Here is another “Quint of Quotes” from my collection, on the theme of personal responsibility and development. Please don’t take the last one literally.
“When a man’s folly brings his way to ruin, his heart rages against the LORD.” – Proverbs 19:3
“People could survive their natural trouble all right if it weren’t for the trouble they make for themselves.” – Ogden Nash
“God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.” – Common prayer adapted from Reinhold Niebuhr
“Millions of people die every year of something they could cure themselves: lack of wisdom and lack of ability to control their impulses.” -Irving Kahn, investor who died at 109 of natural causes in 2015
“And if your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than with two hands or two feet to be thrown into the eternal fire.” – Matthew 18:8
Christians rightly focus on the historical fact of the life, death, and resurrection as the foundation of their faith. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 15:14 – “And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain.” For Christianity to matter, these things must have actually happened. Therefore, a lot has been written providing evidence that these events happened, and that Christian faith is not based on speculation, but on solid history.
Today I’m going to take a different angle on the significance of the “historical” part of “historical fact.” This post is about the more straight-forward meaning that these events happened in the past.
Why This Matters Because Christ livedin the past, the life of righteousness He lived for us, and that we inherit through faith, is unchangeable. There is no other life that could be lived, or will be lived, that could be better or achieve more than what God intended it to achieve. Perfection is assured because it already happened. He has not fallen short.
Because Christ died on the cross in the past, He did it in consideration of every past, present, and future sin of His people. Nothing you, or I, or any of His people have done, are doing now, or will do in the future, can undo the cross, because it has already happened. He will not change His mind, and He will stand by those who have faith in Him.
Because Christ was resurrectedin the past, He has proven that death cannot hold Him and that He will raise His people to new life as well. He is alive now, and aware of everything happening not only in the global 24/7 news cycle, but also in the hearts and minds of every man. The same power that raised Him works in His people, telling them through His Spirit that there is no better plan than the cross to create a world where man perfectly loves God and loves his fellow man.
“For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.” – Romans 6:5-11
In a world full of pain and despair, “Preach the gospel at all times. And if necessary, use words.” – St. Francis of Assisi
All the people benefit from leaders and rulers who fear God. In Deuteronomy, when God reluctantly says Israel may set a king over them in the future[1], He also required the king to have specific habits to cultivate a fear of God in them:
“And when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, he shall write for himself in a book a copy of this law, approved by the Levitical priests. And it shall be with him, and he shall read in it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the LORD his God by keeping all the words of this law and these statutes, and doing them, that his heart may not be lifted up above his brothers, and that he may not turn aside from the commandment, either to the right hand or to the left, so that he may continue long in his kingdom, he and his children, in Israel.” (Deuteronomy 17:18-20, emphasis mine)
These requirements have several parts. First, the king was to “write for himself in a book a copy of this law.” “This law” refers to what we now think of as the first five books of the Bible – all 187 chapters of it. Imagine the time that would take, but this tedious exercise was designed to help the king internalize the message. Quickly skimming over the Bible would not do.
Second, the king had to get this copy “approved by the Levitical priests,” to make sure nothing was added or left out, but also to remind the king that His authority is subject to God’s authority, as intermediated by the priests at that time. Regardless of what laws the king might pass, God’s laws would always reign supreme and eternal.
Third, the king was to “read in it all the days of his life,” because it takes time and effort to dig the treasures of wisdom out of the Bible. However, it is worth the effort because Psalm 19:10 tells us these truths are:
“More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb.”
Also, the king would be surrounded by reminders of his worldly greatness every day, so constant meditation on the law would show him his reliance on God. The king needs a constant reminder that he is under God, whose law applies to everyone.
These habits exist “that he may learn to fear the LORD,” which leads to “doing” the law. Even the king is expected to do what God commands, not just tell others to. With “doing” as the objective, the king will remain humble and learn the fear of God, because we may be able to know God’s word, but doing it is the real challenge and we can only succeed by His grace.
These habits also exist to make sure the king does not err “either to the right hand or to the left.” This encouragement is later echoed in Moses’ words in Joshua 1:7-8, but what does it mean? I think it means that without constant saturation in God’s word, we can fall into a trap of not following God’s positive will, but instead defining ourselves by what we’re against. In trying to avoid one sin, we drift too far in the opposite direction and into another, equally destructive, sin. Instead, positive obedience coming from the fear of God should be better than fine gold and “sweeter also than honey.” Truth is often subtle and not as black-and-white as we’d like it to be.
Most of us aren’t kings, but we can apply the passage from Deuteronomy in our prayers. 1 Timothy 2:1-2 “First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.” But what shall we pray for them? As Deuteronomy suggests, we should pray that they know God, fear God, and obey God, that they may be humble, and we may prosper.
Also, are you a leader? Do you serve in a position of authority at your church, workplace, or other organization? These habits will benefit you and those you serve anywhere. (In societies where we can easily get a Bible, we don’t need to create our own copies of it, but we should seek to internalize as much of the Bible as possible, through memorization and other means.) As Solomon wrote in Psalm 127:1 –
“Unless the LORD builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.”
If you’re not a leader, these habits are beneficial for you as well, as Psalm 128:1 says:
“Blessed is everyone who fears the LORD, who walks in his ways!”
Today’s Sunday Share comes from pastor and apologist Tim Keller, who died on May 19 after battling pancreatic cancer. When hearing that news, it seemed appropriate to quote him in the blog, so the Sunday Share for this week is the extended quote below from Keller’s book, Making Sense of God:
“If you believe in Jesus’s message, you believe in a truth, but not a truth that leads to exclusion. Many voices argue that it is exclusionary to claim that you have the truth, but as we have seen, that view itself sets up a dichotomy with you as the heroically tolerant and others as villainously or pathetically bigoted. You cannot avoid truth claims and binaries. The real issue is, then, which kind of truth- and which kind of identity that the truth produces- leads you to embrace people who are deeply different from you? Which truth claims lead you to scorn people who oppose you as fools? Which truth claims lead to community? Which truth claims both humble and affirm you so that you’re not afraid of people who are different than you are, nor can you despise them? If I build my identity on what Jesus Christ did for me and the fact I have an everlasting name in him by grace, I can’t, on the one hand, feel superior to anybody, nor do I have to fear anybody else. I don’t have to compare myself with them at all. My identity is based on somebody who was excluded for me, who was cast out for me, who loved his enemies, and that is going to turn me into someone who embraces the Different.”
It’s amazing to think it’s been two years since Driving Toward Morning’s first post! Thank you to everyone who has read, liked, and commented on the blog. A special thank you to anyone who has shared it with their friends or used what they found here to encourage others.
Looking back on my 1-year anniversary post, here are some thoughts on how I’ve done with my year 2 goals:
Re-blogging old posts to get closer to posting something every day: I posted almost twice as often, and almost a third of the posts were repeats. Still not every day but moving in the right direction.
More predictable post length: Most posts are now in the 3-to-4-minute read range, with less variation. Again, progress!
More posts on history, holidays, groups of quotes, and other topics: I think this has been the same in year 2 as in year 1, and I want to work on these more in year 3, especially moments from history.
Also, I’m learning that a blog is not good for: Writing serial posts. There’s no way to know what order people are reading things in, and whether they remember what was in an old post (especially if it takes me a while to continue a series!). So, I’m working harder on making each one stand on its own.
The Big Picture Although each year seems to have its own goals, I don’t want to lose sight of why I started this in the first place. Right after I launched the blog, I decided each post should meet 3 criteria: every post should be Compelling, Clear, and Charitable, meaning:
Is it about something that matters eternally, and is written in a way that connects emotionally and is worth reading? (Compelling) Is it logical and makes sense, or is it likely to be misunderstood? (Clear) Is it written in love, to build up whoever reads it? (Charitable)
In a way, these are just a modified version of Ephesians 4:15-16, which says:
“Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.”
The compelling and clear parts are the “speaking the truth,” and the charitable part is the “in love” part. However, the three criteria are not equal. If I am compelling and clear, I might come across as clever, smart or a good writer, but without charity, “I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal” (1 Corinthians 13:1). Without love, I’ve done it wrong, and therefore being compelling and clear should be tools used in service of being charitable.
I am still thrilled to be writing and am encouraged by the impact it’s had on my life, from challenging me when I am complacent, from encouraging me in my faith, and from growing deeper connections with friends and family, plus new connections with other bloggers.
Working on this blog has encouraged me, and I hope it has encouraged you as well. Every one of us has something important to offer for God’s glory and for the benefit of the world around us.
Please leave a comment on what you’ve liked and what you’d want to see more of!
