From him, through him and to him

Romans 11:36
For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.


I'm reading Karl Barth's book, God Here and Now, and as Barth describes the church he connects its life and reality to a living relationship with Jesus Christ.  I've known this truth, but leave it to a German theologian to put it in different words that capture my attention.  In his writing he doesn't refer to the verse in Romans specifically, but it's clear he's talking about this idea.


As I read, my mind wandered to the implications of this simple verse.  It's clear from the bible that all things come from Jesus.  He made it all.  All that is, all that exists, is here because he made it.  That very thought should change the way you read the gospels, the way you see Jesus living in the land of Israel.  The very creator of everything became part of the creation he made.  All that exists is from him....from Jesus.  To think about creation you have to think about Jesus, to know there is an intelligent designer you must know it's him, Jesus Christ.


And then he finishes with this- to him, to Jesus, are all things.  Everything will return to him.  Everyone will see him face to face.  Everything came from his creative hands and will finally return to him.  This also speaks of his eternity.  On either end of creation, the beginning and the end, is Jesus.....making it all and then finally receiving it all back into the hands that made it.


But in the middle is this amazing phrase, through Him are all things.  Through him, it's all sustained by Jesus, it all holds together and was meant to flow through and because of his power and life.  The great rebellion of the human race is the desire to not allow him to be part of our lives.  But Jesus is the beginning, the middle and the end of all things.  We cannot live rightly without him.  We are only pleasing God when we live through Christ.  The great rebellion says, "I will live my own life, I don't need you to be part of my life."  


This is the only portion of the rule of Christ in all of creation where our choice can be contrary to the very purpose we were made for.  We were designed to live through Jesus and when we refuse we deny the very design of Jesus for our lives.  We forfeit our specific purpose and design and declare we are gods of our own lives. In that declaration we deny the will of God for us because everything was meant to glorify Christ.  When we deny Christ's rule through us, we deny him the glory he is due and forsake the very purpose we were made for.


Jesus is the beginning, the middle and the end of all things.  The Lord of heaven and earth.  King of kings, Lord of lords.  Every knee will bow to him and confess he is Lord of all....forever and ever.

Talking about grace

I wish I had more time to read great books.  There are so many I haven't gotten to yet.  This is one I wish I had read decades ago, but just now am working through it.  It's Karl Barth's book, "God Here and Now".  What is fascinating about it are his thoughts on God.  He's a German theologian from the last generation, a neo-orthodox in thinking, but a wonderful writer.  


The chapter that has me thinking is his third chapter on grace.  It's probably one of the best writings on the topic of grace I have ever read.  I'm challenged and inspired and isn't that what the thoughts of others are supposed to do anyway?


Just wanted to share a bit of what I'm working on right now.

Forgetting to remember

I wish I could remember this every morning.  How do I forget this so easily?

A wonderful day

Tuesday I had the great joy of spending a day with Bill Burnside and Jim Walters. Both of these men started teaching at university the same year I began as a freshman...nearly 40 years ago. I asked for the day with them knowing their ages and how quickly the years pass. My goal was first to say "thank you" to two men who had a big influence on my life and second to ask them about choices they made to help them each finish well. Both men lost their wives in the last two years and my timing was intentional as they thought about choices, grief, and questions for the next generations. I'll be sharing with you some of their thoughts in the weeks ahead.

Happy Birthday!

Our sweet daughter, Lindsay, turns 35 today!  I can't believe time has passed so quickly.  Happy Birthday Lindsay,  you are still the sweet, beautiful and wonderful girl you have always been.  You are dearly loved!

The rebel within

I'm reading the book of Judges and reminded once more of something I already know about myself....there is a rebel inside just waiting to get out.


The book of Judges describes Israel in the land as they over and over demonstrate the heart of man when given its way.  The cycle repeats itself so many times that it would be funny if it weren't so sad....God saves them, they forget, they turn away from God and worship other gods, God gives them their way, they don't like it, they cry out to God to save them, he saves them.....over and over it's repeated.


As I read this book it reminds me of the rebel that lives in me, the rebel that turns away from God so easily.  I hate the fact that the rebel exists in me, but he does.  Without much help I turn away from God and find myself in sin, problems develop and I cry out to God for help. He saves me (which I'm so grateful for) and then the cycle begins all over again.


It's the same battle Paul describes in Romans 7, this vicious cycle of flesh and Spirit.  I so wish I could kill this rebel within, but he constantly reminds me of why I need a Savior, why I could never please God on my own....I would never try to please him if His spirit didn't help me.


The book of Judges is my constant reminder of my life and the battle of flesh and Spirit.  It's our reminder of the direction we all go without God's help because in each of us is this rebel who has no desire to follow God.


The last verse of Judges says it better than I could, "In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes."

Revisiting old friends

This morning we are off to Arkansas.  I plan to spend a day with two men who were very influential in my life at university.  Both of these men have been a major part of my Christian growth and I wanted to spend some time with them while they are still here among us.

Each of us have someone who has been key to our Christian life, men or women who have touched us, helped us on the way.  I'm looking forward to these hours with two men who have been key to my walk with God.  I can't wait to ask them about their odyssey and walk with God.

I'll tell you more when I return, but for today let me ask this one question:  Who has been influential in your walk with God?  Who has helped you along the way?  Who has discipled and mentored you and how has it changed your life?  Share your stories in the comments below.

Pleasing Him

2 Corinthians 5:⁹ Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him.

I've noticed, as I get older, that having things my way is less and less satisfying.  After more than 60 years on this little planet I am aware that to pursue my wants and desires, to please my appetites is shallow, hollow and unfulfilling.  


In the world I live in the core ambition of those around me is self-gratification, satisfying self, and it's empty.  As Paul writes to the Corinthians he writes these words that captivate me with their simplicity- whatever my circumstance my ambition should be to please Him, to please God.  In that ambition, in that quest, we find endless possibilities, endless joy as we pursue what pleases the one who made us.


I'm discovering that this ambition, this quest to please God is fulfilling because it's what we were made for, it's how we were designed.  God built us to find our greatest joy in bringing him joy.  Imagine that.  And yet, in the world around me I see people busy with ambition to satisfy themselves and they are utterly miserable, unfulfilled, unhappy....because self-gratification is endlessly empty.


Therefore, we have as our ambition to be pleasing to Him.  Pleasing the one who made us because in that quest we find our greatest joy.  It's what we were made to do.

Recovering

My dad has been in a nursing home for several weeks recovering from a broken hip.  I've been here with them visiting for a few days and took this photo this morning.  Dad's doing his best to be a good patient, but I know it's hard.  I pray he gets well enough to go home soon.  It's been a great visit.

The fragrance of life

^{2 Cor. 2:15} For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing; ¹⁶  to the one an aroma from death to death, to the other an aroma from life to life. And who is adequate for these things?


"We are a fragrance of Christ."  What an amazing thought.  God has scented us as Christians to be a fragrance of Christ in the world around us.  You don't have to tell anyone you are a Christian, they can "smell" it.  We have an aroma.  It's the presence of God, of live in us that gives off a scent to everyone we meet.


I have often been with someone who didn't know I was a Christian and shortly in the visit they will ask, "You're a Christian, aren't you?"  They can "smell" us!  But what is it they smell?  What is the fragrance we give off?  It's the fragrance of life.  It's a scent that isn't common on our planet where everything dies.  The only smell we know is the stench of death, but when the perfume of life shows up it's a smell everyone knows.  It's a smell that reveals something the world is missing.


For the Christian, as they "smell" the presence of another believer, they smell the sweet fragrance of life.  Another person who has life living in them, the presence of God. It's a sweet fragrance and a wonderful reminder of the life we share.


For the world, as they "smell" the presence of a Christian, it highlights the reality to them that they don't have life, they live in death.  It's a fearful awaking for their senses.  It's a smell they don't like, a realization of their lack.  Often it's the reason those in the world disdain Christians....we remind them of the truth that they do not have life, but simply await the final death.  


Without a word the presence of a Christian communicates that life is available, that we have something the world lacks.  Without a word the world "smells" the presence of life in us.  This witness of the fragrance of life calls us to a Godly lifestyle because the world is watching, their noses know who we are, it's critical we live to the glory of God because we can't hide who we are.  The world around us, by the fragrance of life that comes from our very presence, knows we are Christians. 


Live your life well, your fragrance precedes you.....the world already knows who you are.  Live in a way that glorifies the one who gave you life. Know that the fragrance of life oozes from your very presence and witnesses to the life you have.  Live as a child of life that the world will be drawn to the one who gave us life.  And never forget.....the fragrance of life precedes you as walk through your days.

Grumpy old man

This morning I was surprised to find my dad taking on the role of the grumpy old man.  He was (understandably) unhappy with the nursing home.  It's a hard place to be.  Life is much like prison...go here....sit here....eat now....sit here...go to bed now.  It's a very structured setting, it has to be as just a few staff try to care for a hundred residents.  


But this morning, as dad complained about his morning,  I tried to do what I do best, encourage.  Quickly I'm interrupted and told he didn't want to hear it!  He was grumpy and wanted no encouragement from me!


Ok.  I get it.  I know it was time to be quiet and so I fall silent and honestly get a little irritated with my dear old dad as he took on the identity of grumpy old man.  I know it's hard for him.  For a man who has always made his own decisions it's hard to be told what to do and not able to do anything about it.  I know it's hard.  


As I write about this I pray I finish as one who is happy with the opportunity to be here each day looking for the good works the Lord has prepared for me.  It's easy to lose focus,  I pray this morning's example is one I never forget.

Last stop

The last two days I've been at a nursing home with my dad as he recovers from a broken hip.  Nursing homes are a sad place.  You can check in, but you can't check out.  It's often the last stop for many before the cemetery.  It's a sad place to be.


One of my dad's table mates is a wonderful liar.  He talks of his great exploits and adventures.  Yesterday he had just been at the race track driving his race car.  This morning he talked of his airplane.  The truth is he hasn't left this place in ages and no one ever visits him.  His stories are as much for his benefit and survival as they are for ours.


There are some who have long ago been lost to Alzheimer's, some are aware they at the beginning of this terrible disease with reminders of its outcome all around them.  Some are cheerful,  but most are sullen, depressed or resolved to their fate.  Many try to engage in conversation having no one else who will talk to them.  They are desperate for human contact as they live surrounded by others looking for the same thing.  They all have stories of lives lived, stories of grand adventures remembered.  It's a depressing place to visit because it is the last stop for so many.....


....but the truth is it's not the last stop, it's simply the way our culture has dealt with the elderly.  In many ways we try to put our problems out of sight, not knowing what to do with them, but these are people with stories of lives lived, choices made and eternity ahead.  As I spend this week in this nursing home with my dad I hope I can engage some of these people in a discussion about the God they soon will meet...because it's not their last stop as they move into eternity.

Back home

I'm back in my hometown in Iowa this morning to see my dad. He broke his hip recently and I came up as soon as I could to spend some time with him and my mom. It's strange to be here. I haven't been here in a while, but there's one thing I can count on...nothing ever changes. It's as if this town is stuck in time, it's always the same as I left it last. I think I like that aspect of small town America...it doesn't change.

Sabbatical, day 1

It's strange to begin a time of rest, a time to work on my walk with God and get away from the busy life of a pastor.  Today was day one of that time away.  I spent this first day alone, in silence, reading.  Reading what you might ask?  I thought I would start the time away with a fiction and so today I read The Hunger Games, book 1.  I haven't read a fiction in years, but thoroughly enjoyed this one.  There is a lot to think about, but it was a great way to start a time of rest with a book that has nothing to do with my vocation!

Each one

As I read 1 Corinthians 12 this morning one thing that repeats is the idea that God's spirit has given to each one a gift, a special gift just for that person to use in the body of Christ.  As I thought about that I pictured Captain Hook, one hand lost to the croc.  So many among our body don't know their gift and are simply not using it if they do know and so the church limps along as best it can handicapped by those who don't want to be part of the body at work.  I wonder what we look like to God as he watched the church trying to function with only part of its members using their gifts?