The Resurrection Is Not Good Advice

Around the world tomorrow we will celebrate the summit of the church calendar – resurrection.  Some will get up before sunrise to celebrate in picturesque settings.  A handful will travel to Jerusalem.  Some will put on new clothes as a symbol of new life in Christ.  Many will join with their family for a meal or their church family for a communion supper.  All will worship the Savior of the resurrection.   

Here is something to keep in mind tomorrow.  The resurrection is not good advice.  It is good news.  Advice is counsel given of something that hasn’t happened yet and what you can do about it.  Good news is a report of something that has already happened.  It is something you can’t do anything about; all you can do is respond to it. 

Think of it this way.  When a kingdom is coming under attack, the king rides out to make war against his adversary.  If in the conflict the enemy gets a strategic advantage it becomes a distinct possibility of them breaking through and overrunning the kingdom.  At that point the king may send out advisors to those who have remained in the capitol city.  They give advice of how to fortify, what to do if there is a siege, what defenses need to be set up.  On the other hand, if the king routs the enemy, he sends back messengers with the good news.  These good-newsers give a report to those in the capitol city who respond in joy and live in the peace that has been achieved. 

The religions and the various spiritualities of the world offer advice.  They say if you want your salvation here are the rites, rituals, laws and regulations you must do to gain it. 

The resurrection is good news.  It has already happened.  As Christians we herald the good news of the cross and the resurrection.  All of our sins were placed on Christ at the cross.  We have been granted forgiveness through faith.  The slate has been wiped clean.  But there is more.  The fullness of His life has been placed on us.  We have been made a new creation.  We live resurrection life. 

So tomorrow, this coming week and this coming year we live out of that good news.  We live joyfully and at peace with what has been achieved on our behalf.  “We offer praise to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who in his great mercy has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection.”

(Idea for this post were from Tim Keller and Dr. Martin-Lloyd Jones) 

Art by Sandra King of Clay County, WV

Top: Sunrise service in Mexico - Popo in background

Middle Left: Worship at the Grand Canyon

Everyday Theologians

"A theologian takes God seriously as subject and not as object, and makes it a life’s work to think and talk of God in order to develop knowledge and understanding of God in his being and work.”  We need these types of people in our lives, theologians who contemplate the mysteries of God.  “Mystery” of course, “is not the absence of meaning, but the presence of more meaning than we can comprehend.”   People like Piper & Packer, Ryle & Ryrie, Grudem & Guinness who enlarge our understanding.

 They explore and explain the intricacies of the atonement, the richness of Christ’s nature and the various facets of sanctification.  Because of them we do not lack understanding of the Spirit filled life, the devastation of original sin or the fellowship among the Trinity.  They give us an overall grasp of the Bible as a whole.

On the other hand, we are all theologians to some degree if we are reading and learning from the Bible.  We may not read systematic theology in the evenings, or read   the Bible in Greek or have studied formally in a seminary.  We may not even know the difference between soteriology and pneumatology, but in an informal yet very real way we are theologians.

 Both formal professor theologians (like them) and informal everyday theologians (like us) need to answer some basic questions about our “study of God.”  Like: what is the ultimate aim in occupying our minds with these things? What do we do with our knowledge of God, once we’ve got it?

 The opening chapter of Knowing God gives some answers, “If we pursue theological knowledge for its own sake, it is bound to go bad on us.  It will make us proud and conceited.

 “There can be no spiritual health without doctrinal knowledge; but it is equally true that there can be no spiritual health with it, if it is sought for the wrong purpose and valued by the wrong standard. In this way, doctrinal study really can become a danger to spiritual life.

 “Our aim in studying the Godhead must be to know God Himself   better.   Our concern must be to enlarge our acquaintance, not simply with the doctrine of God’s attributes, but with the living God whose attributes they are.  We must seek, in studying God, to be led to God.  It was for this purpose that revelation was given, and it is to this use that we must put it.”

(Quotes by: Eugene Peterson, Dennis Covington, J.I. Packer)

It's Just Different

If we are not going to be “ugly Americans”, if we are going to be living messages in the world, and if we are going  to love our international neighbors, then we need to deepen our cultural understanding of them.  We need to see beyond religious beliefs, food preferences and interesting customs. 

 Recognizing that there is a difference between a biblical absolute and a cultural mindset is the first step.  A second step is recognizing that the “American way” is not the only way, nor the right way, nor even necessarily the best way.

Every culture including our own has a conscious and unconscious mindset that determines how to approach life.  Let me point out some of the big differences.

 Linear/Curved – We in western civilization reason in a point by point, linear fashion to a conclusion.  We want things to be systematic. By contrast other cultures use a curved logical approach.  It does not come directly to the point but instead explores various issues, feelings, and possibilities on the way to coming to a conclusion.

 Individual/Collective – Americans stress individuality and independence.  Decisions are based upon what’s best for “me” and “my”. We even have a big personal space for our comfort zone. Other cultures place the higher value on a collective society or the group.  Common goals, shared possessions and decisions made for the good of the whole are the norm. 

 Time/Event– Industrialized societies like our own place a high emphasis on time.  Punctuality, start times, schedules, deadlines are all clock oriented concepts that order our lives.  It’s a fast paced world.  Other cultures focus on the event and place a greater emphasis on interaction and discussion.  Arriving “on time” is not as important as the event itself.  It’s a slower paced world. 

 Task/Relationship – We are also a task oriented society which means that we value setting goals and getting things done.  Success depends on how much we can accomplish.  Other cultures are more concerned about building and nurturing relationships.  Even work situations revolve around being with others in community.  

 Past/Present/Future – We live much of our lives with an eye to the future - plans are made, money is invested, retirement is worked out, insurance is purchased.  Other cultures live with a greater focus on the present – the moment is enjoyed, money is spent now, tomorrow is not a big concern.  Still other cultures live more with the past – elders are honored, traditions are respected. 

 Guilt/Shame – We are motivated by internal guilt when a law is broken, conscience is violated or someone is offended.  Other cultures are motivated by not bringing shame from others upon oneself, family, or community. 

 Each of these areas offers positives and negatives.  This means all cultures have something to share and something to learn. In each of these areas, the mindset of our international neighbor is neither right nor wrong…it’s just different.  Seeing, understanding, not judging and assimilating these differences will go a long way in building bridges between us.  It will go a long way in being the light of Christ to the world. 

 

Loving Our International Neighbors

I found myself at the local pizza place a few doors down from the office a few weeks ago.  In many ways it was typical of any other mom and pop restaurant around the country, but at the same time it was atypical.  A European League soccer game played on the television.  Behind the counter workers from Pakistan, Egypt and Nepal served up the food (which would explain the soccer game).

 Our lives have this same atypical flavor as well.  On Sunday evenings we are privileged to welcome two El Salvadorians and a young man of Chinese heritage.  At the church service we are greeted by a Filipino couple.  Our neighbors have been Nepalese and Mexican.  The international community has come to our town, our neighborhood, our church and our home.

 Atypical is quickly becoming typical.  What I am wondering is how the church will respond to the world coming to our neighborhoods.  Will we welcome, help and encourage, or will we isolate, ignore and find offense?  They don’t belong here.  They have strange ways.  They make us uncomfortable.  They are not like us. Will we be "ugly Americans?"

 We first came across the term “ugly Americans” when we studied at the Center for Intercultural Training while preparing for our own cross-cultural experience.  It describes those who travel abroad with an attitude of arrogance that translates into treating others as inferiors.  It’s more common than you might think, even among Christians.

 Do you find it ironic that the church spends millions of dollars sending representatives to the world but balks when the world moves in next door?  I guess that shouldn’t surprise us.   It has always been much easier to love those in distant lands than to love the neighbor next door.  Yet, in a compelling story of the foreign Samaritan, Jesus challenges this thinking.

 Our international neighbors are the masters students, the migrant workers, the business executives, the restaurant owners, the second generation Americans, the tourists and the undocumented immigrants.  All await our kindness.  All await the love of a “good Samaritan” for our international neighbors.

 

 

 

Living the Resurrection Life

After collecting my tools for the job, it’s time to get to the dirty work.  Not exactly what I’m anxious to do after enjoying steaks off the grill on this cold March day.  For some reason unclogging the tub drain doesn’t compliment the food very well.  Taking out the stopper I begin work with the pliers to pull away trapped hair.  The plumbers snake collects even more.  Hopefully that will be good enough and this job is done but…no. 

The water is draining ever so slowly.  Bummer!  Out comes the plumber’s snake again.  This time with more resolve and much further down.  Pulling it back out, little by little, putrid water splashes all around the tub.  Then a hair ball the size of a small mouse pops out.  Finally, water flow is restored.  Strange as this may sound I have been living the resurrection life. 

This season leading up to Easter is the perfectly appropriate time to be thinking about resurrection life.  It goes without saying that our resurrection life is firmly grounded in Christ’s resurrection.  Scripture refers to it not just as a historical fact or a future eternal destiny but as our present reality.  As re-birthed followers of the risen Savior we walk in newness of life having received life from the Spirit that dwells in us (Romans 6:4; 8:11; Ephesians 2:6; Philippians 3:10; Colossians 2:12; 3:11).

It is natural if not common to believe that this resurrection life takes form and is realized as we pray, serve others, read Scripture, resist temptation, do ministry or enter into other “spiritual” exercises.   This is not untrue.  It is untrue, however, that these are the only times.    

The power of the resurrection life is released in dailyness – as we are digging a ditch, lunching with a friend, preparing a meal, planting the garden, changing a diaper, jamming on an instrument, putting jam on our toast, walking to work, playing a board game, mowing the lawn, answering a note, giving an answer and yes, even unclogging a drain. 

It is a detail by detail, day by day, alive together with Christ, resurrection life that we are living.