Aug 10, 2022 | Wens Pen
SELF-UNDERSTANDING AND SERVICE
In some circles it would be accepted wisdom that our ‘self’ is the most important value in the world. You can probably think of advertisements that feed on that idea.
In other places, even thinking about ‘self’ is considered heretical.
Biblically, we are encouraged to think about ourselves, but to do so soberly, with sound assessment, and in a way that does not artificially elevate ourselves (see Romans 12:3 for example). But this can be hard to do. We seem to be drilled into the idea that our daily habits should be busy and should be focused on controlling all the outcomes of life towards a stress-free and struggle-free existence.
This, of course, is very demanding. That is because achieving such a goal would require controlling all of life, and the job of running the universe is huge. But that job is also already taken – thank you, God!
So, how are we to juggle this tension between having a realistic view of self while not succumbing to the temptation to make it ‘all about me’?
The Apostle Paul (in Eugene Peterson’s paraphrase) continues to give excellent practical wisdom:
6 Be very sure now, you who have been trained to a self-sufficient maturity, that you enter into a generous common life with those who have trained you, sharing all the good things that you have and experience.
7-8 Don’t be misled: No one makes a fool of God. What a person plants, he will harvest. The person who plants selfishness, ignoring the needs of others—ignoring God!—harvests a crop of weeds. All he’ll have to show for his life is weeds! But the one who plants in response to God, letting God’s Spirit do the growth work in him, harvests a crop of real life, eternal life. [Galatians 6:6-8]
Notice the recognition of the opposing forces in this section of Paul’s letter – there is, on one hand, “self-sufficient maturity” which leads to “ignoring the needs of others”. Here there is an important secret about human nature being exposed. When we focus too much on ‘self’, we may ‘feel’ more established and secure in ourselves, but the results lead to hardening ourselves towards others and towards God.
The contrast is to allow the Holy Spirit to guide us into helping others. That is what we are made for. That is the real freedom we have through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
We can therefore ask: How do our students see this in what they learn, and in how they learn it, with us?
Regards,
Stephen J Fyson
Aug 3, 2022 | Wens Pen
GETTING STUCK INTO IT!
Are you busy or well-occupied? Are you pursuing personal achievement goals, or responding to the good to which God has called you?
Why might these questions be important? Perhaps it is because sometimes we make being ‘soooo busy’ a badge of honour. My suspicion is that we play those kinds of mind gymnastics because we are very focused on constantly comparing ourselves with others.
The other complication for us is that we live in a world which constantly tells us, ‘We are our own’, and therefore, ‘We can fix it,’ IF only we know the right method. This is at times ironic, because many of us are also told that our problems are because of our families, and because of our genetics…. But that is a story for another time.
Despite this blaming of others for our personal problems and imperfections, we are still encouraged to follow certain programmed steps to fix our difficulties and to personally flourish. That is, the message we get is that improvement is a matter of having the best technique. Such suggestions reduce our heart-journey before God to being a procedural issue.
The Apostle Paul had much more God-focussed and practical wisdom:
4-5 Make a careful exploration of who you are and the work you have been given, and then sink yourself into that. Don’t be impressed with yourself. Don’t compare yourself with others. Each of you must take responsibility for doing the creative best you can with your own life. [Galatians 6:4-1, The Message]
Such an exhortation to live within the good work we have been given sits well within Paul’s other reminders – we are saved by grace through faith to do the good God has prepared for us in advance (Ephesians 2:8-10); and that when we help others with whatever gifts we have, we are spreading God’s grace around (1 Peter 4:10-11).
That is why anything good that we do is not a solo effort – it is God’s gift in us, it is God’s strength that enables us, and it is God’s calling that focusses us. It is God in and through us. It is His work.
That is more than enough. As Peterson put it above, let’s get on doing ‘our creative best’, and let’s on with trusting God. Now that is peace…
Regards,
Stephen J Fyson
Jul 26, 2022 | Wens Pen
LIVING CREATIVELY
What do you think of when someone mentions ‘being creative’, or ‘living creatively’? Does this mean that we are to aim for a flourishing life? Or perhaps it means being fulfilled? If it is either of these, what does ‘flourishing’ look like, or what does ‘fulfilment’ look like?
The Apostle Paul had a very clear understanding about this. This is what he explained in the final section of his letter to the Galatians:
6 1-3 Live creatively, friends. If someone falls into sin, forgivingly restore him, saving your critical comments for yourself. You might be needing forgiveness before the day’s out. Stoop down and reach out to those who are oppressed. Share their burdens, and so complete Christ’s law. If you think you are too good for that, you are badly deceived. [The Message]
In this context, living creatively requires a humble stance. It means bending over to help others, even when they have made a mistake that needs forgiveness and mercy. Forgiveness is not simply ‘ignoring’ the event. Nor is it holding court over the event.
Biblical forgiveness is owning the event and looking to help the person involved so that they can repent, be reconciled, and learn how to grow into Christ more through the event.
But the warning that Paul also includes is salutary and is consistent with what our Lord and Saviour Jesus taught: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. (Matthew 7:12l NIV) That is, how would we want to be treated if we are the one who has wronged another? Would we want the opportunity to be forgiven and the relationship to keep moving forward? Would we want help to not make the mistake again?
Such teaching is radical compared to many ideas in our current era. But this is very orthodox for those who are called into community by their Creator and is seen in another key verse that is reflected in many parts of Scripture: do justice, love mercy, walk humbly and faithfully before God. (Micah 6:6 and Matthew 23:23)
How will we review these life principles in how we live together in our Christian communities that are undertaking Christian education?
Stephen J Fyson
Jun 28, 2022 | Wens Pen
Nothing is a mess from God’s perspective. Standing on the intersection of today, yesterday, and tomorrow, looking back, looking around and looking forward we notice the varying shades of life and the transitions that take place. Yesterday life may have been like a steady silken stream of serenity where we felt a little like we held the reigns of control. Somehow, today, the rain clouds may have rolled in, the storm hits and suddenly we are standing in the rubble of our crumbled castles, looking around wondering what happened. All too quickly, everything can feel like a mess as the rogue threads of our lives become frayed. But nothing is a mess from God’s perspective and over on the horizon of tomorrow is a full rainbow that crosses the sky, painting a picture of hope, reminding us of God’s promises and that not one thing under the sun is outside of the realm of God’s control. What appears to be a mangled mess from our perspective is, at no point, not perfectly held by God. His mighty hand envelopes us and every single detail of the good and the difficult. Nothing, absolutely nothing is a mess from God’s perspective.
The realisation that our lives are lived out in the hands of a good and perfect Father brings a comfort and a relief that enables us to look at our mess and know that God is going to make it all beautiful in His time. Ecclesiastes 3:11. Even though our mess can rock our worlds and remind us we are not in control, and the reigns ultimately belong to God, we are always safe and can be sure that nothing is a mess from God’s perspective. It is only God who is capable of not being constrained by mess and only God who is masterfully capable of taking every strand of life, weaving, and knitting it all together for the good of those who love Him, creating a masterpiece at the other end. In God’s world, mess simply means our benevolent King uses what we encounter as a chaos to create a crowning accomplishment in our lives as He leads us out of the slushy mess and onto His pathway of peace. He is not called kinsman Redeemer for nothing. Take comfort today knowing that nothing is a mess from God’s perspective.
So, friends, get your “mess to masterpiece” on today.
Best days to come.
Wen
Jun 22, 2022 | Wens Pen
The imposter. I recently received an email from PayPal, or so I thought. It all looked legitimate, including the PayPal logo, email address and wording that encouraged me to carefully review the invoice that was due for payment and to report anything that looked like fraudulent activity by clicking on the link provided. PayPal is a trusted sender, right? I sat there thinking, what on earth did I buy for $499.99 and then I saw the words BITCOIN. It was a scam email, yet it appeared authentic. It was an imposter, masquerading as a trusted entity, sending a fraudulent, phishing email designed to lure me in through deception and misrepresentation, and to make a malicious attack, potentially robbing me financially but also potentially theiving my identity. Sort of has a familiar ring.
John 10:10 says the enemy, the imposter is the thief who comes ONLY to steal, kill, and destroy. That’s his sole mission. John 8:44 describes the enemy as the father of lies where lying is his native language. That’s the expression of his character. 1 Peter 5:8-9 describes the enemy as a roaring lion that roams and prowls around just looking for someone to devour and devastate. That’s his drive. (Personally, I prefer the Lion of Judah). Ephesians 6:11-16 tells us the imposter mounts a brutal war every day and deliberately schemes to bring a raging assault against God’s people as he fires off flaming arrows of suffering, sickness, brokenness, crushed dreams, heartache, rejection, and abandonment to name a few. That’s his ruthless battle strategy. Genesis 3:1-5 describes him as the imposter he has been since the beginning, seeking to seduce humanity and turn them away from their perfect God. That’s who he is. The imposter has intentionally chosen the weapons of deceit and misrepresentation from his armoury. They’re his “power tools”. The enemy was acutely aware of how he would enact the assault on the first humans, knowingly ushering in the most vitriolic, devastating attack on humans intended to strip them of all God created them to be as the crown of His creation. He took their crowns and laughed. The shattering of God’s image in people and the distortion of their identity, purpose, and destiny was his end game. And guess what, nothing’s changed. BUT GOD! – God was never going to leave His good creation and the people He loved as wounded soldiers on the battleground of Eden, permitting the enemy to win. At the resurrection of Jesus, there was a mighty blow to the imposteras Jesus re-established God’s authority on earth and defeated death. And in the in between, until Jesus comes again, the ring in the imposter’s ears is a resounding tick tock, tick tock, tick tock.
Like the phishing scammers and imposters who disguise themselves as trusted entities and aim to get our attention through everyday things like buying goods, so too the enemy of God disguises himself as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14), the imposter, offering everyday goods, and pretending to be like God. Yet in the next breath he is our greatest accuser (Revelation 12:11). He’s nothing like God. In the game of phishing, there is a higher authority who deals with fraud. So too the highest authority over every realm, Jesus, is scheduled to crush the enemy under His feet at the appointed time. Colossians 1:10-20 declares Jesus was supreme in the beginning and He is supreme in the end, towering over everything and everyone. The imposter is on borrowed time. Remember his credentials and his resume and then bring the Lion of Judah to bear on him and all his onslaught. #Spoiler alert: Jesus always wins.
So, friends, get your “true God” on today.
Best days to come.
Wen
Jun 14, 2022 | Wens Pen
A two-sided tapestry. I recall a beautiful tapestry my Aunty had created many years ago. The tapestry was a delightful country scene. It was a two-sided tapestry. The front side of the tapestry was a flawless pictorial design of beautiful, coloured threads woven together to create a patterned artwork that depicted life in the country. Turning the tapestry over to the underside revealed the ugly, jumbled, tatty, frayed strands that were just a big mess. Most of us want to hide the ragged side of the tapestry but the ugly mess of the underside has a direct relationship with beauty on the front side. The ugly is part of the beauty. It is a two-sided tapestry.
God is the author of all human life which is an exquisite expression of His masterful creative work. God’s original design was a one-sided tapestry exhibiting a life of holiness. Sadly, sin spoiled the design which now means life is a two-sided tapestry: the ugly underside of the mess of sin; all the threads of our own imperfections that we are all too aware of and that only God knows about, but also the strands of brokenness that are present in life. The beautiful side is the result of God’s recreative work in us as He takes every thread of ugliness and reworks it into a picture of holiness, transforming us into the visible expression of Jesus. Ephesians 4:22-24. Without God we would remain ugly and unholy. (Scary thought if we are honest). So, out of His great love and passion, He weaves a pattern through us, picking up the ugly, unholy, and broken strands to form a picture of the redeemed life in us. God works the two-sided tapestry of our lives together for His glory.
Wouldn’t you just love to spend a moment in God’s creative room? Imagine seeing Him at work on our two-sided tapestries. Yet even a small peak would reveal the grand tapestry God is truly weaving. Not only does He work on our individual, two-sided tapestries, but He also inter-weaves them into one big expansive tapestry of His redemptive story. Every thread of every life is being re-formed into His narrative of salvation. God beckons the world to look on to see the magnificent picture of truth revealed through His people who are being changed to be like Jesus, as one unified work of art that points them to the pure love of God who knows our ugly sides but loves us unconditionally and willingly weaves us into beautiful expressions of His holiness.
So, friends, get your “God tapestry” on today.
Best days to come.
Wen
