Sometimes you hear a story so much, you think it’s the only way that story could’ve ever happened. The people, places, and events are so familiar you can’t imagine it happening any other way. It’s only when we consider all the different ways things could’ve happened that we start to realize how amazing the true story is. Christmas is kind of like that. There are so many ways things could’ve gone differently- different ways people could’ve reacted, places things could’ve happened, people God could’ve used. Which is what makes the story of the shepherds so beautiful. They didn’t need to be there at all. The only reason they are there is because God chose to put them there- because he chose to incorporate them into the greatest story of all time. And that little insight tells us so much about how God has chosen to work in this world.
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For many of us, we’ve heard the Christmas story so many times that it can be hard to remember just how unexpected and, frankly, unbelievable it all is. From the choice of an anonymous girl in a disrespected town, to the virgin birth of a Messiah, the story requires faith from those that believe. Yet our faith isn’t a blind one and as crazy as the Christmas story is, it’s not the most “unbelievable” story that scripture tells.
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There are few things that run against our cultural moment than having to wait. Waiting is seen as the epitome of waste and at times, suffering. However, the Bible often shows us that waiting is exactly God’s strategy for teaching us a whole host of lessons- about Him, about us, and about what really matters. Advent is a strategic time built into the busiest and often most stressful weeks of our year. It teaches us that, even in the midst of the chaos, waiting might be the best thing we can do.
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The right perspective is essential to right doctrine. If we get our view of God right, then our lives will flow from that truth. That’s Paul’s message in the final chapter of 1 Timothy. If you want to know how to live in the world, then set your mind on things above and the Glory of God. This will order your life in a way that reflects the goodness and mercy of God. It will result in a life of contentedness and thanksgiving, sanctification and worship, joy and celebration. These are the marks of a life that has been ordered around the love of God.
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What do you do when the world has you surrounded? When people that are all around you and in your life do not share your values, faith, or way of living? How do you respond when the surrounding culture would rather you not even be there? These are questions that Christians in America are increasingly up against. The response to those questions, however, is anything but uniform and consistent. The Apostle Paul, though, gives us a picture of what it looks like to live in that kind of culture. And what is his primary strategy? As simple as it sounds, his main strategy is this: Go to church, be the church. It may not sound like much, but it’s the plan God has given us to not just survive in this world- but to change it.
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The brokenness of this world is all around us in every sphere of our lives. We are constantly living in tension, if not all-out war with this reality. Paul recognizes the fight that we’re in and wants us to understand that while that fight rages here on earth, what happens here on earth is just a fraction of what really matters. In truth, our biggest priority shouldn’t revolve around the temporary things of this world, even the good things. Instead, we should set our hearts and minds on things much bigger, eternal things. And the church is central to that strategy.
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John Maxwell states, “Everything rises and falls on leadership.” It’s a simple maxim with a host of questions and implications that follow. What criteria do we use to choose our leader? Or is it Leaders? Is a Pastor the default leader or someone else? What is the nature of that leadership? What is the makeup of that leader? Are we free to choose whom we’d like or are there restrictions, a design, a model? Are the leaders free to lead however they want or is there a design to that too? What exactly should church leadership look like, what are its tasks, and how should it lead?
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Sometimes we read things in the Bible that can sound pretty shocking. They make us stop and kind of scratch our heads and wonder what we just read. 1 Timothy 2 ends in a passage just like that. The initial reading of this passage sounds like a way to put women in their place and that place is one of silence and childbirth. That’s their job. But with a little more digging and contextualization, we see that Paul’s goal was actually very different.
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How are we meant to live in a world that does not share our values, convictions, and beliefs? This is not a new question. In fact, most of the New Testament epistles are centered around the answer to that question. Consistently, Paul’s answer to this question does not look or sound like the answers many give today. The unexpected instructions for Paul in 1 Timothy 2 begin with prayer and an aligning of our hearts to what God wants- that all would be saved. That idea, that God wants all to be saved, has provided theological debate for millennia, but more importantly, it is an extraordinary statement about the nature and character of God.
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In Paul’s first letter to Timothy, Paul claims to be the foremost of sinners. While this quote might not grab our attention nowadays, it would have been a remarkable thing for Paul to say, a Pharisee among Pharisees. In this quote, Paul shows us the amazing truth that Christ opened his eyes to – that we are all alike in our sin – Jew, Gentile, Samaritan, Barbarian – and in need of a Savior.
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What do you do when you look up and it seems like you’re surrounded by a world that doesn’t want you here? What happens when you try to build a gospel foundation and everyone tries to knock it down? How do you live, work, and minister in a culture that just wants you to go away? As Paul instructs Timothy, the goal is not to tear down everything that surrounds you, but to minister to them in love. While that may be the last thing we want to do, it’s exactly what the world needs.
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God is at work. Seems like a simple enough statement, but given the right circumstances over a long enough time- it’s a statement even the most devout follower may begin to doubt. Or perhaps if we believe he’s at work, we may believe that His work is far from something we actually desire- but instead fear. The testimony of Judges, Ruth, and the entire OT is one of a God that is always working a plan- often slowly and in places we would not look, but always working. The story of the NT is that rescue plan being put into action. Make no mistake about it- we want an Old Testament God and a New Testament God too. In both Old and New, it is the same God working the same plan that guides us through our darkest moments and deepest pains.
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Sometimes we understand words and concepts even without being able to define them. They are simply things that we engage in or see every day, but don’t give much thought to. The idea of redemption is one of those things that we all instinctively know but probably can’t put words to. The idea of redemption has roots in our faith too, but much like our regular understanding of redemption- it can be hard to put words to that one too. When Ruth asked Boaz to be her “redeemer,” it can leave us a little confused, but Boaz knew exactly what it meant- and what it would cost. Jesus, too, knew what redemption would cost, and he not only covered our debt, he purchased for his own.
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Good advice is always nice. It can help us find our way or sort through all kinds of problems. The only thing is, good advice still leaves one big issue- we have to apply it. We still have to go out and do the thing we’ve been advised on. Far better for us is good news- an announcement of something that has already been done. Chandler Rowlen with RUF, our local missions partner, shows the difference between those two things is filled with exasperation, exhaustion, and eventually hopelessness. But the Gospel (i.e. literally the good news) is the remedy for a world full of good (and bad) advice.
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Certain questions never go away. Throughout every generation, these questions constantly resurface with a variety of answers and schools of thought. When thinking through theology, the question of God’s sovereignty and human responsibility is a classic debate that has entertained theologians for centuries. The answer to that question comes in many forms and the Book of Ruth shows us that these two things aren’t set in opposition to one another. In fact, they are beautifully connected. Ruth, Boaz, and Naomi all show how God intends for our work to be a part of his plan.
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