patience

24
Jun
2024

God is with us through the storms

God is with us through the storms

Where I live, it has been raining and raining and raining. Our rainfall totals from Thursday to yesterday (Saturday) were nearly 5 inches, and towns not far from us had over 8 inches of rain in the same span. This is on top of previous weeks’ rainfall amounts that were already double the average normally received for the whole month of June. 

We appreciate rain. But we get nervous when the rains keep coming, fearing flooding that may follow. And storms scare us. Violent winds and other weather phenomena can cause all sorts of damage. We’d like our weather always to be pleasant—sunshine when we want sunshine, gentle rain when we need rain. We’d like our lives to be like that—generally pleasant overall, no major disturbances or disruptions.

We even can get confused and think when life is smooth and easy, it proves God is with us. We think if we are doing the right things, God will reward us and make material blessings flow in our direction. There’s a name for that kind of thinking. It’s called having a theology of glory. The idea is that if we are right with God, then our lives will display wonderful, visible success.

Try applying that sort of theology to a man like Job. This Sunday’s scriptures included a reading from the end of the story of Job. Job was a man who had vast wealth and a large family. In his day—perhaps as early or earlier than the time of Abraham—Job was said to be “the greatest of all the people of the east” (Job 1:3). Not only that, Job was a man of faith, attested by the LORD himself to be “blameless and upright” and God-fearing to a degree greater than any other person on earth (Job 1:1,8). Then God let the devil have his way with Job. Job’s possessions were decimated. His seven sons and three daughters all were killed. His own health was exchanged for lingering, painful illness. All that turmoil is told in just the first two chapters of Job’s book. Then for 35 chapters, we listen to Job and his friends meditate on the misery. His friends first said nothing. For seven days they sat and stared at the ground. Finally, Job spoke out in complaint. He cried out in pain. His friends then offered some advice, much of which added insult to injury. Most of what they said was theology of glory in reverse. Essentially, they said, “Job, to be suffering like you are, you must be guilty of some heinous crime or dreadful offense against God.” But that wasn’t true. There was no one more devoted to God than Job was. As patriarch of his family, he regularly offered sacrifices on behalf of his children. He honored God and shunned evil. Yet the very God whom he so revered allowed him to be engulfed by tragedy. Where was the glory in that? Where was there any hint of reward for good behavior? God took the finest example of a believing person that could be found, and let him become an example of pain and horror and loss.

And Satan was involved too. That dragon was eager to sink his claws into Job. Always looking for souls to devour (1 Peter 5:8), the devil goes after every child of God, the weak and the strong, intent on destroying the faith of any that he can. And God suffers all of his believers to endure such temptations. The LORD does not want us to become secure in ourselves, thinking we’re immune to sin’s dangers or safe from sin’s fallout—the tumult and storms that characterize life in this world. The LORD wants each of us ever more deeply, ever more personally, ever more intimately to grasp onto him in faith, trusting him as our Rescuer.

What God showed in the life of Job, he is equally ready to demonstrate in his dealings with you. He says to you what he said to his people of old: “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you” (Isaiah 43:1-2).

Notice what the LORD is saying. He does not promise that you will avoid all hurt and trouble. He does not say you will escape the floodwaters or that you won’t face danger or fire. Sometimes, in fact—as the Lord did in the case of Job—he will push you into the fire or plunge you deep underwater, letting this world’s troubles have their way with you. But God never abandons you. He always hangs onto you. He says, “Do not fear, for I am with you” (Isaiah 43:5). Being in precarious situations reminds you how much you need God’s strength, so that you wrap your arms of faith around him as tight as a child would cling to their parent during a thunderstorm. It’s like the apostle Paul (another great man of God) said about the life he and his ministry colleagues lived. They were servants of God, deeply devoted to doing God’s work, yet they endured “afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger.” Through it all, they kept demonstrating “purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, holiness of spirit, genuine love, truthful speech, and the power of God” (2 Corinthians 6:4-7).  Paul told those who were led to Christ that It is through many hardships, “many persecutions that we must enter the kingdom of God” (Acts 14:22). If the apostle Paul endured such hardships, if a righteous man such as Job endured such hardships, you and I also can expect to endure hardships as we walk in faith in this world. 

The experience of Jesus’ disciples illustrates the same truth for us. They had Jesus right there with them in their boat as they crossed Lake Kinneret (commonly called the Sea of Galilee). But that didn’t mean they were immune to the meteorological events of that region. Violent storms can happen there, especially when the winds whip down from the high hills on the eastern shore. Most recently, such a storm in 2022 saw sustained winds of 50 mph with gusts up to 87 mph, causing around $50 million in damage to property and infrastructure in the city of Tiberias and other areas along sea’s shore. (Cf. Israel Today, May 17, 2022). When a great windstorm like that arose for the disciples of Jesus centuries ago, they panicked. They couldn’t believe Jesus was sleeping through it, lounging on a cushion in the back of the boat. They woke him up, yelling, “Teacher, don’t you care that we’re about to drown” (Mark 4:38 CEV)?

As disciples of Jesus, we are a lot like those first disciples. We like to think life with Jesus should be a peaceful, pleasant ride. We don’t want anything to rock the boat or cause problems for us. We have that theology of glory mindset in us. We think if Jesus is with us, then everything in our lives should be good and glorious and successful. We are dismayed when storms arise. We feel God has fallen asleep and doesn’t care about us. We start screaming at God (like Job screamed at God), “Where are you now? Why is this happening? What did I do to deserve this?” [As if our efforts are merit badges with God, and he owes us rewards for good behavior.]  Then, through the storm, out of the whirlwind, we can hear what God would say to us (as he said to Job): “Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge” (Job 38:2)? We question why God has let things get out of control when, of course, God always has all things under his control. He is the one who “laid the foundation of the earth” (Job 38:4). He is the one who says to the lakes and seas and oceans, “Here is where your proud waves shall be stopped’ (Job 38:11). 

When the whirlwind hit the boats out on the Sea of Galilee, Jesus calmly got up, “rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, ‘Peace! Be still!’ Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm” (Mark 4:39). And Jesus said to his terrified disciples, “Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith” (Mark 4:40)?  By this time in their journey with Jesus, the disciples had already seen him turn water into wine, cause their fishing nets to burst with an incredible number of fish, cast a demon out of a man, heal person after person of diseases and ailments. They had even seen him raise a young man, a widow’s only son, back to life after he had died. Still, Jesus had to remind them that he is indeed the Lord of all, “that even the wind and the sea obey him” (Mark 4:41). “O ye of little faith!” Jesus could say to all of us (Matthew 8:26 KJV). We all struggle to maintain trust and hope when storms come, when the circumstances of our lives suddenly are not pleasant and peaceful, or when our journey is one of chronic pain and hurt. We wonder where God is when life is a struggle.

Remember, though, that Jesus told us, “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33 NIV). Satan will tempt you. Troubles will taunt you. But “God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it” (1 Corinthians 10:13). Through it all, come what may, look ahead to the final way out that God promises. We share the same hope Job expressed, saying: “I know that my Redeemer lives, and that at the last he will stand upon the earth, and … then in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see on my side” (Job 19:25-27). With God on our side, no matter how scary the storms, we always have hope.

There came a time in Jesus’ ministry when many of those following him turned back and no longer went along with him (John 6:66). They had been in it for the good things, for miracles that filled baskets upon baskets with bread and fish. They looked for Jesus to make their lives content and comfortable. When Jesus told them that wasn’t what life with him was about, they walked away. Jesus then asked his core group, the twelve whom he was training to be his apostles, “‘Do you also wish to go away?’ Simon Peter answered him, ‘Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God’” (John 6:67-69).  Let that be our attitude also. Life isn’t all sunshine and clear skies. Storms will come. Unrest will upend our lives often. But we have a source of refuge. We have a place of safety. We have Jesus, the Holy One of God, who promises to be with us—”always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20).  We will hang on, we will keep going, we will get to the other side, trusting in him. 

Scripture quotations, except where otherwise indicated, are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Posted by David Sellnow
17
Sep
2023

Learning how to forgive

Readings for 16th Sunday after Pentecost, Sep. 17, 2023


Learning how to forgive  — forgive freely, but not cheaply

by David Sellnow


We have a hard time with forgiveness. Maybe you have been on the receiving end of a grudge. You wronged someone. It was years ago, and they haven’t spoken to you since. Or maybe you’ve been the one holding a grudge. You’ve turned away from someone, ignored them, ghosted them, because they betrayed or disappointed you in some way. Or perhaps you haven’t gone that far. You’ve had your differences with a family member or friend or neighbor, and you’ve put up with them. You looked the other way; you said, “It’s OK.” Meanwhile, though, you kept a mental record of each and every infraction—what they did and when they did it. Whatever the issue or the behavior, you find yourself thinking: “How many times do I need to forgive? It’s been seven times already. Is seven enough?” Remember, though, Jesus’ response to that question: “Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times” (Matthew 18:22). Jesus does not want us putting limits and restrictions on how much we’re willing to forgive. Our God certainly has not set restrictions on his own capacity to forgive us.

Jesus illustrated the too-frequent difference between God forgiving us and us forgiving others with his parable of the unmerciful servant (Matthew 18:23-35). The servant had been forgiven by the king of a debt of 10,000 talents, an unpayable debt that was simply wiped off his record. That same servant turned around and pursued legal action against a fellow servant who owed him 100 denarii. In the Roman empire, a denarius was a coin used to pay a daily wage. A talent was a unit of weight for gold or silver, about 75 pounds.  To add up to one talent of value, you’d need 6,000 denarii. So a debt of 10,000 talents would be 60,000,000 denarii. After having a debt of 60,000,000 denarii expunged by the king’s grace, the man harshly refused to show any leniency with a peer who owed him 100 denarii. How often are we like that? We forget how merciful God has been in his dealings with us, and we show little or no mercy in our dealings with others.

Sometimes too, we withhold forgiveness because we have invented our own infractions and cut people off for arbitrary reasons. We are like the early church folks who were judging each other for which days they observed as holy days or what foods they did or didn’t allow themselves to eat. Christ’s apostle needed to remind them: “Those who eat must not despise those who abstain, and those who abstain must not pass judgment on those who eat; for God has welcomed them. Who are you to pass judgment on servants of another?” (Romans 14:2-4).

We get carried away in self-asserted certainties and punish people for going against our expectations—which may be far from God’s own commands. Some real-life examples:

  • A father hasn’t spoken to his adult son for decades, because the son joined a church of a different denomination. Is that man so sure God is present only in his own type of congregation and in no other places?
  • A friend has not forgiven a friend for accepting a position and moving to another part of the country. Resentment set in about being “abandoned”—as If the Lord God had issued commands that the friend should have remained forever in one place on this earth.
  • A student severed a friendship from a classmate who stopped letting them copy homework assignments, blaming the classmate when they failed the assignments. 

Sometimes we are the ones sinning, holding grudges, creating or maintaining divisions. Yet we blame it on the other persons rather than admitting our own insincerities and inconsistencies.

I once attended a church elders meeting, where one elder came to the meeting concerned about all of the “deadwood” in the congregation (members who had not been to worship for a while). He had a proposal. He had prepared samples of a series of letters to send to people. The first letter would warn them about the dangers of not attending church. If they didn’t respond or return to worship within six weeks, the church would send the second letter, with stronger warnings. Then, if they didn’t respond or return to church within another six weeks, the church would send the third letter, informing the recipients that they would be excommunicated. All of this was planned without making any sort of personal outreach effort to those members: no phone call, no personal visit. Just a series of three form letters, then their names would be removed from the church roster. Thankfully, the other elders on the board spoke up before the pastor even had to say anything. This was not a gospel-oriented idea. This was not how they were going to do ministry. Still, the fact that the idea was raised says something about the way we sometimes feel—ready to write people off, be done with them, rather than continuing to extend forgiveness.

I wonder how such a series of letters would have affected a church member I met in a different congregation. When I came to the congregation as the new pastor, I made an effort to visit each member’s home. There were, of course, plenty of members who had not been active in church for some time. One woman had been absent for years after having been very active previously. When I asked what had caused her to pull away, she described how it had happened after she and her husband had lost a child. The experience strained their marriage. She and her husband eventually divorced. Immediately after the child’s untimely death, church members showed her much caring and concern. But as time went on, she grew tired of facing people in the congregation, who always greeted her with such a sad look, always so worried about her. It was almost pushing her to continue to dwell in the grief and loss and pain. She just couldn’t handle that anymore, so she stopped coming. She’d visited some other churches along the way, but had not felt at home yet anywhere else. It was good that I went to visit her, and it was time that she was ready to return and become part of that church family again. 

We don’t always know what is going on in someone else’s mind or heart. We should not rush to judgment about their seeming lack of expression of faith, or sins or troubles they seem to keep stumbling into. Far better that we be patient with them, with everyone—as we would want people to be patient with us—when struggling through something damaging or difficult.

Think of the Lord and his dealings with Israel. The Lord did not support their patterns of wandering and straying from his side. Yet at the same time, he was always in a posture of forgiveness, ready to embrace his people when they returned to him. Think of the picture Jesus gave us of the father of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32). The father kept  waiting for his son to come to his senses, to want to be home. He was watching and hoping every day for that change of heart. That is the stance of our God. He is not glad that we are doing wrong or living in senseless ways. He is always ready to grant us a place at his table and a celebration when we are back in his home and his family.  As one of our most treasured psalms says of the LORD’s way of forgiveness:  “The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. He will not always accuse …. He does not deal with us according to our sins …. As a father has compassion for his children, so the Lord has compassion for those who fear him” (Psalm 103:8-13).

We pray that our ability to forgive will grow more and more like the compassionate heart of the LORD our God.

Having said that, let’s remember something else about the Lord’s way of forgiveness. Giving the gospel to someone who keeps wallowing in their own mud, refusing to repent, is like tossing pearls before swine (Matthew 7:6). While our usual failing is that we are too slow to forgive, there are also times when Christian people can be too quick to forgive. Excusing those who aren’t aren’t really ready for forgiveness can be harmful. We are seeking real restoration in our relationships, not simply sweeping hurts and abuses under the rug. 

Let me offer an example, from a social worker in a domestic violence shelter. This was in the Bible belt; the majority of women who sought shelter there from brutal abuse were deeply religious persons. Most of the staff were not church people, though, and they were frustrated by a pattern they were seeing. The religious women believed they had to forgive immediately. The minute their man would say, ‘I’m sorry,’ they’d go back to him. The shelter would see them again within days or weeks, beaten up worse than the last time. According to Domestic Shelters.org, most women return to an abusive relationship six or more times, for various reasons, repeatedly subjecting themselves to the violence. At this Bible belt shelter, the averages were driven even higher by the religious conviction, “‘I must forgive,” pulling women back to their partners prematurely. In her work at the shelter, the Christian social worker of my acquaintance was asked to offer her perspective and counsel these women. She began pointing the women to the meaning of the word “repentance,” which indicates a change of heart and mind. It is a transformation, a turnaround, moving in new directions. As John the Baptist emphasized, those who repent will “bear fruit worthy of repentance” (Matthew 3:8).  The women also needed to be reminded of how Joseph dealt with his brothers. Joseph’s brothers had sold him to slave traders when he was a teenager (cf. Genesis 37).  By God’s providence over many years, Joseph went from being a slave in Egypt to becoming a government official, second only to the pharaoh himself. Then, when a famine hit, Egypt was the only place with storehouses of food. Joseph was in charge of the food program. When Joseph’s brothers came to Egypt to buy food (and didn’t recognize Joseph), he put them through quite an ordeal to test them. He wanted to verify that they were different than they had been. He didn’t rush to reunite with them. He made sure they were repentant first. So, when he did reveal his identity to his long-lost brothers and welcomed them with open arms, the reunion was real. He had the whole family come down to live in Egypt, including his aged father. Then, when father Jacob died, the brothers became worried that Joseph’s kindness to them would stop, that he had only been showing them mercy because of their father’s presence. But Joseph again reassured them and spoke kindly to them. Joseph modeled his forgiveness after the forgiveness of God himself. (Cf. Genesis 50:15-21.) God had brought about good for Joseph, and Joseph was glad his relationship with his brothers had been healed. 

When it comes to forgiveness, much of the time we are too slow to forgive, too arbitrary, too stingy. We are too easily like the unmerciful servant Jesus described, wanting to take people by the throat and demand, “Pay me what you owe me!” (cf. Matthew 18:38).  Other times we are too quick to forgive, too enabling, too carelessly handing out pardons while the crimes are still being committed.  Our Lord, Jesus, has instructed us to “be as wary as serpents, and as innocent as doves” (Matthew 10:16 NASB). Learning how to forgive is an uphill journey for us. But with the Spirit’s wisdom guiding us on, we can learn how to forgive so that relationships are fully healed, families and friends genuinely reunited. 

May God give us the wisdom to be careful when unrepented sin must be confronted with strength, and also the grace to give wholehearted forgiveness to fellow sinners in need of mercy.  May we show mercy to our fellow servants of God, our King, in the same way that God, our King, has shown mercy to us (cf. Matthew 18:33). 


Scripture quotations, except where otherwise indicated, are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Posted by David Sellnow
24
Mar
2022

Patience

A meditation focused on Psalm 129

PATIENCE

See Psalm 129 in The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language by Eugene Peterson

 

Have you heard the apocryphal story about the woman who asked her pastor to pray for patience for her? Let’s hope it’s not a true story, because it would be terrible ministry practice. (Cf. article by Tim Harvey in The Messenger, 11/13/2019.)

The story goes like this:

A woman came to see her pastor. She said, “I am struggling with losing my patience. I get so frustrated dealing with my kids. At work, the policies and procedures and red tape infuriate me. When standing in line at the grocery store, I get agitated and just want to scream. Pastor, would you pray for me, that I can learn to be more patient?”

“Sure,” her pastor replied, and began to pray: “Lord, give this woman trouble and pain. Bring about times of distress and difficulty. Cause her to suffer …”

“Wait, wait, wait!” The woman interrupted. “Please stop! I didn’t ask for you to pray for me to have pain and suffering. I asked you to pray for patience for me.”

The pastor took a Bible off the desk (King James Version, of course), opened to Romans chapter 5, and read: “We glory in tribulations … knowing that tribulation worketh patience” (Romans 5:3 KJV).  If you want patience, what you need is more suffering.

I hope no pastor would take such an insensitive approach. There is, though, a grain of truth to consider.  Scripture does say we welcome sufferings when they come, “knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope” (Romans 5:3-4). God doesn’t take pleasure in seeing us suffer; he loves us and strengthens us with his Spirit (Romans 5:5). When powers and people in this life kick us around and knock us to the ground, we hang on to hope in God’s promises. We trust he is working to deepen our relationship with him, build our resilience over struggles, and prepare us for an eternal reward as people called to be his own.

Our natural tendencies do not tend toward patience.  As Pastor Eugene Peterson put it in his book, A Long Obedience in the Same Direction, we are people who are constantly “whining and chattering … and running and fidgeting,” which causes us to miss listening to the slow, calm, merciful words and ways of God (p. 114). “The way of the world is peppered with brief enthusiasms” (p.123), of chasing after one thing and then another, because this world is a temporal, temporary, wibbly-wobbly sort of place. That which is enduring and permanent–that which is everlasting–can only be found in relationship with God. But that’s not what counts to us when we’re always tracking daily stock prices and quarterly business reports and scrolling what’s trending on social media and what’s streaming on our TVs or tablets or all the other devices we’ve accumulated to occupy our time.

Our chronic impatience–our pursuit of “brief enthusiasms”–spills over into spiritual life too. For example, a number of years ago, I attended a concert in Houston. The headline act was Leon Patillo, who had been lead singer for Santana. He had found Jesus and turned to making Christian contemporary music. His vibe was bouncy and boisterous, like you’d have heard in dance clubs, except with lyrics full of “Praise God!” and “Hallelujah!”  Oodles of young kids had come to party to his synthesizer sounds, and they were bored with the opening act (the person I had actually come to see). His name was Michael Card. Those of you in my age bracket may recognize his name as the songwriter of “El Shaddai,” “Love Crucified Arose,” and other thoughtful songs focusing on the life of Christ revealed in the Gospels. Midway through his brief portion of the show, as the young people were impatient for the headline act to take the stage, Michael Card paused and spoke sincerely to the audience.  He said, “Christian life is not one big party; I want you to realize that.  We are not here only to jump and sing and dance, but to struggle in the name of Jesus as we proclaim him to the world.”  And then he read from Philippians chapter 3 (verses 10-11): “I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death, if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead.”

Michael Card had it right.  Jesus does not promise us constant fun or problem-free living on this earth.  He does promise inner joy that transcends outward circumstances, life forever to those who endure and overcome.

Psalm 129 has a message of a similar mood. Worshipers on their way up to Jerusalem would sing this song, remembering their history as a people, trusting God’s enduring faithfulness to them, and praying that the enemies of God’s people would be thwarted.

Think of the patience needed to be an Old Testament believer in the promises of God.

  • Abraham was promised by God that he would be the father of a great nation, bringing about blessings through him and his descendants (Genesis 12:1). He was 75 years old at the time (Genesis 12:4). The promise was laughable. Then, Abraham was made to wait 25 years before the miraculous promise was fulfilled and the son Isaac was born, when he was 100 years old and his wife Sarah was 90 (cf. Genesis 17:17, 21:5-7).
  • Jacob was promised that the land inhabited by Abraham, his grandfather, and Isaac, his father, would become the homeland of that nation of their descendants (Genesis 35:11-12). Then, in his old age, Jacob and his whole extended family needed to emigrate to Egypt to survive a time of famine (cf. Genesis 42-47). Not until a couple hundred years later did the Israelites, as a people, exit Egypt and go back to the promised land.
  • The history of Israel from that point forward wasn’t easy either. In the days of the Judges, the people faltered in their faithfulness and experienced a series of attacks against them by surrounding peoples such as the Moabites, Midianites, Canaanites, Ammonites, and Philistines. During the time of the Kings, forces that opposed God’s plans for his people continued to afflict them from both inside and outside their nation. Eventually, the northern tribes of Israel fell under the domination of the empire of Assyria, and then the southern tribes (the nation of Judah) fell to the empire of Babylon. Some think that Psalm 129 may have been composed during the time of exile in Babylon or after Jewish exiles returned from there decades later.

With that history of Israel’s struggles in mind, the psalm writer reminisces: “They’ve kicked me around ever since I was young”–so says Israel–”but they never could keep me down” (Psalm 129:1,2 MSG).  In poetic imagery, the psalm sees the history of Israel as if others were driving plows up and down their back, ripping deep into their flesh. Yet they were not destroyed. They were not defeated. God kept coming to Israel’s aid, “ripping the harnesses of the evil plowmen (Israel’s enemies) to shreds” (Psalm 129:4 MSG), rescuing his people.

When I read Psalm 129’s description of how the enemies of Israel were gouging and ripping up the back of the people of Israel, I can’t help but think of another image of suffering.  Jesus Christ went through an ordeal of suffering. We call it “The Passion of the Christ” because suffering is the original meaning of the Latin term passio. When Jesus was brought before the Jewish authorities as an enemy of the people, those “who were holding Jesus began to mock him and beat him; they also blindfolded him and kept asking him, ‘Prophesy! Who is it that struck you?’” (Luke 22:63-65).  Jesus was then dragged before the Roman governor Pontius Pilate as an enemy of the empire. Though there was no basis to the charges against Jesus, Pilate had him flogged–at two points during the process, it seems (cf. John 19:1 and Matthew 27:26, Mark 15:15). The 2004 movie, The Passion of the Christ, dramatized how gruesome scourging by Roman soldiers could be. Mel Gibson’s original theatrical release of the film dwelt on that torture scene for ten minutes. Subsequent editions of the film cut five minutes of the goriest visuals, because viewers and critics had found it too horrible to watch. If the image of it is too horrible for us to endure, what of the horror endured by Jesus himself, actually experiencing such a thing? And then experiencing the horrors of crucifixion, slowly suffocating to death? And the horror of soul in bearing all the weight of humanity’s separation from God as an act of atonement for us, causing him to cry out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46)?

We can have patience in our ordeals in life because we know we have a God who is on our side. He has suffered with us and for us.  “We do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:15-16).

Now, there’s a part of Psalm 129 that we haven’t addressed yet, which we can’t ignore. The last verses of the psalm approach the throne of God with a prayer for punishment on all those who have hated and opposed Zion–God’s holy mountain, God’s people, his church.  “Oh, let all those who hate Zion grovel in humiliation; let them be like grass in shallow ground that withers before the harvest” (Psalm 129:5-6 MSG). Is that a righteous prayer? Are we allowed to pray for judgment against “the evil plowmen” who have “plowed long furrows up and down” our backs? Are we allowed to ask God to rip “the harnesses of the evil plowmen to shreds” (cf. Psalm 129:3,4 MSG)? When Christ was crucified, didn’t he say, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34)?

Yes, Christ urges us to show patience and forgiveness to all. At the same time, we also speak out against those who knowingly and persistently act against righteousness and justice and goodness.  Jesus himself forcefully upended the tables of the merchants and money changers doing business in the temple area, even making a whip to drive away all their merchandise–sheep and cattle they were selling for sacrifices (John 2:13-17).  God’s prophets again and again decried those who acted unjustly. The prophet Amos warned the proud and powerful in his day, saying, “I know how many are your transgressions, and how great are your sins—you who afflict the righteous, who take a bribe, and push aside the needy. … Hate evil and love good. … Is not the day of the Lord darkness, not light, and gloom with no brightness in it [to those who are wicked]?… Let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream” (Amos 5:12,15,21,24).

We are called to a path of patience like God’s own patience, “not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9).  But that doesn’t mean we wish people well in their path of sin or smile cheerfully when evil and hurtful things occur.  Christians can get confused about that sometimes. I know someone who worked in a domestic violence shelter in the Bible belt. Many of the women entering the shelter were deeply Christian in their convictions. As soon as their terror subsided and their wounds and bruises began to heal, they began feeling it was their duty to go back to their husbands and forgive them. The shelter team had trouble keeping these women safely in the program, because of their compelling urge to turn the other cheek and forgive quickly. The advice I offered? Remind the battered women of the example of Joseph in dealing with his brothers.  Joseph had been mistreated by his brothers and sold off into slavery by them. God kept Joseph safe and put him in a position where later his brothers came before him (not recognizing who he was, as he became a leader in Egypt and had the appearance of an Egyptian).  Joseph very much wanted to forgive and reconcile with his brothers, but didn’t rush into doing so. He put his brothers through a series of tests of character to see if they were still the same uncaring men who had sold him into slavery more than a decade earlier (cf. Genesis chapters 42-45). Once it was clear they were changed, repentant persons, he revealed himself, and a genuine reunion and reconciliation occurred.

Loving Zion–loving the kingdom of God and all that is good–means we will not smile and nod toward those who hate Zion or do evil.  We will, in all honesty, feel what the ancient psalm-singers felt when they sang: “Let all those who hate Zion grovel in humiliation.” We don’t say, “Congratulations on your wonderful crop! We bless you in God’s name!” (Psalm 129:8 MSG) to those who achieve their great harvest or success by abusing or exploiting or taking advantage of people to get it. We call evil evil, and we call good good.  We pray for the good of all, and we pray against that which is evil. And we wait patiently while enduring suffering and hurt in a world that is plagued by much that is evil, knowing we have a God who is good and who will rescue us from all that is painful in his appointed time.

The Passion of Christ has shown us how God achieves what is valuable for us. There was nothing quick or easy about the path set before Jesus. He trod that bloody, anguished path for us.  And he promises us that when our patience is tried and tested, he remains with us, building our endurance, giving us hope. As the Scriptures testify: “We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be made visible in our bodies. For while we live, we are always being given up to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus may be made visible in our mortal flesh” (2 Corinthians 4:8-11).  This is our calling in Christ.

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are rom the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked MSG are taken from THE MESSAGE, copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress. All rights reserved. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.

Posted by David Sellnow
06
Mar
2021

Legalism obscures the gospel

Last week, I came across an article in which one of our country’s congressmen was interviewed about his convictions–both political and spiritual.  I found it interesting to hear a lawmaker’s view that the church, as he had experienced it, was far too much about law.  (He since has affiliated with a less rigid congregation.)  He described the form of religious upbringing he had as  “really damaging … a very damaging religion.”  He elaborated on what he had experienced:  “The best way to put it is your salvation is by faith alone unless you do something wrong–and then you were never saved in the first place.  And by the way, we have these really strict rules that you have to follow that nobody can follow, but everybody at the church is going to act like they are and you’re the only one that isn’t.”  That sort of legalism, the lawmaker said, “took the joy out of Christianity.” He says he now understands that “Christ spent his time hanging out with sinners, not great people–and not because they were sinners but because that’s just where his compassion was.” He believes it is appropriate to “admonish the Church for the real damage it has done to Christianity” (A.Kinzinger, quoted in “The Man Who Refused to Bow,” by P.Wehner).

The descriptions sounded all too familiar.  An excessive legalism has been an issue within Christianity from the days of the church’s beginnings.  Read about the controversy in the early church over circumcision (Acts 15) or Paul’s letter to the Galatians, and you’ll see that to be true.  

During my ministry years, I was asked to research and report on “legalism among us” to a district church conference. There was ample awareness that the problem persisted in our midst. The problem always exists, so it is continually appropriate to share thoughts on this topic.  I’ll offer here a brief excerpt from the essay I presented to that church conference in the springtime twenty-some years ago.


Legalism Among Us

by David Sellnow
(excerpted from essay presented in April, 1995)


Not everyone agrees on just what can be called “legalism.” One brother whom I asked narrowed the thought primarily to that of work-righteousness: “Legalism is an attitude of law that feels I can be saved by it.” But most whom I consulted saw legalistic implications being more far-reaching. They offered expanded definitions:

  • “We become entangled in legalism when we try to take God’s place in establishing divine laws about what is right and what is wrong.”
  • “Placing the Christian for all practical purposes again under the law–this is legalism.”
  • “Letting the law predominate in our ministry rather than the gospel = being legalistic instead of evangelical.”
  • “Legalism is a confusion of law and gospel in which the law is used to accomplish the purposes of the gospel or the gospel is made into a law.”

The Webster’s dictionary that sits on my desk lists two meanings for legalism. The second one is the special theological one: “The doctrine of salvation by good works.” The first listed meaning is the common one that most comes to mind, however, including in reference to religion: “Strict, often too strict and literal, adherence to law or to a code.” I believe that meaning fits well what most of us mean by legalism most of the time. Where does this kind of legalism show itself among us in the church?

One arena is the midst of doctrinal controversies, where the promotion of one dogmatic position over another takes precedence over Scripture. Some will approach Scripture with an opinion or position of their own and try to make proof texts say what they want them to say by gymnastic exegesis. Others will rely on the tradition of what the church has long held and practiced without doing thorough study. Neither approach starts with the gospel plan of God in mind and works forward from there. Both ways start with a law or principle decided upon–either by tradition or by rejection of tradition–and from there try to figure out how the gospel fits with it. 

Image credit: Bible Study Tools – https://www.biblestudytools.com/bible-study/topical-studies/what-is-legalism.html

Traditionalism, in particular, all too easily lapses into legalism.  Overly zealous traditionalism will reject something because it isn’t what we’re used to. We fix guilt to practices that God’s law neither commands nor forbids. Religious leaders insist on practices which Scripture leaves to our Christian freedom. The freedom of the gospel is undermined by intolerant clergy, who suggest there is something inherently wrong with an activity even though God’s Word has not spoken in the matter. The church becomes characterized by loveless criticism of each other, pressure for conformity to a certain pattern, rushing to judgment, nitpicking, and condemning every deviation from the usual ways. 

The practice of discipline in the church is another area where legalism tends to take hold. I knew of a congregation that had a written policy saying inactive members would be sent a series of four letters, according to a specific timetable. If the member did not respond and become active accordingly, after the fourth letter excommunication was automatic. At an elders’ board meeting at a congregation where I interned, the head elder suggested a similar strategy in that church. Thankfully, the senior pastor blocked that proposal with reminders of our gospel mission.  Nevertheless, church discipline overall remains a danger zone for legalistic tendencies. This is true both in the local congregation and in discipline of congregations and pastors as exercised by church body officials.  What is our mood, our spirit? Is it, “Throw the rascals out!” and “Get rid of the dead wood”?  Or is our goal to snatch others from the fire and have mercy on those who are wavering (Jude 23)?  May we do everything we can to ensure that love stemming from the gospel characterizes all our actions and no unnecessary offense is caused. 

How we view other Christians and interact with them also becomes a casualty of legalistic tendencies. We fail to recognize the fellowship that exists between us when we fixate on our differences. In his commentary on Galatians (1957), J.P Koehler offered a thought in regard to Galatians 2:19 (“For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God”). Koehler wrote: “Formerly, sin was the element of my life when I tried to keep the law. Now, in the place of sin, God and his will are the goal and the guiding principle of my life.”  The contrast is between living life to avoid sin (as under the law) versus living life to enjoy the blessings of God, basking in the joy of the gospel. Applying that thought to the issue of Christian fellowship, do we primarily aim to keep the unworthy and the unorthodox away, or do we mainly seek a positive, joyful expression of appreciation for the unity in Christ that we share? Taken to the extreme, we may act as though even to breathe in the direction of those outside our own denomination is sinful, and adopt a separatistic attitude which forbids all contact with those who are not of our own specific church. Is it not true that Jesus said, “Whoever is not against us is for us” (Mark 9:40)? A genuinely evangelical (gospel-driven) attitude appreciates faith in Christ wherever it is found.

As witnesses of Christ who are called to proclaim the good news in Christ, we will work to keep the gospel central and paramount in all our thinking, saying and doing… and be patient and evangelical with each other when differences occur.  A law-oriented outlook will keep trying to rear up and take control of us in one direction or another, in our individual Christian lives, in our parishes, in church bodies. To maintain an awareness of how and where the law seeks to reclaim us is vital to our ongoing spiritual health. Any form of religious life not motivated by the gospel is an outgrowth of the law. May God be with us so that more and more, all our words and practices and efforts are readily apparent as products of the gospel, aimed at bringing hope and salvation–not distrust and fear.

Posted by David Sellnow
30
Dec
2019

Faith in God’s timing

Originally published on the Electric Gospel on October 2, 2016.

Faith in God’s timing

by Lauren Ewings

Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.  – Psalm 27:14

I used to consider myself a very impatient person. I would rush to finish others’ stories for them. Waiting in a line for a ride at an amusement park was absolute torture. Detailed storytellers were my worst nightmare.

Many times I found myself impatiently questioning God’s plan for me.

“This is not what I pictured my life to be like right now.” This is a phrase I oftentimes found myself thinking, while selfishly praying for companionship and becoming frustrated when it seemed like God wasn’t listening or answering. I know that sometimes my sinful expectations of prayer have been that God will answer quickly and he will answer the way I expect him to.

Many times during my early years of college, I expected the perfect man to be placed in my life, thinking, “God, don’t you know how happy this would make me? Don’t you understand that I don’t want to be single anymore?” My selfish prayers were heard … and although I didn’t see it at the time, they were answered as well. God did not answer with an immediate yes as I had hoped. Instead he answered with “not right now.”

Not until my senior year did I finally recognize God’s answer to my prayer. I was student teaching, living independently, miles away from many of my friends and my family, and things were okay. I discovered that going out by myself was enjoyable. I was able to explore the city without feeling the need to be in constant contact with others. I dug deeper into God’s Word and found comfort in his love.

A psalm of David (Psalm 27) reminds us to wait for the LORD, to trust in his plan for our lives, to have faith that he is always working for our good. Faith in God means faith in his timing. It may not always be easy to accept, but know that your prayer is not going unanswered. God is working for your good.

Prayer: Dear God, please help us remember to be patient. Help us remember that you hear our prayer, and that you always answer. Give us strength and comfort, and remind us of your everlasting love while we wait for you. Amen.

Posted by David Sellnow
27
Dec
2019

Springtime thoughts

Originally published on The Electric Gospel on March 21, 2015.  March 20th of that year was the first day of spring … inspiring some springtime thoughts for this blog.

Nurturing Growth

by David Sellnow

Spring has sprung … and I’m reminded of all that’s amiss in my yard.  The boulevard is more dirt than grass.  There are bare spots and weeds throughout the main lawn.  The bushes in back and hedges out front are part dead, part unruly and overgrown.  The flowerbeds never got raked out properly before winter came; they are mucky mess.   Much must be done to get things growing and going in the right direction.

When our yards need tending, we tend to labor with springlike eagerness.  Do we work at relationships with human beings with as much energy?

Maybe a connection with a coworker is gnarled and thorny.   Rather than avoiding contact, might you pay more attention to each other and prune away places where you get twisted around each other?

Maybe roots with family have gone dormant and your love has browned.  What watering can you do to rejuvenate family ties and green things up?

Maybe you’re a teacher and a student’s performance has been poor – not much is budding or blooming.  Will you let that student wither away or do all you can to prod her, cultivate her interest, nurture learning and understanding?

Jesus once told this parable (Luke 13:6-9):

“A man had a fig tree growing in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it but did not find any.  So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, ‘For three years now I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?’ 

 “‘Sir,’ the man replied, ‘leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig around it and fertilize it.  If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.’”

Jesus’ words point specifically to our spiritual condition and the Lord’s patience in dealing with us.  God grant us the patience to be nurturing and supportive with our fellow human beings – first and foremost in regard to spiritual growth, but also in the day-to-day aspects of our relationships as the Spirit strives to awaken new life in all that we do.

Posted by kyriesellnow
24
Dec
2019

Waiting on God

Originally published on The Electric Gospel on October 13, 2016.

Waiting on God

by Cassey Davis

Imagine this. The sky is jet black, the wolves are howling, and the air is crisp. As you climb high into your deer stand, you shiver from the bone chilling breeze. Finally, you are all situated and ready for dawn to break. Once the sun rises and thaws your frozen fingers and toes, you gaze at the glowing forest around you and sit in awe of the beauty and wonder God has created. Yet, when the morning sun begins to fade and the dew begins to melt away, waiting becomes incredibly hard. Your mind begins to wander to the sounds around you; every crack of a stick makes your heart race until a squirrel jumps around the corner. Indeed, waiting for the prize trophy deer to saunter in front of your stand is no easy task.

While waiting for a deer to come by your stand proves to be a test of your patience, waiting on God’s timing can prove to be even more difficult. All too often we rely upon ourselves, instead of God, to answer our prayers of desperation … such as yearning for a loved one to be healed of a terminal illness or for a beloved soldier to return from a deployment. Yet, when we struggle to rely upon God to come to our aid, are we forgetting who created us in his own image? Who loved us so much he sent his one and only Son to die for the entire world? So therefore, why do we struggle so much with waiting for God’s timing instead of our own? The answer is sin–the dirty, rotten, filthy sin we daily fight through but is washed away by the blood of the Lamb. Daily we struggle with waiting on earthly things, such as waiting in traffic or waiting for an important phone call.  But everything we wait for here on this earth with someday soon be forgotten in the blissfulness of heaven.

The Holy Spirit, who burns a fire within us, leads our hearts to rely upon God’s timing instead of our own, reminding us: “If we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently” (Romans 8:25). Being patient can seem an impossible task; yet if we place our confidence in Christ, he will surely give us the desires of our heart, according to his timing. So, when you are waiting–maybe not so patiently–remember God’s timing is perfect.  He will answer as he sees fit so answer you, and he will do so when the timing is just right.

Prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father, we often become fidgety and impatient when it seems like we’ve been waiting awhile. Remind us that your timing is perfect and that you will provide for us when the timing is right. Guide us, Lord, as we struggle with being patient in our daily lives. Turn our hearts and minds back to your Word, where you teach us that when we hope for something, you give is to us when and if you see fit. Grant us patience, oh Lord, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Posted by Electric Gospel