Christians against social justice?

“I’m a Christian who is against social justice,” is what one Christian basically said in a recent discussion about Christians’ role in social justice. To be honest, the comment made me sad. It made me sad because I know that there are a number of church-people out there who would agree with this statement even though it is in direct opposition to the teachings of the Christ they seek to follow.

How could Christians be against social justice? Have they been so politicized that they have forgotten that caring for the orphans and widows, looking after the aliens among us, and standing against oppression are biblical ideals that are both encouraged and commanded in the Bible?

Jesus himself said, “The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to release the oppressed,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” — Luke 4:18-19

From a theological perspective, I think the big problem is something called dualism. Ancient Greek philosophers taught that there is a divide between the spiritual and the material. Plato, for example, taught that the soul is the real person and that true freedom means being released from the prison of the material body. Largely as a result of this kind of thinking, a lot of Christians have opted to focus on caring for the “soul” and decided that looking out for the needs of the body are irrelevant.

However, the Bible teaches the salvation of the whole person and the resurrection of the body. Ancient Hebrew thinking, which influenced biblical thought considerably more than Greek thought did, knew of no distinction between body and soul. And when Jesus ministered to people, he fed the hungry whilst also ministering to their eternal needs.

Jesus ministered to the whole person, and anybody who claims to follow Him is obligated to do the same.

Years ago, a number of Christians reacted against a dualistic faith that went to an extreme. Calling itself a “social gospel,” it sought only to minister to outward physical and social needs. Rightly recognizing that they were missing the heart of the Gospel, many Christians reacted by going to the opposite extreme and deciding that they would have nothing to do with social needs and simply minister to the “spiritual” needs of the people.

They were equally in the wrong, though. Either extreme misses the heart of Jesus, who was sent to bring good news to the poor and to release the oppressed — not just in a “spiritual” sense but in tangible, practical ways.

To stand against social justice is to deny the heart and mission of the God of justice, the same God who said these words in Holy Scripture so many years ago:

“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice
and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
and break every yoke?

Is it not to share your food with the hungry
and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter –
when you see the naked, to clothe him,
and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?” — Isaiah 58:6-7

Many Christians in America have fallen into a unique problem with a political Christianity wherein they put the platforms of their political parties above their faith. As a result, depending on which political party they belong to, they tend to gravitate toward one heretical extreme or the other.

Some say that it’s all about personal morality, while others say it’s all about social justice. Both miss the heart of Jesus and condemn their expressions of Christianity to the realm of irrelevance. Those who say it’s all about personal morality present a Christianity that offers a “pie in the sky” but hardens its heart to the needs of hurting, hungry people all around the world. Those who say it’s all about social justice forget that true justice can’t happen in a world where sinful, selfish hearts are not changed.

May God bring Christ-followers together across America and around the world who are willing to let Jesus’ love shine through them in a holistic, realistic way. May we remember to tell people about the personal redemption and eternal life made available through the blood of Jesus Christ, while at the same time demonstrating the heart and compassion of Christ in the ways we respond to a broken world in need.

Invictus

A movie entitled Invictus was recently released. It is an interesting title based on a compelling true story. However, my subject isn’t the movie but the famous poem to which its title refers, written by William Ernest Henley in 1875:

INVICTUS

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

It is said that Henley wrote those words in defiance of fate at the time his leg had to be amputated due to tubercular infection. He battled illness most of his life and later suffered the loss of a daughter, whose untimely death came at the age of 5. Henley died at the age of 53 and was buried in the same churchyard as his daughter.

I truly believe that this poem is a classic work of art. It’s beautiful, and I admire it for its beauty. Yet, it represents an idea that is proven time and again to be a false one. In the midst of trials in his own life, Henley tried to stand up against the forces that seemed to conspire against him and he refused to bow to anything that threatened him. He tried to see himself as invincible — which is what the title that was later given to the poem means — in the midst of life’s challenges. A brave sentiment without a doubt and, of course, he knew it wasn’t true. His poetry was more a beautiful wish than it was a statement of fact. Life was sometimes too cruel for him to avoid the ultimate truth:

However hard we try, none of us will ever be able to master our fate.

There are too many things that are completely out of our control. Henley, himself, learned it time and again and, in the end, he died as all of us do.

The Bible says, in Hebrews 9:27, that everyone is destined to die once and after that to face the judgment.

The unavoidable truth is that, no matter how hard we try to fight the inevitabilities of life and death, there are many things we simply cannot avoid. No matter how much anti-wrinkle cream we employ, age still overcomes us eventually. And, no matter how many funerals we avoid attending, our own funeral is one our bodies are not likely to avoid.

We are not the master of our fate and, if we try to be the captain of our soul, we will eventually find that we are only capable of captaining it into ultimate shipwreck. Our souls are not ultimately unconquerable because even the strongest soul cannot ultimately escape death.

I am thankful, though, that we don’t have to be lords of our own lives. There is ONE who has a plan for our lives and, if we allow HIM to be the true captain of our soul, we have the assurance of eternal life with HIM. That, of course, is the very God who made us. We are not the master of our ultimate fate, but HE is.

Let HIM pilot your soul. Let HIM take HIS rightful place in your life. If you do then, no matter how rough the seas may be along the journey, you CAN rise up in defiance of evil, pain, and even death itself because you can know that these things will NOT have the ultimate victory.

This is what the Apostle Paul said in the Bible:

“Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. — 1 Corinthians 15:55-57

These words are also poetry but, in my opinion, they are even more beautiful than the words of Henley. Why? Because, unlike the false hope of Invictus, these words are also truth. Even the sting of death itself is gone when once we trust our lives into the hands of God.

The reality is that the words of Henley don’t need to be changed much to be true for the follower of Christ. Whereas his words marked defiance of the inevitable, when once we know the true Captain of our souls we can cry out very similar words in the certain hope of the eternal.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
Christ is the master of my fate:
He is the captain of my soul.

God with shoes on

I’ll never forget the day the great Japanese theologian, Kosuke Koyama, spoke to us at the college in Glasgow. He said many things that I will never forget, but one of the most profound things he said was the following:

“Christianity is the only religion that is allowed to worship a God with shoes on.”

What did he mean by that? Well, basically all he meant was this: Jesus left his throne in the heavens to become one of us.

I remember a popular song back in the mid-nineties that asked, “What if God was one of us?” A lot of Christians were scandalized by the song, but it’s actually a very relevant question.

And here’s the thing. That’s what the message we are encouraged to remember at Christmas is all about. GOD DID BECOME ONE OF US!

John 1:14, referring to Jesus as “the Word,” says:

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

He was born as a baby, grew up to become a man, put on a pair of sandals, got his feet dirty, worked in a carpenter shop, and experienced life in this broken world. That’s what the Christmas message is all about. And that’s why its message is an intensely personal one. It means that Jesus Christ is not some distant entity but a very real personal one who has made a way that God in heaven can touch you and me on earth.

Several very practical thoughts come to mind when we consider how the reality of God becoming “one of us” can affect our daily lives. This reality can affect us in very specific ways and I’d like to offer four of the most significant:

1. BECAUSE GOD BECAME ONE OF US, HE UNDERSTAND US.

   There are two basic kinds of knowing.

   The first is the kind that deals with data. We can know all sorts of things about something or someone.

   The second kind of knowing is the kind that comes from experiencing something. We can’t really know what it feels like to do or be something unless we’ve experienced it ourselves.

   God always had the first kind of knowledge because he knows everything, but He didn’t have the second kind of knowing until He became one of us in Christ.

   What would happen if, for some reason, I decided that I wanted to learn everything there is to know about ants? If I devoted my whole life to it, I could learn a lot. I could amass all kinds of knowledge about their behavior and what they’re made up of. In fact, if I were dedicated enough, I could probably learn to know them so well that I could predict their behavior and do lectures around the world about the benefits of the ant population to humankind.

   However, I could never know what it was like to be an ant unless somehow I could lower myself and become one of those tiny little creatures crawling around and disturbing your picnic. Then I could tell you what it feels like to be an ant, and I would finally be able to understand the intricacies of the ant’s personal struggles, needs and concerns.

   Of course, that’s never going to happen for two reasons. First, I don’t love them enough to go that far for them. Second, I don’t have the power to do it even if I wanted to!

   Yet, God loved us enough to do it for us, and He had the power to make it happen.

   Because He came down to the anthill and became one of us, He knows by experience what it’s like to be a human being walking in a broken world. When we’re tempted to say, “God, you can’t possibly understand what I’m going through! You can’t possibly understand what it’s like to be rejected, scorned and betrayed by the people I love. You can’t possibly know what it’s like to live in poverty. You can’t possibly understand what it’s like to suffer in the midst of all this world’s demands, assumptions, bigotries and fears. You can’t possibly know what it’s like to suffer loss. You can’t possibly know what it’s like to be me.” He can say, “Yes, I do know. I understand because I’ve been there.”

   

   Because of the Christmas message, we can know that we have a God who understands us in a very personal way.

2. HE BECAME FULLY HUMAN SO THAT WE CAN BECOME FULLY HUMAN.

   How many times have you heard people apologize for their failures and imperfections by saying, “I’m only human?” It’s unfortunate that we have such a view of humanity when God actually has a very high view of humanity indeed!

   Under the influence of Plato, many ancient philosophers believed that human life was separated into two spheres: the material and the spiritual. They believed that the body was part of the physical world, which was imperfect, and the soul was part of the spiritual realm. Salvation, to them, meant being released from the prison of our bodies so that the real us, our “soul,” could be set free to live unencumbered for all eternity.

   Then, when Jesus came in bodily form, He demonstrated forcefully that God does not see things in this way. Whereas many believed that the material world was too dirty for God to touch, Jesus became the very thing they thought was beneath Him. He became flesh and, by doing so, He showed the world that there is nothing wrong with being human.

   The problem was never about being human. The problem was that humanity was broken and Jesus came as a perfect, unbroken human because His purpose was to restore humanity to its original purpose. Far from seeing the body as a mere shell while the soul lives as the real us, Jesus showed that bodily existence is something so holy that even God can choose it for Himself.

   Far from teaching an eventual release from bodily existence, the Bible teaches “the resurrection of the body.” It’s true that our bodies are less than perfect right now. In fact, they can be downright bothersome! God’s goal, however, is not to do away with bodily existence but to restore it to its original intention. The Bible teaches that our bodies will be remade at the resurrection in such a way that all sickness and imperfections will be done away with but, in so doing, we will not stop being wholly and completely us.

   In eternity, you will still be you, but you will be a redeemed and perfected you. Jesus didn’t come to demolish humanity. He came to restore it to its original beauty.

   Ever since the fall of humankind, we have been like broken mirrors. We are still the image of God, but the image is cracked. Rather than throw away the mirror, His plan is to restore it so it will reflect its Maker perfectly again.

   God doesn’t want us to stop being human. He became fully human himself so we too can become fully human.

3. HE WAS BROKEN SO THAT OUR BROKENNESS COULD BE HEALED.

   As I said, the problem is not that we are human. The only problem is that we are broken.

   When God made man and woman, He made them perfect. The first people on this earth lived in a perfect world, and they lived in perfect relationship. In fact, every relationship they were made for was perfect: their relationship with God, their relationship with one another, their relationship with Creation and even their relationship with self. This, after all, was a key part to their being made in the image of God, the fact that they were capable of reflecting God’s love in relationships.

   Yet, when they rebelled against their God, the image became shattered and grotesque. Have you ever looked at yourself in a severely cracked mirror? The result is usually less than pleasing!

   Every relationship they were made for was then broken. Whereas they had walked in the garden with God, now they were separated from Him. Whereas they had lived in perfect relationship with each other, now their own sons were killing each other. Whereas they had named the animals and lived in a world where nature never fought back, now all of Creation seemed to fight back in the form of disease, destructive weather, dangerous wildlife, etc. And, whereas they lived in perfect relationship within themselves with no inward struggles, now they were torn apart on the inside.

   But Jesus came to fix what was broken. He would eventually allow Himself to be broken on the cross. His body would be pierced and He would experience the brokenness of relationship even with His Father as heaven fell silent and He cried out, “My God, my God why have you forsaken me?”

   It was our sin, our selfishness, our rebellion that caused the mirror to break. So he took our sin, our selfishness, our rebellion, every one of our failures and regrets upon Himself and allowed Himself to die in our place so that death could be defeated.

   As a little baby lay in a manger, nobody suspected it yet, but all this was part of the plan. God became a little baby, vulnerable in the arms of his mother, and — the moment he entered into this world — he entered into our brokenness so that one day we could enter into His perfect healing.



4. NOW HE WANTS TO WEAR OUR SHOES.

   The most amazing part of this Christmas message is that, after Jesus died for us and then rose again on the third day, the enfleshment of God didn’t stop there.

   When Jesus walked this earth as a man, God walked in human flesh in one pair of shoes. After He died and rose again, however, He sent His Spirit to live within all who believe in Him. Now God is in us. Now He wants to wear our shoes.

   Have you ever thought about that? If you have trusted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you carry Him wherever you go. He has chosen to visit our workplaces, our homes, our shopping centers, our movie theaters, our restaurants and streets… and He’s chosen to do it not by sending angels blowing trumpets but by sending us.

   Wherever you go, God goes with you.

   Are you allowing Him to demonstrate His love through you? You do that every time you give to the needy, every time you stand up for justice, every time you reach out in an act of love. In some mysterious way, the Bible teaches us that when we reflect God’s values in our lives and actions, God lives through us.

   Your hands are no longer just your hands. Your mouth is no longer just your mouth. Your feet are no longer just your feet.

   That’s part of the mystery of the Christmas message. We’re the only ones who worship a God with shoes on and, no matter how smelly your Nikes may be today, it’s your shoes He’s wearing.

Long after Christmas, may we remember that the birth of Jesus is not just some abstract idea or nice story. It’s a historical event, and it’s also a deeply personal one.

The One Who became human understands us humans better than anyone else in all of history. He became fully human so that we too can become fully human. He was broken so that our brokenness can be healed. And now He wants to wear our shoes.

In what ways will we let the Jesus who lives within us demonstrate His love to the world around us in the year to come? May the gifts we give, the words we say, the acts of service we offer, and the love we share reflect the life of the One Who lives within us today and forever.

My mother is not green

Imagine three people talking about their mother. A stranger wants them to describe her, so they each offer a description.

Person Number One says:

“My mum is green. She has antennae sticking out of her head, and her hair is yellow. She’s as big as a sumo wrestler and has muscles that Mr Universe would be proud of.”

Person Number Two says:

“She’s got very pale white skin and blonde hair. She’s very petite and short.”

Person Number Three says:

“She’s got dark skin and black hair. She’s tall and beautiful.”

Could all three of these people be correct in their descriptions of one person when their descriptions are so contradictory? Of course not. If she is a real human being, she can’t be both a giant green person with antennae and a petite blonde with pale skin at the same time.

You can believe whatever you want about who she is and what she looks like, but she will always be who she is regardless of what you believe about her or how you describe her.

Of course, you probably know that already. You wouldn’t describe your wife as green or purple unless she is (probably), and you would likely be hurt if you heard people describing you as somebody completely different than you really are, especially if they describe you in a way that you would consider to be insulting.

Yet so many of us treat the subject of God in the way the three people above talked about their mother. They say that whatever you believe about God is fine, as long as you’re sincere.

This belief defies logic, though. If we believe God is a myth, then of course we can paint Him however we want. But if God is REAL, as I sincerely believe He is, we need to realize that not everything that is believed about God can be true.

Some believe that Christ-followers are arrogant to suggest that there is only one God, but I don’t believe it is any more arrogant than it would be for me to suggest that I only have one mother. She is who she is, and what others believe about her doesn’t change reality.

I am on a quest to know the God Who Is, not just a god whom I wish existed. If I wanted to create my own religion, I could create any kind of “god” I wanted, but that god wouldn’t be REAL. I want to be careful, as much as possible, not to misrepresent God. That’s why I try to seek Him in the ways He’s revealed Himself and not to create God in my own image.

The problem with many religious people, Christians and non-Christians alike, is that they tend to create their “god” in their own image. If they are of a particular political persuasion, they assume that God is too. If they believe particular things about morality, life, culture, or whatever, they assume that God does too.

But God is Who He Is, not who we make Him.

I think we all have the tendency to project our own ideas or perceptions upon God, so this is something we all have to try to fight if we are going to begin to discover the God Who Is REAL.

Yet I will always continue my quest, not to describe God as I think God should be, but to discover more and more of Who God really Is.

How can I know the God Who Really Is?

God is infinite. That means He has no limits and no boundaries. God is bigger than me. How can I ever truly understand a mind that is infinitely bigger than mine? The fact is that I can’t. The best I can hope to do is to get the tip of the iceberg, to learn to know SOMETHING of Who this God is.

That isn’t cause for despair, however. Why? Because I believe I can know SOMETHING of God. In fact, not only can I know something ABOUT God, I can even KNOW God personally.

How, you may ask?

Well first of all…

1. I can know God through the things He has made.

   Romans 1:20 says:

   For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.

   I sincerely believe that any great masterpiece must have the hand of a master behind it. The Mona Lisa didn’t come into existence by accident, and neither did this beautiful and vast universe we live in. We can argue all we want as to HOW God created it, but I believe that no effect can exist without an ultimate Cause. And I believe God is that Cause.

   Furthermore, I believe all that is good and beautiful in this universe points to the Creator. Yes, I know there are a lot of things in this universe that have been messed up by humankind but, before we messed it up, it was all beautiful. I also believe God has a plan in place to make it all beautiful again one day.

   When I look at the masterpiece of a sunset, a snow-capped mountain, or a star-filled night, I believe it points to the Hand of the Creator. However, that alone only points to the idea that there IS a source and that this Source must be beautiful if He can create such beauty.

   How do I know anything more of Who this Source is?

2. I can know God through the Words He’s given us.

   The Bible says:

   All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.

   These words from the Bible are claiming that all the Bible comes from God in some way. This may seem like a ludicrous claim, but I sincerely believe it’s true. I believe that this book, which is really a library of 66 ancient books, has been somehow preserved through the centuries in better condition than any other books from the ancient world for a reason. People have tried to disprove it time and again, and yet it still remains the best selling book in the world. Instead of contradicting science, as some have unfortunately tried to claim, it is supported time and again by the discoveries of science and archeology. It is also supported by the reality of the millions of lives its words have changed.

   It tells us about One God, and I truly believe that the God it reveals is the One True God. Its words are often debated and misinterpreted, but I am dedicated to the study of these ancient texts because I believe that the God who inspired it is the God Who is Real, and I’m convinced that the God Who is revealed in its pages is the One Who has the power to rescue lives and restore all of Creation to its intended glory.

3. I can know God through His Son.

   Jesus said, in John 14:9, “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.” In other words, he says that if you’ve seen Jesus, you’ve seen God.

   Of course, none of us have SEEN Jesus either, but we learn about Him in the Bible. We learn about His plan to rescue us from all the junk in our lives and to give us a life that never ends. We learn about His radical love for every one of us, and if His words are true, we learn that He is God’s way of revealing Himself to the world. The more we learn about Jesus, the more we learn about Who God Really Is. Not some preacher’s idea of God, not the ramblings of some crazy son who talks about his mom being a green sumo-wrestler — but WHO HE IS IN REALITY.

   He also says that we can do more than know ABOUT Him. He teaches us that there is a way that we can know Him personally.

Of course, you don’t have to believe any of what I’m saying. What I suggest, though, is that you investigate the facts for yourself before you come to a conclusion. Don’t just listen to what somebody says ABOUT God, or what you think God is or should be like.

If God is real, then He will be real regardless of what you think about Him; just like my mom is real no matter what you choose to think about her.

But if you don’t investigate the facts for yourself and find out if what I’m saying is true, I fear that you will miss out on the most wonderful experience you could EVER have… the experience of KNOWING the God Who is real.

Won’t you check out the evidence? You might be surprised what you find!