What Really Matters

“…What else does this craving, and this helplessness, proclaim but that there was once in man a true happiness, of which all that now remains is the empty print and trace? This he tries in vain to fill with everything around him, seeking in things that are not there the help he cannot find in those that are, though none can help, since this infinite abyss can be filled only with an infinite and immutable object; in other words by God himself…”

– Blaise Pascal, Pensées VII

When we lose sight of who God really is, his nature, his awesomeness, we lose sight of ourselves and attempt to fill our lives with and find meaning in created things, temporary things rather than in the Creator (Romans 1:18-32). Our lives then become this vain attempt to be sustained by things, ideologies, careers, goals, false identities, etc. that can’t even sustain themselves (Isaiah 44:9-20). It’s a lot like building a snowman, trying to preserve it with all of our energy, and hope it stays intact when the warm summer months come. We can’t have human flourishing without God and yet many strive to fill the void with experiences, gadgets, activities, entertainment, politics, humanism, etc. As Pascal, logician and theologian, wrote in the quote above, there is a God-shaped hole in our lives that needs to be filled but many deceive themselves into thinking the void can be filled with stuff, leaving us in an endless cycle of dissatisfaction. When we pursue a life of materialism, pleasure, self-indulgence, etc. It’s also easy to reduce the people around us as pawns in our life. They either become obstacles in the way of what we want or objects to help us pursue what we want (Ecclesiastes 2:1-11). We deceive ourselves into thinking they are only in our life for our pleasure or our vain pursuits (Family, friends, brothers and sisters in Christ, coworkers, etc.). When our view of God is corrupt, our behviour towards Him, ourselves, and one another with be corrupt as well.

Paul writes to Timothy in 1 Timothy 6:6-11,

“But godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs. But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness.”

Thank God for His mercy and His open arms of love that He’s offered us redemption and a life to truly know Him, our true purpose, and what really matters through His Son.  He has extended his hand of grace to us so that we can truly live (1 Thessalonians 5:10; 2 Corinthians 5:15). Christ helps us to better understand the world around us, see reality for what it is, what our identity is because of Him, and he offers what truly can satisfy and fill us (Matthew 5:4; John 6:35). And when we pursue godliness, contentment in Christ, and choose a life of servitude that seeks the best for everyone and values everyone as a created being of the Divine, we truly fulfill what life’s all about.

Professor Steven Garber, in his book, The Fabric of Faithfulness, highlights three characteristics of those who have a well rooted faith in Christ. in the context of his book, Garber’s main focus is dealing with Teens and Young Adults, however it is applicable for everyone. First, they have a worldview that sees Christ, the Bible, Christianity, as being the answer and center of truth, reasoning, morality, motivation etc. they see the Christian worldview as all encompassing in their daily life, family life, social life. They see Christ and his message as applicable for all people for all time. Secondly, they also have those in Christ that are helping them stay centered as disciples, mentoring them, and walking with them through life. And thirdly, they belong to a congregation, a community that the Christian life is embodied together. This is what staying focused on His Word, staying faithful in worship, in servitude of God and others, and fellowshipping with our brothers and sisters as often as we can can help us stay focused on (Hebrews 10:23-25). It helps us to stay focused on what really matters, what our souls really need, on Who God really is, and what our purpose is in the eyes of the Creator. Our worship is better, we are more grateful, we are more compassionate, benevolent, and loving towards others. It helps us to not be distracted by things here on this earth, but rather focused on the things above (Colossians 3:2; Matthew 6:33; Hebrews 12:1-2).

Love you all and God bless!

Paul

Handling Correction

Here is a question I’ve been pondering on for the last several months, and I’ve even preached on this topic just a few months before: Do we want to be wise or do we merely just want to be thought of as wise and maintain a self-image, a façade, of wisdom? Who doesn’t want to think they have things figured out and who doesn’t want other people to think they’ve got things figured out? But when we merely want to protect our self-image of wisdom, then often, we end up defending ourselves from the very thing that can make us wise. We’re rejecting the very thing that can help us grow and truly find wisdom. That very thing is correction. The wisest people I know don’t think they’re wise and practice humility and seek after correction. You can’t be proud and wise at the same time (Proverbs 16:18; Isaiah 5:21; 1 Corinthians 10:12). And if you’re not seeking wisdom, you’re not following Jesus. Humility is hard to teach because everyone who needs it thinks they already have it. We can all be a little more humble. So how can we be a little more wise in our lives starting today? By being reception to correction.

Handling valid reproof is hard (online or in person). And a typical response for many is to become offended, defensive, deflective, or even dismissive. All this is an attempt to guard our egos, which for many, including myself, can be very fragile at times. But let the Lord protect and keep your heart, not pride. Pride protects our egos, but pride can’t guard or sustain our hearts. while pride is protecting our ego, and our egos remain intact, we leave our hearts exposed to pain and making the wrong choices. We think we’re protecting ourselves from momentary hurt, from being criticized, being offended, but, in actuality, we’re making ourselves more vulnerable to foolishness and a lifetime of hurt. When we attempt to protect our egos, we’re actually rejecting something we so desperately need and something we should love; Correction (Proverbs 15:31-33).  According to Proverbs 12:15, fools are confident that the way they do things is always right. And yet this should cause us to stop and ask ourselves are we ever in this category? We all, at some point in our lives, believe we are right, but have been wrong. What does Solomon in this passage tell us a wise man does? He says, “a wise man listens to advice”. That’s hard, isn’t it? In Hebrew, the idea of listen (שׁמע/Shama) carries with it the implication of obedience. It’s good to be confident and many times its good to do what you think is right, but don’t be so confident and so bold, and so convinced that you’re right that you won’t listen to advice or correction, and won’t utilize it to help you do better and be the best person you can possibly be.

 Obviously not all attempts at “correction” are right. Maybe you’ve been around a lot of hypercritical people. God will deal with that and that’s an issue that is addressed in Scripture (Ephesians 4:29; 1 Timothy 1:5). It’s a difficult experience that can leave us wounded, but we can’t allow for those experiences to cause us to reject even wise correction grounded in truth. And regardless of how a person says something to us or what their intention is, if what they are saying is true, then why reject that part of it? Again, Let the Lord and His word guard you, not pride (psalm 119:9). How can we know if their reproof/advice is correct? By examining their correction and your behavior through the lens of the Word of God. I’ve gotten wrong advice before, but more often then not I’ve dismissed wisdom and have said “they’re just criticizing me!” Well, what if they’re right? They only way you’ll know is by listening and examining. If it’s their opinion, okay. Sometimes even an opinion can be helpful, but if it doesn’t apply to you, than do with it how you please. But if it is rooted in scripture, don’t hate it or despise it, but love it! You can love it even if you struggle to like correction. Also, even if someone is wrong in their correction, can we at least appreciate that perhaps they were wanting to help make our life better? Or even save our life? We often times assume all criticism, correction, or reproof is coming from a negative place and that is not always true!

We ought to accept correction willingly and give correction sparingly. When you have to give correction, don’t offend people. That doesn’t ensure they won’t be offended, but it means your goal is not to hurt them but to help them (Colossians 4:6; Ephesians 4:29). And when we need to be corrected, we need to allow for God’s wisdom to take hold of our hearts. James said, “But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.” (James 3:17). The word here for “open to reason” (εὐπειθής/eupeithes) means that if what a person is saying is truth, we’re humble, we listen, and we obey what the truth is. And if we don’t necessarily agree at first, we’re humble enough to give it a fair listen and measure to our lives and see if it applies.

Lord, help me to love correction and be thankful that people care enough to help me live better. Help me to also not be hypercritical and be more gracious and meditative in how I address people. I need prayer in this area of my life and if you need prayer for that too, let me know!

- Paul

How Much Do You Love Jesus?

“ The Critical question for our generation—and for every generation—is this; If you could have heaven, with no sickness, and with all the friends you ever had on earth and all the food you ever liked and all the leisure activities you ever enjoyed, and all the natural beauties you ever saw, all the physical pleasures you ever tasted and no human conflict or any natural disasters, could you be satisfied with heaven if Christ was not there?” - John Piper, theologian.

How much do you love Jesus? Many of us are in love with the idea of being in love with Jesus, but how many of us are actually in love with Him? Do we only love what He’s done for us or do we love HIM for what He’s done for us? At home, we’ve been studying the book of 1st Thessalonians. This study has been truly thought provoking and soul stirring as you read about a great group of brothers and sisters in Christ. Paul had written to the Corinthians around 51 AD, somewhere in a few months to a year after he had first preached to them in Acts 17. For being fairly new converts, they were already known for their strong faith and were known as awesome examples (1 Thessalonians 1:7,8). The Thessalonian Christians were people that turned their backs completely on the idols and Caesar-worship Thessalonica was known for in Macedonia and turned completely to God (1 Thessalonians 1:9). They rejected, completely and quickly, the social norms of their city and embraced the one true God. These were people who saw what the Lord could do for them and knew that it was worth everything, even “much affliction” (1 Thessalonians 1:6) to live for Christ. Let’s stop and think about our spiritual lives. Christianity is not some mere concept by which becomes and addition to our life and neither is the church some sort of glorified social club. It is an all-consuming way of life in the great Kingdom of God that offers hope, strength and the offer of eternal life. Christianity offers a better way of life that leads to a better eternity. But none of these things are possible without Christ (1 Thessalonians 1:3). None of these things were possible without the one who loves us and cares for us.

Think of all the things that Jesus does for you; He is our Mediator (1 Tim 2:5) our Advocate (1 Jn 2:1) nourishes and nurtures us (Ephesians 5:29) our way to Heaven (John 14:6) and the Provider of our rest (Matthew 11:28-30). The list goes on. Do we find ourselves loving the blessings more than we love the Individual who blesses us? When I look at mature Christians like Paul, he longed for Heaven (2 Timothy 4:7-8) but because he knew Christ was there (Philippians 1:21-23). He didn’t just abstain from sin so he can receive a crown (1 Corinthians 9:25) but He wanted to be with the Lord (1 Thessalonians 4:17). There is absolutely nothing wrong with longing for Heaven. It is going to be such a beautiful place. But the more one grows in Christ, the more one not only longs for Heaven, but longs to please their Savior, whom they love. That’s why Paul was able to say to live life is for Christ and to die is gain (Philippians 1:21). That’s why the Thessalonians were so faithful. It is Christ that can develop that same love in you.

-Paul