Don't Forget to Groan, 5/16

Pakistani firefighters try to put out a fire after a bomb blast in Peshawar, Pakistan. A car bomb destroyed an Internet cafe and tore through a bus carrying handicapped children in northwestern Pakistan on Saturday, killing at least 11 people and wounding many more, police said.

"For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God." (Romans 8:19-21)

Four Motives for Christian Involvement in Politics

(This is Part 3 of a series on Christian involvement in politics. Read Part 1 and Part 2)

In my last post on the issue of Christian involvement in politics, I said that the motive for our involvement should not be as a method of trying to 'reclaim' America for Jesus Christ. And I said I would write another post explaining a more biblical motive for such involvement. That is the goal of this post.

I assume that the purpose of government is to promote and advance the cause of justice for all people, regardless of race, class, religion, or other personal distinctives. I realize that government does not always (perhaps does not often) serve this function, which is a product of the Fall of mankind into sin. Nevertheless, I think that most people would agree that the goal of government should be to promote a just, equitable, peaceful, harmonious society. I believe that this goal ought to be pursued by lovers of Jesus Christ, for at least four reasons. I'll touch on each one only briefly. I realize that they overlap in certain ways, but I also think they are distinct.

1. The display of God's glory. God is a God of justice, and Romans 13 says that governing authorities are God's servants, existing to manifest His justice and goodness by both promoting good and restraining evil, which are also fundamental to God's character. When the government is doing that, a part of God's image in man is shining forth, in what theologians call 'common grace'. He is glorified when, out of desire to honor Him, His people pursue a just society in which the common good is sought and preserved.

2. Love for neighbor. Jesus taught that the second commandment is to love our neighbor as we love ourselves, and in Luke 10 He defines our neighbor as anyone we encounter with a need. While this involves more than politics, it does include the pursuit of a just government. The Good Samaritan story shows us that genuine love cares for both the body and soul of another person. So out of love for our fellow humans, we should desire that our political structures aim at the promotion of justice and peace for all.

3. Shalom. The Hebrew word shalom is translated as peace, but its real meaning is much deeper than that, referring to the full flourishing of human beings and society. I have given a more in depth explanation of shalom here. Specifically this has been helpful to me in correcting my attitude that because 'my citizenship is in heaven,' (Philippians 3:20-21), I do not have a responsibility to pursue the highest good of the earthly society that I happen to be an exile in for now. But In Jeremiah 29, God tells the Jewish exiles in Babylon not to retreat from the unbelieving society, but to seek its shalom. There are many ways to do this, but I believe basic political involvement is one important way that we can seek the shalom of our communities, states and nations.

4. The Kingdom of God. Throughout the Gospels, Jesus emphasized the good news of the Kingdom of God. This good news is not simply that God is collecting for Himself a group of individuals and restoring those individuals to a new relationship with Him. The good news is certainly not less than that, but it is more. It is the good news that in Jesus, the future, cosmic rule and reign of God has broken into the present. God's goal for the future is to completely renew and transform the entire creation, freeing it from its nautural and moral corruption. The images of this glorious future in both the Old and New Testaments picture a New Heavens and New Earth where God's perfect justice reigns, where racial and ethnic harmony flourishes, where weapons of war are turned into instruments of peace. Even modest political advances toward that glorious goal in our own day bear witness to the perfect Kingdom that Jesus will one day consummate.

For instance, the abolition of the slave trade that William Wilberforce helped to bring about made one aspect of his society a little more like God's final Kingdom. It did not bring about the Kingdom, but it serves as a signpost pointing to that glorious future. Likewise, when we labor to promote justice and equality for all, we give people a little taste of the perfect peace and justice that awaits the redeemed in the Kingdom of God.

Each of these four motives are deserving of much more thinking and writing. I have barely scratched the surface in this short reflection, but I hope it has at least given some broad, general principles to motivate Christians to care about the public policies of our nation.

Next week I'll finish this short series with a few posts about the common good, the role of religious beliefs in public policy and the separation of church and state.

Even a roll of toilet paper can serve as an instrument of sanctification

Yesterday I observed that there was no more toilet paper in the office where I do most of my work. So this morning as I prepared to walk around the corner from my house to the office, I remembered I needed to bring some toilet paper.

Michelle told me to put it in a bag because it looks pretty darn foolish to see someone walking down the street holding a roll of toilet paper in his left hand. But I told her I wanted to carry it, as a way of reminding myself that my calling in this world is not to be 'cool'. If I structure my life so as to be thought cool in the eyes of everyone I encounter, it will be impossible to be faithful in my calling to be Christ's ambassador.

So I picked up my toilet paper and went on my way. It was only a four-minute walk, but it was a good reminder that being fashionable is not the most important thing in the world. It was a pretty trivial reminder, but I was grateful for it nevertheless.

Sorry, I had to break up the political stuff with a little humor...

So the Government Can't Intrude in Private Family Matters?

A preface: President Barack Obama is quite a bit smarter than I am. Actually, a lot smarter.

Which makes this statement all the more baffling to me; on the 36th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision back in January, Obama said this of the Supreme Court's Decision:

“We are reminded that this decision not only protects women’s health and reproductive freedom, but stands for a broader principle: that government should not intrude on our most private family matters."

For the moment let's overlook the fact that abortion does not protect women's health; it destroys the health of 500,000 little women every year. Instead, consider the 'broad principle' that Obama says Roe v. Wade upholds.

If my 21 month-old daughter gets on my nerves tonight, I believe Obama's position is that the government can and should intrude on my right to throw my daughter in the dumpster and leave her for dead. It is a 'private family matter'. Yet the government intrudes on that right of mine, and I am sure glad they do.

Or what if a man chooses to sexually abuse his 3 year-old son every night before bed...isn't that a private family matter? Yes, but it's evil. And so the government rightly chooses to intrude upon a man's right to take part in that kind of wickedness, no matter how private it is.

I understand we live in a society in which my beliefs on abortion are in the minority. I do not regard supporters of abortion as my enemies, nor do I think they're any worse sinners than myself. After all, my Lord and King says that to be angry toward another person is to commit murder in my heart. So I do not regard myself as morally better than President Obama or a woman who killed her unborn child this morning. To condemn them would be to condemn myself. In the eyes of Jesus, I am am murderer. Who am I to condemn another murderer?

But I do wish that those whose views on this issue differed from mine would have the intellectual integrity to explain their convictions more compellingly than simply reciting tired cliches that even a journalism major from Penn State can see through.

Our government does not regard it a 'private family matter' to kill this:

So why is it a private family matter to kill this:

The top picture is my 7 month-old daughter, Felicity. The second picture is an 8 week-old baby in its mother's womb. The picture makes it pretty clear that the only thing that distinguishes my daughter from this fetus is time. So why is killing the baby in the second picture called a 'private family matter,' when killing the baby in the top picture is called 'murder'?

I don't want to demonize those who disagree with me about this; I just want an answer to that simple question.

Let's Try this Again...

Now that I know at least some people have gotten their feet wet with comments, let's try this one again:

If you could spend an hour with any living person (who you do not know personally), who would it be, and why?

I've already given my answer here. Comment away, readers! And don't worry, your answer doesn't have to be as long as mine.

America is Not a Christian Nation

(This is the second in a series of posts on Christian involvement in politics. To read the first post, click here.)

In thinking through the matter of Christian involvement in politics, it's important to ask the question, 'Why should Christians be involved in politics?' I am going to answer that question in another post, but think it's important to first explain what is not the answer: that America has strayed from its Christian roots, and that it is our responsibility as Christians to ensure that our nation's public policies favor Christianity as opposed to other religions, or atheism. In essence, believers need to get active in politics so that America will be reclaimed for Christ. To be as clear as possible: I do not believe that is the proper motivation for Christian political involvement.

I trust that for many who desire to 'reclaim America for Christ', they are well-meaning and have good intentions. They desire to see Christ honored in our nation. And of course, I couldn't agree more! The question is, by what means is God seeking to honor His Son? I believe the answer is not, 'Through political activism that ensures our public policy reflects Christian values,' but rather, 'through the proclamation of the Gospel of Christ's unmerited mercy and grace to hell-bound sinners.' Putting our hope in public policies to turn America around for Christ might be an implicit denial of the power of the Gospel to change lives, and through time might cause Christians to weaken their grip on the fundamental message that Christ has called us to spread.

Ethical conformity to Christian values is no sure mark that any individual or nation has been reclaimed for Christ. The Pharisees in Jesus' time make that very clear. Here was a group of people who had all their ethical, moral values perfectly in line with Christian values. No doubt they were against fornication, they despised same-sex marriage, they were pro-life, etc. Yet Christ's most scathing words were reserved for them. Their lips honored God, their behavior often conformed to the right values, but their hearts were far from Him. Likewise, seeking to reclaim America for Christ by cleaning up the moral behavior of our nation is no assurance at all that Christ is really reigning supreme.

In John 18, Jesus said that His Kingdom is not of this world. When Christians cite Psalm 33:12 and 2 Chronicles 7:14 with reference to God's blessing on America, I fear that we are dangerously close to substituting our earthly nation for the heavenly, eternal Kingdom which Christ says is not of this world. God's 'nation' is not an earthly, political power, but a diverse multitude of people from every tribe, tongue, nation and language who have joyfully bowed before Christ as Lord and King. He cannot be forced on people through political jockeying; He must be freely received.

And so, I believe, Christian involvement in politics as a way of taking over America for Christ will always end in failure, and may well cause the Church to minimize or abandon her true calling. If we try to use the government to do the work that the Church has been called to do, we end up confusing God's design for both government and Church.

As I often write, these are simply my musings, and are therefore open to critique and refining. I don't claim to have all the answers, but am simply thinking through these matters in a public forum. So feel free to weigh in on things you agree or disagree with.

In my next post, I'll try to answer the question of why Christians should be involved in politics. If it's not to reclaim America for Christ, then why should we be involved? I'll try to tackle that subject tomorrow.

A Comment on Comments

This morning I had to censor a comment for the first time since I started this blog. The anonymous commenter did not leave an email address so I could not respond to him/her privately. And this is not really a response to that comment, but the fact that I censored something got me thinking about if and when it is appropriate to do such a thing. Obviously I thought it was appropriate, since I did it! So here is my justification, for better or worse.

The governing principle for content on this blog comes from Ephesians 4:29, which says,

Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.

Whether it is my own personal writing, or the comments of others, this is the standard I try to keep. If I fall short of that in my writing, I would value the loving, firm correction of those who read, so I can make necessary changes or deletions.

Because I am hopeful that non-Christians will also read this blog and leave comments, I do not necessarily expect those who are not believers to adhere to this biblical standard of content. So I will tend to more readily allow a comment from a non-Christian that has some objectionable, malicious content.

However the comment yesterday came from someone who clearly professed faith in Christ and regarded the Bible as his/her authority. Because I perceived the comment to be hateful and malicious toward a particular group of people, with no apparent desire to give grace or edify, I deleted it. And if that commenter does happen to be reading, I'd like it to be known that the practice that was being spoken of maliciously is a practice which I also believe to be sinful. The difficulty I had was that there was no evident heart of compassion behind the words that were used.

With that said, keep the comments coming! I enjoy interacting with others about that which I write about.

'Funny' isn't exactly the first word that comes to mind....

The lyrics to Dave Matthews Band's newest single captures the very same theme that actually inspired the title of this blog, Redemption Groanings. The song is all about how this world is not the way it's supposed to be; it's called Funny the Way it Is:

Lying in the park on a beautiful day
The sunshine in the grass
And the children play
Sirens passing fire engine red
Someone's house is burning down
On a day like this

The evening comes and we're hanging out
On a front step and a car goes by
With the windows rolled down
And that war song is playing
Why can't we be friends
Someone is screaming and crying
In the apartment upstairs

Funny the way it is
Make you think about it
Somebodies going hungry
And someone else is eating out
Funny the way it is
Not right or wrong
Somebodies heart is broken
And it becomes your favorite song

The way your mouth feels in your lover's kiss
Like a pretty bird on the breeze
Or water to a fish
The bomb blast brings the building crashing to the floor
Hear the laughter
While the children play war

Funny the way it is
Make you think about it
One kid walks ten miles to school
An others dropping out
Funny the way it is
Not right or wrong
A soldiers last breath
His babies being born

Standing on a bridge
Watch the water passing underneath
It must have been much harder
When there was no bridge just water
Now the world is small
Compared to how it use to be
With mountains and oceans
And winters and rivers and stars

Funny the way it is
Make you think about it
One kid walks ten miles to school
An others dropping out
Funny the way it is
Not right or wrong
A soldiers last breath
His babies being born

Funny the way it is
Not right or wrong
Somebodies broken heart
And it becomes your favorite song
Funny the way it is
Make you think about it
One kid walks ten miles to school
Another's dropping out

There is something very right about this song, and yet at the same time something terribly wrong. How can Matthews possibly say, 'Funny the way it is/not right or wrong, On a soldier's last breath/His baby's being born' That's not funny, Dave, it's wrong! It's not the way things ought to be!

But what a great joy it is to ponder that our Redeemer is coming, who will one day make all things new. How I wish I had an hour with Dave Matthews to tell him that it's okay to see something wicked and declare it 'wrong,' not 'funny', and to share the great hope of redemption with him!

Five Lessons on Christian Political Involvement

In looking over Healing for a Broken World, I am finding a lot of material that is worth blogging about. So eventually I will get to the specific issue of the separation of church and state, but I thought I'd make a few other posts regarding political involvement. I'll also do my best to intersperse some posts on other issues along the way.

In the first chapter of his book, Monsma examines the life of William Wilberforce (the 18th century British evangelical who, as a member of the British parliament, worked tirelessly to end the African slave trade) and pulls out from his life five principles for Christian involvement in politics:

1. Wilbeforce had a deep personal commitment to Jesus Christ that transformed every aspect of his life. He was not a politician who thought all the answers to society's ills would come through political activism; nor did he think his entire Christian duty was fulfilled in cultivating his inner, private spiritual life. Jesus claimed and transformed every sphere of his life.

2. Wilberforce did not act alone, but was part of a group of fellow Christians who prayed, planned and worked together.

3. Wilberforce experienced great opposition to his work, to the point of even receiving death threats. It took more than twenty years -- after failure upon failure -- for the slave trade to finally be abolished.

4. Wilberforce and his Christian partners worked for the greater good of society as a whole. There were not an evangelical special-interest group, seeking only to protect their narrow self-interests as Christian believers. They pursued political policies that actually hurt their own social class's economic wealth. I think this is especially important when wrestling through the issue of the separation of church and state.

5. Wilberforce acted thoughtfully. That is, he took up issues only after careful study and much prayer and Bible study. When he spoke, he had his facts straight and could defend his positions with skill and knowledge.

There's more to come, so stay tuned. And please leave comments so we can interact on these matters together.

Healing for a Broken World

I received an email last week from a reader of this blog (who didn't leave a comment giving his name, location and church!) who said he'd be interested in reading some thoughts I have on the separation of church and state. I told him I'd do that this week, but some other meetings and sermon preparation have prevented me from doing so.

With a couple of weeks off from preaching beginning next week, I plan to tackle that subject in a few posts next week. But for now I just thought I'd post a book recommendation on the subject. I read Healing for a Broken World last year and thought it was an interesting read. Probably a good bit of what I write next week will cover material that is found in that book in greater depth.

So for those who are interested in thinking through Christian involvement in politics, I'd recommend it.

Why Rainy Days are Blessings

For those in the Tri-State area, it was refreshing to wake up this morning and see the sun wasn't it? It reminded me of Jesus' words in Matthew 5, '[Our heavenly Father] makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.'

The rising of the sun is a profound act of God's love and mercy toward this world that has, by and large, rejected and ignored His goodness. But I am not often inclined to really feel gratitude for the sun. It rises every day, so it's easy to take it for granted.

Yet this morning, I had a deep gratitude for the sun. Which makes me think that rainy days (especially an entire week of rainy days) are actually good blessings from our Maker, which He uses to ignite in us a sense of joy and thanksgiving for the sun that we ought to feel every day.

I Want to Know Who's Out There!

I liked this one on Abraham Piper's blog a few months ago, so let's try it here.

Whether you’re a regular commenter or not, why not come on out and say hello?

I know some people don’t like commenting, and that’s OK.

But here’s a real easy one:

What’s your name, town, and church?

(Your comment will not post immediately; I have to moderate all comments, as a way of cutting down on spam comments)

Talk TO people, not ABOUT people

John Piper, commenting on Luke 18:9, "He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt...":

It may seem minor at first, but notice that it says that Jesus told this parable TO some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous. It does not say he spoke this parable ABOUT them. Jesus was looking the Pharisees in the eye and telling them a parable that implied that they were self-righteous. He was not talking about them but to them.

Though it may seem minor, it contains a lesson that is huge for the health of our church. Let’s be like this. Let’s not talk to others about people’s faults. Let’s talk to them about their faults. It is easy—and far too tasty on the tongue of our sinful souls—to talk about people. But it is hard—and often tastes bitter—to talk to them. When you are talking about them, they can’t correct you or turn the tables and make you the problem. But if you talk to them about a problem, it can be very painful. So it feels safer to talk about people rather than talking to them.

But Jesus does not call us to make safe choices. He calls us to make loving choices. In the short run, love is often more painful than self-protecting conflict-avoidance. But in the long run, our consciences condemn us for this easy path and we do little good for others. So let’s be more like Jesus in this case and not talk about people, but talk to them, both with words of encouragement, because of the evidences of grace we see in their lives, and with words of caution or warning or correction or even rebuke. Paul urged us to use the full range of words for the full range of needs: “Admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all” (1 Thessalonians 5:14).

Matchups like this make me thankful that I have a God who parted the Red Sea and rose from the dead...

NEXT GAME 5/6

TV: CSN, ESPN
RADIO: WPHT 1210, WUBA 1480

@
Citi Field
7:10PM EDT

Park (0-1)

Santana (3-1)

Tickets

Maybe the Phils do have a chance tonight?

Sorry, Today's Phillies Game is Rained Out....Here's a Gospel Presentation for Your Viewing Pleasure

On Sunday after church I planned to watch the Phillies-Mets series finale on TV, but was bummed to find out that the game had been rained out. When I turned on channel 17, I was greeted by the opening few minutes of The Iron Giant, which was being shown in place of the baseball game.

Iron Giant is about a young boy who goes out late one night and finds a huge robot roaming in the wilderness looking for food. I won't recount the whole movie, but toward the end of the movie, the US government launches a nuclear missle to destroy the robot because they perceive him as a threat to the safety of the society. They do this despite the fact that the robot has shown himself to be good and has saved lives with his great power.

In the climactic scene, the missle is heading toward the small town, and is about to destroy not only the robot, but the entire town as well. The Iron Giant decides he must sacrifice himself in order to save the town, and launches himself into the sky in order to intercept the missle. The Giant collides at full speed with the missile, which explodes above the atmosphere, apparently destroying the Giant but sparing the town.

So the Phillies got rained out, but I hope those who stay tuned in to channel 17 didn't miss the Gospel presentation. A robot with supernatural power chooses to sacrifice himself to save the people who are trying to kill him?

I wonder how they come up with such stories....