Death – The Final Enemy

It is an uncomfortable thing to speak about death. The myth in our culture (even in Christian culture) is that in death everyone finds peace. Death is seen as a liberator, not as an enemy. We write beautiful words for funerals about how the deceased is now free from his agony. Perhaps it is just easier to leave it at that.

The Bible talks about death as an enemy.

The last enemy to be destroyed is death. (Apostle Paul to the Corinthian church.) 

The war between the good and the evil in this world culminates in that final battle. Apostle Paul writes that Christ has conquered this last enemy. With him, there is victory, peace, healing and rest from death. Without him, there is just darkness.

This goes against the core of our relativist culture. The Church is shaped by this culture and it feels wrong to say that there is peace in death only for those who are in Christ. Still this is the central truth in the Christian faith. If this is not true, we’re mere fools.

But if we get this right, we understand that the Gospel is the best news and how urgent our responsibility in sharing it is.

 

How Real Is God

I listened to an acquaintance talk about how God met with him in a fresh way. He’s had his share of trouble in life, with divorce, physical injury and a loss of direction. All along he’s had faith in God somewhere out there, but recently the doubts have grown as he keeps hitting walls.

Last week he went to church and asked someone to pray for him. Through that prayer, God spoke to him, touched his heart and brought out the tears. He left feeling loved by God himself instead of forgotten.

I couldn’t help think how God is not tied into the boxes we’ve made for him. This tough looking guy met with God, was encouraged and re-freshed, because a young girl was willing to pray for him and let God speak words of encouragement through her.

It is a beautiful thing and reminds me how real God is and so very near.

Defeatist Christians

We talk about victory in the Lord. But we act as if we’ve lost.

Why do so many Christians have this attitude of “nothing new under the sun”? We have lost sight of the transforming power of God in and through us in the society. If we had a bit more vision, faith and trust in God, we would have the courage to let the dreams, the creativity and the fight for righteousness flow out of us.

Erwin McManus makes this point, announcing his dislike of  King Solomon’s words in Ecclesiastes:  “there is nothing new under the sun”.  He says  people would ask him, what’s the next big thing after post-modernism? He used to not have an answer. Now his reply goes, “it will be whatever we want it to be”. The point being, why are we waiting around for permission to change the world, when we have the power of God to be creative, active, to be the ones who shape the future.

McManus points out that the Church used to be the epicenter of creativity and ideas. Now we are satisfied to recycle yesterdays inventions.

Let’s quit being defeatists and seek to live life to our God-given fullest capacity.

Christians Are To Face Suffering

Suffering is not a virtue in Western Christianity. Perhaps it is even seen as a punishment.

What a far cry from Apostle Paul’s, “I consider it a privilege to suffer for Christ”.  Jesus went further and promised it to his followers. “You will be persecuted, you will have trouble in this world”.

The people I know who have suffered are deep people. Some have been humbled by disappointments, such as remaining un-married, not being able to get pregnant, getting a divorce and some by serious illness or by the death of family members in freak accidents or by being murdered while serving the poorest of the poor.

In a weird way, the more we suffer, the more we need God and the deeper our relationship with Him becomes. Also, our trust for God deepens and our willingness to follow him increases. When suffering comes, it is not our calling as Christians to run from it, but to embrace it. In facing suffering we also have to choose to allow God to shape us through it, or to harden our hearts and let bitterness take root.

Libby Little wrote this, only a few days before she heard of her own husband being brutally murdered. They had served the poor for over two decades in one of the world’s most war-torn nations.

For most Westerners, the opportunity to embrace suffering in service has become rare. Stringent security and evacuation protocols, government advisories, threats of litigation, and pressures from relatives and supporters make it difficult for mission people working in conflict zones to stay near to those who suffer.”To stay, or not to stay?” is a relevant question for today’s mission personnel working in dangerous places. … What might have been a God-appointed time to embrace suffering and those who suffer may be prematurely aborted.
Full article here.

No Ring, No Tears?

A pop star declared how happy she is with her much-younger-boyfriend. In the same breath she vowed never again to get married.

It is the irony I see in many people’s lives who’ve been burnt by divorce. The myth is, if you refrain from getting married, you can’t get divorced – and heartbroken. The irony is, that if you live in a marriage-like-situation emotionally the break-up will be as bad as a divorce.

Just without the paperwork.

When you take the leap of faith and make a serious commitment in marriage you close the exit door. It is harder to just get up and leave. The embarrassment of letting down the 200 people who witnessed your vows, the deep dissatisfaction that comes with failure, the complication of owning cars, houses not to mention the custody of kids. All of this is glue that in the end makes you work harder at the marriage and at staying together.

So, ironically the casual, loose relationships intended to just be fun and no heartbreak work exactly for the opposite effect. They are easy to walk away from for petty reasons, whereas marriage is hard to walk away from.

It is the flawed logic of no-ring-no-tears, that is the cause of much heartache and severely complicated networks of ex-partners.

For the Sake of the One

One lost person is more important to Jesus than the 99 that are safe. He says a good shepherd leaves the 99 that are safe and goes out to look for the one that is lost.

In another parable he tells about two brothers; one is obedient and serves the father faithfully while the other squanders the inheritance he withdrew prematurely. When the prodigal returns, the father is so overjoyed, that he throws a massive party, much to the older brother’s annoyance.

Both stories illustrate the focus of Jesus. He didn’t focus on the ones that were saved and safe. He focused on the ones that were lost.

Ironically the modern church has it exactly the other way around. We build fancy churches, hire ministers, organize programs for the 99 while forgetting the one. I would not be exaggerating too much, if I said that 99% of the resources in people, money, ministry go towards keeping the 99% well-fed. The one is neglected.

To put it plainly, 40% of the world’s population today have never heard the Gospel and about a percent or two of the Church’s resources go to reaching those.

Jesus’ focus and strategy was to expand, move forward, spread the word. Our strategy is to dig a hole and enjoy the safety.

The healthy don’t need a doctor, the sick do. Jesus came for them and said to his followers;  follow me, live as I live.

 

Read about the one.

Self-Sufficiency Kills

We like to be independent. I can manage just fine, without you.

But when it comes to faith, self-sufficiency is deadly.

Apostle Paul compares the Christian Church to a body. Jesus compares himself to a vine and his followers to the branches.  The point is clear, the members or the branches need to be connected to the source as well as to each other. Alone they die.

By insisting that faith is a personal and private matter we suffocate any potential for growth. Faith is like a muscle that needs to be trained. To grow stronger it needs  connection, context and energy. A muscle needs other muscles to function properly – it was never  intended to be a singular unit. Also, the other muscles need your muscle to operate. All the muscles together make the body move. A bicep by itself it pretty useless, no matter how pumped up it may be.

Too often I have seen people of faith stumble and fall, but no one is there to pick them up, because they insisted on doing it by themselves. Many want to do it alone, because they don’t like “the institution of church”. (I too am regularly frustrated  with the institution of Church and its shortfalls.)

Instead of walking out, we should understand that we are the church and we make it better or we make it worse. The problem with quitting Church is, that by cutting yourself off the body you cut off any life giving fluids that  flow into you and through you to others. After all it is not only about what you get. It is also about what you give to others.

Pain – God’s Opportunity

“If there is a God, why is there so much suffering?”

If you are a Christian, have you noticed how little you need God when all is going well? No need to linger in the presence of God, just a quick “thanks” and off you go to do your thing.

When you’re in the midst of a struggle, question, suffering or pain you linger with God. There is so much anxiety and no one else to turn to.

We have all been a part of prayer campaigns. A child has cancer, a brother’s life is off the rails, an accident happened, a marriage is in crisis. You pray and often things get better. Healing happens. Life gets sorted out. A couple is reconciled.

If there was no pain and suffering in this world, we wouldn’t be pushed towards God. We wouldn’t see God at work. In suffering God can showcase his Majesty and his Goodness. It is a blessing in disguise. It hurts, but the union with God in such moments is at its sweetest.

The Authenticity of Francis Chan

I am inspired by this guy, because he is for real.

Western Christians like to be comfortable. American Christians like to be entertained. They love it when someone preaches it! It gives something nice to talk about over Sunday lunch at Chili’s.

So, this pastor of a thriving mega-church in California preaches that we should love the poor and we should pray hard and we should have the courage to leave everything to follow Jesus. People nod, but nothing changes. He becomes more and more convinced. He makes up his mind and quits. Takes his family and leaves. Says he doesn’t know exactly where and what God has in mind, he just knows he has to take the step.

People think he is crazy. All the respectable Christian leaders question his decision. But, what if he is the only one who is sane? The only one who has the guts to really follow Jesus, take risks that demand faith. The one who is tired of being safe, being entertained and entertaining.

I think many of us Western Christians secretly wish for the courage to do something. To take Jesus’ words at face value and live them out. I pray the example of Francis Chan will inspire many of us to walk closer to Jesus.

Francis Chan website.

Afghanistan: Christian Converts on Death Row

Continuing on the topic of religious freedom.

The New York Times recently wrote about an Afghan man, who has been in prison for months on apostasy charges. His life is hanging by a thread, as he is basically facing the death sentence. He is in prison waiting for his trial, but his defense lawyer isn’t interested in defending him until he returns to Islam.

Sayed Mussa became interested in the Christian faith after seeing some Christian aid workers risk their own lives helping his neighbor. He was touched by their compassion and later got the New Testament from another Afghan and decided to start following Jesus. There might not be many like Sayed in Afghanistan, but there are some. And what happens to them is of critical importance.

The constitution of Afghanistan guarantees people the right to practice their own religion.  But the Sharia law says, apostasy is punishable by death. Afghanistan as other countries depending on Western help are stuck. They definitely don’t want people changing religions, but they say they want democracy and human rights for all.

Politicians and advocates are putting pressure on the government to release Mussa. If they would just release him, the hardliners would be furious and the government shamed for obviously having double standards. And if he is given the death sentence and worse, if it is carried out, Americans and other Westerners might cut the money.

And here’s the thing. Christianity is a faith that states everyone’s equality and freedom of will. Democratic ideas and the right to change ones religion flow out of this. Islam on the other hand isn’t like this. Hence most Islamic nations have had autocratic leaders. Now that they want to embrace democracy and freedom, they have a dilemma on how to be Muslims in the midst of it.

Read the NY Times article.