Category: Theological Thoughts

On this 17th day of Lent, we are called to eat the right things. The meal of the wicked is often decorated with delicious appetizers. At times, we salivate over it because our flesh seeks for a table outside our Father’s house. But in the end, we become what we eat and we will be more thoroughly equipped to fight sin when we remember that the table of evil is never ultimately satisfying.

In C.S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia, Edmund was easily seduced to betrayal because he could not control his appetite. He chose a gift from the evil one over the protection of his own family. Lutheran writer, Marva Dawn, summarizes brilliantly: “Always its pleasure will turn to dust in our mouths.” The biblical poet David says, “Do not let my heart be drawn to what is evil so that I take part in wicked deeds along with those who are evildoers; do not let me eat their delicacies.”

The Season of Lent is a call to eat at God’s table and to turn away all worldly delicacies. Lent is a call to fast from the wrong foods and eat the delicacies of Yahweh’s garden.

Prayer: O, Lord, may I increase in love for those things that flourish in my heart and soul rather than destroy the body and soul. Place in me an appetite for the bread and wine from heaven which gives life eternal through Christ our Lord, Amen.

The first duty of a Christian is to confess his own sins before pointing the finger. All of us bring something destructive into our relationships—our sin. And if we think blaming others or our circumstance is the answer, we have deceived ourselves.

The man replied, “It was the woman you gave me who gave me the fruit, and I ate it.”

Maybe we are the problem. Maybe we don’t see ourselves with clarity. Maybe we love ourselves more than our spouses. Maybe we love our little kingdoms more than God’s cosmic kingdom. That’s the level of honesty that God expects from us. The other person may be guilty. He/she may be the cause of your pain, but at some time you must realize that shifting the blame on others is not the solution to your own problems.

The Gospel imperatives are clear: Admit. Confess. Renew. Restore. You cannot help others unless you have been helped by the Gospel truths. Do not allow the pain inflicted upon you by others to keep you from doing and living the way God intends you to live; to know and to love those God calls you to know and love. Do not allow the sin of others to paralyze you from living your Christian confession.

Prayer: O, Father, my pain at times is unbearable, but your mercy is new each morning. On this day, remind me that you are the lifter of my head and the One who took and takes all my pain. Heal me and make me whole and be not far off, O God, my righteousness through Christ our Lord, Amen.

There are many difficult imperatives in the Bible. I would place anxiety on the top five list. Yes, God provides strength and wisdom to fight anxiety. The reality, however, is that we often live with its presence daily. After all, it is easy to be anxious about thinking about an anxious-free life. Children, family, relationships, finances, education all add to the notorious list.

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”

It’s important to add that anxiety in biblical categories is not avoiding all concerns. The anxiety the Bible addresses is not a concern for the well-being of a loved one who is traveling or the natural concerns for the health of a friend. Anxiety in the Bible is the all-consuming and imprisoned sensation of driving your life through the lens of our troubles and cares.

To live concerned with big or little things is not the problem. The problem stems from allowing these big and small concerns to drive your day-to-day. In fact, according to Paul, anxiety stems from a lack of gratitude and proper devotion to God. It is rare to find a grateful person who is driven by his/her anxiety.

Anxious people draw others into their anxiety. Are you that way? Do you use your anxiety to manipulate people? Or does your anxiety lead to petition and piety and praise to God? Our Lenten journey drives us to the crucified Jesus. He offered his petitions to his Father in heaven. Even in the midst of difficult circumstances, he directed his deepest yearnings and questions to the Divine Father who does all things well.

Prayer: Gracious and Holy Father, in love you created us; you made us to reflect your glory and to expect your future glory to be manifested in our lives. Forgive us when we blind ourselves to your blessings by anxieties that darken our minds. We wish to see clearly your future, and so, we pray, take away our anxious hearts and replace them with comforted hearts who know and trust in your tender care through Jesus Christ our Lord, amen.

There is a phrase I learned recently in Latin, “Solvitur Ambulando,” which means “It is solved by walking.” Lent is a season to slow our pace and think more deeply about our problems; by walking? Why not?

“Vindicate me, O LORD, for I have walked in my integrity…”

It is worth reflecting that “sitting” in the Psalms is almost always associated with evil practices (see Ps. 26:5). Whereas, walking is generally associated with righteousness (see Ps. 26:3). Some of the writers we most cherish like C.S. Lewis and Tolkien were men who treasured their daily walks. The Desert Fathers emphasized walking and meditating. Apart from the physical benefits, it also allows us to contemplate creation, to meditate on our lives, to think through our day, etc.

The Psalmist uses walking as synonymous with a way of life. We “walk in truth,” “we walk in the righteous paths.” While the psalmist did not have the physical aspect in mind, it is clear that walking can indeed allow us to think more deeply about the things of God.

Lent can provide us opportunities for greater reflection. Perhaps a walk with your family, or even a solitary walk to remember the journey of Jesus to the cross. Lent is a walk of faith. Perhaps we can begin practicing that faith by literally walking.

Prayer: O Lord Jesus, who walked in integrity all your day, may we imitate your steps as we follow this Lenten journey from the desert to the dreaded tree. We pray this in the Name of our Lord Jesus, Amen.

It is interesting that the law of mutual destruction is a consistent biblical doctrine:

“If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.”

Sometimes we think we gain by devouring others with our words. After all, we certainly don’t want others to escape true justice. Of course, we happen to be the devout judges in this affair.

The ‘biting’ can be a reference to offensive language, false accusations, slander, etc. To ‘devour’ someone is to consume their well-being leaving them defenseless and ashamed. These methods vary significantly from the biblical remedy of speaking the truth in love. Love protects one another. Yet, according to Paul, when church members engage in such activities, they are digging for themselves their own graves.

The end of devouring someone is that you are consumed by your own appetite. It is a profound idea to remember this Lenten Season that Jesus could have easily devoured those nearest to him, but yet, he fulfilled the commandments (Gal. 5:14) and loved them even to the point of death.

As the Lenten Season carries its blow to our pride, let us repent of biting and devouring one another. May we rightly repent and turn from the addiction of destroying others for that addiction leads to death.

Prayer: O gracious Lord, you do not look upon us in your fierce anger, nor do you devour us with your consuming wrath, but you love us as a Father loves his little children and you serve us with unfailing mercy. We pray that we may seek to love others because you first loved us through Christ our Lord, Amen.

To be a member of a local church is the sanest thing a Christian can do. It shows the world one is committed to something called the Church. In an age of Wild West Christianity where people show up when they want to, visit where they want to, act independently of any institution, the call to be a member of a church is a hard sell. To join a local church is to tell the world that we are not self-centered maniacs seeking whatever we want, but that we are social-centered members seeking what the will of God is for his people; and the will of God is to put you with other people in a unique society called the church. Since Jesus loves his bride, then to be apart from his bride is to be apart from Jesus.

As parents, training our children is always a challenge. We may succeed here or there, but consistency is a constant struggle. Proverbs lays out the principle of long-term faithfulness:

Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

Lent is a great training camp. In this season we learn that we ourselves need to be trained by our Father in heaven even as we train our children in truth. What parents wish to learn and pass on are patterns that children will carry throughout life. Much like worship, parenting is the art of instilling life-long rituals. Training is more than memorizing things or learning new things, training is catechizing our children in the way of truth.

Lent gives us the perfect training theme: the cross of Jesus. The cross instructs us and our children that there is no glory before crown; no victory before the war and no feast before fast. The cross teaches that in serving one another we are truly free.

Our children need habits more than facts. They need to see the cross of Jesus as the center of their formation. They need the crucified Lord as their Savior. Once the cross becomes the great marker in their journey they will not depart from it. They will live their lives feasting in the empty tomb. Lent is ultimately a season where our Father in heaven trains us in the way we should go.

Prayer: O great Father, who carried us in the wilderness, do not cease to train us to serve you, to form us to love you and to prepare us to endure this journey well. We long to learn from your ways and we ask that you would give us hearts of wisdom that we might not depart from your ways through Christ our Lord, amen.

The story of Jonah is very familiar to our ears. Those famous words have inspired thousands of poems and novels:

“And the Lord spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land.”

Our famous prophet is brought through this journey of death in the belly of the beast and through repentance is spat out of the fish after three days. This is meant to parallel Jesus’ three days in death after the crucifixion.

Unlike Jonah, our Lord was perfect so that he did not need to repent. Still, it is fairly certain to say that Jesus went to Sheol during those three days of bodily death and proclaimed victory from death; or, we could say, he proclaimed victory from Sheol.
The parallels are really remarkable. Jonah is swallowed up by Sheol; Jesus is swallowed up by Sheol. Jonah repents and finds life; Jesus prays right before death that his enemies would be forgiven and find life; Jonah spends three days in Sheol; Jesus spends three days in Sheol. Jonah proclaims that salvation is of the Lord in Sheol; Jesus proclaims that salvation is of the Lord in Sheol; Jonah is spat out of Sheol after three days; Jesus is spat out of Sheol (grave) after three days.

The stories of the prophets always remind us in these remaining thirty-one days that Jesus is the greater prophet; Jesus is the greater Jonah.

Prayer: O merciful God, you give us life when we turn to you. Like Jonah, may we seek your temple in our despair and in our delight. Where can we go from your Spirit? Even in Sheol you are there to speak like to our weary hearts. Blessed are you, Jesus, the one whom even Sheol could not hold. Amen.

Sometimes we are tempted to view God as distant; uninterested, perhaps, in human affairs. Does God care about my life and works? But the Bible displays a God who treasures intrusion; who deeply cares about our affairs and the state of our godliness.

“For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.” (Phil. 2:13)

God could never be a deist. He is too involved to let his human project go. As Peter Leithart observes: “God doesn’t let us be the way we would like to be.”

Lent reminds us that God does not want us to get away with sin, but he intrudes through people and means to ensure that his saints live Coram Deo, before his face. At the cross, Jesus intruded in the world’s status quo; he gave himself so that death would no longer have the last word. Blessed be the Lord’s intrusion. In these remaining thirty-two days, may our hearts desire the intrusion of God conforming us to the image of his Son.

Prayer: O blessed Lord, we thank you for comforting us in our grief and causing us discomfort in our sin. Continue to rule our hearts and interfere in the ways of our flesh through Christ our Lord, amen.

Ever since the days of Babel, human beings have sought to make a name for themselves (Gen. 11:4). Today, our towers can lead to the same doom if we do not trust in Yahweh. C.S. Lewis rightly referred to this as “the anti-God state of mind.” This form of pride that seeks to reach the heavens without the God of heaven suffers a great fall.

The Apostle Paul interpreted this as a wrongful boasting. But not all boasting is wrong:

“But far be it from me to boast [in anything or anyone], except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.”

Boasting assumes our excessive trust in our own achievements; it builds towers and disregards the Architect. Yet, the Apostle Paul urges us to boast, but he rightly turns the direction of our boasting. For Paul, our boasting is not in our own conquest, it’s the conquest of Another. We boast in a tree that was cut down to save us. We pride in a tree, shaped in the form of a sword where our Savior hung.

Jesus died to become the Savior of all who believe; the protector of all those born anew. In him, we are rescued, restored, and redeemed. We boast in a Savior who conquers by dying.

We do not build towers to the heavens to make a name. Jesus ascended to heaven for us for there is no greater name in heaven above and earth below. In these remaining thirty-three days, let’s boast! Let us proudly exalt the cross of Jesus. Let’s show Christian pride in a bloody cross bearing a beautiful Savior.

Prayer: O, Lord, who ascends to the heaven by way of a tree, make us boast in serving a God who died for our transgressions and who gives us his name that we might be whole, Amen.