In the begnning…

Hard to believe that Christmas is only a short week away. I seem to say that every year…and every year Christmas seems to sneak up on me and catch me unawares. As if I don’t know that it’s always on December 25…

Last night they showed Charlie Brown Christmas on TV. This is by far my favorite Christmas special. I actually own this show in DVD! That’s how much I love it. As a child, I didn’t get the significance of Charlie’s message. But now, I can see his lament, and I carry that same lament in my heart. Christmas has become a commercialized racket. Much more so now than when Charlie first started voicing his complaints and Linus so eloquently and profoundly answered his cry “Can anyone tell me what Christmas is all about?!”

Given the “PC” climate of our day, I am amazed that this show is even considered suitable for puclic viewing on primetime TV. But, I suppose its distinction as a “classic” warrants that it be shown every year. And I am very glad about that!

Too bad we don’t heed its message as we should…I so wish to focus on the true meaning of Christmas this year and quiet the clamor of the retail giants begging me to spend money I don’t have on things that I and my family and friends don’t need. At the risk of sounding too corny, I want to return to the true Christmas story…

I think it is appropriate to begin the Christmas story at, well, the beginning. And by “beginning” I mean Genesis. Do we ever think to do such a thing? To me, it is of utmost importance to be reminded…

…that we were created in the image of God (Genesis 1:26-28);

…that we sinned and marred that image (Genesis 3:1-14);

…and that Christ was promised at the point of our fall to set right what was made wrong (Genesis 3:15).

Galatians 4:4 states: “When the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.” Christ is the promised offspring that crushes the head of the serpent. It is our Redeemer, the promised seed that would crush the head of the enemy, the One who would take on the penalty for our sinfulness…it is He who has come.

It is He whose birth we herald at Christmas.

Now, I promise you, this post and the previous two post are related to one another. There is a point, a method to my madness. I’m going somewhere with this. I’m just taking the long way around block. So hang tight as my thoughts formulate.

There’s more to come.

Grace and peace…

The Rest of the Story?

Another thought on the whole “story” issue: It is true that the grand story has been, and still is to a large extent, used to silence the smaller stories of individuals in social positions that are less than powerful. It is argued that part of the reason the grand story cannot be believed or trusted is because those who would adhere to a particular view of the world do not live out that view in every detail. This accusation is especially popular against those who call on the name of the Lord, i.e. Christians.

But does this make the grand story any less true? If the grand story is true and of itself, outside of us, then does our inability to live by the grand story in every detail negate the story altogether? And is it not the whole point of the grand story that we cannot live it out in every detail??? The Bible is clear that we cannot keep the whole law – we cannot live as we were intended, in complete submission to our Creator and Lord, in right relationship with our neighbor, our environment and our world. Why is this such a surprise to us even today? And if this is the case, then why throw out the story simply because we fail to live by it? This is where I part ways with those in the ECM that would want to throw doctrine out the window. The assumption that truth resides in “us” and we determine it leaves us with nothing but the mass confusion of competing ideas.

It is not that I think we ought to silence all competing ideas – but there must be a big idea through which we see the smaller ideas. For the Christian, that would be the big idea as presented in Scripture.

This entry seems somewhat incomplete, but then again, so are my thoughts right now. I am currently reading a book by Michael Horton called A Better Way: Rediscovering the Drama of God-Centered Worship. In this book, Horton is speaking to many of the things I have been pondering as of late. As I come to more conclusions I will share some of the insights I gleaned from this marvelous book.

 

We Are Orphans No More…

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, to the saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. – Ephesians 1:1-10

Dave, my former pastor, and his wife adopted a little boy from Russia last year. The adoption process was long, arduous, and at times heart-wrenching. But when you see this family together, you know that it was well worth it. The love they have for this precious little child is as deep as if he had come from their own bodies. It is simply amazing to watch them as they love this little one. Max was living in an orphanage in Russia; his parents had abandoned him there. But my pastor and his wife loved this little child, even before they knew him, and he now has two parents who care deeply for him.

In our passage for this week, the first statement Paul makes is that in Christ God has blessed with “every spiritual blessing”. We will come back to that phrase later this week. Today I want us to consider: what does it mean that we are adopted through Jesus Christ?

The idea of adoption is important to ponder because it speaks of identity. Our identity as human beings. Where does our identity ultimately reside? As you know from my previous blogs about racial reconciliation, this subject of identity is very important to me. In many ways we derive our identity from the family into which we were born – our parents, siblings, and extended family form our first understanding of who we are. But even beyond that, there is a more fundamental identity that we seek to understand – our identity in God. Below the layers of definitions that family, society and culture place upon us, there is a foundational identity that all humans share to which the Gospel speaks. In the ultimate sense, we all share the same identity – we are creatures, created by God and in God’s image. By virtue of our shared parentage in Adam and Eve, we all have this same basis for existence.

Bearing the image of God also means that we are forever connected to our Creator and have a relationship with Him, be it a reconciled relationship of peace or a bitter relationship of rebellion. We cannot be indifferent toward God – we are His creation, and we must respond to Him in one way or the other. We were created to glorify God – to be reflectors of God’s character. This is our identity. This reality magnifies the gravity of our fall – the utter devastation that sin has wrought in human existence. We rebelled against that purpose and turned our back on the only One who can truly give our lives their proper meaning. Apart from Christ, we are children without a father, sheep without a shepherd. We are orphans.

But God’s love for us determined that we would not be left as orphans – He chose us before the foundation of the world to be His children, to be renewed and reconciled to Him through His Son. And unlike with Dave and his wife, He chose even as He knew us – in spite of this condition that separated us from Him – to love us and restore the broken relationship that our sin has brought about.

We receive all spiritual blessings from our Father because He has adopted us through His Son Jesus Christ. God chose to restore to us that which He created us for – right relationship with Him, an existence in which we derive our meaning and identity from glorifying our God and Father. It is only when this purpose has been restored that we find our true identity.

Meditation: How shall I live in light of this reality that God is my Father? It seems fitting that we would consider this right on the heels of Father’s Day. Let us consider our relationship with our Heavenly Father this day.

Jesus’ Family Tomb???

I felt it necessary to post about this topic as it is going to be huge after this weekend. In fact, it already is huge, as the media attention leading up to it has been enormous.

James Cameron and Simcha Jacobovici have produced a “documentary” that claims that achaeologists have found the casket of Jesus and His family. It will be airing on the Discovery Channel on Sunday. These claims are not new – the caskets (they are technically called ossuaries) in question were actually discovered in 1980. But now, statistics and “DNA evidence” have been thrown into the mix, seemingly to give these arguments credibility. Of course, I believe that the evidence clearly displays that these claims are false. But, we must address them nonetheless.

So, I decided, instead of reinventing the wheel here, linking some other sites that have already addressed the issues surrounding this documentary.

Ben Witherington wrote a great piece on his blog.

Al Mohler was on Larry King Live on Monday.

James White has written on this topic a lot lately. Here is one such link.

 Also, check out this entry on Jeff Downs’ web site for an even longer listing of resources you can find on the web.

I am personally perusing these links because I have a particular co-worker who will be all over this. I need to be prepared. It will not be enough for me to simply dismiss these claims – I will need to demonstrate for him that I have reason for dismissing the claims.

Also, carefully studying the topic and watching it unravel before our eyes strengthens the faith that I have. The fact is, they have been trying for centuries to prove that Jesus did not rise from the dead. Every attempt has failed. This is just one more in a long line of efforts to prove that Jesus is not who He said He was. In the case of my co-worker, he is looking for a reason to not believe – but I must be ready to give him a reason for my hope. What he does with it is up to him…

Blessings,
m.

What Are You Giving?

Ponder with me the story of the woman with the alabaster box of oil in Mark 14…

Those who were present looked down upon this woman. They felt that her choice to use this oil to anoint Jesus was a colossal waste. The money from selling the expensive oil could have been used for the poor, they lamented. What a foolish woman, they thought!

But not so with Jesus. He scolded these men, who seemed so benevolent with their suggestion of selling the oil for money for the poor, for chastising this woman. You will always have to poor among you, He said. But not so with Me. This woman has anointed My body, preparing My body for burial. (my paraphrase)…

The beautiful sacrifice of this woman should give us pause. She gave her all – the expensive oil in her box. She risked it all – being willing to face the ridicule of others. All to lavish her love and worship on our Lord.

What are you giving?

Romans 12:1 tells us that we are to give our bodies as living sacrifices. The phrase Mark 14 that stands out to me is in verse 8: She has done what she could. What we sacrifice for the Lord can never match what He has sacrificed for us. His sacrifice cost us nothing – yet requires that we be willing to give everything to Him. And we we consider with our whole heart and mind what His sacrfice means, we will find that willingness in the deep love and gratitude that pours out from us, just like the oil in that alabaster box…

What are we giving?

Grace and peace, brothers and sisters.
Mish