Married Life

I don’t expect you to believe me. On the two occasions when I shared this passage, my hearers fought with me. So why should you be any different?

Wisdom is proven right by her actions. You may find very little which is admirable in the marriage that I enjoy with my wife. For my part however, I can’t imagine it being better, although I do acknowledge that it’s possible.

A good friend of mine is getting married this weekend, so my thoughts are naturally revolving around marriage. It is my intent for this week to post a few thoughts on the union between a man and a woman.

The passage that often comes to mind wasn’t even written within the context of marriage, but to me at least, it captures what should be the sentiment behind an amazing marriage. These words were actually spoken from a woman to her mother-in-law.

Luke 1:16

16 ... "Don't ask me to leave you and turn back. I will go wherever you go and live wherever you live. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God.

Without delving too much into the context of the passage, please just follow me as I look at what might be the kind of commitment between the person who spoke these words, and the one who received them. These words were spoken by a woman named Ruth, and her devotion to her mother in law could be summarized into the main commitments.

1 Go Where You Go, Live Where You Live

2 Your People Will be My People

3 Your God will be My God

Being Together

Yeah. I think married people should actually be together. I have no idea of why I seem to fight for this when I have gotten into conversations over the matter. I suppose this is my freakish hobby horse. Now, I know we can’t ALWAYS be together. We have jobs to go to. Sometimes our careers demand that we travel. Some people seem to need alone time on occasion, and solitude can be a good thing.

If you are old enough to drive a car, don’t tell me that you haven’t heard of couples where one person is gone all of the time, and strangely enough, the other one is rarely enthused. Maybe you’re trapped in a career where you have little choice. When you’re done, are you really done? When you’re off, are you together? Are you together when you are able, or do you have other things that you really want to do in your life? If you really are trapped in a life away from each other, buy and iphone and use face-time every night.

How about when it comes to holidays? What do you do? Does it really matter where you go, or is the objective to really just be together? My wife and I just want to be together. We don’t try to be together because the Bible says so, or because it will help our marriage. We like each other, so we want to be where the other person is.

The Same People

Run in the same crowds. Again, if you’ve graduated from puberty, this shouldn’t be a newsflash. It’s almost kind of sad in a marriage where each person has completely separate friends. There is a place for us to find encouragement on occasion by going out with the guys or the girls.

I had a conversation with a young man a while back, and it’s a conversation I’ve had with several people.

“She spends a lot of time going out with these other guys. It’s not that I think it’s wring or anything, so I don’t want her to feel bad about it. I guess I’m fine with it. It just gets to me sometimes.”

I’m not trying to run your life. Do what you want. The fellow in the conversation told me that he was fine with it, but one does not have to be a psychologist to know that he really wasn’t fine with it. Or have you known wives who get tired of waiting for their husbands to come home after a night out with the boys?

In my marriage, we run in the same crowds. It isn’t something we do intentionally, but it kind of flows out of the fact that primarily, we go where the other person goes. We go where the other one goes, because we like each other. And since we’re with each other most of the time, we can’t help but be around the same people.

Your God Will be My God

I guess it’s possible for non-Christians to have good marriages. There is a kind of spiritual unity however that is only available to individuals who are filled with the same Spirit. It’s pretty tough to be completely intimate with someone who really doesn’t share your heart.

For believers, there is a dynamic at work which goes beyond sharing a common interest. The same Spirit who lives in me, lives in my wife. The same Spirit that speaks to my heart when I’m in prayer or in The Word also speaks to her. The same Spirit that is at work in me, making me more like Christ, is doing the very same work in her.

Just because you’ve married a Christian, doesn’t mean that each of you are equally receptive or obedient to the leading of The Holy Spirit. What I do want to share is this: God is not schizophrenic. He’s not confused. The challenge is finding two people who are equally attentive and receptive to His leading in their lives. It’s an uncommon kind of love, but I tell you, it can be absolutely glorious.

Fight me if you want. Yes I know. There are couples who rarely see each other and stay married. There are couples who live completely separate lives and they are good with it. There are couples who do not share the Living God as their God and they enjoy life. Still, if this kind of commitment between a mother and daughter-in-law is worthy of praise, how much more a marriage?

Was Jesus a Preacher?

  This evening a question was asked of me and it went something like this:  “Was Jesus a preacher?”

  Jesus took on many roles while He walked among us in the flesh some 2000 years ago.  At times, He carried the role of a prophet, in the sense that He spoke the very words of God, but also in the sense that He spoke of the future on occasion.  He was referred to as rabbi, teacher and master.

  I say those things rather hesitantly, because there is a human tendency to reduce a person to the roles that they fill.  People might call and think of me as a mechanic, but without sounding arrogant, I am so much more.  With Christ, there is also the inclination for some to look on Him as if He was a great teacher, but little else.  People of other faiths sometimes refer to Him as a great prophet, but deny His person as the only begotten Son of God. 

  Here is the way I understand preaching and teaching.

Preach – To speak into the life of a person or a group of people, with the intention of affecting change among and within them.

Teach – To impart knowledge to another by lessons; to guide by precept or example.

  Jesus was often called a teacher, but the word preacher was not to the best of my knowledge.  It can be difficult to tell the difference between teaching and preaching.  I personally believe that great teaching often affects change, and great preaching tends to impart knowledge hoping that it will move others in some way. 

   In the way that I understand preaching, I believe that Jesus was perhaps the greatest preacher of all.  His teachings weren’t given merely for the purpose of transferring information, but for preparing the hearts of His hearers for the kind of change made by The Holy Spirit, where one passes from death, to true life in His Kingdom.

  Good preaching moves others from doubt to trust, from rebellion to repentance and from fear to faith in Christ our Lord; the person, object and author of our faith.  I say He did that better than any other. 

Why Are We Here?

  I’d like to request a formal apology, but I don’t know what address to put on the front of the envelope.  It’s bigger than our government or the UN.  If I were to try and speak to scientists in general, which ones do I send it to?  Is there a governing body?    I know I could send it in to Maclean’s, although, it really isn’t their fault.  They’re just reporting what they are given.  I don’t expect them to think.  Besides, even if I were to demand such an apology, I’d be told that my belief system has warped my worldview.

  The caption on the title page of Maclean’s article reads, “The Higgs boson discovery does more than just explain why we exist.”  Scientists have discovered a particle which is claimed to give mass to the substance of the universe, and the tab for the project is estimated around $13.2 billion.   Whenever I read articles on this kind of subject, I always hear a similar type of rhetoric, “These physicists are looking for answers to questions that humankind has asked itself for millennia – who we are, where we came from, why we’re here”.

   I like science.  In its purest form, I find it interesting.  What I’m having a hard time with are the different messages I seem to be hearing from the scientific community, even though I can’t seem to locate where these messages stem from.  If you are the source, I am so happy to have found the proper audience.

  There are a great number of people who hold to the theory that God created the universe, and I am among such thinkers.  Whenever I get into conversations with people via the internet, I am consistently informed that we know how we got here.  Billions of years ago, we exploded in a big bang and it just happened.  I’m told this is known science and that people like me are mindless twits who care little about truth.

  My issue is this.  If we already know how the universe came to be, then why are you spending $13 billion to find out how it came to be?  You either know or you don’t.  That’s it.  I expect one of either two things from you.

1.        Be honest and tell us that you don’t know for sure how the universe began.  If that’s the case, I can handle that. 

2.       Stop spending billions of dollars trying to figure out how this all began.

   There is a third alternative, but I doubt that your pride is capable of making the admission.  You could be forthcoming and concede that your worldview is influenced by your belief system.

  I wish I knew who you where, but I don’t so I guess I’ll save myself the postage. 

  I don’t anticipate you being apologetic.  If you want my real thoughts, I believe that the work you are doing isn’t capable of achieving the objective it has set out to do.  You aren’t able to answer the ‘why’ questions of life.  So why are you trying? 

Taken from the July 23^rd edition of Maclean’s Magazine, pages 40-47

Don't Read That! It Could Melt Your Mind.

  I woke up this morning to read an article written by a pastor warning his congregation about a new book that has come out.  I have a few friends who like to post warnings about the different works available in this world we live in.  I often wonder if I should spend more time telling people what they should and should not read.

  As I was reading through 1Kings Chapter 2 this evening, it just spoke so much to me about leadership and what I need to do with the responsibility entrusted to me, and I realized that there is absolutely no book that speaks to my heart the way that scripture does.

  Maybe that’s because I’m better than most of you.  I’ve got this special link with God and I can just listen to His Word without an interpreter, ‘cause I’ve got the inside track.  I’m laying on the sarcasm intentionally thick, hoping that you catch it.

   I won’t go into detail about what God was speaking to me in the pages of 1Kings, other than to say, I want to have no part of any guilt you may incur while I do what I can to minister to you.  I’m not going to tell you which books to read or which books to stay away from.  I’m not here to blast the latest ‘Christian’ heretic, or the next dirtiest work of the world. 

  To my knowledge, I have never encouraged any of you to read anything other than the Bible.  If I have done so, please forgive me the indiscretion.  Okay.  I did lend someone The Case for Christ that one time, but it was in a moment of weakness.   I believe I can honestly say that I don’t even encourage people to read my own writings.

   I’m not being a hardliner sola scripture guy here, but what I will say is this:  Other than scripture, whatever you are reading, please do so knowing that I have not been the one to encourage you.  Whether you like to read the kinds of erotic, sorcerer, vampire stuff that the world cranks out, or even books on Christian theology, you didn’t get the idea from me.  That should be fair.

  I say this for a couple of reasons.  Firstly, I can’t begin to try and warn you of every false teacher or every perverse thing that hits the shelves or the internet.  I just don’t have the time.  Secondly, I believe that there is a tendency for us to gather unto ourselves teachers that tell us the kind of things that we like to hear, even in conservative circles.  (Perhaps especially so)

   I’m not condemning you if you are the sort who likes to read.  I know that there is value in it.  I really do.  Some of you read a lot and are much stronger believers than I am because of it.  I just don’t have the time or heart to be a part of that world.

  As for my own writings, I have conflicted opinions.   I often wonder why God has me write; because I know firsthand that I’m so imperfect.  I know that there have been times where I have given people questionable advice, and I wish I could take it back, but I don’t know how.

   Read what you truly think is right.  I know you will anyway and I won’t think any less of you.  Other than The Bible, you did not however, do so from my prompting.

 

PS  I’ve also lent out Eusebius, an account of the church’s early history.  So much for my stand.

PPS  OH!   And to that pastor/friend/musician guy who meets with me on occasion and gives me books to read because he loves me and wants to see me grow, I’m very thankful and I’m still working through the last one you gave me.  Please don’t stop loving me in that way, unless you get tired of pouring yourself into me.

Openly Vile or Secretly Wicked: Which is Worse?

 "Silver Cars Get Dirty Too"

   Yesterday, I wrote a scathing report on how black cars are NOT harder to keep clean than other cars.  After reading the post, a friend of mine told me that silver cars are better than black cars.  I had forgotten to add silver cars to my list.  It appears as if I have more work to do.    

   People can be a lot like cars.  We often care more about being seen as respectable, than actually being righteous throughout.  Check out Matthew 23:27-28.  Personally, I don’t believe that the Pharisees are the only ones who deserve Christ’s accusation.  There’s a little Pharisee in many, if not all of us.

   I don’t know if I’m going to sound like a heretic or that I disagree with Jesus, but I think there might be a place for trying to look good on the outside.  What if you’re a murderer at heart?  Deep down, you’re filled with all kinds of greed, jealously, anger or hatred towards those around you, and everything within you screams, “I need to choke the life out of someone!”

  If only for the sake of appearances, I’d much prefer you to try your personal best to suppress your true self.  You’ll still be the filthy rotten murderer in your heart, but at least nobody will die.  The same goes for adulterers, child molesters and the like.  There is a place to suppress what lies beneath, even if you are living a lie.

  There is something repulsive though about people who are fake; people who smile on the outside, but are miserable within.  Or what about people who speak softly to you, but stab you in the back when you aren’t around?  It burns me when people pretend to care, when over time they prove that they don’t.  It is a form of hypocrisy and it really is wretched.

  Being openly vile isn’t acceptable either.  It does shed the veil of hypocrisy, but it makes a statement of its own.  I just finished reading an article on the internet where a person went public with their own personal sin.  That kind of life carries its own demented kind of praise in this world.  We often respect the people who have the courage to be publicly foul, ascribing to them a skewed form of courage.  Some people really are proud of the very things which should bring shame on them.  Living such a life, argues that living a shameful life is acceptable.

   Paul spoke about such people when he shared this with the believers in Philippi:

“They are headed for destruction. Their god is their appetite, they brag about shameful things, and they think only about this life here on earth.”  Philippians 3:19

   In Christian circles, we often debate which is better.  I’ve read that it’s better to be openly wicked, because there is a greater chance that the person should be able to recognize their rebellion and turn to Christ in repentance.  There are also portions of Christendom that say we just need to knuckle down and play the part, whether we feel like living right or not.

  I believe Scripture is clear that neither is acceptable.  We’re called to be holy, because God is holy.  That is tough to fake.

Black Vehicles are NOT Harder to Keep Clean

   I think I’ve finally found a new personal cause.  It’s not that my old causes weren’t noble.  I really thought that if I could teach the world the difference between the words, ‘accuse’ and ‘judge’, I would earn a Nobel Prize.  It was a good cause.  I am convinced however, that the task is greater than me.  But this one…this one, I’m sure to accomplish.

   If you live in the land of the shiny automobile, you have likely been part of the conversation where someone has said, “Black vehicles are harder to keep clean.”  I am coming before you today to dispel the myth.  The truth is, black vehicles are not harder to keep clean.  It is harder to keep them looking as if they are clean, but as for their actual cleanliness, there is no difference between a black car, a whit car, a grey car, a blue car, a purple car, a yellow car, a green car, a brown car, orange car or a maroon car.

  I can tell you from experience, because I have owned vehicles of different colours, and they all get dirty.  I was fortunate enough at one time to own a vehicle that was painted the same colour as road salt, but I can assure you, it still got dirty just as readily as the black vehicles I have owned.  They didn’t look dirty, but they truly were just as dirty.

  I’m very sorry if this post challenges you beyond what you are comfortable with.  I hope your conscience will recover.

PS  People can be a lot like cars.  We often care more about being seen as respectable, than actually being righteous throughout.  Check out Matthew 23:27-28.  Personally, I don’t believe that the Pharisees are the only ones who deserve Christ’s accusation.  There’s a little Pharisee in many, if not all of us.

Does God Have a Sense of Humour?

  It’s a conversation I find myself involved in time and time again, the question being this: “Does God have a sense of humour?”

  Now, I know this will challenge many of you.  You might not even want to be my friend anymore.  Yet, I have promised to love those of you who listen, and part of loving you means that I commit to being honest with you.

  I’m not going to go through every mention of laughter as found in scripture.  Such a venture would require more than a blog post could capture.  I do however wish to address the single most recurring argument that is given to me.

“We are made in God’s image.  We have a sense of humour.  Therefore, God must have a sense of humour.”

  I hear this repeatedly, even among my closest and most conservatively minded friends.  Most of the time, I smile at the argument.  Sometimes I address it. 

  I beg of you to look at this with an open mind.  Please think about what the argument is saying.

We are this way.  Since we are made in God’s image, then God must be that way as well.

  Does that really work for you?  If it does, then this will also work for you….

“Most people lie.  We’re made in God’s image.  Therefore, God must be a liar too.”

   I couldn’t care less whether or not you think God has a sense of humour.  We often find Him laughing in Scripture; although, the things He laughs at rarely seem to be over a good joke.  What I take issue with, is how we project our character upon a Holy God.  I expect it from the people of the world.  I expect the people of the world to think that God The Father must be a tyrant, because they may have grown up with a tyrant father of their own.  I expect earthlings to believe that God must be immoral, because many who claim to be His, are found to live immoral lives.

  I expect more from you.

  We were made in His image, not His character.