In John Piper’s Fifty Reasons Jesus Came to Die, he goes on something of a rant on all the ways we’re able to botch our reception of the Gospel. I found it more than interesting.

For example, salvation is not good news if it only saves from hell and not for God. Forgiveness is not good news if it only gives relief from guilt and doesn’t open the way to God. Justification is not good news if it only makes us legally acceptable to God but doesn’t bring fellowship with God. Redemption is not good news if it only liberates us from bondage but doesn’t bring us to God. Adoption is not good news if it only puts us in the Father’s family but not in his arms.

“You cannot love or hate something unless it is a reflection of something you love or hate about yourself.”

What do you think about that statement?

Is it possible that the qualities we fall in love with are in some way the qualities we hold dear about ourselves? What about the statement that opposites attract? Could it be that we are attracted to our own weaknesses? I have a friend who is excellent at mathematics, I find that a very appealing quality. Could it be because I am so shamefully bad at it?

Jealousy. We hate someone because of something they are capable of, simply because we are incapable of it. Or pride. We feel good about something special we are able to do because it is something other’s cannot do.

A stretch, perhaps.

But I have to wonder whether this principle, if in fact true, extends to God as well. As unbelievers, do we hate God because he is all the goodness we are not? Certainly. After all, as believers, we love God because God is a being dwelling inside us.

This is something I’ve been thinking about over the past few days. Ephesians 1:19:

“… and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power to ward us who believe, according to the working of his great might.”

This verse is talking about the power exercised for believers in the death and resurrection of Christ. However, it’s a vast under-appreciation of the gravity of the situation to see God’s power primarily or mostly in the death and resurrection.

What I mean by that is there is a collision of facts flowing from that one act of power and sacrifice that should embolden just about anyone who truly appreciates them.

Only a few verses earlier, Paul describes believers as ‘sealed’ with the Holy Spirit. Elsewhere God’s Holy Spirit is described as a ‘deposit’ ensuring our eternal salvation. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit in every believer is what I mean to make mention of.

Now, let that truth meld with the reality of God’s immeasurably great power. Let it blend with the truth of God’s ultimate victory over the enemy and sin. Set it with his eternal quality, his omniscience, his sovereignty. Remember that work that Jesus did on the cross—his proven commitment to our joy and satisfaction in him. Now, remember that all of that is literally in you.

Okay, now let out a relieved sigh and go get a drink of water.

Reading in Mark this morning, I came to the place where James and John ask Jesus that when he is in his glory in heaven that he would appoint them to sit on his right and left. Jesus promptly responds saying, “you don’t know what you’re asking.”

Matthew-Henry, in his concise commentary, has a great explanation of this. So, rather than attempting to give my own thoughts, I’m going to share Matthew-Henry’s.

“If Jesus would gratify all our desires, it would soon appear that we desire fame or authority, and are unwilling to taste of his cup, or to have his baptism; and should often be ruined by having our prayers answered. But he loves us, and will only give his people what is good for them.”

It’s a good reminder that when our prayers aren’t answered, it’s because the answer ‘no’ is much better for us than ‘yes’. If we trust him to truly ask in the first place, we must trust him when he says no.

"The greatest obstacle to discovery is not ignorance; it is the illusion of knowledge.”

- Daniel Boorstin

I feel that in Christian culture, the concept of faith is taught in such a broad spectrum that the way we are really to interact with it is made somewhat ambiguous.

Many Christians assume faith must be totally blind. As children, or new Christians, we’re taught a set of Christian dogmatics and facts. They simmer for a long time. Then, most of us as (seemingly) mature Christians feel, on some level, that we have the answers that we need for our faith. But it doesn’t really add up quite right.

A near infant can learn that when he sees the symbols “F I R E T R U C K” arranged in the right way, he says the word “fire truck!” But this doesn’t mean he can read. What if that’s all we did? We simply memorized the arrangement of letters for thousands of words, but never learned the rules that built those words out of letters? We might conclude that we could read. Even though we couldn’t.

In some ways, this is how I think Christians often see their faith. A series of facts they’ve memorized and therefore concluded that their education in those areas is complete. As many ex-Christians know, it takes very little to shatter that faith.

I think for Christians to grow secure and strong, we need to fully realize that, even of the things we know about our faith, we know very little.

Preceding the first chapter in the book Messy Spirituality (a book my girlfriend gave me over Easter), there is a quotation from Robert Coles of The Wittenburg Door.

“I go to church and everyone seems to feel so good about themselves. Everyone calls themselves a Christian nowadays. How dare we call ourselves Christians? It’s only for Jesus to decide whether we are Christians or not. I don’t think He’s made a decision in my case, and I’m afraid that when He does I am going to be sent straight to hell. I don’t feel I can call myself a Christian. I can’t be satisfied with myself. We all seem to be pretty contented with ourselves in church and that makes me sick. I think all this contentment makes Jesus nervous.

No, obviously, there’s a lot that’s theologically wrong with that quote. For example, eternal assurance is something we can enjoy—though it has to be discovered for ourselves. It can’t simply be learned or spoken. And, of course, God’s eternal nature would seem to negate the feeling of ‘nervousness’.

But, I think there’s also a healthy humility about these words.

If we are Christians, it’s not because of anything we’ve done or not done. It’s because of grace. In other words, it’s because God has said so. In this way, Jesus decides if we are Christians. And, I think we would do well to see our faith and salvation in that way. I am a Christian because Jesus has decided so.

“We really became one person. So now, I guess I’m only half alive.”

Lillian K. (Name Obscured for Safety)

These are the words of a newly widowed woman at her husband’s funeral yesterday. Last Thursday, Lillian’s husband, Tom, died. Since before I was born they lived reclusively next door. No children and no family, plus being very private people, they never really made friends in the neighborhood.

Though my family only saw them once every couple of months, my parents were perhaps the closest thing to friends the had. So when Tom died, the only place Lillian could turn was to my parents for support.

Unfortunately, Lillian borders on dementia or perhaps Alzheimer’s. Every 20 minutes or so, Lillian would forget that Tom was gone and would call my parent’s home saying she couldn’t find her husband. So, without a doctor’s diagnosis of a mental disorder, the only option for keep Lillian safe was for my mother to stay with her almost constantly. Still, even with my mother’s constant presence, Lillian continued to forget that Tom was really gone for good.

Nearly a week later, Lillian seems to have finally grasped it. Though healing has not even begun. And, at her age, most would wonder whether healing will ever come. And perhaps her heart will be forever broken. But for her soul, there remains hope till the last moment.

While Tom was still alive, he repeated to her many times that he didn’t believed in God, let alone trusted him. He was a self-proclaimed atheist. Lillian on the other hand, grew up in some form of the protestant church. And though she doesn’t practice, some kind of faith exists. She allowed me to pray with her, and even lifted her hands during Tom’s memorial service at the Crownsville Veteran’s Cemetery.

Now that the memorial is over and the reality appears to have begun to set in, Lillian is speaking words of suicide. Though she hasn’t made any kind of attempt as of yet.

Tom is gone, and though we don’t know what his final moments looked like (Lillian cannot deliver a clear account), we are left believing his death was a tragedy. While there is nothing more we can do for Tom, Lillian is still here and her heart is more tender than perhaps it has ever been in her 82 years of life.

We don’t want to see the effects of Tom’s death wasted and this may be Lillian’s last chance at redemption, forgiveness and salvation. If you pray, please pray for Lillian’s soul and her salvation. That in the wake of Tom’s death, she would believe on and trust in the Lord Jesus for these things and therein would find comfort and happiness that neither alcohol nor suicide could ever offer.