The Gift of Ending Well - Stephen

 So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: "Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel," which is translated, "God with us."

[Matthew 1:22-23]

 

The recollection of the Christmas story brings us a lot of thoughts, doesn’t it? Shepherds, wise men, swaddling clothes, a manger, sheep, and shooting one’s eye out with a BB gun.  In all seriousness, we think of a baby’s birth most importantly. And not just any baby but the very Son of God. It’s a wonderful story with an even greater meaning for those who believe in its truth. 

 

Yet, when we read that story in Luke 2 or those verses from Matthew 1 above, we can’t help but correlate this Baby’s birth with a beginning of sorts. We do this with all births. We even have descriptive sayings in our modern society referring to a baby being born as “brand-spankin’ new” or declaring to the parents, “Congratulations on the new arrival.” 

 

But what if I told you that Christ’s birth had as much to do with completion as it did with beginning? Don’t believe me? Then take a look at a very specific word Matthew used in verse 22. It’s a word he would use several times in reference to certain details of Christ’s arrival all throughout chapter 2 as well. That word is, “fulfilled.”  

 

“Fulfilled” means to render full or to complete. So why was this word used in describing the birth and new arrival of God’s Son? Because His birth was not only a beginning but a completion.

 

You see the Bible from beginning to end is very much about tying up loose ends. On day 7 of Creation, “God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good” (Gen. 1:31). His creation was complete, and the task once begun was now finished. 

 

At the Bible’s conclusion, Jesus reveals in Revelation 22:13--"I am the Alpha and the Omega, [the] Beginning and [the] End, the First and the Last." What He began, He will complete. What was promised will be fulfilled. What was in the beginning will surely end and end well. 

 

Christ’s birth on that first Christmas completed a promise from the Old Testament (Isaiah 7:14) quoted there in Matthew. It was an ending in itself. Yet, had Christ only been born, the fulfillment would have only been partial, and the promises left mostly incomplete. Which is why when He was dying upon that rugged tree thirty-three-and-a-half years later, He cried with His last words, “It is finished (Jn. 19:30).” A reminder that what began can now properly and fully be considered done, loose ends tied, very much complete. 

 

How often do we think about our ending and ending well like this? Completing what we have begun. Fulfilling the reasons and purposes behind our birth upon this Earth. 

 

Christ is the ultimate example of this obviously but even the Apostle Paul kept the finish line in mind when he said, “For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith (2 Tim. 4:6-7).”

 

There is something to be said about beginning something with the intention of completing it well. Christ knew this. Apparently, Paul understood this also. And we who follow in their footsteps of faith would do well in desiring the same. 

 

As our blog comes to a close, I don’t know that we even knew what we were doing when we began this three-and-a-half years ago. I wish we could say we followed the advice I am giving now, but, honestly, apart from God’s grace in any of the effort, we did not. We didn’t consider when it might end much less how.

 

But somewhere deep down, we all knew one thing: we did not want the phrase “beating a dead horse” to be forever tied to our blog. And, with this, we knew there would be an ending eventually. I pray we ended well. 

 

In a modern society fascinated by deconstructed faith stories, I am glad that Ben, Ron, and I can all say with the Apostle Paul that we have kept the faith through the duration of this blog’s writing. And I truly believe that’s the key to unwrapping the gift of ending well—by keeping the faith. 

 

“‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’”

[Matthew 25:21]

 

Imagine yourself at any and every moment leaving this life prepared and ready to enter the next. If you do this, you too can be unafraid of these two words that most of our world never consider until it is too late. And because they’re never considered, fulfilling them well is not even an option. Therefore, let this final Middlings post be your reminder to consider these words…

 

The End. 

 

All in all, we trust that our posts have been a small help to you along the journey of ending well as we all seek to keep the faith. 

 

We thank you for reading one last time. 

 

And from all The Middlings—Farewell until our final End. 

 

The End is Near - Ron

Five Iron Frenzy (FIF) was one of my favorite bands as a teenager. Their music is mostly nostalgic now, and my wife hates Ska music, so they rarely appear in my Spotify playlist. In 2003, the band self-released an album entitled: The End is Near. At the end of that year, they performed a final concert in Denver (their hometown). This concert was recorded and released as a double album called: The End is Near Here. This album included all songs from The End is Near, and the live concert from Denver.

Ska Mania ‘98 is the first concert I ever attended. The Orange County Supertones, The Insyderz, and Five Iron Frenzy were there. Reese Roper and his bandmates in FIF were dressed as Star Trek characters and I was hooked on Ska music. But all things end. 

Being invited to write for The Middlings was unexpected. I knew both Ben and Stephen when we were at Trinity, but we were different majors and at different stages of our college careers. I got married between my Junior and Senior years and moved off campus. We were friends on Facebook and, looking back, I see that we would interact randomly from time to time over the years. But I did not know that there were people intently reading the things I wrote on social media. I didn’t consider that it mattered. In fact, I get extremely low interaction with most things I put on Facebook. I’ve been in Facebook jail a few times (don’t know why) so maybe my account is throttled. 

I had read a few of the blogs posted by The Middlings before Stephen contacted me about writing. What I enjoyed was finding two people who truly believed that not everything had to be dichotomized. It didn’t have to be “If you vote for Trump you love Jesus, but if you don’t, you are bringing about the downfall of America” (circa 2016 and coming again in 2024). There’s nuance. There are options. There’s room for personal convictions. And it isn’t that I never take a stand. It is just that sometimes the middle of the road is the best place to be standing.

For example, I’ve always felt there was a more biblical place to be than “God hates fags” or “Love is love.” There is a biblical ethic that allows us to treat people with compassion - if not understanding - while refusing to compromise. There has to be. But increasingly, all issues are polarized. The extremes are voiced the loudest. Those refusing to bend the knee are often labeled traitors to the cause. From both sides.

The top of our blog states: “In a world where compromise is the word no one dares to say. In a country where every belief is instinctively labeled left or right. And in communities where every person must pick a side even if they once claimed friendships with those on both. This is where you will find those scripting the entries of this page. We welcome you to MIDDLINGS.”

I’d like to think we’ve done that. In my first year of writing, we attempted to reclaim a biblical understanding of words and concepts. In the second year of my writing, the blog tackled the task of bringing the Ten Commandments into the modern world. If you were with us even then, you may remember that I caught quite a bit of flack for declaring The Chosen to be a violation of the second commandment. This even from my co-bloggers.

Which, by the way, seems weird to say (co-bloggers). I’ve always had nebulous feelings about my place in The Middlings. Stephen had the idea, and he and Ben had been steadily building a following well before I came along. Not that I never felt like I fit, but it wasn’t mine. Not my idea and not my “baby,” as it were. This is why, when talk began about shutting things down in December, I believe my comment was, “Listen, this is yall’s B-B-Q.” This is also why the last post you will read from The Middlings will be written by Stephen. Rightfully so. 

As I said, being asked to write for The Middlings was unexpected. I did not know how impactful it would be. I did not know how much I would need it. I did not know that God would use the blog in so many profound ways in my own life. When I was at my lowest point in recent years, and I mean low, low, low (read about it here), Stephen invited a guest to record a video with us. A few months later, I reached out to that guest about significant things, and I don’t know that I can overstate how essential that contact was to my personal well-being, marriage, and family. The Middlings did that. Or, rather, God did. Because while writing for The Middlings was unexpected for me, it was part of God’s plan for my life.

As this season comes to a close, I am certain that God’s plan for my life will continue to be lived out. It will just look different. For a while, at least.

In 2013, I was looking through Spotify and was surprised to find an album called Engine of a Million Plots. What was so surprising about this, is it was a new Five Iron Frenzy album. I had never heard of it. I didn’t know that the band had come back together. All the happy feelings! I was a teen again! But they hadn’t. Not really. Nothing else from Five Iron until 2021, when they released Until This Shakes Apart.

But they weren’t the same Five Iron that I grew up with. They were angry. It was Covid. They cussed in several of their songs. Something changed. Something happened. To quote Scott Stapp and the band Creed, “time, you’re no friend of mine.”

But all things end. And although the end is near for The Middlings, the end is here for my time of writing. And who knows? You may stumble upon a Middlings post in a few years that you never saw before. And you might think the band has come back together. And maybe we will. But this I know with 100% certainty: the Lord keeps His own.

The One that began a good work in Stephen, and in Ben, and in me, will be faithful to complete it. If, in some future endeavor, the Lord brings us back together, it will be for our good and His glory. As all things ultimately are.

If I could leave you with a thought: Believer, He loves you, He loves you, He loves you. Never stop coming home.

Stephen and Ben, I love you both. If nothing else, your blog was for me. Our blog.

Deep breath. All things end.

Perspective - Ben Hyrne

Perspective is a rare thing in life. Too often, we’re so focused on ourselves, on what we think, that we miss something. Though our eyes are wide open, we cannot hope to see all that there is to see, that is, unless you have someone else looking with you. Even then, there is no guarantee. But, arguably, you’ll miss less and see more than if you were trying to look all alone. 

Since July 2020, the Middlings have put out, including this one, 155 blogs. That’s 155 times that someone put their thoughts on paper. That’s 155 times someone tried to share a little bit of themselves with others. That’s 155 times someone sacrificed their off-time to see, understand, and explain something.

For 155 times, I’ve had the privilege of seeing the world through the eyes of my friends, and they, in turn, were able to see it through mine. In other words, the Middlings allowed me to share my perspective but it also gave me some much-needed perspective. Thus, in this way, every post changed me. They changed how I looked at the world. In 155 posts, I saw more of the world than if I had been trying to look at it all by myself. 

So, as this is my last post, it is only appropriate to thank my fellow writers.

I liked seeing the world through your eyes.  

Thanks for the perspective.

Ben

Worship Worth Receiving - Ron

My family went camping over the first few days of Thanksgiving week. As happens, very little went to plan. We got rained out our last night and a few people left early due to sickness. But that is how it goes sometimes. I took my oldest son with me on Saturday morning, and it was our job to set up the campsite and prepare for the arrival of everyone else. We had a job to do and there were plenty of decisions to think through. 

First, we had to pick a good campsite. We camp in tents and have a large family, so we like to be away from other campers. We also like having lots of trees around us for exploring, finding wood, and hanging hammocks. One must also consider that it might rain, and the location of one's tent becomes more important as the chances of rain increase.

Once you have the campsite picked out, it is just a matter of unpacking the truck, setting up the tents, chairs, tables, hammocks, cots, etc. Tents can be tricky and some are fairly complex, so they come with instructions. In my experience, the instructions are not typically fantastic, but they do the job. I do have a confession, though. I never keep those instruction books. I didn't think it mattered.

We needed to replace one of our tents before this last trip. The first tent our family ever purchased had been to several states and seen some severe weather. Not to mention that our kids grew up in it. It was time. We bought an exact replica of the tent that we had purchased a few years ago for my wife and I to use. When I opened this brand new package and saw the instructions, I flipped through a few pages. I was shocked when I discovered that there were parts to our tent that I was not using because I didn't understand the function. And I didn't understand the function because I threw away the instructions. And I threw away the instructions because I didn't think they were necessary. After all, the tent functioned as at tent. How was I to know I was missing out on even more functionality!

But many of us live our lives this way. We think we are functioning just fine. We look like we are serving the function of a believer. For all outward intents and purposes, things are great. But are they, really? 

God's people found themselves in this situation in the book of Haggai.

The second part of the book finds that the people were well underway working on the temple, and were no doubt eagerly awaiting the day that it would be finished. After all, God had promised them that this temple, although less beautiful, would boast more glory than Solomon’s temple!

But Haggai’s message in this section is one of caution. You see, the work in which they were engaged was a good work. It was needful work. It was commanded work. God told them to do it. But the caution here is that they make sure to do it in a right manner. You see, nothing that we do, no matter how great or how noble it may seem, if done with impure motives or an improper spirit, will be accepted by God. And the same is true here. 

There are those involved in the building of the temple with impure hearts and hands. If we are honest, there are many times that we run around attempting to build the temple of our heart and life while hiding impurities.

It is interesting that God specifically tells Haggai to ask the priests about the law (2:11). Although a prophet, Haggai was not a priest. And so the instruction was to go to the priests for direction concerning the law. God has given different jobs to different people, and in this case, it was needful for the priests to have input. After all, what God had to say to the people went for the priests as well. And so, from their own mouths they would be condemned. 

The apostle Paul tells us of the importance of different gifts in the church in the book of Romans (12:4-8). Paul specifically mentions each of us has something to do for God, and each of us has an office in which to use our gifts. So, let each of us use our own gifts to serve in the way that God has given us. And in this case, Haggai was in the office of a prophet, and the priests were in the business of interpreting the law. 

Part of that law is seen in Leviticus 10:10-11. Here, in the King James, it says, "And that ye may put difference between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean; And that ye may teach the children of Israel all the statutes which the LORD hath spoken unto them by the hand of Moses."

So we see that it was the job of the priests to know and declare the difference between that which was holy and that which was not holy, and they were to teach the Israelites and put them in remembrance of what God had said.

Now the rules of the law, in this case are,

• That one cannot transmit holiness (Haggai 2:12).
• That one can transmit uncleanness. The law is express on this issue (Numbers 19:22). 

Simply put, the truth that Haggai was trying to get them to recognize is that holiness is not communicable, but wickedness is. Many people think that they are somehow improved by rubbing shoulders with men and women who are spiritual, or by keeping company with those who walk close with the Lord. Understand this: there may be benefit in those things in regards to learning from them and being exhorted and encouraged by them, but we dare not think that a right standing with God and righteousness in thought and deed can be somehow spread to us automatically by contact.

Maybe it will help us to consider it this way: when a healthy person walks into a hospital room, their health does not spread to the diseased person in the bed. However, depending on the disease, sickness can and will spread to a healthy person. 

Do not think that living by good people, or working with good people, or going to church with good people will make you pleasing to God if you are not right with him yourself. Rather, we each need to fear that touching anything unclean will defile us, and we must keep our distance from it (2 Cor. 6:17). 

It may be good for us to peruse Paul's exhortation in Ephesians 5:1-12. If this passage steps on our toes, it is likely because our feet are planted in the wrong spot. The message to the people was that wickedness and uncleanness and unrighteousness spreads like a virus. Paul says that it is a shame for the children of God to even speak of the things that are done in secret by those reveling in their sin and debauchery. But we speak about those things. We read about them. We watch those things on television and in movies. In the worst cases, we seek them out on purpose and actively participate in them ourselves.

The main problem here for the Israelites was this: the whole time that they had been neglecting the temple, worrying about making their own houses look glorious, they were still offering sacrifices. They didn’t even recognize that God was rejecting all of their worship. They thought that their ritualistic worship would make their offerings acceptable to God, but their disobedience and neglect polluted their worship. 

Does that describe your life - or mine - today? Do we assume that our holiday busy-ness and church parties and jovial spirits automatically equate a right relationship with God? Do we assume that God is forced to accept what we offer Him in worship?

One of my former pastors preached a series of messages called: Celebrate Worship. During one of these messages, he explained how worship is two parts: our giving it and God accepting it. And God was not accepting their worship in Haggai. I wonder…does He accept yours? Does He accept mine? Many people all over this country go to church regularly. Many of them probably had very similar thoughts to what we see in Haggai: no thought for God in their life, but certain that their attendance in church would count for something good. 

I love the way Matthew Henry puts it in his commentary on the passage: “No,” says God to the Israelites, “your holy flesh and your altar will be so far from sanctifying your meat and drink, your wine and oil, to you, that your contempt of God's temple will bring a pollution, not only on your common enjoyments, but even on your sacrifices too; so that while you continued in that neglect all was unclean to you, nay, and so is this people still; and so they will be; on these terms they will still stand with me, and on no other - that if they be profane, and sensual, and morally impure, if they have wicked hearts, and live wicked lives, though they work ever so hard at the temple while it is building, and though they offer ever so many and costly sacrifices there when it is built, yet that shall not serve to sanctify their meat and drink to them, and to give them a comfortable use of them; nay, the impurity of their hearts and lives shall make even that work of their hands, and all their offerings, unclean, and an abomination to God.” 

And the case is the same with us. If your devotions seem reasonable, but your lifestyle is wicked, you will find that your devotions are unable to purify your enjoyments and entertainment, but your wickedness will be able to pollute them. 

May He be satisfied to receive our worship both during the holidays and all year long!

The Peace of Jesus | Ben Hyrne

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.  Not as the world gives do I give to you.  Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” 

John 14:27

The Greek world (not unlike our own) spoke about peace as nothing more than the absence of conflict.[1] But taking history into consideration, this means that world peace is, at best, fleeting or, at worst, a myth.  It is fleeting in the sense that it never lasts forever.  And it is a myth in the sense that when we say we're "at peace," all we're actually saying is that the major world powers aren’t at war.  Even if there’s no large-scale conflict, is there not some conflict somewhere at the ground level?  We haven’t stopped killing each other since Cain killed Abel. 

So, when the Lord takes his peace and compares it with the kind offered by the world, he is distinguishing it in two key ways:

First, Jesus is saying that his peace is permanent.  Far from being fleeting, it is eternal.   It is not like the enforced but tenuous peace brought about by some military occupation (e.g., Pax Romana).[2] That sort of peace wanes as the power that established it begins to diminish.  On the other hand, Christ's kingdom is a dominion without end (cf. Dan. 7:14).  The peace agreement Jesus brokered for humanity transcends the mortal plain and reaches the very throne room of heaven, where it is secure forever.  Though nations may rise against one another, Christians will never again be at war with God (cf. Eph. 2:11-22). 

Second, Jesus is saying that his peace is legitimate.  Far from being a myth, it is the crowning characteristic of the messianic age (cf. Isa. 9:6-7; 52:7; 54:13; 57:19; Ezek. 37:26; Hag. 2:9).[3]  This is not the false peace of the false prophets (cf. Jer. 6:13-15).  It is the hard-won triumph of Jesus Christ.  God and man are genuinely reconciled through the shed blood of God's only Son (cf. Col. 1:20).  No enemy can overwhelm those who are said to "overcome” the world (cf. 1 Jn. 5:5).  The Christian is genuinely triumphant through Christ whereas this world is “passing away” right before our eyes (1 Jn. 2:17). 

But make no mistake, the kind of peace Jesus offers is not the absence of conflict but a "resolve in the midst of discomfiting circumstances…the composure to be faithful in the face of adversity."[4]  In fact, later, the Lord will say, “In the world, you will have tribulation…” (16:44).[5]  So, it is not a matter of "if" his followers will have trouble but "when."  Thus, Jesus' peace means experiencing tranquility even though one may be surrounded by danger.  For Christians, even the worst trial is "temporal" (2 Cor. 4:17-18).  That, no matter what comes our way, we can say, "This too shall pass."  

What’s more, this peace was supposed to immediately affect the disciples' hearts.  Right after talking about peace, Jesus said, " Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid” (cf. 14:1).  The verbs Jesus uses are in the present tense, so it is a choice we have to make every day.  

If we allow it, fear will run away with our peace.  We must choose to trust in the Lord.  In doing so, we will no longer be held captive by our fears.  This is why the old prophet can say, “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you." (Isa. 26:3).  And this is why Paul says to the persecuted church in Philippi, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice….do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." (Phil 4:4-7; cf. Col. 3:15).  Peace in hardship is the peace of Christ.  But it is a peace we must choose to take hold of.  

Fear is the only option for the world.  But for the Christian, Jesus offers us peace.  We do not have to fear what is happening around us.  We can face an unknown future boldly because we know that, no matter what happens, we are followers of the Prince of Peace.  What do we have to fear when Jesus goes with us wherever we go? 

Endnotes

[1] Morris (1995), p. 584; Köstenberger (2008), p. 443.

[2] Kruse (2017), p. 359; Köstenberger (2008), p. 443, “The famous Ara Pacis (“altar of peace”), erected by Augustus to celebrate his inauguration of the age of peace, still stands in Rome as a testimony to the world’s empty messianic pretensions.”

[3] Carson (1991), p. 505.

[4] Köstenberger (2008), p. 444.

[5] Klink (2016), p. 641, explains that the peace of Christ “is an unbroken union with the Father, even in a world filled with continuous strife, persecution, humiliation, and even death.”