Gospel Gold - Take It To The Bank

Drink this in! I picked it up from Tullian Tchividjian who posted this nugget of gospel gold from John Calvin. It came from a stunning preface to Pierre Robert Olivétan’s French translation of the New Testament (1534). Justin Taylor, a friend of Tchividijian, added line breaks to make it easier to read. Take it in. Read it again. Bask in it. Bank on it. Live it. Share it. Enjoy!

Calvin wrote:

Without the gospel

everything is useless and vain;

without the gospel

we are not Christians;

without the gospel

all riches is poverty,
all wisdom folly before God;
strength is weakness,
and all the justice of man is under the condemnation of God.

But by the knowledge of the gospel we are made

children of God,
brothers of Jesus Christ,
fellow townsmen with the saints,
citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven,
heirs of God with Jesus Christ, by whom

the poor are made rich,
the weak strong,
the fools wise,
the sinner justified,
the desolate comforted,
the doubting sure,
and slaves free.

It is the power of God for the salvation of all those who believe.

It follows that every good thing we could think or desire is to be found in this same Jesus Christ alone.

For, he was

sold, to buy us back;
captive, to deliver us;
condemned, to absolve us;

he was

made a curse for our blessing,
[a] sin offering for our righteousness;
marred that we may be made fair;

he died for our life; so that by him

fury is made gentle,
wrath appeased,
darkness turned into light,
fear reassured,
despisal despised,
debt canceled,
labor lightened,
sadness made merry,
misfortune made fortunate,
difficulty easy,
disorder ordered,
division united,
ignominy ennobled,
rebellion subjected,
intimidation intimidated,
ambush uncovered,
assaults assailed,
force forced back,
combat combated,
war warred against,
vengeance avenged,
torment tormented,
damnation damned,
the abyss sunk into the abyss,
hell transfixed,
death dead,
mortality made immortal.

In short,

mercy has swallowed up all misery,
and goodness all misfortune.

For all these things which were to be the weapons of the devil in his battle against us, and the sting of death to pierce us, are turned for us into exercises which we can turn to our profit.

If we are able to boast with the apostle, saying, O hell, where is thy victory? O death, where is thy sting? it is because by the Spirit of Christ promised to the elect, we live no longer, but Christ lives in us; and we are by the same Spirit seated among those who are in heaven, so that for us the world is no more, even while our conversation is in it; but we are content in all things, whether country, place, condition, clothing, meat, and all such things.

And we are

comforted in tribulation,
joyful in sorrow,
glorying under vituperation,
abounding in poverty,
warmed in our nakedness,
patient amongst evils,
living in death.

This is what we should in short seek in the whole of Scripture: truly to know Jesus Christ, and the infinite riches that are comprised in him and are offered to us by him from God the Father.

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Positively Columbine (revisited)

Words have enormous power to create. Words define and so do moments. Columbine is an example of both.

Twelve years ago, the word columbine conjured images of flowers that decorate the Rocky Mountains and this region. It is the State flower of Colorado. They are beautiful and colorful. They are hearty enough to make it through hard cold winters to bloom again with all their vibrancy each Spring.

Twelve years ago the meaning of columbine changed with a moment. For most of us, the beautiful noun became a shocking adjective and verb, used in ways no one could have imagined. It became synonymous with the worst of school violence and the tragedy of evil. In a day, the new meaning of columbine took hold across the country and around the world. “Columbine-like” no longer meant flowers. It was part of the tragedy.

Twelve years ago I lived in Ohio. Like most in our country, I watched in disbelief and from a distance as media carried stories from Columbine High School nestled in the Columbine community within the city of Littleton. In the days that followed, the meaning of columbine was redefined. It was easy, from a distance, to accept the new meaning.

Four and a half years ago we moved to Littleton, around the corner from Columbine High School and the community it’s nestled in. What I have discovered is a High School and community not defined by the tragedy twelve years ago, but the triumphs they have experienced since. It is a rare tight-knit active community with a shared resolve unlike any community I have seen. Like the flower, it is a beautiful and colorful community. Together, they have discovered they are hearty enough to make it through a hard cold winter and bloom all the more with familiar vibrancy. I don’t mean this in some trite esoteric way. It is true in the daily reality of how they choose to live and relate.

For me, Columbine used to stand for school violence and evil. That was when I lived at a distance. That was when I allowed its meaning to be changed by people (media) who didn’t live there and didn’t know better. No longer. It’s just not true. On the contrary. The truth is this community represents vibrancy, kindness, blessing and resolve. For me, “Columbine-like” does not mean evil, but good. It is not devastation; it is restoration. It is not despair; it is hope. It is not victims, but victors. It is not powerless, but a community of determined resolve. It is not defined by one act of senseless violence, but countless acts of intentional kindness. It is not death, but resurrection.

I challenge all who read this to no longer define Columbine by a tragic event, nor to describe a tragic event by the name of Columbine. It’s just not true.

It’s time to change the meaning of a familiar word to reflect its true essence. What if Columbine, like the flower and the community, meant beauty, kindness, regeneration and resolve? What if we call it “columbine” when neighbors gather around a family to see them through a difficult time? (I have seen that happen in Columbine neighborhoods.) What if a marriage is renewed or “columbined” through the encouragement of family and friends? What if it is called “so columbine” when volunteer teams gather in New Orleans to rebuild homes of people they have never met after Hurricane Katrina? What if a painting is described as “columbine” when a variety of colors or materials are brought together to create something beautiful? The possibilities are endless, but the essence is the same. It is positively Columbine.

Words have enormous power to create. Words define and so do moments. Columbine is an example of both.

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You're On

“If I have a hope, it’s that God sat over the dark nothing and wrote you and me, specifically, into the story, and put us in with the sunset and the rainstorm as though to say, Enjoy your place in my story. The beauty of it means you matter, and you can create within it even as I have created you.

I’ve wondered, though, if one of the reasons we fail to acknowledge the brilliance of life is because we don’t want the responsibility inherent in the acknowledgement. We don’t want to be characters in a story because characters have to move and breathe and face conflict with courage. And if life isn’t remarkable, then we don’t have to do any of that; we can be unwilling victims rather than grateful participants.”

~ Donald Miller, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years

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Born For This

The joyous miracle of Pentecost was not that Christians began to speak in tongues as much as it was that others heard the wonders of God declared in their own language through them. In this and for this the church was born.

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Ever-Expanding Easter

"The Resurrection was not regarded simply or chiefly as evidence for the immortality of the soul ... There is not in Scripture the faintest suggestion that the Resurrection was new evidence for something that had in fact been always happening. The New Testament writers speak as if Christ's achievement in rising from the dead was the first event of its kind in the whole history of the universe. He is the 'first fruits,' or the 'pioneer of life'. He has forced open the door that has been locked since the death of the first man. He has met, fought, and beaten the King of Death. Everything is different because He has done so. This is the beginning of the New Creation: a new chapter in cosmic history has opened."

C.S. Lewis, Miracles

What do you think?

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Our Task ... Should We Choose to Accept It

"The human race has been in exile ... Our task is to announce in word and deed that the exile is over, to enact the symbols that speak of healing and forgiveness, to act boldly in God's world in the power of the Spirit. ... Your task is to find the symbolic ways of doing things differently, planting flags in hostile soil, setting up signposts that say there is a different way to be human. And when people are puzzled at what you are doing, find ways - fresh ways - of telling the story of the return of the human race from it's exile, and use those stories as your explanation."

N. T. Wright


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Quotes to Ponder from Chicago PGF Conference

What do you think about these quotes from the Presbyterian Global Fellowship conference this weekend in Chicago with Alan Roxburgh? Which one's ring true and profound? Which ones do you disagree or struggle with? Which do you find prophetic?

"Starting with the question 'how do we get people into the church?' will never lead to a healthy body of Christ."

"We do not live in a world anymore in which people are going to 'come' to church. Most 'come' from other churches."

"We have to form a new way of life together based on the new thing God is doing in our neighborhoods."

"Don't write off old people! They can change. They are the hands and feet of Christ in the neighborhood."

"There are so many narratives in the world for people to choose from. The church is no longer the central narrative."

"We have created churches that are fundamentally atheist. We do not believe God's Spirit is among God's people."

"The only way to figure out what God is up to is to leave your baggage and become the stranger."

"We are in the dawn of a new day in the mainline church."

"The leaving of baggage means you become dependent on the hospitality of the other." (based on Luke 10:1-12)

"Believe that the Spirit of God is at work in your community, and then act on that belief."

"A new pastor bought a cemetery plot to prove he was there to live (and die) with the people."

"The church is changed not by structures, but by experiments around the edges that no one detects at first."

"Most leaders are chosen because they know the traditions, history, and customs. But they tend not to imagine."

"Forget Big Hairy Audacious Goals. Launch small experiments in your community."

What do you think? Please click "Comments" 6 to leave yours.