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Chapter-a-Day

The View from James’ Sandals

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Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming on you.
James 5:1 (NIV)

What do you remember from 25 years ago?

I remember a great deal. It doesn’t seem so long ago. The turn of the century. The Y2K hoopla. Life and air travel before 9/11. I remember the townhouse we lived in. Taylor and Madison in their preteen years crazy about boy bands and Spice Girls.

As James writes his letter, it has been roughly 20-30 years since Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection. James is the specified leader of the followers of Jesus in the city of Jerusalem, which remains the center of the Jesus Movement. It is the same Jerusalem and Temple system in which Jesus taught and performed miracles just a few decades before. Those who saw Him, heard him teach, saw Him hanging on the cross, and witnessed Him risen from the dead were still alive to bear witness.

In Jerusalem, the same corrupt kingdoms of government, economics, commerce, and religion that illegally arrested Jesus, forced Him through a kangaroo court set of trials, and then had him executed remain staunchly in place. The power brokers remain the same even if a few faces have changed: the Roman Governor, the Herods, and the family of Annas the high-priest.

This menagerie of wealth and human power not only killed Jesus, but the corrupt Jewish leaders under Annas’ influence had stoned Stephen to death. The Herods had seen to it that James, the Son of Zebedee, was killed by the sword. They’ve arrested countless followers of Jesus, stolen believers’ property through corrupt legal means, imprisoned many, and executed others. It’s so bad that many believers have fled to live in other towns, cities, and regions. That is why James is even writing this letter “to the twelve tribes scattered among the nations.”

Meanwhile, James is trying to hold things together in Jerusalem. The followers of Jesus are doing their best to maintain Jesus’ teaching. They are caring for the poor, the sick, the leprous, widows, and orphans. They are sharing what they have with one another to survive. As the undisputed leader of the believers in Jerusalem, James is the one who must stand before the Romans, the Herods, and the corrupt Temple leaders—absorbing the pressure, the threats, and the consequences on behalf of Jesus’ followers.

If you’ve not read the chapter, I encourage you to do so with this context in mind as you read. Suddenly, the words take on a new layer of meaning.

The “rich” oppressors he describes at the beginning of the chapter have names and faces. They are part of a social-economic system in which the rich and powerful get even more rich and powerful at the expense of the poor and weak. James has to stand before these rich authority figures to defend Jesus’ followers, and he’s experienced the futility of standing against their corrupt power.

Those whom James urges to be “patient in suffering” also have names and faces. They are James’ friends. They were part of his local gathering of Jesus’ followers. He’s writing this letter to precious friends and loved ones who’ve lost everything because of their faith and are now surviving life in exile one day at a time.

James final pleas also feel far more poignant when I place my feet in the sandals of one of the letters’ original recipients.

Pray.
Don’t stop praising God, even in your present circumstances.
Pray for one another in sickness and sin.
Live life with other believers.
Stick together in such intimacy that you confess to one another.
Have faith.
Assist one another in keeping that faith.

Two things surfaced in my heart as I meditated on James’ words in context to the circumstances in which they were written.

The first is that I can’t imagine the daily reality that both James and the recipients of his letter were experiencing. Yes, it’s Monday morning at the beginning of a new work week, but I can honestly count my many blessings and praise God for the relatively wonderful life I’ve been gifted.

The second is that there are those in this world who painfully know these realities today. Nigerian believers are in fear for their lives, some live in hiding. Tens of thousands have been persecuted and slaughtered in recent years. In China believers are imprisoned, persecuted, and live under constant threat from the State. Throughout the Muslim world are communities of believers who trace their faith back to the earliest days of the Jesus Movement, but live under constant threat of the very types of persecution James and the early believers.

They are brothers and sisters in Christ.

As I enter my day, Wendy and I will pray — and trust James words that our prayers might be “powerful and effective” for those who need it far more that we do given the realities they stare down this day.

Our chapter-a-day journey moves to the letters of Peter tomorrow, beginning with 1 Peter 1.

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.

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These chapter-a-day blog posts are also available via podcast on all major podcast platforms including Apple, Google, and Spotify! Simply go to your podcast platform and search for “Wayfarer Tom Vander Well.” If it’s not on your platform, please let me know!
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Chapter-a-Day

Time to Forget

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Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead,  I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 3:13-14 (NIV)

Over the past few years, Wendy and I have discovered a difference in the way we perceive and approach life. As we have dug into it, it’s allowed us to learn about ourselves and to better understand one another. It has to do with our orientation to time.

I have a strong orientation towards the past. I’m a lover of history. I have spent much of my life digging into I and my family’s genealogy. As I contemplate current events, I tend to seek the past for context. Even as I look to the future I tend to look to the past for patterns that might inform where things are headed.

Wendy, on the other hand, is very much future oriented. Her brain is constantly looking a step or two ahead and it informs both her present tasks and their relative priorities. Life for Wendy is a constant anticipation of what is next, while I give little thought to it.

Our very different orientations towards time often creates clashes in how we function both independently and in relationship. Knowing these differences has allowed us to be more empathetic and understanding towards one another.

This past week our local gathering of Jesus’ followers focused our thoughts on Jesus’ words in the Lord’s Prayer: “forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.” Wendy and I spent some time talking about forgiveness and resentment, exploring whether or not we have truly forgiven those who have hurt us in the past.

As we continued our conversation, Wendy began quizzing me about a couple of individuals in my own life story who have been the source of considerable struggle for me. As we discussed these individuals and I have continued to meditate on my relationship with them and their impact on my life, it has struck me that my time orientation towards the past might lend itself to unhealthy thought patterns.

In today’s chapter, Paul references his own past and as a disciple of Jesus he had a lot of baggage. Once the most rabid enemy of Jesus and His followers, Paul had the blood of martyrs on his hands. Paul oversaw the stoning of Stephen. It is unknown how many other individuals suffered, were imprisoned, or died as a result of Paul’s zealous persecution of the Jesus Movement, but it is certainly likely that at least some of the opposition he constantly faced linked back to the suffering he once inflicted on others.

This came to mind as I read Paul’s words in today’s chapter:

“But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead,  I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.“

I happen to be entering a new stretch of my life journey. Old things are passing away. New things are emerging. As this happens, I am reminded by Paul’s words that I need to spiritually strain against my natural time orientations which often keep me mentally, emotionally, and even spiritually mired in what lies behind. There are some things on the road behind me that I need to forget in order to focus my mental, emotional, and spiritual energies on straining toward what is ahead.

Fortunately, I’m married to a partner whose natural orientation toward time can help me with that.

I will be on the road for a few days on business. I plan to return on Friday. Have a great couple of days.

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.

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These chapter-a-day blog posts are also available via podcast on all major podcast platforms including Apple, Google, and Spotify! Simply go to your podcast platform and search for “Wayfarer Tom Vander Well.” If it’s not on your platform, please let me know!
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Chapter-a-Day

One-Side Correspondence; Two-Sides Love

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For I wrote you out of great distress and anguish of heart and with many tears, not to grieve you but to let you know the depth of my love for you.
2 Corinthians 2:4 (NIV)

My mother was an only child. I’ve observed along my journey that there is a unique dynamic common among mothers and children when it’s just the two of them. My grandmother saved all of the letters that she received from my mother. When she died, my mother kept those letters. They’re now sorted chronologically in an archival box in the room next to my office.

Having one side of an on-going correspondence is a bit like a puzzle when it comes to understanding the story behind the letters. There are things that are obvious and things that are a mystery. Then there are the additional contextual layers of time, location, and historic events. I have read my mother’s letters from around the times of historic events like Kennedy’s assassination to find out if she recorded any thoughts or feelings about the events. To be honest, there wasn’t much there. She was a young mother with twin toddler boys. Her world was pretty small and her attention understandably focused on two little rug rats.

As I read today’s chapter, I thought about my mother’s letters. It’s amazing to me that people forget that the “book” that we know as 2 Corinthians is not a book at all. It’s a letter. It’s a correspondence between Paul and the believers in Corinth and it was written to address the particular circumstances and situations between them at that time.

As with my mother’s letters, we only have Paul’s side of the story. We also don’t have all of the letters. There were at least four letters he wrote to the believers of Corinth. There may have been others. Only two survived, adding even more mysteries of context. As I meditated on the first few chapters of this second of the two surviving letters, one thing is certain: It was a complete soap opera.

From Paul’s first letter, which we trekked through on this chapter-a-day journey last January, we know that there was conflict and all sorts of internal trouble within the local gathering of Corinthian believers. There was conflict of loyalties between the Corinthian believers and different leaders. There were domestic problems among the group like an incestuous relationship and other believers who were so mad at one another that lawsuits were being filed. On top of that were divisions among the Corinthians over matters of conduct like whether it was proper for a follower of Jesus to buy and eat meat from the local market that had started out as a sacrifice in one of the local pagan temples. Then there was the socio-economic divisions in which the wealthier members of the gathering were hanging out in a clique and shunning the poor, lower class brothers and sisters. To top it all off, some people were stuffing themselves at the weekly potluck and getting drunk on the Communion wine.

Paul was off sharing Jesus’ message with other people in other places. So, hearing what was going on, he wrote letters to address the soap opera. In these first two chapters of 2 Corinthians he is addressing where he’s been, what news he’s received in return, and his feelings about the Corinthians and their situation. What becomes clear from today’s chapter is that he loves these people a lot. He feels for them like a spiritual father. He is emotional about it.

I’ve learned along my journey that love has two sides. Sometimes I need the hard side of love to hone the rough edges and blind spots in my imperfect character and behavior. Other times, I need the soft side of love to comfort and encourage me in my discouragement and despair. In his letters to the believers in Corinth, Paul obviously delivered both.

In the quiet this morning, I’m reminded that life is often a soap opera. I can’t help the reality of that. I’m an imperfect human being living with other imperfect human beings in a fallen world. Also, most of the time I have limited knowledge of what other people have experienced or are going through at any given time. It’s like having one-side of the correspondence and there are letters I’m missing. The only thing I do control is my own thoughts, words, and actions towards others. Will I approach and respond to others with thoughtful love and concern like Paul did with his friends in Corinth, or will I respond with judgment, derision, and dismissal?

I pray that others find in me the former.

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.

These chapter-a-day blog posts are also available via podcast on all major podcast platforms including Apple, Google, and Spotify! Simply go to your podcast platform and search for “Wayfarer Tom Vander Well.” If it’s not on your platform, please let me know!
Chapter-a-Day

The Microscope & the Wide-Angle Lens

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“He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come.”
Matthew 22:3 (NIV)

Along my journey, I have experienced many meetings in which what is really going on is not apparent to the casual observer or to those who might read a transcript of the meeting. What is really going on is happening in the sub-text of the words and the passive aggressive interplay between conflicting participants within the meeting. It happens in business. It happens in family. It happens in church. It happens in politics. It happens in community organizations. It’s part of any human system.

In Jerusalem, it is the biggest week of the year. It’s Passover week. The city is packed with Jewish pilgrims from all over the world who have come to celebrate the biggest festival of the year at the Temple, the epicenter of Judaism. Every day the courts of the Temple are packed with crowds. This year, everyone is buzzing about this preacher from the sticks, up north in Galilee. There was a big parade on Sunday when He came to town. Some say He’s the Messiah. He raised a guy from the dead just a week before in Bethany, just a few miles away.

This is the scene of today’s chapter and tomorrow’s. This is the final week of Jesus’ ministry. We’re in the home stretch and everything in these final chapters leads to the cross and the empty tomb. It’s important that I ponder all of the words and events of these next few chapters in this context to get at what is really going on. There is a conflict brewing between Jesus and the religious, political, and commercial power brokers in the Temple.

In today’s chapter, Matthew shares five episodes:

Jesus tells a parable that points a finger at the religious leaders and their ecclesiastical forebears throughout history. The parable is fascinating because it sums up the relationship between God and His people through the entire Great Story to this point, and it foreshadows what is about to happen as Jesus’ Message expands beyond the boundaries of Judaism and to all peoples and nations. What His enemies hear is Jesus’ sharp criticism. It is truth, but it is offensive. Jesus takes the opening round. His opponents are 0 and 1 and it prompts them to counter.

The next three episodes Matthew shares are different constituencies of Jesus’ enemies coming to debate Jesus and trap Him into saying something they can use to dismiss Him, criticize Him, and tell the crowds why He is wrong. Matthew is careful to point out that these constituencies, though rivals within the religious power structure, are working together behind the scenes against Jesus.

First, it’s the most popular and powerful political party within the religious power structure: the Pharisees. They try to play on people’s hatred of Rome and Roman taxes. They ask Jesus about paying taxes. Jesus famously asks whose head is on the coin and then says, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.” Ouch 0-2.

Next, it’s the rival political party in the religious power structure: the Sadducees. They are a smaller faction, but the High Priest is from this faction. It’s the old guard, the conservatives, who wield power and hang their hats on a religious belief that there is no life after death. They try to trap Jesus in a doctrinal debate about resurrection. Jesus responds with a scriptural argument for which they have no answers. His rivals are now 0-3.

Finally, they send a hot-shot lawyer to argue a legal matter of religious Law. Jesus handles the question easily.

Jesus deftly navigates every one of the their three (there’s that number again) argumentative mine fields. Adding on Jesus initial critical parable, His enemies are 0-4. They’re humiliated in front of the biggest crowds the Temple will see all year on their home court. They’re pissed off.

The chapter then ends with Jesus going back on the offensive. He refuses to let His enemies lick their wounds. He throws out a debate question of His own to which they have no good answer. They finish today’s chapter 0-5.

In the quiet this morning, I find myself reminded of my observation that most people take the episodes in any given chapter and focus on them individually. Even teachers and preachers do this regularly in messages. Just yesterday I gave the first of three weekly messages that I was assigned. Each week I’m assigned one episode from Luke’s version of Jesus’ story. It’s like looking at one of the five episodes in today’s chapter under a microscope to find the lesson within. There is a lesson there, of course. Metaphor is layered with meaning. For me, however, the most powerful spiritual lesson in today’s chapter is not under the microscope but in the wide-angle lens.

Jesus is touching on historic themes and realities that are rooted in Genesis, present in God’s relationship with the Hebrew people from Exodus through Malachi, and are foundational to the very conflict in which He’s engaged. The humiliating defeat is going to ramp up His opponent’s hatred of Jesus. Jesus is pushing all of their buttons.

Let me clue you in on tomorrow’s chapter. Jesus is not going to relent. He’s going to double-down.

He’s going to seal His own fate.

But there is something larger going on in today’s chapter that did begin in Genesis and will end with a new beginning at the end of Revelation. If I miss this, then I’m missing a major spiritual lesson. It is the spiritual lesson I find that I perpetually need on a Monday morning as I look at the task list for the coming week on my earthly journey. I can focus my spiritual microscope in on this week, this life, these current circumstances as if it’s the most important thing or the only thing. Or, I can look at this week with a wide-angle lens and understand that this week is part of a larger story of what God is doing in me in my life, and my story’s role in the larger story of what God is doing in the Great Story.

Suddenly, I see my week with a renewed perspective.

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.

These chapter-a-day blog posts are also available via podcast on all major podcast platforms including Apple, Google, and Spotify! Simply go to your podcast platform and search for “Wayfarer Tom Vander Well.” If it’s not on your platform, please let me know!
Chapter-a-Day

A New Phase of Life

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“My people come to you, as they usually do, and sit before you to hear your words, but they do not put them into practice. Their mouths speak of love, but their hearts are greedy for unjust gain.”
Ezekiel 33:31 (NIV)

Wendy and I really enjoyed her sister’s visit this past week along with her wee ones. There’s nothing like a couple of toddlers to make the house an exciting place. We haven’t had the child gates up in front of the stairs since the kids moved to Des Moines in May. And of course, like a magnet, little Rosie immediately found a couple of the lower outlets that had their child safety plugs removed.

Along my life journey, I’ve observed that parenting changes. This is not because I changed, but because our daughters changed with age. There were tactics required with a toddler like Rosie who is still struggling to comprehend simple rules meant for their safety. The tactics change as children get to the age when they know the rules, they can comprehend them just fine, but they willfully choose to disobey. The tactics change yet again when a child reaches the age of accountability and they must start navigating the world making their own choices and suffering the consequences.

As I have read and studied the Great Story for over 40 years, I have observed that the Story itself is the story of God’s relationship with humanity. I often hear people struggling to understand how God related to humanity in the ancient books. Of course we do, because we live in a different age. Not only are a lot of the historical and cultural contexts lost to us, but also humanity itself has matured over time. It’s silly to think of giving our adult daughters a time-out. In the same way, I have to recognize that humanity itself was at a different age in the days of Ezekiel.

Today’s chapter marks a turning-point in Ezekiel’s life and prophetic works. Until this point, Zeke was only able to speak when God gave him a prophetic message. In today’s chapter, his tongue is freed just a word is on the way that Jerusalem had fallen and was destroyed by the Babylonians just has Zeke had been predicting. Zeke is told that his role has been like that of God’s proxy-parent. If he warns the children of their behavior and the threatens them with the consequences like a good parent, then great. If, however, like a bad parent there is no warning given for playing with fire and kids burn the house down, who’s to blame?

I have observed that fundamentalists typically cling to the tactics of the ancient prophets. They are always yelling and condemning like angry parents threatening the children with hellfire consequences of not obeying Dad “because I said so!” In doing so, they believe that they are “saving” people by urging sinners to repent of their ways, as well saving themselves by warning others just as God described to Zeke in today’s chapter.

But humanity has changed. Humanity is no longer a child. The life, teaching, death, and resurrection of Jesus was a turning point like a child entering the age of accountability.

I sometimes see our adult children making choices that I think they’ll regret. Can I ground them? Give them a time-out? Send them to their room? No, but I can lovingly warn them. I can tell them what I learned from making similar choices when I was their age. Ultimately, an adult child has to learn from the consequences of their own choices. In the same way, Jesus taught His followers that it was time to approach humanity with new tactics for a world emerging into a new phase of life. Love, humility, and servant-hearted acts of goodness are to be daily examples for all to see. It’s kindness, not condemnation, that leads others to repentance. Yes, there are love motivated warnings to give when it is necessary, and even relational consequences in extreme situations. But those are the exceptions, not the general rule. Humanity has matured, so must our love and tactics.

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.

Chapter-a-Day

House of Flesh

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House of Flesh (CaD 1 Chr 17) – Wayfarer

When your days are over and you go to be with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, one of your own sons, and I will establish his kingdom. He is the one who will build a house for me, and I will establish his throne forever.
1 Chronicles 17:11-12 (NIV)

After living over 40 years as a disciple of Jesus, I’ve come to realize that one of the greatest spiritual challenges one has on this earthly journey is to see the things of this earthly life in the context of God’s Kingdom. If I step back and look at the theme that Jesus was always preaching it was to live my life and relate to others with a Kingdom of God perspective.

So much of daily life is filled with earthbound needs and priorities. There a jobs to do, bills to pay, kids to raise, and a never-ending list of life’s daily maintenance tasks that make me empathize with Sisyphus.

I can let all of these things distract me from God’s Kingdom, which I’ve observed to be the human default. Jesus asks me to see all of it, to approach all of it, and to execute all of it with God’s Kingdom in mind. If you read Jesus’ famous Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7), you’ll basically find that it is His overarching theme of the entire thing. Approach and live out daily life with God’s Kingdom in mind.

In today’s chapter, David moves into his new palace. I picture him walking out onto the balcony and viewing the tent he had constructed as a temple for God and the Ark of the Covenant. He immediately sees the contrast in earthly terms. “I live in a gorgeous palace, while I put God in a tent. Somethings not right here.” And, I have to honor David’s sensitivity. For those of us who have gone to beautiful, opulent buildings, cathedrals, basilicas, and the like for church on Sunday, David’s thinking feels right.

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
    neither are your ways my ways,”
declares the Lord.”
Isaiah 55:8 (NIV)

What struck me in the quiet this morning was God’s response His appointed King, the “man after His own heart.”

“Wherever I have moved with all the Israelites, did I ever say to any of their leaders whom I commanded to shepherd my people, “Why have you not built me a house of cedar?”

God didn’t ask David to build a temple. It’s a nice thought and all, but God has other things in mind in the context of God’s Kingdom. David is thinking bricks and mortar. God’s Kingdom is about flesh, blood, and Spirit. I love that God flips David’s desire 180 degrees: “Oh no, David. You’re not going to build Me a house. I’m going to build you my kind of house!”

God then explains that He is going to channel David’s earthly kingdom into God’s eternal Kingdom. From David’s line, from the House of David, will come God’s Son who will be the King of Kings. He will build God a House made of flesh-and-blood children from every nation, tribe, people, and language who sit at the table with Him eating the bread and drinking the wine of a new covenant. From tent to temple to table.

David is thinking in the context of a building in Jerusalem in 1000 B.C. God is thinking in the context of the plans He has for an eternal Kingdom beyond time.

And there it is again. David, with all good intentions, is stuck in his earthbound thinking. God invites Him to expand his heart and mind to see things in terms of the Kingdom of God. Just like His Son Jesus invites me to do in His teaching. He who would be the One to invite me to the table for a meal of bread and wine where my flesh and blood is transformed into the Temple of the Holy Spirit.

And here I sit in the quiet on a Friday morning, with every good intention to make good on the day ahead of me. I am God’s temple, God’s Spirit in me. As I head into day 21,231 of my earthly journey, a simple ordinary day, I endeavor to live in Kingdom context. I want to see each task as a Liturgy of the Ordinary, each moment with others as a divine opportunity, and each challenge as God’s classroom to educate me on Kingdom living.

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.

Chapter-a-Day

Success and Prosperity

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Success and Prosperity (CaD 1 Chr 14) – Wayfarer

So David’s fame spread throughout every land, and the Lord made all the nations fear him.
1 Chronicles 14:17 (NIV)

When I was a teenager, I spent two years being spiritually mentored. The first thing my mentor had me do was memorize Joshua 1:8, the words Moses gave to his successor, Joshua:

Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.

It was the beginning of my fascination with the Great Story and a commitment to reading it, studying it, and applying its principles and lessons to my life. You might say it was the seed that took root and eventually led to these chapter-a-day posts.

Of course, there’s also that promise the verse gives of prosperity and success if one lives according to the Book. Which, I have meditated on long and hard over the years. The promise has been a source of both tension and wisdom.

Today’s chapter is fascinating both for its content and its placement in the Chronicler’s updated history of the Kingdom of ancient Israel. One of the things I’ve learned in my decades of studying the Great Story is that the Hebrews were very deliberate in the structure of their writing. Today’s chapter is a great example.

In the previous chapter, the Chronicler reveals the priority King David placed on his faith in the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Moses. He leads a procession bringing the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem where a temple will eventually be built for it. However, the Ark is not yet brought into the city. The Ark is left at the house of a man named Obed-Edom for three months. The Chronicler is sure to mention that while the Ark was in Obed-Edom’s home he and his household were blessed.

In the next chapter, the Ark is brought into the city of Jerusalem and David makes it a major event.

So, what happens in the three-month interlude?

The Chronicler tells of God blessing David in every way.

A foreign King makes a treaty with David and builds a palace for him. This shows David’s growing prominence in the region, as well as the respect and fear neighboring Kingdoms have for the powerful David. (verses 1-2)

David is blessed with more wives and children. (verses 3-6)

David, who the Chronicler is sure to mention always inquires of God before engaging in battle, is given major military victories over the Kingdom’s biggest rival. Not only this but when David and his men capture the idols of the Philistines, he dutifully burns them in accordance with the law of Moses. A detail marking David’s obedience to God that Samuel failed to mention. (verses 8-16)

With his structured account of David’s commitment to God and David’s blessed life and reign, the Chronicler is making the same connection that Moses was making with Joshua in the verse that I memorized all those years ago. Make God your priority, live according to His Book, and you will be prosperous and successful. One might say that this is the pre-Christian version of a prosperity gospel. The Chronicler is lifting up David as the example for his people to follow.

In the quiet this morning, I feel the nagging tension that comes with the fact that I regularly observe people making God into a good luck charm and a shortcut to worldly wealth and prosperity. It’s easy to do with the simplistic equation that is given. In my wrestling with this tension over the past 40-plus years, I have made a few conclusions.

First, I believe the promise is genuine. Making God and God’s Word the center of my life has led to success and prosperity for me. But, those words are layered with all sorts of meaning that I don’t believe are intended. God’s ways are not our ways, the prophet Isaiah reminds me. His thoughts are not my thoughts. Prosperity and success in God’s Kingdom does not look like it does for the Kingdoms of this World and people who are focused on this life and worldly things. Exhibit A is God’s own Son who revealed that success at the Kingdom of God level is taking up one’s cross and laying down one’s life for their friend. Prosperity in God’s Kingdom is ultimately an eternal concept, not a temporal one.

Second, living according to God’s Word has benefitted me in so many ways. I have avoided a lot of foolish mistakes because I followed God’s wisdom. I have diminished stress and anxiety with the antidote of faith and hope. I have found joy and contentment in enjoying the blessings I’ve been given rather than the envy and stress of chasing after the blessings of others.

Finally, I have learned that God’s view of “success” and “prosperity” comes at the expense of trials, struggles, tribulations, obstacles, and suffering. The Chronicler is holding up a specific piece of David’s story and an example for his people to respect and follow. However, he does so at the cost of providing context that is essential for wisdom and understanding. Before David was king he was an outcast and branded as an outlaw. David spent years on the run, living as an exile in the desert. The anointing and promise given to little boy David that he would be king would not come to fruition for decades in which his everyday life was a constant struggle for survival.

So, in the quiet this morning I once again find myself back at a place of understanding. Yes, there is success and prosperity in surrendering to Jesus and living my life according to His Word. No, that doesn’t look like success and prosperity as the world defines it, though it may look that way at certain times for certain individuals like King David. It does not, however, change a couple of basic principles that the Great Story gives as necessary context. First, spiritual blessings and maturity in this life are rooted in struggle. Second, this world is not my home. True prosperity is found in eternity.

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.

Chapter-a-Day

Selective History

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Selective History (CaD 1 Chr 10) – Wayfarer

So the Lord put [Saul] to death and turned the kingdom over to David son of Jesse.
1 Chronicles 10:14b (NIV)

I enjoy reading the book reviews every Saturday in the Review section of the Wall Street Journal. I’ve found a lot of great books to add to my library and to my wish list. One book that made it on my wish list recently is entitled The Demon of Unrest by Erik Larson. It focuses on the months between the election of Abraham Lincoln and his inauguration, and how those months contributed to the eventual secession that led to the Civil War.

I’ve noticed when reading critical reviews of books about history, the critic will often talk about what the author chose to include and exclude. For example, the reviewer of Erik Larson’s book lauded Larson for including “neglected figures” as well as for diminishing his attention to Abraham Lincoln as he is “so familiar a figure.”

In today’s chapter, the Chronicler finally switches from nine chapters of genealogies to the actual narrative of Israel’s history. What’s immediately fascinating is that he picks up the story with the battlefield suicide of mad King Saul, King David’s predecessor.

Back the truck up.

What’s fascinating about this is that the story of Saul is a huge part of King David’s backstory. I would argue that one does not have a true understanding and appreciation for who King David was without the years he spent on the lam from the mad King, refusing to take Saul’s life just to fulfill God’s prophetic anointing as the next King.

At the time the Chronicler is writing his retelling of history, the books of Saul and Kings are well-known. The story of Saul and David is well-known. Much like Mr. Larson, who chose not to tell the history of the entire Civil War, but only the fateful months preceding secession, the Chronicler is being selective in his retelling. He cuts directly to the start of David’s reign. The Chronicler already tipped his hand when he gave precedence to the genealogy of Judah and David in the opening chapters. His focus is on the story of King David’s reign and the reign of David’s dynastic line.

As I meditated on this in the quiet this morning, I found my thoughts floating down two rivers of thought.

Along my life journey, I’ve observed that most people are selective when it comes to which parts of the Great Story they take time to read and study. The four books dealing with Jesus’ life and teaching always make it to the top of the popularity charts and with good reason. The letters of Paul are always popular, as well. They’re quick reads packed with helpful spiritual truth and instruction, much like Proverbs which along with Psalms, You get where I’m going here. The ancient laws of Leviticus and the prophecies of Habakkuk aren’t “go-to” reading for most people. It’s not unusual for the Chronicler to be selective in his retelling, we all do it. What I’m curious to learn is which bits of history he selects to include and exclude, and what lesson there might be in that.

The other river of thought my mind wanders down in the quiet this morning is the reality that if I am endlessly selective in the bits of the Great Story I read and study, I will never fully understand or appreciate those bits and how they connect into the much larger Great Story that God is telling from Genesis to Revelation, from the Alpha-point to the Omega-point, from the beginning to end.

Last year, our local gathering selectively studied seven “I Am” statements that Jesus made in John‘s version of Jesus’ story. I was tasked with unpacking three of them. In each of my lessons, I sought to unpack how “Bread,” “Gate,” and “Resurrection” are recurring themes throughout the Great Story. With each metaphor, Jesus was saying “I Am the entire Story in bodily form.”

But I don’t fully appreciate each metaphor unless I know the entire Great Story, and how everything is connected.

FWIW: Here are links to those three messages:

“I Am the Bread of Life”
“I Am the Gate”
“I Am the Resurrection and the Life”

Having floated down two rivers of thought, I found that they converged in the words of the Teacher of Ecclesiastes: There is a time to be selective, and there is a time to be exhaustive. The Chronicler has chosen to be selective. Great, I’ll go with the flow, and try to learn from his selectivity.

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.

Chapter-a-Day

Tale of a Runaway Slave

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Tale of a Runaway Slave (CaD Col 4) – Wayfarer

Masters, provide your slaves with what is right and fair, because you know that you also have a Master in heaven.
Colossians 4:1 (NIV)

Modern readers are likely taken aback by the first verse of today’s chapter in which Paul encourages slave masters to do right by their slaves. Why those who added chapters and verses to the text didn’t leave this verse as part of the previous chapter is a head scratcher for me because 4:1 is clearly coupled with 3:22 in which Paul encourages slaves to do their work as if they were working for God. The two verses are part of one thought.

The inclusion of slaves and slave masters in Paul’s letter to the Colossians has everything to do with a very real and personal situation Paul, and the Colossian believers were dealing with.

A modern reader wonders why Paul didn’t take on slavery as an issue of social justice. I’ve known many a critic to cite this issue as one of the reasons they refuse to believe: that Paul doesn’t condemn slavery. As I’ve pondered and meditated on the Great Story over the years, there are a few conclusions I’ve made.

First, the abolition movement would not get started until 1200 years after Paul. Slavery had always been a part of daily human life throughout history. No one questioned it in Paul’s day. France was the first country to outlaw slavery in 1315. The abolitionist movement was fueled by followers of Jesus as well as the age of Enlightenment in the following few hundred years.

As I have written before, I view the Great Story and the history of humanity as the story of one giant life-cycle. As humanity has matured from infancy to adulthood over the millennia it, like any individual human being, humanity as a whole has grown and matured, as well as struggling with core human flaws. Slavery has largely been outlawed today (though it still exists), but we’re clearly still struggling with hatred and violence that goes all the way back to Ishmael and Isaac, to Cain and Abel. Bottom line, I can’t fault Paul for not being an abolitionist in a time when it wasn’t even a consideration.

Second, there were other social ills in Paul’s day that the followers of Jesus were addressing. Roman law allowed for infanticide. If you didn’t want your baby, you could legally throw it on the dung heap. Followers of Jesus rescued and raised them. Lepers were shunned to suffer together in small enclaves outside of society. Followers of Jesus moved in with them, took care of them, and sometimes got leprosy and died with them. Followers of Jesus took care of the sick, the poor, the orphans, and the widows. Followers of Jesus built the first hospitals.

So, Paul didn’t approach slavery as a social justice issue, but as a personal one. There was a member of the local gathering of Jesus’ followers in Colossae named Philemon. He had a slave named Onesimus who stole from Philemon and made a run for it. Onesimus is now on the run, and if caught, can receive the death penalty under Roman law. The runaway slave just happens to run into Paul (coincidence?) and through their relationship, Onesimus places his faith in Christ and becomes a follower of Jesus.

In today’s chapter, there is a final section of personal greetings that most people gloss over or ignore. But there are often some really good stories buried in those words. Paul tells the Colossians that it is a man named Tychius who is going to deliver the letter Paul is writing, and with Tychius he is sending Onesimus. Tychius is carrying another letter that we know as Philemon. Onesimus, Philemon’s thieving, runaway slave is now Philemon’s brother in Christ. Onesimus is returning to his slave master to ask forgiveness and make things right. In Paul’s letter to Philemon, Paul urges him to forgive and be gracious.

Of course, all of the Colossian believers know both of these men. They were part of their community. Philemon was part of their local gathering. The very real conflict would affect them all. Paul’s encouragement to all the Colossians for slaves and slave masters to serve God by serving one another is subtle reference to the Onesimus situation Paul knows they will all be facing.

As I look back at history, I find that large meaningful social movements typically begin with a person, or a small group of people, who simply start doing the right thing by individuals in their personal circles of influence. Their actions inspire others to join in doing the same. It grows and spreads. Who knows if, in the grand scheme of things, Paul’s encouragement to Philemon and Onesimus to look beyond their earthly circumstances and view one another as brothers in Christ was a seed that took root and eventually grew into the abolition movement.

And, as a different Paul used to say, now you know the rest of the story.

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.

Chapter-a-Day

Privileged Citizen

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“For, as I have often told you before and now tell you again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven.”
Philippians 3:18-20 (NIV)

It was our daughter who I first heard use the phrase “first world, white girl problems.” It made me laugh, and Wendy and I regularly conjure up the sentiment when catching ourselves getting bent out-of-shape by a simple annoyance in life that most of the inhabitants of this planet would love to have. As Wendy and I peruse the headlines and discuss current events, we often take a moment to recognize that it is our affluence that allows for the making of major issues of silly and/or trivial things.

Modern readers of Paul’s letters often have little or no knowledge of the historic location or circumstances of the people to whom Paul wrote and the cities in which they lived. But the history often provides important context that adds layers of new meaning to the words.

For example, the city of Philippi was a very affluent Roman city. The city had always enjoyed the prosperity that came from nearby gold mines. Gold mines needed heavy security, so it always had a strong military presence. The Romans treated Philippi as a colony for retired, highly influential military veterans. It was governed by two military officers appointed by Rome. For being a relatively small city, it was very affluent and patriotically Roman.

Of course, the culture of Rome was historically libertine. The Roman orgies rooted in the cult of Bacchus are the stuff of legend (see Bacchus in featured photo). Affluent Romans of high standing enjoyed prosperous lives and sensual indulgences. Roman citizenship (which was bought or bestowed to relative few) had its perks and privileges, and as military town full of retired veterans and Roman citizens, it strikes me as being kind of a gated community of its day.

Paul, by the way, was a citizen of Rome. Like everyone else, he understood its privileges. In fact, he commonly leveraged his citizenship and the privilege it carries. In one instance, Paul’s citizenship saved him from being scourged. Another privilege was that any Roman citizen who got in trouble with the law had the right to appeal their case to Caesar himself, which Paul did.

Followers of Jesus seeking to further Jesus’ teaching of moral constraint and generous care of societal outcasts didn’t exactly fit well in the culture of libertine Roman excess and affluence. At best, Romans made life difficult for followers of Jesus, at worst it outright persecuted them in heinous ways. It was into this cultural clash in Philippi that Paul was addressing to the believers there in his letter.

In today’s chapter, Paul reminds the believers in Philippi that their “Citizenship” was in heaven, and that both their minds and lives should be focused on things there. Every day they saw military retirees leveraging their Roman citizenship and affluence into a focus on making sure their waning days on earth were filled with an indulgence in earthly sensual appetites. Paul appeals to Jesus’ followers that their citizenship was in eternity, to which they would retire at the end of this earthly journey.

I can’t help but think of C.S. Lewis’ famous thoughts:

“If we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.

“If I find in myself desires which nothing in this world can satisfy, the only logical explanation is that I was made for another world.”

In the quiet this morning, I find myself contemplating my own desires and appetites. The truth is that my reality is not unlike that of the followers of Jesus’ in Philippi. We are a culture that increasingly values and celebrates the indulgence of human appetites, even if our wholesale excesses fall short of Roman bacchanalia. What I find Paul pointing to is the same as Jesus when He urged His followers to invest earthly resources in heavenly treasure. Is my focus on earthly citizenship, appetites, and treasures, or my citizenship in heaven and treasures?

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.