Good News Sense

My aunt died, last Sunday.  She was only 68.  My Mom was to have had knee replacement surgery, this past Thursday, but she got bronchitis and had to wait a little longer.  She is 81, and we see the effects of the years.  My roommate’s mother died recently, after a fall.  Injury, illness, and death are all around us, reminding us that life and health, in this world, tend to pass quickly, as Isaiah says.  Isaiah also reminds us that some things last forever, particularly God’s Word.  As we face the unavoidable reality of our own mortality, it should inspire us to grab onto the things that last.

I can think of no greater tragedy than to lose someone we love for all eternity.  In fact, I regard the loss of anyone, however troubled in this world, as dreadfully sad.  Sin corrupts each of us, some in more open and unpleasant ways, but the cause is the same.  No one is inherently evil; every one of us is a creature made in God’s image but fallen from that high estate because of sin.  The man or woman I may despise for some earthly wrong is a sinner for the same reason as I, and it is wise for us to consider what precious soul lies beneath the burden of their sin, a preious soul that God loves, as He does each of us.

Still, I understand the person who is reluctant to offer the gift of grace to an enemy or a person who hurt them deeply.  I don’t so easily understand those who simply don’t bother, who are too busy with their own affairs, or who have too little love to care about the many lost souls arount them.  In writing that, I must confess I don’t so easily understand myself.

I think many of us avoid sharing the gospel because we feel inadequte.  People ask hard questions.  They react to our faith with scorn and skepticism.  They may even mock us.  We may have bought into the idea that “religion is a private matter,” an idea that the unreligious and unbelieving us to silence people of faith; unfortunately, it often works.  We may even conclude that those who really want to believe will find their way to Jesus without our help, except Paul tells us plainly that they need a preacher.

I have been thinking and writing about this, for some time.  In my latest posting, I discuss things that make the task difficult and suggest ways to help get the job done.  To start, we just need to do it, to recognize that is doable, and to understand that as “sheep,” it’s our job to reproduce.  Just remember, that reproducing is the most natural process in the world.  It is a matter of life producing more life, and the life of Christ in each of us is sufficient to spark new life in another.

Yes, we do need to learn.  Gaining knowledge and skills will give us more tools, increase our understanding, and enable us to answer questions more effectively.  It is regrettable that, in an “information age,” so many of us despise the skills necessary to use the abundant information available.  If someone asks a question, and if I don’t readily know the answer or have sources readily in mind, I only have to Google it, and I will often be able to access precisely the information I need.

Of course, there are those who will tell you that the wealth of information makes our job harder.  They will imply that most of the available information is contrary to our beliefs, but that isn’t true.  If you believe, as I do, that the gospel is truth, the one accurate message of reality straight from the One who created it, then no amount of information will ever overwhelm.

In truth, the task is easier today than ever.  We have an abundance of resources to draw on.  Given the deep problems and prevalent concerns about our economy, we have a great opportunity, as well.  When things are going well, people dare to rely on their earthly wealth for security, at least until reminded of their own mortality,  When things are bad, and they don’t get much worse than terrorist threats and economic disaster, then people may be ready to look to something more basic and more reliable than this earth can provide.  In this environment, and with these plentiful sources of helpful informations, we can tell someone about Jesus.

I’m not much for collectivism, and too much rhetoric recently has focused on what we can do, often meaning, I fear, we can do it for you. I believe in only one “we,” and that is we, the people of God, together the Body of Christ. I guess marriage is also a “we,” but since the “two become one flesh,” a married couple become one. We, “the people of the United States,” established the nature of our union in the Constitution, but it established an environment where the norm was to be individual freedom. It was the enablement, indeed the ennoblement, of “I” not “we.”

The Apostle Paul’s statement is remarkable: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” It provides a stunning contrast to the alternative we have heard so much about recently. It truly is the spirit of Christ versus the spirit of anti-Christ. The one enables the individual through divine power while the other scorns the divine in favor of human power harnessed by the state. Animals yoked together have a certain brute strength, but they have no liberty; they must work under the whip of the one driving them. What is accomplished serves the interests of the master and the interests of those yoked creatures as the master chooses; he may be benevolent or harsh, but the choices are his.

That’s why Jesus says that “my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” We do not serve at his will but by our choice. He in turn frees us to choose our own way, express our own creative gifts, and fulfill the unique purpose each of us has as an individual. He is our master, yet he says we are no longer servants but friends; he is our elder brother, and we have been adopted into his family. This is the finest form of dignity and liberty, and our country functions best when our dignity and liberty mirror that, as much as possible (In my opinion, humans as the very children of God made in his image have a far greater worth and dignity than highly evolved lumps of protoplasm, akin to monkeys and dolphins and slime molds).

Collectivists and industrialists and oppressive governments prefer sameness and limits to freedom. They don’t always recognize their own proclivities, saying one thing while doing another, without necessarily seeing the inconsistency. People even think they want to be harnessed and yoked because then they don’t have to think about what to do or where to go; someone else does their thinking for them. I find the peculiar dichotomy between allowing children to grow into undisciplined young people who rebel against all control, even parental, and the stifling cultural environment into which they ultimately must function where the government is assuming more and more control over every aspect of our lives.

By contrast, a believer has access to the very power of God in the freedom of Christ.  People will say we need government to provide for us because life is tough, but life wasn’t always easy for Paul: “I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.”  I would rather be free and live in the ups and downs of life than lose my freedom for a guarantee of meager provision, which is the best that a centralized system can offer.  The lesson of contentment is better than the bitter pill of fear and resentment.

Contentment alone is a great blessing, a wonderful promise from God.  Life in this fallen world is uncertain and will remain so until the Lord returns and establishes his eternal kingdom.  Yet, I am convinced we have the opportunity to do more than wait; I believe we have a commission, given before the fall and never withdrawn, to “be fruitful.”  As the Parable of the Talents makes clear, the Lord expects to invest our gifts productively until he returns…No Excuses!  We have a job to do, and he has gifted us to do it.  I believe that great accomplishments still remain to astound the world and please our Lord, but only if we accept the simple truth, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me,” and you can, too!

For a slogan to be trustworthy, it must be true. Political slogans are notable in their vacuousness, and this one is especially meaningless. Basic English grammar says that this sentence needs a direct object: “Yes, we can what?” Even adding another of the words from the same campaign, we know little more to say, “Yes, we can change things.” If I could, I’d change my bald head into a full head of hair, but I can’t do that. Despite ads to the contrary, so far, male pattern baldness can be covered but not undone.

The people of the United States have remarkable power to change many things politically, but it requires knowledge and a bit of effort. Trusting slick campaigns and glib politicians is not the way. Too many of us have accepted that approach, assuming we can trust our elected officials to take care of our country for us. People, who often wouldn’t trust their own mothers and fathers to manage their affairs (once they’re adults themselves), seem to imagine they can trust strangers with well-crafted celebrity-styled images. Our various representatives serve our interests and carry out our wishes only when we hold them accountable; we do that by voting them out of office for not doing what they promise. Frankly, Americans haven’t been doing that.  Blaming the “ins” for natural shifts in an economy no one controls is mere reaction, not accountability.  Blaming a President for the results of actions taken by Congress is ignorant, as many are.

The news has been especially troubling, of late. As a result, more and more people, including believers, seem to express doubt about the future. While the future is always uncertain, and given that the Lord makes no guarantees to us concerning this world, I find such hopelessness distressing. As believers, we are not powerless. We are intimately connected to the God of power, the One who created and sustains our very existence. As children of God and citizens of His kingdom, we can! We can make a difference, and I have written about that in some detail.

What can we do? I will mention a few things and invite you to add to my list. First of all, we can pray. We have great power in prayer because we pray to the God of all power. Prayer isn’t magic; it is not Aladdin’s lamp filled with wishes. Yes, we may come to God with our needs, problems, and wishes, and he may give what we seek. Often we don’t have because we don’t ask. At the same time, prayer is our line of communication, two-way street. We must listen, seek wisdom, ask for guidance, and respect Him who is, after all, our Sovereign Lord and Heavenly Father. As one song says, “It’s not about me!”

Second, we can love. Without love, we cannot. That’s a big deficiency in most politicians; they love no one but themselves. Their assertions of caring and compassion are a ruse, and not a very good one. Those who often make the loudest claims of caring are frequently those whose personal actions prove the lie. Paul states it plainly; without love, nothing, nada, zilch! A friend sent me a review of a book called Love or Die. Does that sound harsh? It is true, you know. Somehow, we manage to convince ourselves that the Great Commandment is, well, secondary, while we involve ourselves with what’s really important. We delude ourselves into thinking we’ve got it covered, even as we neglect love disgracefully (Isn’t that an interesting word? Fully not grace!) Without love, we cannot. With love we can.

All other sources of individual power—being an example, serving as a mentor, being an agents of change, evangelizing, connecting to our community, and influencing culture—all hinge on love. If we make them mere activities, we are no different from the multitudes of other activists. With love bathed in prayer, we can. Yes, we can! (I realized as I was writing that the idea of love as a key to effectiveness is worth further development. Stay tuned…)