Slave To No Other

Why does this web site named what it is? Besides what I state in the about page, this excellent sermon (MP3) by my former professor D.A.Carson describes it well. Relating to God is not as much about maximizing our own profits, in a spiritual sense, but serving a generous, merciful, and loving God to increase his assets and share in his joy.

Drew has a powerful story:

First, I want to encourage you to stop reading for a moment and pray for Gary.

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There is much to ponder about the “how” and “why” of his situation, but note his last statement, “there’s not always a reason.” I’ve never met him, but it’s clear that if he asked God why, he received no answer. But is all suffering for nothing? Is there ever purpose in our pain? Gary’s story brings up a lot of questions I’ve been pondering recently.

I’ve started reading Chris J.H. Wright’s book The God I Don’t Understand. Instead of hyping up itself to have “answers to all your questions,” this book ponders questions that the Bible leaves unanswered.

The first part deals with the classic issue “Why is there evil?” and especially in Christianity, “If God is good, why does he allow so much moral evil and so many natural disasters?” He asserts that “the Bible compels us to accept the mystery of evil… [while] we are emphatically told to reject and resist evil” (29). While the Bible narrates how evil entered human life, it does not say precisely how it started or why it was allowed to enter this planet. While some hypothesize or describe limited practical benefits, no one really knows the purpose of evil’s presence.

Wright notes that evil doesn’t “make sense” nor was it intended to. It is an intruder in a good world, an invader that doesn’t belong, and an oppressive colonist that needs to be expelled. The storyline of the Bible is one in which we see God opposing and eventually defeat evil in his own creation while preserving humankind in the process.

My question in response to the issue of “why evil?” is, if we find the answers to the problem of evil, how much will that really help us? What would knowing the answer do for us? It might help us be better able to put blame on someone, but would it help us overcome evil both in ourselves and in our world? Would it help our faith? If so, it would make sense that God would have given us the answer to the puzzle. Yet the apostle Peter notes that Christ’s divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness. So we have all we need?

It is natural and good to ask questions, to puzzle over the mysterious, and to seek more information. I’m not saying we shouldn’t ask why or just approach life fatalistically. Good thinking, whether theology, philosophy, anthropology, or some other realm, is essential to what it means to be human. Yet I think sometimes these questions arise not because knowing the answer would help, but because, since all of a sudden the universe makes less sense and feels less secure, the one who runs it seems less trustworthy. If we have certain expectations for God and they aren’t met, where does that leave us? Either our expectations were unrealistic or God didn’t come through. Or, are there times when we cry out “why?” not with a sense of humble longing to understand but as an implied statement that we deserve better than what we are experiencing. We expect the world to work a certain way, we believe that we are entitled to the “good life” however we want to define it.

But if, as Wright highlights from Scripture, God remains eternally good, unceasingly reliable, and supremely powerful, what do we do with our questions and disappointments?

This is where I especially appreciate Wright’s highlighting the role of lament in the Biblical worldview. In lament, we affirm God’s goodness, we affirm the darkness of evil, and we continue to hope that God will set things right one day. Lament cries out with longing desperation, in a spiritual and physical tiredness from sloshing through the routine daily evils and walking through the valleys of the shadow of death. Lament is not the bitter cry of “why” or the angry griping to a supposed “pointy-haired boss” of the universe. It might involve questions of why for a time or iterations through the details of one’s trials, but it’s main cry is “how long?” Wright notes, “Lament is the voice of faith struggling to live with unanswered questions and unexplained suffering” (53).

In Biblical lament, is it permissible to ask God why? Of course, for there examples of this, namely the book of Job, Habbakuk, many of the Psalms, and especially Jesus’ cry from the cross “Why have you forsaken me?” But our cry must be either in faith clinging to God in utter desperation or, in the case of profound doubt, being content to wait for God’s reply and trust Him during the silence.

The Biblical tradition of lament also occurs within community, as the Psalter was the main hymnal for the Jews and many in the church (esp Ps 10; 12; 13; 28; 30; 38; 56; 69; 88). Doing so helps us not to suffer alone, to be encouraged by others who have already been through the valley, and to be reminded of what remains true about God. One of the greatest dangers to spiritual life is forgetfulness, and without regular practices of lament, we might during suffering be jarred away from assuring truths to a jaded, bitter, unrealistic, and hopeless perspective on life.

So what do we tell Gary? First of all, if I met him, I would want to do something concrete to assist him. Second, I would remind him that God is as opposed to evil as he is, and that God will ultimately purge it from this world and put everything aright. Through suffering the worst possible evil and coming back from the dead, Christ has given us this hope that those who follow him will be raised up to a new life beyond our comprehension and gives us strength in the present to persevere.

Our hearts cry out in longing to experience the good. Daily we are frustrated, yet we have a choice. Will we gripe and complain like spoiled bitter children or will we call out to God, trusting that he knows what he is doing and will help bring us through the darkest night?

God is opposed to the evil around us, and the evil that we foster from within ourselves. Will we oppose evil, not just in politics, our neighborhood, or our workplace, but also in our own hearts? While we don’t know completely how evil came into in our hearts, why do we foster and nurse it so?

Let us not gripe in suffering but deeply lament to the loving and good God who is greater than our intellect. And may we not just lament the suffering around us and that we experience, but also that which we cause to others and our self with a deep longing of the heart, “How long O Lord?”

I’ve been reading through the Gospel according to John in recent weeks. No matter what else I read in the Bible, my attention is continually drawn back to this simple yet rich book. This morning I was reading John 14:1-7

This is the scene: Jesus just confronted Peter and told him that he would stab Jesus in the back through three denials. Jesus’ other followers are logically distressed about what is going on. I can imagine the questions: “If the leading disciples fall, what will happen to us?” “What will happen to all that we have worked for?” “Where are we going?”

The questions the disciples are asking are no different than ones I hear today. Whether it’s someone laid off or a new graduate looking for work or someone just struggling to find their way in life, these questions of “Where do I fit in?” “What’s going on here?” “Who am I?” “Who do I trust?” never seem to go away.

Jesus cuts through it all: “Let not your hearts be troubled.”

How do we respond in our times of confusion or worry? Jesus calls us to intentionally not let ourselves give in to despair, but “Believe in God, believe also in me.” Questions beget more questions, worry leads to anxiety, fear, and more worry, and discouragement feeds on itself. Jesus calls us to a better way, the way of intentional faith. The way of putting aside what our perceptions tell us, what frustrated desires cry out for, and what our own sense of getting for ourselves what we think we are entitled to, in order to trust God to take care of our deepest longings and hopes.

Jesus then describes his journey to bring us back to God, to have a place in his dwelling, to feel connected with our Creator again in a way that feels like home because it is.

“And you know the way to where I am going.” His disciples followed him 24-7 for three years, but they are puzzled. I too was puzzled with his flow of logic but as I dwelt in the passage more, I began to understand what Jesus was talking about. Recent conversations in my life also echo Thomas’ question, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” So many in my life, including myself, express a desire to know where they are going, to have a greater sense of direction. Some wonder why God feels distant, his revelation seemingly esoteric, and his world so harsh and cruel. Yet Jesus tells those who follow him, in spite of the confusions of life, that they know the way.

What way is this? What is the path and the destination? Jesus reply: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” The destination is God the Father, the path is Jesus, the method is Jesus, the perspective is Jesus. In this, Jesus encapsulates our approach to the Divine.

So where am I going in life? Jesus.

What’s my purpose in life? Jesus.

How do I find my way in the world? Jesus.

Jesus is the path of life, the way to go, the journey to pursue. This requires staying on the trail, not wandering off after idle curiosities, not giving up at the first hill or difficult place. It requires listening to Him so as not to get lost, watching His step so that we might not stumble, and leaning on his strength when taking another step seems too exhausting. It also means that all who follow Jesus are on the same road and are traveling companions. It is a marathon where getting first place is not the goal for most but merely finishing well is enough. It is having someone alongside to walk with, to struggle with, to strive up the mountains with, and to carry one another through the dark valleys. This path is hard, but leads to a immeasurable destination and is never traveled alone

Jesus is the foundation. The one who gives faith to believe, who helps through shadows of doubt and unbelief, who defines reality because he created it. His glasses are the ones through which we can best see the world. His standards are the plumb line of life. He is the foundation of all true presuppositions, the support of all true premises, and the verification of all accurate and logical conclusions.

Jesus is living. When we are confident of the way and of the proper view of the way, we must respond. Truth demands action. Proper understandings of reality naturally affect our lives. And knowing the One who sustains us, who shaped us, who knows the length of our days, our lives are compelled to be different. Jesus is the only reason to live, and live well. He is the one to live for since he is the source of life. He is the best hope, the greatest delight, the most profound and compelling purpose, and the destiny along with God the Father. He is worth obsessing about as a parched man does with water.

So where am I going in life, when hypocrisies, backstabbing, and questions abound? Jesus. We are called to be followers, not of ourselves or some human guru that tells us what we want to hear, but of Jesus, the one who knows what we NEED to hear and meets our real needs. We cannot predict what will happen tomorrow, when we will get a job, or whether our kids will turn out the way we hope. But Jesus says that if we stay on the path which is him, shape our perspective on him, and shape our actions around him, we will reach our destination that we have been longing for. We will be home.

I just finished a recent book by Larry Crabb, Real Church . His main argument is that much of the Evangelical church in the USA seems to be playing a lot of games and not focusing on deep, lasting, and biblical spiritual transformation.

He criticizes various empty promises given to church goers. While some churches promise to “make life better” for those who attend, he finds this attitude leads to loving God for mere self-serving reasons rather than for God’s sake. He concludes that being good at a deep level is a better happiness than dwelling in the right circumstance or having regular experiences of comfort.

Second, he challenges an over-emphasis on spiritual experience that neglects a healthy promotion of spiritual hunger. Sometimes our seeking to experience God now can get in the way of knowing God as God wants to be known. There is a self-generated experience of mysticism that does not compare to a true mystic experience that God grants on his schedule and in his way. Sometimes we learn more about God and our devotion is more deeply fostered when experiencing God’s distance. Ecstatic moments many times don’t help in the long haul.

He challenges a shallow “authenticity” that does not adequately address the darkness of sin and our need to have transformative relationships to help us through our own messiness. He longs to see an authenticity that is honest with sin, challenges our addictive tendencies, and fosters a hope in God. Do we love Jesus more than our inner or social comfort?

He also challenges an approach to spiritual life that focus only on “saving the lost and moralizing the saved.” In contrast to seeing salvation as just getting a ticket to heaven, he emphasizes a growing knowledge of God in a deep relational way and finding one’s identity in Him. In contrast to seeing the Christian life as merely following a set of rules or social standards, he emphasizes the practice of enjoying God more than the pleasures this world offers (whether it is religious prestige, wealth, physical pleasures, or whatever) and finding personal satisfaction only in God. He further contrasts the simplistic view of salvation as an “insurance” for the afterlife with the freedom to sacrifice now for the blessing of others because of the hope in the future resurrected life.

He ends his book with four (non-exhaustive) marks of a healthy church:

1. A church that hungers for the truth that sets addicts free. This hunger for truth is not only about God or the Bible but also includes the concrete truth about ourselves. It involves a readiness to deal with the darkest and most secret sins in us because of the hope of the resurrection that says that God is with us, for us, and (through the Holy Spirit) in us.
2. A church that respects the necessary ingredients in the remedy for addiction. This church will do what is necessary to foster true spiritual formation that we might desire God, deeply believe in God, choose God freely, and be content in God.
3. A church that is content in wanting what Jesus wants. He emphasizes the importance of inner transformation that precedes outward actions. “Outside goodness doesn’t clean up inside badness.” We must face up with what we’re up against and what is in us that gets in the way of a godly life. We need to find “something more compelling than protecting ourselves” to grab us deep inside and transform.
4. A church that is mission-energized. He describes this as doing compassionate acts, fighting for justice, and other acts of goodness not out of guilt or a need for penance, but because of the bigger picture of the God’s Kingdom and a passion to “set things right.”

This book brought up some good points and necessary challenges to the contemporary American Evangelical church, in spite of its meandering and verbose writing style. This is not Crabb’s best work, and I more heartily recommend Connecting or The Pressure’s Off This book is a helpful application of Crabb’s view of spiritual formation and group-driven discipleship to the church as a whole.

“The man of pseudo faith will fight for his verbal creed but refuse flatly to allow himself to get into a predicament where his future must depend upon that creed being true. He always provides himself with secondary ways of escape so he will have a way out if the roof caves in. What we need very badly these days is a company of Christians who are prepared to trust God as completely now as they know they must do at the last day.”

The quote was found on this blog post.