Tag Archives: Effect

“Since, then…”

October 12, 2023 Tom Vander Well Leave a comment

Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.
Colossians 3:1 (NIV)

I, on occasion, have the opportunity for a heart-to-heart with the shepherd of our local gathering of Jesus followers. Along my life journey, I’ve known many shepherds and pastors. One of the heart-felt burdens that they’ve shared with me over the years is the nearly constant flow of criticism they hear from members of the community regarding the hypocrisy of different members of their local gathering. They say they believe one thing on Sunday, but that belief doesn’t translate into any kind of meaningful difference in life, words, or actions that’s observable by others.

In yesterday’s post, I wrote about some of the wacky things the followers of Jesus in Colossae were proclaiming with regard to what it meant to be a follower of Jesus. Paul dismissed their wacky ideas and told the Colossian believers to focus on Christ, his teaching, His death for sin, and the power of His resurrection. In other words, “this is what you should believe.”

Today’s chapter begins with “Since, then.” Meaning, if the Colossians focus their faith on the fullness of Christ then certain things will naturally follow. That’s today’s chapter. Paul launches into the effects that faith and belief in Christ should have on one’s day-to-day life. The phrase I find myself using more and more is this: “If I really believe what I say I believe, then…”

Here’s the effects Paul says that sincere faith has on a believer:

Self-discipline with regard to sensual and earthly appetites. My natural appetites, from eating and drinking, to sex and pleasure, to status and pride, to money and materialism, always have me struggling with over-indulgence. The world, especially marketers, are always telling me that indulgence is a good thing.

The ceasing of destructive emotional and interpersonal attributes such as anger, rage, hatred for others, being mean, talking negatively about people behind their back, being dishonest, and having conversation filled with profanity and obscenity.

Ever-increasing emotional and interpersonal attributes such as having compassion on the needy and marginalized, being kind, being humble, answering harshness with gentleness, being patient with both others and circumstances, forgiving others their weaknesses and offenses, and of course doing all these things out of genuine love for others.

Treating spouses and family members with the same gentleness, kindness, forgiveness, humility, patience, and love. In other words, those same attributes are present in the most intimate of relationships, behind closed doors, when no one else can see.

Daily (not weekly) focus on prayer and worship. Faith in Christ is a relationship. I in Him and His Spirit in me. He is with me always, even when I am alone. So I am always mindful of His presence, always talking to Him, always listening to Him, always worshipping.

Good work habits (and treatment of co-workers) motivated by my service to God in anticipation of an eternal paycheck.

Faith without effect is reason to wonder if it is faith at all. If I really believe what I say I believe, then my life will increasingly produce less of the bad stuff and more of the good stuff.

If that doesn’t or isn’t happening?

Well, then, I think maybe I need to reexamine my beliefs.

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

Chapter-a-Day

Under Siege

May 26, 2023 Tom Vander Well Leave a comment

So they took Jeremiah and put him into the cistern of Malkijah, the king’s son, which was in the courtyard of the guard. They lowered Jeremiah by ropes into the cistern; it had no water in it, only mud, and Jeremiah sank down into the mud.
Jeremiah 38:6 (NIV)

Being the victim of a siege exacts a huge toll on a person. Even in modern conflicts like the current war in Ukraine, the devastating effects of long-term isolation, starvation, anxiety, fear, and boredom are well-documented. Janine di Giovanni, author and senior fellow at the Yale Jackson Institute for Global Affairs wrote of the siege of Aleppo, “Sieges destroy the body, but… what’s far more damaging is the annihilation of the soul.”

It starts with shock and disorientation, followed by depression and increased rates of suicide. As a siege drags on, apathy and alcoholism are common and eventually give way to breakdown of social structures.

Today’s chapter has all the signs that the Babylonians’ 30 month siege of Jerusalem had exacted the desired toll on the residents inside. Depressed and bored, four young men get tired of Jeremiah’s constant proclamations of death and destruction. They petition King Zedekiah to let them kill Jeremiah. The king apathetically grants their wish. Inside the court of the guard where Jeremiah is confined there is a deep water cistern. Because of the siege, it’s empty. All the water has been consumed leaving nothing but muddy sediment at the bottom. Jeremiah is thrown in and he sinks into the mud.

Fortunately for Jeremiah, he has at least one friend left. A young African eunuch serving the King hears of Jeremiah’s plight and petitions King Z to let him rescue the prophet. The apathetic King Z grants the petition, telling the eunuch to take 30 guards with him (presumably as protection against the men who wanted to kill Jeremiah in the first place).

After Jeremiah is rescued, King Z summons Jeremiah. It would appear that Z realizes that Jeremiah’s prophetic messages were true and he wants to know the truth of what will happen to him. In a private heart-to-heart, Z shares his fears with the prophet. Jeremiah tells the king to surrender. The king, realizing that there are still those who want Jeremiah dead, instructs the prophet what to say if he’s confronted and questioned.

In the quiet this morning, I couldn’t help but think about what it must have been like for Jeremiah to witness all that he had prophesied coming true. He had been proclaiming this fate for decades, and now he is suffering that same fate along with those who refused to listen and railed against him the entire time. He suffered rebuke, rejection, and retribution before the siege, now he is suffering the effects of the siege along with those who never believed him. Sometimes, it sucks to be right.

Once again, I am struck by my human need for a prophet in my life. King Z has never been a friend to Jeremiah, but as events close in on their climactic end, he realizes that the prophet is perhaps the only one he can trust to speak the truth to him. There are moments along life’s road when life feels like I am being besieged on all sides by circumstances I don’t control. It comes with this earthly journey through a fallen world, and it can exact a tremendous toll.

That is the truth. And, it’s in those moments I need a friend who is a prophet.

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

Tom's Photos, Wayfarer's Journal

Throwback Thursday: A Photo Three-fer

May 29, 2014 Tom Vander Well Leave a comment

For Throwback Thursday I’m going all the way back to 1980. Much of my love of photography took root while I in the Photography Club at Meredith Junior High School in Des Moines led by my guidance counselor, Mr. Stearns. Several years ago Mr. Stearns, who happened to go to the same church as my folks, was going through a bunch of old photos and happened upon these photos and gave them to my parents to pass on to me.

We were experimenting with “bulb photography” in these photos which were taken in the school’s dark room. That light spot in between my hands in the top photo is the flame from a lighter. The white lines around me in the second photo was made using a pen light. Basically, with bulb photography you get in a pitch dark place and open the shutter of the camera and keep it open. Then you use a pen light, flame or some other light source which is imposed on the negative. You set of the camera’s flash to impose the rest of the image in the scene.

I used the same technique with a young Taylor in the basement one morning. In the shot below, I told Taylor to put out her arms and hold still in the pitch black basement. I opened the shutter using the “bulb” feature on my camera and then moved behind Taylor and used a pen light to outline her and wrote her name backwards in the air. I shut of the pen light, made my way in the darkness back behind the camera, set off the flash, and closed the shutter.

It’s kind of a fun effect.