Good News Sense

When I heard Josh Groban sing “You Raise Me Up” for the first time, I wondered if it was a Christian song; it sure hit me like one. The late Madeleine L’Engle would probably have disputed the question itself, because she felt bad art wasn’t Christian, whatever the intent, and good art is “incarnational.” Some Christians are uncomfortable with the phrase, “All truth is God’s truth,” but it is correct. How truth is determined is the real problem, not what is true, but that is a discussion for another time. My question, really, was whether it was speaking to God, to a lover, or to dear friend.

Lyricist Brendan Graham may or may not be a Christian, but “You Raise Me Up” is filled with Biblical allusions, perhaps none clearer than “You raise me up to walk on stormy seas” (Remember Peter did that very thing). Madeleine L’Engle wrote an excellent book with that in mind. Regardless of the lyricist’s or Josh Groban’s faith, I heard God speaking, and it moved me deeply, as I wrote previously.

As with Scripture itself, poetry and art, in general, often have multiple interpretations or, thinking spiritually, applications. As I pondered these words, I realized that they could be a prayer, as I had been hearing them, a very powerful prayer of hope and gratitude. They could also be words of appreciation spoken to a loving parent, a compassionate teacher, or a caring friend.

Our pastors preached through I and II Samuel, and the power of evil came up in a discussion of the life of David. David’s sin with Bathsheba, his subsequent attempts to cover it up, and finally his murder of her husband Uriah thoroughly infected his family. Its consequences included Absalom’s rebellion, his death and David’s grief, and turmoil, war, and death throughout the kingdom. Evil deeds produce more evil. The good news is that loving deeds are even more powerful. I have written more about this; you may also find my thoughts on friendship relevant.

“You Raise Me Up” seems to say the same thing, but only if it speaks of supernaturally empowered love. Jesus’ love has power, but the power of our love, when it’s modeled on His, is amazing. God may miraculously intervene, but He has given us extraordinary power in love. Too many of us neglect it, perhaps even scorn it. Love is for wimps. For many, only gratification in love matters. The pen may be mightier than the sword, but loving has less power than either, or so we may think. For some, love is not the answer; the government is the answer. Others look to earthly, human resources—education, a good job, investments and retirement, doctors and psychologists, influential friends, and power. Just listen to how people respond to problems–poverty, bad news, or various threats. How often do you hear someone say that the answer is caring, compassion, love? If they’re not saying it, then they’re probably not doing it!

If the Greatest Commandment, according to Jesus, is love, then love is not just important; it must be effective and powerful. Watch and listen to a different video of the song, sung here by Selah, a Christian group. This one features scenes of suffering and help in Africa; Josh Groban’s video showed his crew just dealing with the everyday difficulties of practice and performing. They are equally valid. Whether it is compassion that redeems through hard work or charitable activities or the love of a friend who redeems through kindness and encouragement, the good news is that love has miraculous power, if we love. I refer to more than loving words, although we can do a great deal, just with words if we speak them sincerely; I’m also talking about loving actions that have miraculous power to redeem failure, despair, self-doubt, guilt, fear, or loneliness.

When first I heard this song, I heard Jesus in it. I still do, but now I hear more. I hear the love of a parent, friend, teacher, neighbor, grandparent, co-worker, spouse, or even child. It is awesome that God loves us. That is a truth we can rely on, no matter what happens, no matter who disappoints, abandons, or hurts us. The good news I’m talking about today is the equally awesome power God has given us to love each other as He has loved us. I believe that love can do miracles, if we will but use it. “You raise me up: To more than I can be.” That’s the redemptive power of love, from Jesus directly, or from Jesus through a spiritual brother or sister . What better news than that could there be?

(Revised from an earlier post that was lost to do a technical problem)

I love answering questions. When I was a pastor, I often began many of my services and classes with “Does anyone have any questions…from the message, from your own Bible study, from a question another person asked you?” When I teach, I do the same thing. Perhaps that’s why I like being a tutor and why I’m a fairly good one. When I address a person’s problem or question, it connects me to them through something they’ve been pondering or that’s been bothering them. If I satisfy their need, I have done more than preaching 20 sermons that don’t grab their interest.

I make the same offer here. I can springboard off news, personal experiences, the Bible, classic theological questions, attacks by skeptics, or something I heard at church; but, if you have some particular bit of “bad news” that is troubling you, I know you will be interested in what “good news” I may be able to give you.

It’s good news, of course, that Christ is the answer. A college student once put that message up in his dorm window. Almost immediately, a student on the floor below posted “What is the question?” in his window. We might better ask how is Christ the answer to a particular question. Most of us, if we are thinking people (and I’m someone who probably thinks too much), find we have a few troubling questions that we cannot quite answer to our own satisfaction. Sometimes, other people ask questions, and we don’t have good answers or explanations, or we can’t think of any, on the spot.

I was a student in Cleveland, and we all knew that the west edge of University Circle was a busy place for prostitutes. I never went there, except to the bookstore in the daytime, since it was also an area that wasn’t particularly safe after dark. One summer, I was moving back into the dorms, and my friend and I drove to a near-by gas station with a tank on empty. We sat in the car while the attendant pumped the gas (This was before self serve), and a woman drove up next to us and asked us if we boys wanted to have a “good time.” Here we were, two Christians guys who were almost never at a loss for words, and neither of us could think of anything but “No,” maybe even “No, thank you!” Of course, after she drove away, we were both really quite clever…

Timing isn’t our only problem. Some questions are difficult. To make matters worse, some of them can really eat at us, if we can’t come up with a satisfactory answer. Unfortunately, we may feel we dare not ask, that a particular question or doubt would identify us a “bad Christians,” or we may fear others will scorn or ridicule us for asking. I hope that most Christians aren’t caught in that kind of situation, but this is a nice anonymous place to for questions. I’m not afraid to tackle tough questions or risk those who disagree. Plus, I assure you that I believe the only bad question is the one you don’t ask!

The good news isn’t just that Christ is the answer, but that by his Word and his Spirit, he leads us to the answers we need. Seeking wise counsel, and I think I somewhat qualify as that, is the best way to lay down the burden of troubling doubts, difficult questions, and moral dilemmas. You gain insight for yourself, and you will probably ask a question that others were too shy to ask. I hope you will share the blessing of your “bad news” that we might convert it to better news.

“I did it my way,” was the refrain and title of a Frank Sinatra hit. Its message is the very essence of individualism, the American way of life, and the sin of pride. Self-sufficiency, to a point, is a good thing; we all need to find a wise balance between necessary dependence, when we are sick or injured, independence when we are fully capable of caring for ourselves, and interdependence that is the very soul of relationships, family, and community. Too much of the first two creates beggars and loners, self-pitying and condescension, and unspiritual pride at both extremes. I doubt there can be too much interdependence.

My roommate—not something I meant to have at this stage of life—folded my laundry recently. Yesterday, I took my clothes out of the dryer and moved his from the washer to the dryer. Compare that to the couple, across the street, who fight all the time over every little thing. Perhaps because we’re both older and have had to deal with thoughtless people, we both prefer to give rather than demand. However it came about, it’s nice to come home when you’re already tired, expecting to deal with a chore, and find someone has already done it; it makes sharing a place with another person, well, almost tolerable (I’ll write about our “need” for independence another time).

So why, do you suppose, do people seem to prefer religions that require them to do for God when God is more than willing to do what, in fact, we cannot do for ourselves? I have been preparing a study on sin and the comprehensive nature of salvation, and it reminded me just how helpless we really are. According to Scripture, without Christ and without the gracious saving act of God, each of us is dead, filthy, enslaved, imperfect, alienated, unrighteous, godless, and fall far short of God’s glory. If a person really understands just how far from the mark we fall, in so many ways, I don’t see how anyone could imagine they might ever do enough to fix things.

In fact, it’s not just a matter of “enough.” Much of the problem of sin is beyond a finite person’s ability to resolve. How does a dead man resurrect himself? How can an imperfect woman perfect herself? A lost, alienated slave might fight for freedom, but spiritual bondage is beyond that kind of deliverance; he would never be able to arrange his own adoption into a family. Like Lady MacBeth’s “damned spot,” no amount of scrubbing with corrupted and impure materials can ever remove the stain, for which one is truly damned! Neither intent nor effort may enable a sinner to save himself.

Praise God! We don’t need to try. The plan of God, nurtured in the love of God, graciously grants all we need as a gift. The unpleasant task, the very death of God’s son on our behalf, has already been completed, and the feelings of relief and gratitude do not displease the One who has provided to satisfy our need. Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift! My way? No way! His way is, after all, the very foundation of the good news.

Freedom is a gift of God. It is a special gift for his children, but I believe that he wants all men and women to be free. He doesn’t have a problem with freedom, but we do. Fallen humans are slaves to sin, and sin restricts our ability to understand and enjoy freedom. Perhaps because we are bound in sin, we tend to resent the freedom that others have, regardless of its nature. We wish we were free; but, trapped ourselves, we despise the freedom of others.

Oppressors and tyrants thrive on controlling people; so, of course, they despise freedom of any kind. Ironically, religious leaders tent do dislike freedom, even some Christian leaders. It is too easy to use religion to coerce and repress its followers. Anyone who enjoys wielding power will not appreciate freedom, except perhaps their own; perhaps that is why the heads of cults often demand strict morality from their followers but practice what they deny others, whether secretly or openly. Of course, they are not truly free but bound in their own sin, doomed to death. God’s spirit operates contrary to the ways of power, i.e., “not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit.”  They demand service instead of being freed to serve.

Strangely, people who have freedom in Christ often behave as if they do not. Released from the “prison” of their sin through the mercy and grace of Jesus, they still hang around the jailhouse, like those who have served long prison sentences who struggle to return to normal life. Paul talks about this in Galatians 5:1, saying that Jesus freed us to enjoy freedom; therefore, we should not go back to bondage, slavery, imprisonment, or captivity. This problem, what Paul called “another gospel,” was already prevalent enough to warrant a letter to the Galatians. The problem is not just common today; it is nearly universal! Many believers are afraid to be free.

People do not only want to control others; they want to be in control of themselves. Such control requires a knowledge that only God has. Sinners, even saved sinners, have only known life in the bondage of sin; they cannot know the possibilities into the Spirit will take them, once they release control.

I have always reacted negatively to “let go and let God.” That attitude seems to say that we have nothing to contribute to the work God wants to do. The issue is “will” versus “effort.” “Thy will, not my will be done” is the key to freedom in the Spirit, but it is based on the effort we invest in study, preparation, effort, planning, meditating, skill development, etc. A writer must first learn to write, study writers, put effort into developing their skills, imagine, plan, and then release control into the Spirit. A farmer cannot pray “Thy will be done” without first planting, fertilizing, and cultivating the growing plants. As a preacher, I read, pondered, made an outline and notes, but then often found myself saying things I had not planned, things that blessed me even as I spoke them. That is freedom, and there is nothing we can do, when we insist on full control, that is anything like it. What a shame it is when we fear freedom, but what amazing things happen if we learn to use our gifts in liberty. Freedom is wonderful, awesomely good news!

We live in a time and place where people hate rules. Some hate them so much that they have tried to imagine there are no rules. This “relativism” says that each person may do as he or she thinks is best , what the author the Old Testament book of Judges describes as each man doing what is “right in his own eyes.” Those were tough times for the nation of Israel since God permitted their enemies to defeat them, time and time again. Each time, after ignoring God and suffering the consequences, they cried out and said, in effect, “We’re sorry. Please help us out of this mess.” Each time, after God delivered them, they went back to their old self-serving disobedience.

One of the reasons folks hate rules, even Christian folks, is that they feel like someone else is controlling their lives. That isn’t surprising since we live in a fallen world where many people do indeed want to run other people’s lives, but God doesn’t work that way.

“Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed him, ‘If you continue in My word, you are truly disciples of Mine. You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” (John 8:31-32)

One translation I read rendered Jesus’ condition as “if you obey my teaching,” but I don’t think that’s quite right. A better translation would be “if you stick with what I’ve taught you.” It may seem a minor difference, but it isn’t. Far too many Christians fall into the trap of “following the rules,” what we call legalism. This is trying to satisfy God by following rules, despite the painful truth that no one can ever follow them well enough. Such people often become stern and humorless, either very self-righteous or defeated and grim, depending on their perception of success or failure in their piety. Where is the freedom in that?

Jesus said, in John 10, that he came to give us “life, real life!” He has “set us free from the law of sin and death” (Romans 8), but you may wonder where laws, such as the 10 Commandments belong in a believer’s life. Aren’t they rules we should follow? They are indeed because they are an expression of the very character of God and a guide from the Creator on how to operate successfully among other humans. As such, we should avoid the activities they prohibit.

What is amazing is that there are so few, only 10, pretty simple warnings: don’t tell lies, don’t kill, don’t steal, don’t violate your marriage or the marriage of others, don’t want what belongs to someone else, don’t work all the time, don’t worship idols or fake gods, and don’t dishonor your parents, and don’t treat God’s name with disrespect.

The reality is that those rules are sensible; only a foolish person would ignore them. Otherwise, in Christ, we’re pretty much free to make our own way, to “be transformed and not conformed to this world,” to exercise the gifts he has given us, and to discover him “at work” in us both to “will and to do according to His pleasure.” Religions, governments, and control freaks want to run our lives and make us all the same, but God wants to release us to enjoy the unique individual life he has given each of us, to discover and use the gifts he has given, and to find the joy in really living. Those things don’t come through rules but through the guidance of the Holy Spirit who dwells among us. Of course to discover all this, we must “pay attention” to what he has taught us. That isn’t blind, dogged obedience to a control freak; that is the wisdom of following the one who understands what will make life work and work well. That’s the good news of life in Christ.

Perhaps the best news of all is that God, the Creator of the universe, loves each of us.  He made us and treasures his creation.  He is our father and loves his children.  Through the sacrifice of his son Jesus, he arranged for our redemption, the forgiveness of our sin, and the adoption of each of us who believe into his family.  As the Scripture and the song say, “There is no greater love!”

What are people so love to do?  You’d think it would be obvious, so obvious that no command would be necessary.  Yet, when asked, Jesus said that this was the greatest commanment, to love God with all one’s heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself.  As I said, it should be obvious, the most natural response to the greatest gift of love, to love in return.

Is it easier to love God or to love others?  Personally, I suspect that learning to love others is how we begin to learn to love God.  If we cannot love the visible and tangible, how on earth might we love the invisible and intangible?  Of course, Jesus tells us.  “If you love me, do what I say.”

Paul warns us in I Corinthians 13 to be careful in thinking we can serve God yet be careless of love.  It ain’t gonna happen!  Without love, nothing we do has any value–not work, not art, not ministry!  Loveless miracles are worthless.  Loveless teaching is pointless.  Loveless worship is a waste of time.

Some time ago, I took I Corinthians 13 and amplified it, paraphrased it.  I was trying to find a way to take something so familiar as to be ignorable and attempt to grab people’s attention.  Does it work?  You tell me.  I know this that when I was working on it, this evening, I was convicted by my own words.  Love isn’t easy; it doesn’t come naturally to us.  It is easier to be selfish, self-centered, and proud.  Love challenges our natural, fallen carnality.

The good news, of course, is that our savior and friend is working in us “both to will and to work” to get the job done, in this case to love.  Even when we fail, and let’s be honest, we fail a lot, he still loves us, forgives us, sets us back on our feet, and pushes us to keep trying, to keep loving.  Like Paul says at the end of I Corinthians 13, of faith, hope, and love, “the greatest of these is love.”

“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.”

My favorite pastor used this verse in a message at my ordination. It blessed me then, and it has long been powerful encouragement. Just consider what it says.

First, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, is “able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine.” I don’t know about you, but I can imagine a great deal. I generally tend to be reluctant to ask, but I can sure think about it. What boggles my mind is to consider that he can do much more. How much more can He do? He can do more than anyone can measure. Add to the rather limitless scope of a person’s creative thinking the infinitely more limitless ability of God, and we have an amazing, awesome, rather unbelievable capability in the hands of our dearest friend.

This isn’t a power out there, somewhere. This power is “at work within us.” You might ask, “Doing what?” Once we start imagining, perhaps we are prone to wonder why He isn’t delivering. Selfishness tends to expect to get presents, lots of presents. Yet, we know what happens to children who get too many gifts, receive everything they ever ask for, and have someone cater to every whim. We call such children spoiled. When a self-centered person gets everything they want, they turn rotten. God doesn’t want rotten kids. He wants delightfully creative, imaginative, gracious children, and He’s working on that within us…if we let Him.

I suspect that, to an extent anyway, we can interfere with His work. We can hinder it, slow it down, and perhaps even prevent it all together if we oppose Him hard enough. He’s not in the business of fighting our wills, in spite of ourselves. That’s why I’m grateful for a similar verse:

“Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.”

Notice that, first, he says “work out your salvation with fear and trembling.” Growing spiritually is an awesome obligation; we should approach it with a bit of humble respect. God doesn’t terrorize or oppress us, but He is God! We should never trivialize or become overly casual about our intimacy with the creator of the universe. However, Jesus become one of us, and with that understanding he works in us. He is the master craftsman who “works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.” His is the “power that is at work within us.” In other words, His limitless power beyond the limits of our imagination is working within each of us to enable us not only to do his will but also to want to do his will; in this, he supports our efforts to work into our lives a righteousness that he already credits as ours but desires us to produce in reality.

If you love Him, if you appreciate the costly gift of salvation He has already given, then you want to be the kind of man or woman he wants you to be. If you have been trying, then you also know how very hard the task is, how crippled by sin and pride each of us is. We need this limitless power, especially if, as I have, as Paul did, you wonder at the seeming impossibility of the task. “O wretched man that I am!” Paul wrote, as he pondered his own struggle. Then he also wrote, “Thanks be to God, through our Lord Jesus Christ!” “Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!”

How old is old enough? The obvious answer is “Old enough for what?” What prompted my question is learning of 100 university presidents who believe the United States should lower the legal age for drinking alcoholic beverages. I doubt their concern for the freedom of their students, given the freedom-limiting political correctness rampant on campuses. I’m guessing they just don’t’ want to deal with enforcing the current threshold age of 21. After all, drinking and partying are virtually synonymous with campus life, including binge drinking and alcohol-caused deaths.

I find I have a certain sympathy with the argument that those who are old enough to fight are old enough to make their own decisions. However, many young people don’t become soldiers or face death on the battlefield; instead, they risk death by foolishly drinking excessive amounts of alcohol or drive while intoxicated. I’m not convinced that many of them are “old enough” to use the mature judgment we’d like to trust them to have. Furthermore, I am not sympathetic to the argument that removing the “forbidden” nature by lowering the drinking would assure less drinking. Excessive drinking is tied into a party culture, just as many other regrettable habits common on campuses and among youth today.

Contrast that question with this one. How old must a person to be to write “children” books? If you have been reading my posts, you know I have been reading works by Madeleine L’Engle, in which she discusses her art, writing, and story-telling. She has some very compelling thoughts on writing for children, suggesting that it takes a great deal of maturity. Of course, the natural assumption is otherwise; since children are immature, then a writer of children’s stories might be less talented than a writer of adult stories (and I don’t mean pornographic!).

What did Jesus say about children? “Forbid them not!” he warned, “For of such is the kingdom of heaven.” Heaven is not for the grown-up, world-weary, battle-worn, and cosmopolitan grown-ups; heaven is for the child-like, curious, unhardened, and eager kid. If we’re not like children, we won’t get in. Does he mean innocent sinlessness? No, all are sinners, even children. Instead, he refers to straightforward, childlike trust. Cynics cannot breach the barrier between earth and heaven; a skeptic will never “walk on water.” It takes the faith of a child to believe that God will save us, if only we trust him. Adults look for conditions, the fine print, the bottom line, but children simply believe.

The question become not “How old is old enough?” but “How old is too old?” Of course, no one is literally too old to come to Jesus, but many have an attitude that is too worldly wise to believe, that imagines itself beyond such childish beliefs, and thinks it is too sophisticated for kid stuff. That is regrettable. Personally, I look forward to regaining the best parts of being a kid, although I haven’t given them all up! I like good children’s stories—L’Engle’s, Lewis’s Narnia, Lloyd Alexander, and George McDonald’s–to name a few.

What’s said is the bizarre irony of our modern culture. First children rush to grow up, often pushed along by their own parents. Then, once grown, everyone seems desperate to stay young and appear to be young. We appreciate neither the spontaneity of youth nor the wisdom of true maturity. The good news is that God values both. So it is my goal, as age will not be denied, to strive to be childishly wise. How about you?