Second Chances and Love

Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance? He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in steadfast love. (Micah 7:18 ESV)

Second Chances and Love

Micah claims that God has steadfast love.  If God only loved when His people are worthy, God’s love would be responsive, not steadfast.  If God only loved when He wanted to love, God’s love would be fickly, not steadfast.  If God only loved up to a certain point, God’s love would be reasonable, not steadfast.  If God only loved after God’s people proved themselves, God’s love would be like our love, not steadfast.

God’s Love and Second Chances are tightly woven together.  God gives second chances because He loves.  He loves so much that He gave up His only begotten Son. (John 3:16) Second chances are the main way that God displays love to His people.  He forgives, making us his people.  He forgives, causing second chances.  He forgives, because He loves.

It is not difficult to give second chances to the people (or situations) that we love.  Notice how many of Paul’s love descriptors in I Corinthians 13 are connected to second chances.

Patience causes second chances.  Second chances happen because of a lack of arrogance.  Second chances are a prime example of not being rude.  Second chances are the result of not insisting on one’s own way.  When we bear all things, we offer second chances.  When we hope all things, we hope for second chances.  When we endure all things, second chances result.

And as love never ends… both the love we receive from God, and the love we extend towards Him and other people… then second chances are what we see, experience, enjoy, and spread around. 

Love and second chances to together.

Take the love God grants us.

Second Chances and Hope

And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.” (Luke 23:42,43 ESV)

Second Chances and Hope

He was not merely a thief. He was a thief whose crime had been heinous enough to deserve crucifixion. The Romans, while not necessarily a cheerful, cuddly lot, were at least generally fair, at least in reference to Roman law.

No crowd was gathered to protest the justice going on to the right of Jesus’ cross. This thief was a man who likely deserved what he was getting. Folk were not crucified just for burglary. In Roman times, though, a thief who murdered while he stole, or destroyed more than he stole, or was cruel and vicious while thieving was not lightly punished. So this thief was dying, gruesomely.

But he was about to get a second chance. His future was about to be lifted from darkness to light. From pain and agony to paradise. All it took was a relationship with Jesus Christ. All it took was the thief’s belief. All it took was the transfer that results from belief. Jesus, next door to this man… was now dying on that thief’s behalf.

The thief’s second chance would not be realized on this earth… but rather in that land of second chances, that paradise because it IS a land of second chances, heaven.

This thief was living his second chance even as his body was dying. He had utterly and completely failed in his first try… but Jesus loves to give second chances. And so Jesus is already welcoming Him into paradise. The thief will not need a third chance.

And neither will we. Because of Jesus Christ’s part in life’s equation, our second chances are ALL offered and guaranteed. Our sins, no matter how bad our thievery, are traded on the scale of the cross for Christ’s sinless perfection.

The thief did not have the opportunity to fail again… to slip back into unrighteous behavior. He slipped gracefully into heaven almost immediately after his conversion. But that does not matter. Because the forgiveness of the thief, the second chance of the thief, was absolutely sure… NOT because of the new life of the thief… but because of the life, death, and life of Jesus, the thief’s savior.

Jesus Christ’s life, death, and life ARE our second chance, just like the thief dying next to Jesus Christ.

We look ahead to paradise, too. Surely.

Take the hope God grants us.

Second Chances and Faith

David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die. (II Samuel 12:13 ESV)

Second Chances and Faith

In an unused field outside of Florence, Michelangelo dumped half-formed but ruined statues of David. The chisel and hammer are unforgiving. Perhaps sculpting really is simply chipping away everything that does not look like your subject. But ‘oops’ is not a word we like to hear a sculping artist say.

There are rarely second chances in the middle of heart surgery. Rarely does a quarterback have the opportunity to replay those last two seconds of the big game. Investors do not get their money back when the public does not prefer an Edsel over a Chevy.

However, second chances are common with God. David’s sin surrounding Bathsheba is only one example. The Bible is full of such stories. God loves to give second chances. He calls it grace. He calls it mercy.

And while the Bible gives us absolute examples to believe, our own lives are also filled with God letting us start over. To try again. To return to a fresh beginning.

Salvation itself is the second chance for God’s people. Christ’s life, death, and life are God’s plan to return us to an improved eternal Eden. Improved because this time around, after we are glorified, we will not sin.

When we feel the anguish of our sin, like David admit it, and receive God’s second chance. When the effects of your sin, as well as others’ sins, bring you to your knees, bleeding by the side of life’s road, remember God’s forgiveness in the past and lift your eyes to the Gracious One. Find a second chance.

Take the Faith God grants us.

Children and Love

But Jesus called them to him, saying, “Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” (Luke 18:16,17 ESV)

Children and Love

Children are better than adults at some things. Kids are better present openers. Kids are better laughers. Kids are better imaginers. Kids are better vacationers. Kids are better dog-huggers. Kids are better best friends. Kids are better ice-cream-gorgers.

And most of all, kids understand love better than adults do.

Without trying to create heroic figures of our sweet little rug-rats, Jesus saw something about children in general that He draws to our attention. When Jesus advised His listeners to become like children to enter God’s Kingdom, He was not referring to their grubby hands. Jesus was not advising us to constantly try to push back bedtime. Jesus did not want His disciples to be selectively deaf when it comes to chores, plate-cleaning, or avoiding wearing nice clothes.

He certainly did not want us to whine more than we already do.

Jesus was referring to children’s grasp of love.

Children accept love better than adults. As we grow older, we become cynical, selfish, and stupid when it comes to being loved. Maybe we have been hurt too often. Maybe we have ridden that love-coaster to the point of sickness. Maybe the lies in our ears have outnumbered the dulcet tones of trustworthiness.

Children also love better than adults. The younger they are, the less conditions they attached to a decision to love. The younger they are, the more readily they seem willing to give, to listen, to trust, to serve, to help, to share, to forgive, to forget, and even to believe.

In these ways, we should strive to grow down instead of up.

In the ways of love, we should become childish instead of “mature.”

Take the love God grants us.

Children and Hope

Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. (Psalm 127:3 ESV)

Children and Hope

I have received a rich patrimony. That Scottish guy who threw rocks with William Wallace in Braveheart is my ancestor. My great-great-great-great-great-grandfather was knighted in London. I am the oldest living male heir of a Lord’s castle north of Northumbria. My father’s father taught him plumbing, and he tried to teach me. I have inherited a lot.

But in addition, I am their heritage.

An inheritance looks backwards, a heritage looks forward.

And God intends for us to see our heritage in the face of our children. That is what He gives us children for. To look forward and hope, aware of God’s future blessings. Hoping that they will have learned from our mistakes. Hoping that our time invested in them will bear fruit.

And not rotting, rusty, fading, financial, physical fruit, either. Eternal fruit. Kingdom fruit. Living fruit.

Our children’s children… and generations ahead. (Proverbs 13:22, Proverbs 17:6, Psalm 128:6 et. al.) God gives us hope for, about, and because of our children.

Not merely physical children, either. Spiritual children, too. Those we have had the chance to teach, even subtly, of the Lord. The heritage of all Christians, even those without physical children, is offered by God to give us hope for the future.

The gates of hell will not stand against God’s people, the church. (Matthew 16:18) That is the heritage of our future.

God will not forsake the children, and children’s children of His people. (Psalm 103:17) that is the heritage of our future.

And Exodus 20:6promises mercy, undoing the curse for disobedience found in Exodus 20:5. Our children find grace and mercy, as we do. That is the heritage of our future.

Take the hope God grants us.

Children and Faith

But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. (II Timothy 3:14,15 ESV)

Children and Faith

If there is one thing that God is absolutely the most expert in, it is raising children. We call Him our heavenly Father because He is. He has raised every one of His children. Ever since Adam. Sometimes with the help of earthly parents, and sometimes in spite of earthly parents.

Christian parents, despite Christ’s command to not worry (Matthew 6:35, Luke 12:25, John 14:1 et al), worry about our children. We seem to think it is part of the job description.

Acts 2:39, Psalm 115:14, and Isaiah 59:21are just a few of the verses in which God promises that He loves our children, as He loves us. If our children (just like us) are in HIS hands… why worry? God is a God of relationships, promises, and generations. Worrying about our children does not demonstrate our love of them… but rather displays our doubt of God.

Paul writes to Timothy, reminding him of the faith that the young Timothy learned from his mother and grandmother. And Timothy is an example of God keeping His promises regarding children. Timothy was raised in faith by his mother (and grandmother.) We are not sure whether his father was completely absent, or not a believer. But Timothy might be considered a young man that God could have let slip through the cracks. But God kept Timothy in the palm of His hand.

And there are more examples. Even examples of children who seemed on the wrong path, but God brought them to Him. People like Adam, Manasseh, and Paul.

This proverb justly criticizes our worries: Train up a child in the way he should go;

even when he is old he will not depart from it. (Proverbs 22:6 ESV)

Really, it is a question of whether we trust our fears concerning the choices and actions of our children or God’s promises. It is a question of whether we trust our knowledge of human nature or God’s promises. It is a question of whether we trust our observations or God’s promises.

Take the faith God grants us.

Disappointment and Love

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. (Psalm 23:1 ESV)

Disappointment and Love

Disappointment happens when we are unable to have something we want. That thing we want might be a possession, a relationship, knowledge, or a situation. That things we want might be noble or shallow. That thing we want might be selfish or selfless. But when we do not have it, we become disappointed.

Usually we expect that the answer to our disappointment is found in fulfilling those unmet expectations. If disappointed because of the lack of a possession, we seek the possession. If disappointed because of the lack of a relationship, enter a better relationship, or fix our broken one. If disappointed because of something we do not know, learn it. If disappointed because of a situation, alter our circumstances.

But those answers are not permanent. They satisfy for a time, but disappointment soon appears again. The possession will rust or fade. The relationship will alter or end. The knowledge will become obsolete. The situation changes. And there we are in Disappointment Town again.

But there is One way to not want. To lack nothing. To find contentment and leave disappointment.

Jesus.

We need Jesus as our shepherd, then we will not be disappointed. We need Jesus as our shepherd, then we will not focus so much on our possessions, other relationships, knowledge, or situations. It is not that those other needs disappear… but rather those other needs are placed in perspective.

Jesus is eternal… Jesus is complete… Jesus is almighty… Jesus is power… Jesus is wise… Jesus is the answer to every problem caused by sin, which is every problem in the universe.

The young lions suffer want and hunger; but those who seek the Lordlack no good thing. (Psalm 34:10 ESV)

And relationship with Jesus is summed up with one word: Love.

His love for us makes our disappointment ultimately irrelevant. His love for us makes our disappointment a fleeting thing. His love for us turns our disappointment into satisfaction, contentment, joy, and peace.

The answer to disappointment is love. And the best place to find love is with Jesus.

Take the love God grants us.

Disappointment and Hope

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. (II Corinthians 12:9 ESV)

Disappointment and Hope

“There is an app for that,” people joked. A few years ago, the growing applications that could be installed on telephones was astonishing. No matter what situation, difficulty, concern, task, or time-management was needed… someone somewhere was programming an almost magical tool in our phone to do THIS and THAT and THOSE things.

And now phones are almost indispensable. We no longer need watches, radios, CD players, televisions, word processors, file folders, photocopiers, compasses, or calculators. We have smart phones.

One machine does it all.

I suspect our almighty God smiles at us. Because HE is the original all sufficient one. In fact, Paul writes here that the more we realize we can NOT do, the more He is able to step in. In our weakness, His strength is shown.

When things (as often happens) do not go our way, we might be disappointed. But the good news is that God has declared that He will be sufficient for us.

He will give us all that we need, (Philippians 4:19) because He IS all that we need.

Our disappointments will fade away. We will understand His actions and rejoice. We will appreciate His decisions on our behalf and be more than content. We will know His goodness, His provision, His lovingkindness, and His love.

Every disappointment that strikes us today, is hope for tomorrow.

Take the hope God grants us

Disappointment and Faith

And the whole congregation of the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness, and the people of Israel said to them, “Would that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.” (Exodus 16:2,3 ESV)

Disappointment and Faith

My favorite part of the US Declaration of Independence is not the part I memorized in Middle School. Students used to memorize lines like, “when in the course of human events,” and “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” But I liked best the grievances. After Thomas Jefferson and the gathered delegates described what the thirteen colonies were doing, the document lists the reasons the British government was tyrannical. Many Americans remember the complaint about “taxation without representation,” but the Declaration of Independence lists twenty-seven acts of Tyranny.

They complained. And while this event is celebrated as our declaration of independence, it might still be considered an act of faith. Not much faith, perhaps. Merely a dusty remnant of faith. But still faith. Because complaints have at their core an awareness that the complaint might work.

The Declarers remembered many years of good British government and believed that it was still possible that British goodness could return. And believing today because of the actions and events of the past is the essence of faith.

The Israelites are justly criticized for complaining in the wilderness. God had amazingly given them freedom from slavery and Egyptian oppression. But very soon they started complaining. Fourteen times God heard them complain. And we shake our heads and wonder at their lack of gratitude, understanding, and devotion.

But in their complaint, perhaps those pesky Israelites were displaying faith.

They heard what Moses and Aaron said about the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And they believed, following God into the unknown. When things out there did not match their expectations, they were disappointed.

And in their disappointment, they expressed faith by turning to the One who could actually help. Even the way they asked, while whiny and childish, demonstrates faith. They remembered the past and believed that God could help. And so they asked.

Our disappointments mirror the disappointments of the Israelites and the founding fathers. Our grievances and difficulties are much like theirs. Our method of complaint probably falls somewhere between the grumbling of the Israelites and the well-articulated legal action of the declarers-of-independence, but our disappointment still is an opportunity for faith.

Unfulfilled expectations that lead to disappointment can lead to faith. Knowing that God has helped previously, we ask Him now for help. Remembering that God has been kind, merciful, and loving in the past, we trust that He will be kind, merciful, and loving today. Believing that the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is the Jesus who hears our prayers is exactly what faith is.

So consider your expectations that have led to disappointments. And tell them to God. Trust Him enough to tell Him what hurts. Believe that the God of yesterday is still the God of today.

Take the faith God grants us.

Laughter and Love

Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at the time to come. (Proverbs 31:25 ESV)

Laughter and Love

Proverbs 31 is used too often as an embarrassment to wives. But it should not be. While at first glance, we see a list of character traits, skills, and energy levels that would be daunting for any human, that list is not intended to shame, motivate, or humiliate wives who fail to meet the high standards described.

Like every part of Scripture, those verses (most of Proverbs 31) point us to Christ Jesus. Put simply, those verses describe what it means to love and to be loved. Loved first and primarily by Christ Jesus. Loved first and primarily through Christ Jesus. Loved first and primarily because of Christ Jesus.

For instance, she provides for her family, working on Christ’s behalf, with Christ’s strength, and because of Christ’s compassion. When she succeeds, it is Christ succeeding. And when she fails, it is Christ succeeding.

The Proverbs 31 woman is a conduit for Christ’s love. She is Christ’s hands for her family, and her community. She is Christ’s mouth, encouraging and disciplining. She is Christ’s mind, planning and hoping and stewarding.

All of those amazing qualities are summarized in 31:30, “a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.”

But my favorite part is that she gets to laugh. She laughs not just for the future (hope,) and not just for the past (faith,) but due to love. She laughs because she is loved, and because she loves.

The most important part of the entire chapter is found in that concept. Fearing the Lord, she knows she is loved and laughs.

Despite her overwhelming schedule, she laughs because of the Lord. Despite her responsibilities, she laughs because of the Lord. Despite her known shortcomings and failures, she laughs because of the Lord.

And we can, too.

We are loved by Christ, and through Him we can love… so we can laugh.

Our tasks are often as daunting as the woman’s described in Proverbs 31, women and men, children and aged, rich and poor, educated and unschooled, happy and sad, lonely and groupie, left-brained and right-brained, you and me. Never forget that we are loved. Never forget that love is the greatest.

And it is a reason to laugh.

Take the love God grants us.

Laughter and Hope

He will yet fill your mouth with laughter, and your lips with shouting. (Job 8:21 ESV)

Laughter and Hope

Bildad the Shuhite has one of the funniest names in the Old Testament. A common quip is to refer to him as the shortest man in the Bible, Bildad the Shoe-Height. Bildad makes me laugh.

But Bildad reminds me of laughter in an even better way. Bildad reminds Job that God brings laughter to the lips of His people. Particularly His people who are blameless. In other words, with New Testament understanding, those who are entwined with Christ Jesus.

We will laugh.

Some days I really need to know that, and I suspect you do, too. Some days we can barely see through the tears, but we will laugh. Some days we can barely hear anything but cries and moans, but we will hear laughter. Some days we can barely lift our sad souls from the mud of sin, sin’s effects, and sin’s presence. But we will live with laughter.

This is a hope that we can cling to every day. We might not have laughed this morning, but Jesus will yet fill our mouths with laughter. We might not be laughing in the midst of a grey, cloudy, wet afternoon, but Jesus will yet fill our mouths with laughter. We might not be laughing as we try to sleep, our minds far too filled with worry and sorrow. But Jesus will fill our mouths with laughter.

Bildad is right. We have hope of laughter.

Take the hope God grants us.

Laughter and Faith

When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dream. Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy; then they said among the nations, “The Lord has done great things for them.” The Lordhas done great things for us; we are glad. (Psalm 126:1-3 ESV)

Laughter and Faith

When laughter is mocking, it is a horrible thing.

Because laughter was intended as a gift, not as a tool for hurting, belittling, or deriding.

Psalm 126 shows us clearly why God created laughter. Laughter is a way to remember good things. Laughter is a way to find joy because of what God has done for us. Laughter is a way to find faith, hope, and love.

Good laughter is both the result of our true memories and the cause of future good memories. Good laughter looks back at our lives and remembers fondly… remembers accurately God’s loving acts… remembers the past fulfillment of even further past hopes.

In the dark of the night, remembering sorrow and failure and despair does not bring an end to the shadow. But remembering God’s answers to prayer and laughing brings light to today’s darkness.

When the chasms on either side of our path overwhelm us, remembering the sadness of our slips, and slides, and falls does not keep our feet well placed. But remembering God’s happy protections and smile-signed guideposts enables us to see where our feet belong.

Christ, as the creator must have laughed when He planned and made a platypus. And while so much of creation has been twisted and made ugly by Adam’s (and our) sin, laughing at the antics of the silly animal brings us back to remembering… goodness… joy… perfection.

Laughter is founded in yesterday, and in our trusting in God’s definition of what yesterday was. Yesterday was God doing good things for us. Believe Him and laugh in that faith.

Take the faith God grants us.

Rest and Love

…but the greatest of these is love (I Corinthians 13:13 ESV)

Rest and Love

We think we improve on the idea of love by adding the descriptor, “forever.” When we are attempting to be romantic, intense, or loyal, we often feel the need to say, not only, “I love you,” but, “I love you FOREVER.”

When we say that, it might display that we are not thinking about the Jesus-kind-of-love at all. And His kind of love is the only kind of love.

Similarly, we add words like unconditional, selfless, and true to ‘love’ as if love could exist without those adjectives. But love is always unconditional, selfless, true, and eternal or it is not love. Love without those things might be nice, it might be realistic, it might be present… but it is not love.

Love does not stop. It does not wear out. It does not ever rest. That is one of the reasons Paul chooses love as the greatest of all.

In that place, time, and presence of Jesus that we call heaven, we will be loved and will still love. We will have rest from sin and sin’s effects, but not from love. We will have rest from sorrows and tears, but not from love. We will have rest from chaos and fear, but not from love.

Love never ends. (I Corinthians 13:8)

We will not need Faith in that time of rest, because what we believe in will be right in front of us. We will not need Hope in that time of rest, because all promises will be obviously fulfilled.

It is not really accurate, though to say that we will need love in heaven.

We GET have love in heaven. Forever.

Heaven’s rest is love in the presence of Jesus. Both being loved and loving.

And we get to practice it now. Jesus summarized the law with the command to love. (Matthew 22:37-39) Heavenly rest can get brought into our daily lives best NOT by sleeping, taking a break, and relaxing (although those things are grand gifts from God, too!) but by Love.

Both through being aware of God’s love… and by choosing to love.

Love is the best rest.

Take the love God grants us.

Rest and Hope

In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. (John 14:3 ESV)

Rest and Hope

Boxcars look pretty big when seen from the railroad crossing. But boxcars are even bigger from the inside when filled with 50-pound burlap bags of carrots waiting to be loaded onto pickup trucks. Ninety degrees, extremely humid, we were in a boxcar oven being roasted for Sunday dinner.

Two of us worked twelve-hour days for two weeks before the job was done. I learned a lot about rest that summer. When the bed of a pickup was full, we had a brief respite while a new pickup took its place. We lay on the floor of the boxcar and breathed. And we stared at the old clock someone had mounted on the boxcar wall. Hoping that the minute hand would move faster. Hoping that the hour hand was wrong.

And then, promptly at seven each evening, we went home and slept.

Somehow, the next morning we awoke and had the energy and strength to do it again.

That cycle of work, small rest, and true rest is present in our lives every day and every week.

We have small rests from the sweat of our brows each night… and bigger rests on the Lord’s Sabbath. And even that rest is a pointer towards the BEST rest. Those mansions. That place. Heaven.

Jesus prepared a place of rest for us. That is what that mansion over the hilltop really is.

Heaven is a restoration to the time before rest was needed as a cure to Adam’s curse. Heaven is rest, not in the sense of sitting back with our feet up drinking iced tea… but rest from troubles, struggles, pains, hardship, reasons to worry, and sin.

What makes the rest grand though, is not how relaxing is it. It will not be relaxing at all. Heavenly rest will be the most exciting thing we can imagine. Because we will be with Jesus!

When we rest now, in our little ways of sleep and Sabbath, we are tasting what we will feast on in heaven. We are sampling Him. We are enjoying Him. We are focusing on Him. We are emotionally, intellectually, and spiritually being WITH Him… in preparation and practice for when we are also physically with Him.

When we rest now, therefore, let it be about Him, not us. Go to sleep thinking about Him, talking to Him, considering Him, experiencing Him. Let the Lord’s Day be about Him… the Man that the Sabbath was made for. (Mark 2:27, 28 ESV)

And let today’s rest become hope.

Take the Hope God grants us.

Rest and Faith

Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. 2 And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation. (Genesis 2:1,2 ESV)

Rest and Faith

Even God rested.

I was working, when a teenager, with my father and my older cousins. We were doing the plumbing in a new house construction. And those men worked hard. They began as the sun rose, and they lifted and pushed and carried and installed and sweated until the sun went down.

I felt guilty for stopping to rest. (Sometimes I still do.)

My uncle, the boss, walked by me once while I was taking a break and smiled. I jumped up and stammered an apology, but he interrupted me. “Tommy, even God rested.”

God did not rest because He needed to rest. He has infinite energy, strength, and stamina. He did not rest because he needed a break. He has no limitations. He did not rest because He needed to re-focus. He is omniscient and focusses on the entire universe without batting an eyelash.

God rested to provide us with His example because He knew WE would need rest.

Not only does this concept apply to resting on His Day and heaven, but it refers to every day. We need rest. And that is ok.

When you need rest, remember the Creator’s example. Trust in His command, in fact, to rest. (Exodus 23:12 et al)

Take the faith God grants us.

Learning and Love

Oh how I love your law! It is my meditation all the day. Your commandment makes me wiser than my enemies, for it is ever with me. I have more understanding than all my teachers, for your testimonies are my meditation. I understand more than the aged, for I keep your precepts. I hold back my feet from every evil way, in order to keep your word. I do not turn aside from your rules, for you have taught me. How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! Through your precepts I get understanding; therefore I hate every false way. (Psalm 119:97-104 ESV)

Learning and Love

I am a fan of author J.R.R. Tolkien. In a small, shallow sense, I love his work. This is manifested in how often I read Tolkien’s books, how often I read books and articles about his books, and my pleasure when experiencing or even thinking about what he has written.

When humans love, we both enjoy knowing about what we love, AND we yearn to know about what we love. No matter how difficult the learning, we try to know what we love.

The author of Psalm 119, that Psalm known for its length, loved God, not in a small, shallow sense. He therefore loves learning about God. The Psalmist therefore pays attention to God’s Law.

When the Psalmist writes of God’s Law, though, he refers to more than the ten commandments. He means more than the books of Exodus, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy. God’s Law refers to all of God’s Word.

Because the Psalmist loves God, the Psalmist loves to learn about God.

Even more, Psalm 19:1 tells us that while God’s Word is the primary way to learn about Him, all of creation also teaches us about God. Writers from David Hume to Arthur Holmes to R.C. Sproul inform us, in fact, that ALL TRUTH IS GOD’S TRUTH.

Every true thing we learn can teach us something about God.

We love God… and that causes us to love learning. Because learning leads us to Him. And that is the goal of our every thought, every word, and every deed.

Loving Him leads to learning about Him, which leads to loving Him.

Take the love God grants us.

Learning and Hope

When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. (I Corinthians 13:11-12 ESV)

Learning and Hope

On my bookshelf is a line of books that stretches out for almost three feet. These wonderful orange books, printed by the United States Air Force, are lesson plans and assignments to learn the Russian Language… spoken, written, and thought.

I bought that set of books, after haggling for over a year, from a friend who owns a used bookstore in North Dakota. I took the books home and got to work. After nine months I had only covered a few inches worth of the series.

I knew forty verbs, fifty nouns, four common verb declensions, three forms, and approximately one quarter of the pronunciation charts required to achieve Level One.

I gave up for four years.

When I think about my efforts back then, I remember Paul’s comments in these verses.

We have so much to learn. We know so little. Even about important basic truths of the gospel, our knowledge is so small.

But we WILL know! We will know fully! We will even see Him as He is! (I John 3:2)

On those mornings when we do not know what is going on… at those times when we remember that we have forgotten more than we think we ever knew… in those afternoons of confusion and insecurity.. have hope that we WILL know all that we need to know. And more!

We will know as much as Abraham, as much as Moses, as much as Elijah, as much as Isaiah, as much as Matthew, as much as John, as much as Paul.

God will teach us.

Take the hope God grants us.

Learning and Faith

Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it. (Psalm 139:6 ESV)

Learning and Faith

Dr. Nicholas Wolterstorff might be the smartest man I know. He was the father of a kindergarten elementary school classmate of mine. Dinner at the Wolterstorffs was an amazing thing. The family would eat chicken, carrots, and mashed potatoes like any other family.

But the conversation was out of this world.

I remember discussions about time, time travel, quantum theory and mechanics, the dangers of democracy, the benefits of manned space-flight, the best methods to raise healthy turnips, and how high to pull one’s socks.

That man knew something about everything. And my young brain absorbed it alongside the potatoes.

But Dr. Wolterstorff’s great brain was a dull tic-tac-toe board compared to God’s knowledge.

And so God helps us. He gives us the gift of faith until our brains grow big enough to comprehend everything He knows.

Rather than opposing concepts, faith and reason go hand in hand. The true things God grants us to know by faith now, we will know by reason and experience later. The true things that we have experienced, or deduced, no longer need faith for us to know.

Later on in Psalm 139, the Psalmist reminds us why we yearn for both faith and reason. We want to know God’s thoughts. He writes, “How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! If I would count them, they are more than the sand. I awake, and I am still with you.” (Psalm 139:16, 17 ESV)

Take the Faith God grants us.

Broken Things and Love

So Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, for he ate always at the king’s table. Now he was lame in both his feet. (II Samuel 9:13 ESV)

Broken Things and Love

I have an old jean jacket. A member of the Rocky Mountain Elks Foundation gave it to me as a gift many years ago. Quite stylish, it has a dark brown collar, a nifty Foundation patch, and subtle seaming. At first, I wore it whenever I was out and about. Spring and Autumn, it did its job, and looked alright.

But now it has holes. It needs more patches than can feasibly be sewn. The hems are threadbare, the pockets leak, and the collar has faded to an uglier color.

Now I wear it only when I need a little warmth when doing yardwork.

But it remains my favorite jacket.

Rather than make me ashamed, the imperfections actually make me like it even more.

Mephibosheth reminds me that God loves me in the same way. King David took in the crippled descendent of his enemy. While every else rejected the young man, David loved him. David welcomed Mephibosheth into his home, like family.

Mephibosheth was broken… and David loved him.

I, too, am a broken vessel… and God loves me.

He knows who I am… and loves me enough to kill Jesus on my behalf.

He knows what I am… and loves me enough to adopt me.

He knows why I am… and loves me enough to Justify me, sanctify me, and glorify me.

He loves me because I am broken. I find peace when I remember He loves me because He is my only hope.

Take the Love God grants us.

Broken Things and Hope

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. (Proverbs 3:5,6 ESV)

Broken Things and Hope

When living up North, we used to say that the Dakotas had three seasons. Pre-roadwork, roadwork, and post-roadwork. I think the same could be said in most States.

Even though I am never excited to drive through a Construction Zone, I do feel a certain comfort. Roadwork now means smooth driving later. At least, most of the time.

The struggles and pains of our daily lives are a lot like rough roads. Potholes are often the result of irregular temperatures, just as our life-potholes are often the result of extreme life-changes. Cracks and chasms are often the result of rough usage, just as our life-cracks are the result of poor life-choices. Weeds spreading across unused roads are often the result of neglect, just as life-weeds are the result of inattention to what is really going on around us.

Local highway departments promise to fix those broken roads. More comforting, though, is God’s promise to make our paths straight. More comforting because God keeps His promises. More comforting because God has infinite resources. More comforting because God fixes more than a physical road.

Far too often, we have decided not to notice our crooked, broken roads. Christians, we seem to think, are not supposed to talk about our sorrows, our failures, or our present sins. Describing PAST brokenness is ok, as long as we can point to shiny new pavement.

But we are broken. We struggle with present shame, present tears, present sorrows, and present sins. The Good News of the gospel, though, is that God will straighten those paths!

Other road crews will fail. But God will not fail. Pretending we are not broken is ineffective. Blaming someone else does not help. Trying new programswill only lead to more potholes and cracks.

Hope as we travel our broken roads is never found in anything or anyone but Christ Jesus. And that is a sure, secure, absolute hope!

Take the hope God grants you.