More bread?

Jesus answered them and said, "Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate the loaves and were filled. Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life."

- John 6:26-27, NASB

I can't say that Alabama suddenly developed a huge baseball following in the student body. For years I've been going to games, and for years the number of students at the games was just a handful. But this year, for some reason, there was a huge crowd of students in the new stands beyond the right field wall. Wow! Students are baseball fans!

Well, not exactly. I soon figured out from my twitter feed that there was a new policy. Students are now allowed to bring a cooler to the game if they will sit in those outfield stands. So, you guessed it - it was an excuse to gather in a big group, sunbathe, and drink beer. It may have looked like they were there for one thing, but it was really another.

Sunday morning, our teaching pastor Patrick Quinn walked us through John 6, which began with Jesus feeding the 5,000 and ended with him on the other side of the lake teaching about bread. When he got to the other side of the lake, the huge crowds that had been fed the day before had followed him. Obviously wanting more bread. So that's when Jesus said, basically, "I know why you're really here. You want more food."

It may have looked like they were there for one thing, but it was really another.

And Jesus then began to teach them, I can offer you much more than bread. I am the bread of life, and I can give you something that really satisfies. Something that will keep you from being hungry again. Life.

So Patrick posed this question to us: What do you want from Jesus? More bread...or more life?

Like those residents of Galilee, those of us who come to Jesus are coming to receive something. I am afraid that for me, it is too often something other than fellowship with the living God. So what do you want from Jesus?

• Happiness?
•  Freedom from suffering in this life?
• An afterlife free from the fear of hell?
• To be blessed with material prosperity?
• The approval of your friends and family that expect you to be religious?
• To see your loved ones in heaven?

None of these are bad things. In fact, all of them are good. But so is bread. But bread was not the best reason for the throngs to follow Jesus to the other side of the lake. If we are coming to him for any selfish reason, he says we are missing the point. Don't come because I can feed 5,000. Or make you happy. Come because I made you, I am the source of life, and I will make you everything you were created to be.

So the question remains:

More bread (in whatever form)? Or more life?

The Fault in Our Stars - thoughts, part II

Saturday night I shared some random thoughts on The Fault in Our Stars. You might say it was my review, of both the book and the movie.

I left one topic for a separate blog post though, mainly because it tied so closely to two recent posts and so I wanted it to get top billing, so to speak. That topic was a conversation between Hazel and Augustus about the afterlife. The conversation was in both the book and the movie.

Here is the context for the conversation:.

Augustus, Hazel, and Hazel's mom have traveled to Amsterdam to meet the author of a book that Hazel loves. The book about cancer and death rings true, and since Hazel has terminal cancer (not a spoiler - we know this from the first moments of the story) she wants to ask the author some questions about the ending. So, as she and Augustus are at dinner in a luxurious romantic restaurant in Amsterdam, Augustus asks her about whether she believes in an afterlife. Obviously, this is not just hypothetical speculation for them.

The conversation went something like this: Hazel thinks that forever is an incorrect concept. After a little joking, she first says a short no - no afterlife. Then she wavers, admitting she's not sure. The Augustus gives his thoughts: yes, absolutely. And then he elaborates, and this is the part I want to focus on:

Yes. Yes, absolutely. Not like a heaven where you ride unicorns, play harps, and live in a mansion made of clouds. But yes, I believe in Something with a capital S. Always have.

- The Fault in Our Stars, p. 168.

Now, I didn't expect the characters in this story to believe in a Biblical picture of heaven. It's not that kind of story. But his comments are telling.

They tell me a lot about what the world thinks a Christian view of heaven is. In summing up what he does not believe in, Augustus mentions several things that I think are the typical picture of heaven. This is the picture reinforced in movies and books such as Heaven Is for Real, and in the tendency of people to imagine their loved ones in a heaven that they have fashioned from their own minds. I don't know where the image comes from, because it's not Scripture.

So Augustus, I agree with you: The true heaven is not a place where you ride unicorns, play harps, or live in the clouds. It's also not just a place for our spirits to live forever. People do not become angels. And it's not just floating around in the light feeling happy and singing hymns.

So what is that "Something with a capital S"? This is the picture painted by Scripture: Jesus rose physically from the dead, preceding those of us who believe in him and will be raised one day. When a believer dies, he/she is in the presence of Christ right away, but that's not the end of the story. When the Messiah returns to the earth, he will redeem it, bring heaven and earth together in one reality, and we will reign over the redeemed creation with him forever. Nothing about harps. No unicorns. Just a world where man will bear the image of God forever, as we were originally intended to do. And it will be all about him, not us. It's going to be awesome!

It's soooooo much better than the images that Augustus rejects. No wonder people don't get more excited about it than they do. But if they had a true picture....oh yeah!

I love that a book like The Fault of Our Stars raises these hard questions. The skepticism of Hazel and Augustus reflects the uncertainty of our day. Stories like this make us examine life and question where our beliefs come from. Jesus came to bring us the answers to these hard questions. And that is good news.
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References for further reading:

Surprised by Hope - NT Wright

Heaven - Randy Alcorn

What's next?

A little over two weeks ago, on a Sunday afternoon, I got the word that actor Philip Seymour Hoffman had died at age 46. He was a brilliant actor who enabled the telling of many stories. From all accounts, he was not only talented but also a devoted father - one who successfully fought off the demons of addiction for much of his life, but succumbed at the end. He will be missed.

But in this post I want to touch on a statement that was made at the end of People Magazine's article on his death. Not because it says anything about Mr. Hoffman, but because it says a heck of a lot about the way we look at death.

At the end of the article, his friend and former director Matthew Warchus made this statement: "All I can think is that he's sitting up there and giving one of his dark, big chuckles."

Sitting up there.
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All through human history, man has believed that there is something after death. For most, this belief involves some esoteric spiritual existence that is totally unrelated to our physical life on earth. And most believe that it is going to be a good thing. According to a book by Sam Storms, more than 80% of Americans believe in an afterlife, with another 9% saying they aren't sure. 76% believe heaven exists and almost that many, 71%, believe there is a hell. But here is the amazing part: Despite that, less than 1% believe that they are going to end up in hell. Almost all believe that they will somehow be "sitting up there."

This would lead you believe that most of our opinions about the afterlife are wishful thinking - as agnostics and atheists would affirm.

Former Mars Hill pastor Rob Bell seems to agree with this sentiment. It is affirmed in almost every discussion of someone who has passed on, just as with Mr. Hoffman. The 1974 Righteous Brothers hit Rock and Roll Heaven memorialized music greats Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Otis Redding, Jim Croce, and Bobby Darin with the lyrics…

If you believe in forever, then life is just a one night stand.

If there's a rock and roll heaven, well, you know they've got a h--- of a band.

(Yes, it is a clever twist of words on the two destinations.)

Yep, we fashion heaven to fit our own world view. Wishful thinking, right?
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So it is into this world of uncertainty and wishful thinking about an afterlife that Jesus of Nazareth bursts onto the scene. During his three-year ministry, he proclaimed that he would do something radical. He did not proclaim that when he died his spirit would mysteriously go to a better place. Not even close.

The message of Jesus was that after dying a sacrificial death he would physically rise from the dead and live forever. Furthermore, he would be the first fruits of his followers. The hope of the Christian faith is that because Jesus physically rose from the dead, we will do the same.  Heaven and earth will meet and God will dwell among his people forever.

And then he did it!

The hope of the Christian faith is not that our spirits will live on after we die. Most of the world, Christian or not, believes that. No! Our hope is that, while we will be in God's presence when we die, that is just the beginning. Because he lives, we will live too. We will participate in his resurrection.

How different this is from a vague belief in an afterlife. It is a specific faith in a specific future based on a specific historical event.

He is risen. And so we will rise as well if we place our trust in him.

It can't come too soon.


What do you believe about death? Is it comforting to have so many different opinions? Or does it cause you to question the concept? How is Jesus' message different from the common belief?

You were made for this

Came across this tweet today:

A gospel of "If you died right now would you go to heaven or hell?" makes Jesus simply a means to an end, rather than the sum of all love.
— Micah J. Murray (@micahjmurray) January 11, 2014

It reminded me of something important, something I also discussed in another post titled Eternity…why? It was simply this: Jesus wants us to follow him and be part of his kingdom for the sake of God's glory.

It's not so my life can be better.

It's not so I can have comfort in my troubles.

It's not so I have a sense of meaning.

And no, it's not so I can go to heaven.

All those are true.* But they are not the reason.

It's simply so my life can be lived for the glory of the One who created me. He made me, he redeemed me, and he has a specific purpose for me in his master plan for the universe. He has given me a choice, and the only choice that makes sense is to do what I was created for.

So I want to be part of calling you, my friends, and the world to something greater than themselves. I don't want to call you to make a decision out of fear or self interest. I invite you - if you haven't already - to get to know the Messiah and be part of his kingdom.

Because it is what you were made for.

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* - With the clarification that really God's ultimate plan is to bring heaven to earth and for us to reign with him here - but I digress.

Hope

Last Saturday I was in Tallahassee. I thought I was here for one thing, but I was wrong. I was here presumably to see the big football game between Florida State and Miami. I often come to see an FSU game when Alabama is off. But God really had me here to be with my friend Steve and his family as his mother Karen went to be with the Lord.

I won't even try to describe how wonderful she was as a mother to my friend and his sister. I'll leave it to her family who wrote the extended obituary in the link:

Karen Elyea

Yes, she will be missed terribly. But as I reflect on her life tonight, I know that she lives on in two important ways:

First, her character lives in everyone that took time to let her into their lives. God has put each of us on earth to make a difference, and each of us will change the lives of those around us, for better or worse. For Karen Elyea, it was so much for the better. Her husband, son, daughter, grandchildren, and yes, friends (like me) are different and better people because we knew her.

Second, she literally will live forever. This is the hope that was brought to fruition by Jesus when he died and rose from the dead. Death is the enemy; don't let anyone try to tell you otherwise. It is not just a peaceful means to pass into eternity. But it is a defeated enemy. When Jesus was resurrected, death lost its power and we no longer need to fear it. 

So when we say goodbye to Karen at her service tomorrow, we can and will be sad. But we will also be flooded with hope, the hope that comes because Jesus lives. Not only is she in God's presence now, but one day she will rise like him and participate in the coming together of heaven and earth for eternity. And so will we, if we put our faith in Jesus.

And that makes all the difference. 

The rescue...to what end?

I've been doing a lot of reading lately. I think having a Kindle is a big reason for that...I don't know. That theory will be the subject of another blog post. But regardless, it's definitely true. It seems I can't get enough. I usually have one work of fiction and one non-fiction going at once, just so I can jump back and forth.

Anyway, in reading so much, I have come across a truth has been off my radar for most of my life. One that I'm sure I knew but I just didn't think of it this way. And because I just seem to have nothing better to do on a Friday night than write, you get to read about it. Lucky you.

Ready? Here you go:

God did not save me to make me happy.

Kind of obvious...and kind of radical. But the more I look at Scripture the more I see its truth. The whole goal of God pursuing me to have a relationship with him was not - gasp! - to make me feel happy and safe about my life.

Why then? For his glory. To show the richness of his mercy, grace, wisdom, power, and love. To make much of him, not of me. Said another way, in the words of N.T. Wright (Surprised by Hope, p. 184) so that I would "worship the creator God and discover thereby what it means to become fully and gloriously human, reflecting his powerful, healing, transformative love into the world."

You see, it really is not about me. Even my salvation. And that last part is what I didn't get.

This is radical stuff to me. In many ways, but two are huge:

First, it means that eternal "fire insurance" is not a good motivation to be saved. If that's what I'm looking for, then I've made it about me. The prospect of heaven isn't either - again, that's about me and my enjoyment. The question before me when I decide whether to follow Jesus shouldn't be, "Will I walk streets of gold or will I burn forever?" because that makes it a selfish decision. The question is whether I will be part of God's wondrous plan to bring glory to himself and rescue his creation from evil, or will I be part of the problem? Oh, the eternal rewards (and consequences) are real...no question. But when we make the decision about that, I see now that we dim our view of God's glory, substituting our own.

Second, and most importantly to me, it gives my life purpose. If I've been rescued from my sin just to go to heaven (so that I can be happy forever), bring it on NOW. Why stick around? But that's not the reason. God has saved me to reflect him and be part of his plan for his creation. So from the moment I begin to follow Jesus, my mission begins. I am part of his divine reign and have a role to play. So instead of waiting for "the sweet by and by," I need to be getting about his business. I've got work to do: to love the unloveable (including my enemies), free the oppressed, take care of the helpless, and proclaim the good news that there's a new Sheriff in town.

Listen as Stephen Curtis Chapman sings about it:



Do you see how transforming this is? It makes our faith about changing this world and reclaiming it for its rightful owner. Not about just sort of putting up with this world because one day we'll get to leave it. No! We are saved to be agents of the King.

Let's get to it!