Being, Doing, Having

 

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!... God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

—2 Corinthians 5:17, 21

Many years ago now, I heard my friend and founder of Celebrate Kids!, Kathy Koch, Ph.D., speak to an audience consisting of the members of a Christian organization. She reminded us that God made us “human beings,” not “human doings.” I like that. So often other people conclude that God will only accept them on the merits of what they do. It’s all too easy for us to slip into that mode of thinking, too.

In the famous Love Chapter of 1 Corinthians 13, the Apostle Paul reminds us that even if we give all we possess to the poor and surrender our bodies to flames, without the love that comes from our being in Christ, what we do is vanity—of no import.

Recently, I read a chapter by Dr. John Claypool in which he expressed the cultural pressure of having that bears on us as Christians. He used the ancient story of Hannah from 1 Samuel 1. Like the culture surrounding her, Hannah felt that, until she could have a child, her life amounted to nothing. She actually made a bargain with God that if He would give her a child (so she could have one) she would give his whole life back to the Lord. God used this means to raise up the great prophet Samuel.

Dr. Claypool writes:

When the God’s gift of “being” is seen as primal and foundational, then creative “doing” and responsible “having” grow naturally from such a base. But when we turn reality upside down and make “doing” or “having” the basis of “being,” we produce anxiety and distortion of the worst kind. Having to produce or else is frightening! ¹

After considering this, it seems to me that we fall into the trap of “having” for our fulfillment, nearly as easily as we do into “doing.” Jesus’ story of the rich young ruler from Matthew 19 expresses this truth. Thinking eternal life had to do with “doing,” the rich young ruler asked Jesus what he needed to do. Jesus told him to sell his possessions and give to the poor. Verse 22 states:

When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.

This man’s “having” and “doing” had gotten in the way of his “being.”

How easily we fall into the same thinking. If I have the right kind of status, or money, or education, or do kind deeds and all the “churchy” things required of someone living a holy life, God and my Christian society will accept me. We want to belong, and our society screams at us that these doings are the way of becoming acceptable.

Instead, God wants all our having and doing to spring from our being in Christ. It may seem like a thin line at times, but taking stock of our thought processes, and reviewing why we act as we do, will help us to live out the real truth of who God has made us to be!

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1 Claypool, John, Glad Reunion. Waco: Word Books, 1985. p. 73.

 

 

It Isn’t Fair!

 

“[God] did not bring upon them [the people of Ninevah] the destruction he had threatened. But Jonah was greatly displeased and became angry.”

—Jonah 3:10 - 4:1

Children often learn the story of Jonah and the “whale.” Much of teaching on this story revolves around the way God protected and rescued Jonah. Amid the lessons in this small, but potent, book of the Bible, we find the one about Jonah’s responses to God.

If we consider children and how they react to the circumstances of life, one of their strongest reactions occurs when they think someone, especially themselves, has been treated unfairly. They have fierce opinions about justice. These opinions often stem from an innate selfishness.

Jonah had served God as a prophet. He believed that nothing would ruin his reputation for accurate forth-telling as much as something he warned of not coming to pass.

On the other hand in this story, God cared deeply for the people of Nineveh. These Ninevites had an evil society known for its prostitution, witchcraft, and violence. So, God called Jonah to go to Nineveh and preach to the people there in hopes of restoring this large city to righteousness.

Once Jonah had his experience with the whale and had been “coughed up” onto land, he obeyed and went to Nineveh. Once there, he preached repentance to the people. To his chagrin, the people did repent and God spared their lives.

Jonah’s response to God came out of his mouth like an “It’s not fair!” comment from a child. He sat pouting for days.

Another story in the Bible, with a similar kind of reaction to seeming injustice, comes from the elder brother of the Lost Son, as recorded in Luke 15. The father forgave and welcomed home his younger, prodigal son with a great feast. The elder, “faithful” son, who always did the right thing, quickly responded to his father, “But, it’s not fair!”

How do we respond when we hear of people who have done wicked things all of their lives and then come to Christ when they’re near death’s door? Or, what reaction do we feel when we observe a change of heart in someone we hoped would eventually get their “just desserts?”

Do we resent God’s goodness to others? What drives this reaction in us?

Let us examine our responses to God’s ways, renew our pledge to humbly obey Him in those things He has asked of us, and thank Him for His gracious mercy in behalf of anyone—no matter whether it appears fair or not.

 

 

Not My Boss!

 

“Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith.”

—1 Peter 5:8

I heard them arguing. This five-year-old and his three-year-old sister had a dust up about something. Giving it all she had, she stretched her little chest out and faced him with the words, “You’re not the boss of me!”

Sometimes we grown-up Christians forget the authority with which God has equipped us in this world, where Satan roams about seeking to devour us. God, by His Holy Spirit, has given us His power through which we can resist evil and stand against the foe.

William Gurnall, the 17th Century theologian, wrote an entire book about the verses in Ephesians 6, which goes into great detail how we should prepare to engage our enemy. Of the phrase in Ephesians 6:10, “in his mighty power,” Gurnall writes:

The apostle’s drift is so to encourage the Christian to make use of God’s almighty power, as freely as if it were his own, whenever assaulted by Satan in any kind. ¹

1 John 4:4 reminds us of this power to which we have free access:

Greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.

God gives us the Holy Spirit, and all the mighty power that belongs to Him. We have no power in ourselves to withstand the awful violence and deceit of the Enemy. But we, through faith, have the power of God on our side.

When we step out in faith, accept the pieces of armor God provides us, and pray for His power to fill us, we have an authority few of us may realize.

The next time you engage in a battle over temptation, or experience the subtle attempts to take you down emotionally, physically, or spiritually, puff your chest out and say with the authority you have been given in Christ, “You’re not the boss of me!”

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1 Gurnall, William, The Christian in Complete Armour. Carlisle, Pennsylvania: The Banner of Truth Trust, 1979 (reprinted). p. 25.

 

 

Return to Your Rest

 

“Return to your rest, O my soul, for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you.”

—Psalm 116:7 NKJV

What does the Bible say about the Christian’s customary position? Hebrews 4:9 says:

There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God.

I believe that Scripture teaches that Christians should normally live in a “resting” position. This place of rest shows reliance on God, joy and divine peace, and trust in God’s care.

I like the King James Version of Psalm 116:7 because it uses the word “return.” God’s peace and rest remain our normal relation and position.

In Psalm 116, the Psalmist had been overcome by trouble and sorrow. (His words). He apparently had come close to death and God had spared him. In response, he speaks to himself and says, “Return to your rest.”

What kinds of things can you recall that have taken you out of your resting position? Maybe it was a deadly disease, a close call, a period of great stress, or the multitude of times when you just don’t know how a problem will turn out. Sometimes these “tempests in teapots” can cause great strife in our lives.

When we turn to God in these times, more often than not, He hears our prayers and answers us, and “tends and spares us” as the hymn “Praise My Soul, the King of Heaven” teaches us:

Father-like, he tends and spares us;
   well our feeble frame he knows;
In his hands he gently bears us,
   rescues us from all our foes.
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Widely as his mercy goes. ¹

So, as you experience the turmoil and terrors of daily life and after praying see God do some wonderful things, remember to praise Him. Meditate on the many times He has answered prayer. Journal about those times in your life, so you can return and remind yourself of them in the future.

Then, rejoice in His goodness. He will allow your soul to return to its natural position of rest in Him.

______________________

1 Henry F. Lyte, Praise, My Soul, the King of Heaven. Public Domain.

—Posted: Monday, July 25, 2016

 

 

Handiwork

 

“The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.”

—Psalm 19:1 KJV

I so much appreciate “handiwork.” From her youth on, my grandmother had the reputation as a particularly fine seamstress. I own a dress she made for a toddler with the tiniest hand made button holes. I admire her talent a hundred years after she produced it.

My nephew has a business carving and painting all kinds of colorful wooden lures for salt water anglers. No one would doubt his talented handiwork.

My late sister hand painted large murals, crafted thousands of words of pen and ink calligraphy, and, with a dainty hand in the tradition of our grandmother, sewed many pillows and articles of clothing decorated with buttons and ribbons.

In the Early Church, a woman named Dorcas, a disciple of Jesus, became sick and died. Acts 9:39 records this sentence:

All the widows stood around him [Peter], crying and showing him the robes and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was still with them.

All of this demonstrates to me that, just as God reveals His handiwork through the creation, everywhere and at all times, He has created humankind in His image with the same abilities to create for themselves. Creation, and all kinds of art, did not just happen for the utilitarian needs of humans. God gave humans this ability so that they could create beauty.

Just as God looked at His creation and exclaimed that what He had made was good (Genesis 1), He has allowed us the joy of creating, too. Besides that, He enables us to feel pleasure in the handiwork of others. In so doing, we derive pleasure and can offer praise in the revelation of Himself that we see in human creativity.

Psalm 8 tells us that God has set His glory above the heavens. God reveals His inherent glory. A few verses later, the Psalmist writes that God has crowned man with glory. Our glory derives from His glory. Every creature shows the glory of the Creator in some way. The more we know this great Creator-God, the more beautiful and glorious we become as His image bearers.

Thank God today for the ways in which His glory, His creative beauty, and His magnificent design, shows forth in your life and in the lives of those you know. All of this handiwork should prompt us to offer our praise and worship to such a breathtakingly glorious God.

 

 

The Nobles of Tekoa

 

“ The next section [of the wall] was repaired by the men of Tekoa, but their nobles would not put their shoulders to the work under their supervisors. ”

—Nehemiah 3:5

What an exciting time it must have been in the days of Nehemiah. God had moved this man to travel back to his homeland and begin the process of rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem. He had never seen Jerusalem. But, he had heard of the destruction of this city and its walls. The news of this disaster moved Nehemiah to seek permission from King Artaxerxes, his master, to return and give aid to the fallen city.

Nehemiah motivated cooperation and a collegial work ethic among the people. Chapter three of the Book of Nehemiah lists the names of all those who helped on each section of the great wall. Goldsmiths, joined by perfumers, priests, merchants, and temple servants—and even a few women—got busy and zealously worked on the repairs.

However, this curious verse five from the third chapter tells us that the nobles of Tekoa refused to work alongside their fellow Jewish brothers. Fortunately, not all men in positions of importance acted that way. As we read through the chapter, we see that a number of rulers, men of authority, enjoyed the camaraderie, and did what they could to join the work.

Amy Carmichael, referring to this story writes:

In the list of honorable names in chapter 3, there is a little sentence that I am sure the men in question would like to take out of the Bible. But they cannot. They are for ever held up to derision and shame. They lost their chance, the great chance of their lives; it never came again… How glad all the other builders must have been when the wall was joined together; each set of people had done their bit faithfully… And how astonished they would be to hear that their names were written in a Book that would be treasured to the end of time. ¹

Do we have our own nobles of Tekoa? I don’t think we would need to look too far to see people with this attitude in our churches today.

I once heard a woman say, “Oh, I direct choirs, I don’t sing in them!” I also knew a woman who held the position of the children’s ministry team director, who enjoyed chairing meetings, but never actually got to know any of the children of the church.

When we look at Jesus, we see the way that He lived, walking and helping those in need, always serving others. We read His words in Matthew 20:26-28:

Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave—just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.

When God calls us to serve, He builds us into a team of His people. While we work in whatever capacity He calls us, He makes sure that we, like the builders in the days of Nehemiah, rejoice to see the work completed and to hear His words to us, “Well done!”

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1 Carmichael, Amy, Thou Givest…They Gather. Fort Washington, PA: Christian Literature Crusade for Dohnavur Fellowship, 1958. p. 132.

 

 

Watch in the Same

 

“Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving;”

—Colossians 4:2 (KJV)

God has told us to pray. But additionally, Scripture indicates effective praying includes both the anticipation, the expectation, and the perseverance having to do with faith.

Jesus told a parable of a persistent widow coming to a judge for justice, recorded in Luke 18:1-8. He used the story to teach His disciples that they should always pray and not give up. We read instances in scripture in which people, tired of waiting on God, took matters into their own hands to solve their problem. Disaster often followed such action.

We see others who just gave up asking, thinking God would not grant their requests. While sometimes God does tell us “no,” most often He answers our prayers in His own way and in His own time—which are infinitely better than our own.

We should live like anglers checking their bait, like bakers checking their pies, like lovers standing watch at the door waiting for the other. We should believe with anticipation that the answer will come. We should put our eyes, not on the object of our prayer, but on the One to whom we pray.

I like the way Puritan preacher Richard Sibbes puts it:

Waiting causes us to focus upon [God.] If we are earnest, we will not go away until we speak with him. Faith remains at the door until he comes. All of us fail in this; we do not wait until we obtain. Let us not blame the Savior whose promise is firm without change. If we would learn to wait, we would hear more from him. ¹

We have this promise from Jesus Himself in Matthew 7:8:

For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.

Don’t you suppose Moses’ mother not only had the little boat created for her baby and cast it in the water with faith mixed with hope? Of course, she did. But, she also continued to watch her little treasure—and set her daughter to watching as well—until

God answered her prayer and safely returned Moses to her.

Sometimes, we need to employ others in the process of our prayers. We may run out of steam when waiting seems interminable. But, God has graciously given to all of us someone, or a small group, or a church, standing ready to help us pray and watch.

Let us be encouraged today to persevere, to hope, to believe, and to watch for the God of the answer. He has promised to come to us.

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1 From “Works” by Richard Sibbes, as quoted in Rushing, Richard, editor. Voices from the Past. Carlisle, PA: The Banner of Truth Trust, 2009. p330.