Psalm 128: Run It Well

Blessed are all who fear the Lord, who walk in obedience to him.

You will eat the fruit of your labor; blessings and prosperity will be yours.

Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house; your children will be like olive shoots around your table.

Yes, this will be the blessing for the man who fears the Lord.

May the Lord bless you from Zion; may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life.

May you live to see your children’s children—peace be on Israel. - Psalm 128

"You will eat the fruit of your labor...Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house." Sometimes I think that people want to live too loudly. They set their standard for success so high and then are disappointed when they don't turn out to be the superstar in their own drama. That's where they have placed their happiness and in their old age they are nursing the memories of their small victories and grudges trying to convince themselves that they have found IT...the think they were looking for. Our life isn't about our achieving success, it is about living well. "Enjoy life with your wife, whom you love, all the days of this meaningless life that God has given you under the sun—all your meaningless days. For this is your lot in life and in your toilsome labor under the sun." (Ecclesiastes 9:9) says Solomon and "...Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told you,"  says Paul. Life isn't about winning the race. Only one wins but those who run achieve the blessing if they finish well.  

Thats what this Psalm is setting out there: the really blessed people are the ones who live ordinary lives well in a land where they flourish. The phrase "May you" is the start of a blessing indicating how the Psalmist asks God in his grace to make the lives of those who are praying or singing this psalm. The blessed ones are the ones who get to do their job, love their wife, see their children grown and live long enough to see their children. It a reminder that this is the win--not finishing a project or becoming CEO-an what I should be aiming for.

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18: Sent On Ahead, Not Left Behind

Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage one another with these words. - 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

One of the most common questions that Christians ask is: "But what about them?"

"What about the pagans in Africa?"

"How much sin and they can still be forgiven?"

"Is there another way to God?"

These Christians aren't asking for themselves. They aren't the pagan. They aren't the ultra-sinful. They aren't seeking an alternate route to God. So why do they ask? I think that these are a round-about way for Christians to ask questions about the goodness of God without sounding like doubting heretics. 

In this passage, Paul answers another one of this type of question: "Are  those who died going to miss out on Jesus?" Obviously, none of the people reading this letter will have this happen because they are believers and they are still reading.

But even then, Paul takes a moment to reassure the people in the church: no one gets left behind. Some get sent on ahead but none get left behind. "And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage one another with these words." Sometimes we don't need the answer, but it is comforting to know that God has the answer.

1 Thessalonians 4:9-18: Faith Works

Now about your love for one another we do not need to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love each other. And in fact, you do love all of God’s family throughout Macedonia. Yet we urge you, brothers and sisters, to do so more and more, and to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.

Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage one another with these words. - 1 Thessalonians 4:9-18

Paul says there are two things that the Thessalonian church members need to focus on: love the members of God's family and the respect of outsiders. Then he goes on to tell them that they should not be worried about comes next, because "we will be with the Lord forever." 

For God's family, it is loving them, both near and far. Church was supposed to be an extended family, where each tried to help those in need, in the same city, in the nearby region (i.e. Macedonia) and around the world (Jerusalem, see Romans 15:26). This was not just money, but involved representatives from the churches involved in this to know how the money was being used (to support the struggling poor in Jerusalem, 2 Cor. 9:4) and give a glimpse of how churches could have an impact working together (2. Cor. 9:2, see also 1 Thess. 1:7-8) Their attitude (perseverance, obedience, joy) showed how faith worked. (1 Thess. 1:6) and that was a contagious example. 

For non church members, life was about winning respect. Being quiet, living out your life and being productive and contributing members of society. Respect was earned, not based on our standards but based on their standards. Again, it was about showing how faith worked.

 

 

Acts 16:9-10: Dig In, Eyes Up

During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them. - Acts 16:9-10

Sections of the Bible like this can be frustrating. Wouldn't it be nice to have dreams that gave clear directions? Three times in five verses, Paul is given direct, clear guidance: avoid Asia, avoid Bythnia, go to Macedonia. My dreams tend to be more mundane, more confusing and certainly never mention the Mediterranean.

• I wish my calling was clear. Instead I am left wondering whether my nudges from the Holy Spirit are genuine or else the result of my own wishful, selfish thinking. The upside is, I have to think about it a lot. 
• I wish my calling was dramatic. Instead I am usually guided to reconcile with my wife, support someone in need or even do a U-turn to help push a car into a parking lot.
• I wish my calling were more "spiritual". Paul got guidance to "preach the gospel to them". My calling usually brings me into tough work situations or caring about what my neighbor is telling me of his life.

I have concluded that the reason that I haven't heard God's voice or dreamed God's dream is not because I am blind or insensitive, but because-through a thousand hints and nudges-he is calling me to stay, grow, wait and watch. There seems to be this pattern: flourish where you are planted, but be ready to move when God moves. Sometimes, we are not digging in, sometimes we don't have our eyes up in expectation. There is a balance.

Jesus' parable in Luke 12 shows the foolish manager who was running the master's estate while hte master is on other business. This manager expects nothing will ever change-that the master will never return-and abuses his position of trust and "the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of." (vs. 46) The manager was not expecting anything to change, which led him (or her) to be lax in the day-to-day responsibilities.

When talking to the Thessalonian church, Paul tells believers who are caught up in God's next big move to settle down and flourish. The believers eyes were up-watchful for Christ's return-leading them to not dig in with their day-to-day calling. So Paul had to say:

...make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody. - 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12

So my calling is clear: I'm called to dig in and keep my eyes up. My calling is dramatic: but it is in the part of the story that occurs between chapters or after the period but before the start of the next sentence. My calling is spiritual-but I am not always the one with a speaking role. Sometimes I'm earning the respect and living God's hope and provoking questions by the way I follow Jesus.

Ecclesiastes 3:12-13: Ordinary, But Not Typical

I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live--that each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil—this is the gift of God. - Ecclesiastes 3:12-13

Be careful what you exalt. Believers showcase missionaries and pastors and full-time ministry workers as examples for others to imitate. I have known many truly godly men and women in these professions, whose humility and obedience to the call of God on their lives has challenged my faith. I have also known many truly godly men and women who have slugged it out through the day-to-day struggle of living the ordinary life of a Christ follower at work, church, home and neighborhood, and they stretch me.

So I cringe when the "best" growth path offered for Christian life is full-time ministry and anything else is somehow less. When has the church highlighted (apart from stay-at-home motherhood) the well-lived, ordinary life of the the insurance broker, the computer programmer, the secretary and the sanitation engineer as the exemplary Christian life-on par with pastor-ing or missionary-ing?

I am convinced that I am called to the ordinary life, but not the typical life. I'm married, own a house, have three kids, go to work each day and own a house. Not everyone's life, but not unusual. I am called to love my wife well, raise my kids to meet God and love others, excel at the work I'm given, enjoy the provision of God and live generously towards everyone God brings into my path. This isn't plan B for my life-what someone with a seminary degree does when they don't happen to make it into full-time ministry. I am convinced that this is God's plan A for me-no less blessed.

Listen to Paul's words the members of the church in Thessaloniki:

Yet we urge you, brothers and sisters, to do so more and more, and to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody. - 1 Thessalonians 4:10b-12

No call here for the revolutionary life. Rather the ordinary quiet life-industrious, respectable, excellent. Not typical. Not mediocre. Not the anxious and anger lives of their neighbors, but rather full of love and hopeful.

So what does it look like when the ordinary people show up? The same stuff happens, the same laughter erupts and tears flow, but the grace of God accompanies the people of God into each and changes its significance and thereby glorifies God.

1 Thessalonians 4: My Godly, Everyday Ambition

I work with my hands. Whether coding, writing specifications, commenting on company events, or managing projects by e-mail, a great deal of my productivity flows through thoughts expressed by the ten fingers God gave me. How is God's handiwork revealed in my hand-iwork?

There are many ways this core question gets worked out in specific job contexts, such as those discussed in the excellent book Faithful Is Successful: Notes to the Driven Pilgrim. One of the contributors (Bryan McT. McGraw) notes, "Sometimes, it seems to me, to fulfill one's vocation means working out what we are called to do wherever it is we get planted rather than always figuring out how we can re-plant ourselves elsewhere so as to do what we are 'really supposed to be doing.'"[1]

Nestled in our quest for the job that fits us is the ambition for our professional world to conform to us. When it doesn't, we cultivate the dissatisfaction of our heart rather than seeking God's ambition for us where we are. The Bible says a lot about work and how we do it, but one of my favorite overlooked verses deals with this topic:

Yet we urge you, brothers and sisters, to ... make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody. - 1 Thessalonians 4:10b-12

These verses set an ambitious course against our selfish tendencies. It is our habit to:

1. Attract attention ("lead a quiet life")
2. Spectate rather than participate ("mind your own business and work with your hands")
3. Do just enough to get by ("win the respect of outsiders") 
4. Repeat this pattern because it's easy ("will not be dependent on others").

These themes are repeated again at the end of both of Paul's letters to the Thessalonians (cf. 1 Thessalonians 5:12-14).

Sometimes, this ambition seems too tame. Not grand enough. Not spiritual enough. But I wonder if we are leaving many of God's appointed tasks undone or unappreciated because we consider them spiritual enough. A recent article from Western Seminary's blog said it this way:

Can I ask you, when was the last time you came to the end of your day and paused for just a minute or two, reflected back over the day and said, “That was a good day.”

Or, “That child who came to school today obviously upset, went home with a better attitude because I had a chance to chat with her.”

“That accounting mistake I found will save us thousands of dollars down the line. That was good.”

“That pallet of products I produced will be a blessing to folks as they purchase them and use them in their home. That’s good”.

“That couple who came into the hospital today to face the first of many cancer treatments, seemed comforted by the hope I was able to give them. That was very good.”

“Those new tires I installed on that lady’s car seemed to give her a peace of mind that had been in turmoil. That was good.”

“That kind word I spoke to that grumpy customer as he left brought a smile to his face. That was good.”

Were those really sacred acts? Even those done in a secular environment? Even though it wasn’t “church stuff?” Well, Jesus said they are. In Matthew 5:16 he said, “In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” Sounds sacred to me.[2]

My job, software engineering, is a sacred calling, because it puts the genius of God on display. He is shown in the steady, slow, quiet progress of transformation, in me and in my workplace. He is shown in increasing generosity and compassion in all aspects of my life because of God's provision to me. That is my ambition.

[1] Faithful Is Successful: Notes to the Driven Pilgrim, Grills, Lewis, Swamidass, 2014, p.21
[2] "God Is A Worker And I'm Made In His Image", Jim Hislop, 9 June 2014, http://www.westernseminary.edu/transformedblog/2014/06/09/god-is-a-worker-and-im-made-in-his-image , retrieved 15 February 2015

Colossians 3:24 Different Classes of Service

One day, a few years ago, this little sentence embedded in Paul's letter to the Colossians struck me: "It is the Lord Christ you are serving." (3:24b). Growing up in church as a kid, there always seemed to be a hierarchy of "service" to God. Upper class service was the work done by missionaries (always at the top of the heap), followed by pastors and then other full-time ministry workers and maybe full-time moms. Middle class service involved volunteering at church or in some para-church organization, and if you worked really hard you might be approaching upper class. Lower class service involved what people did in their jobs, which basically helped to make money to support the church and to give us an opportunity to evangelize our co-workers. Pastors never talked about kids growing up to be truck drivers, computer programmers or clinical biologists for God. No, if you were the good kids, you went for the pastorate or the foreign missionary life.

But this sentence, "It is the Lord Christ you are serving." gave me new perspective, because it comes right at the tail end of Paul's instructions to slaves:

Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to curry their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord. Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. - Colossians 3:22-24

Slaves had no choice in their lowly tasks. Slaves had no choice in their lowly position. They couldn't choose to become a missionary or a pastor (see Onesimus in the book of Philemon). But they had a choice of boss: Jesus. With that choice, they gained the dignity of a calling as high and as spiritual as any pastor or missionary, because they are obedient. With Jesus as boss, he could reassign them at any time to those roles, or he ask them to remain in their current role. The notion of calling is not reserved for full-time ministry positions (cf. 1 Corinthians 7) but rather to being exactly where God placed you. And being invested where God placed you is the essence of godly living.

Paul told believers what their ambition should be:

...make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody. (1 Thess. 4:11-12)

Don't worry, there is a balance here. I have every respect for those who are called into full-time ministry and I have seen first hand the necessity of God's hand in those professions. But I refuse to feel guilty or lower class because my gracious calling from Jesus is to write code and design firmware. Sermons and C++ code are both the product of grace and, as such, are from God (James 1:17).

There is more here, and a number of believers seem to be rediscovering the dignity of the other 24/6 portion of our lives before God. I'll share more later.