Monthly Archives: July 2017

"There is no longer Jew or Greek, slave or free, male and female; for all of you are one in Christ." Galatians 3:28

It's a long, old joke, but still funny and sets up the main issue I want to tackle in this week's offering:

"I was walking across a bridge one day, and I saw a man standing on the edge, about to jump off. So I ran over and said, "Stop! Don't do it!" "Why shouldn't I?" he said. I said, "Well, there's so much to live for!" He said, "Like what?" I said, "Well, are you religious or atheist?" He said, "Religious." I said, "Me too! Are your Christian or Buddhist?" He said, "Christian." I said, "Me too!

"Are you Catholic or Protestant?" He said, "Protestant." I said, Me too! Are your Episcopalian or Baptist? He said, "Baptist!" I said, "Wow! Me too! Are your Baptist Church of God or Baptist Church of the Lord? He said, Baptist Church of God!" I said, "Me too! Are your Original Baptist Church of God or are you Reformed Baptist Church of God?" He said, "Reformed Baptist Church of God!" I said, "Me too!

"Are you Reformed Baptist Church of God, Reformation of 1879, or Reformed Baptist Church of God, Reformation of 1915?" He said, "Reformed Baptist Church of God, Reformation of 1915!" I said, "Die, heretic scum!" and pushed him off."

The joke is often told as a critique of religion which, according to some people, inevitably creates division, acrimony, and Inquisitions. Religion certainly can do that. Of course, so can politics, economics, race, nationalities, and SEC football.

The problem is endemic to human nature. We tend to classify and congregate with people who share our particular characteristics. It's a kind of taxonomy. Instead of kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, species (I proudly did that from memory), we use religious, political, economic, racial, and other criteria.

I'll speak personally now. The culmination of this social taxonomy for me could be that I am human, male, white, Christian, 59 years old, southern, and thin. Don't read too much into my list or begin evaluate me based on the order or what I've included or left out. I'm just listing seven characteristics of me. In fact, if you've already begun to grade me, please keep reading for you're kind of my target audience for this article.

There's certainly no problem with my seven characteristics. They're fairly obvious and neutral in the higher orders. No one, I think would criticize me for being human. However, as we descend, the potential for problems rises. It happens in two ways: from within and from without.

By within I mean that I could begin to identify only with other 59 year-old, southern, Christian men who run. This would very likely lead to my being rather isolated and potentially having an air of superiority. Even if I focus on only a couple of the characteristics, the effect will be the same. I've isolated myself and risk contributing to the general acrimony of the community.

The problem also comes from without when others assume they have little or nothing in common with me because they don't share perhaps more than one or two characteristics with me.

None of this is necessary even though it's common. But I think it's indisputably true that the further down the taxonomy we go the more potential we find for problems, and this gives rise to disputes and divisions concerning gender, religion, age, race, etc.

What's the solution? On a grand scale we must always cherish and protect most the characteristic that is highest up the scale.

Let's look at Paul's words as a test case. He focused on three main dividing lines: religion, gender, and social standing. Implicit in his categories also are economics (slave or free) and race (Jew or Greek). So let's say we have five categories represented here which are still very common: religion, race, gender, social, and economic standing.

Notice again, that the categories are neutral, none of them in and of themselves either good or bad as long as we stay within the commonly accepted bounds of compassion and fairness. In other words, no one wants slavery, the poor need to have opportunities, all need to be regarded with compassionate concerns and commitments, etc.

The trouble comes when we focus too narrowly on one of our categories and begin comparing, criticizing, and complaining. That was certainly the case in Paul's day where the divisions were actually far sharper, more vitriolic, and even deadly than what we see today. While all the hatred, spite, and grumbling certainly are at unacceptable levels today, don't for a moment think "it's never been this bad." It can get a lot worse.

As a solution, Paul went up the scale and focused us on our unity in Christ. Nothing is more important than that. Nothing has the potential to better an individual and then the society like adherence to Jesus' teaching. Divisions melt away in the warmth of love, and a true community flourishes with kindness, compassion, tolerance, and grace.

We've got to move up the scale! We simply cannot keep looking through the knothole of our own categories, pronounce them superior, condemn or minimize the other categories, and ignore the grand principles that should bring us together.

Of course, I'm writing as a Christian to other Christians for the most part. So I would definitely say that we need to focus on Christ. He is the healer of individual souls and collective communities. The whole of creation focuses on Him. He's the point.

However, more generally I'm writing about this topic today because I see so much unnecessary division and vitriol in our country today. We certainly will always have the categories, and I'm not suggesting that the only way forward is for everyone to be like me. However, whatever your categories we must agree on certain shared values that I think are clear from the principles I've noted. I suggest the following:

• We must not hate or look down on people from other categories. We'll never make much progress as a country as long as one half hates the other. If you're hating blacks or whites or evangelical Christians or the police or liberals, etc. then you're part of the problem, not the solution.
• The solution to our problems is spiritual. I'm not saying everyone has to become Christian, but addressing the underlying reasons for hatred and divisions is simply never a function of government policy alone. Love, compassion, grace, tolerance, etc. are spiritually based and certainly not the provenance of a political party. People have to find a spiritual foundation, and for those who don't believe I do suggest that you remain open and fair with the idea of God, or at least find a way to regularly focus on positive spiritual emotions.
• Be balanced in your moral framework. Social psychologists describe five foundations of moral development: compassion, fairness, loyalty, respect for authority, and purity (I call it honor). For example, you can't be so focused on authority that you neglect fairness. Or so focused on compassion that you neglect honor. Many of our arguments today are rooted in how we rate and value these foundations. We should agree that all are necessary, and we need to have balance in applying them.
• Stop judging. We are all free and entitled to our categories. In fact, I feel pretty good about all of mine, and I'm not going to feel bad about that as long as I don't look down on someone else's categories or try to suppress them. We simply have to put the brakes on pointing out other people's flaws, biases, micro-aggressions, etc. Judging always comes back harder at the judge. Humility is a real key to getting along in a community, and at the very least that means ultimately I'm going to be the one that gets rid of the log or speck in my own eye without having someone else pointing it out. Being judged and judging creates rancor.
• We need to take a break from being offended at every turn. Recently I noticed on a well-known news page that three headlines had the word "outraged.' Someone or some group was outraged by some offense. I suggest we retire from the national vocabulary for a while the following: outraged, rant, offended, shame (as a verb), livid, furious, rip, and slam. The negative spiritual emotions that give rise to these acerbic expressions never build up and only poison the atmosphere of the individual and society.

A key word in closing is acceptance. I don't have to agree with other people and their categories. I'm not sure I even have to affirm them. I do need to accept them. That seems to lower my temperature a bit. We will always have differences, but our original national motto is e pluribus unum. Out of many one. When we focus so heavily on the categories and go down the scale more and more narrowly all we're going to end up doing is pushing each other off the bridge. We sacrifice the unum in the reckless pursuit of the pluribus. We have to rediscover and reclaim the ennobling ideals that make us one.

Grace,

Dr. Terry Ellis
July 30, 2017

"So will I save you, and you shall be a blessing." Zechariah 8:13

Many Christians avoid "the little books" of the Old Testament. The collection of minor prophets (they're even called "minor!") at the end of the first part of the Bible contains obscure references and often harsh language. But as in all parts of the Bible you find the inspiration if you simply look a little more closely

Here's an example: "And as you have become a byword of cursing among the nations, O house of Judah and house of Israel, so will I save you and you shall be a blessing. Fear not, let your hands be strong." (Zechariah 8:13)

All of the prophets fulfilled their callings during dark and difficult days. This is no less true for Zechariah. He, like his colleagues, pronounced God's judgment upon a faithless and cruel nation. The first part of the verse is hard and typical of what often make these minor prophets hard to read.

However, you will notice here, as throughout the minor prophets, that the promises of light stand out against the darkness of the words of doom. This verse has its share of darkness. Israel and Judah would fall and would become a "byword of cursing." Yet we also see the light. God would save them.

Perhaps that's where you are today. You're wandering around in the darkness of doubt, or discouragement. You've been looking for a job too long. Trying to sell a house. Navigating your way again through a tricky relationship. Mourning the loss of a relationship you'd relied on. The darkness falls in countless ways and every day has its share of shadows.

Here's the good news: God delights in saving you. He will, you know. It's true that the bad times pass. Every midnight has its dawn. The reason for this hopeful rhythm lies in God's very nature. He truly does delight in blessing us.

I once heard a minister say that God is not concerned with our happiness. That sounded profound. And there is truth that if we're seeking solely to be happy, or if we expect God to eradicate all challenges, then we've surely underestimated what it means to live in a fallen world. Life is hard, and no amount of faith is going to insulate us from all the hardness.

However, if we don't think God enjoys making us happy then we've missed a signature trait of the Father of lights who showers us from heaven with every good gift and perfect endowment (James 1:17). The fact is God enjoys blessing us in an infinite variety of ways, and most of us enjoy long seasons of reasonable prosperity. Our cups runneth over more often than we notice.

So if you're feeling like "a byword of cursing" right now, you're simply in need of saving, and God has a good track record of doing precisely that. Hang in there. Keep praying. Keep trusting. Keep your eyes more on the joys of heaven than the troubles of earth. Your time of deliverance will come!

But notice the reason God saved Judah and Israel. It was not only for their comfort, consolation, or to make life easier, or clearer. God saved them so that they will be a blessing. God's renewed promise to the people of Judah and Israel recalls God's first promise to Abraham that all the nations would be blessed in him (Gen. 12:2-3).

God's blessing in your life is sometimes wholly intended for you. He will reassure or comfort you. He will give you insight or courage. Wonderful! Receive that kind of blessing with joy. Your Father loves you deeply.

But always remember that the blessings are almost always social and intended to be shared in some way. I call it grace-weaving. Grace is love in action. Physics provides a good analogy here. Love creates a kind of field of potential. It's an energy. Grace is the catalyst that makes something happen. The energy of love is released through an action of grace.

Grace-weaving is really a fun way to live. The other day I was traveling through some south Louisiana hinterlands and stopped at a roadside convenience store to fill up and get a Diet Mt. Dew. As I approached the door a young fella who looked like he hailed from those parts had opened to door to let his two lady friends enter and then held it open for me. He nodded and said "afternoon sir." He'd been raised right. I do love the south. He didn't know it, but he'd woven a little grace into my day.

As I was about to pay for my drink this trio came up behind me, and I said to the cashier "put this all together." I wove a little grace back into their day. The two young ladies said "thank you sir." They'd been raised right too.

Now you may be thinking that I've shared this little story just to make myself look better to you, and truth be told I can't say that's not mixed in the motivation somewhere. What I do know clearly is I left that store with a smile that stayed with me for miles down the road. I like to think they left with a smile too. And I'm fairly certain God smiled.

You may very well be the blessing that God has for someone else today. Don't neglect the opportunity to encourage, to guide, to pray for another person. Write the note, or visit. Help in some way. You can never tell how much it will lift the clouds from another person's life. I know for sure that it will lift the clouds in yours.

Don't underestimate the importance of small acts of grace. Just weave it into your day. It's the reason God saved you. It's the reason God blessed you.

Grace,

Dr. Terry Ellis

July 14, 2017

"You believe in Him and rejoice with unutterable and exalted joy!" 1 Peter 1:8

One of my favorite, old rock songs is Woodstock by Joni Mitchell, who looks and sounds like a woodland elf. I sometimes prefer the Crosby, Stills, Nash version when I want a little more traditional crashing guitar. Also I ran across a recent version by Good Harvest, a female duet, that is harmonic gold and surely worth a listen.

The second stanza has the wonderful lyric "I don't know who I am, but life is for learning." It reminds me that I don't have everything nailed down and still have a long way to go. When it comes to the most important things, I never really graduate. Life at its best is an ongoing classroom. Life is for learning. Always.

The first chapter of 1 Peter is a good illustration of the potential of life-long learning. The words are a cascade of thrilling images. We're chosen and destined by God, born anew, have an imperishable inheritance, guarded by God's presence, rejoice with joyful joy (a literal translation).

The exalted descriptions don't stop in chapter 1. The second chapter has the well-known passage about being a chosen race, a holy nation, God's own people. Peter clearly is thrilled with God, and soars with some of the most beautiful Greek we have in the New Testament, and he invites us to soar with him.

What I've long found most interesting about 1 Peter is that it gives us a portrait of a man who had lived long with Jesus. Of course, Peter had the three years of Jesus' earthly ministry but the letter was written 30 or so years later. The tone bespeaks a long experience, a long obedience, a long lifetime with Jesus. It's the product of countless stumbles, but one more getting up with God's help to resume the journey. Peter did not start with an unutterable and exalted joy. But he kept learning. He persevered, followed Jesus, and loved Him long enough to find that joy.

Perhaps the greatest danger of the Christian pilgrimage is to give up on the verge of insight. The daily joy of salvation must be mined. If I stop digging, believing that it was all a mistake, or that I'm not good enough, then I turn away when peace with God could have been mine. I needed only to turn one more spade of dirt to find the treasure.

The Christian life is a journey, make no mistake. We're all pilgrims, and we face a thousand different temptations and discouragements. Sometimes we sit down by the path, and in a fit of anger and self-pity decide it's not worth trying any more. Maybe it is the disappointment of a prayer not answered the way we wanted. Maybe it's the hard reality of life that's not turning out the way we expected.

Catherine Marshall was the wife of the famous preacher Peter Marshall. She herself was an outstanding Christian leader and author. I like what she said about growing as a Christian, growing old as a person, and facing challenges both physical and spiritual.

"I am finding that the Kingdom of God grows often by means of the very experience that would sweep us downstream, the turbulence I would prefer to escape.

"As we grow older the pace and dimension of physical life must wind down. But it is meant to be just the opposite with the spiritual life—growth at an ever-accelerating pace. The heights and depths of the Spirit and enthusiasm for God isn't for children. In the latter half of life the normal Christian almost breaks into a jog or a run. Excitement and aliveness build. An altogether new quality of joy is given to us. It has little to do with the circumstances of our lives—good or bad—but everything to do with knowing Him who is managing the circumstances. It is joy that has the feel of permanence, even of eternity about it. Deep within we know that nothing that befalls us today or tomorrow can ever defeat that joy." [from Something More, p. xv]

You can hear in her words the joy of salvation and the long years it takes to gain that sublime perspective. The living hope is something we must strive for daily. It is not a point in time deliverance. Salvation is past, present, and future. I was saved, I am being saved, I will be saved. That's your Greek syntax lesson for the week.

Deliver me from the sense of having arrived! I want the security of knowing where I'm going, and the comfort of knowing where the power lies and I do have that. But I don't ever want to tempt myself with the pride of thinking I've got it in full force. I have a lot to learn. God keeps me on the path and gives me strength for the journey. I do my part by trusting my way through the tough times.

Peter as we see him in the Bible is so wonderfully human, so flawed, so transformed, an example of what we all are and can be. Oscar Wilde wrote "Every saint has a past, and every sinner has a future." I have a dear, new friend whose mother would say "I've never know a good person who didn't go through a bad patch."

Are you in a bad patch right now? Does unutterable joy seem like a distant memory or a total impossibility? Not a single saint ever made it via the fast track. Life is for learning, and most of the really rewarding lessons come through the trials. Just stay open and willing, and the things of earth will eventually grow strangely dim as we begin to see the light of heaven more clearly.

Peter had a checkered past, at no time darker than when he denied knowing Jesus. But Jesus never gave up on him, and for that reason Peter never gave up on Jesus. That sinner had a future. And that's how Peter the fisherman became St. Peter.

Jesus isn't giving up on you either, and nothing surprises Him about your journey. Just keep getting up when you fall and don't get too down on yourself for your struggles. Life is for learning. Just remember, you know the Teacher.

Grace,

Dr. Terry Ellis

July 2, 2017