I do want to respond to Bruce’s query on dating and relationships, but first, how about a little poetry? As we head into the weekend, especially as we anticipate the Lord’s Day, a day of rest from the routine work of the week, a day set aside to especially worship the Creator, reflect upon the following words of the Anglican George Herbert (1593-1633) in his poem, “The Pulley.”
This may seem like a funny title for the poem. But consider how rest, like a pulley, can draw us nearer to God. In moments of weakness, when we are weighed down by the burdens of the week (or even our lives) we may be especially mindful of our need for the Savior.
When God at first made man,
Having a glass of blessings standing by;
Let us (said he) pour on him all we can:
Let the world’s riches, which dispersed lie,
Contract into a span.
So strength first made a way;
Then beauty flow’d, then wisdom, honor, pleasure:
When almost all was out, God made a stay,
Perceiving that alone of all his treasure
Rest in the bottom lay.
For if I should (said he)
Bestow this jewel also on my creature,
He would adore my gifts instead of me,
And rest in Nature, not the God of Nature:
So both should losers be.
Yet let him keep the rest,
But keep them with repining restlessness:
Let him be rich and weary, that at least,
If goodness lead him not, yet weariness
May toss him to my breast.
[Quoted by Gilbert C. Meilaender in Working: Its Meaning and Its Limits (Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 2000), 20-21]
Aaron is going to give the four of us who read this blog whip lash from his diversions. First we go to the penguins, then Wednesday nights, and now 19th century Baptists. Who can keep up? If he weren’t going to be unavailable for a couple days, I would upbraid him. Instead, I will follow his diversion and bring it to our neighborhood.
When Southern Seminary moved to Louisville in 1879 it was located near 5th and 6th Streets and Broadway. Basically, very near the current main branch of Louisville Free Public and Brown Cadillac. One of John Broadus’ daughters married one of his students, a man named A. T. Robertson. Robertson became well known for his accomplishments in NT studies. The Robertsons lived in a house on Third Street. They were members of Fourth Ave. Baptist Church, which is at the corner of Fourth and Oak and is still active but in decline.
Their children would walk down to the Seminary and one of their daughters even learned Greek at an early age. I was interested to read one day how Robertson’s children played in Central Park where my children now often go to play. I have often wondered if those children played under some of the same trees that I walk under and my children play under. Robertson’s daughter (Broadus’ granddaughter) who learned Greek was named Charlotte. Charlotte also took part in some of the mission work of the Seminary that met the needs of folks in this part of Louisville. When she was a teenager, Charlotte became ill and died after a few months. The Seminary community was stricken by her death.
As I walk in Central Park, I often think of Charlotte who played there and of the parents and grandparents who loved her. But even her brothers and sisters who lived to adulthood are now dead. All flesh is like grass. We would all do well to remember, as one preacher said in a sermon that I’ll never forget, “We are free falling into eternity.”
31 years ago today, Steve Prefontaine died in a car accident at the age of 24. Pre, as he was known, was a runner–a fast runner. One guy who competed against him in high school said,”I remember running against him in a cross-country meet . . . I saw his back for about 20 yards and then he was gone.” For a time, he held national records in every event between 2,000 and 10,000 meters. Suffice it to say he is a legend at my alma mater, where he ran, the University of Oregon. Pre reportedly said, “What I want to be is number one.”
Reading about Pre made me think of Eric Liddell, that Scottish sprinter famous for refusing to compete on the Lord’s Day. Both men were given incredible athletic gifts but Liddell–who knew Christ, so clearly ran for the Lord. It’s a reminder that we have a responsiblity to use our gifts to glorify God, not ourselves.
Christians aren’t the only ones with “tests” Jonathan as you know. Every group/tribe has them. They serve a practical purpose because they are quick ways to categorize people and to know where others stand on shared interests.
An obvious test for evangelicals is the “quiet time” test. I think that having a daily time of meditation and prayer with the Lord is excellent, but you won’t find “quiet time” in the Bible any more than you will find “invite Jesus into your heart.” Yet, even the “thoughtful” Reformed among us will use this term and assess others on the basis of how they are doing with their “quiet times.” The role of women in the church, social issues (abortion, birth control, etc) are additional examples.
Even though I am critiquing “tests”, I think that there is benefit in coming to a conclusion as a church/community of believers on certain issues. You can’t spend all of your time revisiting the same questions. We should exercise caution however in our assessments of the spiritual condition of others who may vary from our settled positions.
Patriotism is another test in many churches, and hence my other post, which leaves you speechless. Many could not imagine not having a USA flag in their church sanctuary. Many could not imagine criticizing our form of government or the principles on which it was founded. Obviously, I want to poke at those assumptions.
No, I don’t think praying for small stuff trivializes God at all. If He really is sovereign over every atom in the universe (and He is), then it doesn’t belittle Him to recognize that. I think it would be more dismissive of God if we thought, acted, and prayed as if somehow He couldn’t (or wouldn’t) do anything to help us with the small stuff. I don’t think there is anything trivializing about saying, “Lord, help me find my keys.” In fact, I think there could be something very child-like and faith-full in that prayer.
So what rubs wrong about the Osteen stuff? In my opinion, it’s that the parking-space prayer is just one more brick in the wall of what looks very much like an entire ministry of trivialities. I read the New York Times article, and though it would be unfair to judge the man by one single article, it looks like Osteen’s not interested much in the things that make Christianity Christianity. The article even says he skirts the issues of sin and suffering. What about the cross? Wonder if he skirts that, too.
It’s one thing if J. I. Packer prays for the Lord to help him find his keys, because you know that’s just one part of a faith that takes the majestic God very seriously. I just wonder if, for Joel Osteen, it simply doesn’t get much more serious than the car keys. Let’s pray that’s not the case, because the man preaches to 40,000 people every week.
In Thursday’s New York Times there is an article about Joel Osteen, leader of Lakewood Church in Houston (former home of the Houston Rockets) — enough said. He’s coming out with a new book with important invectives like, “God wants you to be a winner, not a whiner.” The Times journalist made an interesting observation about Osteen’s prayer life:
He is not shy about calling on the Lord. He writes of praying for a winning basket in a basketball game, and then sinking it; and even circling a parking lot, praying for a space, and then finding it. “Better yet,” he writes, “it was the premier spot in that parking lot.”
As I read this, I can’t help but think that the majestic God of the universe is being trivialized. J.I. Packer wrote in Knowing God of a Lord who is both absolutely sovereign –presumably even of the smallest things (parking spaces?) and yet whose majesty doesn’t seem to be mocked the way I fear it is in the passage above:
He has us in His hands; but we never have Him in ours. Like us, He is personal, but unlike us He is great. In all its constant stress on the reality of God’s personal concern for His people, and on the gentleness, tenderness, sympathy, patience, and yearning compassion that He shows towards them, the Bible never lets us lose sight of His majesty, and His unlimited dominion over all His creatures (IV Press, 1973, pg. 74).
So what do you think? Is the majestic God being trivialized when we pray for something as small as a parking space or that we find our misplaced keys? If such prayers are legitimate, an expression of God’s dominion over everything, then what is it about Osteen’s prayers that are bothersome (if they bother you at all)?
I think the blog has experienced a period of mourning over the loss of the contributions of Brad and Bruce. It has been collecting cyber-dust. Every few days someone returns to thirdavenue.org, wondering if someone has anything to say and finds, alas, nothing. Silence. “Where is Greg?” you wonder to yourself. “Where is Keith?” you ask, “this insightful new elder whose words of wisdom I am waiting for like a thirsty man waits for a glass of cool water.” And then, you mourn. You miss Brad. You miss Bruce. And you find nothing but unrefreshed pixels . . . until today.
Still, there is sadness even today because there is no Greg, no Keith. There is only Aaron. Nonetheless, I offer this link to a piece written by Amy Lauger at Common Grounds online. It is about the joy of having friendships with people who are not your age. Third Avenue is at a stage when not many of our seniors are left. But those that remain we should be thankful for and honor. I think John Calvin was right when he argued that the command to honor your father and mother refers to more than your immediate family, it refers to those saints who have walked the Christian journey longer than you. I’m thankful for Jonathan’s leadership in guiding us to be more thoughtful about the seniors who cannot or have not been attending. I’m encouraged by the women at the church who recently brought women–older and younger–together to encourage one another on Saturday, and I’m hopeful that we will grow in knowing, loving, and honoring our seniors.
May this post collect dust in cyberspace for the glory of God!
