Strategy Do you like puzzles? My grandmother loved puzzles! She would sit at the table in the kitchen putting together puzzles with thousands of pieces. If you enjoy puzzles you have probably figured out certain strategies to help you identify which pieces fit into which places. Usually, these practices utilize the final product (the picture on the box) to help make sense of all the pieces. If you do not enjoy puzzles you may be focusing on the individual piece to the exclusion of the whole picture. Trees & Forests In our modern western world our lives can become like one of these very large puzzles. At times it can become hard to be sure that we even have all the pieces. We become managers trying to juggle many more responsibilities and opportunities than ever before. Interestingly, as modernity seeks to help us to organize our lives and control our environments, the sheer amount of information, decisions, and systems can be staggering. Compartmentalization is an ability that can be both a blessing and a curse. This means that even though being able to categorize the various relationships, activities, responsibilities, ambitions, and goals in our lives may help us to be more efficient, we may lose the meaning that makes all these things significant. Jesus said “what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world but loses his soul?” (Mark 8:36) In the immediately preceding verse He makes a cryptic statement about the one who would save his life actually losing his life and the one who would lose his life saving it. There is a way for us to laser focus our lives to the point that we forfeit the very life or future that we thought that we were building. The disciples are thoroughly confused at this point. They (through their always ready spokesman, Peter) had just confessed that Jesus was the Messiah and the Son of God. But now, Jesus is explaining that what was coming was suffering, rejection, death, and resurrection. For the disciples these did not seem like the pieces that could come together to display the picture of the glorious Kingdom of God. However the Lord is describing for them what their discipleship (and ours) will necessarily look like. Every disciple of Jesus needs to realize that at many points in the journey that is our life as believers, the path of obedience is going to look too hard and the path of disobedience is going to seem like the better way. IT’S A TRAP! But remember Jesus told His disciples and us that the easy way is the wrong way! (Matthew 7:13-14) Conclusion Because this is the case, we need to trust the one who knows what the final result is supposed to look like to help us fit together the pieces in the middle. It would probably serve most of us well to consider what God has revealed about our eternal future and His glorious kingdom. No amount of suffering or pain or disgrace now can ever compare with the goodness, grace and glory of God that awaits us in His presence and in His kingdom! No one wants to spend hours putting together the puzzles only to discover that a few key pieces were never included in the first place. In the same way we should not live our lives just assuming that things will work out. Instead as genuine disciples, we must be resting in His grace, relying on the goodness of His plan, and relentlessly pursuing His glory in all things!
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Premiss I heard an argument in the field of philosophical ethics. The question was: Is it better to have a smaller population of people who were happier and more fulfilled or a larger population of people that lived less happy lives just barely worth living. I listened as the person posing this fictional scenario explained that it is a paradox because it cannot be balanced and equalized through a mathematical formula. Now, I’m not a mathematical superstar, but I think that numbers aside a biblical worldview can and does answer the problem. The way our biblical worldview will address this problem is by adjusting the assumptions of the argument. While I have not listed the argument in it’s full form you can watch the youtube video with this problem here. I would like to demonstrate that there are 2 particular flaws in the assumptions according to a Christian, Biblical worldview. The First Flaw The first flaw is in the assumption that people are valuable or important because of how happy or fulfilled they are. While of course we want people to find inexpressible joy in Jesus, peace beyond understanding with God, and true fulfillment with the Holy Spirit; the assumption is that sad or struggling people are not valuable or dignified as people. From a materialistic and naturalistic perspective this is exactly correct. In that philosophical framework you can only value life in regards to the qualitative or productive aspects. The utility is hindered by the scope of seeing people as less than inherently valuable. For us as believers we cannot assume this kind of naturalistic understanding because our Bible tells us that we are created in the image of God (Genesis 1:26-28). As His image bearers, both believers or unbelievers, there is inherent value that stems from the image of God. Because He is valuable, that which bears His image (even if poorly) is also valuable. Jesus said to render unto Caesar that which bore Caesar’s image and unto God that which bears God’s image (Luke 22:19-26). So we value people as important because they are people. The Fatal Flaw The argument assumes that some level of life is not worth living. That some humans have such bad circumstances that not living would be better. But this cannot be true because the relative ease of our lives is not the factor that makes our lives worth experiencing. The difference between this flaw and the earlier flaw is that the first flaw was about the value or importance of the human being. This flaw is about the value or importance of the human experience. This is highly influenced by subjective standards. We must understand that the current state of affairs in our world, while fallen, is still as it was intended to be. God has purposes in our experiences in this life and in this world. The Apostle Paul intends for us to live with our eyes focused on the glory to come (Romans 8:18) and on the weight of glory that is won through our trials (2 Corinthians 4:17-18). When as human beings we minimize the scale of what God is doing to just the variants and factors that we can know and quantify then it is impossible for us to accurately judge the importance and purpose of a single human experience and even more so all of the human experience. The Final Flaw It missed the point of people all together. This philosophical exercise is crippled by the fact that there cannot be in a materialistic, humanistic worldview any purposeful transcendent meaning to the universe or any creature in it. The reality is that all of creation and every creature, especially humans, exist for God’s own glory. No matter how desperate, disoriented, depressed, or despondent every life and life experience is important because the Lord is worthy of the glory of that life! God’s goodness, grace, and glory are all magnified by every life and this purpose is greater than any mathematical, philosophical, or psychological purpose that mankind could ever imagine. So let us live! And live for God’s glory! The Real Picture We live in a time when many people claim to believe things that are inconsistent with the way they live their lives. This deplorable condition has led many of us to rightly denounce the false faith that does not produce evidence of sincere or genuine belief. It is a real problem! Far too many individuals think that they are safe and secure because they have given a mental accent to statements of fact about Jesus and salvation but without acting on the accompanying logical realities of believing that Jesus is Lord! Pristine Deception However, this way of falling off the path to the left is not the only perilous stumble. Just as one can become convinced that belief without practice can save, one may also place confidence in their performance instead of in the Lord. In some ways this kind of discontinuity is more subtle because these people also will have statements of belief that sound good and in these cases the walk seems to accompany the talk. When judging their journey these individuals may actually be convinced that they are living well. In all honesty they are living by faith, just not faith in God, rather faith in their own meritorious activities. This means that it is hard for the individual or even the people around them to know that they are actually far from Christ! Necessary Discomfort What must happen in their lives so that they can see the danger and flee the coming wrath? Well, they must be confronted with the loss of whatever has their trust. The problem comes most acutely when these are “good” things. In these cases, they are almost always good things. Things like a nice home, good job, healthy kids, stable marriage, active social life, authentic church life, even meaningful ministry work can become an object of trust rather than results of faith in Christ! We see this in Luke 18 when Jesus pulls away the idols of the rich ruler to show that all his self assessed obedience was done without true faith in God. The result was that he “became very sad.” Real Hope Jesus, seeing the man’s reaction, commented that it is difficult for those with wealth to enter heaven. Maybe it would help us to expand our idea of wealth. Truly it will always be hard for those who have their hope placed in other things to turn from them to God. The more externally virtuous and socially acceptable the idol the more difficult the repentance will ultimately be. Jesus' response caused the disciples to respond with a despairing question about the ability of anyone to be saved! But thanks be to God that Jesus then reminded them and us that what things are humanly impossible are truly possible for God. With this truth Jesus also emphasized that this repentance results in Jesus being loved as Lord and faithfully followed to the end. He then also gave a great promise that when this rightly placed faith producing true obedience is present in one’s life the reality of eternal hope and life is sure and secure! Travel Log Do you like to travel? I have to admit that I really enjoy traveling! I sometimes hear people who travel regularly for their job or ministry complaining about the airports or the road and I think about just how fortunate they are to get to travel and have those experiences. In the last month, I have covered some miles myself in 8 states. I have enjoyed every inch of it! But whether we are globetrotters or benchwarmers, road warriors or homebodies, busy bees or couch potatoes, the reality is that we are all traveling through this world on a journey. The old saying really is true that “you can’t go home again” but it is also true that you can’t stay where you are either. Everyone of us is progressing toward something and somewhere. We could be just coasting along and going with the flow but that doesn’t mean that we can stop the progress. Or we could be intentionally seeking a goal(Phil. 3:12-16) and a country of ultimate rest(Hebrews 4:8-13) and peace. It’s the miles This saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, “it’s not the years, it’s the miles.” The point of this piece of classic western wisdom is simply that our experiences and engagements are more defining to our lives than the number of trips that we make around the sun. This is usually applied in the case of what we might call “hard living.” However, the truth also applies to those seeking to live peaceful and quiet lives of faithfulness (1 Timothy 2:2). This kind of good living is not an accident, but rather, the outcome of the Christian work ethic and dedication to a future that is not dependent on us but on God’s promises. Every path will have its own set of challenges. The path of faithfully following the Lord Jesus Christ will also be a perilous journey but we have the assurance that we will endure and arrive in the great city of God that is built foursquare! The Straight Gate Jesus even told us that we should not expect the life we live for Him to appear to be the easy path. He said that the gate is broad and the way is easy that leads to destruction (Matthew 7:13). The way that most of the world takes is the one that seems best to their own inadequate understanding (Proverbs 14:12). But God has graciously rescued us from this easy way not because we are better or more brilliant but by His grace. Through the miraculous working of the Holy Spirit brings regeneration and life to us we now have new spiritual eyes through which we can best see the world and the beauty of Christ. This illumined perspective helps us to see that the way that looks so easy is not actually so without Christ’s goodness and grace. Therefore we can also properly understand that our own narrow and hard trail is actually training us and preparing us to experience even greater glory and pleasure in Christ in the ageless ages to come! New I love Utah! This is my third trip out here and I just really enjoy the people, places, and partnership in the gospel with the brothers and sisters of Sojourn Church. It is interesting how God can ignite a passion in our hearts and then weave together amazing circumstances confirming His will. However, this post isn't just about my affinity for the beehive state. Rather, I would like to focus on some things that I have been reminded of in my conversations with both Christians and Mormons. Scripture Alone First, I have seen firsthand the consequences of not relying solely and exclusively on the rock solid revelation in the Bible. When we weaken our resolve to believe all the Bible (tota scripture) and only the Bible (Sola Scriptura) as sufficient and authoritative we will inevitably be drawn away from the genuine kingdom of God. The reality is that God has spoken and He has definitely and perfectly revealed Himself in the Lord Jesus Christ. Since this is so, we should not only be satisfied with the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments but also passionate about knowing everything we can about our God and what He has told us. Christian, we ought to be people who are hungry for more of God's word and who will accept no substitutes, whether those be other claimed revelations or worldly philosophies (CRT, etc.) or fleshly distractions! Christ Alone Second, genuine salvation can only be found in real faith placed in the actual Jesus. The Mormon religion is technically named the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. However, it is interesting that they focus immensely on the heavenly father. The reason this is interesting is because in their theology 'heavenly father' and Jesus are not both God. They are not of the same being. They are not only distinct persons but distinct beings. So to focus so heavily on heavenly father seems to exclude Jesus except for where he is needed. It seems as though Jesus isn't King. But in reality Jesus is King! Jesus the King of kings and Lord of lord's and He rules all things by the word of His power. The real Jesus is in His being the one God, Yahweh, who is Father, Son, and Spirit. Jesus is not the Father or the Spirit for they are distinct person's but there is no distinction or division in their being. Salvation is found in the Jesus who is God and who came as man to redeem men as only God could do! Glory Alone! Finally, I was reminded that the ultimate purpose of all things does reside in us. We are not at the center of the purpose of the universe. Rather God's glory is at the center of the purpose behind the reason for all things. God deserves and will have His glory! Everything from creation and fall to salvation and redemption to resurrection and recreation is ultimately about God's GLORY! |
AuthorEddie Ragsdale Archives
May 2024
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