no drug use, no sexual misconduct - just "factual statements that are self-contradictory." By most accounts, his offense was really a misdemeanor. He simply made his life's story a little more interesting than it really was.

The fatal flaw, however, was the career he built on those historical flourishes. He touted himself as an expert based on life experiences that now seem exaggerated. For that, Liberty retained him as faculty, but he will no longer steer the seminary he helped build. Caner's demotion and loss of influence should caution not just preachers and public speakers, but all Christians.

Caner's appeal stemmed from his astonishing conversion narrative, which spoke of growing up in Pakistan on a jihadist path before coming to Christ. His true testimony, however, may not have been so glamorous, as Liberty "found discrepancies related to matters such as dates, names and places of residence." It seems Caner fell prey to what a Christianity Today editorial called "testimony envy" - that is, the desire to craft our coming-to-faith stories in a way that inspires awestruck wonder from our fellow Christians.

Here's the problem: Damascus Road conversions display God's irresistible pursuit of us in dramatic fashion, but not everyone needs - or has - that kind of conversion experience. Every Christian has a sin nature that separated him from God, and Christ's sacrifice surmounts that obstacle for every Christian.

We don't need to make ourselves into "bad boys." Theologically speaking, we all looked despicable before a holy God. Exaggerating our testimony to make it more "exciting" gives a quiet voice to an old heresy. Such actions implicitly affirm the idea that our sin nature isn't really that bad. That means we don't really need a Savior that badly. Testimonial flourishes don't make grace more amazing - they cheapen grace.

The Gospel works because Christ loved us enough to accept everyone, not just those who met him on the Damascus Road. He also accepts the good kids who slowly grew in their understanding of faith without a particular moment of conversion and the adult who returns to faith slowly after a period of coldness. The Gospel has never been about how outrageous our story is. It will always be about the outrageous love of God. 

Intersecting Faith & Life:  One of Christianity's cornerstone verses is Ephesians 2:8 - "For it is by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourself. It is God's gift, not of works, so that no one can boast." When you tell stories about your faith, do they call greater attention to your own responses or God's sustaining grace? The most incredible testimony in the world is that of an ordinary sinner plucked from the mouth of destruction. That's grace. That's worth telling.

[Judy Harder]

August 13, 2010

Make Me Happy!
Sarah Jennings, Crosswalk.com Family Editor

We love, because he first loved us.
1 John 4: 19

I have a confession. I'm a Bachelor addict. You know, the ABC reality show where they set one man up with 25 potential matches? Yes, I keep up with it.

Honestly, this show was cathartic for me during my crazy dating days. It reminded me that perhaps I wasn't the only one struggling with romantic love. And it also provided plenty of object lessons on what not to do in the quest for a spouse.

Sadly, in spite of the show's goal to offer eligible bachelors a chance at lasting love, very few couples make it to the altar. You can blame the elaborate set or the pressure created by the roses, but I think the reason the couples have little success is because the show is founded on commonly held, yet flawed, beliefs about love.

Like so many of us out here in the real world, love on the Bachelor is usually equated to the giddy, mushy, feelings of infatuation. Time and again, the Bachelor expresses the fairy tale notion that they want to find someone who "completes them" or makes them feel happy. They spend hours interviewing and wooing these women then agonizing over eliminations at the famous rose ceremonies in their efforts to find the one woman who will make them happy forever.

But what happens after the final rose when these giddy feelings of personal "completeness" fade? When flaws and hardships overwhelm their early romance? This is when so-called "love" fades for most couples. And we just can't figure out what went wrong.

In his book Love & Responsibility, Fr. Wojtyla explains these perplexing relationship failures. He explains that this notion that we're supposed to find someone to "complete us" is off course. You see, when we date a person with the primary goal of experiencing pleasure - or a sense of "fulfillment" - we're actually using that person. Sure, we may like the person. But we're still using them as a means to our end, our pleasure. And using a person is the opposite of loving them.

Not only does using a person fail to nurture true love, but Fr. Wojtyla insists that the "pleasure approach" is impractical because it is very difficult to predict who will bring us the maximum amount of personal pleasure long-term (I think the Bachelors would agree here!). Thus begins the cycle of serial monogamy as we hop from one high to the next.

So how do we find true love if we can't just look for the person who gives us the biggest high? It's not that we shouldn't enjoy our mates. Quite the contrary. But we need to start off on a different foot. Fr. Wojtyla shares that true love finds its beginnings when two human beings make a free will commitment to a good, the greatest good being God. He writes, "Love... is conditioned by the common attitude of people towards the same good, which they choose as their aim, and to which they subordinate themselves."

Why does this work? In joining another for good, the focus becomes less, "What can you do for me?" (which is self-centered) to "What can we do together to serve God?"

Intersecting Faith & Life:  Are you frustrated with your spouse? Do you feel like he or she is not doing enough to make you happy? Pray about ways to resolve your feelings of discontent. If you are both believers, pray about ways you can serve God as a couple.

Further Reading

1 Cor 13
Why Are Today's Parents So Unhappy? by Albert Mohler

[Judy Harder]

SUBSCRIBE TO PODCAST | LISTEN TO DEVOTIONALAugust 16, 2010

That Boy Dating Your Daughter is More Than a Nuisance
Shawn McEvoy

Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker; for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care. Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts...
Psalm 95:6-8

My little girl will turn five in a week, and believe it or not... I'm looking forward to the day she starts bringing boys home.

Oh, believe me, there's no rush. I'm happy to remain Numero Uno in little Lauren's eyes as long as possible. All I'm really saying here is that I believe in her, in how she's being raised, in how she's taking after her mother. Whoever she brings home - I'm confident saying - is not going to be a person without redeeming qualities (and if you don't mind me bragging, she's already made three little boys from preschool so giddy their parents joked with us about an arranged marriage).

So what has me so primed for this experience that I don't sound like the typical dad at the door with a sneer and a shotgun? What else? The experience of having been valued and trusted myself.

Twenty-three years ago I didn't know it, but I became part of a family. The McGriffs were a very unique family. When I met their eldest daughter, Dick and Susan had just remarried each other after having divorced each other. I never knew all the details, only that this was their first example to me of it never being too late, of recognizing wrongs and repenting.

They took to me right away, but don't get the impression that they didn't lay down the law or have rules. It was the way they imposed them - agreeably, fairly, seriously - that made so much of a difference. It's not even that they didn't try to "change" me - to be perfectly honest they did try: suggesting Christian alternatives to my secular music, suggesting viewed-at-their-home Cary Grant movies to the ones I would have preferred taking their daughter to the theater to see, giving us five minutes after a date to say goodnight before the front lights would be flicked on and off signaling that, okay, that's enough now.

I dated Malia for four-and-a-half years, off and on. During that time I built memories, house-sat for their family, came to cherish younger sisters Michelle and Amy like they were my own. Oh, like most young couples our relationship wasn't perfect; we would fight and make things more difficult than they had to be, just as I continue to do. But from her folks there was always instruction, encouragement, solidity. Laughs and firm handshakes. Always trust regardless.

Thanks to Facebook, I've regained contact with these three sisters, observed how their family has grown, and chuckled at the way they continue to interact despite living all over the country (Malia in particular had the most amazing talent for taking tense situations and making them laughable, one I'm told she still has, one that is a story for another time). I sent them the following email:

Just wanna say... You three are still some of my favorite people I've ever met, especially for a trio of sisters. I love how life has worked out for all of you, and how large that family has grown, and how involved your folks are in visiting. You have fantastic men who seem to get you and treat you well.

You're all three beautiful examples of Christian motherhood and of being distinctly individual yet connected. It was transformative to grow up as a semi-adopted part of your clan, and it's a blessing to see your joy - and how you've dealt with the pains - today.

You gals rock!

And from each I received back a distinctive, meaningful, heartfelt response. And I traced it all to the commitments, re-commitments, and never-give-up attitudes their parents made so obvious without being annoying. And shoot, even if they were ever annoying, I love them the more for it now.

There are opportunities everywhere. And yes, there are dangers. And times are different, and believe me - I know guys and what is on their minds. But I was politely welcomed and discipled as more than the sum of my convertible sportscar + raging hormones, and in so many ways, that made as much difference as several lessons my own parents modeled for me.

Thanks again, McGriff family.

Intersecting Faith and Life: Are you nervous about your daughter starting to date? Why or why not? Have you taken an active role in helping her decide in advance what choices are better than others? Will you be able to understand or tolerate failings? Are you able to be firm while smiling and maintaining a sense of humor or gentility? Willing to be labeled as old-fashioned but resolute in knowing your ways are good ways? You never know who or what that boy is going to become, but you have a chance to help ensure it's something good.

Further Reading

Proverbs 22:6

1 Corinthians 2:5

Raise a Godly Daughter in an Ungodly World

[Judy Harder]

Pop Quizzes 
Alex Crain, Editor, Christianity.com

"...covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints
...but rather giving of thanks."
Ephesians 5:3-4 NKJV



"Clear your desks. Take out a blank sheet of paper and a #2 pencil..." Years later, I can still hear the sound of Mr. Young's voice intoning above the moans and groans in our 7th grade classroom. Maybe you had the same kind of teacher... every day was a potential pop quiz day.   

Although it wasn't much fun facing the unexpected pressure of a pop quiz, I can see looking back that Mr. Young's intent was to teach me to think hard when reading assignments were given and to listen carefully during lectures. I recall that the answers on the quiz were usually fairly obvious as long as I was half-way plugged into what was going on in class. Rarely, if ever, were the quiz questions about any sort of new or obscure information. This was just his way to review material we had already read or heard.   

Now, I see that every day has a potential pop quiz day of another sort. Something happens daily to test the reality of my love for God and others. And, like Mr. Young's pop quizzes, it's usually a matter of review. That doesn't mean that the A-plusses come easily. Often, the pop quizzes of life are about desires going on within my heart—desires balancing on the razor's edge between contentment and covetousness. According to Ephesians 5:3-4, the only response that scores an A+ in the pop quizzes of life is "giving of thanks" ...i.e. having a thankful heart at the very moment I don't get something I want.   

Francis Schaeffer wrote about the gravity of coveteousness in his book, True Spirituality. He said, "There are two practical tests as to when we are coveting against God or other people; first, I am to love God enough to be contented; second, I am to love others enough not to envy." He goes on to say (in chapter one):

"The Bible makes plain that God has made us with proper desires. So, all desire is not sin. When does proper desire become coveting? ... there is a lack of proper contentment on my part.  When I lack proper contentment, I have forgotten that God is God. A quiet disposition and a heart giving thanks is the real test of the extent to which we love and trust God at that moment."

So, if a quiet disposition and a heart giving thanks is the real test of the extent to which we love and trust God, how's your "pop quiz average" lately? Are you a person with a spirit of entitlement about your way, or do you have an outlook toward the Lord that trusts Him in His way?

A high standard like the two-edged: "do not covet... but rather give thanks in all things" might cause us to shrug our shoulders in despair. Francis Schaeffer, himself, admitted to having low points like this. What made the difference for him was that He rediscovered joy by believing again in the reality of the Holy Spirit.   

It is the Holy Spirit's work of inward heart change as spoken about in places like Ezek. 36:26, and Jer. 31:33-34 that produces contentment. If we stop believing in Him, we'll be left only to look to ourselves. And a self-dependent life is going to be a life marked by one failed "pop quiz" after another... at those surprise moments when you don't get something you want, you'll have an ungrateful, grumbling heart.

The rigorous internal standard of "thou shalt not covet" finally humbles all of us. Even the "perfect" Pharisee, Paul, in Romans 7:7-9 confessed that it was the "thou shalt not covet" commandment that gnawed at him and exposed his true inward condition as a sinner before God.

When we are controlled by the strong desire to make things go our way, we are coveting God's place to ordain everything His way. At that moment, we are no longer loving God. What's the right response then? Humble confession of sin and a fresh appreciation for the atoning work of Christ on the cross for that sin. 

Humble confession to God through Christ casts us safely into depending on God. His active work in our hearts causes us to give thanks for all things, and that brings Him glory.

Intersecting Faith & Life:   

What's your "pop quiz average" lately? Is it bringing God glory?

On the basis of God's New Covenant promise (Jer. 31:34, Ezek. 36:26) and the finished work of Christ ask God to change you and enable you to do what may seem impossible—to give thanks always for all things.

Further Listening

Psalm 62, song by Aaron Keyes

You Never Let Go, song by Matt Redman

[Judy Harder]

August 18, 2010

Empty Rooms
John UpChurch, Editor, Jesus.org

Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. (Matthew 5:4, ESV)


Empty rooms always get to me. The echoes where couches used to be, the scratch marks where paintings of flowers once covered nail holes, the carpet indentations where the treadmill once collected dust—taken together, the missing elements can be overwhelming.


In those empty rooms, first steps happened, weekends dwindled away, and strawberry smoothies cooled summer afternoons. Leaving means letting go of at least a part of those moments, especially the immediacy of place, where smell and touch can trigger the fullness of what transpired there.



Normally, I simply write off the feelings as nostalgia. But nostalgia's just a polite way to say "mourning" or "sadness." We say "nostalgia" when we really mean that we're sad to let go of something we've known, something we've grown accustomed to. We've gotten so familiar with the walls that leaving them hurts.



Deeper down, mulling over empty rooms is more than simply missing potted plants and funny shapes in the wood grain on the floor; it's about introspection. The objects that are missing have no value in themselves. The value comes from us. To other people our empty room is a blank slate, but to us, it's a place that will never be the same.



True mourning, the kind Jesus means in Matthew 5:4, involves that inward-focused examination—not looking at external changes, but peering inside at what those changes mean. Each day we can find an outward reason to mourn: social injustice, loss, death. And God offers peace for each of them. But the comfort Christ refers to here is for those who mourn from the inside out.



Let's focus on the obvious for a moment. Comfort always follows sorrow. We wouldn't offer condolences to those who received a promotion. God comforts those who have examined the depths of themselves and realized the need to mourn. They understand that the outside manifestations of sorrow reveal a more immediate inner need—the need for Christ. True comfort must start there.

Intersecting Faith & Life:  Just like the poor in spirit who receive the kingdom of heaven, those who mourn realize something about themselves and let God take care of what's tucked away inside. The poor in spirit see the rags they wear spiritually, and the mourners see the source of their sorrows.

We mourn because we see what we are and what we've been: empty rooms ready for the rightful Tenant, Jesus Christ.

Further Reading

Isaiah 61:1-3

James 1:12

[Judy Harder]

August 19, 2010

Appearances Can Be Deceiving

Laura MacCorkle, Crosswalk.com Senior Editor

But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."
1 Samuel 16:7, NIV

Leave it to God to pick the guy no one else would have picked to become Israel's greatest earthly king:  David. 

When I think of how unlikely it is that a shepherd boy became a king, I am reminded of the song I used to sing in Sunday School as a child, "Only a Boy Named David" ...

Only a boy named David
Only a little sling
Only a boy named David
But he could pray and sing

Only a boy named David
Only a rippling brook
Only a boy named David
But five little stones he took

And one little stone went in the sling
And the sling went round and round
And one little stone went in the sling
And the sling went round and round ...

Hmmm.  "Only" this and "only" that. There's so much depth of meaning in the word "only," isn't there? As a child, I don't know if I really grasped the concept of God's powerful hand at work in and through the life of such an unlikely hero.  But I do now.

David was small in stature, young and inexperienced when the Lord instructed Samuel to anoint him as the chosen one who would replace Saul as king.

In Samuel 16, the Lord had told Samuel to find Jesse because he had chosen one of his sons to be king. As probably most of us would do, Samuel first gravitated toward who looked best suited for the part:  the oldest and taller child, Eliab. 

"Surely the LORD's anointed stands here before the LORD," Samuel thought.

Nope. Not quite. 

In verse 7, we see how the Lord showed Samuel that what he was looking for was not in someone's appearance or in anything that man can see. 

"Do not consider his appearance or his height ... Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."

So Samuel considered another son. And then another. And yet the parade wasn't over until seven of Jesse's sons had been seen by Samuel. 

"Are these all the sons you have?" he asked Jesse. "There is still the youngest," Jesse replied, "but he is tending sheep." "Send for him," Samuel said. "We will not sit down until he arrives."

He was "only a boy named David." But Samuel heeded the Lord's command ("Rise and anoint him; he is the one").  And David was filled with the Spirit of the Lord and his life—and history—was changed forever.

How can you not be encouraged after hearing that?  If God can use "only a boy named David" to carry out his plan, can he not use you and me as well? Only a lonely girl named "Amy" or only a bed-ridden grandfather named "Ralph" or only a flunked-out college student named "Ted"? 

Perhaps you are the one who is limiting yourself and all that God wants to do through you. Have you ever thought about it in that way? 

"But I don't have enough schooling," you might think. Or, "I'm not eloquent enough." Or "I don't have enough money." Or "I'm not gifted ." And so forth.

Stop looking at yourself the way the world sees you—the way the world wrongly places importance on what is temporal and fleeting—and start looking at yourself through the eyes of faith. Who does God want you to see? What purposes does he have for you? And how is he equipping you to serve him in mighty ways right now? 

Yes, appearances can be deceiving. But thankfully our God sees underneath to the wonderful creations he has made us all to be.

Intersecting Faith & Life:  About a year ago, I had the opportunity to hear an amazing young man speak.  He was born without limbs, but hasn't let that slow him down as he travels worldwide sharing the Gospel through his ministry. I encourage you to learn more about his story at www.lifewithoutlimbs.org. Be inspired and remember that no matter how the world sees you or me or tries to label our "limitations," God can see our true potential and can use any and all of us for his Kingdom.

Further Reading

Luke 1:37

Philippians 4:13