Miscellaneous: Why a Slave Was Returned (and Another Was Not) - Stephen

In the well-known novel bearing his name, Huckleberry Finn finds himself faced with an enormous dilemma. Having joined up with a runaway slave named Jim on a quest to leave the past behind, he has a decision to make. Does he follow what those around him have always taught—that a slave is someone’s property and therefore a runaway must be returned? Or does he follow his conscience and allow Jim to seek the freedoms that all people were granted by their Maker? This predicament never occurred surrounded by all his friends in his small, country town. It wasn’t until Huck was confronted with Jim that his beliefs were challenged and a choice had to be made.

In a somewhat similar situation found in Scripture, why would the Apostle Paul send a Jewish slave back to his former master despite the injustices of such a trade?[1] In another instance, why would an all-knowing God ask a Jew to visit a Gentile despite their well-known, long-held prejudice against one another?[2] And why does Jesus command us all to approach the one with whom a grudge is held despite our natural tendency to run away, ignore them, or complain to everyone but the one with whom the fault exists?[3] Because it would seem in all of these that confrontation is the way God achieves certain aspects of our sanctification where nothing else will.

Sanctification is the process of being set apart and purified for a specific purpose. After one accepts God’s salvation they are set apart by God for His purposes and to complete His will. This process is many times accomplished in the life of a believer by the hearing and application of truth contained in the Word of God (c.f., Ephesians 5:25-27). Jesus said it this way in a prayer found in John 17:17:

“Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.”

When the truth of God’s Word is heard and consciously applied to the recipient’s everyday life they become holier (aka more sanctified) before God than they were previously. By analogy, it is like the washing of vegetables in a strainer—the water and dirt are flushed out while the vegetables within become cleaner. Likewise, Philemon that slave-owner, Peter that Jew, and all of us become closer to holiness when we respond rightly to the confrontations of life God brings our way.

Would Philemon have ever accepted Onesimus the slave and thief as a “brother” had his former slave never returned? Would Peter have ever changed his mind regarding Gentiles had he not been confronted with Cornelius? And would we ever actually deal with that fault with someone else if we refused to face it one-on-one? We all know the answers to these, don’t we? And so does God.

When we think of the story of Philemon our gaze is drawn to Onesimus because his eternal freedom was obtained. What we don’t see as clearly is God was simultaneously concerned with a needed freedom and change within the heart of his master. In the story of Cornelius, we are once again so focused on the one seeking Christ to notice that God was also busy ironing out the bigotry within the wrinkles of Peter’s upbringing. While we tend to focus on the one with the seemingly greater need, God is focused on every individual equally. The need might be different, but spiritual growth is necessary and important for us all.

Like Philemon, this process is many times inconvenient. Instead of punishing his runaway slave as was the norm, he is encouraged to embrace Onesimus as the newest member of a now shared spiritual family. This action was counter-cultural at the very least and certainly not the natural response one takes with a thief of any kind. But when becoming like Jesus is the goal, becoming like the culture becomes irrelevant. Like Peter, the process is often life-altering. And if we add Jonah to the mix who was asked to preach repentance to a city upon which he preferred judgment, these confrontations will many times find us reluctant to accept God’s plan at first pass. But always to our detriment—for the confrontation we run from could very well be the confrontation God knows we need.

“No man is an island,” John Donne once famously wrote. It would seem God echoes this remark as His truth is continually revealed as a confronting one. We might hear that truth sitting comfortably by ourselves upon a padded pew, but, as Huck Finn found out, the application of our true beliefs occurs when we are confronted by others…sometimes when it’s least desired.

If we’re honest, we could all be a little cleaner, a little more holy, and a little bit more like Jesus. If these tales from old are any indication, God’s not done with any of us just yet. And apparently, he’s using us to continue the work.

As iron sharpens iron,

So a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.

Proverbs 27:17

 

 

 

---

[1] Philemon 1:1-21.

[2] Acts 10:1-48.

[3] Matthew 18:15.

Miscellaneous: Wake Up! - Ron

I know this post is going live on Valentine's Day. And no, it isn't about love, marriage, dating, hand-holding, or embracing God's will in your singleness. Some will say that I missed a huge opportunity today. All I can say is that if you are looking for some sort of Valentine's Day love story with religious platitudes, read on all the way to the end! If you aren't looking for that kind of thing at all, you can read on to the end as well. I promise, if you are in the latter group you will not be disappointed. Many in the former group are going to be disappointed at some point today anyway, so it might as well start with me.

Let's go!

"...Now is our salvation nearer than when we believed" (Romans 13:11). Paul wrote that a long time ago, but it still applies today. By this, Paul means the full effect of our salvation, as in, the being-with-Jesus-part. For the Christian, each breath that you take brings you that much closer to being with Christ, whether through death or His return. 

But in the meantime, Paul says this knowledge means it is high time for Christians to wake up. John Gill, in his commentary on the book, says this speaks of the "carnal security and drowsy frame of spirit which sometimes attend the churches and children of God...in a backwardness to duty and a slothfulness in performance of it." In other words, it is possible for us to be asleep on the job, as it were.

Sleeping people aren't good for much. I haven't always been a heavy sleeper. But as I worked my way through about 5,632 nights of baby screaming, I have learned to sleep through things. In fact, sometimes, I wake up oblivious to what has gone on around me. 

There is nothing quite so terrifying as children wandering in the darkness. I remember one time, I woke up to complete darkness and the feeling of breath on my face. It was a son, who wanted me to know, at that very moment, that the tooth fairy had come. As if I didn’t know. 

Then there was the time that I woke up, and saw something crouching under our covers. I literally have never been so scared in my entire life. It just sat there. I started freaking out and pushing it, to find out that it was the head of a different son who had somehow crawled into bed, and decided it would be perfectly normal to sit on his knees in the middle of our bed underneath the covers. 

Both of these things were made possible by the fact that I was sleeping, and had no idea what was going on. On a different occasion, one of my other sons (I've got 3, and now you've met all of them) woke up to use the bathroom, but not actually in the bathroom. My wife and I were out in the living room, and here comes a son. This blessing from the Lord stumbles down the hallway--whining and mumbling--stands behind the couch, and begins peeing right into a basket of clean clothes.

In First Thessalonians 5, Paul says that people who are asleep have no idea what is going on. The same is true of those who are drunk. Sometimes the main reason people get drunk, is so they can forget what was going on, or so that they won’t remember what will go on. 

Paul says that Christians are to be different. Our conduct is different. Rather than be like those who will be left behind, we ought not to be lethargic or careless about spiritual things. Lost people are asleep to spiritual realities and incapable of properly responding to them. They are incapacitated by their own wicked lifestyle. But Christians are to be sober. We are to be spiritually alert at all times.  Paul uses the breastplate, which protects the heart, and the helmet, which protects the head, to remind us that our affections and thoughts are a favorite target of the enemy. 

Paul says much the same in the last handful of verses in Romans 13. Verse number eleven began this blog post, but verses 12-14 detail what Christians ought to be doing instead of slumbering away the interim between salvation and glory.

In short, we are not to love the things that this world has to offer. We are not to allow ourselves to be seduced by worldly philosophies, attitudes, and attractions. We are meant for more and we are waiting for more. This world isn’t our forever home. But we are still called to engage culture and to be salt and light. We are strangers and pilgrims, but we have been commanded to be ambassadors for Christ on our pilgrimage. 

In Acts 17:6, the apostles are described as those who have "turned the world upside down." Their brand of Christ-following had caused a significant disruption in the culture. This new way, markedly different from the immoral polytheism of the Greeks and Romans AND the self-righteous monotheism of the Pharisees, was breaking society. Christians were making a difference.

While it is hard to pinpoint exactly how many born-again Christians are in the United States, recent data suggests that 63% of American adults self-identify under the Christian label (Smith, 2021). That is over 200,000,000 people taking on the name. If even half of that number are Christians in the biblical sense, that would mean nearly 1/3 of the United States population is saved by grace and serving Jesus as Lord. 

That is a lot of salt and light. That is a mass of pilgrim ambassadors. And if the Jews thought some apostles were turning their world upside down, imagine if they were alive today to see the massive disruption that 100,000,000 Bible-believing Christians are making in the United States. Except, that isn't what they would see. What they would see is a society every bit as Godless as Corinth and Rome, maybe more so. They would encounter millions of Christians consuming culture that they ought to be marking and avoiding. They could use Google to find a plethora of articles describing America as a post-Christian nation.

A post-Christian nation comprised of 63% Christians? Perhaps we have been sleeping. You are nearer to meeting Christ now than you were when you started reading this post. It is high time for us to wake up.

Reference

Smith, Gregory. (2021). About three-in-ten U.S. adults are now religiously unaffiliated. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewforum.org/2021/12/14/about-three-in-ten-u-s-adults-are-now-religiously-unaffiliated/

The 10 Commandments for the Modern World | The First Commandment - Ben

If you’ve read the title for this post and you’re still here, I’ll assume you don’t want a piece that is filled with worthless platitudes.  I'll even venture a guess and say you'd probably like some background so that you might better grasp how a commandment that’s thousands of years old can still apply today.  And I won’t take it for granted that you love the Bible and want a better understanding of one of the most misunderstood commandments in all of scripture. 

Ready for a quick Old Testament fast-forward? Allow me to first sum up Gen. 1:1-Exodus 20:1: God created man.  Man sinned.  God promised to redeem man.  Time passes.  God calls a man named Abram to follow him, changes his name to Abraham, and promises to make him a mighty nation.  Later, Abraham's great-grandson, Joseph, saves his family and all of Egypt from a severe famine.  Joseph and his family settle in Egypt.  400 years elapse.  Joseph's family, now called the Israelites, are the size of a nation but have become enslaved by the Egyptians.  God calls a man named Moses to deliver them.  Pharaoh refuses to free the Jews, so God sends ten plagues, and the Israelites are set free.  They then head towards the lands promised to their ancestor, Abraham.  But before they enter the titular “promise land,” God wants to lay down some ground rules.  Commonly referred to as the 10 commandments, these rules will help maintain a healthy relationship between the Israelites in their God. 

(Pause for applause……….pause a little more…….thank you…thank you….aaaaand bow.)

Why the context?  Because it's important to see that before God ever set down any formal requirements, he proved by his actions that he loved humankind.  Before he ever commanded them to refrain from having other gods, he demonstrated what kind of God he was.  Not until he laid out his love for them did he lay down the law before them (cf. Ex. 20:2).  And the first law God instituted was this: 

"You shall have no other gods before me." Exodus 20:3 (ESV)

Now, if it wasn't for God, the Israelites wouldn't even exist; in light of this fact alone, the first commandment seems a natural starting point.  Their fidelity to God was to be undivided in the same way that God’s love for them had been unbroken.  God deserved all the credit, and it was to him that they owed their allegiance. 

What’s more, this commandment set the tone for the Jew’s entire belief system.  Polytheism—a belief in multiple gods—was the norm.  And while people groups may have recognized some prime deity, they often worshiped a whole pantheon of gods (i.e., Zeus, Hades, Poseidon, etc.).  For God to require that the Jews worship only him, he, in essence, created the very first monotheistic—a belief in one god—religion.  Meaning that, for the Jew, going and serving some other deity was a sin called idolatry. 

But what does this have to do with us?  Practically speaking, that meant the Jews weren't to have any idols in their home.  And if our idea of an idol is nothing more than a statue made out of wood, stone, or metal, I don't think there is much of a problem today.  Or, I should say, I feel that this isn't a problem for modern Christians living in a Western context.  However, suppose we expand our definition of an idol to incorporate anything that draws us away from God? In that case, all of a sudden, this commandment becomes incredibly applicable.

The idols we have to be wary of today are not physical in the traditional sense.  Idols carved from stone have been replaced by cars molded from steel and phones built from technology.  Before, entire belief systems governed how one ought to worship an idol.  Today, the only belief system that controls anything is a person's happiness.  The love of self is the modern-day equivalent of idol worship. 

And what's so hard about trying to talk about idolatry today is that most people don't see it for what it is. Rather than call it idolatry, they call it something like the "American dream." Rather than acknowledge that they're more concerned with their own wants and desires than with God's, they ignore the problem altogether.

But anything and everything that takes us away from God is idolatry.  The dad who puts his family before God has made his family an idol.  The woman who thinks only of her career has confined God to the closet of her conscience and put heart’s desire at the center of her life.  Good things turn into bad things when God is not our main thing. On the flipside, when we place God first, he helps us to be a better spouse, parent, employee, friend. Priorities tend to fall into place, when we place God first.

Way back in the beginning, God told the Israelites that he ought to be the only one who sat on the throne of their hearts.  How much more so for those of us who have been redeemed by God's Son?  While we were like pigs wallowing in our filth, God sent his Son to die for us (cf. Rom. 5:8).  What sort of allegiance ought that to instill in our hearts?

5th Monday: "Ministry: A Day in the Life" - Emory Hyrne

Now, I know what you are thinking. Emory, don't you mean “a year in the life?” No, that is a fantastic Netflix special about the Gilmore Girls. And since you know this, I now know that we can become good friends. If you don't know what I'm talking about, just fall in love with coffee, and you're halfway there.

In a conversation with Ben about Middlings topics, I somehow agreed to write a thing. I’m not sure how it happened. The talk we had is actually a bit of a blur. Come to think of it, I’m almost positive that Ben made it up. In my right mind, I know I'd never agree to do this. I take on more of the editing role in Ben's writing, which comes more naturally to me. 

If you don’t know me (which is very likely), I am an expert coffee drinker, avid reader, mother of two littles, and the wife of one, Ben Hyrne. We serve at a small church in Baltimore as ministry coordinator (me) and lead pastor (Ben).

I thought I'd take a snapshot of what life is like in Christian service as a vocation. Maybe this will simply encourage you or, if I may be so bold, give you a new understanding of those in church leadership. What follows is nothing more than a few broad observations of church work. First, I’d like to mention a couple of challenges in my line of work, and then I’d like to move on to tell you how I am learning to meet those challenges.

I'm not sure what the assumptions are for church leaders, but I try to dispel those whenever I can. Doing what we do is challenging in some unique ways. We get to see people at their best moments and at their worst. For instance, think of the drama in your own life that you might share with a ministry staffer and then multiply that by the number of people in your church. And then add a few more, just because we get walk-ins sometimes. Not only is this a math lesson, but it also illustrates what we encounter every week. People in ministry share in the joys of births, baptisms, or a friend accepting Christ. But then we also cry with someone who’s just received an unfavorable prognosis. Or, like some spiritual first-responder, we’re called to the scene of a life in shambles, and then we try to help them sort through the rubble. Any part of this can happen in any order at any time.

Life comes with ups and downs in general, but, to a certain extent, we experience these epic ups and downs with every church member many times over. That’s hard to do! Personally, I'm very empathetic. I feel for every person I encounter, which, at times, can be a double-edged sword. I don't share this to make you rethink that thing you wanted to talk with your leader about, only to give you insight. We happily (and sometimes unhappily) do life with people. This is 100% a calling, and I wouldn’t choose anything else for myself. 

What's also challenging is worshiping at church! Yes, you heard me correctly. I work where I worship. Just this morning, I unclogged a toilet, helped reconnect a PowerPoint presentation, and then made announcements…all during morning worship. Then, I noticed that a light went out in that classroom again(insert facepalm here). Sometimes working in ministry, I have to remind myself that I need to pause and worship. Occasionally turning off to worship at church feels like eating dinner in your unfinished attic. Or like bringing your office home with you and shoving it in your bedroom, as many of us experienced during Covid.

The only way we can do what we do is by a complete reliance on Christ, healthy boundaries, and solid self-care practices. To help me explain these principles, let's use a made-up parishioner. Let's call her something awesome like "Sally."

One of the first things I realized about ministry is that I'm not the answer to anything Sally needs. This is quite a freeing revelation and also keeps my pride in check. (If you weren't sure who is, the answer is Jesus.) My goal in ministry isn't to make people rely upon me to "fix" what's broken. That is an impossible weight that no one, except Jesus, can carry. My goal is to speak truth and help people become more acquainted with him. I can be an encourager, or I can be a listener, but knowing I’m not the solution means I'm placing the focus where it needs to be (cf. 1 Pet. 5:7). And just as I should know that I cannot fix Sally, Sally shouldn’t expect me to be her “fixer.” What she needs is Jesus. We must rely on Christ to work the miracles. He’s the one who relieves burdens (cf. Mat. 11:28). I just need to help Sally work that out in her own life. 

Next, let’s discuss boundaries. Going back to our amazing Sally, this might mean I don’t respond to every text immediately. I make it a point to "turn off," unplug, or power down from work. You get the idea, right? Cause I can just keep going…unwind, let loose, jazzercise… ok, now I’m done. I make family time. Ministry will still be there tomorrow. The needs will still be as great tomorrow as they are right now. And since, as we discussed above, I know that everything’s not hinging on me, I can “be” home when I’m at home. Being mindful and creating boundaries are so important.

Now, let’s talk about self-care. When I say "self-care," I'm talking about being mindful of yourself—physically, emotionally, spiritually—and processing those things in healthy ways. After all, as ministry workers, if we can't take care of ourselves, how can we help care for others? Self-care in life is essential, especially so for someone who serves people. You don’t crush life by shoving your feelings down and ignoring your body’s tells. God gave us emotions, and it's unwise to shove them down and ignore them. An excellent book I read says that every emotion can be an act of worship when we acknowledge them and take them to God.  God also gave us bodies that will physically give out if we don't care for them. Good luck serving God without a body (a little bit of dark humor there). Helping the “Sallys” in the world (and hopefully doing it well) means that you also care for yourself. 

There’s a misconception out there that you can never think of yourself to truly serve God. This is both untrue and unhealthy. Jesus is the living water that never runs dry. I don't know about you, but my proverbial well runs dry on the regular. I'm not infinite in emotional currency like God is. And what an excellent thought that is!! God is always ready, able, and willing to hear us! 

Even with the challenges, being in a serving role is a rewarding role. Taking part in the journeys of so many others means I also get to celebrate those breakthroughs and victories with them as well. In my humble opinion, there's nothing better than seeing God do a great thing and seeing him use my gifts to make a lasting impact. I love what I get to do.

“But Emory,” you might say, “what do I do with all of this?” Well, Sally, maybe you need to implement healthy boundaries as much Ben and I do; leave work at work, and be home when you’re home. If the concept of self-care seems bizarre, let’s talk about that! Or maybe you should give that church leader who didn't notice you sitting there last Sunday the benefit of the doubt. Maybe think about the expectations you have of your leaders and consider their reasonableness. 

This article was certainly not comprehensive, but I hope it gave you insight into vocational Christian service as I’ve experienced it thus far. I love you, friend, and I wish you a wonderful week. Let's discuss life sometime, over coffee, of course.

Hindsight is 20/20 [two]: Using Hindsight to Live Right - Ron

When I was a sophomore in college, I had a business card printed with a future ministry in mind. It said: Hindsight Ministries: Helping your look back, look better." In hindsight, I'm glad I never tried to push for that as it seems kind of lame.

But hindsight is fun. Especially when a person pontificates on how different from yours his choice would have been in the same situation. Every person knows how perfect our track record would be if foresight was equal to hindsight. But it isn't.

It is also fun living in an age where almost everything that one says and does is kept via a digital record giving rise to the saying, "that didn't age well." One of my favorites is when Blockbuster used Twitter to ask people to tweet out why they were leaving Netflix using #GoodbyeNetflix as a tag. That was September of 2011, and now I have to explain to my students what Blockbuster was. Surprisingly only to the social media geniuses behind the Blockbuster account, my students all know what Netflix is.

So, yeah, you can use hindsight to be a jerk and try to gain a one-up on your frenemies. Hindsight can give us a laugh at the expense of someone else. But, surely, there must be something positive that we can learn from stuff that has happened before.  

In Judges 1:21 and 27-35, the Bible records that people groups that should have been driven out of the land by Israel were not, in fact, completely driven out. Judges 2:1-3 relates to us God's chastisement and the consequences: "...ye have not obeyed my voice: why have ye done this? Wherefore I also said, I will not drive them out from before you; but they shall be as thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare unto you."

Later, in the same chapter, Joshua's generation passes off the scene and the new generation "knew not the Lord, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel" (2:10). So they forsook the Lord, chased after other gods, fell into sin, captivity, and then mourning until God "raised up judges, which delivered them out of the hand of those that spoiled them" (2:16).

Of course, the repentance didn't stick, and not long after the deliverance the people "returned, and corrupted themselves more than their fathers, in following other gods to serve them, and to bow down unto them; they ceased not from their own doings, nor from their stubborn way" (2:19).

God's chosen people went through the same cycle over and again. No one benefited from the previous failures. At least, they didn't benefit in any way significant enough to break the cycle. And we can be the same way. Below is a piece that I wrote quite some time ago as a reflection of my own struggle with this cycle of failure.

We crumble to pieces and completely fall apart, broken over the same rock again and again.
Gasping for life and choking on death, we are frantic for rescue. But failure is the current: strong and relentless.
Thrown upon the shore, we are battered, frightened, disillusioned, remorseful, ashamed, but resolute in our desire to improve.
Our strength to stand is gathered; strength to move is gradually coming. We must move forward and away.
Danger falls with the tide and a shadow is cast over our memory of the very real danger.
Giant rocks appear above the surface and knowing their location allows for distance and security.
The beach is a beautiful place, so warm and inviting. The sunrise is awesome; paralyzing.
The strength to move melts into a desire to stay and dwell in this calm, serene and safe glory.
Tides are rising and the jagged rocks are disappearing, waves breaking against them.
Water touches our feet, but the scenery and comforts are captivating.
So we crumble to pieces and completely fall apart, over the same rock we are broken again.
Gasping for life, choking on death, we are frantic for rescue, but failure is the current; strong and relentless.
Thrown upon the shore we are battered, frightened, disillusioned, remorseful and ashamed.
We embrace a new resolve to stand and then to move, move far forward, and away.
But danger falls with the tide and a shadow is cast over our memory of very real danger.
And we stay, and we fail.

How can we use hindsight to live right? I think the answer is back in the book of Judges. We know that the people did not obey God and then their children did not remember God. When Christ is speaking to the church at Ephesus in Revelation 2, He tells them to use hindsight ("Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen") and then to repent of their sin and "do the first works" (v.5).

Much like the folks in Scripture, the key to utilizing hindsight for our betterment is learning from it. Remember, repent, and do. Take an action. Don't get lulled back to sleep by near misses. We are far too often like one who dozes off while driving and drifts into oncoming traffic. The flashing lights and blaring horns wake us up, but too often we keep driving rather than use our second chance to get off the road.

The beginning of a New Year is as good a time as any to reflect on failures of the past, repent, and then resolve to do what is right. And if you dig into the Bible, you can benefit from hindsight that stretches thousands of years into the past. As you learn lessons from people of long ago, you can be armed with something that looks an awful lot like foresight. This is because no matter how much the world changes, principles of godliness and right living never will.