Category: Friends

For Such a Time As This

Have you ever wished you could have lived at some time in the past, when things seemed more peaceful, with clear values and a clean environment? Before Covid and crime and the threats of war loomed over your world? When spouses loved each other and children listened to their parents?

Maybe you watched an historical drama and thought, “I wish I could have lived back then . . .” I know that I’ve done that: I saw some movie and then fantasized being in the story. Maybe it was about Robin Hood, and I saw myself wining the archery contest(by splitting an arrow in the bulls-eye, of course), and championing the oppressed peasantry. But then I thought, I’m not that good an archer, and the times were rough, total obedience to the king was the law . . . and then there was that Black Death thing. Okay, so not the Middle Ages.

But what about the Westerns I watched that had me imagining I was a dashing young lieutenant in the US Cavalry? The bugles blow and the men line up at my command as I save the wagon train from attack! Of course, half my troop would have died of diseases which today are rare. The food was hard-tack biscuits which broke your teeth, dental care was brutal, you had to ride for days in the saddle, and milk shakes had not been invented. So, maybe not that era.

Or instead, how about a hundred years ago, when my grandparents were born? That was a better time than now, certainly, if you ignore the sod house with no running water or electricity  where my grandfather was raised, or the Spanish Influenza, or World War I or the Great Depression.

Or the Age of Exploration, when I could have died with Magellan on his voyage, or the Reformation when I could have had the Plague before I was executed by the Inquisition, or the days of the early Church when I could have been thrown to the lions for the crowds’ entertainment.  And no milk shakes then, either.

You get my point: there is no time in history better than now, no matter how we idealize the good things about it. For there were good things, and bad things then, just as there are now. True, I’m glad I went through school when I did, in the 1950s and 60s, when we knew our genders and mostly listened to our teachers . . . much better, if you don’t count our hiding under our desks during air raid and tornado drills.

It is important for us to accept that we live now, at this time full of its challenges and dangers, just as people throughout history have faced their own problems. We don’t want to miss out on the good things around us, even as we lament the things that are wrong. No matter what we think of these times, now is the time when we have to live.

This is important for another reason, beyond finding contentment in life.

This past week I wrote a short Bible study on the book of Esther for our church’s national women’s group. In that book is the story of a young and beautiful Jewish woman named Esther, who saved her people from a planned genocide by appealing to her husband, King Xerxes. But before she made the appeal, her cousin, Mordecai, pleaded for Esther to do so. What he said to her was the memorable challenge:  “And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14).

Apparently, those days had their problems, too! But Mordecai showed Esther that the very reason Esther lived when she did, and had married the king, was to save her people. If she had lived at any other time or place, she could not have done what she did, and God’s purpose for her would have gone unfulfilled.

Mordecai’s words to Esther become God’s challenge for us. Could it be, that we were born into the world, and live when we do, because God has a plan he wants us to fulfill right here and right now? Could it be that we have come into the world “for such a time as this?” That just as God sent his Son into the world “when the fullness of time had come,” (Galatians 4:4), he may have determined that each of us be born in our own fullness of time? For as God is above even time, and knows the end of a thing from its beginning, (Isaiah 46:10), he knows what he has prepared us to do. As the Apostle Paul put it in Ephesians 2, God “created us in Christ Jesus to do good works, which he prepared ahead of time for us to do.”

When we understand that God created us to live when and where we do, we certainly can receive peace in the knowledge. But we also are challenged to ask what that purpose is, and how we can fulfill it. What is it about our time and place, and our abilities and resources, that enable us to influence the world around us for God’s glory and the benefit of everyone else forced to live in our day?

Fictional stories are replete (a word from another era!) with people who have special abilities which save the day: superheroes with secret powers that stop the villains; a retired gunfighter who saves the town from a hired gun; a meek kid who out kung-fu’s the town bullies; or the janitor who changes the formula on the chalk board to solve some professor’s impossible equation. We enjoy such fiction, but we live in a  non-fiction world. And we may find that what we can do, though not as spectacular as those fantasies, is just as important and amazing.

So, what can we do that may help fulfill the purpose for our living now, “for a time such as this?”

  1. Prayerfully search your heart. As you pray to know God’s purpose for your life, you may find certain things that inspire you or trouble you. It could be a cause or an injustice. It could be persecution of fellow Christians or blatant public sins. It could be heartbreaking situations that move you to help the people who are suffering. You may be the person God has sent to alleviate the hurts or confront the sins. Such responses may be difficult and even dangerous, but who else will step in except those whose spirits are troubled and yearn for God’s will to be done on earth as it is in heaven?
  2. Pray for the people and situations. Before God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham pleaded with him for them to be spared. God’s answer was that for but a few righteous people, he would relent and spare the cities. Perhaps, God has judgments waiting even now, and has sent you to be one of the righteous people to allow others the chance to repent and live. Likewise, when the Apostle Peter was unjustly jailed for preaching the Gospel, the believers gathered to pray for him – and God sent an angel to free him from his imprisonment. James 5:16 tells us, “The prayer of a righteous person has great power.” Maybe God has you living now to provide the one prayer he desires for working out his will.
  3. Use your particular gifts and abilities. Can you sing or write music? Write a hymn or praise song that will honor God and strengthen faith. Can you write? How about a book about heroes of the faith, or novels with noble themes, or even, dare I say it, blogs? Are you good with children? Teach Sunday school or VBS, or babysit, providing Christian nurture (maybe to someone who will one day become a great evangelist). Whatever you can do, or enjoy doing, can bless others and glorify God, as Jesus himself said: “let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:16).
  4. Honor Christ by your relationships. How do you treat people? Do you care about people, and show your love for them? A stable marriage, or children who are taught respect while being nurtured, or friendships that cross social divides of race, languages, or politics, all testify to the love of Christ. Honesty, helpfulness, generosity, and encouragement testify to the one who saved you, and may be the witness that someone needs for their eternal salvation. You may live here and now to be God’s means to reach them.
  5. Speaking of generosity. God has blessed you with the “Three t’s” – time, talent, and treasure. You can use those blessings to help others and advance Christ’s Church. You can volunteer, whether informally on your own when you see a need, or in your church. You can share your skills and abilities as mentioned above. You can give of your material and financial blessings to help others and spread the Gospel through local and foreign ministries. God has blessed you by the most generous gift of all: his Son. The least you and I can do is spread some of those blessings around.

We live in “such a time as this.” It is a time desperately in need of Christian presence, action, and love. You and I live in this time, not the past, or the future. Our time is now. Let us not let it slip by without realizing God has a purpose for our being here when and where we are.

Now, may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen

Read: The book of Esther.

 

 

 

Are You a Secret Agent?

Early in my adult life, I read a book by Billy Graham titled, Angels: God’s Secret Agents.* Playing on the popularity of spy movies and TV shows of the 1970s, the book laid out the reality of angelic beings who, though usually unseen (hence, “secret”) carry out God’s will in the world and in the lives of his people. Sometimes that work includes protection from harm, other times they are God’s  messengers (the Greek word for angel is angelos, a word meaning messenger).

I certainly believe in such creatures, and believe they have intervened in my own life. But I also believe that God has other “secret agents” who serve his will, besides those angelic beings. Those other agents are plain old people, just like you and me. Sometimes those agents are known; other times they are “secret” – even at times to themselves.

I was reminded of this when I recently spoke at a memorial service. I told the mourners of how the deceased man had brought me a message of encouragement at a critical time in my life. During a time when I had been discouraged, I heard a conference speaker tell of how God might speak through someone whose opinion we respected. Within days of that talk, this very thing occurred. The man at whose service I spoke had affirmed my ministry; he was one of God’s “secret agents,” a human “angel” who didn’t even know his message was from God.

I’ve told the story of another such messenger, a visiting pastor who spoke one sentence in his sermon that changed the entire direction of my life. Before I had ever thought of going into the ministry, he said, “There’s a shortage of pastors in the Lutheran Church; some of you may consider that you are being called to the ministry.” His words hit me like a sledge hammer. They were God’s call on me, and after being confirmed by subsequent events, led me to quit my job, sell the house, go to seminary, and move to Elk Grove for a one year internship (which lasted for 22 years until retirement!) He was God’s secret agent who brought me what God’s will was for my life.

I’m sure we could all think of such people who touched our lives in ways that helped us. There were people who helped us in practical ways, meeting our physical and material needs. Other people helped us grow spiritually. Some have admonished us, corrected us, encouraged us, or taught us. Some have shown us Jesus Christ in word and action. They may have been friends, relatives, teachers, pastors (hopefully!), mentors, bosses, or even total strangers whom God sent to lead us in a certain direction, or away from the wrong one. The secret agent may not even be a believer.

One example of such an unknowing agent of God’s will is in John 11:49-52. There we read of the chief priests gathered to plot Jesus’ death. The high priest, Caiaphas, proclaimed, “. . . it is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish.” The next verse tells us, “He did not say this of his own accord, but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, and not for the nation only, but also to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad.” Caiaphas’s words both explained and actually helped bring about God’s purpose in Christ’s sacrificial death – all without knowing he was God’s agent in doing so.

We find many examples of people serving as God’s agents in the Bible. The Old Testament prophets and New Testament Apostles were God’s not-so-secret agents in bringing God’s word to his people. Some brought words of Gods judgments, such as Jonah to the city of Nineveh. Another, named Agabus, brought a prophetic warning to Paul (Acts 21).  Elizabeth blessed the pregnant Mary (Luke 1), and Priscilla and Aquila encouraged Apollos, writing to other believers to receive him warmly (Acts 18). In the Old Testament, Jonathan was an “angel” to his friend David, protecting him from King Saul during the latter’s bouts of anger (1 Samuel 20).    

So, God does use special agents, angelic and human, to accomplish his will in the world. But how do we recognize that and be equipped to serve as his agents ourselves? Our nation’s agents learn what is called, “spycraft.” In that spirit, I offer the following training for those willing to serve as God’s agents.  I call it:

SPYCRAFT 101

Know your handler. Code name: the Father.

Know your mission. Your “Handler” has graciously provided you with a manual which describes your overall mission – to make disciples of all nations – and provides you with ways to accomplish it – such as by teaching and baptizing (Mathew 28). Study the manual every day and memorize all you can; Job 22:22 says, “Receive instruction from his mouth, and lay up his words in your heart.” (Some other spy schools say to “read and then burn” their instructions, but we don’t recommend that here.)

Maintain communication with Headquarters. Before, during, and after you embark on a mission, maintain communication with the One who sent you out. Don’t make a big fancy show of it; we are told even to go into our rooms and “shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you” (Matthew 6:6).

Spies use disguise. Remember that you may not recognize secret agents because they are, well, secret. They may come to you as total strangers, friends, family members, fellow students, co-workers, or even as pastors. Don’t write off what someone says just because they don’t seem important in the world’s way of looking at people. The Handler may have chosen that person for a very special purpose known only to him. Listen, and watch them and compare what they say to your spy manual.

Don’t draw attention to yourself. Spies use the concept of the “gray man,” meaning they assume an appearance in clothing and mannerisms that allows them to blend in with the crowd, so that they are not noticed or remembered. Apply this idea to yourself. If you help someone, don’t take the credit or boast of your role. It’s not about you. Jesus said if you do good works, people should give glory to the Father  (Matthew 5:16). You don’t have to be special for God to use you. After all, God once spoke through a donkey to a prophet named Balaam -a lesson which prideful preachers need to take to heart! (Numbers 22:28).

Keep supplied. Remember that your Handler has vast storage depots ready to provide what you need to do your mission. Whether food  – “man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord” (Deuteronomy 8:3); water – “Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.'” (John 7:28); weapons -“For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword. . .” or armor –  “put on the whole armor of God” Ephesians 6:11) (Hebrews 4:12). Philippians 4:19 promises, “And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”

Beware enemy agents. Yes, it is sad, but true. The enemy (code name: Beelzebub) employs his own agents in the world, demonic and human, seeking to subvert and destroy our Handler’s work and will. Their weapons include harassment, anger, hatred, lies, and even violence. But remember, although we often need to deal with them, we should never be afraid to carry out our own mission, because “He who is in us is greater than he who is in the world” (1 John 4:4). Remember too that our war is not against flesh and blood, but against spiritual powers – including Beelzebub (Ephesians 6:12). Therefore we are not to hate his human minions, but must seek to turn them, converting them from being enemy agents into servants of our Handler. (Nothing like a good double-agent to thwart the enemy’s plans!)

Small missions can yield big results. Don’t be discouraged if the work you do for the handler seems small or insignificant. You have no idea what the results are that will ripple outward and down through time because of that little word you said, the encouragement you offered, or the seemingly weak testimony you gave. Your Handler knows what he is doing, and can multiply your work. Even if you don’t see immediate results, your courage in acting may help you to do more next time. You are after all, a trainee (as are we all!).

Finally, we should note that our Handler doesn’t really need us to do anything for him. It is by his grace and mercy that he recruits and allows us to play a role in his work. He could accomplish it all by a single command and the very atoms would have to obey, as they did in creation, and as they continue to do, being held together by his word. But by his grace, he does involve us, blessing us with the eternal joy of being part of his plan. How wonderful is that!

Nathan Hale, one of our nation’s first spies said before he died: “I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country.” When we can say that about giving our life to the Great Handler, then we will truly be God’s secret agents.

Now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Philippians 3:20-21; 1 John 3:1

*Billy Graham, Angels: God’s Secret Agents, Thomas Nelson, Nashville, Tennessee, 1975 – 1995.

Under the Mask

You’re probably familiar with the common symbol for live theater, namely a set of two masks, one smiling and one frowning, which represent the two traditional kinds of plays: comedy and tragedy.

A certain non-artist I know personally might depict the faces like this:

This symbolism actually goes back a long way to the theaters of the ancient Greeks, where the actors wore large masks to play their characters. It was a good way for the audience to identify the identities and natures of the characters, and allowed one actor to play multiple parts as needed. It worked well in the large amphitheaters of the day – and besides, as an actor, you wouldn’t need make-up!

Since the actors spoke their lines while under their masks, the Greek word for actor became hypokrites, literally, one who speaks or interprets from underneath. From that usage we get the word, “hypocrite,” referring to one who portrays a false image while acting differently. According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, a hypocrite is “a person who acts in contradiction to his or her stated beliefs or feelings.” They are speaking from “under the mask” that they wear publicly. In churchy terms, “they don’t practice what they preach.”

This idea of speaking “under the mask” came to mind the other day as I ran several errands, each of which required that I slip on my face mask before entering the various stores. I think it was when I went into my bank and wondered whether the tellers would recognize me – or call the police on the unknown “masked man” coming to their window. Fortunately, I was making a deposit, so I think their guard was down. Making a withdrawal might have sparked a different response . . .

Yes, I thought about how we are all “under the mask” and have been so now for over a year. I thought about how the mask mandates have affected our society beyond the nuisance factor (how many times have I been halfway to a store entrance, only to realize I had forgotten my mask in the car – and had to go back and get it!). To what extent has it distanced us socially and emotionally from each other? From friends, or from people we should have gotten to know? And what about people we do business with – or worship with? And has it been an impetus to crime for some people, as is visible in riots where those who act violently cover their faces to hide their identities?

How differently do we act now from when we wore no masks?

But even in the “olden days” when we only wore face coverings when playing as a baseball catcher, a hockey goalie, or a bank robber, we sometimes wore a different kind of mask: facial expressions and demeanors that hid our true feelings and thoughts from others. We would smile and say we’re fine even though we hurt or were sad. We “kept a stiff upper lip” and did our best not to “let them see you sweat.”* We hid our grief so as not to seem weak, and our tears were those “of a clown when no one’s around.”** And how many times have we smiled at someone when we just didn’t feel like it?

And then there’s the real, hypocritical type of image, when we actively try to deceive others by portraying a false face that we think will win their favor or approval. Some prime examples of this are the politicians who spout the right things to get elected, but then don’t follow through on their promises; televangelists who portray themselves as godly, righteous servants, but behind the scenes are active in financial and sexual scandals; or the young man who promises his date that he “will respect her in the morning.”

The Bible warns us about such frauds when it comes to our faith. “For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds” (2 Corinthians 11:13-15).

But what about the rest of us? How often do we adopt certain looks or postures, or say certain things, that are contrary to what we really mean or intend, just to gain some advantage in a relationship or public persona? For those who are active in social media (bloggers excluded), are your profile photos and posts real? Or are you texting and posting “under the mask” in order to appear more attractive or competent than you feel?

And what about our participation in church? Are we fully honest in what we say and how we act, or are we putting on a show to look more holy and righteous than we really are? Are we like the phony religious leaders whom Jesus criticized in Matthew 23:27, when he said, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness.” Ouch! They paraded around like righteous saints, but Jesus revealed them for the sinners they were.

At least fifteen times, Jesus blasted the religious leaders for their hypocrisy, including in his introduction to the Lord’s Prayer, when he said, “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward” (Matthew 6:5). But, he made his most severe pronouncement when he spoke of the coming judgment, when the Lord would take a wicked servant “and will cut him in pieces and put him with the hypocrites. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 24:51).

Hypocrisy does no good with God, because to him, there is no mask. He can see right through our false faces and attitudes into our hearts. There he sees the truth about us, all the sin, all the corruption, all the lies we have so carefully crafted to look good in other people’s eyes. Isaiah speaks of the Messiah when he says, “He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide disputes by what his ears hear” (Isaiah 11:3). God is not fooled by our outward show or our “whitewashed tombs”; he is not deceived or mocked (Galatians 6:7). 

In our social interactions, there is a place for physical masks, whether to protect people from communicable diseases or lessen people’s anxieties about catching such illnesses. There is also a place for masking our true thoughts to protect others’ feelings, or to open up opportunities for positive social relationships. But let us be careful to never be hypocrites, using false facial masks to deceive and harm others. And let us never even try to mask ourselves to God, for he knows us fully and loves us anyway, even though he can see “under the mask.”

May the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Isaiah 11:2-4; Matthew 24:36-51;  

  • *From Gillette Dry Idea deodorant commercial, June 1984.
  • **From Tears of a Clown, 1967 by Smokey Robinson, hit single in 1970.

Are You Distancing?

“Are you distancing?” is one of the most commonly heard questions these days, though it’s more of an implied command than just curiosity in search of an answer. Various medical and governmental authorities are telling us to put distance between us and other people, from 6 feet to as much as 27 feet, depending on which “expert” is speaking. The warning is that the coronavirus is so contagious that social distancing, along with hand- washing, mask wearing, and face-touching-avoidance are required to slow down or stop its spread.

When it comes to a pandemic, maintaining social distance, that is, space between people, is probably a good idea, since the virus seems to be spread through physical contact, sneezes, and coughs (not to mention smooches). It’s something we do automatically when we enter a room and see someone who is coughing; we go and sit in a different part of the room without even thinking about it. What makes this distancing hard on us is that we are by nature social creatures, requiring interaction with other human beings. We interact with other people in our work, schools, playtime, and home life – not to mention in our churches. We were not created to be alone, but to be in fellowship with others, so this enforced distancing is hard on our spirits and psyches. The seemingly random and contradictory decisions about what is deemed to be an essential service (e.g., cannabis shops, yes; churches, no) doesn’t make it any easier to tolerate this period of shut-downs, nor does the impact on people’s livelihoods and productiveness. Add to that the heavy-handedness of some governmental entities enforcing what they consider to be proper distancing, and we, both individually and as a society, are having some serious struggles. We  hope and pray this will end soon!

But as I considered the term and concept of “distancing,” I thought of it not only in the physical sense of spacing ourselves from other people, but also in the spiritual sense, pondering what would be good distancing and bad distancing when it comes to what is good or bad for our souls. Here are some of my thoughts in that regard:

1. Distancing from what is bad. There are many things that are spiritually harmful to us, from which we should distance ourselves. The principle is this: we should distance ourselves from anything, or anyone, that would lead us to disobey God in our thoughts, words, or actions.

That distancing will take place in our thoughts and desires, but also sometimes needs to be enforced physically. For example, Jesus taught us that to lust in our hearts is to commit the sin of adultery. Therefore it would not be a good idea for a man to hang around a strip club or visit certain prurient websites on his computer. It would be far healthier spiritually to distance himself from both physical and virtual proximity to such temptations and surround himself with what is good and pleasing to God.

Other times the distancing has to be from a person whose attitudes are hateful, who sows discord by gossiping and spreading rumors, who encourages dishonesty and covetousness, who breaks laws or who disrespects God, whether by outright denial of faith or by taking God’s name in vain (“OMG!”). The Apostle Paul lists a variety of such people to avoid in Romans 1:29-31, “They were filled with all manner of unrighteous-ness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless.” And in Romans 16:17 he warned, “I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them.”Again, the principle is to avoid getting caught up in sinful thoughts and actions by associating with people who practice such things.

Now, some might argue against this distancing by saying, “But pastor, sinners are the very people who need me to hang around with them, showing them love and demonstrating good attitudes and behavior. After all, didn’t Jesus associate with sinners?” I would reply that, yes, I should confront people with God’s Word and commandments, and show them love and right behavior. But the danger comes when I try to be so much accepted by them that I take on their attitudes and behaviors such that there is hardly any difference between their actions and mine. Jesus, who knew no sin, “who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15), could associate without becoming soiled himself, but I am too aware of my own sins to risk putting myself in such situations. Even Paul warned against the contagious nature of sinful behavior when he spoke of rebuking a brother who sins: “Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted” (Galatians 6:1). As the old Southern proverb said, “You can’t waller with the pigs; you both get dirty.”

Ultimately, since our spiritual struggle is not against flesh and blood but against the powers of the fallen spiritual world (Ephesians 6:12), our distancing is from Satan and his lies. That’s why the first part of the rite of Christian baptism (after the invocation) is an exorcism: those being baptized are asked to renounce “all the forces of evil, the devil, and all his empty promises.” The one being baptized is separated  (“distanced”) from the devil by “death” in the waters of baptism, and given new life that is joined to Christ. Just as Jesus said, “Get behind me Satan!” (Mark 8:33) when tempted through Peter to avoid the cross, so we are saying the same in our baptism, and every time we distance from sin and darkness in our lives.

But of course, in ourselves we have no such ability to reject sin and choose what is right and holy. We must be joined to Christ and operate under the guidance and power of the Holy Spirit.

2. Not distancing from what is good. Spiritually, we need to avoid being distanced from God in our hearts and minds. Unfortunately, the sad truth is that we humans don’t have to be taught or encouraged to distance ourselves from him; we’ve been doing it from the beginning. When we focus on our own needs and desires, and our own abilities to get what we want, we push God away. Only when we fail do we sometimes turn to God with the patronizing statement: “The only thing left to do is pray!” as if God were the last resort, rather than the One we should have been looking to from the very beginning.

Of course, it is only ourselves we are hurting by ignoring God or pushing him away. He never really goes anywhere; it is only our spiritual blindness (or nearsightedness) that keeps us from seeing him close by, ready to help.

The Book of Jonah illustrates the foolishness of a man who tried to get away from God and God’s call on his life. When God called upon Jonah to go and preach to the city of Nineveh, which required a journey by land to the east, Jonah got into a boat and sailed by sea to the west. As if he could escape God! God sent a great storm that threatened to sink the boat, and when the sailors asked their passenger who he was and whether he could be the reason for the storm, Jonah replied, “I am a Hebrew, and I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land” (Jonah 1:9). So . . . he thought he could distance himself from the God who made the sea . . . by sailing on it? The crew threw him overboard after that.

Psalm 139:7-12 proclaims beautifully that God is near us wherever we go:

7 Where shall I go from your Spirit?
    Or where shall I flee from your presence?
8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there!
    If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
9 If I take the wings of the morning
    and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
10 even there your hand shall lead me,
    and your right hand shall hold me.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me,
    and the light about me be night,”
12 even the darkness is not dark to you;
    the night is bright as the day,
    for darkness is as light with you.

Because God is indeed everywhere, any distance we experience from him is only because of our sin and failure to seek and see him. It’s on us. But God, in his great love for us, seeks closeness with us, and therefore came to us as the Son, providing a way for that closeness to be restored and for us to have eternal spiritual intimacy with him. Through Christ he provided forgiveness of our sins, made us his children (John 1:12), and opened the gates to life with him (spiritually and physically) forever.

Therefore, he calls on us to approach him, to end our “social distancing” from him: “Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near” (Isaiah 55:6), and “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you” (James 4:8). The verse in James even goes on to say, “Cleanse your hands.” (I wonder if that refers to hand sanitizer?).

I could go on, and talk about the ways we can maintain (or regain) the closeness that God desires from us: Bible study, prayer, worship, contact with mature Christians who exhibit godly behavior and attitudes, etc. But you get the point. The closer we draw to God, the further we distance ourselves from what is harmful to our souls.

So stay safe, stay healthy, keep your distance from what can harm you; but stay close and embrace Christ, who will ultimately save both body and soul!

Now, may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Jonah, Psalm 139, Ephesians 6:11-13, Romans 1:18-32

 

Friendsgiving?

I learned a new word this week – which proves you can teach an old dog new tricks. The word is “friendsgiving.” I first heard it on the radio, then found it online. And not just the word, but numerous applications of it: greeting cards, party games, and snacks. While the last application – snacks – did draw my interest, it was the meaning and concept of the term that got me thinking.

So, just what is friendsgiving? As I understand it, it’s meant to be an alternative to Thanksgiving: instead of gathering with all your relatives to eat a big turkey dinner (and then fall asleep on the couch while watching football), you get together with your friends – hence the name. It’s become popular among Millennials as a way to spend time with friends you want to spend time with, rather than with family you are expected to be with. As a negative, it’s opting out of what to many has become an old-fashioned, meaningless expectation; as a positive, it’s an affirmation of one’s friends. Besides, there’s that old “politically incorrect” thing with Pilgrims and Indians.

So what do I think of “friendsgiving?” other than, “There go those Millennials again!”?

1. First of all, let’s talk about friends and friendship. I think it’s great to affirm one’s friends – if they really are true friends. I doubt that everyone who “friends” you on social media can really be counted in that category. As Charles Schulz expressed it in a Peanuts cartoon, “A friend is someone who says nice things about you when you’re not around.” (Thanks to reader and friend Dave for sending me that note!)

Or, better put, the Bible calls a friend someone “who is as your own soul” (Deuteronomy 13:6). The prime example it gives is the relationship between David and King Saul’s son, Jonathan: 1 Samuel 18:1 says “the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul.” Now, that’s friendship! Certainly, friendship is marked by enjoyment of another person’s company, but to me the test of friendship is how much one is willing to give up for the sake of the other person. Would you give up your time, your money, your opportunities, for a friend? Jesus put it in ultimate terms: “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13).

Of course, it’s important to choose one’s friends carefully. Hanging around with the wrong crowd can get you into trouble, as peer pressure can get a person to do just about anything, even knowing it’s wrong. We know this is true from experience – ours and others’ – and from Scripture, which warns repeatedly against falling in with the wrong friends. 1 Corinthians 15:33 says, “Do not be deceived: ‘Bad company ruins good morals.'” and in Proverbs 13:20 we read, “Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm.” Then there’s that warning in James 4:4 against making friends with the world:  “Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.” This doesn’t mean we shouldn’t have friends while we live in this world; it means we should not put acceptance by and conformity with the world ahead of our love for God.

The Bible calls the very special relationship we have with God, friendship. Jesus spoke of it immediately after speaking of dying for one’s friends. His next sentence (John 15:14) was, “You are my friends if you do what I command you.” He also called his disciples, “friends,” when teaching them. We understand that it is in Christ that we become friends with God, but even the Old Testament speaks of such a special friendship: Psalm 25:14 says, “The friendship of the LORD is for those who fear him.” It’s wonderful for God to consider us as his friends, just as it’s wonderful that he calls us his children (John 1:12)! The difference is that as followers of Christ, our friendship with God is not between two equals, as it is between two earthly friends, but between an all-powerful Creator and his subjects. We never become gods, but the image of God in us is restored, and friendship is now possible. We now can enjoy a special bond with our Lord, a relationship such as God had with Moses: “Thus the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend” (Exodus 33:11).

All told, friends are good to have, and to celebrate. Earthly friends are a joy, especially true friends, and it’s good to treasure those relationships, but the greatest friendship we can have is with God himself. Earthly friends come and go, and can sometimes let us down or turn against us. But our special friendship with God will be an eternal one. As the gospel song proclaims, “What a friend we have in Jesus!”*

2. Second, what about the “giving thanks” part? My major issue with the whole “friendsgiving” thing is that it substitutes having fun with friends (which one can do any day of the year) for a special time set aside for thanking God for his blessings. From:

    • the inception of a day of thanksgiving in 1621 observed by those un-P.C. Pilgrims who thanked God for getting them through a brutal and deadly winter,
    • to George Washington proclaiming a national day of thanksgiving in 1789 (“Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor . . .),
    • to Lincoln’s proclamation in 1863 even in the midst of the Civil War,
    • to the current observance established by Congress in 1942,

the focus of the Thanksgiving holiday has always been to thank God for his blessings: for harvest, for peace, for protection of our nation, for family, for friends (yes), and especially for the gift of salvation through Jesus Christ. Thanksgiving has morphed into a secular holiday filled with food and football and family – all good things – and preparation for Black Friday sales, but along the way, the reason for the season has been set aside (sound familiar?). God has blessed us with such bounty that we have come to focus on the blessings rather than the Blesser:

      • We fill our plates with so much to eat, forgetting “the mighty power of God that filled the earth with food.”**
      • We enjoy watching football, ignoring the One who washed his disciples’ feet just hours before his death.
      • We fall asleep on the couch as did the disciples in Gethsemane, who could not stay awake one hour to pray with their Lord (Mark 14:37).
      • We (usually) enjoy friends and family, forgetting that we are called to be God’s friends and have been adopted into his family. As Jesus said in Matthew 12:48-49, “’Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?’ And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers!'”
      • We get excited about spending money on Black Friday sales, ignoring the One who was sold for pieces of silver to die on Good Friday, by which he purchased our forgiveness and eternal life.
      • We stay home for “more important” things, skipping Thanksgiving Day worship services; when we could focus our vague ideas of thankfulness onto the God to whom we must surely give thanks, who has given us the life, the bounty, and the ability to enjoy such a holiday.

It’s because of what God has done for us, and because of our need to recognize the source of all our blessings, that I would never want to give up Thanksgiving Day for “friendsgiving” or anything similar. We owe it to God to thank him every day, so why give up the one day we make a point of doing just that? To God be the glory, and our thankfulness, forever and ever! Amen.

Now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Matthew 12:46-50, 1 Samuel 18:1-5

*”What a Friend We Have in Jesus” by Joseph M. Scriven, 1855

**”I Sing the Mighty Power of God” by Isaac Watts, 1715