Dating and the Heart

Heart of the Matter: Dating

Having looked into the tearful eyes of parents whose children have abandoned the Faith, I have learned there are a million miles between our children “going through the motions” in reference to their spiritual lives versus our children possessing hearts that dictate their actions. In this column, I plan to share with you what I hope to instill in the hearts of my own children and those whom I love.

Do you wish you could erase memories of the heart?

Do you wish you could erase memories of the heart?

It can come in the form of a song, the name of a city, or a neighborhood. It can even sprout from a particular food, restaurant, or the smell of familiar perfume.

Having given your heart to a high school sweetheart, those memories of young love come crashing back in a single instant without a moment’s notice. And sadly, the memory they bring is a reminder that our husband or wife is not the only person who has possessed a portion of our hearts.

In the church we occasionally teach on the importance of abstinence before marriage. We wrongly assume that by avoiding sexual relations before marriage we have completely obeyed God’s will regarding dating and relationships. However, that’s only part of the equation. We often neglect the importance of guarding our hearts and remaining pure.

There is an enormous difference in Biblical purity vs. technical virginity—one that is rarely taught or spoken about. Many parents view it a “success” if their children are not caught “in bed” with someone before marriage. We think nothing of our children dating dozens of individuals, as long as they can walk down the aisle a “technical virgin” on their wedding day (or given today’s standard, at least without a baby on the way). But do we ever really teach our children how or why they should guard their hearts?

Here’s what I intend on teaching my children about protecting their hearts.

Hopefully by now you’ve learned that I am a big proponent of not blaming your parents for every “issue” that you struggle with when you are older (remember this when you are out of our house!). At some point you must “rise above your raising.”

Having said that, there is an area in which I wish my parents had been more diligent (read that “meaner”) during my teenage years. I hope to do a better job in this area with you as you mature and start looking for a mate. My parents were like the vast majority of parents during the 1980-90s.

They allowed me to date young ladies and thought nothing of me having a different girlfriend every few months. As I grew older I would date the same person for months or even years—going to restaurants, watching movies, taking hikes, going fishing, playing tennis, or just watching television. All of this seemed rather innocent and harmless— and for the most part it was. But there was a by-product that no one warned me of. That by-product was that I had given small pieces of my heart to many different people on many different occasions.

With each anniversary, I can honestly say that your mother is more beautiful to me today than the day we stood before God and both said, “I do!” She is an incredible woman for whom I will always be thankful. She is a model Christian wife and a spectacular mother. And that’s why it hurts a little knowing she will never completely have my entire heart. Oh, physically speaking she is the only one for me. I have been faithful to your mother every single day since we said our vows.

But those memories from past dating experiences linger. It’s not that I’m interested in these other individuals—because your mom completes me. It’s is just that the one gift that I wish I could give your mother— my entire heart—I’ll never be able to. I wish I could simply flip a switch and completely erase the past from the old neuronal hard-drive. But the fact of the matter is I can’t.

We don’t speak of this often in the church, because past memories leave a bitter taste in our mouths. The Bible speaks clearly on the importance of guarding your heart. Solomon shared this wisdom noting, “Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life” (Proverbs 4:23). Notice this is in the form of a commandment, and rightly so, as the heart is under attack (see Jeremiah 17:9-10; Matthew 15:19). Do not rush into a relationship just because it is new and exciting. Solomon wrote, “I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, by the gazelles or by the does of the field, do not stir up nor awaken love until it pleases” (Song of Solomon 2:7; see also 8:4).

Guard your heart and do not be quick to give it away. Consider the long-term consequences of giving even a small portion to someone who will eventually fade out of your life. Just because others around you are quick to “date” or “go with” someone of the opposite sex, hold yourself to a higher—more Biblical—standard. The modern dating scene in America is not a healthy environment in which one can guard his heart. I would argue instead that it is “divorce practice,” as young people give their hearts away only to later dispose of that relationship for someone else.

Not many adults will openly admit to you the sorrow of not guarding your heart— but I pray you learn from my folly (Proverbs 4:1 and Proverbs 13:1). God has a beautiful plan for man and woman to be married for life (Genesis 2:24; Matthew 19:5-6). Strive to remain pure for your future mate so that one day you can give that future spouse your entire heart when you say, “I do.”

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Why Should I?

Why Should I?

Why should I feel down when I have Christ?

Why should I feel down when I have Christ?

•Why should I say, “I can’t” when the Bible says, I can do all things through Christ who keeps on strengthening me (Philippians 4:13)?

•Why should I lack when “God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19)?

•Why should I fear when God has given me his words which are full of power, of love and can give us a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7)?

•Why should I be weak when the lord is my light, my salvation and strength of my life (Psalms 27:1)?

•Why should I feel like a failure when I am a conqueror in all things through Christ that loves me (Romans 8:37)?

•Why should I allow Satan supremacy over my life when Christ that is in me is greater than Satan who is in the world (1 John 4:4)?

•Why should I lack wisdom when God gives to me generously when I ask for it (James 1:5)?

•Why should I accept defeat when the Bible says that God’s cause leads me to triumph in Christ (2 Corinthians 2:14)?

•Why should I be depressed when I have God’s loving mercy, com-passion, and faithfulness which gives me hope (Lamentations 3:21-23)?

•Why should I worry when I can cast all my care on God who cares for me (1 Peter 5:7)?

•Why should I be in bondage when the truth will set me free (John 8:32)?

•Why should I feel condemned when there is no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus (Rom. 8:1)?

•Why should I feel alone when Jesus is with me always, even to the end of the world (Matthew 28:20; Hebrews 13:5)?

•Why should I be discontented when I can be content in all my circumstances (Philippians 4:11)?

•Why should I feel worthless when God loves and values me (John 3:16; Luke 15:10)?

•Why should I have a persecution complex, knowing that if God is for me, who can be against me (Romans 8:31)?

•Why should I let the pressures of life bother me when Jesus has overcome the world and its tribulations (John 16:33)?

Jesus said, “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” (John 10:10b)

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New Testament Church

New Testament Church

Jesus, while on His missionary journey, asked His disciples a question as recorded in Matthew 16:13, “Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?”  Several of the disciples present answered that question.  And then Jesus asked them a different question in verse 15, “But whom say ye that I am?”  Simon Peter spoke up and told Jesus exactly who he thought Him to be.  His answer is recorded in verse 16, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.”   In the original language, The term “Christ” comes from the Greek word, “Christos” which means ‘anointed one’.  It has a Hebrew equivalent which is ‘mashiyach’, which in our language has come to mean ‘Messiah’.  So Peter’s answer to Jesus’s question was, “you are the anointed one, the Son of the living God”.

Jesus responded to that declaration with approval and in so doing, made a very important statement which is of great significance to us today.  His response is recorded, starting in Matthew 16:17-18, “Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.

18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it…”

We notice regarding the church, Jesus made two things clear.

1) When he told Peter He was going to build His church, it was in the singular form, meaning He promised to build only one.

2)  Jesus said He was going to build His church, meaning this church would be His possession and would belong to Him.

The Greek word for “church” is Ekklesia.  This word has two meanings which are important to this study.  It is used in the New Testament to refer to any assembly.  It does not have to be an assembly of Christians.  In Acts 19:41, this word is used in reference to an assembly of people who were upset with Paul’s teachings and were intent on causing him harm.

The other meaning of this word which is what Jesus had in mind when He used the word Ekklesia in response to Peter’s declaration was that of being the “called out”   This word used in English would represent people who had been called into a collection of like-minded individuals for a designated purpose.  It would be similar to a modern day activist rallying a group of people to stand united against something like abortion or racism.  In the Greek language of the day, the people that had been called to be in this group would be an “Ekklesia” or the “called out” or “calling out” depending on which tense the word was used in.

This is how Jesus used the word.  This group of people that would be “called out” would be comprised of all of those souls, past, present and future, who would follow after and serve Jesus Christ.  It simply means the assembly or inhabitants of Christ’s community, or the universal worldwide church.  And Jesus promised to build only one.

This universal collective of individuals, (Ekklesia/Church), was referred to in scripture by many different names.  Each name represents a certain descriptive aspect of this group of Christ followers who, according to scripture, were called Christians for the first time in Antioch:

The church, or Ekklesia, that Jesus promised to build in the first century was made up of Christians and learners.

Acts 11:26

26 And when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.

The Greek word for “Christian” is “Christianos” which came from the Greek word for “Christ”, (Christos) and simply meant a ‘follower of Christ’.  So the assembly of ‘the called’ (ekklesia) were known as followers of Christ.

And from this verse, we also see that this “Ekklesia” or “Assembly” or “church” of Christians’ were called “the disciples”.  In the Greek language of the day, this word meant a “learner” or a “pupil/student”.   So we learn here that the word “learner” is applied in a descriptive sense to the universal assembly of Christians.  Also known in the first century as the “Ekklesia” and referred to in modern day English as the “the church”.

The new testament church, or Ekklesia, that Jesus promised to build was made up of foreigners in a strange land.

Peter used a number of terms which were used in reference to Christians.  Starting in 1 Peter 1:1, we read, “Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia”.  Peter referred to the readership of his first epistle recorded in scripture as “strangers”, which in the original language means a ‘resident foreigner’ or someone of another nationality living in a foreign country.  The Greek word here is also used in 1 Peter 2:11 and Hebrews 11:13 as pilgrims.  The church Jesus promised to build would be made up of followers of Christ who were like an assembly of aliens living in a foreign land.  The idea Peter was trying to get across here is that Christians identify themselves with a heavenly king and not an earthly one.  Christians don’t view this world as their home.  Rather they look to a heavenly home with God.  Paul wrote in Philippians 3:20, “For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ…” (NKJV)

The new testament church Jesus built was a spiritual house and a holy priesthood.

1 Peter 2:5, “Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.”   KJV

The church Jesus built was never intended to be a physical thing.  It was designed from the beginning to be a collection of people who serve Him in Spirit, meaning from the heart.  The term house carries the meaning of a place where we can live under the shelter and care of God.  Families live together in houses.  The word ‘house’ carries with it the meaning of family.  The new testament church was a spiritual, non-physical collection of people who are family and living under the shelter of God.

Looking back at 1 Peter 2:5 we see that the Christians Peter was writing to were referred to as a holy priesthood.  Under the old law of Moses, only the Levites could serve in the priesthood, but in the new testament church, all Christians are priests of God.  Under the old law, the temple was the place God chose for His people to approach Him and offer worship.  Under the present age, God dwells not in temple made with hands but rather, He dwells within the new testament church.  Paul wrote concerning this in

Ephesians 2:19-22 

“Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone,  21 in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, 22 in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit. “  NKJV

In the new testament church, all Christians have the same access to God through Jesus Christ that the Israelites had through the Levitical priesthood.  In the new testament church, Jesus Christ is our high priest and we all have access to God through Him.  Christians don’t need an earthly priesthood in order to approach God and offer worship.  All Christians are priests, serving under one High Priest, Jesus Christ.

Hebrews 9:11-12 

“But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation. 12 Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.” NKJV

The new testament church Jesus built was a chosen generation.

In 1 Peter 2:9, the inspired apostle wrote, “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light…”

The original language carries the meaning of a people who have been picked out or selected by God.  These are people who have done those things necessary in order to become the children of God.  They are followers of God and stand out from the rest of the world.  God knows this and has chosen them; He has picked them as His own special people.   Peter wrote in chapter 2 and verse 4 of 1 Peter, “Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious…”  NKJV

The “chosen generation” in the original language carries the meaning of a hand picked nation of people.  “A holy nation” carries the meaning of a sanctified race of people.  The Greek word for “Nation” in this context is the word “Ethnos” which is where we get our English word “Ethnic”.  In the Greek, this word usually means non-Jewish origin.  It is most often translated as ‘Gentile’, ‘Heathen’, ‘nation’ and ‘people’ in the KJV.

The new testament church is the body of Christ

In Colossians 1:18; 1:24 and Ephesians 5:23 and  Paul identified the new testament church as the body of Christ:

Colossians 1:18
“And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.” and then in verse 24: “Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church”

The term body is representative of a body or group of Christians and in this context, Paul is speaking of the universal body of people who make up the new testament church.  Jesus is identified in verse 18 as the head of the body of Christ.  The head and body illustration gives us a picture of the oneness and unity of Christ and His body of followers.  The new testament church that Jesus built is a part of Him. The two are inseparable.  In fact when Jesus confronted Paul on the road to Damascus, He didn’t ask Paul why he was persecuting His followers.  Paul had been persecuting Christians and was on his way to Damascus to do more of the very same.  Jesus appeared to him and asked. “Saul Saul, why persecutest thou me?”  Paul, formerly Saul, directly persecuted Jesus when He persecuted Christians.  Jesus and the body of Christ are two elements of the same thing.

Paul illustrates the oneness of the body of Christ in 1 Corinthians 12:12-14, “For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. For the body is not one member, but many.”

The body of Christ and the church of Christ are the exact same thing.

The new testament church is the kingdom of Heaven

Looking back at our introductory text in Matthew 16:18 and expand that to include verse 19: “And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. 19 And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven...”

The church and the kingdom of Heaven or kingdom of God are the same thing.  Jesus is ruling His people from the right hand side of God the Father, Hebrews 10:12, “But this man [Jesus], after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God” And then in 1 Corinthians 15:25, “For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.”  The scriptures teach that Jesus is at the right side of the Father and He is reigning over His people from Heaven right now.  Well His people are the members of the body of Christ.  Jesus is the head of the body and the king of His kingdom.  A king is someone who rules His people.  A kingdom is a people who live under the rule of a king.  You can’t have a king without a kingdom.  Scripture declares that Jesus is reigning in heaven.  Kings reign.  Kings have kingdoms.  Kingdoms have kings.  The new testament church is the kingdom of God.  The new testament church is ruled from heaven, therefore it is also the kingdom of heaven.

The new testament church that Jesus built is the body of Christ and it is also the kingdom.  Jesus is the head of the body of Christ, He is the ruler of the kingdom of God.  All Christians who ever lived, past present and future are the members of the new testament church.  All members of the body, the kingdom and the church are disciples, or learners.  They/We are strangers in a foreign land.  We are a spiritual house and a kingdom of priests.  We are a chosen generation and we are citizens in the kingdom of heaven.

The new testament church was expensive

Ephesians 5:25, “...Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it”  Acts 20:28, “to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.”  Jesus Christ built His new testament church and the price He paid for it was His own blood.  Jesus suffered in order to build the church we read of in the new testament.  Jesus gave His life to purchase the church we read of in the new testament.  Jesus Christ shed His blood and died for the church.  The church is the body, the kingdom, and it is us.  He shed His blood and died for the church.  He shed His blood and died for the kingdom.  He shed His blood and died for the body of Christ.  He shed His blood and died for the Christians in the first century.  And He shed His blood and died for us.  We are the body of Christ.  We are the kingdom of Christ.  We are the church of Christ.

The church of Christ was expensive.  It cost God a lot to build it.  He must have really wanted to save us to do what He did.  Jesus only bled for one body.  Jesus only died for one people.  Jesus only rules one kingdom.   Jesus only built one church.  Doesn’t it make sense that if there was only one that was suffered for, bled for, died for and is ruled over, then shouldn’t that be the one we should strive with all our hearts to be in?  If it was important enough for Jesus to die for, then isn’t it important enough for us to be in that one he died for and no other?

How Can We Be Sure We are in the New Testament Church?

There was only one church in the new testament.  Today when we look out across the religious landscape we see many more than one and they all believe and teach different things.  It’s difficult and confusing to know for sure which one, if any are right.  It’s a sobering thought because if nobody is right, then everybody is wrong.  Paul wrote in Galatians 1:9, “If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.”  Cursed people are not in the kingdom of God.  How can we be sure?

There were people becoming Christians and being saved in the first century.  We read of them in scripture.  We read of how they did it.  We read of how they worshiped and served God.  We know they were being saved.   These people were in the church, they were in the body of Christ, they were in kingdom of God.  Using the Bible and only the Bible, we can study their Christian walk.  We can be saved in exactly the same way they did.

Using their Christian lives as our guide, If we believe what they believed, if we are added to the church the same way they were aded, if we worship how they worshiped, if we live how they lived and if we die how they died, then we will be today what they were then.  Christians only.  In the new testament church only.  In the body of Christ only.  And in the kingdom of God only.  It’s just that simple.  And we have a Biblical example of a group of God’s people who did that very thing successfully.

1 Thessalonians 2:13-14
For this reason we also thank God without ceasing, because when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe. 14 For you, brethren, became imitators of the churches of God which are in Judea in Christ Jesus
NKJV

The Thessalonian Christians became imitators of the churches of God in Judaea and they were saved.  It worked for them in the first century, why wouldn’t it work for us today?   If we want to make absolutely sure we are in the new testament church that Jesus suffered for, bled for, died for and purchased with His blood, then we can do the same thing.  If we will do what they did, we will be what they were.

Christians only and only Christians.  in the body of Christ, the kingdom of God, the church of Christ.

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Color Blind

Color Blind

Having looked into the tearful eyes of parents whose children have abandoned the Faith, I have learned there are a million miles between our children “going through the motions” in reference to their spiritual lives versus our children possessing hearts that dictate their actions. In this column, I plan to share with you what I hope to instill in the hearts of my own children and those whom I love.

Are you a soul or are you a color?

Are you a soul or are you a color?

It is refreshing and a blessing that young children are color blind. Spend a few minutes at a local park and watch small children playing together—they don’t notice skin color. Children are quick to accept and quick to identify their new playmate as a “friend,” but slow to notice color. Sadly, by age 7-10, children begin to notice, as witnessed by changes in behavior. Whether this perception is initiated from parents or other children is not clear, but these “differences” are sometimes translated into how they treat one another.

This difference often becomes more noticeable in adults—sometimes even within the church. Sadly, some congregations remain deliberately segregated. While we preach about diversity and everyone having a special role in the body of Christ, we may not always promote or celebrate diversity—because for many it is not comfortable. It would be a shame if pulpits heralded messages about loving all people, while dark hallways echoed the sounds of racial slurs and jokes. It is possible for Christians to use terms like “brothers and sisters in the faith,” while treating individuals of different color like “step-families.”

Teens will see this dichotomy if they hear people promoting equality while they witness deliberate segregation in the church. They will listen and know that the words of Christians don’t necessarily match their actions. Perhaps through the years many congregations have been mentally labeled “hypocrites” by teens who find this behavior repugnant.

Here’s what I intend on teaching my children about skin color and racism.

There is no question that the Bible teaches there is only one race—the human race. God created mankind in His image and in His likeness (Genesis 1:26-27). Humans were the pinnacle of His creative activities. The Bible clearly states that all of the lineage of humanity came through one woman, Eve. She is defined as the “mother of all living” (Genesis 3:20). Never forget that we are all related—going back first to Noah and his family (Genesis 7:7,13; 1 Peter 3:20), and ultimately to Adam and Eve (Genesis 2).

Whatever the color of someone’s skin, remember that he has a soul that is precious to God. Never forget that God desires all men to be saved (1 Timothy 2:4). During your life you will hear individuals—even Christians—begin conversations by saying, “I’m not racist, but…” But what?! Paul declared, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise” (Galatians 3:28-29).

When David—one of your favorite Biblical heroes—was about to be anointed the next king, we learned in reference to his brother, “Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees;for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart’” (1 Samuel 16:7). I pray that you will do likewise and look inward instead of outward.

There may be times you hear Christians whom you admire of one color or another utter hateful generalizations against people of a different color. I encourage you not to give ear to this kind of talk. One wonders if these individuals secretly believe (or hope) that there will be a Heaven for each individual race? Never forget Christ is the Savior of all people—no matter what their skin looks like. Do what you can to bridge mankind together. Don’t allow the hypocrisy of others to turn you away from your Creator. I pray that you will teach your children that there really is only one race. While you don’t remember it today, there were many nights that you were rocked to sleep with me or your mom singing, “Jesus loves the little children, All the children of the world, Red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in His sight. Jesus loves the little children of the world.” Live it and pass it on.

Love,

Dad

Having looked into the tearful eyes of parents whose children have abandoned the Faith, I have learned there are a million miles between our children “going through the motions” in reference to their spiritual lives versus our children possessing hearts that dictate their actions. In this column, I plan to share with you what I hope to instill in the hearts of my own children and those whom I love.
It is refreshing and a blessing that young children are color blind. Spend a few minutes at a local park and watch small children playing together—they don’t notice skin color. Children are quick to accept and quick to identify their new playmate as a “friend,” but slow to notice color. Sadly, by age 7-10, children begin to notice, as witnessed by changes in behavior. Whether this perception is initiated from parents or other children is not clear, but these “differences” are sometimes translated into how they treat one another.
This difference often becomes more noticeable in adults—sometimes even within the church. Sadly, some congregations remain deliberately segregated. While we preach about diversity and everyone having a special role in the body of Christ, we may not always promote or celebrate diversity—because for many it is not comfortable. It would be a shame if pulpits heralded messages about loving all people, while dark hallways echoed the sounds of racial slurs and jokes. It is possible for Christians to use terms like “brothers and sisters in the faith,” while treating individuals of different color like “step-families.”
Teens will see this dichotomy if they hear people promoting equality while they witness deliberate segregation in the church. They will listen and know that the words of Christians don’t necessarily match their actions. Perhaps through the years many congregations have been mentally labeled “hypocrites” by teens who find this behavior repugnant.
Here’s what I intend on teaching my children about skin color and racism.
There is no question that the Bible teaches there is only one race—the human race. God created mankind in His image and in His likeness (Genesis 1:26-27). Humans were the pinnacle of His creative activities. The Bible clearly states that all of the lineage of humanity came through one woman, Eve. She is defined as the “mother of all living” (Genesis 3:20). Never forget that we are all related—going back first to Noah and his family (Genesis 7:7,13; 1 Peter 3:20), and ultimately to Adam and Eve (Genesis 2).
Whatever the color of someone’s skin, remember that he has a soul that is precious to God. Never forget that God desires all men to be saved (1 Timothy 2:4). During your life you will hear individuals—even Christians—begin conversations by saying, “I’m not racist, but…” But what?! Paul declared, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise” (Galatians 3:28-29).
When David—one of your favorite Biblical heroes—was about to be anointed the next king, we learned in reference to his brother, “Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees;for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart’” (1 Samuel 16:7). I pray that you will do likewise and look inward instead of outward.
There may be times you hear Christians whom you admire of one color or another utter hateful generalizations against people of a different color. I encourage you not to give ear to this kind of talk. One wonders if these individuals secretly believe (or hope) that there will be a Heaven for each individual race? Never forget Christ is the Savior of all people—no matter what their skin looks like. Do what you can to bridge mankind together. Don’t allow the hypocrisy of others to turn you away from your Creator. I pray that you will teach your children that there really is only one race. While you don’t remember it today, there were many nights that you were rocked to sleep with me or your mom singing, “Jesus loves the little children, All the children of the world, Red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in His sight. Jesus loves the little children of the world.” Live it and pass it on.
Love,
Dad
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The Attribute of Meekness

The Attribute of Meekness

Meekness is an important quality in Christianity. Please consider this subject for further study.

Moses demonstrated meekness.

Moses demonstrated meekness.

First, notice meekness defined. Thayer defines this concept as “gentleness, mildness.” Meekness is one of the attributes of “the fruit of the Spirit” (Gal. 5:22 23). It is also one of the attitudes that Jesus mentioned necessary in the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5:5). Paul tells the young preacher Timothy to ensue such (1 Tim. 6:11). It is one of the attributes Christians are encouraged to apply as a part of our new life (Col. 3:12). It is a part of the worthy vocation (Eph. 4:2). The psalmist describes it this way: “The meek will he guide in judgment: and the meek will he teach his way…But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace…The Lord lifteth up the meek: he casteth the wicked down to the ground” (Ps. 25:9; 37:11; 147:6).

Next, notice meekness exemplified. The Bible mentions two specific people who were meek. The first one was Moses. A parenthetical statement in Numbers 12:3 reads: “Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth.” The statement is profound considering the context in which the book of Numbers records it. His own family (Aaron and Miriam) were complaining against him. Considering all of the troubles and trials that he faced in leading such a large nation from Egypt to Canaan for several decades, meekness must be an important trait for leaders—the ability to handle rejection and com plaints with gentleness. The other example—one that is perfect—is our Lord Jesus Christ. Isaiah prophesied concerning such in Isaiah 11:14. He Himself invited humanity with such when He said, “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matt. 11:2830). We find His meekness pictured in His triumphant entry into Jerusalem, not riding a great, white stallion, but a lowly donkey: “Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass” (Matt. 21:5). Even the apostle Paul appealed to “the meekness and gentleness of Christ” (2 Cor. 10:1).

Now, notice meekness applied. We are to use meekness in restoring our wayward brethren (Gal. 6:1) and our brethren who leave the truth (2 Tim. 2:2426). Paul asked, “Shall I come unto you with a rod, or in love, and in the spirit of meekness?” (1 Cor. 4:21). It is a characteristic of elders (Titus 3:2). Spouses who are married to non-Christians especially need such in their relationship (cf. 1 Pet. 3:4). All Christians need such as a part of our faith—“But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear” (1 Pet. 3:15).

May all of us realize the importance of this attribute and seek to perfect it in our lives.

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