Suffering

Sooner or later, we will encounter suffering. Sometimes suffering comes as a drip (perhaps just a low-level, nagging fear or sense that something isn't right) and other times suffering hits us with the force of a battering ram. Folks within our congregation have experienced profound loss recently. And the world is watching the suffering that comes when the “nations rage” (Psalm 2) as events in the Ukraine unfold.

When suffering comes our way, it's natural to wonder what God is doing and why, and if he's even there. The Psalms are loaded with examples of the people of God crying out to God in the midst of their suffering.

In times of suffering, I am often reminded of this reflection from the late John Stott.

Stott says: "I could never myself believe in God, were it not for the cross. The only God I believe in is the One Nietzsche ridiculed as 'God on the cross.' In the real world of pain, how could one worship a God who was immune to it? I have entered many Buddhist temples in different Asian countries and stood respectfully before the statue of the Buddha, his legs crossed, arms folded, eyes closed, the ghost of a smile playing round his mouth, a remote look on his face, detached from the agonies of the world. But each time after a while I have had to turn away. And in imagination I have turned instead to that lonely, twisted, tortured figure on the cross, nails through hands and feet, back lacerated, limbs wrenched, brow bleeding from thorn-pricks, mouth dry and intolerably thirsty, plunged in Godforsaken darkness. That is the God for me! He laid aside his immunity to pain. He entered our world of flesh and blood, tears and death. He suffered for us. Our sufferings become more manageable in light of his. There is still a question mark against human suffering, but over it we boldly stamp another mark, the cross that symbolizes divine suffering." (from The Cross of Christ, 326-27)

When suffering comes our way, while we may have questions, we know God is not far from us.

Have you lost a loved one? A child? God did - his one and only son was brutally murdered. Have you suffered injustice? Jesus did - he underwent a bogus trial and was wrongfully convicted. Have you been mocked and stripped of your dignity? Jesus was - he was stripped naked and a crown of thorns pressed upon his head. Have you suffered betrayal? Jesus was betrayed with a kiss. Have you endured unbearable physical pain? Jesus was flogged beyond recognition and pinned to a tree.

When we suffer, God is near. He understands. He's not removed from it. Questions remain regarding our own suffering, of course. But when we look to Jesus we see that suffering is followed by glory; being brought low is the path toward exaltation; death is followed by resurrection; what looked like defeat was victory.

In other words, the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus gives us a template for understanding suffering both near and far. Like the disciples huddled and hiding on the Saturday following Jesus's death we wonder what God is doing, but take heart, Sunday is coming! Resurrection is around the corner. And this future resurrection will wash away the tragedy of the sufferings of the present. Paul says: "I consider the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us" (Romans 8:18).

Thoughts on School Choice

As Oklahoma considers legislation that would bolster school choice, I was reminded of this article I wrote seven years ago while living in Iowa. While Common Core seems like a distant memory, I think the heart of the argument for school choice still applies.

Here’s the conclusion:

“{Better school choice] legislation would…create the framework for substantive educational reform, but would leave the actual reforming to the individual schools. As parents have more choice in selecting where their students attend school, schools must “up” their game in order attract families (evidence suggests that public education benefits from school choice programs). In particular, this legislation would bolster the efforts of faith-based and other private schools. One of the reasons the Common Core has been so contentious is because education, even purportedly neutral public education, is inextricably connected to deeper questions about meaning and purpose. The proposed ESA legislation recognizes this reality and accommodates parents with varying religious and philosophical perspectives to select the education that aligns most closely with their own views. Such legislation would demonstrate to the nation a better way forward for education, especially education in an increasingly pluralistic context.”

Read the rest HERE.

Thomas de Zengotita on Times Square

Below is an excerpt from Thomas de Zengotita’s Mediated (written in 2005). You might say the arrival of smartphones has put “Times Square” in our pocket, making his observations even more pertinent today.

“Take the new Times Square, everybody's favorite icon for the virtualization process, because that's where what is happening in the culture as a whole is so effectively distilled and intensified. All the usual observations apply - and each observation contributes its iota to muffling what it was intended to expose, including this one, my little contribution, which consists of noticing how everything in that place is aimed. Everything is firing modules, straight for your gonads, your taste buds, your vanities, your fears. But it's okay; these modules seek to penetrate, but in a passing way; it's all in fun. A second of your attention is all they ask. Nothing real is firing, nothing that rends or cuts. It's a massage, if you just relax and go with it. And why not? Some of the most talented people on the planet have devoted their lives to creating this psychic sauna, just for you.

And it's not just the screens and billboards, the literal signs; it's absolutely everything you encounter. Except for the eyes of the people, shuffling along, and the poignant imperfections of their bodies; they are so manifestly unequal to the solicitations lavished upon them. No wonder they stuff themselves with junk - or trying to live up to it all, enslave themselves to regimes of improvement. The flattery of representation has a downside, as we shall see - for the flattered self is spoiled. It never gets enough. It feels unappreciated. It whines a lot. It wants attention.”

(from Mediated: How the Media Shapes Your World And the Way You Live in It, 21)

Amazon removes transgender book

If memory serves, about 10-12 years ago Westminster Bookstore emailed their customers a message. I don’t remember the particulars (nor could I find it in my email), but the gist went something like this:

All bookstores face a serious challenge as an enormous chunk of book sales go to one online seller, Amazon. Amazon can sell books cheaper than your average bookseller because they’re not just a bookseller but a provider of so much more. They noted that book buyers have the freedom to buy books at the best rate, but Westminster provided a warning: if all book buyers go to one store for their books, that bookstore has enormous power. That one bookstore can, if they like, remove books they don’t like.

It appears the Westminster warning has come true. Ryan Anderson, a prominent and persuasive voice for traditional views of human sexuality, recently wrote a book focusing on the transgender movement entitled, When Harry Became Sally. As of this week, that book has been removed from Amazon (you cannot find it new, used, or from third party sellers on Amazon).

Ryan Anderson has written about the controversy at First Things.

The religious fervor that accompanies LGBTQ talk is a curious thing. For a good treatment of why questions of sexuality are connected to such deeply held convictions about reality, life, the body, and our purpose, check out Carl Trueman’s The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self (which, as of today, is still available on Amazon).

Moving forward by looking back

James Smith, citing photographer Sally Mann, observes that rowers face backward while rowing forward.

Smith goes on to say that his book, On the Road with St. Augustine, asks readers to take a similar posture.

Smith says:

“This book you are holding is an invitation to posture like that: to move forward by looking back, to make progress by considering ancient wisdom. To get in a boat headed for a new future, looking back to Augustine on the North African shore as a landmark to orient us” (xiii).

Of course, Smith’s point applies not only to St. Augustine, but to any consideration of the works, thought, and writings of those who’ve gone before us. The rower is a helpful image for the important work of reading those who’ve gone before in an effort to “keep the clean sea breeze of the centuries blowing through our minds,” as C. S. Lewis says.

Ray Ortlund: Gospel Doctrine + Gospel Culture = Power of God

For Ray Ortlund, there are two necessary ingredients for the power of God to be unleashed in the Church: gospel doctrine and gospel culture. For those more mathematically inclined, you could think of it like this:

Gospel doctrine + gospel culture = power of God at work in the Church

Conversely...

Gospel doctrine – gospel culture = hypocrisy

...and...

Gospel culture – gospel doctrine = fragility

These two ingredients (gospel culture and gospel doctrine) are essential to the church's vitality. Where one of these ingredients (or both) are absent, you have a failing church. Another way to say it: When the gospel message (doctrine) works its way into the hearts of a congregation, it will begin working itself out of that congregation (culture). This is because the Gospel doesn't stay put – it is on the move!

If you’ve been burned by a church, chances are one of these two pieces were missing. Of course, it takes a work of the Spirit to empower a congregation to fire on both gospel cylinders. By God’s grace, churches strike the balance: having good, beautifully presented Gospel doctrine that yields a decidedly Gospel culture.

For more on this, see Ray Ortlund’s The Gospel: How the Church Portrays the Beauty of Christ (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2014).

Talking Church and Church Planting on Pittsburgh Radio

I had an opportunity to talk Church and church planting on The Ride Home with John and Kathy today.

The interview touched upon an article I recently wrote on the topic (see post below). The interview begins at approximately the 1:10:45 mark of the show.

Messianic Politics ... GUEST Stephen Mansfield Allegheny County council considers a hair amendment?! Piercing a Hole in the Heavens ... GUEST Casey Shutt ... is pastor of King's Cross Church in Oklahoma City Why Is It So Hard to Read My Bible These Days? ... GUEST Megan Hill ...

Job's Dialogue with God

A couple of weeks ago I preached on 2 Peter 3. The passage deals with the judgment of God - a big topic! As part of the sermon, I referred to God's dialogue with Job (You can find it all in Job 38-42; it's breathtaking). 

Following the sermon, someone suggested I check out this song (a song I had not heard before), which is based on the Job dialogue. Here’s a video of the song with nice imagery and the lyrics printed (all brought to you by Kessid Creative ;-) )

 


Whether it's Coronavirus or something else, there's no shortage of suffering in this world, along with the doubts, confusion, and questions that inevitably follow the suffering. I've always loved the Job dialogue because it situates things for us. The God who exquisitely designed creation has also masterfully architected all of history, and it is all for the good of his people. How that works, I do not know. How could I? (after all, where was I when God stretched the measuring line of creation?) 

But God is in charge and he loves us as demonstrated through his own suffering for us on the cross - an incident which (by the way) made absolutely no sense as it unfolded in real time but in hindsight is the hope of the world and a powerful demonstration of God's love.

Peter and Seeing the World right Amidst Coronavirus

 
upside down peter.JPG

G.K. Chesterton once said regarding the upside down crucifixion of St. Peter that it “was a time when Peter saw the world as it really is: with the clouds like hills, the stars like flowers, and every man hanging by the mercy of God.”

In other words, Peter’s suffering brought perspective. That’s what suffering can do. It helps us to see the world better. A global pandemic can be revelatory, reminding us of how weak we actually are. After all, the world, the flesh, and the devil are out to destroy. Sometimes this destruction hits in the form of war, famine, addiction, and, yes, even disease and pestilence. The novelty of this virus is breaking down the “buffers” that modern conveniences, mass food production, and modern medical technology bring, which gives us perspective.

Now that our lives have come to a strange and screeching halt, what do we see? What perspective do we gain? For starters, it’s important to remember that the Coronavirus is not the primary problem. Sin is. Sin is the problem behind the problem. Perhaps you hear the word “sin” and think the term outdated. It’s not; in fact, it may be just the term we need in order to better understand our world. Cornelius Plantinga inked 200 pages just summarizing sin (and I recommend you read it), so it’s not an easy term to define, but here’s one stab: “Sin is disruption of created harmony and then resistance to divine restoration of that harmony” (Plantinga, Not the Way Its Supposed to Be, 5). The harmony of the world has been disrupted and this disruption extends even to the microscopic, including bacteria and, yes, viruses.

There's a single answer to this problem of sin: Jesus. Turn to the one and only “Mighty Fortress," Jesus Christ. He is our hope and refuge. And a new world order is being established with Christ as King. His Kingship we’re told will ripple through creation bringing everything into his submission, even rogue microbes. And when Christ’s Kingship is fully consummated, the world will be as it should. Lions will lay with lambs, toddlers will play over snake holes, tools of destruction (swords and spears) will be beat into tools of cultivation (plowshares and pruninghooks), and global flourishing will ensue.

King Jesus is exalted, seated at the right hand of the Father. He’s withholding his judgment so that we can experience his mercy and the infinite blessings of his Kingdom. We have a choice: we can turn in repentance and faith to Jesus and be swallowed up in his love or we can reject him and be swallowed up in his judgment - those are the options before us. What will you do?