Does God Need Us?

I had an interesting Twitter conversation with David Henson. He's a blogger, Episcopalian priest, and contributor on one of my favorite podcasts:  The Moonshine Jesus Show. David's main point is that Jesus rejected independence, focusing instead on being Immanuel, God with Us.

If Jesus rejected independence, what does that mean?

One of my favorite titles given to Jesus is Immanuel, which is Hebrew for "God with us." It has been a comforting thought for me, reassuring me that we are not alone, that God is with us no matter what. (Yes, I realize that the prophecy from Isaiah 7 did not specifically refer to Jesus and that the writer of Matthew used this prophecy to describe Jesus.)

However, could there be a reciprocation with this? Why would God want to be with us? Is there any need for God to be with us?

For some people, the answer is an immediate, "No." God doesn't need us. God created us, loves us, cares for us, but that is the extent of the matter.

What if it weren't? What if God did need us?

To me that would clarify many questions. Why did God create us? Why was Jesus here on Earth, sent by God? Why does God love us?

Could it be that not only we need God, but that God needs us?

We focus so much on being independent. We want to do things on our own. We celebrate Independence. We celebrate that imagined freedom. However, it has been my observation that independence is very lonely. Instead, we need each other. God also fills in part of that equation. God needs us just as much as we need God.

I view it very much as a parent with a child. I am a parent. I love my children. This love for them is a drive that cannot be quenched. I need to love my children. In many respects, could it also be that God needs us just as a parent needs his/her child?

There are so many images in the Bible for God showing love like a mother for her nursing infant. (Hosea 11:1-4 is a beautiful image that conveys this idea.)

I do not have a definitive answer on this topic, but it is an idea worth pursuing for me. I would be very interested in hearing your thoughts on the subject.

The Body of Christ

So, brothers and sisters, because of God's mercies, I encourage you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice that is holy and pleasing to God. This is your appropriate priestly service. Don't be conformed to the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds so that you can figure out what God's will is - what is good and pleasing and mature. Because of the grace that God gave me, I can say to each one of you:  don't think of yourself more highly than you ought to think. Instead, be reasonable since God has measured out a portion of faith to each one of you. We have many parts in one body, but the parts don't all have the same function. In the same way, though there are many of us, we are one body in Christ, and individually we belong to each other. We have different gifts that are consistent with God's grace that has been given to us. If your gift is prophecy, you should prophesy in proportion to your faith. If your gift is service, devote yourself to serving. If your gift is teaching, devote yourself to teaching. If your gift is encouragement, devote yourself to encouraging. The one giving should do it with no strings attached. The leader should lead with passion. The one showing mercy should be cheerful. - Romans 12:1-8 (Common English Bible)

I lived in Germany from 2000-2010. I had a wonderful time there, but there was one aspect of German life that I was not allowed to participate in:  Politics. I was not a citizen of Germany, even though I was a permanent resident. I did consider obtaining German citizenship so that it would make it easier for me to stay there, but in the end I was recalled by The Salvation Army to the United States in 2010.

Germany has a parliamentarian system. Whichever party (or coalition of parties) controls the legislative branch, that party also controls the executive branch. Traditionally in the past there were 2 main parties in Germany:  the CDU/CSU (Christian Democrats/Christian Socialists), which is the politically conservative party and the SPD (Social Democrats), which is the politically liberal party. There are also several other smaller parties, including the Green Party, the FDP (similar to Libertarians), and several more smaller ones. In the past, the SPD would form a coalition with the Greens and the CDU would form a coalition with the FDP. Whichever parties won the most votes would form a coalition government. The coalition parties had to have enough seats to form a majority. That coalition government would then elect the chancellor.

Something strange happened in 2005. There were not enough votes for any of the major parties to form a clear majority. No one could form a coalition government on the basis of their ideology. It was a stalemate. So something very unusual happened:  Both major parties (the CDU and the SPD) got together and decided to form a Grand Coalition. Angela Merkel from the CDU was elected the first woman chancellor and Franz Münterfering of the SPD was her Vice Chancellor. Both parties were forced to work together to make a successful government.

And it worked! It was quite astounding. It wasn't without its problems. Gerhard Schröder, who had been the last chancellor, refused to work with the new government and resigned. It also had an unusual side effect. When the next elections came along, neither party could accuse the other party of doing a bad job with the government since both of them worked together. As a foreigner observing from the outside, it was quite amusing for me.

In his letter to the Romans, Paul was encouraging his readers to work together. First, he reminded them that their whole body should be a living sacrifice for God. This terminology might seem strange to us. Paul wasn't saying that there should be human sacrifices. For the ancients, when something was sacrificed, it was dedicated to the gods (or in this case, to God). It was set apart only for God and to be used by God. This is what Paul was suggesting. Our lives should be dedicated to God, belonging to him.

However, this shouldn't make our head big.

One of my biggest concerns lately is the division I have been seeing within the Church and especially my own denomination, The Salvation Army. There are those of us in our denomination who are quite conservative, both theologically as well as politically. This tends to be the norm in the United States, but is not so in other countries.

You might be aware that I was recently terminated as an officer in The Salvation Army. One of the reasons given for my termination (and a reason why I may never be an officer in The Salvation Army again) was that our Officer Review Board felt that my personal theology was no longer compatible with Salvation Army doctrine. I was not told this prior to their deliberations or that this was even a factor in discussing my termination. Nor was I told how my theology differed from Salvation Army doctrine (which it doesn't, at least in my own personal estimation).

One of my biggest concerns as a Salvation Army officer was that I was not permitted the latitude to discuss new theologies or to even question strongly held beliefs. Since I did question them (and there was no forum to do so in any other way), I was terminated. My worst fears had come true.

It was as if the Body of Christ were saying to itself, "I don't need this part of my body anymore. I'm going to cut it off." (Don't worry. I'm not going to insert a graphic of that type of image!)

We tend to do that all too readily in the Church. When we disagree, we'd rather part ways than try to live with each other as siblings in Christ. We have not learned the discipline of living together in the Body of Christ. When we see the differences in the way we worship, the way we talk, the way we act, we tend to throw accusations at each other. In fact, I'd be willing to bet that when we do see these differences, we don't see the other person as part of the Body of Christ. We see others in the Body of Christ as cancer that needs to be surgically removed before it metastasizes.

I realize that I am just as guilty as my more conservative friends in wishing to part ways. It is more difficult to stay and work out the differences. I am willing to step up to that challenge. I was pleasantly surprised by many conservative friends who took it upon themselves to show me love when I was hurting. That not only comforted me; it also challenged my preconceived notions. I loved that.

One day I do envision a Salvation Army that is opening and welcome to all. I see a Salvation Army that doesn't categorize different theologies as disloyalty. I envision a Salvation Army that allows for differences of opinion, which realizes that we are all a part of the Body of Christ, needing each other to serve God as we serve humanity.

I found this beautiful statement from Saint Teresa of Avila:

May it be so with us.

I've Had an Epiphany

You've heard, of course, about the responsibility to distribute God's grace, which God gave to me for you, right? God showed me his secret plan in a revelation, as I mentioned briefly before (when you read this, you'll understand my insight into the secret plan about Christ). Earlier generations didn't know this hidden plan that God has now revealed to his holy apostles and prophets through the Spirit. This plan is that the Gentiles would be coheirs and parts of the same body, and that they would share with the Jews in the promises of God in Christ Jesus through the gospel. - Ephesians 3:2-6 (CEB)

This Wednesday (6 January) is Epiphany. With that, Christmas has come to an end, as my good friend, Jeff Carter, is wont to remind us all in his blog. Unfortunately, it has been my experience that not too may people know what Epiphany is. I am under the impression that some people think an epiphany is what Smee thought it was in the movie, Hook.

Instead of it being an Apostrophe, what is Epiphany?

It is the Feast during the Christian calendar, which commemorates that God has become human in the person of Jesus. The word, "Epiphany" means "striking appearance" or "manifestation."

When I lived in Germany, this was also called "Three Kings Day," which is the traditional day celebrated when the Magi visited Christ, according to the account in Matthew 2. This is as close to Halloween that German Christians like to get. (German Christians actually despise Halloween, which falls on the same day as Reformation Day, when Martin Luther published his 95 Theses.) Children will go around, dressed as 3 kings, sing songs, and people would give them treats as they did this.

Of course, the "kings" were not really kings at all. They were astrologers, people who thought the stars controlled our destiny. I find it ironic that there are several instances in the Bible where God uses methods that we normally would consider repugnant:  A seance to tell King Saul that he was going to die; casting lots (like rolling dice) to decide who should be king, who was guilty, or who should be an apostle.

God often uses things to confound us and the scripture given to us for Epiphany is no different.

In this passage of Ephesians, Paul was talking about something quite revolutionary:  It was possible for people to become followers of Jesus without becoming Jewish first. For Christians today, this goes without saying. However, this was controversial at the time. Jesus was a Jew. Jesus was circumcised. Jesus worshiped in the Temple. Why shouldn't all Christians be Jews as well?

This was not an easy thing to ask of people, especially grown men. To be circumcised as adults and then to obey the dietary and ceremonially restrictions was asking so much of someone who simply wanted to follow Jesus. So Paul made a huge announcement:  Gentiles (non-Jews) were coheirs and would share in the same promises. They would be partakers of the Gospel:  the Good News. They had every right to have fellowship with God.

Following Christ is not a restrictive club:  It is open to all. We all have claim to fellowship with God.

With each successive generation we see that God's love is open to all, regardless of their situation in life. In Paul's generation, it was the Gentiles. Non-Jews were also able to partake in the love of God. As a missionary, I learned quickly that I was not supposed to force the culture I was in to worship God in the way I thought they should. In others words, I was not supposed to force Germans to worship God in an American style. (In reality, sometimes I had to force my German Christian brothers and sisters to sing songs in German, rather than English.) Hudson Taylor realized that one could look like a Chinese person and still worship God. Bruce Olson realized that one could change the Bible to suit the culture of the Motilone Indians. (In their Bible translation, the wise man built his house upon the sand because the Motilone built their houses on poles in swampy, sandy soil. To build such houses on rock would be foolish indeed!)

In our present day generation, I believe God is telling us that one does not need to change his/her orientation to worship God. One could even be in committed relationships with people of the same gender and worship God. God's love is not exclusive to anyone. God's love is for all, especially for those we have marginalized. In our generation, the people who have been the most marginalized are people in the LGBT Community. Thankfully, there are several organizations which have sprung up to speak for LGBT Christians and to affirm that we all belong to the same family. (Some good examples are the Gay Christian Network and the Reformation Project.) We all are Christians. We may disagree with each other, but God's love is for all and we cannot disagree with that.

And, if I may be so bold, Paul might even say today:  "Earlier generations didn't know this hidden plan that God has now revealed to this present generation through the Spirit. This plan is that the LGBT Community would be coheirs and parts of the same body, and that they would share with heterosexual Christians in the promises of God in Christ Jesus through the gospel."

Christ Has Come. Christ Will Come.

The grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all people. It educates us so that we can live sensible, ethical, and godly lives right now by rejecting ungodly lives and the desires of this world. At the same time we wait for the blessed hope and the glorious appearance of our great God and savior, Jesus Christ. He gave himself for us in order to rescue us from every kind of lawless behavior, and cleanse a special people for himself who are eager to do good actions. - Titus 2:11-14 (CEB)

Today is Christmas Eve. When I lived in Germany, this was the holiday that was more sacred that Christmas Day itself. This is the day that families would gather together to eat with each other, open presents, go to Church, and sing Silent Night (Stille Nacht). Today is the main family holiday for Germans. Because of this, it is also one of the loneliest holidays if one is separated from one's family.

Silent Night has a sacredness to it so that if one sang it too early, one would be scolded. An interesting fact that I learned is that Germans believe that Christ was born on Christmas Eve. This is why this day is called "Heiligabend," or "Holy Evening." "Christmas" is "Weihnachten," which means "Dedicated Night."

I miss Christmas in Germany:  the Christmas Markets, the smell of roasted candied almonds, the candles, the decorations of pine branches everywhere, the dark nights. I loved how German Churches place a very special emphasis on Advent, even more so than my own traditional American Christmas. There was a distinction placed even between Advent Songs and Christmas Songs. (Those who attend Lutheran Churches will know what I'm talking about.)

Which brings me to the Scripture passage. Advent is over, but there is still an expectation. Christ came into this world, but we expect him to come again. For some, this could lend many people to think, "Oh, well. Christ is coming again. Why should we care about what is happening in this world?" I once had to reprimand a friend of mine who decided to throw something in the regular garbage when he could have easily recycled it. His response was that the world was going to be destroyed by fire anyway. That puzzled me and disturbed me a lot.

Jesus didn't come into this world so that we could wait for a better world after we died. Jesus came to give us life in abundance now, not just in the future, but for now. Christ "educates us so that we can live sensible, ethical, and godly lives right now by rejecting ungodly lives and the desires of this world." This is for now, not sometime off in the distant.

Yet at the same time we have the hope of Christ returning to us. In many ways this expectation of Christ returning to us only reemphasizes for me the constancy of God's character.

What does that mean for me? The everlasting life is something we experience now, not just after death. Live your life to the fullest with Christ as your guide.

Advent - Rejoicing? But I Don't Feel Like It

Be glad in the Lord always! Again I say, be glad! Let your gentleness show in your treatment of all people. The Lord is near. Don't be anxious about anything:  rather, bring up all of your requests to God in your prayers and petitions, along with giving thanks. Then the peace of God that exceeds all understanding will keep your hearts and minds safe in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:4-7 (CEB)

When I see these verses, the old church canon rings in my head:  "Rejoice in the Lord always and again I say, Rejoice!" It was almost a litany. I have that as part of a list of Sunday School songs that teach our children to conform to a certain way of thinking without acknowledging that we have other emotions.

There is the song, "I'm H-A-P-P-Y. I feel like I can fly." It's as if we are trying to tell our children that if they are not happy, there is something wrong with them.

It is my personal belief that this verse is one of the most misused verses in the Bible. Don't get me wrong. I believe there is truth in this verse, but we Christians tend to use this verse in the wrong way. People tend to use this verse to say that if we are not happy all the time, what is wrong with us? We are commanded to be happy. We're Christians! (I seriously wish I had a sarcasm font right now.)

Unfortunately, as with most Scripture that we have, it is easy to pervert it and use it to say something it didn't really mean. Often I hear the phrase, "The Bible is clear on this subject." No, that's wrong.

The Bible is rarely clear on many things. It is only one's interpretation of the Bible that is clear.

What are we to do with these verses then? First of all, let us look at them in context. Paul is giving some final words to the congregation in Philippi. When I read it, I get the impression that there were some problems going on in the Church there. People weren't getting along with each other. People were worried about so many different things going on with their lives.

So when I look at these verses, I see that Paul is telling them:  Look at who you are in the Lord! Look at God's favor and presence in you! See what God has done for you. There are reasons to rejoice and be glad! Notice what he doesn't tell them to do:  Stop being sad.

As someone who has suffered from depression, it was often a slap in the face to hear other people to stop moping around and to stop being so somber. I tend to be taciturn to begin with. I don't always express my emotions immediately unless it is something I am very passionate about.

However, there is a word of advice that Paul gives here which I can also recommend. He tells his readers to "bring up all your requests to God in your prayers and petitions." Sometimes we have a hard time telling others about our problems in our lives. We don't like to admit that things are going badly. We don't always like to complain to God, either, thinking that perhaps we are not being grateful enough. However, I believe God wants us to share all of our deepest concerns and thoughts.

During this past year of turmoil, one of the greatest things I have encountered is experience God in my friends and family. I have shared with them my worries, my fears, and my concerns. Do you know how difficult it is for me to open up? This past year was horrible. I yelled out to God. Since the vast majority of my officership (pastorate) was spent in Germany, I yelled out to God in German. It was cathartic. It was healing.

Something harder to do was to open up to my family and friends. I quickly learned who would listen and who would not (or could not). I do not fault the ones who couldn't. Some people are just not in the right place to be able to listen to our worries and concerns. I was going through the most horrendous time of my life. I had a few friends who actually took the initiative to call me up and make sure I was OK.

The verses that we have been reading in Advent have had a similar vein:  the Lord is near. Advent:  the Expectation, the Waiting, the Longing for Closeness. God is near.

This is something I experienced through this Valley of Shadow. I wasn't walking it alone. I was there with God. God sent people to me who stood alongside me when all seemed hopeless.

I am not out of the Valley of Shadow, but just to know that I am not alone has been helpful. Then, maybe someday, I will also be able to finally rejoice in the Lord.

Advent - Waiting for Judgment

So a person should think about us this way - as servants of Christ and managers of God's secrets. In this kind of situation, what is expected of a manager is that they prove to be faithful. I couldn't care less if I'm judged by you or by any human court; I don't even judge myself. I'm not aware of anything against me, but that doesn't make me innocent, because the Lord is the one who judges me. So don't judge anything before the right time - wait until the Lord comes. He will bring things that are hidden in the dark to light, and he will make people's motivations public. Then there will be recognition for each person from God. - 1 Corinthians 4:1-5 (CEB)

Probably one of the most difficult things for me to overcome is my own self-esteem. I tend to have a very low one and it's difficult for me to look beyond it. So when people begin offering critiques, criticisms, or well-meaning advice, I try to view it with the spirit it was given. I don't always succeed.

In our Internet world, the fake anonymity that people seem to relish in makes comments even more harsh. Those comments from Christians seem especially harsh to me.

So when I read what Paul wrote to the Church in Corinth, I realize that this is something I wish to aspire to. I wish to realize that God is the one who judges me, not humans.

(Just a side note:  Judgment is not correction. If I have made an error in something I have done or said and someone shows me my error, this isn't a judgment. This is correction.)

I once had to answer for a statement that I had made online. The issue had to do with a discussion I was having with another person in my denomination regarding LGBT rights and marriage equality. I am in support of marriage equality for all people, regardless of their orientation. In my discussion with this other person, he had made the remark that the Bible is very clear on the subject of same-sex marriage. I responded to the other person that the Bible is rarely clear on many topics. It was only his interpretation of Scripture that was clear for him.

I was told by someone I used to respect that what I had written was heresy. I was shocked by that word. Heresy? What was it about that statement that was so heretical? Throughout Christian history we have debated, interpreted, and reinterpreted Scripture according to our own limited knowledge. However, I was told that I was a heretic. That floored me. It shocked me. I had never been called a heretic by someone in my own denomination.

I wasn't being corrected. I was being judged. I was told that I was being disloyal to The Salvation Army.

I do not equate having a differing opinion with being disloyal. That was something very difficult to listen to. However, my wife gave me some very sound advice. She told me that I should be who I was writing, not just in words, but in deeds. She was right.

What does this have to do with the Scripture in question and with Advent? Paul said, "I couldn't care less if I'm judged by you or by any human court; I don't even judge myself. I'm not aware of anything against me, but that doesn't make me innocent, because the Lord is the one who judges me."

For me in my situation, I believe I was being judged. However, I had to deal with the consequences of that judgment. That was a very bitter pill to swallow. Right now, I am dealing with a lot of bitterness, too, but I realize that this isn't good for me at all to dwell on. It is something that I am working on. I am grateful for my friends and relatives who have helped me through this time of bitterness.

So, what do we do when we are being judged? Right now, I wish I could say with as much confidence as Paul that I don't care, but to be honest, I do care. I do care about what people think about me and what they say. Unfortunately, that's not always healthy. If my self-esteem relies on what people think of me and I go around saying things that people might disagree with, it's going to be hard for me indeed!

What I do need is perspective. So although people could judge me by my actions and my words, the one judgment that does matter is the judgment by God. When the Advent of his Judgment comes, all will be brought to light. In that, I place my hands in a merciful God. I have no cause to fear.

The 8th doctrine of The Salvation Army states:  "We believe that we are justified by grace through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ and 'he that believeth hath the witness in himself.'"

How do I interpret that doctrine? I do not have to justify my salvation to anyone. I am justified by God. He has judged me. That is where I find my identity. That is where I find my acceptance. That is where I find my peace.

The Coming of the Lord is Near. Are You Sure?

Therefore, brothers and sisters, you must be patient as you wait for the coming of the Lord. Consider the farmer who waits patiently for the coming of rain in the fall and spring, looking forward to the precious fruit of the earth. You also must wait patiently, strengthening your resolve, because the coming of the Lord is near. -- James 5:7-8 (CEB)

There was another failed rebellion. The Temple in Jerusalem had been destroyed. Sacrifices could not longer be offered there. The followers of Jesus were expecting his imminent return . . . and nothing. He has not come back yet. This is the background of the Epistle of James when he wrote this letter. In many ways, this still applies to us today.

Why hasn't Christ come back already? What's going on here? Where is he?

This is the Season of Advent. This Sunday is the Second Sunday of Advent. We celebrate that Christ has come and we await for his coming again, but he hasn't shown up. Is this perhaps a lie? Is this giving us a false sense of hope?

All throughout Christianity's 2000+ history, there are times when people insist that Christ would be coming again. People assumed he would come back again when the Temple was destroyed . . . when the year 1000 came . . . during World War I . . . during World War II . . . in 1988 . . . in 2000 . . . in 2011. Where is Christ and why does he tarry?

I don't know. I'm not certain if any of us can give an answer that can satisfy that question. I also believe that assigning dates to his return is not wise.

And James implores us to be patient. (For those wondering, in the agriculture world of the Middle East, the rains and planting season come in the Fall (October) and are harvested in the Spring, which is why James talks about the rains coming at that particular time.) James tells us that the coming of the Lord is near.

Near must be a relative term for James.

One could lose heart at this waiting. However, I believe that this is perhaps the wrong thing to do. Is Christ coming again? As a Salvationist, I believe "in the immortality of the soul; in the resurrection of the body; in the general judgment at the end of the world; in the eternal happiness of the righteous; and in the endless punishment of the wicked."

Just how that looks to me is perhaps different from how you perceive it. In fact, some have accused me of not believing in a literal Hell. (I'll save that for another post.)

However, I believe we are going about this the wrong way. Are we waiting for Christ to come again? Yes. What does that waiting look like?

I can tell you what it does not look like. It does not look like giving up. When people look at the state of the world:  the suffering, global climate change, environmental catastrophes, the poverty, wars, etc., people sometimes throw up their hands and just say, "It's the sign of the times." "The world is going to Hell. What should I do?" "Lord, come soon. I can't take it anymore."

These attitudes are wrong. Instead, we need to be doing our part to ease the suffering of this world. Yes, things are bad. Yes, humanity is suffering. We should do something about it. We are called by Christ himself to go into this world and make it a better place, teaching others to follow him and loving others as Christ has loved us.

It's hard being patient, but we shouldn't focus on the Coming of the Lord. Instead, we should do our part as his followers here on Earth. We should serve others as we serve God.