John 3:30

I've been musing over a great passage in Scripture this week. In our housegroup, we've been working through the Gospel of John. The first few chapters speak of Jesus' ministry, and how he was reaching out into a community that so needed him. It personally struck me that there is also a unique message to be learned from the relationship between Jesus and his cousin John the Baptist. Have a look at this passage:

After this, Jesus and his disciples went out into the Judean countryside, where he spent some time with them, and baptized. Now John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because there was plenty of water, and people were constantly coming to be baptized. (This was before John was put in prison.) An argument developed between some of John's disciples and a certain Jew over the matter of ceremonial washing. They came to John and said to him, "Rabbi, that man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan—the one you testified about—well, he is baptizing, and everyone is going to him." To this John replied, "A man can receive only what is given him from heaven. You yourselves can testify that I said, 'I am not the Christ but am sent ahead of him.' The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom's voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. He must become greater; I must become less.

It struck me that John had it all. Indeed he had to go to a new site of water that was large enough for his increased ministry. It is however amazing that he is prepared to give it all up, at the pinnacle of his missionary success, for the one that is greater than him. I guess that we have to do that everyday; just as we begin to believe in our success (evangelistic or not), we must remember where that success has come from, the one who must become greater.

Zeal

Just discovered an amazing orchestral piece by the composer John Adams. The music is over-played by a sermon. The words are below, and the script reflects the motivations of Adams, as certain phrases keep repeating themselves. Check it out...

I believe that. And I believe that same Jesus is present through the power of the Holy Spirit, right here in this room, right now. Right now. I believe that. And I believe that same Jesus is present through the power of the Holy Spirit, right here in this room, right now. Right now. And he wants to meet every need. Now what's wrong with the withered hand? Why would Jesus have been drawn to a withered hand, healing all that were oppressed of the devil? I believe that. And I believe that same Jesus is present through the power of the Holy Spirit, why would-- Jesus is present through the power of the Holy Spirit, right here in this room, right now. And he wants to meet every need. Now what's wrong with the withered hand? Why would Jesus have been drawn to a withered hand? And I believe that same Jesus is present through the power of the Holy Spirit. I believe that. And I believe that same Jesus is present through the power of the Holy Spirit, right now. Right now. Now what's wrong with the withered hand? Why would Jesus been drawn to a withered hand of a man who was in the synagogue? Now what's wrong with the withered hand? Why would Jesus -- Right here in this room, right now -- And he wants to meet every need. Why would Jesus been drawn to a withered hand of a man who was in the synagogue? Jesus Christ not only healed this man in the synagogue that had the withered hand, but I believe this very same story has a message for you and me even down here in this year in which we live. Now I believe Jesus Christ not only healed this man in the synagogue that had the withered hand -- And I believe that same Jesus is present through the power of the Holy Spirit. Now what's wrong with the withered hand? Why would Jesus been drawn to a withered hand of a man who was in the synagogue? But I believe this very same story has a message for you and me even down here in which we live. Jesus knew all about that. They said, "Who can forgive sins but God?" But God? But God? They said, "But God?" They said, "Who can forgive sins but God?" Then he said, "Take up your bed and walk." But God? Then he said, "Take up your bed and walk." Forgive sins but God? Then he said, "Take up your bed and walk."Now I believe Jesus Christ not only healed this man in the synagogue who had the withered hand, but I believe this very same story has a message for you and me even down here in this year in which we live. Then he said, "Take up your bed and walk." And I believe that same Jesus is present through the power of the Holy Spirit, right here in this room, right now. Right now. Right now. And he wants to meet every need. Now what's wrong with the withered hand? Why would Jesus been drawn to a withered hand? Why would Jesus been drawn to a withered hand -- drawn to a withered hand -- of a man that was in the synagogue? To a withered hand of a man that was in a synagogue? Well, a withered hand can't hold on to anything. Jesus coming -- Jesus moved -- Jesus moved about with his divine appointment. Jesus is here, and this place is packed with people standing outside, and Jesus walks in. Jesus always moves with divine appointment, and he had an appointment: someone that had a withered hand and if they could hold --

Suffering and Triumph

I was mulling over the responses that we have to suffering. In many places across the world today, the response to suffering or persecution is often to persecute in return and likewise cause more suffering. I just flicked through the Word today and found some great teaching on this in 2 Peter 2:21-25:

"...for you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps, who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth; and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously; and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed. For you were continually straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls."

Christians are called to suffering. Verse 21 begins with the phrase, "For you have been called for this purpose." The connective "for" points back to the last part of verse 20: "If when you do what is right and suffer for it you patiently endure it, this finds favor with God." Christians are to endure suffering because it pleases God. Verse 21 amplifies the idea by stating that Christians are specifically called to suffer. That shouldn't surprise us. Peter had just said that Christians "are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession, that [they] may proclaim the excellencies of Him who [called them] out of darkness into His marvelous light" (v. 9). Our dark world resents and is often hostile towards those who represent the Lord Jesus Christ. That resentment and hostility may be felt at certain times and places more than others, but it is always there to some extent.

Christians are matured by suffering. A Christian's call to glory necessitates walking the path of suffering. First Peter 5:10 explains why: "After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you." Suffering is God's way of maturing His people spiritually. He is pleased when we patiently endure the suffering that comes our way. Suffering is a part of God's plan to prepare His people for glory. 1 Peter 1:6-7--"You greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ." God allows suffering as a validation of our faith. It also produces patience, though patience is a quality we won't need in eternity--there will be no reason for impatience there. Yet beyond those benefits, suffering increases our capacity to praise, glorify, and honor God--and that's something we will use throughout eternity.

Christians are brought to glory through suffering. 2 Corinthians 4:17--Our "momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison." While suffering does make us stronger now--it makes us able to endure with patience, increases our faith, teaches us to trust God, and leads us to depend on Christ and His Word--it also affects how we will function later. That's why Paul went on to say our focus isn't on the now but the future: "We look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal" (v. 18).

Christians are identified with Christ in their suffering. Christians are identified with their Master because like Him, they suffer to enter their glory. Luke 24:25-26--Christ said to the disciples on the road to Emmaus, "O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?" Our Lord had to explain that future glory required that He suffer. We're to expect the same.

The path to glory for Christ was the path of unjust suffering. That's our path also. Our Lord endured suffering with perfect patience and was exalted to the highest point of glory. He is our example of how to respond to suffering.

Gratitude for God

It struck me today that a religion is a lot about gratitude. Check out this passage from 2 Corinthians 4:15:

"It is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God."

It strikes me that everything that we get from God is given through his great mercy, rather than as a result of anything that we could have possibly achieved. Paul knew this fact very well during his teaching ministry, and the second letter to the church at Corinth is filled with references to this fact. His mission was to tell men about the death and resurrection of Christ, but his mission was only to be completed when God's glory was revealed. His task was to get people to look upwards, in awe of the Lord, rather than at his human frame. But thanksgiving is definitely a part of this process...

Gratitude is more than just saying "Thankyou", and other phrases that can just come out rather than truly be meant, or that are expressed as a form of custom. I guess gratitude is therefore a form of delight, something that we feel and act upon in a spontaneous manner, not involving massive amounts of willpower. But again the term should go deeper. We can delight in a gift, but still be ungrateful to the giver if we do not use it as they intended (or even not use it at all). Gratitude is therefore something that you feel towards someone, a bond that develops as a result of their gift to you.

Gratitude must be related to grace, as is described in the quotation that I used at the beginning of the section. You feel gratitude toward the one that has been gracious to you. I guess that this is a lot like people saying "Thankyou" even when it is not necessary. These are the people that through their kind words and appreciation move the exchange of a gift beyond a mere formal transaction. The grace has not been paid for, and therefore we are grateful for that gift to us. But in the example of the person saying "Thankyou", the words also indicate a sense of humility as we happily meet the needs of those that honour us. When grace penetrates our hearts, it is transmitted back to God as gratitude.

Finally, an excerpt from a sermon by John Piper:

Hudson Taylor, who endured great hardships and tragedies in his lifelong mission work in China, said when he was old, "I never made a sacrifice." What he meant was that along the path of self-denying service you experience so much joyful gratitude for God's sustaining grace that, whatever you forsake to buy that pearl, it is as if there were no sacrifice at all. Therefore, a life that gives glory to God for his grace and a life of deepest gladness are always the same life. And what makes them one is gratitude.

King of Kings

Real Worship

The Real Symposium

Roger Scruton, a philosopher and countryside campaigner, has been scribbling his musings in the New Statesman this past week (18th September). I found the article "Wine and Wisdom", a piece that looks at what modern dinner guests should be thinking about. I must admit that at times this seems applicable to the university symposium and seminar - especially with the alcohol flowing, and the glances of desire being thrown across the room:

Very few great works of philosophy are also great works of art. However, Plato's Symposium is both. It is a vivid invocation of the Athenian polis and its leading characters, including Alcibiades, Aristophanes and Socrates. And it is without compare as a philosophical treatment of sexual desire - a topic that philosophers down the ages have largely avoided, with only Schopenhauer and Sartre venturing the kind of comprehensive account of it that we find in Plato. Ostensibly, the work is merely a report of a drinking party, in which the characters stumble, in their cups, over ideas and emotions that lie hidden in their daily lives.

In that lies its artfulness. There are ideas which appear ridiculous in ordinary conversation, which are nevertheless obvious when drunk. And, by retrieving from the conversation of drunks the truths that wine has revealed to them, Plato is able to prepare his reader to accept what would otherwise appear so fanciful and remote from ordinary human dealings as to be dismissed as a fairy tale. He was able to say something about sexual desire that is as shocking to his contemporaries as it is to modern people - namely, that desire is directed towards another person, but with a hidden goal. This goal is not pleasure, or orgasm, or any of those sensual and commonplace things, but the knowledge of beauty and truth. Sexual desire is therefore more prone to corruption than any other human feeling, and the physical part of it is precisely what is most dangerous to the soul.

Try publishing that in Cosmopolitan or Tatler, and see what laughs you'll get. But, as Plato brilliantly shows, it is a view of the matter to which we all of us tend in our cups, and it is one of the virtues of wine that it turns our thoughts towards a truth that looks ridiculous in our sober routines, and therefore condemns those routines as ridiculous.

We should recognise, however, that wine leads us to such surprising conclusions only when swallowed in the right way, and it is another great virtue of Plato's masterpiece that it tells us how to do it. The symposium was the very opposite of the modern dinner party, in which conversation breaks into loud-mouthed fragments, with nobody pausing to address the table as a whole, and no guest prepared to yield space to a neighbour.

In a symposium the wine circulates slowly, is drunk gradually, and with due libations to the gods. The conversation is general and speakers take it in turns to contribute. Gradually, as shyness is dissolved and the imagination freed, the hidden truths that ordinary life forbids begin to congregate on the horizon, beckoning to the company for wine, as the ghosts in Homer beckon for sacrificial blood.

Try it some day, and you will be surprised to discover what you really think.