Quotable

For the past several Wednesday evenings, I have attended a Bible study led by Damon Endel. These past few weeks he has dealt with the topic of forgiveness by looking at various examples found throughout the pages of the Bible.

In the discussion this past Wednesday, an "older" member of the class made a profound statement. The discussion centered on forgiving people who have been Christians for years and who have stumbled. Damon made the point that it is easier for us to forgive "non-Christians" than it is for us to forgive fellow Christians.

Then Joe Hall made this statement, "Those of us who have been Christians for a long time have a greater responsibility to show more grace."

Wow!

"A greater responsibility to show more grace." I think Joe hit the nail on the head. Jesus said something similar, "To those to whom much has been given, much will be required."

Speaking of quotable quotes, my Mom (the president of my blog fan club) reminded me of a quote from the book, Odd Thomas. Think about this, "Recognizing the structure of your psychology doesn't mean that you can easily rebuild it. The Chamber of Unreasonable Guilt is part of my mental architecture, and I doubt that I will ever be able to renovate that particular room in this strange castle that is me."

Show your spiritual maturity this week by forgiving someone. Escape the "chamber of unreasonable guilt" by accepting God's grace.

Saint Maybe

Anne Tyler has crafted one of the best books on forgiveness. In fact, Saint Maybe is better than any book on forgiveness that I have ever found in a religious bookstore.

Her main character, Ian Bedloe, is the picture of imperfection. As one reads the book, it becomes easy to identify with Ian. His struggle with his humanity, his tentative embrace of forgiveness, and his subsequent life choices render Ian as an "everyman" character.

Ian's experience is the centerpiece of the book. It resonates from a painful moment in his life that he would just as soon change if he could. Yet, life does not work that way and Ian learns what it means to move forward and chart a new course.

What makes Ian so mesmerizing is that he has been to hell and back. He survived. His story extends hope to all those who have been to hell. His story reminds all of us that we can make it back.

Courage to Recover

He confessed.

He admitted his sin. He took ownership of it.

He repented.

He entered into accountability with those who could help him regain his focus.

Evidently, God noticed his repentant heart and surrounded him with fellow Christ-followers who would walk with him, protect him from harm, and carry him if necessary.

Still, the harsh whispers of some penetrated his soul. He heard their bitter rhetoric. He noticed the angry glances. And both cut him deeply.

Atonement, a friend told him, is not erasing the sins of the past, but leaving them for a present where those sins do not have any claim.

Yet failure rarely consents to such behavior.

Failure wants to move from the past into the present in hopes of controlling the future. Failure wants to breed more failure. Failure asserts itself as judge, jury and executioner by demanding that nothing can sufficiently atone for mistakes. Failure is bred by anger. Failure wants no part with reconcilation.

So what do we do with such failure?

How do we, all judged guilty, recover from failure?

1) Remember God. Remember how much He loves you. Remember the reach of His grace and the depths of His mercy.

2) Remember that karma does not rule the day. We do not erase our sins by performing enough good actions. God erases our sins by His grace. Live, therefore, as one who is free from condemnation. Why? Because God Himself has freed you. We don't subscribe to karma, we subscribe to grace.

In the movie Elizabethtown, Drew Baylor (played by Orlando Bloom) makes a colossal mistake. He fails miserably. His failure is so great that he devises a plan to take his life. Then he receives a phone call that changes his life, and puts a plan into motion that will serve as his redemption.

It is in the course of these events that he meets Claire Colburn (played by Kirsten Dunst). She listens as Drew tells her about his failure. Then, she offers him this advice, "So you failed. Alright, you really failed. You failed. You failed. You failed. You failed. You failed. You failed. You failed. You failed. You failed. You failed. You failed. You failed. You think I care about that? I do understand. You wanna be really great? Then have the courage to fail big and stick around. Make them wonder why you're still smiling."

Well said, Claire.

Reconciling with God

A hallmark of the Christian faith is that a person can receive relief from his sins. Jesus claims to have the ability and the right to grant forgiveness to the penitent sinner. He is able to remove the power of the person's sin, as well as the lingering guilt.

Knowing that you are forgiven brings a sense of relief. Knowing that your guilt is removed, brings freedom.

Is it any wonder that immediately following his confession of his continual struggle with sin that the apostle Paul writes these words?

"There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" (Romans 8:1).

condemnation -- "1. the act of condemning; 2. the state of being condemned; 3. severe reproof; strong censure."

Did you notice what is no longer applied to those who are in Christ Jesus?

Condemnation.

God no longer condemns those who are in Christ. Those in Christ are no longer in a state of condemnation. And God does not strongly censure those who are in Christ.

Does this mean we are given free reign to sin? No. That is a misunderstanding of what it means to "be in Christ." (Paul deals with this in Romans 6)

Here's the kicker: if God no longer condemns us, then why do we condemn one another?

I have met some incredible people in the church who understand the implications of grace. Then I have met some people who seem to revel in bringing up a person's past sins if it somehow serves to excuse their own behavior.

These thoughts crossed my mind yesterday when a man at our church went forward and confessed his sin to the congregation. I watched the hugs given him afterwards, and listened as people offered words of encouragement.

He needed to hear such words, and feel such support.

Every penitent believer needs to experience such moments.

But may we never define a person based on one mistake. God does not function that way. In fact, God defines us by our relationship to Christ, not our failures.

Go and do likewise.

Forgiving and Forgetting the Prodigal Son

This past Wednesday night in Bible class we discussed the story of "the Prodigal Son." We talked about how people can change. No matter what as person has done, a person can decide to change for the better. To highlight this possibility we looked at a familiar story that Jesus told in Luke 15.

Jesus tells the story about a family. The family members mentioned are: a father and two sons. The younger son decides to leave the family and go out on his own. But to finance this venture, he needs his share of the estate. His request is tantamount to: "Dad, looks like you are in pretty good health and won't be dying anytime soon, so could you just advance me my part of the inheritance. By the time you die, I won't be as young as I am now" (whoa, there is a profound thought).

The younger son takes the money and runs (must have been the inspiration for a Steve Miller Band song). He uses the money to party. He spends it on women who gravitate to a man willing to spend freely. His fun lasts for awhile, but then the money runs out. The parties stop and the women leave.

He is forced to get a job feeding pigs. He has reached bottom.

The good news is that once you reach bottom, there is nowhere else to look but up.

The Bible tells us what happens to the younger son in this situation: "But when he came to his senses ..."

When a person engages in sinful behavior he finds himself covered by a cloak of deception. He does not think straight. He is hard to reach by others who attempt to help, because he is too busy rationalizing his sin. He is literally completely deceived.

This was the condition of the younger son. But it was not a condition in which he was destined to remain.

I have been the prodigal son -- deceived by sin,wandering away. The apostle Paul was the prodigal son for a time in his life. King David lived the prodigal son's story. And the Old Testament prophets? Well, I wonder if prophet and prodigal are terms which share a common history.

Your deception does not have the final say. It can be broken through the power of Jesus. That might sound cheesy, but if you've been there, then you know exactly what I am writing about.

Most churches talk in glowing terms about the story of the prodigal son. Christians tell people that church is a place where grace and mercy are embraced, and that it is a safe place for confession and repentance. But more often than not, some of us begin to act more like the older brother in the story. Remember him?

The older brother was not happy about his brother's return. In fact, the Bible says he was "angry." In his mind, his younger brother had forfeited his position in the family. Because of his sin, the younger brother was no longer worthy to have the status or the standing that he once had. His anger is so great that he "was not willing to go in" and talk with his brother, despite the father urging him to do so.

The church cannot afford to be a place "where we forgive, but never forget." That is so anti-God. That is so contrary to the God who says, "I will remember their sins no more."

The one who had the right to level punishment and harm in this story -- the father --chose to embrace his son who had returned. The return did not make everything alright, but the father let the son know that his sins would not be held against him.

This is how relationships function in the Kingdom of God.

Your sins are no match for God's grace. What God has called you to do, you must continue to do. Like the apostle Paul, make your past captive to Christ, and use what you have experienced to minister to others in the name of Jesus.

Called Home

In the first ministry job I had, there were two elders "assigned" to my particular ministry. Because of this, we were able to develop relationships that grew and continue to this day.

One of these men was Selby Wallace.

This past Monday, I received news that he had unexpectedly died Sunday evening. He was at the church building where he collapsed in the church office and died. Even though he was retired, he was still serving to the (literal) end. At least it marked the end of his time on earth, but not his life with God. Selby continues that life with God; he is just in a different place.

Not every elder is a good elder. Not everyone who wears the title "elder" is a godly man. Make no mistake about it: Selby was a good elder because he was first a godly man.

He leaves behind his wife, Doris and his son Lewis. Below, I have posted his obituary.

His passing leaves an empty feeling in my stomach. I don't like that feeling. I don't like the fact that he has left this world so soon. Selby has walked a path that each one of us will eventually walk. And he was done so with grace.

I heard a preacher once ask this question, "How would you answer God if someday he asked if you were a help or a hindrance to one of his ministers?"

Selby was a blessing.

WALLACE, Selby J. 74 of Laurel Ridge Rd. Piketon, died very unexpectedly Sunday February 3, 2008. He was born on October 31, 1933 in Elm Grove, Ohio to the late Albert R. and Glenna Teeters Wallace. He was united in marriage on June 27, 1953 to Doris M. Smith Wallace who survives. Also surviving are a son: Lewis Wallace and his wife Suzanne Garramone, of San Francisco, CA., his mother and father- in-law: Pauline and Forrest Jordan of Piketon, his sister and brother in law, Kandy and Roger Cooper of Piketon, and many nieces, nephews, and cousins.. He was preceded in death by a brother, Kelly Wallace and a sister, Phyllis McNelly. Mr. Wallace was a former employee of the NCR in Dayton with 20 years of service, and retired from the Estee Mold & Die Co. also in Dayton. He was a member of the Elm Grove Church Christ, previously attended the Turner Road Church of Christ in Dayton, and was a U.S.Army Veteran of the Korean Conflict. Funeral services will be 1:00
P.M. Thursday at Botkin Funeral Home in Waverly with Andrew Brewster and Darrell Pinkerton, ministers officiating. Burial will follow in the Smith Hill Cemetery with Military graveside rites conducted by Waverly American Legion-Merritt Post #142. Friends may call on Wednesday from 5:00-8:00 P.M. and Thursday from 12:00 noon- 1:00 P.M. at the funeral home. Memorial contributions may be made to the Elm Grove Church of Christ 8155 Chenoweth Fork Rd. Piketon, OH 45661 or the Turner Road Church of Christ 450 Turner Rd. Dayton, OH 45415. www.botkinfuneralservice.com

Narnia Reading

There are few opportunities to return to our childhood. But every so often, we are afforded such privileges. One way I return to my childhood is by re-reading books that I embraced as a child.

After my Dad had attended a lectureship/conference one year, he returned with a set of books called The Chronicles of Narnia. I was somewhat interested, but as I began to read the first book, I found myself captivated by what I read. All of this happened when I was in elementary school. In fact, I read through the series (7 books) twice, and now I am reading through the series again with my daughter.

As you already know, each book in The Chronicles of Narnia is being made into a movie. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe was first, and this May Prince Caspian will emerge on the big screen. In preparation for the movie, I read the book again, along with both my kids.

Once again (as in the first book), there is an epic struggle between forces of good and forces of evil. Prince Caspian is the legitimate heir to the throne of Narnia, but he must flee for his life away from his uncle who currently occupies the throne and who, because of his own son, sees Caspian as a threat.

The book contains many more battles scenes than The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, and (in C.S. Lewis fashion) contains an array of metaphors for life and faith. It is a short read and well worth it. If you have kids, try reading it to them. If not, then read it for yourself and discover what makes a trip to Narnia so captivating.