After an extended transition, I have accepted a call to serve at the Lewiston Church of Christ as their minister. This faithful family of God has welcomed me warmly, lifting my confidence without expanding my head. To learn more about my new church family, link to:
The confluence of the Snake and Clearwater Rivers (Lewiston & Clarkston) I enjoyed ten white winters in the twin cities (the Minneapolis-St. Paul) only to end up in another “twin city” situation. Lewiston, Idaho, lies just across the Snake Rive from Clarkston, Washington, here in the “Banana Belt” where a 735 feet elevation allows for a mild winter climate for both towns. Lewiston is over twice as large as Clarkston with a population of 31,894 souls. Make that, 31,895 now that I have arrived. The Snake River and the Clearwater River converge here, making Lewiston the farthest inland port in the nation.
Portrait of a Nez Perce womanBoth towns were named in memory of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, who along with their fellow explorers arrived in this valley tired and hungry in the fall of 1805. An old woman among the Nez Perce Indians convinced her people to trust these bedraggled wanderers who were thereby rescued from starvation. Add Sacajawea to this picture and we see how beneficial women were for the Lewis and Clark expedition.
The Nez Perce helped the explorers make new canoes and Chief Twisted Hair guided them down the Clearwater, Snake and Columbia Rivers to the Pacific coast 465 miles away. Nez Perce Indians remain in this area to this day.
[hr]
The views expressed on this blog are personal and belong to Joel Solliday unless otherwise stated. They are not, intended to characterize the views of the Lewiston Church of Christ or other organizations to which I may refer.
“Love” has so many different meanings in English; it’s easy to get confused. To cut through the fog, let’s distinguish the greatest love of all so we can lift it above the many lesser forms of love that attract our attention.
Here is one attempt, captured in the lyrics of a hit song in 1986, titled, The Greatest Love of All:
[one_fourth]
[/one_fourth]
[three_fourth_last]
The greatest love of all is happening to me.
I have the greatest love of all inside of me.
The greatest love of all is easy to achieve.
Learning to love yourself is the greatest love of all.
(Witten by Linda Creed and Michael Masser, 1977)
[/three_fourth_last]
The greatly talented Whitney Houston made this song a big hit and once called it her favorite. Later in the same song, she sings, “I never will stand in anyone’s shadow.”
Christianity and popular culture do not see eye to eye when it comes to the greatest love of all. Jesus said, “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” (John 15:13). He also told us to deny ourselves… “daily.” (Luke 9:23).
But the self-denial Jesus demands has nothing to do with self-hatred. It simply rises from knowing where not to place our hope. Looking inside, Christians see helplessness and hopelessness. We are glad that God has not left us to ourselves. We are eternally grateful that He reached out to us first with His sacrificial love—the greatest love of all. Ask Jesus if that was “easy to achieve.”
In-reaching love has its place, but out-reaching love is greater. There is genuine greatness in soldiers, spouses, parents, grandparents, teachers, nurses, pastors, missionaries and many others giving their all in unselfish service far from the spotlights of our popular culture.
Jesus came not to be served, “but to serve.” (Matthew 20:28). His followers also seek to serve with hearts willing to live in the shadow of another, always standing in the shadow of Jesus’ cross.
[hr]
The views expressed on this blog are personal and belong to Joel Solliday unless otherwise stated. They are not, intended to characterize the views of the Lewiston Church of Christ or other organizations to which I may refer.
President Barack Obama, using the full power and prestige of his political high office, issued the following signed declaration on June 1, 2009:
Now, therefore, I, Barack Obama, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim June 2009 as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month.
He does this every year with hardly a peep of dissent from Christians or from churches. I wonder how much dissent there would be if he had declared…
[one_fourth]
[/one_fourth]
[three_fourth_last]
Now, therefore, I, Barack Obama, President of the USA, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the US, do hereby proclaim January 2012 as Christian Repentance Month… or Traditional Marriage Month?
[/three_fourth_last]
I realize this is impossible, but why? What has happened to us? Do we really value “transgender pride” over traditional marriage or Christian humility?
As a Christian, I have a serious beef with President Obama’s pride-full declarations every year. Christians know that lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and transgender behavior is sin. We also know that such sins can be forgiven. But we tremble in dire trepidation when we see willful pride wedded to such sin. It’s not the ‘L’, ‘G’, ‘B’ or ‘T’ that will keep such sinners out of heaven for eternity; it’s the “pride!” Sinful pride is the slave master that keeps us shackled to our sin. It prevents the humble repentance that could turn LGBT sinners (and any sinner of any kind) back to God and true freedom.
Yes, LGBT people who repent can go to heaven. Such people were among those in first century Corinth who were washed and sanctified in the name of Jesus and became members of that early church instead of LGBT people (1 Corinthians 6:9-11), by God’s grace. We will see them in heaven!
Why would the President use his high office to manifest such a declaration on us? Does he not understand that Christianity renders the pride he seeks to impose on us unthinkable? As Christians, we are called to love LGBT people and minister to them as Jesus would. We treat them kindly and respectfully as human beings capable of free-will choices just like we are. We love them regardless of our disagreement with their choices. But we are NOT called to honor their sin or engender pride in it. That is Satan’s mission, not ours and certainly not a President’s.
Pride in sin is the deadliest of all spiritual poisons on the tips of Satan’s swift arrows. There is nothing the devil hates more than a sinner repenting, which is why he loves sinful pride. It undermines the Christian gospel at its core. Satan’s mission is not just to get us to sin. He knows that those who sin (you and me) can still get into heaven if they (we) humbly repent. His main mission is to get us to be proud of our sin, thus heading off our repentance at the pass.
[hr]
The views expressed on this blog are personal and belong to Joel Solliday unless otherwise stated. They are not, intended to characterize the views of the Lewiston Church of Christ or other organizations to which I may refer.
The Western movie is a uniquely American invention. I like them, in part, because I like sermons. In their own way, most Westerns preach on such themes as justice, courage, right over wrong, manliness, protection and a pioneer spirit—qualities we see in decline today. They honor the rugged individual, but often in ways the call that individual to self-sacrifice for the good of the family or community. The selections below are merely my own favorites, in reverse order. Some gems were left out, but such is the nature of top ten lists!
10. True Grit (1969 – Director: Henry Hathaway), starring John Wayne, Kim Darby, Glen Campbell and Robert Duvall. A tale of revenge and justice, with a daughter’s love for her dad setting the stage. Kim Darby shows youthful wisdom when she says; “Enough is as good as a feast.” Also, great music and lousy acting from Glen Campbell.
9. High Noon (1952 – Dir. Fred Zimmerman), starring Gary Cooper, Grace Kelly and Lloyd Bridges. This film features the courage of a solitary hero contrasting the cowardly townspeople. Evil does not go away when people hide from it. Key line: “You’re a good-looking boy: you’ve big, broad shoulders. But he’s a man. And it takes more than big, broad shoulders to make a man.” (Helen Ramirez to the young passionate Lloyd Bridges character).
8. Comanche Station (1960 – Dir. Budd Boetticher), starring Randolph Scott and Nancy Gates. A man saves a woman kidnapped by Comanches, then struggles to get her home alive. The conclusion gives cynicism a kick in the back side.
7. Man From Snowy River (1982 – Dir. George Miller), with Tom Burlenson, Kirk Douglas and Sigrid Thorton. Manhood on the make! Set on a horse ranch in Australia with awesome scenery. It also deals with old secrets coming to light and the challenge of forgiveness.
6. Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, The (1960 – Dir. John Ford), with John Wayne, James Stewart, Vera Miles, Lee Marvin, Andy Devine and Strother Martin. The significance of an old man who dies is lost on the townspeople until a Senator and his wife come to his funeral. I like the line: “”You taught her how to read, now give her something to read about.” There’s a difference between living life and reading about it.
5. Shane(1953 – Dir. George Stevens), starring Alan Ladd, Jean Arthur, Van Heflin and Jack Palance. One of the toughest tools used by evil forces is intimidation. The viewer wonders if the forces of decency will be safe and flee, or take a stand. Memorable line: “A gun is as good or as bad as the man using it. Remember that.” (Alan Ladd).
4. How the West Was Won(1962- Dir. Henry Hathaway and John Ford), starring Debbie Reynolds, Karl Malden, James Stewart, John Wayne, Walter Brennan, Henry Fonda, Robert Preston and Richard Witmark. A family-friendly epic musical from the sixties that found a place in my heart as a child and never left. Dealing with inevitable change presents many heart-rending challenges over time.
3. Destry Rides Again(1939 – Dir. George Marshall), starring James Stewart, Brian Donlevy and Una Merkel. Gun slinging is not the only way to handle bad guys. The townswomen step up too.
2. Ride the High Country(1962 – Dir. Sam Peckinpah), starring Joel McCrea, Randolph Scott and Mariette Hartley. Honesty meets up with greed and a longtime friendship is tested. Key line: “All I want is to enter my house justified.” (Steve Judd, played by Joel McCrea).
My clear favorite:
1. The Searchers (1956 – Dir. John Ford), starring John Wayne (as Ethan Edwards), Jeffrey Hunter, Natalie Wood and Ward Bond. We see an unshakable resolve seasoned with patience in the John Wayne character, all rising from a deep family loyalty in the heart of a rugged individual. Near the end, a man says to Ethan, “I thought you gave up.” He answers, “That’ll be the day.”
Honorable Mention:
The Plainsman(1936 – Dir. Cecil B. DeMille), with Gary Cooper, Jean Arthur, Gary Cooper and James Ellison. An adventurous Western that concludes with the following text on the screen:
It shall be as it was in the past…
Not with dreams, but with strength and courage,
Shall a nation be molded to last.
[hr]
The views expressed on this blog are personal and belong to Joel Solliday unless otherwise stated. They are not, intended to characterize the views of the Lewiston Church of Christ or other organizations to which I may refer.
“There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God.” Psalm 46:4
[/callout]
I invite you to pull up to this stream of thoughts and insights and relax a moment from your travels. I hope you find salient information and inspiration in the essays, sermons and book reviews below. Enjoy! (Image Credit: “River landscape with Deer,” by Frederick Arthur Bridgman, 1847-1928).
This February, let us honor three great Americans who profoundly define the American spirit.
[one_fourth]
[/one_fourth]
[three_fourth_last]
President Ronald Reagan’s birthday – February 6, 1911
President Abraham Lincoln’s birthday – February 12, 1809
President George Washington’s birthday – February 22, 1732
[/three_fourth_last]
In the 1990s, I saw an unforgettable display at the Reagan Library in Simi Valley, California, featuring many heart-rending letters from or about prisoners of conscience and persecuted missionaries around the world. Each letter moved President Reagan to specifically act on behalf of freedom and justice. Not every story had a happy ending but our 40th President took great pains behind the scenes to use the power of his office to win the freedom of imprisoned and forgotten missionaries. Perhaps he was inspired by this ancient admonition:
[callout1]Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering. (Hebrews 13:3)
[/callout1]
With deep conviction, Reagan cared about human freedom for individuals and nations. His legacy goes far beyond mere caring–he also got results. British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher said, “Ronald Reagan had a higher claim than any other leader to have won the Cold War for liberty and he did it without firing a shot.” Reagan understood the moral reprehensibility of communism and the moral necessity of replacing it with institutions of liberty.
Lech Walesa, co-founder of Solidarity and past president of Poland, called Reagan a “friend” and said, “His policy of aiding democratic movements in Central and Eastern Europe in the dark days of the Cold War meant a lot to us. We knew he believed in a few simple principles such as human rights, democracy and civil society.” Walesa added, “…we owe him our liberty.”
Abraham Lincoln’s birthday used to be a national holiday but today’s children have no memory of that. Charles Darwin was born on the same exact day as Lincoln and, sadly, our secular culture is increasingly turning toward Darwin and away from Lincoln in terms of informed honorable memory. Of these two, one believed that “all men are created free and equal” (Lincoln speech, 1858) and the other that the races of humanity are not equal because they are differently evolved.
Lincoln faced many disappointments and failures in his personal life. As our 16th President, he inherited a bitterly fractured nation wherein liberty was illegal for many black Americans. Leading our nation through its darkest hours, he endeavored to ensure that our “government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.” (Gettysburg Address, Nov. 19, 1863). During the Civil war, Lincoln said, “The times are dark, the spirits of ruin are abroad in all their power, and the mercy of God alone can save us.” After the war, he called for binding up our nation’s wounds without malice (Second Inaugural Address, March 4, 1865).
President Lincoln, 1864, with youngest son, Tad
In his early years, Lincoln was not so religious, but during the darkest days of the Civil War and when his son Willie died suddenly, he began to turn to the Bible and prayer. Before his first term was over, Lincoln had declared more days of prayer, fasting, and thanksgiving than any president before or since. Under him, our Thanksgiving celebration became an annual national holiday. Today, he still stands as an example for how to find strength during the terrors and tragedies of our lives, both as a people and as persons.
Finally, let us never let a February pass without honoring the father of our country. While all other founding fathers were signing founding documents, General Washington was in the field training an army in the courage, stamina and skill required to stand behind the words on those documents. Just keeping his army on the field under harrowing conditions was incredible. Only a man of his stature and dignity could have commanded the respect of his men under the conditions they faced.
The power-hungry French Emperor, Napoleon, in exile, whined, “They wanted me to be another Washington.” Napoleon was incapable of such greatness. Washington lost more battles than Napoleon, but he hung tough until he won his last one. Napoleon won nearly every battle he fought, except his last. Napoleon had genius, but Washington had moral character and strength of conviction. Big difference!
Washington Crossing the Delaware, by Emanuel Leutze, 1851, Metropolitan Museum of Art.
The American Revolution was one of the few in history that did not end in tyranny, as did the French, Russian and Chinese revolutions. George Washington was a primary reason why American freedom persisted and thrived. After winning a nearly impossible victory against the greatest military power on earth, Washington presided over the drafting of our Constitution and then served as our nation’s first President. But his greatest deed may have been to step down from his powerful perch. Washington lived in an era of tyrants; like King George III, Robespierre, Napoleon, and others. Washington had enough popularity and prestige to become the first American king. In those chaotic times, calls for him to rule for life were frequent and loud. Nevertheless (I love that word), he gave up his power and returned to his farm, refusing to trade our hard-fought freedom for the personal prestige of wearing a crown. For over 2,000 years since Cincinnatus returned to his plow, no leader in similar circumstances had willingly done what Washington did. He symbolized the American spirit at its best with his personal virtue, renowned integrity, undying perseverance and unselfish sacrifice.
CONCLUSION:
The American heroes above all combine greatness with imperfection. So does our country. But greatness can be squandered. Consider the warning of our 30th president, Calvin Coolidge:
When the reverence of this nation for its great men dies, the glory of the nation will die with it.<>/b
[hr]
The views expressed on this blog are personal and belong to Joel Solliday unless otherwise stated. They are not, intended to characterize the views of the Lewiston Church of Christ or other organizations to which I may refer.
What if someone filled up the holes in the bowling balls and greased up the floors at your local bowling ally? That would be a game-changer! That’s what is happening today in our culture—figuratively speaking. Our ability to handle our heritage and function effectively in American society is being undermined by a self-centered belief-system that removes all handles with which to grasp reality and wipes out all footholds as a culture. It’s called relativism.
Let’s define our terms:
Heritage: A set of values, virtues, memories and traditions that can be inherited or carried from one generation to the next.
Relativism: A disbelief that there are absolute values, virtues or truths and a belief that all points of view are equally valid (or invalid) and all values, virtues, cultures and religions are fungible. Relativism is a hard line denial that there are hard lines. Reality is just a personal perception.
Reading Bible stories to children regularly is a heritage handle. Visiting a historical site or museum is too. Celebrations of Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas are excellent heritage handles. That goes for the Fourth of July, Memorial Day and more. A day at the ball park is a small heritage handle. Worshipping God regularly is a huge one. Sunday School may be the best handle of all, if we would just get a grip on it. Family devotions and traditions are heritage handles. Home-schooling (whether you send you children to a school or not) is too. Educational vacations can improve your grip on our heritage. Weddings and funerals, performed faithfully, can too. Whatever helps you build a legacy and carry your heritage to others is a heritage handle.
Sadly, America’s heritage handles are being dismantled much the same way that the noses of many ancient sculptures were knocked off by ancient iconoclasts who were too easily offended. We have empowered teachers, pundits and leaders who turn up their own proud noses to the past as a resource for anything that could help us find a better future. This is foolish. Need examples?
We have replaced Washington and Lincoln’s birthdays with some vague tribute to all presidents. We are re-defining marriage and family to include whatever any powerful political lobby group wants it to be (relativists love the word “whatever”). We ban the reasonable use of valid identification when voting (relativists eschew clarity). We prohibit the phrase “Merry Christmas” from the mouths of teachers at public schools. We ban public expressions of Christian faith but we legislate that school textbooks must promote alternative sexual agendas. It is ironic that relativists often lead like totalitarians. We boil everything down to race-gender-class orientations and ignore history, tradition, principle and faith. Thus, we are slipping and sliding all over the national landscape and getting nowhere fast.
A healthy heritage is more like a torch than luggage. The younger generation should not be asked to carry all the baggage that their parents lugged around. However, the torches of faith, freedom and family can brighten our path into the future and our children need them desperately. A torch needs a handle so we can carry the flame without touching it. Likewise, a healthy heritage needs handles so we can carry it safely across treacherous generational gaps. If one generation lets it go, it is gone.
For lack of handles, we are passing precious heritages by rather than passing them on. Our Christian heritage is sliding into irrelevance. The church is losing her grip on the gospel. Our culture is losing its handle on family formation. America is losing her grasp on her identity. We passively rely on television, movies, popular music, celebrities and the media to construct (actually, deconstruct) our children’s worldview and values. It’s time to get a grip on our beloved heritage and carry it forward faithfully.
[hr]
The views expressed on this blog are personal and belong to Joel Solliday unless otherwise stated. They are not, intended to characterize the views of the Lewiston Church of Christ or other organizations to which I may refer.
Johnson, Paul. The Renaissance: A Short History. USA: Modern Library, 2002.
[/callout]
If you are interested in the dynamics of cultural rebirth, read Paul Johnson’s short history of The Renaissance, a period from the 14th to the 17th century A.D. that moved Western culture toward a greater love of knowledge, beauty and faith. It started in Italy and branched out into Europe from there, fostering a flowering of architecture, sculpture, painting, science and literature not seen since the days of the ancient Greeks and Romans. Below are a few principles I gleaned that stood behind this cultural rebirth, as illustrated in more detail in Johnson’s book.
Principles and Characteristics of Cultural Rebirth:
1. Challenging circumstances can have creative consequences. A scarcity of labor during the Middle Ages (as slavery diminished and the Black Plague took its toll) incentivized technological innovation to create more ways to use machines, horses and other means to get work done.
2. Work and commerce can create more work and commerce. Infrastructure improvements and increased trade during the Middle Ages brought new wealth which opened up more avenues of cultural expression and progress.
3. Creative literary expression provided early impetus for cultural renewal.Dante Alighieri (1265 – 1321) used the vernacular brilliantly to bring higher culture to the people.
4. Looking back to history (antiquity) propelled the Medieval culture forward.Petrarch (1304 – 1374), sometimes called the father of the Renaissance, loved to hunt down old manuscripts and anything he could use to promote the study of ancient history and literature. He traveled far and wide to bring light to what he saw as an age of darkness. Throughout the Renaissance, a growing respect for the ancients was surpassed only by a passion in many to surpass them.
5. Pursuing truth and exposing fraud opens doors to aesthetic and cultural advancement. Around 800 AD, a document known as The Donation of Constantine was fabricated to channel more power to the papacy. It claimed that Constantine transferred authority over Rome and much of the Western Empire to the pope. Lorenzo Valla (c. 1407 – 1457), a textual critic and scholar, proved it was a forgery. The power of lies to keep a culture sick and the power of truth to heal it both cannot be over-estimated. After Valla, it became harder for religious rackets to thrive. The legitimacy of relics was questioned. Medieval credulity was increasingly challenged with Renaissance scrutiny. The work of scholars like Valla earned them hostility from the powerful, but the Renaissance may never have reached its heights without them.
6. The love of knowledge led to the rise of beauty. The Renaissance revealed that hard study promotes creative freedom which in turn releases beauty. Raising the learning curve for artists especially in math and science raises the quality of art. Sculptors like Ghiberti and Brunelleschi saw themselves as artists and scientists. Leonardo spoke of studying the science of art and the art of science.
7. Competition fosters creativity. As wealth grew, competition for art contracts rose and so did a passion for aesthetic excellence. More people had the resources to pursue inspiration and gratification through literature and the arts.
8. Art is at its best when on a mission beyond itself. It’s mission during the Renaissance was to enhance piety, pursue beauty, glorify God, inspire excellence and teach truth.
9. Spiritual values lie at the root of cultural rebirth that lasts. From Dante’s Divine Comedy, to Ghiberti’s baptistery doors, to Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel, to Leonardo’s Last Supper, to the building of St. Peter’s Basilica, Christian inspiration animated the Renaissance. Human flaws abounded and subject matter diversified, but nevertheless, most of what was reborn during the Renaissance came from the womb of Christianity.
10. Disempowering the elites can positively impact a culture. The Reformation, beginning in 1517, challenged power structures and brought changes not just in the church but to the culture, fostering new artistic aims and styles. The taste of common people began to matter more. Protestant painters were less likely to portray Bible characters in opulent modern dress. Historical accuracy in art became a priority.
Greatness should be celebrated. But it does not rise to the surface in individuals or in a culture without many of the principles listed above falling into place. Human culture does not flourish in a test tube or in theory. Greatness has both roots and fruits. It must be lived out to be truly great.
[button url=”http://www.amazon.com/Renaissance-History-Modern-Library-Chronicles/dp/0812966198″ target=”_blank” size=”small” style=”fire”]Purchase Book Here[/button]
[hr]
The views expressed on this blog are personal and belong to Joel Solliday unless otherwise stated. They are not, intended to characterize the views of the Lewiston Church of Christ or other organizations to which I may refer.
The Sunflower. Author: Simon Wiesenthal, Schoken Books, New York, 1976, 2007.
[/callout]
Simon Wiesenthal, a Nazi concentration camp survivor, devoted his life to documenting the crimes of the Holocaust and bringing Nazi war criminals to justice. He was also an author and his book, The Sunflower, is one of the most riveting reads you‘ll ever enjoy.
Actually, enjoy is not the right word. The Sunflower will force you to ask some deeply troubling questions about the nature of repentance and forgiveness. This book is a spiritual wrestling match.
Wiesenthal, a young architect in Poland in 1941, was captured when Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union. In four years, he was held in twelve different concentration camps. He survived near executions and a couple suicide attempts. In the end, eighty-nine of his relatives died in the Holocaust.
In a concentration camp, one longs for outside work details. During one such excursion, Wiesenthal marched near a German military cemetery. On each grave was planted a sunflower and butterflies danced around them. Wiesenthal gravely doubted that a sunflower would ever attract butterflies to his resting place. Thus, he envied the dead German soldiers.
The prisoners arrived at reserve hospital where they were assigned their duties. It was dirty work. A nurse singled Wiesenthal out and led him to the room of a German soldier wrapped in bandages and lying motionless on a bed. He was a severe burn victim who was desperate to speak with a Jew.
His name was Karl, a member of the SS. He said to Wiesenthal, “I have not much longer to live.” He then spoke of an experience that was “torturing” him, something “dreadful” and “inhuman.” He had participated in an atrocity that left about 200 Jewish men, women and children, locked in a three-story house burning to death. He also told of a murder of a family with a small child. Now, he was begging a Jew to forgive him so he could die in peace.
Wiesenthal was fully convinced that the man’s confession and repentance was real. It was unforced and it came without any excuses.
What would you do? That is the moral and spiritual dilemma of The Sunflower. Do any of us even have the right to forgive sins committed against others? What do we owe the victims? Is the crime too heinous to forgive? Can you forgive the person but not the deeds? Can you excuse the young soldier but not the evil organizers?
After telling the story, Wiesenthal assembled a symposium of responses by leading intellectuals to the question of what they would have done in his place. Their responses compose the second half of the book.
Rene Cassin counseled the refusal to forgive, saying, “The zealous repression of crimes against humanity is a duty unlimited by time.” Henry Marcues concluded, “I believe that the easy forgiving of such crimes perpetuates the very evil it wants to alleviate.”
David Daiches wrote, “I don’t see how in any genuinely meaningful sense one individual can offer forgiveness for crimes that were not committed against him.” Constantine FitzGibbon vented, saying, “I think I would strangle him in his bed.”
Edward H. Flannery, a Catholic, averred, “It is clear that forgiveness of repented sin is one of the basic concepts underlying the Judeo-Christian morality as well as universal natural ethics.”
Hans Habe added, “One of the worst crimes of the Nazi regime was that it made it so hard for us to forgive.”
Abraham J. Heschel said, “No one can forgive crimes committed by other people.” Christopher Holis advocated for a word of compassion to the dying German. His reason: “The law of God is the law of love.” Holis noted that the man’s confession revealed his willingness to make restitution if he only could.
John M. Oesterreicher reminded us that only humans are granted the capacity to forgive. He added, “To repent and to forgive are not arrogant struggles to change the course of events, vain attempts to undo what has been done; rather they are daring, loving ventures to offer new meaning to the ’dead’ and deadly past.” In the end, the question still stands.
[button url=”http://www.amazon.com/Sunflower-Possibilities-Forgiveness-Expanded-Paperback/dp/0805210601/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1326330136&sr=8-1″ size=”small” style=”autumn” ]Purchase Book Here[/button]
[hr]
The views expressed on this blog are personal and belong to Joel Solliday unless otherwise stated. They are not, intended to characterize the views of the Lewiston Church of Christ or other organizations to which I may refer.
Jesus was sometimes disgusted with people, from the Scribes and Pharisees to his own disciples. He could get mighty miffed over hypocrisy, self-righteousness, greed, and inexcusable faithlessness. But what sort of people and attitudes impressed Jesus? Here are some examples (listed in no particular order):
Christ with Mary and Martha, 1886, by Henryk Siemiradzki (1843 – 1902).
1. Mary, Martha’s sister.
When Jesus was welcomed into the home of Martha and Mary, Martha was busy with preparations while Mary sat at Jesus’ feet to listen. Impressed with Mary, he said, “Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:42).
2. Children.
Jesus’ disciples asked. “Who is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” Jesus knew; “Whoever humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 18:4).
3. A Centurion in Capernaum.
Revealing great compassion, a centurion approached Jesus and said, “Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, suffering great pain.” When Jesus agreed to heal the servant, the centurion added, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed…” Jesus responded; “I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith.’” (Matthew 8:10).
4. The People of Nineveh.
Some Pharisees wanted a sign from Jesus. He was not impressed. He compared them unfavorably with the men of Nineveh (long ago) who repented at the preaching of Jonah (Matthew 12:41). Jesus knew the Ninevites were idolatrous heathens whose wickedness made God mad, but when the reluctant Jonah preached to them, they believed, declared a fast and put on sackcloth! Jonah was not so impressed, but God was. He saw them turn from their evil ways and had compassion on them (Jonah 3:10). Knowing this story, Jesus was also impressed.
5. A Lone Leper.
Ten lepers cried out to Jesus for mercy. All were cleansed, but only one came back, glorifying God and falling on his face, to thank the Lord (Luke 17:11-19). He was a Samaritan. Jesus was impressed with his faith.
6. A Canaanite Woman.
Jesus’ disciples advised him to send a Canaanite woman with a demon-possessed daughter away. Even Jesus took the wind out of her sails, saying, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” But she persisted, “Lord, help me!” Jesus’ replied, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” Ouch! Was Jesus putting her off or setting her up? All we know is that her reply and her “great faith,” impressed Jesus. She said, “Yes, Lord… but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” (Matthew 15:27).
7. A Penitent Publican.
Jesus told a parable about two men and two prayers. A smug Pharisee was impressed with himself and his prayer dripped with self-righteous pride. A Publican (tax-collector), however, couldn’t even lift up his eyes as he prayed, “God, be merciful to me a sinner.” Jesus said that the Publican “…went down to his house justified.” (Luke 18:14).
8. A Blind Beggar Near Jericho.
On his way to Jericho, a blind man begged Jesus not for money but for mercy. Others rebuked him sternly but he shouted all the more for mercy. Jesus was impressed with his determination and gave him his sight saying, “Your faith has made you well.” (Luke 18:42).
9. Zaccheus.
In Jericho, a man named Zaccheus took to a Sycamore tree. Short on stature and long on curiosity, he wanted to see Jesus. As the “chief tax collector,” perhaps he was a social climber too. The town’s people saw him as a sinner. But Zaccheus had come to a turning point in his life. Jesus invited himself to the rich man’s house and Zaccheus made a bold new commitment—to give half of his possessions to the poor. He recognized wrongs that needed to be righted. He switched his loyalty from mammon to God. Jesus didn’t see a legalistic attempt to cover his backside with repayments, but a transformed heart; unselfish and honest. Jesus was impressed: “Today, salvation has come to this house…” (Luke 19:10).
10. A Criminal on a Cross.
While hanging on the cross, Jesus sustained a lot of sneering insults and abuse—even from one of the convicts on a cross next to him. But on the other side, a contrite criminal rebuked the abusive one. He said, “We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.” (Luke 23:41). He asked Jesus to remember him when he came into his kingdom. That criminal ended up with Jesus in Paradise.
CONCLUSION:
There may come a time to express opposition to hypocrisy, greed, arrogance, lies and selfishness. But be careful. If you run past your own sins to condemn others, Jesus may not be impressed. Neither will your friends who need the gospel. What impressed Jesus most, as the examples above reveal, was persistent faith and penitent humility. How impressed is our Lord with you?
[hr]
The views expressed on this blog are personal and belong to Joel Solliday unless otherwise stated. They are not, intended to characterize the views of the Lewiston Church of Christ or other organizations to which I may refer.
