Inside the Sojourn

Logic, categories, cause and effect

I have friends that have a number of different views of God; and they're all "Christian" (you know, Jesus is God, the bible is true, etc).  So, we all have the same foundation for our world view and can basically understand each other because we speak essentially the same language.  We love each other in spite of some of our differences and share the most basic values about life.

That said, I find myself challenged by some of the views expressed about how to understand God in different circumstances; especially difficult ones.  As humans living in a 21st century western/scientific oriented culture, we have a strong need to categorize, define, apply logic, connect cause and effect...  This need can overwhelm our ability to approach truth with an open mind.  Truth can sometimes defy logic.  Truth can transcend cause and effect relationships.  Truth can exist outside of our categories.  Truth finds expression in our culture, but we often confuse cultural expressions with truth.  Or if you like, replace the word truth with God; or Jesus.

I try to remember that I am small.  That he chose me.  That I chose him (or at least acknowledge the possibility of it).  That I will never in this life fully grasp God's sovereignty, omnipotence, omniscience, wisdom, justice, mercy, love and judgment.  No problem.  In the end, I have only trust/belief in him - and that will more than do.

Ortho-whatsy?

Orthodoxy has to do with what we believe.  Orthopraxy has to do with how we live.  The two never perfectly match because we don't live everything we say we believe - though as we mature the gap should close.  Churches tend to emphasize one over the other.  We can focus most of our energy trying to get belief straight or we can focus our energy on "doing" our faith - getting out into the community or just helping each other out inside the church.

We need both of these ideas at work in our lives.  Correctly understanding the truth without it affecting how we live is useless.  Going and doing with good intentions alone ends up misguided and missing the point. 

Sometimes, you need to skip the meeting and go help a friend knock out an overwhelming amount of yard work.  Sometimes you need to stop what you're doing and have some bible study with a few friends.

May we have the wisdom to maintain a good balance - may we know the truth and consistently act on it, as our life comes to an end may we look back on a life well lived.

That's a word.

I like words. 

I remember the office door of the head of the physics department at the University of Tulsa when I was studying there because he posted a calendar that had a different word for every day.  The word "bovine" is the only word I can remember on his door from that semester.  Funny how something like that sticks after so many years.   

I don't know how I came by my love for words.   My parents are both articulate; my mother read to me from the time I was an infant.  I loved reading to my kids.  "Go Dogs Go" is probably the only book I'll remember when the rest of memory fails me.  Do you like my hat?

Words convey ideas and ideas are powerful, transforming things that change the course of a life.

The idea that God is... 
The idea that love is a verb not a feeling... 
The idea that I can be more than I am with God's help... 

Jesus is called the Word by John.  The Greek word (for word) is logos - where we get the word logo.   The brand is the sum total of everything a company is.  The logo represents the brand.

If God were a brand, Jesus would be the logo; the summation of the totality of God.  Now that's a word.

Next year I'm going

Tonight we reviewed photos from the Mexico mission trip that took place last week and talked about the experience.  One of the couples in our life group went.  They spent most of their time working on a new home for a family in the Piedras Negras area.  Crossroads ministry coordinated the efforts.  People from our church first worked with this ministry in New Orleans helping clean up in the aftermath of Katrina.  They reportedly do a great job of organizing the efforts of volunteers, providing tools, etc.  The report back was glowing.

The team also spent time interacting with local children.  Apparently, spoken language barriers doesn't have to interfere with fun - which can consist of something as simple as tossing a bean bag back and forth with a child for 30 minutes.

One of the things things they brought home was a bigger vision of the church.  It's easy to get lulled into thinking all Christians look and live like we do if you never get outside the bubble we live in.  Sacrificing the time and money to serve in another culture broadens vision and deepens our appreciation for God and his work in the world.

Next year, I'm going.

Brains and muscle both required

When it comes to following Jesus, you can't "just do it" because the ready, fire, aim approach can easily miss God's purposes.  Likewise you can't just study and learn endlessly - you have to practice.  You can read about being a doctor or musician from books and explain the theory convincingly.  But put the scalpel or guitar in the hands of someone that's never practiced the theory and it will be immediately obvious that they are not a doctor or a musician.

When it comes to faith, it's not enough to get it right intellectually.  Of course we want to understand the truth accurately.  We can have confidence that God will help us interpret scripture in the context of the community of believers.  We were never meant to do it by ourselves.  But getting our head wrapped around the truth is no good by itself.  Apparently even demons have some right theology.  Nope, we have to put feet and hands to the truth.  Otherwise our faith is worthless.  Check out James chapter 2 for the source.

You need both: right understanding and consistent action.  Know and do.  Hear and obey.  Some brains and muscle are both required.

Take it off the top

In Leviticus 22, God makes it clear that the priests had better handle themselves and the offerings properly, and he set the bar for excellence in freewill and vow fulfilling offerings (no 3-legged goats, please).  God made it clear that the priests and the people had a solemn responsibility in how they approached him.  He made it clear that he is holy (not common) and that his people are to be holy, too.  When the people brought God a sacrifice, they had to bring the best.  No blemishes.  No defects.

This led me to thinking about a little business venture I'm starting on the side to earn some extra greenbacks so I can get my youngest through the rest of her college without a mountain of debt.  When thinking through the financials, I thought at first that I'd tithe on the gross margin (what's left after expenses) because that's my actual increase.  After reflecting on how much God has done for me, I realized I was being cheap, not giving my very best, not trusting him to overwhelm me with more of his blessings and goodness.  So I'm going to take it off the top instead. 

What about you?  Are you giving God your best, or just some of the left overs (time, money, skills, heart, mind).  Take it off the top and see what he does with it.

Sacred: Escaping the Ordinary

Leviticus - an ancient book that talks a lot about ritual killing of animals and other prohibitions and regulations that sound like something from another planet - or at least a massively different time.

I've read the Old Testament start to finish a couple of times (well, I skimmed all the names in Numbers...).  But, I never really dug into how much of it applies other than Proverbs and Song of Solomon.  So, we're sitting around the table with the staff a few weeks ago and Jim asks if anyone would like to take the platform one Sunday morning to talk about one of the selected topics from Leviticus (the text for Sacred: Escaping the Ordinary series starting in January). 

I knee jerked in response to the pregnant pause and volunteered (PA, too).  Yikes.  Leviticus?  Turns out I have the task of preaching a message on the Atonement.  So... I'm boning up on principles of OT interpretation, systematic theological texts on atonement, commentaries on Leviticus and anything else this poor wannabe can find.

Can you say stretched?  It's gonna be fun so stay tuned as more is undoubtedly to come on this subject of atonement.

Aesthetics - do they matter?

Aesthetics simply means "a pleasing appearance or effect". 

We're painting the sanctuary.  The bland, cold white is giving way to a warm sage green.  Eventually, the red will be replaced with something warmer/better that fits the new color scheme.  It's amazing how different the room feels when the aesthetics are changed (improved).

Does it matter?  Not like correct principles of Bible interpretation.  Not like good theology.  Not like Christlikeness.  Not like obedience.  Not like faith.  Not like service.

But yes, it matters.  The experience of worshiping God together is affected by our surroundings.  We've been worshiping in a room with white walls and less than ideal acoustics for 13 years and it hasn't stopped us yet.  Will better aesthetics improve our time together? 

Yes.

The limits of logic

Free will versus predestination.  This old argument still rages in some circles.  I find it interesting, not because of the relative strengths and weaknesses of each view, but because of what the debate illustrates at a deeper level.

For those steeped in this argument, forgive my summary that follows - I'm sure to miss some of the nuances for the sake of simplicity.  The point I hope to make doesn't require a highly accurate summary, anyhow...

In simplistic terms:

The Calvinist view holds that man is utterly depraved and helpless without God and that God alone determines who will be saved and who won't.  Portions of scripture make God's foreknowledge and sovereignty in this matter clear.

The free will (Arminian) view holds that man has a role to play in his own salvation; a choice in the matter.  Portions of scripture make it implicitly clear we are to choose in matters of salvation and faith.

Which view is right?  It has to be one or the other, doesn't it?  How can God alone determine something and we also have to make choices in the matter?  It's not logical for both to be true.  This is called a paradox (two things that appear mutually exclusive that are both true).

See, the problem with holding exclusively to either view is that it forces you to deny scripture on the other side of the argument.  One can make a compelling case either way if you pick the right scriptures and ignore the rest as irrelevant to the discussion.  The implicit problem on both sides is that it attempts to force scripture to live within the bounds of human logic.  Isn't it possible that God is bigger than our logical constructs?  ...bigger than we can understand?

The way I look at it, both are true because all scripture is God breathed and useful...  That does not mean that I think I can explain how both are true - it's a matter of faith.  In order to embrace the truth, you must be willing to embrace a certain amount of paradox. 

You can't hobble faith with the limits of logic.