Hi Everyone-
I hope your Christmas rocked and wish blessings on you all as we move into a new year. I've found over the years that music and songs are one of the biggest ways I connect to God and others. Instantly a song can bring me back to a specific time and place or fill me with happiness or make me think deep thoughts in a new way. The song that's provoked the deepest thinking in recent memory for me is "White Man" by Gungor (a brilliant band) ... plus it's really catchy in my opinion.
You can check "White Man" out here in a fun video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WybvhRu9KU
I think this song comes out swinging right out the gates, especially for those of us who are white Americans. They sing "God is not a man. God is not a white man." But, we call God, "Him" all the time right? And it's the Father and Jesus Christ, two men ... right? Paintings, mental images, verbiage, and more almost universally depict God as a male. Yet, I think this is in some ways our modern form of idolatry. God is God, not a man. One of the ten commandments is to not make images of God. I learned at school that while the Jews of antiquity called God, "Father", this commandment led them to not picture God as a male. In other words, "Father" God to them was sexless. But Jesus was a man though right? Yes, but the ironic thing to me is that He looked far more like Osama Bin Laden than the white, blonde man we usually think of/see Him depicted as.
I think a huge affect of the incorrect way we perceive of God is that it limits our view of God. As Gungor says, "God cannot be bought. God will not be boxed in. God will not be owned by religion." Maybe, just maybe, the reason God said not to make images of Him/Her is that they make us limit God in our minds, thoughts, beliefs.
But us Americans are safe and good though because America is the chosen nation of our day, right? In God we trust, don't we? Hmmm, but if we don't make our own images of God then, "God is not a flag. Not even America." God isn't a white, capitalist, who support our foreign policy, who loves our consumer culture, etc. I've often confused (and think a lot of us do) the American dream for the Kingdom of God. However, they are not the same. We make God into our image, the white, American, middle-class image that dominates our society ... and I'm starting to think that's idolatry.
God, however, is so much more awesome than we make God out to be. "But God is good, God is good, and He loves everyone." God loves atheists, communists, lesbians, and even terrorists. God is amazing. In the U.S. the currency is the almighty dollar. Yet, in God's economy the currency is grace. God is defined first and foremost by love ... and that is awesome!
What do you think? Does this song go too far? Not far enough?
Grace and peace,
Lang
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Friday, December 30, 2011
Sunday, December 25, 2011
The Word Becomes Flesh
Hi Everyone-
Merry Christmas!! I pray your day is blessed with every good thing. Today I am incredibly thankful for the Word becoming flesh. To steal from Rob Bell's recent farewell sermon ... There is a movement in the Bible of word becoming flesh. Jesus is referred to as the Word and Him becoming human is the most blatant manifestation of this trend, but there's even more to it...
In the Old Testament, we are commanded not to murder. Not killing each other is pretty basic, but the command comes in the form of words. Later, Jesus tells us to love our enemies. This is taking it to the next level, don't just stop killing each other, love everyone. It's still words though. Yet, then Jesus puts flesh on this. He lives this truth, and in doing so word becomes flesh. Jesus dies on the cross for everyone, while we're still his enemies. If that's not living out loving one's enemies I don't know what is!
The thing is, though, we have this tendency to try and move flesh back to words. I know at times I'm all about talking of and talking up my beliefs much more than living them out. I can be all bark and no bite. Words are all bark and no bite, but flesh is something much more ... Flesh is life. It's Jesus living as a human and transforming us. It's us living this transformation out and changing each other.
Today this is one of the most important parts of Christmas and the Word becoming flesh to me, but there's one more thing I'd like to mention. The very act of the Divine becoming human brings salvation. Christmas brings salvation. This is usually a conversation reserved for Easter, but Jesus' life transforms and saves us every bit as much as His death and resurrection. Jesus united Divine and human and that union brought healing and redemption to humanity.
In other words, Christmas saved us ... thank you Jesus. We love you. Happy Birthday!!
Grace and peace,
Lang
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Merry Christmas!! I pray your day is blessed with every good thing. Today I am incredibly thankful for the Word becoming flesh. To steal from Rob Bell's recent farewell sermon ... There is a movement in the Bible of word becoming flesh. Jesus is referred to as the Word and Him becoming human is the most blatant manifestation of this trend, but there's even more to it...
In the Old Testament, we are commanded not to murder. Not killing each other is pretty basic, but the command comes in the form of words. Later, Jesus tells us to love our enemies. This is taking it to the next level, don't just stop killing each other, love everyone. It's still words though. Yet, then Jesus puts flesh on this. He lives this truth, and in doing so word becomes flesh. Jesus dies on the cross for everyone, while we're still his enemies. If that's not living out loving one's enemies I don't know what is!
The thing is, though, we have this tendency to try and move flesh back to words. I know at times I'm all about talking of and talking up my beliefs much more than living them out. I can be all bark and no bite. Words are all bark and no bite, but flesh is something much more ... Flesh is life. It's Jesus living as a human and transforming us. It's us living this transformation out and changing each other.
Today this is one of the most important parts of Christmas and the Word becoming flesh to me, but there's one more thing I'd like to mention. The very act of the Divine becoming human brings salvation. Christmas brings salvation. This is usually a conversation reserved for Easter, but Jesus' life transforms and saves us every bit as much as His death and resurrection. Jesus united Divine and human and that union brought healing and redemption to humanity.
In other words, Christmas saved us ... thank you Jesus. We love you. Happy Birthday!!
Grace and peace,
Lang
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Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Double Knowledge
Hi everyone-
I pray the Christmas season has been a time of peace for you. So, you may have read the title and be wondering, "what is double knowledge?". Well, I'll get to that ... First, however, I think some song lyrics will help get to double knowledge. Carla recently introduced Me to this awesome band, Mumford & Sons. I highly recommend checking them out. One song in particular has been rattling around in my brain, "Sigh No More". You can check the song out at http://m.youtube.com/index?desktop_uri=%2F&gl=US#/watch?v=6SkLweGve1E and below are the applicable lyrics:
"Sigh no more, no more
One foot in sea, one on shore
My heart was never pure
You know me
You know me ...
Love; it will not betray you
Dismay or enslave you, it will set you free
Be more like the man you were made to be
There is a design, an alignment to cry
Of my heart to see,
The beauty of love as it was made to be"
These say to me that us humans have one foot in the world and one in heaven. We are one part fallen/sinful and one part image of God. Yet, while we aren't pure, God still knows and loves us.
Now God is love, so I hear the second segment above as speaking of God in many ways. Love/God won't drag us down or destroy us, but will in fact set us free to be the people we are meant to be. This brings me to double knowledge. This is the idea that it is only through knowing God that we can truly know and become ourselves. We looked at this a fair bit in the C.S. Lewis class. In short, double knowledge equates to know God, know/become yourself. Only the love and grace of God set us free from our impurity to be the people we are meant to be.
What is more, this is how we're designed (as the third stanza eludes to). Our hearts are aligned to see God, live love, and turn into the beautiful people we are meant to be. In other words, we're beloved children made in the image of God.
I totally love this song and the concept of double knowledge.
What do you think?
Grace and peace,
Lang
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I pray the Christmas season has been a time of peace for you. So, you may have read the title and be wondering, "what is double knowledge?". Well, I'll get to that ... First, however, I think some song lyrics will help get to double knowledge. Carla recently introduced Me to this awesome band, Mumford & Sons. I highly recommend checking them out. One song in particular has been rattling around in my brain, "Sigh No More". You can check the song out at http://m.youtube.com/index?desktop_uri=%2F&gl=US#/watch?v=6SkLweGve1E and below are the applicable lyrics:
"Sigh no more, no more
One foot in sea, one on shore
My heart was never pure
You know me
You know me ...
Love; it will not betray you
Dismay or enslave you, it will set you free
Be more like the man you were made to be
There is a design, an alignment to cry
Of my heart to see,
The beauty of love as it was made to be"
These say to me that us humans have one foot in the world and one in heaven. We are one part fallen/sinful and one part image of God. Yet, while we aren't pure, God still knows and loves us.
Now God is love, so I hear the second segment above as speaking of God in many ways. Love/God won't drag us down or destroy us, but will in fact set us free to be the people we are meant to be. This brings me to double knowledge. This is the idea that it is only through knowing God that we can truly know and become ourselves. We looked at this a fair bit in the C.S. Lewis class. In short, double knowledge equates to know God, know/become yourself. Only the love and grace of God set us free from our impurity to be the people we are meant to be.
What is more, this is how we're designed (as the third stanza eludes to). Our hearts are aligned to see God, live love, and turn into the beautiful people we are meant to be. In other words, we're beloved children made in the image of God.
I totally love this song and the concept of double knowledge.
What do you think?
Grace and peace,
Lang
If you want to receive email notifications when I post new blogs, please put your email in the "Follow by email" block to the right.
Thursday, December 15, 2011
The Victory of Inclusion Over Exclusion
Hi Everyone-
I pray you're finding joy in this Christmas season. One aspect of Christmas that's hitting me this year is that it's a season of inclusion's victory over exclusion. What do I mean by that?
I think with His birth, Jesus brought inclusion to many people, and am hoping I can reciprocate that for others. In C.S. Lewis' That Hideous Strength one of the main characters, Mark, spends the better part of the book trying to get into the innermost circles of power at his job. He is constantly looking for the most elite, most exclusive, and smallest core of power brokers. The way I put it in some of my notes was that he desperately wanted to be one of the "cool kids." I know I can remember that feeling from junior high in particular. Let me put it this way, Mark thinks he needs to be someone smarter, better, cooler, and more powerful than who he is to be accepted and valued. He doesn't realize the err in this way until the end of the book. I believe Christmas, i.e. the birth and life of Jesus, change this paradigm and need to be in the inner/exclusive circle for us all.
In Acts we find a history of the early Church. In chapter 8, Philip feels moved by the Spirit to go south where:
27 So he started out, and he met the treasurer of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under the Kandake, the queen of Ethiopia. The eunuch had gone to Jerusalem to worship, 28 and he was now returning. Seated in his carriage, he was reading aloud from the book of the prophet Isaiah.
29 The Holy Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and walk along beside the carriage.”
30 Philip ran over and heard the man reading from the prophet Isaiah. Philip asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?”
31 The man replied, “How can I, unless someone instructs me?” And he urged Philip to come up into the carriage and sit with him. ...
34 The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, was the prophet talking about himself or someone else?” 35 So beginning with this same Scripture, Philip told him the Good News about Jesus.
36 As they rode along, they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “Look! There’s some water! Why can’t I be baptized?”[d] 38 He ordered the carriage to stop, and they went down into the water, and Philip baptized him.
What seems at face value a pretty cool conversion story becomes brilliant when we learn a couple things. First, eunuchs weren't allowed to be in the Assembly of God before Jesus. The eunuch asks what would prevent him from being baptized (i.e. excluded)? Easy, he's a eunuch, so before Jesus was excluded by definition, but after Jesus that changes. Second, today in a highly Islamic area of the world, Ethiopia is 65% Christian, and most all of them trace their lineage, mark as their reason for being Christian, back to this eunuch.
A pastor I heard recently put it this way, "God loves those who are thirsty, not those who are worthy."
I think that's a brilliant summary of the inclusion Christ brings. I'm going to try and make this Christmas about the victory of inclusion over exclusion.
What do you think?
Grace and peace,
Lang
If you want to receive email notifications when I post new blogs, please put your email in the "Follow by email" block to the right.
I pray you're finding joy in this Christmas season. One aspect of Christmas that's hitting me this year is that it's a season of inclusion's victory over exclusion. What do I mean by that?
I think with His birth, Jesus brought inclusion to many people, and am hoping I can reciprocate that for others. In C.S. Lewis' That Hideous Strength one of the main characters, Mark, spends the better part of the book trying to get into the innermost circles of power at his job. He is constantly looking for the most elite, most exclusive, and smallest core of power brokers. The way I put it in some of my notes was that he desperately wanted to be one of the "cool kids." I know I can remember that feeling from junior high in particular. Let me put it this way, Mark thinks he needs to be someone smarter, better, cooler, and more powerful than who he is to be accepted and valued. He doesn't realize the err in this way until the end of the book. I believe Christmas, i.e. the birth and life of Jesus, change this paradigm and need to be in the inner/exclusive circle for us all.
In Acts we find a history of the early Church. In chapter 8, Philip feels moved by the Spirit to go south where:
27 So he started out, and he met the treasurer of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under the Kandake, the queen of Ethiopia. The eunuch had gone to Jerusalem to worship, 28 and he was now returning. Seated in his carriage, he was reading aloud from the book of the prophet Isaiah.
29 The Holy Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and walk along beside the carriage.”
30 Philip ran over and heard the man reading from the prophet Isaiah. Philip asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?”
31 The man replied, “How can I, unless someone instructs me?” And he urged Philip to come up into the carriage and sit with him. ...
34 The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, was the prophet talking about himself or someone else?” 35 So beginning with this same Scripture, Philip told him the Good News about Jesus.
36 As they rode along, they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “Look! There’s some water! Why can’t I be baptized?”[d] 38 He ordered the carriage to stop, and they went down into the water, and Philip baptized him.
What seems at face value a pretty cool conversion story becomes brilliant when we learn a couple things. First, eunuchs weren't allowed to be in the Assembly of God before Jesus. The eunuch asks what would prevent him from being baptized (i.e. excluded)? Easy, he's a eunuch, so before Jesus was excluded by definition, but after Jesus that changes. Second, today in a highly Islamic area of the world, Ethiopia is 65% Christian, and most all of them trace their lineage, mark as their reason for being Christian, back to this eunuch.
A pastor I heard recently put it this way, "God loves those who are thirsty, not those who are worthy."
I think that's a brilliant summary of the inclusion Christ brings. I'm going to try and make this Christmas about the victory of inclusion over exclusion.
What do you think?
Grace and peace,
Lang
If you want to receive email notifications when I post new blogs, please put your email in the "Follow by email" block to the right.
Saturday, December 10, 2011
Does Christianity Have a Monopoly on Good and Truth?
Hi Everyone-
I pray this Christmas season is bringing you joy this year. I finished my last final for school yesterday, so being on Christmas break is something I'm certainly joyful about. My last final was for the C.S. Lewis class, so he's still influencing my thinking quite a bit.
Assuming you're a Christian, do you think there's truths and goodness to be found in Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Greek Mythology, or any other non-Christian religion? Lewis says there is. in "Religion Without Dogma?" he writes, "I could not believe Christianity if I were forced to say that there were a thousand religions in the world of which 999 were pure nonsense and the thousandth (fortunately) true. My conversion, very largely, depended on recognizing Christianity as the completion, the actualization, the entelechy, of something that had never been wholly absent from the mind pf man."
I know in years past I've often pitted Christianity against other religions and thought it had the universal hold on truth and goodness, but I think Lewis is saying we shouldn't do that. In fact, he's saying the reality is actually more beautiful than a strict Christianity vs. other religions competition, with Christianity winning. Lewis believes God gave all humanity throughout all history truths about Himself, the world, and each other, thus many of these appear in other religions. To put it differently, Christians can in fact learn goodness, beauty, and truth from say Islam or Buddhism. Do you agree?
However, I don't think that's the best part of what Lewis is asserting. He concludes that following Christ is the culmination, end, and completion of the journey humankind's been on for thousands of years to find the ultimate truths about us, the world, and the Divine. Worshiping Zeus back in 500 BC was one step on the path with certain truths, Hinduism was another, Islam is yet another, etc. Put simply, Lewis is saying Christ is inclusive not exclusive. To put it differently, all goodness and all truth is of and from Christ, whether a person recognizes or names this Christian or not. When Religion X says to feed the poor and hungry that belief is good and true and of Christ even though they say it's from some other being or belief.
What do you think?
Grace and peace,
Lang
If you want to receive email notifications when I post new blogs, please put your email in the "Follow by email" block to the right.
I pray this Christmas season is bringing you joy this year. I finished my last final for school yesterday, so being on Christmas break is something I'm certainly joyful about. My last final was for the C.S. Lewis class, so he's still influencing my thinking quite a bit.
Assuming you're a Christian, do you think there's truths and goodness to be found in Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Greek Mythology, or any other non-Christian religion? Lewis says there is. in "Religion Without Dogma?" he writes, "I could not believe Christianity if I were forced to say that there were a thousand religions in the world of which 999 were pure nonsense and the thousandth (fortunately) true. My conversion, very largely, depended on recognizing Christianity as the completion, the actualization, the entelechy, of something that had never been wholly absent from the mind pf man."
I know in years past I've often pitted Christianity against other religions and thought it had the universal hold on truth and goodness, but I think Lewis is saying we shouldn't do that. In fact, he's saying the reality is actually more beautiful than a strict Christianity vs. other religions competition, with Christianity winning. Lewis believes God gave all humanity throughout all history truths about Himself, the world, and each other, thus many of these appear in other religions. To put it differently, Christians can in fact learn goodness, beauty, and truth from say Islam or Buddhism. Do you agree?
However, I don't think that's the best part of what Lewis is asserting. He concludes that following Christ is the culmination, end, and completion of the journey humankind's been on for thousands of years to find the ultimate truths about us, the world, and the Divine. Worshiping Zeus back in 500 BC was one step on the path with certain truths, Hinduism was another, Islam is yet another, etc. Put simply, Lewis is saying Christ is inclusive not exclusive. To put it differently, all goodness and all truth is of and from Christ, whether a person recognizes or names this Christian or not. When Religion X says to feed the poor and hungry that belief is good and true and of Christ even though they say it's from some other being or belief.
What do you think?
Grace and peace,
Lang
If you want to receive email notifications when I post new blogs, please put your email in the "Follow by email" block to the right.
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
The Will of God
Hi Everyone-
I pray God is bringing much grace and peace to your lives. This is the last week of the school term, which brings both joy and sorrow. I'm excited for a break, but sad that tonight is the last C.S. Lewis class.
Three of the books we read by Lewis are works of fiction dubbed The Ransom Trilogy. The hero, Ransom, travels to Venus in the second book, Perelandra, where he meets that planet's version of Eve, called the Lady. He helps her in her battle to resist the temptations of the devil to stray from God. When I read it one line in particular stood out to me as pretty profound. The Lady says, "'To walk out of His will is to walk into nowhere.'"
To walk out of His will is to walk into nowhere. Think about those words, "'To walk out of His will is to walk into nowhere.'" There are layers and layers to them in my mind. What do you think?
Here's what resonates most with me ... This is saying that God doesn't give us commands (i.e. His will) to be burdensome or painful or obligations, He tells us His will because it alone leads to life. To not follow His will is to walk into death and destruction. When we follow God's will we become more alive, while when we don't we are quite literally undoing (or killing) ourselves.
When I was younger, I thought all these types of things really only applied to some distant, eternal, when we go (in the future) to heaven or hell point in the future. But, what the Lady is saying applies to now. When we follow God's will we walk into a fuller life right now. Conversely, when we don't, we step into oblivion right now.
I'm interested to hear your thoughts...
Grace and peace,
Lang
If you want to receive email notifications when I post new blogs, please put your email in the "Follow by email" block to the right.
I pray God is bringing much grace and peace to your lives. This is the last week of the school term, which brings both joy and sorrow. I'm excited for a break, but sad that tonight is the last C.S. Lewis class.
Three of the books we read by Lewis are works of fiction dubbed The Ransom Trilogy. The hero, Ransom, travels to Venus in the second book, Perelandra, where he meets that planet's version of Eve, called the Lady. He helps her in her battle to resist the temptations of the devil to stray from God. When I read it one line in particular stood out to me as pretty profound. The Lady says, "'To walk out of His will is to walk into nowhere.'"
To walk out of His will is to walk into nowhere. Think about those words, "'To walk out of His will is to walk into nowhere.'" There are layers and layers to them in my mind. What do you think?
Here's what resonates most with me ... This is saying that God doesn't give us commands (i.e. His will) to be burdensome or painful or obligations, He tells us His will because it alone leads to life. To not follow His will is to walk into death and destruction. When we follow God's will we become more alive, while when we don't we are quite literally undoing (or killing) ourselves.
When I was younger, I thought all these types of things really only applied to some distant, eternal, when we go (in the future) to heaven or hell point in the future. But, what the Lady is saying applies to now. When we follow God's will we walk into a fuller life right now. Conversely, when we don't, we step into oblivion right now.
I'm interested to hear your thoughts...
Grace and peace,
Lang
If you want to receive email notifications when I post new blogs, please put your email in the "Follow by email" block to the right.
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Self-Fullfilling Prophcies
Hi Everyone-
I hope you had an awesome Thanksgiving. I know I feel like I have a lot to be thankful for, such as only 1.5 weeks of school left until I'm on Christmas break.
With that in mind, I recently finished my big paper for the C.S. Lewis class I'm taking. We had to write about how we see his conception of spiritual formation as it plays out in his characters. In short, spiritual formation is how we become our truest and fullest self, as well as how we draw closer to God and become more Christ-like. Lewis' fictional books contain a lot on this topic, so it's been pretty cool to step back and map out his views so to speak. There's several interesting themes I enjoyed looking at, but one really sticks out to me in this holiday season. Basically, he shows that our beliefs, attitudes, and views of the world become our own personal realities.
Big picture, this includes heaven and hell, but for Lewis these aren't realities that represent huge shifts that don't happen until after we die. We day-by-day choose and live either heaven or hell every day of our lives. When we choose heaven, our lives become more heavenly. When we choose hell, our lives become more hellish. In The Great Divorce, he puts the end results of this pretty brilliantly, "There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, 'Thy will be done,' and those to whom God says, in the end 'Thy will be done.' All that are in Hell choose it."
In Till We Have Faces the main character is named Orual. She is described as being physically quite "ugly", because of which, she grows to in many ways hate her "self." She becomes Queen of her nation and purposefully chooses to become a different, more man-ish person. She begins wearing a veil, eventually leaving it on at all times so that no-one knows what her face even looks like anymore. More than once, she speaks of killing Orual as she becomes this other self. She succeeds and almost destroys her true self, Orual, in favor of the Queen. She believed Orual was too ugly to be let out in public, and this reality became true as she was locked away.
In The Voyage of the Dawn Treader Eustace, one of the main characters, spends the first part of the book thinking and acting in a very selfish and greedy manner. Then, while thinking these thoughts and sleeping on a dragon hoard, he turns into a dragon. Lewis writes that the selfish and greedy thoughts are dragonish, so his thoughts/beliefs become Eustace's reality.
In the last Chronicles of Narnia book, The Last Battle, Narnia is falling apart as the forces of evil are pretty much having their way. There's this very ominous looking stable door through which characters are being thrown, never to return. One of the heroes says he thinks for them it's the door to Aslan's Country (i.e. heaven). It turns out for them it is, but for others it's the way to darkness and despair.
What's this have to do with us and our spiritual formation, our becoming selves? Everything I think. As I think about people I've met over the years this idea is so true. We live self-fulfilling prophecies. The people I know who live with views of themselves, friends, and the world that are positive, become the people I know most filled with joy ... even when things suck. Conversely, people who are always griping and complaining are those I've found to be most unhappy, even when they have great jobs, friends, etc.
On the current season of "The Biggest Loser" there's this guy who drops a lot of weight every week, Bob Harper (the main trainer) thinks he's likely going to be the winner. But, he's never happy. In fact, he's always disappointed with his performance. He chooses a negative view of things. Bob has said he bets this guy will gain all his weight back. His view/beliefs that nothing he does is good enough will become his reality.
What do you think? Have you seen this in your life?
Grace and peace,
Lang
If you want to receive email notifications when I post new blogs, please put your email in the "Follow by email" block to the right.
I hope you had an awesome Thanksgiving. I know I feel like I have a lot to be thankful for, such as only 1.5 weeks of school left until I'm on Christmas break.
With that in mind, I recently finished my big paper for the C.S. Lewis class I'm taking. We had to write about how we see his conception of spiritual formation as it plays out in his characters. In short, spiritual formation is how we become our truest and fullest self, as well as how we draw closer to God and become more Christ-like. Lewis' fictional books contain a lot on this topic, so it's been pretty cool to step back and map out his views so to speak. There's several interesting themes I enjoyed looking at, but one really sticks out to me in this holiday season. Basically, he shows that our beliefs, attitudes, and views of the world become our own personal realities.
Big picture, this includes heaven and hell, but for Lewis these aren't realities that represent huge shifts that don't happen until after we die. We day-by-day choose and live either heaven or hell every day of our lives. When we choose heaven, our lives become more heavenly. When we choose hell, our lives become more hellish. In The Great Divorce, he puts the end results of this pretty brilliantly, "There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, 'Thy will be done,' and those to whom God says, in the end 'Thy will be done.' All that are in Hell choose it."
In Till We Have Faces the main character is named Orual. She is described as being physically quite "ugly", because of which, she grows to in many ways hate her "self." She becomes Queen of her nation and purposefully chooses to become a different, more man-ish person. She begins wearing a veil, eventually leaving it on at all times so that no-one knows what her face even looks like anymore. More than once, she speaks of killing Orual as she becomes this other self. She succeeds and almost destroys her true self, Orual, in favor of the Queen. She believed Orual was too ugly to be let out in public, and this reality became true as she was locked away.
In The Voyage of the Dawn Treader Eustace, one of the main characters, spends the first part of the book thinking and acting in a very selfish and greedy manner. Then, while thinking these thoughts and sleeping on a dragon hoard, he turns into a dragon. Lewis writes that the selfish and greedy thoughts are dragonish, so his thoughts/beliefs become Eustace's reality.
In the last Chronicles of Narnia book, The Last Battle, Narnia is falling apart as the forces of evil are pretty much having their way. There's this very ominous looking stable door through which characters are being thrown, never to return. One of the heroes says he thinks for them it's the door to Aslan's Country (i.e. heaven). It turns out for them it is, but for others it's the way to darkness and despair.
What's this have to do with us and our spiritual formation, our becoming selves? Everything I think. As I think about people I've met over the years this idea is so true. We live self-fulfilling prophecies. The people I know who live with views of themselves, friends, and the world that are positive, become the people I know most filled with joy ... even when things suck. Conversely, people who are always griping and complaining are those I've found to be most unhappy, even when they have great jobs, friends, etc.
On the current season of "The Biggest Loser" there's this guy who drops a lot of weight every week, Bob Harper (the main trainer) thinks he's likely going to be the winner. But, he's never happy. In fact, he's always disappointed with his performance. He chooses a negative view of things. Bob has said he bets this guy will gain all his weight back. His view/beliefs that nothing he does is good enough will become his reality.
What do you think? Have you seen this in your life?
Grace and peace,
Lang
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Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Occupy Movement
Hi Everyone-
I pray that this week of Thanksgiving finds you well. I've been thinking a bit about the Occupy the Wall movement lately. What are your thoughts on it? Do you think it's good, bad, neutral? Where do you think God falls on this issue?
I think the Bible shows God is very much behind what I believe lies at the root of this issue. I think that when you combine a huge gap between the rich and the poor/everyone else, with the rich not caring for/helping the less fortunate, you get a very unhealthy society. A culture that's not as God intends. Look at some of the first words written about the early Christian church for instance:
All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer. A deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders. And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had. They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need. They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity—all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved. (Acts 2:42-47 NLT)
I believe what happened some 2,000 years ago was the first Christians came to believe a new/old way of viewing possessions. They didn't think it was bad to be rich, but they held their possessions loosely because they knew they weren't "theirs". Everything is a gift from God, a blessing. Recognizing this, they felt compelled to share the goods, money, etc. God had given them with others. They understood the fundamental truth of Psalms 24:1, "The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it. The world and all its people belong to him."
I'll bring this back to Paul's "grace and peace" I wrote the last the last three blogs on ... It's God's grace that gives us anything we "own" or "earn". Every breath I take is a free gift from the Lord of the universe. For me, this truth is incredibly freeing. It frees us to hold our possessions and money loosely, which in turn allows us to recognize those in need around us and give to them willingly and out of joy. The richer we are, the more God has blessed us and the freer we are to give.
I know the Occupy the Wall movement people don't speak in these terms per se, but I believe this is where their desire stems from. They are calling the rich to remember we're all God's children and it's all God's stuff, so lets play well together and share.
What do you think?
Grace and peace,
Lang
If you want to receive email notifications when I post new blogs, please put your email in the "Follow by email" block to the right.
I pray that this week of Thanksgiving finds you well. I've been thinking a bit about the Occupy the Wall movement lately. What are your thoughts on it? Do you think it's good, bad, neutral? Where do you think God falls on this issue?
I think the Bible shows God is very much behind what I believe lies at the root of this issue. I think that when you combine a huge gap between the rich and the poor/everyone else, with the rich not caring for/helping the less fortunate, you get a very unhealthy society. A culture that's not as God intends. Look at some of the first words written about the early Christian church for instance:
All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer. A deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders. And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had. They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need. They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity—all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved. (Acts 2:42-47 NLT)
I believe what happened some 2,000 years ago was the first Christians came to believe a new/old way of viewing possessions. They didn't think it was bad to be rich, but they held their possessions loosely because they knew they weren't "theirs". Everything is a gift from God, a blessing. Recognizing this, they felt compelled to share the goods, money, etc. God had given them with others. They understood the fundamental truth of Psalms 24:1, "The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it. The world and all its people belong to him."
I'll bring this back to Paul's "grace and peace" I wrote the last the last three blogs on ... It's God's grace that gives us anything we "own" or "earn". Every breath I take is a free gift from the Lord of the universe. For me, this truth is incredibly freeing. It frees us to hold our possessions and money loosely, which in turn allows us to recognize those in need around us and give to them willingly and out of joy. The richer we are, the more God has blessed us and the freer we are to give.
I know the Occupy the Wall movement people don't speak in these terms per se, but I believe this is where their desire stems from. They are calling the rich to remember we're all God's children and it's all God's stuff, so lets play well together and share.
What do you think?
Grace and peace,
Lang
If you want to receive email notifications when I post new blogs, please put your email in the "Follow by email" block to the right.
Monday, November 14, 2011
Grace and Peace - The Gospel According to Paul
Hi Everyone-
I hope you're having a lovely fall day. Something I found amazing in my research is that with two words, "grace" and "peace", Paul effectively sums up his take on Christianity, his gospel or theology so to speak. According to Paul, grace and peace comes from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. With that in mind, Gordon Fee writes, " In a sense this sums up the whole of Paul's theological outlook. The sum total of all God's activity toward his human creatures is found in the word 'grace' ... Nothing is deserved; nothing can be achieved. 'Tis mercy all, immense and free.' And the sum total of those benefits as they are experienced by the recipients of God's grace are found in the word 'peace,' meaning 'well-being, wholeness, welfare.' The one flows out of the other, and both together flow from 'God our Father ... and we're made effective in human history through our 'Lord Jesus Christ.'" That's just the summary though ...
First, Paul is highly Christ-centric. In other words, for him, everything revolves around Jesus' life, death, and resurrection. We see God most fully and clearly through Jesus. It is the free, undeserved gift (i.e. grace) of Jesus on the Cross from which we get peace with God, ourselves, and each other.
Before Jesus, the Israelites were the chosen people, God's people, which excluded quite a few others. However, through Jesus Jew and Gentile come together and are both made God's children. He captures this within "grace" and "peace" in that charis ("grace") is his spin on the common Greek greeting of that day (chairein), while eirene ("peace") is the Jewish greeting (they said shalom in Hebrew, eirene was the Greek translation). Grace (Gentile) and peace (Jew) together through God.
They also show his eschatology (a fancy word for the end times), which says in short that heaven starts now. Paul's greeting of grace and peace is also a prayer and a wish. He is saying the readers have grace and peace now, but he is praying for more in the future; a future that will one day be completely fulfilled in the resurrection.
Foundational to all this is grace as a free, undeserved gift. We declared war on God through choosing to sin, but Jesus died for us, forgave our sins anyway. We didn't deserve it, but He loves us so much He did it regardless. But, this grace doesn't just end with "saving" us, it transforms us. God's grace gets into our bones, and by changing who we are makes us live out grace to everyone around us. Again, heaven starts now.
So, I say ...
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ,
Lang
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Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Grace and Peace -- An anti-empire message?
Hi everyone-
So, my paper on grace and peace is done, 12 paged later ... yay! One way of understanding Paul's use of the terms is a relatively new, historic interpretation of it. Basically, the apostle is saying its God, through Christ, who brings the world to right, NOT the emperor of Rome. Not an obvious conclusion though, so where does it come from?
The first emperor was Augustus. He famously beat Mark Antony at the Battle of Actium in 31 BCE, following which Antony and Cleopatra fled and committed suicide. This battle was important for two reasons, it made Augustus the sole ruler of Rome, turning it into the empire, and it ended nearly a 100 years of Roman citizens being wracked by one civil war after another. So, Augustus, a brilliant publicist if there ever was one, begin proclaiming that he had brought peace to the world (i.e. Rome). Later emperors adopted this campaign, proclaiming (and even making people give pledges to the effect) that the emperor brings peace. Statues, buildings, coins, and more were used to make this statement. It was such a widespread and popular theme that they coined a phrase for it you may have heard, Pax Romana (or the peace of Rome). Important in this was the means by which peace came. Slogan after Roman slogan said, "peace through victory." In other words, the emperor used force to bring peace.
A smaller, but very applicable, propoganda theme spread by the emperors was that of grace. People who obeyed the emperor got new statues and buildings, which often bore inscriptions saying they had the grace of the emperor.
Key in this whole Imperial take on grace and peace is that they came only to "good", emperor-following Roman citizens. Slaves and immigrants, who formed the bulk of early Christian churches (and perhaps 50% of the empire's populace), we're NOT included in the Emperor's grace and peace. They didn't benefit from it.
For Paul, however, grace was the absolutely free expression of the love of God for everyone! Slave and free, Jewish and Gentile, Roman and foreigner, all are included. What's more, Paul's peace comes from love, not force. It is God, through Christ who shows true grace and peace, thus truly making the world as it should be, not the emperor, or the president, or our boss, or our spouse, or ...
As God's images on earth, I believe we are called to display His beautiful, free, and undeserved grace and peace for everyone. Whose shown this to you're? How do you show it to others?
If you want to receive email notifications when I post new blogs, please put your email in the "Follow by email" block to the right.
Grace and peace,
Lang
So, my paper on grace and peace is done, 12 paged later ... yay! One way of understanding Paul's use of the terms is a relatively new, historic interpretation of it. Basically, the apostle is saying its God, through Christ, who brings the world to right, NOT the emperor of Rome. Not an obvious conclusion though, so where does it come from?
The first emperor was Augustus. He famously beat Mark Antony at the Battle of Actium in 31 BCE, following which Antony and Cleopatra fled and committed suicide. This battle was important for two reasons, it made Augustus the sole ruler of Rome, turning it into the empire, and it ended nearly a 100 years of Roman citizens being wracked by one civil war after another. So, Augustus, a brilliant publicist if there ever was one, begin proclaiming that he had brought peace to the world (i.e. Rome). Later emperors adopted this campaign, proclaiming (and even making people give pledges to the effect) that the emperor brings peace. Statues, buildings, coins, and more were used to make this statement. It was such a widespread and popular theme that they coined a phrase for it you may have heard, Pax Romana (or the peace of Rome). Important in this was the means by which peace came. Slogan after Roman slogan said, "peace through victory." In other words, the emperor used force to bring peace.
A smaller, but very applicable, propoganda theme spread by the emperors was that of grace. People who obeyed the emperor got new statues and buildings, which often bore inscriptions saying they had the grace of the emperor.
Key in this whole Imperial take on grace and peace is that they came only to "good", emperor-following Roman citizens. Slaves and immigrants, who formed the bulk of early Christian churches (and perhaps 50% of the empire's populace), we're NOT included in the Emperor's grace and peace. They didn't benefit from it.
For Paul, however, grace was the absolutely free expression of the love of God for everyone! Slave and free, Jewish and Gentile, Roman and foreigner, all are included. What's more, Paul's peace comes from love, not force. It is God, through Christ who shows true grace and peace, thus truly making the world as it should be, not the emperor, or the president, or our boss, or our spouse, or ...
As God's images on earth, I believe we are called to display His beautiful, free, and undeserved grace and peace for everyone. Whose shown this to you're? How do you show it to others?
If you want to receive email notifications when I post new blogs, please put your email in the "Follow by email" block to the right.
Grace and peace,
Lang
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Grace and Peace
Hi everyone-
Sorry it's been a bit longer than usual since my last post. I'm in mid-term purgatory (I can't call it "hell" since I go to a Christian school and all :). So, with that in mind, this, and perhaps some future posts, will be about "grace and peace," as I'm writing a 10 page research paper about the terms. What is more, I sign virtually every email and blog post with these words and try to live a life of grace and peace, but why and what do they mean?
So, so much ... Any questions? :) The Apostle Paul greets his audience in every single one of his letters in the Bible by wishing them grace and peace ... Every single one, so I'm guessing they were important to him. Back in his day (Wednesday?) the standard Greek greeting was chairein (or "greetings"), Paul doesn't use this term though, instead he writes charis (or "grace") which is derived from the same root as the first word. The Jewish word for "greetings, conversely, was shalom (or "peace, wholeness, fullness, every good thing" ... basically the way things God means them to be). Paul uses the Greek word for "peace", eirene. Thus, by wishing the readers grace and peace Paul is brilliantly doing several things.
He's subverting the Greco-Roman culture by exchanging the usual "greetings" for "grace" in a play on words. PLUS he's subverting Jewish culture, by combining their greeting ("peace") with a variation of the Greek greeting. Thus, with two words Paul combined the Greeks, Romans, and Jews. He's breaking down barriers and saying we are all children of the God.
Grace and peace is also in many ways a very short summation of the gospel according to Paul. We all were/are at war with God in that we sin and rebel against Him. But through the grace of the life and work of Jesus, an absolutely free and undeserved gift, peace between God and us is restored. Our joyful response to this grace is to pass it on to those around us. In other words, God's graceful gift of peace allows us to freely relate peacefully, wholly, and healthily with others.
I have 10 pages to write on this, so I have more to say ... Are you interested? Wait for it ... :) Grace and peace to you in the meantime.
If you want to receive email notifications when I post new blogs, please put your email in the "Follow by email" block to the right.
Grace and peace,
Lang
Sorry it's been a bit longer than usual since my last post. I'm in mid-term purgatory (I can't call it "hell" since I go to a Christian school and all :). So, with that in mind, this, and perhaps some future posts, will be about "grace and peace," as I'm writing a 10 page research paper about the terms. What is more, I sign virtually every email and blog post with these words and try to live a life of grace and peace, but why and what do they mean?
So, so much ... Any questions? :) The Apostle Paul greets his audience in every single one of his letters in the Bible by wishing them grace and peace ... Every single one, so I'm guessing they were important to him. Back in his day (Wednesday?) the standard Greek greeting was chairein (or "greetings"), Paul doesn't use this term though, instead he writes charis (or "grace") which is derived from the same root as the first word. The Jewish word for "greetings, conversely, was shalom (or "peace, wholeness, fullness, every good thing" ... basically the way things God means them to be). Paul uses the Greek word for "peace", eirene. Thus, by wishing the readers grace and peace Paul is brilliantly doing several things.
He's subverting the Greco-Roman culture by exchanging the usual "greetings" for "grace" in a play on words. PLUS he's subverting Jewish culture, by combining their greeting ("peace") with a variation of the Greek greeting. Thus, with two words Paul combined the Greeks, Romans, and Jews. He's breaking down barriers and saying we are all children of the God.
Grace and peace is also in many ways a very short summation of the gospel according to Paul. We all were/are at war with God in that we sin and rebel against Him. But through the grace of the life and work of Jesus, an absolutely free and undeserved gift, peace between God and us is restored. Our joyful response to this grace is to pass it on to those around us. In other words, God's graceful gift of peace allows us to freely relate peacefully, wholly, and healthily with others.
I have 10 pages to write on this, so I have more to say ... Are you interested? Wait for it ... :) Grace and peace to you in the meantime.
If you want to receive email notifications when I post new blogs, please put your email in the "Follow by email" block to the right.
Grace and peace,
Lang
Friday, October 21, 2011
Image of God
Hi Everyone-
I hope you're doing great. I'm guessing you're familiar with the idea that all humans were made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27)? A reasonably straightforward concept at first glance, but when you think about it it's actually pretty deep and complicated isn't it? For example ... What does "image" mean? What part of us in in God's image? All of us? Just our bodies? Just our minds? Does God walk around on two legs? Does Jesus have a beard, blond hair, white skin, and blue eyes? :) ... You get the point, and the last image of Jesus is probably a good topic for a blog (or a book), but I'll wait for that one.
I found out a pretty cool historic truth with present implications the other day about the image of God. In antiquity (i.e. when the Bible was written), their where images of gods and goddesses all over (statues mainly). People believed that the way you treated said image was in fact the way you treated the god/goddess. So, if you spit on the statue, you spit on Aphrodite, or if you gave your best meat to the statue, you gave your best meat to Zeus. Now, interestingly early on God says not to make images of Him (Exodus 20:4). Why you ask? Well, perhaps it's because God already has images of Godself all over the place, us!
Now for the really cool (in my view) part. We are all God's images and like the people in antiquity thought, the way we treat the images of God is the way we treat God. And it doesn't just apply to how we treat our friends, lovers, family, etc. ... it's everyone. I heard a quote the other day that really nails this for me (this isn't verbatim, but it is the intent), "The love you show to the person you love the least, is the love you show God." Wow. That puts a whole new perspective on loving my neighbor and loving my enemy for me. It makes me want to treat others better. How about you?
If you want to receive email notifications when I post new blogs, please put your email in the "Follow by email" block to the right.
Grace and peace,
Lang
I hope you're doing great. I'm guessing you're familiar with the idea that all humans were made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27)? A reasonably straightforward concept at first glance, but when you think about it it's actually pretty deep and complicated isn't it? For example ... What does "image" mean? What part of us in in God's image? All of us? Just our bodies? Just our minds? Does God walk around on two legs? Does Jesus have a beard, blond hair, white skin, and blue eyes? :) ... You get the point, and the last image of Jesus is probably a good topic for a blog (or a book), but I'll wait for that one.
I found out a pretty cool historic truth with present implications the other day about the image of God. In antiquity (i.e. when the Bible was written), their where images of gods and goddesses all over (statues mainly). People believed that the way you treated said image was in fact the way you treated the god/goddess. So, if you spit on the statue, you spit on Aphrodite, or if you gave your best meat to the statue, you gave your best meat to Zeus. Now, interestingly early on God says not to make images of Him (Exodus 20:4). Why you ask? Well, perhaps it's because God already has images of Godself all over the place, us!
Now for the really cool (in my view) part. We are all God's images and like the people in antiquity thought, the way we treat the images of God is the way we treat God. And it doesn't just apply to how we treat our friends, lovers, family, etc. ... it's everyone. I heard a quote the other day that really nails this for me (this isn't verbatim, but it is the intent), "The love you show to the person you love the least, is the love you show God." Wow. That puts a whole new perspective on loving my neighbor and loving my enemy for me. It makes me want to treat others better. How about you?
If you want to receive email notifications when I post new blogs, please put your email in the "Follow by email" block to the right.
Grace and peace,
Lang
Sunday, October 16, 2011
So Focused on Doing, We Forget About Being
Hi everyone-
I hope you are all enjoying the fall. Yesterday was certainly a beautiful day here.
My last 3+ years in the Air Force (2005-8) I was also studying for my Masters in Ancient History. Working at the Weapons School meant 60'ish hours of work a week, usually 5-6 days a week (with the odd 7 day week thrown in). On top of that I had a fair bit of reading and writing for my Masters (10-20 hours depending on the week probably) ... so, as you can imagine even if I only worked at the Weapons School 5 days, I still spent significant chunks of Saturday and Sunday working on school. In other words, I didn't have days off.
This mentality became pretty engrained in me, so I took it with me to my studies at the school formally known as Mars Hill Graduate School. :) I was trying to do a 4-year program in 3 years, with the result that I worked on my reading and writing 7 days a week and only slept 6 hours or so a night so I could fit in time to workout and hang out with my family. This was the rhythm of my life was very focused on doing. Doing my reading, doing my writing, doing my workout, doing my chores, doing time with Carla, doing time with the kids, doing time at the jail ... just kidding. :)
A series of conversations with Carla and other students combined with some sermons I heard, teaching at school, and reading I did to change this. Carla and I developed a new rhythm. What is it you ask? ... Wait for it ...
Back in the day, the Israelites were enslaved in Egypt for over 400 years. You could truthfully say that in all probability for over 400 years they worked every day! Talk about poor benefits! This is the context in which the Exodus story (God through Moses leading them out of slavery) occurred. I'm guessing you're all familiar with an important part of this, the ten commandments, right? But, before the ten commandments came one far more important one (in my opinion). In Exodus 16 we find Moses talking to the people:
23 He told them, “This is what the Lord commanded: Tomorrow will be a day of complete rest, a holy Sabbath day set apart for the Lord. So bake or boil as much as you want today, and set aside what is left for tomorrow.”
Some of the Israelites don't listen, so God reemphasizes the importance of the Sabbath a few verses later:
28 The Lord asked Moses, “How long will these people refuse to obey my commands and instructions? 29 They must realize that the Sabbath is the Lord’s gift to you.
After 400+ years without a day off, God realizes the most important thing for His people is to develop a new rhythm. This rhythm is one of work then rest, work then rest, work then rest. Or to put it differently, doing then being, doing then being, doing then being.
Carla and I began keeping the Sabbath. It's a day when all our chores and school work are done ... even though they're not technically done if you know what I mean. It's a day of rest and play and joy and football (go Seahawks!) :) We get to stop doing and just be Lang and Carla. It is life giving. I'd say it's the best spiritual practice I've ever began. And, because God knows what He's doing, amazingly enough I get more school work done (and of better quality) by taking a day completely off, then I did working 7 days a week.
What kind of rhythms do you have? What do you think of adding being to doing?
If you want to receive email notifications when I post new blogs, please put your email in the "Follow by email" block to the right.
Grace and peace,
Lang
I hope you are all enjoying the fall. Yesterday was certainly a beautiful day here.
My last 3+ years in the Air Force (2005-8) I was also studying for my Masters in Ancient History. Working at the Weapons School meant 60'ish hours of work a week, usually 5-6 days a week (with the odd 7 day week thrown in). On top of that I had a fair bit of reading and writing for my Masters (10-20 hours depending on the week probably) ... so, as you can imagine even if I only worked at the Weapons School 5 days, I still spent significant chunks of Saturday and Sunday working on school. In other words, I didn't have days off.
This mentality became pretty engrained in me, so I took it with me to my studies at the school formally known as Mars Hill Graduate School. :) I was trying to do a 4-year program in 3 years, with the result that I worked on my reading and writing 7 days a week and only slept 6 hours or so a night so I could fit in time to workout and hang out with my family. This was the rhythm of my life was very focused on doing. Doing my reading, doing my writing, doing my workout, doing my chores, doing time with Carla, doing time with the kids, doing time at the jail ... just kidding. :)
A series of conversations with Carla and other students combined with some sermons I heard, teaching at school, and reading I did to change this. Carla and I developed a new rhythm. What is it you ask? ... Wait for it ...
Back in the day, the Israelites were enslaved in Egypt for over 400 years. You could truthfully say that in all probability for over 400 years they worked every day! Talk about poor benefits! This is the context in which the Exodus story (God through Moses leading them out of slavery) occurred. I'm guessing you're all familiar with an important part of this, the ten commandments, right? But, before the ten commandments came one far more important one (in my opinion). In Exodus 16 we find Moses talking to the people:
23 He told them, “This is what the Lord commanded: Tomorrow will be a day of complete rest, a holy Sabbath day set apart for the Lord. So bake or boil as much as you want today, and set aside what is left for tomorrow.”
Some of the Israelites don't listen, so God reemphasizes the importance of the Sabbath a few verses later:
28 The Lord asked Moses, “How long will these people refuse to obey my commands and instructions? 29 They must realize that the Sabbath is the Lord’s gift to you.
After 400+ years without a day off, God realizes the most important thing for His people is to develop a new rhythm. This rhythm is one of work then rest, work then rest, work then rest. Or to put it differently, doing then being, doing then being, doing then being.
Carla and I began keeping the Sabbath. It's a day when all our chores and school work are done ... even though they're not technically done if you know what I mean. It's a day of rest and play and joy and football (go Seahawks!) :) We get to stop doing and just be Lang and Carla. It is life giving. I'd say it's the best spiritual practice I've ever began. And, because God knows what He's doing, amazingly enough I get more school work done (and of better quality) by taking a day completely off, then I did working 7 days a week.
What kind of rhythms do you have? What do you think of adding being to doing?
If you want to receive email notifications when I post new blogs, please put your email in the "Follow by email" block to the right.
Grace and peace,
Lang
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Communion Is Marriage?
Hi Everyone-
In reading a book about prayer for Spiritual Formation, I learned something really cool (in my view) about communion and being the Bride of Christ. In Jesus' time, a prospective groom would go to the lady's dad and ask him for her hand in marriage while offering up a bride price. In the ancient world having sons brought money to the family, because sons did virtually all the paying jobs, so having a daughter somewhat reduced the wealth of a family. Thus, the prospective groom would pay the dad a reverse dowry of sorts, to give money back if you will. You could say that in a positive way the bride was "bought with a price" ... which is a phrase used to describe Jesus' dying on the cross for us, the Bride of Christ. But, if the dad said yes, it wasn't a done deal that there'd be a marriage though. The lady got a say. They poured her a glass of wine, and if she drank it, then she accepted the proposal. So, right before dying on the Cross Jesus offers His followers, who became His Bride, wine. So, one way of understanding drinking wine (or juice) in communion is that we are saying "yes" to Jesus' proposal. We are becoming His betrothed.
That's the connection between marriage and communion, but the connections between marriage in ancient Israel and being the Bride of Christ continue. After, the wine was drank, the groom-to-be would go home and build a bridal chamber for his bride. ... Now, Jesus speaks of going to heaven to prepare a place for us (His Bride) ... hhmmmmm
But, the groom didn't get to decide when the chamber was done, his dad did. ... And Jesus says that no-one knows the time or the place of His return, including Himself, because only the Father knows the time and the place ...uh huh.
Once the chamber was done, the groom would go unannounced to get his bride and get the party started (i.e. get married). But, it was a surprise. She wouldn't know when he was coming, because he would just show up like a thief in the night. ... Jesus urges us to be ready at all times for Him, because He will come back to get us like a thief in the night ... I don't know about you, but I like it!
We took communion at church today and I smiled, with slightly glistening eyes (because I got some dust in them I think :), as I drank the "wine" ... because I think it is awesome that Jesus wants me to be His Bride and I say "YES". And He wants you .. and you ... and you too!
What do you think?
If you want to receive email notifications when I post new blogs, please put your email in the "Follow by email" block to the right.
Grace and peace,
Lang
In reading a book about prayer for Spiritual Formation, I learned something really cool (in my view) about communion and being the Bride of Christ. In Jesus' time, a prospective groom would go to the lady's dad and ask him for her hand in marriage while offering up a bride price. In the ancient world having sons brought money to the family, because sons did virtually all the paying jobs, so having a daughter somewhat reduced the wealth of a family. Thus, the prospective groom would pay the dad a reverse dowry of sorts, to give money back if you will. You could say that in a positive way the bride was "bought with a price" ... which is a phrase used to describe Jesus' dying on the cross for us, the Bride of Christ. But, if the dad said yes, it wasn't a done deal that there'd be a marriage though. The lady got a say. They poured her a glass of wine, and if she drank it, then she accepted the proposal. So, right before dying on the Cross Jesus offers His followers, who became His Bride, wine. So, one way of understanding drinking wine (or juice) in communion is that we are saying "yes" to Jesus' proposal. We are becoming His betrothed.
That's the connection between marriage and communion, but the connections between marriage in ancient Israel and being the Bride of Christ continue. After, the wine was drank, the groom-to-be would go home and build a bridal chamber for his bride. ... Now, Jesus speaks of going to heaven to prepare a place for us (His Bride) ... hhmmmmm
But, the groom didn't get to decide when the chamber was done, his dad did. ... And Jesus says that no-one knows the time or the place of His return, including Himself, because only the Father knows the time and the place ...uh huh.
Once the chamber was done, the groom would go unannounced to get his bride and get the party started (i.e. get married). But, it was a surprise. She wouldn't know when he was coming, because he would just show up like a thief in the night. ... Jesus urges us to be ready at all times for Him, because He will come back to get us like a thief in the night ... I don't know about you, but I like it!
We took communion at church today and I smiled, with slightly glistening eyes (because I got some dust in them I think :), as I drank the "wine" ... because I think it is awesome that Jesus wants me to be His Bride and I say "YES". And He wants you .. and you ... and you too!
What do you think?
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Grace and peace,
Lang
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
The Second Sin
Hi Everyone,
I hope today finds you well. I walk to the ferry to get to school everyday. Yesterday morning, I left around 645AM, so it was still partially dark outside. It'd rained, but looked like it was clearing up, so I thought it'd be an enjoyable walk. I got maybe 200 feet from the house before my foot slid out from under me, dropping me roughly to the ground where I cracked my knee and elbow. "What happened?" I wondered. As I gathered myself and got up I saw this black, plastic mug sized lid-like thing right by me. "Dang it!" I thought, "someone left this silly lid on the sidewalk and caused me to slip and fall. How rude!" At least I had someone (albeit nameless( to blame.
I griped about my fall to a couple people, blaming the black lid bandit all the while, during the day. In the late afternoon I was moving places at school, so looked at the bottom of my coffee mug as I picked it up and noticed the plastic bottom was missing! "That's weird," I thought. ... pause ... "Oh, that black plastic lid I saw that I used as a reason to blame someone for my fall was my coffee mug's lid." I guess I just slipped on my own item (or the wet sidewalk perhaps). I shouldn't have been blaming some nameless other person.
This theme has come up in the C.S. Lewis class I'm taking as well. We're into book 5 of the 7 Chronicles of Narnia books. In The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, at one point, while the gang is travelling somewhere Lucy is the only one who sees Aslan. The Lion indicates to her to follow him by going a different way than they were planning to. She tells her siblings, but they end up voting to go the way they'd planned, which ends up not turning out so well. Later, when they backtrack and meet up with Aslan He questions her about the event and she starts to blame her siblings for not following Him. But, He tells her not to blame them, it was for her to follow regardless.
The interesting thing about this is that blaming is the second sin in the Bible. In the Garden of Eden, after Adam and Eve eat the apple they feel shame (the first sin) for their nakedness. Then, when God talks to them about eating the apple they begin blaming. Adam blames Eve for doing it first and offering it to him, and Eve blames the Serpent. Blaming is a problem for us that goes back a long way.
My fall yesterday is helping teach me not to blame. Is there anyone you need to stop blaming?
Grace and peace,
Lang
I hope today finds you well. I walk to the ferry to get to school everyday. Yesterday morning, I left around 645AM, so it was still partially dark outside. It'd rained, but looked like it was clearing up, so I thought it'd be an enjoyable walk. I got maybe 200 feet from the house before my foot slid out from under me, dropping me roughly to the ground where I cracked my knee and elbow. "What happened?" I wondered. As I gathered myself and got up I saw this black, plastic mug sized lid-like thing right by me. "Dang it!" I thought, "someone left this silly lid on the sidewalk and caused me to slip and fall. How rude!" At least I had someone (albeit nameless( to blame.
I griped about my fall to a couple people, blaming the black lid bandit all the while, during the day. In the late afternoon I was moving places at school, so looked at the bottom of my coffee mug as I picked it up and noticed the plastic bottom was missing! "That's weird," I thought. ... pause ... "Oh, that black plastic lid I saw that I used as a reason to blame someone for my fall was my coffee mug's lid." I guess I just slipped on my own item (or the wet sidewalk perhaps). I shouldn't have been blaming some nameless other person.
This theme has come up in the C.S. Lewis class I'm taking as well. We're into book 5 of the 7 Chronicles of Narnia books. In The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, at one point, while the gang is travelling somewhere Lucy is the only one who sees Aslan. The Lion indicates to her to follow him by going a different way than they were planning to. She tells her siblings, but they end up voting to go the way they'd planned, which ends up not turning out so well. Later, when they backtrack and meet up with Aslan He questions her about the event and she starts to blame her siblings for not following Him. But, He tells her not to blame them, it was for her to follow regardless.
The interesting thing about this is that blaming is the second sin in the Bible. In the Garden of Eden, after Adam and Eve eat the apple they feel shame (the first sin) for their nakedness. Then, when God talks to them about eating the apple they begin blaming. Adam blames Eve for doing it first and offering it to him, and Eve blames the Serpent. Blaming is a problem for us that goes back a long way.
My fall yesterday is helping teach me not to blame. Is there anyone you need to stop blaming?
Grace and peace,
Lang
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Loving the outcast, poor, and forsaken ... Loving the other
Good day everyone-
I'm taking a class on the Book of Ruth. One of the really interesting things that's standing out to me about that story is how Boaz (a well-to-do man) reaches out to, takes care of, and eventually marry a poor widow from a foreign country, Ruth. And this was in a culture where being a foreigner created a huge relational gap. Over and over again in the book the author makes sure to note that Ruth was a Moabite (even when it's awkward from a story-telling perspective); in other words, not only was Ruth a foreigner, she was a foreigner from a country Israel didn't get along with. Boaz provided for and loved a poor outcast. But, he was just the hero from a story who we're supposed to hold in awe right? I don't think so, I think Jesus calls us to be like Boaz.
I was listening to a sermon last week where the preacher talked about Jesus announcing His ministry in Luke. To do this, He chooses Isaiah 61 to read from. Luke 4:16-20 reads:
16 When he came to the village of Nazareth, his boyhood home, he went as usual to the synagogue on the Sabbath and stood up to read the Scriptures. 17 The scroll of Isaiah the prophet was handed to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where this was written:
18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released,
that the blind will see,
that the oppressed will be set free,
19 and that the time of the Lord’s favor has come.*”
20 He rolled up the scroll, handed it back to the attendant, and sat down. All eyes in the synagogue looked at him intently.
What strikes me, as a follower of Christ, is that Jesus' way of starting his ministry is to announce He's there to bring good news to the poor and set the oppressed free. Christian literally means one who follows Christ. In following Him I find I want to do these things, I want to be like Boaz (without marrying a foreigner though ... Carla wouldn't like that much :).
What do you think?
Grace and peace,
Lang
I'm taking a class on the Book of Ruth. One of the really interesting things that's standing out to me about that story is how Boaz (a well-to-do man) reaches out to, takes care of, and eventually marry a poor widow from a foreign country, Ruth. And this was in a culture where being a foreigner created a huge relational gap. Over and over again in the book the author makes sure to note that Ruth was a Moabite (even when it's awkward from a story-telling perspective); in other words, not only was Ruth a foreigner, she was a foreigner from a country Israel didn't get along with. Boaz provided for and loved a poor outcast. But, he was just the hero from a story who we're supposed to hold in awe right? I don't think so, I think Jesus calls us to be like Boaz.
I was listening to a sermon last week where the preacher talked about Jesus announcing His ministry in Luke. To do this, He chooses Isaiah 61 to read from. Luke 4:16-20 reads:
16 When he came to the village of Nazareth, his boyhood home, he went as usual to the synagogue on the Sabbath and stood up to read the Scriptures. 17 The scroll of Isaiah the prophet was handed to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where this was written:
18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released,
that the blind will see,
that the oppressed will be set free,
19 and that the time of the Lord’s favor has come.*”
20 He rolled up the scroll, handed it back to the attendant, and sat down. All eyes in the synagogue looked at him intently.
What strikes me, as a follower of Christ, is that Jesus' way of starting his ministry is to announce He's there to bring good news to the poor and set the oppressed free. Christian literally means one who follows Christ. In following Him I find I want to do these things, I want to be like Boaz (without marrying a foreigner though ... Carla wouldn't like that much :).
What do you think?
Grace and peace,
Lang
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Becoming What We Desire and God's Redemption
Greetings everyone-
I'm in a class on C.S. Lewis this term, which is awesome. Right now we're reading through a Narnia book for each week and discussing how Lewis' theology shows up in these stories. For this week we read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, so the main characters are the four children, Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy. I was struck by Edmund, who you may recall goes over to the Witch's side at first. Something that stands out in the book, even more than in the recent movie, is his desire for food (he has a serious sweet tooth). The Witch gives him Turkish Delight when they first meet and he becomes obsessed with getting back to her ... to get more Turkish Delight. When he does get back to her, she gives him stale bread because he didn't bring his siblings with him. He gets what he desires, food, but he chooses the selfish and evil path and thus his desire comes true, but in a less than good fashion.
Then, redemption steps in. The Witch brings Edmund with her to chase the other children and along the way they spot squirrels, satyrs, a dwarf, and a fox enjoying a fine meal given them by Father Christmas. Edmund, naturally, really wants the great food they have, but the Witch is enraged by their joy and turns them all to stone. In that moment, Edmund heart breaks for them. In that moment, his desire is redeemed by the Divine and he turns back to the good side.
Interestingly, I'm also taking a class on 1 and 2 Corinthians and I saw this theme play out there this week as well. We're studying Paul a fair bit to better understand his letters, and before he began following Christ he was a Pharisee. In fact, he was a very committed Pharisee (he calls himself a Pharisee of Pharisees). The three chief components of this way of life were zeal, the Law, and belief in the resurrection. Then, Jesus appears to him dramatically and he begins to follow Christ ... his life changes dramatically. However, the things at his core don't change, they are just redeemed by God and shifted to Christ. He is still zealous, still affirms the goodness of the Law, and believes in the resurrection, they just all become transformed into passions aimed at Christ.
Both Edmund and Paul had strong desires that guided them, badly at first. Then, when God redeemed them, their redemption includes and redeems their passions. Put differently, redemption doesn't destroy their passions, it turns them for good, it turns them for Christ.
How has God's redemption touched your desires and passions?
Grace and peace,
Lang
I'm in a class on C.S. Lewis this term, which is awesome. Right now we're reading through a Narnia book for each week and discussing how Lewis' theology shows up in these stories. For this week we read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, so the main characters are the four children, Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy. I was struck by Edmund, who you may recall goes over to the Witch's side at first. Something that stands out in the book, even more than in the recent movie, is his desire for food (he has a serious sweet tooth). The Witch gives him Turkish Delight when they first meet and he becomes obsessed with getting back to her ... to get more Turkish Delight. When he does get back to her, she gives him stale bread because he didn't bring his siblings with him. He gets what he desires, food, but he chooses the selfish and evil path and thus his desire comes true, but in a less than good fashion.
Then, redemption steps in. The Witch brings Edmund with her to chase the other children and along the way they spot squirrels, satyrs, a dwarf, and a fox enjoying a fine meal given them by Father Christmas. Edmund, naturally, really wants the great food they have, but the Witch is enraged by their joy and turns them all to stone. In that moment, Edmund heart breaks for them. In that moment, his desire is redeemed by the Divine and he turns back to the good side.
Interestingly, I'm also taking a class on 1 and 2 Corinthians and I saw this theme play out there this week as well. We're studying Paul a fair bit to better understand his letters, and before he began following Christ he was a Pharisee. In fact, he was a very committed Pharisee (he calls himself a Pharisee of Pharisees). The three chief components of this way of life were zeal, the Law, and belief in the resurrection. Then, Jesus appears to him dramatically and he begins to follow Christ ... his life changes dramatically. However, the things at his core don't change, they are just redeemed by God and shifted to Christ. He is still zealous, still affirms the goodness of the Law, and believes in the resurrection, they just all become transformed into passions aimed at Christ.
Both Edmund and Paul had strong desires that guided them, badly at first. Then, when God redeemed them, their redemption includes and redeems their passions. Put differently, redemption doesn't destroy their passions, it turns them for good, it turns them for Christ.
How has God's redemption touched your desires and passions?
Grace and peace,
Lang
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Sola Scriptura, Tradition, and Gungor
I come from a pretty normal conservative, Protestant Christian background. Part of this tradition is Sola Scriptura, or Scripture alone. Beginning with Luther, Calvin, and other Protestant fathers, this part of the church basically said if it's not in the Bible we're not following it. I fully embraced this as a young adult. Anything we can, or should, know about God is in the Bible ... period. There is where we get the very Bible-centered churches and practices of today from.
Last year at Mars Hill Graduate School, now the Seattle School of Theology and Psychology, one of the things we talked about was the importance of tradition in following Christ and learning about God. The most ironic part of this is that it is through tradition that we believe the Bible is the Word of God. It is through tradition that many Protestants believe the principle of Sola Scriptura. What's more, what about the Holy Spirit? Don't we learn some things about God directly from God and apart from the Bible? Even further, as followers of Jesus we are all part of the Body of Christ right? Parts that are in the image of God. So, can't we learn about God from each other too? I could keep going, but I think I'm making the point.
So, there's this amazing album by Gungor called Beautiful Things, full of awesome songs. One of them is named "Cannot Keep You." Some of the lyrics are:
they tried to keep you in a tent
they could not keep you in a temple
or any of their idols, to see and understand
we cannot keep you in a church
we cannot keep you in a Bible
or it’s just another idol to box you in
they could not keep you in their walls
we cannot keep you in ours either
you are so much greater
Who is like the Lord?
The Maker of the Heavens.
Indeed. I'm learning I cannot keep God in the Bible alone. He is so much more. Where do you keep God?
Last year at Mars Hill Graduate School, now the Seattle School of Theology and Psychology, one of the things we talked about was the importance of tradition in following Christ and learning about God. The most ironic part of this is that it is through tradition that we believe the Bible is the Word of God. It is through tradition that many Protestants believe the principle of Sola Scriptura. What's more, what about the Holy Spirit? Don't we learn some things about God directly from God and apart from the Bible? Even further, as followers of Jesus we are all part of the Body of Christ right? Parts that are in the image of God. So, can't we learn about God from each other too? I could keep going, but I think I'm making the point.
So, there's this amazing album by Gungor called Beautiful Things, full of awesome songs. One of them is named "Cannot Keep You." Some of the lyrics are:
they tried to keep you in a tent
they could not keep you in a temple
or any of their idols, to see and understand
we cannot keep you in a church
we cannot keep you in a Bible
or it’s just another idol to box you in
they could not keep you in their walls
we cannot keep you in ours either
you are so much greater
Who is like the Lord?
The Maker of the Heavens.
Indeed. I'm learning I cannot keep God in the Bible alone. He is so much more. Where do you keep God?
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
The Name of God - Part 3
In 1 John 4:14-17 the pastor writes:
Furthermore, we have seen with our own eyes and now testify that the Father sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 All who confess that Jesus is the Son of God have God living in them, and they live in God. 16 We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love.
God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. 17 And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world.
This names, in my opinion, perhaps the most profound and awesome name of God ... "Love." God is love. It's not "a" characteristic or attribute, it is what God is. It's interesting that John writes "and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them." Does this mean that whenever we see an act of love we see God? I think so. God isn't some love, or parts of love, or some special love that we knew back in the day (it was Wednesday by the way :). God is love ... period. I think any love is God showing up in the world.
Something that was really interesting in the sermon I heard that brought this idea of God's name being "Love" to my mind was how God's love makes us unafraid (verse 17). You see, the God I grew up believing in was very much to be feared (in a bad way). I felt judged and shamed by God. I went to church regularly and prayed the prayer to receive Christ every single time the pastor gave the opportunity. I didn't do this because I loved God so much or because I knew God loved me, I did it because I was scared of going to hell. I was afraid of God's wrath and judgement. He is the final judge, but my perception of this created an unhealthy fear, which I don't think is God's intention. The problem was, I didn't know this beautiful name of God ... "Love." But now, I'm not afraid. I know God as Love ... do you?
Grace and peace,
Lang
P.S.
Did anyone see God show up in an act of love today? One small way for me was a loving text from my wife I got that made me smile.
Furthermore, we have seen with our own eyes and now testify that the Father sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 All who confess that Jesus is the Son of God have God living in them, and they live in God. 16 We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love.
God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. 17 And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world.
This names, in my opinion, perhaps the most profound and awesome name of God ... "Love." God is love. It's not "a" characteristic or attribute, it is what God is. It's interesting that John writes "and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them." Does this mean that whenever we see an act of love we see God? I think so. God isn't some love, or parts of love, or some special love that we knew back in the day (it was Wednesday by the way :). God is love ... period. I think any love is God showing up in the world.
Something that was really interesting in the sermon I heard that brought this idea of God's name being "Love" to my mind was how God's love makes us unafraid (verse 17). You see, the God I grew up believing in was very much to be feared (in a bad way). I felt judged and shamed by God. I went to church regularly and prayed the prayer to receive Christ every single time the pastor gave the opportunity. I didn't do this because I loved God so much or because I knew God loved me, I did it because I was scared of going to hell. I was afraid of God's wrath and judgement. He is the final judge, but my perception of this created an unhealthy fear, which I don't think is God's intention. The problem was, I didn't know this beautiful name of God ... "Love." But now, I'm not afraid. I know God as Love ... do you?
Grace and peace,
Lang
P.S.
Did anyone see God show up in an act of love today? One small way for me was a loving text from my wife I got that made me smile.
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
The Name of God - Part 2
Hi Everyone-
First, a bit of housekeeping. I hear there's been some trouble posting comments from multiple people. Near as I can figure out ... you need to be signed in and below your comments you need to select a profile to send the comments from. Then, you should be good to go ... hopefully that helps.
Now, I'd planned on this probably being part 2 of 2 on God's name because I'm going to write about something I studied quite a bit last term, namely when Moses asks God for His name. I have lots to say on the subject, feel passionate about it, and think it's really cool, so planned to end on that high note. But, on my run this morning I heard a podcast sermon where the pastor talked about a different name for God from John in the New Testament that I think is awesome. What is it you ask? Well, wait for it ... until next blog. :)
At the beginning of the exodus story (in Exodus ironically enough) the Israelites are slaves in Egypt and Moses meets God at the famous burning bush, where God says He's heard the cry of His people and is going to use Moses to free them. As the scene unfolds:
" But Moses said to God, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the sons of Israel out of Egypt?” And He said, “Certainly I will be with you, and this shall be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God at this mountain.” Then Moses said to God, “Behold, I am going to the sons of Israel, and I will say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you.’ Now they may say to me, ‘What is His name?’ What shall I say to them?” God said to Moses, “I am who I am”; and He said, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘I am has sent me to you.’” God, furthermore, said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘The lord , the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is My name forever, and this is My memorial-name to all generations.” (Exodus 3:11-15, NASB)
But, what kind of name is “I am who I am," which interestingly enough is quickly followed by God telling Moses to say "“I am" sent you? As they appear in the English translation the two Hebrew terms are in fact related, rooted in the verb "to be." The first is ehyeh asher ehyeh in Hebrew, while the second is YHWH (often pronounced Yahweh, but we don't know for sure how to pronounce it because the Jews stopped saying it, due to its holiness, before they put vowels in their writings).
This is all interesting (at least to me :) but what is God saying? Is it an arrogant or elusive proclamation? Is it a bold Popeye-like statement? I think it's a definitive declaration of presence and relationship. Names had power in antiquity, and the Israelites had been captive for some 400 years, so it's easy to think that by asking for God's name Moses is also asking, "Can you defeat the Egyptian gods?" As such, one way to understand the response is as God saying He’s bigger than Moses, any Egyptian, or any Israelite thinks, and He cannot be defined or contained. He is mysterious, the best name for God is a declaration of His being. "My name?" God asks, "I just am." Perhaps God later forbids images of Himself (Exodus 20:4) in part because no image can possibly do Him justice. “I AM,” He says, because nothing can prescribe God. The mysterious lord is of such great power, breadth, and depth He “cannot be defined by or as anything else, he is his own definition.” To put it in modern terms, perhaps God is telling Moses "I got your back."
In antiquity a way people frequently translated ehyeh asher ehyeh was "I am the One who is." In other words, it was a declaration of God's existence in the world, and with His people. It has past, present, and future implications. So, God is saying to Moses, "I was with the Israelites, I am with the Israelites, and I always will be with the Isrealites." He is the God of presence. John affirms this view by beginning Revelation with “John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace, from Him who is and who was and who is to come." (Revelation 1:4, NASB)
I could go on (the paper I wrote on this was 15 pages :), but to close I want to go back to God effectively saying "I got your back." If you look at verse 3:11 above you see Moses wonder, "Who am I" to go to Pharaoh and free my people? So, Moses is concerned that he's inadequate for the task God is giving him. Do any of you ever have the same doubts? I know I do. We may think ... I wonder if I can finish this job or can I love this person or is there any way I can save my marriage? In giving His name, God is answering this question for Moses, and I think us as well. You want to know who you are, God is saying, you are a man I am with. To put it differently, the lord declares to this speech impaired murder that when Pharaoh, the Israelites, or anyone else wonders how, why, or who Moses is to try and free his people, the answer is because God is with him. Just like God's with us I think.
Grace and peace,
Lang
Lang
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
The Name of God - Part 1
Over the last several months I've been very intrigued with God's name(s), the power of said name, the meaning, the importance, and more. In my by no means exhaustive journey God has revealed three things about Himself ... grace, presence, and a relational focus.
If you think of God's name what do you think of? LORD, Jehovah, the Holy Spirit, El Shaddai, the Great I Am ... the list goes on. For me the first thing that comes to mind is Jesus, God in human flesh. Could God be any more present with us than as Jesus? Isn't Jesus the Divine at His most relational, coming to earth and eating, drinking, talking, and walking alongside humanity? Is there anyone filled with more grace than Jesus living, dying, resurrecting, and acting as our High Priest? Yet, while these tell a huge story, they aren't the whole story.
Have you ever had your name made fun of? Isn't that the worst? Likewise, isn't it annoying if someone consistently calls you the wrong name? Ironically, I've been convinced by several sources that we have a name of God wrong, specifically Jesus. In His day, from what I understand, the way people said his name in their native tongue (Hebrew) was Yeshua (Yesh-oo-a). This got translated into Greek and then transliterated into Latin, and the English translation from Latin is Jesus. But, if you actually translated His name directly from Hebrew into English it would be Joshua. So, really we should call Jesus, Joshua.
Now, when people have similarly butchered my name, it usually makes me at least annoyed, often angry if it's deliberate. I've never had much grace when it comes to people purposefully getting my name wrong, or worse making fun of it. "Lang, bang, fo, Fang, banana, bama ..." = "grrrrrrr" from me. How about you? But does God get mad at us for getting a name of His (and a big one at that!) wrong? I don't think so. I think He shows us great grace. In fact, in Genesis God graciously allows Hagar (a servant afraid and on the run at the time) to make her own name for Him, "the God who sees me" (Genesis 16:13, NLT).
That said, I wonder if I show the same grace to others concerning Jesus. Do they have to call him J-E-S-U-S to believe in the Christ? Does grace mean some people can call Jesus/Joshua something else (or not even have a name for Him at all) and still believe in Him? I don't have an answer, but I think it's an interesting idea.
So, I'd say that at the heart of God's name(s) is grace. What do you think?
More to come on the name of God and presence and relationship soon ...
If you think of God's name what do you think of? LORD, Jehovah, the Holy Spirit, El Shaddai, the Great I Am ... the list goes on. For me the first thing that comes to mind is Jesus, God in human flesh. Could God be any more present with us than as Jesus? Isn't Jesus the Divine at His most relational, coming to earth and eating, drinking, talking, and walking alongside humanity? Is there anyone filled with more grace than Jesus living, dying, resurrecting, and acting as our High Priest? Yet, while these tell a huge story, they aren't the whole story.
Have you ever had your name made fun of? Isn't that the worst? Likewise, isn't it annoying if someone consistently calls you the wrong name? Ironically, I've been convinced by several sources that we have a name of God wrong, specifically Jesus. In His day, from what I understand, the way people said his name in their native tongue (Hebrew) was Yeshua (Yesh-oo-a). This got translated into Greek and then transliterated into Latin, and the English translation from Latin is Jesus. But, if you actually translated His name directly from Hebrew into English it would be Joshua. So, really we should call Jesus, Joshua.
Now, when people have similarly butchered my name, it usually makes me at least annoyed, often angry if it's deliberate. I've never had much grace when it comes to people purposefully getting my name wrong, or worse making fun of it. "Lang, bang, fo, Fang, banana, bama ..." = "grrrrrrr" from me. How about you? But does God get mad at us for getting a name of His (and a big one at that!) wrong? I don't think so. I think He shows us great grace. In fact, in Genesis God graciously allows Hagar (a servant afraid and on the run at the time) to make her own name for Him, "the God who sees me" (Genesis 16:13, NLT).
That said, I wonder if I show the same grace to others concerning Jesus. Do they have to call him J-E-S-U-S to believe in the Christ? Does grace mean some people can call Jesus/Joshua something else (or not even have a name for Him at all) and still believe in Him? I don't have an answer, but I think it's an interesting idea.
So, I'd say that at the heart of God's name(s) is grace. What do you think?
More to come on the name of God and presence and relationship soon ...
Why Blog
Hello-
Going to seminary I read, hear, see, or occasionally even think of something and think, "wow, I'd really like to share that with friends, family, fellow Christians, etc," ... but usually I end up only telling Carla, my wife. I love to teach/preach and talk about God, so a pastor at my church, Newlife, had what I think is a great idea ... to start a blog. Perhaps the best way for me to share the intriguing, thought provoking, cool, and more thoughts and ideas I come across, and interact with others about them at the same time. So, I pray the Holy Spirit uses this blog to touch your lives in some way, whether you agree, disagree, or are indifferent to things I write.
Grace and peace,
Lang
Going to seminary I read, hear, see, or occasionally even think of something and think, "wow, I'd really like to share that with friends, family, fellow Christians, etc," ... but usually I end up only telling Carla, my wife. I love to teach/preach and talk about God, so a pastor at my church, Newlife, had what I think is a great idea ... to start a blog. Perhaps the best way for me to share the intriguing, thought provoking, cool, and more thoughts and ideas I come across, and interact with others about them at the same time. So, I pray the Holy Spirit uses this blog to touch your lives in some way, whether you agree, disagree, or are indifferent to things I write.
Grace and peace,
Lang
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