Good News

Yesterday I had a discussion about God with a colleague at work. He brought it up – I didn’t.

Mike grew up in a Christian home, was educated in Christian schools, and even attended a Christian college. Today he’s agnostic.

He believes there’s a God. He even thinks God probably loves him. He’s just not sure what God is like or what God expects of him. He doesn’t think the Bible is authoritative because it was “written by men with an agenda.” He thinks everyone follows the same God – Christian, Jew, and Muslim. He’s also not sure what to believe about Jesus. He likes his teachings but just doesn’t trust what others have written about him.

If you ask Mike what keeps him from Christianity, he’s quick to respond – it’s Christians.

You see, Mike has a bad history with Christians. It started in his teen years when his sister committed suicide. At the funeral, while trying to share the gospel with those present, the minister made it clear his sister could not be in heaven because of her actions. Mike was incensed. Is this what God was all about? Follow the rules or be on the outside.

Mike’s parents made him go to a Christian college even though he didn’t want to. More rules. Little grace. Mike broke as many rules as he could and got himself kicked out.

He sees all Christians as setting up rules and forcing everyone else to follow. Think Moral Majority. It’s not lost on me that I haven’t been able to change his perception. At least not yet.

The gospel is supposed to be good news. Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28; New Living Translation) We can do nothing to save ourselves. Christ has done it all. And yet, for some reason, we often imply that more needs to be done. When we do this, we add weight to the weary. Instead of rest, we wear them out.

God isn’t finished with Mike. He’s not finished with me either. There’s not a thing either one of us can do to earn God’s favor. This is good news.

Who’s Really Intolerant?

We often hear today that Christians are intolerant – you know, how all they want to do is force their beliefs on everyone else.

Which brings me to the Miss USA pageant held this past Sunday in Las Vegas.

Miss California, Carrie Prejean, had made it to the final fifteen and was supposedly one of the favorites to win it all. Having made it past the swim suit and evening gown rounds, she now came to the part of the competition where she had to answer a single question in front of the five judges.

Her questioner? Perez Hilton, a celebrity blogger, openly gay self-described ‘queen of all media’, and one of the competition’s judges. The question? “Vermont recently became the fourth state to legalize same sex marriage. Do you think every state should follow suit? Why or why not?”

After a brief pause, Prejean replied:

“Well I think it’s great that Americans are able to choose one or the other. We live in a land where you can choose same sex marriage or opposite marriage. And you know what? In my country, in my family, I think I believe a marriage should be between a man and a woman. No offense to anybody out there but that’s how I was raised and that’s how I think it should be – between a man and a woman. Thank you very much.”

How did the crowd respond? They booed.

How did Perez Hilton respond? After the pageant he called Miss Prejean a dumb bitch on his blog and went on to describe her as having half a brain. He also said he would have stormed onto the stage and ripped off her tiara had she won. Nice.

How did Carrie Prejean respond after her answer may have lost her the title and she was named runner-up? She said:

“I have no regrets about answering the question honestly. He asked me for my opinion and I gave it to him. I have nothing against gay people, and I didn’t mean to offend anyone in my answer.”

Now I have no idea whether Miss California’s answer cost her the crown. That’s not my point. What I find ironic is the same people who call Christians intolerant will not themselves tolerate any disagreement with their agenda.

To Perez Hilton, it doesn’t matter if Carrie Prejean has anything against gay people or whether she meant to offend anyone. To him, her position is intolerable.

And who’s trying to force whose beliefs on everyone else?

Hard Hearts

The controversy over Pope Benedict XVI’s recent comments on the use of condoms in the fight against the spread of AIDS in Africa continues. For those of you who missed it, the pontiff essentially said you can’t resolve the AIDS problem with the distribution of condoms. The answer, he said, is a responsible and moral attitude toward sex including abstinence and monogamy.

The predictable outrage from activists and government officials ensued. French human rights minister Rama Yade said she was "dumbfounded" by the pope's comments. Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner called them "the opposite of tolerance and understanding." The Belgian parliament passed a resolution calling them "unacceptable" and demanded Belgium's government officially protest.

What did they expect from the leader of a church that holds the position that sex outside of marriage is wrong?

The whole affair reminds me of Jesus’ teaching about divorce in Matthew 19. The Pharisees came up to Jesus and tested him by asking, “Should a man be allowed to divorce his wife for just any reason?” Jesus responded that marriage was instituted by God and “let no one split apart what God has joined together.” The Pharisees thought they had him where they wanted him. “Aha! Then why did Moses say in the law that a man could give his wife a written notice of divorce and send her away?” Now Jesus had them right where he wanted them. He said:

“Moses permitted divorce only as a concession to your hard hearts, but it was not what God had originally intended.”

Not what God originally intended. That says it all, doesn’t it?

God originally intended that man and woman would stay together for life in a committed relationship and would not have sex outside that relationship. Once again, mankind has rebelled and gone his own way.

Should condoms be condoned to slow the spread of AIDS? Only as a concession to our hard hearts. It is not what God had originally intended.

Is God a Republican or a Democrat?

The other day someone asked my youngest daughter what made her parents mad. Her answer?

Politics.

What I hoped to hear was something like – oh, I don’t know – maybe when others dishonor God, or injustice, or sin. But politics? Ouch.

What is it about politics that arouses such passion?

Recently, I’ve picked up Amy E. Black’s book, Beyond Left and Right: Helping Christians Make Sense of American Politics (Baker Books 2008). In it, Dr. Black, a Wheaton College political science professor, suggests four principles to guide Christians developing a framework for thinking about politics.

1. We all “see things imperfectly as in a cloudy mirror” (I Corinthians 13:12a; New Living Translation) and therefore should exercise genuine humility when discussing politics.


In other words, I don’t know it all, so I should stop acting like I do.


2. The diversity of the body of Christ makes room for Christians to disagree on many political matters.


Really? You mean since I don’t know it all, maybe I can learn something from a brother or sister in Christ with whom I disagree politically?


3. The label “Christian” is for God and His work, not to validate human endeavors like politics.


As much as I may hate to admit it, God is not a Republican or Democrat. He’s not a Liberal or Conservative. He’s not a mascot for one party or the other. When we take our politics and try to hang God’s name on it, we use His name in vain.


4. Politics can and should be a means for demonstrating love in action and building the body of Christ.


Jesus said, “By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:35; New Living Translation) How will others know we are followers of Christ? Not how we vote. Not what school of economics we adhere to. As the song says, “They’ll know we are Christians by our love.”

The next time someone asks my daughter what makes her parents mad, I hope she’ll be able to give a different answer.

A Mile Wide and an Inch Deep

In his article, The Coming Evangelical Collapse, Michael Spencer claims evangelical Christianity is on the verge of a major collapse in the western world.

One of the reasons Spencer gives for the coming collapse is the failure of Evangelicals to pass on “an orthodox form of faith that can take root and survive the secular onslaught.”

Regardless of what one may think about Spencer’s prediction, it’s hard not to agree that evangelicalism’s emphasis has shifted “from doctrine to relevance, motivation, and personal success – resulting in churches further compromised and weakened in their ability to pass on the faith.”

So how did Evangelicals get to this point? Spencer argues:

“Ironically, the billions of dollars we’ve spent on youth ministers, Christian music, publishing, and media has produced a culture of young Christians who know next to nothing about their own faith except how they feel about it. Our young people have deep beliefs about the culture war, but do not know why they should obey scripture, the essentials of theology, or the experience of spiritual discipline and community. Coming generations of Christians are going to be monumentally ignorant and unprepared for culture-wide pressures.”

Have Evangelicals focused so much on telling others how to behave that we’ve neglected sharing with them what we believe and why we believe it? Do we even know what we believe and why we believe it? Are we a mile wide and an inch deep?

While Jesus was here on earth, He didn’t spend much time trying to change the politics of the Roman Empire. He had little to say about the sexual ethics of first century Palestine. Instead, He focused on making disciples. He healed the sick. He spoke out against religious hypocrisy. He taught about the Kingdom. He glorified His Father in heaven.

If Evangelicals desire to be more like Jesus, their focus needs to be more like His focus. As Jesus said, “Students are not greater than their teacher. But the student who is fully trained will become like the teacher.” (Luke 6:40; New Living Translation)

Solid Foundation

How solid is the foundation on which you’ve built your life?

This question is rarely asked or answered when things are going well. But when the storms of life hit – when everything seems to be collapsing around us – the strength of our foundation could be the difference between surviving the storm or a mighty crash.

Those who’ve built their lives on money and possessions have undoubtedly had their house shaken a bit lately. The stock market is in a free fall with no bottom in sight. Each new round of layoffs adds to an already high unemployment rate. Retirement dreams vanish as 401(k) statements are opened. Many are discovering they owe more on their house than it’s worth.

Did you know that Jesus had a lot to say about the foolishness of building one’s life on money?

While teaching the crowds on the mountainside, Jesus said:

“Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.” (Matthew 6:19-21; New Living Translation)

So if money makes for a shaky foundation, on what sort of foundation should we build?

In the same mountainside lesson, Jesus taught:

“So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.” (Matthew 6:31-33; New Living Translation)

If you want to survive the storms life throws at you, make sure your foundation is built on things that are important to God.

This may take some serious remodeling. You may have to make some radical changes in your plans to get it right. But, before you do anything, be sure to consult with the Architect – the one who designed you in the first place. After all, it was He who said:

“Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.” (Matthew 7:24-27; New Living Translation)