Categories
Uncategorized

Irrelevant No More

As I chaired a church committee several years ago, another member good-naturedly dubbed me “Captain Spontaneous.” Anyone who knows me gets the humor, because I am anything but spontaneous. Still today I chuckle about the moniker. We’ve heard a lot of descriptive nicknames throughout the years, haven’t we? Some are harsh and some hysterical; some we’ve given and others we’ve earned. But the sobriquet I personally find most troubling is that reserved for the very last college football player selected in the annual NFL draft: they call him, “Mr. Irrelevant.” To be considered so insignificant as not to matter—except to be publicly recognized as the one not mattering—that is tough. Yet I suspect many among us go through life questioning their relevance or believing themselves to possess little of it.

God sees things differently than we do. Declared Samuel, “The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”1 Moreover, the church of Christ itself is living proof of His redemptive and transforming power. Paul writes to the Corinthians: “not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.”2 Not only does God choose His own from the “irrelevant” among us, He does so for an eternally relevant purpose—to expose the shallow ways of the world and to display His wisdom, compassion and power. This is how, for instance, the poor woman who gave everything she had—two small coins—into the temple treasury3 lives on in Scripture as a picture of humility, devotion, and faith. Irrelevant? Hardly.

Society will always define its populace according to its arbitrary and capricious ways; we cannot change this. Yet we need not despair, for God wills to rescue us, redeem us, and raise us to a place far above worldly relevance. “Humble yourselves before the Lord,” writes James, “and he will lift you up in honor.”4 Look up, Mr. Irrelevant, for the last shall be first.5

Father, how amazing is Your love for us. You remember those rejected by the world, and You seek them to be Your own. Use us for Your purposes, that our lives would display Your eternal glory. In Christ we pray, Amen.

1 1 Samuel 16:7
2 1 Corinthians 1:26-29
3 Luke 21:4
4 James 4:10 NLT
5 Matthew 20:16

Categories
Uncategorized

Testimony: The Light Shines

Come and hear, all you who fear God, and I will tell what he has done for my soul. Psalm 66:16 ESV

“It’s hard to be an atheist,” our friend reflected aloud. She spoke from experience, as for many years her worldview precluded that which could not be perceived through natural senses. Over time, however, she opened herself to the possibility that God existed, and ultimately to God himself. Without Him, she told us, “There isn’t an almighty power to hold you in whatever situation, and there tends to be more bitterness and resentment. There’s the feeling of ‘I am going through this struggle by myself.’ It’s hard.” Reflecting further she added, “Atheism didn’t help me become the better person that I wanted to become. On my own, I wouldn’t have become as caring or kind to people.” But life with God? “I’m more grateful for everything. I’ve found more peace and joy, and it is easier to make more generous assumptions about other people and to care more about them.”

Oh, the wonders God works in our soul! He is real, deliberate, and relational, and He pursues us in love. Many years before Jesus’ birth, God foretold of the servant-Messiah who would come in great power, authority, and righteousness: “I will put my Spirit on him, and he will bring justice to the nations.”1 Yet His power would be so great that He could live among us and draw us to Himself in perfect patience and gentleness. “He will not shout or cry out, or raise his voice in the streets. A bruised reed he will not break . . . He will not falter or be discouraged till he establishes justice on the earth. In his teaching the islands will put their hope.”2 This servant-Messiah’s mission would be one of compassion and care, of healing and wholeness, and of life and love. Of Him God said, “I will . . . make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles to open the eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.”3

Indeed He does. For the servant-Messiah has come, and He comes to us still today—opening our eyes to Himself, freeing us from futility, and delivering us from oppression. If He has brought light into your darkness, you, too, have a story to tell. And if oppression rises up against you today, you have this truth to hold: ”The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” 4

Father, life here can be so difficult, but You are light. Open our eyes today; set us free today; shine Your truth into our soul today. We need You and we trust You; You are good. In Christ we pray, Amen.

1 Isaiah 42:1
2 Isaiah 42:2-4
3 Isaiah 42:6-7
4 John 1:5

Categories
Uncategorized

Who Conforms to Whom?

Are you familiar with “Calvinball” from the comic strip, Calvin and Hobbes? It is a fictional game in which both Calvin and his stuffed toy tiger Hobbes, who lives animated in Calvin’s imagination, make up their own rules as they go along. No rule can be used twice, except the rule that no rule can be used twice! It is Calvin’s way of averting society’s demands and conforming reality to his passions of the moment. In a little ditty he sings, “You don’t need a team or a referee! You know that it’s great, ‘cause it’s named after me!”1

In its humorous way, Calvinball gently illustrates something more consequential than childhood fantasies, namely our tendency to comport Biblical truth to our own comfort level, instead of vice versa. This is neither new nor cultural; it is human. It shows up in what we choose to believe about God, rather than what is necessarily true about Him. What might this look like? Sometimes we dangerously supplant God’s law with our own notions of right and wrong, as Isaiah cautioned, “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.”2 Also, our religious traditions, however sincere, may actually “nullify the word of God,”3 as Jesus warned the Sadducees, who insisted there was no life after death. “You are in error,” He told them, “because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God.”4 Forewarning us against bending God’s truth to our preferences, Peter cautioned his readers about “unstable people” who distort Scriptures, even “to their own destruction.”5 It is Satan’s oldest trick—to “explain away” the clear meaning of God’s Word through false premises and twisted reasoning and thus redirect us toward “a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death.”6 Tragically Adam, in the garden, fell for it; thankfully Jesus, in the wilderness, did not.

To his protégé Timothy—and effectively to us—Paul wrote, “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.” 7 God’s Word is truth8, and when we misuse it, we do so at our own peril. But when we conform our will to His ways, and not vice versa, we are safe to serve and free to flourish in life eternal—a fruitful, meaningful life.

Father, You send us not away from this world, but into it.9 Ignite in us a burning passion for Your Word and equip us in its truth to do every good work.” In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

1 Waterson, Bill. “Calvin and Hobbes” comic strip. September 14, 2015. https://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/2015/09/14
2 Isaiah 5:20
3 Mark 7:13
4 Matthew 22:29
5 1 Peter 3:16
6 Proverbs 14:12
7 2 Timothy 3:16-17 NLT
8 John 17:17
9 John 17:18