The State of the World

What can we learn from studying Adolph Hitler’s ascent to power and push for world domination? The very idea that a violence-addicted gangster with antisemitic leanings could rise to the role of supreme leader of a sovereign nation borders on the unthinkable. But this is neither the first nor the last time that same game-plan has played out in a world power. The sin principle assures that evil will always have a foothold in world governments.

When terrorists are elected to public office and gangsters rise to become heads of states, law and order are compromised concepts. Morality is already on the defensive these days as concepts like the sanctity of human life and the balance of integrity in public service take a beating. As people grow accustomed to the idea that some people are disposable for the sake of other people’s comfort or convenience, it is a short hop to advocating the annihilation of one people-group for the comfort or convenience of another.

Human life is either precious or expendable. Equality among races is either affirmed or disclaimed. There is no gray area. We can stand with the angels or the demons, but neutrality is not an option except in the grave.

People die in wars. Attackers die. Defenders die. Civilians die. The old, the young – the guilty and the innocent – die in war. So, how is a war ever rightly labeled just?

When powers rise that openly crave and chase world domination, denying the right of other powers to exist, and all other means of sustaining a balance of powers in the world have been exhausted, war is inevitable. In those cases, we have seen what is, in truth, a war labeled a police action because its aim is the restoration of law and order where terrorists have seized the helm. Perhaps that is a distinction without a difference, but it is a reminder that some situations are intolerable.

Where terrorists are in power and are content to punish only those who elected them or quietly suffered their appointment, the surrounding nations are more likely to quietly commiserate than to intervene. (The people who allowed evil to grab the reins got what they asked for.) But when the terrorists start reaching across borders with criminal acts, the responses of the surrounding nations will reveal their degree of alliance with the terrorist rulers. Those who support terrorist overreach are, at heart, supporters of terrorism.

People support terrorism for various reasons. The most common reason is fear. If we do not resist terrorism over there, maybe the terrorists will stay over there and leave us alone. But in this nuclear age, there is no “over there” and “over here”. And where systems of governance are laced with hatred for other people-groups, no act of aggression is deemed punishable, and no self-defense is tolerable.

For decades, we have lived under the dubious protection of mutually assured destruction. Are we now poised to see that threat play out? The world is so restless…

This morning, my heart is crying out:

¹⁷ The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” Let anyone who hears this say, “Come.” Let anyone who is thirsty come. Let anyone who desires drink freely from the water of life. ¹⁸ And I solemnly declare to everyone who hears the words of prophecy written in this book: If anyone adds anything to what is written here, God will add to that person the plagues described in this book. ¹⁹ And if anyone removes any of the words from this book of prophecy, God will remove that person’s share in the tree of life and in the holy city that are described in this book.

²⁰ He who is the faithful witness to all these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon!”

Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!

²¹ May the grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s holy people.

Revelation 22:
New Living Translation

Earth from Space by NASA Goddard Photo and Video is licensed under CC-BY 2.0

Looking Ahead

Ephesians 4 is a powerful reminder of the elements of The (genuine) Church. Every time I read this little passage; I weep. We are so very far from where we are meant to be.

Right now, the eyes of so many in the Christian community are focused on the General Conference of the United Methodist Church. This now lumbering body can trace its roots to a transformational revival movement across North America that sprang from a spiritual awakening in the United Kingdom and pushed outward to encompass the globe. My paternal grandmother’s roots were there, and so were my father’s, to an extent. (His true connection was with the Assemblies of God – a still vital arm of Pentecostalism.)

I have always been an eclectic worshiper – worshiping the One true God but employing the methods of many denominations to the extent that they conform to scriptural principles. I find beauty and power in the structure of high church worship, humility and purity in the low church expressions, and overwhelming joy in the free expression of my exuberant Pentecostal and charismatic spiritual siblings. When I walk into a church, I make myself at home and join in the worship to the extent that I can. After all, it is my Heavenly Father’s house.

Wherever I have landed, I have represented the Gospel from the perspective of the Holy Bible to the best of my ability, always subjugating denominational stances to the authority of scripture. I have been honest about that with my leadership, and if they are honest, they will affirm that. I have served across denominational lines because I see The Church as One Church in many houses. Each denomination serves The Church as defined by the Holy Bible, or it moves to spiritually impoverish and materially enslave its membership. I have seen both sides of that continuum played out in my years of ministry.

None of us is perfect in this realm. If we are wise, we are moving toward perfection, but we all have so far to go. The greatest danger facing us in this (and, perhaps, any) age is in overestimating our human authority on spiritual matters. God Almighty has no Board of Directors. God’s word cannot be overruled. Those who try fade from significance. It really is that simple.

For the first time in a very long time, I am not following the flow of General Conference closely. Still, I see the current in the stream. I am in a relatively inactive retirement, leading a weekly Bible Study on prayer and volunteering in a local church as a greeter. I have a sense of purpose, but my sense of identity has surely shifted. What is God asking of me now? As in all matters, time will tell, but eternity has the final say.

In the meantime, I know that Ephesians 4 is still authoritative in my life as a believer, and definitive of my service in the roles of pastor and teacher. Whatever the future holds for me, I will stand on solid rock. The Church in the world has weathered many storms. It will weather this one, too. Come Sunday, I will be where I am supposed to be to the extent that my body is able. I will keep my commitments and do all I can to welcome new believers and encourage the faithful. That is my role now.  

What of the future? I am no prophet. I am just Garland and Helen’s little girl Ruthi, grown and aged, doing what I can to serve Christ in The Church. If God sees fit to place the reins of authority in my hands again, I will hold them with integrity. If not, I will be content. Come what may, I will define myself as the Truth defines me. I am a servant of God. That’s it. That’s all. And that is more than enough – far more than I deserve.

¹⁷ With the Lord’s authority I say this: Live no longer as the Gentiles do, for they are hopelessly confused. ¹⁸ Their minds are full of darkness; they wander far from the life God gives because they have closed their minds and hardened their hearts against him. ¹⁹ They have no sense of shame. They live for lustful pleasure and eagerly practice every kind of impurity.

Ephesians 4:17-19, New Living Translation (read in context)

Justice or Mercy?

Right now, in the US, college students across the nation are clamoring for the destruction of the nation of Israel. Jewish students, US citizens included, are being advised to stay in their homes or dorm rooms, and some colleges are offering virtual classes. (Think separate yet equal.) Jewish students who do not obey their newly imposed racially based restrictions are harassed and assaulted on the campuses where they have paid dearly to live and study.  

Meanwhile, plans are underway to forgive the loans that are making it possible for many members of these glorified gangs to perpetrate this racial violence. In essence, we taxpayers are helping to fund this upending of judicial process – punishing and imprisoning completely innocent Jewish scholars without due process for so-called crimes they could not have committed. (They were not there. They were at school, trying to get an education.)

Pro-Jewish student groups are rising in some places to push back. Most are pushing figuratively so far, but some of the pushing is literal. It is getting more dangerous out there.

I was there when the first busload of black students arrived at our middle school. I was among the white students who walked out to meet them, surrounded them, and walked them into the school. We formed a wall around them, standing between them and the misguided bigots who were hurling threats. It was a sign of the times back then. Things were changing. I was so proud to be part of the change.

Now we are changing back.

The target is different, but the dark spirit at the heart of the mob is the same. People are crying out for justice while abusing the innocent: it didn’t make sense back then, and it doesn’t make sense now, but it just keeps cycling through. Dark forces are at work in unseasoned minds and violence is being vomited all over US soil again.

Do not hate the haters. They are being manipulated. Have we not learned that by now? Hate is what got us here. We do not need more of it. Lay it down. It is poison. Look past them to the spirits behind (inside?) them. This work is demonic.

In his work The Life of Reason: Reason in Common Sense, George Santayana wrote “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”  With history being routinely cancelled and rewritten, we are all among those who cannot (or will not) remember, but the youth among us are far more vulnerable.

Hitler was just a man driven by the spirit that possessed him. That spirit is awake and moving among us again. Those poised to rise to power among us do not remember. I wonder what vessel is about to be filled with that spirit…

Sadly, I firmly believe that we are poised to see a wave of Hitler’s level of antisemitism sweep the world. I would not be surprised at all if I live long enough to see with my own eyes the answer to the only persistent question I ever heard argued between my father and mother: Will The Church be present for the rise of Antichrist and pass through the Great Tribulation?  

I understand the urge to clamor for justice, but what seems to be justice in the moment is not always justice across the ages. God sees. God knows. God remembers. We do not. Sometimes the ones who have seen, known, and remembered the least clamor the loudest and swallow the most vitriolic hatred poured over us all.

I wish we had done a better job of teaching them their history.

We do not really know what justice looks like. We do understand mercy because we are all swimming in it. Why not offer mercy with both hands to all humankind, and trust God to bring us pure, unadulterated justice in the Day of the Lord? After all, we are all students – not masters…

Oh, well. Let what is coming come. Let us stand as firmly as we can through it. And when the suffering is at its worst, let us join Job in His hymn of faith…

²⁵ “But as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives,
    and he will stand upon the earth at last.
²⁶ And after my body has decayed,
    yet in my body I will see God!
²⁷ I will see him for myself.
    Yes, I will see him with my own eyes.
    I am overwhelmed at the thought!

Job 19:25-27, New Living Translation (read in context)

Restless…

Some days are worse than others. We all know that. Sadly, I have had quite a string of bad days lately.

In my years of pastoral ministry, I was seldom out of the pulpit on sick leave. I have preached through migraines, arthritis flares, pneumonia, and even broken ribs following a vehicle accident. I was where I was supposed to be when I was supposed to be there and ready to serve, even if I was fighting pain and weakness.

I managed to preach sometimes even while I was contagious by warning people ahead of time, entering and leaving through a separate doorway, using a dedicated microphone, and refusing hugs and handshakes. I sanitized areas I used as I exited using wet wipes and sometimes surface sprays. And I was humorously dubbed a “gel alcoholic” for my liberal use of hand sanitizer long before COVID-19 made the practice go, well, viral.

Yes, that’s my Daddy in me…

Now I am a volunteer at my church, but I feel the same sense of responsibility that I did in my paid vocational ministry. It is difficult for me when my body refuses to cooperate with my schedule. I try to push through difficult days, and most of the time it works, but some things cannot be pushed through.

Productive coughs and Gastro-Intestinal symptoms, especially, are difficult to push through with any sense of public decorum. While the heart of preaching is the sharing of our innermost thoughts and meditations, most of what we carry inside us should stay inside in polite company. Hence, my current dilemma. I will not be at church today. In fact, I have missed several weeks. That is hard for me. While I know this is a temporary situation, and I can stream the service and enjoy the message and music, I miss the fellowship and the sense of participation.

I am a strong believer in corporate worship. When I cannot be in the meetinghouse with other believers, I feel cheated. It weighs on my soul.

Lately, I have given some thought to returning to pulpit ministry. Once my medication regimen is refined to give me better pain management with fewer side effects, I might find my place at the sacred desk again. The thought is so enticing. As I used to say so often, I would rather preach than eat ice cream in July.

Is that a plan or a dream? Right now, it is a dream. We will see how the meds settle in and side-effects are managed. Of course, God could simply heal me in a heartbeat – I know He could, and I have asked Him often. But I keep hearing the words of the Apostle to the Gentiles in 2 Corinthians 12:8-9, NLT – “Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. Each time he said, ‘My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.’ So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me.”

If it is only a dream, it is a pleasant one. Let me dream it a while. If it is to be a plan, it must be God’s plan. I will not knock on doors, but I will consider doors that open before me. I have grown very tired of resting. I know my body cannot return to the rigors of driving and hiking through snow and ice, but perhaps… Perhaps… we will see.

But first, I must weather these adjustments. As hard as it is, I am still set aside. And if it is to be my lot until I am called home to Heaven, I will learn to endure it. Right now, I must focus on regaining my body’s internal balance. I am almost there. And then? God alone knows. I am okay with that.

Then I heard the Lord asking, “Whom should I send as a messenger to this people? Who will go for us?” I said, “Here I am. Send me.”

Isaiah 6:8, New Living Translation

Different Kinds of Lost

When the prodigal son took his inheritance and walked down the road away from home, he was taking more than a third of his father’s estate (back then the eldest son inherited a double portion). He was also taking one of his father’s most precious assets – a son trained to manage segments of the estate. The weight that fell on his father’s shoulders was to rebuild the wealth of the estate after such a devastating loss. His elder brother came alongside his father in that massive undertaking and was naturally angry with his younger brother for creating the situation that could have ruined them all. I am sure the elder brother was also angry with their father for allowing the deal to go through. It was, after all, an absurd situation. Inheritances are dispersed after the death of the owner, not before.

In this cautionary tale, the prodigal son knew what he was doing to his father and brother, but he did it anyway. Because of that he was neither pursued as he left nor rescued when he had ruined himself. He knew what he had done. He knew what it had cost him. He had to decide for himself whether to give up and starve in the pigsty or make that long walk home.

But there is more than one way for a son to be lost.

Sometimes children wander off unintentionally. They lose their bearings in unfamiliar surroundings and cannot retrace their steps. They take advice from misinformed friends and relatives or malicious strangers and become entangled in situations over which they have no control. They cannot return home because they do not know the way or, worse, their familiar path lies beyond some locked door or burned bridge. The words keep ringing in their ears, “You can’t get there from here.”

Other times, as in the case of Joseph, they are sold off by jealous brothers and dragged away in chains while the father is left to grieve. (How many congregations have played out that scenario – sending a precious son out into the brutal world simply because he heard and recognized the voice of God?) They do not land in a pigsty, but, by the grace of God, in some place of power. They have purpose, but they have not yet seen it clearly.

God does not chase prodigals, but He does go after the wandering sheep and the lost coins. The Church could (should) take a lesson from that. But that is another lesson for another day. Today I am focused on the lost themselves…

If you just recognized that somewhere along the line you took a wrong turn, and you are not really where you are supposed to be, you should be doing something about it if you can. If you can’t, you should be making some noise and reaching for some help. If you are too small to see your way clearly (or too small to be seen) climb a tree if you have to. Maybe with a little perspective, your way home will become clear to you.

Do you know you are off course, but don’t know what to do about it? Make some noise. Start moving, even if your only option is straight up. Get yourself to a place where you can see and be seen. You might have to deal with some embarrassment – maybe even some financial loss – but wouldn’t it be worth it to be back where you were meant to be?

Some among us need to be causing a bit of commotion today.

¹ Jesus entered Jericho and made his way through the town. ² There was a man there named Zacchaeus. He was the chief tax collector in the region, and he had become very rich. ³ He tried to get a look at Jesus, but he was too short to see over the crowd. ⁴ So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree beside the road, for Jesus was going to pass that way.

⁵ When Jesus came by, he looked up at Zacchaeus and called him by name. “Zacchaeus!” he said. “Quick, come down! I must be a guest in your home today.”

⁶ Zacchaeus quickly climbed down and took Jesus to his house in great excitement and joy. ⁷ But the people were displeased. “He has gone to be the guest of a notorious sinner,” they grumbled.

⁸ Meanwhile, Zacchaeus stood before the Lord and said, “I will give half my wealth to the poor, Lord, and if I have cheated people on their taxes, I will give them back four times as much!”

⁹ Jesus responded, “Salvation has come to this home today, for this man has shown himself to be a true son of Abraham. ¹⁰ For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost.” (Luke 19:1-9, New Living Translation)