It's not my fault!

Genesis 3:1-13 NASB

Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, "Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?"  The woman said to the serpent, "From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat;  but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.’"  The serpent said to the woman, "You surely will not die!  "For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."  When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make  one  wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.  Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings.
  They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.  Then the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, "Where are you?"  He said, "I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself."  And He said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?"  The man said, "The woman whom You gave  to be  with me, she gave me from the tree, and I ate."  Then the Lord God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?" And the woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate."

My thoughts -

We all know the story. This is how humans fell. This is the origin of sin. Patient zero, as it were. Adam and Eve walk with God and live in innocence until the serpent convinces Eve to do what the Lord had commanded her not to, and she in turn convinces her husband.

Rather than looking at how they fell, though, I'd like to look at their immediate response to sin. God walks in the garden. This is not a strange event. If God came near today it would be, but Adam and Eve had direct access to God. And yet, though this event is not strange something different happened after they sinned. They were afraid. They hid.

God calls after them. I like that. We have fallen. We hide from God. And God calls after us. God asks why they are hiding and Adam's response reveals his sin. So God confronts him with it.

When God reveals himself to us we become confronted with our own sin. We can not help but, in the face of such goodness and holiness, acknowledge the difference between God and us. Our sin is revealed and we are called to repent and be restored to God.

When faced with his own sin did Adam repent? Did he ask for forgiveness and restoration? No. He blamed his wife. He said "It's not my fault." Not only did he blame his wife but he also, in a round about way, blamed God. He said "The woman You gave me made me do it." There is no repentance here. Just denial and justification. Adam does not hold himself accountable for his actions. He blames others. He does not accept responsibility for his sin. He blames his wife and God.

Eve responds in much the same way. Rather than accept responsibility, repent, and seek reconciliation with God, Eve tries to pass off the blame on the serpent.

Sin has its consequences so Adam and Eve have to leave the garden. Their lives will be much harder. They no longer have direct access to God and they will have to work and toil for everything they need. Life for them and eventually for us will be much, much harder away from the garden. And they will not have access to the tree of life.

But I wonder, when initially confronted with their sin what would have happened if they had acknowledged it and repented? What would have happened if they had taken responsibility for their actions and asked for forgiveness and reconciliation? Could God not have forgiven them? Could God not have restored their relationship?

We will never know but I can't help but wonder what would have happened if instead of saying "It's not my fault!" Adam had said "Forgive me Lord, for I have sinned."

Complicated relationship with Babylon

Revelation 18:9-20 NASB

"And the kings of the earth, who committed  acts of  immorality and lived sensuously with her, will weep and lament over her when they see the smoke of her burning,  standing at a distance because of the fear of her torment, saying, ‘Woe, woe, the great city, Babylon, the strong city! For in one hour your judgment has come.’
  "And the merchants of the earth weep and mourn over her, because no one buys their cargoes any more--  cargoes of gold and silver and precious stones and pearls and fine linen and purple and silk and scarlet, and every  kind of  citron wood and every article of ivory and every article  made  from very costly wood and bronze and iron and marble,  and cinnamon and spice and incense and perfume and frankincense and wine and olive oil and fine flour and wheat and cattle and sheep, and  cargoes  of horses and chariots and slaves and human lives.  "The fruit you long for has gone from you, and all things that were luxurious and splendid have passed away from you and  men  will no longer find them.  "The merchants of these things, who became rich from her, will stand at a distance because of the fear of her torment, weeping and mourning,  saying, ‘Woe, woe, the great city, she who was clothed in fine linen and purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls;  for in one hour such great wealth has been laid waste!’ And every shipmaster and every passenger and sailor, and as many as make their living by the sea, stood at a distance,  and were crying out as they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, ‘What  city  is like the great city?’  "And they threw dust on their heads and were crying out, weeping and mourning, saying, ‘Woe, woe, the great city, in which all who had ships at sea became rich by her wealth, for in one hour she has been laid waste!’  "Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you saints and apostles and prophets, because God has pronounced judgment for you against her."

My thoughts -

This was part of my reading yesterday and I wanted to post on it but I couldn't get my thoughts together in any kind of coherent manner. I'm not sure that's changed. I guess the big issue here for me is that I feel like I have, and really maybe we all have a somewhat complicated relationship with Babylon.

First off, in our culture could we really identify Babylon? What is "the great city"? What, here and now, best represents the accomplishments of humans without regard to relationship with God? A lot of Christians in America want to believe that we are something of a New Jerusalem, that we have received God's favor and are God's people and have some kind of a national relationship with God. The rest of the world probably sees us as something closer to Babylon than anything else.

Obviously when John was writing the United States did not exist and I'm sure in writing to the early church he had no reason to anticipate that we ever would. But as I read, as much as it pains me, our consumer driven culture that cares more about the trappings of the "good life" than it cares for the "least of these", feels an awful lot like Babylon. As I drove yesterday out Winchester Road towards the interstate passing strip club after strip club I couldn't help but think of Babylon. While Lexington, where I live, or any other US city, or the US as a whole may not be a perfect match for Babylon here we certainly have a lot of Babylon in us.

And here's the thing: I like it here. I'm comfortable. Sure there's sin. I'm not saying I like the shootings or the sex trade or the desperate poverty or the violence or the unbridgeable gap between the rich and the poor. But I'm comfortable here. I have a life here. I have a living here. It's what I know. It's what I'm used to. It's all I've ever known. And I'm pretty insulated and isolated from most of the worst of it here and in other cities. I live in a nice bubble, a fantasy.

I am like the merchants who sell their goods to Babylon. I become rich off of the "great city" and need it. I weep and mourn in its destruction because I need it. God's justice is far less important to me than my comfortable life and my next meal. The sin ain't so bad from where I'm sitting. Babylon is important, necessary even. I need Babylon to live.

I could never rejoice in the destruction of Babylon. I am compromised by my complicated relationship with it. But, before I kick myself too much over that fact I have to acknowledge that I may not rejoice even absent the complicated relational compromise. God's wrath is a severe thing. As a sinner formerly bound for and deserving of destruction I know that. I know that I am saved from it not because I deserve it but because Christ intervened on my behalf, on behalf of us all. How could we, deserving of destruction ourselves, ever rejoice in the destruction of others? Again, it's complicated.

I never seem to have the answers I think should be readily available. Are we Babylon? Well, yes and no I guess. Are we bound for destruction? All things end. Can we rejoice in God making things right? I think we should be able to but there is no painless way to get there. And I don't like pain, even if it brings with it a promise of better things ahead.

Does that mean I don't trust God enough?

Well maybe.

It's complicated.

God will wipe every tear from their eyes

Revelation 7:9-17 NASB

After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and  all  tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches  were  in their hands;  and they cry out with a loud voice, saying,
"Salvation to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb."  And all the angels were standing around the throne and  around  the elders and the four living creatures; and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God,  saying,
"Amen, blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might,  be  to our God forever and ever. Amen."
  Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, "These who are clothed in the white robes, who are they, and where have they come from?"  I said to him, "My lord, you know." And he said to me, "These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.  "For this reason, they are before the throne of God; and they serve Him day and night in His temple; and He who sits on the throne will spread His tabernacle over them.  "They will hunger no longer, nor thirst anymore; nor will the sun beat down on them, nor any heat;  for the Lamb in the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and will guide them to springs of the water of life; and God will wipe every tear from their eyes."

My thoughts -

Revelation is a scary book. That was my view until a few years ago. In high school when I read the whole Bible I stopped short at Revelation. It was a dangerous place. It was filled with dangerous things. It was dark. It was mysterious. It had deep impenetrable secrets. It was no place to go. It was the place on the medieval map marked "here there be dragons".

Imagine my surprise then when I read Ray Summers' book on Revelation, Worthy is the Lamb, a few years later. Sure, there are frightening images and some pretty terrifying events depicted in Revelation. There are dragons and horsemen and beasts and death and famine and disease and all kinds of horrible, horrible things. But Revelation is a book of comfort. Revelation is a book of worship. Quite frankly that had never really occurred to me before then. But what could be more comforting than today's passage?

Here we have a people who have suffered. They have been oppressed, beaten, and killed for their beliefs. This is a grim, grisly thing. I don't think most of us can understand what it was like for early believers. Our faith has been so ingrained in our culture it can sometimes be difficult to separate the two. We consider it persecution if we are not the dominant voice in the conversation about God.

It would never be a part of our reality that we could be killed by the state for our beliefs. In my world at least that's something that only happens in other places and in other times. Sure, some nut might take offense but where I am we are pretty much the majority. If oppression happens it comes from us, not to us.

But here we see the ones that have come from the great tribulation. They have been oppressed. They have been beaten. They have been killed. They have been burned and crucified. They have suffered things unimaginable to me. And yet here are words of comfort, written to those who live in a time and place where suffering and death for following Jesus was a live option.

They serve Him day and night in his temple.

What could be better for those who would serve Jesus in this life to the point of death? That which you would die for the opportunity to do you get to do for eternity. Nothing, not even death, can separate you from Jesus.

They will hunger no longer, nor thirst anymore; nor will the sun beat down on them, nor any heat;  for the Lamb in the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and will guide them to springs of the water of life; and God will wipe every tear from their eyes.

They will find rest and comfort in Jesus. Nothing in this world can bother them any more. They are at peace, led by a Good Shepperd to the springs of the water of life. No hunger, no thirst, no suffering, no pain, no more tears. Nothing else can harm them.

This is something those who suffer greatly for their faith could especially look forward to. But this is also a homecoming we can all look forward to. Peace, comfort, and rest in Christ.

Can you find anything more comforting than this?

Lukewarm

Revelation 3:14-22 NASB

"To the angel of the church in Laodicea write:
The Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God, says this:
  ‘I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot.  ‘So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth.  ‘Because you say, "I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing," and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked,  I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed; and eye salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see.  ‘Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent.  ‘Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me.  ‘He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.  ‘He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’"

My thoughts -

Is there anything worse than being lukewarm? Consider pizza. Pizza is delicious when served piping hot out of the oven. But there are some that prefer cold pizza out of the refrigerator, especially for breakfast. But have you ever heard of anyone who likes pizza best when served a room temperature, cool enough that the cheese is no longer melty but has congealed but not cold enough to be considered "cold pizza"?

Or consider a basketball team. If you want to lose your fan base the best way to go about doing it is to just barely miss the playoffs each season. Your team isn't any good but isn't bad enough to get an impact player in the draft. There's no hope there. Your mired in mediocrity.

Or consider the addict. While painful recovery happens after someone hits rock bottom, when things are bad enough that they have to acknowledge there's a problem. When denial is no longer an option.

Laodicea is in denial. They are described as thinking they are rich (spiritually) while actually being poor. They don't know how bad off they are. They have enough deeds that they can talk themselves into believing that they faithfully serve while not actually doing so.

Here, Jesus through John is leveling his harshest criticism towards any of the seven churches. When reading through this section of Revelation you see a familiar pattern. There will be a list of good things about a church followed by "but this I hold against you". Here the pattern breaks.

The first sentence is an indictment. You are lukewarm. Because of this I spit you out. Both barrels are given right off the bat. No punches are pulled. No holds are barred. They are on the receiving end of a scathing, righteous lecture. Basically Jesus is telling them through John that really if they were anything other than that which they are they'd be a lot better off. And the worst part is they don't know it. They have no idea. They're in denial.

So that's bad news, right? But here's the good news. There is yet hope. They can turn. They can change. Jesus is calling each of these churches to repent. Laodicea can do so as well. Jesus is saying "I am at the door knocking. Let me in and I will eat with you." They can overcome their shortcomings. They can be restored to Jesus. All they have to do is repent.

But that's the thing with being lukewarm, isn't it. To repent you have to acknowledge sin and turn from it. They are still in denial. That is the indictment. They have no idea how bad things have gotten. They still think they're serving Christ.

Could Jesus hold the same thing against us?

You have left your first love

Revelation 2:1-7 NASB

"To the angel of the church in Ephesus write:
The One who holds the seven stars in His right hand, the One who walks among the seven golden lampstands, says this:
  ‘I know your deeds and your toil and perseverance, and that you cannot tolerate evil men, and you put to the test those who call themselves apostles, and they are not, and you found them to be false;  and you have perseverance and have endured for My name’s sake, and have not grown weary.  ‘But I have this against you, that you have left your first love.  ‘Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place--unless you repent.  ‘Yet this you do have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.  ‘He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of the tree of life which is in the Paradise of God.’

My thoughts -

The church in Ephesus sounds like a pretty intense place. They are known by their deeds. They are known by their perseverance. They are known by their endurance. They are positioned in a culture in which they are a minority religion and yet they take a prophetic stand against that culture and its gods. They call out and expose false prophets. They have no tolerance for other believers who compromise their principles to avoid persecution. Theirs is not a watered down faith. Theirs is not a faith that fears persecution or even death. Theirs is a faith that takes a stand no matter what the cost and refuses to bow down to culture.

There's a lot to be said for that. Though the church in America (and particularly in the Bible Belt) dominates the religious landscape we make concessions to culture all the time. We water things down to have more appeal. You won't find too many pastors demanding that their congregants sell all they have and give to the poor. We'd rather you just give your ten percent. On most issues the church is more than happy to "meet you where you are" and have you feel nice and comfortable so that you're willing to come back next week. We won't challenge you. Not much. We won't challenge culture. Not much. If we make things too challenging then we might not make payroll.

That's obviously a cynical overgeneralization. The point here is that the church in Ephesus had no consideration for cultural concerns and no patience for those who did. I think most churches would envy their freedom in this area, though probably not the level of persecution that would inevitably follow. This is an intense place. This is an intense church. And yet, they're doing it wrong.

How can that be? They are known by their deeds, their perseverance, their endurance, and their inability to.compromise to culture. Theirs is a powerful ministry. It is producing fruit. What could they be doing wrong?

They have left their first love.

What does that mean? It is a pretty open, ambiguous statement. What is their first love and how have they left it?

When asked about what the most important commandment is Jesus responded that it is to love God with all of your heart, soul, mind, and strength. He followed that up by saying that it is also to love your neighbor as yourself. These two are tied together. They are inseparable. Not even Jesus can separate them. The love of God is the love of neighbor. We show that we love God by loving others.

This is our first love. This is the most important thing that we can be doing. This is what Jesus said all of the law could be summed up as. This is what Paul said that, if we are not doing it we are nothing, no matter how beautiful our prayers and praise, how much faith, how much service, how much sacrifice, how much dedication we have.

Somewhere along the lines this vibrant, important, alive, and uncompromising church left this love behind. And they need to repent or be removed. They need to rekindle this lost love or they are nothing.

We can't compete with this church on works. We can't compete with it on a prophetic witness to a culture that is hostile to the gospel. We can't compete with it on faith, hope, perseverance and endurance in the face of persecution. And yet even this church is not off the hook when it comes to love. They must repent and return to their first love.

May we never forget this and may we never turn from ours. If we do may we repent. May they know we are Christians by our love. Not by our works or our words, though they are important. By our love.

God is love

1 John 4:7-13 NASB

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.  The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love.  By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him.  In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son  to be  the propitiation for our sins.  Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.  No one has seen God at any time; if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us.  By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit.

My thoughts -

I love love. Well, I guess I more love the idea of love. The practice of it is a bit more challenging than one might expect.

That's the rub, isn't it? It is easy and it feels good to affirm that God is love. It is easy and it feels good to affirm that God loves us. It is easy and it feels good to affirm that we must love God and love one another. Nice, happy affirming thing, love.

But what does it mean to love? When Paul tells us in 1Corinthians 13 that love is patient, kind, not envious, boastful, proud rude or selfish can we live up to that? When we hear that love does not delight in evil or in lies but rejoices in the truth can we live up to that? When Jesus tells us that there is no greater love than laying down our lives can we do that? Can we follow the example of our Lord who did that very thing for us?

We hear that God is love and desires love from us and it feels good. Love is a nice warm fuzzy word. But love is a pretty demanding ideal. Love requires sacrifice. Love demands our very best. Love demands that we do not hold on to our petty grudges and selfishness but subvert our own wills and serve others, even people we don't much care for.

Love in its greatest form is the selfless act of Christ who offered himself up to reconcile us to God even though we, at the time God's enemies, did not even desire that reconciliation. Can we reconcile selflessly to our enemies?

We can't see God. Not directly. I wish I had direct access to God but it's just not available to me. But we can see love. We can see it in the selfless acts of each other. And love, in its perfect selfless ideal makes no sense. But in this selfless love we see God.

Can we be this love of God in a world desperate for it?

Do not fear

1 Peter 3:13-17 NASB

Who is there to harm you if you prove zealous for what is good?  But even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, you are blessed. And do not fear their  intimidation, and do not be troubled,  but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always  being  ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence;  and keep a good conscience so that in the thing in which you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ will be put to shame.  For it is better, if God should will it so, that you suffer for doing what is right rather than for doing what is wrong.

My thoughts -

My dear friend Aaron Mansfield posted some questions on his blog yesterday after learning of a pastor friend who was severely beaten in India for his faith. He wonders aloud if our zeal for evangelism would hold up to persecution.

I wonder, too if we could endure through persecution. Sure, American Christians (especially in the Bible belt) like to cry persecution every time some cultural issue doesn't go how we want it to (as though all Christians have a like mind on every issue - but that is a conversation for another day). But we are pretty well established in this culture and ultimately Christianity here is in the majority.

It is very difficult to get elected to public office without expressing faith in God, for instance, and that God is almost always described as the one we worship. This is in spite of the fact that our Constitution forbids any religious litmus test for elected office. While the Constitution may not permit it the public demands it. For all the talk of an attack on God and religion here both seem blissfully unaware of any immediate peril.

How would we respond if we really were under attack? How would we respond if we really were being persecuted? How would we respond if we were in an overwhelmed minority and faced ridicule, beatings, and death simply for believing what we believe and living out our faith. This is the world that Mansfield's friend lives in. And this is the world the early church lived in; the people Peter is addressing with this letter.

Peter asks who is there to harm those that do good? In my mind this echoes Paul in his letter to the Romans. ("If God is for us who can be against us?") While some may ridicule, slander, and try to intimidate you, Peter says, they will ultimately be put to shame. It is better to do what is right and suffer for it than it is to not do what is right and also, ultimately, to suffer for that as well.

These seem like odd words of comfort. They concede suffering, either one way or the other. You can do God's will and face hostility from those who seek to prevent you from it, or you can fail to do God's will and take your chances with the wrath of God. Suffering could happen either way. It's better to do what God requires. It is better to do what is right than what is wrong.

So how do we play this forward to today and a culture that seems to tolerate Christianity an awful lot more than the one Peter lived in? Have you tried taking a stand on an issue that "the world" doesn't want you to? Challenge consumerism in this culture and see how far that gets you. Challenge the conflation of God and country that permeates our patriotic ideals and identity and see if there isn't a bit of cultural push back. Hold firm to the gospel above and against pop cultural ideas of what the gospel ought to be and see what happens. Be a little odd, a little weird, a little different, and see how people respond.

The problem I think we have here is that we are awfully comfortable with culture. We have our churches that sit in the suburbs surrounded by the trappings of comfort, security, and affluence, and we in silence support a culture that favors the powerful over the powerless, the rich over the poor, the fat over the hungry.

We, as a nation, do a pretty poor job of caring for our poor. We have a greater interest in protecting the "free speech" of corporations and their "right" to profit from abuse and exploitation than we do in caring for the least, the lost, the broken, the sick, the poor, the imprisoned, and the hungry. We look the other way as our brothers and sisters starve. We believe "shared sacrifice" is ideally concessions from the poor for the rich. Sure, we want to help people, but not if that means the rich have to pay more taxes.

We criminalize addiction and lose generation of the poor and minorities to prison because that is more comfortable for us that treating their medical issues. We wage "war" on ideas, on ideals, on issues, and on our own people. We invade other countries and bomb and kill as many or more innocent civilians as we do military combatants. We do this with no objective. There's a lot of money to be made in it.

Maybe if we the church took a stand against culture on any of these issues (and countless others) we might find what it is like to be persecuted. But we have stopped doing good. We have stopped being a prophetic voice for God against culture. We have assimilated. We are comfortable. We have too much to lose.

Have we learned nothing from scripture. God, no matter how much it may seem otherwise, is still in control. We have nothing to lose in following God. If God is for us who can be against us? We are comfortable and complacent. We don't have the stomach for persecution. We cry persecution any time we don't get our way as though we have an inalienable right to control everything.

And yet controlling culture is not our calling. Being a prophetic witness is; doing what is right is; caring for the poor, the lost, the lonely, the broken, the hurting, the oppressed, the afflicted, the hungry, the imprisoned, the powerless, and the least of these is. And we are not doing our job.

We need to do what is right. We may suffer for it but right now we are suffering for not doing it. And the world is suffering for it as well. And Peter makes clear in this passage that it is far better to suffer doing what is right than it is to suffer not doing so.