As I get older I can’t help noticing who is and who isn’t ageing well. Some look like improved versions of their younger selves. Most look like the same people only with more pounds, wrinkles, grey hair and bare scalp. Some age well others don’t.
The other thing that happens as you get older, is you receive clearer evidence that you are a sinner, not resident in heaven and not utterly sanctified. Although the Christian might look back and see the numerous sins before their conversion, they can also see how each day since would add to their sin ledger.
This becomes more important when we get criticized, confronted, and charged by other people. In accounting terms, we can have the data of our sins inputted on an accrual basis. The ledger gets longer as our age gets higher.
For all of the misunderstandings and false accusations, there will also be many exposures of sin which will be accurate and real. Without any way to deal with the accounting of our sin, our debt would continue to multiply. A record of debt stands against us with “its legal demands” (Col 2:14).
As we age, it would be crippling to have the accrual of our sins piled upon us. For those who ignore this accrual, we can see their utter arrogance as they look at themselves in a purely sunny light. But for the sinner without Christ, there is only the growing despair which the sin ledger brings. Our sins don’t age well.
Justification ages well when our sins don’t. There is an evergreen character to justification that never withers or fades. There is no sin in the believer that remains unatoned for at the cross. There is no failure of obligation that is not satisfied by the active obedience of Christ. There is no accusation from earth or heaven which cancels the verdict of God when he declares a sinner just (Ro 3:26).
If you believe in Jesus Christ alone, relying upon his blood and righteousness for the forgiveness of your sins, you have a right standing before God. Then even if you add pounds and wrinkles, you don’t have to worry about ageing badly. You can even have the accrued sins of a long life reckoned as obsolete because God’s verdict never breaks down.
On another Reformation Day, you can know and announce that your justification is ageing quite well thank you.
No one likes affliction. We spend most of our time doing all that we can to avoid it, secure against it and make it go away.
Yet could it be that affliction can be used by God to create beauty? Can we appreciate affliction as art?
Consider that the lustre of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ shines more brilliantly against that dark backdrop of Adam’s fall into damnation. All of the other trials and triumphs of Scripture filter these contrasts with varying degrees of intensity.
Thomas Watson and the Limner
I didn’t know what a limner was when I read about one in Thomas Watson’s writing. A limner is an artist who illuminates manuscripts (like the beautiful work of the Lindisfarne Gospels). A limner can also be a portrait painter, especially of miniatures. Watson said:
As the limner mixeth with his dark shadows bright colours, so doth God mingle the dark and bright colours, his crosses and his blessings, and so causeth “all things to work together for good to them who love him.”
Puritan Gems; or Wise and Holy Sayings of the Rev Thomas Watson AM
So in Watson’s view there was a beauty that could be created using affliction in a Christian’s life. This is important for us to recognize because we can look at the dark colours only. We can forget that the afflictions are used to make the brighter blessings shine.
Monochrome Afflictions?
How frequently do our afflictions become monochrome in our sight? It is as if we are colour-blinded by the cares and sorrows of this world. But if we were to see the dark shades in something other than black and white, we would see the brilliance of God’s blessings in all their vivid tints and textures.
So the intent of these dark colours of affliction are to not to plunge into unrelenting darkness, but to celebrate the light and to point to the one who is the light (John 8:12). Even in the grand contrast of the vessels of wrath and the vessels of mercy which Paul explains in the ninth chapter of Romans, the art of comparison stands out vividly. The intent of God is to craft the dark hues which colour the vessels of wrath for a beautiful purpose. Paul says:
in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory—
Rom 9:23
The afflictions are intended to cause “the riches of his glory” to be set in contrast. But when they are compared, the conclusion is that that the glory is beyond comparison. As Paul said,
For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison
2 Cor 4:17
The wonder of Rembrandt as an artist was that he could show the brilliance of light in contrast to the dark hues. God has an artistry that is incomparable to any other ‘creative’. The darkness of affliction has to be seen as part of God’s whole canvas for our lives.
Marvel and wonder at how God is even able to create art from affliction.
If we are immersed in a therapeutic culture, many churchgoers have a question in the back of their minds: Do I need a pastor or a professional counselor?
This is not a simple a question to answer since most evangelicals would argue that you need both. But it is helpful to see a few questions in back of the question of which is needed.
Helping Professions
First, we have to ask ourselves why someone would need to see a professional counselor. Likely it is becaue they have some problem, a habit, a behaviour or something else that they know is wrong or harmful or sinful. So in order to get assistance, many people immediately look to the most dominant ‘helping professions’ in our culture, doctors, pharmacists, therapists and counselors.
On the list of ‘helping professions’ few in society would rate pastors as very important. For Christians who have been steeped in a therapeutic culture which elevates the prowess of these other helping professions, it can seem like pastors are part of a quaint and antiquated system for dealing with problems. So to get in the back of the question about professional counselors or pastors, we have to recognize the therapeutic culture we live in.
Therapeutic Culture
Since 1993, David Wells has exposed the therapeutic culture in a series of books. Specifically, he has outlined how modernity has affected evangelical churches so that Christians desire therapy.
Wells has said that instead of therapy, we need to feel God’s weight at the centre of our lives, not the periphery:
What gives weight to God in our lives is two things. First, he has to be enthroned in the center and not merely circling on the periphery. Second, the God who is enthroned must be the God who has revealed himself in Scripture. This God is not simply the supplier of everything we want, our concierge, and our therapist dispensing comfort as we feel the need for it. He is the God of burning purity as well as of burning love. That God, as he rules our own private universe, will wrench around what happens in that universe to conform us to who he is in his character. The “god” who is there only for our needs as we define them will be a “god” who is light and skinny.
So in the first place, we have to have God at the centre of all that we do, and recognize the powerful effect which modernity has on our own self-perception. We need to see how we perceive the sufficiency of God’s Word, the significance of God’s church, and the strength of God’s shepherds to care for the sheep.
The Context of Care
The second question behind the question is to ask where is the context of care which we all need to live within? There is a big difference between seeking help for problems within the church and seeking help outside the church. When the first instinct for a Christian is to look outside the church for solutions, they are declaring the utter insufficiency of God, his Word and his people. They don’t mean to do that of course. But evangelicals have cultivated church-less habits for nearly a century, so it is natural to look for expertise outside of the local church.
Yet it can be surprising to see how effective the local church context is for someone, even when they have to have help from outside the church. For example, when a young woman in my church had a medical emergency requiring medical professionals, the care and counsel of the church was still immersive for her. Even in the hospital, doctors and nurses were engaged by the church’s care as much as she was.
So the context of care must be understood clearly. There will be times when a Christian must go outside the local church for counseling and medical help. But the dominant context of care will be in the local church so that the pastoral and congregational care that a person receives will follow them.
Pastoral Care as Congregational Care
A third issue behind the question of professional counselors versus pastors, is to recognize that pastoral care is expressed not merely in one-to-one care from the pastor, but in the one-another care of the congregation for each other. In accordance with Ephesians 4:12, the pastors are to “equip the saints for the work of ministry”. If they are equipped, even as co-counselors, then that is an extension of the pastor’s counseling ministry, and makes his work more wholistic and thus more effective.
By contrast, the professional counselor enters into a counseling situation as a sole filter for the person’s problems, offering them an assessment that the counselee can either accept or reject as any consumer can when they have paid their bill.
The pastor, unlike the professional counselor, offers spiritual counsel and care for a person within the context of one-anothering by the congregation. To the covenanted church member, there can be no ‘take it or leave it’ kind of response when the counsel they received is biblical and appropriately conscience-binding. The context of care for the Christian being counseled by their fellow congregants will be an expression of meaningful church membership. This is where our view of counseling is shaped by our view of the local church and what it means to be a member.
The Place of Professional Counselors
For Christians there is still a useful place for professional counselors. Professional counselors ought to be biblical counselors. They have been biblically trained and use the Scriptures not only as a proof text, but as the interpretive mechanism for all human problems.
Certainly, the professional biblical counselor will have some subject matter expertise. But the primary way that biblical counselors differ from pastors (other than the fact that pastors, not professional counselors occupy an ecclesial office) is that biblical counselors are able to offer specialized, intensive and extended care. Pastors offer the same thing. But for people who have multiple complex sin issues, habits, and consequences to deal with, a dedicated helper can be very useful.
This is why it is helpful to encourage biblical counseling generally. When pastors recognize their large role in providing nouthetic care (1 Cor 4:14, Col 1:28, 1 Th 5:12,14, 2 Th 3:15), they will do more than be a personal counselor for people. They will cultivate a culture of one-another co-counseling. The result will be a caring context for every Christian to be helped to deal honestly with sin and the consequences of sin in their lives. Then, even if someone needs some special, intensive, extended attention from a professional biblical counselor, they are immersed within a culture with God at the centre.
All faithful professional biblical counsellors desire this pastoral/congregational context for the people they serve. And all pastors welcome the additional help that they can look to in certain situations that require more attention than their time and space allow.
So to answer the opening question, “Do we need professional counselors instead of pastors?”, no, we do not. Rather we must recapture a sense of what the local church is for (a clinic of co-counselors), what is the role of the pastor (equipping the co-counselors while modeling biblical care), and then we are in a position to value another kind of counselor (professional biblical counselor). At such a re-ordering of priorities, the professional biblical counsellor will rejoice together with the pastor and the local church.
Pause for a second and ask yourself whether you have forgotten that in all your mysteries and confusion and wondering about tomorrow, that God “reveals deep and hidden things, he knows what is in the darkness, ..the light dwells with him” God alone interprets you. He gets you.
And that is the message Daniel went with to the king of Babylon when the king was looking for extraordinary insight— into his dreams.
Daniel didn’t come as another expert. He pointed exclusively to God, saying “but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries” (2:28). This simple saying is a summary of the whole book of Daniel. There is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries.
Daniel clarified that God had revealed the mystery of the dream to him by grace alone. He said it was “not because of any wisdom that I have more than all the living, but in order that the interpretation may be made known to the king and that you may know the thoughts of your mind” (v. 30).
Only God can interpret the world. Only God gets you. Because only God can explain to you the deep, hidden questions you have not even asked.
Only God Gets You.
Now in verses 31-45 God uncovered to Daniel what the dream was, and what it meant. This was a special revelation, that was true and without error.
And to summarize, the dream was of a succession of historical kingdoms from Nebuchadnezzars’ at the top down through the Medo-Persian to the Greek and the Roman. They are represented as the image of a man and the different materials from head to toe describe characteristics of the kingdoms.
What is important to recognize at this point is two things:
First, this was a supernatural revealing of world history spanning 600 years and explaining it before it happens. This would be like someone in England in 1419 having just won ownership of Northern France in the 100 Years War, being able to see Britain voting on Brexit in 2019. That prophecy would have seen the Reformation, the French Revolution, WWI&II, the Cold War, the Internet and the iPhone. Only God interprets the world
Second, there are only variations on the Babylonian empire from Nebuchadnezzar onward. There is no mention of any Israelite kingdom, no mention of a kingdom of God’s people that is created by human action. Many heretics and false teachers throughout history have attempted to create what is called, “the Fifth Monarchy”. But you can’t create it, or make it with human hands. People can create a Christendom, but only God can bring the kingdom that never ends.
Into all of the confusion about our world, and even about our own personal selves, wouldn’t it be wise to consider God who is outside of our time-space continuum, who created it and created us, as a being the true interpreter of our existence?
I am starting to realize the trials that my boys will face in this life.
At some point, maybe sooner rather then later, they will endure mocking and name-calling from their peers. If they choose to follow Jesus they will face even greater opposition. Maybe they will go off to war or be missionaries in a hostile country. The difficult part for me is that I won’t always be there to help them. For that matter, I may not be capable of helping them.
I remember how things were a few years ago when my sons were a lot younger. One time we were walking back to our vehicle after dining out and a drunk man started talking to my boys. Afterward, my oldest said, “He sounded like he was speaking funny. Maybe he is from somewhere else.” My middle boy commented, “He was speaking nice words.” The innocence of their words, however lovely and generous, made my defences come up a bit. I said, “When you are with Mom and Dad you can be friendly and say hello to everyone. If you are ever by yourself, don’t talk to strangers.”
“Why can we talk to strangers when you are around?”
“Because I would protect you if there was a bad person.”
One of my boys, who will remain nameless, laughed out loud. He couldn’t help himself. He could barely speak, he thought I was telling a good joke.
“What could YOU do to defend us?”
Thankfully, my darling husband came to the rescue of my wounded pride.
“Oh, if Momma got upset she would be a force to be reckoned with!”
We all had a good laugh at this, but there was truth to my son’s words. I cannot be their ultimate lifelong defender. I cannot pave the road for them and smooth every bump. I cannot stop every bad thing from ever happening to them.
There is only one who calms the waves and stops the storms. There is only one who sees and knows all things at all times. He is the one who orchestrates all things for the good of those who love Him, however painful they may be.
Can I release my sons into his divine care? Will he not pry my fingers open anyway? I have a choice between fear and trust. How can I not trust in him? He can never fail. He will never forsake. His sufficiency is much greater than my own.
“Do you feel like you’re spinning your wheels?” That’s the question I asked my elders last night. I was asking to see if they felt stuck, and not making progress in their ministry, marriages, families, and vocations.
As devotional meditation at the beginning of our elders’ meeting (we always start with prayer and the Word of God), I looked at the issue of “making progress” in Paul’s letters.
For Your Progress and Joy
My first question was to get at what was our reason for being in ministry at all. I asked the men, “Why do we remain and continue in this ministry?” That question is prompted by Philippians 1:25. Paul gave the answer in that verse when he said:
“for your progress and joy in the faith”
Phil 1:25
The Greek word for progress is prokopen (προκοπὴν). The idea likely had an early sense of cutting or slashing forward, but the word gained wide usage to mean simply ‘advance’ or ‘progress’.
So like Paul, the pastors can consider that their purpose for being in ministry at this time is for the progress and joy in the faith of others.
Progress in Sanctification
Another way of putting it is to think that pastors serve the church to promote their progressive sanctification. As pastors shepherd people, they will make progress:
from one degree of glory to another (2 Cor 3:18).
from immaturity to presenting “everyone mature in Christ” (Col 1:28)
So the pastors’ ministry is to serve in this Pauline way for people’s personal, joyous, progressive sanctification in the Christian faith.
The Progress of the Gospel
The personal progress which pastors promote for individual Christians doesn’t remain alone. That individual progress is part of the wider progress of the gospel. Paul outlined in the first chapter of Philippians, that various circumstances in his life were actually designed for the gospel’s progress. The ESV translates this same Greek word (prokope/ προκοπὴν) not with ‘progress’ but ‘advance’ in Philippians 1:12.
As much as we may care for the sanctification of the individual Christian, we can never lose sight of the fact that God is advancing the gospel, and pastors must shepherd people to carry that gospel forward. So as we “equip the saints” (Eph 4:12), we will see the gospel progressively advanced in the ever expanse reaches which Jesus commanded (Matt 28:18-20; Acts 1:8).
Pastors Must Make Progress
In order to serve the progress of others, we need to make progress. Paul exhorted Timothy to undertake a plan of personal development in gospel-born teaching and living. He commanded Timothy saying:
Practice these things, immerse yourself in them, so that all may see your progress. (προκοπὴν)
1 Tim 4:15
As pastors, we aren’t aiming to display our learning, or show off our preaching, or parade our piety. Nevertheless, people should be able to see our progress. They should see that we are changing and growing. They should see that as our lives change, the church changes, and the entire ministry landscape changes, we are making progress.
Some of the areas we should make progress in are:
persevering through trials old and new.
theological knowledge leading to worship, or courage, or humility
skill in handling ministry, preaching, relationships, the brevity of time
Progress in Life and Teaching
There are many areas that Paul outlines in his pastoral epistles, which pastors ought to make progress in by God’s grace. A great summary of them all is stated by Paul in the following verse when he concludes:
Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers.
1Ti 4:16
These are wide categories. When Paul warns to keep watch on “yourself” it is all of life, inside and out. When he focusses on “the teaching” he intends both the expansive content of the faith as well as the growing ability to communicate it better.
As we ended this meditation on pastors making progress, for the progressive sanctification of Christians and the progress of the gospel, I asked two application questions. Consider them in your own life:
In what area would you like to make some progress this coming year?
In what area do you feel you’ve made progress in this last year.
The theologian Robert Haldane (1764-1842) wrote in his commentary on Romans that Paul always connects his teaching on Christian living to the mystery of redemption in Christ. This is how Paul can make multifaceted applications of the gospel. Haldane summarizes Paul’s approach in what follows. I have broken up this extended quotation by highlighting Haldane’s break in thought with various headings and numbering. Haldane writes the following:
1. On whatever subject Paul treats, he constantly introduces the mystery of Christ.
In writing to the Corinthians, he says, “I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.” This is a declaration, that the doctrine concerning Christ is the whole of religion, in which all besides is comprehended.
In delivering his instructions to the saints at Corinth, respecting the incestuous person, he points out to them. Jesus Christ as the Lamb that was sacrificed.
If his subject respects the promises he has made, or the engagements he has entered into, he draws our attention to the promises of God, which are all yea and amen in Christ Jesus.
When he treats of the precepts to be obeyed, he regards them as connected with the knowledge of Christ;
all duties are considered in relation to him, as the only Saviour from whom we can derive power to fulfil them,
the only altar on which they can be accepted,
that model according to which they are to be performed,
and the motive by which those who perform them are to be actuated.
He is the head that gives life to the members,
the root which renders the branches fruitful.
Believers are the workmanship of God, created in Christ Jesus unto good works.
Jesus Christ is the end and object of their obedience, in order that the name of the Father may be glorified in the Son, and that the name of the Son may be glorified in them.
2. Accordingly, the Scriptures speak of the commencement and the continuation of the life of believers as being derived from Christ;
of their being planted together with him;
buried and risen with him;
walking in him;
living and dying with him.
The principal motives to holiness, in general, or to any particular duty, are drawn from some special view of the work of redemption, fitted to excite to the fulfilment of such obligations.
3. The love of God in Christ is set before us in a multitude of passages, as the most powerful motive we can have to love him with all our heart, with all our soul, and with all our mind.
When we are exhorted to look not to our own things only, but also to those of others, it is because we ought to have the same mind in us that was in Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God, humbled himself to do such wonderful things for us.
The duty of almsgiving is enforced by the consideration, that he who was rich, for our sakes became poor, that we through his poverty might be rich.
Forbearance to weak brethren has for its motive the death of Christ for them.
If we are exhorted to forgive the offences of others, it is because God, for Christ’s sake, hath forgiven us.
The reciprocal duties of husband and wife are enforced by the consideration of the love of Christ, and the relation in which he stands to his church.
The motive to chastity is, that we are members of Christ’s body, and temples of the Holy Ghost.
In one word, the various exhortations to the particular duties of a holy life, and the motives which correspond to each of them, are all taken from different views of one grand and important object, the mystery of redemption.
— Robert Haldane, Exposition of Romans, 1858. pp 20-21
In a world that is quite ungodly, it might seem strange to be pointing out the problem with how people might be using ‘godliness’. Yet there is a serious trap for people who use godliness as a means of gain (1 Timothy 6:5).
The Philosophy of False Teachers
When Paul tells Timothy to continue to teach what Paul has emphasized, even urging those things on his hearers, he also points out those who stand in opposition. These are the false teachers. Now it’s not obvious that the false teachers wear black hats like the old Westerns. Instead, false teachers have much that is appealing in their teaching. If they didn’t, no one would listen to them.
In a phrase that summarizes the philosophy of false teachers, they “imagine godliness as a means of gain” (1 Tim 6:5). So they have it in their minds that learning, or theology, or Christian culture, or spiritual experience, or anything else connected to godliness, is to be used. The philosophy of false teachers is utilitarian. They want to use Christian things as leverage for their own personal gain. The gain might be financial, or it may simply be the gain of social status. Whatever the gain is, the intention is to use Christianity for personal advancement.
The Trap
It can be an easy escape for some people to think that this only applies to the false teachers, to those who are the really bad ones. But the trap of using Christianity for personal gain remains a deadly prospect for any redeemed sinner.
Of course, the history of Israel had examples of God being used for personal gain by the Israelites. From the golden calf incident (Ex 32) to the idolatrous use of the staff with the bronze serpent on it (2 Kings 18:4), God’s people could be tempted to use God as a means of gain.
Even after Jesus rose from the dead, the disciples still asked, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” (Acts 1:6). Their concern was not about the resurrected Christ standing in their midst, but with how his coming was useful or beneficial to Israel. The trap is subtle but very real.
Bloated By Gain
Paul had strong words for the person who imagined godliness was a means of gain. He said:
he is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels about words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions, and constant friction among people who are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth
1 Timothy 6:4-5a
The dominant feature of Paul’s description is that of a person who is personally gaining so that they are getting bigger by being puffed up, craving more and more, and so increasing the space they take up, bumping into others more and more.
Sadly our era is seeing a lot of this kind of bloating gain among those who profess Jesus Christ. Because there are so many errors, like the lists of a large menu, they can glut themselves with pride as they tackle each item. But like gluttony at a smorgasbord, their goal is not to satisfy spiritual hunger, but to satisfy unhealthy cravings that are unconnected with the humble, hungry soul.
Grace Not Gain
How different is the description that Paul makes in Ephesians 4:29 when he says:
Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.
Eph 4:29
We are quick to associate this with vulgar talking. However Paul’s command applies to all talk that is not generous in building others up. If it is only tearing down, only expressing demands, then it cannot “give grace to those who hear”.
The problem, in this case, is a fundamental misunderstanding of grace. Grace does not permit error or wink at it, so as to ignore it. Grace recognizes the error, yet expresses undeserved favour. The hearer doesn’t deserve it, but it is given anyway. Further, the correction is given in such a way that a person is moved from error to truth and from confusion to clarity. This is all done with such personal advocacy that the hearer believes that you are on their side personally, even if you disagree doctrinally.
Against Utilitarianism
Christians must be careful not to use godliness as a means of gain. We must also be careful not to use theological discussion as a means of building a Christian market platform. Or to use personal theological study as a tool (weapon!) to elevate ourselves above our peers. Or use book acquisition, celebrity pastor relationships, theological tribe-associations, or any other form of ‘godliness’ as a means of gain. Utilitarianism will rot our souls. We may not have the chance to be false teachers, but we will be complicit in their agendas, no matter how much we publicly crusade against them.
Gone are the days of nursery rhymes and picture books. My children now gravitate toward young adult fiction. They aren’t content with predictable plot lines or childlike themes. They want complex, intriguing plot lines with older, and therefore, more interesting characters. And while I’m glad their tastes are maturing, it felt like we were stepping out of the splash pool of preschool literacy into a vast ocean of divergent worldviews.
Some books are an obvious “no” and others are certified place-keepers on Christian bookshelves everywhere. But the vast majority of books fall somewhere in between. After some research, soul-searching and advice-seeking from smarter and better parents than me, I’ve found a way forward. If you are struggling to pick out good books for your children, here are 8 questions you may want to consider.
Is It a Good, Well-written Story?
As a parent, it’s tempting to choose a “safe” story over an excellent one, but children instinctively reject books that come across as preachy and condescending (not unlike adults!). By contrast a really good book immerses the child into the story. They feel the exhilaration of adventure and experience the camaraderie of overcoming with unexpected heroes. New combinations of words begin to form in their mind and they learn to express themselves in new and articulate ways.
Does This Book Help My Child to Empathize with Someone They Would Have Otherwise Felt no Affinity with?
In Canada, many cities are diverse and multicultural. Toronto is said to have half of its population born outside of Canada, and yet stories of ostracism, racism and bullying still abound. Story can be a powerful means of helping children understand and value other cultures.
God’s kingdom is not limited by nationality, class or gender (Gal. 3:28). It transcends all boundaries and so should our love and compassion. A good book allows children to identify with others through shared experience.
Does This Book Spark My Child’s Interest in History, Culture Or Science?
Famous children’s educator, Charlotte Mason, wrote, “The question is not, — how much does the youth know? when he has finished his education — but how much does he care?”
Quality literature can teach in a way that a dry textbook never can. Facts memorized for a test tend to be forgotten, but the things we learn from story come alive and stay with us long after the last page is read.
Will My Child Learn about Moral Courage?
We must explicitly “train up a child in the way he should go” (Prov. 22:6), but like so many things, integrity is often caught, not taught.
Children learn quickly that doing the right thing will cost them something–whether it be social status, comfort, or other privileges. Good stories allow children to experience these moral crisis points vicariously through the characters in their story. It’s almost like practise for real-life or learning moral courage by osmosis. A compelling protagonist inspires children in ways that simple explanations sometimes fail to do.
Will They Learn through Story That Sin Has Consequences?
It’s no secret that certain stories glamourize sin. The cool kids are slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, etc. (Rom. 1:30), but the bible clearly teaches that the wages of sin is death (Rom. 6:23). Stories that propagate a superficial understanding of sin do not serve our children, but a story that exposes sin’s consequences may do a world of good, especially if it is followed by themes of redemption and forgiveness that mirror God’s grace in the gospel (1 John 1:9).
Does This Book Teach My Child That Authority Is Valuable in Its Proper Context?
Many children’s books teach children to be suspicious of authority. Teachers, parents and other authority figures are evil, egomaniacs or just plain dumb. While we don’t want our children to blindly follow authority, especially when it is corrupt, we do want them to understand that authority is God’s idea and therefore good (Romans 13:1-7). For example, obedience to parents will (in principle) result in a better quality of life (Ephes. 6:1-4). Government and police will restrain the depravity, disorder and injustice that happens when everyone does “what is right in their own eyes” (Judges 21:25) And for the sake of their eternal soul they must understand the importance of submitting to God’s authority and humbling themselves under His mighty hand (1 Pet. 5:6).
Will This Book Cause This Particular Child to Stumble?
On questionable “grey issue” books, wiser parents have advised me to know my child’s propensities. Will this book encourage my particular child to sin in areas where they are weak, or is this an issue of low concern when it comes to temptation? While a book may be appropriate for one child to read at 10, another child may need to wait until they are 12.
Does This Expand My Child’s Ability to Comprehend the Incomprehensible?
Myth and fairy-tales can be helpful here. C.S. Lewis writes that when a child reads about a “fairy land” it “arouses a longing for he knows not what. It stirs and troubles him (to his life-long enrichment) with the dim sense of something beyond his reach and, far from dulling or emptying the actual world, gives it a new dimension of depth. He does not despise real woods because he has read of enchanted woods: the reading makes all real woods a little enchanted. This is a special kind of longing.”
When we consider the supernatural nature of God’s world, fairytales begin to look more realistic. That is to say, they expand our imagination so that we can begin to grasp the wonder of a God who supernaturally breaks into our world to save those who are lost.
Story is powerful, and while we must be cautious of the destructive nature of some literature, mining the depths of a good story is worth every effort. While books have no power in and of themselves to save our children, they have great potential to enrich the soul, build character, inspire, expand the imagination and most importantly, provide fertile soil for gospel seeds grow.
Nobody wants to stick out. People may want to lead or be on top, but generally speaking few of us like to stick out from the crowd. We certainly don’t like to stick out when there is no noticeable benefit. This is a proverb that exists in many cultures: The nail that sticks out will be struck down, or, The tall poppy will be cut off.
Christians feel this fear too. They don’t want to be left out and they prefer to fit in, even blend in. But that is where the problem lies. Christians will always stick out unless they are Christians in name only.
Sticking Out in the Right Way
One of the first temptations to deal with is the mistaken pursuit of being obnoxious. Christians can think that they need to be brash in order to be bold. They can mistake the negative responses by others as mini-persecutions when really they are just sick of a Christian’s bad manners. When Paul instructed Titus on the subject he said:
Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people.
Titus 3:1-2
I have wondered sometimes if pastors (as well as church members) need to take a rudimentary course in manners. To even say it sounds quaint and dated. But the fact is that in any culture the norms of courtesy express honour, respect, care and love. These expressions are all the more important when you are in disagreement with someone else. Since they are not at home in this world, Christians are always in a state of disagreement with it. So we need to figure out how to stick out in the right way without being needlessly offensive.
Sticking Out for the Right Things
If Christians are meant to stick out, like a lamp on a stand or a city on a hill as Jesus described (Mat 5:14-16), then they must stick out for the right things. It ought to be clear that what Christians say and do expresses the imitation of Jesus Christ and the fruition of Jesus’ work in their lives. The right thing to stick out for is that you have been called “out of darkness into his marvellous light” (1 Pet 2:9).
Ultimately, Christians will stick out because they are following Jesus “outside the camp” in order to “bear the reproach he endured” (Heb 13:13). By following Jesus, they are sticking out for the right things. Other things, such as what we eat, drink, and wear shouldn’t be things that we are overly concerned about (cf. Matt 6:31). And they aren’t things that we should prioritize being different in. There is a certain self-forgetfulness that should apply to such things. We may fit in or we may not. But the key idea is that we stick out because we are following Jesus.
Sticking Out and Ready to be Struck Down
In following Jesus, we know we will stick out. So we can expect the hammer. The world, under Satan’s sway, demands conformity (cf “the elementary principles of the world” Gal 4:3, Col 2:20). When we realize how we are perceived because of our allegiance to Jesus, it will help us to understand what to expect.
As believers follow Jesus, they will resemble the apostles who are “a spectacle to the world, to angels, and to men.” (1 Cor 4:9). Paul’s experience was that “When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we endure; when slandered, we entreat. We have become, and are still, like the scum of the world, the refuse of all things.” (1 Cor 4:12-13). This is not a recipe for becoming cultural champions.
So we need to be prepared to be struck down. Jesus reminds us that the reception of fierce opposition is part of our witness. In the sermon recorded in the fifth chapter of Matthew, Jesus said:
“Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Matt 5:11-12
As we receive the blasts of opposition because we are sticking out in the right way for the right things, we join the gospel’s long line of witnesses or rather the “great cloud” of them (Hebrew 12:1). Paul could say:
Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain.
Phil 2:14-16
If we stick out in this way, we bear witness that something is wrong with the world, and only in Christ can it be made right.
