You will die tomorrow

Today as I was walking to class, I was, as usual, talking to myself (in my head... mostly). I was considering how I would live today if I were to die tomorrow, and trying to convince myself to, in fact, live that way. I envisioned myself preaching the Gospel to my classmates. I envisioned myself making every moment count; denouncing all fear of man and speaking boldly of the redemption that is in Christ, and of the repentance that he demands. Yes, that is how I would live if I were to die tomorrow!

Then I heard in my mind a voice say, "You will die tomorrow."

I did not for a moment think that this meant, literally, tomorrow. For as soon as I heard the voice, God's Word sprung into my mind:

"All flesh is grass,
and all its beauty is like the flower of the field.
⁷The grass withers, the flower fades
when the breath of the LORD blows on it;
surely the people are grass.
⁸ The grass withers, the flower fades,
but the word of our God will stand forever." (Isaiah 40:6-8)

I laughed. I said, "Yes, Lord, my life is like grass. Whether I die tomorrow or eighty years from now... it is all tomorrow. My life is a vapor. [James 4:14] I will die tomorrow."

The word of God says that our life is like a "vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes." We will die tomorrow. May we live and love and preach like we believe it.

Spiders declare the glory of God

My wife and I had the privilege of watching a spider build her web a few days ago. We were sitting out on our porch, and noticed the spider, a little bigger than a quarter, drawing the third line of what was to be a beautiful, 5x4 foot web on our porch railing. We stayed and watched the whole thing be built. It took over an hour, and we were totally engaged the whole time. (My wife, Michelle commented that it was much better than watching TV!) As we watched the little creature creating this architectural beauty, our hearts were drawn to worship the Architect who created the spider. Here are some of the ways that we saw that spiders declare the glory of God (i.e. reflect God's nature/attibutes) in how they create their webs.

Both spiders and God...

...create with skill

We were amazed with how deftly the spider moved around her web that was hundreds of times the size of her body. The whole system could not have been more efficiently done. It was truly like watching a master artist painting a portrait before our very eyes.

The Psalms have many moments where the Psalmists are motivated to worship God because of the skill with which God has created: " ¹ The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the sky above proclaims his handiwork." (Psalm 19) When considering how amazing and wonderful the things that God has made are, David says in Psalm 18: " ³When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, ⁴ what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?" Have you ever taken time to just look at a tree or an animal and just marvel that it was God who carefully crafted it? What about a sunset, or a body of water? Have you ever looked through a telescope at the night sky? God's handiwork makes the soul of man awe at the skill and majesty of the works of God.

...create with purpose

As we were watching the spider, it was not hard to remember that the web had a purpose. The purpose was to catch insects for food. This beautiful design was not merely ornamental. It had a purpose to fulfill; a purpose for which it was created.

Likewise, God had a purpose in creating the universe. This purpose was to glorify God, not by adding to His glory, but by reflecting His glory and by worshiping Him. It should also be remembered that God had no need to create the universe, as seen in Revelation 4:

¹¹ "Worthy are you, our Lord and God,
to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things,
and by your will they existed and were created."

God created us to glorify Him, but he also did it in love, so that we could admire His perfections, and thereby be satisfied with overflowing joy forever.

The idea that God created us both for His glory and because He loved us can be seen in Ephesians 1. This is referring to adoption, not creation, but I think the principle applies, "In love ⁵ he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, ⁶ to the praise of his glorious grace..."

...have total authority over their creation

The spider can do whatever it wants with its web. In fact, the spider that we watched builds it web at about 9 P.M. and then tears it down at around 5 A.M. The web has no rights, nor claims before the spider. The spider is the creator, it is the creation. Distinct, asymmetric roles.

Likewise, the creation has no claims upon God. God may do with His creation as He pleases. A sobering thought is that when Satan and other angels rebelled against God, there was no plan for their redemption. They were never given a second chance: "...God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment;" (2 Peter 2:4) Is that unjust of God? No, quite the contrary, under normal circumstances, it is unjust for God to forgive sins! This is why Christ had to die, to take the penalty that our sins deserved. The idea that God would forgive, or "pass over" sins presented a huge theological problem for Paul. How can God forgive sinners and yet be righteous? The answer is given in Romans 3,

"²³for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ²⁴ and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, ²⁵whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. ²⁶It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus."

Because Christ was the propitiation (wrath-bearing substitute) for our sins, our sins were not merely passed over, but were transferred to Him who had no sin. Thereby, God's righteous and mercy were perfectly demonstrated, and he was shown to be "just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus."

So God has the authority to do what He wills with His creation. As the apostle Paul says on the topic: "Will what is molded say to its molder, "Why have you made me like this?" ²¹ Has the potter no right over the clay... ?"

But thanks be to God, that He did give a way for us to be reconciled to Him through Jesus Christ! Under no obligation to the world which He skillfully, purposefully created, God made a way for us to be reconciled to Him, through Christ: "In him [Christ] we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, ⁸which he lavished upon us," (Ephesians 1:7-8) Amen and amen.



By way of application:

1) The next time you see something in creation that is beautiful or intriguing, ask yourself (or a friend), "How does this declare the glory of God?" It may draw your heart to worship God afresh.

2) Also... the next time you see a spider, consider not killing it. It may just declare to you the glory of God's skill, purpose, and sovereign freedom. It may even remind you of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

He who has an ear, let him hear...

How the book of Galatians applies to present-day Christians

The book of Galatians was written by Paul to the church at Galatia. These non-Jewish believers were being enticed by some false teachers to be circumcised and come under the Law. Paul is writing this letter to refute that teaching.

Thoughts that could arise when one is reading the book of Galatians are: How does this apply to me? I do not have anyone trying to convince me to be circumcised, and even if they did, that seems like a weird thing to need to do. No one tells me to maintain the ceremonial cleanliness required by the Law. How does this apply to me? I am not trying to be justified by the Law.

My hope for this blog post is for us to gain greater understanding of how the book of Galatians can apply to us today.

Seeking to be justified by the Law is seeking to be justified by works

Paul's primary concern for the Galatians is that they are seeking to be justified before God by works of the Law. He warns in chapter 5: " ⁴You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace." They are seeking to be justified, or made right with God, by the Law, but earlier in chapter 3, Paul has made it clear that righteousness is not obtainable by the Law, "For if a law had been given that could give life, then righteousness would indeed be by the law..." In 2 Corinthians 3:6, Paul explicitly says "For the letter [i.e. Law] kills, but the Spirit gives life."


Although we may not experience pressure to keep the Law of the Old Testament, we are often pressured to keep our own "law" that we create. This is called legalism; seeking to obey a set of rules as a way to get right with God. Legalism is not synonymous with obedience. Obedience says, "God commands, and I will obey, because He is my God." Legalism says, "I must do this thing [regardless of whether or not God commands it!] in order for God to want to be my God."

So when you read verses like 5:2-3, "²Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. ³I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law," what should be registering in your mind should be something like this, "Look: If you try to add some works to the faith-based foundation of your right standing before God, you are not understanding the Gospel. If you try to have some element of works-based salvation in your justification, you must therefore do everything that is required for salvation by works, which is impossible."

Just as justification is by faith, so also sanctification is by faith

A common misconception is that we are justified by grace through faith, and then we live the rest of our lives in our own strength, trying to do better, but now with the benefit of God forgiving us when we sin. In addition to trying to be justified by their works, the Galatians were seeing sanctification by works. Paul has a radically different perspective on how sanctification functions:

"¹O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? ... ²Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? ³Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?" (3:1-3)

Paul is saying, "Having been justified by grace through faith [by the Spirit], are you now being sanctified by works [by the flesh]? "

The implied answer is a resounding NO! Just as justification is by grace through faith, so also sanctification is by grace through faith. This concept is stated most clearly in 5:25, " ²⁵If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit." If we have been brought to life by the Spirit, let us also walk out this new life in the Spirit.

Practically, I would say a great place to start seeking sanctification by faith is to pray. Acknowledge your dependence on God, ask him for help to become sanctified today. Admit you cannot do it on your own. And wait on him to empower you with his Spirit. We still believe he does that ... don't we?


The superiority of justification and sanctification by faith

See how far superior justification and sanctification by faith are as opposed to trying to obtain either in the flesh:


"when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, ⁵ to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. ⁶And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!" ⁷So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God. ⁸Formerly, when you did not know God, you were enslaved to those that by nature are not gods. ⁹But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more? ... ¹For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery." (4:5-9, 5:1)

Is sacrifice the definition of love? (Part 2)

NOTE: In this entry, I use words like satisfaction, pleasure, delight, joy... etc. more or less interchangeably. I happened to use "pleasure" as the dominant term, but please keep note that any of the terms above could have been used instead.)

This entry may seem to take a while to get to "Finding your delight in the delight of another as the definition of love" so I want to give a brief outline to see how I am intending to progress toward this end:

I) We are to view following Christ not as sacrifice, but as pursuing superior pleasure because the pleasures from God are greater than the pleasures from sin.

II) Since the pleasures from God are, in general, greater than the pleasures from sin, we can assume that the pleasures of loving are greater than the pleasures of selfishness.

III) Doing something because it brings you greater (godly) pleasure is a Biblical motive.

IV) Therefore, from II and III, it is Biblical that your motivation for loving be because the godly pleasure of love is greater than the sinful pleasure of selfishness.

V) Defining love as "Finding your delight in the delight of another" preserves the Biblical motive for loving.

VI) What this definition means in the context of our love for others, our love for God, and God's love for us.






I) We are to view following Christ not as sacrifice, but as pursuing superior pleasure because the pleasures from God are greater than the pleasures from sin.


<sup>The Rebuke

28</sup>And Peter said, "See, we have left our homes and followed you." ²⁹And he said to them, "Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, ³⁰who will not receive many times more in this time, and in the age to come eternal life." (Luke 18:28-30)

This passage follows the story of the rich young man. You can read the story in Luke 18, but in summary a rich young man comes to Jesus and asks how to be saved. Jesus, perceiving that the man loved money, and not God, said that he must sell all his possessions, give them to the poor, and come follow Jesus. (Selling all your possessions is not how one is saved. The point is that you must release whatever you worship and adore, in this case, money, and worship and adore Jesus instead.) The man was not willing to give up his possessions, and the Word says that he became "very sad." Seeing his response, Jesus comments, " How difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God! For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God." (verses 24-25). The disciples are shocked, because in their eyes, if it was hard for the rich to get into the kingdom of heaven, then how could anyone? 'Those who heard it said, "Then who can be saved?" But he [Jesus] said, "What is impossible with men is possible with God." ' (26-27)

This is the point where Peter says, "See, we have left our homes and followed you." He is expecting a commendation from Jesus. I think this is where Peter's heart is at this point: "We were willing to make the sacrifice that he was not willing to make. We were willing to give up our previous lives, but he wasn't. Aren't you impressed, Jesus, with how we sacrificed all we had when we decided to follow you?" Peter is expecting a pat on the back. But instead, Jesus gives him perhaps one of the stranger rebukes in Scripture. Jesus says, in essence, "Do you think this is a sacrifice? Do you not know that you will be richly rewarded?" Jesus rebukes Peter for thinking that following him is a sacrifice, rather than a pursuit of satisfaction and delight.


Here is my point from this passage. Peter perceived following Christ as sacrifice. Christ rebuked Peter for that perspective, and told him to perceive the Christian life rather as giving up inferior pleasure for superior pleasure.


Do we think of giving up inferior pleasures for superior pleasures as sacrifice?

Consider the following situation:

You are looking for an apartment in a new city, and are not having great success. Your job starts in a week, and you have not been able to find a reasonable apartment anywhere, except one. The rent is $1100 a month, which is a lot more that it should be. It's 45 minutes from where you work. The walls are painted a weird yellow-green, the paint is peeling, and there's a weird smell in the bedroom. It's right by the train tracks, and shakes every time a train goes by, which is about every thirty minutes. And this is your prospective home. Then one day, when you are about to sign the lease, you get a call from a future co-worker who knows you are looking for an apartment. He suggests you check this new place out. He tells you it's 10 minutes from work, and he's heard the rent is reasonable. You decided to check it out. And you find that the rent is $500 a month, and it's bigger, nicer, and cleaner than the other apartment. There are no weird smells, you love the decor and the color, and there are no train tracks for miles around.

Now consider this: Would you consider exchanging the bad apartment for the good one as a sacrifice? No! We frequently exchange something that is good for something that is better. We do not see it as a sacrifice. When we give up something that is inferior in every way to something that is superior in every way, we do not consider it to be sacrifice.

Is sin like the nice apartment and God like the crumby one?

No! The pleasures of God are superior to the pleasures of the sin in every respect. The pleasures from knowing, following, trusting, and obeying God, are greater than the pleasures of knowing, following, trusting, and obeying sin.

The two primary ways that something can be superior to something else is in quality and in quantity. Hebrews 10 says, "you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one." This verse does not speak of sin directly, but consider that if they had not done what was stated in the verse above, i.e. if they had not "joyfully accepted... knowing that you had a better possession..." then a heart that coveted riches would have been revealed; a sinful heart would have been revealed. So notice why the Hebrews joyfully accepted the plundering of their property: They know they had a better possession and an abiding one. They knew the value of knowing Christ was greater in quality ("better") and in quantity ("abiding"). The "better" cannot be due to the fact that the possession lasts longer, because "better" and "abiding" are stated separately. The possession must be better in some way other than the lastingness of the possession, or else saying that it is "better" and "abiding" would be redundant.

There are other places in Scripture that we see that the pleasures of God are greater than the pleasures of sin:

We are offered pleasures from the world...
"²⁴By faith Moses... [chose] rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin." (Hebrews 11:24-25)

...and pleasures from God...
" ¹¹You make known to me the path of life;
in your presence there is fullness of joy;
at your [God's] right hand are pleasures forevermore." (Psalm 16:11)"

Notice that the pleasures of God in these verses are shown to be better quantitatively.

The pleasures of God are also shown to be better qualitatively:

¹ "Come, everyone who thirsts,
come to the waters;
and he who has no money,
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without price.
² Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread,
and your labor for that which does not satisfy?
Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good,
and delight yourselves in rich food. " (Isaiah 55:1-2)

This word was spoken to a rebellious generation, who had turned to seeking satisfaction in things other than God, and was a beckoning call for them to return to that which satisfies, by virtue of the qualitative superiority of the pleasures of God.

The greatest contrast of the pleasures of God and the pleasures of the world, or sin, that I have found is this:

"¹²Be appalled, O heavens, at this;
be shocked, be utterly desolate,
declares the LORD, ¹³for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me,
the fountain of living waters,
and hewed out cisterns for themselves,
broken cisterns that can hold no water. (Jeremiah 2:12-13)

Which is better a fountain of living water, or a cistern that can hold no water? No contest!

II) Since the pleasures from God are, in general, greater than the pleasures from sin, we can assume that the pleasures of loving are greater than the pleasures of selfishness.

Having already demonstrated from Scripture that the quality and quantity of the pleasures of God are greater than those of sin, I think it is hard to imagine how the pleasures of selfishness are greater than the pleasures of loving. Perhaps a simple enough validification of the statement for the purposes of this blog would be something as follows:

1) God commands his people, above all else, to love him and others.

³⁷Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' ³⁸This is the first and greatest commandment. ³⁹And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' (Matthew 22:37-38)

2) He also commands his people to pursue that which satisfies.

² Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread,
and your labor for that which does not satisfy?
Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good,
and delight yourselves in rich food. " (Isaiah 55:2)

3) Therefore, we can conclude that God's people are more satisfied by loving than by not loving.

If the pleasures of God are greater in every respect than the pleasures of sin, then it must follow that a given godly action must give greater pleasure than its sinful opposite.

III) Doing something because it brings you greater (godly) pleasure is a Biblical motive.


There are many, many verses in which the motivation which is condoned by God is one of pursuing that which is more satisfying. Remember, we have already shown that the pleasures that are most satisfying are godly pleasures, or pleasures in God. If we begin thinking that God's recommendation that we pursue our pleasure is in any way a license to sin, then we need to get on our knees and pray for God to reveal to us how superior the pleasures of God are over the pleasures of sin!

Verse: Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. (Matthew 10:39)
Action: Losing your life
Motivation: So that you will find it.


Verse: you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one. (Hebrews 10:34)
Action: Accepting the plundering of their property
Motivation: Since they had a better possession and an abiding one [i.e. hope of future glory]


Verse: 24By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, ²⁵ choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. ²⁶ He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward. (Hebrews 11:24-26)
Action: Choosing to be mistreated rather than enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin [i.e. suffering for righteousness' sake]
Motivation: He was looking to the reward [i.e. hope of future glory]


Verse: Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread,
and your labor for that which does not satisfy?
Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good,
and delight yourselves in rich food. (Isaiah 55:2)
Action: Listen to God
Motivation: It satisfies!

Time would fail me to show all the places in Scripture where doing something because you will get greater joy out of it is given as a correct motive (See "Desiring God" by John Piper).
One reason why this motive is a (the?) correct one is because God is glorified as giver, not as recipient. Psalm 112:12-13 says, " ¹²What shall I render to the LORD for all his benefits to me? ¹³I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the LORD." In other words, I will lift up the empty cup of salvation, and ask the LORD to fill it! God has done such good to me! What will I do in response? Trust him for more! "God is not served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything." (Acts 17:25)

IV) Therefore, from II and III, it is Biblical that your motivation for loving be because the godly pleasure of love is greater than the sinful pleasure of selfishness.

We have shown that the pleasures of God are greater than the pleasures of sin. We have also seen that it is commended in Scripture when people recognize this fact, and do that which is pleasing to God because it gives them greater pleasure. We can then say that, since the joy (on earth and in heaven, "better and abiding") from loving is greater than the joy from selfishness, that God condones the greater pleasure of loving as motivation for loving. Again, remember, this is true because love is a God-pleasing action. If we get "greater pleasure" from sinning, rather than obeying God's word, it is not because God is a liar, and sin is in fact more satisfying, but it it because our eyes have been blinded to to satisfaction and joy that comes from obeying God.

V) Defining love as "Finding your delight in the delight of another" preserves the Biblical motive for loving.

I have not said much using the word "delight" to this point. Perhaps that was a mistake. Anyway, as I noted at the beginning of the entry, I am using delight, pleasure, joy, satisfaction, etc. interchangeably.

I think this definition preserves the Biblical motive for loving for several reasons:

1) The Bible condones doing something because of the superior pleasure that comes from it
2) This definition does not put sacrifice into the definition of love (at the root level)
3) God cares greatly about our attitudes, not only our actions. But he does care about our actions too. This definition couples motivation with action, because if you truly delight in something, you will act to bring it about.

VI) What this definition means in the context of our love for others, our love for God, and God's love for us.

a) Love for others

In the context of loving others, the way to think about this definition of love is,

"Loving others is finding your delight in their godly, not sinful, delight"

There are fleeting pleasure and delights that world has to offer. If we are to love others, what we can do is show them how far superior the pleasures are that God has to offer! This is done by a demonstration of the superior pleasures of God in our life, and by preaching the Gospel so that they too may experience it. The same applies to believers: We want believers to experience the pleasures of God just as much as we want unbelievers to!

If what I have said in the previous sections is true, then the highest delight of others is to know, trust, and enjoy God. If we love others, we will delight in them knowing God. And if we delight in others knowing God, can we say that we are doing anything but loving them?
If God allows me to delight in you knowing Him, I will certainly be motivated (Biblically!) to help you find your delight in Him.


b) Love for God

Our love for God can be thought of this way,

"Loving God is finding your delight in that in which God delights"

I encourage you to read "The Pleasures of God" by John Piper. The book consists of things in which God takes pleasure, and we can too take pleasure in. And if we are delighting in that which God delights, we are loving him. Some of these "Pleasures of God" are listed below:

1: The Pleasure of God in His Son
2: The Pleasure of God in All He Does
3:The Pleasure of God in His Creation
4: The Pleasure of God in His Fame
5: The Pleasure of God in Election
6: The Pleasure of God in doing good to all who hope in him
7: The Pleasure of God in personal obedience and public justice

Is delighting in the "Pleasures of God" synonymous with loving God? Well, try it:

1: The Pleasure of Michelle in God's Son
2: The Pleasure of Michelle in All God Does
3:The Pleasure of Michelle in God's Creation
4: The Pleasure of Michelle in God's Fame
5: The Pleasure of Michelle in Election
6: The Pleasure of Michelle in trusting God to do good to all who hope in God
7: The Pleasure of Michelle in personal obedience and public justice

Sounds to me like Michelle loves God!

c) God's love for us

"God's love for us is his delighting in our delight... in him"

If Psalm 16:11-12 is true...

¹¹You make known to me the path of life;
in your presence there is fullness of joy;
at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

...then the greatest thing that God could give us is himself. Consider the logic in this verse: "He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?" The logic is: If God gave us that which is most valuable and precious in the universe, namely, his Son, then surely he would not withhold lesser things from us!
So, in order for God to act toward us in love, he must give us nothing less than himself. As Augustine said,“Thou hast made us for thyself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in thee..” If God gave us everything else we wanted, except for himself, he would be hating us. He would be giving us everything except that which satisfies.

The cry of Isaiah is my cry. It is the cry of God himself. God's Spirit delights in your satisfaction... and that satisfaction is in God! Hear the cry of love:

¹ "Come, everyone who thirsts,
come to the waters;
and he who has no money,
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without price.
² Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread,
and your labor for that which does not satisfy?
Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good,
and delight yourselves in rich food. " (Isaiah 55:1-2)

Oh, how great is God's love for us, that he would send his Son into the world, to enable us to turn from our broken cisterns that hold no water, and turn to him, the fountain of living water! Let us pursue that which satisfies!

Is sacrifice the definition of love?

This post is motivated as a response to something I recently heard someone say. They said, "Sacrifice is the definition of love." I think that this definition is very easy to disprove Biblically, but I do not just want to say, "That's wrong" without presenting what I consider to be better definitions.

There is an abundance of literature available that discusses love , and I know that I am probably not saying anything too terribly unfamiliar.


Is sacrifice the definition of love?

There are two things that one could mean when one says "sacrifice is the definition of love". They arise from different interpretations of the word "definition". I will explain what these two are, and then show that in neither case is "sacrifice the definition of love".

"Definition" can be used as hyperbole, meaning that the thing referred to is the standard to which all other like things should attain. For example, if one says, "David is the definition of a man," it is unlikely that one means that all men, in order to be men, must be exactly in every way like David, but rather that David possesses qualities that are the standard by which other men should determine whether or not they are true men. This is usually used, as stated above, as hyperbole, to emphasize a point, and not to be taken literally.
An important thing to note about this interpretation is that it is not symmetrical. Saying that "David is the definition of a man," and "A man is the definition of David" do not mean the same thing when the word 'definition' is used in this way.

There is a stricter usage of the word "definition". This is probably quite obvious, but bear with me. The stricter usage is for two synonymous words or phrases, such as "The definition of philanthropy is 'an activity performed with the goal of promoting the well-being of fellow man.' " This meaning implies that if you do"an activity performed with the goal of promoting the well-being of fellow man" you have exactly done "philanthropy" and vice versa. If you have one, you have the other, because they are synonymous. This usage does not make use of hyperbole; the purpose of the dictionary in giving a definition is not the former of these two definitions, but the latter.

So when I heard it said, "Sacrifice is the definition of love" which of these two meanings did the word "definition" take? I would say it was the latter, but let us assume the former:

1) Assume: Sacrifice is the standard to which all love should attain.
This statement is saying that love, without sacrifice, is less than ideal love. If one examines one's love, and sees that it is not in accordance with the love of sacrifice, then one's love is lacking. I will come back to this definition later, and see whether or not it is Biblical, but for now, let us move on to the latter meaning of "definition".

2) Assume: If you sacrifice, you love, and vice versa. The two are synonymous.

This is the interpretation that I have a lot of trouble with, because it clearly goes against Scripture. Consider 1 Corinthians 13:3

"If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing."

What sacrifice! Paul expresses the possibility of giving away all he has, and delivering his body to be burned, i.e. sacrificing, and doing it without love! There is a possibility of sacrificing without loving, so the second meaning of "definition" is unscriptural. "Sacrifice" and "love" are not synonymous, because if two things are synonymous, then one cannot do one without doing the other. The second definition proves false.

Using the same text, let us examine the first definition: the standard to which all love should attain. Remember, this definition is not symmetrical. Let us reverse the statement above, and see which way is according to Scripture: Love is the standard to which all sacrifice should attain. Is this not in accordance with 1 Corinthians 13:3? Paul is writing this chapter in order to show the superiority, excellence, and necessity of love above all other things. The purpose of 1 Corinthians 13 is not to show that love is subordinate to other virtues or actions, but rather that it epitomizes, and is the sum of all other virtues. Biblically, sacrifice is not above love, nor are they equal. The first definition also proves false.

Why is this important?

I am not arguing here for the sake of argument. If the Bible says, "We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love (agape) the brothers" (1 John 3:14) then it is vitally important to know what love is. And we do not know what Christian love is if our definition can be refuted by 1 Corinthians 13, or anywhere else in Scripture for that matter. I do not want anyone to think they have passed out of death into life because they force themselves to joylessly, bitterly, even spitefully "sacrifice" for another, (it is possible, have you never done it?) simply because they think that kind of "love" to guarantee their entrance into heaven!

Accurate, helpful definitions of love

In "Mere Christianity", C.S. Lewis gives a definition of love that I really like. Another definition that stems from the theology of John Piper is probably my favorite. I think it is useful to keep both of these definitions in mind because I think they lend themselves to application more easily in different circumstances. The definitions from Lewis and Piper¹ are, respectively:

I) Desiring the good of another

II) Delighting in the delight of another



Desiring the good of another as the definition of love

Lewis says, "That is what is meant in the Bible by loving him: wishing his good..." This simple definition of love could change your life, if you read it in the context given below. I think it is worth quoting Lewis at length:

"...we might try to understand exactly what loving your neighbor as yourself means. I have to love him as I love myself. Well, how exactly do I love myself?

Now that I come to think of it, I have not exactly got a feeling of fondness or affection for myself, and I do not even always enjoy my own society. So apparently 'Love your neighbor' does not mean 'feel fond of him' or 'find him attractive'. I ought to have seen that before, because, of course, you cannot feel fond of a person by trying. Do I think well of myself, think myself a nice chap? Well, I am afraid I sometimes do (and those are, no doubt, my worst moments) but that is not why I love myself. In fact it is the other way round: my self-love makes me think myself nice, but thinking myself nice is not why I love myself. So loving my enemies does not apparently mean thinking them nice either. That is an enormous relief. For a good many people imagine that forgiving your enemies means making out that they are really not such bad fellows after all, when it is quite plain that they are. Go a step further. In my most clear-sighted moments not only do I not think myself a nice man, but I know that I am a very nasty one. I can look at some of the things I have done with horror and loathing. So apparently I am allowed to loathe and hate some of the things my enemies do. Now that I come to think of it, I remember Christian teachers telling me long ago that I must hate bad man's actions, but not hate the bad man: or, as they would say, hate the sin but not the sinner... I admit that this means loving people who have nothing lovable about them. But then, has oneself anything lovable about it? You love it simply because it is yourself, God intends us to love all selves in the same way and for the same reason: but He has given us the sum ready worked out on our own case to show us how it works. We have then to go on and apply the rule to all the other selves."

A few comments:

1) This whole discourse arose from Lewis' mediation on Matthew 22:39 "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." I think this definition is both accurate and helpful in the regards how we are to love other people. Try thinking this way. "God intends us to love all selves... but He has given us the sum ready worked out on our own case to show us how it works."

2) This "wishing his good..." is implied to be a wishing that is coupled with action, not just sentimental feeling. If you had the opportunity to do someone good, and did not take the opportunity, you would not be truly wishing their good. The "wishing" or "desiring" is, however, critical to genuine love; the heart attitude is what makes sacrifice, or any other external action, an action of love.

3) The definition that Lewis gives does not put the non-Biblical restriction of sacrifice as a requirement for love. The love that Lewis describes is a love that is willing to sacrifice, but if one's desires are in accordance with the good of the one who is loved, then the act of loving them is not a sacrifice of one's own desires, but rather is in accordance with them.

4) I think putting sacrifice at the definition level of love is due to the idea that "love is an action, not a feeling" mentality. But I think that we have swayed too far in the opposite direction, and tried to get the action without the feeling, that is why the concept of sacrifice is so prevalent. Lewis' solution is, I think, much better:

But though natural likings should normally be encouraged, it would be
quite wrong to think that the way to become charitable is to sit trying to
manufacture affectionate feelings...The rule for all of us is perfectly simple. Do not waste time bothering whether you "love" your neighbour; act as if you did. As soon as we do this we find one of the great secrets. When you are behaving as if you loved someone, you will presently come to love him. If you injure someone you dislike, you will find yourself disliking him more. If you do him a good turn, you will find yourself disliking him less.

Placing sacrifice at the definition level of love puts constraints on Christian love that the Bible does not place on it. This is one reason why I think Lewis' definition is both helpful and accurate.

It may seem that I have been bashing the concept of "sacrifice" in general. Next time I will go into the second definition of love that I gave, and with that discuss the role of sacrifice and what it means, and does not mean, in the context of love.

1 Although this is not a direct quote from John Piper, I feel confident that it is in harmony with his theology, as I will discuss in the next post.

Peter's train of thought (Part 2)

...applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, ⁶and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, ⁷and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. ⁸For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Peter 1:5-8 (NASB)


Before I move further in this list, I want to make two points that deal with the last post:

1) Moral excellence versus self-control
In my last post, I did not do a good job of distinguishing between moral excellence and self-control. They are similar, but definitely have distinct meanings. The meaning of moral excellence is pretty intuitive. It could be said as, "moral superiority." I think this word is primarily used in the outward sense. The morally excellent person is such that their conduct is superior to those around them.

Two major possible downfalls for the morally excellent person are pride and license. If we are more moral than the immoral around us, then we may consider our standard to be very high, when in terms of absolute standards, they might in fact be quite low. So we continue in our puddle of sin, and think we are morally excellent, simply because people around us are swimming in a lake if sin. We are proud of our superior, yet licentious state. I think this is why Peter makes sure that we supply our moral excellence with knowledge. We must have knowledge of the standard of moral excellence compared to God, not compared to those around us. For "God opposes the proud" (James 4:6), and "Strive ... for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord." Knowledge of what our standard of moral excellence should be guards us from pride and from license.

The self-controlled person has a form of mastery over their sinful nature. The difference between these moral excellence and self-control is that moral excellence is more a comparative standard, and self-control is more of an absolute standard. With moral excellence, even if it is the light of Scripture, I think our tendency is to look around and compare ourselves with others. Self-control looks inward and seeks to eradicate the sinful nature, independent of how holy or immoral the people around us are.

A possible snare of self-control is despair. Even people who have been faithfully cultivating self-control still have a sinful nature, and they will stumble. That is why I think Peter says for our self-control to have perseverance, which is a guard against despair.

2) A pattern in addition to the sequence....

We have seen that there is a certain kind of faith that Peter wants the readers to have. At this point, what we have seen is a faith that has moral excellence, moral excellence which is in accordance with knowledge, knowledge that is governed by self-control, and self-control that is patiently persevering through trails of various kinds, eagerly waiting for the return of Christ, and thereby for freedom from sin. This is the sequence, but I think there is also a pattern.

There were a couple of reasons why I wrote the previous section about moral excellence and self-control. One was to show that Peter is not using redundant terms; each word used in this list is purposeful and specific. The other was to help us see a pattern in what he is writing. I think that this will help us see even more clearly the logical sequence of these verses:

i) Moral excellence: outward, interpersonal, failure tends toward pride and/or license
ii) Knowledge: [well-rounded Biblical knowledge] guards against pride and license
iii) Self-control: inward, failure tends toward despair or depression
iv) Perseverance: [patiently persevering until Christ's return] guards against despair

It is important to see that our mortification of sin, our self-control, is even more important and more central than our morality. "Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks." (Matthew 12:34) Self-control results in outward morality, but the reverse is not necessarily true.

Reverting to my closing question from the last post, is this "Faith... supplied with self-control" now enough? Peter is asking us to see what kind of faith we have, and he is probing deeper and deeper into our souls. The answer is no, it is not enough.

Moving on to perseverance... supplied with godliness

The Greek word translated "godliness" in this verse is eusebeia. The simple definition is "piety; holiness." However, there is an interesting implication with this word that leads Strong's Concordance to add to the definition: "piety; specially, the gospel scheme:"¹ and another source: " Eusebeia relates to real, true, vital, and spiritual relation with God."² I tried to find where these ideas came from.

The word eusebeia appears more in the book of 1 Timothy than in the rest of the NT combined, so I thought that would be a good place to learn about what it means. An interesting thing about the word "godliness" is that twice Paul uses it in connection with setting the mind on heavenly, rather than earthly things:

"train yourself for godliness; ⁸for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come." (1 Tim. 4:7-8)

"quarrels about words... produce... constant friction among people who are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth, imagining that godliness is a means of gain. ⁶Now there is great gain in godliness with contentment, ⁷for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world." (1 Tim. 6:4a, 5-7)

The connection between godliness becomes a little clearer with these verses. Perseverance is the steadfastness that comes from waiting for our coming union with Christ, and godliness is the present manifestation of that hope.

Another thing I found was that the word "godliness" is often connected with the Gospel. This is clearest in 1 Timothy 3:16:

¹⁶Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery [something before unknown, but now revealed] of godliness [eusebeia]:

He was manifested in the flesh,
vindicated by the Spirit,
seen by angels,
proclaimed among the nations,
believed on in the world,
taken up in glory.

1 Timothy 3:16 shows us that Biblical godliness is a Gospel-oriented godliness.
As moving from moral excellence to self-control brought us from external to internal action, so moving from self-control to godliness moves from internal action to internal orientation.

Our moral excellence, knowledge, self-control, and perseverance, are all to be oriented around (i.e. founded on) the Gospel, in which we receive the power for holiness. We must have self-control, etc. founded on Christ's blood shed to be the propitiation for our sin (1 John 4:10). We must have them founded on the fact that Christ is the vine, and we are the branches (John 15). We must have them founded on the fact Spirit is the one who enables us to do these things (Romans 8:13). Total dependence on Christ's righteousness, and on the Spirit's sanctifying work in our lives is the orientation and foundation out of which all hope for holiness comes.

Godliness... supplied with brotherly kindness
(The Greek word for "brotherly kindness" here is philadelphia, which really means "brotherly love," but since "love" (agape) is the next item on the list, it would be confusing in English to say "supply brotherly love with love..." )

A possible point of error, even in having faith... supplied with godliness, is the tendency to try to grow in personal godliness without sharing in the lives of others. The Bible is clear that our growth in godliness is to be pursued both individually and corporately. "...not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near." (Heb. 10:25) Hear how important the unity of the body of Christ is:

¹⁹So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God's household, ²⁰having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, ²¹in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, ²²in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit. (Eph. 2:19-22)

and again,

¹⁵but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, ¹⁶from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love. (Eph. 4:15-16)

Let us not forget that our pursuit of godliness is to be done in such a way that the whole body of Christ is built up.

Brotherly kindness... supplied with love

Even philadelphia has its limitations in verifying our faith. There is a stronger word for love in the Greek, a word that appears in no other literature than the New Testament. At the core of this list is love (agape). Let's look back again at the list that Peter gives, only this time, let's see the result of supplying our faith with these things:

...applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, ⁶and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, ⁷and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. ⁸For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Peter 1:5-8(NASB)

Jesus said that " ¹I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. ²"Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away... he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit... If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up" (John 15)

What I think Peter is saying in verse 9 is that if we have these qualities, and they are increasing, we can be assured that we will bear fruit, that we are in Christ, and that our faith is indeed real. So Peter is saying that faith... supplied with love (agape) is a sure confirmation of the genuineness of our faith. This is said in other places in Scripture, both in reference to love for God and love for others.

1) Love for God: "2By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and observe His commandments." (1 John 5:2)

2) Love for others: "By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." (John 13:35), and "We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love abides in death." (1 John 3:14)

From this passage, we can see that if we have "faith acting through love" (Gal 5:6), and if it is increasing, we can be assured that we know God. Let us not forget the moral excellence, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, and brotherly kindness; but though all the components of this list are important for the Christian to neither be useless nor unfruitful, in the end, the Spirit testifying through our hearts and our lives that we have love for God and for others is the surest way to know that our faith is genuine.

If this love is so important, I think it would be wise to spend some time considering what agape or "Christian love" is, and what it is not. This will be the topic for my next post!

1 http://www.eliyah.com/cgi-bin/strongs.cgi?file=greeklexicon&isindex=2150
2 Greattreasures.org

Peter's train of thought (Part 1)

...applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, ⁶and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, ⁷and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. ⁸For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Peter 1:5-8 (NASB)

When I encounter lists like this, I am often given insight into how I am approaching the Scripture. My usual tendency would be to read the list and think, "Hmm, yes, that's a good thing... okay, that is too... yes, this is a list of good things." I think that this attitude reveals a lack of trust in God's Word. A better approach is to believe that there is a train of thought: that each word and each phrase is inspired by the Holy Spirit; that each word and phrase was chosen for a precise purpose. That is the approach that I have tried to take with this passage.

What does it mean to "supply" (verse 5)?

In the context of the 1 Peter passage, it is important to note that "supply" is the operative verb for each of the actions. "...in your moral excellence [supply] knowledge, ⁶and in your knowledge [supply] self-control..."

My first note on this passage has to do with the word translated "supply" in the NASB. The Greek word is "epichorēgēsate." It is an imperative verb (command). This is the only place in Scripture where the imperative form of the verb "epichorēgeō" appears. The word means "literally, to supply the cost of leading the chorus or of theatrical entertainments."¹ The verb is used in other places, but not in imperative form. For example, 2 Corinthians 9:10 says, "¹Now He who supplies (epichorēgōn) seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness..." Again in 2 Peter 1:11, "for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied (epichorēgēthēsetai) to you."

These are things that faith needs in order to "render you neither useless nor unfruitful." We were saved so that we would bear fruit (John 15:16). So these things that are "supplied" to faith are vital, not as a source, of faith, but as a confirmation of the validity of our faith.

Why does this word mean in this context?

"in your faith supply moral excellence..." Basically, what I think Peter is saying here is: You have faith, but make sure your faith is of a certain kind, so as to check the validity of your faith. Make sure that your faith is the kind of faith that is has moral excellence. However, make sure that this moral excellence is the kind of moral excellence that has knowledge. Make sure the knowledge is knowledge that has self-control. Make sure that the self-control has perseverance... etc.

There are many kinds of faith. Only some are accompanied with moral excellence. But only some of those moral excellencies are based on knowledge... etc. Graphically, we can represent this chain of thought as shown below:


Why in this order?

So what is Peter's train of thought here? I think it might be something along these lines:

Faith... supplied with moral excellence

Peter is not interested in a faith that is not supplied with moral excellence. 1 John 1:6 says, " If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth." If your new-found "faith" does not result in a changed relationship to sin, or darkness, then your faith is not saving faith. However, how are we to know what moral excellence is?

Moral excellence... supplied with knowledge

Although most moral standards have numerous similarities, how are we to know what the standard is to which we are called? The answer is by knowledge of God's Word. In the Bible we find what is pleasing to God, and what is not. But is there a pitfall here as well? Can we have this knowledge and still be lacking in genuine faith?

Knowledge... supplied with self-control

Yes, there is a great danger in stopping here. James 1:22-24 warns, "²²But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. ²³For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; ²⁴for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. "
Likewise, Paul says in Romans 2:13 "for it is not the hearers of the Law who are just before God, but the doers of the Law will be justified. " Paul goes so far as to say, "...but I pummel my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified. (1 Cor. 9:27)" So certainly, now that we are self-controlled to obey, our faith must be genuine, right?

Self-control... supplied with perseverance

This connection is a little bit harder. The Greek word here, hupomonē, means "a patient enduring, sustaining, perseverance" (Strong's) I think Romans 8:25, which uses this same word, helps us to see why our self-control needs perseverance.

²³And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body. ²⁴For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees? ²⁵But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance (hupomonē) we wait eagerly for it. -Romans 8:23-25

Self-control must be supplied with the patient perseverance that hopes for the return of Christ, and final freedom from sin that will come at that time. We must patiently endure through our sin, and the sin of those around us. Self-control will only lead to despair if we are not patiently waiting for what is mortal to be swallowed up by life. (2 Cor. 5)

Is that finally enough to supply genuine faith? Well, the list continues, but I think it will have to wait for another post.... (to be continued)

1 Greattreasures.org

Waiting patiently with eyes of faith

⁵I wait for the LORD, my soul waits,
and in his word I hope;
⁶my soul waits for the Lord
more than watchmen for the morning,
more than watchmen for the morning. (Psalm 130:5-6)

I do not know how frequently I will include a background story (i.e. what caused me to think about the subject at hand) in my posts, but for this post I felt that sharing would benefit the purpose of the blog, namely, to help the readers and me come to treasure Christ more as he is revealed in Scripture. I would like to share the story to demonstrate my wrong perspective about seeking the Lord, and then I would like to share some thoughts on Psalm 130 that will hopefully introduce a more Biblical understanding of seeking the Lord. That is, seeking the Lord by waiting patiently with eyes of faith.

The wrong attitude: seeking the Lord in impatience, fear, and unbelief

This week, I learned some hard lessons about what it means to "wait for the LORD." School is done for the semester, and my summer job does not start until Monday, so this week I spent a considerable amount of time reading my Bible and praying, and really seeking to be filled more with the Spirit. Until yesterday, I had been disappointed by the outcome of all my study and prayer. I felt that the Lord did not want to meet with me. However, something I read in "Charity and its Fruits" by Jonathan Edwards compelled me to look up "wait" in my Bible concordance. After looking at a few other verses in the Psalms, I came across Psalm 130, and the Spirit convicted my heart. My attitude was not that of the Psalmist's.

My (then unrevealed) attitude was, "Father, I am seeking you, and you promised that you will draw near to me and fill me with your Spirit if I draw near to you. So here is my plan: I spend my week off praying and reading a lot, and you show up now because this week I am spending more time with you than I probably will for the rest of the summer." Now, there is nothing wrong and everything right with standing on the promises of God in his Word. My problem was that I was not reading the promises in the light of the rest of Scripture, and was trusting that God would do what he promised... in my timing.

I see at least three things wrong with my attitude: impatience, fear, and unbelief.
Impatience. Sometimes, when I have really sought God about something, the answer has been delayed. And in the delay, I have gotten impatient, my fervency for my prayer to be answered has waned, and I have let the desire to have the prayer answer die.
Fear. I was afraid that my desire would wane again this time. So the "remedy" that I prescribed for myself was to get God to act in my timing, while the desire was fresh.
Unbelief. My impatience and fear were rooted in my unbelief. I did not believe that God truly wanted to meet with me, simply because he was not doing it in my timing. Since God's promises were not meeting my format, I rejected the promises. In response to one verse, I literally said, "I don't believe it!", and stormed away from my Bible. However, that was not where the act of unbelief began, but was merely the manifestation of it. (See Matthew 12:34)

The right attitude: seeking the Lord by waiting patiently with eyes of faith

I think that Psalm 130:5-6 tells us how to seek the Lord, and gives an attitude perfectly opposite to the one I had. I'll quote the Psalm again:

⁵I wait for the LORD, my soul waits,
and in his word I hope;
⁶my soul waits for the Lord
more than watchmen for the morning,
more than watchmen for the morning. (Psalm 130:5-6)

There are a few key things I would like to point out in these verses:

1) Hope

a) The nature of hope. Hope can be a confusing word. The meaning of this word here is not some vague "I hope I win the lottery" kind of hope. This is a hope that is founded on something of which we are certain, but has not yet happened. This can be seen in multiple places throughout Scripture, but let us just look at two:

⁵ Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you in turmoil within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
my salvation (Psalm 42:5)

Notice the ever-so-important word, "for". "Hope in God; for I shall again praise him." Why does the Psalmist hope in God? It's not because there is this vague, maybe-it-will-happen, uncertain desire for the future. He hopes in God because he knows that he will again be able to praise God in the house of God (see the rest of the Psalm for that context). Again,

⁵For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence,
for my hope is from him.
⁶ He only is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress; I shall not be shaken.
⁷On God rests my salvation and my glory;
my mighty rock, my refuge is God. (Psalm 62:5-7)

This is an assured hope! The variable pertaining to our hope in God is not whether or not he will answer us, but when he will answer us (that belongs in point 2, but keep it in mind)

b) The object of hope. In Psalm 130, the Psalmist hopes in the word of God, that is, the promises of Scripture. The Psalmist is saying, "Yes God, I believe that what you have promised in your Word is true!" He hopes (as defined above!) that God will be faithful to do what he promised (in this context, the promise seems to be the redemption of Israel), even though the Psalmist may not be experiencing the promise. But how does that work? Does not the fact that he is not currently experiencing the promise mean that God is a liar? The Psalmist does not seem to think so. It is because he understands that we are to wait on the Lord.

2) Waiting

Now that we know what kind of hope to have in the Lord, we can see what kind of waiting is associated with that hope. This is so exciting! We know that the Psalmist is waiting on the Lord, and that he hopes in his Word. What kind of waiting is associated with something that one knows will happen? Maybe a waiting like this:

⁶my soul waits for the Lord
more than watchmen for the morning,
more than watchmen for the morning.

This verse gives a God-inspired analogy to how we are to wait on the Lord: even as a watchman waits for the morning. Now, how does the watchman wait for the morning? He patiently waits for the morning knowing that it will come! It may seem like it is a long time coming; there may be times when he thinks he sees that faint glow on the horizon, but it turns out to be his imagination, or maybe a torch in the distance; but in the end, no matter how many disappointments, no matter how long it seems, he knows that the morning is coming. And the morning always does come.

Why "Waiting patiently with eyes of faith"?

I trust that the "Waiting patiently" part is clear at this point. However, maybe it seems at this point that the title of this entry should be "...with eyes of hope". I would like to show the faith-hope connection onto which, if you are familiar with your Bible, you have probably already latched:

¹Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1)

When the Psalmist states "in his word I hope", this is a statement of faith. Faith is the assurance [the steadfast holding onto the promise] of things hoped for. "By FAITH I hope in your Word! By FAITH I hope that the sun will rise, because it has always been true to rise, and has not failed me yet!" Faith is what keeps our hope alive when the dawn seems long in coming.

Why must we wait?

This was my question. "Okay, I understand that we are to wait with eyes of faith, but why must we wait?" There are a number ways to answer this question. Ultimately, we must wait because "Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases." (Psalm 115:3) He does not do all that we please, but all that he pleases. But that truth may not be help you; it may not be encouraging to hear "The sun rises when it pleases" when you are floundering in the dark!

The question to ask, perhaps, is not only "why must we wait?" but also "why is it worth waiting?" How can we know that the sunrise with be worth the night watch? The sun will rise when it pleases; is that a good thing for us? I would like to encourage you with the promises of God; promises about how he will always relate to us. Waiting on the Lord is worth the wait because he rejoiced to act for our good:

• ...he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. (Hebrews 12:10-11).
• No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly. (Psalm 84:11)
• God works all things together for our good (Romans 8:28)
• ³⁹ I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear me forever, for their own good and the good of their children after them. ⁴⁰ I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them. And I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me. ⁴¹ I will rejoice in doing them good ... with all my heart and all my soul. (Jeremiah 32:39-41)

We can rest assured that, although we may not now understand why we must wait, the waiting is worth it, because it is for our good. One more promise to consider:

From of old no one has heard
or perceived by the ear,
no eye has seen a God besides you,
who acts for those who wait for him. (Isaiah 64:4)

Let us pray for our Father to increase our faith, so that when the dawn does seem long in coming, we can look with the eyes of faith toward the dawn and be assured of the thing for which we are hoping, even as we wait patiently in the night.

Content and purpose of this blog

It seemed to me that I should write an introductory entry about the content and purpose of this blog. I wanted to do this not only to inform any potential readers about what I am doing, but also to help me get a firmer grasp on what I am trying to accomplish through the blog. I think this introduction might be longer than any subsequent entry, but we will see.

I think the best way for me to explain what my hopes are for the content of this blog would be to give an exposition of the the subtitle of the blog:

"God-ward reflections as seen in a dim mirror."

There are several of reasons why I want to give an introduction in this way. I thought of more reasons, but I am trying to control myself:

1. Expository writing will be my form of choice for most of the blog, so it seemed to me that the introduction should be expository as well. It will help you, the reader, to get a feel for my writing style (or lack thereof). This will demonstrate the format of the blog.
   
2. I tried to choose a subtitle that would give the reader an accurate summary of the direction that I am wanting to take the blog, so as I write about the subtitle, I will also be explaining the desired content of the blog.
   
3. Because I wrote the subtitle, analyzing it goes beyond exposition into introspection. Introspection is something that I hope will be a result of my writings.
   
4. I get to over-analyze something, which, if you manage to read through to the end of this entry, you will notice that I enjoy doing.
5. In future entries, I hope to tackle much heftier theological phrases than this, so this will be a fitting way to ease into deeper topics.

In summary, I will be demonstrating the format and the content of the blog simultaneously, extracting a desired result from the entry, doing something I enjoy, and easing both you and me into deeper theological topics. (I would dare say "Efficient, yes?" if I had not written over 200 words just to explain why I am doing it this way!)

So here we go... (I am going to start with the word "reflections" since it is a noun; starting with adjectives is kind of hard...)

"...reflections..."

My entries will consist of reflections, or meditations, or observations; any of these could be an accurate description. These thoughts will primarily come from reading the Bible and also from reading books by Christian theologians. I may also write about thoughts pertaining to conversations that I have, or things I have noticed outside of literature. However, I do not think that either of the latter two sources will demand much focus in my writing.

I chose the word "reflections" because what I want to write about is not "Today my phone died," or anything like that; I want to look at truth, reflect upon it, write about it, and while doing so become a reflection of it. The thoughts that I will be writing will be meditations on truths and concepts revealed in Scripture that theologians have gazed upon for centuries, and in their gazing, have both had and become reflections.

"God-ward..."

The term "God-ward" means two things in this context. The first meaning is that the object of my reflections will be God as he is revealed in Scripture and, as subsidiary sources, in other books by Christian authors. The second meaning is that my hope and prayer for this blog is that it will draw both you and me "God-ward" i.e. to draw us closer to God, again, as revealed in Scripture. I would write more about all that means, but maybe I should save that for another entry...

"...as seen in a dim mirror."

This phrase alludes to 1 Corinthians 13:12. I see God, even in his inspired Word, through the dim mirror of my soul. I neither see him perfectly, nor reflect him perfectly. So, if you are reading this, please check what I say against Scripture. I make no claims to be an expert in theology, and even if I did, I would not be above error. So please remember this is being written by (and read by!) a dim mirror.


Now, as you may or may not recall, that was the first of two topics that I mentioned I wanted to discuss, namely the content of the blog. (Look back at the first sentence. Did you remember?) However, do not lose heart, because the purpose will be much shorter. As I see it, there are three purposes, with each subsequent purpose being the "why" behind the previous purpose:

1. (Why do a blog?) This is for school. I freely admit this. I am doing an Honors senior project and this is a part of it. However, the project was very open-ended, and I elected to do a blog, and do it on this topic.
   
2. (Why do this for school?) I have wanted to write a blog about theology for about four years now, but have neither been able to justify the time commitment, nor scrounge up the courage to do it.
3. (Why write about theology?) Oh, my, this could be another entry as well. To put it as succinctly as I can: I want you and me to treasure Jesus Christ more than anything else, and I want us to treasure him as he is revealed in Scripture, so that we will not hear "I never knew you" when we stand before him. What we know or think about God, our theology, is vitally important if the words of Jesus are true: "And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent." (John 17:3) My hope and prayer is that, through this blog, we may be able to say with a little more confidence:

   ⁷But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. ⁸Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ ⁹and be found in him..." -Phil 3:7-9