The Issue of the Potsherds of the Earth

"Pride of heart thinks nothing too high for the man, and so arraigns before its tribunal the divine proceedings, pretends to see through them, censures freely and condemns. But humiliation of spirit disposes a man to think awfully and honorably of those mysteries of Providence he is not able to see through. . .What else can possibly be the issue of the potsherds of the earth dashing against the Rock of ages, but that they are broken to pieces? All men must certainly bow or break under the mighty hand of God (Rom 11:33; Job 41:8)." - Thomas Boston, from The Crook in the Lot, Christian Heritage edition pages 136 & 139

Outgrowing Christianity

Writing on what Jesus means when He blesses the poor in spirit (Mt 5:3), Blair Smith comments,
    
       "This stands in contrast to so much of what we see. The spirit of our age tells us to "express" ourselves and "believe" in ourselves. We are about self-reliance, self-sufficiency, self-confidence, and so on. The counter-cultural truths of the Beatitudes say, "Empty self so that God can come in." When we are full of self, we miss the blessing of God's presence. If we are always full of self, we are not even Christian.
      We never outgrow this first beatitude. It is the basis upon which we ascend to the others. If we outgrow it, we outgrow our Christianity."

Taken from "Blessed are the Poor in Spirit," Tabletalk Magazine, June 2017 Edition, pages 14-15.

". . . For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted," - Jesus the Lord, Luke 18:14.

Aim Low

"But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place. . ."

Jesus, Lk 14:10

". . .If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all."

Jesus, Mk 9:35

"Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted."

Jesus, Mt 23:12

"I urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 

with all humility. . ."

The Apostle Paul, Ep 4:1-2

"Humble yourselves before the Lord. . ."

James, Ja 4:10

Aim low.

Friendship: It Flows from the Humble

Several weeks back I was asked to consider blogging my thoughts on friendship, specifically, "What do you think is the essence of 'friendship'? Why do you think some people end up being better friends than others? Do Christians have to be good friends with each other? How might you counsel a believer who often feels 'lonely,' acknowledged by many but pursed by none?"

I've gone over these things on "friendship" in my head (which is the way to go over things). And if I were to write those thoughts it would be a blog longer than perhaps anyone is willing to read. Therefore, I want to say a little something instead ("little"is relative), for whatever it's worth.

Jesus says great love is the love in the hearts of those who lay down their lives for their friends (Jn 15:13). In saying this, Jesus speaks more about love than friendship. But He does imply that being the best kind of friend entails sacrifice. Then the Apostles Paul and John write of laying down our possessions for friends (2 Co 8-9; 1 Jn 3). Actually, they speak of doing this for any Christian. So certainly we must do it for our Christian friends. And while Jesus is our ultimate example of friendship, we do see it modeled, though to a lesser degree, in others, like Jonathan and David, in 1 Samuel 18-20. Jesus connects friendship with love and then with sacrifice (Jn 15:1-17), as does the account in 1 Samuel. So in answer to my friend's question on the essence of friendship, I would start there, with love evidenced by sacrifice. This is basic; "For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son. . ." (Jn 3:16), to make us His "friends" (Jn 15:1-17).

If we take the above as foundational to friendship, then the other questions can be answered rather easily, at least at the beginning. So yes, Christians do have to be good friends with each other because Christians must love each other. Some of those relationships will be more enjoyable than others because some folks are just more likable than others, more pleasant, easier to be with. And I think there are other factors like common interests, personality types, and simply how someone makes us feel when we're with them. From reading the Gospels, it appears that Jesus, in His humanity, was "closer" to some of His disciples than others.

My friend's final question caught my attention because of the way it describes the lonely as "acknowledged by many but pursued by none." My opinion is that this is precisely where so many of us live, wrongly. We acknowledge but do not pursue. Perhaps the most ignored commandment in the Bible is from Philippians 2:3-5, "Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests but also to the interests of others. Have this mind in yourselves. . ." Who does this with any consistency? Answer: only the humble. Love evidenced in sacrifice flows from humility. Humility means counting others more significant than ourselves and looking to their interests. This is the pinnacle of friendship.

I believe that many Christians hear Philippians 2:3-5 and wrongfully reckon that it can't be done; the Apostle asks too much. He asks us to assume the mentality and humility of Jesus, who (if you continue in the chapter), though He is God, laid down His divine rights and privileges and not only condescended to become a creature, but a servant, and then a crucified sacrifice. This is friendship -- humility driven sacrifice rooted in love that puts the significance and interests of others above our own. So instead of reading Philippians 2 as if it contained fantasy commands, we should ask God to make us like His Son -- good for and useful to our friends. Next, we should consider those friends by making a list of their needs and then go about meeting them, sacrificially and abundantly, like Jesus met our greatest need. And if we can't meet them ourselves, let's find someone who can.

We must learn to stop, and to get quiet, and to put ourselves into the situations of our friends so that we can begin to feel the weight of their burdens and the extent of their needs. And then, instead of only praying for them, let us lay down our possessions, our time, and our help, at their feet, for Jesus' sake. In other words, let's love on them in ways that matter.

Consider, if you have a friend who is going thorough marital and/or parental hardship, what do they need? What if their beloved pet has died? What if they're enduring sickness? What if they're children with absentee parents? What if they're injured? What if they hate their job? What if they've lost their job -- what do they need? What if their vehicle has broken down?; their parent has died?; they're moving to a new place?; they're being deployed?; they're changing vocations?; they're depressed?; they're lonely?; they're poor? Think, and pray; and then do something, friend.

The call of this post is for more deliberate, and less casual, and distinctly Christian, friendship.

"Heavenly Father, may we get over ourselves, and become a blessing." Jesus will smile.

Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth.

1 Jn 3:18

Get Wisdom -- Post 9, With an Aside

"I again saw under the sun that the race is not to the swift and the battle is not to the warriors, and neither is bread to the wise nor wealth to the discerning nor favor to men of ability; for time and chance overtake them all." -- Ec 9:11

There are people in the world who exist to teach me the wisdom above. These are the people that God blesses in spite of their efforts (that's all of us I know, but some give greater effort than others). They are the somewhat lazy in both mind and body who nevertheless fall ass-backward into a plethora of good. The point here is not that we should stop striving in all the ways the Bible teaches us to strive. The point is that the striving doesn't earn us anything from God. Though we see from Scripture that He often blesses some behaviors and not others, He will be put into no person's debt. He may or may not choose to bless our efforts, but will give us what He knows is good for us (For a similar idea, see Mt 20:1-15).

 I confess that this beautiful reality sometimes, like now, looks ugly to me. However, considering the other option -- that God simply give us what we deserve -- I bow my knee to His inscrutable wisdom and grace. Now, Proverbs 9:

Proverbs -- Chapter 9

Wisdom is here, if we will have her. She invites us into her company to be transformed, blessed, and saved. And her first lesson for us is the fear of God -- that filial reverence for Father, her Source. That's where getting wisdom begins (vv1-6, 10).

Folly is also here. She is ignorant, but alluring. Our weapon against her is wisdom. For her greatest appeal is to the simpleton and the senseless (vv13-18).

Verses 7-12 show us both types -- the wise and the foolish. There are temporal and eternal consequences rolled up in either path we walk.

Loving Ourselves the Most as the Essence of Sin

This is the biblical indictment -- that it is our sinful nature to "exchange the truth of God for a lie, and worship and serve the creature, rather than the Creator, who is forever praised. Amen" (Ro 1:25). Or as Jesus put it, "We love darkness rather than light because our deeds are evil" (Jn 3:19). As someone who has recently read Moby Dick, I enjoyed and benefited from Jim Hamilton's analysis of the novel: what Herman Melville had to say about God, His sovereignty, and our place in His world; through the eyes of a man named Ishmael, about a rebel named Ahab, and his hatred of his smallness. You can read it here.