Reading a book called Breath, which tells the incredible tale of Martha Mason. Martha, a fellow Tarheel, spent over sixty years in an iron lung. She had an incredible spirit, seen in such things as her graduating from Wake Forest or managing her own mother's health when senility struck Martha's lifelong caregiver. She went through all this without losing her sense of humor. Commenting on the game show The Price is Right, Martha said the announcer had to have been a former Southern Baptist preacher. Why? His constant "C'mon down!" refrains must have been learned in giving altar calls.
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Speaking of books, after a long time of writing and persevering, my friend and fellow congregant Austin Brown has recently published a book called Walking with the Mailman. As I wrote a review on Amazon, I won't say too much here. But I would encourage you to click the picture to read the review and, while you are at it, purchase the book. It's a fun and funny read. And just to demonstrate the unity of the body, I also should note that both the picture on the cover and the dog's leg were contributed by members of the church (of course, I mean by this that the dog is owned by a member, not a member itself).
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At a retreat last week where we reflected on the state of theological education in light of cultural changes, I was interested to hear that 60% of churchgoing Americans attend 10% of the churches. In other words, the majority are going to very large churches. The same trend that is seeing large chain retailers push "mom & pop" local stores out of business is putting pressure on small congregations. So what's a little church to do? Avoid the "little man" syndrome of trying to be like the big guys - you know, trying to compete with their programs, or buying a bigger building, or imitating the famous pulpiteer. Instead, concentrate on what any church should always be doing. Praying, preaching, and providing to the poor in spirit. Though the world's eyes may not be, the Lord's eyes are upon such as these. If He sees even the little sparrow fall from the sky, He certainly sees His little flocks of sheep faithfully gathering before Him.
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As election season approaches, beware. I read recently that a politician is a person who's got what it takes to take what you got.
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Regarding those rescued Chilean miners, this event is such a gospel illustration that even the news commentators cannot help but see it. Repeatedly they use words such as "back from the dead," "resurrection," and "miraculous deliverance from hell" to describe it. If only they can now see their own need for the same.
Is it not easier to hide who we are than who we are not?
To disguise our selfishness is but the work of a moment, whereas the lack of a generous spirit is too big a void to conceal.
To covet a neighbor's position can be mostly contained within, but a failure to rejoice spontaneously in a friend's success creates a loud silence.
To talk big about prayer and pray big in public can, like a rug over swept-up dirt, mostly hide the fact that we do not pray quietly in private, but it is not a very good cover up for a long distance relationship with God.
Is this not the way of the Pharisee Jesus exposed so devastatingly? Honoring with lips may hide arrogance for a time, but having a heart devoid of God is the dead's giveaway. Tithing mint and dill and cummin may seem like a proper display of righteousness, but a failure to exercise justice, mercy and faith for the poor screams out that you are not compassionate. Cleaning the outside of the cup (shining up our reputation, our interests, our promotions) looks pretty good at the right angle, but life has a way of tipping the cup and showing that the inside (our heart, our soul, our mind) is caked over with self-indulgence and evil desires. Have you not experienced times when you thought you were doing well because you were avoiding the "nots" of the Ten Commandments, only to realize you forgot they are fulfilled with the "doings" of love? Call that getting in touch with your "inner" Pharisee.
Our lifetime of practice makes us great actors on stage at hiding what we are. The unexpected intrusion of uninvited company into our dressing rooms reveals what we are not.
Thankfully the Lord not only exposes but offers. That offering is what the psalmist found after he stopped trying in a wrong-headed way to cover or hide his sin. "You are my hiding place," he said to the Lord in Psalm 32. O the paradox that is the gospel! When we lose self, He saves. When we say we are blind, we see. What we are not, Jesus is. When we stop hiding with fig leaves, He hides us with blood.
We are most hidden when we are exposed for what we are not.
Because of what the Bible teaches, I do not think the pastor in Florida, who appears to be vacillating on whether to burn Qu'rans or not, should do so. Why?
Well, it is not because I believe that the Qu'ran is a holy book. To be as direct as possible, in its denunciations of Christ as the Son of God and crucified Redeemer; its upholding of a polygamous charlatan as the prophet of God; and its teaching that men are justified by works (i.e. keeping the Five Pillars of Islam), I believe the Qu'ran is a book that contains Satanic lies and is leading millions to the eternal doom of the burning flames of hell. Yet I still do not think he should burn them or Christians should participate in this type of demonstration. Again, why?
First, it is not consistent with the Scriptures on book burning. The Biblical proof-text Pastor Jones might offer for holding book burnings would come from Acts 19:19, where we are told this about the people of Ephesus who had responded to the gospel:
"And many of those who had practiced magic brought their books together and began burning them in the sight of everyone; and they counted up the price of them and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver."
Note that this book burning was done by people who had been under the influence of witchcraft and then, when converted to Christianity, burned their own books as a demonstration of their repentance. Paul did not burn copies, but preached the gospel by the power of the Spirit in such a way that they voluntarily offered this sacrifice to the Lord. The proper application of this passage would be to pray and live in such a way that Muslim communities and nations would be so powerfully converted to the freedom of Christ they would voluntarily throw off this yoke of blindness they are under and recognize it for the deception it is.
Second, it does not follow the example of Moses, Gideon or Elijah. There are "showdown times" when God calls His people to expose the false gods of the day. The Lord used Moses to expose the falsity of the Egyptian deities through the plagues. Gideon tore down his father's idols. Elijah taunted the prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel to call their god to light the altar with fire from heaven, then showed God's power to consume not only the sacrifice but the altar itself. The missionary Boniface in the eighth century did something similar, as he chopped down the oak of Thor and made a chapel out of it for the numerous converts from the Germanic tribes. Perhaps Pastor Jones thinks he is standing in the line of these men. However, I do not think so for one important reason.
Each of these men had given their lives in service to minister to the people they were seeking to deliver. How has Mr. Jones actually ministered to the Muslims? How has the pastor of the "Dove World Outreach Center" actually reached out with dove-like love to Islamic people? Rather than a "showdown time," this has more the appearance of "showtime." I find myself agreeing with the president on this one, who referred to it as a "stunt."
Thirdly and finally, it does not have the aroma of Christ in it. To the same church at Ephesus who did the book burning, Paul said, "Walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, and offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma" (Ephesians 5:2). This planned event does not have Christ's love. I know those who have given years of their lives in humble sacrifice to minister to Muslims who, I am sure, would say this act will do nothing but offend and raise barriers. Muslims will see this as an act of Christian hatred, not love. As it is stirring up frenzy and hostility worldwide, it also does not have His wisdom. Jesus carefully avoided inciting crowds in His ministry, knowing that crowd frenzy does not spread the kingdom of God. And as the media circus proves, it does not have the sobriety of Christ needed in true gospel ministry. Whenever Jesus was speaking to an individual or multitudes, the seriousness of what was at stake always was preserved. Though He spoke directly against it, He did not burn the Talmud that was misleading the Jews. He knew He was dealing with the souls of people destined for an eternal existence, so He went after their hearts.
As it looks like all of us will be having to engage the Muslim world more and more, why not learn how to do so? For starters, read how one Muslim in Hamas was converted by the fundamental difference he saw between Islam and Christianity - the love of Jesus for His enemies - in the book Son of Hamas. Then order a copy of my friend's book, Pastor Aaron Goerner's Is the Qu'ran the Word of God?, as he as an American has made the effort to engage hundreds of Muslims worldwide in serious, confrontational, but loving dialogue to show them the truth.
Interesting what you come across where you least expect it.
I have been reading the first volume of a trilogy on the 26th President's life, The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt by Edmund Morris. My purpose in reading it has been simply to enjoy learning more about this larger-than-life man. Never did I expect to have to examine my own heart regarding worship the way I did when I came across this excerpt from a letter of Roosevelt. Listen to what then Civil Service Commissioner Roosevelt said about President Benjamin Harrison following a meeting they had just had:
"Damn the President! He is a cold-blooded, narrow-minded, prejudiced, obstinate, timid old psalm-singing Indianapolis politician."
Though Roosevelt's rant is typical of him when he did not get his way, it is interesting how he related the President's action with his worship practices - in Indiana, no less! This reminded me of a similar line I had read long ago but not forgotten in Gene Stratton-Porter's (born in Indiana) classic book Freckles. At this point in the story the main character Freckles, a one-handed orphan learning to work the once-great lumber lines of northernIndiana, is recounting his experience of how people used to treat him in the orphanage:
"There had been people at the Home, who exchanged a stilted, perfunctory kindness for their salaries. The visitors who called on receiving days he had divided into three classes: the psalm-singing kind, who came with a tear in the eye and hypocrisy in every feature of their faces; the kind who dressed in silks and jewels, and handed to those poor, little mother-hungry souls worn toys that their children no longer cared for, in exactly the same spirit in which they pitched biscuits to the monkeys at the 'zoo,' and for the same reason —to see how they would take them and be amused by what they would do; and the third class, whom he considered real people."
Ouch! Yet another line relating Indiana, hypocrisy and psalm singing. Enough to make this pastor, who lives in the first, practices the third, and is vulnerable to the second, give pause.
On the one hand, this should not surprise me. I have often told the congregation here to make sure they practice not only purity in the form of worship but purity in the heart of worship as well. After all, the Pharisees were psalm singers. Yet on the other hand, if anything should come from singing God's Word, it is purity of practice. When so much of the material of the psalms speaks of a holy, just, loving God who cares for the orphans and widows, then so much of that should be the material of the singers' lives as well.
How do I know if I am practicing purity in worship? I must look not only at what I am holding in my hands in the sanctuary, but at how I am using those hands during the week.
Funny how - What I see now: On her back the ladybug Struggling against little thugs, Ants, not gentlemen, with a goal, "Drag her down into the hole."
Funny how - What I see now: This micro tragedy Reminder of my own trajectory, Sin and death, no gentlemen, with a goal, "Drag him down into the hole."
Funny how - What I see now: Tiniest red and black providence Reminder of my own recompense, Christ, the Gentle God-Man, with a goal, "Take Me instead into the hole."
In a mountain garden at time’s birth, Lions with lambs played, as in a dream, A river flowed forth watering the earth. Then one awful act poisoned the stream.
A perfect son in that perfect lea Raised his hand against the Perfect One, And with one taste from the illicit tree Man’s heart - and Heaven’s - came undone.
In ancient days on a mount called Moriah, This grief of heaven was expressed. For a trembling knife, raised, fell for ire; Its target a bound and beating chest.
Yet with a call from heaven above The deadly blade was not plied; A father left learning of divine love, Seeing in a ram “The Lord Will Provide.”
On the mount the prophets call Zion In these last days a child, raised as His own, All his days told of the Lamb now Lion, Ruling upon His eternal throne.
Alas, the world’s dark waters beckoning, Allured yet still another prodigal son. A father left grieving, weeping, reckoning, “Will horizon gazing ever be done?”
Yet to the top of Calvary’s knoll The eye of faith must always return, And know that pain is not a toll Borne forever by those who yearn.
For on that day of darkness and quake Earth itself spoke of the Father’s grief. A veil ripped in two. O! The ache! A twain message also promising relief.
So when the heavenly Jerusalem’s mount Shall descend, then fill the earth, No more tears! For there the fount Will flow unpolluted with the new birth.
So for now, question’s verdict still unknown, With hope in his own Father’s love he clings, Each new dawn, he arises, but not alone, Waiting to see what this day brings.
On November 18th, our congregation gathered for the funeral of Bill Scott. Bill’s obituary can be read here. The following is the message I gave at the funeral based on John 12:20-28.
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“The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.”So said Jesus in John 12:23. What hour brought Christ’s glory?How was he glorified?
When we think of glory or of someone be glorified, we think of splendor and awe and a display of beauty. A fabulous fireworks display is glorious. A brilliant sunset or standing over the edge of the Grand Canyon is glorious. For some, Peyton Manning throwing a last-second, game-winning touchdown over the Patriots is glorious.
Yet these more or less earthly glories pale next to the final glory we know will be revealed one day. We know that Christ will come again when the heavens open up with the voice of archangel and the trumpet of God, accompanied by His mighty angels, and he will descend to the earth to judge the living and the dead.How glorious that will be!
Yet that is not the hour that Jesus said had come, and His final manifestation is not the glory of which He speaks.There is another glory of which Jesus speaks.One that preceded and indeed made possible the consummate glory that is to come.It is what we will call "an unlikely glory." Jesus makes it clear in the context here and throughout the gospel of John what that glory is:
· In John 12:24 in connection with this statement, He uses a metaphor of a grain of wheat being planted, dying in the soil, and from it bearing more fruit.
· He then talks about losing your life for others.
· He states that his soul is troubled over this hour of glory that has come.
·In John 17:1-2, the night before he died, in like manner he prayed, “Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son, that the Son may glorify You.”
The hour, the glory, the trouble of which Jesus spoke is the cross. What a place of unlikely glory!For it raises the question, “How can the brutal beating and crucifying and death of a man be in any way described as glorious?” To be treated as a criminal is inglorious, ignoble, dishonorable. As Isaiah said about Jesus, “He has no stately form or majesty that we should look upon Him, nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him.He was despised and forsaken of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.” In other words, no glory.
But wait a minute. Recall when we think of something as glorious, we are to think of splendor and awe and a display of beauty.For those with eyes to see it, that is what they do see at the cross in that mangled, naked body.He went through that hideous event to remove the sins of those who believe in Him - a most glorious sight! He was dying so that the rest of His prayer might be fulfilled, “Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.
What a paradox! Christ should appear to us most glorious at the point when He seemed the most inglorious.Unlikely glory!John Wesley captures this paradox in his hymn “Where Shall My Wondering Soul Begin?"
For you the purple current flowed
In pardons from His wounded side,
Languished for you the eternal God,
For you the Prince of glory died:
Believe, and all your sin’s forgiven;
Only believe, and yours is Heaven!
This gospel paradox teaches us a key truth – it is the lowly, the inglorious of this world, that God takes and makes vessels of unlikely glory.Wesley captured this as well when earlier in this same hymn he wrote:
Outcasts of men, to you I call,
Harlots, and publicans, and thieves!
He spreads His arms to embrace you all;
Sinners alone His grace receives;
No need of Him the righteous have;
He came the lost to seek and save.
How this was seen in the life of Bill Scott.Some could not see the glory in Bill.After all, he was a hobo by his own admission.He was addicted at one time to volumes of drink and clouds of cigarette smoke.He was gruff at first appearance.He was missing both legs.But we have seen the unlikely glory of God in Bill. I have no interest in preaching a dead sinner into heaven, as some appear to want to do at funerals. No, I am here proclaiming that I have seen the unlikely glory in the life of Bill. Let me offer three evidences.
1)Faithfulness - Bill was faithful to the Lord and the church. Back in the old Mission building some 13-14 years ago, I helped Ron Visser by leading a Bible study down there. We began with twelve, but pretty soon only a few were left, one of whom was Bill.Sometimes I came there and it was only Bill. When I learned he was not attending church anywhere, I invited him and at first he resisted coming.But as he professed faith, he came faithfully. He began attending more events, such as a men’s group at my home early every Tuesday morning at 6:00 a.m.When he lost one leg, still he came though four men had to lift him up the front stairs. When he lost both legs and could not get into the building, he still loved to go out to eat on his birthday or come to the Memorial Day Picnic. In these last days, he prayed for the church. Even recently, he said he wanted to come back. In honor of him, that is why we are having his funeral here. Though we know he is in a far more glorious place of worship now, we wanted to say goodbye to him here.
2)Forgiveness - Bill sought forgiveness - a lot! He would get in fights at the Mission, often responding wrongly to some kid ridiculing him.At our men's study, he would at times use the Lord’s name in vain.At times through all these years in hospitals and nursing homes, he would give the nurses fits.Yet there was somehting unique about Bill that I do not find with many. Every time I or someone else would correct him, he would seek forgiveness. He go to those young punks and apologize. He would grow sheepish when I told him he should be more careful about how he uses Jesus' name, and say it was a bad habit and he would work at not doing it again. He would admit he had not been praying for the nurses, but then the next time tell you sincerely that he had started. As others have testified, beneath the gruffness was a tender heart.
3)Fortitude - Bill persevered. He almost died twice last year. I was in one of his doctor's appointments when the doctor said what Bill had gone through, and even his current medical condition, would have killed most men.He was tough as ox.Yet last year during the times he was in the valley, it became clear to us that spiritually speaking, he was not ready to die nor ready yet for heaven. He was struggling and confused, unclear about his spiritual status. Yet during that time, as various people ministered to him such as Jason testified to doing, he was revived in his soul.Last fall, he and I were sitting outside the nursing home on a beautiful, sunny day, and I was reading from I John 1 to him. Just at that time, a lady who knew Bill walked by and asked him based on what I was reading, “Bill, are you walking in the light?” Looking down at his wheelchair, Bill responded, “Naw, I'm rolling in the light!"
In John 12:26, Jesus said, “If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also; if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him.”Bill is rolling in the light in a whole new way now, basking and rejoicing in the light of his Father and Savior. And on the day of the resurrection he will be fully restored, and with the rest of us who have believed in the unlikely glory of Jesus Christ he will be walking and leaping and praising the great God of glory.Jesus prayer will be realized: “Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world."
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The portrait of Bill you see here, which captures him so well and is now displayed in my study, was painted by Natalie Thoman in the space of two days before his funeral. As several years ago he had served as a model of Matthew Cuthbert when Natalie was painting scenes from Anne of Green Gables, she was all too willing to paint him one final time from a picture taken when he used to work as the rag cutter at the Rescue Mission. If you would like to view her work or even order a portrait yourself, see Natalie's artwork.
Having commented previously on worship services involving pets in our community, I could not help but notice this article on doggie services. The church featured, Covenant Presbyterian Church of Los Angeles, is at least honest about its original purpose for having services where dogs are welcomed, prayers are offered for them, and the coffee and donuts are replaced with water bowls and doggie treats. The church was dying, and they needed to figure out a way to get more people to come.
But Pastor Tom Eggebeen (that's his real name) is a little less than honest when he pretends to give Biblical justification for the practice, and shows he has much in common with former President Bill Clinton in that they both have a problem understanding the simple word "is." For he states, "The Bible says of God only two things in terms of an 'is': That God is light and God is love." To make this untruth (see below) even more than a doggone lie but a blasphemy, he then tries this application: "And wherever there's love, there's God in some fashion. And when we love a dog and a dog loves us, that's a part of God and God is a part of that. So we honor that."
The problem with Pastor Eggebeen's eggegesis is that there is another "is" he overlooked. Sure, one could say it is from the Old Testament, but the problem is that it is also quoted in the New. "Our God is a consuming fire" (see Hebrews 10:29; also Deuteronomy 4:24 and 9:3). This statement is made in the context of God detesting the false worship practices of the world, which certainly would include services saying a dog's love is a part of God.
Certainly there are good dogs whose proper place is by their master's side and, save perhaps for the occasional seeing eye dog, would not include worship. But there are also evil dogs who, according to Jesus, have no place in the worship of the Lord. Their lying behavior means they belong where all bad dogs go - "outside" (see Revelation 22:15).
On Monday I participated in the funeral of a beloved seminary professor and pastor, Dr. Renwick Wright. The eulogies of the men who served at the Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary with Dr. Wright, his sons and his grandsons captured so well this man's love for God, His Word, his wife, his family and others. Read this well-written obituary by Pastor Doug Comin to learn more of Dr. Wright's life and ministry. Below is the message I gave based on II Corinthians 5:8 as requested by his family.
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II Corinthians 5:1-10
At Home with the Lord
The Funeral of Dr. J. Renwick Wright
October 12, 2009
Dear Mrs. Wright, Jonathan & Christopher and your families, our heartfelt condolences go out to you as feel acutely this day the separation from your beloved husband, father, and pastor.When Dr. Wright entered the pulpit, or when the Spirit of the Lord in him turned a classroom lectern into a pulpit, he would look at a congregation or his students with a penetrating gaze, speak in a pleading voice, often with his arms outstretched, and he would decrease and Christ would increase.I know that especially on this occasion he would want nothing more than that, for the focus to be on his beloved Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.So we turn to the Word of God.Yet even so it is not wrong for us to reflect further on the life of Dr. Wright as we do, for there was so much of Christ in him.With that in mind, let us go to II Corinthians 5:1-10.
II Corinthians 5:1-10
For we know that if the earthly tent which is our house is torn down, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For indeed in this house we groan, longing to be clothed with our dwelling from heaven, inasmuch as we, having put it on, will not be found naked. For indeed while we are in this tent, we groan, being burdened, because we do not want to be unclothed but to be clothed, so that what is mortal will be swallowed up by life. Now He who prepared us for this very purpose is God, who gave to us the Spirit as a pledge.
Therefore, being always of good courage, and knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord— for we walk by faith, not by sight— we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord. Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.
“At home with the Lord.”For the family and friends of Dr. Wright, we have great confidence that these words at the end of verse 8 accurately describe his current state.He is at home with the Lord.Yet what is it in this text that, exemplified in the testimony of Dr. Wright, gives us that confidence?Paul says “we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and at home with the Lord.” The word translated “prefer” is rather a strong word.Paul is saying to be absent from the body and be at home with the Lord seemed good to him, that it was pleasurable, something he was eager, ready and willing to do.How does one achieve that state of heart, where you can honestly say, “I would prefer to leave this earth now and be in heaven with the Lord?”
The answer begins with realizing, on the one hand, that life in this present world is temporary at best.To emphasize this, Paul compares our earthly existence to living in a tent.
·In verse 1, he states that we are like an earthly tent which will soon be torn down.
·While we live in this tent, we groan for a more permanent, heavenly dwelling as he says in verse 2.
·Then he goes on to explain in verses 3-4 that we groan because we are burdened with this body, for it suffers the pains and the tears of this world.Indeed, we carry our own mortality around in this body.
In his New Testament class, Dr. Wright commented on this passage.In my visits with Dr. Wright in these last years, he clearly echoed these same thoughts about his own life: “Paul can read his own situation: he is getting older and his body is beginning to fail.The body is a temporary structure, adequate to shelter us during our earthly pilgrimage, but as vulnerable to the winds of circumstance and the wear and tear of everyday life as a tent.This earthly house will certainly be dissolved.But this fact does not trouble Paul; he is even looking forward to the dissolution of this body.”(New Testament History and Theology: The Pauline Epistles, p.27)
As we saw a beloved man growing ever so weaker, as we know that later this afternoon we will be returning the body in the casket to the dust from which it came, these are reminders to us all that we are living in a tent.We are not in a permanent structure.The outer man is decaying.This present world is not our home.As Dr. Wright said, it is but the place of our earthly pilgrimage.We are traveling through it.
At the end of his life, the apostle Paul, knowing this, could then say these words in II Timothy 4:6, “I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come.” He not only wrote of this life being transient in nature but saw his own life as one of journeying toward eternity. Again, in his New Testament class, in his typical way of unpacking truth after truth from a Greek word or phrase, Dr. Wright said this about the wordanalusis (analusis) translated here “departure:”
·He said this word describes “the unyoking of an animal from the shafts of the cart or plow; death to Paul was a rest from toil.”
·But it was “also the word for loosing fetters; death to Paul was a release and liberation.”
·Then (listen to how it relates to the II Corinthians 5 passage) “it was also the word for loosening the ropes of a tent, symbolizing the time for striking camp once again.”(Now this next sentence is so like Dr. Wright, as he connects the author’s life with the words he wrote.) “Many a journey this tentmaker (Paul) had made across the roads of Asia Minor and Europe; he would be setting out on his last and greatest journey.”That’s what Dr. Wright has done.
·Finally, he goes on to comment “it was also the word for loosening the mooring ropes of a ship setting sail.Paul was ready to cross the waters of death in order to arrive at the heaven of heavens.In all cases, Paul gives the church here a beautiful view of Christian death.” (New Testament History and Theology: The Pauline Epistles, p.79)
So how is one made ready to cross?Please note that is a different question than “how to cross.”I know Dr. Wright would not want anyone of you here today to leave without being sure you know how to cross and, indeed, knowing that you will cross.You must know that regarding this journey there is One that has made it first for us, and blazed the trail we are to follow.For God sent His Son into this world, and as His divine glory took on human form He tabernacled among us – He shared this tent-like, temporary existence!Then He died on our behalf, was raised three days later, and ascended into heaven.Jesus entered heaven as a forerunner.He went there to prepare a place for us.Do not leave this funeral without believing in Christ.How Dr. Wright would be pleading for you to trust Christ to take you home!Believe upon Christ as your Savior and Lord.
Yet are you living ready to cross?Is it your desire to depart from this world?Do you have good courage in this?If we are honest with ourselves, too many of us have too great a fondness for this world and even a fear of being in the immediate presence of the Lord.We are intimidated by the thought of appearing at His judgment seat (5:10).How can we ready ourselves?The answer to this dilemma is found in verse 9. “We make it our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him.”“To be pleasing to Him” is the answer.Reflect with me on three chief ways He has given us in His Word to be pleasing to Him, how Dr. Wright used those so wonderfully in his life, and how they prepare us to be at home with the Lord.
It is our ambition to be pleasing to the Lord when we turn our hearts heavenward in sincere prayer.When I came to the Reformed Presbyterian Seminary in 1988, I had only been in the RP church for 3 years.I did not know anyone, my father had just died that summer, I was a new father myself, and [though I had had a good start in the summer with another Irish Greek professor -Ted Donnelly] I was still scared to death of studying languages.I also just did not like the big city of Pittsburgh.So I was intimidated by the whole prospect.Yet that fall Dr. Wright was my teacher, and what a comfort that was.I could go on for hours about my experience in the classroom with him as he moved us on in our studies with patience and a spirit that encouraged success.
But what I want to relate, though, is how the seminary wisely put us students in groups under a faculty advisor, which for me was Dr. Wright.Every Friday he would gather us in what is now the computer lab but back then it was known as the “porch classroom.” For me, it became a sanctuary.I had prayed with other groups of men before, but when I first heard Dr. Wright pray I felt like I was beginning all over again.There were no ostentatious words, just the tender closeness of Dr. Wright to Christ that made each Amen seem like such a sure promise of answers to come.God’s throne had always been holy to me, and became even more so during this time, but it was being led by Dr. Wright there week after week those three years that Christ’s throne became the seat of mercy and love it is to me today.Hearing his unashamed expressions of love for God, for me, and for others; listening to his passionate pleas for more grace and more love for us all; how I saw in him where his heart’s true home was!That this could be the experience of every seminarian!His heart was at home before the Lord’s throne here on earth. So what must it be like for him at this very moment as he sees that throne?He is at home with Lord now because his heart rested in Christ here.Pleasing God with sincere prayer is a good way to prepare for an eternity of praising Him.
It is our ambition to be pleasing to the Lord when we shepherd others with tender care.Our Good Shepherd, who is tenderly guiding us to green pastures and still waters, delights when He sees us caring in a like manner for others.When we make it our goal to help others travel to their home in the Lord, certainly it concentrates our minds wonderfully on the same goal.
Several years after I graduated from seminary, Miriam and I were struggling in church planting.But Dr. and Mrs. Wright came to our home to visit us as part of his new job with a title that only a very few men could carry with truth and honor – the “Pastor’s Pastor,” given to him by the leaders in our denomination.In those two days in our home, Dr. and Mrs. Wright took two discouraged and beaten up people and buoyed us with their prayers and tender care.Afterwards, even years later and still today, we commented on how a precious aroma of Christ remained in our home for days after they left.We experienced the love of God through them. They brought our true heavenly home into our home.I know this room today is filled with others who have had this same experience.He lived with his heart at home with the Lord seen in his care for people.This example ties into the third way we can live in a manner pleasing to God.
It is our ambition to be pleasing to the Lord when we die even while we live.That’s the gospel.Die to live.In Philippians 1:21 we hear Paul again saying, “For to me, to live is Christ (to crucify my desires, to die for the sake of others), and to die is gain.”Again Dr. Wright said, “To live is Christ: Paul’s first thought when he woke in the morning, and his last when he went to sleep at night.Christ, Paul’s Lord and Master whom he served from dawn to dusk, his friend with whom his fellowship was indescribably blessed.”(New Testament History and Theology: The Pauline Epistles, p.47)Fellowship with Christ gave Paul the desire to live in this world in service to Him and others, and count all else as rubbish (Philippians 3:8).
It is in that capacity that I heard from Dr. Wright only one godly hesitation to his desire to leave this present world for heaven.At the 60th anniversary remembrance for Dr. and Mrs. Wright in 2004 at the RP International Conference at Calvin College, his family and some friends gathered and reflected on the goodness we had witnessed in their marriage.After several had shared, Dr. Wright was given the opportunity to respond.He spoke and had only one request.He told us that it was clear that their days were drawing to a close, and that most likely one would leave for home before the other.So because they have always been so inseparable, he pled for us to pray for the one left when the other died.It was so like him, always looking ahead but at the same time also looking out for others, especially for the one clearly most dear to him. We are and will keep praying for you, Mrs. Wright.
Again Dr. Wright said, “To die is gain: how good it must be to die, because it is so good to be alive in Christ.”The one he was named for, Covenanter Pastor James Renwick, said in his prison cell as he looked at the prospect of dying soon, “O Lord, thou hast brought me within two hours of eternity, and this is no matter of terror to me, more than if I were to lay down in a bed of roses…O! How can I contain this, to be within two hours of eternity?”Then later, as he was led to the scaffold, he cried out, “Yonder is the welcome warning to my marriage; the Bridegroom is coming; I am ready, I am ready.”
He was ready to go home.Dr. Wright was ready.Are you?Christ expects us to be and, praise be to His name, He has given us examples showing us both how to live and die ready to be at home with the Lord.
Speaking of books, after a long time of writing and persevering, my friend and fellow congregant Austin Brown has recently published a book called Walking with the Mailman. As I wrote a review on Amazon, I won't say too much here. But I would encourage you to click the picture to read the review and, while you are at it, purchase the book. It's a fun and funny read. And just to demonstrate the unity of the body, I also should note that both the picture on the cover and the dog's leg were contributed by members of the church (of course, I mean by this that the dog is owned by a member, not a member itself).
