Over the last week, I have stood toe-to-toe with evil, like two fighters in an MMA cage. For anyone who does not believe that evil roams free over this planet, let me pass along the Apostle Peter’s warning:
Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
I Peter 5:8 (NIV)
I wouldn’t say I won, but neither did I lose.
My younger daughter, who is 20, experienced some very significant trauma in her life just over a week ago. The details are personal to her, so I won’t share them here, but it’s enough to say that in the aftermath of this is when evil blew its foul breath into my face and that of my family.
As a father, I wanted to lash back at the person who perpetrated this against her, and the guy who brought this other person into her life. I wanted to hurt them. Badly. Actually, I felt it was my duty as her father. My daughter chose not to pursue any legal recourse, which heightened my need to seek revenge and punish those involved.
We (my wife and I) were actually on our way to our daughter’s apartment a week ago Saturday, and the chances were good that at least one of people who hurt would be there (as she remains friends with the guy who brought the perpetrator into her life).
Fortunately, a couple things happened on the way there. First, we spoke with a dear friend of ours and member of our church home group who is a paralegal. She reminded us that if I did anything physical to either of the 2 guys involved, I could be facing legal issues of my own, and could possibly be taken away from my family. Second, some words that God had given me previously to publish in a prior blog popped into my head: “You can’t fight evil with evil.” And also:
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Romans 12:21 (NIV
Isn’t it just like God to use my own words, borrowed from Jesus and the Apostle Paul, to remind me how I should behave?
So I said a quick (if rather reluctant) prayer, and a sense of calm overcame me. The last thing I wanted, but exactly what I needed. I realized I needed to focus only on rescuing my daughter.
Sadly, rescuing my daughter was much easier said than done, either because she didn’t recognize that she needed rescuing, or she didn’t want her family to be the ones rescuing her. It has been an ongoing struggle, filled with many sleepless nights and baffling behavior from someone who I sometimes can’t believe came from my home. Thankfully, though, we have made small gains in a multi-front battle that added to our ranks her brother and sister, and even friends of hers who were concerned about the self-destructive path she had been on to try to escape the pain. She at least has agreed to seek professional help to grapple with what happened to her.
I provide this frank update to point out that while we have stood in direct defiance to evil and lived to tell about it, the situation has not wrapped itself up in a nice, tidy bow. That’s not how real life works. We may enjoy small victories along the way, but we have to fight for every inch of ground we gain–but not in the way this world fights. Not with weapons of war, hate, or destruction. We must, as Paul says (following the cue from Jesus), overcome evil with good. Love, prayer, patience. When we do this, we bring God’s healing power–the awesome power to bring life into that which was dead–into the situation. Someday, though maybe not until eternity, we will look back over he course of history and realize that thisPower is greater by far than any weapon ever formed, even than all of them combined.
Does this mean it’s easy for us stand in the gap between good and evil?
Of course not. We were born into this broken world, and are unfortunately too easily influenced by it. I wanted to hurt one of these people responsible for my daughter’s pain, but when faced with him, I saw him as a little boy lost. I pity him, and pray for him, that he will get the help he needs. But I know this is only because God is making me see him through His eyes, even though I really didn’t want to. And my daughter intentionally brings people like this into her life because for at least 10 years, she has preferred the influence of the darkness of this age over that of the Light of the World or His words of love, boundless grace, and acceptance.
So how can we possibly find the strength to contend with the evil of this world, day after day, night after sleepless night? The short answer: we can’t. Not within ourselves.
Jesus left the ultimate joy and peace that can only be found in paradise, in God’s presence, to come to this planet full of broken people whom He had created to be whole. He encountered violence and filth and hate and many other signs that we had screwed it all up, but He endured all of it for us. When we executed Him, He went straight to the gates of hell to do battle there.
And He won.
He returned to life here on earth for a short time, then continued on His journey back to paradise. So if anyone can help us contend with evil and come away with victories great and small, it’s Him. All we have to do is ask His help.
And if God is for us, who can be against us? (Romans 8:31b, emphasis added)
Back to the 23rd Psalm, to finish out with the last verse:
Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”
Psalm 23:6 (NIV)
This is maybe the most comforting part of the Psalm, although not quoted as often as earlier parts of the chapter. David, the poet/author was clearly quite certain that God’s goodness and love would always be with him. Did David live a blameless life? Not even close–he impregnated one of his best friend’s wife and then had the man killed to try to cover it up, among other misdeeds. Was David’s life smooth when he wrote this poem, or afterwards? Nope. First his King (Saul) was trying to kill him; then later in his life, one of his sons tried to kill him and take his throne.
Nevertheless, David found ongoing comfort in God’s goodness and love.
What this means to you and me is that we don’t have to be perfect for God’s love and goodness to remain with us throughout our lives. What great news!
Notice that the promise David points to does not point to an easy life. We will have difficulties in our earthly lives. Instead, the promise is that God’s love and goodness will be with us through every moment, even when it doesn’t feel like it. God will never abandon us. It is we who tend to abandon Him when things aren’t going our way, then we wonder where God is. He waits, patiently watching for us like the father of the prodigal son, and runs to us when we are ready to come back. He never leaves us.
Then, maybe even better, there’s a further confidence from David that he will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. He doesn’t say, if I live right or dress right or vote right or do anything right, then I will will dwell in the house of the Lord. He is confident that he will dwell there no matter what happens or what he does. God’s message to us by including this in Scripture is that we will dwell with Him in His house forever, regardless of what dumb things we do, so long as we have accepted Jesus as Lord.
This is also incredible news! Life is worth living, of course, but each day fills up with struggles, some worse than others. But eventually, we will all pass through death into the house of the Lord, where we will dwell forever. No more troubles, no more sorrow or pain or hate. Only love, peace, beauty. Better by far than the best church service you’ve ever attended, or mountaintop vista, or cool garden sheltering you from the heat of the day. Only paradise.
I don’t know about you, but the comfort I find in these verse can help me get through any terrible day, especially since it helps me remember the beautiful picture of our ultimate destination. Thank you, God!
I generally try to make a blog post about once a week. So when I posted last night, I figured I was done for the week. However, during my hike this morning before church, while listening to the Daily Audio Bible for today, God let me know He had other ideas. The thought occurred to me, courtesy of God, I believe, that I needed to add a part two to my post from last night. And that I need to do it today. So, here I am, and there you are, probably thinking I’m weird. That’s OK, though–everyone thought Noah was weird for building a giant boat in the middle of the desert…
So here goes. Following my post with thoughts and a plea to end racism, here are some ideas that address the present, increasingly unpleasant outcomes that are resulting from racist violence, idiotic and cowardly though they may be.
My first observation is that violence begets more violence. If you punch me once, I may punch you three times to retaliate and “teach you a lesson.” The lesson you learn, though, is that you need to use a better weapon than your fist, so you pull out a knife and give me a nasty cut. Do you think that will be the end of it? Not if I have a gun and am inclined to use it. And so it goes with the escalating cycle of violence. By worldly standards, hardly anyone would blame either of us for acting the way we did, with the possible exception of your initial action of punching me. Unless, of course, I cut you off on the freeway or slighted you in some other way.
So here’s an important lesson: violence is not the answer for ending violence. It only leads to the crazy situations we’re seeing now where extreme, violent protesters at both crazy ends of the political spectrum show up to protest and counter-protest. Does anyone really think either group has as their primary goal an immediate end to racism? Or even helping a particular racial group, or anyone other than themselves?
Well then, you may ask, how can we possibly break this escalating cycle of violence happening in so many cities across our country?
Here’s a crazy idea, straight from the lips of God’s Son: Forgiveness.
For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
Matthew 6:14-15 (NIV)
But how are we going to eradicate violent, racist behavior by forgiving people? That’s a very fair question, and I don’t really have a good answer for you, other than to say that this is God’s plan to achieve that.
I would also point out that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was aware of the futility of violence and riots in response to the blight of racism, and the need for forgiveness:
“The limitation of riots, moral questions aside, is that they cannot win and their participants know it. Hence, rioting is not revolutionary but reactionary because it invites defeat. It involves an emotional catharsis, but it must be followed by a sense of futility.”
“We must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive. He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love. There is some good in the worst of us and some evil in the best of us. When we discover this, we are less prone to hate our enemies.”
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Still, forgiveness may not seem like much of an answer. It may seem so passive and weak. But it is really just the opposite. It takes much more courage and strength of character not to repay evil for evil. Imagine the fortitude required to follow Jesus’ directions about this, from the Sermon on the Mount:
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.”
Matthew 5:38-42 (NIV)
Although you may not be convinced, at least consider these idea that by forgiving a slight against you (or a race of people):
You are not saying that what happened was OK–there could and should be consequences, and something needs to be changed to keep it from happening again, and,
You enable yourself to stay calm and rational.
Good decisions can only be made when people are calm and rational. Only good decisions can lead to lasting and meaningful change. Yes, it’s entirely possible that an ancestor of mine mistreated an ancestor of yours. Of course, the reverse is also possible. As tragic as that may be, we must find a way to set that aside, to forgive one another and our ancestors, and to seek or create that common ground upon which we can stand to drive us toward the brighter future envisioned by Dr. King and other intelligent men of God and of peace:
“I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident; that all men are created equal.
I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit together at the table of brotherhood.
I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
I have a dream that little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.
I have a dream today.”
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
I know I’m running long, but this is important stuff. Let me leave you with some real-world examples where people have demonstrated forgiveness against impossible odds. It seems really hard to imaging having the grace to offer forgiveness in these situations, but God has a way of helping us through trying times, and helping us to shine His light in the darkness by doing so.
Corrie Ten Boom and her family were leaders in the Dutch Underground, hiding countless Jewish people from the Nazis and helping them escape to safety. When they were discovered, she and her family were sent to various Nazi concentration camps themselves. Corrie and her sister, Betsie, spent several long and grueling years at Ravensbruck, where Betsie was eventually executed, but Corrie survived.
Following the war, Corrie was faced with one of the Nazi guards responsible for the death of her sister. Instead of bitterness and hatred, Corrie chose to forgive them man. She and Betsie had learned in Ravensbruck that "There is no pit so deep that God's love is not deeper still." (quote from her book, The Hiding Place).
From this experience, Corrie Ten Book launched a worldwide ministry in which she proclaimed God's love and encouraged everyone she met with the message that "Jesus is Victor."
For 100 days beginning in April, 1994, thousands of people from Rwanda's Hutu ethnic majority perpetrated unspeakable violence against their fellow countrymen from the Tutsi minority, as well as Hutu people who refused to take part in the genocide. Nearly one million people were killed.
How can a nation move forward after a devastating episode like that?
Since then, Rwanda has been very intentional about reconciliation. The government created a National Unity and Reconciliation Commission. Christian organizations have stepped in to help, including once called Prison Fellowship Rwanda. This group formed seven "reconciliation villages," which are small groups of homes for those convicted of violent crimes during the genocide and those impacted by their crimes. Prison Fellowship Rwanda created a way to connect the perpetrators with the families they harmed. Reconciliation has been happening and continues to happen through open discussions across the two groups, and via community-centered activities in which they must work together for the good of their community. Pastor Deo Gashagaza, one of the organization's founders, said, "It's painful, but it's a journey of healing."
The govenment's National Unity and Reconciliation Commission created a "reconciliation barometer," which looks at quite a few factors that attempt to measure how well people are living together. In 2015, just over 20 years after the attempted genocide, the country determined that reconciliation in Rwanda was at 92.5%.
Closer to home and even more recently, there was a mass shooting at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, SC, on June 17, 2015. Nine African Americans were killed during a Bible study by a white supremacist, whom I won't give the dignity of naming here. At a hearing for the perpetrator just two days later, relatives of the nine victims had the chance to address the assailant via video teleconference. Although not everyone was able to speak or bring themselves to forgiveness, some people conveyed their anger or profound sadness and sense of loss, but also expressed that they were extending God's grace and forgiveness to the villain.
For example, Nadine Collier, whose mother Ethel Lance was killed, said, ""I forgive you.... You took something really precious from me. I will never talk to her ever again, I will never be able to hold her again, but I forgive you and have mercy on your soul."
Also, the sister of DePayne Middleton-Doctor said, “I acknowledge that I am very angry. But one thing that DePayne always enjoined in our family...is she taught me that we are the family that love built. We have no room for hating, so we have to forgive. I pray God on your soul.”
Wanda Simmons, granddaughter of Daniel Simmons, summarized that the forgiveness and pleas for the perpetrator's soul were proof that “hate won’t win.”
Here is the list of the people who died in that shooting, to honor their memories and the legacy of love and forgiveness that they left behind:
Clementa C. Pinckney(41) – the church's pastor Cynthia Marie Graham Hurd (54) – a Bible study member and manager for the Charleston County Public Library system Susie Jackson (87) – a Bible study and church choir member Ethel Lee Lance (70) – a church officer Depayne Middleton-Doctor (49) – a pastor who was also employed as a school administrator and admissions coordinator at Southern Wesleyan University Tywanza Sanders (26) – a Bible study member; grandnephew of victim Susie Jackson Daniel L. Simmons (74) – a pastor who also served at Greater Zion AME Church in Awendaw, SC Sharonda Coleman-Singleton (45) – a pastor; also a speech therapist and track coach at Goose Creek High School Myra Thompson (59) – a Bible study teacher
Jacob Blake. Another racially charged police shooting, resulting in more social unrest–when will it end? Actually, it won’t until the new heaven and the new earth, when Jesus comes again to make all things new and banish all evil and brokenness once and for all.
Does that mean there’s nothing we can do in the meantime? Of course not! God is perfectly capable of completely eradicating this or any other form of evil just like that, but He tends to prefer to accomplish His purposes by having His people work on His behalf. As much as it grieves Him to see evil take hold of someone’s heart, I think the joy He must feel when one of His followers does something to help another human being in His name surely outweighs the grief.
So what can we do in this horrible situation we find ourselves in? What can I, an insignificant person living in an insignificant town, do to end systemic racism, as the social justice mantra of the day demands? That is a tall order, indeed. Well, how do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. Perhaps instead of trying to end systemic racism, I can search myself, examine my own soul and motivations, to make sure I don’t harbor any judgement toward any other group of human beings because of what they look like or believe or sound like, or any other way of differentiating others from myself. God will be glad to help all of us with this, if we ask Him to show us any such rivers of darkness flowing through our soul, and eliminate them for us.
Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive say in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
Psalms 139:23-24 – A simple prayer to ask God to find seeds of racism in our own hearts, and eliminate them in order to find find the way everlasting
Further, I can remember that Jesus saw fit to give His life for every single person I encounter, and by remembering that, I can treat them with the kindness and dignity and respect that Jesus would offer them. The Gospels are full of stories about Jesus surprising everyone, even His closest followers, by engaging with people who didn’t matter, people different from Him: women, children, Samaritans, adulteresses, tax collectors, Roman soldiers, lepers. Jesus risked His neck by protecting the woman caught in adultery. He risked His reputation by speaking to the “racially inferior” Samaritan woman. He supposedly became unclean by touching lepers, so He risked not being able to enter a place of worship.
When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.”
John 8:7 – The simple yet brilliant statement Jesus gives in defense of the woman who was caught in the act of adultery. Side question: Why was the man not also dragged in front of Jesus…?
Oh, to be known as someone who loves others sacrificially, even people different from me, even when it’s risky, like Jesus did… Jesus showed us that everyone matters to God, so everyone should matter to us too.
If everyone acted this way, the problem of racism, as well as many other evils in this broken world, would end immediately. But unfortunately, there are far too many people in the world who are not followers of Christ–and sadly, even too many who are–who have no interest in trying to mimic Jesus’ behaviors. So we can’t stop at eradicating all traces of racism from ourselves.
So what else can we do?
If we encounter a situation where someone is being treated unjustly, and especially if that seems to be motivated by race or some other unfair judgment, we can step and try to peaceably resolve the situation. If we know someone who is a racist or displaying racist tendencies, we can lovingly point it out to them and offer to help them navigate away from that river of darkness. We can offer job opportunities to qualified minority candidates. We can reach out to people who are different from us, treat them kindly, and find common ground between ourselves and them. In the grand scheme of things, there really are many more things that we have in common with any person anywhere on the planet than there are differentiate us.
I could go on, but the possibilities are truly endless, limited only by our creativity and other unique gifts God gave each of us.
We may not be able to end racism, but I can end it in me, and you can end it in you. We can lovingly and peaceably help others we are already in relationship with identify and end it in themselves. We can treat our fellow human beings with kindness and show them love–real, true, sacrificial love that puts others above ourselves–the way Jesus would. We can find common ground for us to stand on together, and invite others to come along too. It may not seem like much, but goodness can add up, multiply, and even grow exponentially, so that one day it will overcome evil.
I look forward to that day so much that I deeply desire to do my part to bring it about, to make it a reality. To help love and kindness win. Won’t you join me?
Last time, I wrote about the fourth verse of Psalm 23, reminding us that we should not fear any evil. Now I’d like to move on to the next verse. I’m not trying to create “sermon series”, but this song that David wrote thousands of years ago is so rich in gratitude toward our Good Shepherd that it bears dwelling on verses that aren’t pondered as often as the earlier verses.
“You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.” Psalm 23:5 (NIV)
The first part of this, “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies,” focuses on trusting God. Sure, we may think of our Good Shepherd coming into battle with us in those moments where we know we are fighting something–we just came through the valley of the shadow of death! That is one level of trust, and it is certainly important. But what about in a mundane, everyday activity like having a meal. Do we realize that even in those calm moments, we are in the presence of our enemies? Just like in “physical” warfare, the enemy and his combatants in spiritual warfare look for opportunities for sneak attacks, when we least expect it and are therefore not prepared to fight back. David is telling us here that even in those moments, even when we don’t know it, God is protecting us.
Imagine you are in the middle of an actual physical battlefield, in which you are surrounded by clear and present threats to your life. Now picture this: Jesus calmly walks up to you, spreads out a blanket, and starts setting up a lavish picnic feast He has prepared for you. What do you do? Of course, my natural instinct would be to tackle Him and tell Him to take cover. But before I can do that, He looks at me with a twinkle in His eye and says, “Trust Me.” OK, I feel like I trust Him, but do I trust Him this much??
So what is this about anointing our heads with oil? On the one hand, it’s a reference to God’s blessings, which He so freely gives to us. We have trusted Him, so we’ve made it through the valley of the shadow of death and we’ve agreed to a feast in the presence of our enemies, so He anoints us with oil the way kings of Israel were anointed when they became king. God takes away our filthy rags and replaces them with His own royal robes.
In another sense, though, this also symbolizes God’s protection over us. Getting back to the uncomfortable (but true!) comparison of us to sheep, God is again being a Good Shepherd. Since sheep are prone to attracting insects–not only ticks, lice, and flies, but also other bugs that would crawl into their ears and wreak all kinds of havoc on their brains (enough said about that!). The way a good shepherd would protect his/her sheep would be to rub oil onto their heads, which would keep all the nasty pests away. One thought might be: I wish I could put that oil on my head and it would keep Satan and his demons away from me. But that’s is the point of this phrase–we don’t have to, because the Lord, our Good Shepherd, has done it for us! Simply whispering the name of Jesus is enough to send the forces of darkness running away from us in fear.
And where does all this lead? God’s protection and God’s abundance lead to an overflowing cup. OK, so we’re back at our lavish feast with Jesus in the midst of a battlefield. Now imagine He produces a bottle of 2016 Chateau Lafite Rothschild (and imagine you know off the top of your head that a single bottle of this costs about $1000). He sets your glass before you and begins to pour the wine into it. But instead of being a good sommelier, He keeps pouring and pouring, until the expensive liquid overflows out of your glass. “Jesus, what are you doing?!?” you might exclaim. He laughs, the twinkle still in His eye. This was no careless accident. “That’s OK, I’ve got plenty,” He says. For a moment, the thought flashes through your mind that this is an expensive symbol for His priceless blood, so why would He waste it?
We have a tendency toward a scarcity mindset. If you get a bigger piece of the pie, there’s less for me, or vice versa. That’s not the way it works with God. The word abundance (or variations of it) appears in the Bible about 231 times. If I give you a bigger piece of the pie, God will make more. He is pleased to lavish blessings upon us. This includes the blood of Christ–there is more than enough to go around!
However, when we talk about blessings, we all tend to think of worldly blessings. If I’m blessed, I must have a big mansion (or several), a big fancy car (or several), a big bank account, and frequent foreign vacations. While there is nothing wrong with or evil about worldly wealth, this is not what God has in mind when He talks repeatedly about blessing us abundantly. He lavishes us with eternal blessings, things that get or keep us on the path toward an eternal life that is so grand and glorious that our minds can scarcely imagine it. He blesses us with a close relationship with Himself, and out of that flows abundant love and grace and peace. He grants us the ability to find life and joy through Him, even in the most dire circumstances. All of these things can lead to earthly blessings, but these are not the prize. We are not to hoard them, for often He gives us these blessings to pass along to others. In fact, this is one reason He gives us each other–so often, blessings we receive flow through people we encounter. I can’t even count how many ways God has blessed me through my wife, my kids, my extended family, and friends.
We only need eyes to see the countless ways God has blessed us, and continues to bless us. And He has given us that ability as well, to see the blessings all around us instead of focusing on negative aspects of our lives and the world we live in.
So there it is. We are blessed beyond measure so that we can be blessings to others. That’s the way it works in God’s economy of abundance. And so it is that our cups overflow, thanks to our Good Shepherd.
In a previous post, I wrote about how the Lord, as my Shepherd and yours, restores our soul if we let Him. This focused on verse 3 of the 23rd Psalm. This time I’d like to focus on the next verse:
“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.” Psalm 23:4 NKJV
The first part of the verse mentions a place I hope never to visit: Valley of the Shadow of Death. I don’t even want a postcard.
So what is this place? Does it really exist? I’ve heard and seen a number of different speculations, but the best explanation I have heard is that the language refers to the shadowiest of shadowy places. So not really a literal nasty place, but figuratively the worst place your journey could possibly take you.
How do we end up there, then?
Life happens. In this fallen and broken world, this side of heaven, people we cherish pass away, we get various horrible illnesses, jobs get lost, and even our dogs can get cancer. People commit innumerable atrocities to one another with an endless stream of idiotic justifications.
Where is God in all this? Has He lost control? Or maybe He just doesn’t care.
It may seem like He has lost control because of all the terrible things that have happened and that continue to take place. Although this is not the point of this post, let me briefly give an answer that may not sit well, but it’s the truest interpretation of the Scriptures that I can think of. In order to avoid creating a race of automatons who believe in Him because they have no choice, God gave us free will–we have the ability to choose whether or not to love God and believe in Him, because otherwise it’s not love or truly belief. Some people abuse that free will in that they not only choose not to love or follow God, but they also choose to shatter God’s intent for us in unspeakable ways. God designed us to be like Jesus–to love Him and others sacrificially. But if someone chooses to live outside of that design, that is their choice, not God’s. And if they are living outside of that design, oftentimes it leads to horrible, tragic, and terrifying outcomes for others. But even though it may seem like God has lost control by giving us free will and allowing us to make awful choices with it, He has a plan to redeem anyone and everyone who believes in Jesus and that He was sent to pay the sacrificial price for our bad (sinful) choices. One day all things will be made new when He restores all of creation to a new heaven and a new earth. There will be no pain or suffering or atrocities or starving children or dentists. God wins in the end.
I will also reiterate that God, through Jesus, basically guaranteed that our lives will be filled with challenges when He said, “In this world you will have trouble.” (part of John 16:33 NIV, emphasis added). Anyone who believes that by becoming a follower of Christ, your life will suddenly become free from any difficulty must have either overlooked this verse or they don’t know what Jesus meant by “will have trouble.”
Coming back to the thought that maybe God doesn’t care, this leads me to this part of Psalm 23:4: “Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.” This is more shepherd language (recall that David, the author of this Psalm, was a shepherd in his younger days, before he became a great warrior or Israel’s best king). Anyway, sheep are defenseless and not especially clever, so they need their shepherd to survive.
What is this about a rod and staff? I’ve seen and heard speculation that these are references to God’s disciplining us when we sin. Although I do believe He may choose to do this for us occasionally, out of love as any loving parent would do, I don’t think that’s why David is comforted by them. A shepherd would not use his rod on the sheep, but rather to protect the sheep. If a predator would try to attack one of his sheep, the shepherd would use his rod to fight off the hungry animal. David mentions fighting lions and bears before he goes to fight Goliath (yes, this is the same David).
And the staff? The reason for the large hook on the end is so the shepherd can use it to gently guide the sheep back on course when it tries to go off and do something stupid or dangerous, or both. This is not something that would generally harm the sheep, although sometimes a minor bruise may be considered preferable to falling off a cliff.
These explanations seem more comforting to me than if the Shepherd were beating me with a rod and staff every time I do something stupid or dangerous.
Now there is this part of the verse: “For You are with me.” Although God never promised us an easy life (at least, not this side of heaven), He has promised–and demonstrated–that He will be with us through whatever storms get thrown at us by bad things that happen, including events that occur because other people are abusing their free will. He is there to guide us and comfort us and restore our souls and protect us from the evil one’s attempts to drag us onto a path that leads to hell.
So does God’s presence with us through life’s storms mean we will survive them all? Of course not! Martyrs throughout the Christian Era–including Jesus Himself–can attest to that fact.
But God guarantees the destination for all who call upon the name of Jesus, whether they die of natural causes after a full life or prematurely due to this world’s brokenness: eternity in paradise with Him, reunited with our believing loved ones and every dog we’ve ever loved. And although I’m in no hurry for me or my loved ones to get there, that life will be infinitely better than even our best moments in this fallen world.
And this, my friends, is why we should fear no evil, no matter where we go or what is happening to us, like David said. Our Good Shepherd is with us. He protects us with His rod and guides us with His staff toward our ultimate destination, a perfect and joyous eternity with Him. Thank you, God.
Imagine that you’ve been wandering through the desert for days. You’re overheated and parched, starting to become confused. Maybe it’s not too tough to picture on this midsummer evening…
Out of nowhere, you stumble upon a cottage. Lights on, blinds up. You can’t help peeking in as you go by. Three people dance an intricate dance together. Chaotic, yet somehow orchestrated, inviting. Dancing as though they are one. You force yourself to look away, embarrassed by your invasion of their privacy.
But too late.
The occupants notice you peeking in their window.
All at once, they burst out their door and come running toward you. They’re moving too fast, you can’t get away in time. You don’t know what to do, start inventing some sort of fib to not make you seem so creepy.
But instead of making you feel bad, they invite you in. You mutter, “Sorry.” So lame. Should you go ahead and deliver your fib?
They insist, you feel strangely drawn into their fellowship. “I’m not dressed right… I don’t know the dance…” They refuse your excuses, and against your better judgment, your common sense, you find yourself following them into their bungalow.
The coolness of the air conditioning inside melts any last resistance you can muster. The trio resumes their dance. You have no idea what to do, but you find your feet moving to their rhythm. This makes no sense, no way you’re going to be able to explain this to your friends, but you are part of their dance. No going back now.
But would you want to?
This is the way it is with the Trinity–Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Mysterious Three dance as though they are One. And They are.
It’s confusing as heck, I know, and all the more to people who hear about it for the first time. And that’s OK. One truly blessed thing about the Trinity is that the Holy Three in One invite you to become a part of Their dance, regardless if it makes any sense to you.
Jump into the dance with both feet and soon you’ll find it doesn’t matter to you how much, or how little, you understand of the Mysterious depths of God.
What matters most is the dance, the intimate relationship with your Creator.
Pas de Trois (Invitation)
I wander down The street, accepted by Few, but mostly Not.
There is noise in one big House, noise and Light, laughter. Music that makes me think of Something I lost a long time ago. Outside, I can’t help Looking in.
The door swings Open, I glance away Embarrassed for being Caught peeking.
“Come join us,” calls A Voice to anyone But me. But there is nobody else around. “Yes you!”
I shuffle toward the Open door, the Light, Stumbling toward what I do not know.
Three figures dance a Random dance, or So it first seems. I stand at the edge, drawn By warmth of Light, by Laughter and Love.
A pattern emerges, complex and Choreographed, yet elegant with Eternal beauty. No one leads, each defers to The Other Two, fluid grace. I’ve no idea how it works but It does, the music stirring something deep Inside, yearnings, long-forgotten dreams.
I laugh, a childish sound, and they See me, Know me, Love me anyway.
“We’ve been waiting for you to dance your part,” They tell me.
“I don’t know this dance,” I say, and yet I Find myself joining in. Clumsy, I fall and ruin The dance but they Catch me like it’s part of The routine, and Still we dance.
There are no rules to this dance, only Love and Light and laughter and Music that is no longer haunting. It is a Divine dance, a celebration. You come in too, there’s Always room for one more.
“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.” Psalm 23:1-3 (NKJV)
Rocky Mountain National Park
These opening lines from King David’s poem that came to be known as Psalm 23 have comforted me from the earliest days I can remember being a follower of Christ. And given that this is one of the most recognizable passages in the Bible, it must have comforted many others before me. Even my prodigal younger daughter has found solace in these words during her prolonged period of being away from the faith.
And here’s one really cool thing (among many) of being a sheep belonging to the Great Shepherd: maybe one of the reasons I (and many of us) have been comforted by these words is because I have actually experienced Him restoring my soul.
I’m going to let you in on a deep theological secret: life is hard. Fortunately, there are some days that are the best day ever, but sprinkled all throughout them are other kinds of days.
For me, one thing that has delivered more than its fair share of hard days in my life is my secular vocation. God has made me good at it and has given me the endurance to continue running this marathon. One role I had took me to NYC regularly for almost 3 years, leading an exhausting engagement for a difficult, unreasonable, and ungrateful client while working for an equally difficult, unreasonable, and ungrateful employer. Yet in the midst of drudging through that valley of the shadow of death (the job, not NYC itself), there were many times when I felt my Shepherd making me lie down in green pastures and leading me beside still waters so He could restore my soul.
For example, I spent countless hours on weekends wandering through the ever-amazing Central Park (which should be renamed to Giant Park with Lakes and Woods and a Little Castle–OK, maybe that doesn’t quite roll off the tongue as well). He also led me to the green pastures and still waters of 2 different but spectacular locations of the New York Botanic Gardens (one in the Bronx and the other in Brooklyn), not to mention the (not to be outdone by Manhattan) Prospect Park in Brooklyn.
He restored my soul from the desert wasteland of exhaustion in these green pastures and beside those still waters more times than I can count.
Another of many cool things about the Good Shepherd is that He offers this to all of us.
One thing that’s probably worth pointing out is that by referring to God as our Shepherd, we are at the same time comparing ourselves to sheep. This is not a compliment. Sheep are really dumb and stubborn. They can get themselves into a bind fairly easily through their own stupidity. Hmm, can’t think why David–or Jesus, for that matter–would compare us to sheep….
But thanks to God’s infinite grace, He will still lead us to green pastures and beside still waters, even when we have wandered into the valley of the shadow of death because of our own stupidity.
I, for one, am very thankful for that.
So no matter what has you wandering in the desert or drudging through the valley of the shadow of death, all you have to do is call upon the name of our Good Shepherd.
I have no intention of getting political here, but let me point out that there are a lot of, well, stupid rhetoric and actions flying around the country right now, and no political party is immune from this. Let me ask some questions:
In what world does it make sense to protest hatred with more hate?
Why is it OK to combat racism with more racism?
Who in the world thinks that trying to end violence with violence of your own makes any sense?
My point in asking these questions is not to stir up political debate, but rather to say that the things going on in America right now make me think of 1 Peter 6:8: “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” One of Satan’s most insidious and dangerous skills is his ability to get people–even (or especially) followers of Christ–to take him lightly or (worse) to disregard him altogether. I think this is why Peter starts his grave warning by telling us to be alert and think clearly. If anyone doesn’t see Satan prowling around in the insanity that is sweeping across our country, WAKE UP! He wants us to ignore him, which must make it the wrong thing to do!
So what are we supposed to do?
Although the Bible doesn’t necessarily instruct us all in what to do specifically every day, Peter gives us some ideas in the subsequent verses, and I’ll also add some thoughts from Paul and Jesus.
Turning first to Peter, in verse 9, he tells us to “Resist him, standing firm in the faith…” I think we mostly know what that means so I won’t go into that much, except to say that if you’re not sure, a couple winning strategies are prayer and immersing yourself in God’s love letter to us, the Bible. In His Word, he gives us many ways to stand firm in our faith, and numerous reasons why we should. In verse 10, Peter give us mostly good news, with a little bit of character-building bad news mixed in: “And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.”
Next. what does Paul have to say? Well, a lot, of course, since he wrote most of the New Testament. One bit of background about Paul that’s interesting here is that before he became the guy we know as Paul, he was called Saul and he was part of the roaring lion, looking for people to devour. If he were around today, maybe he would have been one of the people behaving in ways that are causing the more sensible people to be scratching their heads. But after he met Jesus on the road to Damascus, he totally changed directions and wrote many encouraging exhortations. One such passage is Colossians 3:17: “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” Granted that some really dumb things have been done in the name of God throughout history, but it seems to me that if we really honestly ask ourselves whether that thing we are about to do is something that God would want us to do in His name, it will likely help keep everything we do consistent with Biblical principles.
Finally, I’ll close with some words of wisdom from Jesus, God in the flesh Himself, from the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5, verses 43 through 47. He tells us how to avoid getting sucked into the ever-widening vortex of hate: love our enemies. While His words are simple, that doesn’t mean they’re easy to put into action…
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even the pagans do that?”
I’ve been a dad now for 25 years. Many of the best moments of my life–and many of the most difficult and painful–have been because of my kids. Giggles, laughter, bedtime stories and snuggles and prayers; sweet and heartfelt Father’s Day messages. Memories I’ll cherish all my life. Sure, there are also plenty of things I wish I had done differently, things I could have said better. But time flows like a river, inexorably one way toward its unseen destination. All I can do is the best I can from this moment forward. No regrets, because regrets struggle mightily against the current you can’t possibly defeat and leave you facing the wrong way.
But I don’t mean to make it sound like I don’t love being a dad–I do, and I have for all 25 years of it. My kids are all interesting and beautiful people, each in their own way. My life has been enriched in countless ways by each of them, and my music playlists might still be stuck in the 80s and 90s if not for the fresh and (mostly) enjoyable music they’ve all introduced me to.
While each of my kids is their own unique person, I see in each of them little pieces of myself that I have placed in them, some intentionally and some not. I helped set their lives in motion, carrying these thousand little torches I have lit throughout their lives. In a way, they are the gift I give to the world in a future some of which I likely won’t see. One of my prayers for them is that they will be better people and better parents than I have been–not saying that I’ve been bad at either, just hoping that they will do even better.
Anyway, in honor of Father’s Day, I have been pondering what is the most essential theme I want to impart to them that has been driving me as their dad. After covering a lot of ground, I finally landed on this: I have always wanted them to know that no matter what has happened, no matter what they have done, they are loved. ThatI love them. So I think and hope and pray that they know this.
And, thankfully, I am not the only father who feels this way. In addition to the many great dads out there (and even in spite of the not-so-great ones), we all have the greatest Father in heaven who loves us all so powerfully and unconditionally that He sacrificed His Child to bring us close to Him, into the protective shadow of His wings. If I in all my brokenness can love my kids as strongly as I do, it’s hard to imagine a Father loving His children more than that. But He does, and I am at once amazed and grateful for that. How could you not be?
Happy Father’s Day to all the dads out there, and blessings to all.
Master's Canvas - Writing & Photography by David K. Carpenter 