Thursday, December 29, 2016

Adieu, 2016

Before 2016 had shaken the first page off its calendar, David Bowie, Alan Rickman, Glen Frey, and Abe Vigoda died. When the next month brought the passing of Antonin Scalia, Harper Lee, and George Kennedy, the year seemed to possess a sinister darkness.

Soon we toss the remnants of this calendar in the trash, and many will cry "None to soon!" as in shock we saw Debby Reynolds follow her daughter Carrie Fisher in death separated by one thin day.

But is 2016 any different than any other year? Not really. On average, fifty-five million people will die this next year. That's a 150,000 every day. 2016 really isn't a creature to loathe--and we know this--but really this year that is soon past, like every year, is merely a segment along a continuous river. The river is Time. At some point along the way, we got into this Life Boat and at some point, we will disembark in death leaving our tombstone along the bank of Time as the boat continues to travel down stream to its ultimate End.

In years past, the masses lamented when James Dean died in an automobile crash and when Elvis died with peanut butter and barbiturates at his bedside. The 2017 segment of the river will bring other celebrities' lives to an end. Clint Eastwood ain't getting any younger.

CONSIDER

What then do I do with this? In the Bible's most Eeyore-esque book, Ecclesiastes, Solomon writes, "It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting, for this is the end of all mankind, and the living will lay it to heart." He wants us to see that the deaths we see around us must make us to consider that our time to disembark the boat of life might well be nigh. What then?

Many console themselves with Ms. Reynolds words on her final day aboard, "I want to be with Carrie." Such sentiments flow from the mouths of Christians and non-Christians alike. But is this reality? What happens after death? Where do we go? Will we be with those we loved while on the boat?

Despite Todd Burpo's multi-million dollar claim, no man of himself and while still on the boat knows the full answer to that question, but God, the author of this story and creator of the river, did not leave man to be clueless about the eternity that he would face upon his death. He declares with crystal clarity:
    "It is appointed unto man once to die but after this the judgment." (Hebrews 9:27)
Judgment? Yes. That's no fun. True, but because man stands in rebellion against God, each one will stand before him to give an account of his life (Revelation 20:11-15). Considering, though, that before God "there is none righteous, no, not one" (Romans 3:10), our guilt and condemnation are as certain as death.

HOPE

Here is the good news (or "gospel"): God didn't leave men to die. God tells us that Christmas is about God becoming man, Jesus Christ, but the purpose of Christmas was Easter, that God's judgment for man's rebellion would be poured out not on deserving mankind but upon his sinless Son. God himself would take the just punishment and condemnation that we had earned. "He made him who knew no sin to become sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God" (2 Corinthians 5:21).

What then is left? Taking hold of that free gift. Jesus himself declared "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:6). Only Jesus' death on the cross covers the sin of man. To reject such a gift is to reject man's only hope in the afterlife. 

Here is the painful and sober question: Where are those we adored while we rode the boat together down this stream of history, those who disembarked in 2016? For many, we do not know. In condemnation, none will party. None will celebrate. Grief, agony, and despair await. In Christ alone, there is joy and relationship and celebration and glory.

That may seem harsh, but that is God's own declaration and not mine. The gift is free for any who desire it--in truth, who desire HIM. Free. Open to all. For those who do not wish that gift, for those unwilling to bow the knee to God and his truth, for those who want no part of him, he will give them what they desire.

Eternal life with God is exclusive not in regard to whom it is offered but it is exclusive only in regard to whom will receive it.

We will not venture far into 2017 before the next celebrity dies. Will we then hate this segment of the river, too, or will we delight in the journey and those with which we travel? Will we fantasize about those who disembarked or will we consider what has been revealed about the way to eternal life and the choice we have made in that regard as we hasten down the river?


Tuesday, December 27, 2016

Growing up

At some point, some calendar long ago, the sun rose and exposed that I was no longer the sixteen-year old me. What caused me to know that the care-free, pleasure-soaked life of then would not follow me into the now. What happened? When does the sobering clarity of life slap us from the rolling-hilled forest of youth?

One evening this past week at the dinner table, my youngest son--now twenty-two--spoke of my life and my career as though I were the Bill Gates of my vocation. When I explained to him that in my career field I was a few miles south of latitudinal average, a shadow fell across his jovial face and he winced. After a few moments of awkward silence, we continued our meal and the conversation turned lighter. 

In that instant, I believe I saw my son grow up. 

Is that when it happens? Does the cold mountain of adulthood become clear when we see that our old man is just a man and perhaps not a very good one at that?

Oh, the illusions that we hold in our youth about our fathers. He can ride a bike without holding the handle bars! He knows how to win at every game. He can catch and hit a ball. He drives a car. He pins you and all your brothers at the same time!

We were little and didn't understand that every dad can do those things.

It's one thing to recognize that your dad is ordinary. It's another thing to expose that to your son yourself.

Tuesday, April 26, 2016

Target: Boycott or no?

Christians wonder what to do about Target and their wide-open stance regarding bathrooms. Many react on emotion.

Might I suggest stepping back, reading, and thinking a bit? Here's Albert Mohler's two cents on the topic:
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It is always important for Christians to think very seriously about the moral and worldview implications of how we operate in the economy as consumers, as economic agents. The most recent flashpoint for that discussion comes as the retailer Target has announced that it will be the first major corporation to have a policy on bathrooms. And, in this case, it is a very wide open policy stating publicly that the corporation expects to allow anyone to choose to use any bathroom based upon their own self-perceived gender identity. On its own website, Target announced that it is,
“…continuing to stand for inclusivity.
“So earlier this week, we reiterated with our team members where Target stands and how our beliefs are brought to life in how we serve our guests.
“Inclusivity is a core belief at Target. It’s something we celebrate. We stand for equality and equity, and strive to make our guests and team members feel accepted, respected and welcomed in our stores and workplaces every day.”
But the statement from Target on its corporate website goes on to cite the very kind of legislation that we previously discussed in terms of Donald Trump when the company states,
“Target supports the federal Equality Act, which provides protections to LGBT individuals, and opposes action that enables discrimination.”
Now when you look at those words carefully and consider the context and the syntax of that sentence, it’s very clear that this is a corporate statement opposed to any definition of religious liberty that would in any way be considered discriminatory by anyone on the LGBT spectrum. Furthermore, it puts this company in the position of making very clear moral judgments.
Now that’s really important when you consider the Wall Street Journal and another article with the headline,
“Big Business Speaks Up on Social Issues.”
Mark Peters and Rachel Emma Silverman have written this article together in which they document the rather astounding revolution whereby American corporations, and especially America’s largest corporations, now have decided that it is in their corporate interest to crusade upon certain moral issues, certain social questions. And the fact that this is such a revolution is what explains the story on the front page of a section of the Wall Street Journal. As Peters and Silverman report,
“Companies used to avoid hot-button social issues, fearing that any strong stance could alienate customers and staff. Now, executives say it is far more risky to stay silent on issues such as gay rights.”
Now as I began, this raises a host of issues about how Christians should operate faithfully in an economic context. The first thing we need to recognize is that we are economic agents. That’s a part at least of what it means to be made in the image of God. And wherever you have human beings you will have transactions being made. Adam Smith pointed out in the most fundamental work on economics in human history that that’s necessary, because eventually, if you put two people together in a community, one values or needs something the other has and is willing to offer something else in exchange. That at its very essence is an economy, and thus it is laden with moral importance from the very beginning. Nothing we do in an economic world is not connected in some way to a basic moral question. And yet we’re also, we remind ourselves secondly, living in a fallen world in which there is no perfect economy and there is no perfect economic stance from which to operate without some complicity in larger moral questions in the economy.
That gets to the third issue, and that is this: when Christians are thinking very carefully about how to be faithful as Christians in an economy, we do so knowing that we have choices we can make, but we do not have the choice of not being economic participants. So many Christians are asking the question, should we now boycott Target? Just judging from an historical perspective, oftentimes boycotts do not work. They are far easier to declare than to carry out, and even when they are carried out they sometimes do not have the effect that was intended when the boycott was organized and declared.
Now this doesn’t mean that an individual economic action is unimportant. It does affirm the fact that as Christians are considering where we will do business and where we will not, there are a multiplicity of issues that complicate the question. But the bottom line is, would we spend money in a corporation, in a shop, in a store or restaurant, in any kind of business where that business might be publicly not only not allied with our convictions, but perhaps even publicly stating opposition to them?
Now once again, this isn’t as easy as it might appear. Because if you’re considering Target making this announcement, it could be—and we’ll have to look at this much closer—that Target is merely stating publicly, perhaps for its own publicity, what other corporations are actually doing more covertly or quietly. One of the issues that is raised by the Wall Street Journal article is the seeming inevitability of most American corporations, especially publicly traded corporations that are active in the stock market, from inevitably turning in the same direction. It’s a question of when, not if.
Christians will indeed decide if they want to do business with Target, knowing that Target has now targeted our own convictions in terms of the company’s website. But we will also have to be honest in understanding that there are other companies that are going to fall in exactly the same line, and we’ll get there perhaps sooner even rather than later. And furthermore, there are other companies that may be participating in things that we would also oppose of which we are not aware. That again doesn’t mean that the boycott is wrong. It does point to the fact that boycotts often just don’t work, because as the economy moves, people move on and the boycott becomes something of a forgotten history.
Christians have to understand that in a fallen world, every aspect of an economy is fallen, and that means that there is no safe place to stand, there is no safe business in which to shop. Even if we know the owner of the shop and we know how he or she organizes the business, there’s a supply chain behind and a web of relationships beyond. That doesn’t mean this isn’t important. It does mean that it is complex, and you can’t reduce faithfulness to something as easy as the question of boycott, yes or no? 
Should Christians boycott Target? That’s a question that I do not believe has an answer. Should you boycott Target? That is a matter for your Christian conscience. Those are two separate issues, and it is the second question that should have priority for individual Christians.
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The above was taken from his daily "The Briefing" podcast dated April 26, 2016, linked here.