Passion v. Love

I took a class in seminary one summer that surveyed the gospels in a week. All four of them. It was intense. There were two professors that shared the class, one of which had come from the DTS extension in Daytona, Florida. This same summer, a group of guys visited the church Misha and I attended who were seminary students as well. I discovered that they had followed their favorite prof from Daytona to Dallas, just to take even more classes from him. So I thought it would be great to go visit them at their apartment, since that’s what good Baptists do. It’s called “visitation”.

This particular prof is a free grace guy, as evidenced by his followers’ desire to get the gospel right. I had rarely met anyone as passionate as these guys, even at seminary. They were a rare breed of students who had the right answers and had set out to make sure the world was corrected. Ok, so they aren’t so rare, but their passion was remarkable. Misha and I spent a couple of hours with them one evening, during which time we learned every statement our pastor had made that betrayed his legalism, and how we must be heretics because we attended that church.

Did I mention that they were passionate?

Misha and I left the apartment feeling like we had been horse-whipped. And we do not remember that encounter fondly. For me, it’s partly because I do not have that kind of passion about many things. I think I might be a little bit jealous. To be willing to follow a teacher 1,100 miles to learn from him, to be so convinced of something and be willing to defend it to the death, to seek intellectual battle like they did are still foreign practices for me. I just don’t get that excited about much.

The other reason I don’t remember our encounter with positive feelings is that I felt that the goal of these guys was to destroy me. I was a legalist, and they were going to take me down. Or that’s how it felt. The fact is that I was not a legalist, but I was working through some contradictory messages I was receiving from pastors and professors, and I was seeking the truth. What I did not want to do is go back to that apartment and spend another 2 hours hearing about all the ways I was wrong.

Passion v. Love.

What I’ve come to realize is that Passion, while necessary and desirable, makes for a lot of loud noise without love. Isn’t that what the first part of I Corinthians 13 is all about? I can speak with knowledge, power, and accuracy, but if I do not have love, I am nothing but a clanging cymbal from which people flee.

Over the last few years I have been growing in passion and confidence about a few things, especially the gospel. I’ve even been seeking out conversations that pit the intellectual reliability of free grace against all forms of legalism. But what I want to always be the hallmark of my presentation is passion tempered by love. I don’t ever want a conversation with me to feel like a horse-whipping. There just might be something to this “truth in love” thing.

BOLD

The only revolution I’ve ever experienced personally is the complete takeover of everything tech. If it’s digital, it must be better. Since I’ve been alive, we’ve gone from Beta to VHS to DVD to Bluray. From 8 Tracks to Cassette Tapes to CDs to iPods. From Typewriter to Desktop to Laptop. From Floppy Disc to CD to External Hard Drive to those little things you can lose down a sink drain. I still don’t know what to call them. Stick Drive? Thumb Drive?

So I can relate to someone being a little bit evangelical about their new technological device. Youth ministers do it all the time. I sometimes think we get together to show off our newest tech toys. The first iPad I ever saw was at a Youth Conference in Dallas. As was my first iPhone and my first Bluetooth headset. Actually Bluetooth was introduced to me in seminary... in a youth ministry class.

What I notice about cultural revolutions is that when they become widespread they become commonplace. When they become commonplace they become less exciting. Do you remember when MTV was born? Have you seen MTV lately?

We get used to new and exciting things. That’s just the way it goes.

I’ve been reading about a revolution that I would have loved to experience. My daily Scripture readings have led me to Acts, and even though I’m only through the first 6 chapters, I am so pumped up by what I’m reading that I look at my own life and think, “What’s the DEAL?” How did I ever get so bored in my experience of Christianity? How did it get so commonplace?

I try to imagine what the church under Peter and James and John must have been like, but I think that because of my Southern-American upbringing, I fall short. Christianity is so commonplace, such a part of our culture, I don’t think I can get the full picture of what was happening. I have been lulled to sleep by tolerance and social justice, distracted by technology and the appearance of our building. As important as some of those things are, Acts demonstrates that they are pointless and empty without the bold and selfless and loving declaration of the truth of the Gospel.

The revolution in the church today is not American churches growing bigger and bigger and spending more and more money on themselves. It’s not a social/political agenda. It’s individuals motivated by their love for Christ and their desire to share the gospel who start homeless ministries, go into prisons, give up a week of their summer to serve others, start their own small groups with non-church friends so they can share Christ’s love with regular people who might not experience it otherwise.

We have created a culture in America where Christianity is commonplace. Yet when you talk to an individual, even in Texas, who has caught on to the passionate pursuit of Christ and who is being bold and selfless in their declaration of the Gospel, there is no more exciting time than right now. I can almost see Peter and John speaking in the square after they had been threatened and told to stop. I can almost see Stephen serving with wisdom and grace and confounding the philosophers at the expense of his life.

I would love to see more and more of those kinds of people in Corsicana, and it would thrill me to death if these were the kind of people we are bringing up at Believers Bible Church.

Affections and Things Left Unsaid

I’ve been thinking about this quite a bit lately, and it tends to come up a lot in our I am Second group when it’s time to talk about our commitments for the week. It’s the issue of my affections. Where they actually are versus where I say they are.

Let me explain.

Last week I told my IA2 (that’s the cool way of abbreviating I am Second) group that I wanted to give God more of my time in the evening, so I was going to close my computer, turn off the TV, and sit and read and pray for 30 minutes. Every evening. Yeah.

Didn’t happen.

I sat down one evening in my office chair, opened my Bible, read about 3 words, and fell asleep. For an hour. When I woke up and wiped the drool from my chin, I realized something: Sitting down and being still in the late evening in my recliner when all is quiet is kind of a dangerous thing for me to do if I want to get anything done. So last night while confessing my failure to the IA2 kids, I decided to adjust things a bit.

Maybe I should start small.

Every now and then I get the feeling that I say I love God more than I act like I love God. Have you ever felt that way? Maybe I spend more time in the garden or playing video games or on facebook or... than I do thinking about God, praying, reading my Bible, telling people about Christ... Maybe I spend my money on gadgets or eating out or clothes or... than I do supporting the mission of our church. And every now and then I get a wake up call that adjusts my thinking and makes me want to return to my first love.

Because that’s what I really want.

Even though I may lose sight of what’s really important for a while and focus on myself, I can sincerely tell you that I do love God and that I want my life to reflect His character. I want my affections to be totally focused on Him. And He wants that, too. In fact, He is jealous for our affection. It’s the very first of the ten commandments in Exodus 20. “I am the Lord your God... You will have no other gods before me... I am a jealous God...” And then in Deuteronomy 6:4-5, “Hear, O Israel, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.”

So what’s the deal?

If I want my affections to be on God, and God wants my affections to be on Him, why do I find it so hard to carve out extra time for Him during the day? Well, it’s not a catch-all, but Paul says it nicely in Romans 7:13-25. Take a minute to read it. Maybe it will summarize your dilemma, as well.

By the way, my solution is to start by reading just one extra chapter outside of my lesson study time and normal quiet time. And also to take a 5 minute break every now and then when I’m working or watching TV or facebooking (yes, that’s a new verb) to refocus my attention on Christ and to let Him know how much I love Him.

Maybe that will help.

Airport Security

I haven’t flown in airplanes much in my life. I mean, in comparison to some other people I know. I still get a bit nervous when I’m approaching the airport, afraid I’m going to be late for the flight or that I forgot to do something. So I try to get to the airport super-early so I can take care of anything that needs to be done so I don’t miss my flight. Of course, I have never had a problem with any of that, and I usually get stuck at the airport for an extra 2 or 3 hours. I did that today. And I’m killing the time writing this article.

The part I really dislike and really dread about flying is the scrutiny. The examination of everything metal or hidden or liquid or fluffy... just freaks me out. What if my shampoo or deodorant is too big? What if they find something in my shoes? What if my feet smell and the guy behind me is grossed out? The last time I flew I had accidentally left a 4 oz. jar of jelly in my backpack. It was a gift for my mom. Sorry mom.

Do you ever feel that way when you come to church? Like you’re being scrutinized? What if you did one too many wrong things this week? What if they found out about the contraband hidden way down deep in your baggage? What if they stop you and ask you probing questions? Do you spend your time at church trying to make yourself appear as harmless as possible so that no one will think you are a terrorist? Or a drinker?

Believe it or not, this sort of attitude is slavery. It is slavery to the rules and the way things appear. It is slavery to public opinion and your own sense of insecurity. And believe it or not, fewer people are evaluating your spirituality than you think.

It is true that Scripture calls us to encourage each other to good works. It is true that we are to speak the truth to each other in love. It is true that when someone sins against us we are to go to that person and work it out. Privately. It is not true that we are to scrutinize each other and point out sin. It is not true that we are to evaluate other people according to what they are or are not doing. It is not true that we are to focus on the negative things other people are doing.

Consider Ephesians chapter 4. Take a minute or two and read it.

Go ahead and read it again, but this time look for a few things:

What is Paul’s deep desire for the Ephesians as a church? (v. 1)

What is the means for accomplishing Paul’s desire? (v. 2)

What is a primary purpose for following Paul’s encouragement? (v. 3)

How can we accomplish this sense of unity at our churches? (vv. 7-16)

Who is responsible for your worthy walk? (vv. 17-24)

Who is affected by your lifestyle of worthy living? (vv. 25-32)

Paul’s instructions for worthy living go on through the rest of Ephesians, and it’s all based in God’s love for us and what He has already accomplished. We have, as believers, everything we need to pursue this worthy life, but it’s our job to pursue it.

One last note: everything in Ephesians 4 is about our personal responsibility to holiness, but it is always in the context of the church as a whole. So we pursue unity at church by attending to our own personal holiness, taking care of our own issues, and as a result, we draw closer to each other as we all draw closer to God. And as we discover how God has wired us to serve each other, church becomes less about an attitude of airport security, and it becomes more about how I can encourage other people in their own personal pursuit of Christ and His holiness.

Heros

When I was a kid I always looked up to the heros of the Bible and thought how great it would be to be just like them. I heard stories of David killing Goliath with a slingshot and so I went out and made my own slingshots and tried to hit trees with them.

Because I was just that cool.

I heard about Shamgar and his ox-goad. I didn’t really know what an ox-goad is, but I had this really cool-looking-grim-reaper-grass-cutter-thingy that I took out and swung as hard as I could at the grass and pretended to be saving God’s people from their oppressors.

Yes, I really did.

And then there was Samson. So strong, so muscular, so good with the ladies... What pre-pubescent boy wouldn’t want to be like Samson? I imagined flexing my bicep and 30 men fell down in front of me. Ropes and chains couldn’t hold me. I actually had the boy next door tie me to a tree so I could break free. And so noble, too. Even when he was blind He was able to take out all the leaders of the Philistines. His only desire was to do God’s will. What a guy.

You can imagine my surprise when I went back as an adult and read the story how it really is. It was a bit rattling, actually. I could not believe that Samson’s only desire was a woman, not God’s will. It was disconcerting that Samson went out of his way to break every vow of a Levite except cutting his hair. It shook my faith to discover that the story of Samson is an example of how low the people of Israel had fallen, that even their deliverer didn’t really care all that much about what God wanted him to do.

The story of Samson comes at the end of the book of Judges, a downward spiral of disobedience and judgment that ends with the sentiment, “Every man did what was right in their own eyes.” As an adult, I read that story and I see myself. I know that I have every thing I need in Christ to accomplish His will. I know that I have been blessed with every spiritual blessing. But I still reach out for that honey, even though it’s wrapped in the carcass of a lion. I still pursue my own pleasure at the expense of pretty much everything else, especially my relationship with Christ. I still depend on my own strength to overcome temptation, and I fail repeatedly.

So now I play out the story in a completely different way. We all do. We all pursue things that distract us from God’s will. We all have things in our lives that keep us from fulfilling our purpose. We all selfishly use our time and our resources to build up our own kingdoms for our own glory. That’s what humans do. And the more we do this, the blinder we become to what God wants us to do.

Consider in contrast these words from David:

How blessed is the man who does not walk in the way of the wicked

Nor stand in the way of sinners,

Nor sit in the seat of scoffers

But his delight is in the law of the Lord

And on this law he meditates both day and night

He shall be like a tree planted by streams of water

That brings forth its fruit in its season

His leaf never withers, and everything he does prospers.