So you say you're not ready
You're too afraid
Too weak
Too uneducated
It's a mistake
He can't be calling you
Surely He meant ten years
Not just one
Then tell me
Before I lose control
And kill you where you stand
By what name
And by whose blood
Were you saved?
Heaven's Beloved
Came into an unclean world
In an unfit body
Endured scoffers
And faithless followers
Was beaten
And disgraced
Was tortured
Was even killed
All for your sake
So answer me
Without excuses
Face the issue
Without disguise
Is it enough?
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Saturday, October 15, 2011
The Chain of Sin
One of the most complaints against Christianity is directed against the doctrine that we are all depraved and unable to become righteous before God by our own efforts. One might point out the many apparently righteous people throughout history, but it is more common to simply claim that the average person is not "evil" and appeal to the idea that the moral standard which we call "decency" should be enough. In order to explain why our human goodness is insufficient, it is important to understand the nature of sin.
In the Old Testament, great importance was placed on ceremonial cleanliness. To be disabled, sick, or maimed was to be contaminated with the physical mark of the Fall, and to touch anyone or anything that was ceremonially unclean was to be infected with that same mark. From a cultural standpoint, the Israelites were commanded to completely wipe out the Canaanites for the same reason, and when they failed to do so they were infected with idolatry, witchcraft, and infant sacrifice. This is because it is logically impossible for there to ever be a compromise between righteousness and sin; they can only meet each other in war.
Imagine that there are three apples. The first apple is a normal, ripe apple that is perfectly good to eat; the second one is brown and wrinkled; and the third one is shriveled up and black, not fit to even be in the same room with. While we can all agree that the third apple is more rotten than the second one, that does not make the second one good to eat. We might eat the second apple anyway if we are in a famine, just as we settle for decency under the conditions of a fallen world, but it is insane to think that we would do anything except to throw it out in times of health and prosperity. In other words, the second apple is not nearly as rotten as the third one, but that does not change the fact that it is rotten. For the first apple to be healthy and ripe, it must have certain very specific qualities, but for it to be rotten all it needs is to be lacking in any one of these qualities (though if it is lacking in one it is almost impossible for it not to be lacking in another).
It's the same way with sin. Someone who shoplifts once on a whim or dare may not be "as much of a thief" in one sense as a professional burglar, but if you are simply asking a yes or no question of "is that man a thief", then the answer for both the shoplifter and the burglar is "yes." The thing that matters to the buyer is not how close an apple is to a state of absolute rottenness, but rather whether or not it is healthy. Likewise, if we are to earn our way to Heaven then the thing that matters to God is not how close we are to a state of absolute sin, but rather whether or not we are righteous. Once again, there is no compromise, no middle ground, between good and evil any more than there is a round square or a shadow which stretches toward the light that casts it. It is logically impossible. If Heaven and Hell are to meet, it must be on the battlefield.
In addition to this there also tends to be a downward spiral that emerges out of sin. In my own experience, I have seen this in procrastination where the act of putting of an assignment increases my anxiety towards it either because of fear from the increased difficulty of the same work with less time, shame at having put it off, or some combination of the two. This may also manifest in a general feeling of lethargy or depression which leads a person to choose to skip a given activity with the result that the feeling continues to grow and solidify whether the activity was of a social or dutiful nature. Once we have entered these cycles, we can only get out with the help of an outside force such as a person who might motivate us, a deadline which sets an absolute standard beyond our ability to fight, or sometimes even a simple change in circumstances such the weather or finances. In the absence of such outside influences, or at least the absence of sufficiently strong influences, we simply continue on and on until we are destroyed. When the Bible tells us that "the wages of sin is death" it is not telling us about an arbitrary mandate which God could change if He wanted to; it is simply giving us a plain description of the basic essence of sin.
There is a problem here. If we are to escape not only the sinful cycles of procrastination and drugs and hatred, but the sinful chains of the entire fallen world, then the power by which we are saved must come from outside that same world. Friends are not enough. Family is not enough. Prisons are not enough. Even wisdom is not enough. Only the indwelling presence of God is enough to break this chain.
When the prophets and the priests touched that which was unclean, they themselves became unclean. The mere reflection of Goodness which dwelt in them was not enough to overcome the infection of sin. But there was one man unlike all others. Phillip Yancey once noted that in the story of Jesus the old pattern is reversed. When that Man of Galilee went out among the lepers, the adulterers, the tax collectors, the Gentiles it was the unclean that were transformed. As vessels of righteousness we had been fighting a losing battle from the very start, but now Righteousness Himself was entering the battlefield and where He went the infernal hosts begged for mercy. And He has gone past it. The King of Heaven charged all the way into the fortress of the Sheol.
There is a new wind blowing in from Jerusalem, and a trembling in the world. The line is broken. The wall is breached. The chain is rattling and breaking in places, unable to restrain the things of Eden that are coming back to life.
In the Old Testament, great importance was placed on ceremonial cleanliness. To be disabled, sick, or maimed was to be contaminated with the physical mark of the Fall, and to touch anyone or anything that was ceremonially unclean was to be infected with that same mark. From a cultural standpoint, the Israelites were commanded to completely wipe out the Canaanites for the same reason, and when they failed to do so they were infected with idolatry, witchcraft, and infant sacrifice. This is because it is logically impossible for there to ever be a compromise between righteousness and sin; they can only meet each other in war.
Imagine that there are three apples. The first apple is a normal, ripe apple that is perfectly good to eat; the second one is brown and wrinkled; and the third one is shriveled up and black, not fit to even be in the same room with. While we can all agree that the third apple is more rotten than the second one, that does not make the second one good to eat. We might eat the second apple anyway if we are in a famine, just as we settle for decency under the conditions of a fallen world, but it is insane to think that we would do anything except to throw it out in times of health and prosperity. In other words, the second apple is not nearly as rotten as the third one, but that does not change the fact that it is rotten. For the first apple to be healthy and ripe, it must have certain very specific qualities, but for it to be rotten all it needs is to be lacking in any one of these qualities (though if it is lacking in one it is almost impossible for it not to be lacking in another).
It's the same way with sin. Someone who shoplifts once on a whim or dare may not be "as much of a thief" in one sense as a professional burglar, but if you are simply asking a yes or no question of "is that man a thief", then the answer for both the shoplifter and the burglar is "yes." The thing that matters to the buyer is not how close an apple is to a state of absolute rottenness, but rather whether or not it is healthy. Likewise, if we are to earn our way to Heaven then the thing that matters to God is not how close we are to a state of absolute sin, but rather whether or not we are righteous. Once again, there is no compromise, no middle ground, between good and evil any more than there is a round square or a shadow which stretches toward the light that casts it. It is logically impossible. If Heaven and Hell are to meet, it must be on the battlefield.
In addition to this there also tends to be a downward spiral that emerges out of sin. In my own experience, I have seen this in procrastination where the act of putting of an assignment increases my anxiety towards it either because of fear from the increased difficulty of the same work with less time, shame at having put it off, or some combination of the two. This may also manifest in a general feeling of lethargy or depression which leads a person to choose to skip a given activity with the result that the feeling continues to grow and solidify whether the activity was of a social or dutiful nature. Once we have entered these cycles, we can only get out with the help of an outside force such as a person who might motivate us, a deadline which sets an absolute standard beyond our ability to fight, or sometimes even a simple change in circumstances such the weather or finances. In the absence of such outside influences, or at least the absence of sufficiently strong influences, we simply continue on and on until we are destroyed. When the Bible tells us that "the wages of sin is death" it is not telling us about an arbitrary mandate which God could change if He wanted to; it is simply giving us a plain description of the basic essence of sin.
There is a problem here. If we are to escape not only the sinful cycles of procrastination and drugs and hatred, but the sinful chains of the entire fallen world, then the power by which we are saved must come from outside that same world. Friends are not enough. Family is not enough. Prisons are not enough. Even wisdom is not enough. Only the indwelling presence of God is enough to break this chain.
When the prophets and the priests touched that which was unclean, they themselves became unclean. The mere reflection of Goodness which dwelt in them was not enough to overcome the infection of sin. But there was one man unlike all others. Phillip Yancey once noted that in the story of Jesus the old pattern is reversed. When that Man of Galilee went out among the lepers, the adulterers, the tax collectors, the Gentiles it was the unclean that were transformed. As vessels of righteousness we had been fighting a losing battle from the very start, but now Righteousness Himself was entering the battlefield and where He went the infernal hosts begged for mercy. And He has gone past it. The King of Heaven charged all the way into the fortress of the Sheol.
There is a new wind blowing in from Jerusalem, and a trembling in the world. The line is broken. The wall is breached. The chain is rattling and breaking in places, unable to restrain the things of Eden that are coming back to life.
Monday, October 10, 2011
The Celestial Charge
I saw an angel
Named Sorrow
Who shone like all the stars
With gleaming white skin
And silver hair
In her hands she grasped a sword
Forged from the bones of Abel
The remains of the golden calves
And the treasures of the kings of Israel and Judah
It cut the air
Not with a whistle
But with a song
Taken from a Galilean mountain
She called the song Conviction
And the blade she called Despair
I saw an angel
Called Terror
With wings of flame
And eyes like the ocean depths
In one hand he held a shofar
That bellowed like thunder
And in the other he clutched a whip
As fierce and bright as lightning
The shofar had sounded when Moses returned to Egypt
It had announced the births of the prophets
And had called Babylon out against the Israelites
The whip had driven Lucifer from Heaven
It had been sent as a gift to Elijah
And had struck the money changers at the Temple
It was in the light that brought Saul to his knees
I saw an angel
Whose name was Joy
With a form like a child
And wings colored like the dawn
And a woolen tunic covered in dirt
And a ring shaped from a cherry blossom
In one hand was a bloody rag
Which she called Grace
In the other was a jar of honey
Which she called Glory or Delight
Sorrow glided down
Impossibly fast
On a gentle breeze
The idols fell to dust at her approach
She came upon a feast of Baal
And cut down the shadowy lords of the dance
And scattered the celebrants
She came upon an emperor
Who lit torches to obscure the sun
And built monuments
To distract from the mountains
With one stroke
She made of his empire
A mere ruin
Terror descended
In a raging storm
He sounded his horn
And stacked bricks tumbled down
Unable to contain their resonating song
His whip lashed out
And profane lips fell to kiss the earth
Wherever he went
That which was mild
Became fierce
That which was safe
Became dangerous
Together
The two made war
Against every human heart
Joy went down to earth
Following after her parents
They went before her
To break the crooked things
And she came after
To make them straight
When Despair cut away every illusion
She emerged to show the one true hope
After Terror brought men to their knees
Joy gave them a new strength to lift the weight of their inheritance
On the foundations of palaces that could not stand against her parents
She built strongholds for her King
To voices robbed of nonsense and boasts
She gave a new song of love
When Sorrow had pierced my heart
And Terror broke the pillar of my pride
And the two turned to fight relentlessly
Against the Enemy of my soul
She made me to taste
of the Delight of the Lord
Named Sorrow
Who shone like all the stars
With gleaming white skin
And silver hair
In her hands she grasped a sword
Forged from the bones of Abel
The remains of the golden calves
And the treasures of the kings of Israel and Judah
It cut the air
Not with a whistle
But with a song
Taken from a Galilean mountain
She called the song Conviction
And the blade she called Despair
I saw an angel
Called Terror
With wings of flame
And eyes like the ocean depths
In one hand he held a shofar
That bellowed like thunder
And in the other he clutched a whip
As fierce and bright as lightning
The shofar had sounded when Moses returned to Egypt
It had announced the births of the prophets
And had called Babylon out against the Israelites
The whip had driven Lucifer from Heaven
It had been sent as a gift to Elijah
And had struck the money changers at the Temple
It was in the light that brought Saul to his knees
I saw an angel
Whose name was Joy
With a form like a child
And wings colored like the dawn
And a woolen tunic covered in dirt
And a ring shaped from a cherry blossom
In one hand was a bloody rag
Which she called Grace
In the other was a jar of honey
Which she called Glory or Delight
Sorrow glided down
Impossibly fast
On a gentle breeze
The idols fell to dust at her approach
She came upon a feast of Baal
And cut down the shadowy lords of the dance
And scattered the celebrants
She came upon an emperor
Who lit torches to obscure the sun
And built monuments
To distract from the mountains
With one stroke
She made of his empire
A mere ruin
Terror descended
In a raging storm
He sounded his horn
And stacked bricks tumbled down
Unable to contain their resonating song
His whip lashed out
And profane lips fell to kiss the earth
Wherever he went
That which was mild
Became fierce
That which was safe
Became dangerous
Together
The two made war
Against every human heart
Joy went down to earth
Following after her parents
They went before her
To break the crooked things
And she came after
To make them straight
When Despair cut away every illusion
She emerged to show the one true hope
After Terror brought men to their knees
Joy gave them a new strength to lift the weight of their inheritance
On the foundations of palaces that could not stand against her parents
She built strongholds for her King
To voices robbed of nonsense and boasts
She gave a new song of love
When Sorrow had pierced my heart
And Terror broke the pillar of my pride
And the two turned to fight relentlessly
Against the Enemy of my soul
She made me to taste
of the Delight of the Lord
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Song of Joy
Set to the beat
Of the stomp of David's feet
And the clapping of his hands
Before the Ark of the Covenant
It bursts forth
The rousing noise
Which wakes the Spring at Winter's end
And moves all the world to be reborn
With every passing year
Amplified a hundred thousand times
First for the birth
And then for the rebirth
Of the Anointed
Pounds through the halls
It stirs every heart
Drowns out all nonsense
And resonates with every living thing
It is grand
And terrible
And wonderful
Of the stomp of David's feet
And the clapping of his hands
Before the Ark of the Covenant
It bursts forth
The rousing noise
Which wakes the Spring at Winter's end
And moves all the world to be reborn
With every passing year
Amplified a hundred thousand times
First for the birth
And then for the rebirth
Of the Anointed
Pounds through the halls
It stirs every heart
Drowns out all nonsense
And resonates with every living thing
It is grand
And terrible
And wonderful
Song of Sorrow
It drifts out
It seems slow
But in an instant it overtakes you
Fill up every corner
Finds every hiding place
It's the echo of a teardrop's fall
A thousand mournful sighs and dying gasps
Which snatch up your own breath in an instant
It silences all clinking coins
Breaks every enchantment
Stills every crowd
And it is beautiful
It seems slow
But in an instant it overtakes you
Fill up every corner
Finds every hiding place
It's the echo of a teardrop's fall
A thousand mournful sighs and dying gasps
Which snatch up your own breath in an instant
It silences all clinking coins
Breaks every enchantment
Stills every crowd
And it is beautiful
Sunday, September 18, 2011
The Divine Pursuit
He is coming
He who breathed life
The King of all kings
The Light of all the world
He rescues us
He romances us
He wars against us
He pursues us relentlessly
A thousand times
We discover our smallness
The fickleness of worldly foundations
When we are in the muck and mire
He pulls us out
When we are outnumbered
And sick and weary and hungry
He has turned away our enemies
When we were lost in the wilderness
And collapsed under a burden we could not bear
He chased away the wolves
And carried us home
The sun rises
Upon a lush green morning
Bejeweled with dew
The flowers open up
A delightful array
All of it
The canvas of the sky
The dynamic sculptures of the earth
And everything in between
Are not given only in the hour of need
They are gifts
Received on morning walks
In day-to-day business
He gives it all freely
Delightfully
Whether the beauty of Creation
Or the joy of His Spirit
On a random Sunday
His gifts are cheerfully given
I have gone out
To a temple of my own making
Dedicated to my own glory
And every detestable thing
I hear His approach
And I flee
Down whatever bloody alley presents itself
So He draws His sword
He calls on a legion of seraphim
He lays a thousand Bibles open
On the shelves of the mockers
He anoints an army of saints
He positions all His forces
And then He moves
No brick is left upon its brother
No idol stands before His glory
All that can be shaken is shaken
All that can be broke in broken
He beats me down
Relentlessly
And when I am on my knees
He lays the royal robe on my shoulders
And places the ring on my finger
He had pursued me
In His terrible
Wonderful
Love
He has rescued me
And romanced me
And warred against me
He who breathed life
The King of all kings
The Light of all the world
He rescues us
He romances us
He wars against us
He pursues us relentlessly
A thousand times
We discover our smallness
The fickleness of worldly foundations
When we are in the muck and mire
He pulls us out
When we are outnumbered
And sick and weary and hungry
He has turned away our enemies
When we were lost in the wilderness
And collapsed under a burden we could not bear
He chased away the wolves
And carried us home
The sun rises
Upon a lush green morning
Bejeweled with dew
The flowers open up
A delightful array
All of it
The canvas of the sky
The dynamic sculptures of the earth
And everything in between
Are not given only in the hour of need
They are gifts
Received on morning walks
In day-to-day business
He gives it all freely
Delightfully
Whether the beauty of Creation
Or the joy of His Spirit
On a random Sunday
His gifts are cheerfully given
I have gone out
To a temple of my own making
Dedicated to my own glory
And every detestable thing
I hear His approach
And I flee
Down whatever bloody alley presents itself
So He draws His sword
He calls on a legion of seraphim
He lays a thousand Bibles open
On the shelves of the mockers
He anoints an army of saints
He positions all His forces
And then He moves
No brick is left upon its brother
No idol stands before His glory
All that can be shaken is shaken
All that can be broke in broken
He beats me down
Relentlessly
And when I am on my knees
He lays the royal robe on my shoulders
And places the ring on my finger
He had pursued me
In His terrible
Wonderful
Love
He has rescued me
And romanced me
And warred against me
Monday, September 5, 2011
Bui Doi
“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’"
Matthew 25:34-36
Acts 5:41
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect."
Matthew 5:43-48
In addition to the unconditional love and sacrifice preached and demonstrated by Jesus, the Gospels tell us three things about servanthood. First, they tell us that we are to serve our enemies, the people who insult us, abuse us, and would likely kill us. Second, they tell us that we are to serve the poor and lowly; in fact, they say that we are serve not just the lowly but the lowest of the low. Thirdly, they tell us that if we are persecuted and disgraced in our service, we are to rejoice.
Those are three things that we who have been in the church long enough tend to be very familiar with. They are subjects of good, vigorous discussions. And yet it seems like we still don't understand them.
I recently saw a musical called Miss Saigon and one of the songs in it was called "Bui Doi." The phrase refers to Vietnamese children conceived by American soldiers who had hooked up with local girls. As one would most unfortunately expect, these children were targeted by the Communist regime after we pulled out and they lived in abject poverty and mortal danger. We're always told that the people suffering overseas are our brothers and sisters and that the children in the World Vision commercials are our children, but how would we react if that was actually a biological fact? Imagine that you had a child and that he or she was living in a refugee camp, as a slave (no, that little problem is absolutely not gone from the world, not even from the U.S.), or in an overcrowded city with food and water that you wouldn't give a pet snail. I hope your reaction would be a little different from the one you have when you see those commercials.
I'm discovering now that one of the most terrifying moments in a Christian's life is when that person realizes that Jesus meant what He said. In my experience, whenever God has told me to go and do something that requires serious sacrifice and risk I have immediately tried to tune down my interpretation. And then I tell myself I'm being somehow clever or realistic for doing that. If anything, we need to tune our understanding of God's mission for our lives up. Way up.
Think about what it means to serve the lowest of the low. Think for a second about the fact that Jesus told us not only to serve them but that anything we did for them we would be doing for Him. If you're looking for Messiah, I have great news. He's right over at the nearest homeless shelter. He's waiting around that strip club waiting for someone to answer the call. He's on the other side of the world in a crowded camp full of people who had their lives ripped away from them in an instant. If you want to find the One who gave you a second birth, the God who have you the victory you could never claim on your own, the Man you say is your savior and king, that's where He is. Don't you want to stop by?
Then there's the whole deal with the enemies. The Bible says to love the people who hate you and that means every single obnoxious, revolting weasel that you meet in work or school and whom you want to punch right in the face. It's not enough to like the idea of loving your enemies (which is one of the most popular aspects of Christianity), you have to do it (which is one of the most unpopular aspects). It also means that you have to love and forgive the enemies of your nation or your people. At the same time that we are commanded to serve the people in refugee camps, we are also commanded to love the people who put them there. When Osama bin Laden died and we Western Christians celebrated, we failed. We had an opportunity to show the same kind of heartbroken, unconditional, terrible love to those in Radical Islam that Christ showed for us, and instead we showed them exactly the kind of enemy they expected to see.
Finally, consider the cost of servitude. We live in a culture that is terrified of the very thought of suffering. The Bible tells us that if we don't suffer for God we're doing something wrong. Our own personal difficulties and persecution can be large or small depending on what God wants us to do at the moment, but we should be ready for it to be big. Imagine that God told you to go into the ghetto or some turmoil filled region of Africa in pursuit of a particular individual. Now imagine that He told you that you would be tortured in the process. Worse yet, imagine that He said you were going to be martyred. Both of these experiences are called glorious in the Bible. When we see historical figures who endured such things we call them saints. But what about in our own lives? If you had a friend who told you that God was sending him into martyrdom, wouldn't you try to dissuade him?
Mind you, one of the great things about being Christians is that we have the Holy Spirit to direct us. We don't have to be in a moral panic burning through all our energy and resources trying to solve all the world's problems and failing miserably. If God wants you to go overseas and minister to starving orphans then you can do that, but if he just wants you to serve your local school or neighborhood you can do that too. There are no small tasks in the Kingdom of Heaven. However, that "if" does not justify turning a blind eye to the radical commands of the Gospel.
I want you to imagine for a moment that you had your own Bui Doi out there somewhere in the world. I realize this may be difficult if you're a college student like me, but imagine that you were one of those Vietnam veterans who left a child behind in the midst of war and poverty and persecution. Imagine watching a World Vision commercial or a special report on some third world country and thinking to yourself that the child you see could literally be your son or daughter. What if you knew that they were your child. Wouldn't you sell off anything to fly over there and find them and hold them and make sure that they were safe?
Now imagine that you saw a hooker on a street corner and God told you that you were to marry her and that He let you see her for even the briefest moment the way He saw her. Imagine spending months just trying to get her to trust you, taking on a second job so you can pay for her to have good food and shelter, enduring ridicule and slander on every side as you desperately try to win over and care for this outcast. Wherever you look out into a hurting world, imagine that it was literally your friends and family that were looking back at you.
I know this may sound like one giant guilt trip but it doesn't have to be like that. The reason those commercials and sermons make us uncomfortable is because we sit there waiting for normal life to resume and the distractions to flood in and we fail to recognize what should be the most obvious of options. We fail to understand that we can act on that message. Before any of us were born, God prepared for you a victorious battle for the lost. The joy and glory of the salvation of the needy is our inheritance. If you do throw away everything you own for the sake of an infant halfway around the world, that loss will perish just as the mortal treasure you gave up would have, but that infant will be your precious delight for all eternity. C.S. Lewis was right; our desires are far too weak!
I'm done now, but there's one thing I'd like you to do. I would like you to pray for God to reveal your Bui Doi to you. Pray for God to reveal your inheritance and the path laid out to claim it. If this is something you have already received then I praise God for you. If you feel moved to action but you don't believe God is answering, I will pray for discernment for you and I would advise you to wait and to seek advice. If you pray and know that you are answered then I will pray for you to be encouraged and equipped for the battle ahead. Whatever the case, to God be the glory for ever and ever.
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