Matthew 7:13, 14 records the beginning of the end of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount. He begins a lengthy conclusion by saying basically, "That's it, my friend. Now what are you going to do with it? There really isn't much point in listening any further if you're not going to do anything about it." The remainder of Matthew 7 is grand, motivational application. Jesus refuses to let His listeners bask in the grandeur of the sermon's thought. He knows all too well that admiration without application is deadly, and that conviction without commitment serves only to dull one's spirit.
So He begins this section with a provoking opening statement, "Enter through the narrow gate." This is a command not a suggestion. He then adds, "Small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life" [v. 14]. In context, He is saying that all that He has taught in the Sermon collectively forms a "narrow gate." Such words have never been welcome, but they are particularly offensive to post-modern ears. We can be called vain, proud, mean but don't call us narrow. Our culture admires the urbane, the worldly-wise, the all-accepting. We would never want to be thought of as "narrow." To the post-modern, that implies that we have blighted, dwarfed, and stunted natures cramped by a defective education or squeezed out of shape by a narrow-minded environment. And did I say that no one likes to be called narrow?!?
Now, in one sense it is good that Christians avoid this tag. We certainly do not want to be narrow and self-righteous like the letter of the law Pharisees. Nor do we want to be dogmatic and inflexible about matters in which the Scriptures are not clear. On the other hand, we must embrace the narrowness that Christ is commanding. Jesus says that there are only two roads -- one leading to destruction and one leading to life. And there is no alternate, middle way. Christ never said anything accidentally, and what He said here was sublimely premeditated. He knew that nothing could be more calamitous than for a hearer [or reader] of the Sermon to meditate on it precepts, and perhaps even to rave about them, but to never experience their reality.
"Wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it" [v. 13]. Jesus describes here a large entrance to a city that opens onto a broad boulevard. The road has a wide entrance and it spacious, meaning that it is easy to locate and easy to get onto. Because of its size, there are few to no limitations as to baggage. You can for the most part take anything along that you please. You don't have to leave anything behind. And to stay on this road, all you have to do is follow your inclinations. Absolutely no effort is required.
The implicit idea of this broad road is that it imposes no boundaries on its travelers, and especially not on what one thinks. On the wide road, if your thing is nature, that is okay. If it is meditation, that is okay. If it is morality or sensuality, that too is okay. The road has plenty of room for everyone so long as one's thinking does not turn into value judgments. It is okay to compare and contrast philosophies, but to say one is better than the other is anathema. The relative is absolutized, and the absolute is relativized.
Other than platitudes about the good of the majority or the consensus of the people, the wide road imposes few boundaries on conduct. It takes little to no effort to remain on its broad stretch. It inflicts a deceptive sense of freedom and independence to it travelers. But the trip itself is all it has to offer, and is ultimately unsatisfying throughout. And yet, though it is the wrong road, Jesus says that "many enter through it." The road is heavily traveled. In fact, most people seem to prefer it! You are never alone on the broad road "that leads to destruction." Eventually the road comes to the edge of the abyss, and there it stops, but the traveler does not!
"But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." Jesus here pictures for us a tiny gate that is easily overlooked. We have to search for it to find it. And once through the gate, the road is narrow. It never broadens, no matter how far along or how long we travel it. The gate is evidently the kind through which we cannot bring any baggage and requires us to leave everything behind.
The tiny gate is a wonderful metaphor for the Beatitudes. Picture the first two Beatitudes as the sideposts to the small gate. The first Beatitude being our need for a conscious awareness of our spiritual bankruptcy, and the other demanding our sorrow over our sin. This is indeed a small gate, and few people are willing to shed what is necessary to get through it. After all, who really likes to be poor in spirit and truly mourn over their sins? At the end of ourselves, we must come to God holding nothing in our hands except our own inadequacy and our consciousness of sin.
Now having entered through the small gateway to life, we travelers find that the road remains narrow. Christ is absolutely upfront about the fact that the road remains both narrow and difficult. There is no attempt to lure us onto the road with assurance that though it will be difficult at first, the road's contour will eventually widen. The truth is, those who follow this road have to take up their cross [Mark 8:34] and suffer for and with Jesus Christ. But as He said at the beginning of this Sermon, "Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for their is the kingdom of heaven" [Matthew 5:10].
This narrow road is not only difficult, but it also imposes boundaries on what we both think and believe. Yet this does not mean the narrow road is repressive. Far from it! On the narrow road our thoughts about God and truth are both enlarged and confined simultaneously. Truth is not left up to the tyranny of democratic consensus. Those who follow Christ will not and may not believe what most people believe. And those of us on the narrow way will not be popular for our beliefs. For example, our thoughts about God are narrowed. Certain conceptions of God are true, and others are false. But in believing the truth, our vision of God goes far beyond any vision dreamed by anyone on the broad road. Who would have dreamed of a God who was not confined by nature but who was above nature, and who holds everything together by the word of His power; who is our Father but who also became a man in order to redeem us? So it is only the narrow way that brings and incredibly spectacular, immense conception of God.
Our thoughts regarding salvation are similarly narrowed. Jesus said, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me" [John 14:6]. Our affections are also narrowed, for we are to love the Lord our God with all our heart and with all our soul and with all our might [Deuteronomy 6:5], to put no one else above or equal to Him. The same goes for our conduct. There are things we cannot do. Everything is not okay. But paradoxically, it is in our boundaries that we actually find liberation socially, sexually, and ethically. The only free men or free women in these areas are the ones who walk the straight and narrow way!
And lastly, the narrow way is completely fulfilling. It provides both freedom and joy. And ultimately it leads to eternal life that Jesus defined as knowing Him and His Father. "Now this is eternal life: that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent" [John 17:3]. There is no abyss at the end of the narrow road, but there is unspeakable glory!
It is no accident that Jesus said these words at the beginning of the end of His Sermon on the Mount. He knew that at the end of the Sermon some would stand at the foot of the magisterial immensity of what He taught and praise and laud it -- and yet never enter the kingdom. That is why the opening line to His conclusion is a command: "Enter through the narrow gate." It is not enough to listen to preaching about the gate. We must enter through it. Moreover, He makes it clear that there can be no neutrality. We are either on the broad road leading to destruction or the narrow road leading to life. We will never go through the narrow gate by accident or unawares. We must enter it both thoughtfully and purposely. Have you done so?
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Sunday, April 24, 2011
"Seek and You Will Find" -- What?
There are two ways to approach the Sermon on the Mount. One is proudly, believing that the Sermon is simply a list of exalted, though humanly attainable, moral precepts. Some who hold this view have said that the Sermon on the Mount is the only really necessary part of Scripture, the rest can be discarded, and people just need to give moral adherence to the Sermon. They claim to love it because it is from Christ and thus is not cluttered with Paul's overbearing theology as in his letters. This view holds that, with some moral education and some discipline, the world can be revolutionized. This perspective, dominated by a fleshly, prideful presumption about the goodness of man and an amazingly shallow view of the Sermon on the Mount, always brings failure.
The other, dare I say correct, view, approaches the Sermon on the Mount humbly, with a deep sense of the need for God's grace. Far from finding the Sermon untheological, those who hold this view see that the teachings of the Sermon are amazingly theological and profoundly requiring. In fact, they require perfection, as Jesus Himself states after its first great movement: "Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect" [Matthew 5:48]. Those holding this view understand the first Beatitude though moralists do not. They know it teaches that poverty of spirit, a sense of moral bankruptcy, and the utter realization that one cannot live the Sermon by oneself, is the key to living the Sermon at all. Thus they approach God as beggars and receive grace to do the impossible -- and they succeed!
In Matthew 7:7-11, Jesus describes the way men and women pray who understand just what the Sermon is all about. His instructions in this text cannot be lifted from their context, though we have seen this abused many times. "The Bible says, 'Ask, and it shall be given to you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you.' Therefore, all we have to do is ask for it with faith and persistence, and we will get it. 'You do not have have because you do not ask' [James 4:2]. So go for it! Name it, claim it!" This view sees God as little more than a celestial Coke machine or, worse yet, a celestial slot machine. Pull the handle enough times in prayer and you will get what you want!
Such thinking is so profoundly wrong its hard to see how its proponents can be so misguided. Isolating this text from its setting in the Sermon on the Mount can, in some cases, be deadly to one's actual faith. The broad context of the Sermon sets down the surpassing righteousness, humility, sincerity, purity and love expected of those who are members of the kingdom of God. These virtues are beyond human attainment apart from God's Spirit and His grace. The broad context only serves to underscore our profound need. In the immediately preceding six verses, Jesus related to us the danger of condemning other people as if we were their judges. He also told us to remove the plank from our eye before we attempt to remove a speck from the eye of another. His actual warning, "For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you" [v. 2] should be terrifying. Who is adequate for such things? How can we live up to such a high standard? We need help and grace, but from where? Jesus answers, "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you" [v. 7].
Thus this famous text is not carte blanche for our material desires, but rather, it tells us how to pray for the character of the kingdom in our own lives. It shows us how to pray the Lord's Prayer. It teaches us to pray that our morals and ethics will be like Christ's. In a word, Jesus teaches us how to pray for our spiritual lives. Just think what would happen if we prayed for these things for ourselves and our brothers and sisters as intensely as we pray for our physical needs. The church would virtually explode because a far greater proportion of its people would be living kingdom lives. Our pulpits would be filled with preachers of power. The mission field would shrink as thousands more poured out into the harvest -- with greater power. Is this what we want most? If so, He's told us what to do.
The other, dare I say correct, view, approaches the Sermon on the Mount humbly, with a deep sense of the need for God's grace. Far from finding the Sermon untheological, those who hold this view see that the teachings of the Sermon are amazingly theological and profoundly requiring. In fact, they require perfection, as Jesus Himself states after its first great movement: "Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect" [Matthew 5:48]. Those holding this view understand the first Beatitude though moralists do not. They know it teaches that poverty of spirit, a sense of moral bankruptcy, and the utter realization that one cannot live the Sermon by oneself, is the key to living the Sermon at all. Thus they approach God as beggars and receive grace to do the impossible -- and they succeed!
In Matthew 7:7-11, Jesus describes the way men and women pray who understand just what the Sermon is all about. His instructions in this text cannot be lifted from their context, though we have seen this abused many times. "The Bible says, 'Ask, and it shall be given to you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you.' Therefore, all we have to do is ask for it with faith and persistence, and we will get it. 'You do not have have because you do not ask' [James 4:2]. So go for it! Name it, claim it!" This view sees God as little more than a celestial Coke machine or, worse yet, a celestial slot machine. Pull the handle enough times in prayer and you will get what you want!
Such thinking is so profoundly wrong its hard to see how its proponents can be so misguided. Isolating this text from its setting in the Sermon on the Mount can, in some cases, be deadly to one's actual faith. The broad context of the Sermon sets down the surpassing righteousness, humility, sincerity, purity and love expected of those who are members of the kingdom of God. These virtues are beyond human attainment apart from God's Spirit and His grace. The broad context only serves to underscore our profound need. In the immediately preceding six verses, Jesus related to us the danger of condemning other people as if we were their judges. He also told us to remove the plank from our eye before we attempt to remove a speck from the eye of another. His actual warning, "For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you" [v. 2] should be terrifying. Who is adequate for such things? How can we live up to such a high standard? We need help and grace, but from where? Jesus answers, "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you" [v. 7].
Thus this famous text is not carte blanche for our material desires, but rather, it tells us how to pray for the character of the kingdom in our own lives. It shows us how to pray the Lord's Prayer. It teaches us to pray that our morals and ethics will be like Christ's. In a word, Jesus teaches us how to pray for our spiritual lives. Just think what would happen if we prayed for these things for ourselves and our brothers and sisters as intensely as we pray for our physical needs. The church would virtually explode because a far greater proportion of its people would be living kingdom lives. Our pulpits would be filled with preachers of power. The mission field would shrink as thousands more poured out into the harvest -- with greater power. Is this what we want most? If so, He's told us what to do.
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Anxiety ... the Grand Inquisitor of the Soul
In Matthew 6:19-24 Jesus warned us about the problem of materialism. Now in 6:25-34, He turns to its twin malady of worry. Jesus knew that a materialistic focus leads to anxiety regardless of whether one is rich or poor. Three times in this passage, the Lord tells us not to worry: "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life" [v. 25]. "So do not worry ... " [v. 31]. "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow" [v34]. Here our Lord powerfully and memorably gives us His counsel regarding anxiety. It was needed then, and it is even more needed today.
Anxiety is the universal disease of our age. Businessmen torment themselves with imagined scenarios of what could take place if X does so and so and Y counters. Mothers worry over the future of their children until it is their very future that is in question. Students worry over examinations and future interviews and dates and graduate school and money. Kierkegaard said it well: "No Grand Inquisitor has in readiness such terrible tortures as anxiety." Today people consume tranquilizers, antidepressants and sleeping pills by the truckload and are running to counselors by the millions. If Christ's counsel was ever needed, it is sorely needed now.
On the other hand, I do not believe Christ's intent here is to foster in us a detached "who cares" attitude. There is a type of beneficial concern that all healthy Christians should have. For example, Luther says that we should all be anxious about the spiritual well-being of others and points to Paul as the example in 2 Corinthians 11:28, 29: "Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. Who is weak, and I do not feel weak? Who is led into sin, and I do not inwardly burn?"
We are also to be concerned about the state of our souls and incessant temptations we have to sin [see Psalms 38 and 51]. And there is the care and concern that is inherent in any serious work for God. We are to think, plan and anticipate any pitfalls [see Luke 14:28-32]. Some concern is good, but Jesus is counseling us here against worry that is self-centered and has at its root a lack of trust in God. No good architect does a good job of building a skyscraper without sometimes waking up at night and double-checking his calculations, the quality of his materials and the soundness of his design. No great athlete performs to his or her best without some concern about his or her training regimen. These distinctions can sometimes be rather subtle. A pastor may be honestly concerned about his sermon -- that it be true to the text, practical, spoken in the power of the Holy Spirit and in love. Or he may simply be worried about his reputation. The first is healthy and godly, the second is not.
"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?" [v. 25]
Jesus' words here grab our attention because He cites the world's trinity of cares -- what we eat, drink and wear. One glance at the TV or current magazine rack and we can see just how on target Jesus was. Self indulgence is what our culture is all about, and that is why there is so much anxiety. Such narcissism is obviously unhealthy, being built on a false reductionist view of humanity -- the belief that we are just bodies that need to be fed, watered, clothed, housed and sexed.
Jesus did not teach us to despise the pleasures of life, but He did say by implication that if we see life in this reductionist manner, we are bound to have anxiety. And truthfully, this is where most Christians' anxieties come from. We say that our values are above the world's, but, in fact, we often believe ourselves that there is little more to life than what we eat, drink, wear, drive, live in or who we have sex with. Jesus' words in v. 25 are very convicting. They not only give us the diagnosis of our anxiety, but they also contain a subtle a fortiori argument when He says, "Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?" Since life itself comes from God, why should we worry or fret about His giving us the food an drink necessary for life? He will not go halfway. He gives us life, and He will maintain it for as long as He wills.
Next Jesus gives us three illustrations [vv. 26-30] of His care from the animate and inanimate worlds. These illustrations reinforce what He has already said. The first has to do with food and the example of the birds: "Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?" [v. 26]. There are millions and millions of birds, and by and large they are healthy and happy. None of them apparently suffer from hypertension nor stress-related diseases, and certainly none of them are worrying. God takes care of them though, unlike us, they do not sow or reap. And God will take care of us too. This is the obvious meaning.
But what Jesus did not mean needs to be said too. He was not calling us to laziness or indolence. Birds themselves instinctively make provision for the future. In fact, some argue that no creatures work harder than the birds! Neither does the example of the birds teach us that if we trust God, every day will be smooth sailing. Sparrows sometimes starve, sometimes they are eaten by predators, and certainly they all die in a short span. The specific application is this: the birds demonstrate God's care for the lower creation and thus we who are a much higher creation can be assured of His great care.
Said the robin to the sparrow:
"I should really like to know
Why these anxious human beings
Rush about and worry so."
Said the sparrow to the robin:
"Friend, I think that it must be
That they have no heavenly Father,
Such as cares for you and me."
-- John Stott
Moreover, our anxiety will not lengthen our lives. Verse 27 says, "Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?" Worry about these minor things of life will neither add to the quality of our lives nor will it lengthen our life spans. In fact, anxiety not only inhibits our ability to enjoy the things of life -- it also shortens our time to enjoy them.
How, then, as God's children should we live? Jesus gives His famous answer in v. 33: "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." Seeking His kingdom primarily means trying to spread the reign of Christ through the spread of the gospel. It involves a profound poverty of spirit. Seeking His righteousness involves making His righteousness attractive in all areas of life -- personal, family, material, international. The Lord tells us that the one who does this is approved: "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for the will be filled" [Matthew 5:6]. Matthew 6:33 marvelously encompasses our evangelistic and social responsibilities, which we are to carry out with fervor one day at a time. "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own" [v. 34].
"Tomorrow," the future, will have trouble. It is unavoidable. No Christian should ever be caught in the "then syndrome" as in "then things are going to be trouble free." Examples would include "When I get married, then I'll be beyond trouble" or "When I have children, then ... " or "If I can just get this promotion, then ... " It is futile to try to live a problem-free life. We can spend all our time and energy fortifying the castle of our lives, but there will always be a place that goes unguarded. Tomorrow will have its challenges and trials, no matter how hard we try to prevent them.
Yet we are not to worry about tomorrow. Worry will not destroy tomorrow's trials, but it will sabotage our strength. George Macdonald put it this way: "No man ever sank under the burden of the day. It is when tomorrow's burden is added to the burden of today, that the weight is more than a man can bear." Worrying does not enable us to escape evil. It make us unfit to cope with it. The truth is, we always have the strength to bear the trouble when it comes. But we do not have the strength to bear worrying about it. If we add tomorrow's troubles to today's troubles, we give ourselves an impossible burden.
The anxious heart receives all kinds of blows through anticipatory anxiety that will never happen. Some of us have suffered much more in this world than has ever actually happened to us. We fear everything because everything is possible. Such a heart possesses nothing, though it may have all. It's only real possessions are its fears.
Anxiety is the universal disease of our age. Businessmen torment themselves with imagined scenarios of what could take place if X does so and so and Y counters. Mothers worry over the future of their children until it is their very future that is in question. Students worry over examinations and future interviews and dates and graduate school and money. Kierkegaard said it well: "No Grand Inquisitor has in readiness such terrible tortures as anxiety." Today people consume tranquilizers, antidepressants and sleeping pills by the truckload and are running to counselors by the millions. If Christ's counsel was ever needed, it is sorely needed now.
On the other hand, I do not believe Christ's intent here is to foster in us a detached "who cares" attitude. There is a type of beneficial concern that all healthy Christians should have. For example, Luther says that we should all be anxious about the spiritual well-being of others and points to Paul as the example in 2 Corinthians 11:28, 29: "Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. Who is weak, and I do not feel weak? Who is led into sin, and I do not inwardly burn?"
We are also to be concerned about the state of our souls and incessant temptations we have to sin [see Psalms 38 and 51]. And there is the care and concern that is inherent in any serious work for God. We are to think, plan and anticipate any pitfalls [see Luke 14:28-32]. Some concern is good, but Jesus is counseling us here against worry that is self-centered and has at its root a lack of trust in God. No good architect does a good job of building a skyscraper without sometimes waking up at night and double-checking his calculations, the quality of his materials and the soundness of his design. No great athlete performs to his or her best without some concern about his or her training regimen. These distinctions can sometimes be rather subtle. A pastor may be honestly concerned about his sermon -- that it be true to the text, practical, spoken in the power of the Holy Spirit and in love. Or he may simply be worried about his reputation. The first is healthy and godly, the second is not.
"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?" [v. 25]
Jesus' words here grab our attention because He cites the world's trinity of cares -- what we eat, drink and wear. One glance at the TV or current magazine rack and we can see just how on target Jesus was. Self indulgence is what our culture is all about, and that is why there is so much anxiety. Such narcissism is obviously unhealthy, being built on a false reductionist view of humanity -- the belief that we are just bodies that need to be fed, watered, clothed, housed and sexed.
Jesus did not teach us to despise the pleasures of life, but He did say by implication that if we see life in this reductionist manner, we are bound to have anxiety. And truthfully, this is where most Christians' anxieties come from. We say that our values are above the world's, but, in fact, we often believe ourselves that there is little more to life than what we eat, drink, wear, drive, live in or who we have sex with. Jesus' words in v. 25 are very convicting. They not only give us the diagnosis of our anxiety, but they also contain a subtle a fortiori argument when He says, "Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?" Since life itself comes from God, why should we worry or fret about His giving us the food an drink necessary for life? He will not go halfway. He gives us life, and He will maintain it for as long as He wills.
Next Jesus gives us three illustrations [vv. 26-30] of His care from the animate and inanimate worlds. These illustrations reinforce what He has already said. The first has to do with food and the example of the birds: "Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?" [v. 26]. There are millions and millions of birds, and by and large they are healthy and happy. None of them apparently suffer from hypertension nor stress-related diseases, and certainly none of them are worrying. God takes care of them though, unlike us, they do not sow or reap. And God will take care of us too. This is the obvious meaning.
But what Jesus did not mean needs to be said too. He was not calling us to laziness or indolence. Birds themselves instinctively make provision for the future. In fact, some argue that no creatures work harder than the birds! Neither does the example of the birds teach us that if we trust God, every day will be smooth sailing. Sparrows sometimes starve, sometimes they are eaten by predators, and certainly they all die in a short span. The specific application is this: the birds demonstrate God's care for the lower creation and thus we who are a much higher creation can be assured of His great care.
Said the robin to the sparrow:
"I should really like to know
Why these anxious human beings
Rush about and worry so."
Said the sparrow to the robin:
"Friend, I think that it must be
That they have no heavenly Father,
Such as cares for you and me."
-- John Stott
Moreover, our anxiety will not lengthen our lives. Verse 27 says, "Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?" Worry about these minor things of life will neither add to the quality of our lives nor will it lengthen our life spans. In fact, anxiety not only inhibits our ability to enjoy the things of life -- it also shortens our time to enjoy them.
How, then, as God's children should we live? Jesus gives His famous answer in v. 33: "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." Seeking His kingdom primarily means trying to spread the reign of Christ through the spread of the gospel. It involves a profound poverty of spirit. Seeking His righteousness involves making His righteousness attractive in all areas of life -- personal, family, material, international. The Lord tells us that the one who does this is approved: "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for the will be filled" [Matthew 5:6]. Matthew 6:33 marvelously encompasses our evangelistic and social responsibilities, which we are to carry out with fervor one day at a time. "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own" [v. 34].
"Tomorrow," the future, will have trouble. It is unavoidable. No Christian should ever be caught in the "then syndrome" as in "then things are going to be trouble free." Examples would include "When I get married, then I'll be beyond trouble" or "When I have children, then ... " or "If I can just get this promotion, then ... " It is futile to try to live a problem-free life. We can spend all our time and energy fortifying the castle of our lives, but there will always be a place that goes unguarded. Tomorrow will have its challenges and trials, no matter how hard we try to prevent them.
Yet we are not to worry about tomorrow. Worry will not destroy tomorrow's trials, but it will sabotage our strength. George Macdonald put it this way: "No man ever sank under the burden of the day. It is when tomorrow's burden is added to the burden of today, that the weight is more than a man can bear." Worrying does not enable us to escape evil. It make us unfit to cope with it. The truth is, we always have the strength to bear the trouble when it comes. But we do not have the strength to bear worrying about it. If we add tomorrow's troubles to today's troubles, we give ourselves an impossible burden.
The anxious heart receives all kinds of blows through anticipatory anxiety that will never happen. Some of us have suffered much more in this world than has ever actually happened to us. We fear everything because everything is possible. Such a heart possesses nothing, though it may have all. It's only real possessions are its fears.
Sunday, April 10, 2011
When Light is Darkness
"The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!" Matthew 6:22, 23
The idea here is simple but beautiful. The eye is pictured as the window through which light enters the body. If a window is clean and the glass is clear, the light that enters will properly light every part of the room. If the window is dirty, or if the glass is uneven or tinted or discolored, the light will be hindered, and the room will not be well-illuminated. The amount and quality of the light that enters a room depends on the condition of the window through which it enters. So it is with the eye. The condition of the eye determines the quality of the light that enters the body. If we are color-deficient, all the reds and greens of Christmas may be lost to us. If we have cataracts, we may sit next to someone and perceive only a shadow. And if our eyes are blind, "how great is that darkness!" There are no colors, no forms, no motion.
Of course, Jesus is not primarily giving us a lesson on optics. He is saying that the light that enters a man's soul depends on the spiritual condition of the eye through which it must pass because that eye is the window of the body. That is the basic meaning. But there is a more specific and deeper meaning depending on the two words "clear" [NASB] and "bad." The word "clear" here likely means "generous," and "bad" means "ungenerous." The Greek word translated "clear" was often used to mean generous in the Greek translation of the Old Testament [e.g. Proverbs 11:25: "A generous man will prosper"]. The word carries the same meaning in the New Testament [e.g. James 1:5 God is described as one "who gives generously to all." The same idea is seen in Romans 12:8; 2 Corinthians 8:2, 9:11, 13]. In our specific text the meaning is "the generous eye."
Likewise, the phrase "bad" eye or "evil" eye [KJV] regularly refers to an ungenerous spirit. The rabbis said that an evil eye indicated a grudging, cheap, ungenerous heart. Proverbs 28:22 says, "A man with an evil eye hastens after wealth" [NASB]. Proverbs 23:6 says, "Do not eat the food of a stingy man" [literally, "a man who has an evil eye"]. That this is the Lord's meaning in this passage is substantiated by the fact that it fits perfectly within the context, for this text is framed on both sides with warnings against selfish materialism. The preceding words are, "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth." And the following words are, "No one can serve two masters ... You cannot serve both God and Money."
In Luke 16:19-31 Jesus tells a story about a rich man who refused to show any mercy to a beggar at his gate. His self-centered, stingy spirit never thought of aiding poor Lazarus, who longed to be fed with crumbs from the man's table. Ultimately death came to them both, and the rich man plunged into the darkness that had long been in his soul. In torment he begged for a messenger to go tell his living relatives about the truths he had failed to see during his life. Materialism shuts out the light of Christ. Such was the case with Esau, Solomon in his later life, and tragic Demas, who forsook Paul "because he loved this world" [2 Timothy 4:10]. And it is the same for us. The increasing materialism of the church is shutting out the light of Christ. The effects of an ungenerous spirit are far worse than any of us really knows. Such a spirit clouds the way we look at life. When the things of this world are our focus, we believe we cannot be happy without them. That is the unrelenting gospel of TV-land, and sadly, far too many people believe it. Too many have a clouded vision of "happiness" and believe that God's primary goal for us is a happiness as it is defined by the world.
Materialism also clouds our vision of success. Because of our grasping spirits, many of us have defined success in financial terms and thereby have condemned ourselves to perpetual failure because we can never quite reach our goal. What a tragedy!
Materialism also clouds our vision of others' worth. If others do not join us in our scramble for the things of this world, we call them slackers or spiritless or lacking in ambition or worse. Missionaries can even be despised because of their choice to serve Christ in a way that means a lower income or being dependent on others for support.
A grasping heart also keeps us from having a healthy vision for our children's lives. Their chosen professions must fit our economic and social criteria, we think. I must admit that I struggled a bit with this when Ashley chose to marry a future teacher and when Alli elected to pursue an education career for herself [then she felt called to become a missionary!!!]. Never mind that Christ himself was a carpenter, and likely never owned his own home and, as far as we know, never planned for his retirement.
A grasping spirit also distorts our vision of God's will for our own lives. We too often selfishly assume God would never lead us onto a path that would involve a diminishing of our status, position or bank account. How different are the Master's words: "I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world shall keep it for eternal life." John 12:24, 25
Furthermore, and perhaps most seriously, a selfish fixation on things clouds our ability to understand and profit from the Scriptures. No wonder the Bible is so minimized and ignored by 21st century man.
So a grasping, ungenerous spirit darkens our inner lives. Very little spiritual light is able to penetrate the eye of the materialist. It also clouds and distorts our vision and leads to a tragic and pervasive dissatisfaction. For people like this there is always a desire for more and better. But those desires ultimately end up unrequited and one never seems to "arrive" materially, professionally, or socially and eventually end up treating other people as things to be used to fulfill one's desires.
Sadly, most of those who are in the darkness do not even know it. They are self-deceived. Many Christians are like this. They think their eye is good when it is, in fact, bad. They think their loyalty to Christ and His values is deep and grounded when in fact it is shallow and contrived. Greed reigns, not Christ. And "how great is that darkness!" How tragic this is! Thousands upon thousands of Christians in America think they have it all together, but their eyes are clouded by materialism and their lives are inauthentic. How is your vision? And how is mine?
The idea here is simple but beautiful. The eye is pictured as the window through which light enters the body. If a window is clean and the glass is clear, the light that enters will properly light every part of the room. If the window is dirty, or if the glass is uneven or tinted or discolored, the light will be hindered, and the room will not be well-illuminated. The amount and quality of the light that enters a room depends on the condition of the window through which it enters. So it is with the eye. The condition of the eye determines the quality of the light that enters the body. If we are color-deficient, all the reds and greens of Christmas may be lost to us. If we have cataracts, we may sit next to someone and perceive only a shadow. And if our eyes are blind, "how great is that darkness!" There are no colors, no forms, no motion.
Of course, Jesus is not primarily giving us a lesson on optics. He is saying that the light that enters a man's soul depends on the spiritual condition of the eye through which it must pass because that eye is the window of the body. That is the basic meaning. But there is a more specific and deeper meaning depending on the two words "clear" [NASB] and "bad." The word "clear" here likely means "generous," and "bad" means "ungenerous." The Greek word translated "clear" was often used to mean generous in the Greek translation of the Old Testament [e.g. Proverbs 11:25: "A generous man will prosper"]. The word carries the same meaning in the New Testament [e.g. James 1:5 God is described as one "who gives generously to all." The same idea is seen in Romans 12:8; 2 Corinthians 8:2, 9:11, 13]. In our specific text the meaning is "the generous eye."
Likewise, the phrase "bad" eye or "evil" eye [KJV] regularly refers to an ungenerous spirit. The rabbis said that an evil eye indicated a grudging, cheap, ungenerous heart. Proverbs 28:22 says, "A man with an evil eye hastens after wealth" [NASB]. Proverbs 23:6 says, "Do not eat the food of a stingy man" [literally, "a man who has an evil eye"]. That this is the Lord's meaning in this passage is substantiated by the fact that it fits perfectly within the context, for this text is framed on both sides with warnings against selfish materialism. The preceding words are, "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth." And the following words are, "No one can serve two masters ... You cannot serve both God and Money."
In Luke 16:19-31 Jesus tells a story about a rich man who refused to show any mercy to a beggar at his gate. His self-centered, stingy spirit never thought of aiding poor Lazarus, who longed to be fed with crumbs from the man's table. Ultimately death came to them both, and the rich man plunged into the darkness that had long been in his soul. In torment he begged for a messenger to go tell his living relatives about the truths he had failed to see during his life. Materialism shuts out the light of Christ. Such was the case with Esau, Solomon in his later life, and tragic Demas, who forsook Paul "because he loved this world" [2 Timothy 4:10]. And it is the same for us. The increasing materialism of the church is shutting out the light of Christ. The effects of an ungenerous spirit are far worse than any of us really knows. Such a spirit clouds the way we look at life. When the things of this world are our focus, we believe we cannot be happy without them. That is the unrelenting gospel of TV-land, and sadly, far too many people believe it. Too many have a clouded vision of "happiness" and believe that God's primary goal for us is a happiness as it is defined by the world.
Materialism also clouds our vision of success. Because of our grasping spirits, many of us have defined success in financial terms and thereby have condemned ourselves to perpetual failure because we can never quite reach our goal. What a tragedy!
Materialism also clouds our vision of others' worth. If others do not join us in our scramble for the things of this world, we call them slackers or spiritless or lacking in ambition or worse. Missionaries can even be despised because of their choice to serve Christ in a way that means a lower income or being dependent on others for support.
A grasping heart also keeps us from having a healthy vision for our children's lives. Their chosen professions must fit our economic and social criteria, we think. I must admit that I struggled a bit with this when Ashley chose to marry a future teacher and when Alli elected to pursue an education career for herself [then she felt called to become a missionary!!!]. Never mind that Christ himself was a carpenter, and likely never owned his own home and, as far as we know, never planned for his retirement.
A grasping spirit also distorts our vision of God's will for our own lives. We too often selfishly assume God would never lead us onto a path that would involve a diminishing of our status, position or bank account. How different are the Master's words: "I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world shall keep it for eternal life." John 12:24, 25
Furthermore, and perhaps most seriously, a selfish fixation on things clouds our ability to understand and profit from the Scriptures. No wonder the Bible is so minimized and ignored by 21st century man.
So a grasping, ungenerous spirit darkens our inner lives. Very little spiritual light is able to penetrate the eye of the materialist. It also clouds and distorts our vision and leads to a tragic and pervasive dissatisfaction. For people like this there is always a desire for more and better. But those desires ultimately end up unrequited and one never seems to "arrive" materially, professionally, or socially and eventually end up treating other people as things to be used to fulfill one's desires.
Sadly, most of those who are in the darkness do not even know it. They are self-deceived. Many Christians are like this. They think their eye is good when it is, in fact, bad. They think their loyalty to Christ and His values is deep and grounded when in fact it is shallow and contrived. Greed reigns, not Christ. And "how great is that darkness!" How tragic this is! Thousands upon thousands of Christians in America think they have it all together, but their eyes are clouded by materialism and their lives are inauthentic. How is your vision? And how is mine?
Thy Will Be Done
This call is twofold. First, we pray for the universal obedience that will come at the end of history. In the final kingdom there will be no necessity for guidelines about divorce, retaliation, hate, lust, or hypocrisy. God's will will prevail everywhere. "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven" focuses on this final inevitable event and fills us with hope in this rebellious world.
Secondly, this prayer calls for God's will to be done right now in present history. To those who question just how this is possible, Jesus answers with His life. Early in His ministry Jesus told His disciples, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me" [John 4:34]. If we were to pray this petition rightly, our food, what we really live for -- is not an extra slice of pepperoni pizza or bowl of ice cream, but doing God's will. Later Jesus again said, "I seek not to please myself but Him who sent Me" [John 5:30]. And just a chapter later, "I have come down from heaven not to do My will but to do the will of Him who sent Me" [John 6:38]. And since we are called to emulate our Lord's example it must therefore be possible for us, despite our glaring imperfections, to experience a similar working out of God's will in our lives.
But we also must be aware that when we pray "Your will be done in me, on earth as it is in heaven, we are inviting God to conquer us, and this is precisely why this petition is so scary. When we pray this prayer, we are, in effect, asking God to do what is necessary to make His will prevail in our lives. And God then comes with gracious, kind violence to root out all impediments to our obedience. To pray this prayer may terrify us but it will also deliver us from ourselves. It can truly be said that we have not learned to pray at all until every request in our prayers is made subject to this one. "Thy will be done" is the petition that determines the authenticity of the other upward petitions, for if we do not mean it, we cannot truly pray, "hallowed by thy Name" or "your kingdom come." Truly praying "thy will be done" is fundamental to all true prayer.
Secondly, this prayer calls for God's will to be done right now in present history. To those who question just how this is possible, Jesus answers with His life. Early in His ministry Jesus told His disciples, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me" [John 4:34]. If we were to pray this petition rightly, our food, what we really live for -- is not an extra slice of pepperoni pizza or bowl of ice cream, but doing God's will. Later Jesus again said, "I seek not to please myself but Him who sent Me" [John 5:30]. And just a chapter later, "I have come down from heaven not to do My will but to do the will of Him who sent Me" [John 6:38]. And since we are called to emulate our Lord's example it must therefore be possible for us, despite our glaring imperfections, to experience a similar working out of God's will in our lives.
But we also must be aware that when we pray "Your will be done in me, on earth as it is in heaven, we are inviting God to conquer us, and this is precisely why this petition is so scary. When we pray this prayer, we are, in effect, asking God to do what is necessary to make His will prevail in our lives. And God then comes with gracious, kind violence to root out all impediments to our obedience. To pray this prayer may terrify us but it will also deliver us from ourselves. It can truly be said that we have not learned to pray at all until every request in our prayers is made subject to this one. "Thy will be done" is the petition that determines the authenticity of the other upward petitions, for if we do not mean it, we cannot truly pray, "hallowed by thy Name" or "your kingdom come." Truly praying "thy will be done" is fundamental to all true prayer.
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