your lessons are the best lessons

I have been reminded recently of an old tried and true lesson: things aren’t always what they seem

Now, I’m not making some argument for the subjectivity of reality or truth, but sometimes we (okay, I) think I know exactly what is going on and we…uh, I…have not considered that I may not actually know or understand all that is there. This comes about from a sermon I am preparing in which I use a story about 6 blind men who stumble upon an elephant and they each describe the part of the elephant they “see.” The basic idea is that each person draws conclusions based on the analysis of a certain part of the elephant, but none get the entire picture of what is before them. Great illustration…I just forgot to take heed of it myself  I have recently been misguided by my “certain” understanding of a situation, only to see after the fact that I was narrow sighted. Hmph! Wish I would have paid attention to my own words!

So, what is my “take-away?”
1) Consider that you may not know all aspects to a situation. This can save you headache and help you to be open to additional input.
2) Learn your own lesson before you try and share it with others!

resurrection

To claim the risen Jesus as ’son of god’ in the sense of ‘Messiah’ was the most deeply Jewish thing the Christians could do, and hence the most deeply suspect in the eyes of those Jews who did not share their convictions. [727]

But that misses the point the early Christians were eager to make, the point that brought them quickly into confrontation with the authorities both Jewish and pagan. To imply that Jesus ‘went to heaven when he died’, is to miss the point, to cut the nerve of the social, cultural and political critique. Death is the ultimate weapon of the tyrant; resurrection does not make a covenant with death, it overthrows it. The resurrection, in the full Jewish and early Christian sense, is the ultimate affirmation that creation matters, that embodied human beings matter. That is why resurrection has always had an inescapable political meaning; that is why the Sadducees in the first century, and the Enlightenment in our own day, have opposed it so strongly. No tyrant is threatened by Jesus going to heaven, leaving his body in a tomb. No governments face the authentic Christian challenge when the church’s social preaching tries to base itself on Jesus’ teaching, detached from the central and energizing fact of his resurrection (or when, for that matter, the resurrection is affirmed simply as an example of a supernatural ‘happy ending’ which guarantees post-mortem bliss). [730-31]

The Resurrection of the Son of God by N. T. Wright

Book Review – The Church

From the Ground Up: New Testament Foundations for the 21^st Century Church. By J. Scott Horrell.

 

First, my disclaimer: this is a brief book review and is not meant to be a formal endeavor, hence I depart from the “scholarly” format.

 

Dr. Horrell is a theology professor at DTS, but his credentials are bolstered more by the fact that he has pastored 5 churches and taught in seminaries around the world. The majority of his time has been spent in Brazil.

 

This short book, just over 100 pages, suggests that local churches in the 21^st century need evaluate all programs and organizing principles according to the model given in the New Testament. Horrel does not, however, call for a return to the “New Testament church.” Instead, his call is “to conceiving and to living out the doctrine of the church in harmony with the life of the Spirit of Christ within.” (9)

Guardian Angels

Again, thanks to all who commented!

I agree with the general vein of the comments. I do not see Scripture teaching that guardian angels are assigned to specific people in order to watch over them and protect them. If anything, we see NT writers pointing us to God as the one who will provide, protect, and sustain believers.

Now, Scripture does give us examples of God using angels as the tool through which He provides, protects, and sustains His people. For instance, in 2 Kings 6:8-22, God’s army surrounds the army of Aram to protect Israel. Yet, notice that the angelic army does not fight the battle. Rather, God blinded the army of Aram and Elisha leads them to the Israelite city. But, the angelic army was there for protection.

The language used in conjunction with angels throughout Scriptures speaks of them being sent, thus they are acting in obedience (Heb 1:14). Also, we usually see the angels as carrying out specific tasks, not hanging around for indeterminate lengths of time.

The passage in Matt 18:10 presents a challenge. It seems to indicate that children have specific angels “assigned” to them. It is possible that they do have angels who watch over them, but the passage is not explicit. It is noteworthy that the angels mentioned are in heaven and see the face of the Father in heaven continually. My case here relies on understanding that angels are created beings, thus are not omnipresent, so if they are in heaven, how can the be “guardian angels” to children who are on earth? Perhaps it is more helpful to understand that the ministering angels in heaven watch over children and request protection for them from the Father. The danger here is to be careful that we do not try and put angels in the place of Christ, who we are told is seated at the right hand of the Father and intercedes for believers. (Eph 1:20, Heb 7:25)

Unfortunately, the idea of guardian angels is widely popular amongst believers. I suspect it may be because we are comforted by the idea of a being that is so close to us. But why should this be more comforting than knowing the all-powerful, omnipresent Creator God watches over us and loves us?