On Speaking Salty Words

Last month, 75-year-old Marion Shurtleff walked into a newly opened used bookstore and bought a very old and used Bible. It was a different version from the one she usually reads, and she thought it would be nice to be able to compare how the wording has changed. She found much more in that Bible than she expected. Inside her brand new old Bible was a folded up sheet of yellowed paper. When she unfolded it, the first thing she noticed was her own name. The paper was an essay on “Be Kind to Animals” that she had written as a young girl to earn a Girl Scout merit badge. The essay had been written more than 60 years before and 2000 miles away in her hometown of Covington, KY. She has no idea how it got there, but she is now busy playing Colombo trying to retrace the travels of her long forgotten essay.

This unusual story of coincidence reminds us of the fact that we don’t live isolated lives. We impact others. The things that we say and actions that we take today can have an influence on the people around us., and that influence can last far beyond today. Like Marion Shurtleff, we may find those words and acts impacted us in the future. Paul says,

5 Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. 6 Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone. (Colossians 4:5-6) 

The problem is we never know which of our words will be the ones to have a lasting impact on someone. Hey, if you knew which one of your essays would turn up 60 years down the road, then you could give special attention to make sure that was a good one. And if you knew which one of your words or actions will be the one that will have a lasting impact on the people around you, then you could give special care to make sure that the word or action really counted.

That's the problem.  We don't know which words or which action will be the one that someone will remember and be impact by. These words may be the careful, prayerful invitation you make to a neighbor to visit church with you; they also might be the kind words you speak on the fly to a cashier who was just  treated rudely by the customer in front of you. Your words that last just might be the Sunday School lesson that you teach after hours of preparation; but they also might be something you say off the cuff that encourages someone in the middle of a particularly bad day. We don't know which of our essays will turn up down the road… so make them all count. Make the most of each and every opportunity to speak words that are seasoned with salt.

From Out of the Whirlwind

What was the first thing that you thought of when you heard a massive tornado had struck Moore, OK, leaving dozens dead, including 9 school children? Likely it wasn't, “I should quote where Job’s kids are killed in a tornado. That is exactly what John Piper tweeted-

“Your sons and daughters were eating and a great wind struck the house, and it fell upon them, and they are dead.” (Job 1:19) 

Many saw that as a wee bit insensitive, although I'm not sure but that Piper was just looking for some Bible words that fit the situation.  At any rate, he quickly took down the tweet. The reason that many saw the tweet in a negative light is that Piper has something of a history when responding to similar tragedies. When a tornado hit his hometown of Minneapolis, he attributed it the Evangelical Lutheran Church  convention softening its stance on homosexuality. He’s made similar statements on things like the Asian tsunami (2004) and the Minneapolis bridge collapse (2007).  Read this post by Rachel Held Evans for longer look at some of Piper's past statements on tragic events.

John Piper is perhaps the best known leader in a modern revival of  Calvinism, the doctrine that says that everything that happens is predetermined by an all-sovereign God who gives life and salvation at His whim with no regard for human faith nor repentance. God predestined some people for hell, and He gives them no choice and no room to repent. Jesus didn't even die for them; He only died for the elect-- who themselves have no freedom to reject God’s saving grace. We choose nothing; everything that happens in the world does so because it has been determined by God. So if God wants to kill some kids in Oklahoma for no reason, well then that’s up to Him.  When you are a Calvinist, there can be no explanation for anything that happens in the word other than God did it.

God does indeed speak out of a whirlwind in the book of Job, but it was not the storm that killed Job's children. That tornado was generated by Satan to hurt Job and prove that his faith would buckle under pressure. Sure, God allowed Satan to have free reign, but God most certainly did not plan the tornado. The whirlwind from which God speaks in the Book of Job is at the end where God does come to job, but not with the explanation Job wanted.  God essentially says,

“Job, there is so much that you can’t understand; it should not surprise you that you can’t understand your suffering. Just trust me here.” 

And Job does. And so must we. In times of tragedy and heartache and loss, there are no easy explanations.  All there is faith.

I believe that Piper’s explanation fails precisely because it is an explanation. Sure, I believe it’s an explanation based on false theological presupposition that is wrongly forced on life to explain a tragedy. But it ultimately fails because it tries to explain in human terms the “why” when that is the one thing that human understanding can't handle. Job wanted to understand why. And God spoke from the whirlwind to say, “You can't understand, but you can always trust.” And that’s what we need to do.

What I Have I Give You

Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” (Acts 3:6, Tuesday's Daily Bible Reading)  

What would have happened if Peter and John would have been on their way to the bank rather than to the Temple when they met the lame man? If they had silver and gold in their pockets, would they have just given the man a denarius and gone on? Probably not! Peter and John were called to shared what they had— and that was Christ. No, they didn't go out that day to specifically look for a chance to preach. But they were willing to share what they had. They began with the physical (health) and then they shared the story of Christ.

Are we willing to share what we have so that the story can be told?  God has blessed us with so much— both His physical blessing and saving grace.  Some were blessed to grow up in Christian families, being taught from the cradle about God.  Others came to know about Him because someone was ready and willing to share what they had been given of God's mercy.  We know the word of life because God placed someone in our lives who knew Him and who were willing to share what they had. Are we? 

Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy told of an aunt who didn't seem to have the time to answer his questions about Auntie, why did they torture Him?" she said, "Because they were wicked." Tolstoy inquired further, "But wasn't He God?" and he asked her to explain more about the crucifixion    But instead of explaining the story,  she said, "Be quiet; I'm going to the dining room to have tea." This left young Tolstoy greatly frustrated. Calvin Miller would comment on this scene—

Tolstoy found it incomprehensible that Christ had been brutalized and his aunt was not interested enough to stay a little past teatime and talk about it. 

We say that the story of the cross is at the center of our faith.  Do we act that way?  Are we willing to share with others what have?

All the Difference in the World

Someone has suggested that Easter in our materialistic world is something of a “cosmic Freudian slip.” In a world totally dedicated to the stuff of the here-and-now, the hereafter somehow sneaks in and makes itself known at Easter time. Because this traditional holiday is traditionally connected to the story of the resurrection, people will pause amid the bunnies, baskets and bonnets to ponder the story... and for a moment, the possibility of eternity sneaks in. And that is a good thing.

Or is it?  Why is it that singing “Joy to the World” and “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” somehow seems out of place at any other time of the year except Christmas? It's because we have so connected the story of the birth of Jesus to the holiday of Christmas that the holiday is the only time that we think much about it? I wonder if we do the same thing with Easter? Is the resurrection such a traditional Easter message that we think about it only during the Easter season? I did a very quick look back through some of my old sermons (spending too much time doing that is depressing). From what I could tell, about half of the sermons I have preached on the topic of the resurrection have been around Easter time. That sort of makes sense— I know I'm preaching an Easter-theme sermon, so I save the resurrection-texts for that time of year. So has resurrection become a seasonal message?  I hope not.

In the New Testament, the power of the resurrection is a daily spiritual force in the life of the Christian. The resurrection isn't just a historical fact for us to believe; it is the in-breaking of God into our lives. Paul talks about the new life we have through the resurrection (Rom 6:4). We're raised to live above sin in this resurrection power (1 Cor 6:14-15) that is at work within us (Eph 1:18-20). It was that resurrection power that Paul wanted through knowing Christ (Phil 3:9-10). The power of the resurrection is not just a comforting message for us as we contemplate death in the future; it is the power of God in us for in LIFE in our present.

This story that we read yesterday and today as we closed our reading John's gospel is not just God reminding us that He can raise the dead. He is also reminding us that He has power over the train wreck of our lives to raise us to live this life anew. That’s why the story of the resurrection is of first importance (1 Cor 15:3-4). It makes all the difference in the world.