Encouraging Examples

Maybe it happens to all of us at one time or another. You've made a commitment for Christ, and you're doing what you imagine is your level best to submit to and obey Him. Still, there are those days when you really feel as if you're missing the mark.

I'm always encouraged when I read the Apostle Paul's dilemma in Romans 7:15-24, where he talks about not doing the things he wants to do, doing the things he doesn't want to do and finally exclaiming what a wretched man he is. That totally resonates with me. I thought I was the world's worst sinner, until I found the Apostle Paul had already claimed that title (1 Timothy 10:15).

I am encouraged by that because I find solace in the fact that my own human experience is not unlike that of spiritual giants like Paul. I mean, if there's hope for him then there's hope for me too!

Nevertheless, there are days when I am examining my ways and testing them (Lamentations 3:40) and not liking what I find. Maybe there is a time in our human psyche when we want to walk away from unrighteousness and ungodliness. Unfortunately, they are not easily abandoned.

So I tend to smile when I read stories about spiritual heroes in the Bible like Paul whom were good and righteous people, but whose sinful nature and spiritual poverty are clearly evident. This week I stumbled upon three such stories. The spiritual giants are Noah, Abraham and Lot. Let's take a look at the spiritual poverty that these men revealed despite their righteousness and calling from God.

Noah was the last righteous man on earth. Literally. God told him to build the Ark, and then destroyed all of the entire human race --- except for Noah and his immediate family. They were the only righteous ones left. Still, we find that after the flood, life settled into something of a routine where Noah got so drunk that he passed out naked. His children found him. One of them gossiped about it, and the other two covered him up without looking. When he sobered up and learned what had happened, he cursed the son that had seen him in his naked, drunken state and gossiped about it. It was definitely not really one of old Noah's best moments!

Abraham was God's chosen man to bear a whole new nation through whom God would save all of mankind. He was definitely a righteous man of amazing faith. Unfortunately he repeatedly lied and told the government that his wife was his sister ... opening the door for other men to claim her as their wife. Apparently Abraham did this because she was so beautiful and he feared he might be killed to get at her. So he willingly gave her up. Let's see: liar, coward, didn't trust God to take care of him. These aren't really some of father Abraham's best character traits.

Lot, Abraham and Sarah's long-awaited miracle son, was told by God's angel to flee Sodom and Gomorrah with his immediate family (wife and two daughters) because they were the only righteous ones left and God was fixing to destroy everyone else. God told them not to look back, but Lot's wife looked back and was instantly turned into a pillar of salt. (I imagine Lot was a bit ticked at this.) Anyway, Lot then takes his daughters and moves into a cave, becoming a recluse. He was afraid, so he stayed in the cave. Finally, the daughters were so desperate, that they each got their father drunk, had sex with him, and bore him children. If you missed that, this was incest. Again, it's not the best picture of the only righteous man God could find in the cities He'd had to destroy.

Source of Encouragement
So why are these tragic glimpses of such men's lives encouraging? I guess mainly because their level of unrighteousness and spiritual poverty were revealed well after God identified them as holy and righteous. God made them holy. He didn't vaporize their sin nature. He didn't remove their challenging circumstances. So there was still plenty of room for them to fail, displease God and exhibit their own human failures. But God said they were holy.

Did you know that holy people - declared so by God Himself - could still be liars, cowards, drunkards, etc.? Even in the Old Testament, as Paul explained in the New Testament, we aren't holy or unholy based on what we do or what we experience. Rather we are holy because God says we are. He makes it so. So when God declares you and I holy, nothing we can do or experience will change that. Because it's not based on what we do or don't do. It's based on who He is.

I have to say that's just about the most encouraging news ever. So when I face those times that I don't feel so holy, I can look at these heroes of the Bible and see that their holiness was never defined by their behaviors and actions. It's defined by God. And my holiness today? It's also defined by God. So nothing that I do can change that. Wow!

Darkness & Light

Did you ever have someone come into your life who actually changed you --- or at least changed your thinking? Maybe it was a school teacher or college professor. Perhaps it was a boss or a colleague. For some of us it might be a neighbor. For some it might be a pastor, a coach, or maybe a client.

Whoever they turn out to be, I'm becoming more and more convinced that these people exist. I never know where they'll turn up. And of course they aren't all people. I meet lots of people through business and social endeavors. I'm sure they're all wonderful people. But some of those meetings turn out to be a little more profound than others. The interesting thing is that I usually don't even know that until later, when I look back and realize that meeting was profound!

I met a guy last fall in a CR Step Study that I'm leading. (He's a pastor.) Quite a remarkable fellow, actually - there have been several things about him that have impressed me. The first was his leadership. This guy is unabashedly leading. I think I might be drawn to those people who lead boldly. They know who is in charge and aren't afraid to take command. I don't know, maybe it's a character defect that drives them (control issues or something). Nevertheless, I find myself drawn to that.

He has other qualities that seem to stand out. I can't say I admire them or wish them for myself. I really don't think it's like that. But I notice them. His faith and his passion for his God are remarkable. I've known a lot of pastors, and pretty well too. Few have exhibited this passion for the Lord. I get the sense that this guy would really walk through fire, go to his death or do whatever else it might take to serve his God. Call yourself a Christian, or a Jew, or a Catholic - but really, how many of us serve a God like that?

As you might have it, my new acquaintance and I are becoming good friends. Occasional coffee's with no particular agenda help us learn more about each other's hearts and minds. It may be that we're finding things in each other that we like --- for those meetings tend to happen more often and last longer than I expect. Somehow I suspect that despite the proximity we may have or not have in each other's lives, the impact he'll have in my life will be enduring.

One of the things he's said recently that really got me to thinking has been about light and dark, good and evil. The Bible is clear that darkness cannot stand in the face of light. It's equally clear about the fact that evil will never prevail in the face of righteousness and holiness (which come from God). But my friend pointed out that most people who believe in God tend to act as if the darkness were more powerful than the light. He's observed (and rightly so, I think) that people of faith tend to behave as if they're afraid of evil.

It makes me wonder. Could it be that even believers in the Most High God of creation still fear evil more than they fear Him? Is it possible that we lose conscious sight of the facts about darkness and its nature? And if so, what would cause such a phenomenon?

I certainly agree with my friend. Like I began this blog, it seems God is using him to shift some of my personal paradigms. (I'm still figuring out which ones those are too!) It is painfully obvious that even the most spiritually mature people can become rattled by their circumstances. A solid man of faith gets nervous when there are layoffs at his work. A godly mother falls apart when her child is seriously ill. A Christian business owner acts like a frightened sheep being pursued by wolves when there is a business downtown or a client sues him. What's up with these things?

Have we lost sight of the power of light? Do we forget that righteousness and holiness are the ultimate victors in this game of life? Or can we become deceived about the power of darkness? Can darkness somehow convince us that it is invincible? Does evil mock us and make fun of us, beating us into the submission like the playground bully when we were kids?

Light a candle in the darkness and see what happens. The darkness retreats. But try to bring darkness into the light of day and see if the daylight retreats. (It doesn't!) Isn't this how we are supposed to live our lives ... based on these two simple truths?

Evil doesn't win, good triumphs, holiness prevails, and righteousness endures. Darkness fades, despite its intimidating and menacing nature. And those things of the world that make us nervous, that cause us to worry or fret or even be scared? They aren't so powerful really. In fact, their ability to control us is really a farce. It's just not there!

On one of my trips to Africa a couple years ago, I heard a woman say she was not going to tell God about her problems, but instead would tell the problems about her God. It seemed like a simple statement, and yet profound. I'd like to introduce her to my new pastor friend here in Texas. I suspect God is using both of them to speak truth into me!