Soul Poet

(a short story)

by Mark Aikins

The famous poet lived three doors down from me long as I can remember. Gentle, meek, unassuming, smiling at life, Kaspar Salvador seemed born to capture souls with his pen.

The processes of his art--his genius--were little understood, I readily admit. But now, on the day of his burial, I take the time from some perhaps “more pressing” matters, to peruse my personal collection of his works.

Those elements of his style: his rhythms and rhymes, his bursts of sunlight and port holes into darkness, his bouts of melodrama and sprinklings of self-doubt--all the patches making up the quilt of his quality...what moderns would call Kaspar Salvador’s “voice,” have become the stuff of legend. The subject choice of his writing always focused all-but-exclusively on what he called “personal portraits” of people in his life. And, most remarkably--most oddly, in fact--each of those portraits, every solitary poem, was about someone he had outlived.

I ponder that mystery as I leaf through the booklets, the pamphlets, the clippings and the scraps of verse I have copied over the years as I’ve followed Salvador’s rise to world renown.

Here is a little piece about Charlie Gates, one of our mutual boyhood friends. Kaspar composed this at the age of seven and it was printed in the local paper at the time Charlie died of double pneumonia. The poem compares Charlie Gates to a leopard and an eagle and an iguana in various clever and surprising ways. It would still bring a smile to the face of the most jaded critic, but to my heart and mind, Charlie’s little soul was so carefully and lovingly packaged in that seven-lined masterpiece, I could even now imagine it breathing life back into his entombed remains.

Gertrude Castle was another early subject of his: a young, pretty sixth grade teacher Kaspar got to know far more intimately than others in her class. I recall the merciless teasing he got as the “teacher’s pet” and the “favor-hound” from his peers. He gave me a copy of her poem the year she left our school to get married. Ten years later he had it published, after her death in child birth. The editor of the magazine called it “extraordinary in its subtle audacity and charm.” I read it now with the scent of lavender and chalk dust in my mind, along with the clicking and swishing of Miss Castle’s willowy frame.

Kaspar had what must be described as a fascination for people, as if he were exploring, interpreting and enjoying them as both an observer and a participant in human life. This fascination extended well beyond those generally deemed “likeable.” I and others often warned him of the social and moral risks of pursuing certain ill-advised friendships. But, like Will Rogers, Kaspar seemed to “never meet a man (or woman) he didn’t like,” or, at least, seek to befriend.

“Stick” McNaughton is a case in point. Born Herman McNaughton, Jr., son of a local clergyman, “Stick” earned his nickname by growing unusually tall in grade school, and by wielding a heavy oak baton he kept cleverly concealed in his overalls. Classmates who made offhand remarks about his height, his name, or his boorish manner, would sooner or later feel his disfavor in the form of blows that raised painful and colorful welts while leaving no shattered bones behind. No amount of student, parental, or scholarly outcry could convince Reverend McNaughton that his son required correction.

By the time Stick finished school, the lad was a lost cause. Rumor had it that several teachers had offered him passing grades solely under threat of bodily harm, had they not complied with his demands. No one was much surprised when Stick shamed his family by opening a bookstore in town specializing in vile and pornographic materials. To all appearances, he reveled in his status as the most detested of men.

When Kaspar Salvador had the gall to invite Herman McNaughton, Jr. to a dinner party at a posh restaurant in a neighboring town, the other invitees--all prominent business owners--quietly declined to come. Herman haughtily arrived at the restaurant, ready to make a mockery of the occasion. But when he saw the meek little poet alone in the dining room, and himself the only guest, his heart was oddly broken. He and Kaspar ate and drank together, and talked far into the night.

The poem memorializing Stick McNaughton is one of Salvador’s most heart-rending and enigmatic works, plumbing the depths of the man’s spirit and flesh. Although the fire that claimed McNaughton’s life two years later was clearly accidental, it is highly ironic that the insurance settlement issuing from the disaster at Stick’s bookstore named his father’s church as the sole beneficiary.

Perhaps you are wondering about my own poetic portrait by this lover of people? As the world’s foremost authority on the life and work of Kaspar Salvador...as one who lived just down the lane from this genius and whose shadow daily crossed his path, is there, for me, a legacy to be treasured after he returns to dust and ashes?

This very question pricks my curiosity as I now close my desk and make my way past the old meetinghouse on this bright afternoon in May. A hand-lettered placard is tacked to the meeting-house door. It is an invitation from Salvador’s next of kin to enter the church hall and view some memorabilia of the dearly departed, including many yet-to-be-published materials of his. My interest is indeed piqued, and, it still lacking half and hour until the burial, I open the door and step in.

There is the familiar face, sporting the dark reddish mutton-chop sideburns and the fussily trimmed mustache. Depicted alongside various local and regional dignitaries, as well as notables such as Hemingway, Frost and Chesterton. And here are posted the poems that were gleaned fresh from his writer’s folio--each one a captured soul whose life had gone on ahead either to glory or to perdition...

...Jack Semple...Parker Jameson...Lois Robinson...Jeanette Baker...Mordecai Finch...Wanda Clay...but, wait! Those last three...they are still living, are they not? Three treasured souls that outlived the Master! But what of myself?

Alas, it is not to be. No, the postings have come to an end. The folio is empty and the inkwell is dry. I think of his long, fruitful, singular life--and of my own. I lived my life in such proximity to this man, this lover of souls, this ennobler of men. But never did I venture to know him...or, rather, to be known by him. By name, perhaps. By repute, certainly. By historical datum, profusely. But the doors between us, ever unlocked and unbarred and beckoning...those doors were never opened!

And here, by the graveside, in the hushed crowd of mourners and admirers, I stand with those bereft of Kaspar Salvador’s voice and perceptive pen, hearing only the haunting echo of another Lover of Souls: “I never knew you.”

Still, if Kaspar’s poems are to be believed, there are other lives, other worlds, other realities to be discovered beyond this one. Someday, somehow, in one of those faraway places, perhaps Salvador will make a poem out of me?

MNA
5/21/2017

(1250 words)

The Amazement of "ALL"

The word “all” appears in the Bible over 5,000 times. Here are just a few of the “alls” of the Scriptures:
Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the host of them, were finished. (Gen. 2:1)
And behold, I Myself am bringing floodwaters on the earth, to destroy from under heaven all flesh in which is the breath of life. (Gen. 6:17)
Suppose there were five less than the fifty righteous; would You destroy all of the city for lack of five? (Gen. 18:28)
And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt. (Gen. 41:41)
The fish that were in the river died, the river stank, and the Egyptians could not drink the water of the river. So there was blood throughout all the land of Egypt. (Ex. 7:21)
And it came to pass at midnight that the Lord struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the captive who was in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of livestock. (Ex. 12:29)
Then He said, “I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.” (Ex. 33:19)

I gave you just eight examples from just 2 books of the Bible. In those 2 books, Genesis and Exodus, “all” appears over 500 times. One of the most important things about God’s Word is its universal truth. Here are some major ways the word “all” applies to what we read in the Scriptures:

--The God of the Bible, who appears in the first verse of Genesis as the Creator, is the only God that is. He is the Creator and Sustainer of all that exists besides Himself.
--Therefore, all creation--every creature that exists--owes its love, worship, thanksgiving and service to the God of all.
--Our first parents, Adam and Eve, disobeyed the Lord, and because of their sin, God brought the curse of death and judgment upon all of their offspring--including you & me.
--Because God Himself is the Truth, all truth flows from Him. All the words of God are true, and therefore, all the words of the Bible are divine truth.
--The Scriptures are true for you and for me, they are true for all people, in all places, at all times, for all generations, through all of history, and to all eternity.
--The Bible declares that the Son of God--Jesus Christ--became the only Savior for all people. He claimed: “No one comes to the Father except through Me.”
--Those who turn from their sins and fully trust in God’s Son to save them, receive forgiveness and cleansing from all their sins. Jesus Christ paid for all their sins on the cross of Calvary 2,000 years ago. So, believers have no more payments to make for sin!
--That brings us to my main topic for this article: Our risen Savior Jesus reigns today, right now, in Heaven, and is in sovereign control over ALL THINGS.

Everyone knows that the Bible is all about Jesus--the people of Israel anticipated Him as their coming Messiah, the prophecies of the Old Testament foretold His coming, His ministry, His sacrifice and His everlasting kingdom. Then, the New Testament Gospels--Matthew, Mark, Luke and John--give the story of His incarnation, His life and ministry, His miracles and teaching, His betrayal and arrest, His trial and crucifixion, and then His resurrection and ascension.

But Jesus’ followers had their Master’s promise that the Holy Spirit would lead them into “all the truth” about Him. This was accomplished as Christ’s Apostles received direct revelation from the Son of God through the ministry of the Spirit--revelation that was written down by both the Gospel writers, and by the writers of the New Testament epistles. One of the most important of these letters to the churches was the book of Romans, authored by the Apostle Paul.

No other book of the Bible gives such a complete explanation of what makes the coming of Christ such good news for all people. And Paul himself was such an enthusiastic preacher of that gospel message for a very surprising reason: he started out as one of Christ’s biggest enemies!

The gospel is so amazing because it is good news for sinners--sinners like you and me, those guilty of the smallest sins and the biggest sins, those who admire Jesus and those who hate and despise Him, rich and poor sinners, foolish and wise sinners, young and old sinners, Jewish and Gentile sinners. All sinners in the world can receive Paul’s message as “good news”!

The good news Paul describes to the Christians in the church at Rome is all about receiving. When Paul was known as Saul of Tarsus, he was a Jewish Pharisee, committed to keeping God’s law as strictly as possible, and counting on his own strict obedience to make him acceptable in God’s eyes. His religion was based on doing, on offering, on giving something to the Lord that was demanded of him.

But when he finally met God’s Son on the road to Damascus, Saul found out that salvation from his sins was all about receiving. Jesus Christ had come to provide a free gift of forgiveness and perfect righteousness that is offered by grace and through faith alone. He discovered that all of his law-keeping put together could never earn the favor of a holy God. God is so high and holy and perfect, that no one’s obedience is good enough.

Isaiah 64:6 tells us that “all our righteous deeds are like filthy rags” in the eyes of the Lord! So, how many “filthy rags” would it take to make our holy Creator pleased with us--pleased enough with us to allow us into His perfect presence? Our only hope for salvation from God’s judgment would have to be based on His mercy and grace. We must trust in a God of mercy to save us.

So, Paul explains to the Roman believers--and to you and me--that “the righteous will live by faith” (Romans 1:17), that Christ offers us a “righteousness apart from the law” (3:21), that faith in Christ is “credited as righteousness” (4:22), that believers are identified with Christ so that “we too might walk in newness of life” (6:4), that our freedom from sin makes us “slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification” (6:19), that the Spirit of God dwells in us to help us in our weakness (8:26). All of these benefits are love-gifts of grace from our heavenly Father.

Of course, our faith in Jesus Christ doesn’t end as soon as we become Christians. The challenge and the power of living out our life in Christ requires that we go on trusting Him. Jesus’ ministry to His people didn’t end after He died and arose and ascended to His heavenly glory. The risen Lord Jesus is ruling and reigning on the throne of the universe. Romans 8:28 is one of the most reassuring verses in Paul’s entire epistle: “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”

For believers in Christ, faced with the weaknesses of our own fallible flesh, a fallen world full of persecution and temptations, and the craftiness of the devil and his fallen angels, Romans 8:28 is a source of strength, comfort and confidence. Our progress on the path to heaven doesn’t depend totally on our effort, our faithfulness, our strength of willpower. No, our Savior and King is always providing us with supernatural help. He is in control of all things. And He causes all things to work together for our benefit. The good purpose of making us like Jesus Himself!

Just think about it:
~ All of the circumstances of your birth, your family, your physical traits and talents,
~ All of the events of your past, your upbringing, your education, your victories & failures,
~ All of the relationships you’ve made, your spouse, your children, your friends & enemies,
~ All of the problems in your life, your disappointments, your diseases, your weaknesses,
~ All of the situations you worry about, your doubts, your fears, your joys & your sorrows,
~ All of the lessons you’ve learned, are learning, or have yet to learn,
~ All of the local, national, or world situations we read about or see in the media,
~ All of the decisions made by those who have authority over you, those who care about you or don’t care at all,

All things are under the control of your good God, Lord and Savior, who plans them for your good.

At the same time, you and I must keep in mind that knowing about Romans 8:28 and believing it are two different things. Many of God’s most precious promises are some of the most difficult to fully accept. The world, the devil, and our own weak flesh can cause us to doubt God’s sovereign control over life’s circumstances. When we doubt His loving power over all things, we can start to lose the peace, the joy, and the hope that sustain us through the storms and trials of life.

Believe me, Paul certainly understood that this earthly life is filled with storms and trials, especially for Christians. Chapter 8 of Romans is concerned with the sufferings and weaknesses that take place in our world. Paul writes that the whole creation is “groaning,” as if it is in labor, waiting to be delivered. You mothers know what the pains of labor are like. Paul goes on to say that we Christians have a “groaning” in our souls as well. It is a longing for our heavenly home, for the pure, beautiful, eternal state where we will leave all suffering behind, and dwell in the glorious presence of our Lord Jesus forever.

Mothers, when your baby is born, I’m told that the memory of your labor pains quickly fades away--there is such overwhelming joy and relief that your new child has arrived safe into the world, the agony of the delivery process all seems to have been worth the effort. In fact, isn’t it true that the joy is actually ALL THE GREATER because of the part you played in bringing the son or daughter into the world--painful though it was?

That is very much like the suffering we go through as believers. At times it is extremely hard to see the loving hand of a sovereign God at work in and through those difficult, painful trials. When we lose a job...when fire or violent weather strikes our property...when a loved one leaves...when our bodies grow tired and weak...when we get confused, depressed or frustrated…

All of those hardships, the Bible assures us, are the pains leading up to our DELIVERANCE into glory! And when we trust our heavenly Father to cause our pains and sufferings to “work together for good,” we are following the example of our Lord Jesus. Remember, HE took on our weak, limited human flesh when he became a man. HE experienced poverty, hunger, thirst and physical pain. HE suffered the loss of loved ones and the misunderstanding of his own people. HE was accused of being false, demonic and guilty of crimes he didn’t commit. HE was nailed to a terrible cross to pay for sins that were not his own!

Paul describes Jesus in Philippians 2: He “made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow.” All that Christ suffered as a man, led up to the glory that He received in Heaven from His Father--glory that will be His forever. Glory that you and I will share in when we see Him face to face!

Paul writes: “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us” (Rom. 8:18). Our sufferings are being worked by God together for our ultimate good. In fact, our sufferings make us more like our Savior, who suffered so much for us!

And think of the great scope of the “good” God is preparing for those who love Him! The pains and struggles of this life are only for that long: “this life.” But the glory and blessings of the life to come will NEVER END. The inheritance that awaits all of God’s children will outweigh this life’s sufferings so much, we will think it strange that we ever doubted or complained about them.

Think of the “good” God accomplishes through our hardships even IN this life: They cause us to pray more often and more fervently. They strengthen our faith as we lean on Christ. They increase our desire and expectation for Heaven. They make us more humble and less self-dependent. They give us more sympathy and compassion for others so we may comfort them. In other words, trials and sufferings make us more like Jesus. They sanctify us.

“Every human tie may perish; Friend to friend unfaithful prove;
Mothers cease their own to cherish; Heaven and earth at last remove;
But no changes Can attend Jehovah’s love.

In the furnace God may prove thee, Thence to bring thee forth more bright,
But can never cease to love thee; Thou art precious in His sight:
God is with thee, God, thine everlasting light.”

At the end of chapter 8 of Romans, Paul gives a frightful list of things that might conceivably make our Lord “cease to love” us. “Tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?” “In all these things, we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us” (v. 37).

All things work for our good,
We are more than conquerors over all that threatens us.
All that we suffer cannot be compared with the glories of Heaven.
Because God loves all those who are called according to His purpose,
And His love is eternal. It will outlast it ALL!

MNA
4/3/2017

What We're Worth

I’m a Christian, not a humanist. Humanists make the mistake of viewing human beings as “the measure of all things.” Although they would admit that nobody is perfect, humanists as a whole are atheistic in their outlook, and believe that humanity is ultimately perfectible in and of itself, needing no so-called divine assistance to someday achieve absolute utopia.

As a convinced Christian theist, however, I find it regrettable that so many of my fellow believers seem compelled to veer off the road of truth into the opposite ditch, and to be convinced that there is nothing good at all to say about humanity.

Men and women are fallen creatures. God made them in His own image. Good. Innocent. Able to choose the right. A blessed people whom He placed in a utopian environment. But Eve and Adam chose to break the rules. Break fellowship with God. Break their perfect lives into shattered fragments. Break their own innocent natures into a cracked mirror.

And, as every nightly newscast will remind us, our first parents passed this brokenness on to all of us. Sinful natures. Original sin. Radical corruption that affects every part of our beings and our lives. This is why the humanist dream of a godless utopia is forever out of reach.

But, you know, when I hear it said, or implied, that fallen human beings have nothing to offer to God apart from their sin and their brokenness, something in me cringes.

I recently heard a sermon that urged Christians to see unsaved people as more than just “sinners.” We must also see them as “sufferers”--victims of a fallen, troubled, diseased, sin-sick world. The preacher encouraged us to come alongside men and women in their need and their distress the way Jesus did. To resist the tendency to carp on their sinfulness and imply that their suffering was in just payment for God’s broken laws.

The preacher cited the three dubious “comforters” of Job, who tried to counsel and “fix” their suffering friend by urging him to repent of his hidden sins. In effect, all their long-winded platitudes accomplished was to push Job close to the edge of insanity, almost forcing him to call God’s justice into question, demanding an audience in which the Deity should explain Himself!

When I read the words of Scripture, however, I see humanity in an additional light: another dimension besides those of “sinner” and “sufferer.” The Bible also describes us as “salvageable.”

I want to be careful here. I’m not claiming that God has elected to save and redeem people based on some virtue of righteousness He sees in us. Both the psalmist and the apostle have rightly said, as they explained God’s view of man: “There is none righteous; no, not one.” Jesus Himself told one of his admirers: “There is only One who is good, that is God.”

But Jesus also told the Samaritan woman at the well of Sychar: “God seeks such worshipers, who worship Him in spirit and in truth.” If there is none righteous...and if no human being is good in His eyes, where is God going to find the worshipers He is seeking?

Obviously, He is looking on at least some human “sinners” and “sufferers” as “salvageable.” In other words, we humans have at least one thing to offer God besides our sin and our brokenness…

We are potential worshipers.

No, God doesn’t need our worship. He got along just wonderfully for all eternity past without it. And yet, for some mysterious, incomprehensible reason, He desired to create, permit the fall of, and then redeem through the saving work of His Son, a worshiping company of people like us!

For some strange, jaw-dropping reason, this will bring Him joy, glory, and satisfaction.

Not one of us has started out with even the faintest desire to “glorify God and enjoy Him forever.” In fact, we begin our lives totally self-centered and beating a path away from God with dust flying in our wake. But each of us bears the mark of our Creator’s image--cracked and warped as it might be. Each of us experiences God’s “common grace,” including a hunger for justice, an appreciation of beauty, an admiration for orderliness, among other things.

When post-diluvian people began building the Tower of Babel in Genesis 11, the Lord came down and “confused their language” so that they would scatter over the face of the earth. The explanation was very interesting: God said, “if they have begun to do this, nothing they propose to do will be withheld from them.” Obviously, a united mankind would have only enhanced and hastened their degeneration into more heinous sins.

Yet, along with that motive, I suspect another grudging implication: The god-like capability of humanity needed to be harnessed and channeled by a direct act of their Creator, or else it would have led to a situation similar to the pre-flood civilization. The one God decided had to be wiped out, save for Noah and company.

There is something grand about man. Even fallen man. David considered the vast, spangled heavens above and wondered aloud to God: “What is man, that You are mindful of him, or the son of man, that You visit him?” In all that vast expanse, why is it that its even vaster Creator would devote such attention to the human race?

Why is the sin of people so offensive to Him? Why would He create an eternal hell for those who refuse to repent, where their crimes will be dealt with through countless ages? Why would He send the Son of His eternal love to die for wrath-doomed sinners like me?

Not for anything He saw in me that deserved His mercy and grace…

But at least...at the very least...He saw in me a potential worshiper, did He not?

MNA

2/12/2017

(974 words)

Noncommittal

To sail through life in safety,
not giving more than you intend,
just keep your manner friendly,
but never seek to be a friend.

If you’d be highly thought of,
and loath to bear another’s grudge,
keep all your scruples hidden
and never dare their sins to judge.

You will avoid much trouble
and dodge the darts of grief and shame
if you take responsibility,
yet never, ever bear the blame.

You’ll never have to wonder
about which gaffes you're guilty of
if you refuse to render
your energies to this thing called “love.”

God bless the true spectator
who’ll watch the game with jaded eyes,
not fighting, yet defending
his royal right to criticize.

Be never branded “hypocrite”--
have endless freedom truth to search:
just leave the Book unopened,
and keep your path clear of the church.

To some, nothing is sacred...
aren’t they the ones who truly see
the senselessness of virtue?
the humor of absurdity?

Yes, keep your options open.
Be no man’s fool. Sharpen a wit.
Come, join the carefree legions
who’d rather perish, than commit.


MNA
2/2/2017

Living Debt-Free

I came into this world with certain obligations upon me. Though I didn’t know it, I started out life as a debtor. I owed my very existence to a sweet couple living in upstate New York. And beyond them, to the sovereign Creator of all things.

Nobody had to communicate this indebtedness to me; it became self-evident by way of culture, convention, conscience and common sense, that I owed a certain modicum of gratitude and obedient behavior to those who’d given me life itself, not to mention the many benefits that served to enhance that life.

What I specifically owed to God and to my parents is summed up in the two “greatest” commands that Jesus quoted in the New Testament: I owed them love. Of course, Jesus goes on to connect love to obedience--conformity to the moral law of the divine Lawgiver. I owed God my worship...my faithfulness...my reverence...my rest and labor. I owed Mom and Dad my honor and my compliance to their wise leadership. And, by extension, I owed the rest of humanity my cooperation with common codes of civic righteousness, as given by God.

Justice is a very simple concept, really. It’s a matter of each person, entity or institution receiving that which is owed to them. Justice is fairness. It is equity. It is a perfectly balanced scale where each party gets what is rightfully his.

But when I look at the previous description of my indebtedness to God, my parents, and society, I must honestly hang my head in shame. For I am a debtor who has regularly failed to pay my debts. I failed to love God and others as I was obligated to do. I failed to obey the laws of God, the instructions of my parents, and the rules laid out by governing authorities. I knowingly neglected, and even flagrantly violated, all of these requirements, often pretending to myself that I would never be called to account for these missing payments of debt.

Now, if the God of the universe was the jovial, permissive Santa Claus that many, if not most, claim to worship, I might be able to assume He would just look at the many failures in my record book of disobedience (non-loving behavior), and simply smile and chuckle warmly, saying, “Oh, well, boys will be boys...no real harm done,” and just look the other way.

But no, when it comes to our perfect, holy Lawgiver, rules are not made to be broken. When He created me, He gave me a purpose. And when I disobey, I defy that purpose. When He created me, He stamped me with His image. When I act rebelliously, I deface that image. When He created me, He communicated His commands to me in no uncertain terms. When I act like I didn’t hear--or couldn’t care less--I am inviting His wrath. God’s retribution against my SIN.

Sin is another kind of debt owed by the sinner. Actually, it is a kind of divine treatment God owes TO the sinner. Romans 6:23 tells me that “the wages of sin is death.” What I owe to God when I sin, amounts to me personally suffering under the punishment God owes me for my sin.

Do you see how debt defines my life--past, present and future?

My past amounts to a ledger of unpaid debts to God and to others: acts of obedience that I’ve consciously or unconsciously withheld and CAN NEVER MAKE UP FOR. The idea of doing meritorious deeds that would give me “extra credit” and repay those previously unpaid debts--such an idea is ludicrous, since any good deed I do from now on is one that I’m already obligated to do for its own sake!

My present amounts to a “to-do list” that I am by nature unable to fulfill. The sinful fleshly attitudes that inhabit my being are what led to the past unpayable debts to begin with, and that sinful flesh--those desires to please myself at all costs--is still active in my heart. So, I am morally unable to live up to those two “greatest” commands of Christ (love of God and neighbor), let alone the lesser commands that are every bit as binding on me.

My future amounts to a mounting sentence of death at the hands of an eternal, perfect Judge and Executioner. A God who “will by no means clear the guilty.” A King whose kingdom is a realm of perfect righteousness, to which no sin--and no sinful person--will ever be admitted. A Jailer whose prison house is prepared for all who owe Him the obedience they failed to render in this life. This debtor’s prison is called Hell.

There is hope, however, for hopeless debtors such as myself--and for YOU, my friend.

There is a way--ONE way--that a sinner can be considered righteous. ONE way that a hell-bound debtor can be declared “debt-free.”

One man lived up to all the obligations placed upon Him as a human being in this world. That man was Jesus of Nazareth. “Jesus” means “Savior.” And that is exactly what God’s Son was born here on earth to be.

The perfectly obedient, holy life that Jesus lived two millennia ago supplied a treasury of merit for all who would trust in Him alone for their salvation. This perfect record of merit is now available for every sinner who will leave their own life of sin behind and follow Christ.

Every debt of obedience the Christian owes is “paid up” in full by Christ’s life.

The atoning death of Jesus on the cross, bearing the guilt of His people’s sin, suffering the punishment from God that those sins deserved, pays the debt of wrath God owes to every sinful soul that will accept Christ’s sacrifice on their behalf.

Every debt of wrath God owes the Christian is “paid off” in full by Christ’s death.

The raising of Jesus from the dead vindicated Him as God’s Son and Heir to an eternal kingdom. The Holy Spirit sent to all believers to indwell them at conversion, gives them the divine power to grow in their moral faithfulness to God and others: their likeness to Christ.

The ongoing, present debt of obedience the Christian “owes,” has now become an offering of gratitude he or she gladly renders as a newborn child of the King of glory!

When the Lord Jesus had hung on the cross for six grueling hours, suffering the punishment of both God and men, He spoke the word “Tetelestai!” A commercial term similar to our expression: “Paid In Full.” He had come to accomplish salvation for His people. That was the meaning of His very name. On that cross, just before He breathed His last, He knew that his task was complete. The English Bible translates His words: “It is finished.”

The Christian has come to the humbling realization that the debt he or she owes can NEVER be repaid...except by the Lord Jesus Christ. The riches of His righteous life and substitutionary death are the Christian’s by faith.

I know, by the authority of His holy word, that I can rest my life--past and present and future--on my Savior’s finished work. By God’s grace, through the faith He gives me, I know that I am His and He is mine.

God so loved...by giving His Son. In Jesus Christ, I am now living DEBT-FREE!

MNA

1/1/2017

(1238 words)

Why You Hate God

Nothing is more common nowadays than “love” for God.

Please notice the quotation marks in the previous statement (“ “). The “love” that most people claim to possess for their Creator falls short of what I would call genuine love. In fact, the vast majority of “God-lovers” show by their words and actions that they are actually God-haters.

The words “God” and “love” are mighty important terms.

Jesus Christ affirmed that the greatest commandment in God’s law is: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.” Loving God with a person’s entire being is the most important duty of that person’s existence. Therefore, the failure to love Him with your entire being surely amounts to the most grievous of all sins.

Merely claiming to love God can be a very dangerous thing.

Both “love” and “God” are terms that have been cheapened, twisted, and emptied of meaning. The Bible stands alone (in my opinion, at least) in adequately--in fact, fully--defining both of those terms. There in the pages of Holy Scripture is the truth of who the true God is, and what true love means. That truth must be heard, read, understood, believed, and appropriated.

When it comes to loving God in truth, the doctrines of the Bible absolutely must come into play.

But unfortunately, this is the point at which most “God-lovers” lose their way. Either their ideas about God are inadequate or even untrue, or their definition of love is somehow deficient. People either pick and choose among the characteristics of the true God to create a supreme being they like, or else they reject the Biblical God completely. People assume that their church attendance on occasion, or their charitable work or contributions, amount to a kind of “love” that God should be very pleased with.

In point of fact, the “God” most people “love” is a being who is extremely easy to please.

This is because sinful, fallen men and women “create” gods who closely resemble themselves. You and I tend to be satisfied with a watery, anemic, fair-weather kind of love. And we tend to assume that the god we’ve created in our minds is equally satisfied with an on-again-off-again devotion from its worshipers. When confronted with the glorious, all-knowing, transcendent, sovereign, eternal God of the Scriptures, we tend to think, “Come on, now. God couldn’t be like that really. I like my version much better, thank you.”

The Bible asserts the alarming truth that humanity is fallen. “Fallen” in a spiritual sense. Fallen in our relationship toward God. Fallen in a way that affects every facet of our humanity. You and I are wayward from our Creator--especially in our minds.

We enter this world in a fallen state, with fallen minds. This is why there are seemingly brilliant thinkers in our society who claim not to believe in God at all. These thinkers open their windows on the same wondrous world of creation that Christians do. They look at all the beauty that exists, the order, the design, the absolute genius of the cosmos...and they reject the obvious fact that Someone beyond creation brought it all into being. This rejection of the obvious is a dishonest one. Every thinking person knows that nothing comes from nothing.

Fallen thinkers don’t want an omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient God to interfere with their self-centered, self-directed, self-satisfied world.

But fallen people are more than mere thinkers. People have feelings. They evaluate things not only in intellectual terms, but in aesthetic and moral terms as well. Our consciences are too active to allow us to dispense with God entirely. The fact that we are moral beings who interpret choices reveals that people realize that there is an ultimate standard of right and wrong. And an ultimate standard of judgment necessitates the existence of the ultimate Judge!

Scripture reveals that this ultimate Judge is not only a God to be feared, but is also a God of truth and love. The true God is a loving Being who expects--even demands--that His creatures love Him in return. Love Him with our whole being.

The Bible also declares that only one human being in all of history has done that. Jesus.

Fallen men and women withhold from God the love and honor and thanks and devotion He deserves. We do it by habit, by nature, by choice. Because we reject the truth God has clearly revealed about Himself, as well as what He teaches us about true love.

But God loved humanity so much that He sent the Lord Jesus to die for those who hated Him!

This God-man, Christ, rose from the grave and ascended to the Father’s right hand. He offers His grace, forgiveness and salvation--eternal life--for all who believe, trust and follow Him. Believers in Jesus Christ receive the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of adoption that cries out “Abba! Father!” The Spirit who connects us to Christ and enables us to love God and worship Him “in spirit and in truth.”

Jesus--God the Son--has loved the Father from the beginning. Perfectly. And trusting in Him as Savior and Lord is the one and only way you and I can hope to love God truly.

(869 words)

Guardians of Value

When God delivered the children of Israel from their centuries of slavery in Egypt, their first important destination was Mt. Sinai. There, in the presence of God’s holy, majestic glory, the sons of Abraham received His moral law. His Ten Commandments--do’s and don’ts which perfectly summarized the Lord’s expectations for them, and for all humanity.

The Ten Commandments are timeless. They are universal. They apply to all people, in all societies, cultures, and eras of history. They are unchangeable, simply because God Himself never changes.

The Ten Commandments are absolutes. They provide no exceptions. God is the only God. Idols are never permitted. Adultery is always wrong. So is stealing. So is giving a false testimony against your neighbor. God’s commands show us how perfectly holy God is. They also reveal how wicked the human heart can be. That’s your heart and mine.

But the Ten Commandments are also loving. Our Creator is a holy God, and He is also a God of love. God knows love, and He knows how to love His creatures. He loved the Israelites, and He loves you and me. That’s why God gave us His holy law. God intends for us to be holy-- happy and holy. King David wrote Psalm 119, a song that sings of his love for God’s laws, “O how I love your law--it is my meditation all day long!” David understood that God wants His children to be good children and to learn the goodness of their Father in Heaven!

There are things God wants us to treasure, to love, and to value; things that characterize Him, and His loving and faithful children. All these values are reflected and protected by His Ten Commandments. I want to take some time to name some of these, because they are truly Christ-like values. If we love the Lord Jesus Christ, who perfectly obeyed all of God’s commandments, we will be growing in our desire to be more like Him.

Commandment One: You shall have no other gods before Me.

The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of the Bible, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus--this supreme Being is the one and only true God. Jesus told the woman at the well, “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24). Faith is the first value I wish to point out to you today. Hebrews 11:6 tells us, “without faith it is impossible to please [God].” There is a new category on the polling lists, called the “nones.” Not “nuns” in the Roman Catholic sense, but people who, when asked what church they belong to, check off the box that says “none.”

How sad that so many people are losing faith. Faith in the Father above who created and loves and provides for and cares deeply for them! How can a person come to know and love and enjoy God, if they don’t even believe in His existence? This makes it all the more urgent for Christian people to share our faith. How often do you and I take time to strengthen our faith in God, so we’ll be willing and able to speak about Him to others, praise Him for His wonderful works, and tell the good news about His salvation through Christ?

Commandment Two: You shall not make for yourselves any graven image...to bow down and worship it.

True worship is the second value I want us to consider. Just as there are false gods and the true God, there is also false worship and true worship. Sinful men and women use their imaginations to dream up pictures of what they think God must be like. The Lord made it clear in His law that this is an evil and wrong thing to do. To worship the true God in a true manner is not a matter of imagining what He looks like--rather, it’s approaching Him with a heart of awe, praise and gratitude for who He is and what He has done.

While faith is a very important value to the Lord, true worship is also necessary to please Him. God is not a nebulous force or a remote, uninvolved Being. He is a Person who thinks and feels and loves and speaks to His creatures. He gave us His word to tell us clearly what He’s like and to instruct us in proper worship. Psalm 100 tells us, “Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise. Be thankful unto Him and bless His name. For the Lord is good.” A good God certainly deserves our thanks. He deserves for our worship to be true worship.

Commandment Three: You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.

This commandment reminds us of the important value of reverence. There are many who claim to be Christians today--who believe in the true God and even worship his true representative, Jesus Christ--and yet fail to revere Him. They treat Him as a buddy or “the man upstairs,” or they worship flippantly, with very little awe, or wonder, or what the Bible calls “the fear of the Lord.” But God wants His children to understand how great and awesome God truly is. So great and majestic and holy that even His name is to be considered unique and special.

When we mention God’s name, or the name of Jesus, God’s Son, even in casual conversation, we should do so with the utmost care and reverence. God is holy and so is His name. Everything connected with Him should be treated that way. In our age of comedy, irreverent humor, and crude joking, with people using fouler and more profane language, let God’s faithful children be known for their reverence, especially in the way we speak about the Savior whom we love: Jesus, who never uttered a coarse or irreverent word, who always spoke with grace and truth.

Commandment Four: Remember the Sabbath Day to keep it holy.

This commandment, of course, has to do with joining and attending a church that preaches Christ and believes His Word. But it also concerns rest and labor. God chose to engage in both of these valuable things, even though He had no need to do so! Think about it… God has no need of work to make Him feel useful, and never needed rest. Yet, He chose to create a universe, along with this delightful planet on which you and I dwell. He built something lovely and useful...then rested from His work. Then He ordered mankind to do likewise.

God is not simply interested in what you and I do… He also cares about what we are and what we shall become. By giving us a special day to rest from labor, devoting ourselves to listening and learning, praising and worshiping, meditating and appreciating our blessings, God means for us to become more like our Master. Jesus was a true human being who “grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man” (Luke 2:52). Let us do likewise, treasuring the blessing of fruitful labor, as well as the refreshment of rest and growth in God’s grace.

Commandment Five: Honor your father and your mother.

“Honor” is a word that many associate with the armed forces. They say that this or that soldier served and died with honor. To have honor is to treat things and people with the proper dignity and respect. It is born from a heart of gratitude--the heart of a person who has received gracious, valuable things from someone else that he didn’t necessarily deserve.

Our treatment of others is something God is very concerned about. One of the two most important commandments, according to Jesus, is “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” In other words, “treat him or her with the same honor and dignity you treat yourself with.” Of course, we learn this kind of love first in our homes as we grow up under the loving care of our parents. We can’t truly claim to love our parents unless we are honoring them. We’ve received our very lives from them, as well as from our Heavenly Father. To honor them is to merely pay back a debt we owe to them.

When you think about it, there are many, many people and groups and churches and other institutions which are worthy of our honor--which have helped and nurtured and made us what we are today. Hebrews 11 gives a roll call of people God considers worthy of honor because of their faith--their devoted trust in His promises. Those who take the time and effort to honor others, are being faithful to their honorable God.

Commandment Six: You shall not murder.

Faith...true worship...reverence...labor and rest...honor...LIFE!  We can see how these important values tie together and lead into one another. We are expected to worship, reverence, obey and honor the very One who, along with our father and mother, have given us life. And life itself is a most important value. The taking of an innocent life has always topped the list of the worst crimes imaginable. It is treated by God and by true society as a capital crime, punishable by the death sentence. But life and death are only an issue, remember, because of sin. “By one man,” the Bible says, “sin came into the world, and death by sin. And so death passed upon all men, because all sinned.”

When Adam and Eve disobeyed and ate the forbidden fruit, God could have carried out the sentence of death immediately, but He didn’t. Rather, he let the couple continue their physical lives for 900 more years! How kind of Him! God is kind and patient. He wants His image bearers to have every possible opportunity to repent and turn back to Him. This life we live on earth is a lot shorter now than it was for Adam and Eve, and yet, God has given us much more information about the life to come after this life ends!

We know now that death is not the end, and that our existence will be everlasting--either in a place of wonderful blessings, or one of unending suffering. With heaven and hell in the balance, each person must do all he or she can to make the best use of the opportunities God gives in this life. Never take this important value--this divine gift--for granted. Faithful children of God take grateful advantage of all the promises and opportunities God gives them… and they encourage others to do the same!

Commandment Seven: You shall not commit adultery.

The gift of marriage, like the gift of life, is a tremendously valuable treasure we should never take for granted. Marriage is meant to be a picture of God’s loyal, loving covenant with His people! And yet, so many people are using their sexual natures in ways that God never designed or approved of. The seventh commandment protects every person, as well as society, from physical, emotional, and spiritual devastation!

When we add impurity to a food or a drink, we say that it is “adulterated.” There are places in the world where the water is tainted and unfit to drink. It will make you sick. To treat a gift of God in a way that cheapens or pollutes or adulterates it, reveals a heart that is in rebellion against our kind and gracious Creator. God put us on planet earth as stewards of His good gifts. He wants us to “be fruitful and multiply, to fill the earth and subdue it,” as He said to Adam and Eve. If you and I want to honor Him and be faithful to His call, we will keep our lives, our marriages and our relationships as pure and pleasing to Him as we are able in a fallen world.

Commandment Eight: You shall not steal.

When we talk about marriage and family, we are talking about belonging. Ownership is a value that God is very concerned about. God owns everything that He created. That includes all of us in this room, this town, this country, this planet, this universe. “All things bright and beautiful, all creatures great and small, all things wise and wonderful, the Lord God made them all”--we all belong to Him! When you and I say that something, or somebody, is ours, we are saying that God is sharing His value of ownership with us. We can say we “own” things because we are owned by God.

Owning something is not a license to abuse or pollute or destroy the thing we own. God expects us to treat what we own with care and love and wisdom. So, then, ownership of property, or “ownership” of spouses and children within marriage, is not simply a right… but a responsibility. And a major part of that responsibility is agreeing to guard the ownership claims of other people. That is why stealing is wrong. Ownership is an attribute that God has shared with us as stewards of this earth. It is a valuable gift that enhances and gives meaning to our lives. And just like adultery spoils marriage, stealing denies and pollutes another of God’s gracious gifts to mankind.

Commandment Nine: You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

Notice how the commandments flow from one to the next. Murder is an attack on life. Adultery is an attack on marriage, the means of life. Stealing is an attack on ownership, which gives purpose to life. And now, perjury or lying under oath is an attack on truthfulness, which gives dignity to life. If I knowingly tell a lie about you, accusing you of a crime or a sin, I am attacking your reputation, your good name, perhaps even your freedom or your life! Sometimes, even a mere accusation is enough to spoil a person’s dignity in the eyes of others.

Part of Jesus’ ordeal during His trial and crucifixion, was the way He was falsely accused and ridiculed by those who wanted Him dead. The leaders and officials who were supposed to uphold justice and protect the innocent, were the very ones who lied about the Son of God. Ironically, when He stood before Pontius Pilate, Jesus told Him that He’d come into the world to testify to the truth, and all who believed the truth would accept His words. Pilate’s response? He asked “What is truth?” We live in a world where many around us are not only telling lie after lie, they are actually believing the biggest lie of all--that eternal life can be gained without trusting in the God of truth, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Commandment Ten: You shall not covet anything that is your neighbor’s.

Why do adulteries, murders, thefts and lies take place? All of them begin in the heart of a sinner. All of them begin with a sinful desire. When I look into my own heart, I can see many desires and longings that I wouldn’t mind telling you about. But honestly, I also see a great many thoughts, ideas, desires, that I would never want you to know.

Like the other prohibitions we’ve met in the Ten Commandments, the one against coveting is a protection against an attack. But it’s an attack on myself. Coveting is an attack against my own contentment. Against my own peace of mind. If I am eaten up by envy and jealousy because one of my neighbors has a better home, or a nicer car, or a more beautiful spouse, or a more important job, then what happens to my gratitude for all that God has given me and done for me? It is hard to remain thankful when I am resentful about the possessions of my neighbor.

But there’s an even more important point about this commandment. Unlike the other ones, this one has to do with something that no one except God can see or hear. It is a matter of the heart--of the spirit within a person. God has told us that “man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” In other words, life is more than earthly possessions and relationships and activities. Life is eternal and beyond this world. It flows from the very words of our Creator.

So, you can see that we’ve come full circle. This final commandment is a rule that forces me to look at my hidden heart and ask myself, “Am I longing after some other god or idol to fulfill me, rather than trusting in and worshiping and serving and enjoying to one true God?” This brings us back to Commandment One: You shall have no other gods before Me.

1. Faith in God
2. True Worship
3. Reverence
4. Labor and Rest
5. Honor
6. Life
7. Marriage
8. Ownership
9. Truthfulness
10. Contentment

God’s moral law is a strong protector to all of these incredible values. None of us has been faithful to keep that law perfectly, and that’s why all of us need a sinless, sin-bearing Savior: The Lord Jesus Christ, God’s Son, whose precious blood cleanses us from all sin.

MNA

11/21/2016