Suffering (Submission Part Deux)

                The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs--heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth               comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. Romans 8:16-18 ESV

 

Suffering is the ultimate submission.

If we are in Christ, and Christ is in us, then we will suffer with Him.

Usually, this is assumed to mean some sort of religious persecution. Often times it is. In 20th century United States, it is not. I repeat, it is not. I do not suffer persecution daily for being a Christian. At most, someone may think less of me, but I really don’t think that counts. Does it?

What I have realized this to mean, fairly recently, is that we are to do this. Take suffering upon ourselves, as Christ did for us. Voluntarily. To daily choose suffering instead of comfort, in to suffer along with our Christ.

Its not easy, to choose suffering. It goes against everything. Submit yourselves to everything, and suffer with Him.

 

                Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don't try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way. - James 1:2-4 MSG

               

 

 

Submission

                He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth.

                Isaiah 53:7

 

I don’t have a perfect marriage, because it's made up of two imperfect people. It works, because we both make every attempt to be humble before each other (and God). We submit to one another.

                But wait, I don’t see anything in the Bible that says a man should submit to a woman, that’s preposterous! Inconceivable! What about Genesis 3; "and he shall rule over you"? The man is the lord of the house, and all that.

                Well, that is true. It does say that in Genesis 3. But lets look a little deeper into that. What is God saying to Adam and Eve in that section of Genesis? He is cursing them for their disobedience. He curses Eve with pain in childbirth (and child-rearing, in my opinion), and he also curses her with the desire to rule her husband. In turn, he curses the man with the curse that he will rule over the wife. So its not a command, it's not even a suggestion, it’s a curse. We are cursed with sinful desires; Jackie wants to be in charge, and so do I. It's part of our sinful nature.

                How do we deal with it? By being submissive to one another. It works, because we both do it. It works because that is how God intended it to work. But it all seems so backwards, doesn’t it? How can no-one be in charge? No one is in charge, because God is in charge.

                Dietrich Bonhoeffer said (I'm paraphrasing) that we only have one relationship as a Christian, and that is to Christ. All of our other relationships are mediated through Him. I don’t interact with my wife, I interact with my wife though Christ, because I am Christ and He is me.

                It also works because it was designed to work in another way. Back to Genesis, now.

                Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit               for him.” 2:18

Helper here means something more like ally or comrade, not like assistant. But the key word is 'fit for'. The Hebrew here means complimentary. My wife and I are two halves of a whole. I don’t pretend to know it all, and neither does she. We both submit to someone greater than ourselves.

 

Indifference

Politics.

 

Anymore, I care, but I don’t really care. I get fired up about issues that are important to me, like anyone else. I have those that I support, I diligently research my vote. I advocate my position when asked. I think it is important to be informed about politics, because you are involved whether you want to be or not.

 

But overall, I just don’t care anymore.

 

I have more important things to care about.

 

“There are some Brothers who, in preaching, are as timid as mice—but on a political platform they can roar like lions! Had not

they better take to what they like best and give up the work at which they are not at home? For my part, I believe that I am like

Paul when he says that he was “separated unto the Gospel of God.” I am set apart unto the Gospel, cut off from everything else so

that I may preach the glorious Gospel of the blessed God to the perishing sons of men!

—C.H. Spurgeon. 1892, Sermon #2257

Gwen's Lullaby

Every night, in this order, these verses, exactly.

 

Amazing grace! How sweet the sound,
That sav'd a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.

'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,
And grace my fears reliev'd;
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believ'd!

Thro' many dangers, toils, and snares,
I have already come;
'Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far,
And grace will lead me home.

The earth shall soon dissolve like snow,
The sun forbear to shine;
But God, who call'd me here below,
Will be forever mine.

When we've been there ten thousand years,
Bright shining as the sun,
We've no less days to sing God's praise,
Than when we first begun

 

O Lord my God! When I in awesome wonder

Consider all the worlds Thy hands have made.

I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,

Thy power throughout the universe displayed.

Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to Thee;

How great Thou art, how great Thou art!

Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to Thee:

How great Thou art, how great Thou art!

 

And when I think that God, His Son not sparing,
Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in;
That on the Cross, my burden gladly bearing,
He bled and died to take away my sin.

Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to Thee;

How great Thou art, how great Thou art!

Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to Thee:

How great Thou art, how great Thou art!

 

When Christ shall come with shout of acclamation

And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart!

Then I shall bow in humble adoration,

And there proclaim, my God, how great Thou art!

Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to Thee;

How great Thou art, how great Thou art!

Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to Thee:

How great Thou art, how great Thou art!

 

 

 

Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!
O what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God,
Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood.

This is my story, this is my song,
praising my Savior all the day long;
this is my story, this is my song,
praising my Savior all the day long.

 

Perfect submission, perfect delight!
Visions of rapture now burst on my sight;
Angels descending bring from above
Echoes of mercy, whispers of love.

This is my story, this is my song,
praising my Savior all the day long;
this is my story, this is my song,
praising my Savior all the day long.

 

Perfect submission, all is at rest!
I in my Savior am happy and blest,
Watching and waiting, looking above,
Filled with his goodness, lost in His love.

This is my story, this is my song,
praising my Savior all the day long;
this is my story, this is my song,
praising my Savior all the day long.

 

 

Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart,

naught be all else to me, save that thou art;

Thou my best thought by day or by night,

Waking or sleeping, thy presence my light.

 

Be thou my wisdom, thou my true word,

I ever with thee and thou with me Lord;

Thou my great Father, I thy true son;

Thou in me dwelling, and I with thee one.

 

Be thou my breastplate, sword for the fight;

Be thou my armor, and be thou my might;

Thou my soul's shelter, thou my high tower:

Raise thou me heavenward, O Power of my power.

 

Riches I heed not, nor man's empty praise:

Thou mine inheritance now and always;

Thou and thou only first in my heart;

High King of Heaven, my treasure thou art.

 

High King of heaven, my victory won,

May I reach heaven's joys, O Bright Heaven's sun!;

Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,

Still be my vision, O Ruler of all.

 

 

 

 

 

The Right Tool

                I don’t like fixing things. Not because I'm incapable, but because it never goes according to plan. The instructions always seem so clear at first. 1) Remove from package. 2) Attach widget. 3) Mount with included hardware. They even have some nice diagrams to go with it.

                Usually, my problem is that I never seem to have the exact tool I need to get the job done. I am slowly filling my tool chest with tools, but I still find myself saying "If I just had that tool, it would make this so much easier". My wife hates this. She thinks I'm just complaining, and wanting to spend money at Sears. She's probably thinking "My dad could do it in half the time with a pocketknife and a stick of gum" I seriously think her dad is actually MacGyver.

                The truth is, the reason 'Dad' is so much more capable than 'Husband', is that Dad has 25 years more tools than I do (Yes, tools are measured in time, not quantity). He also has 25 years more experience using those tools. Tool wisdom, I guess you could call it.

                Its great to have the tool you need, because when you need it, you really need it. It's even more great to know how to use it. You need both to get the job done.

 

 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

Hebrews 4:12 ESV

 

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; 
   all those who practice it have a good understanding. 
   His praise endures forever!

Psalm 111:10 ESV

 

 

 

Failure

                I have tried hard to keep this blog as positive as possible, since I tend to be cynical enough in person. There is far too much complaining on the internet for me, I for one get tired of everyone voicing their complaint, in an attempt to legitimize it, I suppose. With that being said, here comes my rant. It's going to be long, but you'll have to learn to deal. [After finishing: it's only 3 pages, you'll spend longer on Facebook today than it will take to read this]

                Christians have failed, and we have failed most spectacularly. I cannot possibly imagine how we could have gone more wrong. I'm not talking about our theology, our devotion, our passion, our zeal, our evangelism, our eschatology, our ecumenism, our philosophy, our Christology, or our hairstyles. I'm talking about our education. We have simply, (and horrifically) failed at educating a generation (actually at least 3, but I'll get there) of believers. Not sort of, not kind of, not mostly. Completely.

                But, we have Sunday schools for our children, right? They learn all about Noah and the flood. They make cute "Empty Tomb" cookies at Easter, and they even put on a very nice Christmas program. That's education, right? I mean, it's not that complex, the Bible even says it's not difficult to understand; even the youngest children get it. You send your kiddos to Sunday School, and by the time they're 12 or so, you bring them into worship with you, and that it. They are educated. What more do they need to know?

How have we failed?

                I find modern internet culture hilarious, not in the sense that the culture is amusing to me, I mean that the humor resonates with me. I am part of that culture, I understand it. I get the jokes, I know the culture references. One site I visit frequently is reddit.com. It's basically a social site, with about 10 billion subsections. I stick to the news, gaming, and humor sections. There are other sections that are not so innocent (what a surprise, it’s the internet), but they are easy to avoid. They even have a Christianity group. They also have a very active atheism group, one of the largest groups on the site (and the site is one of the largest on the internet). As I type this, the group has 428,439 members. I visit it fairly often, and every time I do, I'm left with an overwhelming sadness. Partially for those half a million people who don’t know a loving God, but mostly for Christians today. Most of the atheists there are college educated; many with graduate degrees. They have had decades of training in philosophy and humanism. They continually mock Christians, who are perceived as ignorant, and sometimes stupid. This is to be somewhat expected, we do not share the same worldview. But many times, what I witness is Christians being unable to defend even simple questions about their faith. The one I see most often is "If God loves everyone, why would he send anyone to hell?". I've seen it dozens of times, these atheists relate their stories about the dumb Christians they meet. They ask these questions because they know the Christian won't know how to answer, and they hope that they will be left questioning their faith. There are thousands more examples.

                We have not prepared ourselves to defend our own beliefs. We are unable to answer the simplest of questions. Why? Because we thought singing "I am a C-H-R-I-S-T-I-A-N" and putting on a Nativity was education enough. We failed ourselves.

Why have we failed?

                To put it simply, we got comfortable. We got used to having a basic, rudimentary knowledge of Christianity, and the culture around us holding to the modern 'Christian morality'. Life was easy. We left the defense of the faith to those in far off places, and to those who devoted their lives to theology. We invented the word 'Theologian', so we could claim understanding Scripture was only for the academic elite.

                Modern Sunday school was never intended to teach Scripture in the first place. It was a lay-movement in the 18th century, an attempt to educate the poor children in England who, instead of going to school, worked 6 days a week from a very early age. Sunday schools began to develop to use the resources of the church, and the laymen of the church, to give these poor children a basic education. Not a basic Christian education. I'm talking about reading, writing, history, math, etc. It was never intended to bring up strong Christians.

What's the solution?

                There is a movement in the modern church (and I think its great), to try and be as much like the 1st century church as possible. The church of the apostles. I would argue that's not really possible. We don’t have any of the 12 (11, really) apostles left, so we cannot replicate the church that they were a part of. What we can replicate is the 2nd century church. That is the church that the apostles left behind, after they had given all the teaching that they were able. We have that teaching, so we can be that church. So, the question is, how did they see education?

                I'll just tell you (quickly) how their church operated. Every member was an evangelist. They all proclaimed God's Word to those around them. They met on the first day of the week to worship the Lord. It went like this:

                There would be an evangelistic message (sermon), where everyone (Believers, non-believers, etc) was invited to listen. After that, the non-believers exited, and the believers had a worship service. They would sing hymns of praise and have prayer. After the worship, those baptized believers who had not completed their education would be asked to leave, and the Catechized (formally educated) believers would partake in the Lords supper. [Catechesis was a formal education program in the church, lasting several years, where the baptized (adult) believers would be taught the essentials of the faith].

                Why do we think this is such a bad idea? Why are we so averse to educating believers? The education believers received during their Catechesis would be equivalent to an undergraduate degree in theology/Bible studies. And now that’s to be regarded as 'above and beyond'? Rubbish.

                The United States Marine Corps holds to a standard. That standard is "Every Marine a Rifleman". Other branches of service do not require every member to be proficient in the use of a firearm. The Marine Corps does. Why? Because it is the most basic skill that is required to defend the country in warfare.  Therefore; I propose the following: "Every Christian a Theologian" How are we to defend our faith without it, how can we evangelize with a grade-school understanding? We can't.

Addendum:

                This is not to say that education is the only thing we should focus ourselves on. There are may wonderful things the church has done, both inside and outside its walls. I only stand in opposition to the notion that formal Christian education is somehow an antiquated, useless thing and our time would be better spent in social gatherings and chats about our feelings. While I don’t reject the merit of such things, they are in fact very beneficial, they DO NOT serve as replacement for the education of the church as a whole.

               

 

 

Trustworthy

A few years ago, I got involved with this certain project at work. We were in the process of designing a very large machine, the largest of its kind in the world, in fact. For those that care (probably none of you), it was a 2-crank hot mill crop shear. The machine was going to weigh almost a million pounds, not counting all the extra bits that went along with it. To build something that big, you need some special tools. That was where I came in.

I was tasked with designing a lifting beam (for the layman, a picker-upper thing), for a very large part of the machine, weighing 375,000 pounds (roughly 110 mid-sized cars). It was a fairly simple task, design wise. I was absolutely sure that my design was good, and it was checked by other engineer, which is SOP. I was in the shop the day they put it to the test.

While going through the design, it was always in the back of my mind that the lives of several men would depend on me being correct. That thought jumped to the front of my mind as they lifted the huge assembly off the ground, and overhead to be inserted into the shear. I watched as the men worked around it, completely trusting that the beam would hold, never questioning that it could fail. My heart raced as I watched everything unfold from a distance.

That day changed me. Having someone's life in your hands, and them not even being aware of it, is an incredibly humbling experience.  Those men working on that machine put their complete trust in a flawed, fallible man. I make mistakes, it happens every day. And by God's grace I didn’t make a mistake that day. They stood under that weight with no second thoughts, it was their job and they did it.

Why is it so hard for us to trust God, who never makes mistakes?

Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the LORD GOD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation.

Isaiah 12:2 ESV