Fairness

I have read the book of Habakkuk many times over the years. I took my first really close look at the book about a year ago when I helped develop a discussion guide for my LIFE Group. After our group completed our study of the book, I had not given the book much thought. That is until a little over two weeks ago.

You see, the book of Habakkuk is about a man who followed God and had a strong faith in God. But he also struggled with God. There were things going on in the world around him that did not seem fair. There was great injustice in society around him. He knew God was there but God seemed to be silent.

A little over two weeks ago, my mother was diagnosed with a brain tumor. After consulting with a neurosurgeon, we came to realize that the situation was bad. The MRI showed a tumor that measured about 2.4 centimeters. The doctor told us that it appeared to be a highly aggressive, malignant tumor. After surgery, we found out that the tumor was much larger than anticipated. It was about the size of a tangerine. The pathologist confirmed our worst fears. It was a grade four (highly aggressive) glioma (malignant) tumor.

My mother is an active 59 year old woman. She just completed her bachelors degree a few years ago and had just taken a new teaching job a few weeks earlier. She is one semester away from completing her masters degree. She has had an almost perfect 4.0 GPA through all that. She has four grand-sons. She derives as much joy from “her boys” as any grandmother I have ever seen. She has a set of twin grandchildren on the way. They will no doubt be as precious to her as the others. I could point out many other things, but I am sure you get the idea.

This should not have happened to her. She has followed Jesus for a long time. She has given much of her life to service along side my dad in the church. Her trust in and reliance on God has been unwavering through circumstances both good and bad, easy and difficult. As far I can understand fairness, this is not fair. Not even a little bit.

But I need to rethink fairness. When I do, I realize that I don’t really want fairness. If God were completely fair, he would completely punish all of us. God does not always treat us fairly. He does much better than that. He treats us graciously. He has graciously kept my mother for 59 years. He graciously let her tumor be diagnosed in time to operate. He graciously gave her a skilled surgeon and others to provide medical treatment. He graciously gave her a large family that loves her and supports her completely. The Bible says that every good gift and every perfect gift comes from God and only God. There are some gifts from God that we would deem as not being good. Again, I think this is due to our not having a complete understanding of what “good” is. The Bible also says that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. That perfectly describes my mother. I cannot comprehend how this awful illness will work for her good, outside of taking her to heaven, but I trust God and his word that he will somehow work things together for her good.

It is the last few verses of the book of Habakkuk that bring me the most comfort and peace during this time. Even though the prophet still does not understand the mysteries of the way the Lord chooses to work, he still has confidence in God. He describes the devastation that he sees coming and expresses his faith. I pray God will grant me that faith as the storms of confusion and doubt come. Habakkuk 3:17-19 says: “Even though the fig trees have no blossoms, and there are no grapes on the vines, even though the olive crop fails, and the fields lie empty and barren; even though the flocks die in the fields, and the cattle barns are empty, yet I will rejoice in the Lord! I will be joyful in the God of my salvation! The Sovereign Lord is my strength! He makes me as surefooted as a deer, able to tread upon the heights.”

Love: A Godly Husband's Responsibility

Last week, I wrote about the Christian husband's responsibility to be a leader. I really believe that all of the husband's responsibilities can be distilled down to just two: lead and love.

This love is different than the infatuation that we feel early in a relationship. This love is not just felt, it is intentional. It is a choice that we make. Here are some related passages of scripture followed by ten rules for Christian husbands.

Ephesians 5:21-33 (New Living Translation)

²¹ And further, submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.

²² For wives, this means submit to your husbands as to the Lord. ²³ For a husband is the head of his wife as Christ is the head of the church. He is the Savior of his body, the church. ²⁴ As the church submits to Christ, so you wives should submit to your husbands in everything.

²⁵ For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her ²⁶ to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God’s word. ²⁷ He did this to present her to himself as a glorious church without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. Instead, she will be holy and without fault. ²⁸ In the same way, husbands ought to love their wives as they love their own bodies. For a man who loves his wife actually shows love for himself. ²⁹ No one hates his own body but feeds and cares for it, just as Christ cares for the church. ³⁰ And we are members of his body.

³¹ As the Scriptures say, “A man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.” ³² This is a great mystery, but it is an illustration of the way Christ and the church are one. ³³ So again I say, each man must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.

1 Corinthians 11:3 (New Living Translation)

But there is one thing I want you to know: The head of every man is Christ, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God.

1 Peter 3:1-2, 7 (New Living Translation)

¹ In the same way, you wives must accept the authority of your husbands. Then, even if some refuse to obey the Good News, your godly lives will speak to them without any words. They will be won over ² by observing your pure and reverent lives.

⁷ In the same way, you husbands must give honor to your wives. Treat your wife with understanding as you live together. She may be weaker than you are, but she is your equal partner in God’s gift of new life. Treat her as you should so your prayers will not be hindered.

Ten Rules for Christian Husbands

1. The love you feel for your wife should be "agape" love: a divinely inspired love that reflects God's unconditional love for her.

2. Caring for your wife requires daily attention.

3. You can give without loving, but you cannot love without giving.

4. You should encourage your wife's spiritual growth as she seeks to follow Christ, but you can't dead her there if you're unwilling to go yourself.

5. You must strive to love your wife as God loves you. That means that you must love her regardless of her response.

6. It's important that you provide for your wife and family, but giving material possessions is not enough; you must also give yourself to her.

7. You are to love your wife as you love yourself.

8. Take care of her needs, like you take care of your own. Ensure that your wife's needs for rest and recreation, spiritual growth, and clothing are met.

9. As a Christian husband, your purpose is to prepare her in order to present her to her eternal Groom, the Lord Jesus Christ.

10. Remember that love is a permanent commitment, not a transitory feeling.

Is there one or two of these that you struggle with? Which ones? Make an intentional effort to work on those this week.

Moral Battle For Stem Cells

This Sunday evening, the LIFE Group in which I participate will begin a new study series. It is a six-session series on Bioethics. Roughly three fourths of the group either works in or is formally trained in some area of the medical profession. Couple that with the increasingly important role medical technology plays in our personal lives and public policy, it seemed like an incredibly relevant topic for study. This session concerns the moral battle for stem cells. I will not take the time or space to share the bulk of the study, but I do want to share a few thoughts (and hopefully generate some discussion).

Let's start with a couple of short passages from the Bible:

"You must not murder." Exodus 20:13 (from the Ten Commandments)

"You have heard that our ancestors were told, 'You must not murder. If you commit murder, you are subject to judgment.' But I say, if you are even angry with someone, you are subject to judgment! If you call someone an idiot, you are in danger of being brought before the court. And if you curse someone, you are in danger of the fires of hell." Matthew 5:21-22 (from Jesus' Sermon on the Mount)

The following is from "Moral Battle for Stem Cells" from Christianity Today International, (c) 2007.

The biblical admonition against murder is clear. But is embryonic stem-cell research the same as murder? The embryos, under President Bush’s guidelines, have already been destroyed. Still, some say that the federal funding of the existing stem-cell lines from these embryos would support a culture of death. What do you think?

In Exodus, as God gave Moses the Ten Commandments, we see that one of the chief concerns of God is preservation of human life. In the New Testament, Jesus expands our understanding of this respect for life by broadening the concept of murder. Not only is it the taking of life from another human being, but we are also placed in danger of judgment when we treat others as valueless. In Matthew 5:21-22, the word raca means “empty-headed one.” In current terms, the term would translate as “an airhead,” “a dimwit,” or “an idiot.” To declare someone as raca means to say there is nothing of value in them and they have nothing to contribute to society.

[Q] Does the understanding of raca used in this passage inform the embryonic stem-cell debate?

The bible is clear. Murder is a violation of God's moral law. But is embryonic stem-cell research murder? In my understanding, if an embryo is properly implanted, it will grow until a child is born. That makes that embryo an early stage of a child. If the research on the embryo would prevent it from maturing into a child (obviously by destroying it), this is clearly murder. Under former President Bush's guidelines, the embryos used for research have already been destroyed. I do not think this necessarily supports a culture of death. If this embryo is simply a young human and it is already dead, is using it for research really any different than if my body were used for scientific research after I am dead? I don't think so.

Anytime Jesus taught on the law, He did not abolish or negate it. He enhanced it. He took it from the letter of the law and showed us the spirit of the law. These verses from Matthew are an example of this. We are people; every one of us is created in the image of God Himself. Each of us has value. From the youngest unborn to the oldest on his or her deathbed, these are not just people, but souls created with value to the Savior. If they matter to God they should matter to us.

What do you think? How do these and other passages of Scripture inform the embryonic stem-cell debate. Please comment below.

"Laminin" email and Snopes.com

i am sure many of you have seen the email that is circulating about laminin. i have received it at least three times. (thanks sean, for one of those!) the writer of the email tells of being on the treadmill watching a message from louie giglio and being completely blown away by the description of and picture of laminin proteins.

this morning, i was reading my weekly email from snopes.com. i love snopes.com. this laminin email was the topic of one of their new articles. the article even includes this video:





as a side note: in the video, giglio refers to being near the end of their tour in tyler, texas, when he was told about laminins. i was at that concert. i am not the molecular biologist.


the crux of the story is that laminins are the proteins that hold the different cells of our bodies together. they are like the glue that keeps us from falling apart. this is a reminder of colossians 1:15-17: "He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together." (emphasis mine; english standard version)


oh, yeah. i almost forgot. this is a scientific diagram of a laminin protein:

to me, and probably to you, this looks quite a bit like a cross. when i see this i have thoughts that go something like: "wow! before you created adam, you knew that it would be through the cross of jesus that that our very lives would be held together. and you represented it in our very cell structure! you are an amazing god!"

when snopes saw this, they said: (my response in italics)

1. the structure of laminin antedates by many thousands of years traditional christian accounts of the life of jesus. i know. that is one of the wonderful things about this. god knew from before the beginning that the cross of christ would be our hope and salvation.

2. a cross-like shape is a very simple structure that is commonly found in elements created naturally or accidentally. which one is this, natural or accidental? if it is natural, god designed it that way from the beginning. if it is accidental, how is that possible. this is the protein that holds us together. this is an accident? that is another post.

3. it is uncertain whether the form of the original crucifixion device was a stake, a t-shape, or the familiar cross of modern christian iconography. does it matter? god knew we would recognize the cross as a symbol or reminder of who jesus us and what he did for us. god chose to place this representation into our very cells.

4. one could find the shape of laminin to be reminiscent of a variety of common symbols aside from the cross. some viewers say it reminds them more of a caduceus. (the caduceus is the symbol for modern medicine.

this symbol is taken from the old testament story of the children of israel wandering in the wilderness. in numbers 21, god sent serpents to punish the people. when the repented of their sin, god had moses craft a bronze serpent and put it up on a pole. when the people looked on the bronze serpent, they were healed. jesus referenced when he was talking with nicodemus in john 3. jesus was looking ahead to his own death on the cross when he said, "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life." (english standard version) the caduceus represents, at its very core, the healing at the cross.

i am glad that snopes.com has put this on their website. i am alright with them trying to discount the symbolism. they have put a video greater than six minutes long describing that our god is the creator and savior of the universe. they have put up a number of illustrations that god is our designer. they have put this before a larger audience than you or i likely ever could.

Just Like Me

i used to listen to country music. a lot. in the last few years, i have listened almost exclusively to christian music of one variety or another. that being said, i still have a soft spot for george strait. that's right, king george. in my large sport utility vehicle, i have xm satellite radio. on xm, they are celebrating the release of king george's latest album, troubador, during the month of april by hosting strait country. this is a channel devoted to george strait music 24/7. it is good. it is very good.

i heard a song today that i had not heard in several years. it is called "the best day". it talks about a father and son. after some particular event, the son declares to the father that this may be the best day of his life. it is a very sentimental lyric, in a very simple way. i do not know why, but the words of the bridge and last chorus really affected me today. they go like this:

Standin' in a little room back of the church with our tuxes on,
Lookin' at him I say, I can't believe, son that you've grown.
He said,

Dad, this could be the best day of my life.
I've been dreamin' day and night of bein' like you.
Now it's me and her, Watchin' you and mom I've learned,
I'm the luckiest man alive, This is the best day of my life.

i want a lot of things for my sons. mostly, i want them to love jesus and serve him. i want them to have wives that are the perfect helpmeet for them. i want them to have wonderful families. i want them to have jobs and/or ministries that god uses in a powerful way. i want them to have a model of the men they should be. i want to be the kind of father for them, that if they are just like me, they will be all that god has for them. i want to be worthy of the words, "i've been dreamin' day and night of bein' like you." how am i doing? i wish you had not asked. i realize i can be pretty tough on myself, but i would have to say mediocre, at best. i have great sons. most of the time, i think it is in spite of their father, not because of him. sometimes i just do not know what to do.

writing to the church in corinth, paul says: "For though you have countless guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers. For I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel. I urge you, then, be imitators of me." (1 corinthians 4:15,16) then, a little later, he says: "Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ." (1 corinthians 11:1) according to paul, if i imitate christ, i can safely, and with confidence, urge my sons to imitate me. they will likely try to imitate me anyway, but with christ as my example, imitating me will be a good thing.

A Picture of the Church

at the church where i have the privilege to serve, in our (almost) weekly staff meeting, we are reading and discussing andrew murray's abide in me. overall, i have a mixed opinion about the book. one thing that has been pointed out several times is that murray, along with most writers of that era, make little to no allowance for the church. they seem to almost totally disregard it. they treat the process of sanctification as being solely a matter that is worked out between the individual believer and god. i do not believe this is the case. i believe the christian life is lived out in the company of other believers. most of the new testament, the epistles, were written to churches or to church leaders about leading their churches. these were groups of believers.

i was preparing to lead communion a number of months ago, and did a brief study on the topic of the lord's supper. i have decided that the act of taking communion, as described in the new testament, is a profoundly beautiful and accurate picture of the church. when we take communion, the bread and wine (or juice) represent the broken body and shed blood of jesus christ. he died for us so that we might have a right relationship (communion) with god. we are to each examine our own lives and repent of our own sins, so we do not partake in an unworthy manner. but as i studied, i realized that i could not find a single instance of the act of communion being done on an individual basis. it is always in the context of the community of believers. this is the thing that makes us a community; the members of the group have individually trusted in christ and his work on the cross. this is what we have in common. the next time you take the bread and wine (or juice), think about and rejoice in the relationship with god and with your brothers and sisters that is made possible by the body and blood you celebrate.

Stained Glass to Video

i like stained glass. it is not really my style to display much in my home, and i attend a contemporary church where stained glass would look out of place, but i like stained glass. i have never been to the great cathedrals of europe or even the ones here in north america, but i have seen photographs and video on television. and that brings me to my main point. i was at a conference recently and heard mark batterson speak. he said something that struck me as particularly insightful. i do not know if it was original to him or not. this is what he said: "to a post-literate generation, video is the new stained glass." this struck me as a profound statement. i have spent some time thinking through the implications of this.

i was at a funeral last year in an episcopal church. it was a beautiful old church building downtown. if you stood in the aisle and looked around the room, you would see beautifully crafted stained glass illustrations of key moments from the new testament. at the front of the room, above the alter, is a large window with the scene of the nativity. at the back of the room is a stained glass rendition of da vinci's the last supper. all around the room are windows depicting other scenes from the new testament. there is jesus' baptism, as well as the crucifixion and resurrection. this church was modeled after the old cathedrals with their wonderful imagery.

the old cathedrals were largely built in a pre-literate culture. before the printing press with movable type, anything printed was expensive and only the wealthy had any books. the average person had no way to read god's story of redemption. even in the church, which was primarily the roman church, mass was conducted in latin. people could look around the room and see pictures of the story of redemption in the stained glass windows.

as history has passed, we have gone from a pre-literate culture to a literate culture. with younger postmoderns, we are passing into a post-literate generation. it is not that they cannot read, they simply do not read. there are exceptions, but i believe these things to be largely true. young people read fewer novels, they watch movies. they read fewer short stories, they watch television and youtube. they read fewer newspapers, they get the news from television and the internet. even when they read online, it is often through interactive sites. they are allowed to comment and post video responses.

in church, video is the new stained glass. stained glass windows served to tell the story of god's redemptive plan in a format the learner could understand. video is the format younger learners understand. i am coming to believe more and more that if you are not using video in your teaching of the scripture, you are not speaking the language of part of your audience. how are you doing? who do you know that does this well?

The Message of Easter

this is from the book of john, chapter 20:

Early on Sunday morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance. She ran and found Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved. She said, “They have taken the Lord’s body out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”

Peter and the other disciple started out for the tomb. They were both running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He stooped and looked in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he didn’t go in. Then Simon Peter arrived and went inside. He also noticed the linen wrappings lying there, while the cloth that had covered Jesus’ head was folded up and lying apart from the other wrappings. Then the disciple who had reached the tomb first also went in, and he saw and believed—for until then they still hadn’t understood the Scriptures that said Jesus must rise from the dead. Then they went home.

Mary was standing outside the tomb crying, and as she wept, she stooped and looked in. She saw two white-robed angels, one sitting at the head and the other at the foot of the place where the body of Jesus had been lying. “Dear woman, why are you crying?” the angels asked her.

“Because they have taken away my Lord,” she replied, “and I don’t know where they have put him.”

She turned to leave and saw someone standing there. It was Jesus, but she didn’t recognize him. “Dear woman, why are you crying?” Jesus asked her. “Who are you looking for?”

She thought he was the gardener. “Sir,” she said, “if you have taken him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will go and get him.”

“Mary!” Jesus said.

She turned to him and cried out, “Rabboni!” (which is Hebrew for “Teacher”).

“Don’t cling to me,” Jesus said, “for I haven’t yet ascended to the Father. But go find my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my
God and your God.’”

Mary Magdalene found the disciples and told them, “I have seen the Lord!” Then she gave them his message.

i love the way this passage closes. mary tells them, "i have seen the lord!" and then she gave them the message. that very much sums up what we are to be about. we may not have literally see the lord in his bodily form, but we have seen what he has worked in our lives. we have seen evidence of his ressurrection. we have seen the lord! now, let's go give others the message. i hope god truly blesses you this easter. i hope you know the joy of his ressurrection. have a great easter!

Pedilavium: After the Event

tonight, at the church that i have the privilege of serving, we had a church picnic and followed that up with the observance of the washing of the saints' feet. i want to begin by saying that it was truly a great time. having the opportunity to see the body of christ in fellowship together is absolutely beautiful. families were gathered together. kids (and some dads) were throwing a football. some of the kids were sword fighting (see manly birthday party). that alone would make for a great time. then our pastor stood and spoke for a very few minutes about jesus washing the feet of the apostles and what that meant for them and what it means for us. he then gave some brief instructions. the youth pastor then washed my feet. i was moved, as i always am when observing feet washing, by his humility and grace. this also served as an example to our congregation, many of whom had never participated in anything like this. it was a great opportunity for us, as leaders, to model for the the type of humility christ modeled for his apostles, and ultimately, us. i will acknowledge that i had mixed feelings going into tonight. i had concerns regarding the appropriateness of men and women washing the feet of someone of the opposite sex, other than a spouse or relative. i must point out that i do not see this as a matter of right or wrong, it is a matter of conviction and opinion. i am happy to say it was pretty much a non-issue. there were very few instances of a man washing the feet of an unrelated woman. the exercise quickly developed into families gathering to let the father wash the feet of the others. there were husbands and wives modeling an attitude of humility and sacrifice for one another. there were men approaching other men and women approaching other women asking for the honor of washing each others feet. it was spectacular. this was the first time i had observed feet washing in this context. it was very different, but effective. i look forward to the next time we practice this symbol of humility. i especially look forward to seeing our church body model this attitude of humility and servitude in their interaction with each other and with the world around them.