Category Archives: Bible

Whilst we’re playing in the mud

Posted by on 2012/04/28 No comments | 57 views

Princely Paupers | I have heard it said that most people are like princes and princesses who eat mud cakes in the rain because they don’t realize the feast that awaits them in the banquet hall. They have not paid attention to the good news of salvation: “…which was first announced by the Lord, (and) was confirmed by those who heard him” (Hebrews 2:3). It is news that we have value and status far beyond what we can imagine. Or as the author of Hebrews declares: “You made them a little lower than the angels; you crowned them with glory and honor and put everything under their feet” (Heb 2:7-8). It is news that we are invited to God’s table as brothers and sisters of the Humble King.

The Humble King | The glory and honor of man is not always easy to see. “But we do see Jesus, who was made lower than the angels for a little while, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone” (Heb 2:9). This is good news that changes everything; Jesus, the King, humbled Himself, that we could be glorified! Though now we do not see all things clearly, we can always recall the work of the Humble King and what it suggests about who we are.

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Gazing with Angels

Posted by on 2012/04/12 No comments | 71 views

Welcome back to Inklingz. No promises but will try to get back to posting with some reasonable regularity in the coming months. I was asked to write a guest blog for a friend, but this one didn’t make the cut:) so I figured I’d share it here. Her blog follows M’Cheyne’s annual Bible reading plan, so it’s based on tomorrow’s reading: Psalm 31 and 1 Timothy 2. This is roughly her format as well, though to be honest, not enough so to publish! Haha. Anyway, welcome back!

***

It is not for kings, Lemuel—
it is not for kings to drink wine,
not for rulers to crave beer,
lest they drink and forget what has been decreed,
and deprive all the oppressed of their rights.
Let beer be for those who are perishing,
wine for those who are in anguish!
Let them drink and forget their poverty
and remember their misery no more.

Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves,
for the rights of all who are destitute.
Speak up and judge fairly;
defend the rights of the poor and needy.    -Proverbs 31:4-9

 I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people—  for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all people.   -1 Timothy 2:1-6

Nuance: Peter reminds us that even angels long to look into these things (1 Peter 1:12)—that is, the Truth of Jesus Christ as preached through the Holy Spirit, the Word of God. And here we see some intriguing aspects of that Truth: that we should pray for and obey those who have authority over us, irrespective of their leadership; that leaders should not crave alcohol, yet for those in anguish drunkenness may serve as a respite. Pray for and obey even oppressive leaders? Buy beers for the homeless? What nuance is shown in the Word of God that even angels do not tire of contemplating the beauties and complexities of it!

Extremes: There are two equal and opposite mistakes we can make in approaching God’s Truth. The first mistake is oversimplifying it. The God of Creation understands all the complexities herein! For believers, the risk is a faith that is hard to apply to life’s circumstance. The framework of such faith is not robust enough to support the weight of life’s complexities. For thoughtful skeptics, this thin framework is easy to dismiss as naive and inapplicable. Perhaps the more common mistake for modern Western individuals is over-complicating the Truth. Skeptics often does so intentionally. If we remove all hard Truth from it Christianity’s claims, the Word is toothless, for it is then no different from all other truth claims. Believers tend to use this as an excuse to live loose lives.

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All or nothing

Posted by on 2011/01/31 1 comment | 859 views

In a recent discussion with a friend (over a nice 16-miler in Central Park), we came to the topic of science, which is a shared interest of ours. That discussion quickly jumped to science vis-a-vis faith, and my Christian beliefs. I made the comment along the way, that it’s all or nothing for me. If I can’t find a world view that is consistent with other facts, then I must alter my world view. Still, I maintain what I call a “crunchy”, literal faith and view of the Bible. Christianity, is not about good moral teaching, at least not to me. For if Christ was not God and was not raised from the dead, then everything else he said and did is suspect. I think my friend was surprised by this view–but also seemed to applaud it’s intellectual integrity. I do not believe we can have it both ways. It is all or nothing; there is no half-way.

I came upon this from C.S. Lewis today in which he makes, I believe, a similar point.

There is no half-way house and there is no parallel in other religions. If you had gone to Buddha and asked him ‘are you the son of Brahma?’ he would have said ‘My, son, you are still in the vale of illusion.’ If you had gone to Socrates and asked, ‘Are you Zeus?’ he would have laughed at you.  If you had gone to Mohammed and asked, ‘Are you Allah?’ he would have rent his clothes and then cut your head off.  If you had asked Confucius, ‘Are you Heaven?’ I think he would probably have replied, ‘Remarks which are not in accordance with nature are in bad taste.’ The idea of a great moral teacher saying what Christ said is out of the question. In my opinion, the only person who can say that sort of thing is either God or a complete lunatic suffering from that form of delusion which undermines the whole mind of man. If you think you are a poached egg, when you are looking for a piece of toast to suit you, you may be sane, but if you think you are God, then there is no chance for you. We may note in passing that He was never regarded as a mere moral teacher. He did not produce that effect on any of the people who actually met Him. He produced mainly three effects–Hatred — Terror — Adoration. There was no trace of people expressing mild approval.