Eh-Eh-Eh-Endure

2 Corinthians 11:23-28 

 Are they servants of Christ? I am a better one--I am talking like a madman--with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings, and often near death.  Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea;  on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers;  in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure.  And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches

When I was in high school I absolutely hated long-distance running. Football, basketball, soccer, bring it on! But long distance running... ugh. If I had to, I could run the track during football or basketball training; once or twice around was doable, but it was long distance running that I avoided like the plague. Why was that? Truth be told, I couldn’t get into the prize. The goal just didn’t warrant the pain. The end did not justify the means. A ribbon? A medal? Bragging rights? Come on. “Not worth the pain”, I reasoned, and besides, I wasn't very good at it anyway.  At some point along the run, every runner experiences the sense that if they continue for much longer, they just might die. That's the point where those who endure would push through and find their second or third wind and those who don't, like me, would give up. It was an attitude that coursed throughout every vein in my life at that time and one which, if I'm going to be honest, I still fight with now. Since I hated to be pushed beyond my limitations, hated to have to work at anything in order to gain mastery of it, it shouldn't come as a surprise that my life was characterized by the path of least resistance. I eventually dropped out of college and became the quintessential prodigal. At this point I think it expedient to make the observation that endurance is a character trait; it both produces and is a product of good character. I thank God He arrested me when He did.

In 1998 I made a commitment to Jesus Christ, asking him to be Lord of my life.  Embracing again the God of my youth, I gave my life to Him and told Him He could use me as He would. Little did I know then, (I thought I knew, but I really didn’t and likely still don’t), how much of a long-distance run the Christian life really is. In 1999 I met my wife, Candice, and in 2000 we were married. Again, though I thought I knew, I really had no idea what a long-distance run it is to commit to love someone for the rest of your life. So we were married and began to have children right away. In fact, 9 months later our first child came along. We had made the decision not to use birth-control, but to trust God even with our family size.  A noble decision to be sure, but again - not a clue how much endurance that decision would require of me. Now, seven children later and physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually exhausted, I wonder what on earth I was thinking!

Well do I remember the words of a friend, a man with seven children who I met when I only had one, “Get into the Word now Joe”, he said, “Fill yourself with the Word while you can, because the day is coming when you won’t have time and you’ll need what you’ve stored up just to get you through.” So did I heed his warning?  Perhaps not as well as I could have, but I’m so glad for what I hid in my heart during those early years with God. Though I can’t be sure, God's grace is supernatural, I don’t think I would be standing today were it not for that time. In Proverbs 24:16 we read that "a righteous man stumbles seven times and rises again..." Thank God.  

Several times in the Bible, God tells us to stand. He tells us in Hebrews 12:1 to run with endurance the race that is set before us and for someone who hates long-distance running, this is a challenge of epic proportions. We're told to consider Jesus, who suffered and resisted and stood firm, and didn’t give up, but allowed Himself, God in the flesh, who had at his disposal more than 12 legions of angels just waiting to rescue Him should he have but spoken the word, to be brutally tortured and murdered by godless people in a Satanic display of hatred. Why? He had His eyes on the prize, the "joy that was set before him."

So when my children are sick, or I’m tired, or my wife is emotional (come on men), or I have to repair drywall, paint a room, stain a deck, sell a house, buy a car, pay my bills, lead worship, minister to children, wear wrinkled clothes, deal with nasty neighbours and unbelieving family members, talk to someone I don’t like, deal with conflict among church members, take a stand for Christ at work or any number of other lovely, real life quarter-miles, will I endure in God? As long as my life is my own, I won’t. I’ll throw in the towel and say, “this is too hard Lord, I need to think about me here!” This is why Jesus says in Mark 8:35, "For whoever would save his life, will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it." It's the glorious second and third wind. Then there's Paul’s list in 2 Corinthians 11:23-28; did he go through all that for a gold medal? No medal in all the world could motivate someone to endure what he endured. His second and third wind came from the Holy Spirit, which is a whole other topic - the all-sufficiency of Christ in us. 

So, I’m somewhere along the 5th mile in a 100 mile run. Only God can bring me through, and only if my eyes are fixed on Jesus. This I know, and though I still hate long-distance running - I'm in good company and I can see the prize, and that makes all the difference. 

Conversations on the After-Life

1 Peter 2:11 "Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles, to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul.

Here's a snippet of conversation from around the table as our family had lunch the other day:

"Dad, I know exactly what I want to do for my birthday party". (Our eldest son goes on to explain his plans. His birthday is in January... it's the beginning of August.)  

So I say... "What if we go to be with Jesus tomorrow, and never make it to your birthday?"

Child: Well then I will try to convince God to let me have my birthday party in heaven.

Another Child: I don't think that you'll be able to watch The Hobbit in heaven. (This apparently is part of the birthday party plan)

My Wife, Candy: I don't think you'll really want to.

Still Another Child: Will I be able to run really fast in Heaven?

Yet Another Child: Why would you want to run when you're going to be able to fly?!

And Still Another, eyes gleaming with excitement: When I get to heaven, I'm going to the store to buy turbo boosters!

Lots of laughter around the table  

Then, finally...

"Daddy, what's on top of outer space?"

I love children!  There's nothing quite so endearing to me as a conversation with a 6 year old about God. But as hilarious as that episode around the table was for us, I noticed something in all that talk that concerned me just a little; the substance of heaven, the draw and the hope of it, revolved around temporal things. We had movies, parties, and turbo boosters along with the ability to fly... but no God. Now I understand that we're talking about children here, children with the full package of  unbridled imagination and innocent wonder and as such I don't expect a theological exposition on the heaven revealed to us in scripture after which, with hands folded smartly in his lap, our 3 year old would bow his head and say, "Now, let us pray", but this whole exchange begs the question, what are we teaching our children about God and the after-life? What kind of hope are our children carrying? Better yet, what kind of hope are our children seeing us hold out for? If it remains turbo boosters and space flight, then I think we're missing the point. Are we as parents seeking first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, or are we zeroed in on material things and the cares of this life?

Almost daily I'm faced with the reality that my kids are going to value the same things I do, and that only a small fraction of that will be communicated to them with words. The better part of it they'll learn simply by watching what I spend my time doing.  Now, I like a good movie as much as the next guy, and if I'm going to be honest I think attaching turbo boosters to an immortal, invincible body would be super cool! I just think that if Candy and I can communicate through our lives more than our words that God's Kingdom and righteousness are our primary pursuit, then we will have given our kids something to which The Hobbit pales in comparison; a real hope that will follow them through life, and finally find it's fulfillment when they meet Jesus face to face.

Nobody's Heart Has a PhD

The other day my wife and I were having a conversation with a friend who was telling us how amazed and thankful they were that the Lord has been using them to minister to people in places of influence. Despite the fact this friend doesn’t boast a high level of education, still they find themselves in the company of and able to minister spiritual things to people with very high degrees of education. During the course of the conversation the thought came out that wherever you go, people are people.  Though someone may have attained high levels of education, still the needs of the heart are the same. Nobody’s heart has a PhD!

Acts 17:26-27 says, “And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us”. 

When I read this I see that people are people, each one created and set in their place with the express purpose of seeking God and finding Him. With this universal purpose for each individual, God has placed the desire in our hearts to know Him. When I cross paths with an individual who does not yet know Him, I can be certain that this desire to know God is hidden in their heart, regardless of social status. Not only this, but the Holy Spirit in me is calling out to this person’s heart and if I’m sensitive to that, I may just find myself with an opportunity to share Christ with them.

John 16:8 says, “And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment”.

The Holy Spirit does the same thing in everyone’s heart. Though the path He takes will vary with each individual, His ministry is the same. If I am allowing Him to use me as He wills, my very presence in the life of an unbeliever will be a source of conviction. This is one reason why He tells us that all who desire to live Godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, (2 Timothy 3:12). Some people don’t respond too favorably to conviction! But maybe that’s a topic for another day.

I think the main thing I came away with in our conversation that day was that I shouldn’t be intimidated by a person’s attainments in life.  I should simply be available - and understand that God can use the most unlikely people to be the catalyst that changes a person’s heart and leads them to Life. 

Building Lethal Attachments

The thought struck me as I sat around our backyard firepit after roasting hot dogs and marshmallows with our kids. My wife and I watched as our children went from racing eachother across the acre that is our property, to playing soccer, to having a badminton game.  The day’s earlier activities boasted a bike ride, a swim in the pool, shooting hoops in our driveway, and just all around enjoying eachother’s company (for the most part), and the freedom that characterizes our lives. We are truly blessed. Who doesn’t want to provide these comforts and freedoms for their children? I heard somewhere that people like us, people in North America, are among the most affluent people in the world; that we make up the richest 2% of the world’s population in terms of material wealth. But this wasn’t the question that struck me as I sat there.

What kind of attachments am I building in my children? In encouraging them to enjoy these things, am I unwittingly tying their heartstrings to the comforts and pleasures of this life? In so doing, might I be contributing to the formation of a generation “whose god is their belly... who set their minds on earthly things”*, so to speak? I might be able (and that is a BIG “might”),  to look at these things as temporal - here today gone tomorrow, but what about my children?  Can they so easily make that distinction? 

There’s nothing wrong with enjoying the comforts of this life. I’m not wanting to bring condemnation or judgement on anyone. God created all things to be enjoyed by us, stewarded by us. The problem comes when we as believers forget about His kingdom and make the end our comfort, rather than God’s glory. Can we take the context of our little country paradise, and within that serve God faithfully, giving of ourselves and through hospitality spread the love of God? Can we hold the comforts and pleasures of this life at arms length, and teach our children to do the same, so that we can remain sensitive to God’s purposes and plans for each day of our lives? Can we avoid the plague of comfort that brought Israel of old to their knees, as it turned their hearts from their God? The world is waiting - are we willing?  

*Portion of Scripture taken from the Bible, Philippians 3:19