Articles

Over time, we all come across ideas that change the way we think about ourselves. For me, one of those thoughts is that a well-lived life is more like a symphony than a solo.

The point takes nothing away from a solo. I love hearing Willie Nelson sing “September Song,” or Leann Rimes do her version of “Blue.” A single voice performance even makes its own life lesson: Every life is like a center-stage solo in the eyes of our Creator. One person at a time, we are all being judged on our own act (see Romans 14:7-12).

But there is something more important than our own show. Our individual performances are part of something much greater. In the grander scheme, we aren’t just here to sing our own song. All who are in Christ are members of an organization that in some ways is like a symphony orchestra.

The apostle Paul gave us a view of this bigger picture when he wrote, “For in fact the body is not one member but many. If the foot should say, ‘Because I am not a hand, I am not of the body,’ is it therefore not of the body? And if the ear should say, ‘Because I am not an eye, I am not of the body,’ is it therefore not of the body? If the whole body were an eye, where would be the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where would be the smelling? But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased” (1 Corinthians 12:14-18).

The human body is like an orchestra. Individual members, important as they are, work for a purpose greater than themselves.

Shared Rhythm and Mood

Together the members of a symphony create carefully composed and orchestrated moods. Some are quiet and reflective. Others build with great energy and resolve with a flourish. At the direction of their conductor, the members of a well-rehearsed orchestra move as one.

In the wisdom of God, the members of the body of Christ are also designed to resonate and move with one another. When one hurts, those who care share the pain. When one does well, the love of friends and family gives many reasons to be happy (1 Corinthians 12:25-27). With such resonance and rhythm in view, the apostle Paul urged members of God’s family, “Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep” (Romans 12:15).

When the people of Christ care for one another, they move like the rising and falling emotions of a symphony. This is by our great Composer’s design. As explained by the lyrically beautiful yet profound words of Solomon: “To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; . . . a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; . . . a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; a time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace” (Ecclesiastes 3:1-4, 7-8).

Tonal Blend and Variation

To produce contrasting moods and grand sweeps of symphonic harmony a well-trained orchestra moves together through complex notes, chords, scores, rests. So, too, the music of God is heard not only in the cooperation of many people, but also in the blending of many spiritual notes, facts, and principles:

• The Ten Commandments of the Mosaic covenant combined to define the boundaries of moral behavior (Exodus 20:1-17).
• The nine character traits of the new covenant blend to show what a Spirit-filled follower of Christ looks like (Galatians 5:22-23).
• The seven attitudes taught by Christ merge to describe the making of a peacemaker (Matthew 5:1-10).
• The seven progressive expressions of due diligence show that faith works through and in harmony with the essentials of spiritual growth (2 Peter 1:5-7).
• The seven marks of spirituality help us recognize the wisdom that comes from God with balance and depth (James 3:17).
• The fifteen characteristics of real love help us to be sure that our affections and behavior are as loving as we want them to be (1 Corinthians 13).
• The seven pieces of spiritual armor show us why it’s dangerous to think that being in Christ automatically protects us from spiritual attack and failure (Ephesians 6:10-18).

Every word and principle of God stands on its own, but not alone. Without truth, faith is presumption. Without patience, hope is impulsive. Without love, eloquence is noise (1 Corinthians 13:1).

The Conductor

Without a director, the members of an orchestra could all be playing their own song. Even in the same symphony they could be on different pages.

So, too, the people of Christ need a great Director who can turn their individual contributions into shared music. With the music of many voices in mind, the apostle Paul wrote to the Colossians, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him” (Colossians 3:16-17).

Without the leadership of Christ, we would be left looking for a leader worthy of our complete confidence. Apart from His direction, the church would be little more than a group of individuals stumbling through a piece of music no one really understands.

Yet, in the noise of our individual lives, Christ stands among us, ready to be our great Conductor. The composition is His. The music is His. And the orchestra, conceived and bought at great price, is also His. Together we are rehearsing for a presentation far greater than any of us have yet imagined.

Something has gone wrong with forgiveness. I can’t tell you how often I have wandered around lately, in a mental fog, trying to figure out what forgiveness should look like in personal and national settings.

The problem shows up when people say, “I was wrong. I’m sorry. Now let’s get on with business. It’s your job to forgive me. It’s time for us both to put this behind us.”

With a few well-chosen words, the tables are turned. Like a wrestler doing an escape and reverse, an offender regains the upper hand. His victims are now expected to forgive and forget. He might even remind them that according to Jesus, if we don’t forgive others, our Father in heaven won’t forgive us (Matthew 6:14-15).

Is there a way to be forgiving in spirit while still helping those who have hurt us to be accountable for their actions? The answers of the Bible might surprise you.

Forgiving Doesn’t Mean Forgetting

Although some wrongs are forgotten when we stop nursing them, other hurts are always near the edge of our awareness.

If we have been badly wounded, our inability to forget can cause us to feel guilty. We’ve been told that when God forgives, He forgets, and that if we really forgive, we’ll forget too.

But God doesn’t forget anything. From cover to cover, the Bible shows that God remembers the sins of His people. Both Old and New Testaments are full of stories that preserve forever the memory of His people’s forgiven wrongs.

When God says He will not remember our sins, He means He won’t remember them against us. He doesn’t write us off or consider us worthless because of wrongs we’ve done. Instead, through forgiveness, He releases us from a debt we could never pay and assures us of His continuing love for us.

Forgiveness May Not Involve Complete Restoration

Those who have confessed their wrongs are likely to ask, “Now that I’ve admitted my wrong, now that God has forgiven me, and now that the Bible requires you to forgive me, why can’t we act like this never happened?”

One answer is that forgiveness doesn’t require a return to business as usual. There may be results that are irreversible. God forgave Adam and Eve, and then removed them from the Garden. God forgave the anger of Moses, but wouldn’t let him into the Promised Land. God forgave David for adultery and murder, but would not let David have the child born of his adultery.

Forgiveness may allow for consequences. A forgiver may still wisely and lovingly ask for reasonable restitution, legal due process, a plan to avoid recurrences, and time to heal. Wise follow-through is often necessary if we are going to forgive and love well.

Forgiveness Doesn’t Start with Us

The Bible says that the story of forgiveness begins with God. He once and for all forgives the past, present, and future sins of all who accept the cross of His Son as payment for our moral debts. He purges our record in the courts of heaven and secures forever the legal acquittal of all who trust His Son. He offers unlimited “family” forgiveness to those who continue to confess “known” sins against the Father in heaven (1 John 1:9). This second river of forgiveness washes away family issues that have brought disagreement into our relationship with the Father.

With such immeasurable forgiveness in view, Jesus tells the story of a man who was forgiven of a multimillion-dollar debt, but who turned around and refused to forgive the debt of one who owed him a relatively small amount of money (Matthew 18:21-35). Our Teacher used the story to show how immoral it is for us to take mountains of mercy from Him and then to turn around and withhold a few shovels of that mercy from those who ask us.

The message is clear. As we have received immeasurable forgiveness from God, we are to allow what we have received to overflow into the lives of those who wrong us. Jesus said to His disciples, “Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, ‘I repent,’ you shall forgive him” (Luke 17:3-4).

Forgiveness Isn’t Only for Us

Because an angry, bitter spirit can be self-destructive, many believe that the ability to forgive is more for us than for the person who has hurt us. But if forgiving others is God’s merciful way of helping us deal with our own bitterness, why then does He add to our pain the difficult task of confronting those who have hurt us, and to forgive them only if they say, “I repent” (Luke 17:1-4).

Jesus doesn’t teach us to love our enemies and to forgive those who harm us merely to get the bitterness out of our own stomachs. Freeing ourselves of resentment is only part of what Jesus has in mind. Just as God forgives us for our sake, He asks us to join with Him in being part of the redemptive process in those who have asked for mercy. He asks us to do this not in our own strength, but by His grace working in us.

Sometimes It’s Necessary to Lovingly Withhold Forgiveness

God lovingly withholds forgiveness from those who have not had a change of heart. Even though it saddens Him to do so, He will not forgive the guilt of those who knowingly refuse to admit their sin.

God’s example is our wisdom. He teaches us to be saddened by the self-centeredness of others, to lovingly confront those who have wronged us, and to let His love teach us when it is in the best interests of others to extend forgiveness or to withhold it (Matthew 18:15-17; Luke 23:34).

What is the value of a person?

In many cultures men are honored more than women. Rich people are respected more than poor people. The current market value of a person is determined like the price of a car. Model, year, and condition all play a part.

The disturbing truth is that human worth, like beauty, is often in the eye of the beholder. Yet something interesting shows up in the eyes of a mother or father.

A Question of the Heart

After the birth of our son Ben in 1973 and our daughter Jen in 1979, I was overwhelmed by how much I loved both of them. At some point I remember thinking: I’m not sure I understood the value of a person before becoming a parent. And then another thought: What if the devil approached me with a bid for their souls?

Here’s one way the proposition plays out. The devil offers to rig the world’s largest lottery in exchange for Ben’s life. Then he suggests the lifetime earnings of the world’s wealthiest family in exchange for Jen. When he sees that he hasn’t gotten my attention with either of these propositions, he says, “Name your price. What about all the oil in the Mideast? All the real estate in the world? All the industry on the planet? I’ll throw in personal happiness, good health, and a long life for you and your wife.”

You see where this is going. Your answer would be the same as mine. No amount of money or material possessions could tempt us to sell, for any price, one of our own children.

But then there is another question. What if the devil offered me all the money, real estate, and industry of the world for the soul of someone else’s child?

Since I’ve just admitted that I couldn’t put a price tag of any amount on one of my own children, I’m in a frame of mind to remember that everyone is somebody’s baby. And by a parent’s standard, there isn’t another child in the world worth less than my own. Yet here my own character gives out on me. While my love for Ben and Jen tells me something about the priceless value of a person, my own conscience tells me how inconsistently I’ve given attention and consideration even to my own children, let alone the sons and daughters of others.

The Need for Better Eyes

There is only one Person who never lost sight of the value of every person. Day after day Jesus treated women and men, old and young, poor and rich, sick and healthy as if they all were important. Even when offered the kingdoms of the world for a moment of blind self-interest, He didn’t cave in (Matthew 4:1-11). He consistently saw something in others worth dying for.

Sometimes Jesus used little things to show the value He saw in others. Once, after asking His followers to risk their lives for Him, He asked, “Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows” (Matthew 10:29-31). His point was clear: If the Father in heaven takes note of a sparrow falling to the ground, then imagine how much more He loves and cares for His own children.

On another occasion, Jesus used big things to show the value He sees in each person. To people inclined even to forget the value of their own life Jesus asked, “What profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Matthew 16:26).

The Eloquence of Action

Jesus’ words were powerful, but His actions were even more telling. While some of the most religious people of His day looked down on or ignored women, ethnic minorities, poor people, and prisoners, Christ noticed and befriended them.

Christ’s value of each person is a revolutionary principle of life. If we all shared His value of each person, our families and churches would be healthier and safer places to be. Business and industry would be transformed by owners and managers who saw workers through Christ’s eyes. Nothing would give more honor and value to either our friends or our enemies than to be treated as someone “for whom Christ died” (Romans 14:15; 1 Corinthians 8:11).

The apostle John was one of Jesus’ closest friends during our Lord’s three years of public life, and John was deeply moved by the way Christ valued him. This love spilled over into the apostle’s concern for others. In the fourth chapter of his first New Testament letter he wrote, “In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation [sacrifice] for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another” (1 John 4:10-11).

Pluralistic cultures like our own put a high value on tolerance. In matters of personal morality and religious faith, most things are tolerable except intolerance itself.

The healthy side of “politically correct” tolerance is that it attempts to assure mutual respect among people of different religious and cultural perspectives. The dangerous side is that children of such cultures are raised to consider all points of view as equally valid.

Where does this leave those of us who do not believe everything is relative or that all religious or philosophical views are equally valid? Should we be angry about a society that tolerates sexual immorality and philosophical relativism, while at the same time becomes increasingly intolerant of the Christian mission? Should we be angry that a nation which used to assume Judeo-Christian values is increasingly resistant to the Christian gospel?

If we are not careful, we might end up on the wrong side of this issue.

It is easy for us to feel insulted and intimidated by a government and society that attempts to marginalize people of “fundamentalist” conviction. It is easy to feel that we must fight all attempts to define us out of a government “of the people, by the people, and for the people.” It is easy to assume that because “sin is a reproach to any nation,” our mission is to make sure that government is a friend or at least a protector of our mission to evangelize. It is easy to assume that “tolerance of sin” is all wrong.

Policies of tolerance, however, are not all wrong. They form the mutual ground on which we can stand with non-Christians to press the point that while all religious points of view might be tolerated in a free society, all are not equally valid.

While the God of the Bible teaches us not to tolerate pride, greed, or sexual immorality in ourselves or in the lives of those who take the name of Christ, He teaches His people to tolerate sin in the lives of those who do not yet know Christ as Savior (1 Corinthians 5:7-13). To tolerate sin in the lives of non-Christian neighbors does not mean we condone their sin. It means we seek to patiently love them to Christ, as God has loved us to Himself.

As Christians we must not only pray for our enemies and give them reason to come to Christ, but we must also defend their right to disagree with us and reach conclusions inconsistent with our own. While we do not agree with such views or consider them equally valid, we must fight for their right to hold them.

What we must not do is argue our case and vote our morality in public forums for the purpose of “reclaiming our rights” or “to protect our children from the evils of unbelievers.” Those who don’t yet know Christ need to feel our compassion more than our desire for control. They need to see that we are not motivated by fear for ourselves, but by love for them.

Our path will not be easy. Our mission to tell our world about “one mediator between God and man” will be seen by multi-cultural societies as one more form of religious fundamentalism that is especially dangerous.

Anti-conversion policy will undoubtedly become a mark of the coming global village. The world of the future will offer religious freedom, while at the same time censuring any group that seeks converts.

World governments are under growing pressure to adopt policy designed to protect religious groups from threatening one another. The Republic of Turkey, for instance, offers religious freedom while at the same time taking a tough stance against any religious group that attempts to make converts from outside of its own members. While such laws seem designed to frustrate Christian missions, they were actually drafted to eliminate conflict between competing Muslim sects. The issue is not only the Christian message, but any religious message that threatens to disrupt societal cohesion.

All of this seems threatening. But this is no time to throw up our hands or throw in the towel. We have merely lived long enough to come full circle to first-century conditions. The church was born in a time marked by sexual immorality, and by the tolerance of all kinds of gods. The church was born in a day that tolerated almost anything except a faith that lovingly pointed others to the Lord of lords.

There is a fine line between the healthy and unhealthy use of power. At any time, even the best of leaders can begin making decisions that increasingly put their own interests before the needs of others.

The misuse of authority, however, is not always subtle. History tells the stories of countless leaders who boldly acted as if their position placed them above real accountability.

Biblical Examples of Misused Power

In Bible times, the sons of Samuel used their appointments as judges of Israel to take bribes, pervert justice, and accumulate personal wealth. Later, God’s choice for the first king of Israel, Saul, abused his power in an effort to kill the man chosen to be his successor. When David became king, he misused the authority of the throne of Israel to commit adultery with the wife of one of his officers. Then David conspired to have Bathsheba’s husband killed.

Centuries later, a little-known church leader named Diotrephes misused his position by denouncing others to elevate himself. He was so protective of his own position that he would not even welcome the apostle John into his congregation (3 John 1:9-10). We don’t know how Diotrephes publicly explained his lack of hospitality. But privately he might have assumed that all he had done for the church entitled him to unchallenged prominence in the group.

The Patterns of Abuse

Whether it is in ancient times or today, abuse of authority always involves a harmful and destructive pattern of leadership that diverts organizational power for personal use at the expense of others.

A culture of fear

Such abuse of authority thrives in a culture where people fear one another. Leaders are afraid of losing power. Subordinates know the danger of confronting those in authority. Loyalty is emphasized to distract from what is really happening. Mutual intimidation lies just under the surface of what seems safe to talk about or question.

A culture of confusion

In church or para-church groups, leaders sometimes use spiritual language that implies they have a private line to God. The result is that the group learns to hear the teaching or prayerful decisions of leadership as if they were listening to God. Such confusion leads to trouble.

A culture of control and exclusion

When spiritual overseers are not held accountable to fair process and well-defined checks and balances, they can impose their will in ways that go beyond their rightful sphere of control. Such leaders may remove a noncompliant person from the group, not for the sake of the organization but as a means to protect their own leadership. By threatening exclusion for noncompliance, leaders can require submission in matters that are more personal than public, more cultural than biblical, and more arbitrary than fairly reasoned. Ironically, abusive leaders often suggest that their own accountability to God places them above criticism and question, without granting the same freedom to others.

In the noise and commotion of such abuse, phrases like “touch not the Lord’s anointed” or “obey those that have the rule over you” are used, not to promote a healthy fear of the Lord but rather an unhealthy fear of men.

A Better Example

Jesus’ example of leadership is a corrective to such abuse of authority. In His kingdom, leaders think and act like servants. They hear the questions and cries of those who are hurting. They give others the consideration they want for themselves.

In Jesus’ kingdom, elders and deacons do not correct someone else without first working on their own faults (Luke 6:39, 41-42). They remember the Lord’s words: “A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is perfectly trained will be like his teacher” (Luke 6:40).

One Leader’s Inspired Counsel

Listen to what one of Jesus’ understudies tells us. Watch for the value the apostle Peter puts on heartfelt service. Note that he wants both elders and church members to serve God not by coercion but because they desire to. Peter writes to fellow elders: “Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly; nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock” (1 Peter 5:2-3, emphasis added).

Spiritual shepherds are not to “lord it over” the flock of God. Just as overseers, elders, and deacons are not to be pressed into service, neither are they to intimidate, shame, or compel others to serve, to give, or to follow. Even when confronting false teachers, representatives of Christ are not to be authoritarian in style, but “gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition” (2 Timothy 2:24-25).

Sooner or later, therefore, we need to realize that we don’t honor even the most trusted spiritual leaders by believing everything they say. We give them their rightful place when we weigh their words, ask important questions, and dig into the text of their message for ourselves.

The New Testament record of Acts honors the citizens of Berea precisely because they did not passively accept what they were taught by Paul and Silas. Instead, our record of the New Testament church says of the Bereans, “These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so” (Acts 17:11).

The implication is clear. God does not give His leaders power and authority to control people, but to speak a truth that sets people free.

Even though racially mixed marriages are becoming more common, some still resent it when a member of their own ethnic community marries an outsider. Others are convinced that such marriages are morally or spiritually wrong. Until concluding that mixed marriages do have spiritual implications, I wasn’t sure I wanted to think through the subject in the presence of those who might be hurt or offended by my attempts to find a biblical perspective.

Do the Scriptures give us reason to believe that Asian, African, and European bloodlines should be kept pure? What about lesser ethnic distinctions? Some families believe Dutch stock should not be mixed with Swedish or German gene pools (as in my own parents’ case when they married, with some resentment from Holland-born relatives).

To test our thinking, let’s give a hearing to those who believe ethnic differences are a part of the divine order. Such a person might say, “Racial purity is a righteous idea. Whether we like it or not, our Creator made the races different. The same God who made all living creatures to reproduce after their own kind is the One who made Asians, Africans, Europeans, and Latinos. How could it be right for us to blend distinctions He conceived? Furthermore,” such a person might argue, “according to the book of Genesis all bloodlines are not equal. Through Noah, God predestined the descendants of Ham, who migrated to Africa, to be a servant race. We may not like all of this. We may think we are sophisticated enough to override God’s purposes. But according to the Bible, our Creator is the source of our differences, and it’s dangerous to think we know better than Him.”

Some might see such an argument for ethnic purity as an example of conservative, Bible-believing conviction. Let me suggest, however, why I think using the Scriptures to condemn racially mixed marriages is an example of theological and biblical confusion. Let’s see if the Scriptures can give us help in evaluating the validity of Afro-European marriages.

• We were alike before we were different. The Scriptures repeatedly show that all of us have roots from the same parents (Acts 17:26). Before there were differences of skin tone, facial features, and language, we were alike. First, we were the sons and daughters of Adam and Eve. After a terrible flood wiped out everyone except one family, the gene pool was narrowed back down to Noah’s family. For this reason there’s no merit to the idea that God expects people to protect racial purity by reproducing after their own kind. All families of the earth share equally, not only in the gene pool of humanity but in the image and likeness of God. We may be inclined to belittle one another by failing to identify with the thoughts and emotions of people who look or sound different than we do. But the Bible clearly says that we all have the same human blood running through our veins.
• God did not predestine Africans to be a servant race. The idea that Africans were predestined to be a servant class comes from a misreading of a biblical story. It relates to a curse pronounced by Noah after learning that his son Ham had told his brothers he’d seen their father lying naked in a drunken stupor (Genesis 9:20-27). From Noah’s reaction to Ham, we conclude he felt that Ham had shown him disrespect. A closer look shows that Noah did not curse all of Ham’s descendants, many of whom migrated south into Africa. The curse settled specifically on Canaan, the fourth son of Ham, whose descendants eventually moved into the area now occupied by the nation of Israel. Noah’s curse fell on the Canaanites, who were judged for their idolatrous, sexual excesses.
• Moses married an Ethiopian woman. When Aaron and Miriam, Moses’ brother and sister, spoke against Moses “because of his Ethiopian wife,” God showed His displeasure with their criticism, but did not indicate He had a problem with Moses’ mixed marriage. God showed disapproval of Miriam’s condemnation of Moses by striking Miriam’s skin with leprosy for seven days (Numbers 12:1-15). I doubt it’s a coincidence that God turned Miriam’s skin “leper white” in judgment.
• Hearts are more important to God than skin color. While the New Testament urges followers of Christ not to enter into a binding relationship with someone who does not believe in Christ (2 Corinthians 6:14), it never says anything about avoiding people with a different shade of skin. Never does the New Testament give us reason to believe that God wants us to stay within our own ethnic profile. But a concerned black or white parent may ask, “What about the social burden carried by partners in a racially mixed relationship? Isn’t marriage difficult enough without facing enormous cultural differences too?” These are important questions. Ethnic and temperamental differences that are appealing in courtship sometimes become the very differences that are most difficult to tolerate as the marriage matures. But however difficult our differences, we must remember that God is more concerned about the attitudes of our hearts than about skin color.

The real issue isn’t what we think about racially mixed marriages. It’s how deeply we care about all who’ve been created by Christ, and for whom He died.

The front page of our local newspaper carried the story of peace activists protesting the use of bombs to fight international terrorism. The article included a photo of a child carrying a sign asking, “What Would Jesus Do?”

The question on the sign is important. Jesus said that if we don’t forgive others, the Father in heaven will not forgive us (Matthew 6:14-15). But was He telling us to forgive those who have not had a change of heart? Not according to the rest of the Scriptures.

Don’t misunderstand me. I’m not an advocate of vengeance. I need forgiveness as much as anyone. I see how unbecoming it is to receive mountains of forgiveness from heaven, only to withhold handfuls from those who hurt us on earth. But if we are not careful with forgiveness, we may unintentionally strengthen the grip of dangerous people.

Let’s take another look at what the Bible asks of us . . .

• There is a difference between love and forgiveness. God loves everyone, and He shows mercy to all (Matthew 5:45). But He does not forgive everyone. He offers forgiveness with conditions because there are some attitudes He will not forgive. As compassionate as He is, He won’t lift the burden of guilt from those who refuse to acknowledge their need for mercy.

But someone says, “You’re missing the point. Vengeance is God’s business, not ours. We don’t forgive to let those who have harmed us off the hook. We forgive to turn the offenders over to God and to get the bitterness and anger out of our own stomachs. If we don’t forgive, our own anger will consume us.”

Vengeance does belong to God alone. But will a watching world see us acting nobly and lovingly when we offer forgiveness to unrepentant, dangerous people? My guess is that others will think we are dangerously naive and only forgiving for our own emotional survival.

• Everyone can be forgiven, but only some qualify. God forgives repentant people. His heart reaches out to those who are contrite and broken (Isaiah 66:2). But He does not forgive those who consciously hide and cling to their wrongs. Neither does He teach us to automatically forgive everyone who has wronged us.

Instead, the God of the Bible teaches us to pray for our enemies. He teaches us to lovingly confront those who have harmed us and to forgive those who acknowledge their wrong (Matthew 18:15-18; Luke 17:1-4; 1 Corinthians 5:1-8; 2 Corinthians 2:6-11).

• Christ’s warnings need to be understood. We can’t afford to misunderstand the words of Jesus: “If you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses” (Matthew 6:15). He wasn’t teaching us to automatically forgive everyone who harms us. His warning was for those whose hearts are hard and unrelenting toward those who ask for our forgiveness. His loving anger is a warning of what happens when we refuse to give repentant people the mercy we ourselves have received (Matthew 18:23-35).
• Neither love nor forgiveness eliminates the need for social justice and national security. Acts of terrorism are not just crimes against individuals. By design they are attacks against the state. As a result they fall into a different category than personal insult and harm. Assaults on national security are similar to the threats we find King David responding to in some of his national songs of judgment.

In several of his well-known Old Testament psalms, David called for the utter destruction of the enemy. Because he expressed a cry for judgment rather than mercy, many think that his prayers are inconsistent with the spirit of Christ. But it’s important to realize that when David wrote as the king of Israel, his cries for help were not only for himself but for the security of his people (Psalms 5, 11, 17, 35, 55, 59, 69, 109, 137, and 140).

Much of the Bible shows that there is a time for war, just as there is a time for peace. Although war has terrible consequences, leaders who love their people must take severe action against aggressors. The apostle Paul supported this governmental justice when he wrote that the authorities do not bear the sword in vain but are God’s servants to execute justice on those who do evil (Romans 13:4).

• To love is more important than to forgive. To care, even for those we must go to war against, is Christlike. Even when our military is dropping bombs on those our leaders have declared enemies of the state, love teaches us to cry inside for those who are suffering. Many, after all, are suffering not for their own wrongs, but for the wrongs of their leaders.

When a terrorist is killed, we can be thankful that the person no longer poses a threat to others. But God takes no pleasure in the death of His enemies (Ezekiel 33:11), and neither will we if our hearts are filled with the compassion of Christ.

• Love fulfills the principle of forgiveness. As followers of Christ, we are to be known for our forgiveness. Even more, we are to be known for our love (Galatians 5:14). All biblical principles can be misapplied and misused if they are not motivated by a heart of enlightened love.

But what does this love look like? It is a love that walks in the clothes of the wisdom and principles of the Bible. This love is what prompted the apostle Paul to write, “For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself'” (Galatians 5:14).

Christlike love needs to set the tone and rhythm of our lives. We are to be known not only for our willingness to offer timely forgiveness but also for our willingness to stand against oppressors, while acting courageously in behalf of those who have no voice or strength of their own.

Having just returned from a work assignment in Israel, I’ve been reminded again of the Jewish commitment to never forget their national Holocaust.

I’ve also come back with a renewed concern for friends who see a link between anti-Semitism and the New Testament.

While recalling discussions with one of those friends, I’m writing:

Dear Eli,

Hope you’re doing well. Sure enjoyed our conversations during my recent stay in Jerusalem.

Since you are aware of my confidence in the Gospel accounts, I appreciate your willingness to talk so freely about your own spiritual journey. I’ve thought a lot about your struggle to believe in a God who would allow the Holocaust.

I also keep thinking about how different our backgrounds have been. You grew up in a home where your mother, after being the only sister in her family to survive the death camps, could not talk about God. I was raised in a home where we were taught to see our Creator not only in nature and in the daily provisions of life, but also in the history of your people.

I’ve also thought a lot about your observation that some people came out of the Holocaust with a complete loss of faith, while others responded not only with belief but also with deep devotion to God.

Your candor was refreshing. And when you asked if I thought you were being unreasonable, I knew I could quickly say, “no”, while sensing that you had asked a very difficult question.

Part of me wants to say that the systematic, state-sponsored killing of your people had everything to do with human evil and nothing to do with God. But then I’m reminded of the God of the Jewish Scriptures who had His reasons for allowing pagan nations to tear down the walls of Jerusalem, while breaking His own heart in the process.

I’ve also thought about your comment that the closest you come to sensing God is in the wilderness. I too have felt the wonder of wide-open space and silence. Away from the sounds of the city, I’ve sensed not only the presence of God but also the capacity for moral choice and consequence that eventually bring me back to the commotion of the city.

On a couple of occasions I’ve heard the air-raid sirens that wail in Israel on your Holocaust Remembrance Day. I’ve watched as you stopped whatever you were doing and stood in silence for one minute. In that annual moment of remembrance, I think I’ve seen something of what it means to be a “chosen people.” From the days of Abraham, your people have been center stage in the story of human civilization. Sometimes you have been a guiding light for your neighbors. On other occasions, your story has been like an unnerving siren reminding us that something terrible has happened to our world.

No, your ancestors didn’t ask to be a “chosen people.” Nor do I believe the outcome would have been any different if God had formed or miraculously preserved any other ethnic group. Because human nature is universal, the story would have been the same, under a different name. It could just as well have been the French, the Germans, or the Japanese who had to face the reality that it’s hard to be a “chosen people.” Any other nation chosen to be the people of Messiah would bear the same burden.

In mentioning Messiah, I recognize your suspicion that anti-Semitism has roots in Gospel records that portray your people as “Christ-killers.” Even though the New Testament is written by Jewish authors about a Jewish Messiah, non-Jewish people have made far too much of the fact that some Jewish leaders called for Jesus’ death. What too many have forgotten is that the rabbi from Nazareth died voluntarily, under the authority of a Roman governor, and at the hands of brutal Roman executioners. When Jewish people are singularly blamed for the death of Jesus, the good news of God’s own sacrifice for the atonement of our sin is missed. Those who point the finger at Jewish people also misrepresent the spirit of the New Testament that shows God’s love for Israel (Matthew 23:37; Romans 9:1-5; 10:1-4).

But Eli, if you are not ready to read the New Testament, I wish you would at least read again the ancient story of Job. The sages of Israel have long treasured his life as evidence that people do not suffer in proportion to their sins. Instead, as the Hebrew Scriptures show, God sometimes calls people like Job, the Israelites, and His Messiah to suffer for the sake of others. Job was a good man who suffered to show the rest of us that Satan, not God, is the source of evil. Israel’s troubles help us to see the danger of walking away from the protection of God.

And the sufferings of God’s sinless Messiah are for the atonement of all who have left God to go their own way (Isaiah 53).

I don’t believe the Hebrew Scriptures give us any reason to see the tragic events of the Holocaust as a picture of God’s individual judgment on those who died. Eternity alone will show what heaven was seeing in the hearts of those who suffered in such abandonment and darkness. But if this event had any relationship to the other tragic national days described in the Hebrew Scriptures, then a chosen nation’s troubles can be a spiritual wake-up call for all who are watching.

If I know anything about the God and Messiah of Israel, His heart was broken by the suffering of Jewish people in death camps of inexpressible evil. Yet, with irony that goes beyond words, the tears and the agony of those dark days are part of the wisdom God used in giving us the freedom to choose our own path. And if, in choosing our own way, we miss the rescue of God’s Messiah, it is far more loving for Him to sound a siren than to be silent.

Eli, I hope this will help you to better understand where I’m coming from. I hope to hear from you when you get a chance.

Sincerely, Mart

Whether loved or hated, Israel is a magnet. Although no larger than the state of New Jersey, she draws journalists, statesmen, and tourists from all over the world to a few acres of the most contested real estate on earth.

Arriving from many nations, Jewish, Christian, and Muslim pilgrims stream through Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv to see with their own eyes the cities, mountains, and valleys that are home to some of their deepest thoughts and hopes.

The People of This Land

Most of those who come to Israel discover a common bond with the people of the land. Almost everyone they find here traces their ancestry back to the same father. Although the region was occupied before and after by people of other family groups, almost everyone claims to be related through a man named Abraham. Ironically Abraham, whose name means “father of many,” was childless until the age of eighty-five.

Arab people see themselves as the children of Abraham’s first son, Ishmael. Jewish people trace their lineage through a second son, Isaac. And Christians see themselves as the spiritual children of Abraham (Galatians 3:7).

From within this family tree, however, God chose the line of Isaac to be the “branch” through which He would reveal Himself to the world. In time, it became apparent that this branch would bear not only the fruit of God’s blessing but the burden of heaven’s correction as well.

The Story of This Land

The unfolding drama of “the chosen people” is more than the greatest story ever told. It is also the longest running show in history. For the last four thousand years the curtains of time have risen and fallen on a land that has been like a great stage positioned on a land bridge and the trade routes between Africa, Asia, and Europe.

With timeless significance the people of this land have told the story of a great King who let His own Son die in order to save the lives and future of His people.

The times and people of this story have made the land into an enormous national museum of history. Here thoughtful visitors climb steps and walk corridors carpeted with the hopes and dreams of a nation. The irony is that this national museum is not designed to showcase the treasures of a royal dynasty. Instead, its halls and steps wind their way to a main exhibit built in honor of a lowly rabbi-carpenter from Nazareth.

The Messiah of This Land

There has never been another man like Him. Known in His day as a rabbi from the wrong side of town, His miraculous life, profound wisdom, premature death, and astounding resurrection have given Him a status greater than Abraham. Calendars of the world count from the year of His birth.

Jewish prophets anticipated His coming. They spoke of a King who would bring peace to the world (Isaiah 2:1-4). They foresaw that this “Anointed One” would be conceived within the womb of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14). He would be called “Mighty God” (Isaiah 9:6). He would be born in Bethlehem, the city of David (Micah 5:2). They also predicted that this Servant of God would die as a lamb led to the slaughter, to bear the wrongs of others (Isaiah 53; Daniel 9:26; Zechariah 12:10).

The Witnesses of This Land

In the region of Galilee’s great freshwater lake, the Jewish and Gentile people from shoreline communities met this teacher face to face. Together they saw Him heal crippled bodies. Some saw Him walk on water. They saw Him feed thousands of people with four loaves of bread and a couple of fish.

The Messiah they saw has left His impact on every generation since. His answer to our spiritual needs is what led Blaise Pascal, a seventeenth-century physicist, mathematician, and Christian philosopher, to say, “There is a God-shaped vacuum in the heart of every man which cannot be filled by any created thing, but only by God the Creator, made known through Jesus Christ.”

The Real Importance of This Land

The real importance of this land is that it bore the footprints of our God as He walked among us. It bore the weight of the best man who ever lived as He hung on an executioner’s cross. It gave us witnesses who reported His resurrection from the dead three days later. Then the cumulative evidence of this land asks us, “What are you going to do with Him?”

Each of us needs to answer this question. The witnesses of this land invite us to come closer. The gospel writer Luke brings us close enough to overhear a conversation that occurred as the long-awaited Messiah hung dying between two criminals being executed at His side. While one of these men mocked Jesus because He was dying as they were, the other was more thoughtful and introspective. The second criminal said to the first, “We receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong.” Then he turned to Jesus and said, “Remember me when You come into Your Kingdom.” Jesus said, “Today you will be with Me in Paradise” (Luke 23:43). By a simple act of trust, a condemned, dying criminal received heaven’s pardon and everlasting life.

All of the chapters of Israel’s history point to the death and resurrection of the One who made that promise to a dying man. As the Messiah of Israel was dying, He used a condemned criminal to show all of us how we too can be with Him forever. His words were for all of us. He will bring to His eternal home all who say from their hearts, “I’ve done wrong. I believe You died for my sins. I accept You as my Savior and entrust myself to You.”

Those who make this decision understand why Israel cannot be ignored. It’s no wonder that, whether loved or hated, Israel is a magnet. This land is the stage for the greatest story ever told. It is a national museum of history and theology. It is one great archaeological dig for the land of the Bible. This is the battlefield for our souls, our hearts, and our minds.