A Prayer

Here is a prayer I came across this morning (from Valley of Vision) that captures much of what we have seen in Luke 12:

LORD OF ALL BEING,
There is one thing that deserves my greatest care,
That calls forth my ardent desires,
That is, that I may answer the great end for which I am made--
to glorify you who have given me being,
and to do all the good I can for my fellow men;
Verily life is not worth having
if it be not improved for this noble purpose.
Yet, Lord, how little is this the thought of mankind!
Most men seem to live for themselves,
without much or any regard for your glory,
or for the good of others;
They earnestly desire and eagerly pursue
the riches, honours, pleasures of this life,
as if they supposed that wealth, greatness, merriment,
could make their immortal souls happy;
But, alas, what false delusive dreams are these!
And how miserable ere long will those be that sleep in them,
for all our happiness consists in loving thee,
and being holy as you are holy.

How not to counsel

If you haven't seen this, take a few moments to. You can probably relate to the counselor--and maybe even to the counselee!

Hope

For the Christian, hope is an emotion that arises from a passionate concern for God's glory, combined with confidence in the Scripture's assertion that one day Christ will return, will set things right, and usher in the new heavens and the new earth, where his glory fills all in all. When we have that hope the things of this world (career, family, leisure, etc.) find their proper place in our lives. They are not made the objects of ultimate hope (they cannot bear that load), nor are we resigned to mediocrity in these things. Robert Roberts has a great passage on hope in his book (see previous post):
"We send our eternal selves out prospecting on earth, where moth and rust and time consume and bad fortune breaks in and steals our hopes away. And as long as reality does not crash in to destroy the house of cards in which we dwell, we find here just enough satisfaction for our need to keep us from feeling despair--and also from enjoying faith.
"Or we make a compromise like the following: "I shall give myself without reservation to the projects and prospects of this earthly life, but just in case something goes wrong, I'll make my peace with Jesus. Religion is, after all, supposed to be a comfort in times of trouble, and let's be realistic: troubles don't always happen to the other guy. I may croak before my projects are complete, and it may be a pity if I have nothing to fall back on." As a passion for the kingdom of God, this attitude leaves something to be desired. For the mature Christian the kingdom hoped for is the focusing goal of life, to which everything else is subsidiary."

Technology Talking

A few years ago I read Neil Postman's book Amusing Ourselves to Death. It is a powerful book that has led some people to throw out their TV's (so reader beware!). I also follow David Pogue's technology videos at the New York Times' web site. This week's is especially interesting--as I consider how much we are inundated with all manner of communications technology--and how it ironically keeps us from having real, face-to-face friendships. Pogue does not, of course, make that connection--at least not explicitly. He does, however, indirectly. See for yourself here.

Spiritual Emotions

Speaking of anxiety as an emotion (and wanting to make up for lost time on posting stuff to my blog!), here is an excellent book I'm reading: Spiritual Emotions, by Robert C. Roberts. For those of you at my church who suffered through Emotionally Healthy Spirituality (EHS) last fall, hoping something better would come along, this book is part of the answer. And those of you who loved EHS should appreciate this as well. The author takes on some difficult questions: How can God command us to have or not to have certain emotions (love, joy, peace; or not to be anxious!)? What does the Christian life look like from the standpoint of emotions? What emotions come into play in confession of sin, contrition? Is contrition emotional, or is it enough if it is mental? I have not yet finished the book, but have been greatly affected by it.
Of course in our circles (OPC-types) emotions are underrated, and considered untrustworthy, even dangerous. For my part I am very keen to change that. Scripture, after all, commands certain emotions, and Jesus knew a great deal of emotion (see this article by none other than B.B. Warfield).
Unfortunately this book is not available at the Westminster Bookstore (http://www.wtsbooks.com/), but can be purchased through amazon--or you can borrow my copy in a few weeks, if you don't mind waiting until I'm finished.

Do not be anxious about anything...

... but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God." (Php 4:6). Ever since, a few weeks ago, I preached on anxiety (from Luke 12:22-34) I have asked several people what makes them anxious. just about everyone has an answer to that! In our small group last night we talked about it again--what are you anxious about? Had a good conversation about it, and prayed together about it.
We perhaps do not like to think that anxiety is a sin--but it is. It is an emotion, and a sinful one at that. Anxiety arises where God is not believed as the One who is both sovereign and good, so that whatever falls out does so according to his all-wise purpose--and that "underneath are the everlasting arms."
It might seem harsh to call anxiety a sin. However, if it is a sin, it has a gospel remedy. Anxiety may be aggravated by physiology--another way the fall has affected us!--and as such there is sometimes a medical way to alleviate the intensity of the emotional experience of anxiety. But anxiety is also a heart-condition (in the biblical sense of the heart as the core of human personality and will). It is one that I am very well "trained" in--inasmuch as I feel anxious about many things.
Because anxiety is a sin, as I said, it has a gospel remedy. My anxiety (as a sin) was borne on the cross by my Savior. There is the grace of repentance for anxiety--a Spirit-driven learning to hate being anxious, to turn from it, and to endeavor no longer to submit and be bound by it. The fruit of repenting of anxiety must include prayer for what we are anxious for--prayer which includes mentally and emotionally surrendering what we are anxious about to God the Father Almighty for disposal as he deems right in his infinite wisdom.

Read something different...

It's been a while since I've written anything--life overtakes blogging sometimes! But I wanted to pass along a good piece of commentary found here. (Registration required; in the spirit of the article, if you aren't registered with the New York Times, you should be. Read the article to find out why!). Also in the spirit of the article, Nicholas Kristof (the writer) is the author of some excellent stuff on China (he was NY Times corrsepondent in China in the 90's and his wife is Chinese), and he has been a strong advocate for Christians and other persecuted in the Sudan. So--in the spirit of the article--he's a liberal you might do well to read. Not that you'll always agree with him.

Spring Training Covetousness

I've been studying the parable of the rich fool (Luke 12:13-21), and along comes an excellent article by Doug Glanville (former Phillie) about coventousness in baseball. Thought you might like to read it. Here it is.