Politics Anonymous

I am giving you fair warning – I am about to meddle.  But before I meddle too much, let me give you a little background about myself so that you know who is writing this post and where I come from.

 I grew up during the Reagan era in an incredibly conservative church structure.  Laugh if you want, but Ronald Reagan was always, and still is, a hero of mine.  I have had right-wing leanings all of my life and have never been afraid to share, sometimes possibly obnoxiously so, my political beliefs with anyone who cared to listen.  Currently, I attend a non-denominational church which I would also consider to be conservative as well.  I have always been conservative to the core.  In fact, I sometimes wondered why the Republican platform was so liberal at times.  I have for my entire life, considered myself to be an Evangelical Christian and if I did not vote that way it was only because I was too young to do so.  Conservative, right-wing values have always been a mainstay of who I was, not only politically but socially as well. 

 Call it what ever you will – maturation, mid-life crisis, or early on-set of Alzheimer’s – I have undergone a fairly dramatic change of heart.  Not so much so that I have gone from being a right-wing nut job to now being a bleeding-heart liberal, but more like I now see the complete and utter futility and downright folly in that way of thinking, be it right-wing or left-wing. 

 Since I am meddling, let me explain my change of heart by taking a look at the most hot-button issue of the conservative right-wing and of Evangelicals in particular – abortion.  Do not misunderstand me – I believe abortion is the most insidious practice since slavery.  I believe that life begins at conception and I believe that even before that moment, God has a plan for that little zygote.  I also believe that cases of rape or incest should not be considered differently when it comes to abortion (oops – there goes my conservative side showing through!).  The only possible way that I can see that an abortion may be remotely acceptable is in cases where the mother’s life is at extreme danger and the baby will not live anyway. 

 Change of heart?  Sounds like I am towing the party line, right?  Well, maybe not.  My change of heart relates more to execution of strategy rather than the fundamentals of my belief system.  I think I just heard a collective “What?!”.  Bear with me and please read on.

 How have the opponents of abortion tried to win their cause?  By overturning Roe v. Wade either through the courts or through legislation.  Millions of dollars and hours have been spent in a tremendous effort on their part to right the great wrong of abortion.  I am quite sure that I do not even know half of all the different efforts that have been expended to outlaw abortion.  I do know that they range from lobbying members of Congress as well as the White House to picketing abortion clinics and staff.  Organizations have been established with the sole and intent purpose to make sure that abortion is outlawed.  Channels have been created to make sure donated money gets to the places where it is needed the most in order to fight the cause.  However, to date it has all been for naught.  Abortion is just as legal and available today as it was when Roe v. Wade itself was born. 

 I wonder what Jesus would think of all this effort if he were to walk among us in flesh today.  Would he applaud the effort to reform laws that are obviously so contrary to the nature of his Father?  Would he speak at a Right to Life rally in support of overturning a law that sheds the only blood that comes as close as possible to being as innocent as his was?  Would he donate money to lobbying efforts in Congress or individual states?  Would he make a personal appeal to the President and Congress to stop this heinous act?  Or would he forcibly enact the terrible judgment of God upon those who commit these acts?

 The only way to answer these questions is to see what he did when he was walking among us in flesh.  In the gospel accounts of his life we see that yes, he was a revolutionary.  And yes, he did enact change everywhere he went.  He overthrew the ruling religious establishment of the time and brought about the Father’s plan of salvation. 

 Strange though – don’t you think – how every one of his actions was geared towards people rather than governments.  Not once did he overtly or covertly make any comment or take any action to overthrow Rome’s ruling authority.  Yes, many looked for the Messiah to do just that and many of his disciples no doubt expected and longed for the same.  But what did Jesus teach about the kingdom that he was bringing?  His kingdom was not about governments or nations – it was something much more grand.  It was the kingdom of heaven – his Father’s kingdom.  In fact, didn’t he say give to Caesar that which is Caesar’s and give to God that which is God’s?  He really didn’t care what Caesar did.  His kingdom was far above all of that.  The time he spent on earth was used to minister to those who needed his help the most. 

 Sure, if he wanted to, he could have forced Caesar from power.  Look at Jesus’ arrest in the garden when Peter, in a sincere but misguided attempt to defend Jesus, cut off the ear of one of the guards who had come to take him into custody.  What did Jesus do?  He healed the guard’s ear and rebuked Peter saying “Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels?”.  If Jesus had wanted to use all of those legions of angels to take political power, Caesar would not have stood a chance.  The bottom line is that Jesus did not waste his time with Caesar’s kingdom.  The more important picture was the heavenly kingdom.

 And how did Jesus bring about the heavenly kingdom?  Not by force.  Not by the sword.  The kingdom was brought about by his agape love.  It was his love for us that compelled him to come to earth, to minister to all of those who were in need around him, and then to die for all of us.  It was through this love that he commanded us all to live.  When asked which commandment was greatest, his response in Matthew 22:37-39 was to love God with all your heart, mind, and soul and to love your neighbor as yourself.

 And it is here that we find Jesus’ secret to changing the world – accept the agape love of the Father and share it with all of those we come into contact with.  If this is true, then why is it that every election cycle we who consider ourselves to be Evangelical Christians look to a politician to bring about moral change?  George Bush was re-elected through a push by the religious right in  the hopes of finally overturning Roe v. Wade.  Did it happen?  No.  If it didn’t happen under George Bush, arguably the most conservative president this nation has known, please tell me when it would happen.  How much time, effort, money, prayers, fasting, and who knows what other labors were expended in order to re-elect Bush?  And for what?-not much in the end.

 Now, tell me this – what would have happened had all of that effort been successful?  What if Roe v. Wade had been overturned?  True change – right?  No more abortions!  The nation would be that much closer to God!  The USA would have begun to turn from its wicked ways!  We would be on the path to true Godliness!!  I hate to burst anyone’s bubble who really does believe all that – but there isn’t a chance that any of it is true.  How can I be so sure?  All you have to do is pick any of the laws on the books today, and I’ll bet my last paycheck that I can find you someone sitting in prison today because they broke that law.  You see, getting a law passed is no guarantee of adherence to that law.  Aren’t illicit drugs illegal?  Yet there is still a drug problem.  Didn’t a previous generation try to outlaw alcohol?  Yet prohibition proved too difficult to enforce and was repealed.  Why have those efforts failed?  Simple – morality can not be legislated.  If someone does right, it’s because they chose to do so – not because of a law written on the books somewhere.  If it were that easy, the Law of Moses would have worked just fine and Jesus would have never had to come to earth to die for us.  Even if we had won the battle for Roe v. Wade, we would have certainly still lost the war for the very ones we were trying to reach.  Would winning Roe v. Wade rally be showing God’s agape love or would it be using a morality hammer to force people into making one choice by taking away the other?  Looking at it from that perspective makes it easy to see how we have lost our focus on what Jesus thought was important and how to bring real change to the world.

 So obviously, moral change through the political system is a fallacy at best and always futile.  So what now?  Let me propose a different scenario.  What if we, and I am speaking of all Christians, follow the examples that Jesus set for us?  After all, that is what the term “Christian” means, isn’t it?  To be Christ-like?  What if we live the life he meant for us to live anyway?  What if we take all of the time, effort, money, prayers, fasting, and other labors that we have been expending futilely since Roe v. Wade and pour it all into following the two greatest commandments? 

 I wonder what the outcome would have been today if instead of trying to force a moral choice on an entire nation we had tried to show God’s agape love to those who needed it most?  What if we had answered our Lord’s call to ministry rather than our own political call to action?  What if we had simply offered God’s agape to those young women who had a difficult choice to make – provided for their needs and helped them in whatever manner we could?  There are many good organizations that provide alternatives to abortion.  What would have happened if we had given them priority for our resources over the Washington lobbying groups?  I’ll bet we could have helped many of these young mothers to make the right choice and I’ll bet the abortion rate would be much lower than it is today.  Many abortion clinics may have even closed by now due to a lack of business rather than due to protests and picket lines.  The best thing about God’s agape love is that it is never too late to embrace it or to share it.  We can still accomplish all that we wanted to and more (because God has bigger ambitions than just Roe v. Wade) if only we follow Jesus’ teachings and his example. 

 So am I saying to no longer exercise your American right to vote or to take an interest in your government?  No, of course not.  We have a precious gift in being able to vote and to make our voice heard throughout all levels of government.  We should jealously guard it as such.  What I am saying is to put it in its proper perspective and don’t waste your time and effort in trying to get laws passed that are designed to make America more “Godly” – it never works.  Rather, focus your efforts where they can produce real change – just as Jesus’ example and teachings show us.

 The bottom line for me is this – Do I trust God to be in control even when the political party of my choice is not?  To that end, I am with tongue-in-cheek joining “Politics Anonymous”.  My indoctrination statement goes like this: 

Yes, I am a political junkie and I recognize my need to look to God for control of this country – not a right-wing conservative politician who knows how to speak the language of Christian values. I promise to put my faith in God, not in man.  I pledge to no longer try to take the easy way out by looking to the government to bring about the change that is my responsibility as a Christian to produce.  I vow to understand that the way to bring about change is to win hearts and minds, not elections. 

 How about you?  Do you need to join “Politics Anonymous”?

  © Gregory M. Watson, 2008 (see Copyright Page for details)

What is Communion really about?

I recently was asked to oversee a communion service during one Sunday morning at my church and I asked if it would be appropriate to say a few words before we actually took of the bread and the cup.  I was assured that I had liberty to say what I felt God had impressed upon my heart and so I began pull together my thoughts on what I was going to say.  After communion was over and for a few days after, I had many positive comments on the few words that I had spoken, so I thought I would post them here in case anyone was interested in reading them. 

 In preparing to oversee the communion, I asked a simple question – What is Communion?  I basically wanted to know what was Communion all about and what does it really mean.  So I went to the story of the first communion in Luke 22.  There we see that Jesus asks his disciples to “do this in remembrance of me” – of course the “this” that Jesus is referring to is the act of partaking of the bread and the cup. 

 Traditionally, we take “remembrance” to mean the remembrance of Jesus’ death and sacrifice on the cross.  I do not argue this view at all and believe it to be a wholly proper view of remembering Jesus during communion.  After all, in I Corinthians 11 this is one way that Paul instructs us to remember Jesus in taking Communion.  If it had not been for Jesus’ death and sacrifice, no one would have their sins forgiven today.  So this is a completely appropriate form of “remembrance” during Communion.

 But my next question quickly became “Is this all that we should remember?”  Isn’t there much more about Jesus that we can and maybe even should remember?  Don’t misunderstand what I am saying – there is no way to overestimate the importance of the death and sacrifice, but I am equally sure that there are other remembrances of Jesus that are just as important.

 When you think about it, the death and sacrifice would have never happened had it not been for the agape love that Jesus had in his heart for all of us.  It was his agape for us that motivated him through his entire life here on earth, including his death. 

 For the past few Monday nights, there has been a group of us called the Climbing Companions that meets at the church to discuss the expression of God’s kingdom through fellowship with each other.  A central theme to our discussions has been relationships – with God, each other, and ourselves.

 When I took a hard look at the first communion, I was immediately struck by what a great snapshot this was of all these relationships together at one moment in time.  We see Jesus, so full of his agape love, preparing to die for his disciples and for us.  At the same time, we see the disciples receiving this agape from Jesus and sharing it with one another.  Yes – they had their moments of humanness, as we all do, but sharing Jesus’ agape was the essence of what was happening.

 When I took a moment to think about the relationships represented in this picture, it was immediately clear how the act of this first communion followed the teachings of Jesus during his ministry.  His teaching of the 2 greatest commandments- 1) love God with all your heart, mind, and soul, and 2) love your neighbor as yourself – fit very nicely within the frame of this first communion.

 So, can I be so bold as to suggest that this is at least part of what Communion is all about -   the receiving and sharing of the God’s agape love?  The next time we take the bread and the cup with each other in Communion, can we remember Jesus by “ingesting” his agape love into us so that we can share it with whomever needs it – whether they be within our church or outside of it wherever we find them?  Can Communion be about remembering Jesus by fulfilling his 2 greatest commandments?

 Communion – the receiving and sharing of God’s agape love.

© Gregory M. Watson, 2008 (see Copyright Page for details)

Wisdom from Good Ol’ Ben

A few weeks ago, I came across this quote from Benjamin Franklin -

 The eyes of other people are the eyes that ruin us.  If all but myself were blind, I should want neither fine clothes, fine houses, nor fine furniture.

 At once I was struck by the wisdom and truth in these few words.  How well it describes us as modern Americans in trying to keep up with the “Jones”!  Indeed, if no one else could appreciate our material things – and when you get down to it, if no one could envy our material things – would we even want them anymore?

 Even though I know that Benjamin Franklin was not anywhere close to being a deeply religious individual, my mind took his words and applied them in a spiritual sense.  I mean, think about it – what would happen if everyone in the world were blind to all of our outward appearances of Christianity?  What would happen if no one could see our show?  I think most people who work hard in the Christian realm really do want to do a good job for God and His kingdom.  But, I have to think that most don’t mind if others know about it as well.  I know this because I often find myself in the same selfish mindset. 

 But would those same works matter to us as much, if at all, if no one could see or know that they ever happened?  How would we feel if we knew that no one would ever look at us and think “Wow – I wish I could be as good a Christian as that person is”?  Would I be writing this blog?  (Ouch!!)  Would you still do whatever it is you do?

 As modern day Christians we must be ever vigilant to guard our motives regarding our work for the kingdom.  In Matthew 6:16, Jesus cautions us to not put on a show for the benefit of others:

 When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.  (NIV)

 Our challenge is simple – let’s see how much we can get done for God’s kingdom when we work with the “spiritual” Jones instead of competing against them!!

© Gregory M. Watson, 2008 (see Copyright Page for details)

Why does God allow suffering?

This is a question that when posed leaves many Christians shrugging their shoulders in bewilderment and non-believers feeling justified in their skepticism of Christianity.  It has been used as a crutch of atheists for centuries in order to discredit Christianity or at the very least nullify several of its basic tenants.  But the fact remains:  suffering is a real part of man’s existence on Earth and so far God has not decided to end suffering in its entirety.  So why would God, who is all-powerful and who (according to I John 4:8) is the very definition of love, not put an end to suffering?  Does he not care?  Or is he simply not powerful enough to end suffering?  This seems to be a contradiction that many wrestle with but can not reconcile.

Perhaps you have come up with this question on your own or maybe someone else has posed it to you in an attempt to derail your Christianity.  Either way, the question is both harsh and legitimate at the same time.  As such, it deserves an answer.  Allow me in my attempt to answer this question to qualify everything that I write here by saying that I do not purport to know everything about why bad things happen, nor am I attempting to explain away senseless tragedies with a few mere keystrokes on my computer.  I am simply trying to explain my overall layman’s view of suffering and put it in its proper perspective.

With that said, in order to answer this question with any kind of certainty and finality, we must first wrap our minds around a couple of key concepts. 

 Why is there suffering?

Before we can honestly attempt to answer why God allows suffering, we must first understand why there is so much suffering in the world to begin with.  But before I get into the real reason of why suffering exists, I want to lay to rest a couple of myths about the origins of suffering. 

Myth #1:  God gives us suffering in order to show his glory and exalt himself in the eyes of man.  This is a religious statement that is just simply untrue.  I believe it is a lie from Satan himself that he uses to trick Christians in believing that God has given them their suffering and to begin putting doubts into their heads about their loyalty to God.  Listen – God does not cause suffering.  He is a loving God who cares for his children and he does not throw obstacles in our paths just to make us stumble.  I can find no instance in the Bible where Jesus caused someone to be sick just so that He could heal them and show everyone that He was God’s son.  No – instead He traveled far and wide fixing the problems that Satan had created in the first place.  I mean let’s think about this for a minute – Does God really need to cause us problems and then fix them just to show us His glory?  When compared to the creation of the entire universe, I think that fixing our problems would be a relatively minor demonstration of His glory.  This myth also requires a dim view of God as an egotistical sadist who uses Christians for some great object lesson of His power.  I can tell you right now that I would never throw one of my children in front of a speeding bus just so that I could show everyone how fast I could pull them out of the way.  Likewise, God does not cause us suffering just so He can show us His power.  He helps us in our time of need because He loves us as His children, pure and simple. The God I know would never use me merely as an object lesson for someone else.  I believe He respects me more than that.

Myth #2:  Suffering exists for my own good so that God can teach me some great lesson.  I know that this is a popular rationalization among Christians, but really – Are you kidding me?!!  This too is a religious statement that is completely untrue.  Did any of us have a teacher who hit us on the head with a baseball bat until we learned to do math?  I doubt it.  God gave us the capability of learning through communication with Him – whether it be through the Word, prayer, or the church body.  Suffering does not present the ideal situation for learning.  Can good things come out of bad situations?  Absolutely they can.  But that is not the reason we experience suffering.  What is true is that my God is big enough that He can take any attack Satan wants to unleash upon me and somehow turn it into something good.  The Bible says:

Romans 8:28 – And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. (NIV)

We must be careful not to equate this verse with the thought that all things were meant to come our way to teach us a lesson.  Rather this verse is a witness to the all-powerful nature of God and his willingness to help us overcome any situation that comes our way. 

Now that we have dispelled these two myths about why suffering exists, let us look now at the true origins of suffering.  The true source of all the human suffering today, and indeed of the past and future, has its roots in our own beginnings.  At the time of creation, God made a perfect world and placed man in it as its caretaker.  Unfortunately, man listened to the half-truths of Satan and chose to rebel against God.  As a result of our choice, we opened the door for evil to enter God’s perfect creation and suffering followed.  Satan has used this open door to spread his plague of suffering ever since.  It was man’s choice that allowed Satan to inflict suffering upon mankind. 

Even today we can see examples of how our own choices bring about our own suffering.  For example, those who choose to smoke, abuse drugs and alcohol, eat a poor diet, view pornography, drive recklessly, mismanage finances, or enter into bad relationships cause themselves and those who care for them to be exposed to a dark world of suffering. 

But one does not need to make bad life choices in order for suffering to pay them a visit.  Unfortunately, suffering also comes to the completely innocent.  Famine, natural disasters, poverty, accidents, disease, war, and random acts of violence find the innocent in every corner of the world.  In fact, we learn in I Peter 5:8 that Satan is an opportunist.  It describes him as a roaring lion seeking anyone whom he can devour.

So whether suffering is invited into our lives by our own choices or whether suffering finds us completely innocent like a predator waiting in ambush for its prey, let us be completely clear about one thing – all suffering originates with Satan himself.  The reason goes back to our beginning.  Man allowed Satan to corrupt God’s perfect world  and now we must live with the result – an imperfect world.  This is a world where life is not fair, regardless of whether you are a believer or not.  In fact, Jesus himself said in Matthew 5:45 that the rain falls on the just and the unjust.  And He promised us in John 16:33 that we would have tribulations in this world.  The old cliché that bad things happen to good people is just as valid as saying good things happen to bad people.  Fairness is just not a part of the world that Satan has corrupted for us.  So suffering is the natural result

 So why doesn’t God do something?

Now, back to the original question – why does God allow all of this to happen?  Where is He?  If God loves us and sees us as His children, why doesn’t He do something about all the suffering and injustice in the world?

My answer is simple – He HAS and IS doing something about it!  From the very moment that man fell from His grace (the beginning of all suffering), He began to enact a plan that would bring man back into fellowship with Him.  In order to lift us out of our suffering He developed the plan of salvation for all of those who would accept it.  And He sacrificed His son to make it happen.

No one who knows and understands this can possibly say that God isn’t doing anything about suffering.  He has done more than we can possibly realize.  For the one who has accepted God’s plan of salvation, suffering may exist here in our imperfect world but it will be banished forever once Heaven is reached. 

 How do we know this?  Revelation 7:17 speaks of God wiping away every tear from our eyes.  And looking again in I Peter 5, this time verse 10, we learn that:

I Peter 5:10 – And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. (ESV)

However, for the unbeliever, the life after this one only holds more suffering – and on a scale that is unimaginable.  So ultimately, the choice of whether or not we will continue in suffering is ours once again.  Even though the original choice was not yours to make and even though Satan is a lion who may try to cause things to happen to you through no choice of your own – you can still choose to allow God to take away all of your suffering. 

 Conclusion

The problem for the believer is that too often we only see the moment in time that our lives currently exist in.  Our challenge is this:  In times of suffering and tribulation, we must step back and see our circumstances in their proper perspective.  We must see suffering for what it is – a curse resulting from our own bad choices (whether they are our own or from man’s beginning).  And we must remember that all of the suffering in our lives exists as one small point on the scale of eternity.  But most important, we must remember that for the Christian, suffering is promised to be a temporary problem that will be taken away in the end.  Let’s put the suffering in this world in its proper context – as the evil that God’s plan has already overcome.  Remember John 16:33 from earlier in this writing?  Jesus said:

 John 16:33(b)- In the world you will have tribulation. (ESV)

 I saved the latter part of that same verse for now – it says:

 John 16:33(c) – But take heart; I have overcome the world. (ESV)

So the answer to the question “Why does God allow suffering?” is simple.  He doesn’t allow it in the sense that He is responsible for suffering.  It is man’s exercise of the free choice that He lovingly gave us that has allowed suffering to enter our world.  Any statement blaming God for our suffering is at best ignorant of what He has already done for mankind, and at worst it is showing arrogance in the face of God.  It is we who are to blame for our suffering.  But God has given us one more chance to rid ourselves of the bad choices from our past.  It is up to us to now make the right choice in accepting His grace.

© Gregory M. Watson, 2008 (see Copyright Page for details)

Is it OK to be Angry with God?

This is a tough subject for me.  I hesitated to write about it, but for some reason I have felt compelled to go ahead with it.  This topic has been on my mind for some time, more so as an attempt to deal with my own personal experiences than anything else.  I think that it is a topic that everyone must deal with at some point in their lives, and probably more than once. 

I want to start my discussion by giving you the backdrop during which I found myself in the most trying time of my life to date.   At the time, my wife and I attended a church whose leaders pushed the idea that a Christian should declare that everything is going well in their life, even when it is not. They often encouraged members to answer the rhetorical greeting of “How are you doing?” with “I’m blessed and highly favored of the Lord!”, no matter to whom one was talking and no matter how many sorrowful tears had to be fought back to say it.  I have to be careful to stay on point here because, due to my circumstances at the time this one-liner quickly became a pet peeve of mine.  Suffice it to say that the theology behind the teaching had more to do with denial of the realities of life and of God’s ability to make things right when things go wrong than anything else. To be fair, those exact words were never issued verbatim from the pulpit. But they might as well have been since this was a fundamental tenant of the culture cultivated by the leadership and tacitly approved by the congregation. The result, at least for us, was that we were afraid to be real with what was happening in our lives for fear of being ostricized for not having enough “faith”. The problem with this teaching is Jesus never promised us an easy life as a Christian, and in fact he pretty much guaranteed that problems would cross our paths.  To expect anything else in your life or in the life of another Christian shows a complete lack of understanding of what Jesus taught.

Now, back to my story.  It was during our time of attending this church that my family received the devastating news that my father was diagnosed with lung cancer.  The prognosis was not good – it had already spread to his liver.  Even worse, the type of cancer he had did not respond well to treatment.  Surgery could be performed on the lung but the cancer would probably return at another lung site.  The spot on the liver could not be operated upon.  I can still remember the doctor saying that “with no treatment you can expect to have about 8 months left – with surgery and chemotherapy, 18 to 24 months”.  And there it was – a death sentence with a choice of the execution date. 

This was very hard news to take.  My family had always been close.  We all still lived within an hour of each other.  At the time of the diagnosis, my parents had been married for 45 years and by all criteria had a stable and happy marriage.  My brother and I grew up in a loving environment free from abuse and both of us were nurtured from birth.  My wife even considered my dad to be more of a father figure to her than her own father had been.  This event was the first terrible chapter ever written in the lives of our immediate family.  None of us saw this coming and frankly, just as I do not have the capacity to write about the love we all felt for this man, I also do not have the capacity to write about the true nature of our grief, confusion, and fright surrounding his illness.

Of course, we all prayed for his healing – and prayed hard.  We had everyone who we knew to be a praying Christian to do the same.  Even many that we didn’t know were also praying.  But in the end, none of our prayers were answered.  My father’s health continued to decline until he became a shell of the man he once was.  Inevitably, the end came and he passed away.  The good news, and I cannot put enough stress on this point, is that he is now in heaven – no question.

Through it all, my wife and I attended the church that as a matter of doctrinal teaching could not offer any help.  We had a few close friends who knew and truly cared about our anguish. But by and large we felt like we weren’t allowed to express our true feelings to other church members, mainly because we did not want to deal with the rejection of our feelings that we knew would be coming if we did.  Even our relationships with our close friends eventually became strained because they could see what we as Christians were actually going through, but they had a hard time reconciling it with what they were being told to believe. I can really only think of one example when someone outside of our circle of close friends offered a loving approach to our living nightmare. Most only courtesously asked how my father was doing. If I was honest with them they proceded to offer the official doctrinal line of denying the situation so it (or maybe I) would go away.

The entire situation careened down the same one-way street day after miserable day – my father’s illness; my friends’ inability to relate; the church’s lack of understanding and our resulting loneliness; the unanswered prayers; the physical and mental exhaustion.  It all mounted one on top of the other until I was a bulging volcano of emotion ready to explode at any moment – only, all the vents were plugged.  As time went on I found myself angry at a lot of people, but increasingly all of my frustrations were being directed toward the one person who I knew could fix everything if He only would – God. 

One day, as I was driving to who knows where, I was alone and of course everything was weighing heavily on my mind.  With tears flowing I finally erupted with absolute rage and the volcano inside of me found an open vent.  While going down the road I began banging on the steering wheel and screaming at the top of my lungs at God, literally demanding to know why He wasn’t doing anything.  I believe the exact words I used were “If you are really God, then don’t you care?  Are you listening?  Why aren’t you doing anything?  My dad doesn’t deserve this!  Do something!!”.  I screamed until I became hoarse and my vocal chords literally hurt.  I want you to know that I challenged God with all my heart and mind and bared my anger to him in a way that I have never done with anyone else in my life before or since.

But God was up to the challenge – he did do something.  He began a healing work – only it wasn’t in my dad, it was in me.  It was only at that point, when I was real with God, that he was able to reach into my heart and start repairing the hole that had been ripped wide open.  I can’t honestly say that everything was all right from that moment on, but I can say that this was the turning point for me in this ordeal and this was my defining moment in how I, with God’s help, would weave this thread into the fabric of my life. 

When I got real with God, He was able to work with me on such a deep level that I wouldn’t allow him to see before.  It was only after I became honest and bared my soul to Him that He could then take the broken pieces and fashion a new man out of the old one.  After I couldn’t be real with people wrapped up in a form of religion and in turn I couldn’t be real with my friends, I found myself finally being real with the only one who could really understand and help anyway. 

Yes, my dad died of his cancer.  Leading up to his death and for a time afterward, I blamed myself for so many things that didn’t happen – like giving him grandchildren before he died (he loved kids and they really loved him).  For months afterward, I had nightmares that I don’t even want to go into here.  The loss throughout all of our lives was deep, pronounced, and tangible.  And, yes from time to time I still harbored some measure of anger toward God.  But, over time, beginning with when I got real with Him, God helped me accept what had happened in so many ways.

He began to show me that all was not lost.  That I shouldn’t blame myself for things that happen outside of my control (and honestly – I still struggle with this one from time to time).  That some day, we will all be together again – including the grandchildren that have been born since my father’s death.  That none of us have the promise of tomorrow and in fact His word states that it is appointed for all of us to die, and then the judgment.  That my father showed me what it meant to die as a Christian.  In fact, one of his comments still rings in my mind to this day – “No matter what happens, if I stay here on earth or if I go to heaven, I win either way.”.  During his illness, he never lost his faith.  Indeed, it was so evident in his life, that one of the nurses at the local hospital that took care of him found her way back to God and began attending church again after witnessing his faith through all of his struggles.  But I think the most important thing that God showed me in the aftermath of this trial, was that He still loved me even after the anger I felt toward him. 

I have relayed this story (and have gone into much more detail than I had originally planned) to show you that being angry with God is not necessarily a bad thing.  Many religious people will staunchly disagree with that statement, but I find comfort in that since Jesus made it a point to constantly disagree with the religious people of His day.  You see, in Genesis we learn that we are created in God’s image.  This must include our mental characteristics as well as our physical.  That means that our emotions are modeled after God’s own emotions.  This includes, love, sadness, concern, hatred, joy, and yes, even anger.  It is important to note that our emotions are difficult, if not impossible, animals to control when they happen and how they are directed.  The fact that emotions happen do not make them good or bad – this comes into play in how we act on those emotions.  As such, we must accept anger for what it is – just an emotion.  In fact, we see many instances in the Bible where God displays His own anger.    It is not the fact that we are angry with anyone that is a sin.  It is what we do with the anger – the actions we take as a result of that raw emotion – that determine if we have sinned or not.  In Ephesians 4:26, the Bible clearly separates the two concepts of anger and sin:

 Be angry and do not sin;…(ESV)

So it is possible to be angry and not to sin.  In fact, it’s not only possible, but it is what is expected of us when we are angry.  So in my mind, anger can be applied, like any other emotion (with I believe the exception of hatred), toward God and it not be a sin.  The religious people who don’t see this are not giving God the credit He deserves for being a loving, caring Father who has an infinite capacity for understanding what His children are going through.  Let’s face it, our God is a big God and He can take whatever we dish at Him. 

We must be very careful though to make sure that if and when we are angry with God, we do not reject or blame Him at the same time.  This implies that we are judging Him and this is where the sin begins.  We are not in a position to ever judge God and to think that we are is border-line blasphemous.  But if we accept anger for what it is and honestly and completely bring it to God, He can then work wonders in our lives.  Consider my story above – had I not allowed Him to do a work in me but instead used my anger to blame Him and push Him away, then I would have never received my own healing and would possibly not be a Christian today.  But instead, I launched my anger at Him as my own cry for help.  I had no where else to turn and no one else to help – and I knew it.  I may not have realized it at the time, but my outburst toward God was a plea for His help because I had reached my breaking point and needed Him to help me the rest of the way.  I firmly believe that had I not allowed myself to be real with Him and vent my anger at Him, I would not have received the healing that I so desperately needed.  Perhaps even later I would have blamed Him for the circumstances swirling around me at the time – and there would have been my sin.

The bottom line is this – when we are not real with God concerning whatever emotion we are feeling towards Him, who are we really fooling?  God is all-knowing.  He knows what we are thinking and feeling.  He wants us to bring our troubles to Him no matter what ugly package they are wrapped in.  Let’s face it – the only people who care about not being real with God are the religious people who are frantically trying to convince everybody else that God is real to them.  By the way, my family is now going to a church where we feel like we can be ourselves without condemnation and where we can receive strength and help from our church family no matter what we go through.  That is a valuable commodity not easily found in our churches today.

I am not sure why I felt compelled to write this lengthy post, but I encourage anyone who reads this and has hard feelings towards God to please be real with Him and tell Him about it.  It doesn’t impress him at all when we put up the false fronts associated with religion as if nothing is going wrong and we don’t need any help.  Trust me, he has big shoulders and a listening ear.  He can handle hearing anything that we have to say.

© Gregory M. Watson, 2008 (see Copyright Page for details)

Why is Grace so Amazing?

Introduction

  The topic of Grace is not one of those burning issues that Christians just love to sit around and discuss over dinner.  It’s not really controversial and it’s a premise that is pretty much universally accepted across all Christian denominations.  That is good for the most part because for all of our perceived divisive theological differences there is at least some common ground for all of us to come together on.  However, it also makes this topic easy to take for granted.  Do we really understand and appreciate the Grace that God has extended toward us?  I doubt it.  I know I have taken the concept for granted over most of my own Christian life.  It makes for a good song to sing during church but as far as really pondering its meaning in my life, I can’t say that I have dwelled too much on it.

 That’s a real shame.  How about this? – let’s explore this concept that is Grace and resolve not to take it for granted any more.  Sound good? 

 What is Grace?

I guess before we explore this concept, we must first come to some understanding of what Grace really is.  We have all heard the classical definition that explains Grace as “love shown to us when we have done nothing to earn or deserve it”.  That’s a pretty good definition and it does accurately describe Grace, but it is incomplete.  In my book, this definition only describes part of the Grace that God has shown us. 

 Let me explain.  Let’s go back to our beginning – Genesis chapter 1.  Why were we made?  I think it is generally accepted that the main reason God created mankind was for fellowship.  God wanted someone he could share life with.  Yes, there is a service aspect of our relationship with God, but he had the angels to do whatever bidding he wanted.  We were created for much more than just service.  Unfortunately, we learn in Genesis that instead of walking with God as he wished, we actually betrayed Him and rebelled against his word. 

 So given our rebellion, what is it we deserve?  Punishment, pure and simple – right?  But what happened instead?  God made a way to restore the fellowship that He wanted with us all along.  His son, Jesus took our punishment instead. 

 Now, so far this story does fit the classical definition of Grace.  But let’s revise the definition a bit and see how it fits our story.  Let’s say this – Grace is God’s love reaching out to us when we actually deserve his anger.  Grace isn’t just God giving us what we don’t deserve, it’s also God not giving us what we do deserve. 

 Those are great words sure, but it still doesn’t pack the punch I would like for them to.  So let’s see if we can understand the Grace of God through an example.  Let’s say that one day you are getting ready to sit down to your evening supper.  You hear a knock at the door and open it to see a dirty, smelly, unkempt homeless person at your door.  This person asks you if you could spare a meal and feed him.  So you take pity on him and sit him down at your table and let him eat your meal.  Sounds like God’s Grace, right?  Well yes, but it is not complete.

 So, let’s revise the story somewhat.  Let’s say you’re getting ready to eat and you hear a knock on the door and open it to find the same person on the other side.  Only this time, you know beyond any shadow of any doubt, that this is the person that robbed your house last week.  I mean, he has your coat on, your shoes on, maybe he even drove up in your car.  He asks the same question – can he eat?  Instead of calling the police to come grab the bum and throw him jail, you, without hesitation, take him in and feed him your meal.  Wow – God’s Grace, right?  Well, yes – but to me this is still not the complete picture of the Grace that God showed us. 

 So, one more time, let’s revise the story.  You come home from work.  You discover to your horror that your house has been robbed.  All of your most prized possessions are gone – forever.  What do you do?  It becomes your obsession – you don’t eat, you don’t sleep, you don’t rest – until you find the person responsible for this crime against you.  You search high and low through the most miserable sess pools of human existence.  And when you find him, you forcefully lay hold of him with both of your hands, refusing to let him go, and you beg him to come home with you so that you can give him food to eat and a place to live.  And you promise that as long as he lives with you, he will never want for anything ever again.  Whoa!! That is the Grace that God has shown to us!

In essence, we personally walked up to God, creator of the universe, and spit in His face.  Instead of punishing us, He gave up his most prized possession so that we could have eternal life with Him.  That is the Grace of God that is now present in our lives.

So how does Grace show itself in our lives?  Well, the most obvious way is that we have salvation.  But there are many other tangible results of God’s Grace at work in our lives.  Think of the gift of the Holy Spirit; your family and friends; your church; all of the physical possessions that you own; the food you eat; even your own talents and abilities.  What makes us think that we really earned or deserved any of these things?  They are all given to us by God in his Grace.  He has provided us our wants as well as our needs. 

  Grace In Action

 We who have accepted the Grace that God has given us are truly blessed to have discovered this ultimate gift.  But what now?  Now that we have His Grace do we sit on it and be content that we are so much more fortunate than those who are living outside the full measure of God’s Grace?  Obviously the answer is “No”.  We can actually share with others the Grace that God has extended to us.  And the truth of the matter is that God expects us to do so.  In 1 Peter 4:10, God’s word states:

 Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms. (NIV)

 Clearly, as Christians we have been given a gift in Grace and we are plainly instructed to use it to minister to others needs.  Furthermore, in Matthew 5:44, Jesus went even further and said:

 But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. (NASB)

 And in Romans 12:20 God’s word says:

 But if your enemy is hungry, feed him, and if he is thirsty, give him a drink. (NASB)

Whoa!  This Grace stuff is starting to sound like a lot of responsibility.  And that is exactly what comes with this gift.  After all, isn’t this what God did for us?  He loved us and took care of our needs when we were His enemies.  But now, by His Grace we are redeemed.  So if we accept God’s Grace but just sit on it, we rob others of the Grace who desperately need it just as much as we did.  In fact, I John 3:17 says:

 If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?(NIV)

 So if I don’t have an outward reach with the Grace that I have been given, the Bible calls into question my very salvation!  If I fail to show the love of God and withhold this gift that was freely given to me, how can God’s love be in me?  How is that?  Because God is love and love does not sit idly by while a need goes unmet.  In this manner, the Grace of God is very much an action that expresses His love to those who need it most. 

 Final Thought

 If you are still struggling with what Grace really means to you, think on this.  Let’s look at the book of Revelation where we are given a glimpse into the period of time before our beginnings in Genesis.  Revelation 12:7-8 tells us:

 And there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. (NIV)

 So, Lucifer along with 1/3 of the angels in heaven, rebelled against God and actually warred against Him.  Of course, they lost. 

 Now, fast-forward to our beginning in Genesis.  Man also rebelled against God.  And when you consider it, our rebellion was much worse than the angels’ rebellion.  Why?  Because, as stated earlier, we were not just servants.  We were created for His fellowship – that was what God wanted from us from the beginning.  Our rebellion must have hurt God on a level that Lucifer’s rebellion never could have reached. 

 Now compare the outcomes of both scenarios.  In the aftermath of the angels’ rebellion, God made hell for them and sentenced them to eternal punishment.  For man’s rebellion, God sent his one and only son to die and take our punishment so that the fellowship that he had always wanted from us could be restored.  We really deserved a much worse punishment than what the angels received.  But instead, we were given eternal life with the Father.  You see, God did not send Jesus to die for the angels – He sent Jesus to die for us.  This was His love for us.  This is His Grace extended toward us. 

Next time you hear the word “Grace”, please don’t take it for granted.  Take a moment to remember what it really means to you – and what you really mean to God.

 John 3:16.

© Gregory M. Watson, 2008 (see Copyright Page for details)

Sifted Like Wheat

I recently heard a sermon at church delivered on the passage of scripture concerning Jesus telling Peter that Satan has asked permission to “sift you like wheat”.  The passage foretells Peters denial of Jesus and is located in Luke 22:31-32:

Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat; but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.” (NASB)

 During the sermon, a few thoughts leapt into my mind concerning this statement that Jesus made to Peter.  We see that Jesus was actually warning Peter of a trial that was soon to come his way.  Jesus was actually telling Peter that Satan was getting ready to come against him in a deliberate and harsh manner.  I’m not sure that Peter completely picked up on this and understood what was about to happen though. 

 But what I find interesting is the subject of Jesus’ prayer for Peter.  For one, Jesus didn’t tell Peter that he had rejected Satan’s request to “sift” him – comforting words to Peter, I’m sure!  But even more notable in my mind, He didn’t pray one whit for Peter to pass the test that he was about to enter into.  He didn’t say “Peter, make sure you don’t fail me, and just to help you out I have prayed for you to overcome Satan in this trial”.  We find none of that language or even intent in Jesus’ prayer.  Jesus doesn’t even address how Peter should perform, what words he should say, or what his actions should be during his upcoming trial.

 So what was the subject of Jesus’ prayer? It was for Peter to not lose his faith as a result of the trial.  That shows me that Jesus was not really concerned with Peter’s performance during the trial he was about to face.  He didn’t care whether or not Peter “passed with flying colors”.  He didn’t tell Peter “remember WWJD!!”  He was solely concerned with Peter’s faith remaining intact throughout the trial and afterward.

 Why?

 Well, when you think about it, the battle that Peter was engaged in wasn’t really about how well he was going to perform during the test he was to face.  No – the battle was for Peter’s faith.  If Satan could take his faith from him, then he knew he would win the battle for Peter.  The same goes for us.  Our battles aren’t really limited to each test that comes our way through life.  They are just skirmishes designed to make us lose the real battle for our faith. 

 When we enter into trials that test our faith, we must remember that the trial is not the real battleground.  These trials come our way as Satan’s attempt to try to destroy our faith.  If he can destroy our faith, he wins US!  Remember the verse in Hebrews 11:6:

             And without faith it is impossible to please Him…(NASB)

 But there is more to this episode between Jesus and Peter than just not losing our faith during our trials.  The real beauty of Jesus’ prayer is this…It doesn’t matter how many times we fail a trial, as long as we keep our faith, we still win!!  If we fail every single trial from the day we become a Christian until the day we die – but we retain our faith – we are still the winners!  You see, God is big enough, and merciful enough, to take all of our failures and make something positive of them.

 That can’t be right – How does that work!?  It’s really simple when you think about it.  Our experience with God is not based on our works.  The Bible says that our righteousness is as filthy rags.  But every time we fail, Jesus’ righteousness is right there to cover up the mistakes.  So, through our faith, Jesus never sees our failures and never holds them against us, even if we never get a single trial right.  Wow – That must really burn Satan (no pun intended).!! 

 In my mind, even though these are not the recorded words of Jesus, this is what I think His prayer meant – “Peter, I don’t care if you screw up the trial that is coming.  It doesn’t matter – If that happens, my blood and righteousness will cover your failure.  But in order for that to occur, you have to keep your faith.  Don’t get down on yourself and don’t lose your faith”.

 Not sure about you, but with my track record, I like having that kind of reassurance to live with.

© Gregory M. Watson, 2008 (see Copyright Page for details)

Prodigal Son’s Father

The parable of the Prodigal Son has so much meaning it’s difficult to focus on just one.  But there is one aspect of this story that always sits in the back of my mind every time I read or hear it.  The father was obviously a man of means.  I mean he had one of his sons demand his share of his inheritance and the father still had enough wealth to provide for his family and manage his operations.  Not to mention, when the prodigal son returned home there was still plenty for everyone.

The thing that strikes me is this - the father was a man of great means, and he obviously he loved his son very much. In my imagination I can’t keep from thinking the father kept tabs on his son the entire time he was away from home.  I think he knew exactly where he was the whole time.  From the parties, to the carousing with so-called friends, to living with the pigs, I believe the father knew where the son was constantly.  He obviously had the means to know.  He could have had a servant observe him or he could have just paid someone to give him regular updates. 

He could have grabbed the son by the scruff of the neck at any time and said “Enough!  You need to come home now!!”.  It’s what the son deserved.  But the father didn’t do that.  He allowed his son to make up his own mind.  And when the son decided for himself that he needed to go home, the father was waiting for him with open arms.  If the father had yanked his son out of the situation, I think he knew the son would be right back in in the same mud hole the first chance he got.  But, no – the father knew the choice had to be the son’s if it were to mean anything.

Isn’t that so true of our heavenly Father?  He loves us so much that he is willing to allow us to wallow in the world’s filth until we finally realize what he has known all along.  Why?  Because if he were to take us out of the world against our will, we would not possibly begin to appreciate what he has done for us.  We would soon be blowing our inheritance again because we wouldn’t know any better.  But since he gives us our choice, we are finally able to see what he wants for us. Then the choice we make for our lives finally lines up with what he know is best for us.

© Gregory M. Watson, 2008 (see Copyright Page for details)

What is SonBurn???!

Hello and welcome to my blog.  My name is Greg Watson and I started this blog in order to put pen to paper (so to speak) about some of my musings as I journey down the Christian path.  My goal here is to try to find the Truth.  That explains the website address ”queso veritas” – it’s Latin for “ask for truth”. 

I like to reference the book of James when it comes to asking from God.  James 1:5 says:

But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.

James 4 implies that we don’t receive from God because we don’t ask him for the right things or with the right motives.  However, God wants us to know the truth.  How do I know this?  Because Jesus said that He is the way, the TRUTH, and the light.  I’ll bet my last paycheck that God wants us to know the truth because Jesus is the Truth and God certainly wants us to know Jesus.  So if we ask God for the Truth, do you think God will give it to us?  My thought is “absolutely” and my experience is generally sooner than we expect.

So that’s the thought process behind the blog – but what’s with the name?  Obviously, “SonBurn” is a play on words.  What happens when we get too much exposure to the physical sun?  We get a sunburn, right?  People can see the evidence of where we have been and what we have been doing.  For the Christian, just like a normal sunburn, the more exposure we receive from Christ, the more people can see it on our faces.  They can tell what we have been doing, what we have reading, and what is important to us.  In other words – we get a SonBurn!

Maybe we can use our SonBurn to help others answer their own questions about what is the Truth.  After all, that is a big part of being a Christian – helping others find Christ just as we did.  That’s called the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20).

So happy reading!!  Feel free to comment as often as you like – I’d love to hear from you!

© Gregory M. Watson, 2008 (see Copyright Page for details)