Winning the War but Losing Hearts

Last week I had coffee with a friend who is intimately involved in pro-life ministry here in San Diego. Additionally, the Lord has placed her in classes at college where she has had the chance to build friendships with several homosexuals. I know that each of these ministries is very dear to her heart, and she intentionally considers how to glorify and obey the Lord in what can be very difficult and controversial contexts. She does so better than most Christians I know, maintaining both her commitment to the gospel and truth and also her deep love for the lost and desire for their salvation.

We attend different churches here, but both are very similar: conservative, reformed, dedicated to expository preaching. We love our churches, but as we were talking, we realized that over the past few months, we have been seeing the same weaknesses. Our churches are full of people who love the Lord and His gospel and truth. They desire to see His greatness proclaimed. 

But our churches are also full of people who do not always extend the grace of God to broken sinners. They like the sinners who have their act together. They want gay marriage outlawed, but don't want to minister to homosexuals who are contentedly living in their sins. They want abortion to be illegal, but rarely serve the young mother who doesn't know how she is going to provide for her precious baby. Don't get me wrong - this is a generalization and certainly isn't true of everyone. But the pattern remains.

I have been reading through Matthew and I have been struck by how Jesus loved the people that the Pharisees and other religious leaders weren't willing to love. He unashamedly spent time and built friendships with "tax collectors and sinners" (Matthew 11:19).

He came to save sinners, not the righteous.

He came to proclaim liberty to the captives, not to the the free.

He came to redeem the lost, not the already-found.

He came to proclaim God's radical love to those who did not deserve it, not those who do.

He came for the sick, not the healthy.

In our zeal for truth and obedience have we forgotten the most basic truth of the gospel, that Jesus Christ came to save sinners, even the foremost (1 Tim. 1:16)? Have we forgotten the grace and mercy of God that we have experienced, how He took our sin and bore the penalty that we deserved?

It's easy to love those who look like they have their lives together, and certainly, we ought to love and minister to them as well. But we display the power of the gospel in wonderful ways when we love with our words and actions those whom we disagree with most.

Do we declare sin to be sin? Absolutely. But we do so in order that we might proclaim the glorious and scandalous grace of God demonstrated through His Son. Jesus was absolutely committed to truth and the glory of God. But that led Him toward sinners and toward those whom the world despised. Does our commitment to truth do the same for us?

May the people of God be people who demonstrate love to the outcast, to the sinner, to the one who needs it the most. And may they do so that the world may know that our God is a God who is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, a God who redeems even the most wayward and broken of hearts, a God who has loved the unlovable through His Son, Jesus Christ. 

Celebrating Growth

In high school, I competed in speech and debate. This past weekend, the league that I competed with hosted a tournament here in San Diego, and I was able to go and judge some rounds, support my siblings and catch up with old friends, many of whom I haven't seen in a year or two. It was such an encouragement to be reminded of how those friendships have blessed me over the years.

One of my favorite parts of catching up with old friends, though, was seeing how God has been changing and growing them in the years since we graduated. One friend who I have know for nearly ten years has always been rather exclusive and had very strong opinions about who he likes and who he doesn't. All of the sudden, God has grown in him a heart to notice, include and welcome others. Another friend is finishing her TESL certificate so that she can head to Europe this summer to serve with a missionary family there for several years. Others have just been changed in quiet and yet beautiful and God-glorifying ways.

I think that is one of the only things I like about being so far apart from these friends - when we are finally together again, I get to see the distinct changes and growth that have occurred, changes that I would likely have missed noticing if we saw each other more often.

It was also encouraging to remember that just as God is faithfully sanctifying these friends, he is sanctifying me and the friends who I do spend a lot of time with. It's easy to become discouraged or frustrated when we don't see progress as quickly as we want to, but these past few days have reminded me to look for and celebrate His work, because He is faithfully bringing to completion the work that He began.

Weekend Links 1/5

Some People Get Presents - From Katie Davis in Uganda. "Some people get presents under their Christmas tree. Me? I get a family of 5. 4 children under 8 and their mother sleep on the couches and on mattresses laid out on the living room floor."

Is the Pro-Life Cause Winning? - A friend and I have had several conversations about abortion and homosexuality and "winning" the battle. Russell Moore shares some insightful thoughts.

Birthday, Last Day, Good Day - I think John Piper's poetry is one of my favorite things that Desiring God shares on their blog. This is a poem for his wife Noel.

Sparrow - An beautiful arrangement of the hymn His Eye is on the Sparrow from Audrey Assad.

Thankful for Rest

Working full-time has given me a new respect for my dad. It's not that I don't like working (because I do), but there are several things that I have found really difficult about work Monday-Friday from 8-5.

First, dropping from 12 weeks of vacation (which is roughly what I enjoyed while I was in college) to 2 (what I have now) is a terrible transition. All of the sudden I feel like I don't have time to do anything!

Similarly, it is really difficult to find time to spend with both my friends who are married, since evenings are family time for them, and my college friends, who have all of their activities at night. And since 90% of my friends are either married or in college, that means it is very difficult to find time to spend with the vast majority of people I spent time with when I was in school.

Finally, 40 hours is a lot, and when I do get off, I'm tired. It's hard to find the energy to do some of the things that I really do want to do. Plus, during the winter, I barely get to see daylight since my office doesn't have a window.

I have been so blessed by my job - my coworkers, the environment, what I get to do. But working is not easy. I guess it wasn't meant to be.

But over the past two weeks, it has been so quiet in the office that my boss keeps walking into my office and telling me to leave early. The feeling of getting of at 2 or 3 pm instead of 5 is absolutely glorious. I walk outside, and the sun is still shining, I still have energy and there is time to accomplish so much.

These past few weeks of extra time to rest and to just be have been such a blessing. I don't think I realize how tired I am until I stop. These times have reminded me that the Lord has instituted the Sabbath for my good. I am not very intentional about resting on Sundays, at least not as intentional as I ought to be. But resting is good, so very good. I am thankful for the Lord's grace in allowing me to rest even when I don't take the time that I should.

The Sum and Substance of the Covenant

"Jesus Christ is Himself the sum and substance of the covenant, and as one of its gifts He is the property of every believer...

Has He power? That power is yours to support and strengthen you, to overcome your enemies, and to preserve you even to the end.

Has He love? Well, there is not a drop of love in His heart that is not yous; you may dive into the immense ocean of His love, and you may say of it all, 'It is mine.'

Has He justice? It may seem a stern attribute, but even that is yours, for He will by His justice see to it that all that is promised to you in the covenant of grace shall be most certainly secured to you...

O believer, God's acceptance of Christ is your acceptance; for the love that the Father set on a perfect Christ, He sets on you now...

That perfect righteousness which Jesus worked out, when through His stainless life He kept the law and made it honorable, is yours and is imputed to you. Christ is in the covenant." - Charles Spurgeon, Morning by Morning

Christmas Pictures

As a surprise for my mom this Christmas, my sisters, brother and I had pictures taken by our friends at Captured Grace Photography. They did an incredible job, and my mom was as excited as we hoped.

 This is David, who turns 15 in January. He, as the baby of the family, is officially taller than me now, making me the shortest person in our family. 

 This is Jenn. She is 19, and is studying early childhood education. Her joy and laughter brightens our home.

This is Liz. She is 17, and finishing her senior year of high school.She has such a passion to love and mentor young girls, and they think she is great (probably because she is).

And one shot of me.

Welcoming 2013

It's on days like today that my words always seem to fail me. I want to have something profound and thought-provoking to share. The truth is that I just don't, not today at least. I am excited for the year to come. I know that there are many changes that I am not anticipating, some of which I probably won't like.

But I also know that each year has always ended with me looking back and seeing the goodness of the Lord once again. He has promised to bring to completion the work that He has begun (Phil. 1:6), and so for that reason each new year is a reminder of His faithfulness, that He has not left us alone.

He has promised to withhold no good thing from those who love Him (Psalm 84:11), and so each new year is a reminder to look ahead to the good things to come, things that are good not because they are easy, but because they are from the hand of our loving Father.

He has promised that He is coming once again (Acts 1:11), and so each new year is a glorious thing, as it brings us that much closer to His return.

He reigns (Psalm 146:10)! This makes each year full of hope, hope found in knowing that what is going to occur is not due to chance, but to the sovereign hand of the righteous Lord.

It's easy to dread what is to come, or at least to anxiously anticipate it. But our hope is rests on a solid foundation. And because of that foundation, each passing and coming year provides reasons for our hearts to praise His glorious name. May our prayer in 2013 ever be, "Come quickly, Lord Jesus, and may Your name alone be glorified."

"To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen." - Rev. 1:6