Randy Alcorn's Blog, page 121

How Can Parents Encourage Kids to Own Their Faith as They Grow Up?

I’ve written before about the concerning trend of young people who’ve been raised in the church but are leaving it as they grow up. Many of us are acutely aware of the problem, but less certain about what parents can actually do to encourage kids to make their faith their own. That’s why I appreciated a recent article from blogger Trevin Wax, who summarizes some points from a new LifeWay Research study and suggests ways parents can invest in their children spiritually. Thanks, Trevin, for this helpful article. —Randy Alcorn

Parents, don’t take the biblical proverb “train up a child” and treat it like a promise, assuming that if you do everything right in your parenting, your children will turn out right. Proverbs are general truths, not specific promises. Besides, when we consider the overall context of the Bible, we see how counterproductive it is to try to train our kids to trust in God if what we model for them is that we trust in our training.

But even though we place our hope for our children in God, not in our training, we recognize how this proverb teaches us to take our training of children seriously—both where we guide them and also how we shepherd their hearts. And part of that shepherding and guidance includes the effect of a family’s culture.

A new LifeWay Research study commissioned by LifeWay Kids surveyed 2,000 Protestant and non-denominational churchgoers who attend church at least once a month and have adult children ages 18 to 30. The goal of the project was to discover what parenting practices were common in the families where young adults remained in the faith. What affected their moral and spiritual development? What factors stood out?

You might expect that family worship services would play a major part, or the simple habit of eating meals together around the table. Perhaps you’d expect a Christian school kid to be more likely to follow Jesus than a public school kid. Everyone has ideas about what practices are formative on children.

The research (compiled now in the new book Nothing Less) indicated that children who remained faithful as young adults (identifying as a Christian, sharing their faith, remaining in church, reading the Bible, and so on) grew up in homes where certain practices were present.

BIBLE READING

The biggest factor was Bible reading. Children who regularly read the Bible while they were growing up were more likely to have a vibrant spiritual life once they became adults. This statistic doesn’t surprise me. God’s Word is powerful. The Bible lays out the great story of our world and helps us interpret our lives and make decisions within the framework of a biblical worldview. Bible reading is a constant reminder that we live as followers of God. Our King has spoken. He reigns over us. We want to walk in his ways.

PRAYER AND SERVICE

Two more factors follow close behind: prayer and service in church. The practice of prayer did not specify whether it was private or corporate, before meals or before bedtime, or in the morning. But prayer was present.

Note that the church-related factor is about service, not just attendance. It wasn’t just that parents took their kids to church (where “professional clergy” could feed them spiritually), but that the children were included and integrated into the church through the avenue of service. The habit of serving others in the church and community likely formed these young adults in a way that kept them from identifying merely as a churchgoing “consumer,” but instead as a contributor to the building up of God’s people. Down the list a little, church mission trips show up, another indicator of the power of active service.

SINGING CHRISTIAN SONGS

What may surprise you is how high up on the list was this factor: listening primarily to Christian music. Christian contemporary music gets a bad rap these days, usually for being more inspirational than theological (although I believe this stereotype is not true across the board). Still, we shouldn’t dismiss the truth behind Augustine’s ancient observation that we sing the truth into our hearts. When we sing together as congregations and when we praise God on our own or sing songs that fortify our faith, we reinforce the beauty of our faith. (Also noteworthy was the finding lower on the list, that listening primarily to secular music was an indicator that negatively affected one’s spiritual life.)

CULTURE, NOT PROGRAMS

For decades now, many Christians have assumed that certain church programs are the key factors in a child’s spiritual development: Vacation Bible school, youth group activities, Sunday school, and so on. But the research study shows that these programs make an impact when they are connected to consistent habits of prayer, Bible reading, praise, and service. It’s the culture of the family and church, and that they integrate children and young people into spiritual disciplines, not the how that matters most.

Also notable is the impact of the parents’ example of reading Scripture, taking part in service projects, sharing their faith, and asking forgiveness after sinning. In other words, the more the repentant, joyful Christian life was modeled, the more likely children were to remain in the faith.

THE POWER OF IMITATION AND ENVIRONMENT

Research shouldn’t be misused in a way that transforms children into blank slates. There is no perfect parenting formula, and as I mentioned above, no one should assume there’s a surefire formula or method to bring about the result of a faithful kid. Don’t overestimate your power. The Holy Spirit saves, not you.

But don’t underestimate the Spirit’s power to work through the environment you create for your home either. Nothing Less shows that there’s power in faithful, Christian imitation. Children are more likely to repent and ask forgiveness when they’ve seen parents do so, and when they’ve experienced grace in human relationships. Children are more likely to aspire to faithful Christianity when they see joyful service as a virtue modeled in the home.

What kind of culture do we want in our homes and churches?

What space are we creating for our children to flourish?

How are we rooting our families in God’s Word?

How are we modeling prayer and repentance?

What does faithfulness look like in our home?

What are the songs that are in our hearts and on our lips?

How are we fulfilling the Great Commission?

Let’s ask these questions and beg God to work in us and through us, for his glory and our families’ good.

Photo: Pixabay

God’s Glory, Our Good

Satan has conned many people into a twisted view of the Christian life. We imagine that God calls us to do things that won’t be good for us, while the unbelievers are out there having all the fun. In fact, anything done for God’s glory also works for our good.

Choosing what is good and right will always be to our advantage. Wrongdoing sometimes appears to offer benefits, and doing right may seem to bring serious disadvantages. But in the long run, in this life and in the afterlife, God rewards His children’s right choices and confers consequences (not eternal punishment) for wrong ones. “A man reaps what he sows” (Galatians 6:7, NIV).

What is in God’s best interests is also in others’ best interests and in my best interests, not necessarily immediately but always in the end. Something that is good will be good for everyone, not good for God and bad for me, or good for me and bad for my neighbor. Each time I obey God, I’m doing what’s ultimately best for all.

Perspectives from God’s Word

“Who is the man who fears the Lord? Him will he instruct in the way that he should choose. His soul shall abide in well-being, and his offspring shall inherit the land” (Psalm 25:12–13).

“The simple are killed by their turning away, and the complacency of fools destroys them; but whoever listens to me will dwell secure and will be at ease, without dread of disaster” (Proverbs 1:32–33).

Perspectives from God’s People

“God has not created a universe where you must choose between your joy and his glory.” —John Piper

“Since man was made for the glory of God, he can never be what he was intended to be until his life is properly focused on the glory of God.… So God’s glory does not detract from man’s life. Instead, His glory is the sun around which the whole of life must revolve if there is to be the light and life of God in our experience.” —Sinclair Ferguson 

This blog is excerpted from the expanded edition of Randy’s book Seeing the Unseen. This 90-day devotional equips and inspires readers to live with a right view of eternity that can shape the way they think and live today. 

Photo by Hunter Bryant on Unsplash

Billy Graham, George Beverly Shea, and Cliff Barrows: Three Faithful Men All Now with Jesus

Last week, 99-year-old Billy Graham entered the presence of Jesus. (See Christianity Today’s special issue dedicated to him, as well as John Piper’s tribute.) In 1970, as a brand new Christian, I heard Billy Graham for the first time at a crusade in Portland, Oregon. His friend George Beverly Shea, the soloist who preceded Billy in song in Crusades over the span of nearly sixty years, sang How Great Thou Art. 

Over forty years later, in 2011, I was teaching on Heaven at The Cove, the Billy Graham Training Center in Asheville, North Carolina. To everyone’s surprise, including mine, just before I got up to speak they brought in George Beverly Shea in a wheelchair, along with his dear wife, shortly before his 103rd birthday. 

I looked around and realized that no one in the booth was videoing. Since I was in the front row ready to speak, I grabbed my phone and pressed record. Then I posted the two-minute video on YouTube. (Since then it’s had over 282,000 views.)

After George died at age 104, the Billy Graham Association contacted me and asked if they could use my video! Apparently it was the last time George sang publicly. Incredibly, over his lifetime he sang in person to a quarter of a billion people, more than anyone else in history.

I will never forget that powerful evening. It was the best lead-in to speaking I’ve ever had. When they wheeled him off the platform, I stopped the recording, wiped the tears from my eyes, and got up to speak on Heaven, with George Beverly Shea in the front row, eyes bright and smiling and nodding as I spoke. God was my primary audience, as always, but George was easily the second. And as you’ll see, he was incredibly delightful that night. 

Talking about the wonders of Heaven as I looked into the watery eyes of this man who I had heard sing How Great Thou Art as a new teenage believer was surreal. Afterward George said some kind words to me.

This is George on the stage that night, just before I spoke about Heaven:

This is the blog I wrote a few weeks after that experience, with links to two more videos I made of George that night.

At another place and time, Cliff Barrows, who was a longtime music and program director for the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, shared how he had been touched by my Heaven book. Of the three, Cliff died “young,” at age 93. Billy, George, and Cliff were inseparable in their Crusades for several decades. In a 2008 interview, Cliff said this about their partnership: “When God called us as a team, Bev Shea and Billy and myself, he called us to be faithful and to preach the Gospel, to go into all the world. He never put a termination point on it. And as long as we have the physical strength and the energy to do it, we feel we still need to be using what talent and gifts and strength we have to carry it out.”

That’s exactly what these faithful men did with the years God gave them.

Finally, here’s George Beverly Shea in his prime singing How Great Thou Art in 1969, the same year I came to faith in Christ:

I look forward to seeing George, Cliff, and Billy again in a far better world!

By the way, since criticism of Billy Graham has been brought up since his death, I want to note that of course many of us disagreed with various aspects of things he said and did. That comes with the territory. However, it is sad to see some of the undeserved, unfair, and mean-spirited criticism launched against him. For a response to one highly critical column on Billy Graham, check out Owen Strachan’s article Defending Billy: Responding to George Will’s Fierce Critique of Billy Graham.

Someone on my Facebook page made this comment: “I’m disappointed in the lack of discernment or intentional inconsistency of most processing Christians regarding Billy Graham. He taught you don’t need faith in Jesus to be saved as long as you do your best. Can you say works salvation? Can you say denial of the exclusivity of Christ? Can you say heresy? Why are we propping him up as the greatest preacher since John? John wouldn’t have even shaken the guy’s hand.”

This was my response: Have you actually listened to the messages of Billy Graham or read any of his books? What you say he said is not what I ever heard him say. “Do your best” and “works salvation”? That was not his message! I disagreed with Billy in various areas but in terms of the redemptive work of Christ and belief in him as the sole basis of salvation, not by works but by faith, I fully agree with him.

He Who Never Forsakes You Will Restore Your Soul

I love the psalms, because of their beauty and because the wide range of emotions they contain grant us permission to express to God our honest questions, doubts, griefs, and despair. My friend Jon Bloom, board chair and co-founder of Desiring God, wrote about two back-to-back psalms and the powerful message their proximity expresses. Thanks, Jon, for this wonderful article. —Randy Alcorn

King David wrote Psalm 22 and Psalm 23, but if we weren’t told that, we might not believe it. These two ancient songs of the faith are about as different as they could be. The first few verses of each psalm capture its tone. Here are the first two verses of Psalm 22:

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning? O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer, and by night, but I find no rest. (Psalm 22:1–2)

Now, read the first three verses of Psalm 23:

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. (Psalm 23:1–3)

In Psalm 22, David feels forsaken by an unresponsive God. In Psalm 23, David feels shepherded by an ever-attentive God. In Psalm 22, David’s soul is in restless agony. In Psalm 23, David’s soul is restored to a trust-fueled rest in the Good Shepherd’s care.

Two Perspectives on Reality

It is a beautiful and merciful providence that these two starkly different psalms are placed right next to each other, authored by the same person. Because they illustrate the diverse ways we experience the strange reality that is the life of faith in our world. If we live long enough, we all experience the occasional agonizing phenomenon of God’s apparent silence. And we all will also experience God’s kind restoration, peace, and protection. In fact, we eventually come to realize that what felt like abandonment was a merciful nearness and shepherding of a kind we hadn’t previously understood or perceived. We discover that God’s promises are infinitely more substantial and reliable than our perceptions.

But there’s an even deeper beauty and mercy in this poetic and thematic juxtaposition. Both psalms are messianic — they foreshadow and prophesy of Jesus. And in this profound realization, we discover that the order in which these psalms appear is no accident.

Jesus Was Forsaken

We know Psalm 22:1. Its first sentence is among the most famous in the Bible. For Jesus screamed them out while in unfathomable agony on the cross: Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani? (Matthew 27:46).

Stop and think over this sentence. Delve into it as deep as you can. You will never get to the bottom of it.

There was a moment, at the crux of history, when God was God-forsaken. To we who are not God, and who are only able to experience a few dimensions of reality, this is mysterious. But it was not a mystery; it was horrifyingly real. God the Son, the eternal delight of the Father, the radiance of the Father’s glory, the exact imprint of the Father’s nature, and the Father’s earthly visible image (Hebrews 1:3; Colossians 1:15) became in that incomprehensively dark moment unholy sin — our unholy sin (2 Corinthians 5:21). And while that moment lasted, the holy Father and the Holy Spirit could not abide the holy Son made unholy. God became the object of God’s wrath. A terrible, once-for-all-time fissure rent open between the Father and Son.

For Jesus, it was a truly hellish moment, which is why, in the words of R.C. Sproul, Jesus’s Psalm 22:1 scream “was the scream of the damned. For us.” Out of a love for us we have hardly begun to fathom, he took upon himself our damnable curse, becoming the propitiation for our sins (Galatians 3:13; 1 John 4:10). And he did it for us so that our curse would be eternally removed and we might become the objects of God’s eternal mercy, clothed forever with the holiness and righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21).

Psalm 22 does far more than give us words to pray during our seasons of spiritual desolation. It gives us words to grasp the desolation God the Son experienced to purchase our peace and restoration.

So That You Will Never Be Forsaken

This restoration, the great messianic restoration, is what made David sing for joy in Psalm 23. The Good Shepherd, having laid his life down for the sheep (John 10:11), gives his sheep eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will be able to snatch them out of his hand (John 10:28).

No one. Not “death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord,” the great Shepherd of the sheep — even though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death (Romans 8:38–39; Hebrews 13:20; Psalm 23:4).

Our great Shepherd has walked through this valley before us and for us. In this valley, he was stricken and afflicted, betrayed, beaten to a bloody pulp, and brutally crucified by evil. He was pierced for our transgressions and crushed for our iniquities (Isaiah 53:5). He was smitten and forsaken by God (Isaiah 53:4; Psalm 22:1).

And he did this for us so that he might say to us, “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5).

He Will Restore Your Soul

In this world we will have tribulation (John 16:33). The Bible’s portrayal of tribulation is realistically horrible. Psalm 22 is a description of David’s tribulation, and it was severe. But it is also a description of Jesus’s tribulation, which was infinitely more severe than David’s — or ours.

Do you feel forsaken by God? Jesus understands. He truly understands more than you know. We can feel forsaken by God; Jesus was forsaken by God. We feel lonely; Jesus was, for a horrible moment, truly alone. As our Great High Priest, he is able to sympathize with us in all our weaknesses, since he was tempted in every way that we are, yet without sin (Hebrews 4:15).

But Jesus does far more than sympathize with us. As our great sacrificial Lamb, he atoned for every sin we commit in all our weak, faithless stumbling, removing our curse forever by becoming our curse. And as our great Shepherd, he is leading us through every tribulation — no matter how severe — to eternal restoration.

That is the promise of Psalm 23, purchased by the price of Psalm 22: your Good Shepherd will restore your soul forever. He was forsaken by God, scorned and mocked by men, and his hands and feet were pierced (Psalm 22:1, 6–7, 16) for your sake. So that he could guide you through every evil valley, honor you before every evil enemy, pursue you with goodness and mercy every day of your earthly life, and bring you to live with him in his house forever (Psalm 23:4–6).

Psalm 22 may be your song for a brief night, but Psalm 23 will be your song for an eternal morning (Psalm 30:5).

Photo by Trang Ta on Unsplash

When Weakness and Limitations Make You Feel You Don’t Have Much to Offer

Back when I started my blog, I recommended the excellent book Do Hard Things by Alex and Brett Harris, who are both Christ-centered young men of character and vision. In the years since the book’s publication, the brothers have gone to college, pursued career paths, buried their dear mother Sono, and married—Alex to Courtney and Brett to Ana.

Alex graduated from Harvard Law School and is an associate at Bartlit Beck Herman Palenchar & Scott. Brett is now the co-owner of theyoungwriter.com, which provides ongoing mentorship and support for young writers. (Check out their free Young Writers Guidebook.) 

A few years ago, Brett’s wife Ana was diagnosed with late stage Lyme Disease. Life has been extremely difficult for them, but I’ve been touched by their faith in Jesus and commitment to each other throughout their trials.

Here’s more about Ana’s story:

“I was newly married and pursuing a career in ballet when my life took a devastating turn. I fell severely ill and was diagnosed with late stage Lyme Disease in 2012. In early 2017, I discovered that toxic mold was also playing a big role in my illness. I became so sensitized to mold that my dear husband and I were forced to leave our home and belongings in search of a place with cleaner air for me to breathe. Our search landed us in the middle of the desert, living in a tent with next to no camping experience. After six months of camping and strict mold avoidance, I recovered so much of my health that we were able to move into an apartment in South Dakota. I’m continuing to heal in leaps and bounds.”

You can read a longer version of her story on her blog, where she writes regularly. Ana recently shared this post, and I was very touched by it and asked her permission to share it here. —Randy Alcorn

As you all know, these last two months have been a bit more difficult for me health-wise. One night, when I was feeling particularly sad and discouraged I confided in Brett, “I’m scared that God isn’t going to say, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant,’ when I get to Heaven. I feel like I’m not doing anything. I’m too sick to serve God and people. I’m not contributing anything to the kingdom.”

This wasn’t the first time I’ve battled such discouragement. It was even worse when I was wasting away in bed for months that turned into years. I was so sick that I couldn’t handle most contact with other human beings. At times all I could think about was how to get relief from the pain. I certainly wasn’t serving anyone. Worse than that, my sickness was a huge drain on my husband and family. I felt like I was a burden and my life was pointless.

I think most chronic illness sufferers can relate. And I think even healthy people can feel limited and useless for other reasons. So, I wanted to share with you a story from the Bible that has reassured me during those painful moments of discouragement.

And he [Jesus] sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums. And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which make a penny. And he called his disciples to him and said to them, “Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.” —Mark 12:41-44

Take heart friends, you may have less energy and health to work with but you can still give what little you can. And in the eyes of Jesus, your feeble expression of gratitude to your caregivers can be more significant than someone else’s founding a non-profit. Just give what you have to give.

The sick mom heating up canned soup for her family in the microwave may be giving more than the mom who is cooking an all organic meal from scratch.

The sick wife who takes three hours to write a simple birthday card in between waves of pain may be giving more than the healthy wife who organizes a big birthday party.

The sick friend who replies to a text message when her head is pounding and she’s trying not to vomit may be giving more than the healthy one who invites a friend over for dinner.

The sick believer who fights to concentrate enough to say a two sentence prayer for a person in need may be giving more than the healthy ones who are leading bible studies and starting ministries.

The people we love may not always realize this, but we can rest assured that Christ is watching and he knows. He knows our hearts. He knows that what a suffering person has to give looks different than what a healthy person has to give.

And He’s a God who counts two copper coins a priceless gift.

Check out Ana’s blog, where she offers a free PDF of her favorite resources for suffering souls.

If you’d like to read more from Randy related to the subject of suffering, see his book If God Is Good, as well as the devotional 90 Days of God’s Goodness and book The Goodness of God (a specially focused condensation of If God Is Good, which also includes additional material). Many people have also handed out the If God Is Good booklets.

Photo by Natalie Collins on Unsplash

Don’t Be Afraid of Trying and Failing

I’ve written about quarterback Nick Foles on my blog. He’s a Christ-loving young man who millions of people across the country celebrated when the Eagles won the Super Bowl earlier this month, and Nick was named the MVP.

Nick was an early success in the NFL, followed by injury and being traded and becoming a backup. Most of us aren’t professional athletes, but career disappointments and personal failures in family relationships and whatever we do are just some of the many ways we become disillusioned.

Listen to Nick answer a question at a press conference, where he shares about how past failures have shaped him as a person. Notice how he speaks of his faith and family, and affirms Carson Wentz, the Eagles starting quarterback, who Nick replaced when Carson was injured. Nick talks about failure but in the process models how to handle success with humility and perspective.

Nick says, “Failure’s a part of life. It’s a part of building character and growing. Without failure, who would you be? I wouldn’t be up here if I hadn’t fallen thousands of times and made mistakes. …If something is going on in your life and you’re struggling, embrace it. Because you’re growing.”

It may seem ironic to be talking about failure in the life of an NFL player. To even make it to the NFL is success beyond the dreams of most college players, who themselves are in a small minority to have made it that far. So you may think, “You’re still an elite and highly paid athlete, so you can’t be a failure. Now my life has been full of failures you can’t relate to.”

But this neglects to recognize that as human beings, and Christ-followers, we are all far more alike than different. Athletes and celebrities are people with dreams and disappointments, successes and failures, just like the rest of us. One of the ironies of life is the relationship of expectations to our contentment. One person can be thrilled at finishing in the middle of the pack in a local 10K. Another can be devastated at “only” getting the silver medal at the Olympics.

All of us want to succeed more than we do at any level, and our experience of a sense of failure is equally real regardless of that level. You can make it to the NFL, a dream that very few realize. But if your dream is to be a starter, being a backup seems a failure. If you are a starter and your goal is the playoffs, and it’s everyone’s goal, not going there seems a failure. If the only definition of success is to win the Super Bowl, then every year every member of 31 or the 32 NFL teams will be a failure. And the winners’ success will be short-lived, because another Super Bowl is coming, and relatively few will enjoy the win.

Isn’t that true of all of us in our own lives? One person’s success is another person’s failure. If your dream is to be a nurse and you become one, you’re a success. But if your dream is to be a physician and you are a nurse, you may think yourself a failure. You may want to be the best mom in the world but you know Super-Moms and you look at them and think you’re a failure. It’s all relative, and it’s all relevant to the way we all think.

We need to recognize our limits and live our lives out in front of God, the Audience of One, seeking to honor Him and not trying to please people and live up to their expectations. And we need to adjust our own expectations as well. There is always a better athlete, a better writer, a better student, a better pastor, husband, mom, teacher, carpenter, artist or musician. Always. And if you really are the best in the world, it won’t be for long. So if that’s the source of your identity and contentment, you’ll be a miserable person.

The type of failure we’re discussing here isn’t moral failure, but the kind we experience when we don’t succeed in what we’re trying to accomplish. Of course, God can and does work through our sinful failures, when we repent and entrust ourselves to Him. In his article Being a Loser and the Freedom to Fail, Ed Welch includes a helpful differentiation between moral failure and failure-because-we-are-human.

G.V. Wigram wrote, “When people fail, we are inclined to find fault with them, but if you look more closely, you will find that God had some particular truth for them to learn, which the trouble they are in is to teach them.”

I too have experienced the refining power of failure. When I was sued by abortion clinics I had to give up my job as a pastor, and that was kind of a career failure. When I became insulin-dependent, I experienced a health failure. And a few years ago, I had some big challenges with a writing project, and God taught me a lot through it, though it was very difficult. When we succeed all the time, we don’t trust. But when we fail, we draw our strength more from God, because we sense our deeper need for Him. Regardless of our success or failure, He most values our heart of dependence on Him.

Ed Welch writes, “The freedom we have in Christ has a few different facets. One is that we are not judged by the world’s standards of success and failure. Instead, we have the freedom to be human, which means that when we fail, and we will every day, we know that Jesus is the head of this new world order, not us, and we hope to one day realize that there are more important matters, such as boasting in what Jesus has done.”

As believers, we don’t have to live under the tyranny of self-doubt. Our fear of rejection can diminish, and our fear of failure can dissipate, because even when we fail, we know we are still loved. Furthermore, we know that even our failure is a character-building tool in the hands the Master Craftsman, who is not yet finished with us. 

“My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart, my portion forever” (Psalm 73:26).

“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing” (James 1:2–4). 

Photo by Ashley Knedler on Unsplash

Will We Have Our Own Homes in Heaven?

Perhaps you’re familiar with Christ’s promise in John 14: “In my Father’s house are many mansions. . . . I go to prepare a place for you” (v. 2, KJV). The Vulgate, the Latin Bible, used the word mansiones in that verse, and the King James Version followed by using mansions. Unfortunately, that rendering is misleading if it makes us envision having massive lodgings on separate estates. The intended meaning seems to be that we’ll have separate dwelling places on a single estate or even separate rooms within the same house.

New Testament scholar D. A. Carson says, “Since heaven is here pictured as the Father’s house, it is more natural to think of ‘dwelling-places’ within a house as rooms or suites. . . . The simplest explanation is best: my Father’s house refers to heaven, and in heaven are many rooms, many dwelling-places. The point is not the lavishness of each apartment, but the fact that such ample provision has been made that there is more than enough space for every one of Jesus’ disciples to join him in his Father’s home.” [1]

The New International Version rendering of John 14:2 is this: “In my Father’s house are many rooms. . . . I am going there to prepare a place for you.” Place is singular, but rooms is plural. This suggests Jesus has in mind for each of us an individual dwelling that’s a smaller part of the larger place. This place will be home to us in the most unique sense.

The term room is cozy and intimate. The terms house or estate suggest spaciousness. That’s Heaven: a place both spacious and intimate. Some of us enjoy coziness, being in a private space. Others enjoy a large, wide-open space. Most of us enjoy both—and the New Earth will offer both.

Heaven isn’t likely to have lots of identical residences. God loves diversity, and He tailor-makes His children and His provisions for them. When we see the particular place He’s prepared for us—not just for mankind in general but for us in particular—we’ll rejoice to see our ideal home.

When you’re traveling late at night and you don’t know where you’re going to stay, nothing’s more discouraging than finding a No Vacancy sign. There’s no such sign in Heaven. If we’ve made our reservations by accepting God’s gift in Christ, then Heaven is wide open to us. Jesus knew what it was like to have no vacancy in the inn and to sleep in a barn. On the New Earth, He’ll have plenty of room for all of us.

I live in Oregon. When I’ve flown home from overseas and landed in New York, I feel I’ve come “home,” meaning I’m in my home country. Then when I land in Oregon, I’m more home. When I come to my hometown, everything looks familiar. Finally, when I arrive at my house, I’m really home. But even there I have a special room or two. Scripture’s various terms—New Earth, country, city, place, and rooms—involve such shades of meaning to the word home.

Nanci and I love our home. When we’re gone long enough, we miss it. It’s not just the place we miss, of course—it’s family, friends, neighbors, church. Yet the place offers the comfort of the routine, the feel of the bed, the books on the shelf. It’s not fancy, but it’s home. When our daughters were young, our family spent two months overseas visiting missionaries in six different countries. It was a wonderful adventure, but three days before the trip ended, our hearts turned a corner, and home was all we could think of.

Our love for home, our yearning for it, is a glimmer of our longing for our true home.

For more on the eternal life that awaits us, see Randy’s book Heaven. You can also browse additional books and resources on Heaven available from EPM.

[1] Donald A. Carson, The Gospel According to John (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1991), 489.

Photo by LinedPhoto on Unsplash

Scripture and Resources for Husbands and Fathers

Families are God’s precious gift to us, and they require our attention even in days of pressure and busyness. Here are three verses about wives and children, followed by some links to resources. May God speak to you through one or more of these:

“Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers” (1 Peter 3:7).

“Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward” (Psalm 127:3).

“Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4).

Some recommended resources:

What Does It Mean for a Man to Lead His Family Spiritually? by John Piper (14 minute audio)

25 Ways to Spiritually Lead Your Family by Dennis Rainey

10 Promises for Parents by Kevin DeYoung

Here are some past articles from my blog related to marriage: Husbands, Your Wife Is Your God-Given Assignment, Don’t Neglect Dating Your Spouse and Investing in Your Marriage, and Cultivating Your Marriage and Guarding It from Impurity

And here are some past articles from my blog related to fatherhood: Leaving a Legacy of Faithfulness: The Father as Model and Mentor, Advice for Dads Who Didn’t Grow Up with Role Models, The One Thing My Daughter Remembered Most About My Parenting, and Some Thoughts about Fathering (and Grand-fathering)

Photo: Pixabay

The Little Known Story of Olympian Eric Liddell’s Final Years

One of my favorite movies of all time is the 1981 Chariots of Fire. It’s the only reason many people are familiar with Eric Liddell, the “Flying Scotsman” who shocked the world by refusing to run the one hundred meters in the 1924 Paris Olympics, a race he was favored to win. He withdrew because the qualifying heat was on a Sunday, and he believed God didn’t want him to run on the Lord’s Day. Liddell then went on to win a gold medal—and break a world record—in the four hundred meters, not his strongest event. (In the black and white photo, that’s the real Eric Liddell in his gold medal winning 400m final at the Olympics.)

My favorite lines from the movie are when Eric’s character, played by actor Ian Charleson, says, “God…made me fast. And when I run, I feel his pleasure.” Though those lines were actually penned by screenwriter Colin Welland, I think the real Eric would have agreed with the sentiment. Those who knew him testified that his personal and moral convictions weren’t born of a cold, rigid religious piety, but of a warm, happy devotion to his Lord and Savior. Here’s that clip from the movie, with Eric talking to his sister Jenny.

I still remember sitting with Nanci in a large Portland theatre in 1981, smiling and crying through various parts of that unforgettable movie. Chariots of Fire ends with these brief words about Eric’s life after the Olympics: “Eric Liddell, missionary, died in occupied China at the end of World War II. All of Scotland mourned.”

A Tragic Ending?

After the Olympics and his graduation, Eric returned as a missionary to China, where he had been born to missionary parents in 1902. When the Japanese occupation made life dangerous, he sent his pregnant wife, Florence, and their two daughters to Canada. Japanese invaders placed him in a squalid prison camp, without running water or working bathrooms. There, separated from his family, Eric lived several years before dying at age forty-three.

Upon learning of Eric’s death, it wasn’t just Scotland that mourned. All over the world people who had been inspired by him in the Olympics and in the Christian life joined the mourning.

On the surface, it all seems so tragic. Why did God withhold from this great man of faith a long life, years of fruitful service, the companionship of his wife, and the joy of raising those beloved children? It makes no sense.

And yet…

There is another way to look at the Eric Liddell story. Nanci and I discovered this firsthand when we spent an unforgettable day in England with Phil and Margaret Holder, in May of 1988. We knew almost nothing about the Holders except that Phil was a pastor. Some missionary friends we were visiting in England took us to their home in Reading.

Margaret was born in China to missionary parents with China Inland Mission. In 1939, when Japan took control of eastern China, thirteen-year-old Margaret was imprisoned by the Japanese in Weihsien Internment Camp, where many foreigners in Beijing were sent to. There she remained, separated from her parents, for six years.

Margaret told us stories about a godly man she called “Uncle Eric.” She said he tutored her and was deeply loved by all the children in the camp. She looked at us and asked, “Do you know who I’m talking about? Uncle Eric’s name was Eric Liddell.” I recall like it was yesterday how stunned we were because Chariots of Fire was such a favorite movie, and we’d watched it several times in the seven years since it was released. Here we were learning inside information about one of our heroes!

Uncle Eric’s Influence

Margaret shared with us a story that illustrated this man’s Christlike character. In the camp, the children played basketball, rounders, and hockey, and Eric Liddell was their ref­eree. Not surprisingly, he refused to referee on Sundays. But in his absence, the children fought. Liddell struggled over this. He believed he shouldn’t stop the children from play­ing because they needed the diversion.

Finally, Liddell decided to referee on Sundays. This made a deep impression on Margaret—she saw that the athlete world famous for sacrificing success for principle was not a legalist. When it came to his own glory, Liddell would surrender it all rather than run on Sunday. But when it came to the good of children in a prison camp, he would referee on Sunday.

Liddell would sacrifice a gold medal for himself (though he ultimately won the gold in a different race) in the name of truth, but would bend over backward for others in the name of grace.

A Godly Example

Dr. David J. Mitchell, who was also one of the children at Weihsien, wrote how besides sports, Eric Liddell taught the children his favorite hymn:

By still, my soul, the Lord is on thy side;
Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain;
Leave to thy God to order and provide;
In every change He faithful will remain
Be still, my soul, thy best, thy heavenly Friend
Through thorny ways leads to a joyful end.

Dr. Mitchell also wrote:

Eric Liddell often spoke to us on I Corinthians 13 and Matthew 5. These passages from the New Testament clearly portray the secret of his selfless and humble life. Only on rare occasions when requested would he speak of his refusal to run on the Sunday and his Olympic record.

…Not only did Eric Liddell organise sports and recreation, through his time in internment camp he helped many people through teaching and tutoring. He gave special care to the older people, the weak, and the ill, to whom the conditions in camp were very trying. He was always involved in the Christian meetings which were a part of camp life. Despite the squalor of the open cesspools, rats, flies and disease in the crowded camp, life took on a very normal routine, though without the faithful and cheerful support of Eric Liddell, many people would never have been able to manage.

…None of us will ever forget this man who was totally committed to putting God first, a man whose humble life combined muscular Christianity with radiant godliness.

What was his secret? He unreservedly committed his life to Jesus Christ as his Saviour and Lord. That friendship meant everything to him. By the flickering light of a peanut-oil lamp early each morning he and a roommate in the men’s cramped dormitory studied the Bible and talked with God for an hour every day.

Marcy Ditmanson, a Lutheran missionary imprisoned with Eric, shared his recollections:

Eric spoke with a charming Scottish brogue, and more than anyone I had ever known, typified the joyful Christian life. He had a marvelous sense of humor, was full of laughter and practical jokes, but always in good taste. His voice was nothing special, but how he loved to sing, particularly the grand old hymns of the faith. Two of his favorites were “God Who Touches Earth with Beauty” and “There's a Wideness in God's Mercy.” He was no great orator by any means but he had a way of riveting his listeners with those marvelous, clear blue eyes of his. Yes, that's what I remember most about him as he spoke―those wonderful eyes and how they would twinkle.

Full Surrender

Though he had become an “uncle” and father figure to numerous children, Eric Liddell never saw his own wife and daughters in this world again. After writing a letter to Florence from his bed in the infirmary, he said to his friend and colleague “It’s full surrender” and slipped into a coma. Suffering with a brain tumor, he died in 1945. And while all Scotland mourned, all in Heaven who had cheered Eric on as a servant of Jesus gave him a rich welcome.

Through fresh tears that unforgettable day in their living room, Margaret Holder told us, “It was a cold February day when Uncle Eric died.” No one in the world mourned like those in that camp. When five months later the children were rescued by American paratroopers and reunited with their families, many of their stories were about Uncle Eric. Liddell’s imprisonment broke the hearts of his family. But for years—nearly to the war’s end—God used him as a lifeline to hundreds of children, including Margaret Holder.

Viewed from that perspective, the apparent tragedy of Liddell’s presence in that camp makes more sense, doesn’t it? I’m convinced Liddell and his family would tell us—and one day will tell us—that the sufferings of that time are not worthy to be compared with the glory they now know…and will forever know. A glory far greater than the suffering which achieved it.

In an interview with Liddell’s youngest daughter, Maureen, who he never met, she shared this after visiting the granite monument in China dedicated to her father’s memory: “I felt so close to him and, more than ever, I realized what his life had been for. It all made sense. What happened allowed him to touch so many lives as a consequence.”

Her sister Patricia agreed:

The number of people he’s influenced … well, things seem to add up, don’t they? You only appreciate it when you look at each stage of his life and make the connections between them. …I used to ask myself: How would things have turned out if the three of us and our mother had been in the camp with him? Then I understood my father would have spent less time with the other youngsters, which would have deprived them of so much. That didn’t seem fair to them. He was needed there. The stories we heard after his death prove that.

If we can look at Eric and his family’s tragedy, and others’ tragedies, and see some divine purpose in them, it can help us believe that there is purpose in our own tragedies too. It can help us believe the blood-bought promise of God: “all things work together for the good of those who love God, who are called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28, CSB).

A Joyful End

Though years ago I had been deeply touched by Liddell’s story watching Chariots of Fire, it was what Margaret Holder told us that day that really made me look forward to meeting in Heaven this man whose Olympic gold medal was nothing compared to his humble service for Christ.

Dr. Norman Cliff, who was imprisoned with Eric, recalled this:

Eric Liddell would say, “When you speak of me, give the glory to my master, Jesus Christ.” He would not want us to think solely of him. He would want us to see the Christ whom he served.

I’m counting on Eric, in his resurrection body on the New Earth, being able to move slowly enough for me, in my resurrection body, to run alongside him. Together, we’ll worship our Lord and Savior, the One to whom all glory and praise is due.

You might enjoy this last clip of Eric racing in Chariots of Fire. He was known for looking face up to breathe deeply, and sometimes flailing his arms. His reckless abandon and face skyward beautifully symbolize how he set his eyes on the risen Christ in Heaven.

If you wish to know more, here’s an article on Eric's life. Also, if you’d like to read more about Margaret’s story, in my book The Grace and Truth Paradox I tell about her and the other prisoners’ rescue from the camp by Americans.

God Will Use Weakness and Failure to Build Your Faith

I’m sharing a guest blog today by Vaneetha Rendall Risner that is, to me, breathtaking and somewhat stunning (originally published by Desiring God). It won’t strike everyone as encouraging, perhaps, because it comes out of pain, and may cause fear in some whose vision of the abundant life doesn’t include what’s happened in Vaneetha’s story. However, I think it’s a bold and valuable perspective, one that we need to hear.

Vaneetha is a freelance writer who blogs at danceintherain.com. She’s also the author of The Scars That Have Shaped Me: How God Meets Us in Suffering. My thanks to our sister Vaneetha for writing this article, and for giving us permission to share it here. I follow her words with some of my own.

Here’s what she has to say:

There are so many things I wish someone could have told me at thirty, because at thirty I thought I had life figured out.

I didn’t.

Life turned upside down quickly. I wish someone had said to me,

You are holding onto meaningless things, and you are believing in yourself for the wrong reasons. Stop judging your life by your achievements or “blessings,” whether material or relational or reputational, because none of them will last. What you now consider blessings will be taken away, and when they are, you will discover that being blessed is deeper and more lasting than you can imagine.

There is no way I could have prepared my thirty-year-old self for what lay ahead. How does one prepare for the unknown? I’m glad I didn’t know what was coming, but I wish I had known that while God was taking away my earthly treasures, he was giving me something that could never be taken away — he was giving me himself.

I wish I had known that trusting God would never be a mistake and that he would use every ounce of my pain for my good and his glory. And I wish I had known that life in Christ would continue to get better, because Jesus always saves the best wine for the end.

The Cost of a Successful Career

My late teens and twenties were marked by unmitigated success. Named valedictorian of my high school class. Accepted at every college I applied to. After college, worked for a prominent financial institution. Earned an MBA from a prestigious university. Met and married a business school classmate. Flourished in my work as I climbed the corporate ladder.

Life was glorious from a worldly perspective. I was denied nothing my heart desired. I had everything I wanted. But it came with a price.

My once-vibrant faith from college took a back seat to my career. My quiet times were mostly on the run, if they happened at all. My friendships were superficial, but I was too busy to care. My faith was shallow, but it seemed good enough.

Then I hit my thirties. A serious marriage struggle put us in counseling for years. Our infant son died. I had four miscarriages. I was diagnosed with post-polio syndrome, though the symptoms were just starting.

Stay-at-Home Achiever

My seemingly perfect life had taken a huge turn. I had decided to stay home full time after our first child was born. I shifted my focus from my career to being a devoted wife and mother. I made gourmet meals, took photographs of my children’s every breath, and made scrapbooks to commemorate every occasion.

I prayed for my husband and made time to be together. I planned regular family nights and homeschooled our children. I had consistent quiet times, taught women’s Bible studies, and mentored women on marriage.

My struggles forced me to lean on God, and I learned to adjust to a different life — one that was less in the limelight, but still felt accomplished. Just different priorities and accolades.

Nowhere Else to Turn

But midway through my forties, it all fell apart. My husband left for another woman, citing my inadequacies as a wife. My children walked away from God in anger, highlighting my failure as a parent. Our home became a place of rage and regret, the opposite of the sanctuary it once was. My arms began failing because of post-polio, and so I had to stop cooking, scrapbooking, and hospitality to concentrate on self-care.

Everything I worked for was gone. The things that I had valued disintegrated. There was not a shred of accomplishment I could cling to.

Those days were more painful than I can put into words. My friends and family rallied around me, but inside I was dying. Nothing I had accomplished seemed to matter.

I clung to God as I knew there was nowhere else to turn. And from that desperation came an unexpected delight in God. I craved fellowship with him. His word revived me daily. I prayed more earnestly.

And my relationship with others had a newfound authenticity. There was nothing to hide behind. I had no appearances to maintain. Everything was laid bare.

And I slowly realized this epic failure was a huge gift.

Identity and Security

As my life was tested by adversity and failure, I gained a truer sense of who I was. It was not based on my achievements. What people thought of me. What I did or had done.

My identity was based on Christ.

My successes in life never gave me security. Quite the opposite, they pressured me to keep succeeding.

But failure gave me an inner confidence. It has taught me about myself. What I could lean on. What could and would be shaken. And what was unshakable.

Amidst my failure, I understood more clearly what constitutes true blessing. True blessing always rests in God himself.

God Builds on Our Failures

The Bible shows us how God uses our failures and frailties. David sinned against God when he decided to take a census, counting his people instead of counting on God. God punished him, and in David’s repentance, he built an altar on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. And it was on that very ground, the place of David’s failure and repentance, that the temple of the Lord was built.

God’s temple in Jerusalem, the holiest place where he would dwell on earth with man, was built on the ground of human failure.

We offer nothing to God. He isn’t after our success. He wants our heart. Our repentance. Our dependence on him.

Now God does not dwell in a temple made by human hands. He dwells in us. And in the same way, God’s greatest work in us is built on the ground of our failure. God does his most extraordinary work when we rely on him alone.

To Me at Thirty

What would I tell my thirty-year-old self?

Trust God. He is going to use everything in your life to draw you closer to him. Don’t waste your suffering, for it will be the making of your faith. And one day, as your faith becomes sight, you will be grateful for it all.

From Randy: As Vaneetha experienced, for most of us it takes the chiseling effect of loss, hardship, sickness, and even tragedy before we adequately recognize and admit our true weakness, and need for and dependence on God. (For me, this included losing my mother to cancer, becoming an insulin-dependent diabetic, being arrested and sued for prolife activities, and having to resign as a pastor as a result.) The same is true for our becoming more grateful, more humble, and more God-focused. Over time, the experience of suffering can make us spiritually stronger, more dependent upon God, and less fearful.

Tim Keller writes, “You don’t realize God is all you need until God is all you have.” God uses our weaknesses and inadequacy not only to build our characters, but to manifest His strength and grace. So I see His goodness in giving me certain weaknesses to accomplish His good purposes.

Scripture puts it this way: “We rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope” (Romans 5:3–4, ESV).

Sometimes we may resent God for imposing unwanted difficulties on us. If we see through the lens of eternity, however, that resentment changes to thanksgiving for God’s grace and power. We praise Him for being glorified in our weakness and for making us better and ultimately happier people, even if it costs us temporary pain and extreme inconvenience.

Lord, help us today to look at our weaknesses and ailments and consider how you use them as opportunities to reveal your grace and strength. Counterintuitive as it may seem, help us delight in our weakness and in the knowledge that you can be glorified through giving us supernatural empowerment, grace, and perspective and by touching others through us as a result.

If you’d like to read more related to the subject of suffering, see Randy’s book If God Is Good, as well as the devotional 90 Days of God’s Goodness and book The Goodness of God (a specially focused condensation of If God Is Good, which also includes additional material).

Photo by Sawyer Bengtson on Unsplash