Christian Tolerance

Tolerance is truly a Christian ideal.  But tolerance has become a distorted notion in the 21st century. When contemporary culture espouses tolerance, the oft repeated emphasis is that all paths are equally valid. There is no right; there is no wrong; only diversity. Tolerance demands that each embrace the diverse opinions, experiences, and actions of others as equally valid.

Historically, tolerance has a very different meaning. One acceptable definition is that tolerance is "the ability or willingness to tolerate something, in particular the existence of opinions or behavior that one does not necessarily agree with."  To put up with. To endure. Not rejecting a person because of divergent positions.

In the church, the Body of Christ, we have divided more than we have united. Stories are legion, recounting the point at which holy swords have crossed. Good and godly people have lost their reason dividing over everything from doctrine to decor, and even personal decorum. God's children often find themselves on opposing sides of an intolerant and un-Christian divide.

T.R. Glover is attributed for having said, "Remember that whatever your hand finds to do, someone thinks differently!"

John Wesley in his sermon Catholic Spirit, calls the church to love and unity. He tells the story of Jonadab, the son of Rechab, who joined forces with Israel's new king, Jehu. Two very different men with very different historical agendas united to defeat Baal worship in Israel. Jonadab seems to have done so for religious purposes. Jehu apparently did so for political intent, to secure his throne.

In Wesley's sermon, he calls people to deep doctrinal convictions and commitments to historical Christian orthodoxy. "But while he is steadily fixed in his religious principles in what he believes to be the truth as it is in Jesus; while he firmly adheres to that worship of God which he judges to be most acceptable in his sight... his heart is enlarged toward all mankind, those he knows and those he does not; he embraces with strong and cordial affection neighbors and strangers, friends and enemies. This is catholic or universal love."

Wesley summarizes his view of the catholic spirit. "If, then, we take this word in the strictest sense, a man of a catholic spirit is one who, in the manner above-mentioned, gives his hand to all whose hearts are right with his heart: one who knows how to value, and praise God for, all the advantages he enjoys, with regard to the knowledge of the things of God, the true scriptural manner of worshiping him, and, above all, his union with a congregation fearing God and working righteousness: one who, retaining these blessings with the strictest care, keeping them as the apple of his eye, at the same time loves--as friends, as brethren in the Lord, as members of Christ and children of God, as joint partakers now of the present kingdom of God, and fellow heirs of his eternal kingdom--all, of whatever opinion or worship, or congregation, who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ; who love God and man; who, rejoicing to please, and fearing to offend God, are careful to abstain from evil, and zealous of good works."  (http://wesley.nnu.edu/john-wesley/the-sermons-of-john-wesley-1872-edition/sermon-39-catholic-spirit)

Christian tolerance.  We must reclaim it!

Saint Augustine said, “In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things, charity.”

Dismas: the Penitent Thief

William Barclay tells an ancient legend of Dismas, the thief on the cross whom Jesus forgave and promised "Today you will be with me in Paradise."

"Legend calls the penitent thief Dismas, and tells that he did not meet Jesus for the first time when they both hung on their crosses on Calvary.  The story runs like this.  When Joseph and Mary were on their way to Egypt, they were waylaid by robbers.  one of the robber chiefs wished to murder them at once and to steal their little store of goods.

"But something about the baby Jesus went straight to Dismas' heart, for Dismas was one of these robbers.  He refused to allow any harm to come to Jesus or His parents.

"He looked at Jesus and said, 'O most blessed of children, if ever there come a time for having mercy on me, then remember me, and forget not this hour.'

"So, the legend says, Jesus and Dismas met again at Calvary, and Dismas on the cross found forgiveness and mercy for his soul."

William Barclay, The Gospel of Matthew, vol. 1. The Westminster Press: Philadelphia, pp. 25-26.

A Spider in a Cave

William Barclay tells a lovely story, a legend of protection for the Christ child on the journey from Bethlehem to Egypt.  Herod's armies were in hot pursuit of Jesus, Mary and Joseph.

"When Joseph and Mary and Jesus were on their way to Egypt, the story runs, as the evening came they were weary, and they sought refuge in a cave.  It was very cold, so cold that the ground was white with hoar frost.  A little spider saw the little baby Jesus, and he wished so much that he could do something for Him to keep Him warm in the cold night.  He decided to do the only thing he could do, to spin his web across the entrance of the cave, to make as it were, a curtain there.

"Along the path there came a detachment of Herod's soldiers, seeking for children to kill to carry out Herod's bloothirsty order.  When they came to the cave they were about to burst in to search it, to see if anyone was hiding there, but their captain noticed the spider's web.  It was covered with the white hoar frost and stretched right across the entrance to the cave.

"'Look,' he said, 'at the spider's web there.  It is quite unbroken and there cannot possibly be anyone in the cave, for anyone entering the cave would certainly have torn the web.'

"So the soldiers passed on, and left the holy family in peace, because a little spider had spun his web across the entrance to the cave.  And that, so they say, is why to this day we put tinsel on our Christmas trees, for the glittering tinsel streamers stand for the spider's web, white with the hoar frost, stretched across the entrance of the cave on the way to Egypt."

William Barclay, The Gospel of Matthew (1958), vol. 1, The Westminster Press: Philadelphia, p. 27.

Encounter

On a return trip from a holiday train excursion to New Orleans, Beth and I found ourselves aboard a coach car on train #58.  Also in our car was a young woman traveling to Carbondale, Illinois with two small children.  She wore jeans and a black t-shirt, her hair adorned with a black and white houndstooth bow.  The beautiful little brown-eyed, brown haired five year old girl, Jasmine, was accompanied by her blond three year old brother, Colton.

Mother equipped children with sticker books and activities to alleviate their boredom across the many miles. The trip began with Subway sandwiches and chips that were sure to run out. The boy was fascinated with the train tracks, the swamp, unseen alligators, fish, frogs, and an orange and green toy gun that fired with a rat-a-tat sound. The little girl played with princess stickers. The train traveled around the west shore of Lake Ponchatrain, alongside the elevated course of Interstate 10, and then turned north.

Early in the trip, the young mother grew distressed by the conductor's news that she was in the wrong car of the train. Our car contained the passengers bound for Jackson, Mississippi. She was headed beyond.  The conductor sought to comfort her, "I will take care of you when we get to Jackson."

The obviously distressed young woman called a friend.  Fear filled her young voice. Beth and I looked at each other. The young lady misunderstood. We knew it.

I interrupted her phone conversation.  "All is not lost, Ma'am," I said. You are not on the wrong train, just the wrong car."

Her face relaxed. Her story tumbled out to her friend on the phone. She was returning with the children to Carbondale.  A relationship with some certain "him" had fallen through. The police had been called. Someone landed in jail.

Compassion filled our hearts as we listened to the children's playful chatter.  We watched a patient, kind, hurting mother care for her well-behaved children.  I wondered about the details of her story, her background, the “him” she had left behind.  I wondered if this nameless mother had anyone in her life to pray for her in her season of distress.

Colton fell asleep a couple of hours into the four hour trip from New Orleans to Jackson.  The little family would arrive in Carbondale in the wee hours of the morning.  Beth and I hustled off the train at the Jackson station.  We had friends to meet, our car to locate in the parking lot, and Christmas presents to seek at the local toy store.

But as we left, we were praying.  We were praying for a young mother, a five year old named Jasmine, and a three year old Colton.

Chance encounter?  Probably not.

Despised, indifferent, or devoted?

Matthew 2:1-18

My Lord and My God!

From the moment of Your birth, people varied wildly in their response to You!  Herod hated You with a despising hostility, pursuing You with one thing on his mind–slaughter!  The chief priests and scribes were completely indifferent, and the wise men demonstrated devoted adoration and worship.

Herod’s insane suspicion knew no bounds.  Someone called him a “murderous old man,” and surely he was.  When the Roman Emperor Augustus learned of Herod’s assassination of three of his own sons, Augustus said that it was safer to be Herod’s pig than to be Herod’s son.  Yes, he built the temple of Jerusalem.  Surely he had moments of generosity, but those moments never seemed entirely selfless.  And then he placed You, the Son of God, in His sinful sights.

The chief priest and scribes did not even seem to care about You.  They were completely enamored with prophecy as an academic study, absent of any wonder or worship.  These spiritual leaders of the Jews should have been the first ones interested in verifying Your arrival.  Their disinterest is astonishing.  As often is true with academics, the chief priests and scribes’ interest never transcended the technical and the theoretical.  You were of no interest to them.  Like the priest and Levite in Your parable of the Good Samaritan, they “passed by on the other side.”

I don’t know all of the details concerning the wise men from the East who attended You in Your infancy.  Apparently, they were experts in philosophy, medicine, and the science of their day.  Apparently, they had some measure of wealth, power, and prestige, but many questions remain. What sense of expectation motivated the wise men to even look for a sign in the heavens?  What was the ancient star which they saw?  How did the wise men know to connect the celestial show to the birth of a king?  Was there some Messianic hope that transcended national boundaries and cultures? How many wise men were there?  How old were You when they arrived?

What about me?  Am I worshiping You in a way that is worthy?  Is my worship despising, indifferent, or devoted?  Lord Jesus, may my worship of You never be conniving, scheming, positioning myself for some advantage.  Help me to worship You with a pure heart of devotion, not from some contemptuous scheme based in intrigue, but from a genuine and transparent heart of perfect love.  I choose to offer You obedient devotion.  

In the Name of Messiah, my Lord Jesus Christ,
Amen.

I GOTTA TELL SOMEBODY

John 1:35-42, Isaiah 53:7, I Corinthians 15:3b, Hebrews 9:28a, I Peter 1:18-19, Revelation 5:12

Precious Lamb of God, my Lord Jesus,

I have always been amazed at John the Baptist’s recognition of you and his accompanying proclamation "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" Once he knew, John had to tell somebody.

35 years ago, I enjoyed my first visit to Chicago, Illinois. Chicago is a great city. A big city. Big buildings, big history, and big traditions. I remember walking down the streets with college friends. Every new sight, sound, and smell, evoked the same response. We’d poke one another in the ribs, and point. "Look at that!" The gaze inevitably took us upward, as we craned our necks to look at the towers above us. "Look at that! What a sight!" Once we had seen a new, awe-inspiring sight we had to tell someone.

Once John had gazed upon You–the Lamb of God–self was entirely diminished. John did not look at his own reflection, he beheld the Lamb of God. The selfless John referred his disciples to follow You, the Lamb of God.

The Lamb of God. Abel offered the best lamb of his flock as an acceptable sacrifice. Moses offered the Passover Lamb as a sacrifice in Egypt. The Hebrew tabernacle and temple offered the lamb as a sacrifice. Every lamb ever offered pointed to You–the Lamb of God–who would take away the sin of the world. No more lambs ever needed to be slaughtered as a sacrifice for sin. You paid the final price.

Andrew was the first to go and tell. His elder brother, Simon Peter, must know You. The news swept through families and villages.

I remember when my friend David was first saved. David was a 29 year-old alcoholic, running from a call to preach. When You transformed him, David had to tell his brothers Mike, Ab, Harold, and Jim. They had to know Jesus, and David had to tell somebody. David introduced his brother Mike to You, and then You swept through their entire family.

"Behold the Lamb of God." Jesus, Your story is an age-old story, yet fresh as the moment I behold You this morning. I gaze upon You now. I follow You today and beyond. I tell others what I see! Thank You. I am desperate to tell someone today. I need to make some introductions.

In the Name of my Redeemer,

Amen.

Merry Christmas: God Sent us a Savior

If our greatest need had been information, God would have sent us an educator.
If your greatest need had been technology, God would have sent us a scientist.
If our greatest need had been money, God would have sent us an economist.
If our greatest need had been pleasure, God would have sent us an entertainer.
But our greatest need was forgiveness, so God sent us a Savior.

Source Unknown.