Struggle Well

On some power point slide in class earlier this week, the professor had a bullet point  that “We MUST distinguish between what God does and what God allows” (emphasis mine). I call this struggling well, which is a phrase my counselor used all the time. As I fought through memories of abuse and the question of “why could God let this happen to me?” I learned that God is ALWAYS good. My circumstances and the fallen world in which I live are not good, but God is good in light of the presence of evil in his world. I wrested with this truth a few years back at an intensive week of counseling for women who had been sexually abused. The counselor leading the week repeatedly said that maybe can’t explain evil because we don’t have the categories to understand evil. I also believe I don’t have the categories for understanding the goodness of God. In times of severe struggles, I have to hold tight to what I know is true. The omnipotent God loves me beyond my wildest imagination, he sent Jesus to die on a cross and roll away a stone from the grave for our sins giving us salvation, and he sent the Holy Spirit to indwell us. He will come back again and we will be redeemed. I am thankful that in the midst of pain that I have learned to trust that God is ALWAYS good and to struggle well.

Using Analogies to Explain the Holy Trinity

During class a few weeks ago, my professor showed this video on the Trinity and bad analogies that we use to attempt to explain the three persons of the Godhead. 

I was struggling with the fact that analogies for the Trinity were not good to use. Analogies for the Trinity are only teach error and are misleading from the Truth. The elements of the Trinity are monotheism or unity in the Godhead, deity of each person of the Godhead, and eternality. When we attempt to use analogies, we might do something like break the Trinity into parts. The Godhead is three persons existing as one, he is not parts. Using analogies may also cause some to believe there is subordination is in the Godhead, that one person may be subordinate to another. Though one may function as subordinate for a time, that does not make one inferior or lesser than the other persons. For example, Jesus was fully God and fully man, and he was submissive to the will of the Father in dying on the cross. That act does not make him less than the Father or superior to the Father; that is the act that brought a savior for sinners who deserve death. 

So if we cannot use analogies to explain the seemingly unexplainable, what can we use? 

As response to that, I went to Pinterest to see what else might be out there. Interestingly, there were a plethora of sites that specifically gave metaphors for the Trinity. In looking at the worksheets for Sunday School classes, I was saddened and amazed that we, within the body of believers, find it necessary to water down that which is holy. But what I came across in digging was something I was incredibly interested in. It is this chart from www.challies.com. 

There was information that I had learned throughout the semester laid out on a chart, details that were physical and tangible for a person who finds graphic organizers helpful (maybe that is just the elementary school teacher in me). This word "Trinity" is not used in the bible and did not come about until long after Christ had died on the cross and was resurrected. When I skimmed through the books I read this semester to find notes I had written to myself, the things I was struggling with were the "-isms" -- tritheism, modalism, and subordinationism. Finding this chart gave me a graphic that easily explained each one and how they are unique, yet are all errors in explaining the Trinity. In the bottom right portion of this chart, there is a section that gives some simple functions of the persons of the Godhead. I would go a step further and say that:

There is one God

The Father is God

The Son is God

The Spirit is God

The Father is not the Son or the Spirit

The Son is not the Father or the Spirit

The Spirit is not the Father or the Son

One God, Three Persons

If you are looking for something tangible and simple to assist with explaining the Trinity, this is a place to start, not analogies. Although analogies will inundate your search engine when you type in "Trinity," I challenge you to teach the truth and allow the mystery of the Godhead to be struggled with within the context of community. It is good to wrestle with the truth and come to a greater understanding than to water it down and make it something that it isn't.

What I Have Learned by Memorizing the Nicene Creed

Growing up in the Catholic Church, I had to memorize prayers, creeds, and responses. I had started walking with the Lord as a thirteen year old at a Protestant summer camp, but continued to honor my mom by attending the Catholic Church with her on a weekly basis. When I was in confirmation class, I was challenged by the questions that the group leaders were asking and began to really look at what I believed versus what the Church was telling me to believe. It was in the years following that I found myself in a variety main line Protestant Churches, few of which recited any creeds or formal prayers.

Upon reading the syllabus for my class this semester, I was challenged to know (and would be graded on knowing) the Nicene Creed and the Definition of Chalcedon. My first instinct was a cringe and then a sigh of relief that I already knew one by memory. I struggle with memorizing anything and as a teacher I struggle with the reality that students have to memorize things, especially in a world with the Internet constantly at our fingertips. So why in the world would it be a good thing to memorize creeds. It wasn’t just memorizing them. It was about knowing, believing, and living it out in my daily life.

Knowing the Nicene Creed was simple as it was stuck in my head, with the perfect stanzas, breaths, pauses, and pitches. But did I really know it? Because knowing it meant that I knew what it was about and the story behind the words I had put to memory. As part of the class reading assignments, we read about the heresies that led to the writing of the creeds and it was in the reading that I began to understand why it was so important to those in the early years of the church that “We believe in one God.” They didn’t believe in three gods, but one Triune God in three persons. Many had argued against it and the thinkers and philosophers of that time could not wrap their heads around the mystery of the Trinity. Learned people fought against the idea because no where in the bible will one find the word “trinity” but God reveals himself as the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. To know the Nicene Creed meant I had to begin to wrap my head around what led to the writing of it.

Believing the Nicene Creed is something I was incredibly comfortable with, as I had said the creed weekly in Catholic Mass for nineteen years of my life. It was actually easier to believe than to know and comprehend what it meant. Believing meant that I trust and live by faith that there is one God who made heaven and earth. He is also the same God that is the Son, eternally begotten of the Father, who was born of the Virgin Mary, and died on a cross and was resurrected for us and for our salvation. And he is, furthermore, the Holy Spirit that indwells in each believer. It was a few weeks into the semester when I was part of the online community for the IF Gathering. The one thing that they said that they believed was the Nicene Creed. “Why?” I questioned, as if it weren’t enough. But when I read why they have this as their statement of belief, I was affirmed that I believed this as well.

In response to great division and theological disputes in the first three centuries of the church, a council formed to bring unity and agreement over the most essential doctrines of Christianity. One of the creeds that has stood the test of time is the Nicene Creed. This creed became a guiding statement of faith for the Church. We now find ourselves divided over many many things - and yet about the most important things we whole heartedly agree.

(If Gathering Website: http://ifgathering.com/who-we-are/)

All of that is true, but I think as I began to know and understand the background of the creed, I understood that we as Christians can find unity with what we believe, if this is what we really believe.

Living out the Nicene Creed isn’t simply repeating it in unison as it once was in my childhood. To live out the Nicene Creed is to live out the Gospel of Jesus Christ, to live out the biblical truth from Genesis to Revelation, to rest assured in the deity and humanity of the one that walked this Earth, Jesus Christ. Loving others because of the Holy Spirit means that I am dying to myself and loving others as Christ loved the church, living sacrificially. 

Knowing what was written and the history behind why it was written drove me to deeper belief and trust in what the church fathers believed and trusted. It has given me a greater enthusiasm to not only know this creed and repeat it, but to sacrifice myself daily for the sake of others knowing the God of the Universe, the Father Almighty, the Lord Jesus Christ, the life giving/breathing Holy Spirit.

As you look over the words of the Nicene Creed below, I encourage you to dig deeply and struggle with what you really believe. What would it look like for all Christian Churches to agree on one Creed, one belief statement? This is what the Fathers of the Faith wanted. Would the creedal statement look like this, or is this not enough?

THE NICENE CREED (A.D. 381)

We believe in one God,
the Father, the Almighty,
Maker of heaven and earth,
of all that is, seen and unseen.
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
of one Being with the Father.
Through him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation
he came down from heaven:
by the power of the Holy Spirit
he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary,
and was made man.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered death and was buried.
On the third day he rose again
in accordance with the Scriptures;
he ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son.
With the Father and the Son he is worshipped and glorified. He has spoken through the Prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church. We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We look for the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the world to come. Amen.

http://www.iclnet.org/pub/resources/christian-history.html.

Dancing in Ashes

Part of the Song “Beauty Will Rise” by Steven Curtis Chapman

Out of these ashes... beauty will rise

and we will dance among the ruins

We will see Him with our own eyes

Out of these ashes... beauty will rise

For we know, joy is coming in the morning...

in the morning, beauty will rise

I can hear it in the distance

and it's not too far away.

It's the music and the laughter

of a wedding and a feast.

I can almost feel the hand of God

reaching for my face

to wipe the tears away, and say,

"It's time to make everything new.”

I keep singing these words and I feel so free!! I envision dust and ashes, desolate destruction all around. Yet, there are little boys dressed in all white, as bright as the whites in Clorox commercials, and girls with white dresses that flow freely enough to twirl around in. They are full of laughter and smiles, giggles that are contagious. The sun is setting as hands are raised, and surrounding the ashes are small, blooming flowers. Dancing in the ashes is so freeing and where there once was pain, there is now hope.

 “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!"  – Revelation 21:4-5

Heaven is the Face

In the 1990s when I was introduced to Christian Music, I really enjoyed listening to Steven Curtis Chapman. I have not listened to a lot of main stream Christian music in the last several years, but I have been intrigued by SCC as he has dealt with the loss of a child and the pain of a son involved in a horrific accident. This week I was re-introduced to his music by a sweet friend and we drove around listening to his CD entitled Beauty from Ashes. If the title isn't striking enough, the songs drove deep into the marrow of my soul. This is my first reflection on this album. There are more to come. 

Heaven is the Face

By Steven Curtis Chapman

Heaven is the face of a little girl

With dark brown eyes

That disappear when she smiles

Heaven is the place

Where she calls my name

Says, "Daddy please come play with me for awhile"

God, I know, it's all of this and so much more

But God, You know, that this is what I'm aching for

God, you know, I just can't see beyond the door

So right now

Heaven is the sound of her breathing deep

Lying on my chest, falling fast asleep while I sing

And Heaven is the weight of her in my arms

Being there to keep her safe from harm while she dreams

And God, I know, it's all of this and so much more

But God, You know, that this is what I'm longing for

God, you know, I just can't see beyond the door

But in my mind's eye I can see a place

Where Your glory fills every empty space

All the cancer is gone

Every mouth is fed

And there's no one left in the orphans' bed

Every lonely heart finds their one true love

And there's no more goodbye

And no more not enough

And there's no more enemy

No more

Heaven is a sweet, maple syrup kiss

And a thousand other little things I miss with her gone

Heaven is the place where she takes my hand

And leads me to You

And we both run into Your arms

Oh God, I know, it's so much more than I can dream

It's far beyond anything I can conceive

So God, You know, I'm trusting You until I see

Heaven in the face of my little girl

Heaven in the face of my little girl

Living a deep, authentic life means dealing with pain in the everyday. As Steven Curtis Chapman wrote this some about his daughter who died tragically, he struggled with what heaven would be like. He wanted to know. He read books about heaven, searched the bible for every detail, and what he came up with was something that he could put words to. I can’t always look at the bible and see the depth and the hope of the words of God, but I can feel the Spirit in my soul, in my heart. My words can be an expression of that pain.

In all that I have been through, I have longed for heaven, that place where there will be no more pain and suffering. Everything will be in its perfect place as God intended it in the Garden. We will run naked and free, living passionate and alive. Affairs, empty marriages, and divorces will not exist. Those who suffered all their lives, will feel relief as the weight of all burdens will be replaced by the joy and freedom of Christ. The abused will be cuddled in the arms of the One who created love. They will know that the pain wasn’t supposed to be; it was never part of God’s plan.

I will not feel like an orphan unloved; I will not feel abandoned or alone. I will not feel like I am not enough; I will not feel that I am too much. All the pain that I have known will make me just as lovable as others. I will not live in shame or fear. There will be no more enemy, no more reason to protect or to armor myself.

I can’t put too many words to heaven, but I know that I will not live entangled in sin, nor will I wake up each day in the midst of a battle. I long for that place of true freedom, love, and passion and I will wait with hope expectant of the greatest beginning of my life.