Love and Life

It's Valentine's Day, a day to celebrate love. Why is love worth celebrating?

Jesus gave his disciples a new command: Love one another, even as he loved them.

When asked about the greatest commandment, Jesus gave two: Love God, love people.

In his first letter, the Apostle John actually says that God is love (1 John 4:7-8).

Paul talks about how love is more important than lots of other expressions of the faith. In his "love chapter," Paul describes how love behaves. Then he speaks of the highest Christian virtues saying, "Faith, hope, and love--these three remain. But the greatest of these is love." (1 Corinthians 13)

The Old Testament is full of love as well. Psalm 136 says 26 times in 26 verses, "His love endures forever."

So, yeah, love is a big deal. We need to give it and we need to receive it. 

May you receive his love and may it overflow to those around you.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Gonna need some peacemakers

I was brought up short this week by the words of Jesus. In his opening of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7), he says, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the children of God." I have preached on this saying, and still I missed something crucial. (I need to go back and look at that sermon and see what in the world I said.) 

So these peacemakers have the good life, Jesus says. What does it take to be a peacemaker? It takes involvement. It takes getting in the middle of the fray. A peacemaker is one who recognizes discord or conflict and works to mediate a resolution. You can't just observe and comment. You have to engage the opposing factions and facilitate understanding and compassion.

Unfortunately, it looks like we will need some serious peacemaking in 2024. Already there are plenty of wars around the world, and the looming possibility for more. But the stage is set for lots of political fighting here in the U.S. this year. 

Progressives and conservatives often consider the other side to be the enemy. Too often they characterize the other people as evil.

Enter the peacemakers (please!). We need Jesus-followers to step in (not barge in) to situations where people are looking for the worst in others, where emotions are high, where hate is boiling over. Such disciples can listen and encourage others to listen. They can recognize the image of God in people on both sides. They can urge compassion across the political divide.

Maybe peacemakers will make a difference this year. It will make the world a better place.

The big game

It was an exciting Super Bowl last night! For me, it was fun to watch because I like both teams. Patrick Mahomes has such a friendly vibe, and his coach Andy Reid is so down to earth. I don't know much about Brock Purdy, but I respect his cool confidence on the field. Kyle Shanahan has done a good job of bringing the 49ers to life.

Seems like just when people really get into the sport, it's all over.

We have to wait for fall to see some more. I can hear the song now, "Are you ready for some football?!"

And maybe we won't have to watch a celebrity react to every play. Not likely.

To fight or not to fight

I want to be a pacifist. I see the damage that violence does in so many contexts--families and nations through history. I see the power of peaceful resistance in India under Gandhi and in the United States under MLK. 

This type of movement really brings redemption, as the oppressed leads the oppressor to a change of heart. Of course this is the way the moral arc of the universe should go. People rise to more noble treatment of fellow humans.

So nonviolence is always the answer. Even if you lose in short run--like being put in jail, or beaten up--your cause will ultimately prevail. Or at least it ought to. You can take solace in knowing that you did the right thing.

It all sounds so right, so high-minded, so moral. 

But. But if someone threatens an innocent person, and I have the opportunity to use appropriate violence to stop it, I think I will. 

So, I guess I'm not really a pacifist. But why does the violence of war have to rule the world? Or does it really rule the world? 

Valentine's Ashes

I have not always paid a lot of attention to the Christian calendar, but I notice that Ash Wednesday falls on Valentine's Day this year. Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the Christian season of Lent, which culminates with Easter Sunday.

This double meaning of the date brings greater meaning to both occasions. 

When we think about celebrating our loved ones, we can remember that we must truly love in a sacrificial way. Lent is the season of self-denial. We can express our love sacrificially, putting others ahead of ourselves.

When we think about the beginning of the Lenten season, we can focus on the depths of Jesus's love for us. His love was so great that it endured the cross. He absorbed all the evil in the world, and he overcame it through his resurrection. All this he did for us.

Lent is a season of understanding and experiencing sacrifice. Valentine's seems like a good way to begin.

Jesus and touchdowns

With the Super Bowl only a few days away, I have heard a lot about Christian football players. I'm glad that these men acknowledge their faith, and I'm glad that the media allow them to speak up.

But somehow it seems that Christian news outlets are using these stories a little too much. I'm actually trying to put my finger on my objections. 

It's like they are saying, "Hey, famous football stars believe in Jesus. You should too!" And I guess that's not terrible either, but is that all we've got? Men who are not ashamed of their faith who excel at a game...

I feel like there should be much more compelling stories of God's kingdom out there. Maybe miracles of healing, or addictions being broken, or justice restored. We should be making Jesus famous by transformed lives and poverty eliminated and relationships restored and cities revived. 

If we can't show the power of God through supernatural transformation, at least we can cheer for touchdowns and those who make them.

A new kind of repentance

In church world we are always talking about repentance. And typically that means telling people, "Stop doing that sin." You know the usual suspects on the sin list: adultery, lying, drunkenness, gambling, porn, etc. Wouldn't the world be a better place without all those sins? Of course.

But the people calling for repentance usually focus on all the sins they never do. 

Some long time leaders in the Christian faith, however, are engaging in a new kind of repentance. They are changing their minds about the way the faith is practiced. I'm thinking specifically about Hank Hanegraaff. He was on the radio as "The Bible Answer Man." He fielded all kinds of questions on live radio, offering orthodox, Protestant answers.

But a few years ago, Hanegraaff ended his radio program and converted to the Eastern Orthodox Christian faith. Apparently he repented of the Western, Reformed perspectives that informed his theology. Rather than having an "answer" for everything about the Bible, he now embraces the idea that there are actually some things that can't be explained. There is mystery in the Lord and his creation.

Most Protestants believe that there has to be a good answer for everything. If we can't find a good answer, then we are obliged to speculate and fabricate until we find something that mostly works. Logic is regarded as infallible.

I'm about ready to repent of the Western mindset of an-answer-for-everything. Mystery is built into just about every aspect of life and creation. I can wrestle with it and marvel at it. But I don't have to solve it.

Living in this tension stretches me, and I hope it makes me more like Jesus.