On Suffering

Suffering, pain, adversity, and hardship. These things are never easy to talk about and understand, let alone to experience. But the subject came up yesterday in our Sunday morning adult Bible study. After my initial attempt at a summary statement, and given a helpful corrective from an astute brother in the class, and after reading John Piper's blog this morning, I offer these brief reflections on suffering...

(Note: these are not polished or refined thoughts at all. In fact, I find new ideas coming to mind even as I write this. Also, if you have a couple more minutes, I recommend Piper's comments on his blog today. Very interesting. You can find it here.)

First, it's probably important to state from the beginning that the Root of all suffering is sin. Now lest you object too quickly and get angry with me, I am not saying that all of your suffering is because of your sin. No. I am simply observing what really should become fairly obvious to anyone who knows and believes the Scriptures. God's creation was initially "very good" and free from pain and suffering. Suffering entered the world only after Adam's sin, and as a direct result of it. Not only is the heart of man corrupt, but the apostle Paul even describes creation itself as being "subjected to futility" and in "slavery to corruption" because of sin (Rom. 8:20-21). But then of course, in the consummation of God's plan of salvation, the new heaven and the new earth will be free from all suffering and sorrow, all sin and shame. So with this first point, I am simply acknowledging that if there were no sin, there would be no suffering; but for now we live in a fallen world, subject to the "futility" and frustration brought about by Adam's sin.

It seems to me that there can be many ways of categorizing suffering. One way is to say that the Source is either providentially allowed or sovereignly directed. By "providentially allowed" I refer to the suffering that is simply the result of our living in this fallen world. Though fallen, the world is nevertheless ordered, in that we all experience what we sometimes refer to as "cause and effect." The cause may be our own sin or foolishness or carelessness, or it may be that of others, but we still have to live with the effect in either case - the natural consequences of those actions. Another effect may be having to live with the pain and suffering brought about by the cause of natural disasters, also providentially allowed. (And remember, these natural disasters themselves can also be thought of as an effect of Adam's sin, the ultimate cause.)

By "sovereignly directed" sources of our suffering, I refer to times when God purposefully and actively directs circumstances that bring hardship into our lives. This quickly surfaces another helpful way of categorizing suffering, according to God's Purpose for it. The Scriptures give us many examples of times when God directed suffering or hardship upon people in order to either judge sin or to test character or to display His glory. (The truth is, I believe we can say that God can accomplish these purposes through both providentially allowed and sovereignly directed means.) God judged Israel for their unbelief with 40 years of wandering in a harsh and very unforgiving wilderness, thereby delaying their entry into the land God had promised them. God judged David for his adultery with the death of the child that was conceived in that illicit affair. God judged Ananias and Sapphira for their deception, jealousy, and pride by their immediate deaths.

(Time prevents me from elaborating as much as I'd like here, but just a couple more examples.) Jesus was directed by the Spirit into the wilderness after His baptism to "test" (probably best to be read, "reveal" or "display") His character. Israel was led by God into a dead end, with Pharaoh in hot pursuit, in order to display His glory. Job's testing was I believe both to refine his character as well as to display God's glory (that He is worthy of worship regardless of His blessings).

Oh, one other purpose comes to mind before I close... I think God desires that in our sufferings, we learn compassion. And when we witness others who are hurting, God desires that we learn and develop His compassion to reach out to them. SO much more to say here, but I'll just suggest that you read and reflect on 2 Corinthians 1:3-7 in regard to this point.

I really must move on with my day, but please, tell me what you think of my reflections here. I'm not foolish enough to think that I've solved the problem of suffering... volumes upon volumes have been written about this subject. Just trying to get some hooks to hang my thoughts on, whether for myself or for others that I seek to serve in ministry. So while of necessity this had to be brief, and somewhat off the cuff, I'd love to hear whether you feel this is helpful.

Art that Moves

"...for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure." (Philippians 2:13)

I appreciate good art. Now I know that statement can be rather provocative, for it can inevitably lead to the question of what constitutes "good art" from "bad art." And of course, there's the question of what even constitutes "art" itself. But other than saying that good art moves me deeply and/or causes me to think deeply about important truths and/or to see something from a different perspective than I might be inclined to (and thereby cause me to think deeply...), these questions are beyond the scope of this blog today.

I thank my mom, in large part, for my love of good art. Not only is she a remarkable artist in her own right, but I remember growing up that there were a number of books filled with images of paintings from many of the masters. No, I didn't spend a lot of time poring over them, but I do remember looking through them from time to time and marveling at the skill of the artist. (Not to mention marveling at my mom's own handiwork!)

So what I'd like to do today is two things. First, via this YouTube video, let me introduce you to an artist of a different sort. Her medium is quite different and unfortunately is not something that can be hung in an art gallery. She "paints" with sand on a backlit sandbox. This video is the most moving of the ones I've seen of her work. It's a little long (8.5 minutes), but take some time now to watch it if you can, then I want to make a final comment...

Kseniya Simonova

When I showed this to my son, Nathan, this past weekend, he made an interesting comment. He mentioned that one thing he was most impressed with was how she is able to "see what's not there and remove the rest." In other words, she constantly knew where she was going with her work, seeing in her mind what she wanted on her "canvas" and then transforming what was there into what she knew could be there, and would be when she was done (before she went on to morph it into the next image she envisioned!).

As I reflected on Nathan's observation this morning, I had my "coram deo" moment... Isn't this what God does with us when we humble ourselves before Him and allow Him to do His work in us? The penalty of our sin was dealt with at Calvary, and now the power of our sin is broken as we fix our eyes on Jesus, confessing our sin before the Lord, growing in grace and knowledge. God removes our sin ("as far as the east is from the west" the psalmist tells us), slowly and ever-so-imperfectly (this side of heaven) revealing His image and transforming us into the character of Jesus. If you know the Scriptures well, you know this is His purpose, to conform us into the image of Christ (Rom. 8:29). Theologically, we refer to this as "sanctification" as God makes us "holy" (again, like Him; cf. 1 Pet. 1:16). Peter says we become "partakers of the divine nature" (2 Pet. 1:4). This is both an act as well as a process. In a very real sense, we are "becoming what we are."

This gives me great hope. The words of Paul in Philippians that I started this blog with remind me that God sees in His mind what He wants on His "canvas" and will do His work to transform me into what He knows can and will be there when He is done. It is God's pleasure and for His glory that He does this work. And it is my greatest delight when I cooperate with Him in that work, as well as my greatest frustration and hardship when I don't!

"NATO Golf"... and Life!

"But seek first [God's] kingdom and His righteousness..." (Matt. 6:33)

I read something this morning that brought a smile to my face, but also gave me something to chew on for a while. And since I figured I shouldn't be chewing alone, I thought I'd share it with you too! It comes from a golf analogy, but if you're not a golfer please read on anyway...

I do like golf, though I haven't always. I grew up hating golf, in fact. (Hmmm, is that too strong of a word?... Nah!) But I was doomed when I married into a golfing family. My father-in-law golfed as did my brother-in-law. And so, my wife, a pretty avid sports fan herself (Yes!), also appreciates the game. And now, I've come to very much enjoy both watching and playing.

Now let me make this clear, I'm not very good. I'm doing very well if I break 100. (For you non-golfers, a good score ["par"] is 72. The lower the score the better.) While I have learned to not take myself very seriously on the golf course (though I do get pretty frustrated at times), I have over the years played with some guys who feel that they should be playing more in the league of Tiger Woods than they really do, if you know what I mean. I even once played with a guy who got so disgusted with his play that he heaved a club into the air that landed almost on an adjacent green, nearly hitting some other players. Fortunately - both for him and the other guys I was playing with, I think - he at least had the sense to leave the course for the day after that.

Okay, so that's the context for the illustration that I read today. The article had to do with a man who was taught by his terminally ill father to play "NATO golf." Rather than getting all bent out of shape by your ball taking an errant bounce or when you hit a severe hook or slice (again, for you non-golfers, while you may not know what a hook or slice is, you know enough from the context that it's NOT a good thing!), or when the divot goes farther than your ball does (which has happened to me!), NATO golf is played with a very different mentality. Rather than being consumed with having to play to get the lowest score possible, NATO golf is played Not According To Outcome. You don't play consumed about your score or how well or poorly you're playing, but rather, you go out to simply enjoy the challenge of approaching each shot to do the best you can. Then if/when your shot didn't quite go as you envisioned it, you simply go find it and figure out the best you can do with the next shot. You let the score take care of itself and even if you could sod your yard with all the divots you took, you've still enjoyed the beauty of the course and the time with your friends (or meeting new ones), as you played without being consumed with the outcome of the final score.

So the life lesson becomes clear. While I know we could take this too far (God does call us to fruitfulness as well as faithfulness), how liberating it would be if we could live NATO lives! That is, rather than being so consumed with the outcomes that we desire, we first seek God and His righteousness (His person and His purposes), with the faith and confidence that regardless of the outcomes, God is doing His work in and through us.

A caveat, again, is warranted. This does not mean we can be lazy. God calls us to diligence and to fervency in the labor of our lives. But we labor with all our might with the full knowledge that the outcomes are totally dependent on the Spirit of God. This NATO approach is dealing primarily with God's desire to liberate us from the "tyranny of self."

I think as an exercise in applying this lesson, the next time I go golfing, I'm not even going to take a score card!

I Should've Known

"Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature..." (Col. 3:5)

I should've known. After posting such a critically important exhortation that is so central to living "in Christ" yesterday, I should've known that there would soon be a test of how ready I am to die to self...

This morning, as I was preparing to get in the shower, my wife asked me to first go to our garage and take a large, heavy box out of the van, as she was going to be taking the van to help someone out today with some projects and she was going to need the space. So while she went upstairs for a few minutes, I went and gladly did my husbandly duty for my wife, as requested.

A few minutes later, as I finished my shower and came out into the kitchen, I was surprised to see my wife still there, as I thought she had been planning to leave imminently. So I said, "Oh, you're still here. I thought you were planning to leave," to which she replied, "I'm waiting for you to take care of the box in the van."

Begin test...

Now the truth of the matter is, when I finished my shower and was still in the bathroom, I had heard Sue out in the kitchen, and thought to myself, "Oh, she's still here. You know, I bet she thinks that I forgot to take care of that box..."

So how did I respond? Annoyed that she had just assumed that I hadn't followed through, I said with biting sarcasm (which comes far too naturally!) to my unsuspecting wife, "Do you want me to put it back in the van and take it out again?!" (Yeah, I know. Really stupid!)

"You already did it?"

"Yeah!"

"Oh, I didn't know..."

Now, the following was not expressed openly, but still went through my mind. "No, of course you didn't know. Once again you just assumed that I dropped the ball..."

Test failed! Maybe I'm not giving God enough credit for the self-control I did demonstrate by what I didn't say, but then again, Jesus doesn't make much of a distinction between actions/words and the heart/thoughts, does He?

So what's the point? The point is, you and I are tested every day by the countless opportunities we are given to put our earthly nature to death. They come in big and small ways, obvious and not-so-obvious. And the only way we can pass these tests is by humbling ourselves and acknowledging our need before God, denying our flesh, but then also putting on Christ! After a paragraph of what putting our flesh to death looks like, Paul then goes on to say in Colossians 3:12, "Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves..." And of course, what follows are essentially the characteristics of Jesus.

So yeah, test failed. And I should've known there would be one coming (as, no doubt, there will be more before this day is done). But I also should've known better. By God's grace and His enabling, I will next time.

How about you?

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Epilogue:  I did, by the way, call my wife before I started this blog to apologize for my sarcastic response. This time, actually, it seems like she hadn't really thought too much about my response, for which I was grateful. She usually hates my sarcasm.

Thank you, Lord, for a godly (and forgiving!) wife!

Pursue and Crucify... and the other way around

I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. (Gal. 2:20, NASB)

Since then you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above... Set your minds on things above... For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God... Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature... (Col. 3:1-3, 5)

When viewed with "eyes that will see," history reveals a God who has relentlessly and passionately pursued relationship with "a people for His own possession." This pursuing love of God ultimately lead Him to send His Son to be crucified as the demonstration of that love and in order to pay the sin debt of death in our place. Not out of a need of something that He lacked, but simply out of a desire to demonstrate His goodness and His glory, God yearns for relationship (we might also use words like "fellowship" or "communion") with a people who recognize Him for the supremely glorious Being that He is and find their greatest delight in Him, having been satisfied by His pursuing, sacrificial love.

Now hold that thought. I'll come back to it in a minute...

I had the great joy of marrying my son and daughter-in-law earlier this summer. In my closing charge to them I gave them one word to especially focus on and flesh out in their first year of marriage. The word was "pursue." First and foremost, to pursue Christ; but then also to pursue one another as they reflect in their marriage Christ's pursuing love for His church. Here's where I wish I had a "do over"... I wish I had given them two words. (Although we were already trying to look for ways to trim the time of the service down!) I wish I had thought to first give them the word, "crucify."

Here's the point, and not just for Nathan and Laura but for you and me as well... and the connection with my opening thoughts. God's perfect and passionate pursuit of us lead Him to crucifixion. But for us it's the other way around. Having responded in faith to God's mercy and grace, we must begin with crucifixion before we can pursue. Jesus said, "If anyone would come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me." (Mk. 8:34) And remember, for Jesus' hearers a cross was no attractive ornament to hang around your neck or put in your ears or something to tattoo on your arm; it was an ugly symbol of death!

Similarly, the apostle Paul tells us to "put to death whatever belongs to your earthly nature" (Col. 3:5) and he declares, "I have been crucified with Christ" (Gal. 2:20). I've been reminded again this morning that I do not have it in myself to pursue God, to pursue my wife, to pursue God's purposes for me... I must first die to self. Die to my personal passions, pursuits, and pleasures. Die to my lusts, my leisure, my very life! When I do, Christ, "who is [my] life" (Col. 3:4), is able to live His life through me (see also Gal. 2:20).

Christ pursued me to and through His own crucifixion. I must crucify my flesh in order to pursue Christ and His purposes for me and as I seek to minister to others.

On Your Mark, Get Set... Blog!

Ok, so my goal here is to finally get to my first post (after setting up this blog account months ago!) before I have to leave for an appointment, probably in about a half hour. But what to write?

When I first decided to do this (as I said, months ago!) I had read a blog on the Desiring God blog site by Abraham Piper (John's son, I'm assuming?) in which he identified 6 reasons that pastors should blog. I'll condense his blog with simply his list and a couple brief comments of my own...

1. To write. Ergo, to reflect, hence to think. Writing is a great way to process thoughts you've been turning over in your mind.

2. To teach. Whether it be sermon prep material that got cut out and left on the floor, or things I'm learning in life and/or from my own devotional times with the Lord, this can be a great forum to point others to the Truth... and to ask others to reflect and think with me.

3. To recommend. This can be a great forum to suggest reading material, a movie, a ministry, a marriage- or life-skill, where to find help for a problem or addiction, an resource for your own ministry or evangelism efforts, etc.

4. To interact. As you the readers of this blog (is anyone out there?!) leave me your comments we can interact over the thoughts presented here. This in turn very may well lead to something I can/should address either here, or even in a sermon in the church I serve.

5. To develop an eye for what is meaningful. I look forward to looking at my life and surroundings with an eye toward, "Is there something in this that is worth writing about? Is there a lesson that can be learned that might be helpful to share with others?

6. To be known. No, to to be known in the sense of "Maybe someone will 'discover' me and I'll become famous." Rather, it's an opportunity for me to show another side of myself, to reveal a bit more of my heart, my likes/dislikes, etc. Like everyone else, I am a complex human being with many sides and many roles. I am a pastor, a husband, a father, a sports fan, a lover of good food, a struggler with my flesh, a friend (I hope), an enemy (perhaps, I hope not!), a home owner, a citizen of my country, member of my community... You get the idea. But most people only see a small handful of these many facets of who we are. Blogging can show, over time, many of these sides for people who care to know.

I'll add a personal #7: To develop greater self-discipline. Many who know me, know that while I'm a great visioner and see "the big picture" well, I often lack in follow-through with the details. (Yeah, remember I said I set this account up months ago!) I'm personally hoping that having a self-imposed goal of blogging at least once a week will help me improve in this area of discipline.

So the adventure begins. I'm fairly confident that most blogs will not be this long. (The best ones aren't, I believe!) I hope you'll join me, at least for the first few miles as you decide whether the journey will be worth it. But even if you don't, at least reasons #1, 5, and 7 will still personally apply!