Making Time...

We are officially over half way to our new home in Foxboro, MA! Every state the kids and I cross is like a little celebration with some yelling, congratulating and doing the wiggly finger hand shake. We’ve had emergency candy stops, impromptu dance parties and a stop at the Salina, KA zoo where Eli said, “Look dad! That kangaroo is putting the other one in its pouch!” Which really was not what was happening. At all.

All of this has been a great wake-up to this simple by immensely important truth: I need time in order to connect with my kids. Not just five minutes here or there, but they need a lot of time. Being tired, worn-out, etc does not pass as an excuse to not spend quality and quantity time with my kids. And because it is so important, I need to have a plan of attack for each day how I am going to spend quality and quantity time with them. Because the truth is, I only have one shot with my kids. I only have one shot to show them what it means to be a godly man/husband/dad. In thirteen years, Eli will be out of high school- and then he’s on his own to implement what I’ve taught him. So my plan is to shave out thirty minutes after work everyday (or until dinner is ready) and just get crazy with the kids. Because without that time, my words won’t carry much weight.

And as much as this has been impressed on me, God has been rocking my world about how much more important (even more important than spending time with my kids) it is to spend quality and quantity time with my wife! The best way I can be a great dad to my kids is by being an even better husband to my wife. Which means dates, and lots of them. It means giving her quality time by herself and time for us to be Bonnie and Hero. Remember 1 Peter 3:7? And even though it may be hard to chisel out time, chisel out I must. If it as valuable as God seems to make it, then it should be my number one investment. 

Until next time...God’s peace to you.
-Justin

Goodbyes

3,040 miles in a couple of days sounds good. Throw in my five year old son Elijah and two year old daughter, Evangeline, and it sounds awesome! I love road-tripping, but having the two kids with me makes it even better knowing that we’ll share some great memories together. 

But before we could get into the car and take off, I had to say some very painful good-byes. All of the hugs and tears of leaving all those whom I’ve invested so heavily and not knowing who will take my place. Leaving all those who have been family to me over the last 17 years. Leaving my stupid dog whom I already stinking miss. Leaving my best-man and so many other great friends. And leaving my parents, who have been my sponsors, mentors and cheerleaders all these years. I was picking up one last thing at the church and dropping off my keys when the blubbering started. It was a little gross to be honest. 

In the midst of all of the pain and heartache, I’ve been reminded of a couple things:

One, the call of God does not equate to an easy life. I’ve heard that the will of God is the safest place to be. Are you kidding me? Following Jesus means death. I say that with a smirk, but it’s true. Being in the will of God is the best place to be, no doubt. But not the safest- it requires sacrifice and pain and a bit of recklessness. 

Two, death always leads to life. This is one of the great truths that we who follow Jesus have to hold on to. Obedience doesn’t mean easy, but it always, unequivocally, without fail leads to life. Saying good-bye and actually leaving was like trying to wrench off a wedding ring from an old man that had gained 50 pounds over the years- not easy. But even though it was hard, it was right. 

The fam and I have been called to serve an amazing community of people and it’s obedience to this call that somehow makes the dying worth living. It makes it life-giving. 

So, tonight, the kids and I are in a little town called Beaver, UT. They are asleep in bed and I’m typing this...and I can honestly say that we are going in the right direction. Only 2,500 miles to go :)

-Justin

Finding the Point- 'Love Wins'

It’s been some time since I last posted.  For those of you who were on pins and needles waiting for it, I do apologize.  You know who you are:)

My blog is all about “Adventures in Finding the Point.”  I said when I started that I was trying to think through things that I hadn’t figured out yet.  In the course of this adventure, I have, and probably will again, get caught up in an exciting idea and have to find my way back down to weigh that idea against Truth and what I know.  For those of you who don’t know me well, I am a passionate person and can sometimes get swept up by it.

Such was the case with “Love Wins.”

This will be the last time I post about this book, so please bear with me.

Love Wins challenges all kinds of ideas and beliefs about Heaven and Hell.  Some of the things Rob Bell says I like- those things that sound like they came straight from “The Great Divorce,” specifically.  We have the ability to effect Heaven and inflict Hell now- it’s not something for which we have to wait.  He paints beautiful and striking pictures of the love and grace of God- I think he really gets that aspect of God.  It’s an aspect many people need to encounter.

However, I take issue with many of his ideas about Hell and judgement and the like.  The Bible is squishy when it comes to the specifics, but here is what I think is true:

Hell is just as real as Heaven and, without Jesus, that is where we would end up.  Period.

Hell is NOT going to be a pleasant place.  It was not made for us- it’s something we choose when we don’t choose Jesus.  It is an either/or.

Now, do I believe in post-mortem conversion (accepting the Grace of Jesus after the grave)?  I don’t know.  I certainly hope it’s a possibility and I have no issue with the idea itself, but the Bible sure doesn’t say anything conclusive about it, so it’s not something I wan to count on.  Would you?

On the other hand, do I believe that even those people who have never heard the name of Jesus will go to Hell?  I cannot go as far as some and give an unequivocal ‘Yes.’  I believe that God is good and true and loving and knows our hearts. But He is also just righteous and demands a level of righteousness that we cannot meet without Christ.

On a bad day, I confess, I think God could be doing some things differently.  Why didn’t He just TELL US?!  Why would a good and gracious God send people to hell?  But that’s pride, to think that I understand something that God does not.  How could I possibly have a more developed sense of justice than He?  Who am I?  So to say “I could never follow a God who does this...” is foolish.  And dangerous.  (Thank you, Francis Chan.)

Conclusion?  Hell isn’t the point.  Jesus is always the point.  It’s not about how we’re going to spend eternity.  Jesus is not fire-insurance.  It’s about having an encounter with the One who would make us the ‘righteousness of God’ in Him, choosing Him, and pursuing Him.  The rest are just details, because if we are doing the first three things, the rest will follow suit.  It’s honestly inevitable.  How can we truly be pursuing Him and not leading people to Him also?

Rob Bell made some irresponsible statements and had some questionable exegesis (suggestion- don’t make assertions like he did without supplying a bibliography).  But he did make some good points.  Do I recommend the book?  I don’t know... maybe.  If you’re willing to process and not simply swallow, then yes.  

And I apologize for not processing first.

PS- For the record, I do think that Rob Bell loves Jesus, but is treading dangerous ground.  We need to be praying for our brother, that he doesn’t stray into weird theology and take others with him.  We need to be praying that he would be seeking God’s face earnestly, and that God would reveal Himself more and more.  It’s cowardly, and honestly a little lazy, to call him a heretic and stand on a soapbox about it, but do nothing proactively.

I’ll get off of my soapbox now...

Kingdom Jargon

So, all of this talk of Heaven and Hell and the ‘already, but not yet’ talk has me thinking about the Kingdom of God.  Why?  you might ask.  Because the Kingdom is everything.  And by everything, I mean EVERYTHING.  Allow me to explain.  (And yes, I know that this isn't the most thorough explanation and there are probably holes, but it's been a long week and my brain is fuzzy.)

Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels describes it like this:

‘The term ‘Kingdom of God’ or Kingdom of Heaven’ signifies God’s sovereign, dynamic and eschatological rule.  The Kingdom of God lay at the heart of Jesus’ teaching... [It] denoted God’s eternal rule rather than an earthly kingdom, its scope was universal rather than limited to the Jewish nation, and it was imminent and potentially present in Him rather than a vague future hope, being inextricably connected with his own person and mission.’ (417)

Dodd was the first to really break through with the idea that the Kingdom was already present in the life and ministry of Jesus.  Jesus’ miracles were seen as proof that in Jesus’ person and works the divine sovereignty had dealt the decisive blow to the kingdom of Satan and was indubitably a wholly present reality. (ibid 421)

So, I’m going to go a long with this.  If eternal life starts now, it only makes sense that we are a part of the eternal Kingdom of God now also.  Does that make sense to you, or am I making a weird jump? 

Well, in the Synoptic Gospels alone (Matthew, Mark, and Luke), there are 73 separate mentions of the Kingdom- 103 if you count parallels.  That tells me that it’s something Jesus spent a lot of time on and something that we probably ought to pay attention to (just as a side note, there are only 12 mentions in the entire NT of hell... which do you think Jesus was more interested in?) (Just a thought...)

Anyway, I digress.

I found this amazing book called ‘Surprised by Hope,’ written by NT Wright.  Here’s what he has to say about the Kingdom (he gives a lot of support for it, and you can read it all if you like, but I’m not putting it on here- the excerpt I chose is long enough...)

But when we reintegrate what should never have been separated- the kingdom-inaugurating public work of Jesus and his redemptive death and resurrection- we find that the gospels tell a...story.  It isn’t just a story of some splendid and exciting social work with an unhappy conclusion.  Nor is it just a story of an atoning death with an extended introduction.  It is something much bigger than the sum of those two diminished perspectives.  It is the story of God’s kingdom being launched on earth as in heaven, generating a new state of affairs in which the power of evil has been decisively defeated, the new creation has been decisively launched, and Jesus' followers have been commissioned and equipped  to put that victory and that inaugurated new world into practice.  Atonement, redemption, and salvation are what happen on the way because engaging in this work demands that people themselves be rescued from the powers that enslave the world in order that they can in turn be rescuers.  To put it another way, if you want to help inaugurate God’s Kingdom, you must follow in the way of the cross, and if you want to benefit from Jesus’ saving death, you must become part of His Kingdom project.  There is only one Jesus, only one gospel story...  Heaven’s rule, God’s rule, is thus to be put into practice in the world, resulting in salvation in both the present and the future, a salvation that is both for humans and, through saved humans, for the wider world.  This is the solid basis for the mission of the church.  (pg 204-5)

Now, I know I haven’t listed any Scripture yet, but good grief. If you can’t find a passage in Matthew or Luke about the Kingdom, I think you probably can’t read.  It’s everywhere!  (No offense to those of you who can’t read... though you probably weren’t offended because you couldn’t read it...)

Here’s my point, and where it ties into my continued process of digesting ‘Love Wins.’  

The future is not the point.  It’s not the focus.  Yes, it is an element of our faith.  But the future is here, now.  The Kingdom is not something we wait to be a part of- it’s something we are already a part of.  Sanctification happens because of what we are a part of.  If we aren’t actively participating in the advancement of the Kingdom, how on earth can we continue to grow in our walk with the Lord?  

What’s more, knowing that we are already a part of the Kingdom changes our motivations.  If the future isn’t the point, then the statement ‘One more jewel in the crown’ is null and void.  We aren’t working toward a future reward so much as we are working to continue the Kingdom of God.  We are doing things because of who we are and what we love, not because of who we want to be, who they are (who ever ‘they’ is), or what we hope to attain someday.

If you would like a passage for that idea, look at Matthew 25:31-46. 

Application- Don’t leave a crappy tip because of them.  Leave a generous tip because of you who you are.  You are a member of the Kingdom, and responsible for it’s advancement.

How does it tie to ‘Love Wins’?  

Rob (remember, we’re good friends) talks quite a bit about how what we think about heaven, hell, and eternal life dictates how we behave now.  To quote:

...is it true that the kind of person you are doesn’t ultimately matter, as long as you’ve said or prayed or believed the right things?  If you truly believed that, and you were surrounded by Christians who believed that, then you wouldn’t have much motivation to do anything about the present suffering of the world, because you would believe you were going to leave someday and go somewhere else to be with Jesus.  If this understanding of the good news of Jesus prevailed among Christians, the belief that Jesus’ message is about how to get somewhere else, you could possibly end up with a world in which millions of people were starving, thirsty, and poor; the earth was being exploited and polluted; disease and despair were everywhere; and Christians weren’t known for doing much about it.  If it got bad enough, you might even have people rejecting Jesus because of how His followers lived... That would be tragic. (pg 7)

I’m going to say that all of this falls under ‘Kingdom’ theology.  Because there is no Heaven, Hell, or eternal life if there is no Kingdom of God. 

So why are we doing what we’re doing?

Do we believe that we are a part of the ‘already, but not yet?’

If this is God’s Kingdom, and we are set to inherit, but we aren’t doing anything to advance or proclaim the Kingdom, what kind of heirs are we?

If we are heirs with no interest in the Kingdom, how on earth are we even going to be a part of it?

So, I ask you, what should be the focus- heaven and hell, or the Kingdom of God?

Forever and ever and EVER...

Forever is a long time.  Can’t-wrap-my-head-around-it long time.  What will it be like?  What will we do?

The way I always thought, and I think most Followers are with me, is that once we die, we either go to Heaven or Hell- forever.  And Hell sucks and Heaven is like being in church all of the time.  Now, don’t get me wrong- I like going to church.  But a church service that never ends?  Eh... I don’t really know if I can handle that.  So I always just kind of wrote it off as ‘Things will be different in Heaven- being in God’s presence... I’ll want different things.  Right?’  Not really that comforting, but the best I could do.

Enter ‘Love Wins.’  (And yes, I’m going to spend a lot of time on this book, because I’m trying to process everything it said and it might just take some time...)

First- the concept of ‘forever.’  Rob (I’m going to talk about him like we’re friends) goes into great detail about the Greek word ‘aion.’  Now, he doesn’t mention where in Scripture this word is used, but he describes this word as meaning ‘age.’  Not so much a precise amount of time, but more a period or era of time.  So, it doesn’t mean ‘forever’ like we think of forever.  He says ‘The first meaning of this word...refers to a period of time with a beginning and an end.’ (Chapter 2)

To Quote:

So according to Jesus there is this age, this aion-

the one they, and we, are living in-

and then a coming age, 

also called ‘the world to come’

or simply ‘eternal life.’

The second possible definition he gives ‘aion’ is something akin to an intensity of experience that transcends time- ‘That took FOREVER...’ or ‘Time flies’ something so intense that time ceases to matter.

Ultimately, Rob tells us, the people Jesus was speaking to didn’t think of forever the way we think of forever.

This is really important.  So, of course, I decided to look into it for myself.  That’s the responsible thing to do, right?  I mean, this guy is kind of flying in the face of everything we’ve been taught for as long as we can remember- surely he’s making it up, right?

First- the easy one- I went to the IVP Bible Background Commentary.  It says that ‘in Jewish texts, the term literally means the life of the world to come...some [NT] passages speak of it as a present as well as a future gift, because Jesus’ resurrection has inaugurated salvation for the present.’ (pg 824)

Then I went around on the internet and searched ‘greek aion.’  What I didn’t think about, and it’s so obvious now that I’ve seen it, is this is the root for our word ‘eon.’  Which isn’t actually eternal.  Not proof, but something to think about.

Here’s something I found on a website:

The Greek form for "everlasting punishment" in Matthew 25:46 is "kolasin aionion." Kolasin is a noun in the accusative form, singular voice, feminine gender and means "punishment, chastening, correction, to cut-off as in pruning a tree to bare more fruit." "Aionion" is the adjective form of "aion," in the singular form and means "pertaining to an eon or age, an indeterminate period of time." (Note: the two words in many, not all translations become reversed changing the Greek into English.)

"Aionion," as shown above, is the singular form of the adjective of the Greek noun "aion." Many people unfamiliar with the Greek do not realize that the endings of the same word change (inflection) to indicate its mood, case, gender, etc. Therefore, "aionion" may appear with different endings. "Aionion, aioniou, aionios," for example, are all different inflections of the adjective form of the noun "aion."

The noun "aion" in Greek literature has always meant "an indeterminate period of time. It could be as short as the time Jonah spent in the belly of a fish (three days or nights), the length of a man's life, or as long as a very long age.

Of course, the website was www.tentmaker.org- not really something that inspires a lot of confidence.

So I broke out the big guns (at least the biggest guns I have at my disposal): Dictionary of Paul and his Letters, Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels, Cleon Morris (you language students know what I’m talking about:), and Kittel.  Oh yeah- and BAGD.  

Have I told you my husband has a pretty great library?

Here’s what I found (and I’m going to warn you now, I feel no compulsion to use MLA or Chicago-style footnotes):

Cleon: The adjective ‘eternal’ literally means age-long and everything depends on the length of the age.  In the NT there is never a hint that the coming age has an end (ref 2 Thess 1:9, page 483); Eternal life contains a temporal reference but stresses the qualitative reference.  It refers to the Jewish concept of life in the age to come (ref Matt 19:16, page 43); Eternal life is the life of the age to come which is gained by faith, cannot be destroyed, and is a present possession of the one who believes (ref John 3:15, page 185)

Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels: Said a lot.  I’m not going to type it out, but basically said that the believer’s eternal life starts now and continues in the age to come (pg 380-381)

Dictionary of Paul and his Letters:  [Eternal life is used as] qualitatively different from life as it is presently known, a life bestowed by God as part of the age to come (page 554).  So then I went back to Cleon and looked up Romans 5:21 and this is what he had to say about its usage there- ‘Eternal life is not only related to the future, but is organically related to the actual life lived and is a present possession of the believer (pg 326)

BAGD: Listed four possible meanings for ‘aion’ and three more for ‘aionios’ (page 27)

‘aion’- a very long time, eternity (of time gone by, of time to come); a segment of time, age (present age, nearing its end or the age to come, the Messianic period); the world as a spacial concept; the Aeon as a person (Hellenistic deity worshipped originally in Alexandria)

‘aionios’- without beginning (long ages ago), without beginning or end- of God

Kittel: Plato used it in reference to timeless, ideal eternity.  Aristotle used it to refer to a relative period of time allotted to each specific thing. It talks about a couple of different meanings, but says that it is only in the light of context that we find out if it is referring to eternity in the strict sense or simply ‘remote’ or ‘extended’ or ‘uninterrupted time’ - and even then it is difficult to know (pg 198-199, vol 1).  

Kittel said a lot of other things, but by then my head had begun to throb, so I decided that was enough.

Conclusion time:  Does the Greek really refer to ‘eternity’ the way we think of it, or are there nuances there that we don’t see in English translation?

Based on my extremely limited research, I think the answer is yes.  I didn’t find anything about the intensity of feeling thing, but I’m not going to write off the possibility based on one Thursday night’s worth of research.  The rest seems plausible, though not certain.  

What I think is most interesting, though, is the recurrence of words like ‘qualitative’ and ‘present possession’ in reference to eternal life.

Which brings us back to the book.

To Quote:

Our eschatology shapes our ethics.

Eschatology is about last things.

Ethics are about how you live.

What you believe about the future shapes, informs, and determines how you live now.

This definitely took a turn I wasn’t looking for, but what if thinking in terms of ‘What will heaven be like?’ is completely missing the point?  

What if this life was the beginning of whatever ‘eternal life’ is?  

What would that change?

I think it means we might have the power to bring heaven here.  If we are living a qualitatively different life now, instead of looking for it to start after we die, what does that mean?

It means restoration. 

It means being made new.

It means seeing the world through new eyes.

If Heaven is where God’s will is done, and we are living a life in pursuit of God’s will- being constantly renewed by His Spirit, taken from glory to glory- doesn’t that mean that Heaven starts here, now?

What does that mean?

The Beginning

Bonnie and Hero.  You might be wondering why I decided that should be the name of my blog.  In truth, I wonder why I even have a blog.  So, we'll have to work our way through the events of the past week to really understand why I'm taking up space in the blogosphere.

There is this book.  Well, there are a couple of books.  The first one for me was CS Lewis's 'The Great Divorce.'  Most people like CS Lewis- I mean, this guy gave us Aslan and Narnia, right?  Well, in 'The Great Divorce,' he postulates, via allegory, about Heaven and Hell. At its most simple (and this is a really stripped down version), Lewis says something to the effect that Heaven and Hell are a choice, and the people in Hell are free to leave, and are only still there because they choose to stay.  Now, there is a lot to that.  Lewis is not negating the power of the Cross, nor is he negating the real need to become a new creature in Christ.  The real magic of the book is the idea that the power of the Cross does not end at death.

Very short sum-up.

Ok.  So, this week.  There is this book.  It's called 'Love Wins: Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Everyone Who Ever Lived.'  It's written by a guy named Rob Bell, who happens to be a heck of a teacher and a controversial one at that.  I like him.  He challenging.  Well, before this book came out, a friend of mine started posting things about how this proved that Rob Bell was a false teacher and a universalist (all roads lead to God).  Before the book came out.  Based entirely on reviews and blogs by people who hadn't read the book.

Now, I'm the kind of person who always wants to defend, even if I don't like what I'm defending, so of course I took issue with that.  To call someone a false teacher is a BIG DEAL.  Huge.  Gigantic.  To do so with no basis and with some kind of glee is... tragic.

Fast forward to March 15- the release of the book.  Of course I bought it.  I would have gotten it anyway- I have all of his other books.

It rocked my world.

To the core.

And when I say it rocked my world, I'm talking major worldview shift.

Does that mean I agreed with everything he said?  No.  I need to do my own research and check things out.  But I prayed the whole week before I read the book and while I read the book and the only thing I felt?  Excitement.  This book- the ideas inside- are exciting.


What if going to Heaven isn't the point?


What if the new and eternal life we are promised, the Heaven that we're promised, started right NOW?


What if the power of the Cross has power... even after death?


This book is not a book of universalism.  Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

This is not a 'Man-Centered' theology.  That's too small.  Too... well, not enough.

It's a 'God Centered' theology.  God does what He does because of who He is, not because of who we are or what we do.  It's ALL about Him.

But we can still choose.  It's not real love if we don't.  So we can have all the hell we want, and it starts here, not there.  And God will give us all the hell we want, until we're ready and able to accept His love and His grace and allow Him to make us new creations.

I'm probably not doing it justice, but that's kind of the gist.  It's exciting.

But it's not... traditional.

And therein lies the problem.  Some people are frighted of something this life altering.  Others claim that all they need is the Bible for solid theology (as though it were written outside of the matrix of time and culture), so what it says is what it says is what it says.  Some people are so convinced of their rightness, that they are immediately irate at the idea that someone would propose something else.  As if anyone had the corner on the 'right' market.

So the same people who revere Lewis are crucifying Bell.  Does anyone else see the contradiction here?

Don't get me wrong- it's ok to not agree.  VERY OK.  And here we come to the inspiration for this blog.     I got into some rather heated discussions with people whom I know love Jesus that ended with my basically being called a moron and being told I have a 'man-centered' theology and don't adhere to Scripture.  Of course, this was extremely hurtful because I have based everything I am and believe on what I understand Scripture to say.  I went to college to learn more about it and do my best to truly read what the Text is saying.  The thing was, these people weren't even really listening to me.  They just wanted to be angry and to cling to what they KNEW was truth.

Now again, these people love Jesus and I know that.  They are just passionate, and sometimes passion gets the better of us.  Can make us a little ungracious.

Anyway- the blog.  The idea here is to create a place where I can write out what I'm processing and place it before you so that we can discuss.  There is wisdom in a multitude of counselors- maybe you will think of something that I will not.  Maybe I'll come up with an idea that is so wide of the mark it's funny, and you can call me on it.  Or maybe I will think of something you won't.  The idea is to grow, and to do so with friends.

And so here are the rules for the blog:

Feel free to disagree.  But please, be nice.

If you are not a follower of the Way, please, feel free to enjoy, interact, and engage.

Why Bonnie and Hero?  When Justin and I first started dating, I wrote him stories.  The characters' names were Bonnie and Hero.  Those stories were about a great journey- an adventure.  They're also the reason he fell in love with me.

Let this adventure begin.  (And no, I don't expect you to fall in love with me:)