Good News Sense

“Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.”—from Nehemiah 8:8-11

“Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy.”—from Psalm 126:5

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance…”—from James 1:2-5

I’m not a morning person. I don’t wake up, jump out of bed, and race to face the challenges of the day. I don’t do perky. I can function, when necessary, and even be pleasant; but I like later in the day much better. I sing in choir, and we sing for a fairly early service at 9 a.m., with a warm-up at 8:15. My voice even prefers a later time, but I manage. Joy may come in the morning, but I’d gladly take mine at, oh, say, 10!

However, joy is to be our outlook, all the time, regardless of apparent reasons to feel bad or good. For example, the current political situation either thrills or terrifies people, even and perhaps especially Christians. For believers, this is a problem. Our happiness and peace of mind should never depend on purely earthly circumstances. Yes, we are to be conscientious citizens who pay attention, consider carefully, and vote sensibly, but we should be wary of anchoring our “faith” in the outcome. The foundation of our joy is elsewhere.

At the same time, joy is not mindless bliss. God doesn’t expect us to enjoy bad things or endure them as if they were pleasant. To understand joy, we must cultivate an attitude that see past the moment and past the circumstances of this life. To an extent, as the Scriptures state, we learn joy in the midst of whatever we must face. Times of sadness, grief, and other tear-producing situations are times when we may sow, so that later we may reap joy. Enduring temptation and learning faith also leads to joy.

Looking at it in another way, if we always have good times and everything is as we wish, we will never really learn joy or appreciate what God gives. On the other hand, if we grumble, complain, and worry our way through the hard times and feel like everything is hopeless, we aren’t understanding that God will prevail and we will overcome to gain a “joy inexpressible and full of (His) glory.”

Here’s Peter’s full explanation:  “In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”

I won’t tell you that this process is easy or that I have mastered it.  I struggle not to fear the things that worry me; I tend to relax when things seem good.  The key is to look beyond the immediate to the God that is beneath, above, behind, and ahead of all things good and bad.  That perspective will keep our thoughts on the truly good news and our hearts securely anchored in “the One who loves us and gave himself for us.”

What is love?  People answer that question, especially around Valentine’s Day or Sweetest Day, with romantic nonsense, or they suggest that it is a mystery nobody truly understands.  Before someone accuses the writer of being the Grinch or Scrooge of romance, the problem isn’t romance, per se.  God blesses couples, especially husbands and wives, to enjoy the romantic expressions of thoughtful, loving partners.  However, romance is not the definition of love, and it is not love’s primary purpose.  When Jesus said, “By this all men will know that you are my disciples if you have love for one another;” he surely didn’t mean romance.  He identified the greatest commandment:  “’Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”  Indeed, several passages make it clear that love covers all the commandments.

The love commanded is not a feeling.  God doesn’t tell us to feel love; he commands us to love.  Love involves decision, action, and commitment, which is why the traditional marriage vows promise “to love, honor, and keep from this day forward, in sickness and health, for richer for poorer, for better for worse, till death” parts those who make them.  This isn’t based on emotion; the vow does not include “as long as we feel like it!”

In this culture so saturated with the idea of emotion as a source of authenticity, no doubt many would see this perspective as cold and loveless.  I would never propose something like that, especially just after Valentine’s Day.  God’s plan from the beginning recognized that it is “not good to be alone,” and aloof companionship wouldn’t be very satisfying.  However, a friendship, partnership, or marriage that ends with the vagaries of human feelings wouldn’t please us either.  We need the best of both, a lasting relationship that satisfies us heart, soul, and mind.  That is precisely what God intends when we love as he commands.

The Creator’s observation about Adam, that it wasn’t good for him to be alone, is true for each of us.  We have a need to enjoy the companionship of others of our kind, a need not fully met simply by living among other humans.  We each want to be known, understood, accepted, and indeed, appreciated.  Fully aware of our own shortcomings, we fear that no one can do that, especially if they look deeply.  Ironically, while we want something deep, we live in a culture obsessed with the superficial.  Few of us measure up to that standard of beauty and shallow personality, although many try, and that isn’t really what we really want or need anyway.

What we need and want comes first and most wonderfully from God himself but often through other humans, and that is his plan.  Among fallen men and women, love will always lack, at times, and disappoint us often; yet it is that love precisely that God intended with the creation of Eve.  His love is pure, fully knowing, gracious, and unconditional; his love never fails.  It is not sacrilegious or heretical, however, to say that his love isn’t enough, by his own declaration.  We have a sacred obligation to love each other as he commands, to love our neighbors as we love ourselves, to love our loved ones appropriately, and to love our mates romantically. 

The good news is that we know God loves us, and we can always rely on that, no matter what else is happening, even when love is lost to death, distance, or disappointment.  Because it is more blessed to give than to receive, I believe we may discover in loving others a kind of deep satisfaction that equals or may even exceed anything that we gain in being loved.  In that view, when we enjoy the love of another, it becomes less a necessity and more a profound gift.  So many live, seeking love.  How much better it is to live, giving love just as God has given love to us.

“Venerable and philanthropic old men now in their honoured graves used to talk to me when I was a boy. But since then I have grown up and have discovered that these philanthropic old men were telling lies. What has really happened is exactly the opposite of what they said would happen. They said that I should lose my ideals and begin to believe in the methods of practical politicians. Now, I have not lost my ideals in the least; my faith in fundamentals is exactly what it always was. What I have lost is my old childlike faith in practical politics.”—G. K. Chesteron, Orthodoxy

Chesterton is someone whom I’ve admired for a long time.  If you’re not familiar with him, you should be.  I read his Father Brown mysteries, ages ago.  I have enjoyed the fiction of Chesterton, Lewis, Sayers, and Tolkien since college.  I find I enjoy British authors and British humor, and Chesterton represents both.  Philip Yancey wrote, “Whenever I feel my faith going dry again, I wander to a shelf and pick up a book by G.K. Chesterton.”  Orthodoxy, the book quoted above, is not an easy book to read (You can read it free here), but it is well worth reading.

I might wish that more Christians had learned what Chesterton learned.  Wherever there are people and the organizations that people create, we have politics and politicians.  They are an unavoidable part of the governing of nations and communities, even of churches; yet, far too often, “practical politics” overrules both common sense and the wisdom of God.

We hear daily that our leaders are engaged in activities necessary for the good of our country.  That is what we hear, but that is plainly not the truth.  God gives authority to governments to provide for order, security, and peace, but unfortunately men and women gain power and often proceed to use to gain more power.  Those who reject salvation and faith in God are prone to put their faith in government, hoping it will provide salvation–prosperity, health and long life, and ultimately salvation of the earth itself.

Community is more than a common interest or place to live; it is sharing, participation, and fellowship.  No matter what the definition, however, politics is a thing of division not true community.  Practically, politics divides into factions with the promise of dominance for each group.  “Practical politicians” use the language of unity to achieve the purpose of domination.  Where real unity exists, winners and losers are impossible.  Of course, the only place where unity with loving respect for differences is in the Body of Christ, where the method of decision is consensus, not politics.

Sadly, the Church of Jesus Christ is as vulnerable to politics as secular governments.  The range of governing styles, from authoritarian to democratic, flourishes in the many bodies with the Church.  The idea of family receives lip service, but we find politics easier than either authentic brotherhood or community.  The good news is that we may reject the political any time we choose.

God’s people are first citizens in his kingdom and member of his household.  As members of his body, we are to practice and not tolerate either dishonesty or lingering anger, both common to the business of politics.  The key to prosperity or peace is not the machinations of political leaders or parties; it is the rule of Christ in our hearts, individually and collectively.

I have a young friend who very much seeks to create a genuine community of believers that is not simply another institutional church.  He is a rare contrast to the many Christians who look to politics to fix whatever is wrong with our country or the Church.  Politics will not save us.  I agree with Chesterton; I put little faith in politicians and much in the ideals and basic doctrines of my faith.  I look to Christ alone for salvation of any substantive kind, material or spiritual.  In him is true hope and miraculous possibilities.

One of my students asked me, the other day, why old people are always mad. I guess I still count as “not old,” because he asked me like it was a problem for other, older folks, but it was a good question. I have noticed the same thing, and I think I know why.

We live in a culture that prefers youth; it virtually idolizes the young. In such a culture, getting old is a curse, a thing to be dreaded, resisted, and regretted by those who are younger and by the aged themselves. We spend fortunes on facilities and resources to hold back the effects of age—cosmetics, plastic surgery, fitness facilities, and medicines. We not only want to prevent aging but deny death itself, although neither is possible.

I suspect those who most seek perpetual youth are the most unhappy when they can no longer deny the relentless march of time. Lines and wrinkles begin to appear; hair begins to thin, and gravity demands its due. People realize they have less energy, less stamina, and more aches and pains. The seems to be less muscle and more bulk. The skin begins to look like that of parents and, in time, grandparents.

I remember an eye exam over a decade ago. My optometrist had put me through most of the routine when I realized he was hedging about something. When the light finally dawned, I asked him if he was trying to tell me I needed bifocals. Even when I asked directly, he seemed reluctant to come right out and make his honest evaluation. I’d worn glasses since I was 13 and had already accepted the stigma attached to being a “four-eyes.” Thirty or forty years later, I still preferred being able to see over catering to some pointless demand of ego.  I’ve also long declined to comb a few long strands over the growing area of bare skin.  Who do we think we’re fooling with all that pretense?

How many people lie about their age? After wanting so desperately to be older, once the benchmark of 21 has passed, many begin to want to be younger. Personally, I don’t play that silly game. I am proud of every year of life God has granted me, thus far. I might wish a bit more physical ability and less discomfort, and I would prefer not to be avoided or discounted for being “over the hill.”

Paul says,  “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.“

Being grumpy because one is no longer young is not appropriate.  In fact, it’s bad advertising.  In the midst of sickness, pain, and grief, or even conflict like the situation mentioned Paul, a Christian needs to seek a perspective that permits joy and rejoicing.  A sense of humor helps, that is, not taking oneself so seriously.  This isn’t about mindless happiness.  We may not be able to stop the deterioration of age, but we are not helpless.  Obviously, we can take care of ourselves, and make the most of the benefits that maturity brings (I prefer the view of cultures that respect the elderly).  If those of us who are older embrace our maturity with grace and good humor, we may encourage those who are younger to recognize the wisdom in a better attitude toward aging, but if we only express discontent with our situation, then they will regard growing older as something to dread.

In any event, Paul injunction is clear:  “Rejoice in the Lord always.”  It’s worth repeating:  “Again, I say, rejoice!“