God’s sense of humor, or sense of timing?
Since we moved into our home almost a year ago, we wanted our home to be a place of service. We enjoy opening up our home for single guests, small groups, and even large groups. However, we also want our home to be a place where people are introduced to, instructed in, and encouraged toward the gospel. This is not always easy, since it has been difficult for us to get to know some of our neighbors – not all of them, but some of them.
Two things happened this week that left a neighbor sitting in our living room for the first time – and none of the occurrences were planned by or orchestrated by us.
First, one neighbor locked herself out of her house. Since Margaret was home, she came next door to our house to ask to use the phone. This is the first time that she had even been on our property, much less been in our home. We have walked over to their house a few times, talked to them whenever possible, but they’ve never come to our house. But, there she was, standing at our front door, asking to use our phone.
Second, a neighbor that we do not know and her 6 month old son was walking around the neighborhood with another neighbor that we know. Just as they were approaching our house, it started to rain – not a gentle summer rain, but a strong thunderstorm. (What is even more interesting is that we were watching the local weather at that very moment. The weatherman had just said that it would not rain that night when the thunderstorm started.) Anyway, since they did not want the baby to get wet, they came to our house. They waited in our living room talking to us until the rain stopped.
Now, the question is, can we use these two opportunities that God gave us to build on our relationships and point them toward Jesus Christ? Also, do we force these relationships, or do we again allow God to provide those additional opportunities?
Jesus cares more about people than rituals
I was tagged by Bryan at “Charis Shalom” to post five things I dig about Jesus. I “dug” this meme so much that I decided to blog through my five things. Number four on my list is that Jesus cares more about people than rituals.
God commanded the Israelites to carry out certain rituals. The most important of these rituals were the sacrifices and offerings. In fact, the children of Israel were required to sacrifice certain animals, food, or drink. But, the prophets tell us something interesting.
According to Isaiah, God did not delight in the sacrifices and burnt offerings. Instead, God wanted his people to “learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause”. (Isaiah 1:17 ESV)
Similarly, the prophet Micah rhetorically asks what delights God:
“With what shall I come before the LORD, and bow myself before God on high? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?” He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? (Micah 6:6-8 ESV)
Micah recognized that God required justice and kindness toward others before sacrifice.
In Malachi, God accepts the sacrifices of Israel when they do not lie to each other, when they do not oppress the hired worker, the fatherless, and the widow, and when they do not misuse the immigrant. (Malachi 3:3-6)
God cares about people more than sacrifices and offerings. God cares about people more than rituals. The children of Israel could carry out all of the sacrifices and offerings and all of the rituals required by the law, but those rituals were worthless if they were not treating people properly.
What about Jesus? What did Jesus think about ritual? Remember that many of Jesus’ healings occurred on the Sabbath. Why? Because Jesus cared more about the people than following the rules of the Sabbath. Certainly, these rules were man-made, but they were rituals that the religious people kept. Jesus did not keep rituals in order to be religious. He healed people and cared for people.
But, these were man-made Sabbath rules. What about God ordained rituals? Did Jesus put people before God ordained rituals? Jesus told the man about to offer his sacrfice to first reconcile with his brother. To Jesus, relationships came before ritual. In fact, this parallels with what the prophets taught. Sacrifices and offerings are meaningless if people are not treated with justice and kindness. (Matthew 5:23-24)
Remember also that Jesus used the priest and the Levite – those responsible for carrying out the rituals – as negative examples in the story of the good Samaritan. Many believe that the priest and Levite refused to stop because they would become “unclean” and would not be allowed to carry out their ritual duties. (Luke 10:30-33)
Let’s be honest… there are alot of rituals associated with the organized church. Attend on Sunday and Wednesday… sit down, stand up, kneel… Bow your heads and close your eyes… Read this passage, sing this song, pray this prayer… Put your money here… Rituals.
Are there good reasons for these rituals? Certainly, just as there were good reasons for the sacrifices and offerings. But, people must come before rituals.
Jesus puts us before rituals. His compassion for us does not depend on standing the right way, or sitting just so, or bowing our heads and closing our eyes, or singing well. His love for us does not rise and fall with the frequency of our attendance at certain meetings. Jesus cares more about people than rituals.
Exercising authority…
Three months ago, in a post called “Leadership, Obedience, and Authority…” I discussed several questions that I had concerning leadership among believers in the church. I said then that I planned to continue studying various passages of Scripture that deal with leadership and authority. I’ve blogged about some of this study in “What does a non-bishop oversee?” and “1 Corinthians 14 and Leadership“. In this post, I want to continue discussing issues related to leadership.
There are several Greek verbs used to refer to the act of exercising authority:
εξουσιάζω (exousiazo) – “have power over”
κατεξουσιάζω (katexousiazo) – “exercise authority over”
κυÏιεύω (kurieuo) – “be lord or master over”
κατακυÏιεύω (katakurieuo) – “become master; gain dominion over”
These verbs each have one of two noun roots: κύÏιος (kurios – “lord or master”) and εξουσία (exousia – “authority or right”).
It is interesting to see how these verbs are used in context in Scripture. For example, consider these passages from the gospels:
[After the mother of the sons of Zebedee came to Jesus asking if her sons could sit on his right hand and left hand in his kingdom] But Jesus called them to him and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over [κατακυÏιεύω (katakurieuo)] them, and their great ones exercise authority over [κατεξουσιάζω (katexousiazo)] them. It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. (Matthew 20:25-28 ESV; c.f. Mark 10:42-45)
[Immediately following the cup of the last supper:] A dispute also arose among them, as to which of them was to be regarded as the greatest. And he [Jesus] said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over [κυÏιεύω (kurieuo)] them, and those in authority over [εξουσιάζω (exousiazo)] them are called benefactors. But not so with you. Rather, let the greatest among you become as the youngest, and the leader as one who serves. (Luke 22:24-26 ESV)
In each of these passages, Jesus tells his followers that “exercising authority” will not be part of their relationship with one another. Instead, Jesus replaces “exercising authority” with serving. Peter follows up on this teaching by telling elders that they should not attempt to care for (“shepherd”) God’s people by “domineering over” [κατακυÏιεύω (katakurieuo)] the people, instead they should live as an example for the people. (1 Peter 5:3) Similarly, in spite of his teaching and admonishment and exhortation, Paul says that he did not exercise authority over the faith of the believers in Corinth. (2 Cor. 1:24)
So, who or what does “rule over” or “domineer”? A man possessed by a demon exercised authority over (“subdued”) some Jewish exorcists. (Acts 19:16) Death does not exercise authority over Christ. (Rom. 6:9) Sin does not exercise authority over Christ’s people. (Rom. 6:14) The law exercises authority over living people. (Rom. 7:1) Christ exercises authority over the living and the dead. (Rom. 14:9) Paul will not be brought under the authority of any “thing”. (1 Cor. 6:12) The husband exercises authority over the wife’s body, and the wife exercises authority over the husband’s body. (1 Cor. 7:4) Jesus is Lord of all that exercise authority. (1 Tim. 6:15)
So far, in these passages, there is no indication that one person should exercise authority over another person in a spiritual sense. In fact, it seems like just the opposite is indicated. But, if the apostles were not to exercise authority, and Paul did not exercise authority, and Peter told elders not to exercise authority, then I’m not sure where the command for leaders to exercise authority over other people is coming from. However, I’m still searching Scripture. It is possible that I’ve missed something, or that there are other passages of Scripture where leaders are instructed to exercise authority.
Listening, learning, serving…
I’ve had an ongoing conversation over the last few days with my wife, Margaret, and a good friend of ours (Theron from “Sharing in the Life“). Actually, for me, the conversation started a couple of days before that when another friend of ours made a comment about some ladies that we have not seen lately, whom we have tried to serve, but for some reason, we have failed to serve them. This comment led to our continuing conversation about service – particularly about serving people who are different from us: people from different cultures, different ages (generations), different beliefs, etc.
Theron and I began talking about serving people from foreign cultures: specifically, how would we serve people if we lived in a foreign culture? I realize that many people who read this blog deal with this question (and similar questions) every day of their life. Theron suggested that before we could serve someone, we would have to know how to serve them. In other words, in different cultures service may be different (and probably is) than service in our own culture. Thus, it would be necessary to listen to people and to know them before we could truly serve them in ways that matter to them – in ways that impact their lives. Certainly, this does not mean that we should sit around doing nothing, but there is a learning process before serving becomes as effective as it could be. Also, I would never remove the important role of the Holy Spirit in this. The Spirit certainly leads us to serve people in ways that we may not understand, but in ways that may be extremely important to the ones being served.
The necessity of the process of learning to serve others is fairly obvious when serving people in foreign cultures. But, what about people in our own culture that may be from a different generation or have a different set of beliefs or even from a different background. Could it be that we miss opportunities to serve – and at others times offend people when we attempt to serve them – because we do not listen and learn about them before we begin to serve? We have attempted to serve some people who are older than us recently, without much success. Why? Because I don’t think we knew them enough to know how to serve them. Why didn’t we know them? We didn’t begin by listening to them.
Margaret reminded me that a few years ago, when we lived in another state, we were able to successfully serve some older ladies. We would spend time with them in their homes, listening to their stories, sharing tea and snacks. When she reminded me of this, I immediately thought, “That’s not serving! That’s just hanging out!” Of course, this is exactly the point of my post. To me, spending time talking with these ladies was just hanging out, but to them, it was serving them. We demonstrated our love for them by spending time with them. I viewed service differently than they did. They viewed service differently than me.
If I spent all of my time, energy, and resources serving them in the way that I wanted to be served, then I would have wasted much of that time, energy, and resources. Why? Because they were served by us being with them, not by us doing things for them.
I began to think about my son and daughter. In a few years, they will be living on their own. I wonder, what will they consider service? How will they serve others and how will others their age want to be served? What about the men and women who are several years younger than me today? What do they consider service?
Similarly, many times we try to serve people the way other Christians want to be served. But, what if our neighbors are not followers of Christ? What if our coworkers are not Christians? Do we serve them in the same way that we would serve Christians that we know? Or, should we actually spend time listening to them and getting to know them, so that we will know how to serve them?
I realize that this is obvious to many people. However, for those of us who are learning what it means to serve people who are different than us, then this may be something that we need to consider and contemplate. I know that my family is learning to serve others – especially those outside the body of Christ. We are thinking about what it means to serve and love those who are of a different ethnicity or cultural background, those from a different economic class, or even those with different beliefs. We want to provide a cup of cold water in a way that benefits them the most – not in ways that benefit us the most.
So, as we serve others, we must begin by listening to them and learning from them. We must get to know them. Then, we can serve them as God leads us and strengthens us – we can serve them in a way that brings God glory.
Being examples…
Robby Mac has an interesting post called “Among“. In this article he discusses the difference between leading from above and leading from among. He says:
I’ve noticed something peculiar over the years, however, which this passage also addresses. Jesus is calling people to be leaders who “lead among” rather than “lord it over”. And the peculiar thing I’ve noticed is that (perhaps not surprisingly) this runs counter to the contemporary wisdom that puts gifted people into administrative positions that suck the life and vitality out of them.
I also agree that leaders (pastors, elders) are supposed to lead by example, by serving among people and with people. This is not the same as directing the activities of people nor is this the same as administrating and making decisions.
I understand some of the concerns that come up if leaders are not directing, administering, or making decisions. But, perhaps, God expects each of us to take on these responsibilities instead of delegating them to others who are told to lead by example. Plus, where does Scripture indicate that leaders are to make decisions for other believers?
Meeting and Speaking and Serving…
A few days ago, in a post called “The church meets here…“, I discussed some interested places that the church could meet in order to serve people. But, after thinking through this even more, I realize that the problem is deeper than the church’s meeting location. I think we need to go back to our understanding of spiritual gifts and their use during the meeting of the church.
There are several lists of spiritual gifts in Scripture. Each list includes both speaking gifts and serving gifts. In fact, Peter seems to categorize all spiritual gifts as either speaking gifts or serving gifts:
As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles [sayings] of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies-in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. (1 Peter 4:10-11 ESV)
Interestingly, to Peter, the category of the gift is not as important as the source of the gift. Thus, it is possible both to speak and also to serve in ways that exercise the gifts of God. However, it is also possible both to speak and also to serve in ways that do not exercise the gifts of God. The source is important.
In each list of spiritual gifts, it might be possible to separate those gifts into the two categories of speaking and serving – although some gifts may span the two categories. If we agree with Peter and Paul that all spiritual gifts are important and necessary to the proper functioning and edification of the church, then we should desire to see people exercising both speaking and serving gifts.
So, when did the meeting of the church become a time for only exercising speaking gifts? (Yes, I know what you may be thinking: what about playing the piano, or handing out bulletins, or ushering people to their seats. But, do you really think this is what Peter had in mind when he said we should serve by the strength that God supplies?) What of those who are gifted to serve or help or other physical activities that benefit the church? All spiritual gifts are given by the Spirit for the benefit of others – this is certainly true of serving gifts. Plus, any spiritual gift that builds up the church can be exercised during the meeting of the church according to 1 Corinthians 14 – this also can be true of serving gifts. So, where do we see these gifts exercised?
When the church only allows believers to exercise speaking gifts during the meeting of the church, what are we telling (intentionally or unintentionally) those brothers and sisters who are gifted with serving gifts? I know the answer to this, because I have asked some of them. Many believe that they are second rate believers because they are not “gifted” speakers like others.
What would happen if the church met in ways and in places that allowed those with serving gifts to function as well as those with speaking gifts? What if the church met in places where people were hurting or needed help? What would happen if we found out that people appreciated our working hands and that led them to listen to our words?
Could it be that we have “silenced” many gifted people in the church, and that in doing so, we have kept some from doing their share (Eph. 4:16) and stunted the growth of the church? Could it be that our whole idea of church meetings is not conducive to all believers using their Spirit-endowed gifts?
Which did the will of his father?
Since my post called “The church meets here…“, I’ve been thinking about serving others. One of the passages of Scripture that keeps coming to mind is the following:
“What do you think? A man had two sons. And he went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ And he answered, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he changed his mind and went. And he went to the other son and said the same. And he answered, ‘I go, sir,’ but did not go. Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes go into the kingdom of God before you.” (Matthew 21:28-31 ESV)
I’ve been meditating on this Scripture in the context of several commands that Jesus gave us that would parallel with the command in this parable: “Go and work in the vineyard”.
Consider the following texts:
“Thus says the LORD of hosts, Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another, do not oppress the widow, the fatherless, the sojourner, or the poor, and let none of you devise evil against another in your heart.” (Zechariah 7:9-10 ESV)
And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 22:37-40 ESV)
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. (Matthew 28:19-20 ESV)
Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. (Romans 12:19-13:1 ESV)
If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless. Religion that is pure and undefiled before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world. (James 1:26-27 26 ESV)
So, why did I list all of these passages? Because I don’t like what happens when I think of these commands in the context of Jesus’ parable in Matthew 21:28-31. When I think about this commands, I think I am more like the son who says he will obey, but then never does.
Meanwhile, I see unbelievers who are actually doing what Jesus said to do.
Was Jesus serious when he said, “Truly, I say to you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes go into the kingdom of God before you”? Could it apply to those of us who are religious today? Or does it only apply to the chief priests and elders to whom Jesus originally spoke the parable?
Before we dismiss how applicable this may be to us, remember that the chief priests and elders thought that they were orthodox as well. They had all the right answers.
The church meets here…
I live six miles from my work place. As I drive to work, I pass at least seven church buildings. Each building has a sign out front announcing the name of the church that meets in the building. (To be literal, the signs actually name the building, but I’m assuming that the people who erected the signs actually meant to name the group of believers that meet in the buildings.) On Saturday evenings and Sunday mornings, temporary signs pop up around the downtown area announcing several other churches that meet in downtown businesses. Each of these signs is intended to announce the meeting place for a church.
I’ve been wondering lately what would happen if we started finding signs saying “The church meets here” in more diverse locations. For example, we know from the New Testament that many times the church met in homes. What would happen if someone put a sign in their front yard that said, “The church meets here”? Or, even better, Acts 2 says the church met from house to house. What if that sign followed the believers from one house to another as they met together in different locations?
Taking it one step further, we know that God intends for his children to love and serve others. What if the church met in the most dilapidated house in the community? No, not the most dilapidated house owned by a member of the church, but the most dilapidated house in the community. What would happen if the church met in that run-down house and renovated it as they met together? After remodelling that house, the church could begin meeting in another house in need of repairs.
Some of you may be thinking, how would anyone know where the church was meeting? Isn’t it interesting that the church in the first century was able to meet from house to house, but, in the the twenty-first century – with twenty-first century communication – we don’t think we could meet in different locations. (I have a theory… I wonder if the desire to have one meeting location has less to do with whether or not other believers know where the church is meeting. Instead, we want others to know where the church is meeting so that they will come to the meeting, and we can call ourselves evangelistic, without ever communicating the gospel to anyone. It’s just a theory.)
Similarly, some may be wondering how the church can meet without a stage, sound system, microphone, instruments, pulpit, etc. Well, I think it might just work anyway. While it is good to use modern innovations (such as communication), it is not good to be dependent on those innovations. Which of these are necessary for the church to meet?
Also, some may wonder about teaching and preaching. I think that if the church meets together in a run-down house, and over the course of several weeks the church renovates that house, there will be plenty of teaching and preaching. In fact, I think there will be plenty of friends and neighbors who come to see who these fools are who would give up their time and money to help someone that cannot pay them back. Oh, it might not happen after the first or second meeting. But, what about going into the second year, after the church has renovated fifteen or twenty homes around the community. I wonder if the church wouldn’t find a much more receptive and interested audience for their preaching and teaching.
But, let’s not stop at dilapidated houses. What if the church met in prisons or hospitals? What if the church met in an area frequented by the homeless or prostitutes? What if the church met in a nursing home or retirement center? What if the church met in an orphanage? Now, I’m not talking about going to visit once per year. I’m talking about the church continually meeting in these locations. Wouldn’t it be easier to take care of those whom God wants the church to care for?
I wonder, if the church began to meet in places like this, would a sign even be necessary? Can you think of other interesting locations where the church could meet and serve people at the same time?
Accept one another…
Can we accept one another?
This is an interesting concept that is mentioned three times in Romans. Look at the various translations of Romans 15:7 –
Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God. (ESV)
Therefore receive one another, just as Christ also received us, to the glory of God. (NKJV, cf. KJV, NET)
Therefore, accept one another, just as Christ also accepted us to the glory of God. (NASB, cf. NIV, NLT, HCSB)
All of these English versions are translating the Greek word Ï€Ïοσλαμβάνω (“proslambanÅ“). According to a standard Greek lexicon (BDAG), Ï€Ïοσλαμβάνω carries a range of meanings: 1) to take something that meets a personal need (take, partake of), 2) to promote one’s own ends (exploit, take advantage of), 3) to take or lead off to oneself (take aside), 4) to extend a welcome (receive into one’s home or circle of acquaintances), or 5) to take or bring along with oneself (take along). According to the lexicon, all of the uses of Ï€Ïοσλαμβάνω in Romans fall into definition 4 above: to extend a welcome (receive into one’s home or circle of acquaintances).
Here are the other uses of Ï€Ïοσλαμβάνω (“proslambanÅ“) in Romans:
As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome (accept / receive) him, not to quarrel over opinions. (Romans 14:1 ESV)
Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed (accepted / received) him. (Romans 14:3 ESV)
Interestingly, in each case, the “accepting” or “receiving” is carried out in spite of differences. Therefore, even though someone disagrees with me, if that person is a brother or sister in Christ, I am supposed to receive that person into my home or circle of acquaintances. Why? Because that is the way that Christ received us (Rom. 15:7).
Have we forgotten what we were like when Christ received us? Read through the first few verses of Ephesians 2 if you have forgotten. There was nothing in us to deserve acceptance. In fact, we deserved (and still deserve on our own) condemnation – punishment – judgment. This is the definition of grace. We were accepted by God in spite of the fact that we were unacceptable.
Now, we are to accept or receive others in the same way – that is, in the same way that Christ accepted us. We can only accept one another (as they are) when we realize that there is nothing in us that makes us better than anyone else, nothing that makes us acceptable. As long as we think that we are better than others, then we do not accept them. As long as we expect something from others, then we do not accept them. As long as we value people for what they do for us, then we do not accept them. As long as we love, care for, and welcome only those who agree with us, then we do not accept them.
When we can learn to accept someone who is not worthy of being accepted, then we will begin to understand what it means to accept someone as Christ accepted us. When we accept someone even when they can offer us nothing, then we truly accept them. When we accept someone that does not love or accept us in return, then we truly accept them. When we accept someone in spite of our differences, then we truly accept them.
Unfortunately, many within the church continue to value people for the work that they do, or their intelligence, or their talents, or the time they have to put into church projects. Some are accepted because they can speak well. Some are accepted because they can sing well or play an instrument. Some are accepted because they have money to give. Some are accepted because they have a nice home and drive a nice car. Some are accepted because they can organize projects. This is not acceptance, at least not in the way that Christ accepted us.
If we accept the one who cannot speak well, and who cannot sing or play an instrument, and who has no money to give, and who is homeless or always needs a ride, and who cannot organize projects…
If we look at a brother or sister and recognize that Christ has accepted them and if we accept them as well with no strings attached, then we are learning to accept one another as Christ accepts us. And, according to Romans 15:7, this brings glory to God.
So, who are you welcoming into your home and into your circle of acquaintances? Are you “accepting” others as Christ accepts you?
Two Marys…
First, I want to welcome Mary to the blogosphere. Mary has commented several times here, and I always find her comments encouraging and challenging. Her blog is called “One Thing is Needed“. Her first post, “On Being Stupid – Revisited“, is worth reading.
Also, Bryan at “Charis Shalom” has a post about another Mary called “There’s Just Something about Mary“. Bryan calls us back to a life of loving God, like Mary:
Oh that the Church would wake up to the reality of the fact that God loves us and expects nothing more and nothing less of us than that we be lovers of Him. The lover of our souls yearns for us to sit at His feet and love Him in return. He writes us love songs (the Song of Solomon), and He doesn’t need us to run around, being Martha, trying to do, do, do. He has plenty of servants, as many as He needs. But He desires friends, lovers, Marys. When we begin to live in this reality it will revolutionize how we live and it will draw others to Him.
I hope you enjoy reading about these two Marys.