A Toy

 

A Toy

R. L. Withers

 

A toy – portal into imagination.

A toy not played with – sorrow.

Children who cannot play nor eat.

The belly of gluttony here; the belly of starvation there.

Do we care?

 

Building blocks never to be played with to build

Castles, homes, and skyscrapers.

Toy cars never to be driven on a floor.

Stuffed bears and dolls never to be hugged – is that a tear?

Do bears cry?

 

A toy box once full of hope, its contents now strewn about,

Each toy going its own way. - collateral damage they say. 

Little fingers will not grasp them, nor will little hands hold them,

Nor innocent arms embrace them.

Will little voices squeal with delight?

 

Will little eyes sparkle bright?

Little faces smile?

Little hearts beat with joy?

Or will the little ones not meet their toys,

Until they are both in the landfill of life?

 

Seed Bearing Fruit After Its Kind

 

 Well now, dear ones...

 

I have not read or watched or listened to the national and international news for a few weeks...and I pretty much only know enough locally to have fair warning should an expedition from Mars touch down...but I do get a glimpse now and then.

 

I am still following baseball...after all...if we do not have baseball what do we have? Even though it has also changed...I will pass on the All Star Game...haven't watched it in years...like everything else it is now insane with hype, marketing, etc.

 

Come on...it is a game, a game that adults play...

 

"The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed after their kind..." Genesis 1:12.

 

Why is it that many of us who insist on a certain reading of Genesis, and who brand others as outside the pale who do not agree with them, do not apply the same fervor and meticulousness to the national creation myth of the United States? That is, why don't they look at the facts...and if Christians, why don't they ask where faithful preaching and pastoring was during the Revolution - where the image of Jesus was during our First American Civil War?

 

As a rule, pastors who preached peace and obedience were driven from their churches and homes. Things haven't changed...yes?

 

Civil wars are brutal - how can we gloss over this?

 

Just asking.

 

If Genesis 1:12 is true, and I believe it is...then I cannot see how a nation birthed in violent rebellion can have a trajectory other than rebellion...and when it ends it will certainly end in a Biblical image...that of it imploding and consuming itself in rebellion...and the birds of the air and the beasts of the field will have quite the feast.

 

Yes, our Imperial Cult and our Nero(s) and Caligula(s) once again express the truth of Psalm 2 and Daniel 2 and Hebrews 12:12 - 29.

 

Did I mention Revelation 17 and 18? (Every generation has them I suppose).

 

Revelation and Daniel give us true images of the powers of this age, shattering the facades, shattering the national myths - the cry from the Throne is ever and always, "Come out of her (Babylon) My People that you do not partake of her sins!"

 

Genesis is not only the book of beginnings, it is also the book of endings. Nimrod, Shinar, Babel are all there...as are Enoch, Noah, Abraham, and Joseph. We meet them in every generation, plants yielding seed after their kind...we meet them in Revelation, we meet them today.

 

Those who partake of the Tree of Life (Christ the Vine) are called, in Him, to give life to the world - the Grain of Wheat has fallen into the ground and died and come forth in Newness of Life...and the leaves of the Tree are for the healing of the peoples.

 

Those who partake of Nero's table?

 

Two women in Proverbs Chapter 9, two tables (1 Cor. 10:21)...two seeds...

 

Two women in Revelation, the Bride and the Whore.

 

Two kingdoms in Revelation, the Lamb's and that which makes the peoples drunk with the wine of fornication.

 

I suppose there aren't really words to describe all of this...but there sure are images...there sure are images.

 

I was thinking that like Samson we have had our eyes put out...but unlike Samson we don't know it. (John 9:35 - 41).

 

Much love...let us follow the Lamb wherever He goes!

 

Bob

Seeing the Invisible (8)

 

“We look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal” (2 Cor. 4:18).

 

When I began this series I had a sense of where I wanted to go, I wanted to work through 2 Corinthians and demonstrate that in every chapter Paul is seeing the invisible. Of course, this is true of the entire Bible, its writers are always seeing the invisible to one degree or another, even when they don’t quite know what they are seeing. Just as we ought to always ask, “Where is Jesus Christ?” when we read the Bible, we can also ask, “How am I seeing the invisible when I read this passage?” We can be certain that the invisible will always come from Christ, reveal Christ, and lead us back to Christ.

 

This morning as I ponder the situation in our nation with respect to the professing church, and the betrayal by many pastors in leading their people into participation in the Imperial Cult and offering incense to Ceasar, I am thinking of the way most of us make our choices – most of us in the professing church make our choices based on what we can see, not on seeing the invisible, not on seeing Jesus Christ and His Kingdom.

 

What I mean is that we look at the visible options and take our pick. We look at this political party and that political party, we look at this “Christian” movement or that “Christian” movement, at this tradition or that tradition, at this “teacher” or that “teacher.” We consider this policy and that policy and yet another policy – often we make our choices based on what we reject rather than on what we truly want to embrace, often we think that by choosing “the lesser evil” we are doing the best we can.

 

The Bible teaches us to choose Jesus and only Jesus. Evil is evil and we do not overcome evil by using or supporting other evil, we overcome evil by good (Romans 12:21; Matthew 5:38 – 48).

 

But we can only do this as we learn to see the invisible, to see Jesus Christ and His Kingdom.

 

Jesus says that “the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head” (Mt. 8:20). This is true of Jesus, it is true of His Body, the Body of Christ. There is nowhere on this earth for us to lay our Head. When we attempt to find a home, a resting place, among the movements and systems of the present age we prostitute ourselves and others, we sell ourselves to the elements of the world, the flesh, and the devil. We become galley slaves of the principalities and powers of a world in rebellion against God and His Anointed (Psalm 2).

 

My sense is that our Father is not giving His sons and daughters any options other than Jesus – He does not intend to, He has never intended to. Throughout history those who have followed Jesus have been a minority, those who have never heard of Jesus and who have yet responded to the light that God has given them have been a minority – those who respond to God are always a minority…usually (if not always) a minimal minority. Those who respond to Divine goodness, truth, and beauty will be a minority until that Day when the Holy City descends from the invisible and that which is unseen is made manifest to the glory of God and the Lamb and a great harvest is gathered unto God.

 

When we read of the various beasts in Daniel and Revelation, we are seeing the images and natures of the governments and movements and systems of this world, including our own nation – we are seeing the invisible. What may appear righteousness on the outside is death on the inside “full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness…hypocrisy and lawlessness” (Mt. 23:27 – 28).

 

Friends, something isn’t right when we aren’t looking to Jesus. Something isn’t right when Jesus isn’t our one and only Message, when He isn’t our one and only Spouse, when He isn’t the heartbeat of our lives, when pastors and teachers and professors and elders aren’t insisting that their people belong to Jesus and only to Him. Are we not to be seeking that City whose Builder and Maker is God? As Moses, are we not to be seeing Him who is invisible? (Heb. 11:6 – 16, 23 – 27).

 

Are we not in the midst of deluding influences that are not just permeating society, but also the professing church (2 Thess. 2:10 – 11)?

 

The fruit of godly teaching ought to be intimate relationship with Jesus Christ. Yet, what do we see? I hear followers of End Times teachers speak of the End Times. I hear followers of worldviews speak of worldviews. I hear seekers of “experience” speak of experiences. I hear seekers of Bible data and technical learning speak of those things. Where do we hear people speaking of their relationship with Jesus Christ? Where are those who freely and naturally share out of their friendship and fellowship with Jesus?

 

I have been in small groups who seldom (if ever) speak of their relationship with Jesus, the same with Sunday school groups. I have been in countless Sunday worship services in which few, if any, share of their relationship with Jesus – before, during, or after the service. O yes, I have also been among saints who can’t wait to share Jesus with others. I have been with saints who love sharing what they’ve been reading in the Bible and how God is speaking to them through His Word. I have known saints who love praying for one another, laying hands on one another, speaking words of love and joy and encouragement to one another in Christ.

 

O dear friends, our identity does not lie in the world and its systems and governments and political movements and economic practices or in national identity. Our identity, now and forever, must be in the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world and calls us into an invisible and eternal reality in Him. When the invisible Kingdom of the Lamb is manifested in all His glory, the kingdoms of this world will turn to dust along with its powers and authorities.

 

“Worthy are You to take the book and to break its seals; for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth” (Rev. 5:9 – 10).

 

“For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified” (1 Cor. 2:2).

The Great Falling Away and Our Great Hope (1)

 

 

“But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons, by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron…” (1 Timothy 4:1 – 2).

 

“But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant…unloving…without self-control, brutal…reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God…Avoid such men as these.” (2 Timothy 3:1 – 5).

 

“Let no man deceive you, for [the Day of the Lord] will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction…” (2 Thess. 2:3).

 

What does a “falling away” look like? I suppose it has many expressions, many flavors, some perhaps obvious, many – the most dangerous – not easily discerned. I write “not easily discerned,” yet they can be discerned, for it always comes down to the Person of Jesus Christ. Is the Christ of the Cross and the Cross of Christ the message? Are we called to follow Him as He is, consistent with the Scriptures, or are we called to follow images of Him created in our own image?

 

Perhaps I have waited too long to write about this. For sure we are over the tipping point, at least in America we are. We have passed the point of no return, as in Jeremiah’s day. We have rushed past it, bursting through the barriers of morality, compassion, sympathy, and the Gospel, trampling on the good in Christ, the beautiful in Christ, the truth in Christ. While I avoid the terms liberal and conservative and moderate for many good reasons, I will write that these “movements” and ideologies whether political, social, or theological are all destructive and that you and I are called to follow Jesus, and only Jesus. All of these ideologies strip away the image of God within us, the image of God restored within us in Christ, and would make us enemies of one another.

 

Let me share something with you, if a man or woman or young person truly comes to know Jesus, encounters Jesus, and follows Jesus; if a person spends his days and nights with Jesus, that person (let us hope) will only desire Jesus and learn to see all other movements and ideologies as whores seeking to seduce him or her away from Jesus (2 Cor. 11:1 – 3; Ezekiel Chapter 23).

 

Let me tell you something else, those who enter that glorious City, our home, the true and heavenly Jerusalem, which is the Mother of ALL the Faithful (for God only has One People and they are not based on race but found in Christ, the Seed of Abraham; Gal. 3:16; 4:21 – 31) are going to see Jesus and the Father and God is going to overwhelm them in His love and care. They are also going to be overwhelmed in love, with love, for one another – the prayer of Jesus in John 17 will be fully fulfilled in heaven and on earth.

 

And so I ask you, why not live in Jesus now? Why not live in His love now? Why allow ourselves to be seduced and deluded into hatred for others? Why engage in vitriol? Why partake of demonic anger when “righteousness is sown in peace” (James 3:13 – 18)?

 

As Nero and the Imperial Cult lead us into the abyss of hell and death and destruction, why do we not flee to the Ark of Jesus Christ? Why do we not implore those we love to come to Jesus, live in Jesus, live for Jesus?

 

Pastors, let us remember that cowards are the first ones mentioned in Revelation 21:8. Cowards are not those who do not believe the Word of God, they are those who know the Word of God and are afraid to proclaim it, afraid to call their people to Jesus, to live as citizens of heaven. Cowards are those who sell themselves and their people to the Beast, the Whore, and the present evil age. The shepherds of the Good Shepherd lay down their lives, including their economic lives, for the Master’s sheep.

 

Our hope is Jesus and only Jesus, and we are to go “outside the camp, bearing His reproach” (Hebrews 13:13). Make no mistake, whatever “movement” we may be in, does not want Jesus and His Cross, for it is offensive, it is foolishness, and it brings to an end ego, pride, and boasting. Jesus and the Cross will have no image but Himself in our hearts and minds and souls.

 

The early Christians were not persecuted so much because they worshipped Jesus, they were persecuted because they would not worship the Emperor alongside Jesus, they would not buy into the Imperial Cult. The same cannot be said of us today.

 

To be continued….

Bonhoeffer’s Discipleship Part II – Reflections (23)

 

 

“Paul addresses Christians rather than the authorities [Romans 13], but he does this certainly not because the way this world is ordered is so good, but because its good or bad qualities are irrelevant compared to the only thing that is truly important, namely, that the church-community submit and live according to God’s will. Paul does not intend to instruct the Christian community about the tasks of those in authority, but instead only deals with the tasks of the Christian community toward authority” (page 224).

 

Let’s remind ourselves that the chapter in Discipleship which we are considering is The Visible Church-Community. Bonhoeffer is writing about the “space” that the church-community occupies in the world and what we ought to look like, how we ought to live as God’s People.

 

The “we” is critical here because this is about “us” and not about “me.” Yes, of course it is about me in the sense that I am a member of the visible church-community but the operative issue, the critical testimony, is how we as the Body of Christ live and stand in the world, including in our posture toward worldly authority.

 

“The framework for all of what Paul has to say regarding authority is summed up in his introductory admonition: “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Rom. 12:21). The passage on authority does not deal with the question whether a given authority is good or evil; its concern is that Christians should overcome all evil” (page 225).

 

If Bonhoeffer’s understanding of Paul in Romans 13 is true, then we ought to take what he writes seriously, and if we take it seriously we ought to question the mindset of American Christians with regard to government and politics and so-called worldviews – for are we not (American Christians) engaged in a perpetual critique of and involvement in political activities?

 

When Bonhoeffer writes, “The passage on authority [Romans 13] does not deal with the question whether a given authority is good or evil,” we can restate his perspective by saying, “We ought not to be critiquing worldly authority, we ought to be evaluating ourselves, the church-community. Are we truly the City set on a hill? Are we distinct from the political, national, economic, and social movements of the surrounding culture? Are we overcoming evil with good?”

 

Bonhoeffer is not writing about what earthly government ought to look like, but what we, the People of God, ought to look like, for we are called to occupy a distinct space on earth, we do not share space with the governments and authorities of this present age, we represent a kingdom not of this world, not of this age; our citizenship is in heaven; we maintain our own space.

 

Do we take our cues from the news and the rulers (and want to be rulers) of this age, rather than from the Word of God and our Lord Jesus Christ?

 

Are we living in the community of Christ and affirming one another in Him as we wear the white robes of His righteousness, or do we live in communities of red, blue, and purple?

 

Are we affirming that we are a transcendent community without borders in Christ, or do we define ourselves in terms of national, economic, social, ethnic, and racial identity?

 

Let us again consider what Bonhoeffer says, “Its [government’s] good or bad qualities are irrelevant compared to the only thing that is truly important, namely, that the church-community submit and live according to God’s will… The passage on authority [Romans 13] does not deal with the question whether a given authority is good or evil; its concern is that Christians should overcome all evil.”

 

In a forthcoming reflection Bonhoeffer will speak to conflict between the governments of the world and the church-community, a conflict that occurs when we are faithful to Christ and which, I think, is inevitable. As I have written elsewhere, the Son of Man has no where to lay His Head in this world, this is true of the Only Begotten Son and it is true of the many-membered Son, it is true of the church-community. The lap of Delilah has many forms, it is clothed in many colors, she will do all she can to seduce us. O dear friends, let us not forget that Babylon deals in “the souls of men” (Rev. 18:13).

 

Please allow me to make two observations as we wrestle with Romans 13 and Bonhoeffer. The first is that it is quite difficult to be faithful to Christ, to be wedded to Him (2 Cor. 11:1 – 3), and live in the United States. (I focus on America because this is where I live and because most of my readers are American, however, this is also true for my international brothers and sisters – we all have this challenge.)

 

We have allowed politics, current events, culture wars, worldviews, economics, and nationalism to mold our souls…not to mention what Francis Schaffer termed “personal peace and affluence.” This is what we talk about, it is what we think about, it is what rules our emotions, it defines what we love and hate, it colors relationships, and it has invaded congregational life.

 

We have exchanged the Head of the Body for the talking heads of media and politics, and rather than be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ we are now conformed to the image of worldly “leaders.”

 

Bonhoeffer’s teaching on Romans 13 is nearly impossible for us to accept, we have reason after reason why it does not apply to us, why Bonhoeffer and Scripture must be wrong.

 

Let us remember dear friends, that the early Christians were not so much persecuted because they worshipped Jesus, but rather because they would not also worship the Emperor, they would not participate in the Imperial Cult.  Christians who belonged to guilds in order to practice their trades and earn a living for their families, were not expelled because they worshipped Jesus, but rather because they would not also worship the patron idols of the guilds. Economic and social hardship was not an excuse for disobedience in the Early Church.  

 

I have been in churches and small groups which were so politicized that anyone with an alternate political viewpoint, including the perspective that we ought to follow Jesus Christ and Him alone as citizens of heaven, was not welcome…and I have observed worse than I have experienced.

 

To follow what the Bible teaches can be very hard and it can be quite lonely. The way is straight, the gate is narrow…there is only One Way, one color of robe in Christ. For sure when we have encouragement from other brothers and sisters we are strengthened, even to know just a few others in the koinonia of the Trinity makes a significant difference; but there are times, such as with Nehemiah, when there are few building the wall of the City – if so, we must accept that and remain faithful to Christ and His Temple, His Kingdom, His Church.

 

The second observation is that in order to see the full import of Romans 13 that we should consider its context. Romans 13 is placed within a portrayal of the visible church-community. This portrayal begins in Romans 12 and extends into Romans 16 (or we might say that it begins in Romans 9, but for our purposes it is simpler to begin in Romans 12).

 

There is a sense in which Paul speaks to us as individuals in chapters 1 – 8, writing of justification, sanctification, sonship, and reconciliation. Then in chapters 12 – 16 (or 9 – 16) he speaks about the Body that is a result of chapters 1 – 8. In other words, in light of our redemption as set forth in chapters 1 – 8, how should we live together in Christ? The answer is in the second part of the letter to the Romans.

 

Chapter 12 begins with us offering ourselves as living sacrifices, and then we see the result of that in the balance of the chapter – living as the visible church-community.

 

Why then the shift from the visible church-community in Chapter 12, to our relationship to worldly authority in 13:1 – 7? Why this seeming interruption?

 

I think a facet of the answer is that there are two kingdoms on the earth, God’s kingdom and man’s kingdom. Since Paul is writing about the visible Kingdom of God, he will acknowledge the other kingdom in time and space, the kingdom of man (which nevertheless operates under the ultimate authority and control of God – a mystery indeed!). Just as government and power politics and military might permeate our lives today, so it was in ancient times under Rome – and this was especially true in the city of Rome where the recipients of Paul’s letter lived.

 

No doubt living in the city of power, near the center of gravity, had the same temptations in Rome 2,000 years ago as living in America has today, as living in a state capital has, as living in proximity to Washington, D.C. has – the closer one is to the center of power the greater the potential seduction and intoxication (this is true of national government, and it is true of a local PTA). There is a temptation to “play the game” that everyone else is playing who are enmeshed in the world’s system.

 

In other words, Paul is saying, “As you live as the visible church-community under the authority of Jesus Christ, be aware of another entity on earth. Here is how you should view that other entity, here is how you should critique yourselves in relation to that other entity, the governments of this world. You live in the seat of international power, the city of Rome, don’t get caught up in what Rome does, focus on how you are to live in Christ.”

 

We would do well to recall what Paul writes at the beginning of his letter, “I am a debtor both to Greeks and barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish. So, for my part, I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome. For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek” (Romans 1:14 – 16).  

 

This, my friends, is our Great Commission (Matthew 28:16 – 20; 2 Timothy 4:1 – 5). Paul desires to go to Rome to preach Jesus Christ and Him crucified (1 Cor. 2:1 – 5); this was Paul’s mission; it is our mission. The visible church-community that Paul writes to is “in the world but not of the world” (John 17:13 – 18).

 

This was true of Jesus, it was true of Paul, it is true of you, and it is true of me…it is true of “us” in Christ.