Randy Alcorn's Blog, page 69

Why Do You Want to Be Happy?

Based on books I’ve read, sermons I’ve heard, and conversations I’ve had, it’s clear many Christians believe that humanity’s desire for happiness was birthed in the fall and is part of the curse. Hence, the desire to be happy is often assumed to be the desire to sin.

But what if our desire for happiness was a gift designed by God before sin entered the world? If we believed this, how would it affect our lives, our parenting, our ministry, our entertainment, and our relationships? How would it affect our approach to sharing the gospel?

A Longing Written on Our Hearts

Augustine asked rhetorically, “Is not a happy life the thing that all desire, and is there anyone who altogether desires it not?” He added, “But where did they acquire the knowledge of it, that they so desire it? Where have they seen it, that they so love it?” (Confessions).

God has written his law on our hearts (Romans 2:15). There’s compelling evidence he’s also written on our hearts a powerful desire for happiness. In fact, this has been the consensus of theologians throughout church history. Since we inherited our sin nature from Adam, it’s likely we also inherited a sense of his and Eve’s pre-fall happiness. Why else do we long for something better than the only world in which we’ve ever lived?

Before the fall, Adam and Eve undoubtedly anticipated good food, which likely tasted even better than they imagined. But after the fall, the opposite became true. We expect more of food, work, relationships, and everything else than what we experience. We live in a darkened world, but our disappointments demonstrate that we retain expectations and hopes of a brighter one.

Evolution Has No Eden

Were we merely the product of natural selection and survival of the fittest, we’d have no grounds for believing any ancient happiness existed. But even those who’ve never been taught about the fall and the curse instinctively know something is seriously wrong with this world. We’re nostalgic for an Eden of which we’ve only tasted hints. These hints are trickles of water in our parched mouths, causing us to crave and search for rivers of pure, cold water.

Anglican bishop J.C. Ryle (1816–1900) wrote, “Happiness is what all mankind wants to obtain — the desire of it is deeply planted in the human heart” (Practical Religion).

If this desire is “deeply planted” in our hearts, who planted it? If not God, who else? Satan? The devil isn’t happy and has no happiness to give. He’s a liar and murderer, dispensing rat poison in cheerful wrappers. He hates God and us, and his strategy is to convince us to look for happiness everywhere but in its only ultimate Source.

The Good News of God’s Happiness

Did Adam and Eve desire happiness before they sinned? Did they enjoy the food God provided because it tasted sweet? Did they sit in the sun because it felt warm, or jump into the water because it felt refreshing? And was God pleased or displeased when they did? Our answers will dramatically affect the way we see both God and the world. If we believe God is happy, then it makes sense that part of being made in his image is having both the desire and the capacity for happiness.

Sadly, Christ-followers routinely say things like, “God doesn’t want you to be happy; he wants you to be holy.” But holiness and happiness are two sides of the same coin — we dare not pit them against each other.

Not all attempts at holiness honor God, any more than all attempts at happiness honor him. The Pharisees had a passionate desire to be holy on their own terms and for their own glory. Christ’s response? “You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires” (John 8:44). God wants us to seek true, Christ-centered happiness in him, while Satan wants us to seek false holiness with self-congratulatory pride.

Other Christians say, “God wants you blessed, not happy,” or “God is interested in your growth, not your happiness.” Such statements may sound spiritual, but they’re not. Does the false message that God doesn’t want us to be happy really promote what Scripture calls the “good news of happiness” (Isaiah 52:7), or does it actually obscure the gospel?

What good father doesn’t want his children to be happy — to delight in good things? If we tell our churches and children that God doesn’t want them happy, what are we teaching them? That God isn’t a good Father? Should we be surprised when children raised with this message turn away from God, the Bible, and the church to seek from the world the happiness our Creator wired them to want? As Thomas Aquinas wrote, “Man is unable not to wish to be happy” (Summa Theologica).

Happiness in Jesus

By creating distance between the gospel and happiness, we send the unbiblical message that the Christian faith is dull and miserable. We should speak against sin but hold up Christ as the happiness for which everyone longs. If we don’t, then we become partly responsible for the world’s tragic and widespread misperception that Christianity takes away happiness, instead of bringing it.

Separating God from happiness and our longing for happiness undermines the attractiveness of God and the appeal of the Christian worldview. When we send the message, “God doesn’t want you to be happy,” we might as well say, “God doesn’t want you to breathe.” When we say, “Stop wanting to be happy,” it’s like saying, “Stop thirsting.”

People must breathe and drink and seek happiness because that’s how God made us. The real question is whether we will breathe clean air, drink pure water, and seek our happiness in Jesus.

Browse more resources on the topic of happiness, and see Randy’s related books, including Happiness and Does God Want Us to Be Happy?

Photo by Jacqueline Munguía on Unsplash

He Turned His Business over to God: Stanley Tam’s Story

When I was writing my book Giving Is the Good Life, there were some people of times past I wished I could have interviewed. One of them was Stanley Tam, whom I’d read about years earlier. I couldn’t find Stanley’s date of death online, but considering he was born in 1915, it seemed safe to assume he had already died. I contacted a friend who’d known Stanley to find out more about his life. I was shocked by his response: “Want to talk to Stanley on the phone this Saturday?”

So to my delight, I spoke with then-102-year-old Stanley Tam. (And to my further surprise, before posting this blog, we confirmed that Stanley is still living at age 105!)

Here’s his story, with parts of our conversation woven in.

In 1934, as a young door-to-door salesman, Stanley Tam met a farmer’s wife who told him about Jesus. Six weeks later, while in a church, he placed his faith in Christ.

With twenty-five dollars of his own in his pocket, plus twelve dollars from his father, he launched United States Plastic Corporation, in Lima, Ohio.

Stanley told me, “I started the business in 1936, and I soon went broke. I was so discouraged. Then the Lord spoke to me: ‘Turn it over to me; I’ll make it succeed.’”

So Stanley legally made God the company’s majority owner—51 percent of company stock was given to a nonprofit, which in turn gave all the earnings to God’s Kingdom. Stanley believed that God wanted to run the business with Stanley as his employee.

God Was Just Getting Started

It turned out 51 percent wasn’t enough!

Stanley became familiar with an effective international ministry that he heard was closing due to lack of funds. He contacted them and said, “If I could trust God to provide $50,000 more per year to give you, would you open the ministry back up?”

They said yes.

In our conversation over the phone, Stanley’s voice grew animated, and he sounded half of his 102 years. He told me, “That ministry is still going. We’re now in forty-two countries, and we have thousands of people going door-to-door bringing people God’s Word and the plan of salvation.”

I loved that he said “we.” Where your treasure is, there your heart will also be (Matthew 6:21), and when you give to God’s work, you invest in his Kingdom. You are thinking and acting like someone with vested interests. When we spoke in 2017, more than 140,000 people had professed Christ the previous year through the ministry Stanley supported, and many churches had been planted.

Stanley told me about a meeting in South America in 1955 where he spoke and saw God work powerfully in people’s lives. He explained, “God spoke to me and said, ‘Stanley, if a soul is the most precious thing in the world, would you go back to the United States and turn your entire business over to me? And would you use the profits to spread the gospel around the world?’”

“Lord, you already have 51 percent of it,” Stanley replied. “Isn’t that enough?”

Then Stanley sensed God saying to him, “Stanley, on the cross, I paid it all for you. Now you’re my disciple. And I want you to do what I ask.”

A Call to Obedience

You might be thinking that since Stanley is an extraordinary man of faith, this all came easily for him. It didn’t.

Stanley said, “You’ll never know the struggle I went through that night. Finally I said, ‘All right Lord, you can have it.’” He added, “I just wanted to be obedient.”

Stanley’s wife, Juanita, agreed to follow the Lord in this too, and the Tams gave 100 percent of the company to God, meaning all the profits went to gospel ministry. It was only then that Stanley found the joy in giving over to God what he knew belonged to him. Stanley had a new plant built, four times bigger and facing an interstate, with huge letters installed on the side of the building: “Christ Is the Answer.”

Though Stanley’s salary was a mere fraction of that of a typical CEO, he gave substantially out of his income. In fact, he told me, “When my salary was $78,000, our personal giving was about $30,000.”

The company now produces more than 30,000 products and serves more than 85,000 customers. Stanley Tam had a wonderful business career in which he brought the world high-quality plastics. But more important, he brought the world what will last forever.

Serving God in the Twilight Years

So what did Stanley do when he retired? He opened a small woodworking shop a mile up the street. His sign outside said, “Are you seeking peace in your heart? The answer is in the Bible.” Underneath was this offer: “Come inside for a free Bible.”

Wes Lytle, Stanley’s successor as president of U.S. Plastic Corp., said, “We’re different than most companies. We’re similar in that we want to make as much money as we possibly can, but the purpose is totally different. . . . What is that purpose? To give away as much money as we possibly can, for the glory of Jesus and the good of others!”1 U.S. Plastic Corp. has cumulatively contributed more than $150 million to God’s Kingdom.

Is Stanley Tam “coasting” now that he’s nearing the end of his life? Not even close. At the time we talked, he was praying a few hours in the morning and again in the evening. He told me, “I’ve talked to more than one hundred people about Jesus in this retirement home. And I’ve led twelve to the Lord.”

If we truly believe that God owns everything and that we owe him everything for giving us all the goodness we’ve ever known or will ever know, then Stanley Tam’s actions make perfect sense. While the details of our circumstances may vary, the heart behind generosity can be the same. Stanley’s life, and the lives of others like him, should stir us to say, “What can I do that would express the same faith in God’s ownership and lordship of all I am and all I own?”

At the end of our conversation, Tam said, “People used to tell me, ‘Stanley, you’re giving it all away! Why aren’t you keeping it?’ I told them, ‘I am putting it in the bank account in Heaven.’”

As I heard Stanley speak, I could imagine another voice—a louder and stronger voice—saying to him, “Well done, my good and faithful servant.”

If you’re interested in learning more about Stanley’s story, here’s an hour-long documentary of his life. And here’s a 39-minute presentation that Stanley gave ten years ago. His story is also told in the book God Owns My Business.

For more on giving, see Randy’s books Giving Is the Good Life, The Treasure Principle, and  Money, Possessions, and Eternity .

My Novel Deadline and a Story of God’s Relentless Love

Deadline was my very first novel. I am still amazed by its ongoing impact. And so grateful. 

Because it was my first fiction book, and therefore, I didn’t know what I was doing, I think it is probably the poorest written of any of my novels. Yet certainly God has reached far more people through it than, for instance, one of my later novels, a book the publisher was certain at the time, would affect far more people. Though that other book has certainly been used by God to touch many, it shows that neither I nor they knew what God was going to choose to do through Deadline. I’m so glad that’s true!

Despite the fact that I finished writing it in 1993, twenty-eight years ago, in the last few months, our ministry has received multiple reader responses to Deadline. I have long believed that the Holy Spirit providentially brings certain books to the fore at certain times, touching many hearts even with older books and sometimes not bestsellers. For example, it seems like years go by and no one says anything about Edge of Eternity, but then out of the blue in a single week we get three letters from different parts of the country, or world, about how it changed people’s lives. Same with Money, Possessions, and Eternity; If God Is Good; Safely Home; and others. Each time it makes me smile because it’s not just a weird coincidence. Our God of providence is choosing to work in His own time and way. One of the countless things I love about Him!

Here’s a touching letter a reader sent me last week:

On May 4, 1997 my father finally made his way back to God. You see, he had a very turmoil-filled few years where he lost his faith, made some poor decisions, and just doubted God’s love for him, like many of us do. But that lovely Sunday morning he got up, got around, and took myself and my brother to church for the first time in months. It was wonderful, my grandmother was astounded and cried tears of joy and praises to God for this day. She has a warrior’s heart and the moment my father started to doubt God’s love, she fervently started to pray for him. They had had a falling out, and were not talking as much as they normally did, but through it all she knew that God was faithful and would deliver my dad from this dark hole he spiraled into.

And she was right. A few weeks previous…she had prayed and asked God for a way to speak to my dad. And she was nudged to go to the local Christian bookstore. She looked and just couldn’t find anything worthwhile, so a gentleman came over and asked her how he could help. The associate listened to my grandma and the story of my dad patiently. When she finished, he instantly said, “I know the perfect book.” He led her to a bookshelf and picked up Deadline.

She gave it to my dad and made him promise to read it. He devoured it. The Sunday he finally packed us all up and went back to church he had two chapters left.

The following Monday, May 5, 1997, he called my grandma, and they had a fantastic talk and he thanked her for never giving up on him. He told her he finished the book she got him, and he said she should read it. He said the ending will surprise you.

After that call ended my grandma prayed and thanked God for everything. She said, “God filled my heart with the knowing that your daddy’s heart was back with Him!” She has told me this so surely my whole life, I have no doubt. That night our lives changed forever. My dad went to be with the Lord.

It was a freak reckless driving accident. My dad was killed instantly. His best friend [died] the next night in the hospital. It mirrored your story so much, that it’s been difficult to read your book for years. I finally started it last night.

I say all of this as a thank you! Your book and countless prayers from many are some of the reasons that I know I will see my daddy in Heaven again. That our story is truly just on hold until we are reunited with our Lord and Savior forever. —E.H.

And here are six other notes we’ve received over the last few months—trust me, no one is more surprised than I am we are still getting them!

Your description of the man entering Heaven and meeting Jesus was one of the best things outside of God’s Word that I’ve read. Unbelievably impactful. I wept as I read it years ago and wept as I shared it with my Sunday school class. It still moves me. —J.M.

You will always be in my heart and prayers as the person who wrote Deadline that brought me to my knees and into eternity with Jesus. —P.S.

Deadline gave me my first glimpse into the fullness of Heaven which helped Heaven to become a living reality. It also sent me on a search for understanding more of the more that God has prepared for us. Today, I see Heaven. And I see my husband worshipping our God with all the saints who have gone before him. So while the process of dying still offends my senses I nonetheless look forward to an endless life of sinlessness in the presence of our holy God. Thank you for writing Deadline, Randy! —S.S.

I hate to read. I am sure it’s some undiagnosed learning thing. The Lord had me read this [Deadline] right before we adopted our son who turned out to have a rare birth defect. He was diagnosed around the time I read this book. It brought me the most amazing amount of peace. It helped me so very much during some of the darkest times. Reading about the Down syndrome topics in this book was AMAZINGLY helpful. I also LOVE your imagination of Heaven. When I think of the part that talks about how all the angels wanted to go through the portal to stop the “puny men” from hurting our LORD... I sobbed for hours after reading that. You, dear man, have given us a glimpse of Heaven....thank you from the bottom of my heart. —J.J.H.

I am just finishing your novel, Deadline—wow! When I saw you included scenes of Heaven, I was prepared for something lame, frankly, but they were both biblical and realistic! Thanks for a great read! —D.F.

Not long ago in one of your posts you referenced a book you had written years ago. Since I had read your book on Heaven, I wanted to check out this one you talked about, Deadline. Oh. My. Word. Though published in ‘94 it’s a mirror of deeper understanding to me today. You mentioned matters in this book I had never heard of but KNOW they are happening NOW. I’m almost finished with this book and will be passing it along as one of the most timely books of our day in 2021! —A.R.

Languages and Laughter in Heaven, and a 9-Year-Old Reader in France

This tweet from a pastor in France touched me deeply. He kindly gave us permission to use his words and the photo he posted of his son.

Jason Procopio 

My son (9) is loving the logic of “Touchpoints: Heaven” by @randyalcorn (French translation): we can hear him from the other room reading the passage quoted, then the book’s conclusion, and saying, “That makes sense.”

It is so encouraging to hear from readers in other countries. Counting each of my books in each language as one book, I now have five times more books in other languages than in English. When I look at my books in other languages on the shelf, I sometimes marvel at how far God has taken them and what lasting impact there may be even in books which have gone out of print but will fall into someone’s hands at the right time and place in the providence of God.

This is true for all of us: we just won’t know how far our work has gone, by God’s grace, until we are with Him. I think we will be blown away by the stories we will hear from the people that we meet.  

Here’s an excerpt from TouchPoints: Heaven (French translation Les pieds sur terre, les yeux vers le ciel):

Languages

What languages will we speak in Heaven?

“They cried out in a loud voice.” (Revelation 7:10, NIV)

This singular “voice” implies a shared language. This could be a trade language, Heaven’s equivalent to Swahili or English, second languages that many know in addition to their native languages, allowing them to communicate. Or the common language could be our primary one. It may be a universal language God grants us without our having to learn it. If he wishes, God could allow us to understand all languages even if we can’t speak them.

“At one time all the people of the world spoke the same language and used the same words. . . . Then they said, ‘Come, let’s build a great city for ourselves with a tower that reaches into the sky. This will make us famous and keep us from being scattered all over the world.’ But the Lord came down to look at the city and the tower the people were building. ‘Look!’ he said. ‘The people are united, and they all speak the same language. After this, nothing they set out to do will be impossible for them! Come, let’s go down and confuse the people with different languages. Then they won’t be able to understand each other.’” (Genesis 11:1, 4-7)

TheBabelaccount offers clues to the importance of shared language in an ideal society. God confused the language of the people and dispersed them, so their great city went unfinished. Notice that all people originally shared one language, which empowered them to cooperate together in great achievements. But because they were united in self-glorification rather than God-glorification, they embraced a false unity that would’ve empowered further rebellion and self-destruction. Because the people weren’t united around their God-designed purpose to rule the earth for his glory, God removed a source of their destructive unity and power—their shared language. Once mankind is made righteous and entrusted with stewarding the New Earth, God will likely restore a common language.

Laughter and Fun

Will we laugh in Heaven?

 “Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven.” (Luke 6:23, NIV)

Just as Jesus promises satisfaction as a reward in Heaven, he also promises laughter as a reward. Anticipating the laughter to come, Jesus says we should leap for joy now. Can you imagine someone leaping for joy in utter silence, without laughter? Take any group of rejoicing people, and what do you hear? Laughter. If God didn’t have a sense of humor, we as his image bearers wouldn’t. It is God’s gift to humanity, a gift that will be raised to new levels after our bodily resurrection.

 “God blesses you who are hungry now, for you will be satisfied. God blesses you who weep now, for in due time you will laugh.” (Luke 6:21)

The reward of those who mourn now will be laughter later. I’m convinced Christ will laugh with us, and his wit and fun-loving nature will be our greatest source of endless laughter.

Does Using VidAngel to Screen Offensive Content out of Movies Still Involve Financially Supporting Hollywood?

A reader wrote:

I ran across your blog while researching VidAngel. I’m a Christian, and a mom to seven. We love movies and are pretty choosy because of content. I’m thinking VidAngel is an amazing answer for us, in wanting to enjoy so many stories without the smut. 

But I had a friend ask, “Aren’t we still supporting those who make movies with all this content we wish to avoid?” I’m struggling with the moral question of whether to financially support Hollywood, even though my contribution would be miniscule in comparison to what they already make. Is this an issue you could speak to?

Here's my answer:

I think it’s similar to how we view Wallstreet. If you invest in stocks, you should stay away from those that clearly dishonor God. But just because some stocks are immoral doesn’t mean I shouldn’t invest in good ones. None of us have the power to turn a bad stock into a good one. But if you have the power to remove from a movie everything that dishonors God, why not use it?

If you go to see some movies in theaters that are appropriate, arguably you are indirectly supporting those that aren't and are making the theater profitable. If you buy milk from a store that also sells inappropriate magazines, is that acceptable? If there was a piece of clothing that was inappropriate, could you buy it and sew on something that would make it appropriate? That’s what I think VidAngel is doing—It’s taking mostly decent movies and removing what isn’t decent. (If a movie is mostly bad, and some certainly are, I wouldn’t use VidAngel with it. I just wouldn’t watch it at all.)

I am more concerned about what I take into my mind than what the movie industry makes money on. They are not making money on my choice to listen to their bad language or watch their bad scenes, because I’m not doing that. True, technically a handful of Christians who use VidAngel to morally screen a movie may at an extremely small level contribute to the financial success of that movie. But I think that’s negligible. In the same way, if you buy from a store owned by Mormons (or for that matter if you subscribe to VidAngel) you are supporting Mormons. But if you knew who owned the other stores there would likely be atheists, supporters of Planned Parenthood etc., who in their own way are as bad as Hollywood.

The truth is many Christians do end up watching things on Netflix and Amazon Prime, etc.—as well as on network TV—trying them and hoping they will be moral, then seeing what they shouldn’t. With VidAngel, you don’t have to hope because it actually will screen out what you’ve told it to screen out—I will never see a sex scene, hear the Lord’s name taken in vain, or hear the f-word. You are making choices to guard your mind. To me that outweighs the considerations. Of course, everyone has to make their own choices. It’s a matter of conscience, and if your conscience says don’t use a service like Vidangel, then don’t. But realize the consciences of others, such as mine, tell them that’s exactly what they should do. It’s just like Romans 14 says:

5 One person considers one day more sacred than another; another considers every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind. 6 Whoever regards one day as special does so to the Lord. Whoever eats meat does so to the Lord, for they give thanks to God; and whoever abstains does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God….

13 Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister. 14 I am convinced, being fully persuaded in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for that person it is unclean….

22 So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who does not condemn himself by what he approves.

Browse more resources on the topic of purity, and see Randy's book The Purity Principle and his booklet Sexual Temptation.

Photo by Jonas Leupe on Unsplash

Spurgeon on the Ever-Living Gospel and the Person of Jesus

Note from Randy: I’d been a pastor for ten years before I discovered the writings of Charles Spurgeon, and then I couldn’t get enough of him. The Bible oozed out of his pores, and he let Scripture be Scripture, rarely twisting it to fit his theology.

One of my books on Heaven, We Shall See God, contains segments from his sermons on Heaven, so about 60% of the book is Spurgeon. It was one of my favorite books to work on, since I extracted my favorite portions from many of his messages. One day I’ll meet him and say, “Don’t know if you realized we were co-authors. There really wasn’t any way I could ask your permission!”

I enjoyed these writings from Spurgeon on the gospel and Jesus, which I found through the excellent Logos software.

“But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.”—1 Pet. 1:25.

ALL human teaching and, indeed, all human beings, shall pass away as the grass of the meadow; but we are here assured that the word of the Lord is of a very different character, for it shall endure for ever.

We have here a divine gospel; for what word can endure for ever but that which is spoken by the eternal God?

We have here an ever-living gospel, as full of vitality as when it first came from the lip of God; as strong to convince and convert, to regenerate and console, to sustain and sanctify, as ever it was in its first days of wonder-working.

We have an unchanging gospel, which is not to-day green grass, and to-morrow dry hay; but always the abiding truth of the immutable Jehovah. Opinions alter, but truth certified by God can no more change than the God who uttered it.

Here, then, we have a gospel to rejoice in, a word of the Lord upon which we may lean all our weight. “For ever” includes life, death, judgment, and eternity. Glory be to God in Christ Jesus for everlasting consolation. Feed on the word to-day, and all the days of thy life. [1]

“I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness.”—John 12:46.

THIS world is dark as midnight; Jesus has come that by faith we may have light, and may no longer sit in the gloom which covers all the rest of mankind.

Whosoever is a very wide term: it means you and me. If we trust in Jesus we shall no more sit in the dark shadow of death, but shall enter into the warm light of a day which shall never end. Why do we not come out into the light at once?

A cloud may sometimes hover over us, but we shall not abide in darkness if we believe in Jesus. He has come to give us broad daylight. Shall he come in vain? If we have faith we have the privilege of sunlight: let us enjoy it. From the night of natural depravity, of ignorance, of doubt, of despair, of sin, of dread, Jesus has come to set us free; and all believers shall know that he no more comes in vain than the sun rises and fails to scatter his heat and light.

Shake off thy depression, dear brother. Abide not in the dark, but abide in the light. In Jesus is thy hope, thy joy, thy heaven. Look to him, to him only, and thou shalt rejoice as the birds rejoice at sunrise, and as the angels rejoice before the throne. [2]

Faith and the Nature of Christ

No idea of the Lord Jesus Christ approaches to correctness which does not see in his one person the two natures of God and man united. In that person, wherein were blended, but not confused, the Godhead and the Manhood, a practical faith has its most ample help. Jesus sympathizes with the condition in which the struggler after excellence finds himself, for he also was tempted in all points like as we are; he knows the difficulties which grow out of the infirmities of flesh and blood, for he felt sickness and pain, poverty and hunger, weakness and depression. It is a great gain in a human career, a specially suitable assistance, to have an unlimited power at one’s side sympathizing with our weakness.

Nor is the advantage less in the other direction, for here is a Man, bound to us by relationship and affection the most intense, who is not only tender to the last degree of our suffering nature, but is also as wise as he is brotherly, and as mighty to subdue our faults as he is gentle to bear with our frailties. His Manhood brings Jesus down to us, but united with the Divine nature it lifts us up to God. The Lord Jesus thus not only ministers to our comfort, but to our betterment, which is the greater concern of the two.

Could faith believe in a Being more answerable to all our needs, more helpful to our noblest longings? Allied to Jesus, we confidently aspire to such likeness to our Creator as it is possible for a creature to bear.

Enthusiasm for the Person of Jesus

The love of the believer to the Lord Jesus is intensely personal and enthusiastic. It overtops all other affections. His love, his sufferings, his perfections, his glories fill the heart and set it on fire. There is more force in the love of an actual living person than in subscription to any set of doctrines however important they may be. The courage of a leader has often produced deeds of daring which no philosophy could have demanded. Our glorious leader, Christ Jesus, inspires his followers with a burning passion, an all-consuming zeal, an irrepressible enthusiasm, which supplies all the energy which the noblest life can need. It is no small aid to our noblest ambition to have our hearts captured by incarnate holiness.

Faith in the Life of Christ on Earth

The more we examine the character of the Lord Jesus Christ, the more are we filled with admiration of it. In the gospels we have a fourfold photograph of his countenance, taken from different positions. Putting these together, or even meditating upon any one of them, we are charmed with its singular beauty. Nor is this at all remarkable, for almost every man in the world, believer or unbeliever, has acknowledged the singular excellence of the life of Christ. It is so original, so transcendent, so perfect, that all men, except certain blinded partisans, sworn to run-a-muck at all things holy, have bowed before its glory, and regarded it as the beau-idéal of perfect manhood. Now this is in Scripture set before us as an example, therefore it is imitable; and better still, it is set forth as the ordained pattern to which the believer is to be conformed are God’s great work is done. To have a high ideal, to be assured that we can reach it, and to have a capable Helper, who will enable us to reach it—this is to have a grand assistance towards a life of virtue. Faith in this Exemplar, who is also our Saviour, must minister strength in our life-battle. To aspire to such a perfect character, as the salvation which we most desire, is to be already saved in principle. It is a great comfort to be fired with an ambition to be like Jesus. Salvation from hell to heaven every selfish wretch may wish for; but to be saved from selfishness into the image of Christ is that which only the renewed in heart are pining for, and by that pining their salvation is assured.

Faith in the Principles of Christ’s Life

It is observable that the self-denial of our Lord Jesus, which was complete and entire beyond all suspicion, proved to be for him the way to that pre-eminence of glory which he now enjoys. He is above all things because he stooped to the lowest and meanest state. It is his honour that he laid aside his glory, and bowed to the greatest shame and scorn. His glory in the hearts of his redeemed is this, that he made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and even died, the Just for the unjust, to bring us to God. No secondary motive deteriorated the compassionate self-sacrifice of Jesus; yet the abnegation of himself has turned to his boundless exaltation. Faith perceives this, and knowing that in this case one rule holds good for the Leader and the follower, it accepts all manner of service however menial, and consents with alacrity to a thorough self-emptying. To lose one’s life for truth’s sake and love’s sake is according to Biblical philosophy to save it. The complete sinking of self is the surest road to glory and immortality. Herein is the soul prepared or all ill-weathers, and rescued from a passion which is of all things else the most weakening to the force of virtue. [3]

 

[1] Spurgeon, C. H. (1893). The cheque book of the bank of faith: being precious promises arranged for daily use with brief comments (p. 244). New York: American Tract Society.

[2] Spurgeon, C. H. (1893). The cheque book of the bank of faith: being precious promises arranged for daily use with brief comments (p. 70). New York: American Tract Society.

[3] Spurgeon, C. H. (1892). The Clue of the Maze (pp. 94–101). London: Passmore & Alabaster.

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Our Giving Reflects the Ultimate Giver

Jesus makes it clear that the abundant life consists not in material abundance but in the life-giving spiritual abundance found only in Him. Eternal and abundant life begins in this world when we come to Jesus, the ultimate giver, and continues as we become more like Him. The gospel itself centers on the single greatest act of giving in the history of the universe.

As we learn to give, we draw closer to God. But no matter how far we progress in the grace of giving, Jesus Christ remains the unmatchable giver. It was He who left the wealth of heaven to make the supreme sacrifice to deliver us from eternal poverty and grant us eternal riches.

No matter how much we give, we can never out-give God.

In this video clip, I talk about how being made in the image of a generous God impacts our giving.

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

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Dads, Your Humble Willingness to Apologize to Your Kids Speaks Volumes

I remember vividly a meal and conversation Nanci and I shared with Tony and Lois Evans at an event we were speaking at. I never tire of his messages—I am always riveted. I thank God for Tony and his family and his many years of faithful ministry. I love what we hear from him and his son Anthony in this video about the need for fathers to apologize to their children. (In this article, I share a personal story and talk about how saying “I'm sorry, please forgive me,” may teach your children more than you would have by never failing, and far more than pretending you never fail.)

Watching this video made me reflect on my own relationship with my dad. When I was young, he was very tough on my brother and me. Though he could at times be good-natured and funny, his default mood seemed to be disapproval of us. Dad wasn’t abusive, but we were not at ease around him. He never came to my many games or school activities, only my mom was there. To me she was always the world’s best mom, but I came to really resent my dad.  In fact, I’m sad to say that from age 12 to 15, I actually hated him. 

I’ll never forget walking home after football, basketball, or track from Orient Grade School, and coming to that place on what was called then Harris Road, now 302nd, where I could first see my house a quarter of a mile away. I would immediately look to see whether dad’s car was in the driveway. Usually it wasn’t, and I would feel great relief. But when occasionally it was, I felt dread and would tighten up and try to figure out any way to avoid seeing him.

My dear sister Gail, my dad’s daughter by a previous marriage, saw a tender side to dad that I didn’t see until we had our daughters and observed how he was with them, very sweet and kind. I remember telling Nanci I wished I would’ve seen those qualities in my dad when I grew up in his house. But he faced a world of difficulties growing up and living through two World Wars and the Great Depression that I never did, and every time I think of him my heart is tender toward him.

I’m glad to say that after I came to faith in Christ, I immediately felt a love for my dad that I had never known before. I prayed for him for many years and at age 84, as he faced cancer, he came to faith in Christ. For the first time he seemed to need me and enjoy my company. That was a great gift of God to me, and I hope to him also. 

I feel no bitterness at all in my heart toward my dad, but I’m sorry to say I never once remember him apologizing to me for anything or even admitting he was wrong. I think that if he had, our relationship would’ve been very different. This is why the video with Tony Evans and his son is so powerful to me. I too am an imperfect dad and husband, so I certainly feel more empathy toward dad and his failures than I did when I was growing up. But I also know that I am right to hold myself to a higher standard, because while my dad never knew Jesus when I was a child, or any of his children were young, I did know Jesus by the time I had children. And in that sense, I have fewer excuses then my dad did for my own shortcomings.

My daughters Karina and Angela know my weaknesses and imperfections and when I failed them, sometimes knowing it, but most of the time not knowing. But I hope they also know the depth of my love for them, which is beyond anything I can express. I do recall times of asking their forgiveness for things I said and did, but I’m sure there were other times when I failed to do that. I thank God for His love and forgiveness.

Here is a great passage of Scripture for dads and their children, for husbands and wives, for siblings and for every family member, including those who are fellow members of a church family:  “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32).

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Heaven as Substance, Earth as Shadow

In his seventeenth-century classic Paradise Lost, John Milton describes Eden as a garden full of aromatic flowers, delicious fruit, and soft grass, lushly watered. He also connects Eden with Heaven, the source of earthly existence, portraying Heaven as a place of great pleasures and the source of Earth’s pleasures. In Milton’s story, the angel Raphael asks Adam,

What if Earth

Be but the shadow of Heav’n, and things therein

Each to other like, more then on Earth is thought?

Though the idea of Earth as Heaven’s shadow is seldom discussed, even in books on Heaven, it’s a concept that has biblical support. For example, the temple in Heaven is filled with smoke from the glory of God (Revelation 15:8). Is this a figurative temple with figurative smoke? Or is there an actual fire creating literal smoke in a real building? We’re told there are scrolls in Heaven, elders who have faces, martyrs who wear clothes, and even people with “palm branches in their hands” (Revelation 7:9). There are musical instruments in the present Heaven (Revelation 8:6), horses coming into and out of Heaven (2 Kings 2:11; Revelation 19:14), and an eagle flying overhead in Heaven (Revelation 8:13). Perhaps some of these objects are merely symbolic, with no corresponding physical reality. But is that true of all of them?

Many commentators dismiss the possibility that any of these passages in Revelation should be taken literally, on the grounds that it is apocalyptic literature, which is known for its figures of speech. But the book of Hebrews isn’t apocalyptic, it’s epistolary. It says that earthly priests “serve at a sanctuary that is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven” (Hebrews 8:5). Moses was told, in building the earthly tabernacle, “See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain” (Hebrews 8:5). If that which was built after the pattern was physical, might it suggest the original was also physical?

The book of Hebrews seems to say that we should see Earth as a derivative realm and Heaven as the source realm. If we do, we’ll abandon the assumption that something existing in one realm cannot exist in the other. In fact, we’ll consider it likely that what exists in one realm exists in at least some form in the other. We should stop thinking of Heaven and Earth as opposites and instead view them as overlapping circles that share certain commonalities.

Christ “went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not man-made, that is to say, not a part of this creation” (Hebrews 9:11). “Christ did not enter a man-made sanctuary that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself” (Hebrews 9:24). The earthly sanctuary was a copy of the true one in Heaven. In fact, the New Jerusalem that will be brought down to the New Earth is currently in the intermediate or present Heaven (Hebrews 12:22). If we know that the New Jerusalem will be physically on the New Earth, and we also know that it is in the present Heaven, does that not suggest the New Jerusalem is currently physical? Why wouldn’t it be? Unless we start with an assumption that Heaven can’t be physical, it seems that this evidence would persuade us that it is indeed physical.

These verses in Hebrews suggest that God created Earth in the image of Heaven, just as He created mankind in His image. C. S. Lewis proposed that “the hills and valleys of Heaven will be to those you now experience not as a copy is to an original, nor as a substitute is to the genuine article, but as the flower to the root, or the diamond to the coal.”

Often our thinking is backwards. Why do we imagine that God patterns Heaven’s holy city after an earthly city, as if Heaven knows nothing of community and culture and has to get its ideas from us? Isn’t it more likely that earthly realities, including cities, are derived from heavenly counterparts? We tend to start with Earth and reason up toward Heaven, when instead we should start with Heaven and reason down toward Earth. It isn’t merely an accommodation to our earthly familial structure, for instance, that God calls Himself a father and us children. On the contrary, He created father-child relationships to display His relationship with us, just as He created human marriage to reveal the love relationship between Christ and His bride (Ephesians 5:32).

In my novel Safely Home, I envision the relationship between Earth and Heaven:

Compared to what he now beheld, the world he’d come from was a land of shadows, colorless and two-dimensional. This place was fresh and captivating, resonating with color and beauty. He could not only see and hear it, but feel and smell and taste it. Every hillside, every mountain, every waterfall, every frolicking animal in the fields seemed to beckon him to come join them, to come from the outside and plunge into the inside. This whole world had the feel of cool water on a blistering August afternoon. The light beckoned him to dive in with abandon, to come join the great adventure.

“I know what this is,” Quan said.

“Tell me,” said the Carpenter.

“It’s the substance that casts all those shadows in the other world. The circles there are copies of the spheres here. The squares there are copies of the cubes here. The triangles there are copies of the pyramids here. Earth was a flatland. This is . . . well, the inside is bigger than the outside, isn’t it? How many dimensions are there?”

“Far more than you have seen yet,” the King said, laughing.

“This is the Place that defines and gives meaning to all places,” Li Quan said. “I never imagined it would be like this.”

Browse more resources on the topic of Heaven, and see Randy’s related books, including  Heaven .

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Ten Great Quotes on Writing

Note from Randy: I’ve been writing since the 1970s and started researching my first book in 1981. Depending upon whether you count study guides as books, I’ve written 57-65 books. That tells you a few things, but mostly that I started young and am now old. :) If you write and just keep on writing, eventually you’ll be called prolific. Of course, being prolific doesn’t mean what you’ve written is good or that it matters. Writing is an exercise in humility. Regardless how good a writer thinks he is, readers and reviewers can bring you back to reality! Still, after over forty years of writing, there are few things more satisfying to me than to read email from a reader who says one of my books has been life-changing.  

I’m often asked for advice on writing. I appreciate Trevin Wax as a brother, and I like his ten favorite quotes on writing. I hope you enjoy them too.

10 of My Favorite Quotes on Writing

By Trevin Wax

Over the years, I’ve collected quotes on writing that speak to the craft, the discipline, and the thrill of putting thought into words. On a regular basis, I get asked for advice on writing more or writing better, and I find myself returning to the suggestions implied by these ten quotes. 

1. “The greatest part of a writer’s time is spent in reading, in order to write; a man will turn over half a library to make one book.” — Samuel Johnson

Other writers make a similar point. Here’s Stephen Pinker: “Good writers are avid readers. They have absorbed a vast inventory of words, idioms, constructions, tropes, and rhetorical tricks, and with them a sensitivity to how they mesh and how they clash.”

And, of course, Stephen King: “If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot.”

Too many times, people have told me they have a book inside them, when in reality, they have a chapter. In order to really write, you must really read. First fill the library of your mind; then see if there’s a book in there.

2. “Less mental clutter means more mental resources available for deep thinking.” – Cal Newport

Writing doesn’t begin with filling your mind with substance, but emptying it of clutter. Whenever I try to make headway on a book, I schedule a few days away and abide by strict rules. Unplug the television. No listening to podcasts. Nothing but a pen and notebook when I’m walking, or when I go out to eat. It’s time for writing and thinking—mulling over ideas, considering new concepts, trying out new structures and putting together sentences to see how they fit. Clean out the clutter before you commence.

3. “Shakespeare stole; but he did wonderful things with his plunder. He’s like somebody who nicks your old socks and then darns them.”  – Mark Forsyth

Truth be told, there is no original thought. Not totally original, anyway. We’re not talking plagiarism here, but simply the acknowledgment that good writing is just a creative and compelling presentation of truths discovered elsewhere. Were you to list the source for every single idea in your book the end notes would be longer than the body. The world is your source. Plunder its treasure and repay it with wonderful words.

4. “A writer is a world trapped in a person.” – Victor Hugo

Our kids have heard me say that every book in our home is a world that can be entered. We don’t have a library full of books; we have a room filled with worlds. But what about the world that gives birth to a world? That’s what a writer is.

Hugo’s quote captures the feeling after you’ve done the hard work of preparation and are now bursting with words. Like Jeremiah describing the passion for prophesying as a “fire burning in my heart, shut up in my bones,” the writer senses a world trapped inside that must be released through words.

5. “The people who achieve extraordinary results don’t achieve them by working more hours. They achieve them getting more done in the hours they work.” – Gary Keller

This quote applies to productivity, yet is especially true of writing. Good writers block out time; they set aside distractions and commit themselves to the task. It’s not the amount of time that matters most, but the depth of focus during that time.

Focusing is the hardest part. John Stott called it PIM (“pain in mind”) and believed the best work doesn’t happen without it. But when it’s most painful—when you don’t shy away from the mental exhaustion but lean into it—that’s when you are most likely to make progress and do good work.

6. “Amateurs sit and wait for inspiration, the rest of us just get up and go to work.”  –  Stephen King

Don’t wait to write until the creative juices are flowing. They won’t flow until you start to write. It’s work. Get to it.

7. “Don’t be afraid of your reader.”

I say this to people all the time, and I don’t remember where I first heard it. Writing is already difficult. To cower before your reader, expecting them to pounce on every little mistake or disagreement, will paralyze the process. So don’t be afraid of the person on the other side of the page. Your heart is to serve them with your words. Offer what you have and expect them to say “Thank you.”

8. “You can always edit a bad page. You can’t edit a blank page.” ― Jodi Picoult

The first stage in writing is getting words out there. Don’t worry if it’s not good enough for anyone else to see. Just write. You can clean up the mess later.

Don’t fall for the Michelangelo myth—the notion that he saw the final product in a block of marble and then just chipped away until the figure emerged. Sounds inspiring, but it’s false. Michelangelo altered his sculptural plans as he went, testing his ideas and changing his mind. He learned through practice not theory. Good writers do the same.

9. “Whenever there’s something wrong with your writing, suspect that there’s something wrong with your thinking.” – Patricia O’ Connor

If you can’t get clear in your words, it’s not clear in your head. When you’re in the editing stage and you come across sections that don’t make sense or things you want to say but can’t express, follow the trail of misery back to your thought process. It’s there you’ll find the fog.

10. “Always write (and read) with the ear, not the eye. You should hear every sentence you write as if it was being read aloud or spoken. If it does not sound nice, try again.” – C. S. Lewis

William Zinsser backs up Lewis on this point: “People read with their ears, whether they know it or not… I write by ear, and sound is what leads me to what I’m rummaging for.” This is why I read out loud, from start to finish, every book I write before it goes to print.

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