as we approach Christmas, the warm and fuzzy time of the year, i've still been thinking a lot about people going through tough times, especially those still suffering loss in newtown, connecticut.
i've been ruminating on things i've heard people say on t.v., and they've gotten me thinking. one thing i've noticed is that the Bible has answers for everyone's questions and comments!
"Evil visited this town today." -said by a newscaster reporting in Newtown.
that is true, in sense. but it's not the whole story. evil LIVED in newtown way before Dec 14, 2012, and it lives there still. you see, evil lives in every human heart. here is a description of what our evil hearts look like:
"They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they are senseless, faithless, ruthless. Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them." Romans 1:29-32
"Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin. As it is written, 'There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away... there is no one who does good, not even one... there is no fear of God before their eyes.'" Romans 3:9b-12, 18
doesn't sound very good. and though we like to think we're not a part of it, we are... you are. i am. on our own, we simply do what is selfish. we do what is right in our own eyes. (Judges 17:6)
"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Romans 3:23 that's a common verse, but what does it really mean? well, for all our trying, all our 'good deeds,' all our efforts to 'be nice' and 'better ourselves,' we fall short. like someone shooting arrows at a target: chances are if you're 2 miles away, your arrow will fall short. you can shoot all you want, you can be the best aim ever, you can get a bigger bow... your arrow will land somewhere in the weeds between you and the target. that's how it is with our piddly human 'goodness.'
sounds like a big bummer.
it is.
"Adam Lanza may have been mentally ill." -lots of newscasters over the week.
well, if you have been reading my blog recently, you might know what i think about a lot of 'mental illness' charges. click here to see my mental illness post. and i would like to say a blip here about that. in recent years, when something terrible happens within the American borders, the finger gets pointed at mental illness. 'well, in order to do something that terrible, he must have been mentally ill. no one would do that if they were thinking correctly right??'
that is faulty thinking. it's based on the premise that we are all fundamentally 'good' to begin with.
we're not.
remember, "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."
and Isaiah 53:6a puts the blame squarely on us: "We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way."
mental illness isn't always the answer. SIN is.
this idea of mental illness really touches on the whole huge question everyone keeps asking: "WHY??!"
how could this happen? how could someone kill children? why does evil happen? why? why?! WHY?!
in a short answer: because we, as humans, are allowed to CHOOSE. think back in your memory bank to the story of Adam and Eve, the first humans, created by a perfect God and placed gently into a perfect garden. they had it good. they had it better than we've ever experienced. they WALKED WITH GOD every day!!! (see Genesis 2:4-25)
but. God didn't want robots who would follow Him because they didn't have any other choice. He wanted a relationship with people who would CHOOSE to love Him. but you can't choose if you don't have multiple things to choose from. so God also placed in that garden ONE tree of choice, among all the other trees and bushes and plants full of perfectly scrumptious fruits and vegetables. that tree embodied everything that was opposite of God: He is good, it housed evil; He is love, it enabled them to hate; He is righteous, it gave them the desire to do wrong; He is pure, it caused them to be dirty and rotten. and they had the choice: avoid it or choose it. where did they end up? under that tree, chomping down its crooked fruit, because they wanted to turn to their own way. they wanted to satisfy self above all else. (see Genesis 2)
and humans are still making that same choice every day.
from Hitler to al-Qaeda to crooked government officials to Adam Lanza to that other driver giving you the finger (or was that you?).
are we stuck there? are we irreversibly and hopelessly left with evil hearts?
there's more to the story.
as i watched news coverage two fridays ago, it struck me how the commentators kept referring to how this 'ruined Christmas' for everyone. when describing that sentiment, Brian Williams on NBC noted how just days before, "The kids were dreaming of gifts under the tree."
yes, Christmas will be painful for those families and friends and this time of year will never be the same as long as they live on this earth.
and if all those kids and their families were looking forward to at Christmas were gifts under the tree, then yes, Christmas was ruined.
but the real Christmas can't be 'ruined' by horrors like this.
in fact, Christmas is the answer to horrors like this!
it's the answer to the evil in our hearts!
it's the answer to evil in the world!
a lot of Americans have it backwards these days. Christmas has become about gifts and buying and selling and advertising and sitting in 'Santa's' lap and decorating with lights and eating big meals and being so busy that you almost hate the season...
it's not about any of those things.
Christmas is about GOD, that Creator of the perfect people in the perfect garden who wanted a perfect relationship with humans, being so distraught about the broken relationship between Him and His humans, that He BECAME a human baby in order to communicate His love to them, even though WE are the ones who broke the relationship!
mindblowing!!!
and a perfect answer to the hideous ugliness of death.
when death happens, Christmas is God saying, "I came to earth to save you from evil."
when a man in China stabs elementary students, Christmas answers, "Turn to Me and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28
when Lanza shoots up a school, Christmas responds, "I want to comfort you and I will give My life to make it possible for you to join Me in heaven!"
when pain is overwhelming, Christmas answers, "In the midst of chaos and terror, I am your source of peace that the world cannot understand." Philippians 4:7
it is appropriate that Christmas is coming so soon after something so terrible. when people cry out to Him for help, God comes and does not delay with His comfort and peace.
i can't say how many times i've heard and read the almost annoying quote on facebook and the news that this tragedy causes us to "go home and hug our children a little tighter."
well, that's nice.
it's better than being unaffected. it's good to realize that we have been spared. the tragedy inspires people to do better. so in that regard i'm happy to hear that overused quote.
but that's not the best we can do. real better is searching for God after we've been faced with the horror of evil.
how do you spare your own child from becoming Adam Lanza? living a good life and giving great Christmas gifts and hugs aren't going to do it.
'what will help?' you ask.
good question.
RESPONDING to God's gift of Jesus this Christmas is the best response, our greatest hope.
this year, let's dream of something other than gifts under a tree. they won't save you; they won't comfort you; they won't satisfy you.
i've been ruminating on things i've heard people say on t.v., and they've gotten me thinking. one thing i've noticed is that the Bible has answers for everyone's questions and comments!
"Evil visited this town today." -said by a newscaster reporting in Newtown.
that is true, in sense. but it's not the whole story. evil LIVED in newtown way before Dec 14, 2012, and it lives there still. you see, evil lives in every human heart. here is a description of what our evil hearts look like:
"They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they are senseless, faithless, ruthless. Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them." Romans 1:29-32
"Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin. As it is written, 'There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away... there is no one who does good, not even one... there is no fear of God before their eyes.'" Romans 3:9b-12, 18
doesn't sound very good. and though we like to think we're not a part of it, we are... you are. i am. on our own, we simply do what is selfish. we do what is right in our own eyes. (Judges 17:6)
"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Romans 3:23 that's a common verse, but what does it really mean? well, for all our trying, all our 'good deeds,' all our efforts to 'be nice' and 'better ourselves,' we fall short. like someone shooting arrows at a target: chances are if you're 2 miles away, your arrow will fall short. you can shoot all you want, you can be the best aim ever, you can get a bigger bow... your arrow will land somewhere in the weeds between you and the target. that's how it is with our piddly human 'goodness.'
sounds like a big bummer.
it is.
"Adam Lanza may have been mentally ill." -lots of newscasters over the week.
well, if you have been reading my blog recently, you might know what i think about a lot of 'mental illness' charges. click here to see my mental illness post. and i would like to say a blip here about that. in recent years, when something terrible happens within the American borders, the finger gets pointed at mental illness. 'well, in order to do something that terrible, he must have been mentally ill. no one would do that if they were thinking correctly right??'
that is faulty thinking. it's based on the premise that we are all fundamentally 'good' to begin with.
we're not.
remember, "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."
and Isaiah 53:6a puts the blame squarely on us: "We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way."
mental illness isn't always the answer. SIN is.
this idea of mental illness really touches on the whole huge question everyone keeps asking: "WHY??!"
how could this happen? how could someone kill children? why does evil happen? why? why?! WHY?!
in a short answer: because we, as humans, are allowed to CHOOSE. think back in your memory bank to the story of Adam and Eve, the first humans, created by a perfect God and placed gently into a perfect garden. they had it good. they had it better than we've ever experienced. they WALKED WITH GOD every day!!! (see Genesis 2:4-25)
but. God didn't want robots who would follow Him because they didn't have any other choice. He wanted a relationship with people who would CHOOSE to love Him. but you can't choose if you don't have multiple things to choose from. so God also placed in that garden ONE tree of choice, among all the other trees and bushes and plants full of perfectly scrumptious fruits and vegetables. that tree embodied everything that was opposite of God: He is good, it housed evil; He is love, it enabled them to hate; He is righteous, it gave them the desire to do wrong; He is pure, it caused them to be dirty and rotten. and they had the choice: avoid it or choose it. where did they end up? under that tree, chomping down its crooked fruit, because they wanted to turn to their own way. they wanted to satisfy self above all else. (see Genesis 2)
and humans are still making that same choice every day.
from Hitler to al-Qaeda to crooked government officials to Adam Lanza to that other driver giving you the finger (or was that you?).
are we stuck there? are we irreversibly and hopelessly left with evil hearts?
there's more to the story.
as i watched news coverage two fridays ago, it struck me how the commentators kept referring to how this 'ruined Christmas' for everyone. when describing that sentiment, Brian Williams on NBC noted how just days before, "The kids were dreaming of gifts under the tree."
yes, Christmas will be painful for those families and friends and this time of year will never be the same as long as they live on this earth.
and if all those kids and their families were looking forward to at Christmas were gifts under the tree, then yes, Christmas was ruined.
but the real Christmas can't be 'ruined' by horrors like this.
in fact, Christmas is the answer to horrors like this!
it's the answer to the evil in our hearts!
it's the answer to evil in the world!
a lot of Americans have it backwards these days. Christmas has become about gifts and buying and selling and advertising and sitting in 'Santa's' lap and decorating with lights and eating big meals and being so busy that you almost hate the season...
it's not about any of those things.
Christmas is about GOD, that Creator of the perfect people in the perfect garden who wanted a perfect relationship with humans, being so distraught about the broken relationship between Him and His humans, that He BECAME a human baby in order to communicate His love to them, even though WE are the ones who broke the relationship!
mindblowing!!!
and a perfect answer to the hideous ugliness of death.
when death happens, Christmas is God saying, "I came to earth to save you from evil."
when a man in China stabs elementary students, Christmas answers, "Turn to Me and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28
when Lanza shoots up a school, Christmas responds, "I want to comfort you and I will give My life to make it possible for you to join Me in heaven!"
when pain is overwhelming, Christmas answers, "In the midst of chaos and terror, I am your source of peace that the world cannot understand." Philippians 4:7
it is appropriate that Christmas is coming so soon after something so terrible. when people cry out to Him for help, God comes and does not delay with His comfort and peace.
i can't say how many times i've heard and read the almost annoying quote on facebook and the news that this tragedy causes us to "go home and hug our children a little tighter."
well, that's nice.
it's better than being unaffected. it's good to realize that we have been spared. the tragedy inspires people to do better. so in that regard i'm happy to hear that overused quote.
but that's not the best we can do. real better is searching for God after we've been faced with the horror of evil.
how do you spare your own child from becoming Adam Lanza? living a good life and giving great Christmas gifts and hugs aren't going to do it.
'what will help?' you ask.
good question.
RESPONDING to God's gift of Jesus this Christmas is the best response, our greatest hope.
- for those of you who do not know Jesus, now is the time to search for Him. "'You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart. I will be found by you,' declares the Lord, 'and will bring you back from captivity." Isaiah 29:13-14a 'but i'm not in captivity,' you may be thinking. in 2 Peter 2:19, Peter says, "a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him." sounds pretty straight forward and almost redundant, but it really is quite deep. think about it in your own life. what has mastered you? as in, what is your number one priority? is it your job? is it your hobby? is it your family? is it just simply YOU? then you are in captivity. you are a slave to that thing or those people or to your own finite mind. Jesus is the only choice that can offer you true freedom. if you choose to follow God as your master, He offers freedom. you will really have the power to be
"When you were slaves to sin,
you were free from the control of righteousness.
What benefit did you reap at that time
from the things you are now ashamed of?
Those things result in death!
But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God,
the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.
For the wages of sin is death,
but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Romans 6:20-23
"For we know that our old self was crucified with Him
so that the body of sin might be done away with,
that we should no longer be slaves to sin
--- because anyone who has died has been freed from sin."
Romans 6:6-7
"You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness."
Romans 6:18
free from anxiety
"Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you."
1 Peter 5:7
free from the pressure to earn your own salvation
"For it is by grace you have been saved,
through faith
--- and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God
--- not by works so that no one can boast."
Ephesians 2:8-9
and most exciting, free from eternal death
"Who is the liar?
It is the man who denies that Jesus is the Christ...
No one who denies the Son has the Father;
whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also...
And this is what He promised us
--- even eternal life."
1 John 2:22a, 23, 25
- for those of you who honestly say, 'Jesus masters me,' now is the time to SHOW it. in a world of pain, God offers peace and joy and freedom. and YOU are the means by which He chooses to do so. don't focus on worldly things this Christmas, like the lie of Santa and gifts and frustrated shopping trips; focus on JESUS. let His hope, joy, and peace overflow through you so that you can be a light to guide others to Him.
"May the God of hope
fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him,
so that you may overflow with hope
by the power of the Holy Spirit."
Romans 15:13
because
"Salvation is found in no one else,
for there is no other name under heaven given to men
by which we must be saved."
Acts 4:12
don't let Christmas to be 'ruined' in your heart by the pain of the world; let Christmas answer the hurt. it is the story of God's own response to evil. He sent His Son to show us the way and save us from it all!
"And the peace of God,
which transcends all understanding,
will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
Philippians 4:7
Wow. not saying so merely because you are my wife... well, maybe a little tiny bit. but, you explain the gospel that saved me, that i believe in with all my heart, in such a clear way. thank you for taking the time to do so; and i know you couldn't sleep and that's partially why you started writing it. the world is a better place because you couldn't sleep.
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