Final Words of Wisdom and Love
Greetings!
It seems hard to believe, but this is my last edition of The Dave Rave. I would therefore like to close out with the top three things that I hope you will keep in mind from our time together and then add a few personal words of farewell.
In the third spot is the fact that there is no particular correlation between the reign of God and any political party. Republicans, Democrats, Independents, and other lesser political organizations get some things right and other things wrong. They always have and always will. It’s also worth noting that no party in any time or place has ever gotten everything right, though numerous ones have gotten everything wrong. Psalm 146:3 is therefore spot on when it says, “Put not your trust in princes, nor the son of man, in whom there is no help.” (The phrase, son of man, here is just another way of saying human being and has no connection to the title, Son of Man, which is often used of Jesus.)
Along with that fact is my observation that much of the true power in our nation lies in the hands of the folks that control media and social media outlets. Always remember that the way they make money is by ginning up animosity and outrage. They are therefore the very antithesis of what Jesus was and is about. Put simply, if you want to improve your spiritual and mental health, stop watching cable news and Twitter. Watch the BBC, Al Jazeera, PBS, or one of the normal newscasts instead and take the time to read from conservative, liberal, and centrist publications. And if you find yourself seeing your political opponents as the embodiment of evil, step away from the news and have a little talk with Jesus. Remember that our true struggle is “not against flesh and blood but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places,” as we read in Ephesians 6:12.
There is a very practical dimension to this counsel. Pilgrim is made up of people from several different political backgrounds and stances who worship and work together remarkably well. To allow partisan outrage to destroy that unity would be a great tragedy. Remember, Jesus is our ultimate authority, not the President, not the cable news networks, and not the assortment of folks you’ll find on social media platforms.
Second place goes to a realization of what a great and capable group of people you are. From founding members to people who are just starting to join us, there is a remarkable depth of love, compassion, thought, and service. Take some time to look at all the good you have done for each other and the broader community - supporting the grieving, feeding the hungry, raising awareness of issues like hunger, water, immigration, violence against women, and the threat of identity theft, providing school supplies and disaster relief - the list goes on and on.
In addition to all these tangible things, I have been delighted and privileged to experience a general ambiance of faith, hope, love, and joy. This is a delightful church to be a part of, whether the activity is worship, a service project, a meal, or even a Council meeting. And it’s not just me; so many people have told me how welcomed they felt when they first started coming here. One person even started coming here because she was so impressed by the way our people cared for Fred Gibby during one of his hospital stays. As I have said many times, this is a great church.
At number one in this month’s countdown is the reality and importance of maintaining the three crucial beliefs/truths of Christianity - God as a personal being, the reality of Jesus’ resurrection, and the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. Take away any of these and you are left with my, “Coffee I can get at Starbuck’s” scenario. People can find friendships, causes, food, and activities in any number of places today, whether in person or in cyberspace. What they cannot find is a God who actually knows, loves, and cares for them, a solid hope in the face of death, and the guidance and wonder working power of this love and hope working in, on, and around them on a moment by moment basis.
With these three convictions in play, human life cannot be reduced to bio-electrical currents interacting with their surrounding environment. Human life has meaning and purpose. It is not predetermined by physics. We can make actual choices that shape our lives and the lives of those around us. We have real, not pseudo, freedom. Whereas atheists regularly jettison their allegedly scientific view of the world every time they argue that society should be some other way than it actually is (as though people made real choices and that those choices mattered), Christians can consistently work for a better world, knowing that good and evil are rooted in the will of a personal God rather than in whatever a particular society deems acceptable.
The more honest atheists (e.g., Nietzsche and Camus) admit this.
I think the reason so many don’t is that they don’t have the courage to face the implications of their presuppositions and/or don’t want to recognize that the ideals we hold are based in the Judeo-Christian tradition. Again, the key value in ancient Greece and Rome was valor, not love. As Nietzsche rightly observed, when you get rid of God all you ultimately have is the quest for power. In contrast, Christ taught and demonstrated the value of giving away one’s own power for the benefit of others. As he said in Mark 8:34-36:
“If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it. And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul?”
The whole sensibility and rationale for a life of self giving service is rooted in a personal God who raised Jesus (and will raise us) from the dead and who maintains constant contact with us through the Holy Spirit. Take that rationale away and you simply have an empty husk of an idea which is objectively no better than any other way of life, be it that of western democracy, Islamic theocracy, or Spartan monarchy.
To boil it all down, don’t lose sight of the importance of your faith in Christ. It’s what makes a church a church. And with this faith, you can and will see all sorts of tremendously good things happen to and through you, for God loves you and will never leave you or give up on you.
And now for the personal farewell. You have all made my five, almost six, years here a true delight. I so appreciate the many ways you have supported Anita and me. I have always known that your love is genuine. There is no greater gift that a congregation can give its pastor than that. Thank you and God bless you all.
Love,
Dave