Michael Kelley's Blog, page 43

3 Statements Unfit for Christians to Make

The Bible is very concerned with our speech. From the proverbs to the gospels to the epistles of Paul we find command after command regarding what we ought to say. And why is that? Is it because what we say can damage our public witness as ambassadors of Christ? Is it because we ought to display love and graciousness in our speech? Is it because we are foolish when we speak too quickly and listen too slowly?

Yes. And, of course, because of this truth straight from Jesus Himself:

“A good man produces good out of the good storeroom of his heart. An evil man produces evil out of the evil storeroom, for his mouth speaks from the overflow of the heart” (Luke 6:45).

Our words reveal our hearts. We might think we believe one thing, and even profess at times confidence in that belief, but eventually we will actually tell the truth. The truth of what’s in our hearts will eventually become audible. Christians, then, ought to be very concerned with what they say (or, in our current culture, what they post).

But lest we only think about our language only in terms of things like gossip, slander, or coarse joking, there are other statements – statements that reveal our hearts – that we also ought to be very alarmed by. If we find ourselves saying things like this, then we would do well to immediately start examining the state of our souls. Here are three examples:

1. It won’t happen to me.

“Pride comes before destruction, and an arrogant spirit before a fall” (Prov. 16:18).

This is a statement of pride. We look at those around us – whether in the news or in our personal relationships – and see their struggle with sex, substances, power, or whatever. Our first thought might be shock or concern for their family or dismay at how things have gotten so bad, but if the next thought that comes into our minds is as prideful as this, then we think very highly of ourselves indeed. Part of guarding against sin is recognizing that this could absolutely happen to us, because we are absolutely capable of such things apart from the grace of Jesus.

2. I’m too good for that.

“Somebody has to clean the toilet.”

It’s a good life principle, as true in the workplace as it is in the church as it is in the home. The problem is that no one really likes to clean the toilet. But there’s a difference between not liking something, and considering yourself above doing something. But this is how our minds and our hearts work. We pile up our degrees, our accomplishments, our compliments, our responsibilities – and then we sit on top of that pile looking down at those below us. Meanwhile, there is a toilet to be cleaned at the bottom. Paul put it like this:

“For by the grace given to me, I tell everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he should think” (Rom. 12:3).

Be wary, Christian, if you start making statements about that which you consider yourself above.

3. I can do it alone.

“The wounds of a friend are trustworthy, but the kisses of an enemy are excessive” (Prov. 27:6).

We need each other. We need each other precisely because our flesh is not strong enough. So we need each other to tell us the truth and to help each other grow toward godliness. This mutual discipleship is God’s intent for His people, whereby we journey together on the road of maturity, reminding each other that we together must place our whole confidence in the Lord and Him alone. If we come to the point where either by our actions or inactions, we prove that we really do think we can live life alone, then that confidence is sorely misplaced.

Our words reveal our hearts, friends. So perhaps instead of speaking today we would do well to take a little inventory of just what those words might really be speaking about us.

The Best Thing to Tell Yourself When You’re Asking, “Why?”

“Why?” is an old, old question. Surely as long as there have been children, there has been the question. It’s repeated a thousand times a day by curious kids who wonder about the color of the sky, why we have to use money to buy things, or why the flowers disappear at a certain time of the year. And even though we get some of those questions answered when we are young, the question doesn’t go away. It just changes. Deepens.

As we grow, we ask “Why?” less and less about the things we observe in our environment, and more and more about the circumstances we experience. Especially when those experiences are painful:

Why would she do that to me?Why did he have to get sick?Why did he leave?

Same question but different object. And as the object changes, the complexity of the answer increases. That doesn’t mean that the answer to, “Why is the sky blue?” is not complex; it means that it’s straightforward. That there is an answer, even if we can’t really put it together cognitively. But when we ask “why” about these personal matters that have plunged us into despair and despondency, it is less so. There isn’t as much of a straight line as there is in matters of scientific inquiry. The answers are harder to come by.

So what do you tell yourself as a Christian during moments like these? Because they are coming, if they’re not already here. What do you say to your soul when everything within you is crying out for some kind of explanation?

Perhaps the best answer to this question is another question. Maybe the best answer to “Why?” is this:

What has been revealed?

Here’s the logic behind that second question: We don’t know everything, but we do know some things. And the “some things” that we know do not change regardless of the circumstances we find ourselves in. We know, for example that God is working all things together for the good of those who love Him, and for His glory (Rom. 8:28).

We know that the testing of our faith produces perseverance and perseverance is a key component to our spiritual maturity so that we don’t lack anything (James 1:3-4).

We know that there is a progression that comes with difficulty and suffering: suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope (Rom. 5:3-4). 

We know that what men intend for evil, God works for good (Gen. 50:20).

And we know that the measure of God’s love for us is not our circumstances, but that He has already proven His love for us in the death of Jesus on our behalf (Rom. 5:8).

These are all things we know, because these are things that have been revealed. And when you don’t know what you don’t know, you can return and rest and move forward in what you do.

So today, friend, as that old, old question bubbles up in your mind and heart, answer it with another one. Implicit in that answer is your acknowledgment that there are some parts of “Why?” that you will never know, and yet your heart can be calmed with the things you do:

My heart is not proud, Lord,
    my eyes are not haughty;
I do not concern myself with great matters
    or things too wonderful for me.
But I have calmed and quieted myself,
    I am like a weaned child with its mother;
    like a weaned child I am content (Psalm 131:1-2).

5 Statements Your Kid Needs to Hear Today

Words are powerful things.

I can remember, with startling clarity, specific sentences that people said to me decades ago. Some of those were positive; some were negative. And in each case, I can recall not just the words, but the tone. The diction. The facial expression. And, then ultimately, how those words made me feel.

What makes them more powerful is the source from which they come. Kind words, though they might produce a nice feeling, are likely not to mean nearly as much coming to you from a mere acquaintance as they would coming from someone you immensely respect and admire. Hurtful criticism doesn’t sting as much from the person you barely know as the one you thought you could trust.

Bring all that together, and it’s a powerful reminder that we, as parents, have a tremendously powerful weapon in our children’s lives. This weapon, to be used for good or ill, is our voice. Our spoken words. With that in mind, here are five statements your child probably could do with hearing from you today:

1. “I like you.”

This is a very, very different statement than, “I love you.” I don’t mean to devalue the statement of love, but I do think that a genuine enjoyment of our children is important to express. There are all kinds of people that we might love, or at least claim to love, and yet make no effort to be around. That’s simply because we don’t enjoy their company. There may not be any statement more powerful to fill a child with confidence in their own individual personality than the honest enjoyment of his or her parents.

When we say, “I like you,” to our children, we are following the example of our Heavenly Father. Many of us need to feel the freedom that comes in knowing that God is not a Father who simply puts up with us, but one that really, truly, honestly, genuinely likes us: “He will rejoice over you with gladness. He will bring you quietness with His love. He will delight in you with shouts of joy” (Zephaniah 3:17).

2. “You are my child.”

Security. Safety. Stability. These are important things in the life of a child (and in the life of an adult, for that matter). Our kids need to hear from us verbally that they belong to us. They are our children. And nothing will ever change that. When we make this claim, verbally, loudly, and even publicly, our kids know that we are not ashamed to lay claim to them.

Gratefully, neither is the Lord. We are His children, and He is not ashamed to call us His own. No matter what else happens in life, no matter how many times and how many ways we might be rejected, we are secure in God’s claim over us. Indeed, this is one of the reasons why God has sent His Spirit to dwell in us – to remind us that we are His: “For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry out, ‘Abba, Father!’ The Spirit Himself testifies together with our spirit that we are God’s children” (Romans 8:15-16).

3. “I’m proud of you.”

Oh, what a glorious thing to hear! To know that you are valued and appreciated, especially by someone that you love. While the words, “You are my child” speaks deeply to our identity, these words speak deeply to the way we are living and moving in the world. Our children should know, as they continue to grow in godliness and faith, that we are proud parents. That we do not look longingly at other children with different personalities and different gifts. That these are our children, treasured gifts given to us from God.

And what a thing it is to hear this from on high. What a thing to be adopted into God’s family, co-heirs with Christ. What a thing to be counted righteous in Him. What a thing to know that God has not made a mistake either when He formed us, or when He called us into His family. What a thing to hear, because of the gospel, “This is My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased!” (Matthew 3:17).

4. “I will come get you.”

Our kids should hear this as well. They should know that if they ever find themselves in a place or situation in which they are uncomfortable, if they should ever wander far from where they ought to be, if they should ever go through a season in which they stray far from faith and home, that we will come get them. We will cross the distance and pay the price to do so, for these are our children.

And this is what the Lord says to us. We were, at one time or another, all those kids who went off into the far country. We were those were like lost coins. We were those who were like lost sheep. But the Lord did not shout His pleas from heaven to come home – He came and got us: “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10).

5. “The Lord loves you more.”

This is true. It is a false statement for us to tell our children that we love them more than anyone else, for the Lord loves them even more still. He wants even more good for them. He is more committed to their growth and maturity. He is the only One who, not only loves them, but can ultimately, faithfully, and eternally act on their behalf.

We love our children. That’s why we say these things. Gloriously, though, God loves them more.

5 Statements Your Kids Need to Hear Today

Words are powerful things.

I can remember, with startling clarity, specific sentences that people said to me decades ago. Some of those were positive; some were negative. And in each case, I can recall not just the words, but the tone. The diction. The facial expression. And, then ultimately, how those words made me feel.

What makes them more powerful is the source from which they come. Kind words, though they might produce a nice feeling, are likely not to mean nearly as much coming to you from a mere acquaintance as they would coming from someone you immensely respect and admire. Hurtful criticism doesn’t sting as much from the person you barely know as the one you thought you could trust.

Bring all that together, and it’s a powerful reminder that we, as parents, have a tremendously powerful weapon in our children’s lives. This weapon, to be used for good or ill, is our voice. Our spoken words. With that in mind, here are five statements your child probably could do with hearing from you today:

1. “I like you.”

This is a very, very different statement than, “I love you.” I don’t mean to devalue the statement of love, but I do think that a genuine enjoyment of our children is important to express. There are all kinds of people that we might love, or at least claim to love, and yet make no effort to be around. That’s simply because we don’t enjoy their company. There may not be any statement more powerful to fill a child with confidence in their own individual personality than the honest enjoyment of his or her parents.

When we say, “I like you,” to our children, we are following the example of our Heavenly Father. Many of us need to feel the freedom that comes in knowing that God is not a Father who simply puts up with us, but one that really, truly, honestly, genuinely likes us: “He will rejoice over you with gladness. He will bring you quietness with His love. He will delight in you with shouts of joy” (Zephaniah 3:17).

2. “You are my child.”

Security. Safety. Stability. These are important things in the life of a child (and in the life of an adult, for that matter). Our kids need to hear from us verbally that they belong to us. They are our children. And nothing will ever change that. When we make this claim, verbally, loudly, and even publicly, our kids know that we are not ashamed to lay claim to them.

Gratefully, neither is the Lord. We are His children, and He is not ashamed to call us His own. No matter what else happens in life, no matter how many times and how many ways we might be rejected, we are secure in God’s claim over us. Indeed, this is one of the reasons why God has sent His Spirit to dwell in us – to remind us that we are His: “For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry out, ‘Abba, Father!’ The Spirit Himself testifies together with our spirit that we are God’s children” (Romans 8:15-16).

3. “I’m proud of you.”

Oh, what a glorious thing to hear! To know that you are valued and appreciated, especially by someone that you love. While the words, “You are my child” speaks deeply to our identity, these words speak deeply to the way we are living and moving in the world. Our children should know, as they continue to grow in godliness and faith, that we are proud parents. That we do not look longingly at other children with different personalities and different gifts. That these are our children, treasured gifts given to us from God.

And what a thing it is to hear this from on high. What a thing to be adopted into God’s family, co-heirs with Christ. What a thing to be counted righteous in Him. What a thing to know that God has not made a mistake either when He formed us, or when He called us into His family. What a thing to hear, because of the gospel, “This is My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased!” (Matthew 3:17).

4. “I will come get you.”

Our kids should hear this as well. They should know that if they ever find themselves in a place or situation in which they are uncomfortable, if they should ever wander far from where they ought to be, if they should ever go through a season in which they stray far from faith and home, that we will come get them. We will cross the distance and pay the price to do so, for these are our children.

And this is what the Lord says to us. We were, at one time or another, all those kids who went off into the far country. We were those were like lost coins. We were those who were like lost sheep. But the Lord did not shout His pleas from heaven to come home – He came and got us: “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10).

5. “The Lord loves you more.”

This is true. It is a false statement for us to tell our children that we love them more than anyone else, for the Lord loves them even more still. He wants even more good for them. He is more committed to their growth and maturity. He is the only One who, not only loves them, but can ultimately, faithfully, and eternally act on their behalf.

We love our children. That’s why we say these things. Gloriously, though, God loves them more.

Wednesday Links

Four links to some things you might have missed, or at least ones that caught my attention this past week:

1. Take the Long View of Discipleship

God plays the long game, and that’s true when it comes to how He grows us. We should do the same.

2. Is Congregational Singing Dead?

Ours has always been a faith sung by the people. We should make sure it stays that way.

3. See Kids Through the Lens of God’s Big Story

Here’s an encouragement both to parents and to regular old Sunday school teachers.

4. Is Oscar Charleston the Best Baseball of All Time?

You’ve probably never heard of him. I hadn’t. Like many who played in the Negro Leagues, he has fallen through the cracks of history.

3 Mistakes We Might Make When Trying to Find Our Purpose in Life

“What am I doing here?”

Surely you’ve had that thought. It happens every so often when we get caught up in some task of the day and find ourselves spinning our wheels or spending an undue amount of time trying to fix a problem or figure something out. At some point, we see through the fog of frustration and take a step back and just ask that question: “What am I doing here?”

That happens at a micro-level, but it also happens at a macro-level. That is, we might get frustrated when trying to change a tire or help our 7th grader with math homework and silently ask, “What am I doing here?”, or we might be on a deeper quest. A more meaningful search. We might be coming to the end of ourselves, an end brought on by a lag in our career, a failed relationship, or some other disappointment that has caused us to wonder if the things we spend so much of our time and resources on are actually worth it. It’s during those times, we ask that same question, but with a deeper answer desired.

We ask, “Why am I here?” and we are talking about our purpose. About how to find meaning. About whether we are living and working and caring about the right things.

For the Christian, the question of purpose is an essential one, though it might be phrased a little differently. The Christian might not ask, “Why am I here?” but rather “What is God’s will and desire for my life?” In both questions, the search is for meaning and purpose, but in the second one there is the recognition that true meaning and purpose can only be found in God. This is the best first step to finding actual purpose – it’s to recognize that all of everything flows from God, including meaning and purpose. A search for those things apart from Him is fruitless indeed.

But even if we are on that right track, we might still make some mistakes in our search for purpose. Here are three of them to avoid:

1. The mistake of over-estimation.

You are not me. And I am not you. That’s more than okay; that’s how it should be, because God has specifically and intentionally designed us as individuals:

For you created my inmost being;
    you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
    your works are wonderful,
    I know that full well (Psalm 139:13-14).

Because we are unique, it’s a good and right thing for us to recognize that my purpose in life is an individual one. And yet we might make the mistake of over-estimating the importance of that individual purpose. That doesn’t mean that our individual purpose is non-essential, because it is. It does mean, though, that we can get so caught up in making sure we find my purpose that we actually start to treat the discovery and living out of that purpose as an idol.

We might over-estimate our individual purpose to the degree that we lose sight of all the good that can be done in our normal, every day lives around us.

2. The mistake of thinking too small.

Similarly, we might also make the mistake in thinking too small about our purpose. That doesn’t mean that God has some kind of bigger purpose for our lives than just being an accountant or a mom or a Sunday school teacher; it means that we might think so much about my purpose that we lose sight of the place of my purpose in the bigger purposes of God.

Yes, each one of us can find individual purpose and meaning, but that individual purpose and meaning is meant to be experienced inside the larger purpose and meaning of God’s people and kingdom. The Bible is full of analogies to help us understand how this works. Take, for example, the analogy of the body in 1 Corinthians 12. Paul was reminding the Corinthians that even though some people’s gifts might make them more visible, those people are not more valuable than the others. Just as the eye is not the hand, and though they serve different purposes, each one is vital to the whole body. So it is with us:

Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it (1 Cor. 12:27).

Be careful, then, in your search for purpose that you do not neglect the larger purposes for God’s people of which you are a part.

3. The mistake of short-sighted goals.

How might we make this mistake when we look for purpose and meaning? It’s because we might think about purpose in terms of an activity we do. That we find meaning through a vocation. And while that is partially true, we should always remember that God’s long term aim for us is not to do something, but to be something:

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight (Eph. 1:3-4).

God’s end game for us is not a certain job or role; it’s to be conformed to the image of Christ. Throughout our lives we will all change jobs, move to different cities, and be a part of different groups. And God will use all those things not to be our purpose, but instead to help us become like Christ. We are short-sighted when we lose sight of this. We must always keep in mind that we are on a journey to become like Jesus, not just to do some activity.

“What am I doing here?” We have all asked it. We will continue to ask it because we all want to live lives of meaning. Let’s make sure and not stumble as we search for that meaning and instead keep our eyes fixed on Christ rather than some elusive place in the world. Let us find our satisfaction in Him rather than what we are doing.

This post originally appeared at Think Eternity.

3 Prayers to Pray Before Going to Sleep Tonight

What’s the last thing you think about before going to sleep? Do you number sheep? Do you count in reverse starting at 100? Do you think about your schedule for the morning? Or do you drift off with your phone in your hands?

Probably you have some kind of routine. And at the risk of disrupting that routine, I wonder if you might take that chance as your eyes are starting to close to do something else. Take those last few moments to pray. But pray about what?

Though the substance of your prayers might be anything, let me suggest that those moments before you sleep are a wonderful chance to pray through some specific promises from God’s Word. So tonight, why not remind yourself of something other than the number of sheep in the pen and your 8 am meeting agenda?

Here are three truths to form your prayers as you fall asleep tonight: 1. Thank you, Lord, that you do not sleep.

In a way, every single night we are reminded of our own weakness because we actually have to go to sleep. Whilst some find that Sleep Statistics can help them learn more about their patterns, for others it isn’t so easy. It’s the way we were made. God hard-wired our physical bodies to not only desire but to need, rest. That in and of itself is a lasting testimony of our own frailty. But when you consider just how vulnerable we are when we are asleep, you get a double sense of our own weakness.

Now that might send you spiraling into a paralysis of anxiety. Or, you can take the opportunity to thank the Lord that even though you are drifting off to sleep, He never does. He is awake. Wide awake. Just as He has been and will be for all eternity.

What better comfort is there in the midst of our own weakness than confessing that though we are weak, He is strong. Though we are dependent, He is self-sustaining. Though we might slumber, God is ever alert:

I lift my eyes toward the mountains.
Where will my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth.

He will not allow your foot to slip;
your Protector will not slumber.
Indeed, the Protector of Israel
does not slumber or sleep (Ps. 121:1-4).

2. Help me to remember where true rest comes from.

Sleep is not the same thing as rest. Taking a nap doesn’t mean that you are resting; it usually just means that you are tired. True enough, exhaustion can remind us of our need to rest, but not always. Most of us don’t actually wake up rested when we sleep; instead, we wake up thinking about all the things we should have done instead of sleep, or else we wake up thinking about the next time we will be able to sleep again. Sleep, for us then, is not a matter of rest but simply a break from work. Our bodies shut down for a while but not our hearts and certainly not our souls.

There is a greater rest than sleep that we crave – it’s a deep, soul rest which then allows us to do things like sleep soundly though our priorities and obligations and responsibilities are many. And that kind of soul rest comes not through sleep, but only through resting in the finished work of Christ. That kind of soul rest comes only when we trust that because of Jesus, we have nothing left to prove. How wonderful to remember, as we are going to sleep, that true rest has already been purchased for us at the cross:

“Therefore, a Sabbath rest remains for God’s people. For the person who has entered His rest has rested from his own works, just as God did from His. Let us then make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall into the same pattern of disobedience” (Heb. 4:9-11).

3. Thank you for new mercies in the morning.

Most everyone reading this post is not only going to go to sleep tonight, but will wake up again tomorrow morning. So the cycle goes. And when we wake up, we will wake up with the same meetings, the same concerns, the same obligations, and the same pull toward sin that we had the night before.

But thank God, His mercies are new again in the morning. And those mercies never run out. So while we are tempted to lie awake in anxiety, or doubt, or self-condemnation, or whatever, how beautiful is the news that comes to us on the wings of the Holy Spirit that when we wake up God’s mercies will be new.

We can pray, in faith and gratitude, that those mercies are – and will be – real. Again and again:

Remember my affliction and my homelessness,
the wormwood and the poison.
I continually remember them
and have become depressed.
Yet I call this to mind,
and therefore I have hope:

Because of the Lord‘s faithful love
we do not perish,
for his mercies never end.
They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness!
I say, “The Lord is my portion,
therefore I will put my hope in him” (Lam. 3:19-24).

Sleep well tonight, friends. But don’t sleep because you believe all your troubles will disappear overnight, because they won’t. Sleep well tonight because God never does, and He has made provision for you in the gospel, and when you wake up in the morning, you will find a fresh set of mercies to meet you then.

This post originally appeared at Think Eternity.

How Our Family Prayer Time Taught Me About the Heart of God

On Fridays, our family rhythm has us going around the breakfast table and each person sharing one specific thing they are thankful for, and one specific prayer request. We’ve been doing this for years now, and it has been interesting to see how both of those things have evolved over time. Our kids are growing up, and as they are, their understanding and capacity for reflection is deepening, and one of the small ways we see that deepening is through this little exercise.

Of course, we do this so that we can praise the Lord for His goodness and petition Him for the needs in and around us. But it’s also a good way for us to know our kids better – to know what they are thinking and feeling, what has made them happy and what might be making them anxious. In a way, these prayers of thanksgiving and petition are a kind of window into the hearts of our kids.

But they are also, I think, a bit of a window into the heart of God. Take this week  for example.

There we are, going through the same kind of ritual we do every Friday, and from the children we get three prayer requests. One prayer request is for the upcoming DiscipleNow Weekend with our church, that all the students would be safe and grow closer to each other and to Jesus. Then comes the next request, this one aimed at Ukraine. We prayed for peace and for the end of aggression. And then there was one more, this request for an upcoming science test that day.

Three kids, three requests: DiscipleNow, Ukraine, and a science test.

And God heard them all.

Now, of course, from a human perspective, you could easily force rank these requests in order of their importance. But as we prayed that morning for global, world-altering events, then for soul-shaping moments for a group of students, and then for an average run-of-the-mill science test that happened to be concerning to one young man, we were confronted with this beautiful reality about the heart of God:

God is not dismissive of our prayers.

Yes, some of them are big and some of them are small, but no matter how small one of those prayers might seem to us God does not dismiss it. He does not roll His eyes or shake His head. He knows there is a science test just as clearly as He knows of the atrocities in Europe.

So is the war in Ukraine more important than the science test in Nashville? Of course it is. And because it is so much more important there is all the more reason to marvel at our Heavenly Father’s love and care for all of His children:

Yes, my soul, find rest in God;
    my hope comes from him.
Truly he is my rock and my salvation;
    he is my fortress, I will not be shaken.
My salvation and my honor depend on God;
    he is my mighty rock, my refuge.
Trust in him at all times, you people;
    pour out your hearts to him,
    for God is our refuge (Psalm 62:5-8).

We can come to the Lord without the insecurity of thinking what is in our hearts is either too big or too small; we can pour it all out. Pour out the anger and anxiety about the war, all the hopes for the weekend, and even the little worries about the science test. Pour it all out and know that God receives it all.

Wednesday Links

Four links to some things you might have missed, or at least ones that caught my attention this past week:

1. Worldle and Our Longing for the Limited

Fascinating look at potentially how our tastes are changing from gluttonous entertainment to more limitations. For the better.

2. Cactus Spines and Groaning

For the Christian, groaning is not the same thing as complaining. It is lamenting, and God invites us into it.

3. When Evil is Called Good

A good summary here of three recent news items and the potential implications moving forward.

4. 32 days in Krzyzewskiville

Crazy story here of the tradition of camping out before the matchup between North Carolina and Duke.

Jesus is the Only One Who Gets Bigger the Closer You Get

There is an old saying that says you should never meet your heroes.

The sentiment behind the saying is that you can admire any number of people from afar – great entrepreneurs, professional athletes, incredible authors – and in fact you can admire them so much that you start to view them in a superhuman kind of way. They get placed on a pedestal, and from your vantage point, they have no flaws. They are smarter, faster, wiser, kinder, more compassionate than any normal person could ever hope to be.

And they stay that way for a long, long time.

Or, according to the old saying, at least until you meet them. Oh, it might not happen from a chance meeting when you see someone in a crowd or stand in line for a quick autograph. But if you really got to know them; if you really spent time with them; if you were really able to observe them in the course of everyday life, then the shine starts to wear off. You discover, inevitably, that each one of those people, no matter how great they are at that “thing” they do, is still just a person. And because they are, they have the same insecurities, the same quirks, the same habits, and the same sins that beset all of us.

In a way, every person in the world gets smaller the closer you get to them.

Every one, that is, except for Jesus. Jesus is the only One who actually gets bigger the closer you get. Case in point is the man born blind from John 9.

Jesus and His disciples encounter this man on the dusty streets of Jerusalem, and rather than feeling compassion for him, the disciples try and use him as a prop to get Jesus to answer one of their burning theological questions. They ask Him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” (John 9:2).

For the disciples, there was a straight line between human suffering and the committing of sin. They saw a blind man and assumed that surely someone had sinned and this was the result – what other explanation could there be?

As it happened, there was another option, and Jesus gave it to them:

“Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him (John 9:3).

Then Jesus spit on the ground, smeared mud on the eyes of the man, and told him to go wash it off in the Pool of Siloam. And the man could see. What follows in John 9 is a series of questionings about Jesus, the healing, and what happened. The man himself did not exactly know; he only knew that he did what Jesus told him to do and he was healed. But it’s also interesting to see how this man’s view of Jesus changed over the short time that followed. Here’s the progression:

“How then were your eyes opened?” they asked.

He replied, “The man they call Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. He told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed, and then I could see” (John 9:10-11).

Then later…

Then they turned again to the blind man, “What have you to say about him? It was your eyes he opened.”

The man replied, “He is a prophet” (John 9:17).

Then still later…

Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”

“Who is he, sir?” the man asked. “Tell me so that I may believe in him.”

Jesus said, “You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you.”

Then the man said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him (John 9:35-38).

Man. Prophet. Lord. Such was the man’s vision of Jesus as he got closer to Him. And the same thing is true for us. We start out not knowing what to do with this man who heals the blind. Then we come to see a little more clearly that this man is like none other. And then we find ourselves confessing Him as Lord.

We get closer; Jesus gets bigger.

Friends, we always have an opportunity to draw near to Jesus. And when we do, we can do so with confidence that Jesus is never going to disappoint us.