Jesus Christ Blog

What kind of God would create a being that might not even believe in him, if it isn’t a God who wants a relationship with him when he does.

“You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who haven’t seen me and believe anyway.” (John 20:29)

There is no question that there is an unseen world. The problem is, how far is it from midtown and how late is it open? – Woody Allen

Christians believe there is an unseen world that in some ways is more real than the one we see. Not that the one we see isn’t real, but the unseen world sometimes is thought of as being more important because of its permanence. The unseen one will last forever; this one is temporary, and yet for now, this temporary one is our reality.

That’s why I like Woody Allen’s question about how far the unseen world is from us and how late it stays open. In other words: How accessible is this unseen world? I think he may be on to something. As the saying goes: Some Christians are so heavenly minded, they’re of no earthly good.

The Gospel is all about caring for the real human needs of people, not just about getting them into heaven.

Suppose you see a brother or sister who needs food or clothing, and you say, “Well, goodbye and God bless you; stay warm and eat well,” but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do? So you see, it isn’t enough just to have faith. Faith that doesn’t show itself by good deeds is no faith at all – it is dead and useless. (James 2:17)

Jesus Christ brought the Good News of the Kingdom of heaven to earth, but he didn’t just touch down for a momentary appearance. Sometimes we forget he carried on a ministry here for three years. He connected with and did something about the suffering needs of the sick, dying, and mentally ill. Faith in action brings two worlds together.

The reality of heaven doesn’t make earth less real or less important. If our longing for heaven and focus on eternity is disengaging us from earth, we should probably check and see if we have the right heaven. If we have the right heaven, the opposite should happen. The more committed we are to heaven (the more we get an eternal perspective on life), the more deeply we will be committed to this life and those around us. Heaven brings meaning to earth, not an escape. It brings dignity to every human being, a reason for our existence and a desire to want to connect everyone to God.

When Jesus came, one of the first things he did was announce that the Good News of the Kingdom of heaven had come. Heaven is at hand. Let’s live in such a way as to show people like Mr. Allen that the unseen world is right around the corner, and what’s more, it stays open all night.

O God our help in ages past –

Our hope for years to come …

This is the time of year when we focus on God and thank him for getting us through another year. Remember Y2K? We were wondering if we’d survive the turnover to a new century. Hard to believe how long ago that was.

As the hymn writer has reminded us, God is both our help and our hope – two four-letter words that pretty much sum up what our worship is all about this time of year. First, we look back on how he has helped us in the past.

The greatest thing about this is you can go back as far as you want into the ages past and still find God there, thinking about you. “Long ago, even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes.” (Ephesians 1:4) (By the way, we are so thankful it says without fault “in his eyes,” because we have plenty of faults in other people’s eyes, including our own.) The point being, you can never go too far back to not have anyone to worship. (“In the beginning, God …”)

But right now, it would be good to focus on just this last year and think about how God has specifically helped us. What do you have now that you didn’t have a year ago? Think in terms of personal growth, experiences, and people God has blessed you with. How do you know God better than you did at this time a year ago? What more do you know about him? What more do you know about yourself that he has revealed to you? What struggle has he helped you overcome? Is there anyone in your life who wasn’t there a year ago that you can honestly thank God for? What has he helped you accomplish? How has he been faithful to you even when you have been faithless?

Now think about this next year and how God is our only true hope. Think of specifically where you need to apply some of that hope. What are you afraid of? Where are you feeling inadequate? What do you want to change, and how can God help you? How about your plans? How big do you want to make them? How far are you willing to stretch? For all of this, he is our hope. And for all that we will face this next year that we don’t know anything about right now, he is our hope. He will be enough.

“Our fears for today, our worries for tomorrow, and even the powers of hell can’t keep God’s love away.” (Romans 8:38)

I have a friend who heads up an inner city ministry to homeless teenagers. Some are runaways, some have been kicked out of their homes, and others prefer homelessness to the abuse they experience at home. In a Christmas letter once, he talked of stumbling onto a box of old photographs while doing some cleaning in his garage. “As the box emptied, forgotten memories instantly found their place on the walls and shelves in our home,” he wrote. “The photographs had always been with us, just not seen, and the memories they prompted had always been with us, just not recalled.”

Then he went on to tell of a unique gift from a professional photographer who was a supporter of their ministry. This man got the brilliant idea to volunteer a day of his time, bring his portrait studio equipment downtown, and transform the ministry’s coffee shop into a studio. There he offered free portraits for the street kids, many of whom took advantage of it. Knowing a little bit about this business and what that photographer could have received at market value for each of these portraits adds up to a very significant gift.

Some of us may not have money to give, but time and expertise wisely spent can be worth even more. In another similar instance, I know of a church that periodically offers free car tune-ups and oil changes in their parking lot for single moms on Saturday mornings. It was the brainchild of an auto mechanic in the church who wanted to share his expertise with someone in the community he knew needed it.

We need to be thinking not just of giving money to needy causes, but also of how we can serve with our time and our talents. Besides, services like this go way beyond their monetary value. Think of the value and self-worth that a good professional portrait must have bestowed upon these homeless kids. And then think of some of their estranged families who will receive a portrait full of memories in the mail – memories that might put that kid up on the shelf or wall of their home and maybe even help reunite a family.

In his conclusion, my friend wrote: “This season of joy as you get out your own camera, converting your living room into a portrait studio, cherish each person, remember them, and love them like you have never loved them before. And please, when you get the pictures back, take a moment and pray for our kids and for their families, who might be finding pictures stowed away in garages, that some day their lives could reconcile.”

I heard a good prayer recently:

Lord, please help me today. Put your arm around my shoulder and your hand over my mouth.

“He who guards his lips guards his soul, but he who speaks rashly will come to ruin.” Proverbs 13:3