There’s no “I” in Help-Meet

Back in college, I remember friends who spent long hours debating whether or not, in a wedding ceremony, the individual candles that were used to light the unity candle should be blown out after lighting said unity candle. They wanted to make sure the symbolism was just right. It was a few years before all the uproar caused by the “S” word – submission.

When the whole “Wives submit to you husbands” thing was big, I was about to be a newlywed in a military community in Germany. My about-to-be-husband and I attended a non-denominational home church made up of military families, and it seemed to me that the preacher spoke on that subject all the time. He had a phrase that he would use almost every time he spoke on the subject. I think he’d say it to try to dispel some of the tension rising in the room because I don’t remember him ever moving on to the husband’s part of the equation. Anyway, he’d smile and say, “You know, ladies, the man may be the head of the household, but you ladies are the neck…you tell us which way to turn. *chuckle, chuckle*”

It was usually at that moment I felt like punching him. Submission is hard for me to begin with but don’t be condescending while you’re telling me I have to do it. In retrospect, though, I realize what that pastor as well as many other well-meaning pastors of that era were talking about was not submission, but subjugation. There’s a huge difference. The problem is that even the dictionary overlaps the two words.

“sub·mit  [suhb-mit]
1. to yield oneself to the power or authority of another: to submit to a conqueror.
2. to allow oneself to be subjected to some kind of treatment: to submit to chemotherapy.
3. to defer to another's judgment, opinion, decision, etc.: I submit to your superior judgment.”[1]

“sub·ju·gate  [suhb-juh-geyt]
1. to bring under complete control or subjection; conquer; master.
2. to make submissive or subservient; enslave.”[2]

For me, the main difference is that you choose whether or not to submit, but you don’t have any choice about being subjugated. The enemy works really hard to make sure that when pastors speak on submission in the marriage relationship that we hear subjugate. It doesn’t help that often pastors dwell on the wives’ side of the texts and kind of zip right through the husbands’ part of the deal.

“Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body. Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything.

“Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word,  that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church. For we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones. ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’ This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. Nevertheless let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.” Ephesians 5:22-33

Paul spends a lot more time describing the husband’s responsibility to love his wife than the wife’s submission. The problem is that we live in a sinful world and most of us are afraid that if we submit to someone, they’ll subjugate us – and that’s not the relationship that Paul was talking about.

We forget that our example is Jesus. Yes, Jesus asks us to submit to Him, but look at what He’s done with us in mind. 

“The world’s Redeemer was treated as we deserve to be treated, in order that we might be treated as he deserved to be treated. He came to our world and took our sins upon his own divine soul, that we might receive his imputed righteousness. He was condemned for our sins, in which he had no share, that we might be justified by his righteousness, in which we had no share. The world’s Redeemer gave himself for us.” (E.G. White, The Review and Herald, March 21, 1893)

It’s just my opinion, but it seems like we spend quite a bit of time worrying about getting what we deserve. Advertising really pushes that button hard – that somehow we all deserve more than we’re getting. When we worry about what we think we deserve, we can’t submit to God or anyone else. But when we remember that Jesus gave up everything He deserved because we were more important to Him, we can see and begin to understand what a loving relationship should look like.

When God created Eve, He was giving Adam someone who could be equal – someone with whom he could share every experience. It was a relationship that was supposed to have demonstrated how God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit are One and yet Three. God never intended that Adam should push Eve around or make her to feel “less than.” He never intended for Eve to fear or resent Adam because she had to quit doing the things she liked, to do what he liked. God made Adam and Eve to work as a unit with two equal parts. Each part was complete on its own but could only be fully successful when firmly bound to its other half. Two individuals joined so tightly together that each person’s first thought is not, “How can I get what I deserve,” but “What can I do for this person to show them how much I love them.” How did Jesus show us how much He loves us?

“Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.” Philippians 2:5-7

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[1] submit. (n.d.). Dictionary.com Unabridged. Retrieved February 22, 2013, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/submit

[2] subjugate. (n.d.). Dictionary.com Unabridged. Retrieved February 22, 2013, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/subjugate

By His Stripes

Thoughts on the Sabbath School Lesson for 1.21.12

Marilyn Sewell, a Unitarian minister, made the following statement while interviewing Christopher Hitchens, a well known atheist:  

“The religion you cite in your book is generally the fundamentalist faith of various kinds. I'm a liberal Christian, and I don't take the stories from the Scripture literally. I don't believe in the doctrine of atonement (that Jesus died for our sins, for example).”[1]

Wait!  What?  How is that possible?  I mean, either you believe that Jesus died for your sins and you’re a Christian, or you don’t believe it and you’re not.  Right?  That’s what I always thought.

Anyway, Ms Sewell finishes with a question for Mr. Hitchens:  

“Do you make any distinction between fundamentalist faith and liberal religion?”[2]

And then things really get weird!  Why? Because Mr. Hitchens’, the atheist’s answer makes more sense to me than the minister’s question.  Mr. Hitchens says, 

“I would say that if you don't believe that Jesus of Nazareth was the Christ and Messiah, and that he rose again from the dead and by his sacrifice our sins are forgiven, you're really not in any meaningful sense a Christian.”[3]

This from a man who wrote a book called, Why Religion Poisons Everything.  Interesting.

Maybe it’s easier, on some level, to believe in a Jesus who doesn’t ruffle any feathers, just a really great Guy, who said some really nice things about loving everybody.  It’s easier to keep everything neat and tidy, I guess.

The problem is, that molded plastic Jesus can’t save you or me.  He wouldn’t take the punishment for my sins.   He’s more like what Max Lucado calls “The Rabbit’s Foot Redeemer. 

“For some, Jesus is a good luck charm. The ‘Rabbit's Foot Redeemer.’ Pocket-sized. Handy. Easily packaged. Easily understood. Easily diagrammed. You can put his picture on your wall or you can stick it in your wallet as insurance. You can frame him. Dangle him from your rear view mirror or glue him to your dashboard.
“His specialty? Getting you out of a jam. Need a parking place? Rub the redeemer. Need help on a quiz? Pull out the rabbit's foot. No need to have a relationship with him. No need to love him. Just keep him in your pocket next to your four-leaf clover.
“For many he's an ‘Aladdin's Lamp Redeemer.’ New jobs. Pink Cadillacs. New and improved spouses. Your wish is his command. And what's more, he conveniently reenters the lamp when you don't want him around.
“For others, Jesus is a ‘Monty Hall Redeemer.’ ‘All right, Jesus, let's make a deal. For 52 Sundays a year, I'll put on a costume coat and tie, hat and hose and I'll endure any sermon you throw at me. In exchange, you give me the grace behind pearly gate number three.’
“The Rabbit's Food Redeemer. The Aladdin's Lamp Redeemer. The Monty Hall Redeemer. Few demands, no challenges. No need for sacrifice. No need for commitment.
“Sightless and heartless redeemers. Redeemers without power. That's not the Redeemer of the New Testament.”[4]

Or anywhere else in the Bible, for that matter.

Isaiah describes a very different Redeemer.  

“Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted.  But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.  We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.”  Isaiah 53:4-6

There’s nothing tidy or polite about the Jesus that Isaiah describes – a Redeemer who loves me so much that He took my place in Hell so that I could stand with Him in Heaven.

 

Ellen White says it so beautifully in The Desire of Ages. 

“Christ was treated as we deserve, that we might be treated as He deserves. He was condemned for our sins, in which He had no share, that we might be justified by His righteousness, in which we had no share. He suffered the death which was ours, that we might receive the life which was His. ‘With His stripes we are healed.’”[5]

Jesus isn’t a polite, pinky out, only when it’s convenient kind of Redeemer.  He’s a wade in up to His waist, reach down and haul us out of the mud kind of Redeemer.  He’s messy and controversial, and He loves each one of us, personally and individually.

“Jesus does not excuse [our] sins, but shows [our] penitence and faith, and, claiming for [us] forgiveness, He lifts His wounded hands before the Father and the holy angels, saying: I know them by name. I have graven them on the palms of My hands.”[6] 

“Author Henri Nouwen tells the story of a family he knew in Paraguay. The father, a doctor, spoke out against the military regime there and its human rights abuses. Local police took their revenge on him by arresting his teenage son and torturing him to death. Enraged townsfolk wanted to turn the boy's funeral into a huge protest march, but the doctor chose another means of protest. At the funeral, the father displayed his son's body as he had found it in the jail—naked, scarred from electric shocks and cigarette burns, and beatings. All the villagers filed past the corpse, which lay not in a coffin but on the blood-soaked mattress from the prison. It was the strongest protest imaginable, for it put injustice on grotesque display.
“Isn't that what God did at Calvary? … The cross that held Jesus' body, naked and marked with scars, exposed all the violence and injustice of this world. At once, the cross revealed what kind of world we have and what kind of God we have: a world of gross unfairness, a God of sacrificial love.”[7]

“For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He [even] gave up His only begotten (unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) Him shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) life.  For God did not send the Son into the world in order to judge (to reject, to condemn, to pass sentence on) the world, but that the world might find salvation and be made safe and sound through Him.”  John 3:16,17 (Amplified Bible

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[1]Dr. Ray Pritchard, "Christopher Hitchens Gets it Exactly Right," KeepBelieving.com (2-1-10)

[2] Ibid.

[3] Ibid.

[4] Max Lucado, Six Hours One Friday (W. Publishing, 2004), pp. 89-90

[5] E.G. White, The Desire of Ages, page 25

[6] E.G. White, The Great Controversy, page 484  

[7] Philip Yancey, Disappointment with God (Zondervan, 1997), pp. 185-186

Psalm 23

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.  He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.  He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.  Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.  Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.  Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

Whoa! I know what you just did.  You read as far as “The Lord is my shepherd”.  You thought to yourself, “Oh, the 23rd Psalm.”  And then you skipped right past the rest of it and started reading again.  How do I know that?  Because I do the same thing.  But today I want you to go back up there and take a couple minutes and really read…not just let your eyes slide over the words…really READ and meditate on what that Psalm is really saying.  Go ahead; I’ll wait…………………………

It’s hard isn’t it?  We know the words so well that we almost can’t get to the meaning.  We’ve even given it a certain rhythm when we say it so it’s almost like the pledge of allegiance.  We could all say it together as a congregation and we’d pause at the same times and emphasize the same words, and we still wouldn’t have thought one bit about what the words themselves really mean to us and our everyday lives.

One author made a novel suggestion:  

Read the first phrase, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want” through nine times.  Each time stress a different word in the sentence.  By the time I had emphasized each of the nine words, I was amazed at how each reading altered my understanding of the entire phrase.  Try it.  It was really educational!

Another part of the problem is that most of us have absolutely no idea what a shepherd’s life is like other than what we’ve heard about in relation to religion.  When was the last time you had a chat with a shepherd?  Hm.  Same here.

So, what I did was go on the internet to see what I could find.  And I found some really interesting stuff.  First of all, I found out that absolutely every group has its own “Psalm 23”.  There’s the American Indian version, a Japanese translation, one for Firefighters, for Alcoholics Anonymous, a reggae version (Jah-mon), a sailor’s paraphrase, a student’s version, a politically correct version, a psychiatrist version and one specifically for the workplace. Now, I’m not saying I agree with or even understand all of them, but they all have some very important factors in common.

Each version, even though the words may be quite different, talks about a God who takes care of us, worries about us, protects us, loves us, wants to spend eternity with us and walks with us through the toughest parts of our lives.

Can you imagine that?  It’s hard for me to imagine sometimes that God is right there with me in the valley as completely as He is with me in the green pastures.  Rabbi Harold Kushner is an author.  He wrote a book named when Bad Things Happen To Good People.  He’s also written about the 23rd Psalm.  He says, 

“…the 23rd Psalm answers the question, how do you live in a dangerous and unpredictable world?”  

Rabbi Kushner continues, 

“God’s promise was never that life would be fair.  God’s promise was, when it’s your turn to confront the unfairness of life, no matter how hard it is, you’ll be able to handle it, because He’ll be on your side.  He will give you the strength you need to find your way through.”

Another thing I learned is that the 23rd Psalm is part of a trilogy.  Did you know that?  We all love trilogies, right?  The Hobbit, Star Wars, you know.  Anyway, Psalm 22 and 24 make the trilogy.  Psalm 22 is about Christ’s crucifixion.  Psalm 24 tells about the Kingdom of God.  Psalm 23 tells us about what we can expect in between.  I had never put that together before, but I like it.  Jesus was here and he redeemed us.  He’s coming back to take us home.  While we wait, we’re not alone, we have a relationship with Someone who loves us.

“The more you trust your Redeemer, the more you will love Him. He is your Friend in life or death. He is the Crown of your rejoicing. He is worthy of your fullest faith. All the sorrows and afflictions that we suffer here only constitute our discipline for the higher life. God designs that thus we shall be fitted for heaven. Wait upon God. Lean upon Him in entire dependence; for His everlasting arms will sustain you. He who says that not a sparrow falls to the ground without the notice of the heavenly Father will care for those who love and trust Him. Jesus knows every throb of pain, every throe of anguish and distress, and He will give His children grace to endure the afflictions that He permits to come upon them. His heart beats in sympathy with suffering humanity and those who suffer most have most of His pity and sympathy. "Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; and His greatness is unsearchable." "Thou hast a mighty arm; strong is Thy hand: and high is Thy right hand." "Trust ye in the Lord forever; for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength." If He is for you, who can be against you. "The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?" "Yea, tho I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for Thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me." Let us trust Him who sees the end from the beginning, and who will make all things work together for good to those that love the Lord.” E.G. White, The Signs of the Times, “Trusting Christ”, February 28, 1906.

Okay, I have a challenge for you.  Sometime this week, paraphrase the 23rd Psalm so that it becomes yours.  We don’t know much about shepherds anymore.  It’s not really an image that we can totally identify with.  Find an image that tells what your relationship with Jesus is like.  You never have to show it to anyone else, ever.  Nobody is going to grade you.  What you will learn, though, is what David was saying about God when He wrote that Psalm.

Here’s mine:

Jesus is my best friend; He meets all of my needs

He has given me the Sabbath so I can rest in Him and drink in the living water of His word.

He gives me the strength and courage I need for each new trial.

He promises to help me make the best decisions every day.

But even when I've made really bad choices and my life falls apart,

I don’t need to worry because You’re still right beside me.

Your Holy Spirit and Your angels teach and protect me.

You shower me with your blessings everyday, even when I have alienated everyone or when I am surrounded by people who tell lies about me.

You wrap Your arms around me and welcome me home.  You fill my heart with your love.

I can be sure that for the rest of my life, You will clothe me in Your robe of grace and forgiveness,

And I will live with You in the home you built for me until the end of time.

Meet me in Heaven

Thoughts on the Sabbath School Lesson for 9.24.11

I’ve noticed that when we (meaning the Christians who I know) talk about our first day in Heaven, we usually describe an experience akin to a family reunion – looking for and finding family members and old friends, meeting our Bible heroes and peppering them with questions, meeting our guardian angels and getting the behind-the-scenes versions of our lives.  Don’t misunderstand, that all sounds amazing, and I believe we will get to do all of those things; I’m just not sure any of those things will be our priority.

It just occurred to me that instead of the ecstatically, joyful and noisy scene I just described, our first day in Heaven might be more of a take-our-breath-away kind of experience.

The group, MercyMe, sings a song that asks many of the same questions that I find myself asking when I try to picture my first meeting with Jesus.

“I can only imagine / What it will be like / When I walk / By your side / I can only imagine / What my eyes will see /When your face / Is before me / I can only imagine / … / Surrounded by Your glory, what will my heart feel / Will I dance for you Jesus or in awe of you be still / Will I stand in your presence or to my knees will I fall / Will I sing hallelujah, will I be able to speak at all / I can only imagine / … / When that day comes / When I find myself / Standing in the Son / I can only imagine / When all I will do / Is forever / Forever worship You / I can only imagine / …”[1]

I’m really curious about what our worship will look like in Heaven.  Maybe it’s just me, but I have a hard time picturing it with my limited human experience.  Will we have structured worship services with opening prayer, special music, scripture reading, and then Jesus will speak?  Or will it be more of a concert setting:  Jesus steps out and the crowd goes wild?  Will we follow Him around like the people did when He was here on earth – wait outside His door all night so we can be the first in line in the morning? 

None of those really seem right, do they?  They’re all very earthly styles of worship.

What will worship in Heaven look like?  The book of Revelation actually gives us several examples.  Let’s have a look.

“Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under its wings. Day and night they never stop saying: “‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty,’ who was, and is, and is to come.’
“Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne and worship him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say:  “You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.” Revelation 4:8-11

“And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God’s people. And they sang a new song, saying: ‘You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.’  Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. In a loud voice they were saying: ‘Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!’  Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, saying:  ‘To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!’ The four living creatures said, ‘Amen,’ and the elders fell down and worshiped.”  Revelation 5:8-14

“After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice: ‘Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.’  All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying: ‘Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever. Amen!’”  Revelation 7:9-12

“The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said: ‘The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah, and he will reign for ever and ever.’
“And the twenty-four elders, who were seated on their thrones before God, fell on their faces and worshiped God, saying:  ‘We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, the One who is and who was, because you have taken your great power and have begun to reign.  The nations were angry, and your wrath has come. The time has come for judging the dead, and for rewarding your servants the prophets and your people who revere your name, both great and small—and for destroying those who destroy the earth.’  Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and within his temple was seen the ark of his covenant. And there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake and a severe hailstorm.”  Revelation 11:15-19

Anybody else see a pattern emerging here?  There is nothing boring, passive or insipid about the worship described here.  Nobody here is sitting in the balcony texting his (or her) friends.  Nobody is dozing off or wondering what’s for lunch.  The worshipers here have no doubts about who God is and what He has done:  He is the Creator, the Messiah, the Lamb, the Redeemer.  He is the Eternal Commander who has won the battle between good and evil.  No being in the entire universe will ever question His God-ness or goodness ever again.

“Worship is bending low before our Maker, recognizing and acknowledging His holiness and our creatureliness. It is submitting to His sovereignty, responding to His majestic presence.”[2]

Yeah, I’ll “meet you in Heaven, and we’ll hold hands” and sing songs together, … eventually.  But at first I’m not sure we’ll even know that anyone else is there.  We’re only going to know that our Savior and Redeemer is there and He is going to be the only Person we can see.  “Pray that we all will be there.”

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[1] MercyMe, “I Can Only Imagine,” Almost There, 1999.

[2] Richard M. Davidson, Andrews University, Worship in the Old Testament, p. 3.