Generous Justice (Timothy Keller)

The Bible talks about justice a lot- an awful lot.  Micah 6:8, for example, sums up what God requires of us:

He [God] has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

Think about that- in the three basic things listed, the first one is justice.  God wants us to be just- to everyone.  In Generous Justice, well-known pastor Timothy Keller discusses this topic in depth.  What does doing justice mean?  What does the Bible say about justice in the Old and New Testaments?  Why and how should we do justice?  He looks at these questions and more in this short (189 pages) volume. 

It would take too long to review every single point in the book, but here are a few:
- justice frequently escapes the disadvantaged in society.  The Bible states that justice should be done to both rich and poor- but Keller (rightly) notes that in most societies, it's generally the poor who are unjustly treated.  Thus, when we talk about justice, we're talking about helping those with less improve their lives in lasting and meaningful ways.
- the importance of justice in the Christian life (it's not just about preaching the gospel; it's about providing true, material (and spiritual) assistance to those in need).  This appears again and again in Scripture, in both Testaments: God cares about the poor, and expects us to as well.  That care should take the form of real assistance- not just lip service.
- the connection between grace (unmerited favor) and justice (receiving what's due).  God shows us grace by enacting justice on His Son; therefore, he expects us to do likewise: to show grace to others by paying the penalty for their behavior.  This was, perhaps, the most eye-opening part of it for me.  My belief is that we should help those who will responsibly respond.  So, I have no problem giving money to someone- if they'll use it for a good cause.  I have a real problem giving to people who would squander it.  Keller's point is not to give foolishly, but to give realizing that yes, your gift may be squandered.  Because let's face it: God gives us everything, and we squander a tremendous amount ourselves.  Why should we expect others to be better?
- the concepts of wealth redistribution (which is in Scripture), personal relocation (deliberately moving your family into a bad neighborhood to help improve it), and providing relief in a way that promotes permanent fixes (and not indefinite dependency)
- the different ways we can do justice: by direct relief, individual development, community development, racial reconciliation, and social reform.  Basically, both short-term and long-term solutions are necessary.

Keller does a fantastic job backing up his statements both with Scripture and real-world examples.  He also does well in making this apolitical- he looks at typical conservative and liberal approaches to justice and finds good (and bad) things in both camps.  Overall, this is a great, convicting, and humbling read, whether you're a Christian or not.  Highly recommended.

Rating: A

Every Good Endeavor (Tim Keller)

How we work—in the context of our particular culture, time in history, vocation, and organization—is something we all need to be thinking through in our own communities. But the answers will all hang on this essential theology: the knowledge of who God is, his relation to man, his plan for the world, and how the good news (or gospel) of Christ turns our lives and the way we work upside down. - Tim Keller

In Every Good Endeavor, Tim Keller looks at this concept of work through a Biblical lens. ("There is no better starting point for a meaningful work life than a firm grasp of this balanced work and rest theology.") He breaks it down into three parts: 

• God's Plan for Work
• The design of work, its dignity, work as cultivation, and work as service
• Our Problems with Work
• work can become fruitless, pointless, selfish, and reveal our idols
• The Gospel and Work
• The Gospel gives us a new story, conception, compass, and power for work 

Work matters. It is good. "According to the Bible, we don’t merely need the money from work to survive; we need the work itself to survive and live fully human lives." "God gives us talents and gifts so we can do for one another what he wants to do for us and through us."

Work is impacted by the fall like everything else. In a fallen world, work can be pointless or fruitless. It can be selfish and reveal our idols. We can make it the main thing to the detriment of ourselves and families. "Work is not all there is to life. You will not have a meaningful life without work, but you cannot say that your work is the meaning of your life." 

The Gospel changes everything, enabling us to view work rightly. "Since we already have in Christ the things other people work for—salvation, self-worth, a good conscience, and peace—now we may work simply to love God and our neighbors." We can ask the question “How, with my existing abilities and opportunities, can I be of greatest service to other people, knowing what I do of God’s will and of human need?”

Keller talks about other (related) topics, too, like culture, worldview, and much more. Including common grace—it's important to remember that "Just as God equips Christians for building up the Body of Christ, so he also equips all people with talents and gifts for various kinds of work, for the purpose of building up the human community." So we shouldn't look down on the work of non-Christians; a sovereign God can (and does) use all people for His purposes.
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Ultimately, this book is a call to reflect on and wrestle with "who God is and how to relate to him," including in your work. In so doing, "our church will grow in humility, love, truth, grace, and justice; and that our neighbors in the city will flourish because we were here."

This is an amazing book; highly recommended. Don't go through your life working to live (or living to work). Having a right view will transform your attitude toward, and performance in, every endeavor.

Rating: A

The Meaning of Marriage (Timothy Keller)

Whether or not you're married, it's good to read marriage books every now and then.  Timothy Keller's work looks at:
- the secret of marriage
- the power for marriage
- the essence of marriage
- the mission of marriage
- loving the stranger
- embracing the other
- singleness and marriage
- sex and marriage

He bases his book on 37 years of marriage, his experience with his inner-city New York church (4,000 attendees, 75% of whom are single), and the Bible.

At its core, the book argues that "Jesus's sacrificial service to us has brought us into a deep union with him and he with us.  And that . . . is the key not only to understanding marriage but to living it."  "This is one of God's great purposes in marriage: to picture the relationship between Christ and His redeemed people forever!"  What does that mean? That "each partner is called to sacrifice for the other in far-reaching ways.  Whether we are husband or wife, we are not to live for ourselves but for the other.  And that is the hardest yet single most important function of being a husband or a wife in marriage."  Because we're inherently selfish, that means a successful marriage (or relationship of any kind, frankly), will require us to "undergo a radical change in the way [we] relate to people."  The book goes on to discuss ways that needs to happen, from both our understanding of to our actions in marriage.

We need to hear the gospel in different ways, applied to different situations; this is a good look at marriage through that lens.  And I like Keller's quote defining the gospel: "It is that you are so lost and flawed, so sinful, that Jesus had to die for you, but you are also so loved and valued that Jesus was glad to die for you."  Marriage involves two lost and flawed people, who (if they truly love and value each other) will gladly sacrifice for the other, to the point of death.  A lofty goal to be sure!

It's a good work; I expect nothing less from Keller.  It's insightful and challenging.  I especially appreciated the chapters on loving the stranger (how we change through life and can become unrecognizable, and how to handle that) and singleness (how to neither over- nor under-desire marriage).  Check this one out.

Rating: A

Rediscovering Jonah (Timothy Keller)

 

In Rediscovering Jonah, pastor Tim Keller looks at the famous Biblical account of Jonah, the prophet who ran from God's command to preach to Nineveh (the capital city of Israel's archenemy), only to be swallowed by a fish and coughed up on land. Jonah then preaches to the city under fierce protest, and is angry when they are remorseful for their sin. He's not your typical prophet . . . or is he?

Keller's point is that the Jonah account is ultimately "to get us to understand grace." "God commanded Jonah to go to Nineveh, but he ran in the very opposite direction. Why did he do it? . . . [T]he root of Jonah's disobedience was his mistrust in the goodness of God. He did not believe God has his best interests at heart." Jonah was angry because he feared that God's mercy would come to his enemies. He put nationalistic pride above God. But he failed to realize that God's own people were in fact once God's enemies, reconciled only by grace [unmerited favor] that would be shown in the acts of God through Christ. And "a God who substitutes himself for us and suffers so that we may go free is a God you can trust." To wish condemnation on others is to not grasp that you, too, are under condemnation, and can only be saved from that by God. When, however, we understand this, we see the reason behind Jesus' teaching to 'love thy neighbor,' where neighbor = everyone. 

I enjoyed and was convicted by this work. We are no different than Jonah. I need to remember that God has my interests at heart whenever I'm tempted to disobey His commands, which are for my good and not (as I tend to think at times) to make me miserable. His love is ample evidence of His goodness and trustworthiness. There are other good concepts explored here, too- the reason for 'storms' in our lives, loving people different from us, striving for the common good, and God's sovereignty (one of the more amusing parts: even in running from God, Jonah ended up pointing foreigners to Him, the very thing he was trying to avoid). Another winner from Keller.

Rating: A

On Voting

image from here

It's election time in America! Facebook is abuzz with links, arguments, pleas, insults, and all sorts of opinions on how to vote. Below is a draft set of statements I'm thinking through as I ponder my choices, for this and every election, approaching them from a Christian perspective. The wording below is borrowed liberally from several pastors, to include Tim Keller (this article) and Duke Kwon (this article). Three statements to start:

1. Jesus is Lord over everything.
• As a result, everything matters. In societies where citizens are given a voice in how government conducts business, it is the Christian's privilege and responsibility to participate. Vote. From Tim Keller: "Christians should be involved politically as a way of loving our neighbors, whether they believe as we do or not."
2. No party fully displays the gospel of Jesus Christ.
• Both parties want to see America prosper, but have very different visions for what that means and how to make that happen. Each party has policy elements that echo of gospel teachings, but both are off in areas.  
• Scott Sauls says: "Neither Right nor Left has a corner on truth, justice, or neighbor love. Both (a) have some blood on their hands, and (b) imperfectly align with *some* aspect/s of Christ’s own agenda. Follow the Whole Christ and you will find it impossible to align wholesale with any party."
• From Duke Kwon: "Jesus didn’t (and doesn’t) fit neatly into any political party. His kingdom is “not of this world.” Therefore, we should expect the values and priorities of that “alien kingdom” both to transect and to transcend the political categories of the world." 
3. Christians will differ in their political affiliations.
• Because no party fully displays the gospel, Christians will differ in how they vote. Every vote is a compromise. Christians will choose different compromises. 
• And we should be aware of those compromises. Pastor Kwon: "Christians should regularly experience discomfort within their own parties: how the issues are defined and what issues are (and aren’t) tackled. You should never feel perfectly “at home.”"
• And so we should not side with one party at all costs. Duke Kwon: "Christians should be more critical of their own party than their own political tribespeople, and more charitable of the opposing party (annoyingly so) than their own political tribespeople" . . . to the point that "Christians should occasionally make members of their own party mad. If you’ve never irked someone from your own political tribe for disagreeing with the party line, you’re probably following party more than you are Jesus." 
• And as a result, we should be bridge builders. Again, Kwon: "Christians should be motivated to build bridges across the aisle, whether vocationally or socially -- not simply for reasons of civility or productivity, but based upon the conviction that the opposition party is the depository of “leftover pieces” of Jesus' “platform” that evidently didn’t fit into your own party’s policy puzzle."
• Remember, too, the purpose of government. The Bible tells us what to believe and how to behave, but it does not offer, in most cases, policy directives. 
• Example: The Bible's focus is not earthly government, but it's clear from the text that government matters and we should pray for peace and justice. The Bible does not say how much we should pay in taxes (though it does say we should pay them), whether taxes should(n't) fund social programs, and a great deal else. 
• As Christians, it's clear our mandate is to love God and others- to be an active participant in in providing justice and care. It does not say the government must (or cannot) participate in these matters. 
• Thus, it's expected and acceptable for Christians to fall on either side of several issues. From Kwon: "Public policy can be an expression of kingdom values, but the two are not equivalent."  Tim Keller adds: "most political positions are not matters of biblical command but of practical wisdom."
• Tim Keller gives more detail: "This does not mean that the church can never speak on social, economic and political realities, because the Bible often does. Racism is a sin, violating the second of the two great commandments of Jesus, to “love your neighbor.” The biblical commands to lift up the poor and to defend the rights of the oppressed are moral imperatives for believers. For individual Christians to speak out against egregious violations of these moral requirements is not optional.
  However, there are many possible ways to help the poor. Should we shrink government and let private capital markets allocate resources, or should we expand the government and give the state more of the power to redistribute wealth? Or is the right path one of the many possibilities in between? The Bible does not give exact answers to these questions for every time, place and culture."

With that in mind, here's how I am trying to approach elections:

1. Consider policy.
• If candidate [x] wins the election, what will he say he will do? What policies will he champion; what causes will he espouse? 
• What are the underlying worldviews behind these policies? Are they true? I don't expect candidates to be Christians. But I look for those candidates who champion policies that reflect basic principles in the Bible: to respect the dignity of all human beings [because we're made in God's image], care for creation [because we're stewards of the Earth], account for human nature [because nobody is righteous], defend the good and bring wrath on those who practice evil, be just [show no partiality], show concern for the weak and poor, seek restoration of the fallen, and so on.
• From the prior section, note that Christians may come to different conclusions on which policies are most effectively just, protective, loving, etc. Either way, be aware of the underlying belief systems. 
• Also be cognizant of addressing 'root vs. fruit'- should policies focus on the root problem behind a given issue, the fruit of the issue, or both? I suspect some of the disagreements between parties (and Christians) come down to this emphasis. There are different ways to approach reducing crime, for example.
• Some people are "one-issue voters"- meaning that the other policy positions of a candidate are irrelevant to them. While people needn't care about every last issue, I'd argue that limiting it to just one is short-sighted. It's clear in scripture that more than one issue matters. If a candidate enacts good laws in one sphere but brings ruin in many others, is that a net gain? There isn't always an easy answer.
2. Consider character.
• Character shows what a leader truly believes. In that respect, character is policy. 
• Nobody is perfect, but let's say it more bluntly: everybody sins. So character isn't about being sinless, but the "overall moral or ethical quality" of the person. Do you trust this candidate when they speak? Is their conduct worthy of admiration? Do they acknowledge their faults and failures? Do they obey the law? How do they treat others- especially those with whom they disagree? 
• People follow the leader. If the candidate's character is suspect, people will start to defend and display suspect character. 
• This does not mean the person has to be 'nice' or 'likable.' But they do need to show character.
3. Consider qualifications.
• Does the person running for office have experience in relevant areas? 
• This doesn't mean they have to be career politicians, but that they have experience in something reasonably expected to have given them wisdom to execute their responsibilities well in the position they seek.
• Does this person have the demeanor necessary for the position? 
• This is related to character, but slightly different. You can be a good person and not be a good President, because you may not have the demeanor the position requires.
4. When evaluating, be consistent in judgments of both policy, character, and qualifications.
• It's in our nature to give a pass to candidate [x] for poor conduct, then rebuke candidate [y] for the same- all based on party affiliation. If you give one a pass on a given matter, you must do the same for the other. Conversely, if a given criterion matters for one candidate, it must matter for all. 
5. Have minimum acceptable thresholds.
• Every vote will be a compromise in some way(s), but there are thresholds. Have them. Know them. Stick to them. If it was Hitler vs. Stalin, could you in good conscience vote for either? We're not in that extreme situation today, but I use that example to illustrate that there may be times where choosing either candidate is a bad idea. There are other options.
• If you can't, in good conscience, vote for either of the main candidates, then don't. Vote for another candidate who exceeds your minimum acceptable threshold.
• Every vote sends a message. The two main parties retain their dominance in the political landscape today because of the mindset that insists on choosing one- it perpetuates the problem. Some elections may feature two candidates where neither is acceptable. If that's the case, vote for someone else.
• Most European democracies operate on a coalition system- many parties earn a decent (but small) share of the vote, so they must work together and form coalitions to govern. I don't suggest that this is inherently superior to America's two-party model, but I have noticed an intra-party accountability in Europe [because voters have other viable party choices, some of which don't differ remarkably from each other] that America lacks. It solves this particular problem.
6. Support whoever wins.
• As we are to seek the welfare of the cities in which we live, the Bible is clear that we are to pray for our leaders and submit to them, regardless of their policies, character, or disposition towards the Church. Only when they mandate something opposed to God's Word should we disobey.  
• We can rest in a sovereign and loving God, who makes kingdoms rise and fall, and holds the hearts of kings in His hand, to turn them as He wills. That doesn't mean that it will always be easy for His church, but we can rest- and even rejoice- in the reality that the Lord can use all things to accomplish His will- even those overtly opposed to Him. But we hope for more- we pray for wise and just rulers, "that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way." 

The decision will not always be easy; the way forward not always clear. Lord Jesus, grant us wisdom.

Thus Concludes 2019

Another reading year "in the books." This post recaps the year and presents what I consider the best of the bunch.

I read 40 books this year, totaling 7930 pages- about 22 pages a day.  I think that's my lowest total in the last eight years . . . I need to pick up the pace in 2020.

Of the 40 books, 4 were audiobooks, 3 were eBooks, and 5 came from the library or friends.  I read 21 books related to life in Europe or learning the German language.  Learning a new language certainly sapped my totals this year- it's much harder/slower to read in a second language.

Here are my top ten reads from this year:

William Brohaugh: Write Tight
C.V. Wedgwood: The Thirty Years War
Tim Keller: The Meaning of Marriage
Tim Keller: The Prodigal God
Ivo Andric: The Bridge over the Drina
DK Publishing: World War II: The Definitive Visual History
Tim Keller: Counterfeit Gods
Robert Jordan: The Eye of the World
Gerald Morris: Sir Gawain the True
The Brothers Grimm: Grimm's Fairy Tales Vol. 1

Though the above are excellent and I enjoyed other selections as well, I couldn't help but feel this year, like the last, was a 'down' reading year.  I can't put my finger on the cause; it just felt a little less gripping than normal.  Let's turn that around in 2020.  Happy reading!

The Prodigal God (Timothy Keller)

You probably know the Biblical parable of the prodigal son- or do you?  The story- where a wayward son demands his inheritance, wastes it, and in desperation returns to be (surprisingly) welcomed back by his loving father, while the older (obedient) son watches with disdain- often focuses on the disobedient child.*  But should it?  In The Prodigal God, Tim Keller points out that the story would be more suitably referred to as the tale of two lost sons- for the obedient child is just as rebellious, albeit differently.  He looks at the "parable's basic meaning," demonstrates "how the story helps us understand the Bible as a whole," and shows "how its teaching works itself out in the way we live in the world."

Summary
The two sons represent two types of people:
1) "The younger brother in the parable illustrates the way of self-discovery."  These people do what they want, and spurn authority.  They are selfish.
2) "The elder brother in the parable illustrates the way of moral conformity." These people do what tradition/authority want them to do- but not for a good reason.  They are self-righteous, and think that obedience is a way of gaining leverage.  In other words, "I'll get what I want if I'm good."


"The person in the way of moral conformity says: “I’m not going to do what I want, but what tradition and the community wants me to do.” The person choosing the way of self-discovery says: “I’m the only one who can decide what is right or wrong for me. I’m going to live as I want to live and find my true self and happiness that way.”"

Though acting very differently, "underneath the brothers’ sharply different patterns of behavior is the same motivation and aim. Both are using the father in different ways to get the things on which their hearts are really fixed. It was the wealth, not the love of the father, that they believed would make them happy and fulfilled."  Both "resented their father's authority . . . [and] they each wanted to get into a position in which they could tell the father what to do. Each one, in other words, rebelled—but one did so by being very bad and the other by being extremely good. Both were alienated from the father’s heart; both were lost sons."

Wow.  Think about this. "Neither son loved the father for himself. They both were using the father for their own self-centered ends rather than loving, enjoying, and serving him for his own sake. This means that you can rebel against God and be alienated from him either by breaking his rules or by keeping all of them diligently. It’s a shocking message: Careful obedience to God’s law may serve as a strategy for rebelling against God."

What's the point?  Whether you do define right and wrong for yourself (younger brother) or obey out of fear (older brother), it shows that "we habitually and instinctively look to other things besides God and his grace as our justification, hope, significance, and security. We believe the gospel at one level, but at deeper levels we do not."  In effect, we are our own god. "There are two ways to be your own Savior and Lord. One is by breaking all the moral laws and setting your own course, and one is by keeping all the moral laws and being very, very good. "

"Everybody knows that the Christian gospel calls us away from the licentiousness of younger brotherness, but few realize that it also condemns moralistic elder brotherness." And in fact, the focus of the tale is on the older brother. Why? "the younger brother knew he was alienated from the father, but the elder brother did not." "Elder brothers obey God to get things. They don’t obey God to get God himself—in order to resemble him, love him, know him, and delight him. So religious and moral people can be avoiding Jesus as Savior and Lord as much as the younger brothers who say they don’t believe in God and define right and wrong for themselves."  In fact, the older brother may be in greater danger, as he doesn't realize his need.

Whether your life more resembles the younger or older brother, this story is about all of us. "the Bible teaches that, as in Jesus’s parable, God was the “father” of that home and we chafed under his authority. We wanted to live without God’s interference, and so we turned away, and became alienated from him, and lost our home for the same reason the younger brother lost his. The result was exile. " We all sin, and "sin is not just breaking the rules, it is putting yourself in the place of God as Savior, Lord, and Judge just as each son sought to displace the authority of the father in his own life."

Enter Jesus. "Jesus does not divide the world into the moral “good guys” and the immoral “bad guys.” He shows us that everyone is dedicated to a project of self-salvation, to using God and others in order to get power and control for themselves. We are just going about it in different ways. Even though both sons are wrong, however, the father cares for them and invites them both back into his love and feast."  Indeed, in the gospel view, "everyone is wrong, everyone is loved, and everyone is called to recognize this and change."  How can we change?

"The first thing we need is God’s initiating love. Notice how the father comes out to each son and expresses love to him, in order to bring him in."  Most people believe "religion operates on the principle of “I obey—therefore I am accepted by God.”" This is incorrect.  "The basic operating principle of the gospel is “I am accepted by God through the work of Jesus Christ—therefore I obey.”"  Christ died for us- to save us and bring us home, out of exile. And so "all change comes from deepening your understanding of the salvation of Christ and living out of the changes that understanding creates in your heart."

"Faith in the gospel restructures our motivations, our self-understanding, our identity, and our view of the world. Behavioral compliance to rules without heart-change will be superficial and fleeting." "But if we truly believe and trust in the one who sacrificially served us, it changes us into people who sacrificially serve God and our neighbors."  We must keep telling ourselves "how graciously loved and accepted" we are because of Him. We "need to be moved by the sight of what it cost to bring you home."  The result will change "the inner workings of the heart . . . from a dynamic of fear and anger to that of love, joy, and gratitude."

In conclusion, the point of the parable is that "both the worldly life of sensual pleasure and the religious life of ethical strictness fail to give the human heart what it is seeking." "Jesus’s great Parable of the Prodigal Son retells the story of the entire Bible and the story of the human race. Within the story, Jesus teaches that the two most common ways to live are both spiritual dead ends. He shows how the plotlines of our lives can only find a resolution, a happy ending, in him, in his person and work."

Review
Keller says this book "is meant to lay out the essentials of the Christian message, the gospel." And it does, most excellently.  It shows both the "freeness" and costliness of God's grace. Moving, humbling, convicting, profound, thought-provoking . . . I could go on.  But this book was amazing, and it's so short (140 pages, or 2.25 hours on audiobook), I highly recommend it to all- Christian and non- as a good explanation of the gospel and how we all run from it.  Keller's writing is simple yet powerful.  I listened to it, but may buy it in paperback to highlight its gems- and there are many.

Rating: A

*You can read the whole story in Luke 15:11-32, here

Counterfeit Gods (Timothy Keller)

We all have gods- idols that dominate our lives and drive our thoughts, words, and actions.  In Counterfeit Gods, Tim Keller looks more at this essential topic and its ramifications.  All quotes presented below are from the book.

Summary

"Every human being must live for something." That 'something' is an idol, and every culture in the world has its own set of them. What's an idol? It's anything "more fundamental than God to your happiness, meaning in life, and identity." It is a counterfeit god.

"We think that idols are bad things, but that is almost never the case." Instead, our hearts take "good things like a successful career, love, material possessions, even family, and turns them into ultimate things. Our hearts deify them as the center of our lives, because, we think, they can give us significance and security, safety and fulfillment, if we attain them." Typical examples of idols include sex, money, things, power, success, reputation, status, and political goals.

Why is idolatry bad?
"Idolatry is always the reason we ever do anything wrong." It's why “the central . . . principle of the Bible [is] the rejection of idolatry.” And "if we look to some created thing to give us the meaning, hope, and happiness that only God himself can give, it will eventually fail to deliver and break our hearts."  How does this happen?  "When an idol gets a grip on your heart, it spins out a whole set of false definitions of success and failure and happiness and sadness. It redefines reality in terms of itself." Yes, "counterfeit gods always disappoint, and often destructively so." "Idolatry distorts our feelings. Just as idols are good things turned into ultimate things, so the desires they generate become paralyzing and overwhelming. Idols generate false beliefs such as “if I cannot achieve X, then my life won’t be valid” or “since I have lost or failed Y, now I can never be happy or forgiven again.” These beliefs magnify ordinary disappointments and failures into life-shattering experiences."

Do we all have idols?

Yes.  The Bible claims that "the human heart is indeed a factory that mass-produces idols."  Though it manifests itself differently in each of us, without exception "we prefer our own wisdom to God’s wisdom, our own desires to God’s will, and our own reputation to God’s honor." And idols ". . . do not only take individual form, but can be corporate and systemic."  We're all influenced by them; in fact, "it is impossible to understand your heart or your culture if you do not discern the counterfeit gods that influence them."

How do I determine my idols?

"One of the signs that an object is functioning as an idol is that fear becomes one of the chief characteristics of life. When we center our lives on the idol, we become dependent on it. If our counterfeit god is threatened in any way, our response is complete panic."

Here are some questions you can ask to think on your idols:
- what do you do with your solitude?
- "What do you enjoy daydreaming about? What occupies your mind when you have nothing else to think about?"

- How do you spend your money?
- What are your most uncontrollable emotions, and what triggers them?

- What do you look to for "significance (love) and security (trust)"?
- What do you fear?  What could you not live without?

Can we fix this?  What's the solution?
"Is there any hope? Yes, if we begin to realize that idols cannot simply be removed. They must be replaced."  And "deep idols have to be dealt with at the heart level."  We must look to Jesus.

What breaks and idol's power "over us is not just redoubled effort to follow the example of Christ. Rather, it is deepening your understanding of the salvation of Christ, what you have in him, and then living out the changes that that understanding makes in your heart—the seat of your mind, will, and emotions. Faith in the gospel restructures our motivations, our self-understanding and identity, our view of the world. Behavioral compliance to rules without a complete change of heart will be superficial and fleeting." "If we are deeply moved by the sight of his love for us, it detaches our hearts from other would-be saviors. We stop trying to redeem ourselves through our pursuits and relationships, because we are already redeemed."

In short, "we have to know, to be assured, that God so loves, cherishes, and delights in us that we can rest our hearts in him for our significance and security and handle anything that happens in life."  Indeed, "the living God, who revealed himself both at Mount Sinai and on the Cross, is the only Lord who, if you find him, can truly fulfill you, and, if you fail him, can truly forgive you."

Review
In addition to the main topic, Keller has excellent thoughts on the nature of forgiveness, following God, and the Gospel in general.  Like his Prodigal God, I found this insightful, humbling, convicting, profound, transformative, and uplifting.  Highly recommended.

Rating: A

The Top Ten: Books (Religion)

Don't be fooled; we're all religious.  We all have beliefs that drive our conduct, whether they're codified and confessed by a community or individually developed. And since everyone is religious, it's important to think on what you believe and why.

I've reviewed over 100 books in this category on this blog; the below selections have been very helpful to me as a Christian.  For those unfamiliar with Christianity, one good summary is All Things New.

1. Prodigal God (Timothy Keller)

Keller looks at the familiar parable of the prodigal son to explain how each of us is one son or the other- and how each needs the father's love and grace.  Poignant and humbling.

2. The Canon of New Testament (Bruce Metzger)

Christians hold the Bible as God's Word; how did it come to be?  The Old Testament was established by Jesus' day, and He accepted it.  What about the new?  Bruce Metzger looks at this in-depth in his excellent book.  F.F. Bruce's book on the Canon of Scripture is also excellent.

3. Saving the Bible from Ourselves (Glenn Paauw)

Paauw argues that Christians over the generations have developed several poor habits in how we approach and read the Bible, and offers suggestions how to improve.

4. Christianity's Dangerous Idea (Alister McGrath)

The Reformation, launched just over 500 years ago in Germany, changed the way Christianity was understood and practiced for millions.  And it keeps changing today. Behind it all was a dangerous idea- that people had the right (and responsibility) to study God's word for themselves.  There was value and danger here, and McGrath does a good job looking at both in this history of Protestantism.  For those looking for a more general history of the Church, check out The Story of Christianity (Justo Gonzalez).

5. Systematic Theology (John Frame)

The Bible isn't organized systematically.  That's fine, but there can be confusion and dissension among differing denominations over the centuries on how to interpret the Bible on a given issue.  Frame writes clearly and well as he looks at common doctrines systematically, i.e. looking at different scriptures on the same topic and forming conclusions accordingly.  Very well done.

6. Faith Speaking Understanding (Kevin Vanhoozer)

Vanhoozer's work looks at the importance of understanding Biblical doctrine so well that we can apply it to all of life; after all, our beliefs are not merely propositional (intellectual), but dispositional (determine our actions).

7. Fallen: A Theology of Sin (Various)

We are fallen people- sinners.  Our culture today increasingly rejects that notion; many believe man is inherently good.  This book looks at sin- what it is and what to do about it.  Highly recommended.

8. No Future Without Forgiveness (Desmond Tutu)

There is evil in this world (and in each of us).  How do we live with it?  In this work, Desmond Tutu looks at dealing with the Apartheid, and how South Africa chose to pursue truth and reconciliation.  We all need forgiveness; there's no future without it.

9. Extravagant Grace (Barbara Duguid)

"God's glory is displayed in our weakness," reads the front cover.  Indeed.

10. The Soul of Science (Nancy Pearcey)

Scientists are just as religious as everyone else, and our worldview determines how we approach everything- even seemingly objective topics.  Pearcey's book is an outstanding analysis of the history of human thought behind science.

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It was hard to choose just ten . . . so many good authors (G.K. Chesterton, C.S. Lewis, and others) could easily have places here.

You're religious; know your religion!

The Freedom of Self-Forgetfulness (Timothy Keller)

In this booklet (just 46 pages), noted pastor Tim Keller walks through 1 Corinthians 3:21-4:7, a passage that "gives us an approach to self-regard, an approach to the self and a way of seeing ourselves that is absolutely different from both traditional and modern/postmodern contemporary cultures." A summary follows.

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In this passage, Paul shows us three things:

1. "The natural condition of the human ego."
2. "The transformed sense of self."
3. "How to get that transformed sense of self."

The natural condition of the human ego

The human ego's natural condition "is empty, painful, busy, and fragile." 

It is empty: puffed up, over-inflated, but with "nothing at its centre." It is "built on something besides God" and, as a result, will never satisfy.

It is painful: "ego often hurts . . . because it has something incredibly wrong with it." "It is always drawing attention to itself." In our physical bodies, we tend to pay attention to a part only if it hurts. I don't think about my toes unless there is something wrong with them. The ego is the same way; thinking about ourselves constantly indicates something is wrong.

It is busy: "always drawing attention to itself . . . doing two things in particular—comparing and boasting." The way "the normal human ego tries to fill its emptiness and deal with its discomfort is by comparing itself to other people. All the time." All such comparisons are simply forms of boasting. But it always falls short.

It is fragile: Comparing/boasting doesn't work. "A superiority complex and an inferiority complex are basically the same. They are both the result of being overinflated." And we have all experienced the results in ourselves and seen it in others: we have fragile egos, because we know we don't measure up on our own.

The transformed sense of self

"Paul's self-worth, his self-regard, his identity is not tied in any way" to others' evaluation of him . . . or his evaluation of himself. "It is as if he says, 'I don't care what you think—but I don't care what I think. I have a very low opinion of your opinion of me—but I have a very low opinion of my opinion of me.'"

Paul "knows that trying to find self-esteem by living up to a certain set of standards is a trap." A man of incredible achievement, he also called himself the chief of sinners (1 Timothy 1:15). In other words, he was saying "I am the worst." But he connects neither his achievements nor his sins with himself or his identity. He neither congratulates nor condemns himself. Neither success nor failure will "stop him from doing the things that he is called to do." He knew that both pride and low self-esteem "are horrible nuisances to our own future and to everyone around us."

Paul shows gospel-humility, which "means I stop connecting every experience, every conversation, with myself. In fact, I stop thinking about myself." "Because the essence of gospel-humility is not thinking more of myself or thinking less of myself, it is thinking of myself less." Neither self-hating nor self-loving: self-forgetful. That means (among other things) that we can accept compliments without getting puffed up, and accept criticism without being devastated. And it means that we "can start to enjoy things that are not about me . . . I can actually enjoy things for what they are."

How to get that transformed sense of self

How did Paul get there? How do we? The gospel. "In Christianity, the verdict leads to the performance." We live not to earn acceptance or respect, but because we have been granted acceptance already. "In Christianity, the moment we believe, God imputes Christ's perfect performance to us as if it were our own, and adopts us into His family." "Because He loves me and He accepts me, I do not have to do things just to build up my résumé. I do not have to do things to make me look good. I can do things for the joy of doing them. I can help people to help people—not so I can feel better about myself."

"Like Paul, we can say, 'I don't care what you think. I don't even care what I think. I only care about what the Lord thinks.' And he has said, 'Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,' [Romans 8:1] and 'You are my beloved child in whom I am well pleased.' [see Mark 1:11] Live out of that."

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This is a great little booklet. "It's not about you" and "I am loved" are two phrases I have to repeat to myself daily. This book talks about why. Too often, I base my self-esteem on my performance, meaning I either feel falsely good (when I have a good day) or falsely bad (when I don't). The days I manage to be self-forgetful are my most peaceful, satisfying, and delightful times. Getting/staying there is hard, but books like this help remind me of its importance and the futility of seeking meaning through other ways. Highly recommended.

Rating: A

Uncommon Ground (Keller & Inazu)

"Living faithfully in a world of difference" is the sub-title and theme of today's review, Uncommon Ground. Featuring Tim Keller, John Inazu, and ten other writers (from various vocations), "this book's central question is how Christians can engage with those around us, while both respecting people whose beliefs differ from our own and maintaining our gospel confidence."

The book is organized under headings of:

• framing our engagement (as theologian, pastor, adventurer, and entrepeneur)
• this "explores the roles through which we think about our engagement with others."
• communicating our engagement (as author, songwriter, storyteller, and translator)
• this "looks at how we speak when we engage our neighbors in an increasingly pluralistic society."
• embodying our engagment (as bridge builder, caregiver, reconciler, peacemaker)
• this considers how we embody our engagement with others.

Some highlights follow.

"As Christians, we are called to contribute to the societies of which we are a part. As we do so, we ought to contribute to the good we share in common with all citizens, not just seek the good of Christians." Recall this theme in Scripture- where Israel, God's people, were living as exiles for centuries and called to both be holy (obedient to God and, in that sense, separate from the people with whom they dwelt) and seek the flourishing of society, for 'in its welfare you will find your welfare' (see Jeremiah 29:7).

We need each other- a diverse community. "When we recognize our need for interdependence, we see ourselves and others rightly: as people made in the image of God, with unique and valuable gifts. That posture invites us to take risks together. It exhorts us to celebrate the success of others instead of feeling threatened, beacuse we know that all of our skills are imporant in God's kingdom. That that leads to deeper unity."

Christians are the salt of the earth, so we "should not remain in the saltshaker." That means being present, and even partnering with, "people, institutions, and movements that diverse in important respects from our core convictions. . . When those differences are unjust or evil, we need to distinguish ourselves from them. But where possible, we should gather near, identify common ground, and draw lines as sparingly as possible . . . Christians should not fail to affirm the good, true, and beautiful wherever we see it, even if it emerges from sources with whom we would otherwise disagree."

Christians are heralds of an eternal message- the gospel. "And we have to learn how to say these eternal things- the dignity and wroth of creatures, the brokenness at the root of humanity, the unrelenting redemption of God, the glorious newness that beckons us- in a language and voice that might make sense of them amid the particular confusion, conflict, longings, and limitations of our own brief era and place." In other words, to speak "in the right way, at the right time."

"People will always gravitate towards a story that aligns with their current way of seeing the world." We must remember the Christian worldview as we approach ourselves and each other- "we are all guilty. We are all villains, the bad guys. The true evil is sin showing its face through broken humanity, and it touches every one of us. The one true hero is Jesus and his power to restore broken hearts and repair the infrastructure corrupted by sin."

We live in multiple worlds- we are simultaneously immersed in work, church, neighborhood, school, and more. We must be translators between these, careful to avoid stereotyping the 'other' and focusing on relationships. We must "make words and ideas accessible to audiences unfamiliar with them." This requires knowing both the subject matter and audience.

We must be bridge builders, for there are vast differences- gaps- between us. "Loving your neighbor is easier when there's very little difference [between you]." But when there are great chasms between you and others, the command to love hasn't changed.

We must be aware that sin "is embedded in institutions and structures that operate through us, even when we're not aware of them." This calls to the need for humility and "embracing the vulnerability, dependence, and love that comes with living inside the life of Jesus . . . and resting there."

"Christians can engage confidently in the work of reconciliation because our confidence isn't in the flesh. We know that we can never do anything apart from Jesus . . . our allegiance isn't to worldly structures and systems but to the Lord. This reality frees us to labor for our neighbor, to engage in the culture for the good of society, and to speak the truth in love."

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This book is largely a series of stories- not a prescriptive outline for living faithfully in a pluralistic society. That threw me off at times, as I kept waiting for (and wanting) that "[x]-step program" to improving in this area. That said, they do conclude with four practices to encourage "faithful presence" with others:

1. Christians should not overidentify with any particular political party or platform.
2. Christians should approach the community around them through a posture of love and service.
3. Christians should recognize that the gospel subverts rival stories and accounts of reality.
• (Don't try "to adapt too much to the culture in an effort to be seen as relevant." For example, don't reduce the gospel to individual self-esteem.)
4. Christians should reach out to others with humility, patience, and tolerance.

Overall, this was a solid book. As with any work featuring multiple authors, some chapters enlightened, humbled or convicted me more than others. But all were solid and worthy of reflection. Especially in these difficult times.

Rating: A

Good Mourning

It took almost a year, but it finally hit me- I mourn over the pandemic. Of course, I've lived in it the same as everyone else for the past eleven months in Germany- the lockdowns, the restrictions, the masks, the distancing. And I've had pandemic fatigue before now. But it's getting more real.

The first few weeks were almost enjoyable- a nice break from the typical busyness. We then enjoyed beautiful weather through spring and summer- the best weather I've seen in ten Northern European summers, with perfect temperatures and constant sun. I picked up bicycling, we toured castle ruins, and hiked the myriad trails. That distracted us from the continuing difficulties, as we could still enjoy the great outdoors. But descent into the November gloom- without the Christmas markets to brighten the season- followed by the typical wet/gray/dark of January and February have finally done it for me; I've had it. I mourn.

On the one hand, we count ourselves blessed throughout this time- none of us have fallen ill, we've maintained jobs, we have all we need. On the other, we mourn. So much has been lost- lives, jobs, time, opportunities, experiences, community, fellowship. Some things will recover and return to full strength in time; others may be gone forever. We mourn. I mourn in particular for fellowship. Quality time with friends and family. How many relationships were stifled or unrealized because of the continued isolation? 

Ultimately, our mourning points us to the underlying reason why pandemics happen: things are not the way they're supposed to be. And why is that? Sin. When man broke fellowship with God by rebelling against Him (by sinning, in other words), it introduced all manner of corruption into the world. Hardship, poverty, illness, injustice, killing, theft, war, famine, evil. And so mourning is a recognition of reality.

I hate mourning. I want to be happy all the time. Make lemonade when lemons come, etc. Yet Jesus says "blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted" (Matthew 5:4). In context, he's referring to sin. Jesus' words encourage us to remember these present difficulties and see them for what they are- and mourning is the appropriate response.  This gospel coalition article goes into more detail. Mourn. Mourn sin. Mourn brokenness. Mourn.

But Jesus doesn't leave us there. Mourning is a necessary part of life; a right recognition of evil's reality and results. But He promises comfort. For the Christian, Jesus's work on the cross broke this curse. It delivered victory. And more- He says "Behold, I am making all things new" (Revelation 21:5). "Everything sad is going to come untrue and it will somehow be greater for having once been broken and lost." (Tim Keller) 

Mourning is a part- but it is not the end. May we mourn this time, and may our mourning point us to Jesus: to thirst for and cling to Him always. We shall be comforted.

Rightly Ordered Affections

In recent weeks, I've tried to keep a phrase in my mind: "rightly ordered affections." It has been to my benefit to do so; today I share what it means and why it has helped me.

In the early fifth century, St. Augustine of Hippo wrote The City of God. In it he discusses (among many other things) the order of love:

It seems to me that it is a brief but true definition of virtue to say, it is the order of love

This idea has been called ordo amoris, or rightly ordered affections. Love in its proper hierarchy or sequence. And he argues (rightly) that getting our loves disordered is sinful. Why?

The Bible lays it out in Matthew 22:35-40:.

35 One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: 36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”
37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

Here Jesus presents the two great commandments. Summarizing, 1) Love the Lord with all you have, and  2) Love your neighbor as yourself. 

Loving God comes first, before all else. Jesus demonstrated this throughout His life; the man with power to heal the world focused first on loving the Father. He routinely withdrew alone to pray (Mark 1:35 and elsewhere), He was tempted by the devil but focused on and worshipped the Lord (Matthew 4:1-10), and He had his own desires—and made them plain to the Father!—but always bowed to the Father's will (Matthew 26:36-46). 

Loving your neighbor as yourself comes second. 

Both loving God and neighbor doesn't come easily or naturally to us. In the Fall, we put ourselves above God and worshipped the creation over the Creator (Romans 1:18-32). That can include loving people or other good things over God; to Augustine's point, it is loving out of order. Tim Keller makes the same point said another way: 

Idolatry happens when we take good things and make them ultimate things

Sometimes we think our desires are wrong (and to be clear, some desires are wrong). But some desires are good—if in their proper place. And it is helpful to remember both that 1) they are good but 2) ONLY if they are subordinate to God.

Our desires can be good, and God wants to hear about them because He cares for us. He wants us to pray for things (Philippians 4:6-7). When we cast our needs and cares on Him, we are showing him that we believe He cares and can do something about it. He might give us what we wish; he might not (there are plenty of examples of both in the Bible). Either way, we come to Him with our requests, confident in His goodness but subordinate to His will, knowing if He withholds something we request—even something good!—it is for a good reason (whether or not that is ever clear to us in this world).

Here's an example. One of my 'ruling passions'* is peace. Peace is good! The Bible says that blessed are the peacemakers (Matthew 5:9). But is also says that Jesus has come not to bring peace but a sword (Matthew 10:34-39). That's no contradiction; it is the reality of truth (the Son of God) coming into a world of darkness. There will be clashes. And in that same passage, Jesus says "Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. " Here we see this concept of ordering: "more than me" is, in this passage, putting love of family ahead of love of God. It is doing anything to keep the peace when a conflict is (regrettably) needed. So while we strive for peace, we strive more for God. We seek and pray for peace, but must be willing to enter into conflict when necessary. Whenever I avoid needed conflict, I am putting my love for peace (a good thing!) above God. And that is wrong.

So, "rightly ordered affections." It is a phrase I've tried to keep in my mind at work, home, church, or wherever I need it. When I see conflict coming and I want to run? "Rightly ordered affections." When I'm tired and need sleep (another good thing) but my wife needs help? "Rightly ordered affections." Or when I want to finish this post but my son comes in saying he lost his earbud in the lawn and needs help finding it?** Ugh . . . "rightly ordered affections." 

For me, repeating this phrase has been helpful; it has reminded me to seek God first while validating the other desires I have are okay—in their proper order. 

*a term I read recently from a great book on spiritual health—review coming soon

**yes, this literally just happened

Thus Concludes 2025

Another reading year "in the books." This post recaps the year and presents what I consider the best of the bunch.

I read 55 books this year, totaling 14,487 pages—about 40 pages a day. My average rating was 89.6/100.

Of the 55 books, 0 were audiobooks, 2 were eBooks, and 16 were borrowed from the library or friends. By genre, I read 6 fantasy books, 16 religion, 19 graphic novels, 6 literature, and a smattering of others.

I chipped away at my 240-book American Reading List (presented in four parts: here, here, here, here) and read four titles on those lists. I re-read The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. I studied theology books to prepare for a Sunday school class I am developing. And I kept my 'owned but unread' pile to a reasonable size.

Here are my top ten reads from this year:

The ESV Chronological Bible
Andrew Peterson: North! Or Be Eaten

- Also check out the others in that series!

Marilynne Robinson: Home

Tim Keller: Every Good Endeavor

Kevin DeYoung: Daily Doctrine

Richard Osman: The Thursday Murder Club

James K.A. Smith: On the Road with Saint Augustine

Herman Bavinck: The Certainty of Faith

J.R.R. Tolkien: The Lord of the Rings

Various: Batman, Volume 1: The Court of Owls

Happy reading!

How to be a Patriotic Christian (Richard Mouw)

In How to be a Patriotic Christian, Richard Mouw's goal is "to offer counsel to Christian readers about how to be patriotic," but it is not prescriptive: one piece of advice is "keep wrestling with the questions" as we look at "what it means to be citizens in the nation where the Lord has placed us."

Summary

Overall, "the Bible tells us to honor those who are in authority over us, [but] we also know that there come times for Christians when to obey a government is to be unfaithful to the gospel," as "our primary allegiance . . . is to the kingdom of Jesus Christ." "But patriotism is not just about our relationship to specific governmental policies and practices. It is about belonging to a community of citizens . . ." So what does this look like?

Jesus said to give to Caesar what was Caesar's, and to God what was God's (see Mark 12:17), but He never defined what exactly does belong to Caesar- in other words, the exact limits of government. In Romans 13 and 1 Peter 2, Paul and Peter, respectively, state we should be subject to higher powers, "for he is God's servant for your good." But we see many examples in history where the government is obviously evil and deviates from the course that God intended it to serve; in such cases, the patriotic course is in fact to dissent (and in some cases disobey). Ultimately, we expect and need the government to 'do right' and should cooperate with them (and those in our community) "to demonstrate our commitment to the common good." Even if that government may be opposed to Christians- recall the Lord's words to Jeremiah when Israel was in exile: "Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper." (Jeremiah 29:7) We are called to work for the common good wherever we find ourselves, even if we encounter hostility to our beliefs.

Ultimately, "A key governmental duty . . is to encourage good behaviors and discourage the bad. But we have to think about what this means regarding the proper limits of government." "The Bible does not lay out a detailed overview of the just ordering of a society. Instead, the biblical writers focus on groups of people whose legitimate cries for justice are often ignored." In other words, we should work with the government to make sure justice for all is being carried out. "A worthy government is one that cares for the well-being of all its citizens." And we should help/encourage them to do so.

Some other points:

- Some Americans claim to want the government out of their lives, but everyone should recognize the value of common services- things like streets, public safety measures, and other important functions. "Even if we think that there are some things . . . that a government should not do, I would still want to insist that a government is obliged at least to see to it that they are done by other entities."

- We live in a pluralistic society. As we want to worship God without hindrance, we should extend that freedom of religion to others. "We must focus on formulating policies and practices in terms that will be compelling to diverse constituencies." Part of that can be hard, to the extent that "we should cultivate a spirit of toleration regarding the range of permissible behaviors in our society. Not everything that can be judged to be sinful ought to be made illegal." And "we need to open ourselves to people who can remind us of our own prejudices, inconsistencies, and misdeeds." The Lord can and does use non-Christians to communicate truths in the public arena. And "everyone in our nation is created in the divine image, whether or not they share our Christian convictions." 

- Regarding policies, Tim Keller writes "most political positions are not matters of biblical command but of practical wisdom." We need to remember that. Championing the Bible's commands to love our neighbor can be approached in several ways, and we can (and should) disagree and wrestle with how to be faithful in this regard.

Mouw concludes with four guidelines for how to keep wrestling with questions; "guidelines that I think ought to inform all of us, regardless of our differences on political specifics."

- Do the work of contemplation.

- Cultivate compassion.

- Go deep in the quest for rootedness. (your deepest allegiance is to Christ, not country.)

- Trust Jesus.

Review

This is a good, if basic, introduction to the topic of patriotism. I wish there had been more meat and profound insights, but I did learn a few things on top of reinforcing positions I had heard before. This is good for someone with little/no background in the topic.

Rating: B

Thoughts on Discipleship

image from here

Between our recent men's retreat (summary here), the passing of Tim Keller (highly recommend The Prodigal God and his other titles), a men's ministry cohort I have been attending, and this Carey Nieuwhof article, discipleship has been on my mind a lot recently. This post has some thoughts on the topic.

Generically, a disciple is "a follower or student of a teacher, leader, or philosopher." (from Google/Oxford). Jesus had many disciples; the word occurs 261 times in Scripture- 260 of those are in the new testament, all in the gospels and Acts. (Overall, 89% of occurrences are in the gospels.) His final command to his disciples was to make disciples, per Matthew 28:18-20:

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

The disciples do just that, as we see in Acts and the rest of the New Testament. They lead the early church and produce followers who will continue after they are gone. We see from this that the disciples in Scripture are not just ones who follow but also ones who in turn have followers. Much is entrusted to, and thus required of, those who follow Jesus (Luke 12:48).

One goal of discipleship is maturity, growing by following those who are mature in various respects. 

From the Carey Nieuwhof article linked above:

Discipleship is the refining process by which a Christian becomes more like Jesus in their day-to-day life. We “make disciples” by encouraging other people follow Jesus’s example set forth in Scripture.

How do we do this? Nieuwhof continues and addresses and common misconception (italics mine):

The way many leaders approach maturity is to assume that knowledge produces maturity. Since when? It’s wonderful that people understand what they believe, but knowledge in and of itself is not a hallmark of Christian maturity. As Paul says, knowledge puffs up. Love, by contrast, builds up. And some of the most Biblically literate people in Jesus’ day were passed over when Jesus was selecting his disciples.
The goal is not to know, but to do something with what you know.

His article goes on to lay out what he argues are seven truths about discipleship, based on the Bible. I encourage you to read his thoughts on the matter.

In one-on-one discipleship, it is generally the more mature Christian helping others by their life and example. That involves relationship, 'messiness,' failure, and so on, as the Nieuwhof article discusses. What about in community? 

When we think of discipleship in the wider church, I would argue that discipling is not necessarily a 'top-down' approach, where we look to a core few believers to lead us all, but more of a community where we each exercise our gifts for the common good, following (and being followed by) each other in so doing. This is based on Ephesians 4: (Ephesians 4:1-3, 7, 11-16, emphases mine)

I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace . . . But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift . . . And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

We all have gifts, intended to build each other up and mature us so that we grow into Christ. That means we are discipling each other! It is humbling when we think of these verses, especially as 'when each part is working properly' appears to set a condition: if one or more parts is not working properly, our collective growth is stunted. So discipleship is, in part, not just using our gifts to build up one another but also encouraging others to use their gifts, so that we are all benefiting and growing as we ought.

These are just some introductory thoughts; I appreciate any resources, recommendations, or revisions you have.

Home (Marilynne Robinson)

Jack Boughton, the ne'er-do-well son of his Reverend father, has come home to Gilead, Iowa. After twenty years away, he returns bearing a past buried in alcoholism and secrets. The Reverend, now old and nearing the end, withers away as we awaits his death and yearns for Jack's salvation. Glory, a daughter with her own broken past, cares for the old man and now Jack, even as she has her own burdens.  

Glory knows Jack won't remain at home. He'll never feel comfortable there. But as he gets ready to depart forever, he and Glory have a parting exchange:

"I hope I haven't been too much trouble. There's a lot I regret." 

"All I regret is that you're leaving . . . now you know where to come when you need help."

"Yes. Ye who are weary, come home."

"Very sound advice."  

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Set concurrently with Gilead, but in a different household (one oft-referenced in the aforementioned work), this is another remarkable book. Much of what I said about Gilead applies here—it is a poignant portrait of the painful realities of this age. Yet it is beautiful in its way as it points to the futility of sin, the hope of grace, and the unwavering forgiveness and love of a father who simply wants to welcome his son back home.

This is billed as a re-telling of the parable of the prodigal son (read the Biblical story here or my summary of Tim Keller's excellent analysis of the same here). There, as here, there is more than one lost child in the story. Both have pain; both need healing; both have their father's love.

Rating: A

Meaning & Futility

As mentioned in the previous post, I gave a devotional message this past January. The below is a transcript. I apologize for any formatting oddities.
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I mentioned in my previous talk that being amongst castle and abbey ruins gave me a great sense of peace and heightened awareness of the tension in our lives between meaning and futility. I’d like to explore those concepts more now for the devotional. This will not be one text but a survey throughout the Scriptures, and we’ll start at the beginning, looking at this topic through the lens of the four-chapter gospel.

CREATION

In Genesis, God creates the earth and everything in it. He gives man a unique station and charge: 

Genesis 1:26-28: Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” 

This is what we call the ‘cultural mandate.’ God’s command to fill the earth, subdue, and have dominion imply the need for organization, delineation of responsibility, and collaboration- in other words, culture. This is the general mandate, true for all. It’s not bounded by age or role. And it shows that our creation had purpose- meaning. We weren’t here just to be here- we have an important role to play as stewards of the earth, responsible for its growth and thriving.

For Adam and Eve specifically, we see what that means in Genesis 2: 

Genesis 2:15: The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.

There’s no tension at this point because there’s no sin. We have purpose and aren’t constrained by curse. But things didn’t go well for long.

FALL

We know the story- Adam and Eve sinned, breaking the relationship with God. The penalty is spelled out in Genesis 3: 

Genesis 3:17-19: And to Adam he said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”

In the fall, the cultural mandate doesn’t change- we are still to be fruitful and multiply and subdue and have dominion- but there are two new realities introduced due to the curse:

1. The ground (creation) is cursed. It will fight back! There will be pain and failure and futility.
2. Man is cursed and will die. We will return to dust. And sinfulness now pervades our being.

So now we see the tension. The command to build and do meaningful work, but also the reality of pain, futility, and death. And sin- we want to be owner, not steward, of God’s creation.

Humanity has wrestled with this tension throughout our history, and Solomon offers a helpful exploration of this topic in Ecclesiastes.

Ecclesiastes 1:1-3, 12-14: The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity. What does man gain by all the toil at which he toils under the sun? . . . I the Preacher have been king over Israel in Jerusalem. And I applied my heart to seek and to search out by wisdom all that is done under heaven. It is an unhappy business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. I have seen everything that is done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and a striving after wind.

Ecclesiastes 2:16-20: For of the wise as of the fool there is no enduring remembrance, seeing that in the days to come all will have been long forgotten. How the wise dies just like the fool! So I hated life, because what is done under the sun was grievous to me, for all is vanity and a striving after wind. I hated all my toil in which I toil under the sun, seeing that I must leave it to the man who will come after me, and who knows whether he will be wise or a fool? Yet he will be master of all for which I toiled and used my wisdom under the sun. This also is vanity. So I turned about and gave my heart up to despair over all the toil of my labors under the sun, Solomon here is grappling with the tension between desiring to do something meaningful and the reality of death, dissatisfaction, and uncertainty. Our work can be vexing and seem pointless. Even if our work is successful in our lifetime, what follows? He recognizes that we have the eternal in us, saying 

Ecclesiastes 3:11: He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man's heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. 

Solomon is struggling with this tension. That we know there is more but see decay all around. He ‘gripes’ about this for a while, until concluding 

Ecclesiastes 12:13: The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.

We don’t know if Solomon delights in, or is resigned to, this statement. It’s a statement of faith either way- obey the Lord, even when it appears pointless or painful.

How does Jesus change things?

REDEMPTION

Jesus’s life and work revealed God’s plan. Jesus was the promised Messiah, delivering us from our sins by dying in our stead. He redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us (Galatians 3:13), and Jesus cried out on the cross that “it is finished” (John 19:30). How does the finished work of Jesus- His death and resurrection- affect the tension we experience between the eternal and temporary?

2 Corinthians 5:17: Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

Colossians 3:1-3: If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

1 Peter 22b-25a: . . . love one another earnestly from a pure heart, since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; for “All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains forever.”

We see here the tension still existing, but in a different sort of way. We- still in perishable bodies on a cursed earth- have died and been raised with Christ. We see this concept of perishable ‘putting on’ imperishable more in 1 Corinthians 15:35-38, 42-49, 50, 53:
35 But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?” 36 You foolish person! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. 37 And what you sow is not the body that is to be, but a bare kernel, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain. 38 But God gives it a body as he has chosen, and to each kind of seed its own body . . . 42 So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. 43 It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. 44 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. 45 Thus it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. 46 But it is not the spiritual that is first but the natural, and then the spiritual. 47 The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. 48 As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust, and as is the man of heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. 49 Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven. 50 I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. . . 53 For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality.

What does this mean? How should we then live in this ‘already but not yet’ mindset? Jesus shows the way.

RESTORATION

Jesus’ redemptive work on the cross is finished. But He came to do more. “The purpose of redemption is not to escape the world but to renew it.” – Tim Keller

This makes sense of Jesus’s work before He died and rose again. We see in Matthew 6:33 and 20-21, respectively, that Jesus says to seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and to lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. But this is not a call to ignore the world.

We know that Jesus did all things well (Mark 7:37), and we’re commanded to do the same. We read in 1 Corinthians 10:31 So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. And in Colossians 3:23-24 Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.

Look at how Jesus Himself lived that out in the Gospels: he healed the sick, fed the hungry, restored the infirm, brought the dead to life. Jesus shows through His work and His commands that He is tying the temporal to the eternal. He is showing that His ultimate purpose is not only redemption- but also restoration. And it is there that the tension is resolved.

The call to participate in the work of restoration is what gives our perishable work eternal significance. When Jesus healed and fed,

“Jesus was showing that he has the ability to deliver on his promise of new heavens and a new earth. As his disciples, we are to go out into the world and work to bring about flourishing in everything we do, giving those around us the hope of the way things could be. As Christians, we are called to live lives so transformed by this four-chapter gospel that others will see in it the possibility of their own transformation and the world’s.” – Hugh Whelchel (ATN)

And Jesus says in John 14:12, Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father.

This claim- shocking at first glance- is talking about is his restorative work, not redemptive. Since His departure and sending of the Spirit, He has worked through His church- millions of His people- do to works greater in quantity than what He did as one person. And we see the end state in Revelation:

Revelations 21:1-6: Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment.

Conclusion

What we do matters. And is a vanity. It fades, it is temporary, it may fail or seem futile. But it is significant. We live in the ‘already-not yet’ tension of the last days.

An eternal perspective gives value to our earthly work- what we do matters, so we give ourselves to the things that matter. We work, we bring out the potential, we heal, we build things of beauty. These efforts and achievements are not to be objects that we worship, but offerings of our worship. Bringing them to God as stewards. Pointing everyone to the final restoration; preparing the way. Not knowing what God will do with them but working as faithful servants and remembering 1 Corinthians 15: 58 Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

So as I stroll through the ruins, I’m reminded of these things. Glory, work, beauty, futility, eternity. I see echoes of the past ringing down through the present. The same God was with these people. The same God guided them through good and bad, through building and failing, through health and pandemic, through peace and war. Their work of those who have come before did not last in a physical sense, but yet has eternal ramifications. We can therefore entrust our souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.

Post-talk thought: Ruins are echoes/reminders of the past. Our perishable works are echoes/reminders of the future.

References

-         R.C. Sproul (general editor), The Reformation Study Bible (RSB), English Standard Version.  Ligonier Ministries, 2005, ISBN 978-1-59638-136-0

-          Hugh Whelchel, All Things New (ATN). Institute for Faith, Work, and Economics, 2016, ISBN 9780096425797

-          John Frame, Systematic Theology (ST). P&R Publishing, 2013, ISBN 978-1-59638-217-6.