Tim Keller, in Counterfeit Gods says:

An idol is something we look to for things that only God can give. Idolatry functions widely inside religious communities when doctrinal truth is elevated to positions of a false god. This occurs when people rely on the rightness of their doctrines for their standing with God rather than on God himself and his grace. It is a subtle but deadly mistake. The sign that you have slipped into this form of self-justification is that you become what the book of Proverbs calls a “scoffer”. Scoffers always show contempt and disdain for the opponents rather than graciousness, This is a sign that they do no see themselves as sinners saved by grace. Instead, their trust in the rightness of their views makes them feel superior.

Does that sound personally familiar to you? It has to me. Perhaps not as severely right now, but in the past, definitely. Sometimes we may not even realize that we have placed some of our hope in something other than the Gospel.

Many churches look at the churches around them as competitors, rather than partners. Or theological diversity as a threat to their ministry. I doubt this is anything short of a sense of religious idolatry.

Even if our theology is right, and our church is healthy, our attitudes toward other people’s theological ideas and churches reveal a good deal about what our own thought and theology means to us. “Scoffing” and “disdain” for anyone is not a good thing. But it’s especially revealing when those things are directed at people who share the same salvation we do.

1 Corinthians 11:1

Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.

Paul writes these words to the Corinthians. He has just explained some of how he chooses to interact with the Lost. Giving up many of his own liberties, at times, to better meet those people where they are. And so he tells the Corinthian church to imitate him, as he imitates Christ.

This verse is often used in the more direct sense that we should imitate our leader’s as they attempt to imitate Christ. This is an apt application of the scripture. But it occurred to me this morning as I was reading that we could also probably apply this in a broader sense as well.

As believers we all are imitators of Christ. We all have his Word and his Gospel. While the early church needed leaders to be a kind of ‘walking scripture’ to remind them of the Truth (they didn’t have very may written copies yet, and no one had a copy all to themselves which they could study daily), we now have the written transcripts and almost all of us have one all to ourselves. Those leading figures in our community remain important, but perhaps not always in the exact same way.

Because of this, we are all in a position to learn from each other and pour into one another. In some ways, we are all to each other, as Paul was to the Corinthians. We are all imitators of Christ to each other.

It stands to reason, with some limit, that we ought to not only look to our assigned leaders for our example, but also each other as to how to imitate Christ. To assess what is honorable in each other and imitate that.

Perhaps I have a great will and ability to read and study God’s word, while you have a great will and ability to seek God in prayer. These are both honorable things, and looking to each other, we should see what is good and attempt to emulate that as well.

I suspect this would help us to have a healthier view of following and serving God in our various ways, rather than idealizing church leadership and viewing that as the ‘pinnacle’ of following Christ.

Last night I read an article posted on Albert Mohler’s blog entitled Black Children Are an Endangered Species? The post, was about abortion and how painfully disproportionate it is in ‘favor’ of black women. Citing some statistics in particular, like 37% of abortions every year are performed on black women, while the black population in America only makes up about 13%. And, that if those black babies since Roe v. Wade hadn’t been aborted, the black population would be around 19% today!

Most of the quotes in Mohler’s post came from Catherine Davis, a pro-life advocate with a focus on the black community, and the website toomanyaborted.com.

The reality of abortion is a shameful stain on our culture. And while it has evolved into something appearing to be ‘benevolent’, it’s roots in the eugenics movement (a pseudo-science aimed at selectively breeding the ‘superior humans’, and sterilizing the ‘unfit’ ones) are grotesque.

Davis thoroughly believes that abortion is a prevailing piece in a huge conspiracy to ‘cleanse’ the human race of black people. I suppose it could be, but that doesn’t seem like the most rational answer to me.

Now hear me out and please, don’t confuse what I’m saying. I hate abortion. I hate the idea that human beings of any kind can be nullified in the name of ‘freedom’ and ‘choice’. Americans have choices and freedom, but only to a point. And this is true across the board. I have the freedom to face an accuser, or not to. But I don’t have the freedom to rob him, or kill him. I have the freedom to quit my job and live on the streets begging for money. But I don’t have the freedom to steal my food and clothing.

Similarly, a woman has the freedom to engage in sex with whoever is willing, but she shouldn’t have the freedom to simply dodge the consequences that may follow when that means violating another person’s freedoms—the child she inadvertently conceived.

The abortion industry has an obvious slant toward black people. Though the statics are skewed. It also has an obvious slant toward low-income people in general. Unfortunately, this often means the Hispanic and black parts of our culture.

The abortion industry is incredibly lucrative. There is tons of money to be made. And this, I believe, is the pressing matter. Money. Not racial cleansing or hate. Liquor stores also have a concentration in minority areas as well. Yet I doubt there is a racially based conspiracy driving liquor sales.

It would seem to me, more likely, that there are cultural and economic situations in these particular people’s lives that make them more likely to pay for these procedures. Or, at the very least, makes public programs which pay for such procedures for these people much easier to achieve while appearing to do social good.

Even slavery throughout history wasn’t driven primarily by hate, but by money. ‘Free’ forced labor is ‘good’ for a business owner’s bank account. Or, at least in the short run it is.

Consider this, as a middle-class, white American, I am much more likely to walk by an Apple store. And, their marketing is almost definitely targeting me. But is that racist, or simply economic? It’s economic. There are all kinds of cultural and economic things that make me more likely to buy, and so their marketing campaigns have their crosshairs set.

I see no problem in speculating what may be the motives of those perpetuating something as terrible as abortion. But that really can’t be verified. And, staking a claim like racism or genocide, I believe, may have some really dangerous social consequences.

It hasn’t been that long since blacks in America were considered sub-citizens and it wasn’t long before that that they were considered by Europeans and new Americans to be sub-human. Those are deep wounds and they will take more time to fully heal. I believe that taking something as widespread and socially ‘acceptable’ as abortion and building an uprising against it on the claim that it is motivated by racist conspiracy will work against the efforts for social healing and reconciliation.

In fact, I think part of the reason her movement is gaining so much steam is because those wounds still exist and are very real. If you can fuel a social cause with something else people are passionate about, they will be more emotionally connected to the whole thing. But, while I think this could lend itself well to brining an end to abortion, looking back it may also go a long way to stunt the healing of a huge group of people.

I commend Davis for speaking out, and particularly for speaking out to the black community. However, I don’t think it is necessarily beneficial, or even responsible, to build that following on the possibility of racially motivated conspiracy. We want our children, who are lucky enough to survive the womb, to grow up secure in and loving their racial heritage, but also loving and respecting everyone else’s.

Kudos Davis. But please, reconsider the talking points.

Mark 5: 24:31

And a great crowd followed him and thronged about him. And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, and who had suffered much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was no better but rather grew worse. She had heard the reports about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his garment. For she said, "If I touch even his garments, I will be made well." And immediately the flow of blood dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. And Jesus, perceiving in himself that power had gone out from him, immediately turned about in the crowd and said, "Who touched my garments?" And his disciples said to him, "You see the crowd pressing around you, and yet you say, ‘Who touched me?’"

In this story, Jesus is traveling to heal a girl who was sick and would eventually die, then later be brought back to life by Jesus. In transit, Jesus is surrounded by a large crowd who is pressing up against him, attempting to hear what he might say or see what he might do.

In the midst of this crowd was a woman who was suffering from a constant discharge of blood. The physicians of the day only served to drain her finances and leave her health worse off than when she started. Discovering Jesus, she wanted to get close to him. If nothing else, only to touch the fringes of his clothing. She succeeded and was healed. But when this happened, Jesus took notice. Even in the midst of a huge crowd that was obviously pressing up against him at times, he noticed the woman who had been healed.

Do you suppose she was the only one in the crowd afflicted with something? Perhaps she was the only one who was written about. But it could also be that, though there were many other people touching him, she was healed, while their experience was irrelevant.

She, presumably unlike the others, went to touch his garment in faith that she would be healed, while the others perhaps just out of hype or personal curiosity.

For me, this reminds me that simply knowing about Christ, or being in close proximity to the truth (i.e., in church every Sunday) isn’t enough to bring significant change to our lives. We have to press up against him actually believing that something will happen.

This is hard to do. But  remembering is a good step in the right direction.

Psalm 80:19:

Restore us, O LORD God of hosts!
   Let your face shine, that we may be saved!

I love this.

While perhaps the context doesn’t translate directly, it reminds us that God’s grace, God’s grace in revealing himself to us in Jesus Christ on the cross, is where we find our salvation.

Seeing God, as he is, is the only way we see our need for him and so receive his total blessing.

That is beautiful.

In Tim Keller’s book Counterfeit God’s he has a chapter devoted to the allurement of power and how, as human beings, we often elevate power a success (both socially and professionally) to the level of a deity.

As Americans we often have the idea that we can do ‘whatever we set our mind to’, but Keller asserts that:

“We are not nearly as responsible for our success as our popular views of God and reality lead us to think.”

As Keller describes, we have a tendency to want to see our lives as a blank canvas for us to draw on as we go. As children and young adults, we see things in our family and parents that we vow never to emulate. But before long, any rational assessment of our lives will reveal just how much our family and life circumstances have shaped who we are, what we do and what we like to do.

With just a quick step back, we can see these are things we have had no control over whatsoever. We do no choose when we are born, where we are born and to whom we are born.

If these are three things shape a massive amount of our character and person, they are also sure weights in the balance of our success in all kinds of areas of life.

We are therefore profoundly naive to ever honestly believe we are really ‘in control of our destiny’ so to speak. If we believe in the God of the bible, we must be humble and confess that we are not in control of our lives in the way that we would like to be.

Keeping this in mind is a humbling thing and massive step toward trusting God and having confidence in his decision making.

The past couple weeks I’ve really been dwelling on the idea of remembering Jesus—remembering the Gospel. As I read today, this passage in the beginning of Psalm 77 stuck out to me.

You hold my eyelids open;
   I am so troubled that I cannot speak.
I consider the days of old,
   the years long ago.
I said, "Let me remember my song in the night;
   let me meditate in my heart."
   Then my spirit made a diligent search:
”Will the Lord spurn forever,
   and never again be favorable?
Has his steadfast love forever ceased?
   Are his promises at an end for all time?
Has God forgotten to be gracious?
    Has he in anger shut up his compassion?"
                         Selah

Then I said, "I will appeal to this,
   to the years of the right hand of the Most High."

I will remember the deeds of the LORD;
   yes, I will remember your wonders of old.

Asaph describes his turmoil and mental anguish over his circumstances. Then shifts immediately. He says that he will remember God’s works and ‘wonders’ of old.

Every Christian can attest to God’s power to provide strength and comfort. Yet, we all quickly forget that he has done so for us in the past, when our present seems to fall apart. Like Asaph, we should make a careful point to remember what God has done for us in the past, in his Gospel in general and our lives in specific, to give us confidence for the future.