Anticipation

His heart races. The palms of his hands sweat. His pupils dilate. For years he has studied the prophecies of old. His professors introduced him to the writings of Moses, Samuel, Daniel, and Hosea. He remembers the exams and the oral defence of his dissertation in Messianic prophecy. Now miles of sand, pock marked with the footprints of three men and two camels lie behind him. He has studied, but this is different. Could it be that in his lifetime the prophecies have been fulfilled? What are the chances? As a scholar he had dreamed of this day. Yet he now seemed so unprepared for it. Reaching into his pocket he could feel the gift gently bumping against his leg with each stride. He hoped the sappy substance it was made from did not begin to turn gooey in the desert heat. It wasn’t everyday a person was able to give a gift of Myrrh to God after all, and the last thing he wanted was to have it spoil.
As daylight fades and night edges toward him and his colleagues, faint lights became more visible in the sky. Straining ahead, he finally sees “the one”. The star they had been following for days. Evening always brought a sigh of relief as he found assurance that he had not wandered off route, since the star was his guide. For others, the star was merely one of many, a spot of light in a sky splattered with them. For this wise man it was life. It reminded him of his hope. With age comes the darkening of the mind, the slowing of the body, till one day all goes black. But in the blackness there is a beacon of light that guides one to God. The metaphor sent shivers down his spine despite the evening heat.
As evening faded to night, the light of the star grew brighter and closer. They were almost there, almost under it. Ahead, sprawled out was a little town of huts and inns. Near the edge, was a small shelter, its roof lit up by the star. This must be the place he thought! This must be the place he had anticipated for so long. But could it really be? A child sent to save the world?

When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. And going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.
Matthew 2:10-11

Tell me won’t you, have you too met this child?

Accenting Gospel Content with Charity

“What I'm about to preach, you will never remember.
What you have just seen, you will never forget.” ~Author unknown

Biblical Christianity maintains that there is content to the Christian message—we call this truth. The truth of the Gospel is that people have willfully rebelled against God and deserve eternal judgment. As such, the God of love, grace and mercy sent the God-Man (Jesus Christ) to suffer and die for our sins in order that we would not have to suffer for our own sin. Jesus miraculously rose from the dead in triumph over death. A person can be saved only through faith in Christ. Conversely, one cannot be saved apart from Christ. No amount of religiosity will cut it. It is upon this truth that the gift of eternal life rests.

At the same time, the New Testament instructs the Christian to accent (in the sense of making prominent) the presentation of the Gospel with the qualities of gentleness and respect. We are to avoid rudeness and arrogance. These words are not internal qualities that a Proclaimer can possess but fail to manifest. They are external in nature and necessary trimmings to Good News of Christ. Failure to express them is to fail as a Proclaimer.

Sadly, I must admit that there have been times when I have dropped the ball in this area. In an impassioned plea for truth I have become frustrated, angered or tactless. Perhaps you too can relate. Incessant attacks upon the content of the Gospel can foster carelessness in our delivery. Yet to truly obey the Christian calling, we must learn to sacrifice neither content nor the accents in our delivery. If I proclaim God’s love in an unloving way or his grace in an ungracious way or his mercy in an unmerciful way, I run the risk of obscuring the content. Sure, God can bypass these foibles and still win souls to Himself, but we must also hold in tension the command to do all things necessary as Proclaimers to win some to Jesus—and that includes an interest in the accents as well as the content of the Good News. We all know that good intentions are one thing, but the way we deliver the message often wins the day!

Dad had a Heart Attack

Many of you know that my father Dave had two minor heart attacks after Christmas. I had a chance to meet with him before his surgery in St. Thomas and talk about spiritual matters. Yesterday, I visited him in London. I brought him a Bible, since he didn't have one, and he seemed appreciative. The surgery went well (triple bypass) but due to the meds his bowels shut down for a few days which has caused painful complications. Last evening it seemed that things were taking a turn for the better and that he might be able to go home in a few days.

Pray also that he would discover what it means to have an intimate and adventurous relationship with the Lord. He's a great guy and I believe God could use him significantly for Kingdom purposes. Pray for my step-mom Nan as well as she travels to London each day to see him.

Fear Should Never Ever Trump Love

As many of you know I have a strong interest in living by the truth of the Bible and defending it against attack. I have spent many years studying God’s Word, and while there is still much I do not know, I can smell an attack on the fundamentals of our faith from a mile away. As believers it is crucial that we abide by the precepts of Scripture through which we grow in relationship with God. We must equip one another to understand the content of our faith (theology), the defence of our faith (apologetics) as well as the practical living-out of our faith (ethics). To these disciplines I am committed.

At the same time, I am well aware of the fact that we live in a world that is very sceptical of the authenticity of Christianity and the authenticity of Christians. We all have met people who refuse to listen to the Gospel message because they have been hurt by far too many Christian messengers who lack tact, wisdom, discernment, love and grace. For this reason I have long felt that although the message of the cross is offensive, we must be careful not to be offensive ourselves in our approach to theology, apologetics or ethics.

Recently, a friend and I had a 3½ hour conversation in my office with two Muslim men we know. This conversation was marked by clear differences in belief, and we rigorously challenged each other’s underlying assumptions about Christianity and Islam. Our conversation however was clearly marked by grace and love, and as such was very productive. Both sides hugged and commented how much they appreciated the openness and honesty of the others. In no uncertain terms we told these fellows that apart from personal faith in Christ they are destined to eternal Hellfire, and they told us the same from their religious perspective. But in all of this, there were no angry outbursts, yelling or screaming. We enjoyed lunch together and plan to meet again in a few weeks.

As Christians, I think this is a good paradigm to adopt when it comes to inter faith dialogue. As I talk with members of other faiths, I try to abide by three principles:
(1) We must love people of other faiths deeply and go out of our way to saturate them with the love of Christ in the process of addressing life and death. Sadly, my Muslim friends shared that they often feel attacked personally by Christians.
(2) While I would not debate the idea of substantial differences between other faiths and Christianity, we need not fear other people. The Power of Christ in us is greater than the power that is in this world. While it might be tempting to adopt a “go get ‘em, Tiger” mentality toward other Christians who boldly attack other faith, it was not the ethic of our Lord.
(3) Abrasive terminology toward other faiths does not win converts. It is one thing to openly discuss world religions among believers but think about how you would respond if other faiths were inflammatory against Christianity. Yes, I am aware that many Christians have suffered for their faith at the hands of other faiths. I personally know Christians who have been imprisoned simply for pastoring a church. But personal attacks against unbelievers only breed distain. We don’t like it, so why should they? I believe that such rhetoric is a violation of the principle of defending our faith with “gentleness and respect” found in 1 Peter 3:15. If I err, I would rather err on the side of gentleness. Jesus taught us to be “as wise as serpents and as innocent as doves” (Matt 10:16), and I think that applies to evangelism. I for one am not afraid of other religions, but if I fear for their eternal destinies I must seek to become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. (1 Cor. 9:22b).
That’s my take.