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Pilgrim's Process

I have started my first venture into a major work of fiction.  I devoted a lot of time this summer to writing "Pilgrim's Process," which will be my Pilgrim's-Progress-type book.  I've gotten about twelve chapters in, but unfortunately life has gotten really busy lately, so the project is on hold for now.  We'll see when I get the opportunity to continue writing.  Here is a taste of what I have so far:

            “The Great Maker saved us, and he teaches us to obey his commands.”

* * *

The burning log crackled as the fire ate its way deeper into the wood.  The warmth of the fire was a welcome reprieve from the cool of the summer evening.  The children listened intently as the Patriarch told tales of the Great Maker.  The light reflected on their faces as they sat around the fire and participated in the ritual.  All of the children in Fidelis gathered each evening to hear tales of the past, of distant lands, and the Great Maker.

Pilgrim loved hearing the Patriarch tell stories.  He listened with the other children as the Patriarch continued to speak.

* * *

“The Great Maker created everything.  He created mankind.  He created the birds of the air and the fish of the sea.  He created the rocks and the tree.  The sun, the moon, and the clouds of the sky. 

“There was a time when the world was at peace.  Men worked together to do great things.  People did not need to lie, or cheat, or steal from one another.  People worked their farms and built great cities.  Everything they had came from the Great Maker, and they praised him for everything he gave.  He was their leader and they followed him.

“Generations were born, lived, and died.  Parents taught their children of the Great Maker’s goodness and provision.  And they in turn taught their children about the Great Maker.             

“But, children, there was a time when men decided that they wanted more.  They wanted power.  They wanted wealth.  They wanted control.  They wanted to be their own masters, and they began to plot and scheme.  They threw away the teachings of the Great Maker.  They invented weapons.   They built armies and marched against each other, claiming lordship over land and man.  They killed one another to get what they wanted.  They sold each other into slavery.  Darkness covered the land.”

“The Great Maker saw what was happening and anger welled up within him.  Not only did they turn away from him and reject what he had given, they had destroyed the order and beauty of his creation. 

“The Great Maker sent an army from the West to punish the evil people.  After what the people had done, he could have wiped them out entirely.”  The Patriarch smiled as the children looked on with eager interest.  “But the Great Maker sent his son to show us the way.  His son came and led the army that fought back the darkness, and restored light into the land so that we can live in peace.  If we follow him, peace will remain in our land.  Now children, it is time for you to go to bed.”

The children rose from their seats and went home.  Pilgrim thought about what he had been taught, and looked forward to dreaming about the Great Maker defeating his enemies and restoring peace.

 Chapter 2

Fifteen Years Later

“James, look out!”

            Pilgrim turned to see a sword swinging toward his head.  He raised his shield to block the blow from the attacker, and in one swift motion he plunged his own sword into the stomach of his assailant.

“Thanks, Peter!” Pilgrim acknowledged his friend from a distance who had just saved his life.  He took a moment to see what was happening around him.  The town was in chaos.  An army of Outsiders was attacking the city.  Houses were burning.  Women screaming.  Children crying. 

Why here?  Why now?  Pilgrim thought to himself.  Only an hour earlier, life was normal.  Fidelis was a peaceful community that was safe from the outside world.  Or so they thought.  The wall around the city had protected them in the past.  Not this time.  The Outsiders broke through the wall and poured into the city. 

Most of the army of Fidelis had accompanied the king in a search for food after the crop had failed.  The forces left in the city did not have enough strength to repel the invaders.  The bravest of the citizens had grabbed whatever weapons they could to defend the town.  The fortunate ones met the attackers with swords and knives, but the others grabbed farm tools, rocks, and anything metal that could be used to defend Fidelis.  Few of them were trained for battle.  They were cut down quickly.

Pilgrim had grabbed his sword and shield and joined the fray.  As one of the community hunters, he had learned how to handle himself in a fight.  Luckily for him, he had friends watching his back on the battlefield.

“What now, James?” Peter asked as he ran to join Pilgrim.  Loyal friends since childhood, the two of them worked together hunting in the forest for food.  Peter looked like he was ready to take on the world.  While most of the citizens were fleeing the city, Peter was wearing a leather helmet and leather breastplate.  He was equipped with a sword, shield, bow, and arrows.  Billows of smoke and ash rose from the buildings around them.

“Well, Pete, it’s time to save our city.”  Pilgrim and Peter ran toward the shouting and clanging of swords off in the distance.

* * *

The warriors of Fidelis fought with valor and honor that day in a battle that would be recounted through the ages.  Though the army had not been able to withstand the initial assault of the Outsiders, they were able to regroup along with several citizens to push back the Outsiders and retake the city.

Pilgrim and Peter fought side by side and vanquished many foes.  They were at the front line chasing the Outsiders from the city.  Pilgrim was about to continue the chase outside the walls of Fidelis when he was stopped by Commander Ravenswood, the head of the Fidelis Defense Force.

“James, that’s enough!” the Lieutenant called him from behind.  Weary soldiers who had been fighting minutes before gathered their breath.  Some sat to rest.  “We don’t know what their defensive position is outside these walls,”  Ravenswood explained,  “We don’t want to run into a trap.  We barely have enough men to protect this city, let alone to send out troops to chase these outsiders.”

Pilgrim watched the fleeing enemy through a gaping hole in the wall as they ran farther and farther into the distance, and disappeared into the forest.  This isn’t right.  Pilgrim thought.  Too many innocent people died today.  He thought about all of the children screaming, the people who were needlessly slaughtered at the hands of those monsters.  They have to pay for what they did.

“I know that you want revenge,” said Ravenswood, as if he knew what Pilgrim was thinking.  “We all do.  But getting ourselves killed won’t help the situation.  We are already vulnerable to another attack, and we can’t put ourselves in a more precarious situation.  I can’t send men out of the city walls to help you if the Outsiders turn around and counter attack.  I can’t let you go out there.”

Pilgrim looked back at the Lieutenant, and turned and scanned through the broken city wall at the mass of trees that hid the Outsiders.  He began to walk toward the break in the wall, intent on chasing the Outsiders into the forest.  He can’t tell me what to do.  I’m not in the army.  This city needs justice, and I know those woods.  He was about to pick up his pace and sprint toward the trees when he felt a heavy blow to the back of his head, and everything went black.

Reflections after saying goodbye to Mark Rymer and Glenn Musselman

The last month has been an emotionally charged roller coaster.  I love weddings where friends create new, Christ-centered lives together.  I love the celebration of birth and new life.  These are life events that make me smile.  At the other end of the spectrum, this month has been a somber reminder that life on earth is temporary, and you never know what will happen.

A couple of weeks ago, I was fortunate enough to say goodbye to my grandpa Glenn just hours before he passed away.  He had been in the nursing home for many years, and though it is hard to see him go, it is comforting to know that he lived a full life, he is no longer hindered by the physical handicaps brought on by his stroke, and he is in heaven in the presence of God now.

Losing Mark hit me like a ton of bricks.  The feeling is different.  Since I knew the end was near with my grandpa, I was able to spend time with him before the end.  There was peace with sending him on.  The last time I saw Mark was a few weeks ago when I was substitute teaching at Zion-Benton.  The class I was with went to music each day, and that day they were with Mark.  Mark, as always, had his kind and friendly spirit with the kids, and they watched Toy Story 3.  Tuesday morning, as far as I knew, everything was fine.  My mom let me know that Mark was gone, and just like that, my reality was changed.  There would be no more "What up, EB?" from down the hall at Zion-Benton, and no discussions about how life was going.

Life is finite.  In a sobering way, this reminder has been a constant on my dad's side of the family.  Mark is the third one in my generation to pass away.  My cousin Erin Ashmore, who was about a year older than me, passed away when I was in Junior High.  Heather Buntrock, my second cousin who was 4 years older than me, passed away while I was in college, Mark, another second cousin, was 8 years older than me.

It is this reality that splits my emotions.  The sadness in losing these two people who were formative in my life (Grandpa being very active in my life until the stroke, and Mark being my band director my senior year at Zion) will be there, because two family members where were a real part of my life are no longer there.  Even so, my emotional split doesn't relate to this sadness, but instead the split of emotion comes with the joy of salvation for those who are in Christ, and the overwhelming sadness and conviction of that need for those who are not.

Everything I know about Mark and Grandpa point to the conclusion that they had saving faith in Christ, and I will see them again in heaven.  I don't know their hearts, but God does, and I know their faith is in His hands.  This is a comforting reality for me.  I love the thought that I will see them again, but more important to me is that they get to worship God fully in His awesomeness.  I'm a little jealous of this (in a good way), and anticipate joining them someday.  When Grandpa died Philippians 1:21-23 was very meaningful for me.  "For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell.  I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better."  The reality is that they in a far better place then I am.  While it is sad to know they are gone, the combination of knowing that they are in a better place and knowing that those who are in Christ will join them is a source of joy and anticipation.

"I Will Rise" by Chris Tomlin has been a huge encouragement to me on this front:

Even so, the stark reality of death is that those who are not in Christ do not have this happy ending.  And death is final in these cases.  With Mark, and my other cousins, the reminder was that you never know when others are going to die, and that you don't know when you are going to die.  This gives me both the conviction to share the gospel with those who need it, and to be faithful with the limited time I have on earth.  Philippians 1 continues in verse 24: "But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith, so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again."  My hope and prayer is that my heart would be like Paul's, and that my life would point others toward Jesus Christ.

Our culture encourages ambiguity on faith issues.  The Bible isn't ambiguous.  For those who dismiss the Bible as false, I would encourage them to read and consider The Reason for God by Tim Keller, and/or listen to Pastor Mike Bullmore's sermon about the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Many people have a hard time embracing that the Bible is true.  If this is true of you, I would encourage you to consider that honestly exploring whether the Bible is true or not and whether Jesus Christ is who He says He is are a worthwhile investment of your time.  It might change your life.

If you do believe that the Bible is true, or are at least open to it, read through Romans.  In the meantime, consider the following from Scripture:

"None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God.  All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one."  - Romans 3:10-12

"for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." - Romans 3:23

"Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned" - Romans 5:12

"Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done.  And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done.  Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire." - Revelation 20:11-15

"For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." - Romans 5:6-9

"The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart" (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, "Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame." For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." - Romans 10:8-13

"There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. ⁵For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace." - Romans 8:1-6

"And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ— by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.  For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.  For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." - Ephesians 2:1-10

God's mission that was accomplished through Christ was that sinners had a way to a restored relationship with God and would be saved from eternal death into eternal life.  Side by side with this truth in the text is the clear message that those who don't place their faith in Christ will eternally perish.  This is sobering, but the clear message that through faith in the promises of God, through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ, we can have a restored relationship to God and receive the gift of eternal life with God.  Jesus gives life, both now and forevermore.  I hope that these passages are encouraging and thought provoking to you wherever you are.

I am sad to say goodbye to Mark and Grandpa.  But I trust God that I'll see them again, and I hope that their passing points others to Christ.

God is eternally faithful.  I was privileged to say goodbye to Grandpa at his funeral.  Mark, I'm glad I was your (second) cousin and you were my band director.  I'll miss the friendship we had, and I'll miss the opportunity to walk life with you in the future.  You sir, are the man.  I anticipate seeing you again in the presence of God as we worship Him and sing together in His choir.

I'll close my thoughts with "It is Well," a good reminder to me today.

Tim Keller on Generous Justice

I have spent a lot of time wrestling with the question of (1) what does God's justice entail? and (2) what response does that require from me?  I have read a few books on the subject and written a research paper on the topic, but in November Tim Keller published a book called Generous Justice.  I highly recommend it to everyone.  Yes, everyone.  It does a great job answering the questions I was asking, but also raising other questions as well.

Keller spoke at the Gospel Coalition Conference in Chicago this week, and I was fortunate enough to hear him speak on the topic Thursday night.  Unfortunately, the video/audio from that talk has not been posted yet.  Fortunately, he spoke on the topic a few years ago at another conference, and the video is posted on The Resurgence:



A few quotes from the book that I really liked:

“The rules for use of land in the Biblical laws challenge all major contemporary economic models.  They “suggest a sharp critique of 1) the statism that disregards the precious treasure of personal rootage, and 2) the untrammeled individualism which secures individuals at the expense of community."  (32)

“Jesus did not say that all this done for the poor was a means of getting salvation, but rather it was the sign that you already had salvation, that true, saving faith was already present.”  

“Before you can give this neighbor-love, you need to receive it.  Only if you see that you have been saved graciously by someone who owes you the opposite will you go out into the world looking to help absolutely anyone in need. Once we receive this ultimate, radical neighbor-love through Jesus, we can start to be the neighbors that the Bible calls us to be.”  (76-7)

3 Levels of involvement = Relief, Development, Social Reform (113)

"Don Carson writes that once we shed utopian dreams of producing a “redeemed culture,” we can look at history and acknowledge that it is possible to “improve and even transform some social structures.” (118)

End of the book:  

             On Judgment Day, don't say to the Lord, "When did we see you thirsty, naked, and captive?" Because the answer is--on the cross! There we see how far God was willing to go to identify with the oppressed of the world. And he was doing it all for us!

There Jesus, who deserved acquittal and freedom, got condemnation--so that we who deserve condemnation for our sins can receive acquittal. (Galatians 3:10-14; 2 Corinthians 5:21). This was the ultimate instance of God's identification... with the poor. He not only became one of the actually poor and marginalized, he stood in the place of all those of us in spiritual poverty and bankruptcy (Matthew 5:3) and paid our debt.

Now that is a thing of beauty. To take that into the center of your life and heart will make you one of the just.

 

 

Zambia Working in the Field...Great Moment.

During the Zambia trip, we worked hard.  And played hard.  At the same time.  Don't believe me?  Join me for one of the seminal two hour blocks of the entire trip:

A Look Back at Zambia 2007

When I was in college at Trinity, I was heavily exposed to the importance of social justice in the life of the Christian and the church body.  When I visited Zambia in 2007, I was exposed to a country that had huge social and economic issues.  In addition to being at the center of the AIDS crisis and a malaria epidemic, education in Zambia was not necessarily the ticket to success.  To place this comment in context, the United States is going through an economic crisis right now that for a time raised our unemployment to roughly 10%.  In Zambia 2007, only 10% of college graduates even got jobs.  There were scores of children living on the street because of necessity, or they had no parents.  The affect of aids on the culture was apparent, as the streets of Lusaka (the capital) were lined with people who were in their mid-to late 20s.  Seeing even one person who was as old as 50 was an aberration.

There are more things I could say that would describe the poor state of living within Zambia, but you get the idea.  Even so, I fell in love with Zambia.  Even amid the background of poverty, sickness, and death, the people we were with truly had joy and hope in Christ.  It was an awesome experience to worship with them on Sunday morning.  A small taste of that:

I loved seeing the ministries that worked with children, the AIDS clinics, and the hospice clinics.  I saw in a very practical sense that while the gospel that we are wretched creatures who cannot save ourselves from the judgment of God, and it is only through Christ's death and resurrection that we can have salvation through placing our faith upon him is the most important thing that could be given to the people in Zambia, there were many "felt needs" (physical needs) that needed to be addressed as well.  I couldn't help but feel a sense of compassion for them.

This was a huge week of learning, self-discovery, and reflection for me.  It was at this time that I realized that I wanted to add the component of working with the needs of people that extended beyond the preaching of the gospel.  I came away from that week wanting a better understanding of what God's Justice was, and how He wanted us to interact with society.  In Zambia, the preaching of the Gospel came with service and caring for the needs of people.  This just seemed right, and I wanted an understanding of whether this was a biblical approach, or something that just worked in Zambia because of the circumstances.

This week also threw me onto a different trajectory.  I felt totally inadequate to be involved in the realm of making a tangible difference in the social realm outside of personal contact with individuals.  The combination of wanting to learn something that would be helpful in this area and wanting to learn about justice was one of the strong factors that made me decide to pull out of seminary and was one of the significant factors in my decision to go to law school.

What have I learned?  That is a topic for another post.

Israel Blog #14: Food

The food in Israel is amazing.  With a steady diet of falafel, hummus, and pitas, we were ready to go all week.  I could have eaten only pitas with the different mixtures we dipped them in all week and I would have been happy.

All the options we had to dip the pitas.

We had really, really good chicken-stuffed figs at Eucalyptis in Jerusalem, outside the Old City.  I didn't get pictures, but I just found the recipe on the website.  If I find all of the ingredients I am going to attempt to be a cook.  (If you go to the Eucalyptis link, the Stuffed Figs are pictured on the right side).

Shawarma for lunch

The other restaurant that I really liked was Azura in Jerusalem.  It was an Iraqi restaurant, and it was really good.  We tried the dumpling soup, which was great, a cinnamon beef eggplant contraption, and an beef eggplant meal with a spicy red sauce that was really good.  Next time I go to Jerusalem, I'll make sure to check the local blogs to see what the best food places are.  (And then I'll talk to the people I know in Israel to see if they agree).

Falafel

The food was great.  I think I'll go by the Pita Shack a little bit more until I go back.