THE SEA OF FAITH

Two serious-minded unbelievers are walking home together, trying to make sense of the contemporary world. The dream of progress and enlightenment has run out of them. The consumerism and mass communication of the late twentieth century has blown a whistle on the world as they knew it. The post-industrial society provided no solution for, or even comfort to, the world in its current state, beset as it is with fanatic extremism, with a widening gap of rich and poor, with myths of a secular utopia (“if only we could get religion out of the public sphere!”), and with domination escalating and initiatives being manipulative.

Our two unbelievers walk along the road to a beach where the sea of faith is emptied. They are discussing, animatedly, how these things can be. How can the stories by which so many have lived come to let us down? How shall we replace our deeply uncertain cultural identities? What should we be doing in our world now that every dream of progress is stamped with the word “Babel”?

Into this conversation comes Jesus, incognito. “What are you talking about?” he asks. They stand there, looking sad. Then one of them says, “You must be about the only person in town who doesn’t know what a traumatic time the twenty-first century has become. The great intellectuals of the twentieth century were quite right: life is empty. We thought we’d brought peace to the middle east through war, and we’ve had nothing but more wars ever since. We had a sexual revolution, and now have an epidemic of sexual harassment and more lonely, confused people than ever before. We are so connected with one another through social media that we ignore the people sitting in front of us. We pursued wealth, but we had the global financial crisis and ended up with half the world in crippling debt. We can do what we like, but we’ve all forgotten why we liked it. Our dreams have gone sour, and we don’t even know who ‘we’ are anymore. And now even the church has let us down, corrupting its spiritual message by assuming worldwide liberty could be achieved by political persuasion and legislation.”

“Foolish one,” replies Jesus, “How slow of heart you are to believe all that the creator God has said! Did you never hear that he created the world wisely? And that he has now acted within his world to create a truly human people? And that from within these people he came to live as a truly human person? And that in his own death he dealt with evil once and for all? And that he is even now at work, by his own spirit, to create a new human family in which repentance and forgiveness of sins are the order of the day, and so challenge and overturn the rule of war, sex, money, and power?” And, beginning with Moses and all the prophets, and also the gospel evangelists and apostles of the New Testament, he interprets to them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.

They arrive at the shore of the sea of faith. The waters, having retreated with the outgoing tide of the past century’s thoughts and beliefs, is full again, as the incoming tide of the present century’s theories and values proves the truth that when people stop believing in God, they do not believe in nothing, they believe in anything. On the shore, there stands a great hungry crowd—people who had cast their bread on the retreating waters of past ideas only to discover that the incoming tide of current ideals had brought them bricks and centipedes instead. The two travelers wearily begin to get out a small picnic basket, totally inadequate for the task. Jesus gently takes it from them, and within what seems like moments he has gone to and fro on the beach until everyone is fed. Then the eyes of them all are opened, and they realize who he is, and he vanishes from their sight. And the two say to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us on the road, as he told us the story of the creator and his world, and his victory over evil?” And they rush back to tell their friends of what happened on the road and how he had been made known in the breaking of the bread.

This is not a story; it is a real-life drama. And the part of Jesus is played by you and me. This is the mission of Christ-followers in this self-illusioned world. The resurrected Jesus is still revealing himself through the men and women who walk among the unbelieving world in resurrection power, sharing his message of victory and hope.

This is the church’s assignment: To give the world the means to overcome disillusionment and despair. Give them a chance—they need it!

Go tell them, “He is risen!” He is risen, indeed.

The Garden Tomb – Jerusalem, Israel

THE PEG

Isaiah 22:25 (ESV): In that day, declares the LORD of hosts, the peg that was fastened in a secure place will give way, and it will be cut down and fall, and the load that was on it will be cut off.

Several years ago, I started substitute teaching to supplement my family income. I continue to do so at a local high school. My ministry began with training teenagers, then transitioned to developing adults—it now seems only natural that I should be regularly involved with young people again. I have discovered they like hanging out with old people. They like our stories (if told briefly) and they appreciate a genuine interest in their stories, both the funny and sad, the pleasant and tragic.

Because of past involvement in education and administration, many career educators like discussing various issues with me. I arrived one morning at school and a member of the support staff wondered about my background. His child had recently been in a class and thought my comments beneficial. He asked about my education. I responded that my field of study concentrated on religion and philosophy with supplemental studies in public speaking. This led him to ask if I had read a book he was presently reading, written by a scholarly theologian. I had not. The book focused primarily on sociological/politological/anthropological notions. The staff member described to me some of the findings and conclusions, deeply enmeshed in science more than scripture, and wanted my opinion. I considered the author’s analyses built on a platform different than mine.

In the brief time available, I stated: “I believe that in the DNA of all humans we are religious, meaning we have a natural propensity to worship something. Some worship the intangible, others worship the tangible and most worship elements of both. In the ’50s, some worshipped Elvis Presley; in the ’60s, many worshiped The Beatles; in the ’70s, several worshipped hallucinogenic drugs.

"There are many wonderful benefits connected to worship. However, some types of worship can be harmful when passionately practiced; they can damage the human psyche—celebrity fame, physical allure, sexual obsession, monetary affluence, assertive power.

“In all religions, there is an object of worship and something that triggers it, a high priest of some sort. Follow this train of thought: If Judaism or Christianity is your religion, the high priest that triggers worship is scripture, and the object of worship is God.

"The chief object of worship in the American democratic experiment is a faith in the one true God, utilizing covenant phrases such as, ‘one nation under God’ and ‘In God we trust’. In 1968, this country changed religions, caused mostly by the unrest and frustration with the nation’s involvement in the Vietnam War.* This modern religious replacement is actually based on ideas coming out of the 16^th Century Enlightenment era.

“Where does this nation find herself today? Her religion is Secularism, the high priest triggering worship is science, and the object of worship is self.

"The Me Generation (my generation) started the shift that now challenges traditional liberties and values. The question we face today is: Have we come to the point of no return? It normally takes three generations to permanently alter cultural values and we are in the third generation since 1968. I will let you come to your own conclusion.”

I recently read something penned by E. Stanley Jones, onetime Wesleyan missionary to India: “If God goes, then everything worthwhile goes too. Everything lacks basis, permanence, and ultimate meaning. The whole situation is summed up in these words: ‘And then—so the Lord of hosts declares—the peg driven in so firmly shall be wrenched out and give way, till everything that hung upon it shall come down’ (Isaiah 22:25 Moffatt). When the peg of material civilization upon which we have hung everything is wrenched out by economic dislocation and gives way, then everything we have hung on it—our plans, our hopes, our futures—gives way with it and goes down in a crash. We have hung everything on the wrong peg, the insecure peg of money. That peg should have been God; for, as God holds amid the stress of things, everything holds."

It is not easy today to choose faith in God because the basis of existence has changed from the traditional (things evaluated) to the scientific (things weighed and measured). In the traditional realm, you evaluate what was passed on from generation to generation and determined true, but in the scientific climate, everything must be weighed and measured and verified as true because science believes only in verified knowledge. Can the information we live by be solely a verified knowledge when the understanding of life is an evaluated hypothesis? This is an impossible dualism.

Jones concludes by writing, “The pegs on which we have hung our modern civilization are coming down. A 'sensate society' (a society formulated by the scenes) has exhausted itself against the facts of life; it is becoming bankrupt.”

Then what is the answer? Where does one turn when it is determined that society has become culturally bankrupt? Where does one find hope, which is critical for living with certainty, calmness, and confidence? Where does one gain peace when the basis of human existence is now built only on a verified knowledge instead of rooted in an evaluated hypothesis? Where does one search for truth when science, the current benchmark for knowledge, appears laid on unstable ground, only temporal, having conclusions often proven untrue by better details and more exact evidence?

The ancient prophet Isaiah gave God’s solution just two verses before his warning: “And I will fasten him like a peg in a sure place, and he will become a throne of honor to his father’s house.” (v.23)

The place made sure is the crucified Christ who was nailed to a cross and resurrected as the everlasting truth.

“We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever….” (Hebrews 6:19–20 ESV)

Pray for divine grace and tender mercy to be upon the nation, pray for a revival in the church and a spiritual awakening throughout the land (it happened before; it can happen again), but let the Holy Spirit fasten you to the sure place of Jesus Christ, who is seated on his throne in the Heavenly Father’s kingdom—the place of everlasting hope. Make sure your hang your hope on the Peg in a sure place.

*The upheaval brewing in the ’60s is also linked to the 1963 sensational singing group The Beatles, the precursor of worship displacement. When Beatlemania became a religion, the high priest that triggered worship was sensual music, and the object of worship was utopia. Beatlemania (the urge for utopia) and Vietnam (an unwarranted war) created the perfect dislodging force working against tradition.

**For those who like to ponder and think, three books can help give a more in-depth reading on the subject. I recommend they be read in this order: Mark Sayers’ books The Road Trip and Strange Days, followed by Os Guinness’ book Last Call for Liberty. Warning: This is not bedstand reading material, browsed when weary and wishing to sleep. Your thinking cap is required. 

REALISM

One of the odd irregularities of believing in Christ is that the greatest realist in history was turned into the greatest idealist. Jesus’ realism was so amazing that believers did not know what to do with it. They knew they had to act on it or reject it but could not bring themselves to do either, so they found a way to do both. They learned a way to abide in Christ and continue in the old manner of living. He was made into an ideal; something that would be lived someday but not now. They satisfied a sense of loyalty to a higher calling while living in the realm of lower standards. Jesus was put on a cross of irrelevance for today but of significance for tomorrow.

Many have adopted abiding with Christ as an ideal, something beyond this life, operative now only in small ways. The result? Abundant life is limited and marginalized.

What is misunderstood is that this idealism is nothing more than concealed materialism; the present becomes divorced from the future. Abiding in Christ is relegated to a future hope and thought spiritual, while daily living remains present and controlled by the material.

Jesus was incredibly real, but people have made faith in him an ideal. When he said to love your neighbor as yourself, most made this a future goal, an ideal. But Jesus meant it to be real, to live like this now. He was telling us this is the only way that life will really work. If our lifestyle remains self-centered, we are committing collective and individual suicide, and the world falls apart from our failure to live out this truth. Sincere love for others can only begin with those who first love the God of sacrificial love.

Jesus also said we are to lose ourselves to find ourselves. This is not idealism; it is realism, one of the basics of real life. When we lose ourselves, abiding in Christ merges the present with the future and becomes realistic. Until believers humble themselves, the realism others must see is only idealized, and the world grows increasingly chaotic. The time is past due for lovers of God to live in real faith. He merged the present with the future and abiding in Christ demands we do the same.

“Lord, save us from any misguided ideals about faith that act like heroin, distorting reality and causing us to evade truth and responsibility.”

GIVE ME!

Matthew 14:1–11 (ESV): At that time Herod the tetrarch heard about the fame of Jesus, and he said to his servants, “This is John the Baptist. He has been raised from the dead; that is why these miraculous powers are at work in him.” For Herod had seized John and bound him and put him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, because John had been saying to him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.” And though he wanted to put him to death, he feared the people, because they held him to be a prophet. But when Herod’s birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced before the company and pleased Herod, so that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she might ask. Prompted by her mother, she said, “Give me (emphasis mine) the head of John the Baptist here on a platter.” And the king was sorry, but because of his oaths and his guests, he commanded it to be given. He sent and had John beheaded in the prison, and his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother. 

Luke 15:11–20 (ESV): And he said, “There was a man who had two sons. And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me (emphasis mine) the share of property that is coming to me.’ And he divided his property between them. Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living. And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything. “But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.”’ And he arose and came to his father.

Allow me to share a story before delving into some reflections on these two passages of Scripture.

My wife and I wanted to establish a new church on the west side of a city where my denomination had not formed a congregation. Among other things, this included being a bi-vocational minister.

I was a substitute teacher at a local high school and befriended the vice-principle who was the athletic director. He discovered I had previously coached boys’ basketball.

Occasionally, the athletic director and I would golf together. While on a golf course one day, he asked if I would consider coaching a girls’ volleyball team? My oldest son played high school basketball in a northwest suburb of Chicago and my youngest son played volleyball at the same school. (I also had played both sports in my teen years.) Yet, I had never coached girls and was apprehensive. I agreed to attend an upcoming girls’ volleyball match and then decide. Watching the game, I noticed the girls were just as athletic and aggressive as my son’s volleyball team. The only difference was when the girls lost the match they cried; I had never seen boys cry when they lost. (“There’s no crying in [volleyball]!”; the movie, “A league of their own”)

When discussing with my wife his invitation to coach, she responded, “Well, you love the sport; think about it.” When I asked my two daughters what they thought about me coaching a girls’ team, my youngest daughter responded, “Dad, you raised two daughters. You can deal with a bunch of teenage girls.” With personal reservations, I told the athletic director I would give it a try.

Our two daughters

The first season was a nightmare, but the problem was with me. I used every tactic that helped turn boys’ basketball players into winning teams; the same tactics were a disaster in girls’ volleyball. By good fortune rather than by skillful coaching, the first season ended with the team winning more than half of their matches and the athletic director wanted me to continue coaching. I seriously doubted that I was cut out to coach girls.

During the off-season, I came across an article in a coaching magazine, written by a female coach, about effectively coaching girls. I studied every concept, revamped my methodology, and prepared for the next season. The team in the second season played 28 matches and won 25. Of the 3 they lost, the match went into the tiebreaking set and they only lost by a couple of points. The girls ended the season by winning the championship.

Championship Team 

One major difference in coaching boys and girls is that girls have a natural drive to please those they deeply admire, while boys primarily seek to promote themselves. Girls respond best when affirmed; boys respond best by ego-challenging criticism. When the boys messed up, I was direct and intense. I was brutally honest about their horrible execution of plays, and their minds quickly got back in the game. When the girls under-performed, I became subdued and silent. They knew they had disappointed me and wanted to regain my trust and respect. They made the necessary mental adjustments, intensified their efforts on the court, and achieved success. At a team meeting one day, a player said, “Coach, we hated it when you got quiet on the sidelines; we knew the practices were going to be harder the following week.” Both approaches got the needed results but were accomplished by utilizing their core genetic makeup. Girls are highly motivated but from a different focus and mindset.

The passages of Scripture in this blog are about two prodigals – a prodigal daughter and a prodigal son. Like all prodigals, they sought the same thing: “give me!” The focus of any prodigal is always themselves; “self” is the idol of choice.

Is it wrong to want to gain and acquire something personally beneficial? No! Yet in the prayer Jesus taught his disciples, he states that the correct posture is “give us”; others are to share in the blessings from those things given.

Prodigals, infatuated with greed, are only satisfied when the cost impacts others. Their joy is a joy of personal advantage, no matter the harm inflicted on others, even good and generous people. Their joy is a sick joy – wanting the head of a great person, even though they dislike the sight of it on a platter in front of them. Their joy is a sad joy – taking advantage of a benevolent person so they can live in debauchery. Prodigals are ruthless about achieving their selfish desires, and, to them, cruelty is a major part of the satisfaction.

Did the daughter really want a messy decapitated head on a tray? No, she wanted to attain greater admiration from her wicked mother. Did the son really want some nasty, smelly slop in a pig pen? No, he wanted to gain the entitlements of his righteous father. Yet a grotesque head and a gnawing stomach are the results of seeking self-centered admiration and chasing glory-seeking promotion.

Being raised by a bad mother, the prodigal daughter never recognized the poor condition of her heart. Being raised by a good father, the prodigal son turned around and went home. Prodigals have a choice if awakened about the truth of their aspirations. Yet, to bring them back to their senses something or someone must rouse them. Could that someone be you?

“Lord, prevent us from bowing to the idol of self and help us to live with right and true ambitions. Then may others benefit from the abundant blessings you give. Also, Lord, give us the courage to show the prodigals the road home, the way of real joy.”