Category: Uncategorized

Do Good, Lead Faith-fully

Every generation needs more women and men, old and young to step forward to do good, to lead faithfully.

People look to leaders to set an example of what is good, to embody the good that needs to flourish in the family and community. When leaders shrug off the responsibility to live good lives, they poison the soil that nourishes communities. 

Even in (especially in) Christian communities, there is a dire need for good to be lifted up as a calling for how people ought to live and lead.

In the New Testament letter to Titus, the apostle Paul writes to a new church in the Meditteranean island of Crete, urging their leaders and their members to focus on doing good to one another, and their neighbors.

Do you think any churches or Christian organizations today would need a letter like that written to them?

People are inherently imitators. We learn by mimicking others. We only know what we want by what others around us want. Hence a source of the rivalries and conflicts that tear friendships and neighbors apart.

Christians are those whom God has called to imitate Christ, to subvert the rivalries and conflicts through our mimicking the Lord, who shows us how to good in response to unfaithfulness, slander, violence, and arrogance.

In this very short letter, Paul concisely connects the works, words, and will of Christ Jesus and it’s consequences for our works, words and will. Here’s one powerful example:

“At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another.

But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. 

He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.

This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone.” [Titus 3.3-8]

It’s clear to Paul that in order for humanity to do good, we must have a stunning example of mercy, as well as an existential experience with this grace, and have this reality generate seeds of trust and hope in God, as revealed through Jesus Christ by the Holy Spirit.

To those who have been reborn and renewed, they are given a responsibility to pass on this historical and existential reality to each successive generation, among each new tribe and nation in which it takes root. Emphasizing correct doctrine and contextualizing theology always has its place, but knowledge of God and the good only counts if it is lived.

The challenge: we are all imitators with malice and fear deeply embedded in our soul, and it is a constant battle to embrace and embody mercy, to see it in others and mimic Christ. Teachers of Christ must lead by example too.

Earlier in the letter Paul wrote this to Titus to pass on to the Cretan Christians:

For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good. [Titus 2.11-14]

We see in Jesus Christ the example to follow, the one to trust, and from whom we receive the spirit and power to imitate.

It’s vital we remember that he sacrificially offers grace for all, that all might be able to join him in doing good.

This grace greets us when we are ungrateful and greedy, it confronts us and convicts, but also shows the way and empowers us to imitate it.

Don’t underestimate God’s grace.

Don’t underestimate our pride and envy either, but neither can eventually prevail against grace, for sin always has within it seeds for its own destruction, and God’s grace is a life-giving force that absorbs the unworthy and yet is gentle with the unwilling.

May you sense God’s call on your life to lead full of faith, to be part of his work to inspire and empower communities to eagerly do good, fueled and shaped by the Lord’s grace and mercy.

do good anyway mother teresa

Forgive To Live

Forgiveness is a difficult choice, but it opens up a new way to live where grace, faith, and peace have soil to put down roots and flourish in your soul.

Resentment is a much easier choice to make when we are hurt, slighted, disappointed, abused, and neglected – it’s natural, it flows from the wounding. But left unchecked, or when nourished, it takes over your life and chokes the roots of hope, love, and empathy.

To live with joy, we must forgive.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus sums up his teaching on life with God, on living in this earth as it really is with this declaration: “For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.” [Matthew 6.14, NIV]

To navigate our way with the Lord through a world full of darkness, evil people, and unintended consequences, if we refuse to forgive those who sin against us, we will be consumed by it.

When we hold on to bitterness, resentment, revenge, hatred, disappointment, envy, grudges – we separate ourselves from God and those around us. Unforgiveness infects us and affects how we relate to everyone else like a cancer, maybe undetected, but still putting out toxic tentacles that will reveal themselves in a devastating way. It leads to a kind sickness unto death in spirit, mind and body.

Christians believe that in Christ Jesus, God has already forgiven the sins of the world, including your sin. You are already forgiven, if you will believe it.

How do you know you believe it? When you live it.

We are motivated to forgive by many factors, but one of them is that we have already been given much grace, and we’ll know that we treasure that grace when we share it with others – who don’t deserve it, just as we didn’t deserve it.

How often should we forgive those who sin against us?

“Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?” Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.” [Matthew 18.21-22, NIV]

Jesus says “77 times.” A lot. As much as needed.

Lewis Smedes in The Art of Forgiving (one of the best books out there on the matter) observes that the work of forgiveness includes: rediscovering the humanity of the person who hurt us; surrendering our right to get even; revising our feelings toward the person who hurt us. This is ongoing work, not a one-time occurrence.

If you’re in a place where you’re struggling to forgive yourself or others, and not sure how to do it, get this book. the art of forgiving smedes

According to Smedes, here are some statements on what forgiveness is NOT:

  • Forgiving someone who did us wrong does NOT mean that we tolerate the wrong he did.
  • Forgiving does NOT mean we want to forget what happened.
  • Forgiving does NOT mean we excuse the person who did it.
  • Forgiving does NOT mean we take the edge off the evil of what was done to us.
  • Forgiving does NOT mean we surrender our right to justice.
  • Forgiving does NOT mean we invite someone who hurt us once to hurt us again.

It took many years for me to forgive the drunken young mother who drove head on into my brother on the highway, killing him instantly. It was easy to hate and resent her. It was easy to forget about her. It was easier to focus on bringing good out of this tragedy. It was painful to learn how to forgive her.

Forgiveness is extraordinarily difficult if you don’t know how to do it. It’s a learned practice, a spiritual discipline, a toil of the soul, a labor of love.

A book that helped me with this specific tragedy was The Shack, by William Paul Young. What helped me most was the beautiful and compelling portrayal of God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

the shack

To be forgiven by God is to experience an unfathomably deep, oceanic love. To forgive is to let that vast and beautiful love be grace-fully poured out on others through you.

Let’s learn to forgive.

Every day.

 

 

Pray For Peace, Then Do It

For a person of faith, prayer is at the center of life. Sometimes though it’s hard to know what to pray for, how to pray, or why to keep praying. Am I just praying to get what I want? Am I praying to avoid consequences?

Is my praying making a difference, is it worth it?

I ask those questions, maybe you do to. There’s always more to learn about prayer. These words by the Apostle Paul are instructive to me, especially in light of these politically charged and religiously polarizing times:

I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good and pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. [1Timothy 2:1-4, NIV]

Here’s a couple of observations on the role prayer plays in living in peace and making a difference.

First, St. Paul urges Timothy and the Christians in Ephesus to pray “for all people.” No discrimination there! Ask God to bless, give thanks for, request help on behalf of everyone – friends, family, neighbors, coworkers, strangers and enemies.

Second, the apostle makes a special point to tell Christians to pray and give thanks “for kings and all those in authority.” This is a radical idea.

In Paul’s day, wicked Emperor Nero ruled the Roman world, and the city of Ephesus where Timothy pastored was the religious home to the influential Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders of the World. Also, the church of Ephesus was being taken over by divisive, envious leaders.

Third: notice one of the reasons Paul gives for this instruction – “so that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.”

There is much to unpack here, but I’ll focus on this: in light of the grievances and anger we might have towards unjust or unholy authorities, we can be consumed by grief or also fill our hearts with gratitude.

If we want a godly peace to prevail in our spirit, when we pray it can’t just be for revenge, it also must be for blessing our enemies. That’s what God the Savior does.

All that God created is good, and is to be used for good. God wants to save people from their ungood sins, from their pride and greed, their anger and envy.

And God wants truth to prevail, for lies to be exposed, for communities to be attuned to ultimate reality and live with a courage that furthers the good flourishing for all.

When you live in a place where injustice seems to prevail, where violence is constant, where the powerful enslave or crush the weak and ill, and you try to resist it, to pray and make a difference, to not be consumed by the culture of death – what can you do?

This is what marked the struggles of the early church, as they strove to set themselves apart.

Like us, they had to keep their eyes on Christ Jesus, who grew up a day laborer in oppressed Galilee, who offered up his life as a ransom for sinners and was resurrected on the third day, commanding God’s people to proclaim forgiveness of sins for all people.

That’s a remarkable God and an inspiring calling.

When you pray for the kings of the world, presidents of countries and companies, senators and city mayors, and anyone else who wields power and influence in your community – pray for their salvation from sin and give thanks for their spirit.

Keep your eyes on the Lord who has immense patience with everyone, who wants all the world to be healed from violence more than we do.

Pray and give thanks for all, even for kings and authorities that further injustice.

Keep your eyes on the Lord who strives to make peace with all, who wants all to be saved and know the truth.

Don’t give up on peace, on living in godliness and holiness.

Pray for peace, then do it.