Internet, Iron Man, and Indebtedness

I get to write this blog post from the comfort of my desk in my dorm room. That shouldn't excite me that much, but let's just say it took going to the Tech Help desk again to get that rolling. Let me tell you, I didn't think it was possible to go anywhere with inferior wi-fi to that of my house. I was wrong.

Still, it has given me a greater appreciation for the internet in general. Knowing that much work was put in place by the Technology personnel to fix the internet connection on my computer has given me an appreciation for how I should use this particular benefit appropriately, and not waste time playing with my lanyard in front of an open blog post. The internet was worked for, and so I must take the advantage of it.

But this magical bit of internet I have here from the comfort of my desk is limited in comparison to some of the other gifts that have been worked for on my behalf. You know, there are many things that happen in life that change us directly and just make us have to respond in a different way.

For this internet's purpose, it is a small change in my life. I desire to be more responsible and not waste time looking at social media (I'm on a fast as of writing this anyway; it will be over by the time I publish it though). But for other gifts, it can be more significant of a change.

Take, for instance, the great hero Tony Stark. In the movie Iron Man. Mr. Stark is fatally injured and should very well die. Through the surgery of one Yinsen, Tony's life has been saved. Stark and Yinsen plan a daring escape from their imprisonment (by the way, they've been imprisoned), and in the process, Yinsen dies. His last words to Tony are simple.

"Don't waste it. Don't waste your life." 

Tony's life has been spared twice by the man Yinsen, and the last words seem to have an effect on Tony. He understands that he is greatly blessed, and responds accordingly. In an important point of the film, he tells Pepper simply,

"I shouldn't be alive... I'm not crazy, Pepper. I just finally know what I have to do. And I know in my heart that it's right."

I know the deepness of what I'm about to say is going to blow your mind, but here goes anyway. Jesus gave Himself to give us a blessing far greater than Tony's. Instead of having a chance at happiness in temporal life, Jesus died to give us guaranteed happiness for all eternity.

Tony responded to his blessing with a changed outlook and different behavior choices to pass on a better world to those around him. We as Christians should respond to our blessings with a different focus in life, and a strong desire and great boldness to better people's eternal (and temporal) situations.

But do we? Are we truly living lives that express gratitude to God for saving us? Are we trying to serve Him in all that we do? Or does our every moment become occupied with thoughts of work, fashion, culture, or community?

Not one of those four things I mentioned are bad, but my goodness is there more in life! I think we've all heard this quite clearly a gazillion times, but just think a moment. When I got my internet fixed, I set to work on getting tasks I needed to do done. When Tony's life was saved, he wasted no time turning his life around.

But do we react the same in response to our great blessing of eternal life? That's really all I want to challenge you with today. Look at your response to the almighty God's most gracious gift. Is it living a life of gratitude or do your actions say you just don't care?

I leave you with a quotation from C.T. Stubb,

"If Jesus Christ be God, and He died for me, there is nothing too big for me to do for Him." 

Trials and Persecution 6: Together for Good

Many Christians like to point to the truths included in Romans 8:28 in a time of trial.

"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose."

This verse is commonly used as encouragement to those suffering, that ultimately all of the persecution we have in our life will ultimately work to provide us with a happier, more fulfilled life. But this is not a proper interpretation of this verse.

Yes it is true that occasionally we will see suffering working in order to save us from further harm, but nowhere does this verse truly tell us that we are to receive a fulfilled and abundant life on earth. If we examine the rest of Scriptures (particularly the New Testament) we learn that we are to live our lives for the glory and honor of God, and that truly that is the only purpose we have in life.

Thus, when it says that all things work together for good, why do we start to selfishly think that this good is something that is good for us? Nowhere in Scripture does it guarantee that our lives will be pleasant. They certainly can be joyful despite what we go through. But we have to acknowledge that our lives will bring persecution if we are truly living for God. Remember the words of 2 Timothy 3:12,

"Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution."

That persecution is in my mind, a small price in order to please the Lord, but it is a price. Pleasing the Lord does not promise rewards in this life.

In this life. That one phrase highlights a few deeper problem in Christian culture in relation to this verse. Since when have we become so concerned with the rewards we can receive temporarily on Earth anyway? Shouldn't we be more focused upon eternal rewards?

Yes, our eternal life is presented purely on the basis of the works of Jesus and our faith in Him. But our works can have an impact on the rewards that we will receive in Heaven. For instance, in 2 Timothy 4:7-8, we read,

"I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing."

We are promised rewards throughout Scripture for our service to the Lord, but they are always promised in eternity. In this world, we will have tribulation. In this world, we might not have the most enjoyable time. But in the next, we will have rewards.

I know this isn't the popular thing to say. Perhaps it is because it is a depressing subject that nobody wants to hear about.

But if there is one thing the Bible is clear about, it is this - the end of Christianity, the reason Christ came and died, was for our eternal benefit and not our temporal one.

When we interpret Romans 8:28 to refer to our temporal gain, we have divorced Christian life from its entire purpose. We have started to gain the wrong perspective on how we are to live our lives. Our ultimate goal has become to store up treasures on Earth, and not in Heaven. But Matthew 6:19-33 admonishes us,

"Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness! No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? ... Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you."

So as we go through our suffering in today's society, we do have this consolation from Romans 8:28, all things work together for the Lord's and our eternal gain. That's still a pretty encouraging thought to me.

Continue to Trials and Persecution 7: Day of Reflection

The Tale of Two Wells

All throughout our lives, we seem to have the goal of happiness. Everything we do, we do in an attempt to make ourselves feel good and to satisfy a desire for happiness. But alas, nothing we can find in the world seems to satisfy any of these desires.

We may try to fill our lives with pleasures of everyday life,  but they will just leave us empty. We may try to fill our lives with distractions and work, but there will be times in which we must think on our state. We may try to fill our lives with helping others, a noble cause, but even that or other good works will not satisfy our desires.

Isaiah 55:2-3 says,

"Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness. Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David."

Indeed, why do we keep trying to buy waters at the well of the world that will never satisfy us? The Bible tells us that Jesus is the well of living water. This means, that when we "drink" from his words and teachings, we find a happiness that satisfies and satisfies forever. And the best part, it's free!

So why do we keep looking for satisfaction from the well of the world? Why don't we seek the Lord, and drink of the Living Well and truly be satisfied?