Death: The Final Enemy

Last Sunday (Dec. 20), we looked at Isaiah 25.  Isaiah acknowledges that death casts a long shadow over our lives.  In the words of Paul, "death is the final enemy" (1 Cor. 15).  

Unfortunately, we know this to be true.  Death wreaks havoc in our lives.  It does not care about to-do lists or unspoken words or even age.  It ruins everything we touch.  All we have is destined toward this unspeakable end.  

Yet there's more:  fear of death leads to so many other problems like lust and anger.  Sensing that life can't be held on to, many try to get the most of out of it, often by embracing perverse forms of sensuality--greed, lust or gluttony.  Without hope for true fulfillment, they make a god of their desires, looking for one fix after another, always thirsty never satisfied.  Fear of death easily leads to anger as well.   If we're gripped by fear, then anger is right around the corner.  Afraid of losing what we can't keep anyway, we are easily angered by anyone who represents a threat to our well-being.  

But there is good news.  The good news is that God has swallowed death.  Isaiah longed for it (Isaiah 25), believing that one day there will be a banquet not tainted with death and decay.  Paul proclaimed that this vision is coming true (1 Cor. 15).  Though death is still at work, we believe it is doomed to destruction.  Christ is the firstfruits of God's new creation; he is the start of a new kingdom that is without end.  

So we don't have to live in fear or anger or lust.  We can trust in the father's great love, a love that is greater than death.  We can live with joy and hope and peace, knowing that the Kingdom to come will give us what we really need and what we really want.  

Peace!  

The Gospel: God's Reign

What is the gospel?  I believe this question is critical, and what I answer here is provisional not final; but I’m hopeful it will point us in the right direction.  

If we take the ministry of Jesus seriously, the gospel (the good news) is the reign of God.  When Jesus started his ministry he began with a simple sermon: “The Kingdom of God is near.  Repent and believe the good news” (Mark 1.14).  Both Matthew and Luke confirm this is what Jesus preached and lived—the good news of God’s kingdom.  To grasp the importance of this message, we need to understand that Israel longed for the time when God would become king, when his will and reign would start to break into history, when God would reclaim his creation and drive away all that diminishes life.  Jesus came and said, in essence, that which has been longed for is starting to happen right now in my ministry--this is that.  God’s world is beginning to replace this tired, old world in the ministry of Jesus. 

This truly is good news.  You can see how comprehensive and our holistic the gospel is.  It’s not merely about trying to get souls into heaven, but rather trying to get heaven into souls, right now.  Think about Jesus’ ministry:  it was the embodiment of God becoming king, and it included the whole person—physical, social, emotional, spiritual, and psychological.  Jesus healed people.  He eliminated the shame and guilt that keeps us from others and from God.  He drove out evil.   He challenged oppressive systems.  He formed a new community called to reflect the Triune God through reconciliation and non-retaliation.  It was truly a holistic gospel.

In other words, you don’t have to be an evangelist to be a witness. You can witness whenever you rescue a child in need.  You witness whenever you embrace the marginalized.  You witness whenever you feed the homeless or when you teach (and show) someone that God embraces them as they are.  This is the kingdom.

Recently we went to India.  The question was asked, Did you go to convert people?  The answer might be shocking to some of you.  No!  We did not go to convert anyone; conversion is God’s work.  Nor did we go to build the kingdom; that’s God’s responsibility.   And we did not go to change the world; changing the world is what God is already up to in Christ.  We went to India to give a glimpse (partial, of course) of what God’s reign is like.  And in God’s reign there is no outcast.  In God’s reign there is no disparity.  We went as witnesses.  You see, the church does not build the kingdom; it merely points to the kingdom.  This is our job.  It’s that simple, and of course, complex and challenging, and invigorating.  Peace!   

God's Help Our Response

Well, I'm not feeling particularly good about this morning's sermon.  I'm not sure why.  It might just be a feeling.  In fact, I feel (there's that dangerous word again) that whenever I explore that theme there's something wrong with what I'm saying or how I'm saying it.  

For now, I believe what I'm trying to communicate, but perhaps falling short, is that we're called to work with God so that we might learn to love as he wants us to love.  We can't change ourselves.  We need God's help.  The logic works like this:  God has worked and is at work and will work, therefore, we can work--and we should work!  We should work with the God who is working toward our own transformation.  Translation:  We have to be in the business of placing ourselves in environments where God can do his best transforming work.  

But here comes the hard part--how to talk about the practices that place us in an environment of God's transforming love?  Here's where I struggle.  I believe we should embrace certain means of grace--avenues that open us to God's love.  However, I don't want to impose those on anyone as "have-to's."  They should be "want-to's."  In other words, being called by God to participate in his kingdom, we then submit to a variety of means of grace.  And we need to learn to stay put, to practice stability in those things that really make a difference.  

What are the means of grace?  Here's a rough idea . . . as God calls you, of course:

Christians should pray.  Start with offering yourself to God everyday, perhaps.  Or find sometime to think about your day and begin to ask God how he might want you to live.  Open the bible to a Psalm and just let the words of the Psalmist guide your prayers.  These are just suggestions to get started.  

Christians ought to give themselves over to substance.   Devotional reading.  Scripture reading.  Thinking.  Good conversation.  These things are so important.  

Fellowship/Church.  It's what the good doctor orders.  Furthermore, we need to learn to stay put in those practices.  

Giving.  Giving transforms us.  Give it a try. 

 

Disciplines of denial.  There are moments when we need to go without something so that we might focus on the things of God.  Fasting from food.  Fasting from TV for a while, to spend more time thinking and praying.  

Again, these aren't "have-t0's," but "want-to's."   

What say you, the church?  

Peace!

Acedia and the Noonday Demon

As the saying goes, the road to hell is paved with good intentions.  Perhaps we could also state the road to hell is paved with a slow descent into apathy, continually choosing the path of least resistance.  

The early monks were very concerned with this problem.  They sometimes referred to it as acedia or the noonday demon.  Both are related.  The noonday demon (I'm not picturing a literal demon here) comes and tries to knock us off course when the journey seems long.  The noonday demon makes us think that perhaps it isn't worth it:  the struggle, the toil, trying to love, trying to pray--it's all a waste of time.  

If we indulge those thoughts we might end up in a state of lethargy; we become infected with acedia.  We become apathetic creatures no longer capable of hope or of anger.  We become reluctant lovers.  Pain and suffer no longer move us.  Not even God and his great love is capable of motivating the slothful.  The status quo becomes our watchword and song.  No commitment is worthy of our lives other than the commitment to be committed to nothing so that we can keep our options open.  Many jealously guard the freedom to be committed to absolutely nothing; they don't want anyone to disturb their comfort.  A chaotic life without meaning or purpose is often the result; for without organizing our lives around something solid we let everyone else tell us how to live.  

To get out of this mess, we must continually respond to the Christ who is knocking on the door of our hearts (Revelation 3).  As he continued to pursue the lukewarm Laodiceans, so he continues to pursue us.  If only--if only!-- we will open the door of our hearts through prayer, study, and fellowship.  

Peace.

  

The Freedom of Forgiveness

We continue this series on learning how to live in and out of God’s love.  I liked what Paul said yesterday, “live in love.”  This is our call.  And to do that, we have to embrace this radical concept of forgiveness.  The alternative is too costly:  bitterness and anger will eat away at our hearts and steal our joy.

After all it’s undeniable, Christians are called to live out their salvation.  As we have been saved, so shall we live--forgiven, we are called to forgive (Ephesians 5.1-2, Matthew 6.14-15, 18.21-35). 

Yet, what is forgiveness?  How does it apply to the many situations we face?  In an attempt to answer those questions and to provide food for thought, it might be helpful to make a list of what forgiveness is and what it is not.   So here we go . . . 

1)   Forgiveness is not necessarily forgetting; but it’s no longer letting the past define the present.

2)   Forgiveness should not be taught or lived in such a way to invite more abuse.  Forgiveness can involve consequences. 

3)   Forgiveness does not mean we live with the belief that there is no evil or that evil no longer matters.  We can still call certain acts unjust and wrong. 

4)   Forgiveness does not always produce reconciliation.  After all, it takes two to tango. 

5)   Forgiveness is more than an act.  Instead, forgiveness is a new way of looking at the world because now we live in the realm of grace.

6)   Forgiveness on our part has nothing to do with that person being pardoned by God--for that to happen there must be repentance.

What should we add or subtract?  What are your thoughts? 

God's Holy Love

Yesterday was judgment day. We talked about two judgment scenes in Revelation 19 and Revelation 20. The big point was that we serve a God of holy love. His love for this world is so great that judgment is a necessary prelude to the final redemption of this creation (cf. Rev. 19). I also stated this applies to our lives as well. In Revelation 20, we discover that we are judged too .

First, we’re judged on whether or not our names are written in the book of life. In other words, we’re judged on whether or not we’ve responded to the grace of God that has been revealed to us. God, in love, respects our freedom to respond; and he respects that freedom to the very end. Some refuse his grace, mostly out of arrogance, and they miss out on life with God, now and in the hereafter. Others respond and receive life, the abundant life.

Secondly, we’re judged by our deeds. Our lives are judged. I liken this to a purifying fire (cf. 1 Cor. 3). We’re destined for “goldness.” But we must be cleansed of our dross before we can live in the fullness of God’s light. This cleansing begins now; and if we refuse this cleansing, we might not be able to stand when heaven comes in its fullness. In fact, I want to believe the only healthy stance is to look forward to this final cleansing. And the only way we can look forward to it is if we’re not harboring any sin right now. If we’re glorifying God right now—which should be the desire of every Christian!—then we will look forward to our final and complete deliverance. If our desire is not to glorify God right now, then we probably have every reason to fear the accounting that waits for us.

Our response to all of this, therefore, is simple: walk in the light as he is in the light. I don’t want you to get busy first. Nor do I want you to live your life in an unhealthy fear--respect and reverence yes, but not an immobilizing fear (unless you’re deliberately living in sin). I want you to walk in the light, maintaining a right relationship with God. In so doing, you will let God lead you into the ways he wants you to bless others.


Now for statements that need to be clarified from last Sunday:

I said, “God doesn’t send people to hell, people choose hell.” What I’m trying to communicate is that people choose hell by refusing the love and light that is being revealed to them. God doesn’t arbitrarily decide to punish people. We can accept or reject his great love for us. Perhaps another way to state it is to say that those who don’t want God’s light and love will find heaven to be hell; it’ll hurt too much; they pull away and continue to prefer life without God. What do you think?

Second, I said, “Don’t decide to get busy in light of this sermon.” I believe that needs clarification. I don’t want you to start deciding that you need to accomplish something to impress God and to prepare for the future. Instead we need to let God into our lives and let him lead and then he’ll get us busy for his kingdom, more than likely doing his work right where we live. Do you understand the difference? One says, I need to do this, and it is done without God’s love. The other is more organic; it comes from the Spirit; it comes from his love. The Spirit will lead you into the right activity. As you walk in the light through church attendance, prayer, scripture reading, etc. etc., God will lead. I can’t set God’s agenda for you. My path is different than yours. You must let God lead as seek to make your life count. But please don’t waste your life, it’s too valuable. Let God take over. Surrender your life to him.

Peace

Revelation 13 (July 27)

Revelation is relevant. This is what I keep thinking about lately. It’s especially relevant when we interpret as it was meant to be interpreted. Once we put in the context of John’s readers and discover that he’s talking a lot about Rome with it’s arrogant and violent tendencies, then it start to make real sense. No longer do we have to waste our time on speculative matters. We can see how it fits in our lives today.

For instance, if historical forces like Rome and Nero represent the beast (Revelation 13), then it easily applies to our situation. We can safely say that evil is at work through historical forces; and that evil will want to keep us from loving God and loving others.

With that established, we can start to feel the urgency of the concept in Revelation 13. We need to recognize that we’re engaged in a battle. Here’s my logic: If God is love, and if we’re called to live in love and live out that love; and if there is evil, then that evil will want to keep us from God’s love. We’ve seen this time and time again in the church. Nationalism makes us arrogant. Consumerism stifles our compassion. Racism makes us mean and is used to justify violence. Individualism—I should have mentioned this one on Sunday!—keeps us from the fellowship that God desires for our lives. We can add to the list a variety of attitudes and disorders that keep us from God’s liberating love—living with regret, unforgiveness, lust, etc. etc. All of this to say that evil is still at work through historical forces. If we were to lift the veil of history we might see more going on than meets the eye. Therefore, we must battle every day to embrace his love and light

Weakness and Strength

While preaching on Paul’s thorn in the flesh (2 Corinthians 12), I might have said too much last Sunday. Let me clarify. I don’t believe God sends us any calamity to teach us spiritual lessons or to make us weak so that we can be strong. Though I might have come close to saying that, it was not my intent.

Consider Paul: his weakness may have been a physical deformity or perhaps a speech impediment. Those weaknesses don’t come from God but from the fall. Nonetheless, God is in the redemptive business and he can work in and through our weaknesses in powerful ways to reveal his glory. Thus weakness is not necessarily a liability. In God’s economy, it can be a strength, if we turn to him in trust and dependence.

I’ve always found this truth to be encouraging. As I said last Sunday, you don’t have to have it all together to be used of God. In fact, God might work best when we’re weak, because we depend upon him.

Our Bibles are filled with weak heroes. Abraham and Sarah were past childbearing years; yet God called them to be the father and mother of a great nation. David was the youngest son in a culture that favored the eldest; but he became Israel’s most favored king. Amos was from the Southern Kingdom and sent to preach to the Northern. Mary was just a young teenager, probably 12-13 years old, called to give birth to the Messiah. Jesus was from Nazareth, a small useless town. Paul was Christian killer and a man who could not impress the Corinthians; but he was used of God in mighty ways. All of these weaknesses did not disqualify for service, far from it. It even seems as if God likes to work—or maybe can only work!—with people who’ve acknowledge their need based on a lack in life.

All of this to say, that what really matters in life and in ministry is not WHAT you know but WHO you know. And it’s precisely in our weaknesses that God draws us into a deeper dependence and knowledge upon him. I’ve learned over the years that my insecurity and fear can be used by God as I turn to him in complete surrender. For in weakness, power (my power!) comes to an end, and his work begins. God is good. Peace!

Dread and Excitement--2 Corinthians 8

Last week’s sermon on 2 Corinthians 8 stirred up two emotional responses in my life—both dread and excitement.

Dread, because Paul talks about giving; and I don’t like to talk about money in the church, for the chances of offending the faithful increases tenfold whenever money is addressed from the pulpit. I have learned this truth firsthand. Why does this happen? It’s true: ministers are often mistaken in how they address the money issue. Who knows, I might have been wrong last Sunday. But this still begs the question, why do tensions run high when personal finances are addressed in church? Ministers are wrong about a lot of other things and rarely get in trouble for it, not so when it comes to money. Why? The reason for this is simple, in my mind at least—many people have a problem with their money; they don’t want anyone—God included!—interfering with their private and personal finances. I believe this reveals the fundamental problem that I tried to explore on Sunday. We’re often guilty of refusing to apply any value system to the management of our household (read economy). We cordon off that section of our life from any type of interference, wanting to be free to spend our money as we see fit. All of which reveals that we have not yet allowed grace to influence every area of our life. Grace doesn’t teach people to say, it’s mine and I want to do whatever I want with it. A person living out of the grace of God says, All I have is yours, use all that I have for your glory. Remember the Macedonians--they gave freely, joyfully and sacrificially, all because they were living out of the new economy of grace. I don’t know about you, but I want to live there too.

Which brings me to my excitement—I want to hear sermons like the one I preached last Sunday. I don’t mean that as an arrogant statement, implying that the sermon was good (I rarely think my sermons are any good at all). What I mean is I’m challenged by the concept that grace can, and should, influence our life in countless ways, including our personal economies. Grace is not just the means by which we are saved, it is the path upon which we must travel. We’re loved, we must love. We’re forgiven, we must forgive. We’ve been made rich, we must share. In short, we’re called to live out God’s new economy of grace. What an exciting adventure.

The question remains, how? I would suggest that for a start, you learn to pay God first. Paying God last, as an afterthought after we’ve done everything we want to do, misses the point. Giving God our leftovers can only be interpreted that God isn’t really a high priority in our life. Therefore find a way to pay God first. It’s here that I can’t help myself; I must mention the concept of tithing. I know some people believe it’s not a New Testament standard. And in part, they’re right—the New Testament holds us to a higher standard of graceful giving. So tithing is just a start. And I know of no other way to give regularly and sacrificially. Yes, it hurts a little, but it reminds us that God is first. Yes, you’ll have to reorder our life, but isn’t that what you want to do anyway in light of God’s kingdom? If you still disagree with tithing, then do something else. Follow the leading of God. This should not be a have-to (that’s not graceful) but a want-to. If there’s a want-to spirit, then go for it, for the glory of God and in light of his abundant grace. Give sacrificially.

In fact, I’ve been thinking this week, churches aren’t built when people give to God last. Schools aren’t constructed, mission stations established, districts started, when giving remains an afterthought. Great things happen because people learn to give gracefully—sacrificially, joyfully, and liberally. Excitement and dread!

Being Transformed

“And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit.” (2 Corinthians 3:18)

It’s been a while since I’ve written a blog. Many have probably stopped reading. To be honest, my little development project is working me over. Please pray for me.

Anyway, I hope I communicated effectively last week. The point is fairly simple. To be transformed our desires have to redirected by an encounter with God’s goodness. Then our focus is redirected to Christ. Having tasted something of Christ’s beauty we want more and more and more. Beauty does that: it arrests our attention, redirects our desires toward itself. This fits with conversion because we believe there is nothing more beautiful that Christ. In this text Paul assumes that our attention has been arrested by Christ and that we are gazing at the glory of the Lord. We have a new focus, in other words.

Now that our desires have been redirected and now that we are focused on Christ, God transforms us. I stated last week, that we become whatever we worship. If we worship money, we will become greedy. If we worship sports, we will become a sports fanatic. If we worship Christ, we will become more Christlike. The Spirit will continue to transform us from one degree of glory to another, as we worship this beautiful One.

I believe this works. In my own life, I’ve learned not to necessarily fight my temptations but rather to use my temptation to remind me of my need of Christ. When tempted, I turn. I turn to Christ, place my faith and trust in him and watch the temptation receded into its own darkness. In other words, don’t try to be good, just follow Christ. Keep your eyes on him and the Spirit will do what you cannot do on your own—create you into a Christlike person.

Suffering Servant

In last week’s sermon (3-9), I talked about the suffering servant in Isaiah 52.13-53.12.

There are four sections of scripture that deal with the servant (42.1-4; 49.1-6; 50.4-9; 52.13-53.12). As I stated two weeks ago, there is a lot of debate on the identity of the servant. Some say Israel, others say the prophet (Isaiah), still others say Jesus and Jesus alone. No doubt, we can see Jesus in many of these verses but not all. And we can see the prophet, especially in Isaiah 50.4-11, though this is debated. And we have to take the community in Exile (Israel) as an option because the prophet identifies Israel as the servant in 41.8, 44.1-2, 49.3. Also, Isaiah often refers to other communities in the third person singular as he might be doing here (40.1-3, 47.1-4). It’s the latter belief—that these texts first refer to Israel but are bigger than Israel--that seems to receive the most attention these days. It fits well with the context. Isaiah is speaking to those in exile, to those who’ve suffered the brunt of God’s judgment against the entire nation. Part of his message is that Israel’s time of suffering has ended, God is doing a new thing, and that their suffering has been redemptive in nature.

But taking Israel as the servant seriously doesn’t exclude all the other options. What I’ve come to believe is that this servant imagery is a rich symbol. It describes a vocation. Nothing fits perfectly; but all the options give us a glimpse of what it means to follow God—the God who revealed himself through Jesus, the Christ. The last statement is crucial because at the end of the day we see Jesus as the ultimate fulfillment of many of these words. He did for the world what Israel or anyone else never could.

All of this led me to believe that the rich imagery of Isaiah 52.13-53.12 is a powerful story that can be told over and over again in countless ways. Let’s remember the entire message to Israel in Isaiah 40-55. Isaiah has preached that God is doing something new, that he has not forsaken Israel (Isaiah 40). Furthermore, the message seems to be that God has been at work in their suffering. This truth takes on a renewed force in the words spoken here. Those in exile have suffered for the sins of the entire nation, including their forefathers. This makes the exiles a rather undesirable group (53.1-3. They don’t have majesty or glory on their side. But God has still been at work. Their suffering has been redemptive (53.4-7). God is going to restore the entire nation (53.81-12).

Now once we say this, I believe we have to acknowledge how others have played the role of a suffering servant in our own life or in the life of the world. I gave some examples on Sunday but there are many more. The point is the same. Suffering can be redemptive in nature. We’re often called upon to bear the sins and infirmities of others for their own sake or for the sake of the world. My wife bore my infirmities for my health. The civil rights movement bore--nonviolently-the hatred of a corrupt ideology to reveal the darkness of prejudice. Parents suffer through the rebellion of their children, praying for their safe return. Again these are not perfect fits with the text, but I believe, right now at least, they illustrate the nature of this mysterious role.

Furthermore, this should not shock any of us, because we serve a Savior who tells us to take up our cross and follow him. The cross is not just for Jesus. We too are called to embrace a sacrificial way of life for the other (without endorsing further abuse of the victim). We’re called to follow Jesus, to be his body in the world, to suffer sacrificially for the salvation of others--to forgive, to love, to stand up for the victims of our world, to swallow our pride for the unity of the church. All of these actions embrace a form of suffering for the other. Paul understood this. He said, “I am completing what is lacking in Christ’s affliction for the sake of his body, that is the church” (Colossians 1.24, NRSV). What a mystery! What a call! Peace.

See also Dennis Bratcher's website: http://www.crivoice.org/isa53.html

Not Squeezed but Transformed

Last Sunday we began our study on Daniel. In chapter one, we learn that the Jews are suffering through the Babylonian exile. Jerusalem has been destroyed and many of the Jews have been taken as prisoners of war into exile in Babylon.

I stated that in chapter one the Babylonian king, Nebuchadnezzar, represents a powerful force that is trying to squeeze four young Jewish boys into a mold to use for his purposes. He wants to shape them into the ways of Babylon. He wants to enlist them into his cause. If they do well, they’re guaranteed success. I believe Nebuchadnezzar is trying to domesticate the Israelites. If he can show the Israelites that success is possible in his kingdom, they will assimilate and serve. It’s an ingenious approach.

This is not far from our own lives. There are forces at work in our world that are trying to squeeze us into a mold. We too are being enlisted into the service of countless things. We are all encouraged to bow to the idols of body-image, sex, power, and success. Furthermore, we’re all shaped by certain ways of thinking—some of them good and others not so good. What do we do? How do we respond?

Daniel provides a positive example. Daniel knows that he’s been claimed by another so he refuses to eat the King’s food. Daniel stays true to the dietary rules in the Old Testament. This might sound inconsequential. But we mustn’t forget, these laws were given to help the Israelites remember to whom they belong. Daniel stays true to God, remembering he’s been claimed by God--by refusing to eat the King’s food.

The question remains, what practices do we have that will help us stay true to the God who has called us to be his servants? I suggested six last week. Here they are:

1) Regular church attendance. We need to go to the place where we’ll be shaped into the image of God, regularly. Our culture is squeezing us into a mold, telling us church is not important. We need to think about this and talk about it some.

2) Regular giving. Paying God first (tithing 10%) helps us keep him first in our lives (Deuteronomy 26).

3) Tune in daily. See Deuteronomy 6.4-9. Notice how often they’re supposed to think about this great commandment. They are to keep it central in their lives all of the time, talking about it constantly.

4) Turn to substance. Our media culture is becoming a freak show. Anything is better than most of the junk fed to us through the media—a good novel, meeting with friends, rest, silence, prayer, etc.

5) Fasting. This is a good discipline to embrace. Try a 12 hour or 24 hour fast. It will help you remember that you don’t live on bread alone but upon every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.

What do you think?

Living Forward

I’m at it again, writing to assuage my own conscience, letting you listen in and respond.

Last week’s sermon troubled me. I found myself asking many questions: Is the concept too radical? Is it too idealistic? Is it too unbelievable? Am I living this? Am I willing to live this?

I talked about Paul’s solid belief that the resurrection changed everything. In the resurrection we learn that this world is being replaced by the new world that has begun in the resurrection of Israel’s messiah. The resurrection opens up a new door, or a new chapter in God’s history (His story). The end of the ages has come upon us (1 Corinthians 11). Paul lived in anticipation and celebration of what was not yet here, but what has been disclosed already in the resurrection of Jesus Christ—the already but the not-yet. For in the resurrection we learn that death—the tool of the tyrant!—has been dealt its first blow; we learn that Jesus truly is the one we ought to follow; that all of our efforts of love and compassion will not be in vain; that life and creation does really matter. The resurrection is the beginning of God’s New Creation.

But how do we live?

Paul wants us to live as if what God has done in Christ Jesus is the most important event in history and in our own personal life. We are to live as if there’s something more important than success, romance, marriage, business, and a secure retirement. Though all of those these things are important and though they are all gifts from God, we need to recognize that we have not been placed on this earth for just these things. We have been created to serve and enjoy the God who has created us in love and redeemed us in grace. We are to live for God’s kingdom, letting that commitment transform our marriages, our reason for parenting, our work ethic, etc., etc. The text I’ve been thinking about all week is when Jesus tells the disciples that they should not fear death but the one who has power over their soul, God. You see, there’s even something more urgent than a long life. What could be more important than that? Simple: honoring God in life or in death.

This commitment doesn’t mean we embrace two ways of life. We don’t separate our spiritual life from our public life. Far from it. We allow our spiritual commitment to influence how we live in this world. We seek to embrace the things God values at work, at school, with our children, and at the polls.

How does this work?

I believe we need to start praying daily the prayer Jesus taught us to pray: “May your kingdom come” through us, through me (Matthew 6). It’s really quite amazing how it works. Once you start praying this prayer regularly, I believe you’ll see opportunities that you’ve never seen before. You’ll see opportunities to extend God’s care and compassion to the lost and the last everywhere you go. In other words, through that prayer our desires will be changed so that we will start to value the things that God values. Peace!