The Good Work

In my role as an elder in the church, there are some things I get to do and some things I have to do. Both happened recently.

A few weeks ago, my nephew was baptized and my sister asked if I would serve as the "assisting elder." The job isn't extensive. Basically, I lift the lid that covers the bowl of water; once the baptism is over, I lead a prayer for the child, family, and church. Baptism itself is a weighty thing, as the family vows to raise the child to love and serve God in order that he would come to faith in Christ. The church then vows to come alongside the family and help them in this. I'm honored my sister and brother-in-law asked me to be a part of this with their family.

In a Mirror Dimly

(Apologies to all both of my readers for a lack of posts!)

I had a beautiful experience yesterday evening. All three of my kids are taking piano lessons and my oldest is learning a version of Canon in D by Pachelbel. That piece is a favorite of mine, so I enjoy when he practices it.

But, right now he is still learning it, and is far from mastering it. He stumbles, hits many wrong notes, drops the left hand while working on the right, and the tempo is uneven. No concert hall would let him perform at this point. He himself is frustrated. You can see it on his face when he messes up and has to backtrack.

In spite of that, I loved it.

I loved it because I can hear that beautiful piece even through his fumbling and mistakes. I know what Canon in D is supposed to sound like, and even that little taste of what his effort can do brings me joy. It reminds me of the wonderful moment when I saw my bride march down the aisle toward me before we made our vows. That was nearly 20 years ago and I love her more now than in that moment, but that was the beginning. Of course I love a reminder of her and that day.

I also love it because I love him. Stephen is 13 and for fellow parents perhaps that's enough to have a sense of where he is in life right now. He is absolutely my son; introverted, computer gamer, math brain, sees issues in black and white, and sadly (for the rest of the family) has my sense of humor. He's probably going to be taller than me. And I love him dearly. Whatever he does has value to me because he is immeasurably valuable.

Our relationship with God is described in many ways, one of which is like a parent and child. We are told to pray to him as "our father in heaven." Yesterday evening, I had a glimpse of that. In spite of my fumbling, sin, and foolishness, God knows his great sovereign plan for creation and even uses my fumbling work to bring it about. He also knows me and loves me; he loves me enough to sacrifice his own son for me.

Brothers and sisters in Christ: you are loved dearly and your good works, though tarnished by our sin and foolishness in this life, do glorify your father in heaven. Plod on in the good you do now and look forward to an even better day.


For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. - I Corinthians 13:12

The Powerful Word

I think many Christians are familiar with the passage in Hebrews 4:12:

For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

Every now and then we get a reminder of this. I got one this morning. 

Deuteronomy 12:18 says

And you shall rejoice before the Lord your God in all that you undertake.

For some context, this verse is in the middle of a charge to the people of Israel to be faithful to take the land of Canaan and to worship in the place and manner God commanded. Specifically, it is in a passage about how the people are allowed to eat certain kinds of meat prepared in a certain way. Admittedly, this is a passage I am tempted to gloss over as these regulations don't apply in our day under the new covenant.

Now, for some context about me. I'm working through a plan to read the Bible in a year, which is looking more like two years given my current pace. That explains why I'm reading in Deuteronomy. Our family is also trying to sell our house and buy a new one in the area. I'm having a lot of anxiety over this. It's a huge decision and and awful lot of money, at least to me. This one part of a verse pointed to the "thoughts and intentions" of my heart. I wasn't rejoicing, but worrying. Quite a bit, actually.

I took two things away from this experience. One is a reminder that the systematic reading of God's word is indeed effective in our lives. You never know what verse may pierce through you, show you your life in a very uncomfortable light, and point you to God's way for our lives. I encourage you to participate in a plan for reading systematically through the Bible, even if you're on a multi-year plan to do so.

The second is I'm working on applying that verse and making an attitude change. This is the harder part, but I should rejoice in this undertaking of buying a house. It is a great blessing to possibly move out of our place to have some more room. I have so many other things to be grateful for, too. That is what I should think about and set my heart on.

Image Source: By Søren Niedziella from Denmark (Albion_Ljubljana_Medieval_Sword_16) [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

TBG: Easter Sunday

This issue of TBD is easy: Easter Sunday. For the christian, Easter reminds us of the best day ever. It reminds us that Jesus has conquered death. It reminds us that our wretched sins are indeed forgiven and atoned for. Overcoming death is the great proof Jesus gives us that all he said was true: he loves us deeply, he took the wrath of God in our place, has given us his righteousness, and has prepared a place for us after we die.

It is true. It is good. It is beautiful. Indeed the Gospel - the good news that though we are sinners, Jesus died to take that wrath on himself, and that mercy is to all who believe - is the core of Christianity, and is at the core of my life.

Image source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/emeryjl/520114756 used under the Creative Commons license

TBG: Answered Prayer

I'm starting a new series of posts that I hope will encourage you and myself. As my wife can tell you, I tend to be a pessimist (I prefer the term "realist") about life in general. Perhaps that explains why I'm amillenial in my eschatology. Anyway, I know my own nature is to dwell on failures and faults, but there is much good in the world God has made to be thankful for. Thus, I'm starting a series on Truth, Beauty, and Goodness or TBG for short. I hope to post about once a week on something that hits one or more of those categories to remind you (and myself) to rejoice and praise our God over those things.

For the first one, I want to share a brief story.