Make All Things New

I had previously mentioned Mark Driscoll’s upcoming book, Death By Love as one the books I am most looking forward to reading in the remainder of the year.  Well, a website for the book was launched recently and if you view the trailer (since when did books have trailers?) you might see why I think this book will be helpful in ministering to people.  Go here: Death By Love.

It’s been a while since I have written anything and to my readers, both of you, I am sorry.  Vacation and sermon prep. had taken most of my free time.  I have a few things to write about and hope to do so in the next couple of days.

OK, so I am bit late on this one.  I was away from the computer most of the day.  I was working to spread shalom in my home.

This week I want to share a slice of shalom that has really encouraged me.  My wife, Jill, loves to garden but more than that, she loves to share her garden with others.  I have to admit that I was quite skeptical of having to spend money and time and sore muscles to transform a piece of our back yard into a vegetable garden.  I guess I am not really a horticultural visionary.  This past week I have seen something that fills my heart with joy and has sent my mind on Jesus, the one who makes all things new.

This garden, the one that we dug out and cultivated for months, has begun to bear fruit. But the fruit I am speaking of is not just literal. Jill is using this garden to spread shalom in our neighborhood. With a basket of vegetables in her hands and the gospel in her heart, Jill is cultivating relationships with our neighbors that we hardly knew before. I guess I underestimated how a cucumber could point to the Kingdom.

Between Two Worlds

“This world is our home: we are made to live here. It has been devastated by sin, but God plans to put it right.” (p 247) And that is how Marshall begins the final chapter. The focus, our focus, he contends should not be so much on the here and now but the hereafter. Marshall explains that this book is not intended to be a “how to” of the Christian life rather “to suggest the spirit in which” we are called to live as Christians. According to Marshall, the truth is that this world is our home, that our service here in this world is service to God, what we accomplish here we accomplish forever and that there will be a new heaven and a new earth. These are the truths he encourages us to live by.

The New Creation

I enjoyed this chapter and found it helpful in thinking through some aspects of the new earth. Marshall really focuses on discussing two points in this chapter: 1) our bodily resurrection, like Jesus’, will be physical and 2) the meaning of 2 Peter 3:7. While he does cover some other subjects (albeit briefly), I think these are the most interesting in the chapter.

Marshall shows how Jesus’ resurrection was physical by reminding us that Jesus broke bread with the disciples, he cooked and ate fish with them, and Jesus also showed Thomas the physical scars of his crucifiction. While Marshall acknowledges there were some things that were different about the resurrected Jesus (like appearing among the disciples even though the doors were locked in John 20:19), his point is the similarities (physically) pre and post-resurrection are profound.

“But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.” (2 Peter 3:7) Marshall emphasizes that Peter is not saying that all of creation will be destroyed but rather that creation will be refined. As Marshall states, “[Peter] is writing about the fire of judgment that destroys the sinful and the wrong, not the fire of destruction that destroys creation itself.” (p 237) I think this is an important distinction. While not everyone I discuss this with agrees, it does appear to me that how you interpret this 2 Peter passage will in large part determine how you engage the culture here and now.

Joe Thorn posted a very helpful article on transitioning everyday conversations to the Gospel.

Here’s a brief quote I read today in the Harvie Conn book I’m finishing up this week:

Jesus, the anointed of the Spirit, enters as forerunner into the Age of the Spirit, and his life of prayer manifests [sic] this act of entering in.  He prays ‘through the Holy Spirit’ (Luke 10:21).  Prayer becomes God’s eschatological link between the beginning of the fulfillment and its consummation in glory.

Prayer is a link between the already and the not yet.  What an awesome privilege it is to join God through prayer.

A couple days ago I read this quote from a burnt-out church volunteer. “When they [the church] see a leader, they hook you. They say, ‘Here is an executive. She’s in our church — let’s use her and make her do these things.’ Before long, it’s ‘Will you teach Sunday school or will you do this, will you do that?’ I really can’t get involved. Once in a while, yes, but not just giving, giving, giving.” (the quote is from p.31 of Evangelism: Doing Justice and Preaching Grace by Harvie M. Conn)

This quote troubled me. Mainly because this attitude that the church is always asking something of you is one that I have seen in my own heart. I confess that I have struggled with the selfish feeling of just wanting to “get mine” or at least just get a break from all that I am giving. I have seen growth in this area as I have grown in my affections for Jesus. Christ gave all he could for the church. If I love Jesus, shouldn’t I naturally love what he loves?

So the thought occurred to me as I read the above quote, “What’s the correlation between desire to serve and growth in love and knowledge of Jesus?” Of course, I am assuming that there is a correlation here. I wrote down some quick thoughts in my journal after reading that quote. The entry below is really my attempt at preemptively addressing this “the-church-demands-too-much-of-me-so-I-won’-serve-at-all” situation.

“In our bringing new people into places of service within the church, we must be sensitive to their ‘needs.’ People serve with different motivations — obligation/duty, to please others, to find/test gifts or calling, to glorify God, etc. We don’t want to stifle their growth with an overload of responsibilities yet we don’t want to keep them out of community by protecting them from service either. I think we ought to be mindful of how those who are serving our being served. Really the question is, ‘Are those who are serving being mentored and maturing as believers?’ As they grow in their affections for Christ, serving him moves from being a duty to delight.”

A heart that is passionate for Jesus, will love what he loves. Jesus loves his church. Looks to me that if we want passionate and happily serving volunteers within the church, they need to grow closer to Jesus.

Mark Driscoll completed the “Spurgeon is the Man Week” with this post last Monday.

The post contains all the week’s post and a list of “shout outs” (yours truly is near the bottom of the list). If you like Spurgeon (like I do), I encourage you to check out the posts.