Perturbation!

Why is it that so often I return

From social converse with a spirit worn,

A lack, a disappointment—even a sting

Of shame, as for some low, unworthy thing? 

—George MacDonald

Paul writes, “Flee youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. But avoid foolish and ignorant disputes, knowing that they generate strife. And a servant of the Lord must not strive but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will (2 Timothy 2;22-26).

“Youthful lusts” are not sexual lusts, but the passions of the young to engage in “foolish and ignorant disputes”—to wrangle and worry themselves and others with their disputations.

Rather, we should seek righteousness, faith, love and peace as the outcome of every conversation. We should ask ourselves, as we step away from every encounter: “To what extent have my words nudged my brother or sister toward  righteousness, faith, love and peace, or have they added to the sum total of unrest and rancor in the world.”

In a word, we must not “strive”—a Greek term that refers to fist-fights or word-fights depending on the context. We must be knowledgeable (able to teach), but we must also be kind and gentle (the Greek word, epios, means both), patient and humble in our demeanor. If others are delivered from error, it will only be because we have been kind, gentle, patient and humble. The medium as well as the message is the message. 

And, in all our conversations we must bear in mind that those who oppose the truth (as we see it) are not our enemies, but, if deceived, are victims of Satan, our true enemy, who has “taken them captive to do his will.” 

Or it may be—perish the thought—that we’ve been duped as well. 

David Roper 

July 8, 2020

On Kindness

“It's not just who to vote for in November. Wokeness now contains several divisive issues, and they won't be going away anytime soon, regardless if it's Pres. Biden or Trump. The disturbing thing is how critical even Christians can be toward fellow believers with other views, how unwilling to dialogue, and unwilling to carry on in mutual love and respect. How sad if people of goodwill can't agree to disagree. How awful if the Cancel Culture enters the Church. Church splits won't be far away.” —Dan Brown

That quote comes from my good friend, Dan Brown, not the Dan Brown of Da Vinci Code fame, but the Dan Brown of Monica Brown fame who dwells East and West of Boise. 

We’ve been corresponding about breakdown of civility within the Church. How can it be said that we love one another when we, like the Gingham Dog and Calico Cat, are trying to “bite and devour one another?” (Galatian 5:15).

Paul writes, “Be kind, tender hearted, forgiving one another even as God in Christ Jesus has forgiven you” (Ephesians 4:32). Have we forgotten that admonition? 

The sainted Samuel Johnson said, “Out duty (as Christians) is to promote kindness.” Why then all the caterwauling about political points of view that in the end will mean nothing at all—when the kingdoms of this world have become the kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and all that useless stuff will have passed away. 

David Roper

7.6.20  

“Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho…”

“Jericho was securely shut up because of the children of Israel; none went out, and none came in. And the LORD said to Joshua: 'See! I have given Jericho into your hand, its king, and the mighty men of valor'” (Joshua 6:1,2). 

Archaeologist Kathleen Kenyon, excavating in and around Jericho in the mid-twentieth century, found massive walls surrounding the city, fronted by a smooth, plastered slope. The city was impregnable—“securely shut up” according to the biblical record. 

“Not to worry,” God said, “I’ve got this one.”

Jericho stood across the entrance to the Promised Land, frustrating every effort to break through. Israel’s army was no match for Jericho’s defense system and “ mighty men of valor." It had no mighty men, machines, or other means to carry out a siege. As such Jericho represents those people and circumstances that inhibit and frustrate us and stand in the way of our dreams. 

God, who wrote the book on the art of war, laid out his strategy for Joshua and his army:  “March around Jericho once a day for six days and six times on the seventh day.” And the walls came a-tumbling down. 

And so it is that we, “through faith and patience inherit the promises” (Hebrews 6:12). When frustrated and out of sorts we must fill our hearts with prayer—the highest expression of our faith—and wait for God to come through. 

Israel waited a week. We may have to wait a bit longer, subordinating our feverish activity to the slow, steady cadence of faith, for it is, “by faith that the walls of Jericho fell down” (Hebrews 11:39)

David Roper

7.3.20

Respite

“All have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father. Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him. Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls" (Matthew 11:27-29).

To “take up the yoke” was to apprentice oneself (yoke oneself) to an eminent rabbi—in this case, the gentle, humble Jesus.

Other rabbis said, "Come to me and I'll give you a set of rules.” Jesus says, "Come to me and I'll show you what your Heavenly Father is like.”

Thus we find rest for our souls…

David Roper

7.1.20

The Forgotten Factor

“In the succeeding generation rulers will be appointed who have lost the guardian power of testing the metal of your different races, which… are of gold and silver and brass and iron. And so iron will be mingled with silver, and brass with gold, and hence there will arise inequality and inequity, which always and in all places are causes of hatred and war. This the Muses affirm to be the stock from which discord has sprung…” (Plato’s Republic, 8.547.e).

Inequity, inequality, and all the other disparities of life have always been with us, but there are now new calls for swift, concerted, corrective action. But what can I, an old Duffer, do?

Some would suggest that I chant, tweet, march, or spray paint slogans on a wall. But all those expedients, though ofttimes well-intentioned, seem pointless to me. Are there no other measures?

The Apostle John applies Occam’s Razor to the question—the simplest possible answer—in the very last book of the Bible.

First a word of explanation: The Book of Revelation, is a picture book, a graphic representation of human history, but it surpasses all other efforts to understand history by revealing (hence the name of the book) the unseen spiritual forces that drive many of the geopolitical events of our times. It opens our eyes to first causes and ultimate reality, and In that sense it is the most “woke” book of all time. 

In one chapter John sees a harlot dressed in scarlet sitting astride a powerful beast. The beast, in John’s day, represented the Roman Empire and all subsequent manifestations of political power. The harlot represents Satan and his minions, manipulating the beast at will (Revelation 17).

This is not to say that the state is entirely evil, but it explains why evil is so hard to eradicate from the state. The moment one form of evil is vanquished the devil takes up another. Old Satan is too canny for old David. What am I to do?

By way of an answer, John is given a vision of cosmic war—the saints in pitched battle with the devil: “And they (the saints) overcame him (the devil) by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to death” (Revelation 12:11). 

John’s emphasis lies first in the proclamation of the gospel, the good news about the blood-soaked Lamb and his self-sacrificing love. This  does not deny the efficacy of certain forms of political action, and certainly the Church is called to acts of compassion for the disadvantaged. But it does deny the ability of mere beneficence to bring about eternal good. 

Unfortunately, many of us have been caught up in the politics of the moment and have forgotten that our primary task in this world is to point people toward Jesus and his love. Failing that, we may fill their stomachs (or their pockets) but we will leave their hearts empty and sad. Worst yet, they will be eternally separated from joy. 

Secondly, our power to overcame evil is the power of sacrificial love. “They did not love their lives to death.” In John’s day that could mean martyrdom. In our day it calls for self-effacing, self-sacrificing love for one another. This, and not our politics—left or right—is what defines us as followers of the Lamb.

The primary message that the Church has for the world is the good news of God’s redeeming love. “Preach the word,” Paul insists, to his young friend in Ephesus, a politically corrupt outpost of an evil empire, “Stay on task, whether you feel like it or not” (1 Timothy 4:1). That is our first order of business.

“Make the most of every opportunity because the days are evil,” Paul wrote in another place (Ephesians 5:16). Evil days are days of opportunity. You and I were called on stage in this particular period of human history to proclaim the Good News that Jesus, and Jesus alone, has brought salvation to the earth. “We must play well the scene in which we’re ‘on,’” C.S. Lewis said.

David Roper

6.30.20

The One Who Dwells in the Bush

“The one who dwells in the bush…” (Deuteronomy 33:15b)

Moses was trudging across the wilderness of Midian, leading a little band of sheep, when he spied a bush that was on fire, “but it was not being consumed.” So “he turned aside to see this great sight, why the bush did not burn” (Exodus 3:1-3). 

God spoke from the bush: “I am going to send you to Pharaoh that you may bring My people out of Egypt” (Exodus 3:10). 

Moses, diminished by repeated failure, demurred: “WHO AM I that I should go to Pharaoh, and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?” (3:11). “Who am I?” Moses was a discouraged, old drover.

God spoke again from the bush: “It doesn’t matter who you are, Moses. I will be with you” (3:11).

“Well then who are you?” Moses asked. And God said, “’I AM.’ That’s who I am. That is my name forever. Never forget it.”

I AM”—the first person singular present grammatical form of the verb “to be.” An active verb. God’s personal name forever.

“I AM”—whatever you need this day, whenever you need it. Do you need strength to hold it together when everything and everyone is going to pieces? Do you need courage to deal with a challenge in your family this day?  Do you need wisdom to know truth from error in the present confusion? Do you need faith to believe that God is in control? Do you need patience and love for the folks with whom you are sheltering? Ask and it will be given. Not all at once, but in due time.

“I AM,” the God who dwells in the bush, is with you. “I AM” is his name forever. 

David Roper

6.28.20

To Win the Prize

"Do you remember how, on a racing-track, every competitor runs, but only one wins the prize? Well, you ought to run with your minds fixed on winning the prize! Every competitor in athletic events goes into serious training. Athletes will take tremendous pains—for a fading crown of leaves. But our contest is for a crown that will never fade" (1 Corinthians 9:25, 26, J.B. Phillips).

I ran track in high school—the 100 and 200 meter hurdles. When I got to college, however, I realized that everyone in the Southwest Conference—even the equipment managers—could run faster than I and turned in my spikes. 

One thing I learned about competing at the highest level: "Every competitor in athletic events goes into serious training."

That analogy—running with your mind fixed on the prize—is often applied to the Christian life with inducements to establish a set of dreary disciplines—rising at 4:00 a.m. to pray, a chastisement that only made me grouchy. Thankfully, however, that's not how Paul applies that phrase.

Paul argues that though we have been endowed with certain rights, we can, out of our love for Jesus, impose limits on ourselves—discipline ourselves, if you will—give up those rights in order to bring others closer to him. That's what Paul means when he writes, "I run the race with determination. I am no shadow-boxer, I really fight!" (9:27). (Here Paul uses a technical boxing term that evokes memories of  Mammy Yoakum's fabled "Goodnight Irene" knockout punch.)

Stern discipline indeed: To “knock ourselves out” to gain the greatest prize—the spiritual good of another. It's what Jesus did when He set aside his rights as Almighty God and humbled himself to bring salvation to us. He was willing to give up his throne in glory and every other right as God to seek our highest good. There is no greater discipline. There is no greater love.

David Roper

6.24.20