PRACTICAL THEOLOGY (HOW WE LEARN ABOUT GOD)

He was just a guy like me, but he had fallen on hard times. Maybe he was homeless, and set up shop with a cardboard sign outside the stadium. Maybe he was hopeless, unemployed and so deeply entrenched in a cycle of debt that he was giving up. Maybe he was addicted, trapped in a lifestyle that would not let him go. Maybe he was slandered, abandoned by his so-called friends because he had some flaw that a traitorous friend had blown out of proportion. And maybe he was mugged while doing a good deed, and he was writhing in agony down some dark alley. In any case, life had beat him up pretty bad, and his situation was not looking good. Whatever, it was, life had dealt him a bad hand, and he was in a bad way.

My friend's experience is what taught him more than his Sunday School teacher could about God in the real world. That's how we all learn our theology, really, you know: through our experience. And here's what he learned: He learned not to trust God. He learned that sometimes it doesn't pay to pray or try to be good. Bad stuff still happens.

In the first place, he was treated unjustly by sinful people. Beaten up, left for dead, he lay there in his own blood and reflected on what he knew about God. He began to conclude that there is no God, and he must be alone in the universe. If there were a God, He would not allow such things to happen. Alone and friendless in the world, he began to weep, not just from his wounds, but from his aloneness. It is painful to be an atheist.

Then along came someone who claimed to be a follower of God. In fact, he noticeably had all the identifying marks of a believer. Holy haircut. Pious expression. Christian bumper sticker. But he seemed more focused on keeping his hands clean than on helping. Or perhaps he judged the man to be deserving of his condition. In any case, he avoided helping the man, and went on his way to his holy meeting.

Still lying there in his severe woundedness, the man's practical theology developed further. If there is a God, He must be uncaring, pretentious, egocentric, and judgmental. If that's how fundamentalists act, then their God, if He exists at all, must be guiding them to behave meanly. Now his spiritual condition was worse than before. An atheist is alone in an unjust universe, but a man who is ignored by a mean God infinitely more miserable.

Then along came a man who seemed to bear the marks of spiritual compromise. He had pretty clearly not been raised as a conservative Bible-believing Fundamentalist. Maybe he had some body piercings, or that skin that looked like it had been "rode hard and hung up wet." In any case, life had given this man eyes of compassion and grace, and those eyes saw a man in need of help. Without asking questions, without handing him a tract, without judging what might have gotten him into his predicament, this man picked him up and made a great personal investment in getting him well.

Now, what does the man's experience teach him about God? That He is not there? That He is there, but He is silent? Or perhaps he begins to get a glimmer of a hope that God is there, and that He chooses to reveal Himself mysteriously in the hearts of those secret agents who represent His character through their actions. One thing that he rightly concludes is this: God is not found at church, but in people. If you want to know a peoples' theology, don't read their stained glass windows; read their actions.

The man who had beaten up in the story of the Good Samaritan had a practical theology, based on his experience. If I had come upon his path, I wonder what he would have concluded in his reflection upon God's nature. As the saying goes, "You're the only Jesus some people will ever see."

"LORD, I want to be close to You and learn Your nature, so that who You are comes out through my actions. I don't want to be part of the problem, adding another reason why people hate Christ, because they hate Christians. I want to be one of those You can use to show people what You are like. Make me like You, God, Father, Son and Spirit. Amen."
-ker

LEARNING TO LET GO

This morning I went down to get six-month-old Isaac ready for the day. He was laying there on his back in the semi-dark, kind of talking to himself, clutching his baby blanket and trying to figure out whether he was hungry yet. I walked quietly into the room and came over to his bed and greeted him. He saw me and smiled, and talked some baby talk to me. I reached in to take his blanket off and pick him up, but his happy talk turned fussy as he clutched at his precious blanket. The struggle lasted only a few seconds, but he refused to let go of that blanket of his. After all, it had seen him through the night, keeping him warm and safe, and it was rather traumatic to start the day by giving it up. "You have to let go, Zacky Boy," I said gently, "and there's better stuff waiting upstairs." After a few moments, I was able to pry the blanket out of his little hands and pick him up. We headed upstairs for a morning bottle, change of pants and clothes, and a world of light and people and fun.

How like Isaac I am! I clutch to my little source of security, not realizing that it really does me little good. My blanket doesn't really keep me safe, and it certainly won't help me with the events of the rest of the day, but I cling to it tenaciously. The Lord gently calls me by my special nickname, known only to him and me, and reminds me that He has better stuff for me upstairs.

"LORD, no matter how permanent and secure my blanket may seem, it is of no use up there. So teach me to let go and trust the One I love to supply me with better things. For you know the plans that you have for me, plans for my welfare and not for harm, to give me a future with hope. Pick me up, Daddy, and let's go play. Amen."

DO NOT GROW WEARY IN DOING GOOD

Paul tells the Galatian Christians, "So don't get tired fo doing what is good. Don't get discouraged and give up, for we will reap a harvest of blessing at the appropriate time." (6:9)

Having little ones around the house when we are of an age to anticipate an empty nest and visiting grandkids has been a test of endurance for Ellen and me. And I don't know about her inner workings, but tonight I was reflecting on how old and tired I feel. We talked about pulling back out the C.S. Lewis books and the toys and furnishings that we thought were in long-term storage for the grandchildren. I have to take a deep breath and bring myself back to G-rated movies and children's books and getting on the floor and playing actively. And tonight, anyway, I was feeling, "I just don't think I can do all this again."

But I don't HAVE to do "all this" again. I only need to do "this" today. Tomorrow will take care of itself. The Scriptures are telling me not to let myself get discouraged and give up. I notice that it says I will reap a harvest of blessing AT THE APPROPRIATE TIME. I'd rather reap now, and then sit around in a hammock in my semi-retirement, enjoying all of the personal projects that I have put off while raising children. But it is not that time. Not yet.

Ten minutes before I die, I will be so glad to have made the right choice today. And ten minutes after I die, I will realize how short my life was, anyway. Compared to eternity, my personal projects are nothing. Jesus came to this earth for a shorter time than I have been here, and He spent His days serving, not being served, and giving His life as a ransom for many. In my case, my job is to invest in eternal friendships, so that when I get to heaven I will be welcomed into my eternal home (Luke 16).

"LORD, thank You for your continual reminders and encouragements tucked away in the New Testament. Forgive me for thinking that there is a limit to my energy and my endurance. No matter how long I endure, it is a very short time compared to eternity. And eternity is what life is all about. Thank you, Father, for Jesus and the daily empowerment of Your Spirit, who stirs up and delivers this prayer. Amen."
-ker

THE IMPORTANCE OF GOOD PARENTING

Raising godly children is a major theme of the Old Testament. The nation of Israel's history is full of examples of how one father who failed to give good spiritual direciton to his children laid a foundation for greater problems in the future. You might say this is one of the major themes of the OT.

I used to be a little uncomfortable with the Old Testament, because it seemed to be teaching a kind of Jewish-centered racism, with Israel as the good guys and everyone else as unloved enemies. Through New Testament eyes, that seemed mean-spirited and like cruel prejudice.

But let me see it again in light of Deuteronomy 6 and other passages that tell us why and how of godly parenting.

Some fathers failed with their sons, who reaped immediate consequences for their sin. Aaron and Eli had sons who should have been effective priests, trained by their fathers, but they died as a result of their sins, unchecked by their fathers.

But even more devastating are the beginnings of whole nations of people who continued in rebellion against the Lord, rather than being struck down in the first generation. Consider Ishmael as the beginning of the Arab nation, and his descendants are still sworn enemies of Jews today. Or consider Moab and Ammon, who were the sons (and grandsons) of Lot, who had incestuous relations with his daughters, who grew up surrounded by Sodomite culture. These people were "cousins" of Israel, yet the Israelites were told to destroy them completely, and their influence of idolatry and child sacrifice led Israel astray.

Imagine extended family gatherings in those early years. There's cousin Ammon, who has chosen an "alternative lifestyle" from the rest of the family. His talk, his humor, his values and his worship are different. Then his children and grandchildren continue to be different, and they don't attend the family reunions anymore. A couple more generations down the road, they oppose and even go to war against their distant relatives, vying for the same land.

How does this sad scenario happen? A father neglects to warn or lead his sons. Even Israel itself divided as a nation when Solomon failed to raise his son Rehoboam well, just as his father David has failed with Absalom, only this time with permanent results. Happily, God can overcome one generation's sins. Ruth was a Moabite, and Jesus came from her line. Jesus went to Samaria and won over a woman and a whole village there. Eventually, the Gospel overcame "race." That's the New Testament healing. But the Old Testament wound is also an important lesson for all families, and especially all fathers, today.

ENCOUNTER WITH GOD: ABRAHAM, PART TWO

What a rocky road Abraham has already traveled in his pilgrimage. But a few years later will come the hardest test of all. God has watched Abe and his son. He watched the way Abe first looked at his son at his birth, and how after a century of waiting, Abe laughed. They laughed through toddlerhood and boyhood. I imagine Abe took Isaac with him everywhere by then. He wanted to squeeze the most out of each day with this long-awaited and much-promised son. I’m sure he was over-protective, doting over the boy at every childhood injury or cold. This was, after all, his only begotten son, and there would be no more.

[Gen. 22] And the Lord tells Abe to worship again, only this time it’s not a sheep or an ox. God cals for Abe to give his son—his only son, Isaac, whom he loves. God is very specific in pinpointing the difficulty of this sacrifice. The promises have been nice, though seemingly impossible. But this one goes too far. At least, it seems that way to me. but perhaps by this point, Abe has learned to take God’s words to him by faith, and Abe knows that Isaac is the one thing in the world that he would not, could not, cannot give up. It seems to destroy the promise, more surely than Ishmael would have fulfilled it.

Without question or argument, Abe follows the Lord’s call. He has learned to obey God’s call and to trust the outcome over the last three decades. He doesn’t bring an animal (no backup plan on Abe’s part this time). He only brings his beloved son. There is no other plan in his mind. But he is wrestling with God the whole way, I’m sure. God shows him the mountain (are you sure this is what you want, Lord?). He goes on up with just Isaac and the wood (maybe you mean something else, and I wasn’t hearing you right?). He builds an altar and arranges the wood (is there anything you’d like to say now, Lord?). He binds his son and takes out the knife, and holds it aloft, ready to kill his son as swiftly and painlessly as possible. Tears are streaming down his face, which is contorted in pain. Nothing has ever been so difficult for Abraham as this.

Then (and not a moment sooner or later) an angel cries out from heaven. “Abraham! Abraham!” In the greatest understatement of the Bible, Abraham say, “I’m listening!” And God does, in fact, spare Isaac, does bring him back from the dead, in a sense, does provide a ram in Isaac’s place.
And now God—and Abraham—know that Abe truly fears the Lord and would give him everything.

What would be the hardest thing for me to give up—not just lose, but give away? Perhaps sending my firstborn son into the military. Perhaps losing my voice, or my hands, or my ability to make music. Perhaps my wife. Perhaps it was hardest for Moses to throw down his rod at the burning bush. Perhaps it was hardest for Paul to have a thorn in the flesh. Whatever it is, it tends to be what the Holy Spirit asks for from me. Like the Beast telling Belle that she could go anywhere but the west wing, I tell God what He can’t have, and He goes right to it and asks for it. If I have been trained by what He has told me before, I know that His promises and joy have sustained me when I have obeyed in the past, so I can trust Him with this one, too.

ENCOUNTER WITH GOD: ABRAM #1

[Gen. 12:1-4] Abram was called by God at the age of 75. I wonder if he had ever heard God's voice before that? Whatever his previous experience, this was an unmistakable call to pull up roots at a rather advanced age and begin a new adventure of faith.
The call for sacrifice came with a promise—that God will make Abram the father of a great nation, that he will be blessed and will change the world for the better. Armed with that encouraging word, Abram went willingly. He built altars along the way, on which he sacrificed (we assume) the best of the firstborn of a sheep or of an ox, and he worshiped God through that sacrifice.
[Gen. 15:1-3] But there was a problem. The promise sounded wonderful, but Abram and Sarai were childless, so how could they change the world and father a nation when they had no children? God promised the old man that he would, in fact, have a son. And again the Lord sealed the conversation with a prophetic promise that Abram’s descendants would be numerous like the stars, too many to count.
Abram believed God, at least for the moment, and the Lord even declared Abram righteous for his faith. They shared a mysterious covenant promise with more specific prophetic details about what would come.
[Gen. 16:1ff] Not too long after that majestic promise, however, Abram and Sarai took a look at reality and found it lacking. It had been ten years, and the Lord was saying nice words every decade or so, but Abram was now 85 years old, and he still had no son. The biological deadline had passed in Sarai’s mind, and Abram agreed. Time to try to fulfill God’s promise with a “near miss,” that perhaps caught the essence of the promise but made an idealistic promise more realistic: Maybe if Abram slept with Sarai’s handmaid, it would be “almost” the same, and Abram would still be the father of a nation through her.
It never works to try to bring about God’s perfect promise through human compromise. Or, rather, it seems to work, but only causes greater problems down the road. To this day, the world is a war largely because of the offspring of Ishmael fighting against their cousins.
[Gen. 17:1ff] Another decade and a half of silence from God, and Abram is now 99 years old. God has the audacity to show up way too late and speak his prophetic promise again. This time, the promise is even grander, and it includes a name change for Abraham. God requires Abraham to enter the covenant with the sign of circumcision for him and his male descendants. God changes Sarah’s name, as well.
Now it was almost too much. Abraham must be thinking, “Why torment me with empty words? I’m almost 100 years old, my wife is 90. Nice promises, but WHERE’S THE BABY?” It makes him laugh, and then makes Sarah laugh at the incredibility of it all. So God tells them to name him Laughter Boy, and a year later, Isaac is born!

I'M TALKING ABOUT LIVING

Why am I alive, and my dear friend Chip is gone? He knew how to live, and I'm not sure I have gotten the point of it all yet. One day, Brother Chip, I will know what you now know, and we will both have a good laugh at ourselves and what we were in such a hurry to do every day. I'm so glad that you are able to relax now, my friend, and to simply BE His child. It's fun, isn't it? Being?

I guess death was the enemy of us both. I'm still trying to squeeze the most out of each heartbeat, rushing, even into a retreat. But the instant after the enemy defeated you, my brother, you were done with death's only ally: time. There was nothing to squeeze into anything anymore, because timelessness fits into infinity perfectly. I would be jealous of you, but your state will be mine in a few more sunsets at most.

CANTICLE OF THE SUN
It has been a while since I posted a blog, even though it is summertime. But this last week I went on a three-day personal retreat, and found it to be the refreshing break I needed to reconnect with the Lord and myself. So, this will be the first of a flurry of entries from insights gained during that retreat. Then we'll see what kinds of ongoing entries might come from there.

Within the first few minutes of being there among the natural beauty, I was overwhelmed with the joy, beauty and balance of creation. I saw, as did St. Francis before me, that everything created is my brother or sister, and that all was meant to praise the Lord in its own way. It's a little silly in places, but was offered as sincere worship.

Praise Him, brothers bass and catfish;
Swim and leap and play before your Creator.
Praise Him, sisters wildflowers and butterflies;
Let your beauty bring Him pleasure.
Praise Him, calling birds and knocking woodpecker;
Let your tunes and rhythm gladden the ear of the Chief Musician.
Praise Him, still waters.
Reflect a world turned upside down,
That we might remember all is not as it seems.
Praise Him, brother fly, as you nibble on my head—enjoy!
Someday soon your descendants will feast on my rotting flesh,
And I will not be able to brush them away.
Praise Him, insect-eaten and blighted tree;
Yes, even your suffering is a part of a grand plan of balance and design.
Your loss brings gain for others and balance to the whole.
Struggle for life, and thus glorify the Life-giver.
But do not think that your battle goes unseen by the Father of us all.

Hello all who blog....I am returned from Ukraine....early though. I was prepared to remain until July 28, and it was a great 13 days. NOTHING went as planned, from the time we got off the plane there, till we returned home. And we soon realized why. We had OUR plans, and God had HIS! I won't go into everything here...not that good on a keyboard...but after I had gotten there, I found out that Pam's latest check-up showed several masses in the right breast, and that my dad had a heart attack. He's doin' good and doesn't want anyone down there yet....of course. Pam will do a biopsy...well...she'll call for an appointment today. Regardless of their being benign...think that's spelled right...or not, she wants them removed. Naturally, she wanted me home for that. I certainly agreed. So, I informed all concerned in Kahovka about the change in plans. Oleg, the pastor, said he had tried to reach any one of the 3 translators to stay with me for the extended time, and could not reach any of them. He knew it was meant to be. So, I am back and prepared for whatever God has in store for us. We have watched the faith of Roger and Tanya over the past months, and it has been inspiring. We will remember their faith in times of trouble. Lord...give us that faith....Amen. mark