Father’s Day—A Response

I always find myself sad around Father’s Day. Yes, I still battle periodic bouts of anger at my own father. He gave up on life at a relatively early age and finished his race poorly, leaving behind unfinished business and unspoken wisdom that went to the grave with him. I strive to break this pattern.

Perhaps this is part of the reason why come Father’s Day I recount my own failures as a father, I replay missed opportunities and fight away the “if only” game in the wee hours of the morning. Being a father is a tough gig; there’s no manual or how-to book; and most of the examples in the parenting books or family-oriented ministries are from “perfect” families with average problems. Or at least that’s the way it seems.

 

But Hold On

But still my boys love me. My bride listens to my pity-party rants then replies gently that I’m not alone and that I’m loved. So maybe I’ve misunderstood fathering. Maybe it’s less the doing and more the being—being a father, being there for my boys, and being there for my wife. Even in all my failures in not “doing” things right I was still being the best father I knew to be. My father hated his father; he never even talked about him. So apparently my father didn’t have the best example. But my dad was there, being the best father he knew to be. We didn’t play catch much and we didn’t go camping, but he came home every night, kissed my mom and patted me on the head.

Maybe that’s the legacy my father gave me, while he finished his race poorly, he was still being the best he knew as I was growing up.  So now, in the strength of the Lord, Whom my father didn’t know, I will continue being the best father I can be; I will carry the legacy of my father and take it to the next level. Then when the torch of life is handed off to my boys, they then can go even higher.

Being Dad 

Maybe that’s what being a father is all about, being there and being the best I know how, even through my weakness. Jesus said he would never leave me and he exhorted Paul that, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (Matthew 28:20 and 2 Corinthians 12:8).

Peter, Paradigm Shifting, and Inclusiveness

In chapter 10 of the Book of Acts, we see Cornelius, a Gentile and Roman officer; experience a visitation from God by way of a vision. In the vision, he is encouraged to call upon the Apostle Peter to come to his house and teach him and his family all that Peter has learned from Jesus (vv. 1-8, 33). Meanwhile, Peter is having a different kind of vision from the Lord. His vision includes a large sheet and many different types of animals typically thought of as unclean to practicing Jews. However, the Lord tells Peter that what He, God, has cleansed, is not to be considered unclean.

As this drama unfolds, Peter is standing front and center in the home of Cornelius and his family teaching them about salvation in Jesus Christ. To Peter’s astonishment, they all accept the free gift of salvation by believing on the name of Jesus Christ. The reason Peter knew this was because “the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word” (v. 44, ESV). God then and there confirmed to Peter that He was, is, and always will be the God all, not just the God of Israel.

However, as we read in Chapter 11, the leadership of the young and emerging churched birthed in Christ were not convinced; and when Peter appeared to them, they grilled him on how could such a thing as Gentiles being baptized be ordained of God. Peter gave an eloquent defense, concluding with the following:

“If therefore God gave them  the same gift as He gave us when we believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could withstand God?”

When they heard these things they became silent; and glorified God, saying, “Then God has also granted to the Gentiles repentance to life.” (Peter to the apostles and brethren in Jerusalem and their response, Acts 11:17-18, NKJV).

Silence and the work of the Spirit

I picture significant soul-searching and prayer going on in the phrase, “they became silent.” What Peter spoke to these men was a seismic paradigm shift; even though they had already witnessed Jesus reaching out to the Gentiles while in His earthly ministry, they still held to their old notions of exclusivity. These men had significant leadership responsibility in the emerging church and they wanted to do their best; but upon hearing Peter’s account they had to stop and deeply consider the serious implications of his words.

I imagine they were thinking something like this, “Could it really be true that those we’ve called ‘dogs’ are now part of the family?”  To agree with Peter meant inviting…them…into the very heart of life with God. But in that gap of silence it appears that the Lord filled these men with many words of confirmation, so much so, this record closes with cheerful expression of glorifying God (11:18).

My View vs. God's View
This record leads me to ask, “How does this apply to my Twenty First Century life?” It reminds me of the many times I have said to myself and to others, “Boy, if he’d just believe he’d be a great Christian.” Such a phrase has usually been applied to someone who is, frankly, like me; talk about exclusivity! Thankfully I have recognized this trait and have made strides of change. Besides, who am I to judge what a “great Christian” is or is not; no one except the Lord foresaw Paul and his conversion and subsequent impact for the Kingdom. Clearly this record shows that holding to notions of heritage or similarity as determiners of who will or won’t be in God’s family is absurd and ungodly. The early leaders of the church quickly recognized this and, as this record indicates, glorified God for His grace and mercy being extended beyond their original expectations. They had courage to respond positively to God, so we must as well.

God and Cultural Diversity

I’ve been away from blogging for awhile because I have again enrolled in Seminary, now I am at Corban University, School of Ministry. I just finished my first semester, and it appears I fared okay. Anyway, one of the assignments in my Ministering Cross-Culturally class was to speak about our impressions of a passage in Revelation 5.

⁹ And they sang a new song:

“You are worthy to take the scroll

and to open its seals,

because you were slain,

and with your blood you purchased men for God

from every tribe and language and people and nation.

¹⁰ You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God,

and they will reign on the earth.” ^(NIV)

All From Everywhere

While I don’t want to be trite I can’t help but invoke the tune “I Can Only Imagine” by MercyMe. The gathering described in this section is beyond imagination and instills in me a deep sense of awe and worship. As I think that one day I will be able to worship the Lamb is staggering; what’s more, is thinking about how I will be worshipping with my fellow brothers and sisters in the Lord—astounding! Perhaps this is the core message of the genuine value of cultural diversity, that not only are we all made in the image of God, but that He wills that we are all saved and come unto the knowledge of the truth (1 Tim. 2:4). While not all will be saved, the picture is that God desires that they all be saved, and by “they” I mean all from everywhere, no respecter of persons, no hand-picking, no discrimination, no socioeconomic assessment and on and on….

An inclusive God is patiently waiting to have His family gathered at His throne, what are we (what am I) doing to facilitate that awesome and glorious gathering? And right now, even today, I may very well be the conduit of the Lord that draws another into the family to be at that great and glorious gathering. What, if anything, is standing in the way of me being that conduit? If there is anything standing in the way, eradicate it so one more soul can sing alongside me, “Worthy is the Lamb!”

The Lawyer, the Dawning and the Good Samaritan

Recently, in a class I’m taking at Corban University, the professor asked us to look at Luke 10:25-37, the parable about the Good Samaritan, as if we were reading it for the first time. As I attempted this, unexpected thoughts came flooding in.

 

I was raised by a lawyer, entertained going to law school myself, but have instead worked in government for over 26 years. I understand, have written, and enforce statutes, rules, policies, and procedures. So for the first time, I somehow related to the lawyer, maybe I never have before because I know we typically want to point our fingers at him to condemn him as arrogant and bigoted; he’s the guy we don’t want to be. Could it be, however, that we all have a little bit of this guy in us?

Insecurity or More?

I’ve read commentaries that state his question about “who’s my neighbor” reveals insecurity. They’re probably right because the commentators are smarter than me, but could it be that the guy was really confused and scared that all he knew could be wrong? Yes, he's testing Jesus, and traditional thinking suggests he's motivated by wanting to make Jesus look bad so that he can look good to the religious leaders. But consider for a moment that he could also have a deeper desire to know what is truly right and wrong; and his position allows him access to Jesus to pose such questions. Maybe he’s a bureaucrat that really wants to do the “right thing” but Jesus is clearly revealing that “right” is different than what he’s ever known. If so, insecurity seems too simplistic a description; maybe he really wanted to know the truth but when the truth was revealed it over-amped his ability to process it immediately. As the parable progresses, it only adds to his confusion, but if he’s willing, it will also illuminate within him a deeper understanding.

Then there’s the record itself. A “certain man” goes from Jerusalem to Jericho. I think by implication we can assume he’s a Jew. He gets robbed and beaten up pretty badly. This is an ugly scene, but hopefully the “good guy” will come along to help this poor soul. Well, culturally, the good guy does indeed come along, in fact, he comes along in two ways—a priest and a Levite—and neither one stops to help. In fact, each goes out of his way to avoid helping what we assume to be a person just like them. So who does help him, the culturally prescribed bad guy—a Samaritan. Jesus has completely reversed the stereotypes of that day. Frankly, he’s also reversed the stereotypes of our day as well.

The Dawning

The record ends with the lawyer admitting that the one, the Samaritan, “who showed mercy” was the neighbor to the one that had been beaten up. Even though the lawyer wasn’t quite able to say the word ‘Samaritan’, he at least seems to grasp the teaching—a neighbor, a person helping another person—isn’t based on heritage or status, but on need. To “go and do likewise” is to recognize that God is not responding based on culture or social status, but on need and we’re called to do the same. To be like Jesus we need to be prepared to enter into the other person’s world with a heart of compassion, not judgment or condemnation. As we do this, we’ll begin to better understand that God is the God of all humanity, not just the God of our church, or race, or country. And remember, God states very clearly in Genesis that we are all made in His image.  And Jesus, God in the flesh, served those in need, Jews, Samaritans, and even Gentiles. 

What's in a Name: I Get It!

These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life.

̶ 1 John 5:13

Years ago a high school friend of mine tried to convince me of the deity of Christ. He knew I was in a cult that I perceived as genuinely Christian. This cult, at that time called The Way International, did not believe in the deity of Christ. While I believe I was already saved at that point, I was not grounded in Christian doctrine nor connected to any church, so I was vulnerable to the lies of the world about Jesus. My friend Jim (not his real name), greatly desired for me to break through these lies and into an understanding of Christ’s deity. He used the book of First John as his text. Throughout this text Christ is referred to as the Son, not as God. He would say to me, “See, He’s God’s Son, so that makes Him God.”

“Well,” I began, “I’m Marv’s son as well, but that doesn't make me Marv.”

And on our debate went. He couldn't explain the deity any better than the previous example.

I Get It

Since those days, I have come to see my error and now know that Jesus was indeed God in the flesh. My flagship Scripture is:

“And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with you before the world was.”

─Jesus, John 17:5

This John 17 verse drips with pre-existence and deity, but that’s another blog. Suffice it to say that I believe in the deity of Jesus Christ. So where am I going with this?

Go back and quickly review the opening verse. A key to understanding the deity of Christ in 1 John is to understand the phrase “in the name of.” The Greek word for name means, well, name, but it also means reputation. So the meaning in 1 John is, I believe, both/and: It is encouraging us to believe in both the name and reputation of Christ.

In the Name

Think about that for a moment. The word Christ means messiah. Jesus was called the Christ, the Messiah (Matthew 1:16). He was also called Immanuel which means God with us (Matthew 1:23, Isaiah 7:14).  Jesus’s name means, at least in part, Messiah—God with us. So to the point of 1 John, to believe in the name of Christ, is to believe all the way into understanding and accepting that He was the Messiah and was God with us.

So while Jim didn’t understand the depth of the detail of 1 John as has been briefly explained here, he at least kept me thinking about the deity of Christ throughout my lifetime until I finally arrived at accepting it for myself.  Thank you, Jim!

What about you? Do you believe the deity of Christ? Or have you bought the lie of our secular culture and of many cults that He was nothing more than a great man?