Randy Alcorn's Blog, page 51

“What Was It Like, Grampy?” Obadiah Abernathy Tells Stories at Family Supper

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As I’ve shared before, when I’m asked who my favorite character is from my novels, I always say Obadiah Abernathy from my novel Dominion. (I share more about my inspiration for his character in this past blog.) In this excerpt from the book, Obadiah shares memories with his family, and talks about black history.

“Powerful good dinner, ladies, powerful good,” Obadiah said, voice weak but energized by having his family together. “Menfolk gotsta come up with some pretty big whoppers to match this!”

Soon the stories flowed like melting butter on steaming okra. As usual, Obadiah was right in the thick of them. “We was crossing through Kentucky on horse and buggy, round about 1915 or somethin’, my daddy, Freeman Abernathy, a drivin’ proud as you can imagine. We comes to a car—nicest Model T you ever seen—but this white man had run it off the road. He was standin’ there with his three chillens and one in the pantry, wife pregnant as you ever seen. It was gettin’ dark, five miles at least to the next town.

“My daddy stopped, of course, like any Christian would. He offered to pull it out with our wagon. We had two strong horses, could’ve done it sure. This fellow looks at Daddy and says, ‘I don’t need no help from the likes of you, nigger.’

“Daddy just climbed up in the wagon and shooed off them horses. We looked back and the man’s wife started cryin’ and the chillens looked so bewildered. Mama said she felt sorriest for the chillens ’cause of the way they was gonna grow up. She said, ‘You raised up in the garbage and you can’t help but stink.’”

They laughed, but the laughter was restrained, held in check by pain. As usual, Obadiah’s stories were a string of pearls without the string. There seemed no logical connection between them.

“Your mama’s daddy, he went from being a Kentucky slave to a Lincoln Republican livin’ in N’awlins. When he heard people say, ‘Lincoln freed the slaves,’ and such hullabaloo, he’d always say to us, ‘No man gives freedom, not even Honest Abe. God gives freedom. He’s the one who delivered us out of bondage like he did his people Israel. Ol’ Abe just had the good sense to agree with God.’”

Obadiah looked at the children, most of them huddled on and around three big beanbag chairs.

“Did you know,” Obadiah said, “Mr. Lincoln was good friends with ol’ Frederick Douglass, the former slave? After the president gave a speech once, they wouldn’t let Frederick in to see him, so Abe sent word to let that black man in. And ol’ Abe says to him right in front of everybody, ‘Mr. Douglass, there’s no man whose opinion I respect more than yours.’ That’s the kind of man Mr. Lincoln was. And that’s the kind of man Mr. Douglass was. Don’t let nobody tell you different.”

“Tell us more about Frederick Douglass, Daddy,” Marny said. “For the children.”

“Frederick, well he born a slave in the early 1800s. He taught himself to read at age twelve. He got his freedom by runnin’ away, always feared maybe they’d lock him up and haul him off yet. You know how many books he had when he died?”

“A hundred?” Keisha asked, wide eyed.

“A hundred would have been a lot those days. Books hard to come by then. But Mr. Frederick Douglass, he had more than ten thousand books.”

“Funny you should mention Frederick Douglass,” Harley said. “I was just quoting from him this week in my African American literature class. He was talking about hypocrisy in the Christian churches. See, Douglass rejected this Christianity of yours.”

“Just ’cause there’s counterfeit money,” Obadiah said, “don’t mean real money’s no good. You ain’t paintin’ the whole picture, Son. Frederick Douglass was an ordained AME deacon, a church man. I may not have your degrees, boy, but I’ve read his autobiography a half-dozen times. You get me a copy, and I’ll read you somethin’.”

Sophie went to the bookcase and took a book off the shelf, bringing it to Obadiah, who opened it eagerly and started searching.

“Here it is,” Obadiah announced. “This is what Mr. Frederick Douglass said.” He cleared his throat, with the look of pride that came over him whenever he read aloud. “‘Between the Christianity of this land, and the Christianity of Christ, I recognize the widest possible difference—so wide, that to receive the one as good, pure, and holy, is of necessity to reject the other as bad, corrupt, and wicked. To be the friend of the one, is of necessity to be the enemy of the other. I love the pure, peaceable, and impartial Christianity of Christ: I therefore hate the corrupt, slaveholding, women-whipping, cradle-plundering, partial and hypocritical Christianity of this land. Indeed, I can see no reason, but the most deceitful one, for calling the religion of this land Christianity. I look upon it as the climax of all misnomers, the boldest of all frauds, and the grossest of all libels.’ See, Son, he rejected the perversion of Christianity, but he embraced true Christianity. You need to see that difference—don’t throws out the baby with the bathwater.”

“Tell us another story, Grampy,” Celeste said.

“Well, let’s see now. Here’s a story. Colored folk used to drive through Mississippi, comin’ or goin’ from Louisiana or ’Bama or Arkansas. One day this preacher was travelin’ and had to go through Ol’ Miss. He prayed loud and hard like black preachers do, ‘O God, help me make it through Mississippi!’

“Well, there was a few moments silence and then the preacher heard a voice from heaven. It was God himself and he says to the preacher, ‘You don’t know what you’re askin’, son. Even I don’t go through Mississippi!’”

Everyone laughed.

“Now, that’s just a story, chillens. The Almighty’s in Mississippi just like everywhere else, and don’t say your grampy said otherwise, you hear me now? Good people and bad people there just like everywhere else.”

“Tell us about the Klan, Granddaddy,” Jonah said.

“Well, my daddy explained the Klan to us one time after they rode up on their horses and put a burnin’ cross in front of our ol’ shanty. Daddy said that when God was makin’ peoples, there was some folk at the very back of the line, and he ran plumb outta brains to give ’em. He felt bad he didn’t have no brains left to pass out, so he decided to give ’em white sheets instead. That way they could cover up their heads and nobody could see their brains was missin’. That’s how the Klan started.”

Laughter and knee slapping and howls filled the room. Then Harley gave a serious explanation of what the Klan was. Clarence liked his daddy’s explanation better. Harley started telling about the freedom rides and the battle against segregation in the South. Imitating their drawls, he made fun of white southerners who couldn’t comprehend why blacks rose up in opposition to segregation:

“I dawn’t unda-stay’en what’s goin’ awn. It’s like some’mm dun jumped inta allda nigras ova’night.” The older family members laughed and laughed, including Clarence, while for the most part the children didn’t get it. It was true, though. White folk could talk so funny.

“What was it like living in your ol’ shotgun house, Grampy?” Keisha asked. “Well, let’s see now. At night we chillens slept with each other, cuddlin’ up to stay warm.”

“Yuk,” Jonah said.

“No yuk about it. Sometimes my ol’ nose was so frozen, don’t know what I would’ve done if brother Elijah hadn’t been there and let me snuggle it into his back. They was hard days, but good ones.” His eyes teared up. He looked up at the ceil­ing as if trying to peer beyond it. “I miss eatin’ sowbelly and corn pone and slicin’ up the catfish fresh out o’ the river and sittin’ on the porch those warm nights—Elijah and me and Daddy and Mama and the rest—jus’ listenin’ to those hound dogs bark and lookin’ up at heaven’s stars and seein’ the face of God.”

“I wish Uncle Elijah could come for Christmas this year,” Clarence said.

“Not as much as I wish it, I reckon. But we both slowin’ down, Elijah and me. We both slowin’ down.” He looked at his oldest son. “Harley, you still got that music me and Elijah loved? Count Basie, Lena Horne, Duke Ellington? Now that was music, um, um. Elijah and me, we’d listen to ’em till the cows come home.”

Harley went over and put on the music while Daddy moved on to another story. Clarence watched Harley. He remembered when his brother had won a statewide essay competition for Mississippi high school students. But when they tried to make arrangements for him to stay in a local hotel, they couldn’t because it was seg­regated. Harley had never forgotten that, just as Clarence had never forgotten the teacher at the integrated school who thought his paper was so good he must have plagiarized it. Clarence could never convince her he hadn’t.

Photo by Phinehas Adams on Unsplash

Is It Possible to Be Hyperimaginative in Thinking about Heaven?

A reader recently asked me, “What do you mean by ‘hyperimaginative’ in this sentence in Heaven: ‘Discussions of Heaven tend to be either hyperimaginative or utterly unimaginative’?”

Here’s part of what I said in the book:

We cannot anticipate or desire what we cannot imagine. That’s why, I believe, God has given us glimpses of Heaven in the Bible—to fire up our imagination and kindle a desire for Heaven in our hearts. And that’s why Satan will always discourage our imagination—or misdirect it to ethereal notions that violate Scripture. As long as the resurrected universe remains either undesirable or unimaginable, Satan succeeds in sabotaging our love for Heaven.

After reading my novels that portray Heaven, people often tell me, “These pictures of Heaven are exciting. But are they based on Scripture?” The answer, to the best of my understanding, is yes. Scripture provides us with a substantial amount of information, direct and indirect, about the world to come, with enough detail to help us envision it, but not so much as to make us think we can completely wrap our minds around it. I believe that God expects us to use our imagination, even as we recognize its limitations and flaws. If God didn’t want us to imagine what Heaven will be like, he wouldn’t have told us as much about it as he has.

Rather than ignore our imagination, I believe we should fuel it with Scripture, allowing it to step through the doors that Scripture opens. I did not come to the Bible with the same view of Heaven that I came away with. On the contrary, as a young Christian, and even as a young pastor, I viewed Heaven in the same stereotypical ways I now reject. It was only through years of scriptural study, meditation, and research on the subject that I came to the view of Heaven I now embrace.

Nearly every notion of Heaven I present in this book was stimulated and reinforced by biblical texts. Though some of my interpretations and speculations are no doubt mistaken, they are not baseless. Rightly or wrongly, I have drawn most of them from my understanding of the explicit and implicit teachings of Scripture. Discussions of Heaven tend to be either hyperimaginative or utterly unimaginative. Bible believers have tended toward the latter, yet both approaches are inadequate and dangerous. What we need is a biblically inspired imagination.

We should ask God’s help to remove the blinders of our preconceived ideas about Heaven so we can understand Scripture. The apostle Paul said, “Reflect on what I am saying, for the Lord will give you insight into all this” (2 Timothy 2:7). I encourage you to pray, “Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law” (Psalm 119:18).

By hyperimaginative, I meant fantasy-prone, to the point of being gullible and reading into things, and going beyond the actual evidence and any sense of objectivity. I would include the power of suggestion when people hear the various afterlife stories, such as young Colton Burpo’s claim of seeing rainbow unicorns in Heaven, as well as circles/halos around the heads of people. There is no suggestion of rainbow-colored unicorns in Heaven, or unicorns at all, and the idea of halos over people’s heads comes from medieval art, not from the Bible.

I’m not saying I know for sure God didn’t take him to Heaven, but I do know for certain that the statements made by people who claim to have been to Heaven should never be considered authoritative. God’s Word should be the only standard by which we judge which parts of people’s testimonies about Heaven we should and should not consider accurate.

To claim that one’s old friend who died, who was an avid golfer, is now playing golf in Heaven, is hyperimaginative, since the resurrection has not yet happened. Therefore, it seems unlikely this is happening in the present Heaven, though it is possible that it may happen on the future post–resurrection Heaven, which will be the New Earth. In fact, there is no reason I can think of why people with resurrected bodies would not play sports on a resurrected earth, even though we can’t know for certain until we get there.

There’s a difference between an overactive imagination and outright lying, of course, but the story of “the boy who went to Heaven” is a sad case demonstrating how far people can go in their imaginations, to the point of fabrications. That particular boy who claimed he’d gone to Heaven as related in a bestselling book (not Heaven is for Real, a different book) five years later admitted, “I did not die. I did not go to Heaven…I said I went to heaven because I thought it would get me attention.” He added this, something every Christian should take to heart: “When I made the claims that I did, I had never read the Bible. People…should read the Bible, which is enough. The Bible is the only source of truth.”

I think it is possible to speculate responsibly, especially about the future Heaven, in that the resurrection of people and the resurrection of the earth itself suggests many things that may well be possible on the New Earth. But no one should claim them with certainty. For instance, in the Heaven book I say it is possible that God could have us travel and explore new planets and galaxies in the new universe. That is speculation, but it is in keeping with what we already know about the universe God has created and the way the minds and hearts of people are wired.

An eternal, physical, earthly existence is fully consistent with what we know about resurrection bodies. Jesus ate and drank, walked, talked, taught, and cooked fish for His disciples. He said to them, “See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have” (Luke 24:39). We are told our resurrection bodies will be like his (Philippians 3:21). This is not speculation; it is revealed truth. Based on these facts we know to be true about the nature of humanity in this life and the resurrection, and about this Earth and the New Earth, it is no stretch at all to say human beings could play golf and every other sport on the New Earth in their resurrection bodies. That’s just a logical extrapolation grounded on what the Bible tells us. To claim we know resurrected people will play golf is to go too far. But reasonable Bible-based speculation about the possibility of resurrected people playing sports on the New Earth is very different from saying, without any biblical support, that there are rainbow colored unicorns in the present Heaven or that people there have halos.

Here’s a full excerpt from my book Heaven about the limits and value of using our imaginations. And here are several blogs I did in past years about “visit to Heaven” books.

Photo by Josh Hild on Unsplash

My Daughter and I “Should Have Died” Thirty-Three Years Ago Today, But the God of Providence Had Other Plans

Today is the thirty-third anniversary of the day my 10-year-old daughter Karina and I, along with our friends Barry Arnold and his daughter Andrea, also 10, “should have died” in a plane crash in Alaska. Instead, we had an emergency landing, and were rescued seven hours later. (I tell the story in a blog here.) The film footage I shot that day was posted by Barry 12 years ago, and has since gotten over 1.7 million views:

Each year my home church, Good Shepherd Community Church, hosts a Sportsmen’s Banquet, and this year Barry shared the story of our near crash and emergency landing. He asked if I would film my alternative account of “what really happened” that day (I’ve joked about it with him) so he could include it in his presentation (I told the real story in that blog, and Barry told a much more detailed story at the banquet):

Below is Barry’s full message. His wife Vicki also shares her perspective, as she was with Nanci and our daughter Angela, waiting for any news but honestly thinking we were all dead. I think you might enjoy listening to it:

I’ve been pondering how the three Franklin kids (Karina’s children) and the four Moffat kids (Andrea’s children) and their future children and Eternal Perspective Ministries and Cornerstone (the church Barry later founded) and all but three of my sixty books and much more would never have existed if we would have died that day. (For example, one of hundreds of stories, a prisoner we recently heard came to Christ through reading my novel Deception, though of course God could have made that happen in 1,000 different ways.) God is gracious and kind, and both when disasters happen and when they do not, He is 100% sovereign.

The authorities believed for five hours or so that we had died, and given the history of fatalities from planes going down in that same stretch, we “should have died.” I put quotation marks around those words because Scripture says of God, “your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be” (Psalm 139:16). As evangelist George Whitefield said, “We are immortal until our work on earth is done.”

“Providence is wonderfully intricate. Ah! You want always to see through Providence, do you not? You never will, I assure you. You have not eyes good enough. You want to see what good that affliction was to you; you must believe it. You want to see how it can bring good to the soul; you may be enabled in a little time; but you cannot see it now; you must believe it. Honor God by trusting Him.” —Charles Spurgeon

“In their hearts humans plan their course, but the LORD establishes their steps.” —Proverbs 16:9  

The Bible Is the Story of God’s Generosity: Will We Be Part of That Story?

Sometimes we take for granted God’s many wonders, such as the beauty of a hummingbird, the glories of a rose, or the taste of grapes picked off the vine. For me, late-summer bike rides in Gresham, Oregon, are highlighted by the scent of ripe blackberries and the warm sun on my face. Are these small things? Sure. But how encouraging that God has intended “all things” for our good: “Command those who are rich . . . not to set their hope on riches . . . but on God who richly provides” (1 Timothy 6:17 NET, emphasis added).

God’s generosity abounds. His gifts surround us—everywhere we look, and everywhere we don’t.

In the middle of instructing those who are rich, Paul took a moment to comment on the character of God. He described God not as demanding or restrictive or begrudging, but as a God full of joy who provides all things with our delight in mind.  

Galatians 5:22-23 indicates that a fruit of the Spirit is “goodness.” The word Paul used in 1 Timothy 6:18 that’s translated “to do good” is the verb form of this same word. In other words, God wants us to bear the fruit of his Spirit. Doing good goes far beyond simply doing no harm—it means actively reaching out to people through both small and large acts of generosity.

Many Greek scholars believe that “goodness,” as listed in Galatians 5:22, specifically involves generosity: Greek scholars Robert Mounce and J. B. Phillips, as well as the New American Bible and the New Revised Standard Version, all translate this word in Galatians 5:22 as “generosity” rather than “goodness.” Renowned scholar F. F. Bruce is inclined to agree.

Martin Luther was a Greek scholar who translated the New Testament into German in 1522. In his commentary on Galatians, he describes the word translated “goodness” in English in Galatians 5:22. He says it refers to “when a man willingly helpeth others in their necessity by giving, lending, and such other means.”

Louw and Nida’s dictionary, widely used by Bible translators, defines this word often translated “goodness” as “to be generous, generosity . . . the act of generous giving.”

These definitions fit perfectly with the idea that the Holy Spirit’s first indwelling of God’s people resulted in widespread acts of radical generosity: “God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need” (Acts 4:33-35, NIV).

A life characterized by greed and stinginess is neither Spirit-filled nor Christlike. If we know Jesus and the Holy Spirit is at work in our lives, we’ll see the fruit of generosity. We will become more and more like our generous God.

One of the great privileges of my life has been my involvement with the ministry of Generous Giving, a group I highly recommend. This beautiful and powerful 7-minute spoken word from David Bowden at their latest conference really touched me. As David says, “God built generosity into the grain of the universe. …Giving is how we were made. God has sown generosity into our DNA.”

See more resources on money and giving, as well as Randy's related books, including Giving Is the Good Life  and  The Treasure Principle .

Photo by nine koepfer on Unsplash

Abortion Has Created a Global Mission Field for the Church

Note from Randy: Some Christians have a deeply held belief that prolife work distracts us from the “main thing” of sharing the gospel. To those who say the job of the church is strictly evangelism, I would point out that prolife activities open great doors for evangelism. Students who make a speech on abortion have follow-up conversations that can lead to sharing the gospel. Those who work at Pregnancy Resource Centers have regular built-in opportunities they would otherwise not have to share Christ. Those who pass out literature at abortion clinics regularly share the love of Christ. People who open their homes to pregnant women can demonstrate a love that is more than words, then follow with the words of the gospel. My own family had the joy of seeing a pregnant young woman come to the Lord while living with us.

Many, both church leaders and members, still insist that it isn’t the job of the church to get involved in prolife activities. But what is the job of the church? I appeal to you to come to grips with the fact that loving God cannot be separated from loving our neighbor (Matthew 22:34–40). To a man who wished to define “neighbor” in a way that excluded certain groups of needy people, Christ pre­sented the Good Samaritan as a model for our behavior (Luke 10:25–37). He went out of his way to help the man lying in the ditch. In contrast, the religious hypocrites looked the other way because they had more “spiritual” things to do.

In Matthew 25:31–46 Christ makes a distinction of eternal significance based not merely on what people believe and preach, but on what they have done for the weak and needy. Can anyone read this passage and still believe that intervening for the needy is some peripheral issue that distracts the church from its main busi­ness? On the contrary, it is part and parcel of what the church is to be and do. It is at the heart of our main business, which includes both speaking the gospel and living out the gospel. 

That’s why EPM loves the work of LIFE International, a prolife ministry that views the global issues created by abortion as a mission field. In this article, their President, my friend Kurt Dillinger, shares honestly about his own journey as a pastor into prolife work, and shares examples of how God is using their efforts to spread the good news of Jesus.

Early in my life as a pastor, I saw a line that separated my Gospel calling from cultural issues like abortion. To tell the truth, I wasn’t sure what to do about abortion, so that line gave me some comfort. But one morning, as I read from Genesis 1, I began to see that I was forgetting something.

“So, God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.”

This is a beautiful and awe-inspiring statement, but I sensed God saying something new to me: “Kurt, you do not know my heart for the lives I create. You have not recognized that every attack on a child is also an attack on me, his Father.”

At that moment, I realized that defending preborn children is entirely within the scope of my calling and the Church’s mission. If the love that sent Jesus to the cross is for everyone (which we boldly proclaim), then every person is immensely valuable to God.

There is no source of life apart from God. None. Not random biological processes, as many in our culture would claim. And obviously not God’s adversary, whose mission is “to steal, kill, and destroy.” No, every human life comes directly and personally from God, and to needlessly take an innocent human life is to destroy God’s work and God’s image.* Leaving aside the cruelty of abortion, this is also an inherently spiritual and evil act.

God’s word erased the dividing line that once gave me comfort. I have been called to proclaim the Gospel. Which means I have also been called to proclaim the value of those to whom the Gospel is offered. There is simply no division between the Gospel and God’s heart for human life.

We founded “LIFE International” to live out this calling. We purchased an ancient synagogue that had fallen into use as an abortion clinic and reclaimed it, rededicating the building to express the Father’s heart for life. (There’s much more to that story! See lifeinternational.com/who-we-are)

Abortion has created a global mission field, and preborn children are the largest endangered people-group in the world, with more than 60 million aborted each year. The Gospel compels us to enter this mission field and proclaim the immense value of every child.

Since 2001, we have been training people around the world to provide life-giving service in their own communities—to the preborn and their families, but also to other neighbors whose lives are considered less valuable, including the old or sick or disabled, the poor or less-educated, and those who have been exploited in various ways.

Our training program, The Journey of a Life-Giver, prepares believers to live out the Gospel. We demonstrate the biblical foundation for recognizing each human life as sacred. We teach the importance of prayer and spiritual preparation for ministry. We present God’s design for sexuality, marriage, and family. We provide technical insights into the amazing processes of human reproduction and prenatal development and the brutal reality of abortion procedures. Finally, we provide a safe place for participants to confess their own failures and receive God’s great mercy and forgiveness.

Our list of partners around the world grows exponentially as the leaders we train venture out to train others. We are currently working in more than 100 countries and developing partners in the remaining nations. Here are two examples:

Nubako and Claudine Selenga are church leaders based in the large city of Kinshasa (DR Congo), once known as “the rape capital of the world.” After our first Journey of a Life-Giver training, Claudine had an idea. What if sexually abused women, rather than being pushed away from the church by their shame and injury, could be drawn into the church and restored? This desire led to the formation of the Tabitha Center—a training center that invites women for friendship and vocational training. Over six months, participants receive counseling toward the healing of their hearts and spirits. They also learn a trade, enabling them to support themselves after graduation.

In the seven years since this program started, the Selengas have formed 240 Tabitha Centers across Kinshasa, bringing hope and restoration to thousands of vulnerable women!

Here’s another stunning demonstration of the power of the Gospel to transform lives.

During abortion-recovery training in Katmandu (Nepal), our team included a new member—a quiet and unassuming young pastor. As we discussed our previous experiences while presenting the Gospel and the sanctity of human life, this man told of an extraordinary event. He had been describing the miraculous process of prenatal development to a group of 100 women in his home nation of Cambodia. Their awe at the beauty and complexity of this process was obvious, so he asked if they would like to learn about the Person who created it. They did, and so the pastor presented the Gospel. All 100 women accepted Christ!

When we see God’s brilliance and experience His love, we are transformed. This is our message around the world: God’s love is expressed in creation, in each person who bears His image, and—most clearly of all—in the Person of His Son. Each one of us was made for Him, each one of us has immense value, and each one of us remains broken until our relationship with Him is restored.

Our work at LIFE International continues to accelerate. Our U.S.-based office is growing, and our 10 regional hubs are expanding their outreach to member nations. The message of The Father’s Heart for Life continues to spread—through those who have already been trained and the many educational resources we provide.

Perhaps, as I did, you struggle to fit abortion into your worldview. Even knowing that a human being is sacrificed each time an abortion is performed, we are left with the difficult question of what to do about it. I am convinced Scripture answers this question. The Gospel compels us to love those whom God loves, to speak up for them within our culture, and to help in practical, life-giving ways.

If you agree, we would love to work with you through LIFE International. Please visit our website (lifeinternational.com) to learn more.

Kurt Dillinger
President
LIFE International

*Of course, I speak of needless destruction. In very rare cases such as ectopic pregnancy, the child will not survive procedures necessary to preserve her mother’s life.

Photo by Austin Wade on Unsplash

The Value of Knowing Both Sides

Note from Randy: My son-in-law Dan Franklin is lead pastor at Life Bible Fellowship in Upland, California. Dan is married to my daughter Karina, and the father of three of my grandsons. Years ago he was one of our speaking pastors at my home church, and to this day I really miss his teaching. (But since he speaks a lot more at LBF, I’m able to hear him more online!) 

In this article, Dan gives great advice about understanding both sides of an issue. In today’s charged and divided culture, may God’s people model humility and wisdom in our communication, and bring more light and less heat to our dialogues with others.

In formal debate, participants prepare themselves to be able to articulate and defend a certain side of an argument. But they often are not told until right before the debate which side they will need to argue. For example, they may know that the debate is about the death penalty, but they may not know whether they will be arguing for or against it.

Because of this, debaters are forced to learn both sides of an issue. In fact, they are forced to know both sides so well that they would be able to effectively argue for positions with which they disagree.

This skill—the skill of articulating both sides of an issue—is one that is in short supply in American culture. Most debates that we observe on television consist of two people trying to outshout and demonize each other. This is because it is much easier to dismiss opposing arguments than it is to understand them.

And most of us opt for the easy way more than we realize. We do this by listening to podcasts, reading books, and watching shows that reinforce—rather than challenge—our beliefs. It is more comfortable to think that the other side (politically, theologically, or in relationships) is immoral or foolish than to think that they may have arguments that would challenge us.

Proverbs 18:17 says, “In a lawsuit, the first to speak seems right until someone comes forward and cross-examines.” In this verse, Solomon says that wise people make sure that they know both sides of an issue before drawing a conclusion. Because this practice is so rare in our culture, I want to offer four ways that we can follow Solomon’s wise words and pursue understanding both sides.

1. Assume there is more to the story.

I have three sons. When one of them comes to me with a story about how his brother attacked him, I find myself being skeptical. I am not skeptical that a conflict occurred. I am simply skeptical that the conflict arose because of one completely innocent victim and one unprovoked perpetrator. So I ask questions, and I listen to both of them give their explanations for what happened. This is a good practice not only in parenting, but in life as a whole. If you find yourself saying something like, “Why would anyone vote for that candidate?” or “Why would any thinking person be an atheist?” I suggest that you begin with the assumption that your perspective would change if you had more information. This would not necessarily mean that your opinion about politics or religion would change, but you may end up having more empathy and respect for those who hold differing viewpoints.

2. Listen to the other side’s best case. 

We can all find YouTube videos of our favorite debaters ripping their opponents to shreds. However, many of these videos exist because the debate is a mismatch. My suggestion is not simply to listen to a liberal if you are a conservative, or to a pro-life person if you are pro-choice. My suggestion is to listen to the most articulate liberal or the most intelligent pro-life person. Listen to the other side make their best case and see if your belief stands up to this. In saying this, I am not suggesting that Christians should only read books by atheists (I think this would be a bad idea because we all need encouragement from other believers). I am simply suggesting that it is best not to draw a firm conclusion unless we have heard the other side give their best argument. I personally read a lot of books by people with whom I agree. But I also read books by people who disagree with me on foundational issues, whether relating to God, to politics, to the Bible, or to human nature. Listening to the other side gives me a great chance to (a) be more secure in my position or (b) change my mind when presented with a better option.

3. Ask questions. 

Social media thrives on each person expressing strong opinions. While strong opinions may get clicks and likes, they are often uninformed. If wisdom is found in knowing both sides, cultivate the skill of asking questions. If someone says something that you find outlandish, ask them about it instead of simply concluding that they are a fool. We would all do well if we had less name-calling and more question-asking.

4. Offer conclusions humbly. 

I’m not saying that we shouldn’t have strong beliefs and convictions. We absolutely should. G.K. Chesterton—one of my favorite authors—said, “Merely having an open mind is nothing. The object of opening the mind, as of opening the mouth, is to shut it again on something solid.” So draw conclusions. I personally have very strong beliefs about God as the one and only Creator, about Jesus Christ as God’s only Son, about our need for salvation through Christ alone because of our sins, about the resurrection of Jesus, and about a number of other issues. And when we come to strong conclusions, most of us want to share those conclusions with others. But we should do this with humility. After all, if you have arrived at the truth, the great thing that you have to offer is not yourself, but the truth.

Photo by cottonbro

Will Our Life’s Work Continue in Heaven?

Because there will be continuity from the old Earth to the new, it’s possible we’ll continue some of the work we started on the old Earth. I believe we’ll pursue some of the same things we were doing, or dreamed of doing, before our death. Of course, people whose jobs depend on aspects of our fallen world that will no longer exist on the New Earth—such as dentists (decay), police officers (crime), funeral directors (death), insurance salespeople (disability), and many others—will change their work in Heaven, but that doesn’t mean they’ll be unemployed. What’s now an interest or hobby may become their main vocation. Others, however, may continue with work similar to what they do now, whether as gardeners, engineers, builders, artists, animal trainers, musicians, scientists, craftspeople, or hundreds of other vocations. A significant difference will be that they’ll work without the hindrances of toil, pain, corruption, and sin.

Author Victor Hugo, in reflecting on his life’s work, spoke profoundly of anticipating his work in Heaven:

I feel within me that future life. I am like a forest that has been razed; the new shoots are stronger and brighter. I shall most certainly rise toward the heavens the nearer my approach to the end, the plainer is the sound of immortal symphonies of worlds which invite me. For half a century I have been translating my thoughts into prose and verse: history, drama, philosophy, romance, tradition, satire, ode, and song; all of these I have tried. But I feel I haven’t given utterance to the thousandth part of what lies within me. When I go to the grave I can say, as others have said, “My day’s work is done.” But I cannot say, “My life is done.” My work will recommence the next morning. The tomb is not a blind alley; it is a thoroughfare. It closes upon the twilight, but opens upon the dawn.

I’m convinced that Hugo was right in saying that every Christian’s life’s work, though not always his or her vocation, will continue on the New Earth. After all, our calling to glorify God will never end. It applies as much here and now as it will then and there, and it will likely be fulfilled in many old ways as well as new ones.

In The Biblical Doctrine of Heaven, Wilbur Smith suggests, “In heaven we will be permitted to finish many of those worthy tasks which we had dreamed to do while on earth but which neither time nor strength nor ability allowed us to achieve.”This is an encouraging thought. It saves us from frantically thinking that we have to do it all now, or from giving up in despair because of the limits of time, money, and strength, and the duties that keep us from certain things we’d love to do.

In Heaven Opened, James Campbell took comfort in this same idea:

This throws some measure of relieving light upon the painful mystery of a life brought to a sudden close in the fullness of its power. In the presence of such a tragedy we instinctively ask, Why this waste? Is all the training, discipline, and culture of this choice spirit to be lost? It cannot be; for in God’s universe nothing is ever lost. No preparation is ever in vain. There is need up there for clear heads, warm hearts, and skilled hands. . . . If some kinds of work are over, others will begin; if some duties are laid down, others will be taken up. And any regret for labour missed down here, will be swallowed up in the joyful anticipation of the higher service that awaits every prepared and willing worker in the upper kingdom of the Father. . . . He will allow no heaven-born hope to be put to shame, but will bring to realization life’s brightest visions.

What will it be like to perform a task, to build and create, knowing that what we’re doing will last? What will it be like to be always gaining skill, so that our best work will always be ahead of us? Because our minds and bodies will never fade and because we will never lack resources or opportunity, our work won’t degenerate. Buildings won’t last for only fifty years, and books won’t be in print for only twenty years. They’ll last forever.

For more on the eternal Heaven, the New Earth, see Randy’s book  Heaven . You can also browse our additional resources on Heaven.

Photo by Elena Mozhvilo on Unsplash

The Story of the First Missionary Hymn

Note from Randy: I really love this article by Scott Hubbard, editor at Desiring God, for several reasons. It is so powerful from a missions perspective. Plus, I’m a huge fan of Isaac Watts who was not only a hymn writer but also a great theologian.

Watts wrote Nanci’s and my favorite Christmas hymn, which is actually a New Earth hymn. It is then and not until then that the Curse will be finally lifted! How far does Christ’s redemptive work extend? Isaac Watts: “He comes to make His blessings flow / Far as the curse is found.” A redemption that failed to reach the Curse’s farthest boundaries would be incomplete. God won’t be satisfied until every sin and sorrow is reckoned with!

When I think about Watts’s hymn  “Jesus Shall Reign,” I think of Daniel 7 and Isaiah 60 and other prophecies of God‘s reign and the New Earth redeemed national leaders under Him, which I speak of in “God’s Kingdom…And Ours.”

Listen to these great insights Scott offers on this wonderful hymn.

Jesus Shall Reign
The Remarkable Story of the First Missionary Hymn

By Scott Hubbard

On Pentecost Sunday 1862, as Western eyes watched civil war rip through America, an event just as momentous unfolded half a world away, hidden from every headline. Some five thousand men and women, many of them former cannibals, gathered on a South Pacific island to worship Jesus Christ.

George Tupou I, the first Christian king of Tonga, had assembled his citizens as part of a ceremony commemorating a new code of laws. And there, “under the spreading branches of the banyan trees,” writes George John Stevenson, with the king surrounded by “old chiefs and warriors who had shared with him the dangers and fortunes of many a battle,” five thousand voices sang,

Jesus shall reign where e’re the sun
Does his successive journeys run;
His kingdom stretch from shore to shore,
Till moons shall wax and wane no more.

For centuries, the sun had run from east to west, the moon had waxed and waned, over a Tonga without Christ. His gospel had not yet reached Tonga’s shores; his kingdom had not yet touched Tongan hearts. But now, a new nation rose to sing his reign.

First Missionary Hymn

Although the words were not in the Tongans’ mother tongue (the song having been taught to them by Methodist missionaries), few lyrics could have described the situation in Tonga more fittingly. For by 1862, the hymn told their history.

“Christ’s Kingdom Among the Gentiles” — or, more commonly today, “Jesus Shall Reign” — has been labeled by some “the first missionary hymn.” Almost a century before the modern missionary movement, before William Carey sailed to India, and Adoniram Judson to Burma, and Hudson Taylor to China, and Methodist missionaries to Tonga, the English minister Isaac Watts (1674–1748) penned a hymn of Christ’s coming reign: a reign that would reach islands far beyond Britain and gather tongues far different from English.

To look out over unreached lands and sing “Jesus shall reign” is always a cry of faith, but Watts needed far more faith than we do today. The mustard seed of the kingdom had grown large by 1719 (when Watts published the hymn), but its branches had not yet spread far beyond the Western world (Matthew 13:31–32). It was not the kind of tree we see today, sheltering multitudes of peoples far south and east of Europe and North America.

Nevertheless, Watts knew his Bible — and in particular, he knew Psalm 72, of which “Jesus Shall Reign” is a Christian paraphrase. And so, by faith he sang of the day when “the whole earth [would] be filled with his glory” (Psalm 72:19).

Song in the South Seas

Two themes dominate the hymn the Tongans sang 160 Pentecosts ago: the universal reach of Jesus’s reign, and the unrivaled blessings of that reign. The risen Christ is on the move, undeterred until his blessed foot treads every coastland and continent, every inland and island, from Israel to England to Tonga. The Tongans sang because Christ’s reign had reached even them, and because his was the kind of reign to make one sing.

Universal Reach

The first stanza of Watts’s hymn, quoted above, finds its inspiration from words like these:

May he have dominion from sea to sea,
     and from the River to the ends of the earth! . . .
May his name endure forever,
     his fame continue as long as the sun! (Psalm 72:8, 17)

“A boundaryless, timeless kingdom calls for an omnipotent, eternal King.”

Psalm 72 comes from Solomon’s hand, written in the first place as a tribute to “the royal son” (Psalm 72:1). Clearly, however, the psalm speaks of a king greater than Solomon, even at the height of his strength: this royal Son’s kingdom is boundaryless (“to the ends of the earth”) and timeless (“endure forever”). And a boundaryless, timeless kingdom calls for an omnipotent, eternal King.

Far before 1862, then, God had planned to give Tonga to his Son. And so, Solomon, inspired by the Spirit, sang of the day when “the kings . . . of the coastlands [would] render him tribute” (Psalm 72:10), captured in the second verse of Watts’s hymn:

Behold the islands with their kings,
And Europe her best tribute brings;
From North to South the Princes meet
To pay their homage at his feet.

On Tonga, one more island and one more king rendered tribute to Jesus. One more southern coastland paid homage at his feet. One more prince found his place in ancient prophecy, and bowed before the God who had pursued him.

Unrivaled Blessings

Conquered peoples seldom sing the reign of their new king — at least not willingly and gladly. Yet here is where Christ’s kingship differs so markedly from “the kings of the Gentiles” (Luke 22:25), for he conquers in order to bless. As Watts puts it,

Blessings abound where e’re he reigns,
The prisoner leaps to lose his chains,
The weary find eternal rest,
And all the sons of want are blest.

Wherever King Jesus plants his scepter, flowers bloom in fields of thorns, prisoners run for release, and the weariest of all finally rest. He is, Solomon says, “like rain that falls on the mown grass, like showers that water the earth!” (Psalm 72:6). And therefore, “May people be blessed in him, all nations call him blessed!” (Psalm 72:17). In 1862, the Tongans were, and did.

Some today may cringe at the claim that a nation like Tonga needs Jesus — indeed, is lost without him. The idea may sound like it belongs to the Age of Imperialism. But those who have felt sin’s bone-bruising chains, and the black cell of guilt, and the impossibility of escape — and have heard, at last, the King’s “come forth!” — cannot cringe. Rather, we sing.

Some of the Tongans, remember, had eaten humans. But now, those very mouths were praising the risen Christ. We may be more civilized sinners, but we have similar stories to tell, don’t we? The hands that once flew in rage now gently rise in praise. The feet that once fled to the far country now carry us to worship. The minds that once invented evil now weave good works. The eyes that once feasted on all that’s forbidden now gladly gaze at Christ.

Whatever the culture or background, Jesus reigns to bless — to redeem all the good, remove all the bad, and scatter gifts with open hands.

He Shall Reign

On Pentecost 1862, while the newspapers reported the progress of war, God was quietly advancing his kingdom among the coastlands. The tree from the mustard seed sprouted a new branch; the leaven of the kingdom rose a little higher. And so, on Pentecost 2022, we might reasonably wonder what marvels God is working outside the day’s headlines. Perhaps this morning, a nation on some far distant island began to sing his reign.

Regardless, we can join Watts, King George, and the five thousand Tongans to say it shall be. “Jesus Shall Reign” is not a prayer, but a declaration, and rightly so. For the day is coming soon when the psalm and the hymn will find their fulfillment, when the flag of the slain Lamb will wave on every hill, and every tongue will hail the reign of Christ the blessed Lord.

This article originally appeared on Desiring God and is used with permission of the author.

Photo by Shaah Shahidh on Unsplash

There’s a Fierce Spiritual Battle at the Heart of Abortion

As should be obvious from the intensity of the outcries to the Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade, when it comes to abortion, we are not talking about a topic that is just hotter than any other. Abortion is birthed by a force of darkness that will bitterly resist every effort to combat it, and which requires earnest and sustained prayer and alertness to the spiritual battle (Ephesians 6:10-20). The abortion battle is fought in the realm of thoughts and ideas.

Paul says, “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5). That’s why I believe that if the darkness of child-killing is to be overcome with the light of truth and compassion, it will require spiritual warfare, fought with humble and consistent prayer (Ephesians 6:10–20).

As I develop in my novels Lord Foulgrin’s Letters and The Ishbane Conspiracy, there are demonic forces behind child-killing. Abortion is Satan’s attempt to kill God in effigy by destroying the little ones created in God’s image. We are not dealing here with “one more social issue,” but a unique and focused evil in which Satan has deeply vested interests.

Here’s how the demon Prince Ishbane describes abortion in a letter to Foulgrin, a subordinate demon, in The Ishbane Conspiracy:

I’m delighted at Brittany’s willingness to sacrifice her child on our altar. Praise Moloch. There’s nothing the Enemy [God] hates more than the shedding of innocent blood. So there’s nothing we love more. Nothing defines our control of a culture more than the frequency of child killing. Whatever they kill children in the name of—whether Moloch or choice or convenience or compassion—doesn’t matter. What matters is the killing itself.

The Enemy’s fond of His tiniest sludgebags. Often He uses them against us. He uses babies to turn irresponsible adults into responsible ones. He makes those who’ve scorned family values embrace them. What happens to the person who gives himself to care for the child? The elderly? The handicapped? He grows in compassion. Patience. Self-sacrifice. He becomes disgustingly less like us and more like the Enemy.

The more of the brats we can eliminate, the better. Our slogan on earth is “every child a wanted child.” In Erebus we say it plainly: “Every unwanted child a dead child.” When it comes to unwanted children, the Enemy seeks to remove the “unwanted.” We seek to remove the “children.”

Keep telling Brittany she’s making the best choice for every person involved. Just make sure she doesn’t think of the primary person involved.

Clouding Brittany’s brain comes down to the pronouns. As long as the baby is an “it,” not a “he” or “she,” we win. Make it “terminating a pregnancy,” never “killing a baby.” It’s all semantics. If a woman wants her baby, everyone recognizes the baby’s real. Kicking inside her. Clearly visible in the ultrasound. “Do you know if the baby’s a boy or a girl?” they’re routinely asked. But if they want to kill the baby, then shut their mouths about such things. Make them pretend.

We’ve exalted the word choice to a sacred mantra. Keep their focus on the grand notion of choice and off the particular choice in question. Ask them if they’re pro-choice and they’ll say yes. Don’t let them ask the obvious: “What choice are you talking about?” Are they pro-choice about rape, kidnapping, gay bashing, racial violence, and assault and bat­tery? Of course not. Are they pro-choice about killing preborn children? Of course, because every choice is good, isn’t it?

Don’t let them see what laws against murder and rape and kidnapping and child abuse do—they all restrict a person’s right to choose. In the Enemy’s moral framework, one per­son’s choice ends where another’s begins. The woman doesn’t choose to be raped. The Jews don’t choose to be gassed. The blacks don’t choose to be hung. The babies don’t choose to be aborted.

We celebrate choices that inflict suffering on the weak. The Enemy doesn’t. Our job is to make the vermin think like us, not Him.

Two go into the clinic. Only one comes out alive. Two victims for each abortion—one dead, one wounded. Two for the price of one! Hell’s sidewalk sale.

Jesus said of the devil, “He was a murderer from the beginning...when he lies he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44). It is no accident that Jesus speaks about Satan’s murders and his lies in the same breath. Lies are the wheels that turn every holocaust. To pull off his murders, Satan tells us lies. He is so eloquent, so persuasive in his lies, and we are so gullible, that we fall for his schemes (2 Corinthians 2:11). He masquerades as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14), calling right wrong and wrong right, making us think—as many pro-choicers do—that they are taking the moral high ground and doing what’s right even as they defend something unspeakably immoral. We’ve seen that more than ever at this time in our nation’s history as pro-abortion forces are mobilized and motivated and will aggressively raise funds and recruit volunteers to fight to make abortion universally legal once again.

I don’t hate those who are pro-choice or believe they are the devil incarnate. We should pray for them and look for ways to have real dialogues full of both grace and truth. I know and like many who support what they call reproductive choice. I have listened to them, read their books, and watched their videos. (I think it’s fair to say I’ve studied the pro-choice arguments far more than most pro-choice people have.) I do not imagine people who are pro-choice are plotting to destroy civilization. I think they honestly believe that abortion is a necessary option that is ultimately best both for women and our society. But that doesn’t change the ugliness and darkness of what they are supporting or the fact that abortion brutally ends a child’s life.

I encourage you to download (without cost) my short book Pro-Choice or Pro-Life: Examining 15 Pro-Choice Claims—What Do Facts & Common Sense Tell Us?  It will equip you in your conversations and also is a great book to share with those who are pro-choice or are on the fence.

Photo by Brian Erickson on Unsplash

“One Anothers” You Won’t Find in the New Testament

Note from Randy: I love this article by Ray Ortlund, who shares great insights on his blog. In fact, I’ve considered asking him if we could just have blanket permission to repost a number of his articles! (Here are some of the past ones I’ve shared.)

Before you read today’s article, here’s an article from Tim Challies, listing out the true “one anothers” in Scripture. Then contrast them with what Ray says below.

The beautiful “one another” commands of the New Testament are famous. But it is also striking to notice the “one anothers” that do not appear there.

For example, sanctify one another, humble one another, scrutinize one another, pressure one another, embarrass one another, corner one another, interrupt one another, defeat one another, sacrifice one another, shame one another, marginalize one another, exclude one another, judge one another, run one another’s lives, confess one another’s sins . . . .

The kind of God we really believe in is revealed in how we treat one another. The lovely gospel of Jesus positions us to treat one another like royalty, and every non-gospel positions us to treat one another like dirt.  But we will follow through horizontally on whatever we really believe vertically.

Our relationships with one another reveal to us what we really believe as opposed to what we think we believe, our convictions as opposed to our opinions. It is possible for the gospel to remain at the shallow level of opinion, even sincere opinion, without penetrating to the deeper level of conviction. But when the gospel grips us down in our convictions, we embrace its implications wholeheartedly. Therefore, when we mistreat one another, our problem is not a lack of surface niceness but a lack of gospel depth. What we need is not only better manners but, far more, true faith.

Then the watching world might start feeling that Jesus himself has come to town:

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34-35)

This article originally appeared on Ray's blog and is used with permission.

Photo by Åaker on Unsplash