the tension of laughter and grief

Even in laughter the heart may ache,

and the end of joy may be grief.

Proverbs 14:13

It is good to value laughter and fun. Joy in life is a gift from God and worthy of celebration. One of my high values is humor and having a fun time. But there is more to life. Humor isn’t good as an escape in itself and is lousy at coping with some of the evil, broken realities we face in the world.

No comedian is going to lighten the heavy grief of a school shooting. No joke will get our minds off the devastating reality of war. No zinger has a punch line to take away the pangs of poverty. No chuckle can bear the burden away of guilt or shame over sin. There are many experiences in a broken world that lead to heartache and legitimate grief. Wise people know this and balance joy and sorrow. And Jesus gives us, through His saving work, the means to do so.

Jesus is the Man of Sorrows acquainted with grief. He knows pain. He knows heartache. He grieves. He carried our sorrows and our sins to His cross. In His passion for us we can see that He knows suffering, pain, and death on an unimaginable scale.

Jesus is the joy of every longing we have ever had or ever will have. He is the Deliverer. He is the delight to all who love Him. He, the joy of the Lord, is our strength. He nicknamed His friends, shared meals with all who would break bread with Him, welcomed children with blessing, reached outcasts others ignored, made the lame dance, the blind see, the deaf hear, and the mute shout for joy. The Man of Sorrows is also the Joy of our hearts!

Jesus,

Help me to hold in tension with my eyes on You both the joy of living in You AND the pain of living in a world You are still redeeming. While I hurt in the brokenness I will not just lament, but also trust in Your grace and know joy greater than mere laughter.

Amen

quick reminders from an urgent call

As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

2 Timothy 4:5

There are four quick reminders to Timothy of the urgent call to ministry. Two questions asked of this text help us understand what is being said here.

1) Why is this call to ministry urgent? Paul is facing his own execution at the hands of Rome and is giving Timothy a solemn charge (2 Timothy 4:1). He has already committed him to intense ministry of the Word (2 Timothy 2:2): Preach the Word of God; preach it when it is both convenient and inconvenient; reprove and rebuke those whom the scriptures clearly show as wrong; encourage those who are committed to Jesus by teaching them God’s promises in His Word; and be patient as you teach God’s Word. The Word ministry will need to be accompanied by other strong personal ministry commitments. It is a solemn calling.

But not only is the task solemn, but the opposition is solid. Paul warns that divisive false teaching is unfortunately too common and always a threat to gospel ministry (2 Timothy 4:3-4). People will eventually not endure sound doctrine. They will replace it with what they want to hear and passion-led false teachers readily arise to tell people a message that placates their selfishness: “you will be wealthy, happy, problem-free… and there is no need for careful teaching of the Word of the Lord.” But authentic believers, and gospel preachers, will cling to the truth of scripture alone.

2) What is this urgent call to ministry? We live in “wandering-off” times. An applicable short summary for gospel seriousness looks something like this:

• Sober-minded. Now is not the time for anything less than clear gospel teaching. No gimmicks with the gospel, please!
• Endurance. Preach the Word. Stay committed to sound doctrine and gospel essentials. Always preach Jesus but be ready… suffering WILL result.
• Evangelize and make disciples. Keep Jesus’ commission the focus and don’t drift from it. Make disciples of the nations, TEACHING them to follow Him, not other people, no matter how convincing their words may be. If a teacher’s words are not the Word of God, reject them!
• Fulfill ministry. Don’t give up! See it through! Keep at it! There in no retirement until Jesus is in front of you and rewards you in His kingdom with a high five and a smiling “well done”!

Like a Child

Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.

Luke 18:17

Like a child

I must come to You

implicitly accepting what You do

as all that I need

Acknowledging my need

Surrendering my will to my Lord

believing the gospel word for word

I must have faith

In childlike faith

I lean into my Savior’s arms

trusting deliverance from all harm

I find a secure life

Living in faith

like a child I must

lean into Jesus with all my trust

without a worry or a care

Confident in Jesus

I now in faith stand

still like a child, now a man

I acknowledge my constant need

Never losing childlike faith

I live my life trusting You

needing my God for me in all I do

serving, loving, living into eternity

A kingdom waits

for every child who believes

and rewards we will receive

reigning with the King of Kings!

four reasons I need to listen

The way of a fool is right in his own eyes,

but a wise man listens to advice.

Proverbs 12:15

I can’t succeed in life alone. I never could and I never will. God has created Christian community to offset the foolishness sin has put into my heart. It is a wise thing to seek the advice of others.

I need to listen because my own heart is a sinful echo chamber. I will fixate on either a problem or a perceived solution at the exclusion of other ideas. And then a kind of tunnel vision can get me focused entirely in the wrong direction. The wisdom of Christian community combats this singular fixation.

I need to listen because I struggle with pride. I need to accept that I don’t have all the answers. I need God’s Word spoken to me and applied well in the lives of others to humble me. Pride leads me to trust self —- a sure path to failure. Humility values advice.

I need to listen because I need to grow and change. I am always in need of maturity in some part of my life. Having the helpful insights of trusted Christian friends and leaders helps me follow Jesus better. I can identify the things that aren’t pleasing to Christ. I can apply God’s truth to places where I have been believing lies. I can repent of sin, put on righteousness, and find true life ONLY in the community of fellow followers of Jesus. 

I need to listen because of the noise of the world. I live in a culture of deafening high volume sinful propaganda. And sometimes I imbibe it… even without realizing that I have. And this impossibly twisted culture cannot speak righteousness. So I need to be immersed in the teaching of God’s Word and listen to the voices of Christian encouragement and admonition to overcome the crazy cultural cacophony.

I’m so thankful for the wise call to listen to God’s wisdom. I’m so thankful for the many Christian voices that God has placed around me by His grace! I need to listen.

What I say and do

From the fruit of his mouth a man is satisfied with good,

and the work of a man's hand comes back to him.

Proverbs 12:14

What I say matters.

There are no mere words or sounds.

Intention, connection, and creation of my desires all come out of my mouth.

So what I say matters.

And it should align with the wisdom of God so that it will please God and be blessed by God.

What I say matters.

What I do matters.

There are actions, work, and things I do and make.

Production, content, and fruit that lasts is established in my life.

So what I do matters.

And my works should be so surrendered to Jesus that I can do the work of God to promote the kingdom of God.

Because… what I do matters.

My life is shown by what I say and do.

What I say matters.

What I do matters.

“My hope is built on nothing less

Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness”

a song to keep us believing

The saying is trustworthy, for:

If we have died with him, we will also live with him;

if we endure, we will also reign with him;

if we deny him, he also will deny us;

if we are faithless, he remains faithful—

for he cannot deny himself.

2 Timothy 2:11-13

How we continue to trust Jesus matters. The gospel is much more than just a “one and done” assent to some facts about Jesus. It is about a life with Him that is richly rewarding. Paul chooses to sing what many scholars think was a first century Christian hymn to make his point. In the song are four facts that keep us in faith in our Savior.

First… we died with Christ in order to live with Him. This is our present faith at work. We follow Jesus. We died with Him to an old life of sin that we might now live in a new holy life of worship and service to our King.

Second… we endure circumstances now to reign with Jesus in the future. Paul wrote these words to heavily persecuted Christians. Many had died. Almost all were paying some sort of cultural, economic, or family price for Christian commitment. But endurance is rewarded both in relationship with Jesus and ruling under Jesus.

Third… apostasy and denial of Christ are serious and reap eternal loss. Those who completely deny Christ never really believed and are subject to His final judgment. Ironically, they will still answer to Jesus. Those cases should soberly motivate us to be serious in our own examination of faith. Apostates ultimately turn away.

Finally… faith struggles show us the keeping power is IN CHRIST, not in ourselves. Yes, there is an apostasy that is hell bound. But there is also a type of struggle to believe that is not apostate. Jesus lovingly recognizes and continues to help carry us through as we struggle. It is like Peter taking his eyes from Jesus as he walked on the water. Like that… sometimes we feel ourselves sinking. But Jesus is faithful and with a strong arm picks us up from the waves of doubt and struggle. He is the Keeper of all who come to Him, even as they occasionally struggle. He reaches out and calls us back. He keeps His own.

better words to build up

Whoever belittles his neighbor lacks sense,

but a man of understanding remains silent.

Proverbs 11:12

I’ve been guilty of it: a quipped joke at the expense of another person. In an attempt to get a laugh, win over someone else, or just make myself feel like others might like me, I’ve regrettably belittled another person that God wonderfully and powerfully created in His image. It is easy to do this if you forget we are all created by God to reflect His glory. Couple that with a wicked sense of sarcasm and wounding words can easily roll off my tongue.

The simple truth of this proverb is that the wisdom of God does not do this. It is not rude, insulting, selfishly ridiculing, or disrespectful of people that God has called us to love with His gospel. When you truly treat other people with respect, it is part of truly respecting our Creator. Simply lashing out is not what God does. Neither should I. Even if I think it is good for a cheap laugh. Even if I think they are acting foolishly.

My prayer is that God will help me to wisely keep silent rather than damage with sarcasm. Better yet, I hope God might actually share words of hope and encouragement instead! My hope is to see that obedience in this matter would draw me into a deeper appreciation of God and what He does. O Lord, help me guard my words, fill my heart and my responses with Your grace as I love my neighbor as You have called me to do.

Amen