Randy Booth's Blog, page 3

For Your Own Good

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Antonin Scalia, On Faith: Lessons from an American Believer

…[T]hings do not work out the way you want, but the way God wants. And sometimes what seems to you a crushing disappointment may in fact be a great blessing. I won a Naval ROTC fellowship when I graduated from high school. It was very hard to get in those days. All I had to do to cash in on the fellowship was to be accepted at a college that had Naval ROTC. As it happened, the only college that did which I was interested in attending—very interested in attending—was Princeton. And Princeton turned me down. A major disappointment. So I came to Georgetown instead, and I am sure I am a different person (and a better person) than I would have been if my will had been done.

The next-biggest disappointment in my life was the morning in Palo Alto, California (I was teaching at Stanford Law School), when I received a phone call from the attorney general informing me that of the two finalists whom he had interviewed for the post of solicitor general, I had not been chosen. A really bad call on his part, I thought; and a bitter and unexpected disappointment for me. But had I become SG, I have little doubt that I would not be on the Supreme Court today. So pray for things, but accept what you are given; He knows better than you what is for your own good. (pp. 56, 57)

On Being Different

[image error]Antonin Scalia, On Faith: Lessons from and American Believer

It is enormously important, I think, for Christians to learn early and remember long that lesson of “dif­ferentness”; to recognize that what is perfectly lawful, and perfectly permissible, for everyone else—even our very close non-Christian friends—is not necessarily lawful and permissible for us. That the ways of Christ and the ways of the world—even the world of Main Street America—are not the same, and we should not expect them to be. That possessing and expressing a

worldview and a code of moral behavior that are com­fortably in conformance with what prevails in the respectable secular circles in which we live and work is no assurance of goodness and virtue. That Christ makes some special demands upon us that occasion­ally require us to be out of step. It is only if one has that sense of differentness—not animosity toward others in any sense, but differentness—that one has a chance of being strong enough to obey the teachings of Christ on many matters…for example, rules of sexual morality.

The divergence of Christian teaching from the mo­rality of the general society seems especially obvious (and especially blatant) today. Just turn on the tube any night, or walk up to any newsstand. But it would be wrong to think that this divergence between the ways of the world and Christian teaching is new. To the contrary, it is as old as the faith itself. And it sets that Christian apart not only from utterly decadent societies such as Sodom and Gomorrah, but even from purportedly moral societies, as Israel itself was when he was crucified. Christ said, “You will be hated by all men for my name’s sake.” He said at the Last Supper:

If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before you. If you were of the world, the world would love what is its own. But because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.

Resisting Grace

[image error]“Human nature is so faulty that it can resist any amount of grace and most of the time it does … It is easy for any child to pick out the faults in the sermon on his way home from church every Sunday. It is impossible for him to find out the hidden love that makes a man, in spite of his intellectual limitations, his neuroticism, his own lack of strength, give up his life to the service of God’s people, however bumblingly he may go about it … It is what is invisible that God sees and that the Christian must look for. Because he knows the consequences of sin, he knows how deep you have to go to find love … To expect too much is to have a sentimental view of life and this is a softness that ends in bitterness. Charity is hard and endures.”

-Flannery O’Conner

Letter to Cecil Dawkins in Pilgrim Souls: A Collection of Spiritual Autobiographies, ed. Amy Mandelker and Elizabeth Powers (1999), 539-40.

 

Laughing Together

“As long as we are thinking of natural values we must say that the sun looks down on nothing half so good as a household laughing together over a meal, or two friends talking over a pint of beer, or a man alone reading a book that interests him; and that all economies, politics, laws, armies, and institutions, save insofar as they prolong and multiply such scenes, are a mere ploughing the sand and sowing the ocean, a meaningless vanity and vexation of the spirit. Collective activities are, of course, necessary, but this is the end to which they are necessary.”

— C.S. Lewis, “Membership” in The Weight of Glory

Love and Approval

A child protests that their parents don’t love them because they won’t approve of all their friends, or all their music, or unlimited time on their electronic devices, or a thousand other things that they strongly desire. We see the absurdity of such a protest since it’s the parental disapproval of harmful things that is the act of love. Unloving parents don’t care about sinful excesses unless they interfere with the parent perusing their own selfish desires. Loving parents are willing to have their child become unhappy, if their short-term unhappiness leads to their long-term good and long-term happiness.

This is no less true when it comes to adult relationships. It’s not uncommon for an adult to choose a certain “lifestyle” that involves immoral behavior. God says the behavior is a sin and that it’s harmful and even fatal. Nevertheless, this adult still insists on pursuing this course, and they’re often free to do so. However, they want more than the freedom to act, they also demand the approval of others. If they don’t receive the desired approval they accuse those who fail to approve of not loving them, or worse, of actually hating them. Approval and love are not the same thing. Sometimes they coincide, but if the thing for which the approval is sought is sinful and harmful, disapproval is the only loving thing to give.

I can and do love sinners. As a result, I can never approve of their sins. Neither can I approve of my own sins, even though I might have sinful desires. When you seek my approval for your sinful behavior you’re asking me to side with you against God (who has said it is sinful), and to declare that it’s really not evil but is, in fact, good. “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness” (Isa. 5:20). The protest returns, “But I don’t think it sinful.” And I would say, “You can think what you will, and I will continue to love you, but I cannot approve of what I don’t approve of. I am a Christian and a follower of Jesus Christ. His Word is my ultimate authority, and it’s to Him that we must all give an account.” So, I will seek to do you good but part of that will necessarily mean that I cannot and will not approve of the things that will do you and others harm, and I certainly cannot assist you by helping facilitate the very things that lead to eternal separation from God, Who is love.

Psychopath

Dictonary.com defines a “psychopath” as a personality which manifests amoral and antisocial behavior, lack of ability to love or establish meaningful personal relationships, extreme egocentricity, failure to learn from experience, etc.

As sinners we all have some degree of egocentricity. In other words, we’re all selfish, which is the key element of immaturity. Selflessness is the picture of maturity; loving God and loving our neighbors. Doing unto others as we would have them do unto us. Jesus was the perfect, or mature man, who was completely selfless. He was the anti-psychopath. Extreme egocentricity separates a person from others. He no longer lives in community or communion, but rather in isolation. The world is all about him; it’s there to serve him; he is god; no one else’s interests are taken into consideration.

When any of us sins we have acted as our own god (at least in that moment). Sin is always evil because sin always kills at some level. “The wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23). The psychopath, having abandoned all consideration of others, is the epitome of evil and the opposite of love. Love sacrifices and gives to others. “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends” (John 15:13). Paul describes the unbelieving mind as “futile,” having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart; 19 who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness” (Eph. 4:17-19).

Happy 43rd Anniversary

On April 20th, 1955, Martha Marinell McCartney was born at the old Schumpert Hospital in Shreveport, LA. Two months later, on July 5th, Robert Randle Booth was born in the same hospital. Our respective homes were less than five miles apart. While we hadn’t met yet, God was already at work, planning a rendezvous in our future. We started out at different junior high schools but God used the politics of the times to shuffle the public school system and Marinell and I wound up in the same 7th grade class. It was a large class and she was very quiet. (It’s remarkable that any girl who knew a boy when he was in the 7th grade would ever wind up marrying him.)

Our ships continued to cross paths on a daily basis but without much notice. Then, in the fall of our junior year of high school (a school of about 1,800 students), I took notice of a cute majorette in the band, twirling her baton on the football field at half-time. In January I asked her out on a date (she was really wanting to be asked by someone else but she settled for me). After our first date I told a friend that this was the girl I was going to marry. (I didn’t tell her that just yet.) Of course that was a foolish thing to say at that time, but then again saying foolish things was normal for me. This one turned out to be right, which is more than I can say about most the foolish things I’ve said. We started “going steady” on February 29th, 1972. We’ve been steady ever since.

In the summer of 1972 we both made serious commitments to Christ and began to grow as Christians and that was the foundation for this very young couple. Marinell’s parents had both passed away when she was young and my parents were very fond of her. In fact, I think they (for good reason) liked her more than they like me. We graduated high school and both went to Oklahoma Baptist University in Shawnee, OK. In the summer after our freshman year we were married on August 9th, 1974, at the ripe old age of nineteen. (This was the same day that Nixon resigned and left the White House.)

God was merciful and gracious to this young, naïve and even stupid couple (I brought the average down). We were blessed to have the loving support of family and friends and we squeaked by financially. On a couple of occasions, we sold our blood to get $30 so we could go to Dallas and go out to eat. Let me pause at this point and thank all the people who put up with us and helped us make it through the early days, especially my parents, who had us over for dinner on a weekly basis and, no doubt, had to bite their tongues often.

On February 11, 1978 our son Aaron was born and the next big chapters of our lives began. Christin was born on Marinell’s birthday (April 20, 1979), and Rachel was born on May 3, 1982. A whole bunch of other stuff happened and now our three children are married to great spouses and we’re enjoying sixteen grandchildren, which made all that other stuff worth it.

So, here we are today, celebrating our 43rd wedding anniversary, in the back half of the story. I love this woman. I loved her when I married her as a child-bride and I love her even more as a grandmother. There is no hyperbole (in fact it’s gross understatement) to say that she is the love of my life, my best friend, an excellent counselor, loyal, faithful, diligent, talented, lovely, steady, and much more. She still makes my heart race (which could be dangerous). There’s no one on earth I’d rather be with. Thank you Marinell for being my girlfriend, my wife and my companion. God is good. Happy anniversary!

Looking Ahead

Maturity, among other things, is the ability to look ahead and to adjust our current behavior accordingly. Ten-year-olds have a hard time seeing past next Friday. That’s why God gives children parents, in order to help them see further than they can see on their own. To the degree we can see what’s ahead, and recognize that what we do or don’t do today will affect the outcome for the future, wisdom increases.

God gives us a church (and a Bible) to instruct us in His Word, which is the infallible guide as to the outcomes of certain kinds of decisions and behavior. The Book of Proverbs is, for example, a great place to compare the different trajectories of fools verses wise men. The whole Bible enables us to see how the story ends for various kinds of people and how that is connected to their faith and life. God also places us in His Church and surrounds us with all kinds of people of different ages and experiences. If we will tap into that collective wisdom, then we can mature faster and better. If we only consult with our immediate peer group, they usually can’t see any further than we can.

So, as we consider our future wealth, health, spiritual maturity, sexuality, education, marriage, children, etc., looking down the road, and knowing where we want to go should cause us to change our behavior today. Looking ahead is a key element of what it means to be mature.

Wedding Homily for Robert and Emily

An excerpt from the wedding homily:

Robert and Emily, we’ve all gathered here today to do several things. Your families are here because they have always been with you every step of the way. From day one they’ve loved you, instructed you, protected you and shared in your successes and failures. They’ve been laboring on your behalf to get you to this point so that they can step back and see if you’ll carry on what they’ve begun. Friends, who have known you for varying lengths of time, are happy to be here as well because they love you and want to share in this happy moment and to offer their support. You’ve been showered with gifts and blessings and prayers. But all who are here, especially your wedding party, are also here as witnesses. We’re here to see you and hear you make promises to God and to one another—to enter into a solemn covenant.

You’re launching a building project together. We’re all here for the ground-breaking ceremony, but we also plan to watch as you build this new house. We want to see it finished. We want the glory of this day of beginning to be exceeded by a long-standing and glorious building that’s not only beautiful, but solid and lasting. And so, that will have far more to do with what’s underneath this ceremony than it does the ceremony itself. I’m confident that the two of you have, indeed, started well. Therefore, I’m more than hopeful that you’ll also finish well. With that said, let’s consider the words of Jesus and how important He says His words are.

Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: 25 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.

      26 “But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: 27 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall. —Matthew 7:24-27

Robert and Emily, seven weeks ago you sat in the congregation and witnessed Drew and Taylor’s wedding. At that time, I used this same text of Scripture to exhort them. The fundamental message of marriage remains the same for every wedding. But there’s always more that can be said. And so, let me expand further upon this text and look  at it from some different angles and draw out some additional lessons.

This story, told by Jesus, is known as the parable of the two builders. As we hear the parable, we should be looking to find ourselves in the story. At the start, Jesus tell us what is being illustrated and taught. There are two kinds of people, and in your case today, there are also two kinds of marriages. Every person, and every marriage fits fundamentally into one or the other of these categories. Every marriage is built on something—some kind of foundation. You can’t build in mid-air. The choices are between ground that is solid, unshakable, and immovable, or else it will be ground that is shifting, unstable, and ever-changing.

On the wedding day most couples are very hopeful about the future of their marriages. They think they have what it takes. They’re usually full of affection, passion, enthusiasm, hopes and dreams. Great effort and expense goes into the wedding ceremony (as it should). But too often, not near as much effort goes into the marriage itself. The newness of the house can cover a faulty foundation. A combination of ignorance, naiveté, presumption, false ideas lead many houses, or marriages to begin to teeter, and a fair number of them will fail and fall. The world can make it all look so easy. The Avett Brothers wrote a song titled: “Love Like the Movies,” and here are some of the lyrics of that song:

So you want to be in love like the movies

But in the movies they’re not in love at all

And with a twinkle in their eyes

They’re just saying their lines

So we can’t be in love like the movies

 

Now in the movies they make it look so perfect

And in the background they’re always playing the right song

And in the ending there’s always a resolution

But real life is more than just two hours long

It’s not uncommon for people to assume that a building project is relatively simple; that it can be done quickly on the fly. But anyone who has done much building knows that to do it right will require a great deal of preparation, thought and planning. There’s a saying in woodworking: “Measure twice, cut once.”

Jesus says that His Word is the solid rock upon which our houses must be built. Two houses could look identical on the outside. In fact, one of them might be more beautiful and impressive, but what those two houses are built on will be tested over time. Jesus says that there are storms coming, and come they will. There will be all kinds of storms. Some you see coming, and others come out of nowhere. That’s why, in a few moments from now, you will vow to each other to be faithful: in plenty and in want; in joy and in sorrow; in sickness and in health. If your house—your marriage—is built on the solid rock of the Word of God, it will withstand any and every storm. In fact, your home will be the shelter from the storm—the place of safety and security. Psalm 127:1 tells us that “Unless the LORD builds the house, they labor in vain who build it.” Now, Robert and Emily, go forth and build, and may all of God’s covenant blessing be yours forever! Amen.

 

Wedding Homily for Drew and Taylor

May 20, 2017

Matthew 7:24-27

Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: 25 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: 27 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.

For those who have had the opportunity to observe the bud and blossom of Drew and Taylor’s relationship, you have, no doubt, delighted to see their relationship open into a full double-bloom; their initial cautious but hopeful interest has steadily progressed to a place of mutual adoration. The beauty of such youthful love is attractive; it makes us smile. Perhaps, like me, you could see it early on; maybe even a bit before they fully comprehended what God was doing. For the last year, no one who saw these two together for five minutes had any doubt. And so, here we are—from their first “how do you do,” to the powerful “I do.” From falling in love to staying in love forever.

We’re all very happy to be here to witness this grand ceremony of the wedding of these two; something we can’t say of every wedding. There are times when all I can think is “Oh my, this isn’t going to end well.” People marry for a variety of reasons, not all of them good. However, we’ve gathered here today to witness what we believe to be a marriage that is full of promise; a marriage for all the right reasons; a marriage that makes us rejoice with expectation and to well up with tears of joy. The reason I’m so confident and thrilled about this wedding and marriage is that I already know what kind of foundation this new house is being built on. Moreover, I know the Builder. Beautiful wedding ceremonies take a lot of planning and labor, but great marriages require much more planning and labor. And so, we should think of today as your ground-breaking ceremony, and then the real work begins.

Drew and Taylor, we know that you’ve been loved, taught, nurtured and prepared for this day by parents, family, pastors, teachers and friends. They have all invested in you with the hope of seeing you firmly established. “To whom much is give, much is required.” Taylor, Drew prayed for you before he knew your name. Drew, Taylor prayed for you before she knew your name. All along God was answering those prayers and preparing you for each other and, at the right time, and in the place of His choosing, you were introduced to one another, not knowing what else He had in mind for you. Nevertheless, every step of the way He was directing your steps. Now if He did, in fact, lead you to one another as a part of His master plan, then that means He has much more planned for you in the future.

A little less than a year ago I sent this quotation from Martin Luther in a text to Drew: “The first love is drunken. When the intoxication wears off, then comes the real marriage love. Union of the flesh does nothing. There must also be union of manners and mind.” The two of you have a home to build, but you cannot build it alone. Psalm 127:1 declares: “Unless the LORD builds the house, they labor in vain who build it…” God’s Word must be the foundation―the standard―the authority in your marriage―and if it is, then the two of you may expect God’s richest covenant blessing on your family. You don’t have to look far to see many teetering or fallen houses. Storms always come—some are small, some are hurricanes. Some pass quickly and others linger. In other words, this home you’re setting out to build will certainly be tested, and so it must be done right; it must be built according to God’s master plan.

This new home will be your hub of operation to accomplish the mission you’ve been given. The chief end of man is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever, and so your marriage must have this as its highest goal. Your house is to represent the Father, Son and Holy Spirit in a communion of love. Your table and your bed will be centers of this communion, places where you will serve and be served. You will be instructed, nourished, and renewed. The mission of marriage is to exercise dominion to the glory of God. In other words, to expand His glory to fill the earth. This will first be seen in the relationship between husband and wife; in how you love, sacrifice, serve and respect one another. And the mission will then be extended as the two of you seek to fill the earth with godly children. God has called the husband to this great mission, and He has given him a wife to come under that mission. Together they will fulfill His dominion mandate. In other words, like Abraham, God intends for your family to belong to Him and to become a blessing to the world.

Now you are both to remember—that is, you are to never forget that your marriage is way bigger than you. A lot of preparation and effort has gone into this wedding, but the wedding is the easy part. The ceremony and reception only last for a few minutes. You will soon change into your regular clothes and start to live. The marriage is for the rest of your life; it’s the hard part; it’s the part that matters the most.

You are now being publicly united in covenant before a watching world. Everyone wants to know if you really mean what you say. Everyone wants to see if it really works. However, we’re not nearly so concerned with why you think you want to get married as we are with what you intend to do about it from here on out. You’re making a solemn promise. You’re taking an oath of loyalty to one another and to God, and you do so before all these witnesses. The wedding is about the beginning of a marriage. A marriage is about a lifelong commitment, and the nurturing of that commitment in the face of a hostile world. You stand here today as representatives of Christ and His Church: a husband who gives―who sacrifices for his wife to make her eternally lovely; a wife who joyfully comes under the mission of the household. Together you subdue the earth. You are setting out today to change the world to the glory of God!

Drew, you’re about to assume the full responsibility of a new household. You will be responsible for your wife, your children, your property, and everything else that falls under the domain of this house-hold. God requires of you that you represent Jesus Christ as the head, or as the husbandman of this household. You must already know that you are a blessed man. According to the Bible, a man who is married is one who has “obtained favor from the Lord” (Pr. 18:22). Our Lord’s favor is seen upon you this day and every day to follow… an excellent wife is the crown of her husband” (Proverbs 12:4). While she is to be an excellent wife, you are to promote this excellence; providing the environment for excellence, nourishing her, guiding her, cherishing her, loving her as you would your own life—for you are one flesh. This is part of the blessed labor of marriage and it can’t be done unless you follow your Lord Jesus Christ. You must build this house on the solid foundation of God’s Word.

As the Apostle Paul writes in the epistle to the Ephesians, you are to love your wife as Christ loved the Church, and that love was manifested in the giving up of Himself for her… the sacrifice of Himself; this is your example. Your sacrifice, the giving of yourself will provide for her holiness—you, now, will be a chief instrument in her growth unto Christ-likeness. Your faithfulness here—in this labor of marriage—will be seen in her. She will radiate your sacrificial love, your Christ-like love, and even though she is very lovely now, she will become increasingly lovely. She is the one, according to the Song of Solomon, who will make your heart beat faster with a single glance of her eyes (4:9), but your labor for her will increase her beauty. We can all see that you are blessed of God—may you live every day accordingly—serving our Lord, loving your wife and reflecting Christ’s love for His Church.

Taylor, what a joy it has been to get to know you over these past few months. I know your family is proud of you and that you are a blessing to them. In a moment, your name will change to Alders, and in that very moment something mystical and powerful will happen, a new covenant household will be established. You will be a Christian wife. While Drew is to provide for you to be an excellent wife, to be his crown…you are to be an excellent wife. The Bible is clear; our Lord’s provision is abundant. Now, you are to be faithful in this as you too build this house on the Rock. There are no low views of women here. Drew is blessed—he has obtained favor from the Lord, with you as his wife. Now this blessedness needs to be seen; so, for the honor of Christ and the strengthening of His Church, labor to be that excellent wife. You have been placed by God to be Drew’s helper—life-long companions in this communion of love. As God intended, you are no longer to be two, but one flesh. May you work to build this house accordingly. You are to honor him as your covenant-head. In other words, respect your husband and thereby honor the Word of God.

 Now may you both bear the name of our Lord honorably in this covenant of marriage as you set out to build this house on the Rock. Amen!