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Fear of the Lord

One of my favorite family-gathering memories: It was a holiday dinner at my in-laws’. With six girls and a boy in the family, such dinner gatherings were loud and festive. And, as was often the case in the 20th century, the men sat in the living room adjacent to the kitchen as our spouses prepped the meal. We were, of course, discussing important things like football.

At this particular gathering, all of us brothers-in-law were gathered in the living room when one of them said with much boldness, “I fear no man!” quickly followed by a quieter comment about his wife, “But that little woman in the next room scares the snot out of me.” As I said, one of my favorite family-gathering memories. And we bring it up annually.

The concept of fearing God is among the most challenging biblical ideas, particularly in the context of the Old Testament, the Hebrew scriptures. We are likely familiar with, The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom… (Proverbs 9:10a). It’s one of those Proverbs that sounds profound and correct but we don’t know why. If asked to describe or explain “fear of the Lord,” we might be a bit at a loss. What does it really mean?

When I first encountered the phrase in personal readings 50+ years ago, it caused me to pause. Growing up going to church and Sunday School I probably heard it a lot. But when I read it myself it seemed like a new term for me. A cursory exploration in my compact Bible Dictionary revealed that “fear of the Lord” could be translated or redefined as reverence or respect.

That seemed to satisfy me for a little while, but there was a lingering sense that it was larger and more robust than that. My pastor’s title was Reverend. I respected him, but I didn’t fear him nor did I suspect he was on the same par as God. There had to be more. So I did some digging and discovered some stuff…

Yirah (יִרְאָה) is the most common Hebrew word used for “fear” in the context of fearing God. It conveys a sense of awe, reverence, and respect. Yirah is often associated with a profound recognition of God’s greatness and holiness, leading to an attitude of humility and obedience. It is frequently used in the context of seeking wisdom and understanding from God (thus the Proverbs 9:10 passage). The Psalms are laced with “fear of God” language, for example, Psalm 86:11 (AMP):

Teach me Your way, O Lord [Yahweh],
I will walk and live in Your truth;
Direct my heart to fear Your name [with awe-inspired reverence and submissive wonder].

The fear of Yahweh represents an attitude of recognizing our complete reliance on Him for mercy, forgiveness, and even our very existence.

Fearing God is having a clear understanding of who God is and how my own sinful nature places me in conflict with his nature, and it is knowing that my only hope is divine grace and mercy. A healthy understanding of “fear of the Lord” is dependent on my view of God. If I know the God of scripture, “fear of the Lord” will look different than if I view Him as a god that smites, a celestial tyrant. This is why I repeatedly advise people to maintain a consistent practice of spending time immersed in the Gospels developing a deeper understanding of Jesus, the visible expression of the invisible God (Colossians 1:15).

N.T. Wright in addressing “fear of the Lord.” Human beings were made to know, worship, love, and serve the creator God. That always was and always will be the way to healthy and fruitful human living. It demands, of course, a certain kind of humility: a willingness to let God be God, to celebrate and honour him as such, and acknowledge his power in and over the world. *

The placing of our lives in the hands of God is the attitude of submission that the Old Testament refers to as “the fear of the Lord.” Bottom line…

Submission to the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. And life!

* Wright, N. T.. Paul for Everyone: Romans, Part One (The New Testament for Everyone) (p. 13). Presbyterian Publishing Corporation.

Old Faithful

Time spent with our grandkids causes me to reflect back to “when I was their age,” reminiscing what life was like for me decades ago. Much has changed, but kids are kids and the kinds of things that intrigued me intrigue them as well. I love watching them with their nose in books or as they learn to draw. I loved to read and draw. What I read was different (Hardy Boys mysteries versus Harry Potter). I drew horses and tractors. Our grandkids draw Pokémon figures.

One of the most intriguing things I played with as a kid was a View-Master. For those unfamiliar, a precursor to 3-D glasses the View-Master was a popular stereoscopic toy that allowed me to view images in a three-dimensional format. It consisted of a handheld plastic viewer and a series of circular cardboard “reels,” each containing a set of paired images (see below).

We had a series of reels ranging from Hopalong Cassidy to a variety of national parks. My favorite was Yellowstone National Park. For a dairy farm kid for which a “vacation” consisted of a day trip to Taylors Falls or Duluth squeezed between milkings, the View-Master gave me the opportunity to experience the majesty of our parks – in 3-D!

The “Old Faithful” geyser was particularly captivating. The View-Master reel had a series of time-lapse photos showing the faithful geyser in various stages of eruption. All in 3-D! I studied each of the slides. I couldn’t get enough!

In the previous post, we discussed faith, a word that occurs over 250 times in the New Testament. It derives from the Greek word pistis and can easily be translated as trust (see I Gotta Have Faith). What about faithful – how are faith and faithful related and/or different?

For starters, faith is a noun and faithful is an adjective. Faith refers to the belief or trust in something, particularly God, while faithful describes a person characterized by loyalty, devotion, and reliability. Faith is the foundation or conviction, while faithful reflects the actions and qualities associated with steadfastness and trustworthiness.

Faithful is a translation of the Greek word pistos, which, as you can see, is a derivation of pistis (faith) and pisteoū (believe). These are Greek words found in the New Testament. Looking into the word pistos, what piques my interest are the English words that describe faithful – loyalty, devotion, reliability, steadfastness, trustworthiness, etc. These smack of the Old Testament characterization of God’s covenant loyalty and reliability, hesed and emet (see Hesed and Emet and Veritas).

In a similar fashion to our quantification of faith, I suspect we view being faithful as some form of perfection, success, or “getting it right.” Loyalty and perfection are not the same. I am loyal to my wife but far from perfect and don’t get it right all the time (as she would likely agree 😬). Though she might like it if I got it right more often, I know that loyalty is far more important to her. I suspect God is more interested in our pistos than our successes, our getting-it-rightness.

I am reminded of a story about Mother Theresa. When orphans were starving in India at a greater rate than her little orphanage could possibly serve, Mother Theresa was asked by a reporter how she could feel any sense of success. Her response? God does not require that we be successful, only that we be faithful. In Western thought, we have equated success and faithfulness. God wants our pistos, our loyalty and our devotion.

We must also remember that loyalty is covenantal. While I am faithful to my wife, she is also faithful to me – she makes it easy to be loyal to her. The Old Testament narrative is a story about God’s covenant loyalty. With Jesus, God provided forgiveness of sin making loyalty a possibility. God’s loyalty makes us want to be loyal/faithful in return. The Apostle Paul summed it up for his friend and apprentice Timothy like this (2 Timothy 2:11-13):

Here is a trustworthy (pistos) saying:

If we died with him,
    we will also live with him;
if we endure,
    we will also reign with him.
If we disown him,
    he will also disown us;
if we are faithless,
    he remains faithful (pistos),
    for he cannot disown himself.

God’s pistos trumps our pistoslessness

Addendum 7/23/2023. Reading 1 Thessalonians 5 this morning, I came across this: The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it (5:24). Greek for “The one who calls you is faithful” – Pistos ho kalon,

I Gotta Have Faith*

My daughter and I were recently talking about faith, trust, belief, faithfulness, etc. Faith is one of those religious terms that we assume to understand, but deeper consideration might suggest otherwise. Consider this oft-heard statement: “If you just have (or had) enough faith, then _____ (fill in the blank).” There is a sense of a threshold of faith that once reached, God will grant us our desires. And if those desires aren’t fulfilled, then we assume we are at fault – we didn’t have enough faith, didn’t reach that elusive threshold. (And unfortunately, there are a number of people that are willing to remind us of our lack of faith.)

I suspect we tend to quantify faith, thus “enough” and “threshold” thinking. Personally, I realized that when I quantify faith, then I become the focus, not God. My faith makes the difference. My faith results in _____ (again, fill in the blank). The focus is on me and my ability. I’m pretty sure that if I am the focal point, then surely something must be amiss.

In addition, a quantified approach to faith not only focuses on me but also on the outcome. If the desired outcome happens, then we say “They had enough faith,” But what if the desired outcome doesn’t happen, then what?

Consider the many times Jesus commended and affirmed people’s faith. I think of his response to the faith of the centurion: “Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith.” (Matt. 8:10). Or the faith of the paralyzed man’s friends: “When Jesus saw their faith, he said, ‘Friend, your sins are forgiven.'” (Luke 5:20).

As I look at the many occurrences of Jesus commending people for their faith, I see a theme that I hadn’t really noticed before. Most of those lauded didn’t qualify as people with any sort of faith at all, according to the religious traditions.

Many, if not most, were in need of healing. The religious culture labeled, oppressed, and ostracized people with diseases and physical infirmities – they lacked a measurable amount of faith, I suspect. Some were members of the wrong tribe, like the Roman centurion (above) or the Syrophoenician / Canaanite woman who came to Jesus despite the tribal distinctions (see Matt. 15:21-28 and Mark 7:24-30).

In the passages describing Jesus’ commendation of people’s faith, the Greek word translated as faith is pistis. As we typically find to be true with translations from Greek, a single English word is often not sufficient. In their use of pistis, Plato and other Greek philosophers referred to the conviction of the truth of anything, of belief. (Pistis is related to pisteoū, often translated as “belief.”)

The new testament writers used pistis to describe our relationship to God and to Christ. When it relates to God, pistis is “the conviction that God exists and is the creator and ruler of all things.” In reference to Christ, it denotes “a strong and welcome conviction or belief that Jesus is the Messiah, through whom we obtain eternal salvation in the kingdom of God” (Thayer’s Lexicon). The predominant idea is one of trust (or confidence) in the one true God and/or that Jesus is the Christ (Messiah).

Central to faith is the object of one’s faith.

So what was this faith that outsiders possessed and Jesus lauded? They simply trusted Him. He was the object of their faith. When we think in terms of quantified faith, we become the object. When we think of faith in terms of trust, God becomes the focus. Can he be trusted? Is he reliable? Does he have my best interests in mind? Regardless of the outcome?

A couple of great stories…

From Esther. Esther needed to speak to the king on behalf of the Israelites but it was unlawful for her to approach the king without being summoned – the law said she should be put to death. But she knew that she was the one that needed to speak on behalf of the people. She did not say “I have faith that God will protect me.” Her words? “I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.” TRUST.

From Daniel (esp. chapter 3). Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused to worship the king’s idols and were promised that they’d be tossed in a furnace if they didn’t. They did not say “We have enough faith and we know God will protect us.” Their reply? “O Nebuchadnezzar…if we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it… But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.” TRUST.

Faith: Just plain trust. Not quantified. Not outcome dependent. Just plain TRUST!!!

* “Apologies” for the unashamed use of lyrics from the 1980s George Michael song, Faith.

Tim Keller, Author

One more post dedicated to the life and ministry of Timothy Keller – a trilogy of sorts, which is appropriate given Keller’s love of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings and C.S. Lewis’s Space trilogies. Keller was a prolific writer – something that didn’t happen for him until the sixth decade of his life. I tend to pay more attention to people that write later in their faith journey when they possess a more fully developed theology. In the same manner, I like reading the epistles that the Apostle Paul wrote later in his ministry (e.g., Philippians, Colossians, Ephesians).

Keller’s numerous books (and sermons) reflect a culturally thoughtful and intellectually rigorous approach to theology. I recently discovered that I have read a fair number of his books. I thought it might be interesting to capture of few great quotes from his books I’ve read – for my benefit if nothing else! You may also enjoy…

Tweet by The Gospel Coalition, May 26, 2023

“The gospel is this: We are more sinful and flawed in ourselves than we ever dared believe, yet at the very same time we are more loved and accepted in Jesus Christ than we ever dared hope.” (The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism, 2008)

“A faith without some doubts is like a human body without any antibodies in it. People who blithely go through life too busy or indifferent to ask hard questions about why they believe as they do will find themselves defenseless against either the experience of tragedy or the probing questions of a smart skeptic.” (The Reason for God)

“Doubt is not the opposite of faith; it is an element of faith” and “Believers should acknowledge and wrestle with doubts… It is no longer sufficient to hold beliefs just because you inherited them.” (The Reason for God)

“Our need for worth is so powerful that whatever we base our identity and value on we essentially ‘deify.'” (The Reason for God)

“The only person who dares wake up a king at 3 am for a glass of water is a child. We have that kind of access.” (Twitter)

“Justice without grace is only harshness. Grace without justice is only sentimentality.” (The Reason for God)

“God never said that the journey would be easy, but He did say that the arrival would be worthwhile.” (The Reason for God)

“Both brothers were lost, but only one knew it.” (The Prodigal God: Recovering the Heart of the Christian Faith, 2008)

“The gospel is distinct from mere morality. Morality is about good and bad, but the gospel is about lost and found.” (The Prodigal God)

“The younger son repents because of his circumstances; the elder son does not repent despite his circumstances. The first is sorry for what he has done; the second is angry that God does not seem to have blessed him enough for his goodness. The younger son repents with his whole heart; the elder son, with only half a heart.” (The Prodigal God)

“Both the irreligious and the religious are spiritually lost, but they are lost in different ways. Religious people are lost because they don’t think they’re lost. Irreligious people are lost because they don’t know they’re lost.” (The Prodigal God)

“The gospel is not religion. Religion operates on the principle of ‘I obey, therefore I’m accepted.’ The gospel operates on the principle of ‘I’m accepted, therefore I obey.'” (The Prodigal God)

“Jesus’s teaching consistently attracted the irreligious while offending the Bible-believing, religious people of His day. However, in the main, our churches today do not have this effect. The kind of outsiders Jesus attracted are not attracted to contemporary churches, even our most avant-garde ones. We tend to draw conservative, buttoned-down, moralistic people. The licentious and liberated or the broken and marginal avoid church. That can only mean one thing. If the preaching of our ministers and the practice of our parishioners do not have the same effect on people that Jesus had, then we must not be declaring the same message that Jesus did.” (The Prodigal God)

“Jesus doesn’t just give us advice; He gives us Himself… Jesus doesn’t just show us the way; He is the way… Jesus doesn’t just point us to truth; He is the truth… Jesus didn’t come to make bad people good; He came to make dead people alive… Jesus doesn’t offer temporary relief from life’s struggles; He offers eternal hope in the midst of them.” (Encounters with Jesus: Unexpected Answers to Life’s Biggest Questions, 2013)

“Jesus did not come to earth simply to teach; He came to be the King… Jesus doesn’t just claim to be a king; He is the King of all kings… Jesus didn’t just talk about the kingdom of God; He brought the kingdom of God to earth… Jesus didn’t come to establish an earthly empire; He came to bring about a revolution of the heart… Understanding Jesus as King means recognizing His authority over every aspect of our lives.” (Jesus the King: Understanding the Life and Death of the Son of God, 2011)

“The desire for justice and the longing for a better world point to something beyond ourselves. They hint at the existence of a moral lawgiver.” (Making Sense of God: An Invitation to the Skeptical, 2016)

“Christianity is not merely a set of beliefs; it is a story that makes sense of the world. It offers a comprehensive framework for understanding life, purpose, and the human condition.” (Making Sense of God)

“The gospel is not a transaction; it is a transformation. It is not about earning salvation through good works, but receiving God’s grace and allowing it to change us from the inside out.” (Making Sense of God)

That was fun! My pastor put me onto this book: Timothy Keller: His Spiritual and Intellectual Formation, by Collin Hansen, which just came out in February. If you are a Timothy Keller fan, I highly recommend it. I listened to it on Audible, which contains some bonus talks and sermons of Keller’s, including the message he preached the Sunday after 9/11/2001.

Tim Keller, Intellect

Though largely known for his cultural engagement that led to a successful mega-Church plant (though not in his plans when he moved to Manhattan – see Timothy Keller), Timothy Keller’s real asset to Christianity was his intellect. Those who are not part of the Christian faith commonly hold the belief that Christians have “checked their intellect at the door.” This prevailing perception is rooted in the fact that many Christians have indeed demonstrated this behavior and, at times, even exhibited a sense of arrogance regarding their stance.

I think of people like Mark Driscoll who bragged about his lack of education when he planted a church at 25 years of age (cf. Rise and Fall of Mars Hill). Wise people like Keller and Dallas Willard would suggest we think otherwise. Willard reminded his readers of Romans 12:2: Don’t be conformed to the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds so that you can figure out what God’s will is—what is good and pleasing and mature (CEB).*

We tend to focus on the beginning of the first sentence of the passage, trying hard not to conform to the patterns of this world (which is simply moralism, by the way). As a result, we end up conforming to something else. Twenty years ago we lived in a smaller fairly churched community with a plethora of churches possessing a variety of worship styles. I have often quipped that when at an ecumenical gathering in that community, I could tell where they attended based on the way they prayed. *

We conform to something, which I posit can be a result of checking our intellect at the door. Mars Hill’s intent was that people come to know Jesus. After salvation, people’s intellects weren’t a necessity – Mark Driscoll provided them with what they needed. His messages pushed back against the culture of the world (do not conform to the patterns of this world) and gave them a different set of patterns to conform to. And they did – 15,000 thousand attendees and staff. Then Mars Hill collapsed.

Shifting our attention from conformity, let’s direct our focus towards the latter portion of Paul’s statement: but be transformed by the renewing of your minds so that you can figure out what God’s will is—what is good and pleasing and mature. I’ve talked about the word transformation before (see Metamorfoo). How does transformation happen? Not through conformity, but by feeding the intellect.

Renewing our minds cannot happen if we are “mindless” and rely only on others to tell us what to do and believe. Paul’s letters were full of intelligent thought and I assume he expected the groups to whom they were written to ponder together and discuss together. Jesus told stories and asked questions that drove his hearers (especially his followers) to become critical thinkers. Keep in mind that for first-century Israelites conformity trumped mind renewal. Former conformers were part of Paul’s audience when he wrote his letter to the Romans.

What does renewing the mind look like? In pointing Christ-followers to the second part of the passage, Dallas Willard stressed the need for intentional spiritual practices and intellectual cultivation of a Christ-centered worldview that might lead to a genuine transformation in every aspect of life. He appealed to biblical discipleship – be with, learn from, become like, and join Jesus in his mission. He appealed to the intellect. Willard often said that Jesus is the most intelligent person in the universe – learning from Him can/will lead to authentic and comprehensive transformation in one’s life.

Timothy Keller’s emergence as a prominent figure for engaging with culture within the evangelical community can be directly attributed to his intellectual agility and the development of his critical thinking skills, which he began cultivating during his college years. He grappled with the prevailing evangelical ambivalence towards racism and apartheid, perceiving them to be incongruent with the life and teachings of Jesus. He also wrestled with the more liberal theology that showed concern for “the other,” yet omitted Jesus from the equation. It compelled him to turn to Jesus, seeking a critical understanding of his teachings rather than conforming to the expectations of others.

Keller became a well-respected pastor, theologian, and author known for his intellectual approach to Christianity. He became widely recognized for his ability to engage with philosophical, cultural, and intellectual challenges to the Christian faith in a post-Christian age. His numerous books and sermons reflect a culturally thoughtful and intellectually rigorous approach to theology.

Keller emphasized the importance of engaging the mind in matters of faith and encouraged believers to explore and wrestle with difficult questions. He sought to bridge the gap between faith and reason and presented Christianity as intellectually compelling. Blaise Pascal (the brilliant 17th-century mathematician and physicist, who, after a profound conversion redirected his intellectual pursuits towards Christian philosophy), provided Keller with a quote that described his philosophy of ministry:

Men despise religion. They hate it and are afraid it may be true. The cure for this is first to show that religion is not contrary to reason, but worthy of reverence and respect. Next, make it attractive, make good men wish it were true, and then show that it is.

What we get to intelligently do: Make Christianity attractive, make people wish it were true, and then show them that it is.

* We want to keep in mind that Jesus always appealed to the intellect – asking questions and telling stories to help people “rethink their thinking.” Remember that repentance begins with a shift in one’s thinking. It’s important to consider Jesus’ enhancement to the Shema’s (Deut. 6:4-5) meaning and significance by replacing the word “strength” with “mind,” thus expanding its richness and depth: Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind (Matt. 22:37). In Mark 12:30, we observe that Jesus retained the term “strength” and added “mind.”

* Addendum 7/17/2023. I stumbled onto this quote by Henri Nouwen: “Often we hear the remark that we have to live in the world without being of the world. But it may be more difficult to be in the Church without being of the Church.” [Nouwen, H. J. M. (1997). Bread for the journey : a daybook of wisdom and faith 91st edition). Harper SanFrancisco.]

Timothy Keller

We lost a great Christian leader this past month – Timothy (Tim) Keller. He passed away on May 19, 2023, following a three-year battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 72. Keller was a bit of an enigma at a time when American Christians seemed to clamor for “relevance” and charismatic leadership.

Keller’s resume is actually pretty short. After graduating from Gordon-Conwell Seminary in 1975, he was ordained in the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA), a newer denomination that had been formed in the early 70s. His first call was to pastor a church in a small blue-collar town in Virginia, where he served for nine years. It’s there that he learned how to trust, serve, and pastor. Keller in a World magazine interview:

Being in a blue-collar church taught me to be both clear and practical in preaching. One of the biggest compliments I ever got was when someone in the congregation thanked me that I “wasn’t intellectual” and therefore could be understood. I also learned not to build a ministry on leadership charisma (which I didn’t have anyway!) or preaching skill (which wasn’t so much there early on) but on loving people pastorally and repenting when I was in the wrong. In a small town, people will follow you if they trust you—your character—personally, and that trust has to be built in personal relationships, not through showing off your credentials and your talents.

“People will follow you if they trust you—your character—personally, and that trust has to be built in personal relationships, not through showing off your credentials and your talents.“

The next item on his resume was a professorship stint at Westminster Theological Seminary, teaching practical theology while working on his doctorate. He also began working for the PCA, focused on their church planting efforts. He was charged with finding someone willing to plant a church in Manhattan. No one was interested – it was a bad idea, fraught with potential failure. Keller:

I was told by almost everyone it was a fool’s errand. Manhattan was the land of skeptics, critics, and cynics. The middle class, the conventional market for a church, was fleeing the city because of crime and rising costs.

So, in 1989, Tim and his wife, Kathy, embarked on the fool’s errand, moving to Manhattan to plant Redeemer Presbyterian Church. In the process, they fell in love with the city and its inhabitants. In the World interview, one can see Keller’s heart for the upwardly mobile young professionals that landed in Manhattan:

They had lived their whole lives with parents, music teachers, coaches, professors, and bosses telling them to do better, be better, try harder. In their view, God was the ultimate taskmaster, with unfulfillable demands. To hear that He Himself had met those demands for righteousness through the life and death of Jesus, and now there was no condemnation left for anyone who trusted in that righteousness—that was an amazingly freeing message.

Keller was a model of cultural evangelical engagement. His approach was especially popular with those Christians who felt the culture wars had harmed their gospel witness. He resisted the prevailing evangelical emphasis on suburbs that overlooked the cities. In a similar spirit, he challenged the political mobilization of churches. His views were not universally received as we can see in this op-ed by Carl R. Trueman, professor at the Alva J. Calderwood School of Arts and Letters, Grove City College:

I disagree at points with both his theology and philosophy of ministry. [I do not] share his love of the city. For me, cities are a necessary evil whose sole purpose is to provide country boys like me somewhere to go to the theatre once in a while. And I am definitely not an optimistic transformationalist as he is—trust me, things are going to get worse before, well, they get even worse than that.

Regardless of push-back from those who questioned his theology or methods, Keller was true to the orthodox Gospel he understood, preached, and lived. His understanding of the Gospel was something he oft Tweeted: “We are more sinful and flawed in ourselves than we ever dared believe, yet at the very same time we are more loved and accepted in Jesus Christ than we ever dared hope.”

His theology and methods led a Christianity Today editor to write, “Fifty years from now, if evangelical Christians are widely known for their love of cities, their commitment to mercy and justice, and their love of their neighbors, Tim Keller will be remembered as a pioneer of the new urban Christians.”

Tim Keller will be missed!

(This was Keller’s last message to the Redeemer Churches recorded a few weeks before his death. It is worth 10 minutes of your time.)

A Visible God

In the recent Theophany post, we looked at ways God manifested himself to the Israelites over the centuries, consummating with His penultimate expression through Jesus Christ.

Fifty years ago this summer God drew me into youth ministry through Young Life, a non-denominational outreach to teenagers. I was serving teenagers in my hometown, working full-time, and pursuing an engineering degree taking classes a couple nights a week. In the midst of it all, I tried to read scripture with some consistency and with some success. In the 70s, we didn’t have the availability of scripture translations and paraphrases as we do today, but we had a few – King James, Revised Standard, New American Standard, The Living Bible, The Good News Bible, and a favorite of Young Life staff, the J.B. Phillips New Testament.

Early into my Young Life experience, at a volunteer leader training, we were pointed to Colossians 1:15 – Now Christ is the visible expression of the invisible God (Phillips). The passage, it was explained, was a cornerstone to Young Life talks – we wanted kids to know the real God who made himself visible through Jesus. Jesus revealed God’s character, compassion, and heart for people. In preparing Young Life talks, I diligently worked at helping kids see this Jesus, the visible expression of the God they could not see. A few months into the beginning of my Young Life tenure as a volunteer leader, a thought occurred to me: I didn’t know God or Jesus, save a few stories I learned in Sunday School*…..

In the midst of a fairly busy schedule, I embarked on a year-long quest to know God. It didn’t start as a year-long quest. It started as a one-time reading of the Gospels in my brand new J.B. Phillips New Testament, underlining and highlighting with a red colored pencil as I progressed. After an initial read, I decided to read them again – Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John – marking the pages with a different color. I was amazed to discover how much I didn’t observe in the first go-around. So I read them again. I soon realized that my eyes were drawn to passages that were already highlighted. So I bought a new bible with a different translation and repeated the process, highlighting new discoveries about Jesus (and thus about God).

Seven translations and a year later I felt I was ready to adequately venture into other parts of the New Testament as well as the Old Testament, the Hebrew Scriptures. As I look back 50 years, I have to believe that year was one of the most transformative experiences of my faith journey. It’s what likely saved me from the tenets of Moralistic Therapeutic Deism. It set me up to know Jesus (not just about Jesus). It set me up to give decent Young Life talks. It set me up to be a better husband and father. It set me up to learn to read Scripture exegetically. IT SET ME UP FOR LIFE!

I suspect few people read the Gospels with regularity

I am amazed how few people have actually read straight through the Gospels even one time, which is why I give everyone I mentor the exact same assignment – read through the Gospels.** When done, I usually have them repeat the process. Invariably, I get the same response – it was a transformative experience (a common ‘practical theology’ theme, you’ll notice). If you happen to be one that has never done a read-through of the Gospels, then you know what I would suggest. I sincerely hope you would heed the suggestion.

My heart aches when I realize how few Christians spend time in the Gospels, and thus with Jesus. How else will we ever know Him?

* A couple of years ago I had the privilege of joining a group of people to hear George Barna give a researcher’s perspective on what is needed to develop our young people in today’s culture. He said research shows that most church children and youth teachings tend to focus only on about 20 basic Bible stories. (This 2-minute video, Kindergarten Faith, describes the residual effects of Barna’s findings.)

** Annie F. Downs has created a podcast that will help the listener experience all four Gospels twelve times during the year 2023. It’s called Let’s Read the Gospels. The pace: ~three chapters a day. Today, June 1, starts a new set of readings. Check it out.

Memorial Day

Today is Memorial Day in the United States. The first version of Memorial Day in 1888 was originally called Decoration Day, a day set aside to decorate the graves of the soldiers killed during the Civil War. After WWI, the day became a day to remember all who died fighting wars. Other countries have similar days to remember those killed in wars.

Below is something the late Andy Rooney shared on Sunday, May 28, 2006, in his famous 60 Minutes segment, “A Few Minutes with Andy Rooney” – a worthy read…

Tomorrow is Memorial Day, the day we have set aside to honor by remembering all the Americans who have died fighting for the thing we like the most about our America: the freedom we have to live as we please.

No official day to remember is adequate for something like that. It’s too formal. It gets to be just another day on the calendar. No one would know from Memorial Day that Richie M., who was shot through the forehead coming onto Omaha Beach on June 6, 1944, wore different color socks on each foot because he thought it brought him good luck.

No one would remember on Memorial Day that Eddie G. had promised to marry Julie W. the day after he got home from the war, but didn’t marry Julie because he never came home from the war. Eddie was shot dead on an un-American desert island, Iwo Jima.

For too many Americans, Memorial Day has become just another day off. There’s only so much time any of us can spend remembering those we loved who have died, but the men, boys really, who died in our wars deserve at least a few moments of reflection during which we consider what they did for us.

They died.

We use the phrase “gave their lives,” but they didn’t give their lives. Their lives were taken from them.

There is more bravery at war than in peace, and it seems wrong that we have so often saved this virtue to use for our least noble activity – war. The goal of war is to cause death to other people.

Because I was in the Army during World War II, I have more to remember on Memorial Day than most of you. I had good friends who were killed.

Charley Wood wrote poetry in high school. He was killed when his Piper Cub was shot down while he was flying as a spotter for the artillery.

Bob O’Connor went down in flames in his B17.

Obie Slingerland and I were best friends and co-captains of our high school football team. Obie was killed on the deck of the Saratoga when a bomb that hadn’t dropped exploded as he landed.

I won’t think of them anymore tomorrow, Memorial Day, than I think of them any other day of my life.

Remembering doesn’t do the remembered any good, of course. It’s for ourselves, the living. I wish we could dedicate Memorial Day, not to the memory of those who have died at war, but to the idea of saving the lives of the young people who are going to die in the future if we don’t find some new way – some new religion maybe – that takes war out of our lives.

That would be a Memorial Day worth celebrating.

Theophany

I have always been fascinated by thunderstorms and their lighting displays. I remember laying in bed as a kid estimating how far away the actual lighting bolt might have been. I was always intrigued when a very bright flash turned out to be 5-6 miles away. It gave me a sense of the magnitude and power of a lighting bolt – typically 300 million volts! (Bear in mind that the largest cross-country transmission lines you may see are only 345,000 – 500,000 volts.)

When our two oldest children were around two and four years old, we lived in Oklahoma for a couple of years. Oklahoma knows how to do thunderstorms! Our upper-midwest lighting shows pale in comparison. Our house had a vaulted living room with about 15 feet of window on the vaulted end. I would sit with my kids watching the amazing lightning displays together. We were in awe of the splendor.

Once I was flying from MSP to Houston, sitting next to a young astronaut that had recently returned from her maiden space shuttle voyage as the deployment officer. I was fascinated as she recounted her experience. She equated it to going to summer camp. Her “bed” was adjacent to a window which she said she stared out of when she should have been sleeping. She wanted to take in the splendor of the Earth God had created.

As we neared Houston, we found ourselves surrounded by thunderstorms as the pilots navigated a path of least resistance. We both watched in awe at the height of the thunderheads and the continuous flashes within the clouds. The young astronaut told me about dazzling thunderstorms she had seen from space. Unbeknownst to her (and me!), lighting bolts extend out of the thunderheads upwards toward space in a most glorious display. I can only imagine!

Hebrew thought and literature are laced with theophany language and examples. Though unseen, the one true God chose to manifest himself to his people in a variety of ways. Theophanies were a visible expression of an invisible God, denoting his presence with His people.

Theophany. Though not an everyday word for us, it begins to touch on the magnitude of a thunderstorm. By definition, a theophany is a visible manifestation of a god to humanity. Etymologically, theophany stems from ancient Greek theophaneia, meaning “appearance of a deity” and was part of Greek mythology. Homer’s Illiad was one of the oldest writings to describe theophaneia. My limited knowledge of Greek mythology recalls Zeus as the sender of thunder and lightning.

Examples of theophanies we might be aware of are related to Moses, beginning with the familiar burning bush event (Exodus 3), which captured Moses’ attention given that the shrub was not consumed. From the bush, God revealed his name (Yahweh) and then unveiled Moses’ mission to be instrumental in delivering His people out of captivity in Egypt.

The entire Exodus story is laced with theophanies. After the multitude escaped Egypt under Moses’ leadership, a visible expression of God appeared in the form of a “pillar of cloud by day” and a “pillar of fire by night” (Exodus 13:21-22). But the BIG theophany took place a couple months later at Mount Sinai when God met with His people…

There was thunder and lightning, with a thick cloud over the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast. Everyone in the camp trembled. Then Moses led the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. Mount Sinai was covered with smoke, because the Lord descended on it in fire. The smoke billowed up from it like smoke from a furnace, and the whole mountaintrembled violently (Exodus 19:16-18).

A Theophany!

Another theological term describing what the Hebrews experienced that day was the witness of God’s Shekinah Glory. The word shekinah is a Hebrew name meaning “dwelling” or “one who dwells.” Shekinah Glory then means “He caused to dwell,” referring to the divine presence of God. Not found in scripture, the etymology of shekinah is from the Hebrew word shākan, which means“to reside or permanently stay.”

The rabbis used the term Shekinah to remind the people of Yahweh’s presence with them, a key distinguisher for the Hebrews. Moses once asked God who was going to help him lead these people (a good question since they tended to be a bit unruly!). God basically said, “Me” – “My Presence will go with you…” to which Moses basically said, “Whew” and followed up with, “What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?” (Exodus 33:12-16).

A more preponderant theophany took place upon the completion of Solomon’s temple almost 500 years later. The theophany occurred after a lengthy prayer of dedication by Solomon (2 Chronicles 6:12-42*). God’s Shekinah Glory filled the Temple…

Fire came down from heaven… and the glory of the Lord filled the temple. ²The priests could not enter the temple of the Lord because the glory of the Lord filled it. ³When all the Israelites saw the fire coming down and the glory of the Lord above the temple, they knelt on the pavement with their faces to the ground, and they worshiped and gave thanks to the Lord, saying, “He is good; his love endures forever” (2 Chronicles 7:1-3).

God took up residence in the Temple, among his people. He dwelled with them. Shekinah. The people were very aware of his presence, which distinguished them from all the other people on the face of the earth.

Fast forward about ten centuries. The Apostle John was composing his Gospel, the good news of Jesus, the sign of God’s continued presence among the people. One would assume John was well-versed in the Hebrew Scriptures. I would assume he was familiar with Solomon’s prayer…

But will God really dwell on earth with humans? The heavens, even the highest heavens, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built! (2 Chronicles 6:18)

…when he wrote the introduction to his Gospel: The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth (John 1:14).

Jesus, the visible expression of the invisible God (Colossians 1:15). God built a new Temple and took up residence with his Shekinah Glory.

A Theophany of sorts!

* I encourage you to take the time to read Solomon’s Prayer of Dedication.

Heartburn

Let’s circle back to Jesus’ encounter with two of his followers as they traveled from Jerusalem to the town of Emmaus on “that very day” that Jesus was resurrected, Anastasis. As mentioned in the previous post, as they walked the seven-mile route, they had all kinds of time to talk through the events of the previous three days. As they walked, Jesus, whom they didn’t recognize (“their eyes kept from recognizing him”) came alongside them and asked a great leading question: “So, what were you talking about?” (See Luke 24:13-35)

Pausing with downcast faces one of them, Cleopas*, asked Jesus if he was the only person that hadn’t heard what took place in Jerusalem over the previous several days. Jesus asked (maybe with a twinkle in his eye)…

“What things?”

“Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, a man who certainly was a prophet, mighty in what he said and did before God and all the people. Our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned and crucified him. But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. And besides all this, some of the women among us amazed us – they went to the tomb early this morning and found no body! They claimed they saw angels or a vision of angels who said he was alive. Others went to the tomb and they were right – there was no body. And we don’t know what to think of all this.” (My paraphrase and I added the last line because you know that’s likely what they were talking about as they walked!)

Jesus followed with another question: “Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” And beginning with Moses [Genesis through Deuteronomy] and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.

I wonder what he told them? He might have reminded them that when God created the universe and everything in it he said, “It is good.” And after he created the first humans, he said, “It is VERY good.”

Then Adam and Eve ate the ‘apple.’

I suspect Jesus reminded them of God’s call on Abraham – that he and his descendants would become human agents to help Him restore creation, after the apple incident, to its right condition. God’s words to Abraham: “I will bless you so that you can be a blessing to ALL the peoples of the earth” (Genesis 12:1-3). The inauguration of God’s creation rescue mission.

And surely Jesus must have helped them understand, through the scriptures, that the one to redeem Israel, the Christ, would in fact be a suffering servant, not a conquering hero. And the redemption was not to re-establish Israel as a sovereign nation but to jump-start their original mission of being blessed to be a blessing for all peoples.

Whatever Jesus told them, they wanted more. So they invited him to stay with them. During supper, Jesus blessed and broke bread, their eyes were opened and they recognized him. And Jesus vanished. They said to each other…

“Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?”

We wish for those “heartburning” occasions when we sense Jesus’ presence that result in moments when something previously fuzzy comes into focus. Experience tells me that such encounters tend to happen when we least expect them. For me, they seem to take place when I am in conversations with others as we figure out together how to follow Jesus well.

It was “while they were talking and discussing together” that Jesus showed up for Cleopas and his friend – an encouragement for us as we learn to follow Jesus. An encouragement to not forsake gathering with other pilgrims when “we don’t know what to think of all this,” whatever this happens to be. Who knows, Jesus might just show up and give us a sacred “heartburning” moment.

* Some have suggested that Cleopas and his partner could have been Jesus’ aunt and uncle. John, in his gospel, points out those present at Jesus’ crucifixion: Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary, the wife of Clopas…(different spelling). See John 10:25.