The Life We Live

A couple months ago, I heard a podcast featuring Brian Geunther, President of San Marcos Baptist Academy and digital creator. (He has a wonderful testimony, and I would encourage you to give the interview on Redemption's Table a listen.) In discussing his study of monarchies, Dr. Geunther made what I thought was a profound observation (with deep implications for believers in Jesus Christ): It's in our DNA as Americans to fight against "kingdom." Isn't that the truth? As Americans, we want autonomy-- at the very least, democracy. How does it appeal to you to surrender all of your rights to someone --even a most magnanimous, omniscient, loving, omnipotent-- Someone? Who, in a culture so married to its rights, would think that a good idea? I'm not simply speaking of a personal distaste for being ruled by and reigned over: we --yes, even believers-- in our flesh, tend to rebel against it! How can believers pray Thy kingdom come --for all the earth, for all of God's chosen-- when we're not really Superfans of "kingdom" ourselves? If we're defending and holding dear our rights day after day, kicking against the goads, building our own kingdoms how are we going to effectively win others to the God who demands they submit to Him, seek His kingdom, and turn from their own ways? If we can't find joy in surrender, how can we convince the rest of the world they will? If we are not thrilled to serve the Living God in the ways He requires, how will others ever want what we have been given? 

All this got me to thinking about all the other things we consider "normal" and to which we believe we are "entitled," things in our culture that can keep us from embracing the truth of God's Word. (And let me just clarify, I think there's a big difference between embracing truth and merely believing truth.)

Living on the East Coast, we have more than a dozen beaches at our disposal; but we all know, if we truly want to relax and enjoy the sun and surf, major summer holidays are not the time to do that. In fact, even weekend retreats to the city for some nightlife or culture or dining are all tempered with an afternoon at the spa or a relaxing carriage ride around the city. Crowds just are not the way to relax. Big cities mean big crime, big trash, big money for very tiny living spaces. Crowds just make things messy. And spreading out is biblical; but Christians are supposed to want everyone on the Jesus train, aren't we?  Christians have been commissioned to preach Christ and make disciples, we have been given the ministry of reconciliation, and we are to act and speak in such a way that the world may know. And I ask myself, Won't it get crowded up there? Won't it be noisy and chaotic? And I examine my heart, Do I want that? My human, maybe American (in the sense my ancestors came here looking for freedom and a peaceful life) nature resists the idea of inviting a slew of folks to paradise. Would it still be heavenly, after all?

And there's one more thing. Are you getting anxious? Get to the point! you cry. Well, that's just it: our instant, microwave society. We have 24-hour banking at our fingertips, contact with anyone worldwide in the time it takes them to pick up the phone, delivery before the end of day, fast food that's even faster than it was ten years ago, streaming with no commercials, binge watching --almost everything we could want is available to us in an instant, as we choose. How does this change the way we view our relationships --especially the most important relationship we can have, the relationship with God? How does it change the way we pray: if God doesn't meet His "deadline," do we choose to do things our own way? How does it negate the benefit of Sabbath and rest that God has given us? How does it affect our expectations with regard to those around us: can we continue to love those folks we were kind toward yesterday, despite their unchanged heart? Are we easily discouraged by our own lack of change?

I think it's wise to examine areas in which we have been influenced by our culture instead of embracing God's truth, and repent of that. In Ephesians 5, God through Paul's letter to the church in Ephesus, tells us to imitate Him and walk in love. We must examine our actions, be aware of our motivations, seek to know God's will, and choose to obey it. Culture is important; it's part of our story, and it, too, is a gift. However, our story is ultimately History. How is God reflected in the life we are living?

Photo courtesy: LuAnn Martin

Do You Have a Great Retirement Plan?

In 2021, I retired from UPS with thirty-two years of service. Not a whole lot of thought went into the decision: God told me to do it, some changes were coming with regard to pensions, I had the time and the age-- it was sort of a no-brainer. But if I'm being honest, God had been telling me to do it since 2014. At that time, however, I would have simply had to quit; I couldn't imagine God was telling me that. But the bills! And medical insurance?! I'm walking away from a part-time job that pays more than most full-time jobs, for what? So, I stayed, too long. 

This morning, I was reading Mark 10:29-30:

So Jesus answered and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My sake and the gospel’s, who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time—houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions—and in the age to come, eternal life."

John Piper says this is "radical recompense." He paraphrases:

Jesus says, “No one ever sacrifices anything for me that I do not pay back a hundredfold — yes, in one sense even in this life, not to mention eternal life in the age to come.”

In his sermon on this passage, Piper explains that those who give up family, say, to go into faraway mission fields, may be compensated by the "family" that surrounds them in that place, those with whom they develop close relationships or those who constantly support them in prayer and compassion. So, Jesus is able, is willing to pay back what is given in sacrifice. Not a bad deal, right? But see, here's the thing: the "reimbursement thing" only applies to that which is given in sacrifice. Check out the word in Mark 10:29-30, the one that comes after the laundry list of things received "a hundredfold." The word is "with", and it means accompanying, next to. Those things we give up are "repaid" to us with persecution. Well, that sounds incredibly unappealing!

Think about it in these terms: Many have left their homes to serve on the mission field. It has come with feelings of unimaginable loneliness and frustration. Some have had to move several times due to warring factions or famine. It was not what they anticipated. However, they came to know Jesus as their "home," the greatest home they could ever desire. Is it making sense now? The bottom line is, following God is going to mean sacrifice-- whether the Holy Spirit nudges you to put a little more in the offering plate, or give that person who has never been pleasant toward you a ride to the grocery store, or leave a really good job for...? But Jesus Himself gave us His word that we would be compensated 10,000%-- and not simply for doing it, but for wanting to do it and doing it, no matter how bad it gets.

How many of us are sacrificing with regard to our finances today, taking additional deductions from our bottom line each week for stocks and 401Ks, just hoping for future security? How many of us are giving up Saturdays to get in some overtime, just hoping for a comfortable future? How many of us are foregoing those memberships or vacations today, hoping instead to enjoy them in the future? What are we willing to sacrifice for a future guaranteed to come, a future guaranteed to be better than anything we can imagine, a future planned and prepared by the Alpha and Omega? I wish I'd trusted Jesus enough in 2014, to find out. I wish I'd been willing to suffer then, for His sake, that I might have known sooner what He would do. But I'm trusting Him today. I'm willing to do what He says. And I'm trusting His promise, I will be compensated in ways I never could expect. Does your retirement plan measure up?

(Photo courtesy LuAnn Martin)