Let’s stop and ask, instead of second guessing what people think.

Man oh man I’m tired. I just came out of a meeting with a person from another church (the name of which I will keep to myself to protect the innocent and everyone else) complaining, ranting and raving, and criticizing the leadership for various decisions etc. Now I’m not so stupid to believe that the leadership in any and every church is so infallible that their decision are always God inspired.  The reality is that often leaders make mistakes. Often they can be blindsided by their passions and their own experience and tradition, or by a particular reading of scripture. And even when they do get it right or make a good and wise decision it can quickly fall apart by miscommunication and bad communication. Making wrong or ill informed decisions is one thing. Miscommunication or bad communication is still something quite different. However the problem I’m finding over and over and over again is that people start reading all sorts of malicious intentions and conspiracy theories into other people’s actions. In this case I just happen to  know the other side of the story and knew there was a simple and easy explanation for what happened. In this case  it was a simple case of miscommunication. Nothing more and nothing less. Yet despite my attempts to soothe the savage beast, it was like water off the proverbial Ducks back. He would not listen.

I could go on and on but it was so obvious that it was a misunderstanding I just had to laugh (Quietly within myself)

Like I said there are cases where sin is the cause of the conflict, but sadly too often it arises from a mistake. So what do we do in such cases?

a. Always always remember there is two sides of the story. We are too quick to jump to our conclusions. I remember trying to solve the dispute between two people. After hearing one side I was convinced that the other side was wrong and rebellious and needed to repent. But when I talked to the other side – Whoa – I heard a completely different story and he explained clearly what had happened. I did the research and it confirmed his side of the story. So bottom line – DON’T DON’T jump to conclusion. LISTEN LISTEN to other side

b. Distinguish between actions and attitude. In nearly all the conflicts I’ve tried to resolve people keep reading ungodly attitudes into wrong actions. Now I know there are actions which are down right ungodly. But in many of the cases I’ve come across the action was not ungodly just unwise. When I’ve talked to people about what they did they explained to me their intentions – all noble and godly – it’s just that they made an error in Judgement. There was no conspiracy theory. No maliciousness or hurt intended. It was just a simple error of judgement. OK people need to be careful next time. But that being said you don’t smash someone and criticise them because, while their intentions were noble, they made an error in judgement. Now if there was conspiracy theory or ungodly motives then – YES – Rebuke them. But this has not been the case in most of the cases I’ve had to deal with

c. Graciousness in all things. Lastly we need to learn the grace of the Lord Jesus in our dealings with others. We need to learn to forgive, to give people the benefit of the doubt etc etc. And even if we were right and our suspicions were correct we still need to learn to forgive as the Lord Jesus has forgiven us. We need to take seriously Ephesians 4:32

Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

After the discussion I asked the person if he is able to give thanks to God for his leaders? You see him squirming and trying to be the pharisee – aiming to love according to the letter of the law but not the spirit of the Law.

So friends, please let’s stop all the conspiracy theories. In all honesty people many people do stupid and silly things even despite their good intentions. But let’s remember that what is important is that we love one another as Christ loved us. By this will the world know that we are his disciples.

Joy as the motivation for Christian service. Hmmmm?

I was talking to a friend the other day and we got on to the subject of talking about ministry. As he shared with me, he is now trying to serve out of joy and not out of duty. He wants to glorify and serve God, but more often it is because it is the right thing rather it is something that he finds joy in doing. His question  now is trying to work out how to find this joy to serve. Anyway as I listened to him share  I couldn’t help but feel a sense of awkwardness in what he was saying. I shared this with him. This might be because I’m an old Aussie Chinese Stoic. Whatever the reason it got me thinking about this subject: “Is joy the prime motivation for Christian service?” “Is serving out of joy the antithesis of serving because of a crass legalism?”

Joy as the prime mover for Christian service seems to be the biggest and latest trend these days. No doubt John Piper’s book “Desiring God” and his catch phrase “God is most glorified when we are most satisfied in Him.” has been a bomb that has exploded on the Christian scene and generated much of this thinking. So here are my reflections.

Before I offer my thoughts let me put a disclaimer. I’m not a first class theologian. I’m your average run of the mill pastor who’d prefer to sit around and watch reruns of Star Trek and play on my Mac than read deep theological books. So what I offer may not be a first class argument but at least it’s something for reflections.

Ok so what are my thoughts on this?

a. I think the first thing that needs to be said is that joy is certainly a big theme in the bible. As I read the scriptures it hard not to miss the spirit of joy that radiates from it’s pages. One need only think of the many Psalms where David sings with joy of his love for God and of God’s great work. Or think of Philippians. Paul is stuck in prison unable to fulfill his calling to preach the gospel to the world and with the possibility of being executed for his faith and yet, of all his letters, this is probably the most of joyful of all. We are also told that joy is a fruit of the spirit(Gal 5:22). In his priestly prayer Jesus pray that his disciples will have the full measure of Jesus joy (John 17:22)  It was because of the joy that lay before him that Jesus endured the cross (Hebrews 12:2). And when you come to Revelation you can’t help but feel the joy of heaven as it celebrates God’s work of salvation. So a joyless Christianity is in many ways a deficient Christianity.

b. However my question is whether joy is ever put forward as the antidote for a works based Christianity? This seems to be what many of my friends are thinking today. Many others feel trapped in a “dutiful’ type of Christianity and are trying to a find a Christianity based on joy. Yet when I read the scriptures it seems that the antithesis of a works based faith is not joy but grace. In other words, it seems that the Christian paradigm and the key motivation for Christian service and obedience is grace rather than joy. Now I don’t want to set one over and against the other. Grace should invariably lead to joy, but grace is not the same as joy. Joy is the fruit of grace, but joy is not the same as grace. Grace reminds us of what God has done for us, but joy is the natural overflow of one who has indeed been gripped by grace. But that being said grace seems to be the chief motivation for service not joy.

c. Take a look at the following examples.  Think about Romans 6:14. Here Paul strongly exhorts the Christians to put to death the sin in their lives, but the chief reason is because they are now under Grace and not law. Similarly, after having spent the first 11 chapters in Romans outlining the grace of God, he then exhorts his readers that in view of God’s mercy….. Romans 12:2. One favourite passage of mind is Psalm 78. Here the Psalmist reminds his generation that they need to teach their peers, and their children and their grandchildren about the praiseworthy deeds of the LORD, his power, and the wonders he has done. (vs.4). The reason for this is so that every generation will not forget the deeds of God and will keep his commandments. (vs.7). As we read through the rest of the Psalms we are reminded that the praise worthy deeds of God was his great work in rescuing his people out of Egypt, guiding them through the wilderness and bringing them to the promised land. In other words, as the Psalmist would argue, the key to ensuring that people keep his commands is to be reminded of God’s grace seen in His work of saving people

d. Having said there are a few passages that does seem to describe joy as the prime reason for doing what needs to be done. Most notably is Hebrews 12:1-3

1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

Here Jesus is presented as the example for all Christians to follow, but even here we need to remember that all the previous chapters leading up to this point have painstaking and meticulously expounded the supremacy and the sufficiency of Christ’s death on our behalf. So in other words, while Joy is certainly a motivation, the bigger context is God’s grace,  fully expressed in Christ.

So as I read the scriptures it seems to me that the overarching paradigm for life and service is grace rather than Joy. Again let me say that this is not meant to set joy in opposition to grace. Grace is the source of joy. But with all the emphasis on joy I wonder if there is a danger of forgetting the grace of the Lord Jesus. I know the fear of many who see many Christians living a works based faith, feeling enslaved to a life of duty without joy. Yet the solution is not to keep pushing joy, but to remind them of the grace of the Lord Jesus. One needs only think of Paul’s words in 2 Corinthians 8: 2 as he exhorted them in their giving. He reminds them of the Macedonians and how they gave so joyfully, however when he turns to the Corinthians, his argument is to take them back to the grace of the Lord Jesus and to be gripped by what He has done for us.

OK this is way way too long, so just bear with me one more moment.

A personal testimony. I’ve been a Christian for nearly 40 yrs (wow – long isn’t it?) and I’ve preached and taught grace and yet for nearly half of my life I think I was living a works based faith, driven by guilt and a sense of duty. One day I was reading a book about God’s grace in the Lord Jesus and for the first time in my life I understood what God had done for me through his son. Like Luther I was gripped by God’s grace. I remember ringing my friends out of great JOY and telling them about God’s grace in the Lord Jesus. Afterward I raced off to the local Christian bookstore and began reading furiously as many books I could find, not about joy, but about God’s grace and what he had done for me in the death of His son. I was a new man. I had a new joy, but what drove me was the grace of the Lord Jesus and when you think about it – isn’t that what the gospel is all about?

OK how do we grow in joy? Grow more and more in the grace of the Lord Jesus. Understand more and more what He has done for us in His death and resurrection. Feed our hearts with the greatness of His atoning work on our behalf. A man gripped by the grace of the Lord Jesus is a man who is unstoppable.

Loving each other even if it stings like hell.

What’s going on? Over the years I’ve come across case after case of ministers resigning from one church after another. I’ve heard of Christians flatting out that has ended in less than favourable terms. I’ve heard of squabbling between leaders and of Christians who struggled to work with each other. And sadly such incidences does not seem to be petering off. If anything I’m sure what I’ve heard and seen is just the tip of the iceberg. So I’ve got to ask myself “What’s going on?” What’s wrong with the church today?

My thoughts are that this is normal. I’m not saying it’s good, nor am I saying it’s acceptable. I’m merely saying that this is what life is like and this is what the church is like.

We keep expecting the church to be the perfect bride she was called to be and a place where everyone comes to church, smiles at each other, say nice things and are always wiling to help. Well I think the church is a lot better than the groups I’ve been in, but I think we might be living in dream land for  this. As I said I think the Christian community is very different to the communities of the world. HOWEVER she is not perfect. Indeed she can be a pain in the %^&&*%^& until Jesus returns.

Until such time, sin is still a major problem. Remember that our sanctification is not a one night wonder. How we wish it were, but it isn’t. It will take a life time of work. Which means that there will still be greed, selfishness, anger, jealousy etc etc. You name it the church will have it. However because the spirit of God dwells in his people, they will improve (Over time) but it can be slow and painful as God teaches us to grow up.

What are we to do in the meantime? Well Jesus tells us doesn’t he:?

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:34,35

We all know the commandment, but what we forget is that by the very fact that Jesus has to say it means that it is not something we will find easy to do. It’s worth remembering that the bible has to repeat this over and over again, and Jesus has to pray for Christian unity (John 17) etc etc, which means that learning to love one anotehr is a particularly difficult and painful work. Just think about all the letters in the NT. A constant and repeated theme is the need to love one another. The bible harp on this not because we are particularly good at this, but rather because we are so bad at it.

In 1 Cor 12:31 Paul reminds them that love is the most excellent way, rather than being loaded up with lots of spiritual gifts.  Remember that 1 Cor 13 (that famous passage about love)  was not written for a wedding about a couple madly in love with each other. Rather it was written to a church riddled with strife.

And remember that great passage about the fruit of the spirit in Galatians 5:22-25. Just before this he encourages them to stop trying to kill each other. (Gal 5:15).

And do you also remember that great statement in 1 John 4:10 about what love is: “This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” Again when you read this short letter it becomes very clear that they had difficulties loving each other.

Remember that the Ephesians had racism. The Philippians had the problem between Syntyche, and Euodia (Philippians 4:2). Titus had to qell the unrest in the churches in Crete (Titus 1:10,11)

Oh yes and don’t forget James. Listen to how much fighting there was going on in that church:

What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? You want something but don’t get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God. James 4:1,2

I’m sure they weren’t literallly killing each other but to use such strong tones suggest that things were not good in the church. The list goes on and on and on.

So what do we do in the meantime when someone in the church has a go at us, says malicious word, is selfish, unkind, uncharitable, ungracious, etc etc? We need to take heed of our lord’s word:

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:34,35

We need to remember that he didn’t love us because we were so loving. He loved us even though loving us was the last thing we deserved – but that’s grace isn’t it. I guess in the same way we are called to love each other, but what makes Christian love so unique is that we are commanded to love each other even if it stings like hell. Hmmm…. I guess that’s what Jesus had to go through for us and thus what he calls us to do. Tough call!