The Amazing (Human) Race

Nature attains perfection, but man never does. There is a perfect ant, a perfect bee, but man is perpetually unfinished. He is both an unfinished animal and an unfinished man. It is this incurable unfinishedness which sets man apart from other living things. For, in the attempt to finish himself, man becomes a creator. Moreover, the incurable unfinishedness keeps man perpetually immature, perpetually capable of learning and growing… (Eric Hoffer)

Thinking today about what it is that makes people so much more fascinating than almost anything else. Perhaps it is our unique ability to become. Not just change or grow, which is also fascinating and lovely when you see it in an animal or a plant. No, people have the possibility to do something more. By the choices we make, we actually become more or less than we began. It's mind-boggling, if you think of it. What power, not in doing, but in willing - !

And then, to consider that someday we will be what we have created; what we have willed. Is that the frightening part of death - to have our choices ended, our state-of-becoming completed? To be finally formed, finished?

I read an article the other day about artist Brian Eno, who has been challenging the idea that art needs to be controlled by the artist. His installation 77 Million Paintings is currently on display at Calgary's Glenbow Museum. It consists of a digital kaleidescope of paintings that shift and change at random; what emerges is something Eno did not choose. Eno says he believes that surrender ought to be thought of as an active verb. To be frank, I don't really like Eno's work, but the philosophy behind it intrigued me. In fact, it reminded me of the work of another Creator. The first one. He too created something and let go.

His creation, like Eno's, is not entirely what he would have it. God made an earth that is held together by a vast number of physical laws. He made animals of every sort. It is interesting to consider that when Noah built the ark, and God called every kind of animal in twos and sevens to enter it, they went. There was no complaining, no arguing. And then I think of Jesus in the boat, speaking to the wind and waves, saying, "Peace, be still". No hesitation. Entirely within his control. Humanity, though, is a wholly different kind of creation. Remember what Jesus said about us? O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you that kill the prophets, and stone them which are sent to you, how often would I have gathered your children together, even as a hen gathers her chickens under her wings, and you would not! (Matthew 23:37)

But while 77 Million Paintings operates on randomness, humanity does not. For each of us, there are choices, and a choice. We ultimately become, not what we were made, but the result of what we will. We can change; become something different. Jericho's Rahab and Mary Magdalene both began as something many despise - prostitutes - and became women of great honour. Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, became a laughingstock.

What our mortality means is that we do not know the day when our choices will end; when we will be frozen forever into what we are; the ultimate result of what we have willed.

Religion and Relevance

Religion and relevance. Two words that don't seem to go together. Can you be religious and relevant? And if your religion isn't relevant, what's it worth?

What we have let people believe is that Jesus and his followers have no relation to the matters at hand; that Christianity has nothing to do with the human, the everyday. How is it that we have allowed such a contradiction to gain ground?

The great Bible translator, William Tyndale, was jailed for translating the Bible into everyday English, but he just kept at it anyway, hoping there would one day be a Bible accessible to the English ploughboy. And there is, thousands of times over. But who today sees the Bible as something really to be read - by ploughboys or anyone else?

Make no mistake - we are the ones who have failed. We have shut ourselves away. We have withdrawn and turned our backs on a world for whom Christ died. We have become irrelevant.

This world deserves to see lives full of the mercy and the truth of Jesus Christ - relevant. Rubbing elbows with those he loves - sinners of every class, and not just the down-and-outs. What's that, you say? They don't want to rub elbows with us? Don't we have anything they want?

We are so in need of another Tyndale to translate our message of freedom and peace into the language of the today's ploughboy.

The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound. (Isaiah 61:1)

The One we profess to follow spent a lot of time praying and a little time preaching, but he didn't just talk. He touched lepers. He paid taxes. He went to a wedding, and provided wine. He spent an afternoon, tired and thristy, chatting with a Samarian woman by a well. He went to dinner parties, at least once with a notorious traitor and a cheat. (Remember Zaccheus?) He had a job - in construction. He played with kids. He didn't just ring the bell of the Synagogue and sigh that no one was interested - he went out and related to people, where they were. His religion was relevant. Is yours?

Happy Holidays to You!

How it warms my weary heart in this jumble of a season to hear, in the oddest of places, carols of praise and thanks to our Great God. I don't have a "Jesus is the Reason for the Season" banner on my balcony and I don't have any problem with saying "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas" if that pleases people, but oh - what joy to hear "O come, Emmanuel" and "fall on your knees!" coming out of public stereo systems. In a world gone mad for Rudolph and beribboned angels, it is an uncommon luxury to be reminded of the unsentimental truth for which I am most grateful - that Jesus came and is coming again, and that when he does, every knee in the universe will bow in reverence before Him. With one voice and one heart, the earth will proclaim Him King. No war, no oppression, no violence. Love recognized and reigning...

O holy night! The stars are brightly shining,
It is the night of our dear Saviour's birth.
Long lay the world in sin and error pining,
'Til He appear'd and the soul felt its worth.
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.

Fall on your knees! O hear the angels' voices!
O night divine, O night when Christ was born;
O night divine, O night, O night Divine.

Led by the light of Faith serenely beaming,
With glowing hearts by His cradle we stand.
So led by light of a star sweetly gleaming,
Here come the wise men from Orient land.
The King of Kings lay thus in lowly manger;
In all our trials born to be our friend.

He knows our need, to our weakness is no stranger,
Behold your King! Before Him lowly bend!
Behold your King, Before Him lowly bend!

Truly He taught us to love one another;
His law is love and His gospel is peace.
Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother;
And in His name all oppression shall cease.
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,
Let all within us praise His holy name.

Christ is the Lord! O praise His Name forever,
His power and glory evermore proclaim.
His power and glory evermore proclaim.

Why Did Jesus Have to Die?

Have you ever considered that dying was a weird thing for a God to do-? Have you ever asked yourself why Jesus had to die? You don't really think he was just a good guy in the wrong place at the wrong time, do you?

When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly.
He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.

(IPeter2:23,24)

...we considered him stricken by God,
smitten by him, and afflicted.
But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
and by his wounds we are healed.
We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to his own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.

(Isaiah 53:4-6)

Come and see, look on this mystery
The Lord of the Universe, nailed to a tree
Christ our God, spilling His Holy blood
Bowing in anguish, His sacred head
Sing to Jesus, Lord of our shame
Lord of our sinful hearts.
He is our great Redeemer.
Sing to Jesus, Honor His name.
Sing of His faithfulness, pouring His life out unto death
Come you weary and He will give you rest

(Fernando Ortega, Sing to Jesus)

Jesus, the Creator and the Man

I have thought much on the splendour of God, our Creator. He is worthy of my worship not merely because He is the Highest One, but because his unfailing kindness and multi-faceted wisdom and warm mother-care and unparalleled brilliance and deep goodness are observable both in all that He has made and in all His dealings with us. Who could help but reverence the One who spoke worlds into existence, before whom the highest angels cover their faces and cry "Holy, Holy, Holy"?

“Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.” (Revelation 4:11)

But what about Jesus, the man? What is He to me? How shall I worship Him?

And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are you... for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation..." (Revelation 5:9)

Jesus, God-with-us. He didn't pour grace from heaven; He packed up His position and His power, and He came here himself - not as a king, but as a homeless man. He wasn't too socially aloof to eat dinner with sinners or reach his hands out to lepers. He healed the blind and the sick, but he wasn't too morally uppity to provide wine for a wedding that had run out. He is the God who came down, and raises me up.

When I meet Jesus face to face, my eyes won't be on the blaze of His glory or the shining of his beauty. I won't look for the magnificence of the Eternal One, or the radiance of Him who is the Source of all Light. I will scan the crowds of heaven not for perfection, but for One who is forever marred. His hands and His feet, marked by man-made nails, will I seek among the incorruptible bodies of heaven's citizens.

No less the High and Holy, He is my Friend, the love of my heart. Though He sits now on the highest throne, he is none other than the God who became one of us, the God who knows as none other what it is like to be hungry and thirsty and tired; what it is like to cry and sweat and bleed.

Not with songs and low bows will I worship Jesus, the wounded One. When I see him, I will fling my arms around his neck. I will kiss his lovely feet.

THE cloudless day is nearing
When Thou, O Lord, wilt come,
Thy radiant beauty wearing,
To take Thy people home!
Bright hosts on hosts around Thee
Shall catch Thy living rays,
And all who once have found Thee
Breathe out new songs of praise.

But how shall I then know Thee
Amid those hosts above?
What tokens true will show me
The object of my love?
Thy glories, all excelling,
In pure effulgence shine;
But GLORY in Thee dwelling
Will ne'er proclaim Thee mine.

Thy wounds, Thy wounds, Lord Jesus,
Those deep, deep wounds will tell
The sacrifice that frees us
From self, and death, and hell!
These link Thee once for ever
With all who own Thy grace;
No hand these bonds can sever,
No hand these scars efface.

Ordinary Holiness

"There are religions in which holiness involves unusual conditions and special diet. Some forms of mysticism seem to be incompatible with married life. But the type of holiness which Jesus teaches can be achieved with an ordinary diet and a wife and five children."
(from The Jesus of History, by T.R. Glover)

Refuge

The Eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the Everlasting Arms. (Deuteronomy 33:27)

My grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is made perfect in weakness. (1 Corinthians 2:12)

Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. (Isaiah 40:30)

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28)

Where else can we find a God for the weary? Every religion the world has been able to craft has a god or a creed that advises us to be strong; to do something; to be something. Some give detailed instructions about what we must do, and how we must do it. Nowhere except the Bible can we find a God who calls out to the weak. He alone has something to give, rather than merely a set of requirements. He alone offers rest and strength to the broken. He alone calls the empty and worn to his side without mocking, without reproach.

Oh, so thankful today for the Eternal God, who gives his strength when I've reached the end of my own, who bids me hold out my empty hands to receive before he asks me to give. He is a God worth worshipping. I may lay my whole heart in his arms.

Accounting Principles

If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.
For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; and whosoever will lose his life for My sake shall find it.
For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
(Matthew 16:24-26)

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.
(Matthew 11:28)

[Words of Jesus]

Without Excuse

To know what is right, and not to do it, is want of courage.
(Confucius)

Your God is Too Small

From J.B. Phillips' Your God is Too Small:

The trouble with many people today is that they have not found a God big enough for modern needs. While their experience of life has grown in a score of directions, and their mental horizons have been expanded to the point of bewilderment by world events and by scientific discoveries, their ideas of God have remained largely static. It is obviously impossible for an adult to worship the conception of God that exists in the mind of a child of Sunday-school age, unless he is prepared to deny his own experience of life. If, by a great effort of will, he does do this he will always be secretly afraid lest some new truth may expose the juvenility of his faith. And it will always be by such an effort that he either worships or serves a God who is really too small to command his adult loyalty and co-operation.

It often appears to those outside the Churches that this is precisely the attitude of Christian people. If they are not strenuously defending an outgrown conception of God, then they are cherishing a hothouse God who could only exist between the pages of the Bible or inside the four walls of a Church. Therefore to join in with the worship of a Church would be to become a party to a piece of mass-hypocrisy and to buy a sense of security at the price of the sense of truth, and many men of goodwill will not consent to such a transaction.

It cannot be denied that there is a little truth in this criticism. There are undoubtedly professing Christians with childish conceptions of God which could not stand up to the winds of real life for five minutes. But Christians are by no means always unintelligent, naive, or immature. Many of them hold a faith in God that has been both purged and developed by the strains and perplexities of modern times, as well as by a small but by no means negligible direct experience of God Himself. They have seen enough to know that God is immeasurably "bigger" than our forefathers imagined, and modern scientific discovery only confirms their belief that man has only just begun to comprehend the incredibly complex Being who is behind what we call "life."

Many men and women today are living, often with inner dissatisfaction, without any faith in God at all. This is not because they are particularly wicked or selfish or, as the old-fashioned would say, "godless," but because they have not found with their adult minds a God big enough to "account for" life, big enough to "fit in with" the new scientific age, big enough to command their highest admiration and respect, and consequently their willing co-operation...

If it is true that there is Someone in charge of the whole mystery of life and death, we can hardly expect to escape a sense of futility and frustration until we begin to see what He is like and what His purposes are.

I can't recommend this book too highly. It says, with pith and measured reason, so much of what I long to say. You can read the rest of it (for free!) in pdf here.