Enjoying the Beauty, Anticipating the Glory

I decided this weekend to take some time off and drive from Memphis, in the southwest corner of Tennessee, to Chattanooga, in the southeast corner of the state, and spend a few days with my son Jonathan who is a student in the Scenic City (Chattanooga's nickname). The long drive was made even longer by three areas of road construction. I hate road construction. What should have been a five and a half hour drive turned into a seven and a half hour drive.

Nevertheless, it really wasn't that bad. Just on the eastern side of Jackson the leaves began to change in color. For the next four hours (that is about as much daylight as I had) I soaked in the beauty of October. The rolling hills of middle Tennessee covered with green, and brown, and orange, and bright yellow, and colors I can't begin to describe reminded me why I love Fall. It was incredible.

On Monday morning I awoke in Chattanooga and was blown away by the surrounding mountains. The colors are brilliant! I couldn't help but thank God for His creativity! After Jonathan finished with his day of classes we headed out for some rock climbing at Sunset Rock, located on Lookout Mountain. Almost two thousand feet above sea level, Sunset Rock looks down into the valley where Chattanooga is nestled. It also provides an incredible perch from which to view the surrounding mountains. Again, I was mesmerized by the beauty of the colorful mountains set against the backdrop of bright blue skies. What an amazing sight.

At the end of the day as I thanked God for a great time with my son and the opportunity to take in the beauty of His creation I was reminded that all of this is but for a while. Paul, in 2 Corinthians 5:18 says "the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal." As amazingly beautiful as creation is, it is passing away. I was also reminded, however, that one day the Lord will create a new heaven and a new earth. And while we know very little about this new creation, we do know it will be overwhelmingly superior to the one we enjoy now. I am sure it's natural beauty will shock us. Its true beauty, however, will not be the glory of creation, but the glory of the Creator. The new heaven will shine with the light of His glory. The colors will reflect His holiness and perfection. In the new earth there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; for the first things will have passed away. In the new earth we will see Jesus!

I really enjoy the beauty of the present creation, but I am longing for the glory of the next. So I pray the words of the apostle Peter; "we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells." (2 Peter 3:13)

Journey On,

Michael

Attacking Tim Tebow Or The Truth?

It is no secret that I am a sports fan. I love sports, all sports. Each morning I pour myself a cup of coffee, spend time in Bible study and prayer, then navigate to the sports pages at commercialappeal.com and cbssportsline.com to catch-up on the happenings in the world of sports. Periodically I visit the ESPN and USAToday websites. On Monday USAToday published this article by Tom Krattenmaker. His primary point in the article is that while professing Christians in professional and college sports are model citizens, they are bad for sports. The primary target of his frustration is Tim Tebow. On Wednesday, Sam Cook of the Fort Myers News-Press published this Tebow-bashing article for which he should receive a 15-yard penalty for piling on.

I know Tim Tebow has been hammered on the field. I have seen him play enough to know he delivers and receives plenty of hard hits. Over the last three years he has also been hit pretty hard by the media for his beliefs. As Cook and Krattenmaker take aim at Tebow, I believe they are actually demonstrating the pluralistic, relativistic beliefs that saturate our culture and are taking potshots at evangelical Christianity.

For starters, Krattenmaker states, "If their take on God and truth and life is the only right one — which their creed boldly states — everyone else is wrong." He points out that this belief is offensive to Jewish, Muslim, Catholic, non-evangelical Protestant, and agnostic sports fans. He fails, however, to point out that Jewish, Muslim, Catholic, and non-evangelical Protestant doctrines teach that they are right and everyone else is wrong. And while agnostics may not have a formal doctrine, they believe that it is impossible to know God, or any god, by human means; therefore anyone who claims to know God is wrong. I ask Mr. Krattenmaker, why not attack the exclusivity of every other faith? Why only evangelical Christianity?

Next, Krattenmaker argues that, in reality, most Americans disagree with the beliefs of Tim Tebow and other evangelical Christians, so they should keep their opinions to theselves. In commenting on the evangelical belief that salvation is found in Jesus alone, Krattenmaker states, "In making and acting on rigid claims about who is or isn't in good standing with God, the Bob Tebow [Tim's dad's ministry] organization is working at cross purposes with the majority of Americans — indeed, the majority of American Christians — and their more generous conception of salvation." Later he writes, "It's not just non-Christians who might have a thing or two to say about this exclusive theology. According to a December 2008 survey by the Pew Forum on Religion in Public Life, 65% of American Christians believe that many religions can lead to eternal life. Our pluralism is a defining and positive reality of American life — but not one that is much valued by those who define the faith coursing through the veins of sports culture." Wow! If 65% of Americans believe 2+2=5, should we recall all elementary math books and rewrite the texts? Absolutely not! Majority doesn't make right. The argument of Mr. Krattenmaker and 65% of American Christians is absolutely illogical. Each religion has exclusive truth claims, but only one can be right. Truth makes right. Jesus said, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father but by Me." That is truth and that is right.

Mr. Krattenmaker also mischaracterizes the heart of evangelical Christianity and those committed to its beliefs. When discussing the biblical teaching that those who do not know God will spend eternity separated from God, he points out that Baseball Chapel, which provides chaplains for all major- and minor-league baseball teams, believes "non-believers in Jesus can look forward to everlasting punishment separated from God." Actually, the Baseball Chapel website linked in Mr. Krattenmaker's article does not mention that non-believers can look forward to anything. Why would he include that phrase? I believe to mischaracterize Christians as mean-spirited humans who find great pleasure in knowing that non-believers will suffer. I understand that I do not know every evangelical Christian, but of those I do know, not one finds comfort in knowing that their unbelieving friends and family members will suffer for eternity. On the contrary, that is why we insist that all men and women and boys and girls must come to God through Jesus!

I know Mr. Krattenmaker and Mr. Cook are backed by the power of the press. I realize far more people will read their articles than my little blog. But Tim Tebow and every other Christian are backed by the power of the Holy Spirit. So Tim, keep wearing Scripture on your eye-black, keep praising the Lord, keep visiting the Philippines to share the Gospel, and keep playing hard because I really enjoy watching you. And maybe every other follower of Jesus will realize that while we do not have the same platform you have to preach the Good News of God's love, we have the same responsibility.

Journey On,

Michael