How closely are you tied to your community? Not meaning just the town you live in but the community of believers that you worship with. Our tendency is to keep a little protective distance between us and most of the rest of humanity. It seems neighbors are not what they used to be. Growing up in rural PA we had some physical distance between us and our neighbors. However, we knew them all. The retired guy with the pristine wood piles, the Polish neighbor with the thick accent, the folks down the road with kids we played with and the farmer up the road with the fruit stand where we caught the school bus. Neighbors do not seem quite so close today. We know some of them yet most keep the moat around their suburban castle intact and the drawbridge protected. Except for the couple next door. Pete and Lynn have been there for many years. A couple of good neighbors and friends. A few years ago Pete passed on. It was July fourth, not a day of celebration that year. This past week his beloved Lynn joined him and my life got a bit emptier.
Pete had a bit of a rough exterior but a generous heart and a rich devotion to Lynn, the only woman he ever loved. I met him on his back deck shortly after we moved in, twenty years ago. I was in my back yard when I heard a loud gunshot. I went next door to check it out and found it was just Pete protecting his garden in an ongoing war with the woodchucks. Their numbers had just dropped by one. Pete hunted, fished, and had his garden protected by a fence and his shotgun. Lynn was cut of a similar mold. I always figured if everything collapsed economically I would follow them into the woods, for they clearly were survivors. Lynn was also a devoted part of our church family. The church parsonage sits next to their house, so they had been privy to a series of pastors who came and went as their ministry changed. We moved in with our five children twenty years ago so Lynn and Pete had first hand experience of watching our children grow and being good and helpful neighbors.
Lynn was special. If Pete had been King Lemuel of Proverbs thirty-one, he would have found a virtuous wife in Lynn. Though she was not perfect, she certainly met the criteria Lemuel's mom laid out for him. Pete could trust Lynn in everything for she always did him good. She sewed, rose early, took care of her household, and worked with her hands. She was a great shopper and prepared great meals. She could make a dollar go a long way and still fill her kitchen with delightful and savory smells. She loved plants and simple things in life. She was strong of body and of will. She spoke of wisdom mixed with kindness, She was blessed by the sons she so deeply loved and was a blessing to them, and to their children and their children's children. Her husband. Pete, was honored by her life, she was generous and above all, loved the Lord and His people.
She was not Wonder Woman, then again, maybe she was. At least she had the Wonder Woman pose down to a science. She loved the "Star Wars" movies and was always ready to critique the latest film. She supported my kids as they took mission trips and progressed in their musical endeavors. She was simply fun to be around. And she always sent me borderline insulting Birthday cards. They were always fun as well. She respected me as her Pastor and treated me like a friend. She was more than special, she was more than just a neighbor. She was a dear sister in the Lord. It is difficult to say good bye.
Thursday, June 28, 2018
Tuesday, June 12, 2018
Are You a Gnostic Christian?
Do you have a personal relationship with God? Is God honestly beyond you? Are you, as a mere mortal, not able to truly understand the divine? Are you looking forward to shedding this sinful, corrupt body and going to heaven? If so, have you ever wondered if any of these ideas are really Biblical? It might be that these thoughts are not as clear cut as we might think. There are elements of an old philosophy that may well have infected what we assume is Christian thought. Back in the days when Jesus, Messiah, was walking the earth there was a growing movement among the Greek intellectuals. It was about a special higher knowledge. A spiritual knowing that is beyond this material world. The Greek word for knowing is ginōskō where we get the term Gnosticism. It was an issue in New Testament times as gentiles came into the Messianic community. Today's question is, "Did we ever escape it?"
Very briefly, Gnosticism taught that there was a higher knowledge that we should strive for. It held that the material, especially the fleshly bodies we have, are intrinsically evil. They were also not really related to the reality yet to come. Thus, the body was to be either beaten into submission or you could do anything you wanted with this body as it did not relate to the "real world" of higher knowledge. Morality was irrelevant for this branch of Gnosticism. The higher knowledge was both unknowable and completely personal. Your higher knowledge may not be the same as anyone else and it would be hard to share, as this knowledge was on a spiritual plane above this unwanted physical world. The goal was to shed this mortal body and join in the "one" consciousness in the heavenlies. There you would be free from the pain, sorrow, limitations, and corruption of this world and this mortal body. There you would be with the unknowable, completely other, "god", who gave you this higher knowledge.
Aspects of this may seem familiar to you. God being so far above us He is not truly knowable. After all "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” says the LORD" (Isaiah 55:8). And we all can relate to the awful nature of the flesh, Romans 7:5, "For when we were in the flesh, the sinful passions which were aroused by the law were at work in our members to bear fruit to death." We have all been told that we need a personal relationship with the Lord, one that is uniquely our own. No one has the right to question your decisions if you feel you were directed by God to do it. We sing that "this world is not our home" and that "heaven is a wonderful place". Heaven, that place up there with streets of gold and no more fleshly problems or limitations where we can be with the One true God forever. Then we will understand and know the unknowable. We are currently stuck where, "For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known" (1 Corinthians 13:12). Oh to put off this sinful flesh, go to heaven, know God, and be free from this physical body and to experience spiritual glory.
So, how are we different than the Gnostics? It seems we do what mankind often does by getting things out of balance or hanging onto tradition without considering Scripture. It is true that we sin and that sin takes a toll on our physical bodies. However, God says that, "I am fearfully and wonderfully made" (Psalm 139:14). And, 1 Corinthians, "do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?" The Apostle Paul's illustration of the "Body" representing the church seems to indicate that the body is a pretty amazing thing. How can we say life is precious and then talk about how corrupt our bodies are? These physical entities that God has designed and given to us are truly fearfully and wonderfully made. They are the vessels of God's Spirit to do God's work here and now. Paul's use of the "flesh" is more about the evil we do with these bodies rather than the bodies themselves.
Speaking of the "body" illustration, where did this profoundly personal relationship with God thing come from? It is true that God loves us as individuals, However, most of what we see in Scripture is how we relate to others. We never sin in a vacuum. Our behavior is either beneficial or detrimental to those around us. Just look at the chaos of David's family after his sin with Bathsheba. Or check out the result of Achan's sin in Joshua chapter 7. Defeat of an army, dead Israelites, discouraged people and the death of Achan's family. His relationship was not so isolated and personal with the Lord that it did not touch the lives of others. Our God is knowable. He reveals Himself to us. We may not always understand everything; however, we know of His mercy, creative power, His justice, His love and the giving of His Son. He does communicate with us and has given us a series of books to explain Himself to us. He has given us directions and instructions as to how to best live and to commune with Him and be a community with other people. He is not completely other or unknowable.
By the way, you will not always have this physical body but you will have a physical body that lasts forever. You are not some spiritual entity trapped in this fleshy container longing to get free. The new body you have will still work and do things for God. You will not dwell in heaven but on a new earth in the new Jerusalem. That is where the streets of gold are. Sorry, no streets of gold in heaven. We may be built for glory, however, that glory is here and now as well. What you do now matters.
Have we, as followers of Messiah, that Christian community you may belong to, allowed Gnostic flavors to be incorporated into our faith? It is true that Paul looked forward to being with the Lord, yet, he would chose to stay here to minister to the Philippians. The vast majority of Scripture is about living here and now. We know little of heaven or eternity or even that of the new heaven and new earth John speaks of in Revelation 21. Life is not all about limitations, sin, and pain. It is about glorious service to God and others. It is seeing the revelation of the knowable God all about us every day. It is being grateful for the amazing bodies He has blessed us with. Life is very little about longing for "heaven" and a whole lot about living for Him now. Don't let Gnostic influences deny the life of glory God has for you today. It seems we need to put heaven on hold and go do something to advance His kingdom and encourage His people. That should be way more enjoyable than whining about our corrupt bodies while we wait in despair to go to some place we conjured up to be heaven.
Very briefly, Gnosticism taught that there was a higher knowledge that we should strive for. It held that the material, especially the fleshly bodies we have, are intrinsically evil. They were also not really related to the reality yet to come. Thus, the body was to be either beaten into submission or you could do anything you wanted with this body as it did not relate to the "real world" of higher knowledge. Morality was irrelevant for this branch of Gnosticism. The higher knowledge was both unknowable and completely personal. Your higher knowledge may not be the same as anyone else and it would be hard to share, as this knowledge was on a spiritual plane above this unwanted physical world. The goal was to shed this mortal body and join in the "one" consciousness in the heavenlies. There you would be free from the pain, sorrow, limitations, and corruption of this world and this mortal body. There you would be with the unknowable, completely other, "god", who gave you this higher knowledge.
Aspects of this may seem familiar to you. God being so far above us He is not truly knowable. After all "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” says the LORD" (Isaiah 55:8). And we all can relate to the awful nature of the flesh, Romans 7:5, "For when we were in the flesh, the sinful passions which were aroused by the law were at work in our members to bear fruit to death." We have all been told that we need a personal relationship with the Lord, one that is uniquely our own. No one has the right to question your decisions if you feel you were directed by God to do it. We sing that "this world is not our home" and that "heaven is a wonderful place". Heaven, that place up there with streets of gold and no more fleshly problems or limitations where we can be with the One true God forever. Then we will understand and know the unknowable. We are currently stuck where, "For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known" (1 Corinthians 13:12). Oh to put off this sinful flesh, go to heaven, know God, and be free from this physical body and to experience spiritual glory.
So, how are we different than the Gnostics? It seems we do what mankind often does by getting things out of balance or hanging onto tradition without considering Scripture. It is true that we sin and that sin takes a toll on our physical bodies. However, God says that, "I am fearfully and wonderfully made" (Psalm 139:14). And, 1 Corinthians, "do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?" The Apostle Paul's illustration of the "Body" representing the church seems to indicate that the body is a pretty amazing thing. How can we say life is precious and then talk about how corrupt our bodies are? These physical entities that God has designed and given to us are truly fearfully and wonderfully made. They are the vessels of God's Spirit to do God's work here and now. Paul's use of the "flesh" is more about the evil we do with these bodies rather than the bodies themselves.
Speaking of the "body" illustration, where did this profoundly personal relationship with God thing come from? It is true that God loves us as individuals, However, most of what we see in Scripture is how we relate to others. We never sin in a vacuum. Our behavior is either beneficial or detrimental to those around us. Just look at the chaos of David's family after his sin with Bathsheba. Or check out the result of Achan's sin in Joshua chapter 7. Defeat of an army, dead Israelites, discouraged people and the death of Achan's family. His relationship was not so isolated and personal with the Lord that it did not touch the lives of others. Our God is knowable. He reveals Himself to us. We may not always understand everything; however, we know of His mercy, creative power, His justice, His love and the giving of His Son. He does communicate with us and has given us a series of books to explain Himself to us. He has given us directions and instructions as to how to best live and to commune with Him and be a community with other people. He is not completely other or unknowable.
By the way, you will not always have this physical body but you will have a physical body that lasts forever. You are not some spiritual entity trapped in this fleshy container longing to get free. The new body you have will still work and do things for God. You will not dwell in heaven but on a new earth in the new Jerusalem. That is where the streets of gold are. Sorry, no streets of gold in heaven. We may be built for glory, however, that glory is here and now as well. What you do now matters.
Have we, as followers of Messiah, that Christian community you may belong to, allowed Gnostic flavors to be incorporated into our faith? It is true that Paul looked forward to being with the Lord, yet, he would chose to stay here to minister to the Philippians. The vast majority of Scripture is about living here and now. We know little of heaven or eternity or even that of the new heaven and new earth John speaks of in Revelation 21. Life is not all about limitations, sin, and pain. It is about glorious service to God and others. It is seeing the revelation of the knowable God all about us every day. It is being grateful for the amazing bodies He has blessed us with. Life is very little about longing for "heaven" and a whole lot about living for Him now. Don't let Gnostic influences deny the life of glory God has for you today. It seems we need to put heaven on hold and go do something to advance His kingdom and encourage His people. That should be way more enjoyable than whining about our corrupt bodies while we wait in despair to go to some place we conjured up to be heaven.
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