Author: Paul Nordman

A Bust in the Hall of Faith

Post author By Paul Nordman
Post date August 22, 2018
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When he was in the fourth-grade, our son chose as his “Ohio project” to report on the Pro Football Hall of Fame. (Thank you, Matthew, for leaving Ohio’s canal systems, salt mines and burial mounds in the capable hands of your classmates.) Located in North Canton, the HOF was just a two-hour drive away, which, of course, meant, “road trip!” There we saw bust after bust of pro football’s greats—from Jim Brown to Dick Butkus—and the array of memorabilia, including Jim Thorpe’s Canton Bulldogs uniform, was mesmerizing for two admiring pilgrims. For these real-life relics recalled an excellence displayed on the field week after week, year after year.

Yet I couldn’t help but to think about the true excellence we did not see. Sprints run, weights lifted, and drills executed until exhaustion, only to rest for a moment and then do some more. Tireless resolve driving bone-weary bodies, hour after hour, day after day. The Hall welcomed us fans who came to visit, but it paid homage only to those content with nothing less than induction.

Hebrews 11 is a stroll through a different showcase of legends. Here we pause before the busts of believers—Noah, Abraham and Moses. We honor Gideon, Rahab, David and other everyday folks who persevered through the obstacles they could see, trusting in the God they could not see. Through faith some escaped the sword, and others, through faith, endured it. In trust some administered justice; in trust, some suffered injustice. All of these have finished life’s race and yet remain, urging us on from this Biblical Hall of Faith.

This particular Hall, however, is no place for mere visitors: we are all called to persevere as people of faith and to be content with nothing less. “Since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses,” writes the author of Hebrews, “let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.”¹ And so we do. Like Paul, we “press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called [us] heavenward in Christ Jesus.”² For our own time comes soon enough, and the Hall awaits.

Father, though doubts come and go, I do trust you, for you have shown yourself to be faithful. Show me the Kingdom work you have prepared for me to do today, and strengthen me with your power to do it in faith. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

Christ in me is hope.

¹ Hebrews 12:1
² Philippians 3:14

Read today’s Scripture in Hebrews 12:1-3.

Tags A Bust in the Hall of Faith, A Word for Wednesday, Christ in me is hope, Paul Nordman

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Once Many, Now One

Matthew McConaughey starred as coach Jack Lengyel in the true and inspiring story of a major college football program re-birth, a rising, of sorts, from the wreckage of a 1970 plane crash that had claimed the lives of the university’s entire team and coaching staff. Hired to build a team anew, Lengyel went to work to create something from nothing, one player and one coach at a time. They assembled from among the poor and the well-off, from the very fast to the very strong, from model lives to troubled youths, from African descent, European descent and more. What began as no individuals became many, and from many individuals emerged a team, together now proclaiming their identity of one—“We Are Marshall.”

In its way, the movie illustrates the body of Christ, a singular people made up of many persons. “Once you were not a people,” writes Peter, “but now you are the people of God.” In His mercy, we have come from backgrounds unimaginably diverse—from rich and poor, from East and West, North and South, from other religions or no religion, from ethnicities, tribes and nations around the globe. What have we become? Once many, we are one—“a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God.”

On the surface, such lofty titles can sound at least a little elitist, institutional and antiquated. Candidly, it’s easier for us to relate to football! Life is not a weekend pastime, however; it is toughed out every moment of every day and with real consequences. People crave goodness in an unjust world, and love amid cruelty, so God sends His chosen people, to reflect His character, where hope resides. People swim in confusion over who God is and how to find him; His holy nation points clearly and joyfully to Him who is the way, the truth and the life. People not only need prayer, they want prayer; what more can this humble priesthood do than to intercede for them and with them. And who but a people belonging to God is called to sacrifice our comfort for others’ care, and to exchange self-soothing convenience for outreaching compassion. It is still true: we thrive as one. We Are Priesthood.

Father, though I do not deserve it, you have saved me in Christ and joined me to His body. Lead me into the priestly duties you have for me — to speak hope and truth, to serve in your name, to give of myself as you give of yourself. I pray in the name of Him who died to make us holy. Amen.

Christ in me is holiness.

Read today’s Scripture in 1 Peter 2:9, 10.

Tags A Word for Wednesday, Christ in me is holiness, Once Many Now One, Paul Nordman

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The Rendezvous Point

Have you ever frantically searched for a child who was frantically searching for you? Or was it you, the lost child looking for a parent? Perhaps it was in the woods or at Disney World or in the mall. Wherever its locale at any given moment, “lost” is a very distressing place to be!

People all over the world search for wisdom; we share an inner longing for true knowledge, understanding, and insight. We seek the inner compass that navigates us from naiveté to discernment, from recklessness to discretion, from injustice to fairness, from discord to peace. We pursue meaning that we know exists in an authority outside of ourselves, elusive though it seems, beyond our natural reach.

The quest for wisdom transcends generational boundaries, and Solomon, regarded the wisest man who ever lived, promised this to all of us who embark upon it: if we “call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding,”[i] we will discover it. If we “look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure,” then we will find “the knowledge of God.”[ii] If this weren’t encouraging enough, the ancient king of Israel assured us wisdom is looking for us, too! “Does not wisdom call out? Does not understanding raise her voice? . . . ‘To you, O men, I call out; I raise my voice to all mankind. You who are simple, gain prudence; you who are foolish, gain understanding.’”[iii]

So we cry out for wisdom, even as wisdom calls out to us. To our great relief, there is a rendezvous point, a place where we would-be companions can find each other. It is the spot on the map marked, “the fear of the Lord.” It is the point at which we believe God, trust God, relinquish our wills to His ways, and rest our weary souls in Him. Those who seek insight can be united with it there, for “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.”[iv]

Go to that spot—the place of reverence for God and awe of Him, the place of belief and trust in His Word. There you will find wisdom waiting for you.

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. (James 1:5 ESV)

Christ in me is wisdom.

[i] Proverbs 2:3
[ii] Proverbs 2:4, 5
[iii] Proverbs 8:1, 4, 5
[iv] Proverbs 9:1

Tags A Word for Wednesday, Christ in me is wisdom, Paul Nordman, The Rendezvous Point