Category: Different Thoughts

Posted in Different Scriptures, Different Thoughts

not limiting the infinite.

Posted on by Wick

This past weekend I took my daughters on a hike through some gardens for Saint Patrick’s Day.  One garden in particular seemed to capture their imaginations, as it looked like a giant labyrinth.  In reality, it was quite easy to see the few paths available, and find your way back to where you started, but the girls loved pretending they were solving a giant mystery as they walked through the waste-high well manicured bushes.

This past week I was reading in 2 Timothy 2, and there is a point where Paul writes to Timothy seeming to appeal to Timothy’s appreciation of “several paths”.  Check out verses 2-6:

“And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others. Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs–he wants to please his commanding officer.  Similarly, if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not receive the victor’s crown unless he competes according to the rules. The hardworking farmer should be the first to receive a share of the crops.”

In just 5 verses, Paul uses 4 different analogies to describe a servant of the Lord.  A teacher, a soldier, an athlete, and a farmer.  I want to talk more specifically about these in another post, but for now I was struck simply by how many ways Paul tries to convey the message he’s writing to Timothy in the last moments of his own life.

It seems Paul knows that in each instance, he’s trying to contain a Truth about an infinite God in some sort of finite way.  Of course serving God isn’t completely like being a teacher.  It’s not 100% similar to being a soldier either (although some believe they are raising “God’s Army” even after seeing Jesus walk a different path).  If we only used the comparison of an athlete, our faith would get way too competitive.  If it was all about farming, well…we’d probably have WWJD overalls.

Anyone who’s tried to talk with their kids about an infinite God has come up against similar issues.  We often have conversations about the fact that God will someday come and make everything completely different than it is right now.  We talk about “New Creation” with our kids as the ultimate destination we look forward to, and explained that even Great-Grandpa is with Jesus right now, waiting for this New Creation.  How God is with us, even though we cannot see him. Every time a conversation like this happens – new questions are raised.

In all of these things, it’s not that we can completely contain God in our finite words, but that we continue to attempt to talk about God and point our children in that direction.  Just as Paul continues to use one analogy after another, so we continue to have conversations with our children that change as they age.  We cannot assume that getting them to pray a prayer when they’re 4 or 5 has “sealed the deal”, and not worry about developing them beyond that.  God is infinite, and continues to transform both us and our children as we talk about these things as we “walk along the road”. 🙂

Posted in Different Books, Different Thoughts

shameless plug.

Posted on by Wick

So in case you’ve been following the blog for a while, or stumbled upon it by accident – I’ve also written a book! I’d love for you to check it out, and send me your thoughts!!

On that note – my daughters wanted to help me tell you a bit about the book…they’re pretty good little ad copy writers…

Posted in Different Scriptures, Different Thoughts, Uncategorized

Live Long & Prosper (part 4)

Posted on by Wick

It’s not simply sitting down to eat once in a while, smiling at how quaint these other generations are. It’s recognizing that we are not whole without them! We are called the “Body of Christ” collectively, not as individuals.

Titus chapter 2 verses 2 through 8 give us a great breakdown, admonishing older men, older woman, younger men, and younger women to live as part of one community. That together, united in Christ, they form the Body of which Christ is Lord, the head.

Romans 12:4-5 remind us: “Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.”

When one member of the body of Christ pulls away, it’s not simply that member that is impacted by the distance from a covenant community. It’s the entire body, because we are no longer whole. In the same way, we don’t look at a member of our body that is suffering or experiencing brokenness and think less of them than ourselves. We see them as a part of our collective whole, and want to do whatever we can to help bring healing and wholeness to the body.

Are we beginning to see why saying “Honor your father and mother.” to the 7 year olds is missing out on a lot of what God is saying here?

The covenant as described in these verses has 3 primary aspects:

1. So that you may live long. – We’ve talked about how this is an obvious effect of a community that treasures and cares for it’s elders. We’ve also noted that this isn’t simply talking about Canaan – as part of the law fulfilled in Christ, this is pointing us to living long forever with Christ after we’ve experienced the transformation of resurrection!

2. That it may go well with you. – This comes from the reading of the same commandment in Deuteronomy 5:16, and Ephesians 6:2. This doesn’t mean that we’ll experience comfort and all the pleasures of this world – as some would love God to prosper them. Rather, it talks about this being “right” or “good”. This connects closely to what we would call the “right-ness” or “righteousness” of God. When we live in these ways, as Deuteronomy points out with several of the commandments, this is “right”. It may actually get us persecuted, as many in the New Testament and even today found out. But standing up and living differently than the world, according to the ways God has revealed to be our design, is always right, satisfying, and fulfilling. And when God returns to reveal His Kingdom completely, those who are living this way will find a very pleasant transition into the promised New Creation.

Which leads us to our final aspect of God’s covenant here, as we live as people who honor their father and mother:

3. In the Land the Lord your God is giving you. – We talked about how this is sooo much more than Canaan, the land flowing with milk and honey; and not a drop less. This also points to the inheritance of sharing in New Creation with Christ after receiving our resurrection bodies. This is a land that even those who are currently in Paradise with Christ look forward to, all of Heaven and Earth made new and joined together as never before.

Just as the people of God, receiving God’s word from Moses had a choice in how to respond – so do we. Over the rest of the Old Testament, we see there were times they trusted him, and lived according to His ways. Then there were times they chose their own way, and things did not go well.

We are called by God to announce a new way of living has been opened up to us! This is the promise and event we celebrate at Easter, and every Sunday throughout the year! The resurrection of Jesus declares Him as Lord over all creation, and through faith in Him we share in the inheritance and covenant of Abraham, and all of his descendants after him. We can be free from ourselves.

We can be free from the brokenness of sinful lives, and having our lives ruled by the impact of the sins of others. “Honor your father and mother” is just the beginning, and an exciting one when we realize it’s not a rule to be followed – it’s the offer of a life and community transformation.

Do you desire to be transformed? Are you willing to let go of choosing your own way, and follow His? Will you carry the covenant of God into a world, bringing with you the healing power of Jesus Christ???
I encourage you to make this your testimony. That you are accepting God’s covenant. That you will not simply follow His rules, but you want your entire mind and heart to be transformed by the presence of His Spirit. Be prepared, it may not be an easy road, but it WILL go well with you….