January 2013 - Dialog

Drips and the Meaning of Life

I love the sound of the rain drumming on the cabin roof as our sailboat gently rocks on the bay. The oil lamps cast a golden glow and the stereo quietly fills the cabin with music. It’s a great time to recline on the settee and read a good book or just meditate. That is until I began hearing the inevitable drip.

It’s so quiet I’m tempted to ignore it. Just focus on the rain or the music. Don’t listen to the drip … drip … drip. Try to think about something else. Concentrate on the book, the story, happy memories; anything but the drip … drip … drip. It’s not like the boat is going to sink. It isn’t a flood pouring in. No canon ball has pierced our hull. It’s not like we hit a rock and I’ve got to spring into action and man the pumps. It’s just a … drip … drip … drip. It won’t work. I’ve got to hunt it down, mop up the mess and put an end to it. There will be no peace until the drip is silenced.

There are some questions in life that are like that too. We can pretend they don’t exist. We can try to drown them out or ignore them but eventually we have to face them.

“Why am I here?” “Is there anything after this life?” “Is this all there is?” “Does any body care?” These questions don’t seem as urgent as say taking out the trash or getting new tires put on your car but eventually you’ll have to face them. We don’t have the “pig’s advantage.” (Mr. Pig doesn’t realize he is piggy today and bacon tomorrow.) As human beings we must ask these questions.

My Humanist friends dismiss the questions as “irrelevant.” “So what? It doesn’t matter,” but I say that it does. If life has a purpose then it follows that for me to get the most out of life, I should discover that purpose.

“But life doesn’t have a purpose John!” my friend might object.

“And how do you know that? The very fact that we can ask the question hints that there is an answer.”

“Then I decide what the purpose is. I give my life meaning!” he shouts.

“That’s noble in a John-Waynish-kind-of-way but it sounds more like you’ve put your fingers in your ears and are trying to avoid the hard work of finding the answers.”

The sun has come out and the drips have gone away but that doesn’t mean I can ignore them. It’s time to get out the calk and seal the leaks. Likewise isn’t it time to begin the quest and discover the purpose in life? But, of course, if you are a Christian, you’re already a pilgrim and well on your way to the grand discovery.

raising the sail

Chuck the Blueprint

I can’t begin to tell you how many times my “guyness” has gotten me into trouble. I don’t need the instructions. It’s obvious, but then as I get deeper and deeper into the project, I begin sheepishly looking for the directions.

The same is true about church. Many people don’t feel the need to study the Bible. They just want to go by their instincts but how many of us have bought a used car or tried to put together a computer just on instincts? (I won’t ask for a show of hands.) If our feelings get us in trouble in life, why should we trust them for decisions with eternal consequences?

So, let’s be reasonable. If we are going to please God, we need to know what God desires. It is certainly possible for God to speak to each one of us (and many people claim God has spoken to them) but that hasn’t been my experience. In fact, I suspect the voices most of those people are listening to are just echoes of their imagination. I say that because the one thing we should expect of God is consistency. There are many reasons to believe the Bible is the Word of God (and we’ll talk about those reasons in the future) and so it is reasonable to compare what these people are saying with what God has already revealed. If there is a contradiction, I’m going to stay with the Scriptures.

Other people interpret the Scriptures in light of ecclesiastical traditions. Those traditions get modified periodically to meet present circumstances. It must feel very secure to have a thousand years of tradition supporting your beliefs but what if those traditions and interpretations are wrong? Obviously then tradition isn’t on the same footing as infallible Scripture.

I believe The Bible is the full and final revelation of God and as such is the rule for matters of faith and practice. Not only is it possible to understand the Bible, it is God’s will that we do so. To the extent people have strayed from the pattern, they must return to it.

“Honey, have you seen those instructions? This looks pretty complicated and I want to get it right!” (See 2 Timothy 1:13.)

Aristarchus

The mob was out of control. It flooded the hillside theater and spilled over onto the center stage. Gaius and Aristarchus were the focus of their wrath. Their clothes were torn. They were bruised and bleeding from having been dragged through the streets of Ephesus. Even if they had been great orators, it would have been futile to try and address the rioters.

Helpless, the Apostle Paul was nearby. He feared for the lives of his friends who had been captured by the mob as they searched for him. He felt responsible but he was powerless. One part of him desired to enter the theater and face down the crowd but his disciples and even the “Asiarchs” (the leading citizens of Ephesus) begged him not to go. There was nothing he could do but pray.

Meanwhile the pair endured the angry chants of the crowd. “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians! Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” they taunted. Gaius and Aristarchus recognized the irony as well as the futility of the mob’s refrain. Artemis was anything but great. She was simply a grotesque, multi-breasted idol carved from a single meteorite. Only the Ephesians’ credulous superstition had made her “great.” If the truth was really known, the only greatness was the profit the city merchants were making from the sale of religious souvenirs. They were the ones who had started this riot as a desperate measure to stem the tide of Christian converts.

Two hours passed. For two hours the crowd shouted in unison. For two hours the disciples watched. For two hours they listened to 20,000 people chant. For two hours the Christians prayed. Finally the mob had grown hoarse enough that the voice of reason prevailed. The city clerk dismissed the crowd and order was restored. Gaius and Aristarchus were freed.

Many years later, Aristarchus smiled as he recounted the most chilling episode of his life. That event had instilled a quiet confidence in the young Macedonian. Never again would he know fear in the same way as he had on that day. Even during the two weeks of storm at sea or the shipwreck that followed, he did not fear. He simply trusted in the God who had rescued him. Aristarchus had learned that God stands by people that stand by him.

IA2R — The Best Formula!

It’s a well-known secret that every year I try to learn something new. It started when I became a Christian at age fourteen and the kids at my school teased me about how “boring” Christians are. Even then, I instinctively knew the Christian life was supposed to be an “abundant life,” (John 10:10). I’ve learned soaring, sailing and scuba; skiing, spelunking and sewing; and that’s just those that start with the letter “s.” Some years are great and I continue to play and practice my newfound hobbies. (Jan calls them “obsessions.”) Other years are disastrous and I am happy to sell my golf clubs and fishing poles after 365 days.

This year Jan and I are learning about Ham Radio so I am deep in memorizing electronic formulas: P = IE, E=IR, P=E²/R and other fancy collages of letters. It is much easier to remember P=IE (and not just because I like “PIE”) than it is to remember, “Power in watts is equal to E (voltage) times I (current in amps).” I like “memory hooks.” They really help me remember a lot of information concisely.

After studying before bed, I went to sleep thinking about these things and woke up in the middle of the night with a new formula: IA2R. It may be the most important formula ever – even greater than E=MC²! It describes the four points of the Christian message: the Gospel. They are: Incarnation (I), Atonement (A), Reign (R), and Return (R).

I – Incarnation

God became a human being, just like us, to show us He understood our situation, to teach us how to be His children and to show us how to live.

A – Atonement

Jesus didn’t come to earth to bring “enlightenment” or “knowledge” or end world suffering. Jesus came to earth to die. His sacrifice took away our sins. Think about the cross as a bridge between heaven and earth for us.

R – Reign

Jesus the King, reigns in heaven today but that doesn’t mean he is far away. Jesus is near each one of us, cheering us on and providing us with power to live lives that please God. He sent his Holy Spirit to live in each of us and transform our bodies into the Temple of God.

R – Return

One day Jesus is coming back to take all of God’s children home. That is an event that we long for and it provides us with a sense of urgency to share the Good News with everyone.

Not a bad formula that IA2R!