The Forest and the Trees
Notes
Transcript
Children’s Sermon
Children’s Sermon
Something about overfocus on minutia…Perhaps using the standing cross on top of my filing cabinet…the imperfection of how the rivets line up, but still when viewed from a distance, a beautiful piece of artwork. Don’t be afraid to ask questions, be inquisitive, etc…but don’t get lost in the weeds.
Scripture
Scripture
1 John 2:12-14 - I’m writing to you, little children, because your sins have been forgiven through Jesus’ name. I’m writing to you, parents, because you know him who exists from the beginning. I write to you, young adults, because you have conquered Satan. I write to you, children, because you know the father. I’m writing to you, fathers, because you know him who exists from the beginning. I write to you, young adults, because you are strong and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome Satan.
Engage
Engage
Years ago I was assigned to an engagement at Sprint, one of my first with Ernst & Young, where they were building a customer interface / clearing house. It was a long project and I came on fairly early to replace an E&Y consultant named Klaus who was an engineer type and originally from Germany. His role, and mine following him, had to do with testing of the interface. As he taught me where he was on everything, I noticed how remarkably complex he had made the role. Once he left, I was able to greatly simplify how we did the testing without losing any of the effectiveness. He had made the fairly simple overly complex. If I’d have tried to do exactly what he’d been doing, I’d have ended up massively confused and burnt out.
I also remember an assignment in my undergraduate college speech class to describe something we just knew how to do by muscle memory. I picked playing the saxophone. We had to describe step by step how to do our skill. That was tough! Playing the saxophone is fairly complex but for years I just knew how to do it without really thinking about it.
Encounter
Encounter
I’m going to key on this little section of 1 John 2 to illustrate a point about being a disciple of Christ. I’ll begin with verse 12 and the concept of Jesus having forgiven our sins. There are all kinds of complex sub-topics you can study on this concept. How does Jesus forgive our sins? How does he atone for our sins, grant us good standing before God? From the earliest days of the Church, Christians have attempted to explain the atoning work of Christ's life, death, and resurrection and have proposed a multitude of theories. These theories are commonly referred to as atonement theories.
We believe that all humanity needs atonement due to sin, see Romans 3:23 for instance. We, particularly as Wesleyan’s, also believe Christ’s atonement is not limited…it’s available to all who choose it. Some Christians disagree with us on that point. Some of the particular atonement theories include; Christus Victor - Christ wins victory over Satan and pries human choice from Satan’s hands. Another is Satisfaction theory. In this theory, sin created a debt owed to God by humanity. No human could possibly pay the debt, so God came in the flesh to pay the price. This reminds us of the blood covenant God made with Abram we talked about a few weeks back. John Calvin morphed this theory into the penal substitution theory. There are others as well. Ultimately, I don’t believe in just one theory and see strengths in several of them…I think the truth lies in some combination of them.
I happen to believe that Christ’s death, and his life, and his resurrection, and his exultation, and his eternal lordship all play some role in his advocacy for us. If I weren’t careful, though, I might let the frustrations and confusion of trying to “figure out” Christ’s atonement perfectly drive me away from belief in it. Is it necessary, as a limited and very imperfect human, that I be able to fully explain, quite precisely, how Christ atones for my sins? No, I don’t think so…In this area of theology, and many others, friends:
Don’t let the confusion of precision conquer clarity and certainty.
It’s not useless to think about and study atonement theories but I can’t let depth of knowledge confuse the clarity of simplicity. What is the simple truth of atonement? Jesus’s life, death, resurrection, and Lordship somehow bridge the gap between humanity and God and have restored our eternal access to God. Jesus IS the bridge. And no matter all the bombs and assaults people have attempted on that bridge, it stands now…and it always will. Even more simply? Jesus saves.
There’s an old saying we should always keep in mind in life…don’t make it so you can’t see the forest for the trees. As best we can tell, that saying is hundreds of years old. What does it mean? When you’re standing in a forest of trees, all you see is trees. You don’t see the forest as a whole. If you focus too much on minute details, you may very well miss the big picture.
There are many other areas of faith where this principle can serve us well. The Trinity is certainly one of those areas. How can God be one and yet be three persons? The great theologian and church father Augustine wrote a book on the Trinity. While he was writing the book, he went for a walk on the beach and came upon a child. The child had dug a little hole in the sand and was scooping water from the ocean into the hole. What are you doing, Augustine asked him. The boy said he was going to scoop all the water from the ocean into this hole. ‘What?’ Augustine said. ‘That is impossible. Obviously, the sea is too large and the hole too small.’ ‘Indeed,’ said the child, ‘but I will sooner draw all the water from the sea and empty it into this hole than you will succeed in penetrating the mystery of the Holy Trinity with your limited understanding.’ Augustine turned away in amazement and when he looked back the child had disappeared. An angel, no doubt!
Yet, Augustine didn’t let the confusion of precision conquer clarity and certainty. God is three in one. Period. Even if we can’t fully understand it.
Other areas that come to mind include theodicy…why does God allow evil and suffering to continue? There’s also the mystery of how God is outside of time, when Jesus will return, and on and on. We can certainly ask questions we have and investigate them to our hearts content. But we need to be careful we don’t lose certainty in seeking precision. Jesus himself says that all the law and prophets is contained in the command to Love God with all your heart, mind, soul, & strength and love your neighbor as yourself. Don’t lose the clarity of that!
John uses repetition in today’s passage to highlight some key truths his audience, and we, should remember. We know who exists from the beginning…God, Jesus. We, through Christ, have conquered Satan and others can join freely in our victory. Because we know Jesus, we know God.
Don’t let the confusion of precision conquer certainty and clarity.
Empower
Empower
Several months ago I went to get a haircut at Locker Room haircuts, down by Sams and Bahama Bucks off Sherwood. I had been running errands so I signed in and made toward the restroom. The manager said the bathroom was out of order. Later, after I sat down in the cutting chair, she told me some kid earlier that day had clogged it with waste tissue. I asked if they had a plunger and if they wanted me to give it a go. Yes, she said, but we’ve tried and tried. So, when the haircut was over, I gave it a try. After several plunges, the line cleared and all was well. I didn’t allow her confusion conquer my certainty. As a veteran of countless successful plunges, I felt certain I could clear the line. And, to top it off, since I saved them the expense of calling a plumber, I got a free haircut!
As we go about thinking about God, or as we go about life in general....don’t let the confusion of precision conquer certainty and clarity.
Pray