Today our nation is celebrating the Memorial Day. It is a time for us to remember all the fallen heroes of our nation, who made the ultimate sacrifice to protect our country and our many freedoms. Sometimes I wonder what our fallen heroes would think of us if they were able to see us from the other side of the grave, see what we are doing with the freedoms, for which they laid down their lives. We get a glimpse of it in Saving Private Ryan. As Captain Miller is dying, he tells Private Ryan, for whose safe return from the battlefield he and several others sacrificed their lives, “James… earn this. Earn it.” What a burden to live with for the rest of his life! But it was only the right thing to do for the enormous sacrifice made for his life. At it seems like the private did not forget the costly sacrifice others made for him. Our stories may not be as dramatic as the one in the movie. But we are all beneficiaries of all the Captain Millers of our nation’s history. There is a sense in which we should “earn it”—that is, to make most of what we are able to have and enjoy in this country on account of the sacrifice make have made.
Read MoreWe’ve been reflecting on faith as heavenly-mindedness. At this point, it is only right that we think about what our attitude toward heaven is. How much we grow in this heavenly-mindedness has a lot to do with what we think of heaven. Of course, heaven epitomizes everything that is good and lasting. Who wouldn’t want to be in heaven, especially if the only other option is hell? But our relationship with heaven is a little more complicated as my experience shows. When I first became a Christian at the age of sixteen, I was introduced to the idea of grace and free forgiveness of sin for the first time. When I understood the gospel (in a very minimal and simple way), the sense of relief I felt from the fear of being exposed and punished was so liberating. Oh, how thankful I was! Feeling so clean and loved, my heart overflowed with joy and love. And the promise that, along with divine forgiveness, I would receive eternal life filled my heart with wonder and awe.
Read MoreWe have been thinking about faith as heavenly-mindedness. The patriarchs showed their heavenly-mindedness by living in tents in the Promised Land, which God gave to them and to their descendants. We may romanticize this action of theirs as something admirable and charming. But if you took yesterday’s challenge seriously and thought about how to show our heavenly-minded faith in a tangible way, we will see right away how difficult and challenging it is. Practicing heavenly-mindedness in this world most likely involves some kind of worldly sacrifice. This is not easy because we feel the gravitational pull of what the world has to offer.
Read MoreYesterday, we considered Vos’ suggestion that faith can be viewed as “other-worldliness” or “heavenly-mindedness.” He shows how the patriarchs (i.e., Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob) demonstrated their faith: “The other-worldliness of the patriarchs showed itself in this, that they confessed to be strangers and pilgrims on the earth. It found its visible expression in their dwelling in tents. Not strangers and pilgrims outside of Canaan, but strangers and pilgrims in the earth. The writer places all the emphasis on this, that they pursued their tent-life in the very land of promise, which was their own, as in a land not their own. Only in this way is a clear connection between the staying in tents and the looking forward to heaven obtained.”
Read MoreThis morning, I want to share with you a very simple but helpful definition of faith. Vos says, “Faith is here [in Heb. 11] but another name for other-worldliness or heavenly-mindedness.” I prefer faith as “heavenly-mindedness” because it is even more specific about the content of our faith. Vos seems to prefer this, too, since he titled his sermon, “Heavenly-Mindedness.” We can learn a lot from this one-hyphenated-word definition of faith.
Read MoreAs we continue our reflection on faith, I want to share another excerpt from Vos: “Whether the call was to believe or to follow, to do or to bear, the obedience [of the Old Testament saints listed in Heb. 11] to it sprang not from any earth-fed sources but from the infinite reservoir of strength stored up in the mountain-land above. If Moses endured it was not due to the power of resistance in his human frame, but because the weakness in him was compensated by the vision of him who is invisible. If Abraham, who had gladly received the promises, offered up his only-begotten son, it was not because in heroic resignation he steeled himself to obedience, but because through faith he saw God is greater and stronger than the most inexorable physical law of nature: ‘For he accounted that God can raise up even from the dead.’ And so in all the other instances. Through faith the powers of the higher world were placed at the disposal of those whom this world threatened to overwhelm, and so the miracle resulted that from weakness they were made strong” (pp. 106-107).
Read MoreThis morning, I’d like to share with you one of my favorite quotes on faith. It is by Geerhardus Vos from his sermon, “Heavenly-Mindedness” on Heb. 11:9-10. In the introductory section, he speaks of two different types of faith: “In Romans and Galatians faith is in the main trust in the grace of God, the instrument of justification, the channel through which the vital influences flowing from Christ are received by the believer. Here in Hebrews the conception is wider; faith is ‘the proving of things not seen, the assurance of things hoped for’. It is the organ for apprehension of unseen and future realities, giving access to and contact with another world. It is the hand stretched out through the vast distances of space and time, whereby the Christian draws to himself the things far beyond, so that they become actual to him.”
Read MoreHow is it going with your prayer life? It is not easy to break out of our small prayers and strive to pray great prayers with great faith, is it? It is quite a struggle to keep our focus on the greatness of God rather than lament about how many and big our problems are! But our problems are there to stretch our faith and enlarge our prayers. The bigger our problem, the more we can see of God’s greatness. This is why Jesus came “four days late” to Mary and Martha, after Lazarus died. He wanted them to see that He was not just a great Healer but the Resurrection and the Life. What E.M. Bounds says about Jacob’s prayer at the banks of the Jabbok River is quite helpful:
Read MoreLet us continue to reflect on great faith (which is great because it looks to our great God) and great prayer. E.M. Bounds beautifully expresses the relationship between the two in this way: “…Prayer and faith are Siamese twins. One heart animates them both. Faith is always praying. Prayer is always believing. Faith must have a tongue by which it can speak. Prayer is the tongue of faith. Faith must receive. Prayer is the hand of faith stretched out to receive. Prayer must rise and soar. Faith must give prayer the wings to fly and soar. Prayer must have an audience with God. Faith opens the door, and access and audience are given. Prayer asks. Faith lays its hand on the thing asked for.”
Read MoreToday, we will continue our meditation on prayer and great faith. For that, I’d like to share some quotes from E.M. Bounds. I found them convicting and inspiring. I hope you do, too! “Without the promise [of God] prayer is eccentric and baseless. Without prayer, the promise is dim, voiceless, shadowy, and impersonal. The promise makes prayer dauntless and irresistible. The Apostle Peter declares that God has given to us "exceeding great and precious promises.” (Isn’t that true? If we really believe in the promise of God regarding our prayer, prayer will be irresistible [because if we don’t pray, it will be our loss!] and dauntless [or, undaunted or bold].)
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