Even if it’s my fault ?

During a hot, humid, oppressive and suffocating week last summer, I set a record. Running in the nearby town of Mountain Lakes early one morning, I sucked in yet another bug. That reminded me of when my wife and I went to a bluegrass concert in Overpeck Park in the Meadowlands in Bergen County. The group had to stop their set early—-their lead vocalist had breathed in one bug too many and she had to beg that they stop.

None of these bugs were inhaled on purpose! Yes, some misfortune happens without us making any stupid choices.

But sometimes setbacks do depend on our own unwise choices.  Like the time I had a brutal workout with two running friends that continued until I got totally exhausted …. finally we were running on rough terrain with gravel and roots and rocks…… suddenly I tripped and fell flat on my face…. followed by a trip to the ER for MRI & stiches!

My foolhardy run reminds me of the old song Margaritaville:

Some people claim that there’s a woman to blame
But I know it’s my own [darn] fault

In Psalm 107 both scenarios happen. First, when it’s no fault of their own,
some sailors are caught up in a terrifying storm. And then:

They mounted up to the heavens and went down to the depths;
in their peril their courage melted away.
They reeled and staggered like drunkards;
they were at their wits’ end. (Psalm 107:26-27)

They surely reached their limits! Excellently, they call out to the Lord and are rescued:

Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and he saved them from their distress. (Psalm 107:28)

The second case is when it is their own fault:
 Some became fools through their rebellious ways
and suffered affliction because of their iniquities. (Psalm 107:17)

You might think that the Lord would not want to listen to those idiots.  But he does!

We see a beautiful shocking amazing thing about grace:
The Lord gives the exact same reply to the rebels as for the innocent guys!
 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and he saved them from their distress. (Psalm 107:19)

I’m glad that God always listens and acts when we sincerely cry out. He brings us relief whether we are the victim or it’s our own stupid fault.



			


	


			
				


		
	

		
Is Paul another Dale Carnegie?
	


	

		
Paul begins several of his letters by being very complimentary to the recipients….and then later, subjecting them to sharp correction. Does this mean that Paul is simply following the principles for giving a corporate performance review, where you must say positive things before you come forth with a negative?


No, Paul is not trying to “win friends and influence people.” Instead, we are seeing something profound about how Christian love works. Paul’s compliments are not saying what fine upstanding people the recipients are, but rather they express how thrilled he is that that the risen and glorified Christ is alive and at work in their lives.


At the start of Colossians, Paul says:

In the same way, the gospel is bearing fruit and growing throughout the whole world—just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and truly understood God’s grace. (Colossians 1:6)


This wonderful truth of Christ-in-them is so powerful that it vastly outweighs their negatives that need correction. Paul’s compliment is honest, even though he is fully aware that many in the congregation are not living up to their calling the way they should be.


So later, Paul turns loose with a sharp rebuke of the Colossians:

 Since you died with Christ to the elemental spiritual forces of this world, why, as though you still belonged to the world, do you submit to its rules (Colossians 2:20). He’s yelling at them for obeying a bunch of bogus rules that have nothing to do with being a Christian.


The same pattern repeats in 1 Corinthians. Early on, Paul says:

I always thank my God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus. (1 Corinthians 1:4)


But then later he has a sharp rebuke:

Your boasting is not good. (1 Corinthians 5:6a) Here, he’s furious at them for bragging about overlooking some raunchy misbehavior within their congregation.


These examples help us as we look at our fellow Christians today. The pastor of my church is not lying when he says we have a healthy church, while yet being aware that some of our people are struggling or even are in rebellion. We can be fully aware of each other’s flaws and faults — yet rejoice that we are all touched by God’s grace. And when we do have to correct each other, we keep in mind that we are all Christ’s people, not adversaries to pummel!


Our rebukes are given with hope that they will guide people to change.  Our flaws are tiny compared to the gloriousness of Christ! Together, we know that God is at work and the gospel is spreading.


			


	


			
				


		
	

		
Looking for a Fine and Upstanding Citizen?
	


	

		
Once upon a time God did not have a chosen people on this earth. Sure, there were a couple of individuals like Enoch who followed God. But this was far from having an entire people who were selected by God and united in him.


You might think that to start this plan, God would search in a reputable area where there were many fine and upstanding citizens and find one who would be worthy of being the father of his people.  But no, on the contrary, he went to a locale where people were notorious for being raucous pagans: Ur.


And there God found one guy to whom he said, “I have made you a father of many nations.” (Genesis 17:5b)


This man was chosen before he had done much of anything. And he proved to be far from perfect in how he executed God’s plan for him. Indeed, if you read about his life in Genesis, in chapters 12 and 20 you see how he messed up and told two lies that were real whoppers.  When that happened, did God say, “Wow, that was a surprise! Oops, I must have made a mistake by choosing this guy to be the father of my chosen people.”?


No, God knew what he was doing. The man he chose was Abraham. And God said that his promise that Abraham would be a father of many nations was irrevocable despite any missteps he might make.


Abraham was the first of God’s chosen people, who became known as the Hebrews.


Later, membership in God’s chosen people was opened up. Christians are compared to olive shoots who are added to the chosen people because of what Jesus did: you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others (from Romans 11:17)


Here’s how our story is like Abraham’s: We did not have to be superb, meritorious citizens before being added into God’s kingdom. We were called in just as we are. And once we are in our place is irrevocable.


Thousands of years later the invitation is still open:

Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God (John 1:12)


We are welcomed in by Jesus Christ, the King of the Jews. And he will never kick us out. Thank you, Lord, for your grace and mercy.


			


	


			
				


		
	

		
Banned
	


	

		





No matter how kindly we frame it, the message of Jesus draws opposition.   Several years ago, Vanderbilt University derecognized various Christian groups because they required that to hold a leadership position in their group, you needed to believe that Jesus was resurrected from the dead after his crucifixion.


The Vanderbilt administration said that to forbid someone from being a group leader for not believing in the resurrection was intolerant! The Christian leaders showed a winsome attitude as they explained what they believed and why they believed it. But basically the administrators said, “We don’t care about your kind attitude; your beliefs are discriminatory and your groups are hereby banned from campus.”


I at least give the administrators credit for having an accurate grasp of the real core issue. You might think that they would evict Christian groups due to disputes about cultural issues such as abortion or gay rights.  But the administrators chose the key Christian distinctive that has not and will not ever change: we owe our lives to, and base our lives on, faith in a resurrected man.


The Vanderbilt fight, then, has a helpful lesson:  We don’t want to erect false obstacles by saying that being a Christian is defined by a list of positions that you must take in the culture wars. (Indeed, when fights about abortion and gay rights die down, they will only be replaced by a new set of culture war issues.)


I’m not saying that political issues are irrelevant or unimportant. But they are all less important than this claim:  Jesus is alive. And he wasn’t blowing smoke when he said he will return to rule as King. Neither Republican nor Democrat, and not a capitalist and not a socialist, he won’t allow any fights over culture war issues. We will laugh at the idea that we once thought that the right political solutions would bring heaven on earth.


Does all that sound too good to be true? It’s not. Check out this promise about Jesus’ return: ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” (Revelation 21:4)