So You Tell Me

Yesterday was Mother's Day and so thoughts naturally turn towards family. Also, I am the Family Pastor here at Gcomm, so I think about family as a big part of my ministry. Lately, I have been thinking a lot about the family and I want to bounce some things off of you - my faithful readers.

For the last 30 years the Christian community has put a lot of attention on the family. I think the concern started when it was realized that "Christian" families were divorcing at almost the same rate as non-Christian families. So the flood of material related to the family began. Pre-marital ministries were started. Marriage counseling, retreats, conferences, and seminars started popping up. Parenting classes were started. Along with this came books, tapes, CDs, DVDs, and radio programs devoted totally to the family.

So you tell me, are we doing any better? Has all of this attention to the family created more godly marriages and children? My observation would be - no. In fact, the more I am involved in ministry I see just how scrambled up marriages can become and I keep encountering all kinds of, how should I say this delicately, interesting theories of parenting. I know from my own experience, and this is what I tell men preparing for ministry, that the number one issue we have to deal with is the family. The number two issue is so far behind I don't even know what it is.

So you tell me, why is it this way? It certainly isn't because there is a shortage of information and teaching about the family, but what is it? There must be more to it then just more books and conferences.

So you tell me. What do you think is at the root of all the family problems and what could be done differently?

I'm waiting to hear from you.

Salvation is of the Lord

John 9 tells of Jesus opening the eyes of a man born blind. This account tells us much about the person of Christ.

This was a creative act. Jesus did not restore something to this man which he once had. Jesus gave the man something he had never had before. This shows the deity of Christ. He is the light of the world (verse 5) and He brought light where before there had only been darkness.

This act also established the Lordship of Christ. Jesus put mud in the man's eyes and told him to go wash in the pool of Siloam and then he would see. Jesus did not need to do this to heal the man. He did it to establish that He is Lord and to see if the man would submit. Jesus is Lord.

This story is also a picture of salvation. What Jesus does for this man physically, He also does spiritually. This man not only gets his eyesight, but he sees and believes in Jesus (verse 38). He is brought out of the world of spiritual darkness and into the light of the Lord.

This account also shows the initiative of the Lord. He came to seek and save those who are lost. Jesus encounters this blind man as He is fleeing the Temple because of the threats of the people (John 8:59). Yet Jesus stops to give this man sight. Later, Jesus seeks this man out in order to give him new life (John 9:35). Jesus is a compassionate, seeking, gracious Savior.

I love this story because it so closely parallels my own story. One day, when I was in college, I was sitting around at the statue of Tommy Trojan on the campus of USC (just like the guys in the picture above). As I sat there I was spiritually dead and blind, totally ignorant of Christ and the gospel. But the Lord was gracious and sent two men to bring me the gospel. Through the power of His word and Spirit, He saved me right there that day.

This saving act demonstrated His deity. He gave life where there had been death. He brought sight where there had been blindness. He brought me out of the darkness and into His marvelous light.

This also demonstrated His Lordship. I was told that becoming a Christian means that from now on Christ calls the shots in my life. He is Lord, I am the servant. This requires humility but having had my eyes opened why wouldn't I happily follow the One who "loved me and delivered Himself up for me?"

My salvation also shows the gracious initiative of the Lord. I wasn't looking for Him. I wasn't thinking about Him. I was blind. I would not have recognized Him if He had walked in front of me. But He reached out to me. He extended grace to me. He didn't have to do that I didn't deserve for Him to do that. In fact, of all the people sitting around Tommy Trojan that day I may have been voted the least likely person to respond to the gospel since I had never heard it before. Yet, the Lord saved me.

Salvation is of the Lord. He is still saving people today. Blind people are receiving sight.

Hallelujah! What a Savior!