Wednesday, February 13, 2008

"I Wanna Know...Have You Ever Seen The Rain?"

Fond memories of that Joan Jett song from yesteryear...before my time.

But in any case, amidst the snow and ice and exemplifies winter here in Western Pennsylvania, it's hard to believe that a mere week ago, it was 50 degree with light rain showers. Not to say I'm not a fan of the snow, for indeed I am. How else would we make good use of cafeterian trays on an inviting slope near the soccer field, circa midnight, the week of final exams?....Not that I would know. Besides, sitting here in the Religion Suite of the Hall of Arts and Letters, looking down across campus from my gargoyle-like perch on the third floor, the freshly fallen snow on our colonial/neo-gothic campus is quite picturesque.



In any case, during the thaw last week, I was walking out of Fit/Well on either a Tuesday or Thursday morning at roughly 8:35 AM, having just finished running/jogging/walking with moderate intensity for the last 20 minutes (something I'm not prone to do otherwise, so you can imagine the lack of physical fitness coming to bite me in the butt, and oddly enough it sounds like the laugh of cross country runners who scoff at the notion of running for a mere 20 minutes. For that, I salute you.



Walking out of the Physical Learning Center, hot and uncomfortable, I was greeted with an onslaught of falling rain drops. I typically hate to get wet, for that means one has to wait (I means seriously, waiting! That means not getting or having what you want or a situation you desire immediately. Ludacrist!) to get dry. But today was telling, poetically, humbly, and practically.

In my mind, the rain was symbolic of the grace of God, or at least the actions of God. In the past, I rued the rain, for when I was prim, proper, and spiffed up for the day, on my own accord, the rain made me unkempt, disgruntled, and uncomfortable. Likewise, on days that I felt I was spiritually prepped, prepared by what I'd done, and ready to face the day, God would enact a loving discipline, an event or occurance to get my attention, that would make me uncomfortable. And I would resist and resent, whether I realized it was Heaven-sent or not.

And yet, despite my rebellion and sinful ingratitude for a Father who corrects out of love that I might not do harm to myself (as all good fathers do), in spite of my attitude, God sends down an action of grace and of paternal love to a child he adores. He sent rain when I was uncomfortable, to refresh me. The same way a parent will perhaps give a simple candy bar to a child, although they've misbehaved, (and perhaps that action will guilt them), they offer this gift as a reminder of love.

In spite of my selfish tendencies, my Father sends me rain: grace, love, and compassion because He loves me. He sends me loving acts not because of what I've done, He loves me initially not because of what I've done. The Love we, the church, experience is truly of grace from beginning to end--stemming entirely from the benevolent nature of God and completely lacking us in any capacity.

How precious did that grace appear, the hour I first believed.

Friday, February 8, 2008

Reply All

A good friend of mine posted a classic (classic in the sense that it is a frequent query among current evangelical circles) question today via email:

Can someone be pro-choice and be a true Christian?

I opined to him and others in our discussion by way of our illustrious "Reply All" feature, and share it with you now:

Dear Friends,
I think there are multiple answers to the question, which actually has multiple questions.

#1—Is abortion wrong? Yes, absolutely. God’s Word tells us in Psalm 139:

"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."


Thus, a fetus, from the moment of conception, is God’s creation.
God loves his creation. Genesis 1:


"So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them…God saw all that he had made, and it was very good."

We are made in the image of God. Babies, infants, a fetus, are all made in the image of God and bear his likeness. When we do evil unto a fellow creation of God, it is as if doing unto God himself.
Matthew 25: "The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these, you did for me."

And, we know murder is the unlawful, intentional, premeditated, taking of innocent life. And we know murder is a sin (Exodus 20). Ergo, abortion is sin.

#2-Can a true Christian support abortion?

Well, can a true Christian sin? I think it would unrealistic to say “No”. Although we are forgiven and clothed in the righteousness of Christ, our fallen nature is still prone to sin, even after we’re born again. HOWEVER, we are to be in constant seeking of God’s will and repentance (that is, turning around) from our sins as the Spirit and the Word make us aware of them. To be continually sinning, fully aware of what we are doing, in spite of the Gospel is rebellion and there is no provision of forgiveness for this deliberate, continual sin (Romans 1). True faith is evidenced by repentance. 2 Corinthians 5:17 tells us that “Anyone who is in Christ, is a new creation. Behold! The old has gone, the new has come!” That is, God takes us as we are, but loves us to much to leave us there. If we are truly repentant and have sorrow for our sin and thankfulness to God, we will be a “work in progress” that is progressively getting better---more Christ-like, obeying the command to strive for perfection “ Be perfect, as your Father in Heaven is perfect” (Matthew 5:48).

So…

Is abortion wrong? Yes

Can a true Christian support abortion? Yes and No..BUT ONLY TO THE EXTENT THAT THEIR SALVATION DOES NOT HINGE ON THEIR VIEW POINT ON THAT MATTER!
100% of Christians struggle with sin (show me one who doesn’t and I’ll pay your college tuition), but as we become aware of the right/wrong on the matter, we are to be responsive to that illumination.


Should a Christian support abortion/pro-choice? NO! from the moment they become aware of the fact of God’s standard, they need to seriously consider their own thoughts of the heart, and if they are not in agreement with God’s, they need to do some serious praying and re-aligning in their heart.

If we are ignorant, may we plead ignorance, but I find it very rare indeed that God leaves his people ignorant. His Word is truth and He is light and His light shines in the darkness bringing illumination.That is, he makes us aware of our erroneous ways (such as abortion) and exhorts us to be moved to change as a result. If we remain stubbornly complacent in our erroneous/sinful ways…
But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God's wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed.
(Romans 2:5)


Ever Yours in Seeking Him,

Sean G. Morris