Three in One

Controversy is nothing new to the church. Within a few weeks of Peter’s first sermon, the disciples had to deal with a group who was concerned that “their people” were not receiving the attention they deserved. Soon after that, Peter is invited to the home of Cornelius, a Gentile—someone he had been taught was “unclean.” When Peter returned to Jerusalem, he knew he had some explaining to do. Much of the Book of the Acts of the Apostles recounts the way the early community of faith dealt with one controversy after another.

When you read the letters of Paul, Peter, James and John (and even the short letter of Jude), it is not too difficult to imagine some of the controversies they were trying to address. There were procedural questions and doctrinal issues and interpersonal conflicts. One important principle runs through all of this discourse. Paul puts it this way: “Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone” (Romans 12:18).

Still as the church grew and became more diverse, it struggled with a variety of issues. Interestingly, some of the earliest and most passionate disputes grew out of the different ways people tried to explain the nature of God. Great controversies arose around conversations about God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

Constantine was the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity. About a decade after he made religious tolerance the policy throughout the Roman Empire, he authorized the leaders of the church to convene in Nicaea (at public expense) to address the most divisive controversies of the day. From these discussions arose the classical doctrine of the Trinity: God is understood as “one substance,” but “three persons.”

While the Council of Nicaea was able to hammer out a consensus about the way the church would talk about God; it could not fully explain the character and substance of God’s relationship with those he loves. So we continue to struggle with ways to describe the nature of God.

Perhaps we would be better served by focusing on our experience of God. Perhaps we should meditate on the ways God reveals himself to his people. Perhaps then we can come to a more helpful understanding of our God who has revealed himself in a threefold way—Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer; but who has always revealed himself as the one, complete, perfect, undivided God.

Live the Life

Perhaps you have noticed the sticker on the back window of the pickup in front of you at the light. Or maybe one of your kids or grandkids has it emblazoned on the t-shirt they’ve been wearing. You may have been invited to a party by one of your friends and they offered you a koozie with this same logo. Maybe that’s when you stopped and asked, “What is ‘Salt Life’?”

What has become a ubiquitous business logo started out as a saying two of the company founders had tattooed on their necks. It was their way of expressing their love for the ocean and aquatic sports. According to their website, “The four partners of Salt Life are avid ‘watermen’ and extreme surfers, free divers, spear fishermen and blue water fishing experts. All have traveled the globe surfing, fishing and diving in pursuit of the Salt Lifestyle.”

Since its beginning in 2003, the Salt Life merchandise line, which includes T-shirts, hats, visors and—of course—stickers, has grown into a surfing, fishing and diving-wear empire, selling online and in more than 1,000 independent retailers and six regional and national companies, including Bass Pro Shops, Dick’s Sporting Goods, and Belk. In 2010 the company signed a licensing agreement with a group of partners in Jacksonville to expand the brand to include a restaurant called “Salt Life Food Shack.”

The people at Salt Life are committed to promoting the lifestyle of an avid beach lover. “Be it surfing, fishing, diving or just enjoying a day at the beach, we all have one thing in common... the ocean and all it has to offer!”

While that is a touching sentiment; as members of a community of faith, we have something much more significant that we share in common: God’s gift of life through his Son, Jesus Christ. As John tells his congregation: “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life” (1 John 5:13).

What’s more, Jesus calls his followers to be salt. We're not supposed to let the world transform us; we are called to transform the world. “Let me tell you why you are here. You're here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors of this earth. If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness? You've lost your usefulness and will end up in the garbage” (Matthew 5:13, The Message). So, live a salty, eternal life!

Put to the Test

When most people begin to think about buying anything, one of the first questions they consider is whether their purchase will be a good value. I mean most folks don’t have money to throw around; and money you spend on one thing is money you don’t have to spend on something else.

Everybody likes low prices (well, maybe not that baby that keeps throwing cereal at Jimmy Fallon); but low prices don’t always mean great value. If something breaks soon after you buy it because it is made with inferior materials; even if it has a full replacement guarantee, that’s not a good deal. Most people hope that whatever they are buying is produced with quality.

That’s really what most folks consider when they think about value: that combination of price and quality. Some people focus on the price, while others put more emphasis on the quality. The price is pretty easy to determine. It’s the quality that is more difficult to discern.

For those people who are particularly concerned with the quality of the products they purchase, one of the references they frequently check is Consumer Reports. For over 75 years the staff of Consumer Reports has been testing products to help consumers “distinguish hype from fact and good products from bad ones.”

According to their website, “More than 100 testing experts work in seven major technical departments—appliances, auto test, baby & child, electronics, foods, health & family, and recreation & home improvement, while more than 25 research experts work in three departments—product acquisition, product information, and statistics & quality management.” That is some serious testing, but it is what has made Consumer Reports one of the most trusted independent and impartial sources of information in the world.

While Consumer Reports has made a science out of product testing, it is still difficult to determine the quality of many elements of your life. If you are concerned about the quality of your faith, let me suggest you look carefully at the first few verses of 1 John 5. John seems to outline three simple tests that indicate the quality of a truly victorious life: faith, love, and obedience.  The assurance of a place in God’s kingdom is something you’ll value, no matter what the price.

Fear Not!

Once Adam and Eve ate the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, the hiding began. First they hid themselves from each other; and then when God came to take a stroll through the garden with them that evening, they hid from God. Why were they hiding? Adam says it clearly, “I was afraid.”

While God does send them out of the garden, God shows his continuing love and care for them by making them clothes and giving them a new place to live that has all they need to thrive. God has standards and God expects his children to live by those standards; but when we fail to live up to those standards—even when we knowingly and willfully break God’s standards—God’s love continues.

Consider this: When Adam and Eve’s son, Cain, kills his brother and tries to hide it from everyone, there are consequences; but God doesn’t annihilate him. Cain’s own actions have made it impossible for him to live in community with his family of origin. When Cain says God’s punishment is more than he can bear, God promises to put a mark of protection on him, “so that no one who found him would kill him” (Genesis 4:15).

In spite of this lavish display of grace, throughout the Bible you find people still have to be reassured every time God shows up. When God approaches Abraham to offer him the opportunity to be the father of the covenant people, God’s first words are, “Do not be afraid.” When he appears to Moses and invites him to lead the Israelites out of slavery, God’s first words are, “Do not be afraid.” When Joshua is left with the task of leading the conquest of the Promised Land, God comes to him with the message, “Do not be afraid.”

And it doesn’t stop with the Old Testament. Indeed, as God begins the work of establishing a new covenant; one holy messenger after another begins with “Do not be afraid.” During their last meal together Jesus tells his disciples, “Do not be afraid.”  When the resurrected Jesus meets the women in the garden on Easter morning he tells them, “Do not be afraid.”

When John writes his letter to the church he reminds them that God loves them. Indeed, God loves them so much that God “sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins” (1 John 4:10).  So when you know and rely on the love God has for you and accept the power the Holy Spirit gives you to live a life that is pleasing to God, there is no reason for you to be afraid. 


May we grow to love each other the way God loves us.

Building Something Great

Many years ago a man was on a journey. As he began to enter one village, he noticed that it seemed more prosperous than many he had been through. As he continued along the main road, he found himself before a large construction site. He wondered what was being built.

There were three men working near the road. So he approached one of them and asked him what he was doing. The man was clearly annoyed by this interruption. He looked up from his work with contempt in his eyes. “Can’t you see what I’m doing? I’m chiseling this huge rock into smaller stones. I’ve been doing it for years; and it looks like I’ll be doing it until the day I die.” He muttered something under his breath the traveler was glad he couldn’t understand and went back to his work.

Still curious about the project, the traveler moved on to the next man who was engaged in the same activity just a few yards farther on. “Can you tell me what you are doing?”

The man relaxed his grip on his hammer and looked up. He seemed pleased for the chance to take a break. “We are shaping these stones to build a wall here,” he said as he pointed along the ditch that lay beside him. “It’s hard work, but I’m glad for the opportunity to earn the money to provide a home and food for my wife and children.” He looked back down at the stone on his bench and raised his hammer once again.

“Better,” the traveler thought to himself; but he still didn’t have any news worth sharing. There was one more man busy chiseling stone. “Perhaps this fellow can tell me more.”

“Excuse me. Can you tell me what you are doing?”

Like the others, the man was covered with dust and his hands were rough; but he laid down his hammer, straightened his back, and looked toward the sky. As he raised his hands over his head, his face broke into a huge smile. “We are building a cathedral—a shrine to God. It will be a light for the world and will proclaim God’s glory to generations yet unborn.”

John tells the community of believers, “It is not yet clear what we shall become. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he really is” (1 John 3:2). As we live in the light of the glory of the resurrected Christ, may we more clearly catch the vision that “we are now God's children.” Let that reality give you power to live a life of faith—especially when the work is hard.

A New Way of Living

Last Sunday in churches around the world Christians united their voices in singing, “Christ the Lord is risen today!” The resurrection of Jesus Christ is certainly an event worthy of celebration. It assures those who put their trust in Jesus that death is not the end—there is life beyond this present reality. The hope of resurrection comforts those who have lost loved ones with the promise that they will be reunited some day.

Fully devoted followers of Christ recognize that this extraordinary, unique and unparalleled event offers much more than just the promise of life after death. It opens the possibility to a completely new way of life here and now. That is what John tries to make plain to the community of believers when he writes his first letter to the church.

John wants those who have put their trust in Christ to know that through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, God has opened the possibility of a transformed relationship with God and with one another. They no longer need to live in fear that God is going to punish them for the things they have done wrong. God wants them to experience the joy of authentic fellowship.

John also recognizes how tenuous this fellowship can seem in the midst of the struggles, trials and temptations of life day by day. He reminds them that the same power that raised Jesus from the dead is offered to them as they seek to live lives that reflect the character of their savior. Indeed, it is the love of God—fully expressed in the sacrifice of Christ—that makes it possible for them to live a holy life.

For John this is more than an intellectual argument or a philosophical proposition. It is a message rooted in his direct experience with Jesus—the same Jesus he heard teach with authority; he saw heal the sick, the blind and the lame; he embraced with his own arms and touched with his hands. While the truth he shares concerns eternity, he wants those entrusted to his care to know that this truth has profound implications for their current situation.

This is such an important idea that we are going to take the next few weeks—this whole period between Easter and Pentecost—to consider this message John delivers to the church. As we begin let me invite you to read the whole letter (it’s only five short chapters) as if it were addressed personally to you. I pray that we may all discover a deeper confidence that will enable us to live more boldly for our risen Lord!

The Light of Hope

As the women were headed toward the tomb very early on that Sunday morning, they were worried. How were they even going to begin to do the difficult and painful task of caring for the dead body of their friend and teacher? They had seen the place where his body was left just days ago. They had also seen the huge stone that had been rolled in front of the opening. The tomb was sealed. The rock was heavy. It was early. They had little reason to hope.

The truth was that from the time they had first begun to follow Jesus the promise of hope was often overshadowed by opposition, difficulty and doubt. Jesus taught the Word of God with authority, and the religious authorities questioned his credentials. Jesus fed the hungry, and people accused him of being a glutton. Jesus cast out demons, and they said he was in league with the devil.

Even this last week had been a real roller coaster ride. The crowd had welcomed him just days before they turned on him and called for his execution. How could the same people who had shouted “Hallelujah!” hurl such insults as he hung on the cross? How could one of his own disciples have sold him out? Where were his disciples now? Is this really where their journey of hope had led them?

Their worry turns to amazement as they approach the tomb. A heavenly messenger waits for them with an astonishing message: “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you’” (Mark 16:6-7).

Who would think to look for hope in a cemetery? It is precisely at the point when despair seems most overwhelming that the power of God brings hope to those who are faithful. Nothing is too great for God to overcome—not even death. That is the great good news of Easter.

The Word gave life to everything that was created,
and his life brought light to everyone.
The light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness can never extinguish it. (John 1:4-5)

As followers of Christ, let me encourage you to reflect the light of the resurrected Jesus. There are people all around you who are stumbling in the darkness. The One who gives you hope offers hope to them, as well. May those around you see a difference in your life since you have made this journey of hope all the way to the empty tomb.

Christ is risen.

He is risen, indeed!

Alleluia!